MTW2 on Very Hard

[SirLamphead]

This is quite a challenge. I like the game very much but have recently gone to play some on the Kingdoms expansions. They are pretty fun with the high detail maps and units. I like the Brittania campaign. However I find it close to impossible to win with the Welsh on Very Hard.
I played with the Irish and they seem much better with a nice secure island and good units.
Has anyone else ventured to Very Hard in MTW2? Much less won or have gotten a good start with the Welsh on Very Hard in the Brittania campaign?

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

I'm playing a Very Hard game as the Welsh on the GOOD MTW...

 

[SirLamphead]

I'm playing a Very Hard game as the Welsh on the GOOD MTW...

I thought MTW2 was better for graphics and gameplay. For example it is more realistic to take a couple of turns to cross Kazan than 1 great leap.

MTW to me was a bit crude and crashed when I had a good Crusade going.
Not bashing your preferred version but IMO MTW2 is the right choice.

 

[Civfan333]

yeah, the one problem is you need a very decent computer to even run it well......

 

[preachercheeze]

IMHO MTW2 has one big flaw, and it´s that SEGA rushed CA for a quick release... I play on very hard battles all the time and I almost never loose... the AI does stupid attacks on my center without flankingmaneuvers or terrain usage....

and the campaign difficulty is idiotic... because the AI struggles for gaining as much territory as possible, without regard to diplomacy... even if they´re bankrupte, excomunicated and down to their three last cities, they STILL want money "or they will attack".... err.... come again???

and if you DO get a cease fire you can guarantee that the idiotic AI will attack before 3 turns have gone by....


I have now downloaded the Stainless Steel 6.1 mod which tweak the game to a more realistic and historically correct experience... attrition and support lines are now to be considered and the AI is less eager to declare war if it´s not beneficial for it... and I actually almost lost my first battle when scottish cavalry rode around my line and attacked me in the rear where my archers where...


if you have kingdoms... I recomend to first upgrade with the patch and then download Stainless Steel mod... new skins, a whole bunch of new provinces and cities/castles, more efficient AI, possibility to start in the late Era und so weiter und so weiter....

 

[SirLamphead]

IMHO MTW2 has one big flaw, and it´s that SEGA rushed CA for a quick release... I play on very hard battles all the time and I almost never loose... the AI does stupid attacks on my center without flankingmaneuvers or terrain usage....

and the campaign difficulty is idiotic... because the AI struggles for gaining as much territory as possible, without regard to diplomacy... even if they´re bankrupte, excomunicated and down to their three last cities, they STILL want money "or they will attack".... err.... come again???

and if you DO get a cease fire you can guarantee that the idiotic AI will attack before 3 turns have gone by....


I have now downloaded the Stainless Steel 6.1 mod which tweak the game to a more realistic and historically correct experience... attrition and support lines are now to be considered and the AI is less eager to declare war if it´s not beneficial for it... and I actually almost lost my first battle when scottish cavalry rode around my line and attacked me in the rear where my archers where...


if you have kingdoms... I recomend to first upgrade with the patch and then download Stainless Steel mod... new skins, a whole bunch of new provinces and cities/castles, more efficient AI, possibility to start in the late Era und so weiter und so weiter....

Sounds like you know your MTW stuff. So how big is this mod?
Does it replace normal MTW2? Or is it like Civ4 where you go and load a seperate mod? Does the mod cost money?

If you (or anyone else) could answer these questions that would make my day.

 

[preachercheeze]

Sounds like you know your MTW stuff. So how big is this mod?
Does it replace normal MTW2? Or is it like Civ4 where you go and load a seperate mod? Does the mod cost money?

If you (or anyone else) could answer these questions that would make my day.

the mod itself is packed in two different files with a total of 1,32 GB... the patch is 14,7 MB only and fixes some bugs....

you need to have Kingdoms installed and patched before you can start the installation of Stainless steel...

The mod and the patch can be downloaded for free from a fansite but I am uncertain on the policy for this forum on posting outside links to downloadable files...

and because it´s a quarter past one in the middle of the night in sweden... and I have to get up around seven, I feel a bit stressed to the fact that I should have been sleeping by now...

I get back to you tomorrow with links after I checked the civforums policy... or if someone enlightens me beforehand....


and by the way... as I have understod you can play both MTW vanilla and Kingdoms even if you install this mod... I don´t know if other mods will be affected though... and FYI, many users have reported crashes and stuff while playing this mod... my friends game crashes either between turns 20-35 or sometimes when the game loads a battle... for myself it has still not crashed and I am on turn 60.... if it has something to do with Windows Vista or if it´s a bug, I do not know, but it´s worth the effort to try it out... trust me....

 

[SirLamphead]

I unfortunetly have Windows Vista.
I will check it out.
A link to the site or a discussion thread should work if the policy is against outside links to downloads.
Never the less I shall search for myself and do some research..
Thanks for the idea!

 

[preachercheeze]

I unfortunetly have Windows Vista.
I will check it out.
A link to the site or a discussion thread should work if the policy is against outside links to downloads.
Never the less I shall search for myself and do some research..
Thanks for the idea!

well... I have Vista but have never encountered any probs... seems to be random....


I will give you the link then to the fansite... www.twcenter.net

go to forums => Medieval 2 => Kingdoms hosted modifications => Stainless steel 6.0

there are screenshots and other stuff also...


if you like Rome I recomend dl Roma Surrectum for a much better gaming experience... when you beat that one dl Invasio Baraborum for the Barbarian Invasion expansion for an equal change....


and if any moderator finds these links to break the forum policy, feel free to delete thte post and give me a warning.... :humble:

 

[SirLamphead]

I found it and love the mod! It is absolutely wonderful!
It is quite a challenge and begs for one more turn.
Thank you for the link!

