TheBlackGrouse

TEMPLARS NIGHTMARE MOD 1.3 (this text contains all the necessary information, you don't have to read earlier posts) Upgraded to gameversion 1.0.21195 and DLC Hermit/Emperor (13 may 2015)? Link: http://www.mediafire.com/download/vyai7rfe1iioc2j/Templars_Nightmare_1.3.rar INSTRUCTIONS for install? Easy install: just one file in the right map and it's done.? 1. C:\Program Files(x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Stronghold Crusader 2\assets. 2. Backup the original file assets.v. and put it in a bombproof box under your bed.? 3. Drop the modfile assets.v in the map 'assets' and ready. 4. To switch between mod and vanilla, just change the assets.v TEMPLARS NIGHTMARE: SAFE CHALLENGE Templars Nightmare 1.3 is a complete save and simple mod for a hardcore Economy and real Castle Sieges. Only numbers are changed in two text-files, the same files that Firefly changes with upgrades. No graphic tricks, no programming, tested on all sorts of maps, against every AI-Lord.? Using older Modversions can give problems on some systems, always play with the latest update. Templars Nightmare gives a real challenge in Single Player Skirmish, fighting against 3 AI opponents (100 buildings maximum).? Play with VERY LOW GOLD/TROOPS and MEDIUM EVENTS.? This ain't exactly easy, but you can always add an AI Lord to your own team and play 2 against 2. The noblest of noble Knights will laugh about this, polish their Sword, say a prayer, start against 6 AI-Lords and will meet their Maker within minutes...? INTRODUCTION Finally, the time has come to separate the men from the boys!? Templars Nightmare is not for the weak, the cowards, the faint-hearted whose mother is a Hamster and father smells of Elderberries*. Only the noblest of noble Knights dare to fight here and will die with honour.? (* John Cleese in French Taunting, Monty Python and the Holy Grail) And now for something completely serious... The original goal of this Mod:? - give the game a better balance, a hard economy, the feeling of a Castle Builder,? - some fun/depth and more tactical choices for players,? - end the mass spawning of Knights/Trebs,? - the terror of this suddenly appearing Siege Camps,? - this winning-by-things-falling-from-the-sky (Candles),? - and stop the bread-only economy.? Modversion 1.3? - Arabic Watchtowers are now placeable in neutral terrain. - Maximum number of Engine Towers and Watchtowers increased.? - Mill is cheaper: 250 Wood (for different economic strategies). - Baker/Brewery/Chandler Workshops have extra resource costs. - Towers, Gates have 2.5 times more hitpoints. - Walls are even stronger now, not much but enough. - Trebs are slower, need more Peasants, have a bit more hitpoints and higher costs. - Pikemen are better at destroying Walls. - Battering Ram is back in the game with 50000 hitpoints. - Church costs 1000 Gold and 500 Stone. - Some smaller adjustments (prices, hitpoints etc.). CHANGES MODVERSION 1.0 to 1.3: 1. Realistic desert prices, Wood is more expensive, Iron is the most valuable resource. 2. Hard economy: slower food chains with bottlenecks require careful planning. 3. Serious Castles with 3.75x stronger Walls and 2.5x stronger Towers & Gates. 4. Better Defense: stronger Hoardings bring back the Oil Smelter to life. 5. Pitch is placeable outside your Walls, very effective against Siege Camps. 6. One Siege Camp allowed per estate. Placeable on neutral terrain at higher costs. 7. Trebs, Catapults: limited numbers, higher costs and they produce slower. 8. Diverse armies: now you need different units for your army. 9. New tactical options with Watchtowers, Mantraps and Dog Cages outside your estate. 10. Some fun, with badass War Priests and hit-and-run actions with the ?new? Archers. UNIT CHANGES In the original game a lot of units are hardly used and there is too much overlap between some of them, like Crusader and Arabian Knights. Another problem is the mass spawning of Arabic units. While they only need Gold to recruit, it?s much more easy to build armies with Mercenaries. When players have to build diverse armies the game becomes more interesting.? TREBUCHETS are some kind of a problem. In fact, you can win every game by building lots of them, throwing diseased animals and bring in the Assassins when the number of enemy soldiers is reduced. To stop this, some radical measures were