I love playing UHD, I do have a larger 4K monitor though and a powerful PC. If you can run it on your PC I highly recommend. 
All of this looks amazing. Good job!
By the way, have you already decided what to do with trade carts?
Also, I think the Feudal Age Central Europe architecture set would fit better for the Germanic/Barbarian civs. I always thought it deserved to be its own architecture set.
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@RatcicleFan thank you!
I have not decided what to do with trade carts. Did you have any ideas here?
I have mainly focused on elements that create the allusion game is based in Antiquity, some elements were more out of place than other IMO. Examples include Christian symbols like Chi Rho, the cross on shields and buildings, or architecture that was medieval, even technology that was out of place like windmills, chemistry/gunpowder, or crossbows.
I agree the Fuedal set fits nicely for Barbariansā¦ so I left Western Fuedal for Celts/Guals and Eastern Set for Goths Germanic. Rather than upgrading to Age 3 appearance, they remain Feudal in appearance and donāt get access to advanced buildings like Siege or Castles nor do they have option to upgrade to Imperial. Church is swapped out with Pagan temple too I know this currently handicaps barbarian civs, but I give Celts faster training times like Goths to partially compensate (balance has not been focus to date) āBarbariansā can overwhelm Romans in numbers though which is cool.
Other Civs like Egyptian, Greek, and Parthians more closely match Romans in terms of technology and upgrades.
Ideally Players should choose Goths and Celts for Barbarian and then Romans, Greeks, Egyptians, and Parthian civs in game to maintain atmosphere of period.
Started working on destruction animation for new town center. Taking a different approach this time and creating component destruction animations that are reusableā¦ columns, roof, etc. Hope to be able to show sample animation(s) soon
Awesome, the project is really cool, been trying it out for a few days. One thing I do wish, I wish the civs had more unique bonuses, instead of just recycling those from what they replaced. Iāll outline some ideas I have below because I love balancing stuff, but first, the Feitoria. Your version looks awesome, but it has one problem. The destruction animation still matches the original Feitoria, which you may want to fix. Now for my balance/change suggestions, donāt know what you think of this, but here are some ideas. Because I have so much stuff, I figured I might as well structure this more like an actual balance suggestion post, so I have arrows indicating what kind of change something is, as well as a 
for when Iām suggesting changing a civ bonus. Also, for all civs here, just remove Bombard Cannon, Hand Cannoneer, and Bombard Tower, because this is pre gunpowder:
Roman Empire:
-
Blast Furnace added, they arenāt Byzantines any more, so this will be a good change. They are also meant to be a leading power, so it makes sense. -
Heavy Scorpion added, because the Romans were key users of the Ballista.
-
Siege Onager added, because the Romans invented Onagers.
-
Camel Line removed, it doesnāt really fit with the Roman Empire, because in my opinion at least, they should have a focus on Infantry, maybe Cavalry, and Auxiliary troops somewhat. -
Siege Engineers added, because the Romans were good Siege Engineers.
-
Hussar Removed, to reflect a transition more from Auxiliary cav like the Republic, into Ranking officer cav like the Empire somewhat.
-
Legionary is now a regional unit available in Castle Age, trained at the barracks. Stats wise, what you have now is fine.
-
Praetorian infantry removed.
-
Praetorian Cavalry is the unique unit solely, along with the Legionary, maybe increase the cost a bit, but increase the base damage by 1. -
Faster attacking fire ships removed, the Romans were literally scared of the sea, and most of their naval focus peaked during the Punic Wars, so the Republic should be better on water.
-
Greek Fire removed, same reason as above.
-
Logistica stage 2 added, a name is needed, but maybe lets Praetorian Cavalry turn into Praetorian Infantry when they die, but it increases their gold cost.
-
The counter unit discount changes to Skirms, Spears, and Light Cav, and increases from 25% to 33%, making it reflect the use of enscripted troops.
-
Free Town Watch removed.
-
Masonry added, but the building HP bonus is halved at each level.
-
Legionaries train 25% faster in Castle, and 50% faster in Imperial.
-
Legionaries get +2 Pierce armor.
Roman Republic:
-
Heavy Scorpion added, due to the use in the military, but I donāt think Siege Onager, because they arenāt the Empire yet.
-
Siege Engineers added for the same reason.
