UPDATE
I wont work on this anymore (as i abandoned some month ago anyway). there are a lot of good Mods (for Warlords too) out there that incorporate what i started and some even expand it.
My last work was for the Warhammer FB mod. If you want a lot more Formations, download it and look at the unitformations.xml there.

old
hi there folks ,
as everyone has troubles installing it (it works, but it seems to be too complicated for some pepole), i am corresponding with Porges and as soon he fixes his virus problem, i will put up a fixed and improved version. be patient until then and keep looking frward to it !
here is the second version of the Regiments mod, it changes the graphics and ONLY the graphics, not the stats or something, so u can play your good old civ but with Regiments instead of 3 men Units.

FIX for version 1.61 thanks to porges (http://forums.civfanatics.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=123564&d=1145139032)

Stay tuned for Regiments version 0.3b made by porges too ;) and after that the more improved Regiments Xtreme ;) (i hope to cooperate with porges here too :) )

v0.3

This mod only changes the graphics, it doesnt alter gameplay! every unit is as strong as it was before, even if it doesnt look like this ;)

What this mod changes (could be incomplete):

-Unitsize of (Line)Infantry set to 11, (Horde)Infantry to 10, (Special)Infantry to 5, Cavalry to 5
-Axeman now have an "open" formation (mix between horde and line)
-Settlers got one more child
-Scouts got a scoutdog at their side
-Unitsize of Workers and Explorers is now 3
-Siegemachines now have a crew (one man each)
-Mechanized Infantrie got 3 Marines next to the tank

>>Officers folder is in the (.../Mods)/Regiments v03/assets/art/units/ folder, put the skin u want to have the Officr of an Regiment in the appropriate folder (e.g. you want a reskin of the Swordsman to be the officer of the Swordsman regiment, then u put the swordsman.dds file into the (.../Mods)/Regiments v03/assets/art/units/officers/swordsman/ folder.

Skins of the normal Regiment unit can be changed as normal, by putting the .dds file into the (.../Mods)/Regiments v03/assets/art/units/"unitname"/ folder.
Note: officer skins can only be changed for the units, which an officerfolder exists for (the others are not yet linked in the art_definesunits.xml file!!! )

The scales of the units have been changed, to give a more realistic look (e.g. a tank is higher than a marine, a Destroyer is bigger than a Galley and so on)

To install this, put the Regiments v03 folder into your /Civilisation 4/Mods/ folder
Then you can open civ4config (otherwise start it from inside the main menu)
and replace the 0 at
Mods= 0
with
Mods= Regiments v03




Heres something you should know about:

when i created the mod i used "civscale" and scaled the unitsgraphics down to 5 (from 10) and cause i did this before i started modding, i wrote the mod around it without knowing, that any other person using this mod, would have to scale the units down to 5 too. I now implemented the affected files

\Assets\XML\Misc\CIV4DetailManager.xml
\Assets\XML\GlobalDefines.xml

so everyone has the correct scale.

have fun with the mod, report all bugs to the forum and try to think about how they could be fixed.
Give me some feedback, positive or negative, i am open for special wishes (as my time allows them) and improvement ideas!

seZereth


Fixed the crashbug with the missionary and reworked (improved) some things in the formationinfo.xml

well, just go into worldbuilder and have a look on the new unitlooks!

included a readme file
Installation:
simply put the unzipped regiments folder into your programms/civilization4/mods/
folder. nothing else

I am aware of some issues with the mod, but couldnt test it long enough to see all bugs. so after we gathered enough issues and fixed them, i will release a better version.

So please download it, test it and give me FEEDBACK, wishes, hints and suggestions are very welcome!!!!

download newest versiuon 03 at http://www.filegone.com/pkce
download version 02 at: http://www.filegone.com/px4a
sometimes filegone doesnt open, so i added a version without the art components. just the xml files, more experienced players can do with it what they want, the rest has to wait until filegone upons.

Can you post some Screen Shots?

pictures of an earlier version, first regiments close up, second gathered action
http://forums.civfanatics.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=115717&d=1139590000
http://forums.civfanatics.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=115728&d=1139594165

BUGS(-) and Fixes(+)
-crashes with Christian Missionay
+ Fixed it in this version!
-report of crash related to axeman
+ need more information about this from other players.

-Officers change to (random?) position after the regiment looses a man in combat
+ no idea why this happens and how to fix this!!!!
if someone knows why, please tell me!!!

The regiments look really cool. How do they look while attacking?

The regiments look really cool. How do they look while attacking?

just have a look at the second screenshot ive posted, there are different battleformations, a horde, a loose and a close one and so on. just try it out ;)

and if someone knows a fix for the problem of the officer going to another ( random?) position, then please tell me !!!

Oh goodie you've finally released them. Will the game run a little slower having nearly four times as many figures in it?

i tryed it and it looks very nice, but i've got two problems with it so far.

when my swordsmen(or other melee) units fight an archer they only attack with 3 at a time. i think they should attack with at least 5 or maybe all 10 at once
i changed the line <iRangedWaveSize>3</iRangedWaveSize> for all units to <iRangedWaveSize>5</iRangedWaveSize> and it fixed it, but i don't know what other problems it may have caused.

my other problem is that it crashed (not my modified version, just yours)
it crashed on 100BC and reloading the game didn't change that. 100BC again (5 times)

i'm gonna try playing a new game from the start to see if it crashed too.

but all in all i think it looks really cool!

EDIT: the image for the unit in the lower left corner is of the leader, wich is sometimes misleading when the leader is on horse.

It also crashed one when i attacked an archer with my swordsman

INSTALLATION Instructions Requested!!

For example: is this a "mod" or are things put into CustomAssets. The "Regiments.ini" seem to imply a mod, but even so how about install instr. regardless.

EDIT: Thank you for adding the instructions!

Once the bugs are worked out this will fit nicely with other war mods.
Ive actually wanted the troops smaller and more realistic for a while now.

Multiple units moving towards the enemy look even more fearsome, inspiring greater fear. I like it.

:devil:

Looks very nice, I've been looking forward to this!

Great work, this is amazing !!! Finally we can fight with an real ARMY !!:goodjob:

Looks great, two questions, one: will stacks of units be shown, i.e twenty odd on one square (not really important just wondering) and two: will automatically adapt any new and resinned units I've done?

my other problem is that it crashed (not my modified version, just yours)
it crashed on 100BC and reloading the game didn't change that. 100BC again (5 times)


Same problem here in one game, except it was occuring regularly at 100AD. Crash to desktop.

Been really enjoying playing with the big armies though - nice mod.

... and two: will automatically adapt any new and resinned units I've done?

Most likely it will, as the only things that should be changed by the mod are simply the number of figures in the unit, and the arrangement of said figures. There is the matter of the officer figure to consider, but as he doesn't actually do anything, I don't think it should have any effect on unit reskins.

That's really just an assumption though, no matter how likely it may or may not be.

Same problem here in one game, except it was occuring regularly at 100AD. Crash to desktop.

Been really enjoying playing with the big armies though - nice mod.

For *** sake, what is the reason for this, cant explain to me why this should happen, the doomed number 100 ;)
well, i dont know to aproach this problem. need ideas or someone who tells me, that it didnt happen to him ;)


Most likely it will, as the only things that should be changed by the mod are simply the number of figures in the unit, and the arrangement of said figures. There is the matter of the officer figure to consider, but as he doesn't actually do anything, I don't think it should have any effect on unit reskins.

That's really just an assumption though, no matter how likely it may or may not be.

it is mentioned in the first post, just use custom skins as u ever did (even for officers). you just have to put them in the mod folder, not in the custom folder (but see first post)

Definitely awesome-

trying it out in my next game at once!

gaah, started a random game with this mod and got a very nice starting location with tokugawa. and now it crashes everytime on 75 BC :cry: is there any way to disable the mod for a save? ^^

Mine is crashing too, but at different dates for no apparent reason. I tried using a Great Artist one time, and after a restart it crashed in the middle of combat. I like this, but definitely has some kinks to work out.

For *** sake, what is the reason for this, cant explain to me why this should happen, the doomed number 100 ;)
well, i dont know to aproach this problem. need ideas or someone who tells me, that it didnt happen to him ;)
It could be memory related, after all you got many more models on screen. Do a save the turn before it crashes, and play around with numbers of units, or their coordinates or something else - this is obviously "shooting blind" but it's a start I think.


BTW, it looks great I'm gonna give it a try.

Edit (got it, see edit2): Ok, so this is weird. Once I installed the game (I put it into the customassets folder) and loaded up a save, all my axemen turned into swordsmen, and all my swordsmen turned into jaguars - I'm playing Americans! :)

As for the left corner view I do think that you should use a reskinned unit as officer (unless you can figure out how to have it show a different unit) because while it's nice when looking at it on the map, it is very confusing.

Also, and this is probably just me, but with the reduced scale of the units the two workers seem mighty lonely :) so maybe you should change number of workers to three (I'm gonna do it myself for my copy obviously but it's just something you might wanna consider for the mod).

Edit 2: So I figured out (sort of) why my axemen were replaced with swordsmen, and swordsmen with jaguars. I compared the original unitsinfo.xml with yours, and on the same lines where in the original the axeman is defined, you have swordsman, and where swordsman you have jaguar. Basically, it goes as follows, in original file the order is swordsman, jaguar, praetorian and axeman, in your file the order is jaguar, praetorian, swordsman and axeman.

