Workshop: Traits/Ancillaries

[ahowl11]

We can begin discussing traits & ancillaries here. Many mods have good traits/ancillaries that we could use. Of course we would need permission but we could use them. I suggest that we add traits with the following method:

Put the code of the trait/ancillary here so we can copy/past it to the relevant files and then give a brief description of what it does and why you think it should be added.

[phalanx_man]

Hello All,

I made some additions and changes to traits and ancillaries in my personal mod.

TRAITS:
For example, I added FastSpy, FastDiplomat, FastAssasin, FastShips since these should move much further in a turn than an army.

I also added AICommandBonus so that all AI generals have 10 stars and consequently the AI plays a LITTLE better (or less badly) than when they all have 2 or 3 stars.

I also modified many of the combat related traits for generals to give both influence and morale bonus (penalty) if a general becomes better (worse) in battles (Renown,  Good/BadInfantryGeneral, Good/BadCavalryGeneral, Good/BadCommander, Good/BadAttacker, Good/BadDefender, Good/BadAmbusher, Good/BadSiegeAttacker, Good/BadSiegeDefender).

ANCILLARIES:
I added a Ships surgeon to heal wounded after a sea battle in the same way as Doctor or Chirurgeon for generals
See Ancillary ships_surgeon.

I also modded some of the triggers that were happening too often or not often enough (mostly for Priests, Spies, Assasins and Diplomats).

PS - I couldnt attach the entire files (due to the size limits), so I attached the excerpts only in TXT file format.

Regards,
phalanx_man.

[ahowl11]

Thanks Phalanx man! We will look into it

[The Sloth]

So this is my new base of opperations. All right then. Since my internet always slows down to a snail's pace around the end of every month, I hope that I can download the beta on monday by abusing the internet of my academy. Until that happens, here are some thoughts on what I have in mind.

- The vanilla system will be kept as a base for the time being, but remodelled so as to actually make sense: no more command stars for ugly generals, no hitpoints for having scars etc. Traits that don't make sense or are very similar to existing ones will be scrapped.
- Something needs to be done about the ancillary spam, especially from academies.
- Barbarians in particular will have their traits revised in order to allow them to at least govern their cities efficiently.
- The vanilla system would often result in family members being either completely useless due to irredeemably bad traits (drink, madness ets.) or hugely overpowered. I aim for a system where more "special" family members still have some use, and where super-powerful ones are quite rare.
- And lots of small balancing tweaks that do not deserve further mention.

Vanilla traits that have been scrapped:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

good attacker
bad attacker
good defender
bad defender
good risky attacker
bad risky attacker
good risky defender
bad risky defender
indecisive attacker
good ambusher
bad ambusher
fears romans
fears barbarians
fears carthaginians
fears egyptians
fears greeks
fears eastern
fears slave
good commander
bad spy
bad assassin
bad diplomat

Some new traits:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Unflinching
This man will not hesitate to join the fray in person when needed, much to the approval of his men.
+1 morale

Brave
He has led many a charge into the enemy ranks, and has become a shining example of courage for his men.
+2 morale

Valiant
Always to be found where the fighting is thickest, his courage and perseverence have inspired his men and decided the outcome of many a battle.
+3 morale, +1 bodyguard valour

Heroic Courage (Epithet: the Brave)
His soldiers admire him for standing firm even in the direst of situations. His composure reassures them and lets them fight on even when all seems lost.
+4 morale, +1 bodyguard valour, +1 influence

-------------------

Proven Tactician
Rather than blindly rushing into battle, this man will carefully deploy his troops and come up with countermeasures to the unexpected..
+1 command

Experienced Tactician
He will go to great lengths to fight battles in a way that will allow him to play out his army's strenghts, all while denying the ennemy their's.
+2 command

Master of Tactics
The battlefield and the surrounding landscape, the numbers, composition and mindset of his own and the opposing army, the weather... all of these play a part in his intricate plans to win the upcoming battle.
+3 command, +1 command when ambushing

