Moors Civilization Module

xcrissxcrossx · Jul 6, 2010

Moors civilization

Leaders: Abd-ar-Rahman III (Spiritual, Creative)
Yusuf ibn Tashfin (Spiritual, Expansive)

Unique Unit: Moorish Cavalry (Mounted Infantry, 2 first strikes free)
Berber Infantry (Spearman, Aesthetic purposes only)

Unique Building: Kasr (Granary, adds a 10% defensive bonus to the city)

This is my first time making a mod for AND, but I think it's pretty good for a first time myself.

DOWNLOAD LINK: http://www.mediafire.com/?adhotx5jqgjxmen
v1.5 (Updated 7/22/10) (Fixed up a lot of the graphics. Final version for a long time.)
v1.4 (Updated 7/17/10) (Replaced the UU with the Moorish Cavalry.)
v1.3 (Updated 7/11/10) (Yusuf ibn Tashfin added as a playable leader.)
v1.3 (Updated 7/10/10) (Changed Abd-ar-Rahman to Spiritual and Creative. Changed UU to Spearman.)
v1.2 (Updated 7/7/10) (Added more cities, including North-Western African cities)

Credits:

Spoiler :

xcrissxcrossx · Jul 6, 2010

Also, if anyone is wondering, I used the Romanized Arabic city names instead of the city names in English, because the Moors of al-Andalus occupied Spain, so nearly all of the English city names are already taken by the Spanish Civilization.

Grathocke · Jul 7, 2010

One of my favorite units from the Medieval: Total War series is the Moors' Urban Militia unit, although they tamed it down in the 2nd version of the franchise. It would be great to see that as a second UU.

climat · Jul 7, 2010

Isn't Cordoba(Qurtuba) fitter for capital?

Would you have plan to add Moroccan(Almoravid, Almoheds) cities?

Arab in the game is too generic. It currently represents Middle East/Arabian Pennisula and North Africa/Magreb except Egypt.
Dividing it (and making Moors represent North Africa/Magreb Islam countries) may be an option.

xcrissxcrossx · Jul 7, 2010

I'm checking out the Urban Militia now. I own Medieval II Total War.

climat said:
Isn't Cordoba(Qurtuba) fitter for capital?
Would you have plan to add Moroccan(Almoravid, Almoheds) cities?

Arab in the game is too generic. It currently represents Middle East/Arabian Pennisula and North Africa/Magreb except Egypt.
Dividing it (and making Moors represent North Africa/Magreb Islam countries) may be an option.

After more reading, I think Qurtuba does make a better capital. It was at first, but I read an article that said Sevilla (Isbiliya) was the capital for the Kings of the Umayyad Caliphate, the Almoravid dynasty, and the Almohad dynasty, but I can't find any other supporting evidence for that. And of course, Qurtuba is more recognizable.

Also I wanted to add Moroccan cities, but I simply could not find much research on the moors outside of al-Andalus. I don't know what Moroccan cities were big at the time. Maybe I'll look deeper and add them though.

EDIT: I changed my mind. I can find plenty of research now. I'll add the Almoravid and Almohad cities to an update.

climat · Jul 7, 2010

Wikepedia is a good source for city list.

This may be helpful.
Maridah(Merida), Malaqah(Malaga), Larida(Lerida) are not included currently.

BTW, If you want more leaders, you can use this.

xcrissxcrossx · Jul 7, 2010

climat said:
Wikepedia is a good source for city list. This may be helpful.
Maridah(Merida), Malaqah(Malaga), Larida(Lerida) are not included currently.

BTW, If you want more leaders, you can use this.

I added some more cities, including North African cities. Thanks for the comments.

Grathocke · Jul 10, 2010

If you're interested in learning more about Moorish Spain, here's a suggested reading list:

http://www.esotericquest.org/suggestedreading.html

I think that those 700 years were some of the finest, most enlightened in history. Not perfect, mind you, but considering how the rest of the Western world was doing, it was really remarkable.

xcrissxcrossx · Jul 10, 2010

Grathocke said:
If you're interested in learning more about Moorish Spain, here's a suggested reading list:

http://www.esotericquest.org/suggestedreading.html

I think that those 700 years were some of the finest, most enlightened in history. Not perfect, mind you, but considering how the rest of the Western world was doing, it was really remarkable.