-
Legionary is a regional unit, like above.
-
Praetorian Guard is now the unique unit, but cheaper than the mounted version, and with either -10 or -20 HP, with otherwise identical stats.
-
Age up discount increased to 20%.
-
Both Town Watch and Town Patrol are now free, reflecting how the early Roman Republic had to be ever vigilant against Barbarian attacks.
-
Fishing ship discount removed, infantry now get +1 attack per age, starting in Feudal.
-
The tech discount changes to making all techs research 50% faster, because early Rome was forced to adapt quickly to survive.
-
Marian Reforms no longer enables Legionary training, but makes them cost 20% less instead.
Parthians:
-
Thumb ring and Parthian tactics are free as a civ bonus, like the current Tatar one, giving them CA as a very viable strategy, itās their famous style of fighting after all.
-
War Elephants get a + 30% speed boost automatically.
-
Mahouts removed, replaced with Horn Bow or Recurve Bow, making CA get + 1 range and fire 25% faster, further emphasizing that Parthian hit and run attack style. Alternatively, it could be removed frame delay and fire 33% faster, or +1 range no frame delay, all of them play into that historic effect.
-
Cav Archers train 20%/30% faster in Castle/Imperial.
Greeks:
-
Crop Rotation added, reflecting how some of the lands of Greece could be very hard and rocky.
-
Architecture added, because the Greeks had some impressive ancient architecture, and it fits them.
-
Siege Onager added, to fit with the Phalanx spear line playstyle, and also with like some of the Athenian and other intellectual war machines.
-
Heavy Cav Archer and Parthian Tactics removed, because that was never a focus for the Greeks, they didnāt even use CA really.
-
Athena War Academy replaced with Heavy Phalanx, giving spear line +1/+1 armor, and +1 range, or +3/+3 armor, or +3 attack, depending on personal preference.
-
Greek Architecture replaced with Athena War Academy, making archers fire 25% faster, giving them a bit more than just infantry to play with.
Egyptians:
-
Masonry and Architecture both added, I mean, the Pyramids. End of story.
-
First two Cav armor upgrades added, the Egyptians used Chariots, so they donāt need the Meso missing stable.
-
Light Cav, Knight, Bloodlines, Husbandry, and full camel line added. The knight has a chariot reskin Iām pretty sure, so it fits nicely, and the other things just fill in the stable a bit.
-
Geometry replaced with Scythe Chariots, Knight Line deals +6 damage, and now deals trample damage.
-
Military unit creation speed removed, and replaced with two bonuses, making all buildings cost - 20% stone, and stone miners work 10% faster. Maybe removed Guard tower, to reduce tower rushing. The Pyramids are again a bit motivation behind this, but also just their architecture in general.
Goths:
-
Extra pop in Imp extended to + 25 instead of + 10.
-
Architecture removed, it doesnāt fit at all with the Barbarian theme.
-
The current hunter bonus replaced with Hunters work 25% faster, and huntables have + 10% food, because a lot of their power will really fall off in Imp.
Celts:
-
Military units train 10% faster, kind of getting the Aztec bonus, but also letting them overwhelm more.
-
Paladin removed, it doesnāt really fit now.
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Furor Celtica replaced with Druzhina, only it keeps the name. The whole tech is about being angry, and this fits the Barbarian theme better.
-
Stronghold replaced with Tribal Remedies, letting infantry slowly heal naturally.
Those are just some ideas, if you want to use any of them for balancing purposes. I wasnāt too worried about crossover with actual civs, because you will only really use the ones above, and maybe Huns, which is why no crossover with them.
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@TheConqueror753 thanks for putting all these suggestions together, these are great! I will look to incorporate many of them in my next update. This is exactly the sort of help I need.
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Awesome, you can try adding some of these, then Iām happy to playtest and provide further suggestions.
2 Likes
Iām not sure on if you want the Empire to have Paladin but only LC, or if you want the Republic to be that. The other one would then get Hussar, but only Cavalier. Iāve put it with the Empire getting Paladin right now, due to ranking officers and a more cavalry focus, but if you gave Paladin to the Republic, that might work better, because the Empire might have a conflict between Paladin and Praetorian Cavalry. Itās up to you, maybe give Empire Paladin and Republic Hussar, then try it out, and see if that gets used.
