The Sword of Islam: RFC Medieval Middle East

[embryodead]

I got some xml errors when trying to run the new patch. There are a whole bunch of errors regarding the terrain_wasteland code in unit infos and unit promotions.

It seems that you haven't installed the base mod, or have it outdated. Before you apply 0.2.3 patch you need to have 0.2 version installed. The patch will not work with 0.1.x.

 

[embryodead]

Perhaps Samraat?

This title wasn't used by any of the civs in-game. It would have to purely ahistorical, what-if case of Chauhan or Solanki rulers conquering all of India and becoming the next Asoka.

I am far more concerened about Pala Empire. Buddhist dynasty rulled much of the India present in the mod from 750–1174 -- exactly the timeframe of the mod! And talk about Budhist UHV! In my game Buddhism is 0% all the time!

The mod only includes 1/3 of India, basically the Northwest. It makes no sense to include Pala Empire where nearly all of its territory is off the map. Even in that time, those territories present on the map were under Gurjara-Pratihara - I believe Pala Empire stretched that far only in 8-9th c. It's more of a case for RFCA... EDIT: this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Indian_Kanauj_triangle_map.svg

The new patch changes Buddhist mechanics a bit, it starts out in Lahore and Peshawar, but it still disappears after 11th century, so it decays towards 0% still.

 

[MarcusAgrippa]

Hi there!

This mod looks great so I downloaded it (0.2.0 + 0.2.3 patch) and tried to get it working but I'm experiencing a little problem!

Here is what I have when I try to load TSI :

Enlarge

All the menus are empty (some links are by the way functioning when clicking on it (like options and quitting) and I can't get a game started. Does someone have some clue how to fix that or where to find the problem?

Regards,


Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa

 

[embryodead]

All the menus are empty (some links are by the way functioning when clicking on it (like options and quitting) and I can't get a game started. Does someone have some clue how to fix that or where to find the problem?

Yes, change your CIV4 language to English, as this mod only works with English at this point.

 

[MarcusAgrippa]

Okay, thanks, I'll try the language thing (even if it looks a real pain to do with Steam :\) because my CivIV is up to date.


EDIT : It works like a charm now! Thanks for your help, and for the good job you made with this mod!

 

[Barak]

2 plagues in rapid succession can really kill your empire! Especially when there is nothing to stop it.

 

[embryodead]

Am I the only one who hates how ugly the borders look with IDW

Spoiler :

 

[AOS9001]

It's exactly the same as in CIV IV, but it's walls that soak most damage, not castles:

Walls +50% defense, -50% bombard damage
Castle +50% defense, -25% bombard damage

Same bombard for catapults and trebuchets too, 8% and 16% per turn, which becomes 2% and 4% with walls + castles. Can be more with promotions.

Ah. I've never noticed that in the information before...

 

[The Turk]

Can someone tell me what civics go well together (stability wise) and which don't go well together

Thanks

@embryodead
In a future release I would consider making a PDF file introducing the game, and putting all the stability issues, UHV, title info on it, I think it would be good to have all that information outside of the game as well

 

[Tigranes]

@ edead

If you need my opinion, just postpone the whole IDW thing, please. Seriously, your mod is already complex and self contained. Remember, "the designer knows he has achieved perfection when there is nothing to take away". And yes borders look ugly and very unrealistic. Old school culture works just fine. We have so many other things to tune, before you introduce something new.

I was hoping to post my Armenian win, but instead

Spoiler :

I guarantee that there are now non-Christian kingdoms in Lesser Armenia and Caucasus. Very historically my Armenian empire collapsed 15 turns before the 3rd UHV checks. You can see that all the rebels are Orthodox Christians! (Sebastia is Anatolia so it does not matter). What is really wrong here?

 

[embryodead]

If you need my opinion, just postpone the whole IDW thing, please. Seriously, your mod is already complex and self contained. Remember, "the designer knows he has achieved perfection when there is nothing to take away". And yes borders look ugly and very unrealistic. Old school culture works just fine. We have so many other things to tune, before you introduce something new.

A solution for the border was found, and IDW works in silent mode so you don't even see it. It's not that bad yet

I guarantee that there are now non-Christian kingdoms in Lesser Armenia and Caucasus. Very historically my Armenian empire collapsed 15 turns before the 3rd UHV checks. You can see that all the rebels are Orthodox Christians! (Sebastia is Anatolia so it does not matter). What is really wrong here?

Perhaps it is not clear, but Rebels don't count as states, they don't have state religion. Since there were complains about Armenia being too easy I changed this UHV to "recreate the Armenian Empire (control/vassalize 10+ provinces) by 1330". Note: this is the 3rd UHV, traditionally something that did not happen but was desired - and it would require much more effort.

 

[rapiduser]

hi,

I have downloaded the mod. But i have always problems with atomic gamer so i uploaded the Mod to megaupload.

Mod

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=GJK02QYL

Patch

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=JLNVO2K7

 

[embryodead]

@rapiduser
Thanks, though I release patches often and these links will get outdated soon, this weekend probably. I'll see about alternative download locations for the future.

 

[MessageMan]

Maybe you could give the Timurids Trebuchets with extra movement as their UU. Not exactly historical, but from reading the posts here you need siege weapons to beat the Seljuks, and you want the Timurids to conquer vast swaths of territory quickly then collapse. They won't be able to do that with siege engines slowing them down.

