Aeon221
Sergeant at Arms
FOR USE WITH M&B WARBAND V 1.13
THE NEW VERSION WILL NOT BREAK SAVES MADE WITH THE OLD VERSION
Download link: http://www.mbrepository.com/file.php?id=1829
Contents: Zip folder that contains pike&blade readme, party_templates.txt, troops.txt
Short Description:
The primary goal, more important than anything else, is to develop infantry into a more versatile and interesting arm of the various faction armies without ditching the faction themes. In other words, Rhodoks are still Rhodoks, just more so!
While each of the factions has received new units, the number has been kept low. Units have only been added if they remained true to the faction's theme (like the Rhodok Pikemen and Boardmen, who jointly fill separate elements of the old Rhodok Spearman's role) while filling a new and interesting niche (like the light infantry skirmishers of the Nords, or the offensively potent but poorly armored Rhodok Macemen), or if they provided an essential balacing element (like the Sarranid and Swadian Squires, offensively potent t5 2h sword footmen who are now the only path on the road to the t6 Swadian Knights and Mamelukes). No fluff units, new textures or scripts have been added.
This mod is intended for players who like using lots of cav and wish the other factions were a legitimate threat as opposed to a speed bump, or for players who enjoy fighting with infantry armies, but dislike how under-developed, weak and tactically uninteresting they feel in Vanilla -- in other words, people who think "hide on a hill and fire arrows at them" shouldn't be the last word in infantry tactics.
Feel free to download, try, and tell me it's ****!
Tools to do it yourself:
Troop Editor: http://forums.taleworlds.com/index.php/topic,34154.0.html
TXT Tools: http://forums.taleworlds.com/index.php/topic,105928.0.html
TweakMB: http://forums.taleworlds.com/index.php/topic,101731.0.html
The full freakin list: http://forums.taleworlds.com/index.php/topic,108292.0.html
A note to other modders:
THE NEW VERSION WILL NOT BREAK SAVES MADE WITH THE OLD VERSION
Download link: http://www.mbrepository.com/file.php?id=1829
Contents: Zip folder that contains pike&blade readme, party_templates.txt, troops.txt
Short Description:
The primary goal, more important than anything else, is to develop infantry into a more versatile and interesting arm of the various faction armies without ditching the faction themes. In other words, Rhodoks are still Rhodoks, just more so!
While each of the factions has received new units, the number has been kept low. Units have only been added if they remained true to the faction's theme (like the Rhodok Pikemen and Boardmen, who jointly fill separate elements of the old Rhodok Spearman's role) while filling a new and interesting niche (like the light infantry skirmishers of the Nords, or the offensively potent but poorly armored Rhodok Macemen), or if they provided an essential balacing element (like the Sarranid and Swadian Squires, offensively potent t5 2h sword footmen who are now the only path on the road to the t6 Swadian Knights and Mamelukes). No fluff units, new textures or scripts have been added.
This mod is intended for players who like using lots of cav and wish the other factions were a legitimate threat as opposed to a speed bump, or for players who enjoy fighting with infantry armies, but dislike how under-developed, weak and tactically uninteresting they feel in Vanilla -- in other words, people who think "hide on a hill and fire arrows at them" shouldn't be the last word in infantry tactics.
Feel free to download, try, and tell me it's ****!
V3.5 (5/01/2010)
How to install:
1. Navigate to your Mount and Blade Warband directory
2. Open the folder that says Modules
3. Copy the folder that says Native
4. Paste it into the Module folder with a different name (like Pike and Blade, or Random Stupid Mod)
5. Copy all the files in the Pike&Blade zip
6. Paste them into the folder you created and named in steps 3 and 4
7. Open Mount and Blade Warband's launcher
8. Select the folder you pasted the Pike&Blade files into
9. Launch and enjoy
Forum Thread: http://forums.taleworlds.com/index.php/topic,110114.0.html
Download Page: http://www.mbrepository.com/file.php?id=1829
Includes (see forum thread for more details):
Rhodok tree end units:
t5: Sgt. Pike (slow/heavy armor/pike), Sgt. Xbow, Sgt. Glaive (t4 pike branch; assault infantry, glaive/heavy armor)
t4: Mace (t3 pike branch; assault infantry, morningstar or mace/light armor), Cleaver (t3 board branch, 2h cleaver/mod armor/good speed), Vet. Board (pick or 1h cleaver/board/good armor), Vet. Skirmisher (javs/mace/boardshield)
Rhodok Tree:
Recruit ---> Militia Crossbow ---> Crossbow ---> Vet. Crossbow ---> Sgt. Crossbow
Recruit ---> Militia Crossbow ---> Skirmisher ---> Vet. Skirmisher
Recruit ---> Militia Pike ---> Pike ---> Vet. Pike ---> Sgt. Pike
Recruit ---> Militia Pike ---> Pike ---> Vet. Pike ---> Sgt. Glaive
Recruit ---> Militia Pike ---> Pike ---> Vet. Mace
Recruit ---> Militia Pike ---> Board ---> Vet. Board
Recruit ---> Militia Pike ---> Board ---> Vet. Cleaver
Vaegir tree end units:
t6: Champion (bardiche using infantry madman)
t5: Guard, Guard Archer, Guard Skirmisher (t4-t5 branch from t3 archer; spear/bow/shield)
t4: Horseman (t3 inf branch; now uses bardiche and javs)