taken. As always, they are based on real life :)? In Medieval times building a Trebuchet could take weeks. A lot of men were needed and once built, these weapons were hard to move. To simulate that, Trebuchets now have very high Peasant costs. You need 8 Guitarplaying-CampfireGuys for a Trebuchet. They are very expensive: 1000 Gold. In return, they have more hitpoints and take more damage in melee fight. Their speed is reduced to create some kind of realistic building time. Trebuchets are still powerful but it takes a while before you can use them. They need good protection against Swords, Maces etc. These measures will ?motivate? players to think twice before buying them, to be much more careful with their Trebuchets and look for other options, like the use of Battering Rams. Or, even better, destroy the enemy supply lines and decide the Siege by starvation. After all, that was the good old fashioned way to solve problems in the Middle Ages.? - Conscript: upgraded so you will even use it a few times. - ManatArms: upgraded, now it's a serious counterunit for Archers.? - Ranger: higher cost but has better armor and more hitpoints for melee fighting.? - Pikemen: more expensive but less vulnerable to Archers, unbeatable in guard mode. - Knights, Cataputs, Trebuchets have higher (peasant) costs to hinder mass spawning. - Horse: more hitpoints! No more instant dying like it is hit once by Conan the Destroyer. - Arabian Archer: Less missile damage, better melee damage/armor, more hitpoints.? - Arabian Swordsman: less protection against blades/arrows but a lot faster. - Siege Weapons: higher costs, extra hitpoints but overall they are more expensive. - Battering Ram: more hitpoints, it?s nice to have something to ram the gates. - Woodcutter: walks with an axe and now he's gonna use it. - Warrior Priests now fight back. Don?t expect miracles from your Priests, although they believe in resurrection Swordsmen, Sergeants, Knights require more 'campfire peasants' for slower production. And it?s more realisatic. A Knight needs a Servant, Groom to take care of his Horse and a Lute Player for the long and boring Medieval evenings. There are three different Archers now. The Crusader Archer has the best range but is very weak in melee fight. Use these guys for the Towers. The Ranger carries a Sword, can defend himself and is a good unit for a marching army. The Arabian Archer is faster, with less missile damage and also uses his Sword. No match for a Ranger but his speed makes him useful for hit-and-run.? ManatArms has better missile armor and can reach the archers now.? Funcional in early game when archers are constantly killing your peasants.? Also needed later in the game to intercept enemy archers. Swordsman now have different roles on the battlefield. The Crusader Swordsman is a very strong slow moving unit for a Siege, while the Arabian Swordsman can be used for small and fast armies to attack enemy food camps.On average, you need 3 Arabian Archers/Swordsmen for 2 Crusader Rangers/Swordsmen. ECONOMY CHANGES - Wood: we are in the Desert, remember. So Wood is more expensive. - Iron is the most valuable resource, as it should be.? - More Apple, Dairy and Pigfarms needed to keep your economy running - Bread is more difficult to produce although it's still basic food for your starving peasants. - Mill: only one is allowed per estate. - Candles: slower production and selling Candles is less profitable. - Weapon Workshops: number is limited, makes selling Weapons difficult.? - Market is cheaper, now your economy requires thinking. - The Church is the most expensive building (to slow down tax growth).? - the Bakery Workshop: + 25 Stone for the Oven. - the Brewery: + 25 Iron for the Brew Kettle - the Chandler Workshop: + 25 Pitch for Candles/Torches/Fire - And a lot of small changes, to keep the economy balanced. Slower food chains make it harder to earn Gold. And more planning is required.? With an early Wheat Farm and Mill you can build up a Flour reserve for hard times.? Church Services are available later in the game because a Church costs a 1000 Gold and 500 Stone. After all, it's a huge building, that took ages to build in Medieval times.? Ale is the first and one-way solution to extra taxes. As always (you?re not reading this because you wanted a walkover, isn?t it?) there is a problem. To produce enough Ale