Hi All,
Yesterday I finally released my Tatars civ mod, a product of over 3 months of work. I wanted to introduce some of the units and features of the civ, and hopefully inspire some of you to give it a go.
There has been a lot of discussion over the years about how a Central Asian civ should look, so first of all: my Tatars are an umbrella civ, meant to represent the various Turkic successors to the Golden Horde and the Chagatai Khanate, a vast area that spreads across Central Asia from Ukraine to China. The unit roster is inspired by the armies of the Crimean Khanate, while the architecture is meant to evoke the Timurid buildings of Samarkand and Bukhara.
Gameplay-wise, the Tatars are an Asian civ, so they age up with Wonders, and have access to the Consulate and Monastery. Militarily, the focus is on cavalry supported by foreign soldiers, with cards boosting cavalry, archers, natives and mercenaries. Their position at the heart of the trade routes between China and West Asia means they have very good export generation, and new ways to spend that export. Their economy is centered on livestock, which form an important part of their food production right through to the late-game.
The Tatar villager is called the Kötüçe, which translates to “herder” or “shepherd”. Kötüçes are faster and can see further than regular Villagers, and can be paid for using either food or export.
The Tatars do not have access to Rice Paddies, instead building Mills for food and their unique Bazar to generate coin. In addition to generating coin, Bazars can be switched to produce export, albeit at a much lower rate. Their other unique building is the Yurt, which replaces the House. Yurts only support 5 population, but spawn a Sheep when built and can train and fatten livestock. In addition, you will receive a Yurt Rickshaw with every shipment you send (except infinite and team shipments).
Kötüçes working at the Bazar with some Yurts nearby (Bazar model to be updated in the future)
Tatar Units
The Tatar hero is the Mirza, a mounted archer with a charged multi-arrow attack. Monastery technologies improve the Mirza’s combat capabilities, give him a damage-boosting aura, and allow him to train Wolves
In the Commerce Age, the Tatars can train 2 infantry and 2 cavalry units:
- Tribal Warrior (Barracks): A weak but cheap hand infantry
- Sibir Hunter (Barracks): A capable foot archer with decent attack but a slightly reduced range
- Batir (Stable): A hand cavalry that sits somewhere between Hussar and Uhlan in cost, attack and health
- Kazak (Stable): A mounted archer with low health but a good attack. Only takes 1 population, but is reasonably expensive.
The Mirza and his early warriors
In the Fortress Age, new units are enabled:
- Seymen (Barracks): A powerful, 2-population skirmisher. The Seymen is very tough, and has good attack but poor range, making it more of a line-of-battle infantry than a true skirmisher.
- Circassian Lancer (Stable): A light lancer, very good against cavalry in melee but poor against infantry.
- Oghlan (Stable): A 3-population heavy cataphract with bow and lance, devastating against infantry in melee and strong at range.
- Marauder (Castle): A heavy siege cavalry unit armed with a torch, and unashamed reference to an earlier game.
- Wall Gun (Castle): A heavy cannon taken from a castle wall. Strong against artillery and buildings but poor against other units.
A Fortress Age army
Tatar Wonders
- Hansaray - The palace of the Crimean Khan ships Kötüçes and Cows, supports 40 population and can fatten livestock. It also increases the fattening speed of all livestock.
- Saray-i Batu - The ancient capital of the Golden Horde ships Kazaks or Oghlans, depending on the age, and has a passive ability that allows your soldiers to loot export and coin from defeated enemies, especially Settlers.
- Tilya-Kori Madrasah - This stunning mosque in Samarkand ships rickshaws that can build a variety of buildings, heals nearby units and can train Sages. Sages are healers with a low build limit but no population cost, and they can be improved by several technologies at the Madrasah itself.
- Polvon Gate - This gateway in Khiva was at the centre of one of the largest slave trades in the world. It ships export and experience, and allows you to spend export to train banner armies of Tatar warriors. It also allows you to resend reinforcement shipments, home city cards that cost export and send consulate armies.
