Original Post

[guspav]

Hey, I noticed that there are conjurers of cheap tricks polluting my glorious Swadia. Could you add an option while starting a new game to turn off magician mercenaries? Like the option Blood and Steel has for the female mercenaries but instead for the mages in vanilla faction armies.

I'll think about it, for the time being, on the next version, the original factions will have a limited number of mercenary mages who won't be as powerful as the other mages, however they'll help to balance things out.
If I remove mages from the original factions there's a risk they'll become much too weak against spell wielding armies and be crushed too easily.

I think the new lords are too far away from the enemy to attack, not their lack of castles.  In my game, the undead and the dwarves attacked the Sarranid when at war, the elves attacked the Vaegirs, the drow the Rhodoks, and the drow and dwarves attacked each other.

I have noticed that many of the villages now carry musical instruments instead of standard trade items/food.  Do these actually help with the entertain skill?  Also, can you add a notice when you gain benefits from entertaining?

In the HoMM 5 (I know this isn't D&D based) necromancy is used to turn slain enemies (or your own units) into units of similar function/tier.  Turning your own units requires a certain structure in your city.  Converting slain enemies is done by giving you a set amount of points each week (as I remember) and you can convert a certain percentage of enemy units, with both numbers increased by your necromancy skill.  Additionally, higher tier undead cost more points to create.

- Agreed, the Temple faction is much too far away from everything. On the next version they'll be a lot closer to the Vaegirs so they start being a little bit more active. Also all fantasy factions will get a one time troop boost so they can endure a war with the original factions.

- Without a musical instrument in your inventory, you won't be able to use the entertain skill. I'll add some special instruments later that will add a bonus to the entertainment check rolls

- Necromancy and other new features can and should be refined. Turning slain troops into lesser forms of undead sounds like a good idea and having a sacrificial altar for creating/upgrading undead in a necromancer's city also sounds like something that would make the game more interesting. I'll give to it some thought and see what can be done.

How big of an area is this in the actual battle scene? I like undead, but I also play as a Cavalry Lancer. If the area is too small, I won't be able to leave the vicinity of my undead, making My horse and lance useless. It'd also prevent me from taking part in the battle personally, which I'm fairly fond of.

That would be around 3 horse lengths away, so you'll have to be fairly close to guarantee they won't turn against you, however, there was something wrong in the rebellion formula, so, as it stands in version 0.25, there's a 50-50 chance they'll rebel. On the next version, that is corrected and undead armies will be much more stable.

All the non-human lords that are male are referred as madame or lady in the game?

Yes, that is a known issue, I'll check what makes them address non-human lords as females, but since the game works as it is right now, it is only a small detail and something without a high priority to fix.

 

[mercav]

I think the new lords are too far away from the enemy to attack, not their lack of castles.  In my game, the undead and the dwarves attacked the Sarranid when at war, the elves attacked the Vaegirs, the drow the Rhodoks, and the drow and dwarves attacked each other.

I have noticed that many of the villages now carry musical instruments instead of standard trade items/food.  Do these actually help with the entertain skill?  Also, can you add a notice when you gain benefits from entertaining?

In the HoMM 5 (I know this isn't D&D based) necromancy is used to turn slain enemies (or your own units) into units of similar function/tier.  Turning your own units requires a certain structure in your city.  Converting slain enemies is done by giving you a set amount of points each week (as I remember) and you can convert a certain percentage of enemy units, with both numbers increased by your necromancy skill.  Additionally, higher tier undead cost more points to create.

- Agreed, the Temple faction is much too far away from everything. On the next version they'll be a lot closer to the Vaegirs so they start being a little bit more active. Also all fantasy factions will get a one time troop boost so they can endure a war with the original factions.

- Without a musical instrument in your inventory, you won't be able to use the entertain skill. I'll add some special instruments later that will add a bonus to the entertainment check rolls

There was a fantasy mod for regular M&B (do not remember the name offhand) which almost felt like they randomized the cities and towns at some point, so most towns/castles of any faction did not have an adjacent town/castle owned by the same faction.  It would be interesting to do something like that; add a elf castle/village in many of the forests spread through the map, add dwarf/drow castles/villages in other mountainous regions, and maybe add the paladin/mage/necromancer castles and villages in more random locations, perhaps to show they are not as regionally rigid.

I think because so many of the villages carry only musical instruments now, it makes the game a bit harder because you have to go to a town to reliably be able to resupply on food.