What confuses me about this situation is that I thought that order of units in unitsinfo was not important, and shouldn't a game call UNITCLASS_SWORDSMAN anyway, thus loading a swordsman wherever it's defined in a file. Yet it seems as if it calls "unit on line xxxx" and if it happens to be an axeman and not a swordsman then que serra, serra. Weird :crazyeye:

It could be memory related, after all you got many more models on screen. Do a save the turn before it crashes, and play around with numbers of units, or their coordinates or something else - this is obviously "shooting blind" but it's a start I think.

That seems a good idea, perhaps one should save the turn before and change the number of units in Graphicoptions to the single Man unit and look if it crashes again.

Edit (got it, see edit2): Ok, so this is weird. Once I installed the game (I put it into the customassets folder) and loaded up a save, all my axemen turned into swordsmen, and all my swordsmen turned into jaguars - I'm playing Americans! :)

As for the left corner view I do think that you should use a reskinned unit as officer (unless you can figure out how to have it show a different unit) because while it's nice when looking at it on the map, it is very confusing.

Also, and this is probably just me, but with the reduced scale of the units the two workers seem mighty lonely :) so maybe you should change number of workers to three (I'm gonna do it myself for my copy obviously but it's just something you might wanna consider for the mod).

Edit 2: So I figured out (sort of) why my axemen were replaced with swordsmen, and swordsmen with jaguars. I compared the original unitsinfo.xml with yours, and on the same lines where in the original the axeman is defined, you have swordsman, and where swordsman you have jaguar. Basically, it goes as follows, in original file the order is swordsman, jaguar, praetorian and axeman, in your file the order is jaguar, praetorian, swordsman and axeman.

What confuses me about this situation is that I thought that order of units in unitsinfo was not important, and shouldn't a game call UNITCLASS_SWORDSMAN anyway, thus loading a swordsman wherever it's defined in a file. Yet it seems as if it calls "unit on line xxxx" and if it happens to be an axeman and not a swordsman then que serra, serra. Weird :crazyeye:

You shouldnt put it into custom assets, put it in the real civ folder under /MODs. ok, well now i know, then you couldnt load a saved game ;)

would have to look for this

Love this mod so far only it keeps crashing my game. After a couple of tries it crashed after completing Theology. So i tried switching research and it kept going, until the ai completed it. I hope this helps.

Are all those art files original and needed, or are they art files for new units? If so, which ones are stock and are needed for proper operation of the MOD?

Thanks!:)

Come to think of it, it crashed when i tryed to get theology with my great prophet.

I would guess it is caused by the christian missionary created with theology, as only units were edited in the mod, right?

After it kept crashing I used the worldbuilder to add theology to every player. I placed the christian holy city in my empire and everything seems to be working fine except when i try to build a christian missionary. So I agree AlazkanAssassin, it has to be the missionary.

Hey seZereth, I just wanted to offer few observations.

First, I'd like to reiterate the idea that the officer/commander should be simply a re-skin of the unit. As I played I often found myself, not so much confused but just a bit disoriented when I selected an axeman, for example, but saw a mounted unit in the left corner.

As for the exact nature of the alternative skin, I don't think it should be anything significantly different from the original. Take for example the black knight, awesome looking skin and initially looks good as the leader, but eventually I always felt like these were two different units in one. IMHO the leader re-skin should be basically the same skin with one obvious but not big difference, for example the lead warrior would have a red tatoo on his chest, or the lead cavalry would have a black horse.

I noticed some inconsistencies with formations, for example, there are five knights, but only three cavalry. Also, some units (like axeman) form a wide circle when they fortify (which btw looks very cool when they forify around a small town :)), while others, like spearman, form a small circle and end up "poking" each other with their weapons. These are probably things you simply didn't get around to for your first release but I wanted to mention them nonetheless.

I still say that the two workers look mighty lonely :) and same goes for scouts and explorers. Consider increasing their numbers. Also, and I'm not even sure if it's possible, but maybe you could add an extra child to the settlers unit (this is again, due to smaller overall scale of units, in some cases there appears to be too much empty space, which feels weird, maybe I'm just crazy that way :D).

I loved how you added "operators" to catapults and artillery, but I think one per each would be enough, especially since the game treats these as separate entities that it needs to "kill" during the animation cycle, thus taking a bit longer to finish them off.

Anyway, this is a great mod that adds much more "life" to the game, and I know that going over the entire unitsinfo file and changing the nubmers from 3 to 10 isn't exactly fun. So I really appreciate, and I'm sure so does everyone else, the work you've been doing. :goodjob:

Edit: Regarding the crashes some ppl have been having - myself I didn't have any. Though, to be fair, I didn't have that mod from the very start of the game but I did play to the end with it. And in that time I discovered couple of religions and had plenty of large battles. So, my guess, is that the crash doesn't have anything to do with performance (at least not directly) and is just a freak occurance, which of course sucks, because those kind of crashes are hell to track down.

Wow, this looks fantastic! I can't wait to try it out.

One question, though: how much does this slow down the game? I imagine the difference must be significant on larger maps. Have you tested it on very large map sizes with lots of units?

Looks good and all but it takes to a site that says wait 5-10 mins and try again.....everytime. :sad:

LOL this is funny, I know absolutly nothing about using a XML editor. I like this MOD, crashed on me when I got theology, so I DL'd a XML editor and poked around. I found the problem, fixed it and it no longer crashes :)

In the CIV4UnitsInfos.XML file in the CHRISTIAN_MISSIONARY area you will find this ...

<iGroupSize>4</iGroupSize>
<fMaxSpeed>1.75</fMaxSpeed>
<iMeleeWaveSize>2</iMeleeWaveSize>

Change 4 to 1 and 2 to 1 and no more crashing.

Looks really neat. :goodjob: This would go great with any war scenario (civil war, revolutionary war, crusades, etc.)

LOL this is funny, I know absolutly nothing about using a XML editor. I like this MOD, crashed on me when I got theology, so I DL'd a XML editor and poked around. I found the problem, fixed it and it no longer crashes :)

In the CIV4UnitsInfos.XML file in the CHRISTIAN_MISSIONARY area you will find this ...

<iGroupSize>4</iGroupSize>
<fMaxSpeed>1.75</fMaxSpeed>
<iMeleeWaveSize>2</iMeleeWaveSize>

Change 4 to 1 and 2 to 1 and no more crashing.
LOL, that's called beginners luck! :lol:

J/k good find Pitiful. :thumbsup:

These are really really beatiful. :)

I will use them.

Guys, good news for you!
The crash is due to the missionary, forgot that i played around with giving him 2 knights of temple as bodyguards, then removed but didnt change everything back to good. so crashes are definitely out next release, which will be definitely in short time, after i got a reskin for the officers and fixed out the known bugs!

Rabbit White, big thanks to you, i will consider all your feedback and hope you will help out with fixing the next version ;)

So guys, will go to work tomorrow, releasing next version until friday!

P.S: about Performance, well, dont really know if there is any great difference, but if it should really get too ugly in the late stages, try checking the option box in the graphics menu for "one man units"(dont know how it is called exactly) (i know then the nice effect of the mod is gone, but you can finish your game... )

Is there anyway I can get this to work with SevoMod? That defaults the sizes to 5, and overwrites your mod, although the units are still scaled down small.

Is there anyway I can get this to work with SevoMod? That defaults the sizes to 5, and overwrites your mod, although the units are still scaled down small.

I dont know sevomod....
but it should be easy to make it compatible. would have to look over it seperately, so wait a little bit if u want to use both.

Are all those art files original and needed, or are they art files for new units? If so, which ones are stock and are needed for proper operation of the MOD?

Thanks!:)

Well all the art files coming with the mod are needed for the officers, this will change a little bit in next version (coming soon ;) )
so u shouldnt delete them, but u can overwrite them

If the mod is having a real negative impact on performance, then I suppose it's probably possible to remove five of the units (and their placement coordinates within the tile). That way, you'd still be able to have some pretty impressive-looking fights, but almost only half the number of figures would have to be displayed, which would certainly make for faster performance. It'd certainly make for a nice "Regiments: Lite" mod component.

If the mod is having a real negative impact on performance, then I suppose it's probably possible to remove five of the units (and their placement coordinates within the tile). That way, you'd still be able to have some pretty impressive-looking fights, but almost only half the number of figures would have to be displayed, which would certainly make for faster performance. It'd certainly make for a nice "Regiments: Lite" mod component.
Well, that's just the 5-formation (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=142533) mod, no need to make "Regiments: Lite".

White Rabit, I think the issues are:

1) Formation the units take as opposed to 5-man formation.
2) The "Commander" figure.
3) The way the wave sequence works.

I tend to agree that it needs to be slimmed down but only to 7 or so... or maybe have earlier era units, which are around when the game doesn't lag to much, at 10 units and progressivly get smaller and smaller until the time of tanks there are only 2 or 3 units.

I think that the number of figures per unit is fine the way they are at 10+1.
I prefer playing on smaller maps, so I never have issues with overloading my computer.

I am however, still having problems with the game crashing at random.
I fixed the bug with the christian missionary, but it crashes consistantly at random
(perform action ,crash, reload, perform same action, crash, reload, ...)
It has done it twice for me, once when an axeman was attacking an archer, and once when a barbarian axeman entered from the fog (Reloading from a few turns back and moving a unit into place to see the axeman earlier caused it to not crash when it moved, but allowing it to move in the same way made it crash)
I looked at the XML for the axeman but i coundn't fing anything so i'm guessing it is something in the unit formations.

