MOD: More Leaders for TR

[Walter Hawkwood]

Hi! I'm back from Lithuania. This would have been released a week ago, if I didn't spend New Year in Vilnius, but I guess better late than never. What I have to offer now is a modification to TR Gold that adds 20 new leaders to civs, covering all possible trait combos. Here's a download link and FAQ (also included in the download).

Q: What is this stuff?
A: This is a modification for Total Realism mod, Warlords Gold version (vanilla Civ 4 incompatible). It adds 20 more leaders to existing civs (and slightly edits some existing ones) in order to cover every possible trait combination available. It also replaces all the leaders with static non-animated non-Firaxis-cartoon style pictures. Finally, it slightly alters color scheme for civs (optional but recommended).

Q: How do I install this?
A: You just unpack this into Warlords/Mods/Total Realism folder, keeping folder structure. It is highly recommended (in case you want to uninstall this) to back up CIV4CivilizationInfos.xml from Assets/XML/Civilizations folder and CIV4ArtDefines_Leaderhead.xml from Assets/XML/Art folder. Other files either don't overwrite anything, or only have any noticeable effect with those two present.

Q: How do I uninstall this?
A: Uninstall is very easy provided you did back up two xml files mentioned earlier. To uninstall just replace those two files with backup versions (if you're desperate for 15 MB of disk space, you can delete all .dds files from Art/Leaderheads folder. If you didn't back the files up, you can still replace those by installing Total Realism over again.

Q: Why static pictures?
A: As you can see, I made static pictures even for those leaders that have animated leaderheads available. This is because, frankly, I don't like the style of cartoon-like vanilla Civ leaderheads. It was the same in Civ 3 and I did it too back then. I tried to use most high-quality source pictures when available, and I have great fondness for some that are used (that absolutely doesn't mean I think my work perfect - if you think you have better source pictures for any leader, vanilla or added, feel free to contact me outright, and I will most likely update the mod - if I like the pics too).

Q: I don't like your color changes! Can I revert back to stock Total Realism colors?
A: Absolutely. There's an alternate CIV4CivilizationInfos.xml supplied, that has no CivColor changes. Rename it and replace original one with it. Voila.

Q: Can this mod be used without Total Realism?
A: No. If you're interested, you can make a version of it compatible with any other mod or vanilla. Since I only play Total Realism, I see no point in this.

Q: Does it come in languages other than English?
A: No. Too much work for me. Again, if anyone's interested, they are free to make a translated version. Personally, I don't think it makes much difference - only stuff that needs translating really is pedia entries and leader names - I guess those aren't gamebreaking even for those completely alien to English (and if you're reading this, you're not).

Q: Can I use the contents/artwork/whatever of your mod elsewhere?
A: Contact me. Most likely you can, but asking politely is the way to go (and to keep me happy).

Q: Any tip why you chose these leaders over others?
A: If only a bit. I wanted to show civs in question from a different angle, and chose a suitable leader from history. For example, Arabs get Harun Al-Rashid to show that they developed advanced culture and science, and Ali Talib to represent great magnitude of early arabian conquests. Thus, you're facing a different facet of that civ with every new leader, and their AI's reflect that.

Q: Why did you include king Arthur? Isn't he a fairy tale?
A: I'm a fan of "The Warlord Chronicles" by Bernard Cornwell. My Arthur is largely inspired by his, and belongs to Romano-British Celtic culture.

Q: You have included :randombadguy:! That's awful!
A: Nope, it isn't. I think the bad guys from human history are to be had around. A war won against a backstabbing bastard is much more satisfying than a war against a peaceloving hippy. The fact I included these guys doesn't mean I think they were good and such. It only means I thought them fun to have around.

Q: Will you throw this worthles :arandomperson: away and add :apersoniadore:! Please!
A: Nope, not going to happen. I wasted much time on every one of the chumps (graphics, AI scripting etc) to throw them away. Similarly, no new leaders are to be added, at least until we have more traits and thus more combinations. I want each of them to be unique. Back in vanilla times, I had a personal mod where every possible combo was repeated twice. Since Warlords came out, I trimmed it down somewhat (had to axe some, but less than ten - as we had new traits, and as such, new combos), and that's the way I like it.

Q: I've found an error!
A: Then PM me or post it in the thread. If it's really an error, I will most likely fix it ASAP.

Once again, download link.

Have fun! My thanks to TR mod team for a brilliant mod they've created. It gets a mile better every version. Way to go!

 

[Morfydd]

good i prefer static leaderheads anyway <less ram wastage and lots fewer meemory leaks speeds the entire game up ;o)

 

[Anaztazioch]

Some traits are not in its place.
For instance Meiji. why Does he has Imperialistic ? I say he need to be Indoustrious, as thats what he made with Japan. Medernized his country, not build Settlers faster...

