Arthurian mod

[WhollyFool]

Hi, big fan of the game, funny because I was playing Ultimate General Civil War before this, and having these two games come along is uncannily similar to when I used to play Sid Meier's Gettysburg and the Great Battles of Caesar and Hannibal, which I honestly didn't think would be repeated.

Anyway, I thought I'd like to have a go at making a mod, set in early dark age Britain, which would be usable for Custom Campaigns and Custom Battles rather than making the set battles. So I started, and was more than a little surprised to find out how easy the game is to mod, having the very (very) basic mod completed and working in a couple of hours. (unfortunately with Ultimate General they have ensured that it is next to unmoddable)

So, to the questions:
1. Squad File: "UnitSize - the combat strength of the unit"- I see this is 25% bigger than Total Men, but not sure what it signifies?

2.Squad File: Body Armour- Is shield included in this value, and what values do you give for a small shield and large shield?

3. Is there a way to make a list of names for generals, to replace the ones that are generated in custom battles/campaigns at the moment?

4. Is it possible to add extra banners (or copies of existing ones)?

By the way, love the graphics for this game, all I'd like to see is a big round shield for my Saxons, and a crossbow for me Picts, I downloaded blender, but gave up after half an hour!

[rbodleyscott]

1. Squad File: "UnitSize - the combat strength of the unit"- I see this is 25% bigger than Total Men, but not sure what it signifies?

It is the internal representation of the combat strength of the unit. In terms of the tabletop game, 100 UnitSize represents 1 stand of figures.

2.Squad File: Body Armour- Is shield included in this value, and what values do you give for a small shield and large shield?

All forms of protection are included. If a unit has a small shield and no armour of any sort, we would normal give it a value of 25 (Lightly Protected), unless it is light troops in which case we would give it a value of 0 (Unprotected). (Light troops already get mitigation for incoming missiles owing to dispersal).

A large shield would usually merit Protected status (50) even without helmet etc.

Best to look at the existing units and see how they are rated. The system is a top-down system rather than bottom-up, and we go for the right effect rather than slavishly following set rules.

3. Is there a way to make a list of names for generals, to replace the ones that are generated in custom battles/campaigns at the moment?

Yes. see:

/data/text/text6.txt

and

/data/scripts/RandomGeneralName.bsf

4. Is it possible to add extra banners (or copies of existing ones)?

Yes. See:

/data/battle/banners/banner.txt

[WhollyFool]

Thanks for those explanations, still not sure what effect the Unit size has in the game though, should I just leave it at Troop number + 25%?

Also, I could test it myself if it hasn't come up before, but I thought I'd check with you first - these dark age battles were very small compared to their classical counterparts, so I was wondering if you might know the minimum unit sizes (at the top of the squad file there is a note saying about a minimum of 200 for a normal unit, but don't know if that still applies). So if I lower the number of troops in a unit, how low could I go without having weird effects?

[rbodleyscott]

Thanks for those explanations, still not sure what effect the Unit size has in the game though, should I just leave it at Troop number + 25%?

UnitSize is extremely important to the internal working of the scripts and you should not muck about with it. The system won't work correctly with different values. It has nothing whatsoever to do with the number of men displayed, so you don't need to do anything to it to make battles "smaller".

Recommended values are:
600 for normal non-light infantry units displayed 2 models deep, 900 for deep ones displayed 3 models deep and 1200 for very deep ones displayed 4 models deep.
400 for non-light cavalry, elephants and chariots.
300 for light foot.
200 for light horse.

You don't need to understand it, just use the numbers above (as used by units in the vanilla squads file) and don't mess with it!

Also, I could test it myself if it hasn't come up before, but I thought I'd check with you first - these dark age battles were very small compared to their classical counterparts, so I was wondering if you might know the minimum unit sizes (at the top of the squad file there is a note saying about a minimum of 200 for a normal unit, but don't know if that still applies). So if I lower the number of troops in a unit, how low could I go without having weird effects?

Whatever you do, don't reduce the UnitSize values - that won't achieve what you want and really will stop things working correctly.

What you need to adjust is the "TotalMen" values, but I would avoid reducing them too small otherwise a lot of the casualties may get rounded down. Don't reduce the UnitSize values.

Instead you could use the "StrengthMultiplier" variable, to simply reduce the reported number of men per unit without altering the TotalMen values, and that is the method I would recommend for individual scenarios, but for a custom battles mod it would mean you would need to provide modded scripts, which can cause issues when the vanilla version is updated.

So to summarise:
1) Clone similar units then alter their capabilities etc. as you want.
2) Reduce their "TotalMen" values, but leave the "UnitSize" values alone.