:) Anyone interested? can you see what I changed?

http://files.upl.silentwhisper.net/upload6/Civ4ScreenShot0000.JPG
http://files.upl.silentwhisper.net/upload6/Civ4ScreenShot0001.JPG
http://files.upl.silentwhisper.net/upload6/Civ4ScreenShot0002.JPG
http://files.upl.silentwhisper.net/upload1/Civ4ScreenShot0003.JPG


EDIT: One thing I am trying to change is the size of the boats that show up on 'worked' water tiles but I cant find where they are in the XML files. Anyone know what file its located in?

new version is out (version 0.2)
It should be stable now!
someone find out if it crashes with this version too
(removed the missionary bug, but didnt find anything about the axeman crash)

new version is out (version 0.2)
It should be stable now!
someone find out if it crashes with this version too
(removed the missionary bug, but didnt find anything about the axeman crash)
you know id love to download it and tell you but damm filegone wont let me always saying i must wait for 5 to 10 minuetes FFS ive waited about 2 hours now:mad:

Wow, the screenshots look awesome! I'm glad to see you added the extra worker and the extra child (to settlers) :thanx: and adding a wolf to the Scout - a stroke of genius! :woohoo: But you know what you have to do now, don't you. You gotta add the wolf to the settlers as well so they'll have a doggy :) I'll see if I can make a skin for the wolf to make it look more like a dog, should be fairly easy.

My only other comment based on the screenshots is that maybe axeman should also use the Horde formation. I think they're "ancient" enough not to have the kind of battle tactics that use formations.

Unfortunately I probably won't be testing this until at least sunday as I just merged second UU mod into my customassets folder and I want to test it thoroughly before adding anything else.

Awesome job seZereth :thumbsup:

Disregard my last post ive dl it now ill tell you if there are any bugs in about 2-3 days

I love this mod. It's really awesome. But I think it's sad that you removed the mounted officers from early infantry units.. that was just SO cool.. :sad:

I love this mod. It's really awesome. But I think it's sad that you removed the mounted officers from early infantry units.. that was just SO cool.. :sad:

well i knew it was cool, that was the reason i added it in firt version ;)
but dont be unhappy, i will give you all a customizeable version next time, where u can add your own skins or models for the officers. but that will take at last a week, because where i am right now, i can play it (at a friends) but cant mod it. and i have to learn for university, but i want to gather some more bugs too, before releasing a new version.

As I tested it yesterday in hotseat(about 8 hours ;) ) i noticed, that it didnt crash to desktop!! (yippiii) and i further noticed what rabbit said, Axemen will get modified horde formation (i thought of it yesterday too ;) ). And well, sorry for the workers (i gave em wrong working position, will be fixed easily).

Am thinking about adjusting scales, like PiTiFuLl did, looks nice, perhaps he can send me the artdef file ;) ?

Great Mod indeed, it gives a more realistic fealing of the units on the map. However, I noticed that pre-added units do not appear, the game crashes. I figured I'll have to add them again myself, also, I didn't understand the UnitsFormationInfo.xml file??? What do I do here, what is it for?

Thanks, I'll be waiting anxiously for your next version. ;)

I love this Mod! The 02 version is definitely crash free so far. I like how you've scaled down the size of the models so now a fight in the forest looks as confusing and concealing as it should. My current game with the Mongols has progressed past 100 AD so im hoping i can finish this one. I Haven't discovered theology yet and i dont think anyone else has (no christians yet), but well have to wait and see.
BTW, maybe some alterations to combat sounds might be cool, a unit of Keshik sounds cool riding into a city, but a horde of Keshik would make some"thunder".:eek:

Am thinking about adjusting scales, like PiTiFuLl did, looks nice, perhaps he can send me the artdef file ;) ?

Sure thing, I am still playing around with it. When I am done I will upload it.

Ok, I did the doggy texture for wolf in case you want to use it. It's dark brown with a white spot on the left eye :)

White Rabbit, does Zuul know about the wolf texture you did? It would work great in his animals mod!!

nice thing rabbit ;) will implement it in next version!
about the sounds, good idea, never thought about that by myself, but would be worth a look. but i will set this to the secondary priority, so if someone finds sounds which seem to fit to a bigger group of units, send them to me!

My current game is now past 1000 AD w/ theology and missionaries all working well. no crashes or problems. Load and Save times are longer but not bad. Funny tho, the old problem w/ combat ending before all animations finish (like vanilla) has been popping up more freq. At the same time ive'd had some epic, long drawn out battles between two war Elephants and a full unit of axemen, lasting about 45 seconds or so.:D :cooool:

anyways keep up the great work i cant wait for the next ver.:goodjob:

BTW, about sounds, does anybody know how to reduce the volume of the drums in battle, w/o reducing the other sounds? I'd rather hear the sounds of battle than the drums and the sometimes annoying horns! that might make the sound of the rushing hooves or the clash of steel more audible.

BTW, about sounds, does anybody know how to reduce the volume of the drums in battle, w/o reducing the other sounds? I'd rather hear the sounds of battle than the drums and the sometimes annoying horns! that might make the sound of the rushing hooves or the clash of steel more audible.
Can't tell you exactly how to do it but I can tell you how you might be able to do it. In xml/sounds folder one of the files defines volume of sounds, if you can find out which files (mp3) are used to play drums/horns, and if they are defined just like other unit sounds in those xml files, then you should be able to change their volume.

Hello,

Really nice work. Can I also use customized Units or does it only work with vanilla Units?

Thanks
Houman

Thanks for this graphics mod dude! I really like it. It makes the battles so cool and interesting!

Ok seZereth, here are the files to rescale the units in the game. If anyone else wants to try them you need to put them into the 02 ver of regiments.

FYI I rescaled all the units in the game, with the formations mod. So all the land units look to-scale with each other, the one exception is the gunship. Redid all the aircraft and ships too, battleship looks totally bada.. now :)

You Da man Rabbit. ill tinker w/ it right now. thanxs for the insight.

Ok seZereth, here are the files to rescale the units in the game. If anyone else wants to try them you need to put them into the 02 ver of regiments.

FYI I rescaled all the units in the game, with the formations mod. So all the land units look to-scale with each other, the one exception is the gunship. Redid all the aircraft and ships too, battleship looks totally bada.. now :)
That's great pitiful, I myself rescaled some of the units (in particular the modern ships) because some of them just looked ridiculous - destroyer same size as galleon, wth! :eek: The screenshots look good and I can't wait for the next version of regiments! It's definitely going into my customassets folder. :D

That's great pitiful, I myself rescaled some of the units (in particular the modern ships) because some of them just looked ridiculous - destroyer same size as galleon, wth! :eek: The screenshots look good and I can't wait for the next version of regiments! It's definitely going into my customassets folder. :D

Thanks, ya I had the exact same thought when I saw the modern warships. Now if I could just figure out how to adjust the size of those buttugly boats that show up when a water tile is worked. BTW great job on those new planes, they look sweet. Be so sweet if countrys had there own units, british with Spitfires, Tornados, Crusader ect Russians with T-34, MiG's, Yaks, Germans with Panzers, ME-109's, Pocket Battleships US B-17's Mustangs.

It is possible to put this mod in the custom assets folder? Or it must be loaded as a mod? THX!

You can always put mods into custom assets, but if you have anything else in there you'll have to merge the two mods. Just unzip it into custom assets, if it doesn't overwrite any files, then all's good and you already "installed" the mod, if it tries to overwrite anything then these are the files you have to merge.

ok, carneval is over, i completed a colloquium in colloid chemistry with a good mark, some minutes ago ;) and my girlfriend will come back in some weeks, so this means i got some time now (at least for 2 days or like that). So i will see what i can do and improve the verison so i can release v03 in the next days, will have the wolf texture, the scalings and some minor improvements in the formations (and first step in providing you customizable officers)

well, here we go

That's good news seZereth. I think I might have something that will work very nicely for the officers (at least some of them) but I'll keep it under wraps for now ;)

Sweet looking forward to your next release, well I decided that the armor looked to big with my scale mod so I made them a little smaller, they are no longer scale to people but I think it looks better, heres the updated file.

EDIT I think adding the extra people to the mech unit is too much, IMO should just leave it as a mech, being late in the game it's probably better for performance too. Also IMO the early horde units should be cut down to 8 units and add the axemen to the horde status. Everything else is perfect, maybe just adding new skin to the commanders in the formations.

Well thanxs to Rabbit's insight (i really didn't know where to start) i found the script concerning the drums during battle. C:\Program Files\Firaxis Games\Sid Meier's Civilization 4\Assets\XML\Audio\Audio2Dscripts Ctrl-F to find WarDrums_Early, WarDrums_Middle, and WarDrums_Late. I changed the min and max volume from 75 to 15. The drums are now barely audible, and you can defintely hear more of the action. also now that i can hear everything well enough, it seems as if the program does add the audio effects for each on-screen character so my earlier post about adding more sound for the increased units might not be neccessary, maybe just better or more varied sounds? a 10 unit archer makes the same sound as they die all ten times, why not have a different sword slash noise, or a different scream. anyways maybe thats for a different mod. I dl'd PiTifUL's scaler and used it in regiments02, like it alot, but my old game wont load anymore so now my new one is also past 1000AD with no problems. seems to me you could go to ver 1.0 soon.:goodjob:

i did it yesterday ;) so i couldnt concern what pitiful said, and the new art defines will get into next version.

some changes in new version, biggest one is that u now can define your officer skin for all the regular (not unique ones by now) units !

I think the link to version 0.3 is broken, all it does is bring me back to the main screen for the server, and doesnt give me the option to download it.