t3: Pike, Polemace (t2 pike branch; assault infantry, long mace/med armor/good speed)
Vaegir Tree:
Recruit ---> Militia Footman ---> Footman ---> Vet. Footman---> Guard Footman ---> Champion
Recruit ---> Militia Footman ---> Footman ---> Horseman
Recruit ---> Militia Footman ---> Archer ---> Vet. Archer ---> Guard Archer
Recruit ---> Militia Footman ---> Archer ---> Vet. Skirmisher ---> Guard Skirmisher
Recruit ---> Militia Pike ---> Pike
Recruit ---> Militia Pike ---> Polemace
Swadian tree end units:
t6: Knight (now upgrades from squire, slightly stronger))
t5: Sergeant at Arms (top tier inf rename), Sgt. Xbow, Squire (t4 inf branch; 2h sword/med armor/good speed ONLY UNIT THAT UPGRADES TO KNIGHT)
t4: Man at Arms (t3 infantry branch; slower than other faction t4 horse/heavy armor/lance/sword&board), Vet. Axe (t4-t3 branch from t2 Pike; assault infantry, poleaxe/med armor/quick)
t3: Pike
Swadian Tree:
Recruit ---> Militia Footman ---> Footman ---> Vet. Footman ---> Sgt. Footman
Recruit ---> Militia Footman ---> Footman ---> Vet. Footman ---> Squire ---> Knight
Recruit ---> Militia Footman ---> Footman ---> Man at Arms
Recruit ---> Militia Footman ---> Crossbow ---> Vet. Crossbow ---> Sgt. Crossbow
Recruit ---> Militia Pike ---> Pike
Recruit ---> Militia Pike ---> Poleaxe ---> Vet Poleaxe
Sarranid tree end units:
t6: Mameluke (now upgrades from squire, stronger but no more warhorse)
t5: Guard Spearman, Guard Archer, Guard Skirmisher (t4-t5 branch from t3 archer/javs/shield/1h axe), Squire (t4 inf branch; 2h sword/med armor/good speed ONLY UNIT THAT UPGRADES TO MAMELUKE)
t4: Horseman (t3 infantry branch; fast/light armor/javs/sword&board)
t3: Axe (assault infantry; 2h axe/med armor/high speed)
Sarranid Tree:
Recruit ---> Militia Spear ---> Spear ---> Vet. Spear ---> Guard Spear
Recruit ---> Militia Spear ---> Spear ---> Vet. Spear ---> Squire ---> Cataphract
Recruit ---> Militia Spear ---> Spear ---> Horseman
Recruit ---> Militia Spear ---> Archer ---> Vet. Archer ---> Guard Archer
Recruit ---> Militia Spear ---> Archer ---> Vet. Skirmisher ---> Guard Skirmisher
Recruit ---> Militia Axe ---> Axe
Khergit tree end units:
t5: War Lancer, Master Horse Archer
t4: Armored Horseman (similar to Swadian Man at Arms)
t3: Jarid Cavalry (similar to Sarranid Horseman), Bardiche Cavalry (similar to Vaegir Horseman)
Khergit Tree:
Tribesman ---> Horseman ---> Lancer ---> Vet. Lancer ---> Guard Lancer
Tribesman ---> Horseman ---> Lancer ---> Armored Horseman
Tribesman ---> Horseman ---> Bardiche Horseman
Tribesman ---> Skirmisher ---> Horse Archer ---> Vet. Horse Archer ---> Guard Horse Archer
Tribesman ---> Skirmisher ---> Jarid Horseman
Nords:
t6: Thegn*
t4: Nord Vet. Archer, Nord Vet. Skirmisher (anti-cav, extremely fast/spear/shield/javs)
t3: Nord Axeman (overpowered for tier, 2h axe/fast/heavy armor)
Nord Tree:
Recruit ---> Novice Fyrdman---> Fyrdman---> Vet. Fyrdman---> Huscarl ---> Thegn
Recruit ---> Novice Fyrdman---> Axeman
Recruit ---> Novice Bowman ---> Bowman---> Vet. Bowman
Recruit ---> Novice Bowman ---> Skirmisher ---> Vet. Skirmisher
*Thegn, or Thane, was a Scandinavian aristocratic rank equivalent to a Knight in Medieval Continental Europe, and thus more appropriate for a t6 unit in this mod. Huscarl is a term indicating a household guard, and thus more in line with t5 naming conventions than t6. It's still the same Huscarl you know and love though!
Mercenaries:
t5: Mercenary Cavalry, Veteran Mercenary Mounted Crossbowman
t4: Hired Blade, Veteran Mercenary Crossbow, Mercenary Warrior (t3 merc infantry branch; heavy armor/fast/xbow/2h sword), Mercenary Pikebow (t3 merc xbow branch; heavy armor/slow/xbow/pike)
Mercenary Tree:
Townsman/Farmer ---> Militia ---> Merc. Swordsman --> Hired Blade
T/F ---> Militia ---> Merc. Swordsman ---> Merc. Warrior
T/F ---> Militia ---> Caravan Guard ---> Merc. Horseman ---> Merc Cavalry
T/F ---> Militia ---> Caravan Guard ---> Merc. Mounted Xbow ---> Vet. Merc. Mounted Xbow
T/F ---> Watchman ---> Merc Xbow ---> Vet. Merc Xbow
T/F ---> Watchman ---> Merc Xbow ---> Merc Pikebow
HORSE CHANGES:
Armor Based Horses
Warhorse:
Base AL of 30 (from 40)
Base Speed of 40 (from 39)
Base Maneuverability of 30 (from 41)
Base Charge of 50 (from 2
Base HP of 160 (from 165)
*Base Abundance of 40
*Base Price of 2000
Charger:
Base AL of 25 (from 5
Base Speed of 45 (from 39)
Base Maneuverability of 25 (from 44)
Base Charge of 60 (from 32)
Base HP of 160 (from 165)
*Base Abundance of 40
*Base Price of 2000
Courser:
Base AL of 20 (from 10)
Base Speed of 55 (from 42)
Base Maneuverability of 40 (from 50)
Base Charge of 40 (from 12)
Base HP of 140 (from 110)
*Base Abundance of 40
*Base Price of 2000
Speed Based Horses
Hunter:
Base AL of 25 (from 1
Base Speed of 45 (from 43)
Base Maneuverability of 35 (from 44)
Base Charge of 30 (from 24)
Base HP of 120 (from 160)
*Base Abundance of 70
*Base Price of 1000
Sarranid Horse:
Base AL of 20 (from 10)
Base Speed of 50 (from 43)
Base Maneuverability of 30 (from 43)
Base Charge of 40 (from 16)
Base HP of 120 (from 120)
*Base Abundance of 70
*Base Price of 1000
Steppe Horse:
Base AL of 15 (from 10)
Base Speed of 60 (from 40)
Base Maneuverability of 45 (from 51)
Base Charge of 20 (from 8 )
Base HP of 100 (from 120)
*Base Abundance of 70
*Base Price of 1000
