Deus lo Vult 2.0 LIVE and Reporting for Duty! March 2, 2007

[derdrakken]

Repman's Deus lo Vult 2.0

Available right here: http://www.twcenter.net/forums/downl...o=file&id=1122

"We few, we happy few, we band of brothers...for whoever downloads and plays Deus lo Vult 2.0 this day will be my brother." -- Henry V (if he could have played DLV 2.0)

We have a cog-load of new features in the latest, greatest, juiciest installment of Deus lo Vult ever!

New DLV 2.0 features:

New Tokus*Maximus Artwork
Tokus has crafted new Heraldic ancillaries for all Regions (vanilla and Big Map expanded), Swords, Crowns and Royal Banners, and Banners for the Heraldic Rank System (Catholic, Greek and Islamic). These are beautiful in game…here’s a screenie:



Heraldic Rank System Expanded
The Heraldic Rank System has been expanded to now include Byzantine, Moors, Egyptian and Turkish factions. All European factions (including Russian) were included in the 1.9 release. Byzantine and Islamic factions have unique rank names. They receive their banners (Imperial Army Banner or Banner of the Prophet) at Rank 4 (Knight Commander equivalent) which provides a nice morale boost to their army. Also, promotions to the next rank for all factions can now be had through victory on the battlefield in addition to time campaigning.


Rank hath its privileges...now for Byzantine and Islamic factions too

Command Experience
by Oda Nobunaga. Generals now have a trait that records number of battles in which they have led the army. Generals which have never or seldom led an army in battle get Authority and Hit Point penalties (they don't know how to handle themselves on the battlefield..."My liege, don't ride in front of the archers when they're firing...Doh!"). This trait improves by commanding more battles. Royal heirs who just sit in their castles waiting to be crowned King start off with an Authority penalty as a result..."get out there and lead boy!"

New Promotions for Heraldic Rank System
Promotions to the next rank can now come through three means (vs. just one in DLV1.9): Campaign Experience (time in the saddle), Heroic Victory (%chance), Command Experience (more battles where led, higher % chance of promotion). Here's a screenie that gives the full description of the Heraldic Rank System in DLV2.0:


Heraldic Rank System de-mystified

DLV Garrisons
All settlements now raise garrisons for their defense when besieged, depending on the faction owner. In fact, every settlement has a unique garrison scheme. The garrison is raised at the time an invading army lays siege so having a spy open the gates or bringing up your own siege equipment does not bypass the garrison. This simulates the idea that the feudal system was basically a system for defense (standing armies being very expensive) and on the approach of an invading army, the knights, yeomanry and peasantry in the settlement and surrounding countryside rally to the defense. The size of the garrison depends not only on the importance of the settlement but the local zeal of the citizenry. [I’ll use the English faction to illustrate.]
Garrison sizes:
·Great Cities (including capitols): 12+ companies; cost 4000 Florins [London]
·Homelands (usually starting regions for the faction): 9+ companies; cost 3000 Florins [Nottingham, Caen]
·Strongly Aligned: 6+ companies; cost 2000 Florins [York, Southampton]
·Weakly Aligned: 3+ companies; cost 1000 Florins [Wales, Southern Ireland, Rennes (Brittany), Burges]
Since raising garrisons comes at a cost, there's no advantage in letting the AI factions besiege one of your home cities to spawn a garrison...and you still lose the income from that city while it's under siege.


Before: Bonnie Prince Edward marches on Nottingham defended by 8 English companies


After: 9 more English companies join in the defense as Prince Edward's Scots lay siege -- this all occurs during the same turn

Alexandria, Cairo, Edessa, Jerusalem, Antioch…those are all “Great Cities,” so crusading armies’ victories will be hard won. Garrisons are generated only once per siege (at the instant the settlement is besieged), but will respawn if the siege is broken and the city is besieged again later (more defenders pour in from the hinterlands). Garrisons usually consist of early-era units to simulate every able bodied (and some not so able bodied) man being pressed into action. However that doesn’t mean they’ll be a pushover…Constantinople has two hardened companies of Varangian Guards as part of the garrison that will defend the city for the Emperor.

With this system, taking a border settlement will be no great task, but matters will be decidedly more difficult as an invading army drives into an enemy heartland. Using the English again as an example, the garrison only turns out in London when held by the English faction. Any other faction holds the city as an occupying army and must provide for its defense per usual. Border settlements may rally garrisons for multiple factions. York for example, is weakly aligned with Scotland. So if the Scots take York, they will receive a small garrison to defend it if besieged. Iberia is a mess of divided loyalties, so on the Iberian Peninsula settlements receive garrisons whether owned by Moors, Spain or Portugal. A few settlements get rebel garrisons if they were historically hard to subdue regions (Wales, Ireland, Valencia), but in general I’ve steered clear of rebel garrisons so that the AI factions can expand properly…I’d rather have the player face strong primary factions. The garrison script owes much to Niko’s Hard Mod garrison script, but has been streamlined to keep the overhead low.