 

[Walter Hawkwood]

Some traits are not in its place.
For instance Meiji. why Does he has Imperialistic ? I say he need to be Indoustrious, as thats what he made with Japan. Medernized his country, not build Settlers faster...

Sino-Japanese and Russo-Japanese wars helped Japan to build an empire outside of the isles (I guess Japan's territory more than doubled during Meiji era), and army was reoraganised into a modern one, which also involved officer training. I agree that he's also eligible for industrious, but available trait combos are limited, and I can't give him 3 traits at once. I agree that not everyone is ideal, but it is as close as I can get.

 

[Walter Hawkwood]

good i prefer static leaderheads anyway <less ram wastage and lots fewer meemory leaks speeds the entire game up ;o)

Yep, you're right. Back in pre-Warlords time, when memory leaks were more numerous, and I didn't yet have 2 Gb RAM, I started this as an attempt to speed the game up. Now it is less of a factor to me, but I still prefer static leaderheads.

 

[Anaztazioch]

Sino-Japanese and Russo-Japanese wars helped Japan to build an empire outside of the isles (I guess Japan's territory more than doubled during Meiji era), and army was reoraganised into a modern one, which also involved officer training. I agree that he's also eligible for industrious, but available trait combos are limited, and I can't give him 3 traits at once. I agree that not everyone is ideal, but it is as close as I can get.

So give it to Tokugawa... He not only claimed the Shogun title and "enslaved" emperor, but united (conquered) all the Japan. Its more than 30 times larger teritory than Tokugawa clan before that happened...
But Meiji won the War vs Russia, due to high technology. He did not only used industrial trait for units, but also for "build resarch"

Persia and Mongols, yes they are imperialistic, as they used same level of technology against conqered rivals. They only used differant tactics. Equipment was more ethnic than technology in my opinion.

SO MAKE MEIJI INDUSTIAL.

And Tokugawa financial instead for protective. Becouse in his time, sword, melee weapon, was main arsenal in Japanese army. Before him, bow (kyu) and spear (naginata and yari) were most common, so for his "ancestors" protective trait is good, but not for Tokugawa. So eigther Tokugawa should be militaristic and imperialistic or militaristic and financial. But since uniting country/tribes i consider to be more "organized" than "imperialistic", he should be militaristic and organized. And He also made Law that was not only obeyed, but also watched, by administration witch could take away samurai status as well as life.
But now my favorite thing for Japan is to change barracks with Dojo (untill Rifling), Dojo will give +5 xp to new trained units (1xp less than militaristic+barracks). With Dojo, Tokugawa should be financial and organized and it will be best for Ieyasu Tokugawa. His succesors became less financial.

 

[Walter Hawkwood]

So give it to Tokugawa... He not only claimed the Shogun title and "enslaved" emperor, but united (conquered) all the Japan. Its more than 30 times larger teritory than Tokugawa clan before that happened...
But Meiji won the War vs Russia, due to high technology. He did not only used industrial trait for units, but also for "build resarch"

Persia and Mongols, yes they are imperialistic, as they used same level of technology against conqered rivals. They only used differant tactics. Equipment was more ethnic than technology in my opinion.

SO MAKE MEIJI INDUSTIAL.

And Tokugawa financial instead for protective. Becouse in his time, sword, melee weapon, was main arsenal in Japanese army. Before him, bow (kyu) and spear (naginata and yari) were most common, so for his "ancestors" protective trait is good, but not for Tokugawa. So eigther Tokugawa should be militaristic and imperialistic or militaristic and financial. But since uniting country/tribes i consider to be more "organized" than "imperialistic", he should be militaristic and organized. And He also made Law that was not only obeyed, but also watched, by administration witch could take away samurai status as well as life.
But now my favorite thing for Japan is to change barracks with Dojo (untill Rifling), Dojo will give +5 xp to new trained units (1xp less than militaristic+barracks). With Dojo, Tokugawa should be financial and organized and it will be best for Ieyasu Tokugawa. His succesors became less financial.

Why is Victoria imperialistic then? And you can't get more imperialistic than her.

Let us see... As I claim that every possible trait combo is unique and all of them are used, to give someone some trait, one should swap it with some other leader. For Meiji Phi/Imp to Phi/Ind, that would be Gustav Vasa... I don't think so. Gustav doesn't deserve Imperialistic at all (and I only gave Imperialistic to guys who were called emperors - so no can do for Tokugawa also, and Genghis is the only exception from this rule in vanilla too).