[WhollyFool]

Understood, I'll definitely leave the Unit Size alone then! Should be good to go now, thanks again.

[WhollyFool]

Hi, I spent a little while doing Army Lists for the mod, and tried to strike a balance between realism and fun. I would be grateful if anyone could cast an eye over them to spot any errors, omissions, etc. Also any ideas for additions and amendments are also very welcome, I've always found wargamers (in a good way) to be not too shy at venturing an opinion!

Especially need a bit of help with the points costs. The numbers after troop types are Total Men, Body Armour, Experience, Elan

• Army Lists
  
  Dumnonia(Sub-Roman)
  Arthur's Companions Cavalry 150/150/300/300 Light Spear/Swordsmen @80
  Comitatus Cavalry120/125/250/250 Light Spear/Swordsmen @66
  Marchogyon(Knights)A Cavalry120/100/225/225 Light Spear/Swordsmen @62
  Marchogyon(Knights)P Cavalry120/75/225/225 Light Spear/Swordsmen @56
  Daryanogyon Light_Horse 80/0/150/150 Javelin/Light Spear @32
  Sagitarii Light_Horse 80/0/175/175 Bow @36
  Pedytes Heavy_Foot240/50/125/125 Defensive Spears @42
  Chosen Pedytes Heavy_Foot240/75/200/200 Lght Spear/Swordsmen @56
  Rustici Light_Foot 120/0/125/125 Bow @32
  Pedytes javelins Light_Foot 120/25/125/125 Javelin/Light Spear @26
  Massed Rustici Medium_Foot 240/0/125/125 Bow @36
  Ballistae Light_Artillery100/0/125/125 Light_Artillery @26
  alltud (Saxon merc) Undrilled_Heavy_Foot360/75/200/200 Impact_Foot/Swordsmen @84
  alltud (Saxon merc) Undrilled_Heavy_Foot360/50/100/100 Impact_Foot/Swordsmen @63
  Oreuguyr (chosen) Medium_Foot 240/75/150/150 Light Spear/Swordsmen @48
  Priadour (warriors) Medium_Foot 240/50/100/100 Light Spear/Swordsmen @36
  
  Strathclyde(Sub-Roman) High amount of Cavalry represents Rheged also
  Teulu Cavalry120/100/225/225 Light Spear/Swordsmen @62
  Cambrogi A Cavalry120/100/200/200 Light Spear/Swordsmen @60
  Cambrogi P Cavalry120/75/200/200 Light Spear/Swordsmen @48
  Gwas Ystafell(servants) Light_Horse 80/0/125/125 Javelin/Light Spear @24
  Pedytes Heavy_Foot240/50/100/100 Defensive Spears @36
  Priadour Medium_Foot 240/50/100/100 Light Spear/Swordsmen @40
  Rustici Light_Foot 120/0/100/100 Bow @30
  Bonheddig Light_Foot 120/0/100/100 Javelin/Light Spear @24
  alltud (Saxon merc) Undrilled_Heavy_Foot360/75/200/200 Impact_Foot/Swordsmen @84
  alltud (Saxon merc) Undrilled_Heavy_Foot360/50/100/100 Impact_Foot/Swordsmen @63
  Dal Riada warriors Medium_Foot 240/50/150/150 Light Spear/Swordsmen @42
  Fian (noble Picts) Medium_Foot 360/50/200/200 Offensive_Spearmen @68
  Soer-chele Picts Medium_Foot 360/25/100/100 Offensive_Spearmen @54
  
  Gwynedd(Welsh) represents all modern Wales
  Teulu (bodyguard) Cavalry120/100/225/225 Light Spear/Swordsmen @62
  Uchelwyr (nobles) Cavalry120/100/200/200 Light Spear/Swordsmen @60
  Daryanogyon(shield bearers) Light_Horse 80/0/150/150 Javelin/Light Spear @24
  Oreuguyr (chosen) Medium_Foot 240/75/150/150 Light Spear/Swordsmen @48
  Priadour (warriors) Medium_Foot 240/50/100/100 Light Spear/Swordsmen @36
  Bonheddig Light_Foot 120/0/100/100 Javelin/Light Spear @24
  Bonheddig Light_Foot 120/0/100/100 Bow @30
  alltud (Saxon mercenaries) Undrilled_Heavy_Foot360/75/200/200 Impact_Foot/Swordsmen @84
  alltud (Saxon mercenaries) Undrilled_Heavy_Foot360/50/100/100 Impact_Foot/Swordsmen @63
  Dal Riada warriors Medium_Foot 240/50/150/150 Light Spear/Swordsmen @42
  Taeog (slaves) Mob 500/0/0/0 - @15
  