Bad Horses
Saddle/Sumpter/Desert
Base AL of 5 (from 10)
Base Speed of 35 (from 43)
Base Maneuverability of 25 (from 43)
Base Charge of 5 (from 16)
Base HP of 80 (from 120)
*Base Abundance of 100
*Base Price of 100
How to install:
1. Navigate to your Mount and Blade Warband directory
2. Open the folder that says Modules
3. Copy the folder that says Native
4. Paste it into the Module folder with a different name (like Pike and Blade, or Random Stupid Mod)
5. Copy all the files in the Pike&Blade zip
6. Paste them into the folder you created and named in steps 3 and 4
7. Open Mount and Blade Warband's launcher
8. Select the folder you pasted the Pike&Blade files into
9. Launch and enjoy
Forum Thread: http://forums.taleworlds.com/index.php/topic,110114.0.html
Download Page: http://www.mbrepository.com/file.php?id=1829
Includes (see forum thread for more details):
Rhodok tree end units:
t5: Sgt. Pike (slow/heavy armor/pike), Sgt. Xbow, Sgt. Glaive (t4 pike branch; assault infantry, glaive/heavy armor)
t4: Mace (t3 pike branch; assault infantry, morningstar or mace/light armor), Cleaver (t3 board branch, 2h cleaver/mod armor/good speed), Vet. Board (pick or 1h cleaver/board/good armor), Vet. Skirmisher (javs/mace/boardshield)
Rhodok Tree:
Recruit ---> Militia Crossbow ---> Crossbow ---> Vet. Crossbow ---> Sgt. Crossbow
Recruit ---> Militia Crossbow ---> Skirmisher ---> Vet. Skirmisher
Recruit ---> Militia Pike ---> Pike ---> Vet. Pike ---> Sgt. Pike
Recruit ---> Militia Pike ---> Pike ---> Vet. Pike ---> Sgt. Glaive
Recruit ---> Militia Pike ---> Pike ---> Vet. Mace
Recruit ---> Militia Pike ---> Board ---> Vet. Board
Recruit ---> Militia Pike ---> Board ---> Vet. Cleaver
Vaegir tree end units:
t6: Champion (bardiche using infantry madman)
t5: Guard, Guard Archer, Guard Skirmisher (t4-t5 branch from t3 archer; spear/bow/shield)
t4: Horseman (t3 inf branch; now uses bardiche and javs)
t3: Pike, Polemace (t2 pike branch; assault infantry, long mace/med armor/good speed)
Vaegir Tree:
Recruit ---> Militia Footman ---> Footman ---> Vet. Footman---> Guard Footman ---> Champion
Recruit ---> Militia Footman ---> Footman ---> Horseman
Recruit ---> Militia Footman ---> Archer ---> Vet. Archer ---> Guard Archer
Recruit ---> Militia Footman ---> Archer ---> Vet. Skirmisher ---> Guard Skirmisher
Recruit ---> Militia Pike ---> Pike
Recruit ---> Militia Pike ---> Polemace
Swadian tree end units:
t6: Knight (now upgrades from squire, slightly stronger))
t5: Sergeant at Arms (top tier inf rename), Sgt. Xbow, Squire (t4 inf branch; 2h sword/med armor/good speed ONLY UNIT THAT UPGRADES TO KNIGHT)
t4: Man at Arms (t3 infantry branch; slower than other faction t4 horse/heavy armor/lance/sword&board), Vet. Axe (t4-t3 branch from t2 Pike; assault infantry, poleaxe/med armor/quick)
t3: Pike
Swadian Tree:
Recruit ---> Militia Footman ---> Footman ---> Vet. Footman ---> Sgt. Footman
Recruit ---> Militia Footman ---> Footman ---> Vet. Footman ---> Squire ---> Knight
Recruit ---> Militia Footman ---> Footman ---> Man at Arms
Recruit ---> Militia Footman ---> Crossbow ---> Vet. Crossbow ---> Sgt. Crossbow
Recruit ---> Militia Pike ---> Pike
Recruit ---> Militia Pike ---> Poleaxe ---> Vet Poleaxe
Sarranid tree end units:
t6: Mameluke (now upgrades from squire, stronger but no more warhorse)
t5: Guard Spearman, Guard Archer, Guard Skirmisher (t4-t5 branch from t3 archer/javs/shield/1h axe), Squire (t4 inf branch; 2h sword/med armor/good speed ONLY UNIT THAT UPGRADES TO MAMELUKE)
t4: Horseman (t3 infantry branch; fast/light armor/javs/sword&board)
t3: Axe (assault infantry; 2h axe/med armor/high speed)
Sarranid Tree:
Recruit ---> Militia Spear ---> Spear ---> Vet. Spear ---> Guard Spear
Recruit ---> Militia Spear ---> Spear ---> Vet. Spear ---> Squire ---> Cataphract
Recruit ---> Militia Spear ---> Spear ---> Horseman
Recruit ---> Militia Spear ---> Archer ---> Vet. Archer ---> Guard Archer
Recruit ---> Militia Spear ---> Archer ---> Vet. Skirmisher ---> Guard Skirmisher
Recruit ---> Militia Axe ---> Axe
Khergit tree end units:
t5: War Lancer, Master Horse Archer
t4: Armored Horseman (similar to Swadian Man at Arms)
t3: Jarid Cavalry (similar to Sarranid Horseman), Bardiche Cavalry (similar to Vaegir Horseman)
Khergit Tree:
Tribesman ---> Horseman ---> Lancer ---> Vet. Lancer ---> Guard Lancer
Tribesman ---> Horseman ---> Lancer ---> Armored Horseman
Tribesman ---> Horseman ---> Bardiche Horseman
Tribesman ---> Skirmisher ---> Horse Archer ---> Vet. Horse Archer ---> Guard Horse Archer
Tribesman ---> Skirmisher ---> Jarid Horseman
Nords:
t6: Thegn*
t4: Nord Vet. Archer, Nord Vet. Skirmisher (anti-cav, extremely fast/spear/shield/javs)
t3: Nord Axeman (overpowered for tier, 2h axe/fast/heavy armor)
Nord Tree:
Recruit ---> Novice Fyrdman---> Fyrdman---> Vet. Fyrdman---> Huscarl ---> Thegn
Recruit ---> Novice Fyrdman---> Axeman
Recruit ---> Novice Bowman ---> Bowman---> Vet. Bowman
Recruit ---> Novice Bowman ---> Skirmisher ---> Vet. Skirmisher
*Thegn, or Thane, was a Scandinavian aristocratic rank equivalent to a Knight in Medieval Continental Europe, and thus more appropriate for a t6 unit in this mod. Huscarl is a term indicating a household guard, and thus more in line with t5 naming conventions than t6. It's still the same Huscarl you know and love though!