Thanks. I'm heading to the library this Monday. I'll pick up one of the books for reading. I'm always interested in learning more history.

Also off topic, I updated the file, probably for the last time in a while. I think this will be the finished version, except for the granary art.

Also, I'm not sure if it is just me, so if someone could be kind, could you download it and report problems. For some reason Abd-ar-Rahman has 3 traits and two UU's for me.

Grathocke · Jul 10, 2010

xcrissxcrossx said:
Thanks. I'm heading to the library this Monday. I'll pick up one of the books for reading. I'm always interested in learning more history.

Also off topic, I updated the file, probably for the last time in a while. I think this will be the finished version, except for the granary art.

Also, I'm not sure if it is just me, so if someone could be kind, could you download it and report problems. For some reason Abd-ar-Rahman has 3 traits and two UU's for me.

Just d/l now. Will let you know.

BTW, I read Rise and Fall of Paradise. It's a very easy read, but full of really interesting facts, like Christian teenagers willing to die for their beliefs and sure they would go to heaven. (Not sure about the 23 virgins, though.) They caused all kinds of trouble for the Muslim judges.

climat · Jul 10, 2010

I briefly tested this and it worked. (I didn't see the problem you mentioned.)

About Moorish Hammam: Is this also UB of Moors? Pedia currently doesn't show that.
If your intention was for UB, I think you forgot to add this in Moors_CIV4CivilizationInfos.xml:

Code:

             <Building>
		<BuildingClassType>BUILDINGCLASS_AQUEDUCT</BuildingClassType>
	        <BuildingType>BUILDING_MOORS_MOORISHHAMMAM</BuildingType>
	     </Building>

BTW, if it is UB, it may cause a balance problem because Moors have 2 UBs.

xcrissxcrossx · Jul 10, 2010

climat said:
I briefly tested this and it worked. (I didn't see the problem you mentioned.)

About Moorish Hammam: Is this also UB of Moors? Pedia currently doesn't show that.
If your intention was for UB, I think you forgot to add this in Moors_CIV4CivilizationInfos.xml:

Code:

<Building> <BuildingClassType>BUILDINGCLASS_AQUEDUCT</BuildingClassType> <BuildingType>BUILDING_MOORS_MOORISHHAMMAM</BuildingType> </Building>

BTW, if it is UB, it may cause a balance problem because Moors have 2 UBs.

Nope. It was the original UB, but I didn't like it, so I made a new one, the Ksar. I left it in there in case I wanted to do something with it, or if anyone else did.

I suggest leaving it off. It is just a copy of the Ottoman's UB.
I forgot that it shows up the the civilpedia though. I'll probably change that and make an update.

xcrissxcrossx · Jul 10, 2010

So, you guys think the Moors fit in the game well?

Anything that makes them stick out from the other civilizations?

Grathocke · Jul 11, 2010

xcrissxcrossx said:
So, you guys think the Moors fit in the game well?

Anything that makes them stick out from the other civilizations?

I've always loved playing as the Moors (in M:TW). They had a rich and vibrant culture. I think you've got a good start going here. Some observations:

I think the Moors were more of a cavalry based army. They should definitely have some cavalry UU's. I have borrowed the Numidian Cavalry (Carthage), and the Moorish Cavalry (Morrocco from Hashishim's Clash of Civilizations) to add a little flavor. I have also borrowed the Janjaweed Gunmen from Hashishim's Sudan for a modern era Guerrilla.

I was reading up on the Hammam, and it probably doesn't fit, as you said. But what would fit is fountains. The Moors, being desert people, apparently went wild building fountains in their cities now that they had access to so much water. They also boasted some of the best medical practice of the time, and had a very advanced judicial system. Of course, there is the Alhambra, which is an Islamic World Wonder, but truly belongs to this culture. And while the Alhambra, for all it's beauty, is itself a citadel, Spain is given the Citadel, but the Moors are not. They built incredible fortresses as well, and they should certainly have their own version of the Citadel.

climat · Jul 11, 2010

Great ideas.