  Connacht(Scots-Irish) lighter represents other Irish small shields
  Curaidh (bodyguard) Medium_Foot 240/50/225/225 Light Spear/Swordsmen @54
  Fianna (nobles) Medium_Foot 240/25/200/200 Light Spear/Swordsmen @42
  Clanna Morna (Cult) Medium_Foot 240/25/225/275 Light Spear/Swordsmen @58
  Bonnachts (warriors) Medium_Foot 240/25/100/100 Light Spear/Swordsmen @33
  Kern Light_Foot 120/0/100/100 Javelin/Light Spear @24
  Carbad (chariots) Light_Chariots50/0/200/200 Light Spear @36
  Carbad escorts Light_Foot 120/0/150/150 Javelin/Light Spear @30
  Kern Light_Foot 120/0/100/100 Sling @24
  Rising out(Levy) Mob 500/0/0/0 - @15
  Cambrogi (fugitives) Cavalry120/75/200/200 Light Spear/Swordsmen @48
  
  Ulster(Scots-Irish) larger shields /chariots for some heroes/generals
  Curaidh (bodyguard) Medium_Foot 240/75/225/225 Light Spear/Swordsmen @58
  Fianna (nobles) Medium_Foot 240/50/200/200 Light Spear/Swordsmen @48
  Diberga (Cult) Medium_Foot 240/50/225/250 Light Spear/Swordsmen @52
  Bonnachts (warriors) Medium_Foot 240/50/100/100 Light Spear/Swordsmen @36
  Kern Light_Foot 120/0/100/100 Javelin/Light Spear @24
  Kern Light_Foot 120/0/100/100 Sling @24
  Rising out(Levy) Mob 500/0/0/0 - @15
  Dal Riada warriors Medium_Foot 240/50/150/150 Impact_Foot/Swordsmen @42
  Carbad (chariots) Light_Chariots50/0/225/275 Light Spear @42
  Carbad escorts Light_Foot 120/0/200/200 Javelin/Light Spear @32
  
  Dal Riada(Scots-Irish) larger shields more aggression chariots for some heroes/generals
  Curaidh (bodyguard) Medium_Foot 240/75/225/225 Light Spear/Swordsmen @58
  Fianna (nobles) Medium_Foot 240/50/200/200 Light Spear/Swordsmen @45
  Dal Riada warriors Medium_Foot 240/50/150/150 Impact_Foot/Swordsmen @42
  Kern Light_Foot 120/0/100/100 Javelin/Light Spear @24
  Carbad (chariots) Light_Chariots50/0/200/200 Light Spear @36
  Carbad escorts Light_Foot 120/0/150/150 Javelin/Light Spear @30
  Fian (noble Picts) Medium_Foot 360/50/200/200 Offensive_Spearmen @68
  Soer-chele Picts Medium_Foot 360/25/100/100 Offensive_Spearmen @54
  Eachraidh (Horse)Picts Cavalry120/50/200/200 Light Spear/Swordsmen @44
  
  Fib(Pictish South) (banner from stone carvings)
  Toisech (bodyguard) Medium_Foot 360/75/200/200 Offensive_Spearmen @72
  Eachraidh (Horse)A Cavalry120/75/200/200 Light Spear/Swordsmen @52
  Eachraidh (Horse)P Cavalry120/50/200/200 Light Spear/Swordsmen @44
  Eachraidh (skirm) Light_Horse 80/0/100/100 Javelin/Light Spear @24
  Fian (nobles) Medium_Foot 360/50/200/200 Offensive_Spearmen @68
  Soer-chele warriors Medium_Foot 360/25/100/100 Offensive_Spearmen @54
  Doer-chele (skirm) Light_Foot 120/0/100/100 Javelin/Light Spear @24
  Doer-chele (skirm) Light_Foot 120/0/100/100 Bow @30
  Doer-chele (skirm) Light_Foot 120/0/125/125 Crossbow @30
  alltud (Saxon merc) Undrilled_Heavy_Foot360/75/200/200 Impact_Foot/Swordsmen @84
  alltud (Saxon merc) Undrilled_Heavy_Foot360/50/100/100 Impact_Foot/Swordsmen @63
  Cambrogi (British) Cavalry120/75/200/200 Light Spear/Swordsmen @48
  