Kushan

ahhh had v01:) and v02 went to get v03 and no dowload:confused: has the link gone bad or is there a problem

The link to download version 0.3 redirect to initial page of www.filegone.com (http://www.filegone.com)

0.3 link is broken :(

03 link is up, this time it works ;)
sorry for the broken link, dont know how it could happen.

have fun

Have you ever thought about putting tiny fighters with the bombers to look like an escort?

This is a great looking mod! It slows the graphics down a tad, but its well worth it IMO.

I'm rather impressed. If I can learn how to do some modding I might use some of these.

hi again, has anyone else tried to add the 2 units from the hidden unitsmod into the game with regiments. I tried and it overwrote the hidden units mod and vice a versa :cry: . Any chance of these two becoming one as it would be so cool
by the way mod is brilliant :goodjob:

hi again, has anyone else tried to add the 2 lost units mod into the game with regiments. I tried and it overwrote the hidden units mod and vice a versa :cry: . Any chance of these two becoming one as it would be so cool
by the way mod is brilliant :goodjob:

It takes some cutting and pasting to integrate this with any other mod, it's unavoidable, but relatively simple if you have a small number of units to add. (I just did it to my entire Warhammer mod (30ish units so far), so no complaining. ;)

I've never tried the 2 Lost Units Mod, but I assume it only adds those 2 units and doesn't modify any other stats?

Here's a general guide, I tried to make it as simple as possible, but it's hard if you've never modded before.

1) Open up the both mod's Civ4UnitInfos.xml file, copy and paste whatever new units you want into the Regiments mod's file.

2) Do the same in the Civ4ArtDefines_Unit.xml file.

****If you don't want to change the formations of your new units, skip to step 7****

3) Decide which formation you want your new units to be in and find another unit to copy. ie, if you want them to be in a 10+1 formation, you can copy the swordsman, etc...

4) Go to the unit you want to copy and copy the information between the <unitmeshgroups> and </unitmeshgroups> tags.

5) Replace your unit's mesh groups with the other unit's mesh groups. Then in the new mesh groups, change what's in between the <EarlyArtDefineTag> and </EarlyArtDefineTag> to your new unit's art define tag.

6) Almost done! Open up the regiment's Civ4UnitFormationsInfo.xml file and find the unit you want to emulate. Wherever they are, put your unit too. I did this by doing a find and replace all. For example, if I wanted the Greatswords to emulate the Swordsmen, I replaced <UnitType>UNIT_SWORDSMAN</UnitType> with
<UnitType>UNIT_SWORDSMAN</UnitType><UnitType>UNIT_GREATSWORDS</UnitType>

If your XML editing program doesn't have a find and replace all, then you have to do it manually (ugh) or get eclipse with XML plug-in, (see my tut in the tutorials section!)

***END OF SKIPPING***

7) Replace your mod's Civ4UnitInfos.xml, Civ4ArtDefines_Unit.xml and Civ4UnitFormations.xml files with the (edited) regiment mod's files. Copy the art files from the regiments mod to your mod.

DONE!!!

That wasn't so hard was it? Okey, maybe it was tedius, but now your mod it 10 times cooler!

If you have any questions, let me know

j

It takes some cutting and pasting to integrate this with any other mod, it's unavoidable, but relatively simple if you have a small number of units to add. (I just did it to my entire Warhammer mod (30ish units so far), so no complaining. ;)

j


:goodjob:
Going to try this, it will be my first attempt at a mod :eek: Thanks for the help Period might be in touch if I muck it up :lol:

Going to try this, it will be my first attempt at a mod Thanks for the help Period might be in touch if I muck it up

NP, I had to get seZereth to explain it to me :D

Have you considered this:

Your mod is great and all, but if you really want to kick it up a notch then find somebody to do new models (mainly the attack part). So you now position your spearmen like this
_________O_O_O_O_O_________
________X_X_X_X_X_X________
With X having a sort of "stick out" motion wit hte spear while the O have an overhand thrusting motion. However, if you can find a way to make the mstay in formation, that's great! If not, then consider making them one model, so they both attack together. The only problem there being that they die together. Believe it or not, you might be able to get right down to the metal with the SDK and mess wit hwhat the computer says as far as who attacks and when and when a unit dies, just take out this part, but leave this... maybe. Just a thought, but it would make for greatness. YOu may even go to the real formation thing i proposed to you a while back...

IF I WASN'T CLEAR PLEASE TELL ME.

Sorry, that post sounded mean at the beginning to me.
YOUR MOD IS GREAT!!!!! WHOOHOOO!!!! Love watching the carnage!

NP, I had to get seZereth to explain it to me :D


:cry: did not work, lost save games :cry: can any body try this for me intergtergrate hidden units mod with the regiments mod :blush:

totally lost confidence in myself :confused:

:cry: did not work, lost save games :cry: can any body try this for me intergtergrate hidden units mod with the regiments mod :blush:

totally lost confidence in myself :confused:
what happened? error messages or what?

could not find mech artillery and mob sam as could not find xml files something about globaldefines not found :eek:
found all the files to copy into one as you said, left others that where not the same or missing from one but in the other copied them all over to the game files and then nothing either have the hidden units and no regiments or regiments but no mob artillery/sam. really want all to work but now have no faith in my abilities :cry:

could not find mech artillery and mob sam as could not find xml files something about globaldefines not found :eek:
found all the files to copy into one as you said, left others that where not the same or missing from one but in the other copied them all over to the game files and then nothing either have the hidden units and no regiments or regiments but no mob artillery/sam. really want all to work but now have no faith in my abilities :cry:

Alright :D I'll do it for you tonight when I get back from work. Or tommorow morning, depending on how much time I have...

:goodjob: thanks J Period, you are a saviour

:king: among civfanatics

If you where in the UK I would buy you a drink or two for this :lol:

:goodjob: thanks J Period, you are a saviour

:king: among civfanatics

If you where in the UK I would buy you a drink or two for this :lol:

Not a :king: maybe a local magistrate,
but here you go
temporary DL (http://s4.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=3KL06513J903N1ICY4K75580TU)

I'll put up a perminent DL if there's a big enough request.

Rember, if I visit england, you owe me :beer: :lol:

I think everything works and is how it should be, but I didn't extensively test, so if something is messed up let me know and I'll fix it.

I won't do this for every mod, though, so try and study what I did and try to figure it out, k?

thanks alot and I owe you more than 1 :lol:

i much appreciate this and thank you again.

Here's a perminent link to the hidden units + regiments mod for those of you who want it:
http://www.3ddownloads.com/Strategy/Civilization%204/Mods/Regiments%20and%20Hidden%20Units%20Combo/Hidden%20Units%20in%20regiments.zip#

Hi
great effect the formations and the scale very acomodate to the enviroment, but in particular for me the units are too small, even if i change civscaler to 20, alas that seems like no change. Is there a way to rescale, say 2x more.

hi again, could this mod be changed from 10 to 20 man formations :(

hi again, could this mod be changed from 10 to 20 man formations :(
It would need some work, and it would definitely strain your computer, the bigger the group the slower the rig.;)

Hi
great effect the formations and the scale very acomodate to the enviroment, but in particular for me the units are too small, even if i change civscaler to 20, alas that seems like no change. Is there a way to rescale, say 2x more.


well, you can go into art_definesunits.xml i think and thenchange every individual scale to something higher. Sorry dont have time to explain more.

And well 20 men formations would be doable, but not with the models we have now in game, they are too high polycounted and so would be laggy.
And like above, i dont have any time for that.

Just want to proclaim my acclaim of this mod.
The two ranks are freakin' awesome! The circular 'fortify' stance somewhat less so. Would a 'square' for 'fortified be doable?

Two complaints/quibbles:
1. Sentry orders (as in 'on alert') is unfortunately tied to the 'fortified' formation. Wish there was a way around that.
2. This mod is, well, a mod. Fine and dandy until I find another mod I want to check out (such as random events).

2. This mod is, well, a mod. Fine and dandy until I find another mod I want to check out (such as random events).

I'm incorperating it into my mod and I've incorperated into another mod (see an earlier posting)

It should also be compatable with anything that doesn't add more units. Just copy them into the same mod folder.

Hey, thats really great! Good work man, I will allways use this mod!!!
And I also use that bluemarble-edition with this!:king:
Does it work in multiplayer too???

:) I added (with J Periods help) the mod inpost 89 direct to the game, so it is not a mod anymore so if you did that as well you could then add mods to your game play the mod and hopefully have all the benefits of both (i think :blush: thats right) again :goodjob: J Period for the remodded mod

Well i've played this mod well into the modern age now, and everything seems fine, except extreme lag. I'm running a P4 3.0ghz, 256mb raedon x600, but w/ only 512mb ram. Turns now take about 3-5 min each, w/ 7 civs remaining. One note- I started this on the Mars map that is available, its a huge size w/ alot of iron and not alot of water so there are alot of land units running around. I would recommend some one w/ similar system specs to avoid large maps and/or 9+ civs. My only real complaint is the inconsistant looks i get during battle, ie: only a seemingly random number of units take part in the carnage; only two out of five Navy SEALs seem to shoot a unit of riflemen. could this be my system not having the memory to fully animate? plus im still wanting some better sounds in combat. but those are just minor - can't wait for the next version!!!:goodjob:

i am so busy with creating new units for the warhammer FB mod, so i cant do much about the regiments mod. i would like someone else continuing this project, doing a better fortify animation and perhaps adding all the unit graphics which do fit (like chinese and japanese soldiers) as unique replacements for the original ones and so on.

