Not so sure about these ones, because it doesn’t fit for all civs.
Renaming hussar is good. I suggested a different graphics line though. Instead of just using Alaric for the Hussar, I would do Shrivamsha rider for Scout Cav, Alaric for Light Cav, and the Envoy for Hussar. It’s a relatively natural looking progression line, and fits the game nicely.
The renames are good, Ballista tower is definitely something that could work.
Heresy definitely fits, it was a thing in ancient times as well. Most of these are pretty good, but I’m not so sure about redemption to monotheism, because most of the religions were believers in larger pantheons, not monotheistic.
They aren’t really too outlandish I don’t think. They’re all fine except maybe squires, which could become forced march or something I guess.
I think Athens and Spartans are good. They are recognizable, and fairly distinct in what they did, so it would work better I think. It also opens up the opportunity for potential further Greek city states further down the line.
I’m just going to make a comparison to help with this, of all the differences.
Roman Empire has the HP bonus halved at each level, but got Masonry added.
Roman Empire lost camel line.
Unit discount changed from including camels to including scouts, and became staggered, so the scout rush isn’t too discounted.
Fire ship bonus removed.
Advancing to Imp is no longer cheaper.
Town Watch and town patrol aren’t free.
Team bonus changed from monks healing 100% faster to scorpions have +1 attack.
Legionaries train faster as a civ bonus, increasing each age.
Legionaries have extra PA in Castle/Imp.
UU changed totally.
Greek fire replaced with Siege Ballistae, giving scorps +2 range and no minimum range.
Logistica replaced with Pax Romana, making all civilian units take up 25% less pop space.
Lost squires and gained Legionary.
Lost Arbs and Cav archers.
Lost paladin and camels.
Gained Heavy Scorps and SO.
Gained Sappers.
Lost shipwright, galleon, and juggernaut.
Gained herbal medicine, lost redemption and fervor.
Gained Blast Furnace.
Lost Bombard tower and arrow slits, gained Masonry, Siege Engineers, and Treadmill Crane.
I just wanted to set out all the differences, I agree with you that they are too weak. After doing more research, they need a full dock, just no bonuses especially for it. I’m thinking to add the Malay faster age up times as a new bonus.
@TommoChocolate that sounds pretty cool. I don’t know much about random map scrips and how exactly they work. What were you thinking or have in mind for the scripts?
Yeah, I can’t decide whether I think that’s important or not. Ensemble Studios obviously didn’t think so when they named the Paladin and Hussar (although the situation with Hussars has ended up being overcomplicated now). I think it’s better than the other extreme: the super bland approach of AoE4, where you have things like Horseman → Veteran Horseman → Elite Horseman.
I was just following the AoE1 names there, but I agree. Part of the problem is the AoE1 names are mostly unrelated to the effect, so it’s not obvious what each upgrade is going to do. AoE2 has a mix: I think the names Herbal Medicine, Heresy, Fervour, Faith and Block Printing all match the effects, and Sancitity arguably does too, but the others are just named after random religious words.
So it turns out I was wrong about Treadmill Crane anyway…
Nothing specific, but I think it would be nice to have some that are geographically appropriate. A lot of the official scripts randomise the biome, and it feels weird to play a game with, say, Romans vs Gauls and end up with a map in a jungle with turkeys, or with bamboo, or something. Even Arabia can be in a jungle nowadays…
@TommoChocolate yes I agree the random maps can get weird. Yeah if you can help here that would be much appreciated. Defer to your best judgment of what would work for Mod. Thank you!
@rjgt3838 Could I check something. How did you update the mod following the update to the .dat file with the Dynasties of India DLC? I tried to load the latest empires2_x2_p1.dat file with the AGE editor in the game folder and it just crashed the editor. What should I be doing?
I couldn’t get my AGE editor to open the DAT file. I had to DL latest version from Blacksmith. I also had to open the AGE editor from DL folder and open the DAT via AGE not from actual DAT file. Weird but it worked for me that way.
Others suggested making sure you have AoE 2 DE version selected in AGE. That didn’t resolve it for me. The above steps did.
Tapsa was helping folks troubleshoot here SLX Studio within the AGE channel.
Here are the civ hints for all the civs. You can copy paste them, but you will need to change the civ names to what they should be (I’ve only used the names for the civs in the mod, not what they actually need to be)
Athenians:
Your militia line upgrades are available an age early. Use this to gain an advantage over enemy infantry.
Archer units can be a good addition to your army, especially after researching Athena Parthenos.
Use Hoplites to cover any weakness against Cavalry in your army.
Your technologies and resource camps are discounted, making it easier alter your strategy when required.
