Mod Better Independents

Foodstamp · #1 May 7th, 2007, 06:36 PM

NP at all, glad I could help. This idea was worth the little time trouble shooting to get to use. Nice job thinking outside the box when it comes to helping the AI.

MaxWilson · #2 May 8th, 2007, 01:48 AM

So far I really like it. I hadn't realized how annoyingly stressful the provinces full of militia were. I notice that Atavi are still recruitable, and perhaps I'll use a Chieftain to lead my Umbrals. Much as I like the NI maps, it's nice to have the option to recruit the non-boring commanders.

(Of course the Atavi are still there because of Bandar Log, but if I really wanted to I could #copystats Bandar Log's version and change the resource cost on the poptype one. Maybe I will later. Agartha shouldn't really have access to shortbows with decent precision, or worse yet Sticks and Stones with Strength of Giants--worse than longbows.

)

-Max

Foodstamp · #3 May 8th, 2007, 01:57 AM

I have been playing a pretty massive game as well with this mod. Here are my observations so far.

The AI builds less units, but atleast the units it build are useful. I think the AI gave me a harder time before, because he would hit me on so many fronts.

Now the attacks are normally concentrated in a few armies instead of a gazillion militia forces taking provinces left and right with me having to chase them down all over the map, one province behind them the whole time

It may be my imagination, but it seems like my load times have gone way down now that the AI has to use it's forts to produce units. I am at a point in my current game with around 35 nations on a medium sized map where the turn loading would reach a point where I would call it quits. With this mod, the turn processing seems fairly reasonable, and I think it is because the AI does not have to figure out what to do with all those trash units.

I like the mod, I will probably use it for now on in my single player games, or atleast until someone comes up with a more elegant solution to the junk indies and the AIs <3 for them.

Edi · #4 May 8th, 2007, 02:34 AM

Thanks for the comments, guys!

The reason it decreases hosting time for turns is directly related to the number of units that have been recruited in the game. Each one of those units takes up memory, requires appropriate calculations in battle etc, which slows the game down. That's why the hard limit for units that can be on the map at the same time was only tripled from Dom2 instead of being maxed out. Maxed out, it would bring any system, no matter how top of the line, to its knees.

Sombre · #5 May 8th, 2007, 03:07 AM

I like it. I still prefer the NI maps, partly because I like non-site indy mages being absent.

This mod has a big advantage over NI maps in the respect that it can be used with random maps.

Foodstamp · #6 May 13th, 2007, 12:34 AM

I found a bug with this mod. When you conquer keeps formerly held by the AI, if those forts are able to recruit units that have had their resource costs raised, the AI will still try to create those units.

This causes the queue to back up with 800 resource commanders and units that will not allow them to recruit their national units from the keep. So the only place the AI can build units at are their original capital keeps. If we can find a fix for this bug the AI would be more challenging.

As it stands right now, this mod makes the AI less challenging I have noticed in my single player games. I still like the mod though because I get tired of fighting indy zergs.

Edi · #7 May 13th, 2007, 12:11 PM

Damn. So much for that idea then. I suppose the AI makes its recruitment decisions based on the original cost of the units, using the original values, since mods are just an overlay on it.

Looks like we're back to square one or using NI maps. Highly annoying. Thanks for letting us know.

Juzza · #8 August 31st, 2007, 06:45 AM

Oh, I'd also like to add that this mod is fantastic! and really good for testing new nations, I found my newest nation, "Free Port" very interesting and difficult to play against with an impossible AI.

I suggest for anyone doing nation modding to test their own mod on an Imp AI and this mod.

MischiefMaker · #9 October 29th, 2007, 06:01 PM

Does this mod still work with the new patch?

Edi · #10 October 29th, 2007, 06:29 PM

Yes. It works with 3.06 and later, since it does not alter any of the new stuff or use any commands that were only introduced later. It would probably also work with 3.04, but I used 3.06 as the cutoff line, as it was the most recent patch at the time.

I would obviously not have updated this thread if the mod did not work.