Coding question: I know you can change what weapon type certain weapons are, such as using a javelin as a pole-arm, but can you also change it to be a shield?  I am asking this both for the drow left handed sword and (mostly for) the mage staffs.  If you could make the staffs function as a shield could you make sure it only supplies the benefits when held as the same time as casting?

 

[guspav]

There was a fantasy mod for regular M&B (do not remember the name offhand) which almost felt like they randomized the cities and towns at some point, so most towns/castles of any faction did not have an adjacent town/castle owned by the same faction.  It would be interesting to do something like that; add a elf castle/village in many of the forests spread through the map, add dwarf/drow castles/villages in other mountainous regions, and maybe add the paladin/mage/necromancer castles and villages in more random locations, perhaps to show they are not as regionally rigid.

I think because so many of the villages carry only musical instruments now, it makes the game a bit harder because you have to go to a town to reliably be able to resupply on food.

Coding question: I know you can change what weapon type certain weapons are, such as using a javelin as a pole-arm, but can you also change it to be a shield?  I am asking this both for the drow left handed sword and (mostly for) the mage staffs.  If you could make the staffs function as a shield could you make sure it only supplies the benefits when held as the same time as casting?

- While spreading out castles is a very good idea, there's the minor issue that the scripts make villages belong to the nearest castle/city, so it is still possible to add those castles, but they need to be placed really carefully.

- I have reduced the abundance of the musical instruments considerably for the next version, so they shouldn't appear as often in shops

- That would be good, however I tried experimenting with that and shields aren't accepted as an alternate weapon type.

 

[guspav]

Version 0.3 is up!
Enjoy!
The changelog is on the original post.

 

[soulshard]

Just a quick one. Every time i get into combat with the orc faction. The battle loads then straight away stops responding. I have had this with other mods before. Not sure why it happens thought you should know. Had no other issues with this mod. I can have the orc companions in my party fine. It only happens when i fight a orc party.

 

[guspav]

Just a quick one. Every time i get into combat with the orc faction. The battle loads then straight away stops responding. I have had this with other mods before. Not sure why it happens thought you should know. Had no other issues with this mod. I can have the orc companions in my party fine. It only happens when i fight a orc party.

Oh crap! Bug confirmed!
Hunting...
EDIT: SQUASHED!

I uploaded a hotfix to the Nexus.  http://mountandblade.nexusmods.com/download/1000000299
The crashing issue should be resolved.

 

[dagg929]

Awesome concept. Going to give this a try.

 

[Broken]

New faction cities seem to be missing arena masters.  I remember you mentioned those scenes being in development, so this may not be news to you. 
If friendly faction troops receive a direct hit from a magical attack they will begin disregarding orders and will closely follow the player.  Its pretty rare that this actually happens so there isnt much impact on the game.
Love the updates! 

 

[Horla]

Great work and great coding. I'm really looking forward to your mod, and also I find your features very inspiring.

Good luck !

 

[Jackem]

Thanks for new update! But now orcs have over 2500 army, other > 600, my army with average leadership and renown are over 100. Is it normal?
Also please add upgrade tree for undead troop, now possible to recruit zombies from villages, but no upgrades for them.

 

[Diaphantos1]

Thanks for new update! But now orcs have over 2500 army, other > 600, my army with average leadership and renown are over 100. Is it normal?
Also please add upgrade tree for undead troop, now possible to recruit zombies from villages, but no upgrades for them.

I believe the new factions were given a massive boost in their troops to prevent them from being destroyed easily by one of the original factions.

If you want to use good undead troops, you have to get them from necromancy. It should give you a good mix of troops depending on your necromancy level.


Is it possible to re-use the code for Necromancy to create golems for non-necromancer mage characters? An alchemy skill, perhaps.

 

[guspav]

Thank you all. I am glad you are enjoying the mod.
Now to some answers:

New faction cities seem to be missing arena masters.  I remember you mentioned those scenes being in development, so this may not be news to you. 
If friendly faction troops receive a direct hit from a magical attack they will begin disregarding orders and will closely follow the player.  Its pretty rare that this actually happens so there isnt much impact on the game.
Love the updates! 

Indeed, there was a tiny script error regarding the arena masters. I have corrected it and they will show on the next version.

