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FoG II Medieval is a fairly complicated game to mod. I am going to do my best to demystify some of it and teach you a very easy way to create your very own "Mass Effect" Mod, so that you will never have to wait for someone to update a previously released file or be at the mercy of their choices, again.
I will approach this as basic as possible and assume this is for the newest of modding noobs.
I use Libre Office (you can download it here. (If you use something else, like Microsoft Office or Open Office, you should still be able to follow along).
Libre Office Download:
https://www.libreoffice.org/download/download/
PREPARATIONS
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1.) Install Libre Office to a place of your choice. Make sure you create a shortcut to your desktop for easy access.
2.) Now go to your Mods Folder in Documents/My Games/FieldOfGloryMedieval/MODS. Open the folder, right click and create a new folder (name it what you want)(If there is no Mods folder create one). For this tutorial we'll call it "My Units". Leave this window open.
3.) Now go to where you've installed FoG II Medieval, for me it's Drive/Steam/steamapps/common/Field Of Glory II Medieval/Data,
right click and copy the "squads" file. I use the CSV file (you can use either that or the XLSX, doesn't matter).
Paste it into your Mods folder (My Units)
MODDING
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4.) Start Libre Office. Click Calc Spreadsheet
It should look like this:
Next, drag and drop the Squads file from your Mods folder into the open Calc Spreedsheet window. You'll see this:
Notice the sheet is divided up nicely into lines and columns. Line 2 shows the actual headers for the code entries, basically telling us what each box represents. For the purposes of this mod the only columns we need to worry about are E (Type) and G (Mancount). Type will be the style of unit we are looking for. Mancount will be the actual code we'll want to change. Very simple.
5.) For starters we'll edit the Light Foot units and increase them from 4 to 5. Peering down the sheet we see our first entry is line 9. So we just double click on the Mancount number column, and change it to 5.
That's all there is to it!
Now just scroll down, keeping an eye out for any Light Foot entries in the Type/E column until you reach the end.
TIP: Once the last unit type has been edited scroll back through checking to make sure all Mancount numbers were changed and nothing was missed.
From here you would start again, editing the next unit type (Cavalry/Light Horse or whatever it is that you want to change).
6.) Time to save our work. In Libre Office look up top to the left, click the "File" drop down menu, choose "Save As". You'll get a pop up window. If doesn't already say "Text CSV" in the "Save as type" box just look near the bottom of the drop down menu and choose the "Text CSV" option (this will depend on whether you started with an XLMS file). Then click "Save.
Another box will pop up. Ignore it and click "Use Text Csv Format".
The edited Squads file is now saved in the mods folder. (ignore the ".~lock.Squads WorkSheet.ods#" icon it'll disappear when you close down Libre Office).
HOW TO ACTIVATE YOUR MOD IN GAME
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7.) Now, fire up Field of Glory II Medieval. Look for the Icon in the bottom left corner.
Click it and choose My Units (or whatever you named your mod). This will now be loaded as a Global Mod and will stay that way until you unload it. You will be able to use it with any Custom Campaigns or Custom Battles you want to play.
To view your efforts click Battles and choose Custom Battles and set up a fight. Start the battle and view the results.
We went from this to this:
NOTE:I recommend you don't use your Global Mod with any Epic Battles or User made Campaigns as they can have custom Squads files in them and you can end up with missing units in the force selection screen etc. As you become more accustomed with how FoG II Medieval works you can experiment to your heart's content but no sense in going crazy just yet.
TIP:I find it best to leave all folders and Libre Office open the entire time I am modding, even while checking in game.
If there are any questions or if I didn't make something clear enough, ask away and I will answer and edit this guide for clarity.
Mord.
For a deep dive into the Squads file see this thread:
viewtopic.php?f=492&t=80096&sid=662647e ... 88fb225c7e
After you've wrapped your head around editing the mancount and feel comfortable I recommend you read this thread, particularly the posts referencing the Callbacks.BSF file*. But get this down first, you don't want to overwhelm yourself.
viewtopic.php?f=492&t=79856&sid=662647e ... 88fb225c7e
LIST OF UNITS AND THEIR MODEL COUNTS
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Heavy Foot 8 (Except for Pike Phalanx which are 16) (Standard Wagon in game 1)
Medium Foot 8
Light Foot 4
Light Horse 2
Cavalry 4
Bowmen 8
Cataphract 4
Camelry 4
Undrilled Heavy Foot 8 and 4 (Warbands 12)
Warriors 8, 12 and 5
Knights 4
Heavy Chariot 1
Light Chariot 1
Light Artillery 1
Heavy Artillery 1
Elephants 1
Train 1 (Cart in game)