Advanced Soldier Tree / Commander Mod for Veteran Players

[Lorenzo.]

I get a warm fuzzy glow, at having helped an already excellent mod!!

Haha, it's people like you who are gonna prevent me from ever playing all the way through this mod! Time to drop the bardiche and start editing again!

meh, im working on my own mod so i wanted to add it to there, thanks
actually instead of adding 1 i ended up with 426 not 434
for some reason it does not show up in troop editor, it dont got a number next to it in item editor

The number of items in your index should be the value at the top of the file. If it doesn't show up, and since you have the item editor anyway, just bring up the original item_kinds1 and copy the guard helmet. Change the mesh reference to the one I gave you (barbutte), leave all the flags the same and edit the stats on the right to your liking. Save the file, start a new game, teleport around to different towns and you should see it there for sure.

Can you please write down troop threes? excellent mod btw, thanks.

OK, I want you to know this took me almost 2 hours to do.. heheh. Hope you like my crazy handwriting.

Think this calls for a spoiler!....

(click to show/hide)

Those are all the major ones.

New soldiers are written with red.

Note that all kingdoms have Prison Guards and executioners. Prison Guards are the guys you see in towns and castles guarding the dungeons. Each faction has their own. I just fixed the skill points to make them match and made them playable. All Executioners are the same, and any kingdom can get them.

There are some small trees (shrubs, if you will) that exist outside these major ones. I'll let you enjoy them for yourselves.. gotta leave some surprises for you!!

Time to get some rest before work. Thanks everyone

thank you very much, appreciate it

[Johnny Morphine]

You're welcome, of course.

Hey everyone, as I'm working on the update an important question keeps popping up:

We've already discussed here how certain high-level units from Native have minimal useful skill points, specifically the Swadian Sergeant - power strike and ironflesh 3, shield 4, and of course Swadians have no athletics. Compared to the Rhodok Sergeant (7 ironflesh, 5 power strike, 5 shield and 5 athletics and only a few less proficiency points) he's completely outclassed despite being a level higher than his Rhodok counterpart.

I'd like to get people's opinions on how or even if I should rectify this in the update. I'm asking this specifically because the update is intended to include two to four additional factions with entirely new troop trees, and as I design these troops I'll need to keep a decided  balancing system in mind.

Personally, I'm of the opinion that the Native trees as they stand are inherently unbalanced in most situations, and I wouldn't mind rectifying the issue to a degree further than that to which I've already done as I continue with the update. But the point of this post is to incite your own opinions, so I'm including a pole with this post so I can get some of your feedback. Go ahead and vote, and post your comments here on this thread.

I've got big things planned for this mod, and it wouldn't be as easy (or as fun) to complete if it weren't for fans of the game.

Cheers,
Johnny

[weim18]

You're welcome, of course.

Hey everyone, as I'm working on the update an important question keeps popping up:

We've already discussed here how certain high-level units from Native have minimal useful skill points, specifically the Swadian Sergeant - power strike and ironflesh 3, shield 4, and of course Swadians have no athletics. Compared to the Rhodok Sergeant (7 ironflesh, 5 power strike, 5 shield and 5 athletics and only a few less proficiency points) he's completely outclassed despite being a level higher than his Rhodok counterpart.

I'd like to get people's opinions on how or even if I should rectify this in the update. I'm asking this specifically because the update is intended to include two to four additional factions with entirely new troop trees, and as I design these troops I'll need to keep a decided  balancing system in mind.

Personally, I'm of the opinion that the Native trees as they stand are inherently unbalanced in most situations, and I wouldn't mind rectifying the issue to a degree further than that to which I've already done as I continue with the update. But the point of this post is to incite your own opinions, so I'm including a pole with this post so I can get some of your feedback. Go ahead and vote, and post your comments here on this thread.

I've got big things planned for this mod, and it wouldn't be as easy (or as fun) to complete if it weren't for fans of the game.

Cheers,
Johnny

Hey Johnny, I believe if you feel that there is unbalance between some of the troops . . . go ahead and make the change you feel would best enhance the gameplay.  I haven't played M&B as much as you or many others that are on this forum, yet I have read many people posting comments (on other threads) about how native has some balancing issues.  For what its worth, I say go ahead and make the changes you want, but don't leave it the same as native.  If there weren't any balancing problems, you wouldn't have made this poll.  Go for what you think will benefit the gaming experience.

