The Dark Ages (European Middle Ages Mod)

[Head Serf]

The Dark Ages 1.740
Requires the European Middle Ages Mod 0.65, Only for Vanilla Civ4

This scenario covers the dark ages of Europe, from the years 527 to 843, or from the Byzantine Reconquest to the division of Charlemagne's Holy Roman Empire. The included civilizations are:

1. Byzantines
2. Sassanid Persia
3. Ostrogoths
4. Visigoths
5. Vandals
6. Franks
7. Suebi
8. Burgundy
9. Arabs
10. Saxons
11. Slavs
12. Vikings
13. Lombards
14. Bulgars
15. Avars

The map currently comes in only one size, large, and uses the same map used in the European Middle Ages Mod.


The European Middle Ages Mod 0.74 can be found here.

This scenario can be found here.

1.5 removed after 25 downloads
1.501 removed after 820 downloads
1.560 removed after 604 downloads
1.650 removed after 677 downloads
Total of 2126 downloads

About the new "The Dark Ages Unlocked"
The new scenario comes with the normal The Dark Ages and is exactly the same except that it can be played at any speed and until 1500 AD, whereas the normal map ends in 843 and is locked into the Marathon speed. The victory conditions have been altered slightly for the Unlocked Version.

[Head Serf]

Version 1.740
-added new The Dark Ages Unlocked
-locked Marathon Speed for the normal The Dark Ages

Version 1.650
-added new Viking city : Nidaros
-improved Viking starting land
-changed the shape of Sicily and Sardinia to be more accurate
-made it compatible with the European Middle Ages Mod version 0.65.

Version 1.560
-The Franks now start with Stone Working
-Cities with Keeps now have Belfry
-Bulgar capital now has paganism (causing the Bulgars to convert to paganism)
-improved the Viking starting position with more resources
-2 additional swordsmen for the Lombards
-Bulgar cities are now significantly smaller
-This version is compatible with the European Middle Ages Mod version 0.56.

Version 1.501
-Made Rome the Catholic holy city

[Head Serf]

Reserved for Miscellaneous (plans for future versions, collection of strategies, notes, etc.)

[Craig_Sutter]

I'm going to try this one out right away.

[Craig_Sutter]

You have no Catholic Holy City... should there be one?

I like the detail in the city names you included. Still looking it over.

[dazman92]

lookin good. I do agree that Jerusalem should be added, but other wise, its a-ok.

*two thumbs up*

[Head Serf]

Well, I did try to make Rome the Catholic Holy City through the Worldbuilder several times, and after the last time, I assumed it worked. Well, I was apparently wrong. Anyway, it's an easy fix and I've updated the files to 0.501.

[Craig_Sutter]

Something similar has happened to me, too, when making my mods. Don't know why.

[Head Serf]

Are there any problems with it? Anything that needs to be rebalanced? New barbarian cities that should be included?

[Ementio]

For those of us, like me, who are not very computer literate, could you please post specific instructions on where exactly to unzip the files for this mod and how to start up the game? I have tried various ways and nothing works. For example, I start the game, hit advanced, load a mod, then Middle Ages Mod, but whether I hit "Play how" or "Load a Scenario" I can't find the Dark Ages map/scenario.

Thanks in advance.

[Head Serf]

You need to unzip the .zip file. Take the .wbs file (The scenario file) and copy it into the Public Maps folder in your Sid Meier's Civilization 4 folder. Load the mod, go to Play a Scenario, and it should be in the list.

[Ementio]

Thanks Head Serf, but it still doesn't work. Here's what I've done.

1. I downloaded the European Middle Ages Mod 0.5 and unzipped it into my Civ IV mods folder. It shows up there correctly like the other mods I've downloaded.

2. At your suggestion, I downloaded the Dark Ages scenario and unzipped the file into my Civ IV Public maps folder. I tried two ways--first, so the whole folder called "Dark Ages" appeared in the Public Maps folder, then I tried separately unzipping the .wbs file itself (i.e., the contents of the Dark Ages folder) into the Public Maps folder.

3. When I open the game, go to advanced, load a mod, I see European Middle Ages Mod 0.5 as an option. I click that and the game restarts.

4. Then I hit single player, play a scenario. There is no Dark Ages scenario or European Middle Ages scenario.

I would be grateful if you could let me know what I am doing wrong and how to fix it. Also, in general, is there a forum on this site that explains in nauseating detail how to download, unzip and play various mods and scenarios? I've looked for one but haven't found anything on point.

Many thanks

[Head Serf]

Is the European Middle Ages Mod installed correctly? As in, when you go into say the civilopedia, are there all new techs, units, leaders, and such? If not, it means you need to properly install the European Middle Ages Mod. Secondly, make sure that the .wbs file is immeadiately inside the Public Maps folder. Then when you start up the mod and pick "Play a Scenario", it should come up in the list.

[Ementio]

I don't know what I did right, but I finally got it to work! I wonder if it had anything to do with an overloaded cache? I went in and deleted that folder and, lo and behold, the next time I tried to play the Dark Ages scenario, it appeared where it should after loading the European Middle Ages Mod.

Thanks for your pointers, Head Serf.

[darkkai64]

do the crusades occur in this scenario?

[Head Serf]

No, this scenario starts in 527 and ends in 843, while the Crusades happened after about 1100.

[Head Serf]

Version 1.560 released. It works with the European Middle Ages Mod 0.56, which despite the number, is 100% completely playable. Version changes are in the second post, and the download link is in the first.

I plan on writing up a strategy for either the Byzantines or Ostrogoths sometime soon.

[Pax Canadiana]

This would be interesting on Warlords.

[cyclotron7]

I'm a little bit confused. I started a game as the Arabians, and immediately get prompts to vote on UN resolutions and for Secretary General, and after 20 or 30 turns the game goes black and crashes - possible because somebody finally won one of the sec. gen. elections. Have I made some installation mistake or something? There's no UN wonder or its equivalent listed as having been built, but it seems to act like it's been built from the start of the game.

[Head Serf]

You need to download the new version. The old one has that problem when used with the new EMA version.

EDIT: Sorry if that's a little vague. What I'm saying is to download both version 0.56 of the European Middle Ages, and the most recent version of the Dark Ages scenario. Then it should work.