Thanks for new update! But now orcs have over 2500 army, other > 600, my army with average leadership and renown are over 100. Is it normal?
Also please add upgrade tree for undead troop, now possible to recruit zombies from villages, but no upgrades for them.

Heh, it seems Diaphantos1 beat me to it
Anyway here's "the official version":

The orcs receive the "horde" troop boost in which they will get a massive amount of warriors so they go forward and grab some land from their neighbors. By month 2 or 3 their troops will be within normal ranges.

The undeads also get a troop boost, not as massive, but quite large to help them survive.

The other factions also get a troop boost at the beginning, not as large, but it will help them survive wars with the original factions. Also they'll get a smaller troop boost monthly (with the sign X faction have rallied their troops). They'll receive that boost as long as their capital city remains under their control.

Like Diaphantos1 said, undead armies are meant to be made using the necromancy skill, not standard recruiting. You can use that for emergencies and get some wimpy zombies, but they won't be of much help.

If you want to use good undead troops, you have to get them from necromancy. It should give you a good mix of troops depending on your necromancy level.


Is it possible to re-use the code for Necromancy to create golems for non-necromancer mage characters? An alchemy skill, perhaps.

It would be possible, yes, but in this version it is possible to recruit golems from the Wizards Tower.... Uh oh, I just noticed a small error in that script, it seems broken, I'll fix it for the next version

 

[Cairn Curio]

I wish you best of luck, this looks to be one of the best mod ideas out there. About time someone represented us fantasy addicts 

 

[Jackem]

In my last game drows wiped in week by hordes of elfes and dwarfs.

 

[greater good]

Hi, enjoying the mod so far!
When i saw that you could use necromancy i was like 'HELL YES!'

A quick suggestion, if i may, (Don't know if its doable since i know nothing about coding)
When you capture a lord, is it possible to turn him into a undead? Then you have your own little Army of undead lords which will plunge the entire realm of Calradia into chaos! Oh sweet, sweet chaos *Laughing like a maniac* Ahem... Keep up the good work, mate

 

[mercav]

In my last game drows wiped in week by hordes of elfes and dwarfs.

Had similar issue but not to this extent.  All drow stuff between Sarranids and Swadians was taken really fast.

Can anyone get to the village of Kibteh?  I can't.

It would be possible, yes, but in this version it is possible to recruit golems from the Wizards Tower.... Uh oh, I just noticed a small error in that script, it seems broken, I'll fix it for the next version

Haven't gotten that far in this iteration but do you get golems the same way as female elves?

Also, how do you get the new elf clerics (I don't think there is an upgrade path to them)?

 

[The_Shogun]

Question about the necromancy. Is it possible to get other troops besides zombies and skeletons? My necromancy is at lvl 8 and I can still only get those two.  Second, is it possible to upgrade them? Lastly, do skills like throwing and power throw affect spells?

 

[Diaphantos1]

Question about the necromancy. Is it possible to get other troops besides zombies and skeletons? My necromancy is at lvl 8 and I can still only get those two.  Second, is it possible to upgrade them?

With enough HP and necromancy skill, you can also create shadows. None of the undead troops can be upgraded.

In my last game drows wiped in week by hordes of elfes and dwarfs.

Had similar issue but not to this extent.  All drow stuff between Sarranids and Swadians was taken really fast.

Same here. The Drows get their main town taken quite quickly. The Dwarves, Undead, and Drow factions are too close together, I think.  I realize this isn't the map that's going to be in the final version, but it might be better to move them to the empty space next to Praven and Wercheg for the next release.

 

[guspav]

In my last game drows wiped in week by hordes of elfes and dwarfs.

Had similar issue but not to this extent.  All drow stuff between Sarranids and Swadians was taken really fast.

Can anyone get to the village of Kibteh?  I can't.

Same here. The Drows get their main town taken quite quickly. The Dwarves, Undead, and Drow factions are too close together, I think.  I realize this isn't the map that's going to be in the final version, but it might be better to move them to the empty space next to Praven and Wercheg for the next release.

Yeah, I have noticed that too: dwarves and elves tend to pile up on the drow and take their capital quite quickly. There are 2 solutions for that: I either move the capital farther away or make them much stronger so they endure longer... I think the capital option would be the most logical one

Hi, enjoying the mod so far!
When i saw that you could use necromancy i was like 'HELL YES!'

