by Felix Hermansson, Tsunami Studios (hoodncloak@hotmail.com)
10 September 2007
This is a very simple mod (hardly worth being called that at all) for TWC Patch level 1.04. It allows European civilizations to resume production of Settlers, Coureurs, Settler Wagons and Fishing Boats after a revolt.
To install the mod, simply copy the file 'techtreex.xml' into the game folder '..\Microsoft Games\Age of Empires III\data'. Note that the mod is for single player and LAN games only and will cause problems when you try to play online!
CAUTION: You need to overwrite the original 'techtreex.xml' file with the one provided here. Be sure to make a backup of the original file first so you can undo the change later as necessary!
This mod allows creation of economic units even after a Revolution, something the standard game forbids. The following units can now be built after a Revolution:
- Settlers
- Coureurs
- Fishing Boats
- Settler Wagons (provided Germantown Farmers has been shipped before)
Special features for different civilizations, like
- auto-creation of Settlers at Ottoman Town Centers
- lower build limit and appropriate cost in coin for Dutch Settlers
- lower build limit and higher cost for French Coureurs
- batch training for Russian Settlers
work just as in the standard game.
Note that there are two points of the Revolution feature some players might not know about, but which become more important when playing with this mod. Once a player revolts
- 200 free pop space is granted
- build limit for Town Centers is raised to 10
Also, there are a few minor changes to the techtree file which take care of some minor bugs:
- The Heavy Fortifications shipment now includes the missing Revetment tech for forts.
- The 3 Galleys card now shows the correct icon (Galley instead of Frigate).
- Revolutionary San Martin's Imperial Howitzers are now correctly named.
- Native warriors upgraded with the Blood Brothers shipment are now correctly named.
There are two minor flaws in this mod: If a British Manor is built after a Revolution it spawns a Colonial Militia unit instead of a Settler, and Settlers, Coureurs or Settler Wagons queued at the time of the Revolution are cancelled. (No resources are lost that way.)
I really just did this for fun; writing the readme file took much more time than changing the techtree. But I've tested it and it made for a few unique games on the LAN. There is probably a lot of space for improvement, especially in the balance area, so if someone comes up with a good idea, drop me a line.
I don't think Revolutionaries can boom is a good idea, it was originally designed as a ultimate method of getting victory.
Felix Hermansson File Author
Posted on 10/28/07 @ 11:24 AM
You could make a similar comment about most mods available I guess - they all change something that was different in the original game for a reason. But judging from the reaction on the forums when news got out that the Germans could no longer boom back after patch 1.04, and of course from my own contacts, I know enough people who wouldn't agree with you here.
If you don't like it, don't install it, it's as simple as that.
littlebob
Posted on 01/12/09 @ 01:41 PM
not bad, i like the idea of queued villagers
IcyPichu
Posted on 02/22/09 @ 08:40 PM
Lol, I spent the past 2 hours trying to figure out why the mod wasn't working for my game. Turns out I was trying to play the mod with the Asian Dynasties expansion rather than the War Chiefs xD;
It works GREAT with the War Chief Expansion, though! Tis' just a bit of a shame considering I mainly intended to play it with TAD.
Knifeman
Posted on 04/04/09 @ 11:52 PM
Good Mod, It was lame how before you could not make villages anymore after you instated the revolution.