Crowns and Royal Banners
The “Faction Leader” and “Faction Heir” traits have been changed to confer only a Personal Security benefit. Command, Authority, Piety, Morale, etc. benefits are now conferred by the Crown and Royal Banner. Both the Faction Leader and Heir receive a Royal Banner ancillary at time of promotion (the Heir keeps the one he has when promoted to Faction Leader). The Royal Banner confers a morale bonus, and possibly other goodies depending on faction (the Russian royal banner gives a movement bonus to speed crossing those wide expanses).


Heavy lies the head that wears the crown...

Crowns have unique names and benefits per faction. The French king wears the Crown of Charlemagne. For the player (only), the Faction Leader must end his turn in the faction’s original capitol to be crowned. The new English king would have to return to London, the French king to Paris, etc. Since I can’t teach the AI to do this, new AI Faction leaders have a % chance each turn to be crowned King (Emperor, Caliph, etc.) If you lose your original capitol, you can’t have new kings crowned until you retake it. If you destroy an enemy faction, your faction leader can take its crown by ending his turn in its former capitol (Catholic Kings [+Russia] can take Catholic crowns, Islamic leaders can take Islamic crowns…only the Greeks can be Byzantine Emperor). You might also take a faction’s crown if you take its capitol and its new faction leader has not yet been crowned…all sorts of interesting possibilities open: “Hey, Louis, I’ve got your capitol and your crown…come take it back.” NOTE: leaving your king uncrowned can lead to rebellion! (Can trigger the "Offensive to Nobles" trait from Blood, Broads and Bastards! 1.9)

Command Star Bonus for AI Generals
For AI generals only a new trait -- Student of Warfare. This gives new AI generals (Coming of Age or Married In) a 0-5 Command Bonus with highest probability being +2 or +3. Now you won't be running into an endless stream of 0 command AI generals.

Legendary Swords
Twenty new legendary sword ancillaries for your generals to wield including Mohammed's swords Al-Battar "the Beater", Dhu'l Fakar "the Trenchant", Halef "the Deadly", and Medham "the Keen"; El Cid's swords Colada and Tizona; and Charlemagne's Joyeuse. Swords can be taken from enemy generals defeated in battle or inherited from a father that has shuffled off this mortal coil. One restriction, a general can only possess one legendary sword at a time. More role playing goodness than ever before.


Another reason I need to take Valencia...

More Mercenaries!
We've adjusted the merc recruiting files so now you'll be able to hire more advanced and more interesting mercenaries sooner in the game. Welsh longbows are available at game start...just one example.


Welsh Longbowmen looking for work? I have a job for them.

Assassin and Spy Network Costs
Assassins and spies now cost 500 Florins per turn when operating outside of friendly territory. This represents bribes to petty officials, pay offs to the gate guards, palm greasing of informants, gratuities for traitors and other sundry expenses incurred when operating in unfriendly territory. Might still be a good investment to send a spy ahead into a target settlement to shorten the siege...and then maybe not. More choices for thee.

New Family Portraits
New portraits for Greek, Middle Eastern and Northern European families (Southern and Eastern European use the new portraits from DLV1.9).


Oh, what a handsome family.

Metropolises
Only starting capitols can grown into the highest level castles and cities. So collect as many as you can.

Growing Settlement Penalty
The player incurs increasing costs per settlement as the settlements increase in size. For settlements: level 1 -50fl, level 2 -100fl, level 3 -200fl, level 4 -400fl, level 5 -800fl (only cities have a level 5). This simulates the greater amount of graft, waste and corruption as cities expand.

Misery and Misfortune
Generals in the field can fall prey to illness from the rigors of campaigning. Generals with the trait "Hypochondriac" fall ill more often, while those with Hale and Hearty traits seem never to fall ill. Disease carries with it command, movement and fertility penalties. Generals can recover from illness, particularly if they seek out a settlement for treatment and recuperation. In addition, wives can experience difficult births which can decrease their chances of ever having another child. And sometimes couples have no children for some reason known only to the Almighty.

Armed Insurrections
Keep your capitol city, and any captured capitols, happy (green face). If the happiness falls to yellow or lower, you could soon be facing an armed insurrection from a strong rebel army in that capitol's province.

More Events!
We've created new events, new event graphics by Tokus and retooled the event timing so more happens when the game is still interesting...a little ahistorical but a lot more fun. DLV2.0 starts in 1180, the Mongols arrive in ~1210 (~turn 60), the Black Plague in ~1270 (~turn 180) and the third great scourge, the Timurids, shortly thereafter.


Deus lo Vult!

New Loading Screens
We've taken the best of the loading screens from DLV1.9 and added a new batch to enhance your DLV interregnal viewing experience.

Latest Work from Renowned Total War Modders
DLV 2.0 includes first-class mod components from some of the community's top modders:

Spurius' Big Map v1.06 (with land bridges eliminated)
Darth Vader's Open Source 20
Grand Viz's Ultimate AI v1.3
Dearmad's and Pnutmaster's Blood, Broads & Bastards! v1.9

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Features from DLV 1.9:

Heraldic Rank System
Available for European Factions (Squire-Knight-Knight Banneret-Knight Commander-Knight Grand Cross)
a. Ranks of low station (Squire & Knight) have negative morale effect
b. Knight Bannerets and above get positive traits and Banners with positive morale boost -- 54 unique banner ancillaries by Tokus*Maximus: 40 for Knight Bannerets, 10 for Knight Commanders, 4 for Knights Grand Cross
c. Epithets for Knight Commanders and KGCs

Campaign Experience
Characters get campaign experience for ending turn outside settlements...full experience in enemy lands, partial experience in friendly lands. Greater campaigning gives greater positive trait bonuses. "Coming of age" characters start as "inexperienced campaigners" with negative traits.

