Working download link for newest EB, pre-"Finale" for BI (i.e. v1.21a)? Please help!

[Rottmeister]

After years I came back to EB, but apparently the newest version (v1.3 Finale) seems to have some problems still and comes with its own share of bugs (and development seemes to have come to halt recently?). Besides, it apparently only works with Alexander(?), but I only have BI (this is stupid anyway: I have the retail-/CD-version of RomeTW plus BI, entered the activation code in steam and thus received the "Rome Total War Collection" which, however, only includes RomeTW and BI but not Alex - at the same time, I now have no option anymore to buy Alex, as if Steam thinks it´s already included in the Collection; apparently I´m not the only one with that problem, neither..)
Anyway - I am therefore desperately looking for a working download link for the most recent stable version of EB before v1.3 (so that I don´t require Alex) - seems to me that this would be v1.21a (because v1.21 b and c apparently were not that stable), but I´m not sure. I can only find working links to v1.1 and the 1.2 update (and some submods, but again, the crucial one "v1.11 for EB 1.2" became part of the official EB and is not availyble anymore, or rather, only in its most recvent incarnation as v1.3/Finale..).
Or else - is v1.3 without the "Finale"-patch (in case I can use it with BI only to begin with) no less stable as the old v1.21 and would be a decent (and more recent) substitute?

On a side note, I also would be grateful for general tipps about sub-mods/mini-mods for EB - maybe it´s possible to whip up a nice combination of minimods based on v1.2 which would provide a similar experience? Any recommendations?

Thank you very much for any help!

[mamik_yev_konak]

Hi there. I have not tried the most recent updates to EB, but the classic EB 1.2 still works fine. In fact, we still us it in the competitive EB scene (still alive). The old EB page still lists them: https://www.europabarbarorum.com/EB1/downloads_mod.html

I packaged the bug fixes for EB 1.2 long ago into a convenient installer, linked to on this page: https://ebmultiplayer.com/setup (they were previously shared as zip files on a forum thread started by the EB team)

Good luck!

[Rottmeister]

Thank you for your reply - didn´t think it would happen that quickly, forum seems quite lifeless...

Yes, an installation of EB 1.2, with Jirisys´MegaMod Pack (v1.0.2), RS-Environments for EB, Pulchra Mors 2 and Extended Unit Info Mod on top is what I currently play, and I quite enjoy it. However, there seem to be some minor problems, like Rome and Karthadastim being caught in a seemingly endless loop of declaring war to each other in one round, ceasefire in the next, and so on. - I believe there´s such a message in literally every single turn... Nothing serious, but keeps me wondering whether everything works sort of allright... I´m also not sure if my current instalation really is the pinnacle of what´s possible regarding campaign AI - playing as Hayasdan (H/M), and I quite frequently see singular enemy (i.e. Seleukid) units (single family members, too) travelling across the map in rather close distance to each other, without unifying to a larger stack, but very well sometimes large stacks breaking into smaller stacks and single units after a while (might be a matter of difficulty level, and I think about restarting, choosing VH/M or VH/H this time; but still...) Maybe over the years I just forgot about "standard quirks" of RomeTW that can´t be done anything against, who knows..
Jirisys´submod is rather "well-established" and known, but I wonder if another submod, like b0Gia de Bodemloze´s "Europa Barbarorum Release 1.11 for EB 1.2" would possibly be just a notch better - after all, it was that one that later was included into the official EB to become EB1.21 (a, b and c, i.e. developed even further). I just find it difficult to believe that a somewhat buggy, beta-ish official release (v1.3+) actually has completely replaced a somewhat older, but stable version that was state-of-the-art for several years (1.21 IIRC?), without the latter to be found ANYWHERE anymore...

Jirisys´submod includes "EB 1.2 Official Script, Sprite and EDB fixes"; b0Gia de Bodemloze´s (lost) submod also includes "1.2 Europa Barbarorum Fixes" (presumably the same as in Jirisys´?), but also "1.2 Europa Barbarorum b0Gia Fixes (I fixed many bugs from the earlier versions of EB)" - sounds quite promising... And then there´s also that "Most popular mod and sub-mod winner"-thingy. Can´t have been such a bad release...
The EB1.2-fixes that you´ve posted, do you happen to know if it´s the same as in Jirisys´, or has it been expanded upon?

