Not Enough Great Generals on Marathon?

[DrewBledsoe]

From what I can tell, you can get more XP even on high percentage combat if your unit survives at really low XP. So, if one unit comes out at full health, it may just get 1 XP and the other comes out at 10%, it could get 4 or even more (I'm not quite sure).

As for Great General emergence, I'm not yet sure what I think. I only managed 2 in a normal speed 1500AD domination game, but I was both at 70-something XP out of 90 and was 2 turns from Facism. Too many might be overpowered, yet Philosophical leaders can get incredible numbers of great people and, quite frankly, Great Generals are no better than any of them such that they should emerge in a far lower quantity. I think my personal call would be that a sequence along the lines of 30-45-60-etc. for normal speed. I think 30 is a good amount to start with as having one too soon would be too strong. However, an increase of 15 seems like a much better scale, especially since they are supposed to be a major feature of the game. For other speeds, I'd think -6 each on quick, +6 on epic and +12 on marathon would probably be a fair balance, with the same +50% of the first general for increases.

Well I'm now using the scale 45,66.90,111 which seems just about right on marathon, so agreed

 

[CarpeDiem]

Well I'm now using the scale 45,66.90,111


can you give a laymans step to telling me how to have same, i always marathon

 

[DrewBledsoe]

Well I'm now using the scale 45,66.90,111


can you give a laymans step to telling me how to have same, i always marathon

Use explorer to go into wherever you installed the mainbody of game files for warlords (the default is program files\firaxis games\civ iv) and find and open the folder marked warlords.

Inside this, open the assets folder, then the xml folder, and you'll find a file called GlobalDefines.xml. EDIT: as sensibly advised in posts below, copy this file to C:\Documents and Settings\(your user account)\My Documents\My Games\Warlords\CustomAssets\XML , and then from that location :END EDIT Open this with notepad, and scroll about 1/3 of the way through the file until you find:-

<Define>
<DefineName>GREAT_GENERALS_THRESHOLD_INCREASE</DefineName>
<iDefineIntVal>50</iDefineIntVal>
</Define>
<Define>
<DefineName>GREAT_GENERALS_THRESHOLD_INCREASE_TEAM</DefineName>
<iDefineIntVal>50</iDefineIntVal>
</Define>
<Define>
<DefineName>GREAT_GENERALS_THRESHOLD</DefineName>
<iDefineIntVal>30</iDefineIntVal>
</Define>

and change it to this:

<Define>
<DefineName>GREAT_GENERALS_THRESHOLD_INCREASE</DefineName>
<iDefineIntVal>0</iDefineIntVal>
</Define>
<Define>
<DefineName>GREAT_GENERALS_THRESHOLD_INCREASE_TEAM</DefineName>
<iDefineIntVal>50</iDefineIntVal>
</Define>
<Define>
<DefineName>GREAT_GENERALS_THRESHOLD</DefineName>
<iDefineIntVal>15</iDefineIntVal>
</Define>


You are only changing 2 numbers (I've put them in bold just to make them clearer, you don't need to make them bold type), the 1st from 50 to 0, and the last from 30 to 15.

This will give you the grt gen series 45,66,90,111 on marathon.

I'd make a note of what you've done, then exit notepad, clicking "yes you want to save changes" when prompted

Pls note that this will only affect grt generals, but will change their "appearance rate" for all game speeds.

If you want to change those nos to other values, see previous posts in this thread, and its easy to change them back to original values, you just follow the same steps again.

You're done


Last EDIT: Pls note that if you copied the file and then edited it in the custom assets directory, then when playing the game, if you cross the "lock modified assets" box (otherwise known as "no cheating" box) then the changes you made to the copied file will by bypassed and it will default to the standard 90 xp for 1st general settings. If you want to use this option then you must edit the main game file in its original location.

 

[naterator]

thanks for taking the time to figure that out, drew.
just so people know, if you don't want to change your main files, you can copy the globaldefines file into the folder C:\Documents and Settings\Owner\My Documents\My Games\Warlords\CustomAssets\XML and it'll use that file instead of the original. so you can mod that copy to your hearts content and simply erase it if you screw it up too bad.

 

[DrewBledsoe]

thanks for taking the time to figure that out, drew.
just so people know, if you don't want to change your main files, you can copy the globaldefines file into the folder C:\Documents and Settings\Owner\My Documents\My Games\Warlords\CustomAssets\XML and it'll use that file instead of the original. so you can mod that copy to your hearts content and simply erase it if you screw it up too bad.

No probs, I only play marathon/ huge, have stayed at monarch for warlords, haven't yet managed to build the Great Wall (the Greeks built it with 2 cities in last game, I mean come on Greeks at least build a few cities and give me a chance to get it ), and had only managed 1 general in the 3 previous games (I've suddenly become a peacenick heh not really just turned out that way).

So I thought I'd like a few more generals in the game all round...

Thanks for pointing out the copying into the "my games" folder, it IS a much safer way of doing things, just I can remember all the bits I've changed in my own version, so I forgot to mention that

 

[Pantastic]

thanks for taking the time to figure that out, drew.
just so people know, if you don't want to change your main files, you can copy the globaldefines file into the folder C:\Documents and Settings\Owner\My Documents\My Games\Warlords\CustomAssets\XML

Actually, it's the 'My Documnets' directory for whatever user you are. For most that will be "Owner", but if you have seperate user accounts set up then it will be different. You should always copy the globaldefines file there, since if you modify the main one you can mess up mods and possibly get the game confused on a future patch.

 

[naterator]

haven't yet managed to build the Great Wall (the Greeks built it with 2 cities in last game,

in my game, genghis kahn beat me to it... i thought the irony was worth losing the wonder race.