Also, any more details on what you are thinking for factions?  I say the more the better ( I thought you had mentioned 4-6 new factions), that would be great.  I know you and your brother are working on this topic.  Again, I know nothing about modding, but I would be willing to shoot you any Ideas I have about possible factions/troops or more importantly (to me) different ideas about armor sets and helmets.  Let me know if you want any input . . . I've been thinking about this mod lately and think it has a ton of potential with what I've seen so far.  I believe we'd have similar ideas of what we think would look good.  Let me know if you want any help with ideas . . . if you don't, that's cool to.  Later 

[Johnny Morphine]

Thanks for your input, and yes, by all means, shoot any ideas you have right into this thread. I spent the day working with Python, trying to code a new type of weapon. This weapon's testing process resulted in something like this:


These aren't screenshots, but rather historical footage of the Great Flaming Looter War of 1422.

As you can see, I extensively tested this after a crash course in Python, and it's to the point that I can start making a game-functional weapon out of it. Exactly what it is, I'm saving for the release (or until someone convinces me otherwise --- whichever comes first)

Here are a few of the ideas I have for factions so far:

#1. A faction whose archers are riflemen, not bowmen or crossbowmen. Cavalry uses light horses and heavy armor. Character - order and authority.

#2. A faction that has minimal troops of its own, but recruits from the bandit tree. Character - unlawful chaos.

#3. A faction with no archers. Slow, heavy cavalry. Attack with fire. Character - Dark. We're talking Cosmic Chaos.

I have a loose concept for a Middle Eastern faction as well, but I'm not sure how it would add much to the game for its trouble. All these factions have tentative names/ lord concepts (such as signature personalities for some of the new lords, as well as signature weapons and quests for them).

*But here's the best part, and I've been looking for an excuse to announce this. Since this mod is a tribute to the game and its players more than anything, I'm recruiting lords from these forums. Meaning, readers of this thread can post here to be made into a lord in one of these factions. Just submit your character profile from the game and/or at least a general idea of a kind of lord you'd like to be in the game and the chances are you'll see your M&B character in one of those factions. Include favorite weapons, armor, equipment, personality, etc.

That's as much as I'm willing to reveal for one night. Just be sure that there'll be more info to come. Please go ahead and shoot me any ideas you have here. Potential lords welcome.

[drdoom151]

First of all, hell alot of respect man! This looks gorgeous!
Eager to try it out and again play M&B for days.

Problem is, Download link appears to be dead

[Johnny Morphine]

First of all, hell alot of respect man! This looks gorgeous!
Eager to try it out and again play M&B for days.

Problem is, Download link appears to be dead

That's bizarre. The download link was changed on Filefront's end. Why, I don't know. Perhaps ASTCM was too awesome for a short, clean-looking link.

Just edited the front page to fix the missing link. Here's new link for your convenience.

http://www.filefront.com/13917293/Advanced-Soldier-Tree-/-Commander-Mod-for-Veteran-Players-of-Mount--Blade-v.-1.011-and-1.010//

Thanks for letting me know!

[drdoom151]

Hey Johnny,
No probs mate, and thanks for putting up a new link for us all.
I've been playing your mod for about an hour now, and from what I've seen it's really a great mod to play when you're tired of the vanilla. This puts the choclate on the vanilla
Keep up the good work mate! looking forward to see more from you.

[Amman de Stazia]

the nativetroops are very unfinished, and the 'original' factions (Swadia, Vaegir, from early beta stages) are very much weaker than they ought to be.

I'd say, if you want a proper challenge and balanced troops, rip them out and start again, and invest the points towards the faction/branch specialty (eg vaegir ranged troops just get loaded power draw and power throw, Swadian cavalry get loaded powerstrike and riding, etc).

Equipment also needs looking at, though not quite so badly as stats.   I think too many troops are equipped for a particular 'look' - eg Vaegir knights and their helmets - rather than to reflect the logical load-out for that troop in that faction.

Of course, I suspect you're involving considerable 'background' story, whether you actually put that in the game or not, and it would be nice to see that the Swadians, with their advanced metal-working skills and highly devloped foundries, get the best metal stuff, whereas the Vaegirs with their tradition of bowying and fletching, get the best bows and arrows...