Mercenaries:
t5: Mercenary Cavalry, Veteran Mercenary Mounted Crossbowman
t4: Hired Blade, Veteran Mercenary Crossbow, Mercenary Warrior (t3 merc infantry branch; heavy armor/fast/xbow/2h sword), Mercenary Pikebow (t3 merc xbow branch; heavy armor/slow/xbow/pike)
Mercenary Tree:
Townsman/Farmer ---> Militia ---> Merc. Swordsman --> Hired Blade
T/F ---> Militia ---> Merc. Swordsman ---> Merc. Warrior
T/F ---> Militia ---> Caravan Guard ---> Merc. Horseman ---> Merc Cavalry
T/F ---> Militia ---> Caravan Guard ---> Merc. Mounted Xbow ---> Vet. Merc. Mounted Xbow
T/F ---> Watchman ---> Merc Xbow ---> Vet. Merc Xbow
T/F ---> Watchman ---> Merc Xbow ---> Merc Pikebow
HORSE CHANGES:
Armor Based Horses
Warhorse:
Base AL of 30 (from 40)
Base Speed of 40 (from 39)
Base Maneuverability of 30 (from 41)
Base Charge of 50 (from 2
Base HP of 160 (from 165)
*Base Abundance of 40
*Base Price of 2000
Charger:
Base AL of 25 (from 5
Base Speed of 45 (from 39)
Base Maneuverability of 25 (from 44)
Base Charge of 60 (from 32)
Base HP of 160 (from 165)
*Base Abundance of 40
*Base Price of 2000
Courser:
Base AL of 20 (from 10)
Base Speed of 55 (from 42)
Base Maneuverability of 40 (from 50)
Base Charge of 40 (from 12)
Base HP of 140 (from 110)
*Base Abundance of 40
*Base Price of 2000
Speed Based Horses
Hunter:
Base AL of 25 (from 1
Base Speed of 45 (from 43)
Base Maneuverability of 35 (from 44)
Base Charge of 30 (from 24)
Base HP of 120 (from 160)
*Base Abundance of 70
*Base Price of 1000
Sarranid Horse:
Base AL of 20 (from 10)
Base Speed of 50 (from 43)
Base Maneuverability of 30 (from 43)
Base Charge of 40 (from 16)
Base HP of 120 (from 120)
*Base Abundance of 70
*Base Price of 1000
Steppe Horse:
Base AL of 15 (from 10)
Base Speed of 60 (from 40)
Base Maneuverability of 45 (from 51)
Base Charge of 20 (from 8 )
Base HP of 100 (from 120)
*Base Abundance of 70
*Base Price of 1000
Bad Horses
Saddle/Sumpter/Desert
Base AL of 5 (from 10)
Base Speed of 35 (from 43)
Base Maneuverability of 25 (from 43)
Base Charge of 5 (from 16)
Base HP of 80 (from 120)
*Base Abundance of 100
*Base Price of 100
It should work with any mod that doesn't add new troops or items -- just ask the modder if they've changed anything in the troops.txt, item-kinds1.txt or party-template.txt files if you want to be certain, and if they say no you should be fine. Even if it does add new troops, if you prefer the units in my mod it will still work with any mod that does not add new factions (because it'll break their ability to recruit if you add my mod). Just overwrite (after you've made backup copies in case it doesn't work!) the troops.txt and party-template.txt in their mod, and you'll be good to go. The only thing I've done in item-kinds1.txt is change the stats of horses, which you can easily duplicate with some copy-pasta to merge the mods. As always, feel free to PM or post any questions you might have!
These mods have been tested with Pike&Blade and are confirmed compatible (and also confirmed cool!):
Arena Retexture: http://www.mbrepository.com/file.php?id=1760
Reworked Armor: http://www.mbrepository.com/file.php?id=1841
They're not included in Pike&Blade, but it takes ten seconds to download and add them in without any effects on your save.
These mods are confirmed cool and tested by some awesome posters, but require some tweaking to the mod folder:
http://www.mbrepository.com/file.php?id=1887 (Diplomacy Mod)
Here's how you merge P&B and Diplo!
Step 1: Follow all the instructions for installing the Diplomacy mod
Step 2: Download this file: http://rapidshare.com/files/392873196/Merged_PnB_and_Diplo.zip
Step 3: Copy the item_kinds1.txt, party_templates.txt and troops.txt files from the Merged_PnB_and_Diplo.zip file to the Diplomacy mod folder.
Step 4: Play!
If you have an existing Pike&Blade save, you will need to start a new game to use the merged files -- but this shouldn't impact your existing stuff, which you shouldn't even be able to access!
If you have an existing Diplomacy save, you should be fine continuing from where you are.
If you have an existing personally merged P&B+Diplo save, one of two things will happen. Either you did it right, in which case this won't even be necessary, or you did it wrong and need these files, in which case you'll have to start a new game.
If the game starts but '**** be broke!!' check this post for more detailed merge info for Diplomacy: http://forums.taleworlds.com/index.php/topic,116434.0.html
These mods have been tested with Pike&Blade and are confirmed compatible (and also confirmed cool!):
Arena Retexture: http://www.mbrepository.com/file.php?id=1760
Reworked Armor: http://www.mbrepository.com/file.php?id=1841
They're not included in Pike&Blade, but it takes ten seconds to download and add them in without any effects on your save.
These mods are confirmed cool and tested by some awesome posters, but require some tweaking to the mod folder:
http://www.mbrepository.com/file.php?id=1887 (Diplomacy Mod)
Here's how you merge P&B and Diplo!
Step 1: Follow all the instructions for installing the Diplomacy mod
Step 2: Download this file: http://rapidshare.com/files/392873196/Merged_PnB_and_Diplo.zip
Step 3: Copy the item_kinds1.txt, party_templates.txt and troops.txt files from the Merged_PnB_and_Diplo.zip file to the Diplomacy mod folder.
Step 4: Play!
If you have an existing Pike&Blade save, you will need to start a new game to use the merged files -- but this shouldn't impact your existing stuff, which you shouldn't even be able to access!
If you have an existing Diplomacy save, you should be fine continuing from where you are.
If you have an existing personally merged P&B+Diplo save, one of two things will happen. Either you did it right, in which case this won't even be necessary, or you did it wrong and need these files, in which case you'll have to start a new game.
If the game starts but '**** be broke!!' check this post for more detailed merge info for Diplomacy: http://forums.taleworlds.com/index.php/topic,116434.0.html
v3.5 (5.04.2010)
-rebalanced horses to be faster, chargier, less maneuverable and less armored
-made a few small alterations to unit equipment related to horses
v3.2 (5.01.2010)
-altered high tier reinforcements for some factions
-improved t5/t6 reinforcements for nords to help them in autoresolves
v3.15 (5.01.20100
-minor bug fix
-balancing changes
v3.1 (5.01.20100
-hotfix
-cleans up serious errors
-removes ability to recruit high end mercenaries in taverns
v3.0 (5.01.20100
-Finalized and implemented mercenary trees (see readme for details)
-Tweaked some unit stats
-Changed Man-At-Arms to use 2h morningstar instead of 1h kit (see readme for details)
v2.5 (4.25.2010)
-Finalized and implemented faction trees for Swads/Vaegs/Rhods/Sarras (see readme for version 2.5 for the details!)