Some updates on new graphics for the Mod.
Rough Animation of Base Columns collapsing down. Many will be covered by the crumbling roof above but will use the animation to help determine how the roof will crumble on top.
Higher Resolution shot of new Town Center in Game
Sapsan my unit Artist has also started working on new Roman Houses. Still working on proportions and overall design but here is a work in progress shot of the new house next to others. Want to have a base version and then upgraded version for next age.
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Iāve created a more polished version of the changes above, that I think will serve the game better. Itās also more concise and clear than before. Basically, replace all the current civ bonuses and stuff with what is listed, and then alter the tech tree based on the changes list. Once again, these are just ideas, but I think they could help make your mod even more realistic. Like before, all these civs lose Hand Cannoneer, Bombard Cannon, and Bombard tower if they have any of those. The Unique Techs are listed with the Castle Age and then the Imperial Age techs.
Roman Empire:
-
Civ Bonuses:
- Buildings + 5%/10%/15%/20% in Dark/Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age.
- Scout Cavalry, Skirmishers, and Spearmen cost -25%.
- Legionaries train 25%/50% faster in Castle/Imperial Age.
- Legionaries have +1/+2 pierce armor in Castle/Imperial Age.
-
Unique Units:
- Praetorian Cavalry:
- Costs 110F, 70G, with a 28 second training time.
- It has 110 HP, 13 attack, 3/2 armor, with 5 cavalry armor (So it reduces anti-cavalry damage by 8)
- It has +3 against other cavalry.
- It has a rate of fire of 1.9, with 5 line of sight, and 1.35 speed.
- Elite Praetorian Cavalry costs 1200F, 800G, and takes 30 seconds to research.
- Elite Praetorian Cavalry has 130 HP, 15 attack, and 4/3 armor, all other stats are the same.
- Legionary:
- Legionary now available at the barracks in Castle Age without needing a tech or Castle.
- Legionary cost and train time remain the same (60F, 30G, 20 seconds).
- Legionary in melee form has 60 HP, 10 attack, and 1/2 armor.
- Ranged version has the same stats, but with 4 range, and 20 HP.
- Elite Legionary added. Elite Legionary costs 750F, 400G, and takes 30 seconds to research.
- Elite Legionary in Melee form has 80 HP, 12 attack, and 1/2 armor.
- Elite Legionary in ranged form has the same stats, but with 5 range and 30 HP.
- Praetorian Cavalry:
-
Unique Technologies:
- Pax Romana: Trade units and villagers cost -50%. Stone cost for outposts removed, and town centers cost -25%. Pax Romana costs 350F, 200G, and takes 50 seconds to research. This is to represent the Roman Imperial might created during the Pax Romana, and let them boom faster if they need to. It also lets them expand more, as with the no stone outposts and cheaper TCs.
- Eagles of the Empire: Praetorian Cavalry become Praetorian Guards when killed, but the gold cost of Praetorian Cavalry increases by 10. Costs 1100F, 600G, and takes 30 seconds to research. Stats for the Praetorian Guard are below with the Roman Republic.
-
Team Bonus:
- Relics generate +33% gold.
-
Balance Changes:
- Paladin Removed. Paladin conflicts with the Praetorian Cavalry, so in order to have the unique unit be used more, Paladin must be removed. It also places an emphasis on Auxiliary in the form of Hussar, because the Empire had a large number of vassal states, and could easily call on Auxiliary troops.
- Camel Line removed. Despite the usage of Auxiliary troops, camels were never really used by Roman military, and it also doesnāt fit with their identity.
- Heavy Scorpion added. The Romans used Scorpion Ballistae as a primary siege weapon, and as this is the Empire, they definitely need Heavy Scorps.
- Siege Onager added. The Romans invented Onagers as one of their most powerful siege weapons, so it is only fitting they have the final upgrade.
- Siege Engineers added. It is needed to make their new siege units more viable, and as they no longer have Bombard Cannons, this replaces it.
- Masonry added. The building HP bonus has been removed, and the Romans were famous for the walls of Rome.
- Treadmill Crane added. The Roman Empire was famous for building roads, and would rapidly construct new buildings.
- Arrowslits removed. They donāt need it, and they have been given three new better university techs, so this should be taken away.
