- the beginning of the campaign - 1618 - the beginning of the Thirty Years of War. End of campaign - 1714 - end of the War of the Spanish Succession, which was the last war of Louis 14. For Russia, Denmark, Sweden and Poland long campaign ends in 1721. Short campaign ends in 1648 for all factions. - the geopolitical situation is as close as possible to historical realities.
-unlocked many factions with victory conditions for them. -the Kingdom of Bohemia and Circassia factions are emergent at the beginning of the game. There is also a fix of Hetmanat - it will appear in Ukraine instead of Greece (still, there will be flags of Greece). In the future, there will be more emerging factions.
-activated the ability "sabotage army" for spies and assassins. -new technologies for most factions. -new effects from buildings. -new interface: based on BaroqueUI from Quintus Hortensius Hortalus and interface from division7x. -improved graphics from the Terrestria Orbem sub-mod. -new historical portraits and names (WIP). -rebalance of characteristics and number of units. Pikemen are the main ones on the battlefield, but without infantry cover, they are vulnerable to missile cavalry and artillery. Almost all cavalry have carbines, but they are inaccurate and not very effective. The accuracy and range of firearms depends on the type of weapon (matchlock of flintlock), as well as (to a greater extent) on technology. -new recruitment system (WIP): now some units will be available only in a certain region, but they can be recruited by the factions that own the region. For example, Polish pikemen are available for recruiting only in Eastern Europe and can be immediately hired by Poland. Sweden, Russia, Prussia and Transylvania can also recruit Polish pikemen if they research the technology of mercenary armies and capture the region where these pikemen are available. In addition, Polish pikemen (like other home units) will have slightly less morale and a lower maximum number for all factions except Poland. -added new foreign units for other factions (WIP). Thus, Austria can hire Spanish infantry as mercenaries, France - Dutch musketeers, etc. -Integrated sub-mods for new units: Hetmanat, Units of the East from adrian74, Warpath Natives in Grand Campaign, Historical Units for Iran, Afghanistan and Mughal. -new icons for units. -Fixed some bugs. -integrated VDM (PLEASE READ THE DESCRIPTION https://www.twcenter.net/forums/show...S-Desease-Mod)
Screenshots
Tactics
Spoiler Alert, click show to read:
Strategy
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Installation
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Unzip the files to the data folder of the game. unpack VDM_Start and VDM_saves to the main game directory (NOT DATА). Unpack user.empire_script to AppData / Roaming / The Creative Assembly / Empire / scripts
Suggestions, problems and solutions
Suggestions for campaign
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The difficulty level for campaigns is best set to medium or hard (if you are not a fan of full hardcore). For Great Britain, France and Prussia, you can set it to a very hard one. For battles, it is best to set it to a very hard - although the battles are quite intense, it will not be difficult even for inexperienced players to win.
I also recommend not to chase the enemy, but to end the battle after the message about the win. It's much more interesting to play this way.
I do not recommend playing for the eastern factions, as they are poorly developed yet.
The archive contains a settings folder with my graphics and gamma settings. There's disabled SSAO, because it distorts smoke, and HDR, because it looks bad. Also reduced some minor settings, because 400 pikemen can cause frame drops. In addition, there is a changed gamma which, in my opinion, gives the game an atmosphere of the 17th century. Also, there is disabled advisor, moves of AI in campaign map and enabled minimized battle UI.
I don't know why, but at the beginning of the game, VDM gives many countries huge inflation - taking into account that at that time the consequences of the price revolution were still felt, I think this is a feature, not a bug. However, remember that already at the beginning of the game your prices will be higher than they should. To remove inflation, click on the question mark near the head of the finance minister.
The disease script in the game is disabled, as some players wrote about crashes due to it. But this might not be the case because of the script, as because of my changes. Now they are not there, but I disabled the script anyway. To enable it, go to data / campaigns / main / scripting and write true instead of false next to DeseaseScript.
One more important thing - when you play for Austria - don't go to Bohemia and Silesia at the beginning of campaign, and DON'T BEAT REBELS - let them to capture both provinces and then you can recapture them. If you beat rebels before they capture Bohemia and Silesia, there will be more and more rebellions, but if you let them to capture their provinces, the happiness of population will stabilize and there will no more rebellions after you recapture provinces.
Problems and solutions
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VDM doesn't work as it should. In the description, there is written: “When you make dip offer to AI, AI always looks at money offer, not for your military and economic strength. That's why you will get dip money (1 mln) that is used for script dip offers (when you see money offer with 1 mln). You can accept or decline these offers. Dip money that received AI will be taken from him." But in this mod, VDM simply offers all the money that faction has, and they do not receive. So if the mod makes such an offer, click on cancel. In general, I do not recommend agreeing to any deals that VDM makes because they make the game easier.
Before making a turn, you should open the icons in upper-left and choose somo options. The effects of your choices will appear at the next turn. If you can't open these icons - click on the government panel (crown) and then click on the question mark near the head of your leader. There will appear the advisor, close him and then you can open the icons. If you can't click the question mark(s) - call the advisor and close him.
There can be a CTD during the turn. This usually happens during Georgia's turn. I don't know why is it happens, but after restarting even the same autosave, the problem disappears.
Crashes during the game are also possible. If this happens, go to data / campaigns / main / scripting and put false next to DeseaseScript. If it doesn't help, put false in front of all the options in the same column.
First of all, I want to complete all the portraits and names for the characters, as well as somehow link them to specific factions, I don't quite know how yet. I also have to make technologies for the eastern factions.
