B Native [RTI] Reworked Troops & Items: Gameplay Update v0.4 Nov 9th 2023

[RalliX]

Reworked Troops & Items

Version 0.4 Released Nov 9th 2023
Version 0.3 Released Apr 10th 2023
Version 0.2 Released Feb 24th 2023

The idea is to to improve the core gameplay of Native, while preserving it's spirit and character. I've heavily polished and balanced the troops and items. (I've also added or replaced certain items with models that were unused in the mesh files)
Many hundreds of hours of testing have be spent making things feel right. Almost everything that always irked me about the feel of native has been smoothed out. There will no doubt still be some changes to make balance wise over time, but I really like the direction this took.
As someone who played this game for many thousands of hours, and dedicated quite some time and thought into this, I hope you will try this.
I also highly recommend running doghotel's brainybots in the background for a greater challenge.

Primary Changes:

• Combat has been made to feel faster, heavier, and given a moderate dose of realism.
• Armour has been made stronger across the board, especially light armours. Weapons will still feel deadly, but full damage is actually playable now in singleplayer mode.
• Melee Weapons have had their damages, speeds, and reach(ghost range removed) adjusted on an item by item basis.
• Ranged weapons are heavily adjusted to respond to the changes in armour values, and are more deadly than ever if massed.
• Horses and cavalry have been heavily reworked to balance them, no more cutting through elite infantry like bowling pins.
• Each faction has had its troop tree rebuilt or modified, and each unit given individual attention to appearance and effectiveness.
• Some AI lord parties are stronger than others, and their troops will provide a real threat to the player even in the late game if left unchecked. Faction leaders have the most numerous and well trained troops.
• Recruiting has been made faster by a factor of ten. Fresh recruits are less useless than before, but are still essentially fodder.

This is both a MP & SP mod. The affected files are module_scripts, module_items, module_troops, and module_party_templates. But the mod can function with just Troops and Items if you're not interested in MP or the Quick Battle Mode.

I will be interested in organizing some MP playtesting with the community for Battle Mode. If you're interested please contact me on Steam or Discord.

Steam Community :: Returning

No information given.

steamcommunity.com

Discord: Rallix#4273
I'll be uploading some gameplay footage over the next days to help spark interest. However, the best way to experience it is to play it, and it's less than 100Mb to download.

Here's the source if any modders want to splice something of mine into theirs. Just credit me and feel free to use it however you like:
Module System for v0.4, Released Nov 9th 2023
It uses no non-native assets. I couldn't have made this without Morgh's, not because I couldn't figure out how to change the items/troops in the module system, but because I invested a great deal of time into this, even with the help of his editor. It would not have been possible to polish the gameplay so thoroughly without that tool, at least not in any reasonable amount of time. Many thanks to Morgh, I am not aware of a newer or better tool for this task.

I hope this can be a starting point for some kind of Community Update Project. Bannerlord isn't really my cup of tea, and this is meant to be the open source development of an alternative direction in terms of gameplay and feel. I want to play this old game some more, but make it feel fresh and polished.

Edit: Updated links for new version.
9th Nov 2023, Version 0.4 Update.
03/29: Added new footage of v0.3 in development.

Spoiler: Footage

 

[Tasak]

Good job, it is nice to see Native still being enhanced and polished in 2023 after this many years...

I've also added or replaced certain items with models that were unused in the mesh files

They mostly come from the original game and were made in the first half of the 2000s, so they may look ugly but I get that you wanted to keep the module's size fairly low (i.e. under 100 MB) and, therefore, decided not to include some OSP/ LSP assets in your project (which would have made it less Native-like).

Here's the source if any modders want to splice something of mine into theirs. Just credit me and feel free to use it however you like.

Many thanks for it and well done. It is great that you thought about the community and made the project OSP.

 

[RalliX]

I mostly didn't include OSPs because then it gets murky which ones to subscribe to and not. This way any mod that has the native BRF files will be able to use my tree.
Native is messy, but I made coherent and good looking SP units by organizing the items distinctly by faction and theming factions properly using the items available. I'm not unsatisfied with the result, it just makes me wonder why the devs didn't do what I did in the first place.
It changes the dynamic. It makes things the way they should be using all the native assets to their best. I also got rid of most of the War-rider era item models and replaced them with new and more suitable native ones.
Really, the only essential core of the mod is the item_kinds and troops file, so really the whole mod could be pared down to like 1 Mb.


Many thanks for the compliment and support.

 

[Tasak]

I also got rid of most of the War-rider era item models and replaced them with new and more suitable native ones.

That is nice; those clunky assets from the mid-2000s have always been ugly.

Looking really forward to testing the module out, especially when it does not reproduce some vanilla Native's inconsistencies. I am really interested in how you balanced weapons' damage values.

Many thanks for the compliment and support.

You are welcome.

 

[RalliX]

I will need to make some adjustments to the Scripts file, probably being to replace it with a 1.171 module system module_scripts as the whole reason I made changes to the scripts is to change the equipment loadouts for the MP classes. It seems the 1.166 version of the game had completely bugged Battle mode gold distribution and does not give post-round gold back. So you die, respawn next round only with equipment up to what was earned from combat gold. An oversight for sure.

The SP works fine though thankfully. But yeah I'll need to update these scripts with the changes I made to the old version before I can have a MP playtest for this. ****.

 

[Tasak]

Good luck!

The SP works fine though thankfully. But yeah I'll need to update these scripts with the changes I made to the old version before I can have a MP playtest for this. ****.

 

[RalliX]

Added new version 0.2 with fixed multiplayer battle gold issue and built off a 1.171 Module system.
Also further modified some items. I'd say it's closed to finish with what I can do so far. The rest is going to need playtesting to determine what needs correcting.

 

[Tasak]

Good news, nice.

 

[Redleg]

Rallix, it's good to see you again at the forums. I enjoyed your previous troop versions.

 

[RalliX]

Added new gameplay footage of version 0.3 in development.
Also, thanks Redleg, I remember your early endorsement of my old mods. TBH they were ok, but I think this is a more matured version of it.

Edit: Added new version .3 Apr 10th 2023.

 

[RalliX]

Today I uploaded the v0.4 gameplay update. It's been eight months, but that whole time I was steadily improving the mod.
I feel this is a huge improvement to the gameplay and balance, possibly a definitive one. Have a taste of it if you please.