I'm definately adding this into the Napoleonic Europe. Although I'd like to remove the officer, and just have the line of troops.

I'm definately adding this into the Napoleonic Europe. Although I'd like to remove the officer, and just have the line of troops.

i think it will fit perfectly into napoleonic era, cause there they actually stood in line when firing. and you have the "horde option" for all those free skirmishing unittypes... i would love to see it in the napoleon mod!

seZereth, I was wondering if you could give some help with my mod. I want to make some changes to the formations of the multiple ships but I don´t know how... Any kind of advice is welcomed! THX!

I've updated the XML files for 1.61. Art files should be the same.

Thanks for making it compatble with 1.61 :goodjob:

Next version will have some really cool improvements, but could take a while until it is finished.

Just wondering, how did you edit the FormationInfos file? I tried editing it by hand but there are a lot of values in there that don't look hand-generated. Also, I'm not sure where to start :D

I think I figured most of it out :)

Just been tweaking away with some of Rabbit's models and stuff. Done so far:
- Reduced numbers of warriors, 10 was a bit excessive. Down to 6 to reflect their weakness. So too with the Quecha.
- Replaced the archer officer with a warrior wielding an axe, reduced to 8 archers + the officer. Made a new formation for this so it doesn't look weird.
- Replaced the axemen's officer with an axemen wielding a double-headed axe.
- Replaced the maceman's officer with a maceman carrying a sword.
- Moved people who carry long-arms (phalanx, spearmen, pikemen) into a square formation instead of the long lines.
- Incorporated Rabbit's Ethnic warriors, scouts, settlers at the right scale and number.
- Started tweaking the boats, giving older boats more of them.

seZereth, perhaps you could let me in on what you're doing, I'd be glad to help and use the improvements you've done so far :D

I think I figured most of it out :)

Just been tweaking away with some of Rabbit's models and stuff. Done so far:
- Reduced numbers of warriors, 10 was a bit excessive. Down to 6 to reflect their weakness. So too with the Quecha.
- Replaced the archer officer with a warrior wielding an axe, reduced to 8 archers + the officer. Made a new formation for this so it doesn't look weird.
- Replaced the axemen's officer with an axemen wielding a double-headed axe.
- Replaced the maceman's officer with a maceman carrying a sword.
- Moved people who carry long-arms (phalanx, spearmen, pikemen) into a square formation instead of the long lines.
- Incorporated Rabbit's Ethnic warriors, scouts, settlers at the right scale and number.
- Started tweaking the boats, giving older boats more of them.

seZereth, perhaps you could let me in on what you're doing, I'd be glad to help and use the improvements you've done so far :D

Could you upload your files? I like what I hear! :)

this mod by Porges sounds a must. BTW is it compatible with v1.61.
Good work on the improvements to the regiments mod hope to play yours soon

I've updated the XML files for 1.61. Art files should be the same.


kept art the same added the new xml files . Officer for archer/axman now red blob and no text about units. what have i one wrong? :blush:

Strange... what do you mean by 'no text about units'? Maybe there's a file I missed in the zip or something...

Is there no way to delete posts?

Something along the lines of these pics:

Porges, thats really great what youve done!!!!
I thoughgt about the square as an moving/idle formation, and the line as an defense/ ranged battle formation.

And you started what i wanted to do in next version, adding new formations and new unique graphics for most of the civilizations (mostly erly era, cause i create many units for warhammer FB mod)

Porges i would really like to cooperate with you, cause i am very busy with the art stuff, so it would be hard doing the xml stuff too.
Do you have IcQ ? would be best way to communicate.

Here's a new fortify for the archers (they now point in the right direction)

PS:Forums don't like me :crazyeye:

Here's a new fortify for the archers (they now point in the right direction)



This looks really really nice!!! we will keep it for ranged units fortify!!!

Ok, i sent you an email, i have to go offline, perhaps i can go online later today. Keep on the good work on the formations.
Thanks for helping me out. (and by this giving me the chance to concentrate on new units ;) )

Ok, I'll keep working on them. I have to create the ring ones for all different numbers now :cry:

Here is why horses don't like pikemen:

Final formation for the polearms.

So: Square for running around, circle for fortifying and wedge for fighting :)

kept art the same added the new xml files . Officer for archer/axman now red blob and no text about units. what have i one wrong?

I'm getting this too. Shouldn't be a conflict I think.

Errors I had:
- Scout had a bright red blob in place of one of the soldiers.
- Archer had bright red blob in place of one of the soldiers
- Archer unit display wasn't updating properly (i.e. the box at bottom left with picture of soldier and strength, where combat odds are displayed, and also the box where the order buttons are, such as combat promotions). Instead, it would carry over whatever the last unit you had was. So I'd select an archer unit it, and see a worker in the unit display, with worker orders etc.

Hopefully that explained it :)

Ok, I'll keep working on them. I have to create the ring ones for all different numbers now :cry:

Here is why horses don't like pikemen:
This looks good but the Spearmen look a bit weird, it's like some of them using Spearmen animation and others use Phalanx animations. Is that intended?

:blush: found the problem, forgot to add OFFICERS art file :blush:

as for the collaberation version can not wait. this is the first mod i reinstall every time i kill the game doing stupid stuff.:cry:

This looks good but the Spearmen look a bit weird, it's like some of them using Spearmen animation and others use Phalanx animations. Is that intended?
I think that's part of the game, they randomly go between the holding-the-the-spear-up animation and the holding-the-spear-down animation. I've tweaked the positions a bit so it looks better than in that screenie now :)

I think that's part of the game, they randomly go between the holding-the-the-spear-up animation and the holding-the-spear-down animation. I've tweaked the positions a bit so it looks better than in that screenie now :)
Yeah you're right, just today I realized some units might have two or three fortify variations. :D

Oh! Ah... art... I try loading it up with the new xml and the old art hopefully that will work :)

*edit* Yep seems to work now :)

Porges u are doing an extremely nice job!!!!!!
Regiments Xtreme will be xtremely nice with your help ;)
keep up the amazing work, cant wait what you think of next!

when you are done with your improvements, we will have to add some unique looking units and special stuff ;)

Thank you big time!

will DL as soon as i get home! my last game is lost due to 1.61 patch! but thats OK I like starting over!!:p Can't wait!! I really want to see if the new patch helps this mod w/ late game lag. Will keep anyone who's interested informed about my progress.(i hate to call it testing because its so much fun!!:D )

How much RAM would you reccomend to have for this mod.

Great mod - it is fun to watch these armies clash - seemed odd to watch just six soldiers duke it out to occupy a city!

Question - the formations file is an odd-looking file when you open it with Notepad. I see that it includes multiple instances of data for each unit - including the various vanilla-civ religion missionaries. I'm using Alulim's Alt Religion mod that uses, well, alternate religions. I'm also using an Inquisition mod that includes the Inquisitor unit - and the formation files do not include references to these alternate units.

How can I edit Civ4FormationsInfo to accommodate my units that are not reflected in the vanilla? It seems I could global-search-replace my seven religion names against the vanilla religion names. But how can I add references for my Inquisitor? Could I pick one of the missionary units and copy every reference to that missionary unit and associate those copied references to my Inquisitor (by calling it Inquisitor instead of XYZ_MISSIONARY? This will apply to RogerBacon's Bad People and Assassin mods as well.

Thanks for your input!!
Spocko

Could I pick one of the missionary units and copy every reference to that missionary unit and associate those copied references to my Inquisitor (by calling it Inquisitor instead of XYZ_MISSIONARY?
Yes that's exactly how you could do it, but if the inquisitor unit (or any other unit) only has one person you don't really need to add it to any formations because the default position for one-man formation is in the center and that's where you want it anyway, right. I mean all those missionary entries in formations like Idle (3) or Fortify (2) are actually redundant because there's only the one missionary in each missionary unit. :)

Yes that's exactly how you could do it, but if the inquisitor unit (or any other unit) only has one person you don't really need to add it to any formations because the default position for one-man formation is in the center and that's where you want it anyway, right. I mean all those missionary entries in formations like Idle (3) or Fortify (2) are actually redundant because there's only the one missionary in each missionary unit. :)

Thanks White Rabbit! Knowing that single units won't require my programming a formation is enough to sell me on merging this mod with my own collection of mods. Thanks!!!

Spocko

Thank you very much Rabbit for taking the time and answering this.
I would recommend everyone who wants to modify the formations.xml, to use a program like altova xml spy or something similar (there are free lite versions), cause in txt editors, you wont find anything :P and in the better editors, it is so well structured, that it is almost self explaining...

hi im new to this mod and i have a proplem
evry time i try restart the game so i can play it comes up with this XML error
says somthing about commisum
then when i get the main menu there nohting there so i cant see what im pressing

just a blank square and a pic of the civ main menu

hi im new to this mod and i have a proplem
evry time i try restart the game so i can play it comes up with this XML error
says somthing about commisum
then when i get the main menu there nohting there so i cant see what im pressing

just a blank square and a pic of the civ main menu

I cant really help you, this bug is related to 1.61 and should be fixed with porges verision you can download (link is opening post). Retry it with that version and tell me if you have still the problem. cant do much more, dont do much xmling any more.

How exactly did you manage to get these hordes of units?

Is it just a simple XML edit to reflect the unit size and number? Like setting it to 10 instead of 3 to get 10 units on screen. Or is there something else that needs to be done?

How exactly did you manage to get these hordes of units?