-Corrected a few minor typos
-Updated party-template to propagate the new units
v2.0 (4.25.2010) (93 downloads including Rapidshare and MBRepository)
-Altered Swadian and Sarranid mounted lines (see 2.0 readme for details), added t5 Squires to both
-Swapped Sarranid Skirmisher to a light bow unit (makes more sense from a tree perspective, gonna add it back later)
-Added t3 Nord 2h axemen, removed throwing weapons bigger than light/med throwing axes from Nord main line infantry
-Drastically changed Khergits (see 2.0 readme for details)
-Changed Vaegir Knight to Vaegir Bardicheman, moved to t6 infantry position, changed Vaegir horse to specialize in bardiche as well
-Updated party-templates file to reflect new units
v1.22 (4.24.2010) (77 downloads)
-Changed a couple of values in the party-templates file (only a few slight tweaks to reinforcement, might not even be noticeable)
v1.21 (4.23.2010) (26 downloads)
-Fixed a crashing bug
v1.2 (4.23.2010)
-Added Skirmishers to Nord and Rhodok armies
-Switched to .zip compression, since it's windows native and the file is miniscule
v1.1 (4.23.2010):
-Switched Rhodok Veteran Maceman to upgrade from Rhodok Cleaverman rather than a pike (found a free upgrade slot woo)
-Raised RVMace strength to 14 so that he can actually use his weapons
-Switched host to Rapidshare (slightly less terrible and gives me ability to track downloads)
-rebalanced horses to be faster, chargier, less maneuverable and less armored
-made a few small alterations to unit equipment related to horses
v3.2 (5.01.2010)
-altered high tier reinforcements for some factions
-improved t5/t6 reinforcements for nords to help them in autoresolves
v3.15 (5.01.20100
-minor bug fix
-balancing changes
v3.1 (5.01.20100
-hotfix
-cleans up serious errors
-removes ability to recruit high end mercenaries in taverns
v3.0 (5.01.20100
-Finalized and implemented mercenary trees (see readme for details)
-Tweaked some unit stats
-Changed Man-At-Arms to use 2h morningstar instead of 1h kit (see readme for details)
v2.5 (4.25.2010)
-Finalized and implemented faction trees for Swads/Vaegs/Rhods/Sarras (see readme for version 2.5 for the details!)
-Corrected a few minor typos
-Updated party-template to propagate the new units
v2.0 (4.25.2010) (93 downloads including Rapidshare and MBRepository)
-Altered Swadian and Sarranid mounted lines (see 2.0 readme for details), added t5 Squires to both
-Swapped Sarranid Skirmisher to a light bow unit (makes more sense from a tree perspective, gonna add it back later)
-Added t3 Nord 2h axemen, removed throwing weapons bigger than light/med throwing axes from Nord main line infantry
-Drastically changed Khergits (see 2.0 readme for details)
-Changed Vaegir Knight to Vaegir Bardicheman, moved to t6 infantry position, changed Vaegir horse to specialize in bardiche as well
-Updated party-templates file to reflect new units
v1.22 (4.24.2010) (77 downloads)
-Changed a couple of values in the party-templates file (only a few slight tweaks to reinforcement, might not even be noticeable)
v1.21 (4.23.2010) (26 downloads)
-Fixed a crashing bug
v1.2 (4.23.2010)
-Added Skirmishers to Nord and Rhodok armies
-Switched to .zip compression, since it's windows native and the file is miniscule
v1.1 (4.23.2010):
-Switched Rhodok Veteran Maceman to upgrade from Rhodok Cleaverman rather than a pike (found a free upgrade slot woo)
-Raised RVMace strength to 14 so that he can actually use his weapons
-Switched host to Rapidshare (slightly less terrible and gives me ability to track downloads)
Vaegir:
The Vaegirs got the most complaints -- too bland, don't feel right -- so I brainstormed up some changes. The Vaegirs are known for archery, right? So I want them to always be capable of firing off arrows! Their skirmisher line will feel slightly different from other skirmisher lines (much better melee, bows as usual but their archery stats are getting hit with a nerf for balance, slightly more armor and an impressive shield skill). Their main infantry line is being capped at t4, with lots of variety in upgrade options to keep things fresh there. I want them to feel expendable and easily replaced, because 2h weapons units tend to take some serious losses! The pike line will be dropped entirely. It's both vestigial and made redundant by the long bardiche of the infantry.
Their primary weapons will be the sword/scimitar/shortbow in their skirmisher line (t6), the long bardiche in their infantry line (t4), the polemace in their assault line (t4), and the "longbow"/bardiche in their archer line (t5). They'll keep their horseman (t4) as a second assault option, since he's pretty fun. Finally, a t5 skirmisher (t4 split) who uses a mace in place of a scimitar -- mostly to give players a choice between blunt and slashing damage.
I want the Vaegir player to split their troops up! Skirmishers up front and in the line of march, firing short ranged stuff and dropping back in the face of enemy advances. The slower and longer ranged archers to the side and back, providing heavy fire and supported by cav. Finally, the various polearm troopers either with the archers for a flanking attack, or behind the skirmishers to provide a final defensive line. To make that sort of approach easier the Vaegirs will be quick and lightly equipped, but with excellent athletics and ironflesh.
In sieges, the player will probably have a little bit of trouble due to the lack of monster infantry, so mercenaries might be a good idea for them! I imagine either skirmishers being ordered to charge in while holding fire in support of infantry, or everyone with a bow being ordered to provide fire while the infantry charges. I think it'll be just about as miserable as sieges usually are, and that's all I have to say about that.
Sarranids:
Currently checking how they play in game. Axemen are brilliant in battle, they really clean up and I'm extremely satisfied with how they came out. Skirmishers are also very effective, but I haven't had the chance to use them as much as I'd like. Their horsemen also work very well, seem to focus on throwing the jarids before they close and engage in melee, so they do pretty well. Main infantry line is still weak, but as their only functions are (1) protect the other units with their shields and (2) upgrade to good units, that's all I want from them.
Cataphracts (the new name for Mamlukes) still seem overwhelming, but now that they're more of a pain for the player to acquire it's not as bad. On foot, they're still as vulnerable as ever, so I'm still looking at that.
Swadians:
They just need a balance checkup. Worried about their poor performance in autoresolve in my game, but in actual battles they're still a sturdy foe with a hell of a punch.
Khergits:
Khergits will need a close eye in terms of balancing, as I've changed them significantly. Might add a dude with a hafted blade and a bow at t4, give the khergits another strange and dangerous driveby unit with ranged capacity.
For those who are wondering, the Armored Horseman (Swad derived) is intended to fight mostly on foot, generally as a shock trooper in castle sieges.
The Bardiche Horseman (Vaegir derived) is intended to provide heavy driveby damage and backline support in sieges.
And the Jarid Horseman (Sarranid derived) is intended to provide close range anti-cav support.
They all dead-end to keep things from getting really weird. Idea was to flesh out the concept of the Khergits as an invading horde that is using enemy fighting techniques (and citizens, check the faces on the derived units) to supplement their own lines. They're not as potent as the originals, but they are intended to still fight pretty well.
Again, balance is key here, so definitely feel free to speak out against any of the changes.