Just a rambling thought.


Family d'Stazia would be flattered to be included in the mod, but not at the expense of anyone more worthy!

[Johnny Morphine]

Seriously, thanks again drdoom151 for the heads up. You saved this project's credibility like no one else has by pointing that out. I'm glad you're digging the mod, too. I like your analogy.

Amman de Stazia, you've got some spot-on sweet ideas there. I always kept the specializations of the factions in mind, though I hadn't thought of it as consciously as you just did. I was thinking more in terms of units and their training than the technology each faction would have pioneered, but you're right when you gave the example of the obvious superiority in Swadian metallurgy. The Vaegirs obviously take the throne on ranged warfare. I'd have to find employable equivalents for each faction (which is a chore now, since I spent the entire morning/afternoon working on a physics problem for this mod, instead of sleeping), but it sounds like a beautiful direction. I could even take things a step further, if it doesn't kill me in the process, and open some of these technological assets up to the player in in return for good relations with the factions. Might be a little more than I wanted for this mod, but it's a good thought.

And you're right, I am actively thinking up a background story. I had one in mind for a few of the troops you're seeing now, actually. For example, the Vaegir Survivalists started to get a little Khergit equipment here and there. Why? Because instead of training with the army they went across the mountains to learn a little more about archery. And of course the Nords have a unit with a pistol - what other faction would, if not the Nords? They're the ones exploring. But that's all basic.

Of the prospective three new factions, there's one I intend to put the most of my time into. The reason I spent so much time with math today is because of the weaponry they use, which should force the player to re-strategize in a fashion he never thought he'd have to before. But the story should involve a claimant quest much unlike any of the others.

And speaking of the factions, I'm officially calling you the 1st lord to join one of them. Or a recruitable hero - since I'm relatively certain they're easy to create as well. But if you're a lord the game lets you have a wife or a daughter, so you could have some family in there as well. Write back with your thoughts - seriously, the fans of this game should be in it.

Ah, time for four hours of sleep, then it's back to the casino.... I work there. Yeah, what a drag... haha

[Amman de Stazia]

And speaking of the factions, I'm officially calling you the 1st lord to join one of them. Or a recruitable hero - since I'm relatively certain they're easy to create as well. But if you're a lord the game lets you have a wife or a daughter, so you could have some family in there as well. Write back with your thoughts - seriously, the fans of this game should be in it.

Thanks Johnny.   As far as character is concerned, I usually play a polearm/archer or polearm/ranged combo...   

This is 'Shadowlance' a character who was originally created for the 'Roleplay' on the forums...   He ends up married to a fiery Khergit noblewoman, and their son is a claimant to the Khergit empire.
 
"Shadowlance was one of Lucien's most experienced scouts.  He had lost count of the number of enemy to crumble beneath his broad-bladed axe, and had outlasted at least two hundred battle-trained horses during his decades with the all-conquering Lord Lucien.   Equally deadly with axe and javelin, he was proud of his new command - two hundred and fifty seasoned killers, each superbly mounted, and armed as well as a skirmisher could be.  Their job was to patrol the ravaged Swadian countryside ahead of the main army and make sure no nasty surprises lay in wait.

As the sun rose behind his left shoulder, he led his horse out of the treeline.   A good scout always dismounted for crests and treelines, and he was the best scout. "

...

"Shadowlance was beyond rage, and even his own scouts edged away from him.
You!!  He pointed to an archer from section one. 
That farmhouse you burnt before dawn - how far!?

The soldier stammerred A-an hour, sir!  T-two, if we go on foot...

WHAT ARE YOU BLOODY WHIMPERING FOR!!!!!????

The great axe swept up, and suddenly the stammer was cured.  Permanently.

You are Geroians!  When your brothers die, nobody cries!  You AVENGE them!   If I hear one more wretch blubbering, I'll sell him to the Sea Raiders!   And I'll sell him as a woman!!"

[drdoom151]

Seriously, thanks again drdoom151 for the heads up. You saved this project's credibility like no one else has by pointing that out. I'm glad you're digging the mod, too. I like your analogy.

