[Mod] Historical Units and Architecture

Hello, thanks for the reply.
Ioannes on Steam was me, but I was banned from the forums so I wrote here too.

I downloaded AGE and tried modding the units myself but I got nervous at the fact I could not find the units in the list after some time. Some were there, but the two I need weren’t. So I gave up, but thanks for giving me the tip on how to do it.
Perhaps in the future you will make more models, maybe less unique ones that more civs of the same ethnic group can share.

Rebuilt the mod on the latest version of the game. Just updated.
Also added new Mongolian Hussar and Burmese Elite Battle Elephant along with Yurt archirecture for Mongols and Huns.

Hey love your work so far but are there any units or unique heroes left you haven’t used yet?

Yes,
Dagnajan (Elephant Archer with two riders)
Scythian Wild Woman (Lady who stabs with knife on attack)
Queen (Like the King unit it only has standing, walking and dying animation)
Tsar Konstantin (Triple horse Chariot with two riders)

Let me know if you discover I missed something…

Hello again,

I encountered today a problem with a saved game. Monks could be created but then “disappeared”. Their icon is also missing. The unit is not actually there, so it’s not invisible but doesn’t even create.
I’m not sure if this problem arose after I saved and closed then reopened the game later, but I noticed it as soon as I could make the monastery.
I also noticed another unit (not sure what it was for it was of the enemy AI) that was invisible. So in that case it did exist but could not be seen. I think it was a mounted unit cause my scout killed it and it made a neigh sound effect.
I also played on MP last night and this problem didn’t pop up so I think it was an occasional thing, maybe related to some game setting or whatever… just wanted you to know.

EDIT: as for CinderyButton’s mod, yeah I checked it but the way he/she applied the skins is out of my taste. For example, using an arab/byantine cataphract for the Berber’s cavalier is definitely not accurate, but much worse is the dismounted Konnik used as berber infantry.

EDIT 2: I tried recreating the error and this how it happens: if you save a game, and reopen it without closing the game, all is ok. However, if you save and close the game, then relaunch AoE2DE, the monk gets bugged as I described above.
Not sure if it’s civ-related. I used the italians in both tests.

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Yes the problem is a known issue in how the game manages the data mods. Let me explain you:

  • game runs on its own data set Aoe2DE data as default.
  • when you select a mod from the dropdown menu it’s data set is loaded in the background and the game runs on it.
  • when you restart the game, the game resets to original DE data set.
  • the game does not load the appropriate dataset for a saved game automatically. It just runs it on the data set running in background.
  • new/replaced units introduced by a mod will become invisible/revert to original for any savegame.

How can you fix this issue?

  • You can pre-load a game with dataset in a skirmish game and then load the saved game.
  • You can copy the files from mod directory to game directory and replace them to directly apply the mod.

This guy is raising the same issue for option to permanently activating a mod data set:

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Thank you for the reply.
I think I will go with the first option, in case I ever need to go back to the original AoE, it will be easier. Also if you update, I won’t have to copy paste files every time.

By the way, have you ever tried restoring a MP game using the mod? Were there any issues or tricks to perform, if so?

Lastly, the italians have a regular monk skin, so I’m not sure why it got bugged in the game. Maybe any unit that has a special skin gets bugged in all civs in a match regardless whether the specific civ uses the standard skin or not?
Actually, no civ had a special monk because the other 3 AIs were all European civs with the Christian monk.

I don’t have any idea about restoring the game for MP games. Do let me know if you discover some tricks. It might help guide other users.

I have replaced the default monks(christian and meso) with new units as well so as to keep AI behavior same for all civs and thus keep it uniform throughout.

The Tsar Konstantin could be used as Cavalier/Paladin replacement for far eastern civilizations, like the Chinese. War chariots where common use among many Chinese dynasties, maybe they where used on other far eastern cultures, I don’t know.

Unfortunately non of the eastern asian civs get paladin. Tsar constantin has a ranged attack of throwing a jevelin. I shall do some experiment to see if it can be adjusted to look like a melee attack. Thanks for the idea!

you are welcome! They can fit nicely as cavalier too!

They feel quite strange because of the small collision radius of cavalier which makes them way too much packed in a group.

BTW we also have some unused merchant graphics which can be used for kings. Let me know if you have some suggestions regarding them…

When you say Merchant, it’s literally the merchan from the editor?

If so, I dunno, there are a few things you can do with it and the Queen.

First of, a reskin for the King, it could be specific for a civilization (like Spanish or britons have the queen to represent Isabel or Elisabeth, “Germanic” or “latin” civilizations get the Merchant as the king, such as Italians and teutons…)

Second, if you can do this, they may be used as “random” kings textures, each civ got a different king skin…

Thirdly, the merchant can be used as a monk for “protestant” civilizations, but I think they will lack proper animations…

How about Ox cart and wagons? they can be used as reskin for merchant carts for some civs…

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As long as I know, Chinese and other East Asian not used the chariots after the Common Era beginning. Chinese army almost not used the war chariots after Han dynasty (2 B.C.E) because they had learned that the chariots were hard to fight the nomad barbarian horsemen outside of the Great Wall. Before this, they had used the chariots in the long civil war.

When Korea and Japan started to learn the technologies and culture from Chinese people, cavalry had been substituted for the chariots in the Chinese army for a long time, and their land didn’t have many good war horses, so both of they still kept infantry battle mainly.

After Korean army learned the Chinese firearms, they started to copy as well as improve them and use them to fight Jurchens and pirates. One way is putting Shinkichon on the wagon and reinforce the shell of the wagon, it had been helpful in the battle against the nomad and now become the UU.

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The tsar maybe used as genitous replacements for far eastern civilizations. UomostRook9474, I know that War Chariots where used, at best, on early medieval China, and then just sparingly, mostly in cerimonial parades. But it’s a game where you recruit Francisca thrower warriors, from the frank immigration periods at the same time you can recruit knights and cavaliers from the late medieval period of the Kindom of France…

That just make it not “historical”.
The problem between Axe Thrower and Kight is belongs to Franks, not to Asian. You can create another topic for discussing but please don’t use it to be a reason for ignoring Asian culture.

I knew that the game has so many unreasonable designs but chariots are definitely bad idea here.

What I meant is that war chariots and medieval China maybe anachronistic. But axe throwers along with kinights is too.

Likewise, the topic purpose is to help the modder to find usage to some units, not discuss history. I didn’t started.

Anyway, War Chariots where used on the Battle of Mobei, at 119 CE. Early medieval China, true, but medieval nonetheless.

As the franks axe throwers.

And if the modder don’t like it, he is not forced by anyone to use it. Likewise, your game will not stop working if you just don’t use the mod. Just chill.

Back to the tsar chariot use. It oculd be used as genitours replacement, but it has an problem, the chariot is bigger than the genitour, so you will likely find the same problem you already reported.

I can increase the collision radius but it will affect the balance a lot.
Also 2 riders on the same unit makes it odd to have 1 population. Same problem with gidajan elephant archer.
I have a feeling that I should create a separate mod where I should alter the balance for all civs for the new units.

It would be perfect if he could replace some kind of elephant unit, but I don’t know which.

I use your mod, and I have the impression that some units have some other changes besides aesthetics (like the italian champion, I had the impressions it has more reach, but it could be just an false impression)

One more unit model to be used: Joan of Arc
Ideas?