- Blast Furnace added. The Roman Empire should play as a leading technological power, so they need a full blacksmith.
- Shipwright and Galleon removed. The Roman Empire had very little naval power, with the peak during the Punic wars, so their navy needs to be weaker than the Roman Republic.
Roman Republic:
-
Civ Bonuses:
- Advancing to the next age costs -20%.
- Town Watch and Town Patrol are free.
- Technologies (Except Aging up) researched 50% faster.
- Infantry get +1 attack per age, starting in Feudal Age.
-
Unique Units:
- Praetorian Guard:
- Praetorian Guard is the standard Castle UU. It costs 80F and 50G, with a 25 second training time.
- It has 70 HP, 12 attack, 2/2 armor, with 5 infantry armor (So it reduces anti infantry damage by 5).
- It has +4 attack against buildings, and +2 against cavalry.
- It has a speed of 0.9, and 6 line of sight.
- Elite Praetorian Guard costs 900F, 600G, and takes 50 seconds to research.
- Elite Praetorian Guard has 90 HP, 14 attack, 2/3 armor, all other stats are the same as the regular version. Train time decreases to 19 seconds.
- Legionary:
- Legionary now available at the barracks in Castle Age without needing a tech or Castle.
- Legionary cost and train time remain the same (60F, 30G, 20 seconds).
- Legionary in melee form has 60 HP, 10 attack, and 1/2 armor.
- Ranged version has the same stats, but with 4 range, and 20 HP.
- Elite Legionary added. Elite Legionary costs 750F, 400G, and takes 30 seconds to research.
- Elite Legionary in Melee form has 80 HP, 12 attack, and 1/2 armor.
- Elite Legionary in ranged form has the same stats, but with 5 range and 30 HP.
- Only the melee forms have +3 attack against buildings, +4 for the Elite.
- Praetorian Guard:
-
Unique Technologies:
- Testudo: Legionaries, Foot Archers (Including Skirmishers), and Praetorian Guards get +1/+1 armor. Costs 400F, 200G, and takes 40 seconds to research.
- Marian Reforms: Legionaries cost -25% and train 20% faster. Costs 600F, 400G, and takes 30 seconds to research.
-
Team Bonus:
- Scorpions fire 50% faster.
-
Balance Changes:
- Paladin added. The Roman Republic should have more of a reliance on their own officers as cavalry, rather than Auxiliary troops, due to not having conquered the large area they later would. There is also no conflict with the Praetorian Cavalry, so Paladin will serve a potential role without detracting from anything else.
- Heavy Scorpion added. The Republic would use Ballistae as weapons, but they wouldnāt reach the full power of the Empire, so they shouldnāt get Siege Onager.
- Siege Engineers added, once again to serve their siege units better. They lack Bombard Cannons, so this is needed to allow their Capped Rams to keep up, because they donāt have Siege Ram.
- Heated Shot removed. The Roman Republic should have a better navy than the Empire, but they still donāt need this tech. This also stops them having an almost complete university.
- Heresy added, because it fits with the religious style of the Roman Republic.
- Theocracy removed, because they need something to balance out getting Heresy a bit more.
Greeks:
-
Civ Bonuses:
- Technologies cost -15% gold.
- Mill Lumber/Mining Camps cost -50%.
- Infantry attack 33% faster starting in Feudal Age.
-
Unique Units:
- Spartan Warrior: Give it all the stats of a Berserk, including the healing. Make the Elite version heal 40 HP per minute instead of 20 though.
-
Unique Technologies:
- Macedonian Phalanx: Choose one of the following:
- Spear Line gets +1/+1 armor and +1 range. Costs 600W, 350G, with a 30 second research time.
- Spear Line gets +3/+3 armor. Costs 500F, 250G, with a 40 second research time.
- Spear Line gets +3 attack. Costs 600F, 300G, with a 50 second research time.
- Athena Parthenos: Archers fire 25% faster and have +1 attack. Costs 900W, 600G, with a 50 second research time. This gives the Greeks more than just infantry to use.
- Macedonian Phalanx: Choose one of the following:
-
Team Bonus:
- Universities work 80% faster.
-
Balance Changes:
- Crop rotation added, reflecting the harsh and rocky lands that made up part of Greece.
- Architecture added, reflecting the impressive ancient Greek architecture.