Tokugawa Pro/Agg to Fin/Agg is swapping with Ragnar. Vikings Protective? I guess not. So, this won't happen in official releases.

BTW, we seem to understand traits differently. For me, the most important thing is what trait is, not what it does. So, Imperialistic is given to guys (and gals) who managed to build and/or sucessfully run an empire, not to build lots of settlers; Protective is characteristic of willingness to protect your homeland from foreign invasions, but not only military ones - generally for isolationist leaders. And so on. Once again, I agree that Meiji deserves to be indusrious too, it is just that:

1) This combo is already used.
2) Current traits are also quite suitable for him.

If you want it that badly, you can change it in your own copy - I can even tell you where and what to edit; it is quite simple. Still, thanks for the feedback - it is just that the thing is really tightly packed now, and I won't make changes unless there are obvious mistakes. There are none obvious to me now.

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Oh, and I'd want to announce a "Leader Headhunt". As I've already stated, I'm not 100&#37; satisfied with all the pics used. So, if you can find/scan/get otherwise aestetically pleasing pictures of leaders in my submod, I'll be happy to convert and use them. Even if I won't think that it should be the default one, the pic meeting requirements below will be included as an alternative one all of the time (and the FAQ will be updated with instructions how to use them and proper credit for the finder). Any help will be appreciated. Requirements:

1) You should like it. Obviously.
2) It should be no smaller than 512 pixels wide and 615 pixels high, preferably larger.
3) It should be in color (not strict, but quite preferable)
4) It should try to depict a leader realistically (for example, Pericles on XVI-XVIII century paintings usually looks very weird and not as an ancient Greek at all)
5) It should be a picture, painting or photo. No statues or coins - there are currently some statues in my mod, but they are in because there were no quality portraits available for the people in question.

This goes for all the leaders, but most importantly: Asoka, Augustus, Genghis, Ragnar, Pericles, and Trajan.

Thanks for your help everyone who decides to participate.

 

[Anaztazioch]

@ Walter Hawkwood

Create a new leader... Briliant isnt it
Kamakura peroid. Dont know actually any specific person fromt hat time exept Minamoto Yoritomi. Kamakura peroid was known for its new technology of farming, witch allowed faster production of food, new villages and cities were founded (actual imperialistic trait). Also in 1274 and 1281 Kubilaj Khan tried to invade Japan, both invasions failed (protective trait). All we need to get now is a leader, and his pic. Maybe Takauji Ashikaga ? Just that he lived arround 1300 ad (1333 was begining of Muromachi, but were after leader right ?)

As for Victoria, there was some post some time ago, and from my point of view, her empire was made on trade routes, so i say financial covers it allready. She also built colonies and enslaved natives/tribals, so expansionist.
I say that imperialistic should give free city raider/urban combat promotion instead for +50&#37; settler production.

 

[Walter Hawkwood]

I guess Tokugawa can be used as a representative figure of all the Shogunate period. If so, then his traits are quite justified. Japan as a whole was both quite militarized and protective during the period.

I like imperialistic trait as it is. When all the civs start from scratch, extra settlers help them recreate large territory they had obtained from neighbors via conquest otherwise. I'd say it tries to accomodate for the fact that all civs start at the same time. That's why, for example, Catherine has Imp/Cre - in my mind, this combination tries to ensure Russia becomes as large as it can get (and I'd say this way she's a "reccomended" leader for Russia).

I might be making a second batch of leaders covering all the traits for a second time. But this is a colossal amount of work (more than the ones I already made, as I'd have to recreate vanilla ones too) and I'm not sure if I'm up to it. Maybe somewhere around spring, when it becomes more sunny and I don't sleep all day...

 

[Anaztazioch]

Yes but AI rarelly uses this trait to seaze more teritory... only Faster. Once he gets 4 cities, AI doesnt expand much further, becouse of maintanace. Whats the point of Imperialistic +50&#37;, when if you expand faster than normally you end up in -10 gold at 20%resarch ?

I playing as Imperialistic, rarelly use it for more than just great generals. I build 3 new cities, but i build them so fast that with early low population and low happiness unimproved cities i have problems concerning maintanance. Especially when latelly i slowed down with Diety and playing on emperor...