No problem mate

I spent the entire morning/afternoon working on a physics problem for this mod, instead of sleeping

Have you thought of recruiting some people to your "team" ? They would take quite some work from your shoulders.(Considering you work in a casino which takes quite some energy)


As to Amman de Stazia:
Wow mate! you got some awesome stuff there, you sure as hell have an eye for detail

Cheers
DrDoom151

[Johnny Morphine]

Seconded. Decent stuff Amman de Stazia. You've got high potential for very interesting NPC. We can talk more about this later since there's obviously time, but if you've got a face code handy, a preferred NPC function / new faction preference, or a specific weapon/skill set, you can post it whenever you like. Or wait until we have the new equipment ready - it looks like there's gonna be a lot. Which brings me to drdoom151's question:

I wouldn't say I'm "recruiting," but I'll take volunteers from this thread without hesitation. I'd be most interested in modelers, since I'm looking to get as much original (repeat: original) material into this mod as possible since that's the best way to give the game an entirely updated look. Weapons and armor, most specifically, but also scenery and castle designs would be much appreciated. Two of the new factions, the bandit one (who I'm tentatively calling the Satyrnian Confederacy) and the authority-oriented one (now known to me as the Kingdom of Laerte) are fairly straightforward in concept, and I'd expect anyone to be able to grasp the basic ideas of them. The Satyrnians would employ non-traditional weaponry such as bolas and grappling hooks (both of which I've got concept art and functionality designs for) and use a variety of other equipment and armor. Architecture would be somewhat traditional, but more makeshift and improvised. The Laerteans would use a lot of shiny metal (perhaps darker materials for elite guards), firearms, swords and shields. Castles and towns would be clean and intentionally presentable. The third faction, The Sphere of Azathoth, I'd expect very few to really grasp enough to design creatively, so I'm handling that one myself (I've even got some original music ready for their territory). I've got a very distinct concept for them, along with concept art and equipment laid out.

But anything good that any modeler can come up with, will probably find its way into the game, especially concerning equipment. I'd like to give options for all tastes, and that's the best way to do it.

New bandits and roaming NPC concepts would also help. I'm sure people have more ideas for hardcore bandits than just sea raiders, anyway. Seriously, aren't we all sick of our companions being uniformly equipped with Nordic helmets early game?

I'm looking also to require the player to make his own banner, instead of stealing one from another lord. The banner customization kits I've seen so far haven't really impressed me, and like I said I'd rather be adding original material to the game instead of having to give credit where we could have done it ourselves. So if anyone can beat me to that part of the code, let me know and I'll graciously accept it if it's good.

Really, any types of suggestions are always welcome, too, and we'll see what comes of them.

'bout covers it. So get the neurons firing (with or without chemical assistance)

[Amman de Stazia]

this is the 'character file' for shadowlance...


Tall, but not exceptionally so, but a brilliant physique.  Muscular, broad-shouldered and slim-hipped.  Whole body laced with scars, although his face remains only lightly marked.
Streaks of grey through his red hair and beard.
Speaks Calradian with an accent somewhere between the Sea Raider and Geroian accents....
Speaks Khergit with an atrociously bad accent, but at the same time with an astonishingly good grasp of slang and dialect that is used in the centre and west of the Steppes.  (Comes from being married to one...)

An exceptionally good javelin-thrower, and very seldom seen without a massive, ugly battle axe that he handles as delicately as a sweet lover....
Latterly inherited the Barony of Dhorak from the last of the Black Knight Barons, with whom he was sworn blood-brother.
 
Strength            15 
Agility                12
Intelligence        15 
Charisma          12
 
tactics               6 plenty of experience in all arts of war
horsemanship    3   competent but no genius
Powerstrike       5
Powerthrow       5
spotting             6  genius scout, remember....?




Weapon skills:
Javelin             210
large axe          19
Sword              140
spear/lance       170
other ranged     30



Equipment:
Nine jarid-quality javelins, carried in a beautifully crafted backpack.
The axe.
A short, sleeveless mail shirt over a thigh-length leather coat reinforced with iron studs.  Mail chausses and a bracer/targe mutant thingy for his left forearm.***
A Nordic helmet, slightly better quality than most despite being old and unkempt.
Someone else's horse (he tends to steal them quite regularly)


*** PS that's an idea for a new item: A pair of gauntlets where the LEFT gauntlet is extended back to a forearm-targe.  Large body-armour bonus...
 