- Heavy Cav Archer and Parthian Tactics removed. They donāt fit with the Greeks, who should have an infantry and possibly archer focus.
- Siege Onager added. This is designed to fit with the Infantry theme, but also play into a defensive theme, as well as the technological level some of the Greek states developed.
Parthians:
-
Civ Bonuses:
- Thumb Ring and Parthian Tactics are free.
- Cav Archers train 20%/30% faster in Castle/Imperial Age.
- Start with +50 Food and Wood.
- Town Centers and Docks work 5%/10%/15%/20% faster in Dark/Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age.
-
Unique Units:
- War Elephant: Gets an inherent 30% speed boost to make up for losing Mahouts.
-
Unique Technologies:
- Kamandaran: No change.
- Horn Bow: Choose one of the following:
- Cav Archers get +1 range and fire 25% faster. 650W, 400G, with a 30 second research time.
- Cav Archers frame delay reduced from 46 to 12, and fire 33% faster. 500W, 450G, with a 40 second research time.
- Cav Archers get +1 range, and frame delay reduced from 46 to 12. 800W, 500G, with a 50 second research time.
-
Team Bonus:
- Knights +2 attack against archers.
-
Balance Changes:
- None, their tech tree fits nicely currently.
Egyptians:
-
Civ Bonuses:
- Villagers carry + 3 resources.
- +5 monk hit points for each monastery technology researched.
- Start with +50 gold.
- Buildings cost -20% stone.
-
Unique Units:
- Medjay Warrior: No changes, give it the stats of a Jaguar Warrior fully.
-
Unique Technologies:
- Scythe Chariots: Knights get +6 attack, and deal 0.4 tile trample damage, where they do 33% of their attack. Costs 600F, 500G, with a 40 second research time.
- Per Ankh: Horus Warriors and Medjay Warriors get +20 HP. Costs 750F, 450G, and takes 30 seconds to research. This tech reflects the House of Life, the main religious power of ancient Egypt, and gives these units the HP they need to survive lategame.
-
Team Bonus:
- Stone Miners work 10% faster.
-
Balance Changes:
- First two Cav armor upgrades added, the Egyptians used Chariots, so they shouldnāt have the Meso missing stable.
- Light Cav, Knight, Bloodlines, Husbandry, and full Camel Line added. The Knight line has a nice reskin, that fits well.
- Cav archer and Parthian Tactics added. The CA line also has a reskin, so this builds the chariot theme. If you reskin the Heavy Cav archer to a chariot for the Egyptians as well, then they can get HCA too.
- Thumb Ring added. They need this for their CA to be remotely viable.
- Architecture added, due to the Pyramids and other impressive Egyptian architecture.
- Guard tower removed. They have had several buffs to their stone buildings, so to prevent tower rushing, this needs to be removed. It might not totally prevent it, but will reduce the chances.
Goths:
-
Civ Bonuses:
- Infantry cost -20%/-25%/-30%/-35% in Dark/Feudal/Castle/Imperial Age.
- Infantry +1 attack against buildings per age starting in Feudal.
- Loom can be researched instantly.
- +25 population in Imperial Age.
- Hunters work 25% faster.
-
Unique Units:
- Huskarl: No change.
-
Unique Technologies:
- Anarchy: No change.
- Perfusion: No change.
-
Team Bonus:
- Barracks work 20% faster.
-
Balance Changes:
- Architecture removed. It doesnāt fit with the Barbarian theme, and encourages the Goths to go on the offensive, because they are easier to push.
Celts:
-
Civ Bonuses:
- Infantry move 15% faster starting in Feudal Age.
- Lumberjacks work 15% faster.
- Can steal sheep, and sheep within one Celt unitās LoS cannot be stolen.
- Military units train 10% faster. (Except siege units).
- Siege Weapons fire 25% faster.
-
Unique Units:
- Woad Raider: No change.
-
Unique Technologies:
- Tribal Remedies: Infantry heal 30 HP per minute. Costs 650F, 400G, and takes 30 seconds to research. Stronghold is a pretty useless tech anyway, and this really plays into the Barbarian Gaulish theme.
- Furor Celtica: Infantry damage adjacent units. Costs 1200F, 500G, and takes 40 seconds to research. Furor Celtica has literally nothing to do with siege, and Iām trying to push the Celts more to become Gauls, with a greater focus on Infantry. The Druzhina effect seems perfect.