How is it with v1.3 (without the "Finale"-Patch) - could I use that with BI only? Recommendable or buggy as well (or to put it differently - is the "Finale" patch mostly additions only, or also includes crucial bug fixes for 1.3)?

You now made me somewhat curious for EB multiplayer anyhow...

Futher hints greatly appreciated!

[mamik_yev_konak]

I cannot speak past EB 1.2, as I have not engaged with those updates. If I'm not mistaken, the EB 1.2 bug fixes I posted are also the ones incorporated in JEBMMP, since his mod pack is an expansion of my earlier submod collection. I will refer this thread to him and see if he has time to respond.

Please feel free to join our multiplayer community, even if only to lurk or have a chat!

P.S. The latest classic version of EB is 1.2, not 1.21 (that and the 1.3 series came far after the old team left).

[Rottmeister]

Thank you again for your post, and for redirecting the thread to Jirisys!
Didn´t come across any further major bugs so far, but this persisting Romani-Karthadastim-problem is rather irritating - they just "can´t make up their mind"... This is not standard behaviour on v1.2, or is it? Maybe it´s a problem with the diplomacy mod... It´s at least 10 years ago that I´ve played EB (or Rome TW for that matter), but can´t remember this to be an issue back then; and I´m also quite sure that it was some version beyond plain v1.2 then (v1.1 installer, v1.2 installer and then something), that´s why I come back to 1.21 (or 1.2xy) time and again, "classic" or not...
Anyway, maybe I try another submod after finishing the current campaign just for comparison, or I set up a WinXP computer to be able to play the retail version including Alex (ridiculous that this would apparently be the only way... stooopid Steam...) and then try 1.3+ or Jirisys´1.03. And I definitely will have a look at EB multi as well! Would like to just copy the RomeTW-folder to have two separate installations (for example for multiplayer), but since I have to start the game via Steam (I can only start vanilla RomeTW with desktop shortcuts; for Barbarian Invasion I need to right-click on "play" in the steam library and manually choose Barbarian Invasion *rolleyes*), I don´t think this would work with more than one copy...


But yeah, further help/hints/download links still greatly appreciated!:
1.) working download link for EB 1.21+ but before v1.3? (especially b0Gia de Bodemloze´s "Europa Barbarorum Release 1.11 for EB 1.2", but others as well?)
2.) does EB 1.3 (without the "Finale"-Patch) also work with BI only, i.e. without Alex? And if yes, is 1.3 without "Finale"-patch an okayish, stable version or does it lack important fixes then?
3.) in my current playthrough (1.2 on BI and Diplomacy Mod) the Romani and Karthadastim almost every turn either have a DOW or a ceasefire, back and fro... - any ideas on this issue?

4.) basically, I´m just looking for the "best" currently possible EB-experience (without having Alex) - any tips for stable and recommendable custom mod setups in general, combinations of mini-mods or so (wouldn´t mind having to edit some files as well...)?

Thank you!

[jirisys]

Hi,

If you want EB 1.2, you can use the links in the official website. https://www.europabarbarorum.com/EB1/downloads_mod.html
The EB 1.2 fixes are official fixes from the EB team.
I would recommend, for a clean experience, to just install the JEBMMP 1.1 Alpha (https://jebmmp.jorellaf.com/downloads/alpha-build/), since it includes some additional fixes along with ExTSO (https://jebmmp.jorellaf.com/extso/). If you want the cleanest cleanest version, just get ExTSO.
ExTSO may requiring some fiddling around with the files you need to have in sp game edu backup/common, so be warned.
If you want to use JEBMMP 1.0.2 (1.0.3 is Alex-only), you can, and you can add ExTSO on top, but be mindful that you might not be able to play MP unless you set up the sp game edu backup files correctly.
Let me know if you have any more questions.

~Jirisys ()