A quick suggestion, if i may, (Don't know if its doable since i know nothing about coding)
When you capture a lord, is it possible to turn him into a undead? Then you have your own little Army of undead lords which will plunge the entire realm of Calradia into chaos! Oh sweet, sweet chaos *Laughing like a maniac* Ahem... Keep up the good work, mate

Thanks!
I guess it might be possible, yes, but it would have to be implemented very carefully and cleverly so as to not end up having a game full of undead lords in non undead factions

Haven't gotten that far in this iteration but do you get golems the same way as female elves?

Also, how do you get the new elf clerics (I don't think there is an upgrade path to them)?

I actually did add the golem recruiting menu, but due to some really silly mistake it is broken. It is fixed already for the next version. They will be recruitable from the mage's capital city.

I also forgot to add an upgrade path to get elf clerics, I'll think how to do it for the next version, since the logical choice would be to get them from elven fighters, but they already upgrade to 2 troops already. Perhaps a longer troop path would be the best way to go.

Question about the necromancy. Is it possible to get other troops besides zombies and skeletons? My necromancy is at lvl 8 and I can still only get those two.  Second, is it possible to upgrade them? Lastly, do skills like throwing and power throw affect spells?

It is possible to get shadows, but you'll need a higher amount of HP (more than 50 to be precise)  and a necromancy score higher than 8.
Undead are not upgradeable, seeing as they are mindless monsters. I might make shadows upgradeable later since they are supposed to remain fairly intelligent.

 

[mercav]

In my last game drows wiped in week by hordes of elfes and dwarfs.

Had similar issue but not to this extent.  All drow stuff between Sarranids and Swadians was taken really fast.

Can anyone get to the village of Kibteh?  I can't.

Same here. The Drows get their main town taken quite quickly. The Dwarves, Undead, and Drow factions are too close together, I think.  I realize this isn't the map that's going to be in the final version, but it might be better to move them to the empty space next to Praven and Wercheg for the next release.

Yeah, I have noticed that too: dwarves and elves tend to pile up on the drow and take their capital quite quickly. There are 2 solutions for that: I either move the capital farther away or make them much stronger so they endure longer... I think the capital option would be the most logical one

Also, how do you get the new elf clerics (I don't think there is an upgrade path to them)?

I also forgot to add an upgrade path to get elf clerics, I'll think how to do it for the next version, since the logical choice would be to get them from elven fighters, but they already upgrade to 2 troops already. Perhaps a longer troop path would be the best way to go.

I agree with the placement idea for the Drow main base.  Little more than two months in and the Obsidian Spire was taken over by the Order.  The undead were also at war with Swadia (I think). 

I actually thought the elf clerics would upgrade out of the spellswords or the guardians, not sure which would fit better.  This is doubly true if they are a dedicated melee (which the elves don't have), not just a weak archer (or a mage, not that mages can be weak) in addition.

By the time the orcs were running out of troops, they had only captured Durrin Castle and Ahmerrad, both were reconquered by the Dwarfs.

Is the undead faction weakened by their units not being able to be upgraded?  I assume units under a lord's control gain exp (as can be seen when they have high tier neutrals) and since undead don't upgrade....

While I like the idea of mage robe colors like martial arts rankings, but is there a way to make a mage robe (or a series of them) which are based on the lord's flag, like heraldic mail or most shields?  Also, the female orc hero skins armor to male.  Is this intentional?  Similarly, the elven mail shirt (bonus to magic) always skins to male.

Does anyone else think the 1500+ hp shields are a little op?

Are the spawn locations for the elven warband, the orc raiders, the dwarf prospectors, etc. based around certain areas?  Can there be more than 1 of each spawn out at the same time?  Are there going to also be Drow raiders? on the new skins for the random spawns on the overland map (only noticed two but didn't look that much until I noticed there were any).

Sometimes when my character (or an ally) kill an enemy, the message, "______ killed ______" and, sometimes, "________ gets xxx experience" appears twice.  I could be mistaken, but I think this only happened to me with the Sun Blade against undead and with spells.  I haven't used the Vorpal Sword (snicker-snack!) so this might be an issue here too.

Something I have an issue with is the ability to bring a couple of mages to a city which heavily outnumbers you, attack, put your troops on hold position, and wait.  This works especially well against the orcs.  To improve on this, give yourself the white bolt and/or mix in a few clerics for longevity or even to give enemy archers more targets (with shields).  Is it possible to reduce the effectiveness of magic in sieges and/or only allow a certain amount of recharges per combat?