[tinkthank]

Great!

After more testing, although I have come to appreciate even more the fine changes you made to national troops (GREAT - thanks! Love your mod!), I have come to be sceptical about one type of change (only): those changes to the Indy troops. Although you have done a fine job now of making most of these very viable to purchase, and additionally accomplished a nice feat in making Independent Province Nations more variable, slightly tougher, and more flavorful, you have also applied the same principles you used in beefing up the underused and niche-seeking national troops, who often sat sadly in a corner drinking tea out of a paper bag (IF they were lucky) just hoping one day to sit sadly in a niche. The effect of this is that it often now seems just as good to me to purchase Indies as national troops. I don't like this for only one reason (NOTHING to do with Balance): It encourages making the armies more homogenous, and hence also detracts from the national flavor impact of different nations. (Don't ge me wrong: it doesnt do this a lot, but I did notice it after a few more test runs with me.)

In other words, trying to phrase this without using "balance" at all: I think the "niche" which Independent troops should fill is actually a quite different one than that of national troops. I think this indy niche should be to (a) be purchased when really needed in a hurry out in the front or (b) to enhance a nation's access to a type of unit otherwise completely lacking (e.g. archers for Abysia, Atlantis, Van or Heavy Cav for Pythium or whatever) or (c) to buy when you really have some cash left over or (d) give the strong national themes a "local" flavor in the provinces those troops are naturally at home or (e) something else.

For this reason, I would really like to see most of those troops get a price increase (or read: have their original prices dropped NOT QUITE AS MUCH as you did, quite excellently so, with the national troops) or somehow be made less comparable to national troops.

Additionally, I would like to see map movement restricted again, specifically as examples Indy Archers be scaled back down to map move 1 (this btw would still make them fine province defenders or great buy-me-quick-near-the-front troops and good Indy Nationals). Low mobility would not only scale down those troops overall strategic value while keeping them viable for niche filling but would also (at least to my playing style) encourage the garrisoning of troops in as many provinces as possible (as an alternative defense form to mad castling, even if this form is no way equal in terms of balance to having a castle in every province, obviously).

(On an aside: do you have a comprehensive list of the changes to Indies, or could you send them to me? I could do some of these changes then for myself without pestering you, and offer them here on the boards on the off chance anyone would want them.)


Another Side Note Suggestion: For Ulm, I think a novel but decent tweak would be instead of the individual battle-style improvements in armor or armaments (although I like it, especially the magic weapon on the guardians) or a reduction in price, give each and every Ulmian a boost in MR of 2 or in some cases 3: Ulmians are infused in mundanity. (So just the opposite rationale which gave them crappy MR to start with.) Yes, Ulm is supposed to make up for its crappy MR by pushing its crappy Drain scale, but even in doing so they only get back up to "normal" -- I think a nice tradeoff for lacking magic whatsoever would be having decent resistances to it.

So.... thanks very much! Whole new worlds are opening up, and I think I am going to enjoy playing with different styles now some races I would like to like, like Pan New Era and Machaka, and new styles with races I already like, like Man and Marignon and Tien Chi....!