Rhodoks:
I've kept up my Rhodok game, and it's still impressive just how doughty these guys are. I'm finding that I'll generally take a beating -- and possibly lose -- with even numbers against an army of 1/3rd or more heavy cav, which is a bad sign. However, if I can get the enemy to fight in a situation where their knights/catties are dismounted, I can generally win against 1.5 or 2 to 1, which is a good sign. I'm looking at ways to lower the reinforce rates of higher tier Rhodok troops on lords (to weaken them in autoresolve) without assboning them against the player. I'd also love it if someone with some coding skills was available to write custom AIs for each of the factions -- I don't know ass from elbow when it comes to code, so any help here would be a plus.
Nords:
Might add a t4 2h Axeman to round that tree out, but the existing t3 version is already about as strong as a t4 unit. It's overpowered for its tier, but still significantly less powerful when compared to t5. Not really anywhere else to go with the Nords.
Mercenaries:
Tree has been implemented, they just need watching for balance now.
Mounted xbows were handy with skirmish stuff, but can't justify taking them over more specialized units in battles. Pikebows performed poorly in siege, but who knows. Gonna need more of them on the field to really make a call either way.
I'm seriously considering requiring the player to have positive non-zero relations with villages before he recruits, to make the mercs a little more important in the early game. Gonna need to raise the number available in any given group for recruitment to make that viable.
Future Goals:
To be honest, I didn't expect to get this far, so I'm not really sure where to go for version 4. I've done an overhaul of all the factions, and I doubt people would really care if I redid the female tree or something. Maybe the bandits? Meh.
A version with some TweakMB and script changes might be fun, but I'd probably do that as a separate download and give it a different name. Pike&Script? Ideally the two would be complementary modular mods that could be used separately or together without the users needing to do anything other than stick them in the folder and play. I mean, not everyone shares my vision of how the game should be, so why not make it as easy as possible for them to mix and match the parts they like, and ditch the ones they don't!
Some things I don't know how to do, but would really like to include:
-Lords that rebel and start their own factions
-Wandering mercs that fight bandits and can be recruited
-Configurable autoloot function for heroes
-More serious repercussions for lordly intrigue (exile, fighting between two lords of same faction who hate one another, maybe even assassination)
-Faster development of lordly factions in player kingdom
-Ability for lords to come from "across the sea" or something to replace ones that die or are exiled
-Generally more information about what the hell is going on
I'd also like to improve the script that runs when a companion is made into a lord, so that they're not so freaking terrible and in constant need of player assistance.
But I'd need someone with similar interests and coding experience to pull all that off, and those people don't just fall out of trees and into your lap!
We'll see what I've got time to learn how to do myself, anyway.
The Vaegirs got the most complaints -- too bland, don't feel right -- so I brainstormed up some changes. The Vaegirs are known for archery, right? So I want them to always be capable of firing off arrows! Their skirmisher line will feel slightly different from other skirmisher lines (much better melee, bows as usual but their archery stats are getting hit with a nerf for balance, slightly more armor and an impressive shield skill). Their main infantry line is being capped at t4, with lots of variety in upgrade options to keep things fresh there. I want them to feel expendable and easily replaced, because 2h weapons units tend to take some serious losses! The pike line will be dropped entirely. It's both vestigial and made redundant by the long bardiche of the infantry.
Their primary weapons will be the sword/scimitar/shortbow in their skirmisher line (t6), the long bardiche in their infantry line (t4), the polemace in their assault line (t4), and the "longbow"/bardiche in their archer line (t5). They'll keep their horseman (t4) as a second assault option, since he's pretty fun. Finally, a t5 skirmisher (t4 split) who uses a mace in place of a scimitar -- mostly to give players a choice between blunt and slashing damage.
I want the Vaegir player to split their troops up! Skirmishers up front and in the line of march, firing short ranged stuff and dropping back in the face of enemy advances. The slower and longer ranged archers to the side and back, providing heavy fire and supported by cav. Finally, the various polearm troopers either with the archers for a flanking attack, or behind the skirmishers to provide a final defensive line. To make that sort of approach easier the Vaegirs will be quick and lightly equipped, but with excellent athletics and ironflesh.
In sieges, the player will probably have a little bit of trouble due to the lack of monster infantry, so mercenaries might be a good idea for them! I imagine either skirmishers being ordered to charge in while holding fire in support of infantry, or everyone with a bow being ordered to provide fire while the infantry charges. I think it'll be just about as miserable as sieges usually are, and that's all I have to say about that.
Sarranids:
Currently checking how they play in game. Axemen are brilliant in battle, they really clean up and I'm extremely satisfied with how they came out. Skirmishers are also very effective, but I haven't had the chance to use them as much as I'd like. Their horsemen also work very well, seem to focus on throwing the jarids before they close and engage in melee, so they do pretty well. Main infantry line is still weak, but as their only functions are (1) protect the other units with their shields and (2) upgrade to good units, that's all I want from them.
Cataphracts (the new name for Mamlukes) still seem overwhelming, but now that they're more of a pain for the player to acquire it's not as bad. On foot, they're still as vulnerable as ever, so I'm still looking at that.
Swadians:
They just need a balance checkup. Worried about their poor performance in autoresolve in my game, but in actual battles they're still a sturdy foe with a hell of a punch.
Khergits:
Khergits will need a close eye in terms of balancing, as I've changed them significantly. Might add a dude with a hafted blade and a bow at t4, give the khergits another strange and dangerous driveby unit with ranged capacity.
For those who are wondering, the Armored Horseman (Swad derived) is intended to fight mostly on foot, generally as a shock trooper in castle sieges.
The Bardiche Horseman (Vaegir derived) is intended to provide heavy driveby damage and backline support in sieges.
And the Jarid Horseman (Sarranid derived) is intended to provide close range anti-cav support.
They all dead-end to keep things from getting really weird. Idea was to flesh out the concept of the Khergits as an invading horde that is using enemy fighting techniques (and citizens, check the faces on the derived units) to supplement their own lines. They're not as potent as the originals, but they are intended to still fight pretty well.
Again, balance is key here, so definitely feel free to speak out against any of the changes.
Rhodoks:
I've kept up my Rhodok game, and it's still impressive just how doughty these guys are. I'm finding that I'll generally take a beating -- and possibly lose -- with even numbers against an army of 1/3rd or more heavy cav, which is a bad sign. However, if I can get the enemy to fight in a situation where their knights/catties are dismounted, I can generally win against 1.5 or 2 to 1, which is a good sign. I'm looking at ways to lower the reinforce rates of higher tier Rhodok troops on lords (to weaken them in autoresolve) without assboning them against the player. I'd also love it if someone with some coding skills was available to write custom AIs for each of the factions -- I don't know ass from elbow when it comes to code, so any help here would be a plus.
Nords:
Might add a t4 2h Axeman to round that tree out, but the existing t3 version is already about as strong as a t4 unit. It's overpowered for its tier, but still significantly less powerful when compared to t5. Not really anywhere else to go with the Nords.