Alas you cant use Ieyasu Tokugawa as leader for ALL Edo Period, as his successors closed down Japan borders. Ieyasu was trading a lot, he made Kagoshima main port for Foreign trading, he also accepted christian missionaries, althou he denied thair religion and never accepted it. Once he united Japan he no longer needed high lvl units. Skills of Japanese army came from the country inhabitants them selves due to Bushido, Feudalism and Caste. Ieyasu was not a warrior or commander, exept battle for Japan (Seikigahara) he no longer lead any army. More, under Seikigahara, his army was made from abou half of vassals of Hideyori Toyotomi (5 years old back than). Ieyasu used trickery, his Ninja "friends", wealth and Death of Hideyoshi Toyotomi, as well as his ambitious generals who did not want to serve 5 year old brat, but highest Hideyoshi regant command, who was no other than Tokugawa Ieyasu.
Ieyasu used them all, witch we might call "charismatic", but i think that "Charismatic" is a positive trait, and using others isnt so good...

Anyway, Ieyasu never was a good fighter, nor an army builder. More hireing army, but after he siezed shogun title he was "owner" of all Japans army.

So once again, militaristic and protective are Japanese traits, not their leaders. Japan should have better units. For instace Doa (chinese sword), could cut human flash no deeper than 12cm, unless a bone stood in a way, as for katana, it had no problems with chopping of hands and leggs along with their bones in one swing, thus later wersions of katana was solind and did not break even after thurst through iron armor. Another thing is that Katana is the ONLY swords that is able to FULLY penetrate human body in ONE thurst. Dao was not made for thursts and Chinese other swords was easy to break.

And one more thing. Times when Ieyasu lived (1542-1616) was more a weakened power of emperor and trying to sieze it by Daimyo's. Once Oda has conquered Kyoto, Wars for power changed from battles to trickery, betrayal and assassination. SO i see no point in giving Ieyasu neigther militaristic, nor protective.

Genghis for instance, not only he did lead a conqest, he also reorganized, drafted, trained and industiazed army (such as siege machines from china). Thats why his Imperialistic and miliaristic traits are in order.

 

[Walter Hawkwood]

Maybe just swap Tokugawa for Toyotomi Hideyoshi? That I can do easily. He led many wars and did much to isolate Japan from RoTW. That would require from me just making new graphics, and that can be done quick and easy. Current AI "personality" corresponds well to Hideyoshi, I suppose.

 

[Anaztazioch]

Yes swap it.
But loosing Ieyasu doesnt sit well with me, but with wrong traits he can allready be concidered as lost

 

[DBLOSVN]

I don't like Bismarck's cheap settlers. He chokes Rome. I'm not sure of the historical justification either. Bismarck (unlike his successors) was not big on colonies. That is, if I remember correctly.
I like most of the other changes, except, as I intimated in the main TR thread, Genghis destroys Korea and China too early.

 

[Walter Hawkwood]

I don't like Bismarck's cheap settlers. He chokes Rome. I'm not sure of the historical justification either. Bismarck (unlike his successors) was not big on colonies. That is, if I remember correctly.
I like most of the other changes, except, as I intimated in the main TR thread, Genghis destroys Korea and China too early.

I have to concur, Bismarck's Germany was too weak before, now it is strong, but maybe too strong. More playtesting will tell if it's so. In my current game, he didn't choke Rome, but he smashed France very early on (although Germany conquering France is hardly ahistorical ).

 

[DBLOSVN]

I have to concur, Bismarck's Germany was too weak before, now it is strong, but maybe too strong. More playtesting will tell if it's so. In my current game, he didn't choke Rome, but he smashed France very early on (although Germany conquering France is hardly ahistorical ).

Bismarck's Germany? Was there a Bismarck with different traits? My point on Rome, is that Bismarck sends his settler to Rome's NE. Rome seems to only settle one city.
But yes, now he has the most room to settle in little Europe, and the best trait to utilize it. As for France&#8217;s problem, they are struggling in my games. Not from want of a good starting position, but from their tech choices and building early wonders. Pre-patch, they were heading straight for Bronze Working. Either way, they tend to do fair (not good with only two cities) if they build some axemen. I&#8217;d like to see every European civ with 3 good cities. (Rome could pull this off without Bismarck's first settler going east, or even with this, if they would settle in Sicily). Spain manages this perfectly.

I&#8217;m helping my sister move out west, so I there may be some delay in any replies.

 

[DBLOSVN]

I cannot add the other Aztec ruler? Is there a file with all of the leader object names? I double checked my spelling, but who knows?
I found one (traits.xls), but new leaders are not there.
I'll probably find it in your mod files.
Thanks

 

[Walter Hawkwood]

I cannot add the other Aztec ruler? Is there a file with all of the leader object names? I double checked my spelling, but who knows?
I found one (traits.xls), but new leaders are not there.
I'll probably find it in your mod files.
Thanks

Civ4Leaderheadinfos.xml is the file you want.

And the other Aztec leader's tag is, for convenience of not typing that terrible name over, LEADER_AZTEC.

 

[DBLOSVN]

thanks