 

[preachercheeze]

I found it and love the mod! It is absolutely wonderful!
It is quite a challenge and begs for one more turn.
Thank you for the link!

no probs... if you check out the twcenters forums you will find many good (and regretably bad) mods and screenshots...

which faction do you play right now?

 

[SirLamphead]

no probs... if you check out the twcenters forums you will find many good (and regretably bad) mods and screenshots...

which faction do you play right now?

I am playing as France at medium. It took me a while to get my bearing. SS changed a lot, like pikeman, prices, and starting troops. I like it much better.

What faction are you playing?

 

[preachercheeze]

I am playing as France at medium. It took me a while to get my bearing. SS changed a lot, like pikeman, prices, and starting troops. I like it much better.

What faction are you playing?

England on early era (medium campaign, very hard battle)... had a lot of economytrouble, but nothing that a little sacking of Edinburgh couldn´t fix now when I can train light men-at-arms, armoured seargants and longbowmen, my troop rain death to all rebels and enemies.... unfortunatly no-one wants to get excommunicated so I can have some "just" cause of total annihilition

 

[SirLamphead]

Have you wiped Ireland off the map yet?
How long have you had SS?

I must comment on the increased power of archers now.
With peasant archers I was lucky to get more than 10 kills with 3 units of them, now I can easily manage upwards of 40 with just two.

 

[preachercheeze]

Have you wiped Ireland off the map yet?
How long have you had SS?

I must comment on the increased power of archers now.
With peasant archers I was lucky to get more than 10 kills with 3 units of them, now I can easily manage upwards of 40 with just two.

only since tuesday... no, the Irish where my allies just up until two turns ago... I have taken all of scotland now and they only hold Bruges now... I tried to take it but was brutally defeated and got away just by chance with both generals in the army... i underestimated my troops quality against levy spearmen and I sought peace after this... with the brittish main isle under my rule, I can easily consolidate my powers and put money only on buildings and skeleton garrisons...

I have cancelled the alliance with the Irish, this is the first step in "operation Yo mama!" as I call it... with diplomacy and a little provocation, I will try to make them attack me first, therefore I loose a minimal of trust from other factions

yes, the archers are much better now, not only longbowmen as in vanilla... the programmers have altered so that in close combat, if your general is charging some peasants, over half of the peasants will die in the first charge... after that it´s almost impossible for the peasants to harm the bodyguards due to their daggers vs. plate mail.... this I have seen with my own eyes (it´s fun when 75 peasants die at the same time )... but if you charge frontal against levy spearmen (almost same stats as peasants) you are bound to die... troop MAKES a difference in SS....

so how are things going for france then??? at war with england and/or Holy Roman Empire????


oh... and a PS.... the americas have been removed from stainless steel... so no more columbus travels and aztec slaying....

 

[101rstImperial]

MTW to me was a bit crude and crashed when I had a good Crusade going.

If you have all your drivers updated + the latest service pack you should have absolutely no trouble. I had tons before I upgraded from SP1 to 3 though. It'd crash on starting a campaign 70% of the time, then crash randomly if I got in.

 

[SirLamphead]

only since tuesday... no, the Irish where my allies just up until two turns ago... I have taken all of scotland now and they only hold Bruges now... I tried to take it but was brutally defeated and got away just by chance with both generals in the army... i underestimated my troops quality against levy spearmen and I sought peace after this... with the brittish main isle under my rule, I can easily consolidate my powers and put money only on buildings and skeleton garrisons...

I have cancelled the alliance with the Irish, this is the first step in "operation Yo mama!" as I call it... with diplomacy and a little provocation, I will try to make them attack me first, therefore I loose a minimal of trust from other factions

yes, the archers are much better now, not only longbowmen as in vanilla... the programmers have altered so that in close combat, if your general is charging some peasants, over half of the peasants will die in the first charge... after that it´s almost impossible for the peasants to harm the bodyguards due to their daggers vs. plate mail.... this I have seen with my own eyes (it´s fun when 75 peasants die at the same time )... but if you charge frontal against levy spearmen (almost same stats as peasants) you are bound to die... troop MAKES a difference in SS....

so how are things going for france then??? at war with england and/or Holy Roman Empire????


oh... and a PS.... the americas have been removed from stainless steel... so no more columbus travels and aztec slaying....

I have noticed the obscene slaughters by some powerful cavalry charges. The enemies are much better in SS. If their weak settlement is about to be assaulted then they bring in external troops. Usually they would wait until 1 turn before starvation and pounce. You already know that so back to business.

France is doing great, though currently excommunicated (the pope is 60 and will die soon anyway).

I conquered the rebel provinces of Bruges, Antwerp, Toulouse, Lyon, and Dijon.
I declared war on the puny Genoese and have to take over Corsica and Sardinia to wipe them off for good. They have a powerful navy so I am building a navy of my own in Genoa and Toulouse. I won 3 Heroic victories in Northern Italy. 2 at the siege of Milan (They sallied with support then when that failed brought up a second army of larger size). The other was at the siege of Genoa. I was at the top of a hill and they really didn't have a chance.
Their army which used to be about the size of mine have dwindled considerably after those three crushing defeats. I have attained the largest empire! After I finish the Genoese I will conquer the Venitians and/or Holy Romans.

If you have all your drivers updated + the latest service pack you should have absolutely no trouble. I had tons before I upgraded from SP1 to 3 though. It'd crash on starting a campaign 70% of the time, then crash randomly if I got in.

I can relate to that. Had a big crusader army in Trebizond (4000 men) and had recently worked so hard in Beating the Holy Roman Empire, then suddenly the Crusader army fragments into 20-30 small armies and crashes.
After many many instances of crashes after great victories or a solid empire I finally got so angry I split the MTW CD.