many building are needed. Ok, cheap buildings but space consuming buildings. TACTICAL OPTIONS - Pitch is placeable outside your estate. Countermeasure for Siege Camps. - Wardog Cages can be placed outside your Castle, for blocking enemy supply lines.? - Watchtowers now function as the first frontline defense outside your Walls. - Mantraps can be placed on neutral terrain. Very useful! For balance they cost more.? - Engine Towers have double hitpoints so now they are worth the money.? - Hit and run tactics are possible with the new Arabian Archer, Ranger and ManatArms. - Unit changes will let you build more diverse armies.? - Strong Walls and Hoardings give more possibilities to defend your Castle (Oil Smelter). - Build Churches on strategic locations because your Priests are quite convincing.? - Battering Rams are much stronger, so can be used, finally. - Macemen do more damage to Walls, they are a fast and extra option for Sieges. ECONOMY EXAMPLE The Bread chain is a bit slower now because of the higher cost of the Bakeries. But, in return, a cheaper Mill helps to build up a Flour reserve for times when you need higher rations. You can start Wheat grinding early in the game and build the more expensive Bakeries (+ 25 Stone) later. Ale is the fastest way to get higher rations. Hop Farms are quite cheap, a few Breweries and an Inn don't cost too much.? The Church is very expensive, but after all, it took ages to build in Medieval times. You have to wait for months until Church Services can be held. But it's always possible to have some Chandler Workshops earlier and start collecting Candles for the Stockpile.? Testing with 120 Peasants at 1x Food rations gives (very) high taxes and an average of 650 Gold a day. 9 Apple Farms 8 Pig Farms 6 Dairy Farms 3 Wheat Farms, 1 Mill and 5 Bakeries 6 Hops Farms, 12 Breweries and 1 inn for double rations of Ale 8 Chandler Workshops and a Church for Occasional Services (1x) 10 Wood Camps 5 Iron Mines 5 Quarries 3 Pitch Rigs 3 Water Pots 3 Wells 1 Apothecary 2 extra Churches so you have more Warrior Priests with Divine Inspiration.? 8 Weapon Workshops = 100 Buildings You can play safe with Water Pots and Wells. If you enjoy watching burning Peasants, you can build Chandler Workshops instead to earn more money. You can start with a full Ale chain and in the meantime build up a supply of Flour with a few Wheat Farms and a Mill. Then, later in the game you can bake huge amounts of Bread and go to higher rations. [Numbers give an indication for maps with medium Oases. The placement of the buildings is very important. The Bread chain will only work well if the Wheat Farms, Mill and Bakeries have the correct distances to Stockpile and Granary]. Dare to enter the Hall of Fame. But, like the Templars, expect sleepless nights.?

Modversion 1.3 for the last DLC and patch (13 may) is almost finished. I'll try to upload it to the Steam workshop. Don't know if it works, because the file is over 200 Mb.

For VERSION 1.0.21103 the 'Invasions update (23 april 2015). Also upgraded to DLC, the Princess and the Pig. Link: removed (old version) (sorry, big file, only available on MediaFire) SAFE Templars Nightmare 1.2 is a complete save mod. Only numbers are changed in text-files, the same files that Firefly changes with upgrades. No graphic tricks, no programming, no dangerous modswap software needed. HARDCORE Finally, the time has come to separate the men from the boys! Templars Nightmare is not for the weak, the cowards, the faint-hearted whose mother is a hamster and father smells of elderberries*. Only the noblest of noble Knights will die in honour, the rest will crawl in eternal flames ?:S And now for something completely serious...this Mod has a hardcore Economy and gives you real Sieges. Goals when starting this Mod: stop the mass spawning of Knights/Trebs, the terror of suddenly appearing Siege Camps, this winning-by-things-falling-from-the-sky (Candles), the Bread-only Economy, the paper Walls, cardboard Engine Towers and give the players real Castles, reasons to use a lot of different units and new tactical options. CASTLE DEFENSE - Build a strong Castle with better Walls, Towers and Gates. - Hardwood Hoardings bring the Oil Smelter back to life. - Engine Towers have double hitpoints so now they can defend your Castle. - Pitch is placeable outside your Walls. Gives better