Mastermind (epithet: the Cunning)
Not only does he pay attention to even the smallest of details that might affect his battle plan, but he even displays an uncanny ability to predict his ennemies' actions and guide the flow of battle in a way that will ultimately ensure his victory.
+4 command, +2 command when ambushing

---------------------------

Shamed Commander
This man has been soundly defeated in at least one battle. Some are doubting his ability to lead.
-1 influence

Disgraced Commander
Bad luck alone cannot explain the many defeats he has suffered. His men have lost all trust in him, and insubordination and desertion are rampant among them.
-1 command, -2 influence

---------------------

[ahowl11]

That seems like an excellent starting point for this part of the mod. We will incorporate your first batch of work with the next BETA. If you find that you cannot download the BETA tomorrow, let us know and we can send you whatever files you need to begin.

[The Sloth]

Good thing I started modding again, I'm way rustier than I thought.

I have begun removing traits that I think are unnecessary. The list is in reply #3 of this thread, in case anyone cares or wants to argue about a specific trait.

I have removed most traits granting command bonuses to the attacker or defender, as I think these create an artificial limit between the two, and things would have been rather blurry in an actual battle, except for very specific circumstances (ambushes, sieges).

I am currently implementing a distinction between generals who fight in battle in person, who will progress in the "brave" traits, and generals who don't fight in battle themselves, who will progress in the "tactician" traits, which will replace the current "good commander" traits and be the primary source of command stars. It is possible for a general to progress in both to a certain extent, but he can only ever reach the pinnacle of one.
Most generals in the early game will probably be mostly "brave", since you will often need their bodyguards to win a battle. They will get assorted traits and ancillaries to increase their hitpoints, as well as the size and experience of their bodyguard unit. In the later game, the player can then adopt a more "scientific" approach to warfare, and have his general direct his men from a safe distance.

[ahowl11]

Looking good!

[Bercor]

Do you reckon it's possible to have possible bad or good traits in the two different progressions? For example, if the general fights the battle in person he could gain the brave trait, that gives him some bonuses. But if he risks his life too often he cain gain the reckless trait that will give him negative bonuses, say less hitpoints, to simulate the fact that he can be more easily killed. On the other way, if doesn't usally fight he can gain tactician, but he can also gain coward, that decreases the overall army morale?

[The Sloth]

In a way. The vanilla "battle scarred" trait will be changed to represent heavy injuries sustained by a general who fights in melee, up to the point where he ends up as a living vegetable if his wounds aren't treated.
As for tacticians, they will not incur penalties if they belong to the more pragmatic factions, like Rome. But barbarians will resent this kind of behaviour (actually I think I'll just make the tactician trait unavailable to them alltogether), and I think I read something about the Seleucid kings being expected to fight in person as well.

But I'm not quite that far yet.

[Mausolos of Caria]

Yes, every hellenistic ruler was expected to fight in person, Lysimachos and Seleukos still rode into battle against each other at Kurupedion in their 80s or so 

[The Sloth]

Done some more tinkering, updated reply #1 of this thread. Ahowl, for all future betas, it might be better if you delete all traits and ancillaries of all family members in the descr_strat file. I guess that file will be changed a lot in the future, and it's better if only one person works with it.

Here's another idea for traits. I will rework the "warlord" trait into the barbarian equivalent of the "good administrator" trait, so that it gives +management and +law. But I won't change much about how that trait is gained. That means that barbarians will become better governors... by fighting battles!
Other than fitting the mood for these factions, it will also represent how the warlord's growing reputation promotes stability in his province.
Basicaly, you'll be looking forward to battles with those annoying brigands that keep popping up everywhere.

[Bercor]

Excellent idea.

[xeofox]

welcome to "Pulchra mors". 
http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?630643-Pulchra-mors-%283D-explosion%29&highlight=pulchra

I just mean that the graphical mod, we can use it.

[The Sloth]

Err... what?

[ahowl11]

Go ahead and put that link in the 'Resources' thread xeofox
This is for traits and ancillaries.

Good ideas sloth. So after we release 0.5 do you want me to get rid of all traits and ancillaries from the characters?