[weim18]

Thanks for your input, and yes, by all means, shoot any ideas you have right into this thread. I spent the day working with Python, trying to code a new type of weapon. This weapon's testing process resulted in something like this:


These aren't screenshots, but rather historical footage of the Great Flaming Looter War of 1422.

As you can see, I extensively tested this after a crash course in Python, and it's to the point that I can start making a game-functional weapon out of it. Exactly what it is, I'm saving for the release (or until someone convinces me otherwise --- whichever comes first)

Here are a few of the ideas I have for factions so far:

#1. A faction whose archers are riflemen, not bowmen or crossbowmen. Cavalry uses light horses and heavy armor. Character - order and authority.

#2. A faction that has minimal troops of its own, but recruits from the bandit tree. Character - unlawful chaos.

#3. A faction with no archers. Slow, heavy cavalry. Attack with fire. Character - Dark. We're talking Cosmic Chaos.

I have a loose concept for a Middle Eastern faction as well, but I'm not sure how it would add much to the game for its trouble. All these factions have tentative names/ lord concepts (such as signature personalities for some of the new lords, as well as signature weapons and quests for them).

*But here's the best part, and I've been looking for an excuse to announce this. Since this mod is a tribute to the game and its players more than anything, I'm recruiting lords from these forums. Meaning, readers of this thread can post here to be made into a lord in one of these factions. Just submit your character profile from the game and/or at least a general idea of a kind of lord you'd like to be in the game and the chances are you'll see your M&B character in one of those factions. Include favorite weapons, armor, equipment, personality, etc.

That's as much as I'm willing to reveal for one night. Just be sure that there'll be more info to come. Please go ahead and shoot me any ideas you have here. Potential lords welcome.

Johnny, your thread got me pumped up just reading it.  So this post might be a bit long . . . but, like I said I've been thinking about your mod and I have some ideas to throw at you.  So the faction with the dark appeal has to be my favorite.  It would be great to see some dark riders like the mates from the link I posted previously for you on youtube (i.e. the guys with the black armor and black great winged helmets with colored feathers of the factions accent color/banner).  A lord for this faction could have a look similar to this armor:

http://www.millenniumfalcon.com/episode3_JRGrievous_willowhomage_GeneralKael1.jpg

This is actually the general from the movie Willow.  I'm not sure if you remember this movie, but it has some great concepts I would like to throw at you.  So the guy in the picture could be a Lord for the Dark faction, but here is a twist.  I think it would be cool to try an implement (I haven't seen this yet), but this faction could have a general that is constantly trying to steal control of the faction . . . like a "Starscream" (second in command) incomparison to the guy I pictured who would be like a "Megatron" (leader) from the old Transformers cartoon.  The guy second in command would be just a bastard on the battlefield, with exceptional skill, yet lacking the proper skill to be a great leader.  This could lead to some story line within the faction.

Johnny . . . I'll get back to you soon with the rest of the ideas, but I need to step away from the computer for a bit.  To be continued . . . soon . . .   

edit: the damn link to the picture didn't work.  I'll figure it out for you a bit later or just copy the link address into your web browser to see the pic.  Sorry

   

[Johnny Morphine]

Thought I'd try to get a real quick response to everyone who posted -

Amman, the gauntlet idea is genius. I don't think I'd have thought of that myself. This guy is totally in the game. I'm not sure if or even how spotting is used by lords - I think spotting of non-player-party npcs have their spotting scale slightly with the player. I started looking to that earlier, then got sidetracked then had to sleep. But I always thought it would be cool for other lords to have party skills like spotting, pathfinding, and first aid, etc. I also wanted to make regular troops that have training - - - we'll find out to what extent these things can be made useful later on in the week.

weim18: I remember Willow. One of my favorite movies when I was a kid. I wasn't planning that exact look for that faction, but I was planning to include armor like that in the game, probably some powerful outlaws.
Here's a spoiler - Sphere's claimant quest is going to come from one of its own lords. You can I think similarly sometimes, I can see that. Here's the first currently on-line example of that faction's appearance I could think of (don't have my art scanned yet)

(click to show/hide)

Time for me to get to work. Later