Mercenaries:
Tree has been implemented, they just need watching for balance now.
Mounted xbows were handy with skirmish stuff, but can't justify taking them over more specialized units in battles. Pikebows performed poorly in siege, but who knows. Gonna need more of them on the field to really make a call either way.
I'm seriously considering requiring the player to have positive non-zero relations with villages before he recruits, to make the mercs a little more important in the early game. Gonna need to raise the number available in any given group for recruitment to make that viable.
Future Goals:
To be honest, I didn't expect to get this far, so I'm not really sure where to go for version 4. I've done an overhaul of all the factions, and I doubt people would really care if I redid the female tree or something. Maybe the bandits? Meh.
A version with some TweakMB and script changes might be fun, but I'd probably do that as a separate download and give it a different name. Pike&Script? Ideally the two would be complementary modular mods that could be used separately or together without the users needing to do anything other than stick them in the folder and play. I mean, not everyone shares my vision of how the game should be, so why not make it as easy as possible for them to mix and match the parts they like, and ditch the ones they don't!
Some things I don't know how to do, but would really like to include:
-Lords that rebel and start their own factions
-Wandering mercs that fight bandits and can be recruited
-Configurable autoloot function for heroes
-More serious repercussions for lordly intrigue (exile, fighting between two lords of same faction who hate one another, maybe even assassination)
-Faster development of lordly factions in player kingdom
-Ability for lords to come from "across the sea" or something to replace ones that die or are exiled
-Generally more information about what the hell is going on
I'd also like to improve the script that runs when a companion is made into a lord, so that they're not so freaking terrible and in constant need of player assistance.
But I'd need someone with similar interests and coding experience to pull all that off, and those people don't just fall out of trees and into your lap!
We'll see what I've got time to learn how to do myself, anyway.
Tools to do it yourself:
Troop Editor: http://forums.taleworlds.com/index.php/topic,34154.0.html
TXT Tools: http://forums.taleworlds.com/index.php/topic,105928.0.html
TweakMB: http://forums.taleworlds.com/index.php/topic,101731.0.html
The full freakin list: http://forums.taleworlds.com/index.php/topic,108292.0.html
I use these myself, but they can be irritating as hell. Give em a shot if you want, but I'm not going to claim they're the best or anything.
Party Eat Frequency: from 14 to 8 (Your troops eat 3x per day instead of once or twice)
Prisoner Management: increased from 5 to 10 (Convenience)
Mounted Unit Wage Multiplier: increased from 166 to 200 (slight mounted unit nerf)
Mercenary Wage Multiplier: reduced from 166 to 100 (Mercenaries are fun, but overpriced, this makes them cheaper)
Companion Wage Multiplier: increased from 2 to 4 (Companions are too cheap, this makes them more expensive)
Party Size Per Renown: increased from 25 to 50 (renown nerf, Leadership buff)
Party Size Per Leadership Point: increased from 5 to 15 (Leadership buff, makes large infantry armies viable)
Leadership Wage Decrease: increased from 5 to 7 (Leadership buff, helps with bigger party cost)
Improvement Build Times: increased from 100 to 50 (things take twice as long/cost twice as much to build, MAJOR Engineering buff when coupled with next one)
Percent Engineering Build Time/Cost Reduction: increased from 50 to 95 (With these changes Eng5 is now about as good as Eng9 in Vanilla. Huge buff!)
The changes here are focused on making morale, rather than denars or an arbitrary numbers cap, the primary limiting factor for a party. There was an additional shift in the cost of supporting soldiers from wages to food, which (when coupled with the garrison cost multiplier fix) makes fiefs much more capable of supporting their castle. In my current new game, my castle+village are able to support ~180 Rhodok infantry soldiers (half garrisoned) from t2-t5 while leaving me to pay around 400-500 denars a month in wages (and a ****eload more in food). Peanuts, compared to Vanilla. Most of the changes have to do with limiting possible sources of morale buffs (like food or leadership, which now provides more troopers per point than morale to support them), but they're also focused on making large infantry armies viable at a much earlier point in the player career, and for far less cash wages. With much of the cost of running a party shifted out of cash and into food, the vagabond bandit play style is also now viable -- just force villages to give you supplies to get food, and sell what you don't need to towns to support your thieving band!
Renown and cavalry wages were nerfed because they are traditional tools by which players build uberforces of 50-60 mounted units on a combat focused character that sweep through the map and dominate all enemies near and far. When combined with omnipresent pikes (and the threat of Khergit horsebows), these changes should seriously weaken this style of play, while rewarding the more methodical plodding of the infantry.
The changes to Engineering are intended to solve a long running irritant -- the 2000 denar mill that takes two months to build and provides a 5% income increase. Although someone with low engineering will find this terrible, a specialist Engineer (like, say, one of the companions) will eventually be able to produce buildings like the mill for three hundred denars, and in less than a week. Handy!
Again, these changes are OPTIONAL, and can be added BY YOU, THE READER, if you choose to download TweakMB (see the tools section of this post) and DO IT YOURSELF. I'm always happy to explain away any curiosities, so feel free to ask either in this thread or by PM!
Party Eat Frequency: from 14 to 8 (Your troops eat 3x per day instead of once or twice)
Prisoner Management: increased from 5 to 10 (Convenience)
Mounted Unit Wage Multiplier: increased from 166 to 200 (slight mounted unit nerf)
Mercenary Wage Multiplier: reduced from 166 to 100 (Mercenaries are fun, but overpriced, this makes them cheaper)
Companion Wage Multiplier: increased from 2 to 4 (Companions are too cheap, this makes them more expensive)
Party Size Per Renown: increased from 25 to 50 (renown nerf, Leadership buff)
Party Size Per Leadership Point: increased from 5 to 15 (Leadership buff, makes large infantry armies viable)
Leadership Wage Decrease: increased from 5 to 7 (Leadership buff, helps with bigger party cost)
Improvement Build Times: increased from 100 to 50 (things take twice as long/cost twice as much to build, MAJOR Engineering buff when coupled with next one)
Percent Engineering Build Time/Cost Reduction: increased from 50 to 95 (With these changes Eng5 is now about as good as Eng9 in Vanilla. Huge buff!)
The changes here are focused on making morale, rather than denars or an arbitrary numbers cap, the primary limiting factor for a party. There was an additional shift in the cost of supporting soldiers from wages to food, which (when coupled with the garrison cost multiplier fix) makes fiefs much more capable of supporting their castle. In my current new game, my castle+village are able to support ~180 Rhodok infantry soldiers (half garrisoned) from t2-t5 while leaving me to pay around 400-500 denars a month in wages (and a ****eload more in food). Peanuts, compared to Vanilla. Most of the changes have to do with limiting possible sources of morale buffs (like food or leadership, which now provides more troopers per point than morale to support them), but they're also focused on making large infantry armies viable at a much earlier point in the player career, and for far less cash wages. With much of the cost of running a party shifted out of cash and into food, the vagabond bandit play style is also now viable -- just force villages to give you supplies to get food, and sell what you don't need to towns to support your thieving band!