  Cat(Pictish North) thrusting spears (banner from stone carvings)
  Toisech (bodyguard) Medium_Foot 360/75/200/200 Offensive_Spearmen @72
  Fian (nobles) Medium_Foot 360/50/200/200 Offensive_Spearmen @68
  Eachraidh (Horse)A Cavalry120/75/200/200 Light Spear/Swordsmen @52
  Eachraidh (Horse)P Cavalry120/50/200/200 Light Spear/Swordsmen @44
  Eachraidh (skirm) Light_Horse 80/0/100/100 Javelin/Light Spear @24
  Soer-chele warriors Medium_Foot 360/25/100/100 Offensive_Spearmen @54
  Doer-chele (skirm) Light_Foot 120/0/100/100 Javelin/Light Spear @24
  Doer-chele (skirm) Light_Foot 120/0/100/100 Bow @30
  Doer-chele (skirm) Light_Foot 120/0/125/125 Crossbow @30
  Carbad (chariots) Light_Chariots50/0/200/200 Light Spear @36
  Carbad escorts Light_Foot 120/0/150/150 Javelin/Light Spear @30
  Attecotti Medium_Foot 240/50/250/250 Light Spear/Swordsmen @
  Dal Riada warriors Medium_Foot 240/50/150/150 Impact_Foot/Swordsmen @42
  
  Northumbria(Anglo-Saxon) most cav striped banner (gold/red or purple)
  Gedriht (Cyning) Undrilled_Heavy_Foot360/75/225/225 Impact_Foot/Swordsmen @88
  Gedriht Undrilled_Heavy_Foot360/75/200/200 Impact_Foot/Swordsmen @84
  Duguth Undrilled_Heavy_Foot360/50/100/100 Impact_Foot/Swordsmen @63
  Geoguth Undrilled_Heavy_Foot360/50/75/125 Impact_Foot/Swordsmen @63
  Gesithas Horse Cavalry120/75/200/200 Light Spear/Swordsmen @64
  Geoguth Horse (skirm) Light_Horse 80/0/100/100 Javelin/Light Spear @24
  Ceorls Light_Foot 120/0/100/100 Javelin/Light Spear @24
  Ceorls Light_Foot 120/0/100/100 Bow @30
  Ceorls Light_Foot 120/0/100/100 Sling @24
  Esne(Levy) Mob 500/0/0/0 - @15
  
  Mercia(Anglo-Saxon) more cav geoguth can be medium- saltire banner (yellow/blue)
  Gedriht (Cyning) Undrilled_Heavy_Foot360/75/225/225 Impact_Foot/Swordsmen @88
  Gedriht (nobles) Undrilled_Heavy_Foot360/75/200/200 Impact_Foot/Swordsmen @84
  Duguth (older men) Undrilled_Heavy_Foot360/50/100/100 Impact_Foot/Swordsmen @63
  Geoguth (young) Undrilled_Heavy_Foot360/50/75/125 Impact_Foot/Swordsmen @63
  Geoguth (young) Medium_Foot 360/50/75/125 Impact_Foot/Swordsmen @63
  Gesithas Horse Cavalry120/75/175/200 Light Spear/Swordsmen @64
  Geoguth Horse(skirm) Light_Horse 80/0/100/100 Javelin/Light Spear @24
  Ceorls Light_Foot 120/0/100/100 Javelin/Light Spear @24
  Ceorls Light_Foot 120/0/100/100 Bow @30
  Ceorls Light_Foot 120/0/100/100 Sling @24
  Esne(Levy) Mob 500/0/0/0 - @15
  
  Wessex(Anglo-Saxon) Less Cav more veterans - wyvern banner (gold/red)
  Gedriht (Cyning) Undrilled_Heavy_Foot360/75/225/225 Impact_Foot/Swordsmen @88
  Gedriht Undrilled_Heavy_Foot360/75/200/200 Impact_Foot/Swordsmen @84
  Duguth Undrilled_Heavy_Foot360/50/100/100 Impact_Foot/Swordsmen @63
  Geoguth Undrilled_Heavy_Foot360/50/75/125 Impact_Foot/Swordsmen @63
  Gesithas Horse Cavalry120/75/150/200 Light Spear/Swordsmen @64
  Geoguth Horse(skirm) Light_Horse 80/0/100/100 Javelin/Light Spear @24
  Ceorls Light_Foot 120/0/100/100 Javelin/Light Spear @24
  Ceorls Light_Foot 120/0/100/100 Bow @30
  Ceorls Light_Foot 120/0/100/100 Sling @24
  Esne(Levy) Mob 500/0/0/0 - @15
  