It's hard to emulate the Timurids since the game progresses so fast. From Wikipedia:

Timur conquered large parts of Transoxiana (in modern day Central Asia) and Khorasan (parts of modern day Iran, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan) from 1363 onwards with various alliances (Samarkand in 1366, and Balkh in 1369), and was recognized as ruler over them in 1370. Acting officially in the name of the Mongolian Chagatai ulus, he subjugated Transoxania and Khwarazm in the years that followed and began a campaign westwards in 1380. By 1389 he had removed the Kartids from Herat and advanced into mainland Persia from 1382 (capture of Isfahan in 1387, removal of the Muzaffarids from Shiraz in 1393, and expulsion of the Jalayirids from Baghdad). In 1394/95 he triumphed over the Golden Horde and enforced his sovereignty in the Caucasus, in 1398 subjugated Multan and Dipalpur in modern day Pakistan and in modern day India left Delhi in such ruin that it is said for two months "not a bird moved wing in the city". In 1400/01 conquered Aleppo, Damascus and eastern Anatolia, in 1401 destroyed Baghdad and in 1402 triumphed over the Ottomans at Ankara.

Or maybe they could get the RFC Mongol UU.

 

[embryodead]

I like the idea. In my Civ3 mod I gave a Siege Engineer unit to the Golden Horde, it was a Mongol looking dude with 2 MP, and when he attacked a trebuchet appeared next to him. I'll see if I can make such unit for Civ4. It's not ahistorical at all - in reality siege engines weren't built so far away and dragged over 2 continents, but rather built on the spot, or nearby. Not sure about Timur, but the original Mongols were known to recruit the best siege engineers on the way.

It's impossible to have Timurids go up to Bosphorus in such a short amount of turns, even with fast siege engines, and I'm quite content with what they usually end up with (i.e. Transoxiana and eastern Persia) since it was the area they managed to keep for the duration of the dynasty, unlike everything else which was gone as soon as Timur died. Any improvement is good, however.

 

[MessageMan]

Their UB, the Yam, isn't very good. -10% Maintenance doesn't help a lot. The Timurids promoted Persian culture pretty heavily, so perhaps a culture building?

By bringing craftsmen from different conquered lands to his capital in Samarqand, Timur initiated one of the most brilliant periods in Islamic art. Timurid art and architecture provided inspiration to lands stretching from Anatolia to India. Though Timur's extensive empire itself was relatively short-lived, his descendants continued to rule over Transoxiana as leading patrons of Islamic art. Through their patronage, the eastern Islamic world became a prominent cultural center, with Herat, the new Timurid capital, as its focal point. Timurid rulers were sympathetic to Persian culture and lured artists, architects, and men of letters who would contribute to their high court culture.

Many Timurid princes were also prodigious builders—religious institutions and foundations such as mosques, madrasas, khanqahs (convents), and Sufi shrines were the main beneficiaries of their building programs ... Trademarks of the Timurid style were monumental scale, multiple minarets, polychromy tilework, and large bulbous double domes.

Source: The Art of the Timurid Period (ca. 1370–1507) | Thematic Essay | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art

I was thinking the UB would give one free artist, but would that be overpowered?

 

[embryodead]

What you quoted is the reflected in their Unique Power: culture boost in the capital for razing/massacring cities. As the quote says, Timur and his successors mostly cared about Samarkand/Herat and its immediate surroundings.

Yam reflects the Mongol heritage, and Timur used this system as well. And look again, it also gives +1 Espionage. 1 Trade Route, -10% Maint. and +1 EP is a lot for a building that takes 2-4 turns to build.

 

[MessageMan]

What you quoted is the reflected in their Unique Power: culture boost in the capital for razing/massacring cities. As the quote says, Timur and his successors mostly cared about Samarkand/Herat and its immediate surroundings.

Yam reflects the Mongol heritage, and Timur used this system as well. And look again, it also gives +1 Espionage. 1 Trade Route, -10% Maint. and +1 EP is a lot for a building that takes 2-4 turns to build.

Yeah, that makes sense. But the permanent stability hit discourages the razing of cities. And IIRC it's something like 3 points for every city, which is a lot.

I didn't notice the Espionage bonus. But is it enough so that you can have city revolts before you attack? That's the only activity which is useful (and historical too). And after every mission the Spy return back to the capital. With their 1 movement it would take a while for the Spies to go back to the front lines. I've never understood why they magically teleport in this game.

 

[MessageMan]

It's impossible to have Timurids go up to Bosphorus in such a short amount of turns, even with fast siege engines, and I'm quite content with what they usually end up with (i.e. Transoxiana and eastern Persia) since it was the area they managed to keep for the duration of the dynasty, unlike everything else which was gone as soon as Timur died. Any improvement is good, however.

The UHV calls for 12% of map territory in 130 years. It seems to me that's incredibly hard to do since you also have to raze 7 of the cities you encounter and you have to wait a while for your Trebuchets to bombard the defenses lest you lose a lot of units attacking one city. But I haven't played them yet since I'm waiting for the update so maybe I'll change my mind.

 

[MessageMan]

I like the idea. In my Civ3 mod I gave a Siege Engineer unit to the Golden Horde, it was a Mongol looking dude with 2 MP, and when he attacked a trebuchet appeared next to him. I'll see if I can make such unit for Civ4. It's not ahistorical at all - in reality siege engines weren't built so far away and dragged over 2 continents, but rather built on the spot, or nearby. Not sure about Timur, but the original Mongols were known to recruit the best siege engineers on the way.

Shouldn't the Siege Engineer have 3 movement since he'd be riding with the rest of the horde? He can bombard and attack cities like a trebuchet, but if you move him you can't attack/bombard in the same turn. Like the Spy and espionage actions.

Or you could program it so that he'd be a unit with strength 1, but have a button to "build trebuchet" which would cost a turn. Then he'd gain the abilities of a regular treb. But I don't know if that's possible.

And I can't find how long it took to construct one.