Renown and cavalry wages were nerfed because they are traditional tools by which players build uberforces of 50-60 mounted units on a combat focused character that sweep through the map and dominate all enemies near and far. When combined with omnipresent pikes (and the threat of Khergit horsebows), these changes should seriously weaken this style of play, while rewarding the more methodical plodding of the infantry.
The changes to Engineering are intended to solve a long running irritant -- the 2000 denar mill that takes two months to build and provides a 5% income increase. Although someone with low engineering will find this terrible, a specialist Engineer (like, say, one of the companions) will eventually be able to produce buildings like the mill for three hundred denars, and in less than a week. Handy!
Again, these changes are OPTIONAL, and can be added BY YOU, THE READER, if you choose to download TweakMB (see the tools section of this post) and DO IT YOURSELF. I'm always happy to explain away any curiosities, so feel free to ask either in this thread or by PM!
1. Hold the F1 key to give a remote Move to and Hold Position order
a. When coupled with Shift selection of multiple groups and the F1-F3 Charge commands, allows for simultaneous attacks on enemy flanks without player presence at either location
b. By placing a flag for a cavalry unit on the opposite side of an enemy formation from that unit, cavalry will attempt to charge through the enemy rather than stop and engage them in melee
2. Hold the Shift key to select multiple groups
a. Great for uniting groups (like archers/pikes or skirmishers/infantry) that you normally want divided
b. Shift clicking a number again does NOT remove it from the grouped pool
3. Each use of the F2-F4 Close Ranks command adds an additional rank to a formation
a. In a group with two or more ranks, the F2-F3 Open Ranks command will remove a single rank
b. Pikes cannot effectively attack beyond the fourth rank, but a fifth and sixth makes it easier to prevent cav jogging through
c. Ranged units will not fire from the third rank, with the exception of throwing units
d. Skirmishers defend well against infantry in a two or three ranked formation
4. Each use of the F2-F3 Open Ranks command on a formation with one rank will put one additional file between each trooper
a. In a group with 1 or more additional files, the F2-F4 Close Ranks order will remove one file
b. Skirmishers intercept cavalry more effectively in an open formation, as they are better able to support one another with javelins
5. Use the F3-F1 Hold Fire command to force archers/xbows to ignore targets and move to their destination
a. Without this command, archers/xbows will fire at targets of opportunity en route to their destination, which can leave them isolated and vulnerable
b. The F3-F2 Fire At Will command reverses this order
6. The F2-F1 Advance Ten Paces command allows formed pikemen to "charge" enemies directly ahead without losing group cohesion
7. The F2-F2 Retreat Ten Paces command allows for tight control of skirmishing units
a. Units given the F2-F2 Retreat Ten Paces will about face, march ten paces and maintain group cohesion, then revert to their previous command (charge, hold position, etc)
b. Couple with F3-F1 Hold Fire command to ensure fire discipline and group movement in ranged units
c. As skirmishers are faster than all comparable foot units, consecutive F2-F2 Retreat Ten Paces commands will cause them to "kite" enemy foot units while continuing to launch throwing weapons
8. The Backspace key activates the following
a. A minimap, with color coding for troop groups and Hold Position flags where applicable
b. Casualty reports for player (presented both as a total and broken down by group), allies and enemies
c. Ability to select and give Hold Position orders to groups by clicking them, then clicking a position on the minimap
d. Shows active order (charge, hold, run away!) for each group
a. When coupled with Shift selection of multiple groups and the F1-F3 Charge commands, allows for simultaneous attacks on enemy flanks without player presence at either location
b. By placing a flag for a cavalry unit on the opposite side of an enemy formation from that unit, cavalry will attempt to charge through the enemy rather than stop and engage them in melee
2. Hold the Shift key to select multiple groups
a. Great for uniting groups (like archers/pikes or skirmishers/infantry) that you normally want divided
b. Shift clicking a number again does NOT remove it from the grouped pool
3. Each use of the F2-F4 Close Ranks command adds an additional rank to a formation
a. In a group with two or more ranks, the F2-F3 Open Ranks command will remove a single rank
b. Pikes cannot effectively attack beyond the fourth rank, but a fifth and sixth makes it easier to prevent cav jogging through
c. Ranged units will not fire from the third rank, with the exception of throwing units
d. Skirmishers defend well against infantry in a two or three ranked formation
4. Each use of the F2-F3 Open Ranks command on a formation with one rank will put one additional file between each trooper
a. In a group with 1 or more additional files, the F2-F4 Close Ranks order will remove one file
b. Skirmishers intercept cavalry more effectively in an open formation, as they are better able to support one another with javelins
5. Use the F3-F1 Hold Fire command to force archers/xbows to ignore targets and move to their destination
a. Without this command, archers/xbows will fire at targets of opportunity en route to their destination, which can leave them isolated and vulnerable
b. The F3-F2 Fire At Will command reverses this order
6. The F2-F1 Advance Ten Paces command allows formed pikemen to "charge" enemies directly ahead without losing group cohesion
7. The F2-F2 Retreat Ten Paces command allows for tight control of skirmishing units
a. Units given the F2-F2 Retreat Ten Paces will about face, march ten paces and maintain group cohesion, then revert to their previous command (charge, hold position, etc)
b. Couple with F3-F1 Hold Fire command to ensure fire discipline and group movement in ranged units
c. As skirmishers are faster than all comparable foot units, consecutive F2-F2 Retreat Ten Paces commands will cause them to "kite" enemy foot units while continuing to launch throwing weapons
8. The Backspace key activates the following
a. A minimap, with color coding for troop groups and Hold Position flags where applicable
b. Casualty reports for player (presented both as a total and broken down by group), allies and enemies
c. Ability to select and give Hold Position orders to groups by clicking them, then clicking a position on the minimap
d. Shows active order (charge, hold, run away!) for each group
A note to other modders:
STEAL THIS MOD!
Steal the ideas, steal the concepts, heck, steal the unit names and entries and even the text on this page (especially the command guide, I'm proud of that).
No, really, I'm not even kidding. I'm far more interested in seeing other mods with well developed infantry lines than getting internets fame for my decade old handle.
So, in closing, steal this mod!
Steal the ideas, steal the concepts, heck, steal the unit names and entries and even the text on this page (especially the command guide, I'm proud of that).
No, really, I'm not even kidding. I'm far more interested in seeing other mods with well developed infantry lines than getting internets fame for my decade old handle.
So, in closing, steal this mod!