  Anglia(Anglo-Saxon) - 3 crowns banner (gold/blue)
  Gedriht (Cyning) Undrilled_Heavy_Foot360/75/225/225 Impact_Foot/Swordsmen @88
  Gedriht Undrilled_Heavy_Foot360/75/200/200 Impact_Foot/Swordsmen @84
  Duguth Undrilled_Heavy_Foot360/50/100/100 Impact_Foot/Swordsmen @63
  Geoguth Undrilled_Heavy_Foot360/50/75/125 Impact_Foot/Swordsmen @63
  Gesithas Horse Cavalry120/75/100/200 Light Spear/Swordsmen @64
  Geoguth Horse(skirm) Light_Horse 80/0/100/100 Javelin/Light Spear @24
  Ceorls Light_Foot 120/0/100/100 Javelin/Light Spear @24
  Ceorls Light_Foot 120/0/100/100 Bow @30
  Ceorls Light_Foot 120/0/100/100 Sling @24
  Esne(Levy) Mob 500/0/0/0 - @15

[WhollyFool]

Maybe that was too broad a question . Did some banners for the mod:
[img][IMG]http://i350.photobucket.com/albums/q431 ... zgszfb.png[/img]/img]

Will move on to doing the troops now, though to be honest, I'm not really sure whether to wait for a later Dark Ages DLC to come out. But was wondering if I could ask Paul59's permission to use a couple of his units from his Roman Army mod?

[Paul59]

Maybe that was too broad a question . Did some banners for the mod:
[img][IMG]http://i350.photobucket.com/albums/q431 ... zgszfb.png[/img]/img]

Will move on to doing the troops now, though to be honest, I'm not really sure whether to wait for a later Dark Ages DLC to come out. But was wondering if I could ask Paul59's permission to use a couple of his units from his Roman Army mod?

I guess you mean the two late Germanic warband units? I have no problem with that myself, but I used some shield designs from Little Big man studios. So if you use the same textures you will need to run it past RBS before you post the mod, and he will get Slitherine to okay it. The following disclaimer is used for the TT Mod (and I think the Roman Army campaign):

"A special credit is due to 'Little Big Men Studios' for most of the new shield designs in this mod. Stephen Hales (of Little Big Men Studios) has given Paul Adaway permission to use these for this user mod only and no company may take these designs for use without his permission or for sale in any way."

So something similar might suffice for your mod.

Alternatively, if you use your own shield designs there would be no problem at all.

Very nice banners by the way!

[rbodleyscott]

Maybe that was too broad a question . Did some banners for the mod:
[img][IMG]http://i350.photobucket.com/albums/q431 ... zgszfb.png[/img]/img]

Will move on to doing the troops now, though to be honest, I'm not really sure whether to wait for a later Dark Ages DLC to come out. But was wondering if I could ask Paul59's permission to use a couple of his units from his Roman Army mod?

I guess you mean the two late Germanic warband units? I have no problem with that myself, but I used some shield designs from Little Big man studios. So if you use the same textures you will need to run it past RBS before you post the mod, and he will get Slitherine to okay it. The following disclaimer is used for the TT Mod (and I think the Roman Army campaign):

"A special credit is due to 'Little Big Men Studios' for most of the new shield designs in this mod. Stephen Hales (of Little Big Men Studios) has given Paul Adaway permission to use these for this user mod only and no company may take these designs for use without his permission or for sale in any way."

So something similar might suffice for your mod.

Alternatively, if you use your own shield designs there would be no problem at all.

That would be better. We don't want to have to be constantly asking Stephen Hales's permission.

[WhollyFool]

Thanks Paul, very good of you, I will just put different shield designs on them then so we don't have to worry about permissions, actually is there a tutorial on how you edit the .dds files in your paint /graphics program, you might have some tips I don't know about?

[Paul59]

Thanks Paul, very good of you, I will just put different shield designs on them then so we don't have to worry about permissions, actually is there a tutorial on how you edit the .dds files in your paint /graphics program, you might have some tips I don't know about?

Unfortunately, I have not done a tutorial on .dds files. The important thing with the shield designs is that the .dds contains only half of the shield. The game then produces a mirror image for the other side. That limits us to symmetrical designs, unlike the banners. It takes a bit of trial and error to line the shield design up properly, so that it looks right in game.

[Paul59]

Hi, I spent a little while doing Army Lists for the mod, and tried to strike a balance between realism and fun. I would be grateful if anyone could cast an eye over them to spot any errors, omissions, etc. Also any ideas for additions and amendments are also very welcome, I've always found wargamers (in a good way) to be not too shy at venturing an opinion!

Especially need a bit of help with the points costs. The numbers after troop types are Total Men, Body Armour, Experience, Elan

I have only just noticed that you were asking about working out the Points Values.

Have you worked it out yet? If not I can explain it to you, or at least my understanding of it.

How is the mod progressing?


cheers

Paul