-
Team Bonus:
- Siege Workshops work 20% faster.
-
Balance Changes:
- Paladin removed. The Celts are now being played more into an infantry theme, with some siege, so they no longer get heavy cav.
- Possibly renamed to Gauls, because that is what they have kind of become here.
Huns:
-
Civ Bonuses:
- Do not need houses, but start with -100 wood.
- Cavalry archers cost -10%/-20% in Castle/Imperial Age.
- Stable units cost -10%. (Doesnāt affect Tarkans with Marauders).
- Trebuchets +30% accuracy.
-
Unique Units:
- Tarkan: Attack bonus against buildings increased by +2. Reload speed changed from 2.1 to 1.95, making it closer to the 1.8 of a knight.
-
Unique Technologies:
- Marauders: No change.
- Atheism: Enemy relics generate -50% resources, enemy monks die when they convert a Hun unit. Hun units die when converted as well. No change to cost or research time.
-
Team Bonus:
- Stables work 20% faster.
-
Balance Changes:
- Cavalier and Paladin removed. These units donāt feel like they fit with a Steppe Marauder civ, and incentivize using the Tarkan more.
- Heresy removed, to increase use of Atheism. If the Atheism change is too hard to implement, keep it like it is, and keep Heresy.
Thatās a really refined version of my suggestions above, so I definitely recommend implementing as much as possible of this.
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Great job putting all this together! All looks great! Thank you for all your help!
One Challenge I see is the Praetorian Calvary turning into Praetorian infantry upon death. Love the idea but unit graphics are very different between the two units. Any suggestions here?
Maybe if there was an infantry equivalent of the Praetorian cav? It could have a round shield. That way, you also have greater control over the stats, making it easier to balance. That might be the best way I can think of, although it would need a new model. If you did it like that, you wouldnāt need the cost increase probably, you can just have the infantry version be weaker. If that wonāt work, I can come up with several more ideas for other potential techs if you need them. Glad you like it though. You can also start with some other changes that are easier, and see what you want to do when you get to there.
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Update from Sapsan, work in progress on House Model. He started on brick wall and will next be working on relief for materials.
Started on Roof Collapse Animation. The column collapse sequence mirrors the Roman Government building collapse from AOE. These animations tend to be much faster than AOE 2 sequence but still look fluid in game. I think the key will be to spend more attention to select pieces that slowly tumble away, roll, etc after the building falls to match style of game.
4 Likes
@TheConqueror753 looks the new DLC for Dynasties of India will include some new game mechanics. One of the new civs unique unit is a chariot that can switch from ranged attack to melee attack.
I think this would work for Legionary, at range they throw a Pilum and up close they switch to sword.
I currently implement this affect by having the Pilum version replaced with Sword version of Legioanry upon death. However, this prevented them from ever going back to Pilum.
2 Likes
I know, I was thinking that as well, it would be pretty awesome. Hopefully it can be created.
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Some additional progress on Town Center destruction animation.
Update, put in some slower/final animations at the end. Hope to complete the Collonade this weekend to complete the town center.
4 Likes
Sapsan continues to work on textures for new Houses. He is doing an amazing job matching the style. Excited to hopefully add this to a May update of the Mod along with all the great balancing suggestions of @TheConqueror753. With Dynasties of India set to release end of Month will be a good time to rework the DAT file.
4 Likes
Awesome. Two things Iām not sure about with my balance changes list (Other than how it will actually play out), do you like the effect of Pax Romana? It feels to me a bit wordy and long, but not guaranteed to be that good. Another couple of ideas Iāve had include replacing it with Siege Ballista, giving Scorpions +2 range and ballistics, or making Pax Romana upgrade all of your palisade walls and outposts into a fortified version, and letting Legionaires construct those buildings. Other thing Iām unsure on is the Athen Parthenos tech, because it was a large statue of Athena, so there isnāt a huge connection to buffing archers. What do you think with that?
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this mechanic is in the game for a long time just not implemented but it has been used in some mods.
ie. siege tank switching between cannon mode and ballista mode while attacking siege/nonsiege units.
not sure if they improved the mechanics altogether, because its kinda jenky atm.
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Is this done via triggers or data editing?