- Ark of Bukhara - The greatest fortification in the city of Bukhara ships Castle Rickshaws and Castle units and gradually spawns Qolcancis, elite horse archers with a long range, area of effect attack.
Tatar Consulate
The Tatars have access to the Russian and Ottoman allies at the Consulate, and have 2 unique allies: the Chinese and the Polish
The Chinese passive bonus improves military unit production speed. Its banner armies are exactly that: You can train the Mongolian, Territorial and Forbidden Armies exactly as a Chinese player would. In the Imperial Age you can send the Ming Loyalist Brigade, which ships a large number of Rattan Shields and Iron Troops. The Chinese have technologies that ship small numbers of Flamethrowers, Hand Mortars and Flying Crows, and allows them to be retrained at the Castle if killed.
The Polish provide a passive food trickle. Their banner armies ship a variety of Polish units, including Dziesietniks (Polish Halberdiers), Piechurs (Polish Hajduks), Companions (Elite Dragoons), Horse Artillery and Winged Hussars. Their technologies boost your economy, and ship resource sources - mines, trees and a Folwark mill - along with providing a small collection rate boost. Massive thanks to @Stark22e for allowing me to use the units from their Just Poland mod!
Home City
The Tatar home city is Bukhara, capital of the Khanate of Bukhara and a global centre of trade and learning.
The Tatars have a lot of unique cards, but here are a few highlights:
-
They have no villager shipment cards. Instead, they can spend export to send “Khanate” cards from the harbour, which bundle together villagers and a collection rate improvement, for example:
Sibir Khanate (Age 1, 100 export): Ships 3 Kötüçes from the Sibir Khanate. Villager gather work rate for hunted animals and Berry Bushes increased, hunted animals and Berry Bushes contain more food. -
Also from the harbour are “Reinforcement” cards, shipments of consulate units that cost export, for example:
Kapıkulu Reinforcements (Age 3, 800 export): Ships 9 Janissaries and 3 Sipahis from the Padishah’s Kapıkulu Corps. -
Transoxiana (Age 2): Native Settlements can call Bashibozuks to defend them; trade routes provide more coin, food and wood.
-
TEAM Timurid Architecture (Age 1): TEAM buildings cost 10% less wood and grant 25% more xp when built.
-
Shangyrak (Age 1): Delivers 1 Horse scout. Yurts gain a small experience trickle and can train Horses.
-
Blue Horde (Age 4, 1000 coin): Ships a number of native horse archers from across the steppe.
Finally, the mod introduces 2 new mercenaries. These can be sent from the Tatar home city, and are also in the pool of random mercenaries for other civs to train from the Tavern, Monastery or similar.
- Dzungar Marksman: A Mongolian mercenary variant of the Rifle Rider, the Dzungar Marksman can counter heavy infantry and cavalry, but in turn is classed as both heavy and light cavalry.
- Abrek: A Caucasian armoured musketeer. Has ranged armour and counters light cavalry at range, has melee armour and counters heavy cavalry in melee.
Credits
The units in this mod speak a variety of languages from different sources:
- Kötüçes and the Commerce Age military units speak Cuman, taken from the Tatar Archer. Kötüçe lines were taken from Cuman Villager dialogue in Age of Empires 2.
- The Oghlan and Marauder speak Chagatai, taken from Tatar military dialogue in Age of Empires 2.
- Circassian Lancers and Abreks speak Georgian, taken from the Georgian Hussar.
- Seymens, warships and Wall Guns speak Turkish, taken from the Abus Gun and Ottoman Ships and Falconets.
- The Mirza and Sages speak Persian, taken from Delhi Sultanate dialogue in Age of Empires 4.
- The Dzungar Marksman speaks Khalkha Mongolian, taken from Mongol military dialogue in Age of Empires 2.
Credit to the Age of Pirates and Age of the World teams for the use of their icons.
Enormous thanks to Stark22e for starting me down the path of making this mod, as well as generously allowing the use of their Polish unit stats, descriptions, textures and voice lines.
Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy the mod!