Field Army Costs
So why not keep your generals in the field all the time so they can gain campaign experience? Because it costs cold hard florins. Armies in enemy territory can cost a king's ransom, particularly if they are besieging. Here are the costs:
a. Besieging Army costs 2000fl + 500fl each additional Named General beyond the first
b. Army in Enemy Territory costs 500fl + 500fl each additional Named General beyond the first
c. Army in Friendly Territory (outside a settlement) costs 200fl +200fl each additional Named General beyond the first
d. Army in Fort (captain-led) zero cost (so you can set up forts on the frontier as a defensive strategy)
e. Army in Fort led by Named General costs 500fl (enemy lands) or 200fl (friendly lands) +500/200 for each additional Named General beyond the first

Heraldic Title Ancillaries
(Duke, Earl, Count, Caliph, etc.) ancillaries for all Big Map 1.06 regions. Each Heraldic Title has associated traits...some good, some bad. Keep your eyes on the King of Jerusalem...he's itching to rebel.

Age Mod
By GAFH modder, with some DLV twists. Characters lose initiative (movement points) as they age (god, I know I do). Of course young characters have the least campaign experience and lowest heraldic ranks...so there are benefits to the wisdom age brings. Characters are also more likely to have children when young.

Customized Unit Building Tree
Only first level cavalry (hobilars, scouts, mounted sergeants, etc. and dismounted units) are available from the castle sans stable. Higher level cavalry require appropriate stables to be built.

New Family Portraits
New wife, son & daughter portraits for European factions. (In DLV2.0 these are the portraits for Southern and Eastern European factions.)



More DLV 1.9 features:
1. Two turns per year (winter and summer)
2. All factions playable except Timurids, Aztecs and slaves
3. More effective and active rebels
4. Tech tree: doubled building times (for 2 turns per year), higher lvl markets need paved roads, higher lvl smiths need resource iron, higher level siege/cannon need higher level smith
5. Historical faction names
6. Special win conditions; factions have specific goals
7. Survival money infusion for small factions
8. Shield Wall special ability for many infantry units (thanks to YogiBear)

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Installation
· IMPORTANT: Make sure there is no DLV_ext folder in your Medieval II Total War folder before attempting to install
· Not save compatible with DLV1.9 or earlier versions
· Your original M2TW files will not be changed, DLV2.0 creates a seperate installation path
· Execute file Deus_lo_Vult_2_0_Install.exe and enter the correct path for the installation; Example: C:\Program Files\SEGA\Medieval II Total War
· The automatic setup creates a desktop icon, a program icon and an uninstall option
· To start the game doubleclick
------->on the Deus lo Vult 2.0 desktop icon
------->or the program icon
------->or the Launch_DLV_ext.bat in the path C:\Program Files\SEGA\Medieval II Total War (default path...you may have changed this to your custom path during installation)

Problems: if the first time you start a campaign you fall back to the menu -> exit the game, delete the file map.rwm in the path DLV_ext\data\world\base
and restart the game

Game Play Hints
· Warning -- this mod is for experienced players
· Be patient first time you start a campaign, M2TW needs to build the map file
· When the king dies, you must get the heir to your original capitol to be crowned king...exception is the Mongols. Mongol leader has 33% chance of receiving crown each turn.
· Having a low Authority heir ascend to the throne is an invitation for rebellion - get him some combat command experience, symbols of Authority, and pray...
· You might also want to end with all your generals in settlements turn 1 so they will receive their noble titles
· Developing your economy is critical...running a budget deficit can cause your nobles to rebel!
· Avoid multifront wars, use diplomacy more than war or you will quicly go bankrupt
· Young characters have higher movement points, but older ones have more influence or similar positive qualities
· You can cross the ocean at any time with normal boats
· Playing mongols you have only a small expeditionary force and must survive until the main invasion force arrives
· The Aztecs have an AI/movement freeze until discovered.
· Try to have fun out there...it's a game after all...Deus lo Vult!

Sincerest thanks to all the folks who have contributed to Deus lo Vult

Repman (the "Creator")
Tokus*Maximus (Artist Maximus Augustus)
Spurius
Dearmad
Pnutmaster
GrandViz
Darth Vader
Oda Nobunaga
Niko
Renown
GAFH Modder
YogiBear
Rawghi
Lusted
Hanny
Epistolary Richard
Xerces
Marcus Camillus
Burebista
Shaba Wangy
Johan217
Sinuhet
Kobal2
Lt 1956
DariusEG
Zephs

And a big thanks to the folks at Total War Center for hosting Deus lo Vult!

Cheers!

Der Drakken