Britons
Your blacksmith upgrades cost no gold, letting you invest in more units.
Your infantry have extra hit points starting in the Early Antiquity Age, giving them a useful boost.
Your stable upgrades are discounted, letting you switch quickly into cavalry later.
Your shepherds work faster, allowing you to advance to the Early Antiquity Age sooner.
Carthaginians:
Mix low numbers of War Elephants into your army as shock troops.
Galleons are available an age early, and your dock techs are cheaper, giving you a powerful navy.
All of your military units cost less food, letting you create a large army with less resources.
The combination of free cavalry armor and cheaper military units gives you a strong scout rush.
Dacians:
Research Cult of Zalmoxis at the Fort to make casualties refund some of their cost.
Your mangonels have extra range, and no minimum range, making them a valuable addition to your army.
Your receive various free upgrades and resources as you advance in age. Use these to your advantage.
The Falx Warrior ignores armor, making it deadly against heavily armored enemies.
Egyptians:
Your priests gain extra hit points for each temple technology you research.
Your buildings cost less stone, which is especially useful for cheaper Town Centers and Forts.
The Medjay Warrior deals significant bonus damage against other infantry, making it extremely useful against an army of infantry units.
Your villagers carry extra resources, giving you better economy, but may require more management for hunting.
Franks:
Your villagers gather food from berries faster.
You can build Forts at a lower cost. Support your rush with a forward Fort or use them to protect your economy.
Research Chivalry at your Fort to make your Knights heal and refund some of their cost when killed.
Throwing Axemen are excellent when paired with Knights, which they can protect from enemy Pikemen.
Gauls:
Your Villagers collect wood faster.
Your infantry can heal and deal trample damage through your two unique technologies.
Your siege weapons fire faster, making them among the most deadly in the game.
Woad Raiders are fast-moving melee infantry units that are especially useful for raiding and taking out enemy siege weapons.
Germani:
Your gold miners don’t need drop off points, so don’t build a mining camp for them.
Your Town Centers cost less wood starting in the Middle Antiquity Age.
Research Auxilia Mercenaries at the Fort to permanently reveal the location of all enemy military production buildings.
The Comite deals trample damage when it attacks, making it strong against massed melee enemies.
Goths:
You can research Loom instantly, protecting your Villagers from wild animals and enemy units.
Huskarls are very resistant to enemy ranged attacks. Complement them with Pikemen and Champions as needed.
Researching both Anarchy and Perfusion at your Fort allows you to produce Huskarls extremely quickly in the Barracks.
Your infantry deal additional damage against buildings, allowing them to raze entire towns with ease.
Huns:
You don’t need any houses, but you may need to start gathering wood earlier to make up for reduced starting wood.
Tarkans are a good cavalry unit, especially against towns.
Research Atheism against an enemy using large numbers of Priests, it reduces their relic gold, and increases conversion times for your team.
Your cavalry archers are cheaper, making them easier to build a mass of.
Iberians:
Your infantry slowly collect food while fighting, contributing to your economy.
Your skirmishers fire faster with no minimum range, making them a vital counter to archers.
Research Raiding Bands at the Fort to make your Caetrati collect both food and gold while fighting.
Supplies and Squires are free, giving you small boosts to your infantry, and saving you resources.
Judeans:
The Sicarius charges a bonus attack over time, and ignores armor for that attack. It is a good counter to other unique units.
Research Ark of the Covenant at the Fort to make your Priests and Sicarii recharge significantly faster.
Your temple technologies are cheaper and faster to research, giving you better Priests.
Collect relics to increase both the regular damage and the charge damage for your Sicarii.
Macedonians:
The Phalangite has 1 range, making it better in groups. It’s a reasonable counter to most melee units.
Your melee attack upgrades are free, giving useful powerspikes both to infantry and cavalry.
Blacksmiths and barracks are both discounted, making them easier to afford when you need them.
Your team bonus gives outposts and towers more line of sight. Use this to improve your map awareness.
Numidians:
Research Rashidun Cavalry to give your mounted units a speed boost after they disengage from combat.
Research Maghrebi Camels to make your Camel troops regenerate health.
Your stable units become cheaper in the Middle Antiquity and Imperial Ages, making them easier to mass.
The Camel Archer has good base attack, as well as being a good counter to Cavalry Archers and even Cavalry.
Nubians:
The Archer of the Eyes hits hard and doesn’t require Ballistics or Thumb Ring to aim accurately.
Ballistics can be researched at your Archery Ranges, so you don’t need to get a University for it.
Camel troops are a good addition to your army, they have extra health, are cheaper, and after researching Beja Tribes, train and attack faster as well.