There are also will be some improved units and maybe new units.
Then I plan to do a later campaign and a campaign more about colonization and to embody what the modders of original 1600AD wanted to make.
There is a folder Additional content, where are some sub-mods for smoke, blood, battle-map for 30 units, music etc. Just put them into data. The "Updated" folder will contain some new files, i'll write about updates.
I need your feedback, proposals and suggestions - i will accept any help with mod.
A small update that fixes a crash when loading a battle with Turkish Kapiculu, diplomacy was slightly updated (now the Crimean Khanate is more likely to attack Poland, Transylvania, Denmark and Sweden to attack Austria, and Spain and the Netherlands - to attack each other), some beginning technologies for Poland have been made already researched, as for other factions, and the technologies have also been slightly updated (the research of "locks" will take a little longer, France, England, the Netherlands and Sweden have more chances to research them faster to make it more historical). Also added mass fire to all "line" and some elite units.
Updated files are in the Updated folder. Drop colmod into data, and startpos into data / campaigns / main.
30 turns, sevaral land and naval battles and no major issues. Only a few CTD's when passing turn, but repeating the turn or going back one or two turns and problem solved.
I've made a small update of the startpos - in Spain there are more dissatisfied regions, a large (but not very) likelihood of an uprising in Jamaica and its transition to pirates. Also replaced the first tier forts with the second tier forts in France. In principle, it is not necessary to put the file.
A more important update concerns the construction time - it has been approximately doubled for all buildings - it is very desirable to set this, since the previous construction time is designed for 2 turns per year and by the middle of the campaign all buildings will already be erected.
As always, drop startpos into data / campaigns / main, the rest of the files on the date.
I noticed that the unit 'galleon' always appears in battle with only 16 guns instead of 60 and with around 90 sailors. But the units are new. In campaing map they have 60 guns, but in battle map that changes. Any ideas?
And I would like to suggest to add the 'Terço da Armada da Coroa de Portugal' to Portugal. They were created in 1621 and were marines.
I will try to fix the galleons, but i have little skills in changings naval units. I also have no skills in creating new units, i'm searching for modders, who can create and change units, but i found only one person who agreed to help and he don't have much time. So the units will not be soon.
Unfortunately, i couldn't fix the galleon, i don't know what's the problem. But i think, i will try to make this and some other units by compilation of different parts of units in mod. But this will not be soon.
I reuploaded an updated version of the mod: all previous fixes and updates are now in the mod file (data). Also very slightly reduced the negative effects of technologies on population growth and economics and increased the effects of technologies and buildings on population growth and economy profits. Slightly corrected the amount of ammunition of the infantry (increased to all the early ones, so that they would not rush into hand-to-hand combat), gave sabers to all early infantry, except for the militia, so that they could fight with sabers, and not with muskets. In addition, i've also added the ornamentum mod for Russian and Swedish units of the early 18th century.
Anyone who does not want to download everything there are the updated files in Updated folder (except for ornamentum), you can simply download them.
I've updated the mod again, changed battle flag of England to royal standard, increased starting money for Spain and Netherlands, added sabers to all infantry, except militia (i've added it in previous update, but it didn't work). Link is the same.
I really like the mod. One thing I am curious about though is if it is possible to add more of the factions to custom battles, specifically Bohemia and Circassia.
As i know, there is no possibilities to make emergent factions playable in custom battles, Moreover, for some reason there is no possibilities to make playable any other factions. Once i managed to do this, but the campaign didn't start, so i can only make another file only for custom battles.
As i know, there is no possibilities to make emergent factions playable in custom battles, Moreover, for some reason there is no possibilities to make playable any other factions. Once i managed to do this, but the campaign didn't start, so i can only make another file only for custom battles.
I think it's possible. Or at least, make an identical faction just for custom battles, because Imperial Destroyer and Imperial Splendour have managed it.
I don't know how though, I don't know enough about the coding and haven't checked myself.
Also, I'm glad to see that someone is still working on Colonialism. I love the idea of the mod, I'm downloading it now.
I was trying to make version without VDM, but it always crashes at the start of the campaign. I will make another campaign, where i will try to manage the goals of the original 1600AD, so it will be like "true" and complete Colonialism 1600AD, and there i will make VDM optional only. But it won't be soon.
Still, you can turn off some of scripts of VDM. Go to data / campaigns / main / scripting, find the column with scripts and put false next to all of them.
Also, did you edit the number of troops in an army? I'm getting tiny unit icons in my lower UI for some reason and it makes playing a bit harder. If this is for a 40 unit army it makes sense, but playing with small armies is a bit of a pain.
I'm having a much better time with an edited campaign script:
Could to tell what's the difference? I always play with most of these scripts and it's fine for me, but maybe there are some crucial changes.
I'm getting tiny unit icons in my lower UI for some reason and it makes playing a bit harder.
Yeah, i forgot to put vanilla UI there. But you can just go to data\ui\templates, there is a folder uied VANILA with 20 stacks, put file from there to data\ui\templates.
Btw, i've manages to fix number of guns of the galleon. I'm now working on some improvements of units, will upload on days.
Thank you. I think i'll abandon my vanilla game, it's unbalanced and i'm getting heavily beaten. It always seemed a bit complicated installing a mod for Empire, but Ill try soon
Have you made this stand alone or do you need the original beta 4 mod to play?
Last edited by Gaul; April 19, 2021 at 02:13 PM.
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