Is it just a simple XML edit to reflect the unit size and number? Like setting it to 10 instead of 3 to get 10 units on screen. Or is there something else that needs to be done?

I have the same problem, the title screen shows "Regiments" but I still get 3 models in the units.

How exactly did you manage to get these hordes of units?

Is it just a simple XML edit to reflect the unit size and number? Like setting it to 10 instead of 3 to get 10 units on screen. Or is there something else that needs to be done?


The hordes formed by the early units (warriors, etc.) are done the same way as the lined-up units; that is, you still have to tell the game (through the XML) how to position each figure. For example, this mod doesn't define formations for when the units are fortified, so the figures end up forming a big circle (which is the "default" formation).

The link for the 02 version is not working just for your information.

The link for the 02 version is not working just for your information.

could be that it expiered, cause no one downloaded it recently :P

The hordes formed by the early units (warriors, etc.) are done the same way as the lined-up units; that is, you still have to tell the game (through the XML) how to position each figure. For example, this mod doesn't define formations for when the units are fortified, so the figures end up forming a big circle (which is the "default" formation).

Could you be a fine chap and tell me what exactly I have to tell the XML? I really want to try this amazing mod but every time I restart the game I still have only 3 warriors. How do I fix this? I don't know anything about modding. Thanks.

Does the mod now fully work with 1.61?

I wouldn't mind seeing this in action with my combat mod.

Does the mod now fully work with 1.61?
Works fine with 1.61. :)

EDIT: Assuming you also use the modified XML files provided with
FIX for version 1.61 thanks to porges
... near top of first post.

Could you be a fine chap and tell me what exactly I have to tell the XML? I really want to try this amazing mod but every time I restart the game I still have only 3 warriors. How do I fix this? I don't know anything about modding. Thanks.

sorry, dont know why this happens with your version, try clearing your customassets or have a quick look into the unitinfo.xml, to make sure the <Groupsize> is not 3 but 11 or such a number.

or try reinstalling the newest version (with porges 1.61 fix)

I've combined my combat mod with the regiments mod. Available here: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=168966

cant download your nice work... when i push "download" the site reloads but no donwload starts... try'd it with firefox and i-eplore with all blockers off
is there an alternate download?
or can someone mail me that stuff? mailto:digitald0815@freenet.de

that seems to be the 100days no download we delete it stuff from filegone.com, i will see if i can find another place for it and then reupload it.

Will upload it tomorrow, dont have it with me right now.

Ok, i checked the v03 link and it is working!!!

I am not sure why this shows up as it does. But the screenshot below is what I get on some units. Not all though, as the spearmen, mech infantry, and many others show up fine. However, on some units I get a red dot. My Battleships have a black bubble around the center. I am trying to spot what is causing it atm and figured I would post in case someone had an answer. I like the scale though, and the formations are great.

Thanks.

EDIT: I added another pic, what are these boxes in notepad in the FormationInfos.xml file?

I am not sure why this shows up as it does. But the screenshot below is what I get on some units. Not all though, as the spearmen, mech infantry, and many others show up fine. However, on some units I get a red dot. My Battleships have a black bubble around the center. I am trying to spot what is causing it atm and figured I would post in case someone had an answer. I like the scale though, and the formations are great.

Thanks.

EDIT: I added another pic, what are these boxes in notepad in the FormationInfos.xml file?


hmm those boxes are tabstops i think, dont know which format created them. I use xml psy to edit stuff, so i dont have any issues with boxes ;) (xml spy is free!)

The red dots are caused by a wrong linking in the art_definesunits (to the models in their folders) or in the unitinfos (to the art_defines). it could be that you downloaded the xml only version, there the modifiied art is missing,... you would have to create the folders and put some units in their (where it is linked in the art_defines) otherwise download from the filegone link, where you will get the "fullversion" with art and xml... it does work, but it seems temporarily unavailabe (i am speaking of filegone).

hmm those boxes are tabstops i think, dont know which format created them. I use xml psy to edit stuff, so i dont have any issues with boxes ;) (xml spy is free!)

The red dots are caused by a wrong linking in the art_definesunits (to the models in their folders) or in the unitinfos (to the art_defines). it could be that you downloaded the xml only version, there the modifiied art is missing,... you would have to create the folders and put some units in their (where it is linked in the art_defines) otherwise download from the filegone link, where you will get the "fullversion" with art and xml... it does work, but it seems temporarily unavailabe (i am speaking of filegone).

Thanks. I got it working now. I just changed the ART_DEF_OFFICERUNIT xml to ART_DEF_UNIT. Now they are all working. :goodjob:

crappy ****

Hi, I'm new to mods and I tried to follow the instructions exactly but I believe somewhere along the way I must have messed up.
This is the first mod I've gotten for this installation of Civ 4.
Ok, so I installed the game, got the newest 6.1 patch, installed it, then downloaded the newest version of regiments. I put it into the Mods folder as instructed, and when I select it from inside the game(or when I tell the civ ini file to start Regiments from the beginning), when it is loading the XML files, I get an error about TECH_COMMUNISM not being correct.
The game loads anyway, but there is no text! I can select stuff and when I blindly pressed the buttons and managed to start a game, indeed the regiments DID work, but I can't play the game with no letters, anywhere.
There are no letters on any of the menus, or in the game.
Sorry if I missed something obvious, help would be appreciated.

Hi, I'm new to mods and I tried to follow the instructions exactly but I believe somewhere along the way I must have messed up.
This is the first mod I've gotten for this installation of Civ 4.
Ok, so I installed the game, got the newest 6.1 patch, installed it, then downloaded the newest version of regiments. I put it into the Mods folder as instructed, and when I select it from inside the game(or when I tell the civ ini file to start Regiments from the beginning), when it is loading the XML files, I get an error about TECH_COMMUNISM not being correct.
The game loads anyway, but there is no text! I can select stuff and when I blindly pressed the buttons and managed to start a game, indeed the regiments DID work, but I can't play the game with no letters, anywhere.
There are no letters on any of the menus, or in the game.
Sorry if I missed something obvious, help would be appreciated.
You need a 1.61 fix for this mod, it's at the top of the first post. Just download the file and unzip it into regiments letting it overwrite everything.

Ok, I got it working, but there is a glitch that makes the game unplayable: in each regiment there is a unit that is not textured; he is just a red dot, and an invincible one at that. If I engage in battle, it never ends because the attacker does not even try to attack the dot, also some of the unit pictures are wrong: it shows a warrior picture for archers.

Also, because I added in that xml file from the 1.61 patch fix file, I cannot simply turn off the mod, and am totally unable to battle.

I realize it was stupid not to create a back up folder for my xml, but can someone provide me a copy of a fresh xml folder?

I am also very new to this, and I am having trouble doing this part:

Then you can open civ4config and replace the 0 at
Mods= 0
with
Mods= Regiments v03

I can't find the "Mods= 0" that I'm supposed to be changing. Perhaps I'm looking in the wrong place. Can anyone clarify the situation for me? Thanks.

Very good mod, thanks seZereth. It's just what I was dreaming of when I was seeing these giants stomping my towns. :goodjob:

A word if I may : you know what you're talking about, but others don't. So please be more explicite when you tell people how to install it. The "mods" folder where you must uncompress the archive is in My Documents\My games\Sid Meier Civ IV. The line to modify is in My Documents\My games\Sid Meier Civ IV\CivilizationIV.ini. It's probably obvious to modders and people who know about mods, but not for the average player (at least it wasn't for me, and apparently I'm not the only one confused).

And people with the red blob bug must download the entire mod with the filegone link given in the first post, not take the attached file which doesn't contain the art files. I know, it's written, but you know how it is : if it's not red, bold and underlined, people just look at the screenshots and download the attached file, as I did myself. :D

(And if it's red, bold and underlined they think it's a Google ad and ignore it anyway, but that's another story. :mischief: )

EDIT: I added another pic, what are these boxes in notepad in the FormationInfos.xml file?
The "boxes" are non-ANSI character codes, notepad won't display them properly. You can open it with wordpad (which will display them properly) and then save it as plain text (ANSI). Or you can just use wordpad instead of notepad for editing XML files, it's a bit quicker for things like search & replace, just try not to use the rich text options :)

Thank you ShaLouZa! I cannot tell you how difficult it has been for me to read about all these great mods will slowly trying to piece together what the instructions are supposed to be, and then having to test my guesses by loading the game over and over again.

Your post was very helpful, and although I doubt everyone will follow your advice, it was very much appreciated on my end.

Currently, I'm trying to figure out how to combine mods so that I can use, say, a new leader while also using regimented units and having some difficulty, but I don't want to trouble you more.

Thanks again.

Hi I'm sorry I disappeared for so long there. I have moved cities and house several times so...

I've uploaded what I had done:

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?p=4204126#post4204126

Thanks. I got it working now. I just changed the ART_DEF_OFFICERUNIT xml to ART_DEF_UNIT. Now they are all working. :goodjob:


And where are they located?

And where are they located?

You have to change that in the Unitinfo.xml at the Meshgroups section at the end of every units entry....
But wait for Regiments extreme, or best, download porges custom asstes its something like regiments3b...

@Sez now that you are on the mod team for FfH2, will we see a FfH2 Regements? That would be freaking sweet!

Battles with single-image units (e.g., tank, helicopter) vs. multi-image units take extended periods of time as the tank (etc.) shoot each maceman, infantry, longbow (whatever) one by one. Marines vs. your typical foot units, OTOH, are amazingly quick.