Research Nobadian Swords to make your Militia line a viable part of your army.
Parthians:
Thumb Ring and Parthian Tactics are free, giving your Cavalry Archers good powerspikes, and saving time and resources.
Your Cavalry Archers train faster, letting you rapidly build an army of them.
Research Horn Bow to make your Cavalry Archers fire with less of a delay, and give them +1 range.
Research Nisean Horse Breeding to give your Cataphracts and Cavalry Archers extra health and attack.
Persians:
Research Kamandaran to make your archers a long term gold free unit.
Research Immortals to improve your cavalry against spearmen and camels.
The Scythe Chariot tramples enemies, and is especially effective against Infantry.
Knights and Scythe Chariots can be a powerful combination, good against both archers and infantry.
Phoenicians:
Using the Falcata Mercenary to level enemy bases and kill weak enemy units generates valuable gold.
Make good use of your market, it’s cheaper and commodity trading is more effective.
Researching Tyrean Dye makes your Town Centers generate gold, giving you a valuable follow up to a boom.
Your archers can be valuable additions to your army, they cost less gold and are fully upgraded.
Roman Empire:
Your gold free military units are cheaper, letting you create large Auxiliary armies.
Research Pax Romana in Imperial Age to give you more population space, by making your civilian units take up less space.
The Legionary can switch between a melee and ranged attack, both of which are useful at different times.
Scorpions are a powerful unit, especially after researching Siege Ballistae, giving them extra range and removing their minimum range.
Roman Republic:
Your Infantry get extra attack each age, which is especially valuable for large armies of Legionaries.
Research Marian Reforms at the Fort to rapidly create Legionaries at a lower cost.
The Legionary can switch between a melee and ranged attack, both of which are useful at different times.
Research Testudo to give extra armor to a large number of units, increasing their longevity.
Spartans:
Your Skirmishers have extra pierce armor, making it easier to deal with archers.
The Hippeis is slow, but it can absorb a lot of arrow fire, making it a useful tank.
Research Makhai to counter any opponents relying heavily on bonus damage against infantry.
Research Kryptia to significantly increases the bonus damage of your Infantry, which is especially good against cavalry.
Thracians:
The Peltast is a fast skirmisher with no minimum range, but it counters infantry instead of archers.
Research Wicker Peltes at the Fort to replace part of the gold cost of each unit with wood.
Research Embolon at the Fort to give all your cavalry trample damage.
You start with extra food, allowing for a more flexible strategy.
The Mod Team continues to grow! We are excited to announce that AbeJin, a very talented 3D Artist and fellow modder, has lent us his talents and created some amazing Wonders for the Romae ad Bellum project. We hope to incorporate his works of art in an upcoming release soon. Thank you AbeJin for having fun with us and helping us build a very special mod.
As a teaser of things to come, check out The Lighthouse of Alexandria.
might be too strong, but on reflection I think it’s not as strong as the Ethiopians’ and Britons’ archer bonuses, and those civs also have early game eco bonuses. (It’s probably stronger than Koreans’ archer bonuses though.)
I wonder how much the Cretan Archer’s accuracy matters, given that Thumb Ring is free. I guessThumb Ring still requires an Archery Range, but I expect you would have one anyway.
By the way, what’s the timeframe for this mod? I thought it was about 500 BC to 500 AD, but some of your Wonders (including the Palace of Knossos) are from before or after that.
With the timeframe, I know it is largely meant to be then, but Crete still existed, and the Palace of Knossos is their most distinctive building. I’m also willing to through the timeframe out the window if it gives cool/useful civs. The bonuses aren’t so much based on history as well, they are largely things that make them an archer naval civ. Free archer attack upgrades benefits both galleys and archers, which is why I thought it was a good idea.
Where did you get this? They don’t have free thumb ring.
would this have destruction animation? afaik abejin mostly mod for pre DE and would therefore lack destruction animation, not sure if this has changed tho.
We plan to add without destruction animation for now to allow for unique Wonders for all the civs we add. However, the plan will be to create destruction animations for all new buildings added to the mod.
AbeJin has expressed interest in assisting here as well. If you wish to support him, consider joining his Patreon. Creators like him spend a lot of time giving back to the community and if we want to see more awesome Mods for DE this is a great way to encourage and support them!
I have also created a Patreon account specific to Romae ad Bellum. The account will be exclusively dedicated to sending money to Creators like AbeJin and Sapsan who help bring our vision to life.
Oh wow, nice catch, didn’t even notice that. I definitely meant bracer, free TR is already being used for Parthians. Not the most intelligent thing I’ve ever done, but oh well, I’ve fixed it now. That makes a lot more sense now why you would bring that up.