 

[DrewBledsoe]

Pantastic and Naterator, thanks I've edited the "how to do" post to reflect what you said, but also pointed out that if you play with "lock modified assets" option selected, then anything in custom assets gets ignored, and these changes won't work.

Personally I used to ruin too many very long games by going in to that tempting WBuilder, so I always have it on, that's why I've edited the main game files of my copy. If a patch comes out, I change everything back b4 dloading it and don't really bother with mods...

 

[kl0pper]

i forgot the name of it (is it animals?) but yeah looks familiar

whoops didnt mean to post this here

 

[Watiggi]

I played a Jaguar rush on a tiny pangaea on normal speed. Took out 2 civs - 7 cities - solely with Jags and got 2 generals. While the Jaguar has a lower strength than the Swordsmen, it clocks up more xp because it attacks with lower odds.

I would imagine that attacking with Praetorians would have the opposite effect - higher odds, less xp gained.

Ahhh! Another thing: If you constantly attack with Trebuchets, then you will not clock up that much xp - probably 1xp at a time with City Raider III Trebuchets that give a 99% odds of success. Something to keep an eye on

 

[Older than Dirt]

In my firts Warlords game I'm playing as Genghis on Terra map at marathon speed and have had two wars. The first one was against Shaka who kept rushing chariots and was so long that I got serious war weariness by 200 A.D. I have had 2 great generals and am half way to another. I have at least 6 keshiks that are right at the mid 30's in experience. Almost every enemy city except the 2 capitals has been on a hill, so I guess that is why I received such high experience points - I think I got 6 once. Until I got catapults I was using suicide keshiks some of which lived and got promoted.

 

[gdgrimm]

Well I'm now using the scale 45,66.90,111 which seems just about right on marathon, so agreed

Well, I'm using the 45,90,135,180 scale in my current Marathon game, and I think it might be a little fast.

I had done a Quecha rush early on Persopolis (?sp?), won a few naval battles (not sure if they count to GG points), then took 3 cities from Isabella using my Treb's, Knights, and Macemen against her Archers and Macemen. That earned me my first GG.

Being a non-Imperialistic civ and getting a GG after what strikes me as only a little bit of war, seemed to be a bit fast. IMHO, playing a peacenik game in which you successfully avoid war in most cases, shouldn't really net you any GG's at all.

But hey, that's why they use XML for the config parameters. Each player can modify them to build the game they individually want.

 

[DrewBledsoe]

Well, I'm using the 45,90,135,180 scale in my current Marathon game, and I think it might be a little fast.

I had done a Quecha rush early on Persopolis (?sp?), won a few naval battles (not sure if they count to GG points), then took 3 cities from Isabella using my Treb's, Knights, and Macemen against her Archers and Macemen. That earned me my first GG.

Being a non-Imperialistic civ and getting a GG after what strikes me as only a little bit of war, seemed to be a bit fast. IMHO, playing a peacenik game in which you successfully avoid war in most cases, shouldn't really net you any GG's at all.

But hey, that's why they use XML for the config parameters. Each player can modify them to build the game they individually want.

Sure, its up to the individual But from what you said, you got your 1st grt gen in medieval times, which doesn't sound too fast for me, and if you were playing "normal" speed, you would have got the 1st grt gen much earlier.

I suppose its down to how many you think shouild actually appear in an "average game" with an "average amount" of combat, 4 or 5 doesn't sound too many to expect to me, which is still only probably a third of the nos of grt people I'd expect to get, and remember changing the rate affects how fast the AI gets them too.

Yes naval combat does count towards the xp needed

 

[FastWorker]

Hmm, not sure how this would be in practice, probably too much of an advantage to player, who with intelligent human play could almost always guarantee a grt gen just from barbs on huge maps, by recycling troops until they all get 10 xp...the AI wouldn't do this.

And I did consider something like this, but can't see any .xml files that relate to it, it must be elsewhere in the code......

I'm interested in this too. I was playing solo vs. barbarians the other night and kept waiting for a general to appear. When I checked, I had no experience points despite fighting what must have been over a hundred battles.

 

[Randolph]

Sorry if this has already been answered, but if I modify the xml will it effect current games, or will I need to start a new one?

 

[naterator]

Sorry if this has already been answered, but if I modify the xml will it effect current games, or will I need to start a new one?

i modded mine mid game, i had 104/45 or something like that for a while and thought i broke it, but then after my first combat, i got 2 gg's and everything was ok. most of the ai got 2 at one point or another as well, depending on how long it took them to have a war.

 

[DrewBledsoe]

Sorry if this has already been answered, but if I modify the xml will it effect current games, or will I need to start a new one?

As naterator has said above, but in all honesty, you are better off starting a new game.

 

[Randolph]

Great, thanks Naterator & DB. I'll probably start a new game to be on the safe side.

 

[Pantastic]

It affects current games, though like naterator found you need to win one fight against an AI for it to check where the GG points are.

 

[Watiggi]

Sure, its up to the individual But from what you said, you got your 1st grt gen in medieval times, which doesn't sound too fast for me, and if you were playing "normal" speed, you would have got the 1st grt gen much earlier.

I suppose its down to how many you think shouild actually appear in an "average game" with an "average amount" of combat, 4 or 5 doesn't sound too many to expect to me, which is still only probably a third of the nos of grt people I'd expect to get, and remember changing the rate affects how fast the AI gets them too.

Yes naval combat does count towards the xp needed

Personally, before Warlords came out, I was expecting to encounter about 15 Great Generals per leader per game for a total war game - that is a leader that spends all game expanding his/her territory with conquest. I still like the idea of Imperialistic getting -25% cheaper Generals rather than 100% GG emergence. The former effectively means that the Imperialistic trait will generate Generals for longer before it becomes too unrealistic to get.