Especially, I agree with cavalry UU idea.
However, I think one civilization should have one UU/UB unless other civs also have multiple UUs/UBs.
Unfortunate for not being able to implement various, unique characteristics of every civs, but that's a current balance.
(I'm not absolutely sure about this but currently one UU for each civs is the "real" UU and other UUs are just graphic things.)

Current UU/UB may be little weak..?

Grathocke · Jul 11, 2010

climat said:
Great ideas. Especially, I agree with cavalry UU idea.
However, I think one civilization should have one UU/UB unless other civs also have multiple UUs/UBs.
Unfortunate for not being able to implement various, unique characteristics of every civs, but that's a current balance.
(I'm not absolutely sure about this but currently one UU for each civs is the "real" UU and other UUs are just graphic things.)

Current UU/UB may be little weak..?

I really hadn't looked at the various UU's of different civs. I know some of them have a plethora of UU's. I'll have to investigate to see if they are unique or if they are just added flavor.

Also, I have been doing a little research on a palace I had read about years ago. Wiki has a decent article on it and I think it would make a great World Wonder, although I am not certain if those can be limited to one civ. The palace is Al Madinah al-Zahra. Here's the link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madinat_Al-Zahra

Even if it couldn't be limited to one civ, it is another example of a man's love of a woman and his attempt to immortalize his love in stone.

Oh, and the reason I thought the Berber Infantry was underpowered as a UU, was simply because I couldn't find any unique characteristics other than a lower cost. That's just my opinion though.

EDIT: OK, I just looked at the American units. Both the Delta Force and the Navy Seals differ from their counterparts.

climat · Jul 11, 2010

I can't find Delta Force.. Do you use other mods?
After confirming, I found that some civs have 2 "real" UUs but those are not that many (2~4, AFAIK). So, it's up to xcrissxcrossx's choice.

Personally, I think one UU is enough and Moorish Cavalry is fittest.
About UB, there is no exception.

I convert Yusuf ibn Tashfin from mechaerik's morocco civ for RoM (I just change schema files and copy & paste missing tags. I briefly tested so it may be buggy.).
For people interested,

EDIT: Wow, I edited every posting I posted. I blame my bad english..

xcrissxcrossx · Jul 11, 2010

In RoM, a lot of civilizations have more than one UU, but only one of them is better than the unit it replaces. I could add more UU's with time.

Also, I think what I'll do is keep the spearman as a berber infantry, but make the REAL UU a sort of Berber Cavalry. I'm thinking of replacing the horseman with the Berber Cavalry right now.

Grathocke seems to know a lot more on the subject than me though. What bonuses do you think the new Berber Cavalry unit should have?

Grathocke · Jul 11, 2010

xcrissxcrossx said:
In RoM, a lot of civilizations have more than one UU, but only one of them is better than the unit it replaces. I could add more UU's with time.

Also, I think what I'll do is keep the spearman as a berber infantry, but make the REAL UU a sort of Berber Cavalry. I'm thinking of replacing the horseman with the Berber Cavalry right now.

Grathocke seems to know a lot more on the subject than me though. What bonuses do you think the new Berber Cavalry unit should have?

There are 2 that I can think of off-hand. They were supposedly known for being lightning quick. They could either get a speed bonus or a terrain bonus (-1 terrain movement cost).

If you are planning to use the camel cavalry (they used them as well as horses in Africa), then I would suggest a bonus vs mounted units. Camels disturb horses due to their smell. However, I don't think they utilized camels in Europe. Could be wrong, though.

So, what do you think?

Grathocke · Jul 11, 2010

climat said:
I can't find Delta Force.. Do you use other mods?

I have quite a few mods I use. Sometimes I get a little confused as to which mod is adding what.

Lets see...I use:
Aaranda' Religions
Hydro's HAND (a lot of it anyway)
Dancing Hoskuld's stuff
Hashishim's Clash of Civilizations
Jooyo's stuff
Killtech's chains
OS79's Better ROM units
Vincent's projects
ROME
and, of course, xcrissxcrossx

I think some of those are included in AND, but I wrote them in anyway.

Moors Civilization Module

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