Would it be possible when zooming in to battle (only) to have multiple tanks or have infantry accompany them (similar to artillery)? Another option would be for with each tank fire (or gunship burst) for multiple opposing figures to 'die'.

Battles with single-image units (e.g., tank, helicopter) vs. multi-image units take extended periods of time as the tank (etc.) shoot each maceman, infantry, longbow (whatever) one by one. Marines vs. your typical foot units, OTOH, are amazingly quick.

Would it be possible when zooming in to battle (only) to have multiple tanks or have infantry accompany them (similar to artillery)? Another option would be for with each tank fire (or gunship burst) for multiple opposing figures to 'die'.

Or we can have a whole lotta tanks (etc.) !

Wow, great mod, love it, thanks for sharing this info.

However, I have a problem, and I beg your assistance...

I love this mod, so much so, I've decided to venture into some modding here myself, because I normally play with the total realism mod, it adds alot all over the game, for instance, the unitinfos xml file is 1300 kb, vs the 435 or whatever of the regiments mod. I know I can just copy and paste your unitinfos and formations file in my total realism files same location and great I have a much better game. However doing so requires me to give up over 50 extra units modded in total realism. No offense what you've done is amazing, but I want to do it to those extra 50 or so units I'm losing, not only for strategic depth in gameplay, but I have to hit enter 50 times at the load of each game as it reminds me these units are no longer coded. So I've been doing some playing around, trying to pinpoint exactly how you...

A. lower the size of the forces. This one I haven't figured out.

I've figured out
<iGroupSize>11</iGroupSize> sets the amount of units shown...

<iMeleeWaveSize>3</iMeleeWaveSize> I assume this controls the amount of intial forces that meet for combat???

<iRangedWaveSize>0</iRangedWaveSize> same as above but for ranged units??? But I noticed marines have there's in melee, are firearms not coded as ranged???

<iRequired>3</iRequired> What does this control???

B. I'm lost on the formations part, I don't like the default circle formation, I'm hoping I can copy and paste your formationinfos into my TR file, and be done with it, as yours seems to cover all the basic units in the game. however that code is all over the place when I try and edit it. So I guess my question is, are the formations codes generic, *fingers crossed* as in a generic code for all swordsmen types, that would cover the 5 different swordsmen units in TR?

If not, what are the exact lines needed to change the different formations, and what might those codes be.



Please help me, It's going to take awhile for me trial and error this, with many complete restarts, already has...

Wow, great mod, love it, thanks for sharing this info.

However, I have a problem, and I beg your assistance...

I love this mod, so much so, I've decided to venture into some modding here myself, because I normally play with the total realism mod, it adds alot all over the game, for instance, the unitinfos xml file is 1300 kb, vs the 435 or whatever of the regiments mod. I know I can just copy and paste your unitinfos and formations file in my total realism files same location and great I have a much better game. However doing so requires me to give up over 50 extra units modded in total realism. No offense what you've done is amazing, but I want to do it to those extra 50 or so units I'm losing, not only for strategic depth in gameplay, but I have to hit enter 50 times at the load of each game as it reminds me these units are no longer coded. So I've been doing some playing around, trying to pinpoint exactly how you...

A. lower the size of the forces. This one I haven't figured out.

I've figured out
<iGroupSize>11</iGroupSize> sets the amount of units shown...

<iMeleeWaveSize>3</iMeleeWaveSize> I assume this controls the amount of intial forces that meet for combat???

<iRangedWaveSize>0</iRangedWaveSize> same as above but for ranged units??? But I noticed marines have there's in melee, are firearms not coded as ranged???

<iRequired>3</iRequired> What does this control???

B. I'm lost on the formations part, I don't like the default circle formation, I'm hoping I can copy and paste your formationinfos into my TR file, and be done with it, as yours seems to cover all the basic units in the game. however that code is all over the place when I try and edit it. So I guess my question is, are the formations codes generic, *fingers crossed* as in a generic code for all swordsmen types, that would cover the 5 different swordsmen units in TR?

If not, what are the exact lines needed to change the different formations, and what might those codes be.



Please help me, It's going to take awhile for me trial and error this, with many complete restarts, already has...


nice to hear that you are willing to convert the total realism mod to regiments ;) well i had to add about 100 units to the formation file for the warhammer fb mod (with completely new formations (no more standard circle, but half circle and other stuf for fortify....) which you might be interested in :) )
So first i want to make you aware of a program called xmlspy by altova, you can get a free version of this on their website (just google it).. this will make xml editing sooo much easier as you get a clear structure into your xml files and by this you can read the formations very very easily....


<iMeleeWaveSize>3</iMeleeWaveSize> this sets the amount of units battling each other at one time... so if you set it to 10, you will get a 10vs10 fight, if you set it to 1, you will see a series of duells ;)

<iRangedWaveSize>0</iRangedWaveSize> same as above but for ranged units... no idea what the marine issue is, as i never played longer than middle ages...

<iRequired>3</iRequired> is the amount of one unit art (model) in the whole regiment, so if you want to have an officer, you set it to 1 and add another Mesh with the normal soldiers art set to 10 requiered (if you want 10+1 formations)

So my suggestion would be, i will give you my reworked formations file, where i will add the vanilla units, and you will take the longer part, and add each of the 5 different swordsmen exactly where the vanilla swordsman is in the formation... (with xml spy it is extremely easy, as you can simply replace X by X Y and such add simply Y (the other swordsman) behind X (the vanilla one) without "replacing/deleting" X, then you hit replace again and replace X with X Z resulting in the addition of Z to X Z Y ... and by such you will have your swordsmen everywhere where your vanilla one is...

The problem is i dont have the new clean formations file with me and have no internet at home so it could take some time (perhaps until tomorrow) until i can upload it... perhaps you start downloading xmlspy, get used to it and then you start changing your unitinfo ( and set the unit sizes to 10(9+1) for melee and 9 (8+1) for archers, and set the officer to the last possition ( i mean first you have the meshgroup with the standard soldiers <iRequired>9</iRequired> and under that the mesh for the officer <iRequired>1</iRequired>... by this you wont have the officer shown in the pedia when clicking the regiment (cause in the new formations the officers has the last x,y coordinates... (thats if you want to have an officer at all otherwise set the first requiered to 10)

and when you are done with everything you can upload it and by this extend the fun for many more people ;)

I'm just did the hard work and manually changed the file, I hope, take a look...

Ok so I just went through and changed all the units in the total realism unitinfos.xml file as...

<Class>UNITCLASS_SWORDSMAN</Class>
<Type>UNIT_ARMORED_SWORDSMAN</Type>

<UnitMeshGroups>
<iGroupSize>11</iGroupSize>
<fMaxSpeed>1.75</fMaxSpeed>
<iMeleeWaveSize>5</iMeleeWaveSize>
<iRangedWaveSize>0</iRangedWaveSize>
<UnitMeshGroup>
<iRequired>1</iRequired>
<EarlyArtDefineTag>ART_DEF_UNIT_ROME_PRAETORIAN</EarlyArtDefineTag>
</UnitMeshGroup>
<UnitMeshGroup>
<iRequired>10</iRequired>
<EarlyArtDefineTag>ART_DEF_UNIT_ARMORED_SWORDSMAN</EarlyArtDefineTag>
</UnitMeshGroup>

Do I have this correct for adding the officers? So, to the fun part I bet, can I just copy and paste your formationsinfos xml as a general guide for the different units, ie all swordsmen follow this formation, or do I have to go into the formations xml to edit each one. I'm thinking and hoping that it's a general rule thing, as your formations folder is a larger file than TR's.

thanks for all your help.

well I got errors loading the xml part

it referenced this...

F<?xml version="1.0"?>

It's the first line in the unitinfos file.

I may have made a mistake and erased a < or > somewhere, I'll have to check later though. I really want this to work, *sigh*

well I got errors loading the xml part

it referenced this...

F<?xml version="1.0"?>

It's the first line in the unitinfos file.

I may have made a mistake and erased a < or > somewhere, I'll have to check later though. I really want this to work, *sigh*

well, i think it has to be

<Class>UNITCLASS_SWORDSMAN</Class>
<Type>UNIT_ARMORED_SWORDSMAN</Type>

<UnitMeshGroups>
<iGroupSize>11</iGroupSize>
<fMaxSpeed>1.75</fMaxSpeed>
<iMeleeWaveSize>5</iMeleeWaveSize>
<iRangedWaveSize>0</iRangedWaveSize>
<UnitMeshGroup>
<iRequired>1</iRequired>
<EarlyArtDefineTag>ART_DEF_UNIT_ROME_PRAETORIAN< /EarlyArtDefineTag>
</UnitMeshGroup>
<UnitMeshGroup>
<iRequired>10</iRequired>
<EarlyArtDefineTag>ART_DEF_UNIT_ARMORED_SWORDSMAN</EarlyArtDefineTag>
</UnitMeshGroup>
</UnitMeshGroups>

if you have this in your info, then you will have to check for any < or >,
if you dont have the errorlog or debuglog or somthing in your civdirectory activated yet, i think you can activate a debuglog file which shows you the correct reference , in the civilization.ini

no idea where the error is, it seems ok so far

Hey I have a few questions for you...

1. what unitinfos code actually changes unit size?

2. I downloaded the xmlspy program, I like the color coding, makes it easier to read, however whenever I try and run the debug, or validate, I get an error message that basicly gives the file name, and unitinfo's.xml is not well formed, xml document expected? Got any ideas on this one? I've found I put a few group size 11, required 10, before I realized the extra unit was the officer. Still checking to see if I missed a > or < anywhere. Btw, if i just copy your officers art folder, and paste it appropriately in my TR file, will that then give me access to your officers in the units?

This may have been asked already, but will you be converting your mod for use with warlords? I mean I could do it, but if you were/are already planning it then i dont want to double up the work.

Kushan

well I added all the extra characters in the total realism mod, still having a problem with formations and size. I don't like the circle my units are making.

two questions...

How do you change the size of the units?

What guide lines should I follow on setting the formations?

This may have been asked already, but will you be converting your mod for use with warlords? I mean I could do it, but if you were/are already planning it then i dont want to double up the work.

Kushan

feel free to do so, i dont consider buying warlords soon :p

i would suggest you all use Porges Custom assets zip to get the formation file in there, it includes some more formations to use and you can get rid of the circles.

I will cooperate with Rabbit white to brign out the Ethnically diverse units mod with formations, so you will have to wait a bit if you want my new formations file ;) (i think one or 2 days)

[qoute]
two questions...

How do you change the size of the units?

What guide lines should I follow on setting the formations?[/quote]

size of units is set in the <iGroupSize>11</iGroupSize>
and the formations, well if you use porges one, he added some ccomments, writing which formation is for whom and so on, you should give the line as a fortify animation to melee units, the circles to archer and spears and the square as idle formation, thats what i did.

For every unitsize you need to define the x,y position for every unit in the regiment, so if you need to create a circle with 7, you will have to copy paste the one with 8 and delete one position, this is the easy way, or you imagine a coordinate system and figure out new positions :P

well, best is you try around and learn by doing... or you wait until i released the EDU regiments...

Btw, if i just copy your officers art folder, and paste it appropriately in my TR file, will that then give me access to your officers in the units?

well yes you will have to change the artdefines too ;)

Hello it's me again. Well Porges Custom assets zip was a big help, thanks... Fixed a good bit of my problems, just not all of them.

I'm pretty new to this modding thing, so I pretty much gave up and pasted Porges customs assets formations file into my TR file. So, so far I've added all the extra units to the TR units, used Proges custom assets to get a good bit of them into formations, now I'd like to adjust the size of the units, not in how many people make up a unit, but in the height of the unit on the map. How do I do that? And making sense of the formations file is difficult. What is it exactly that I need to do with this file to change the formations of the units? I've also gone through and added officers throughout. Thanks for all your help, just a little more and I think I'll have this done, and we can upload it or whatever for others...

i can't get the file from filegone
it's say SQL error
:cry:
BTW, i'm new member
Edit: I have download it(sorry for don't see the note)
:confused: ,it's great

Great mod, seZ! I was thinking about making a mod with a few changes for more realistic gameplay. Could I use this?

Hello again, I just started pasting the crusader name in the formations file everywhere I saw the swordsman, it's the formation I was looking for and I think I've solved that problem, as when the crusaders move now, it's in a rowed formation, with a christian missionary unit in the middle behind them, I liked that little touch. That's what I was after with that unit, so I think I can work with the others now. But I'm still having problems with all my units in that circle formation, when they are put into sentry, or dig in/ fortify. I'd rather them stay in a rowed formation, so things are not so cluttered.

Can you help me on which formation takes them out of the circle formation, I saw the swordsmen in every fortify selection on the xml formations file, so do I have to narrow it to just one of those formations columns, or is there even a way to get them out of the circle formation in fortify?

Please help, I'm almost there...

Hi I installed this mod, it looks great! However I don't get the "formations", all I have is one tiny unit for all the units. :( Am I doing something wrong? Thanks!

Sounds like you have Single Unit Graphics on (Options: Graphics tab), Hammuarbi.

ok, hi guys sorry for no update, i am very busy with everything else...

so your questions:
@NikNaks93: use it for every mod you want, just give me credits somewhere ;)

@WRL: unit hieght is actually defined in the unitartdefines.xml, you can change it there by hand for every unit or you download civscale somewhere in the utilities section i think and go the easy way ;)

and the formationfile does the following, it has x and y coordinates for a formation, which is used by a unit with the exact amount of "soldiers" in a meshgroup as positions in formation, so you need for 1 swordsman a formation with 1 x,y coordinate, for 2 swordsmen 2x,y coordinates, etc... and then you can add the units which should use the formation and the situation in which this formation is used, thats the event_fortify, event_sentry, event_idle thingy... so if your swordsmen still create circles when doing a specific task, then you did one of the upper mentioned things wrong
(-meshgroup amount in unitinfo.xml not matching the number of x,y coordinates in the formationsinfo
-unitsname isnt in the formation
-formation doesnt have the specific event)

well hope this explains it a bit better... if not, go on asking ;)

Ah, thanks, I actually trial and errored it all weekend, and now I've got it fixed, pretty much, I think. So here's what I've done, I changed amount of units to 8, 5 up front, 3 in back, with the general tag, first, I know it messes up the image in civopedia, but this way the general rides out front in the middle. I really hate that circle, so what I did, was take the basic 8 + 1 idle formation and copied all the x, y coordinates and copied everything before that on the last fortify formation, I think it was for like 5 units or so, and pasted the two together and placed it at the end of the fortify lines, now on fortify they stay lined up, greatly reduces unit clutter. I changed the crusader units, I put a christian missionary unit first, then the Teutonic replaced the crusader unit art, so now I have a big golden cross leading my units of crusaders, it's really cool, it reminds me of the movie Kingdom of Heaven, so I went back and added all the religious missionary units to the front of religious units, like the mujahadein, they of course get the Islamic missionary leading them. When I tried to change the building requirement from CHRISTIAN_TEMPLE to _CHATHEDRAL, to better simulate the amount of religious fervor needed to built those powerful religious units, I get an XML error over that, got any idea's on how to fix that? For officers, typically I just used the Roman General, or cavalry, so my officer could fight back and be on horseback, but the TR mod has ethnic leader units I used where I could to match ethnicity. Now I'm testing it out ironing it out. getting all the units I missed, mopping up formations I missed, It's great with all the units, but for some reason, it takes forever to load up, in game it's running fine, but to load up and start takes like 5 minutes, don't know why, got any idea's?

@ seZ

RealMod (http://http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=181326) v0.5 (Edit: 0.51) is now up. Thanks for letting me use this :).

EDIT: The link has been cut off. Sorry.

Ah, thanks, I actually trial and errored it all weekend, and now I've got it fixed, pretty much, I think. So here's what I've done, I changed amount of units to 8, 5 up front, 3 in back, with the general tag, first, I know it messes up the image in civopedia, but this way the general rides out front in the middle. I really hate that circle, so what I did, was take the basic 8 + 1 idle formation and copied all the x, y coordinates and copied everything before that on the last fortify formation, I think it was for like 5 units or so, and pasted the two together and placed it at the end of the fortify lines, now on fortify they stay lined up, greatly reduces unit clutter. I changed the crusader units, I put a christian missionary unit first, then the Teutonic replaced the crusader unit art, so now I have a big golden cross leading my units of crusaders, it's really cool, it reminds me of the movie Kingdom of Heaven, so I went back and added all the religious missionary units to the front of religious units, like the mujahadein, they of course get the Islamic missionary leading them. When I tried to change the building requirement from CHRISTIAN_TEMPLE to _CHATHEDRAL, to better simulate the amount of religious fervor needed to built those powerful religious units, I get an XML error over that, got any idea's on how to fix that? For officers, typically I just used the Roman General, or cavalry, so my officer could fight back and be on horseback, but the TR mod has ethnic leader units I used where I could to match ethnicity. Now I'm testing it out ironing it out. getting all the units I missed, mopping up formations I missed, It's great with all the units, but for some reason, it takes forever to load up, in game it's running fine, but to load up and start takes like 5 minutes, don't know why, got any idea's?

sounds good, no sorry dont know anything about this cathedral error, never digged into this area of xml ;)

and the loading time at start up should have nothing to do with formations :p
i only know this from the ffh2 mod which doesnt use formations and from the upcoming WHFB mod, which does use formations...

i will have a look at your TR mod after you finished it ;)

Thanks for the feedback, you've been such a big help, thanks for your time in helping me do this, I owe you one, if I can ever do anything for you, just ask. XML spy has been a god send, thank you, I probably couldn't have done this without that nice program. Do you know another good programs for modding, particularly one that can up load a unit image/building, display it, and allow me to mod my own unit, or something that can facilitate that better?

When I'm done ironing this out, I'll up link it here, and you can look it over, heck try it out, or if you like, copy the unitinfos, art, and formations, and I think you can just incorporate the extra units minus the rest of the mod. I really like the total realism mod, it combines nearly as much as Sevo's, but the terrain has been modified to look better as well, not to mention the much more balanced combat, with the extra units provide.

Oh, I've been getting a little ahead of myself, I saw Dales Combat Mod, the one that adds field bombardment to artillery and ships, remember the good old days when your arty actually could bombard a tile of it's resources, or units, well I've added that to it as well, no more only using arty for city walls and city walls only!!!! It allows you to keep your arty in the rear where it belongs, just have to protect it from flankers more now, but this is more realistic. I've given it nice numbers basic trebuchets, can bombard 2 tiles ahead of them, basically to clear the friendly units and strike your targets, then it grows another tile with each upgrade, ie. cannon's can bombard 3 tiles ahead, and artillery can bombard a full 4 tiles ahead, allowing a small barrage of arty before your combat arms can close for the battle, just seems more realistic to me. Hoping this all comes together nicely.