defense against Siege Camps. - Use Watchtowers for the lands outside your Castle as a first line of defense. MILITARY CHANGES - Conscript: upgraded so you will even use it a few times. - ManatArms: upgraded, now it's a serious counterunit for Archers. ? - Ranger: higher cost but is a great unit for a marching army. - Pikemen: more expensive but less vulnerable to Archers, unbeatable in guard mode. - Knights, Catapults, Trebuchets have higher (peasant) costs to hinder mass spawning. - Horse: more hitpoints! No more instant dying like it is hit once by Conan the Destroyer. - Siege Camp: maximum 1 per estate, there are new ways to attack it. ? - Stable: maximum is 10 to prevent the domination of Knights. - Arabian Archer: more allround, much better in melee fight, a bit weaker as an Archer. - Arabian Swordsman: lighter armor but outruns heavy Knights easily. - Dog Cages are placeable outside your Walls to disrupt enemy supply lines. - Mantraps can be placed outside your Castle, gives a lot of tactical options. - Warrior Priests fight back. Don?t expect miracles although they believe in resurrection... ECONOMY CHANGES - Wood: we are in the Desert, remember. Wood is more expensive. - Iron is the most valuable resource, as it should be. - Bread is more difficult to produce although it's still basic food for your starving peasants. - Candles: slower production and selling Candles is less profitable. - Weapon Workshops: number is limited, selling Weapons is much more difficult. - Market is much cheaper, now your economy requires thinking. - ... and many, many small changes. VERSION 1.2 After Mod version 1.1 there are still rumors that it is too easy to win with a lot of Mercenaries. Knights practice their skills for decades, only to be replaced by hordes of armed Desert Dwellers?? The code of Chivalry demands immediate action! And it shall be done... Templars Nightmare gives a real challenge in Single Player Skirmish, fighting against 3 AI opponents (100 buildings maximum). ? Play with VERY LOW GOLD/TROOPS and MEDIUM EVENTS. Very low Troops is important, because then the early game will have an unprecedented effect on your blood pressure. After walking for an hour as a Living Dead you might start thinking about attacking an opponent. This ain't exactly easy, but you can always add an AI Lord to your own team and play 2 against 2. The noblest of noble Knights will laugh about this, polish their Sword, say a prayer and start against 4-6 AI-Lords. Hail them! Mod 1.2 Goal: 1. Balance the units so players can not win with Arabian troops only. 2. Change the function of some Arabian soldiers for even more diverse armies. ? 3. Slow down the growth of taxes. 4. Trade-offs: not just building more and more, players need to choose a strategy. Arabian Archer These guys also carry Swords, so now let's use them... The new Arabian Archer has 30% less missile damage, but better melee damage, armor and more hitpoints. Overall he has 2.5 times more melee damage and 'effective' melee hitpoints. The unit is more allround, much stronger in man-to-man fighting and a bit weaker as an Archer. Still no match for a Ranger, but can be hired early in the game when there are not enough Swords and Bows. For the Towers, use the Crusader Archers, for quick deployment and hit-and-run tactics the Arabian Archers are the best. Arabian Swordsman: There was too much overlap between Crusader and Arabian Knights. Now the Arabian Swordsman is a lighter and faster unit. Less protection in melee fight but in return the unit has more speed. Gives it a different role on the Battlefield. WarDog Cage These cages are extremely useful for disrupting enemy supply lines because they can be placed on neutral terrain. Instead of Gold they now cost 8 Iron, to make it a bit more difficult to build them. It is also more realistic because the cage is made of Iron and Wood (as you can hear when the Dogs start running). Military - Stronger Warrior Priests, can't walk on water but the Holy One lets them run through fire. - More WatchTowers allowed, in total 8. For better balance they cost more Stone. - Arabian WatchTowers cannot be placed in neutral terrain. Events Events have a little more effect. Let's face it, if all your Cows fall dead, this has some impact. Also, Hop Weevil was a disaster in the Middle Ages because Beer was used for drinking water. They were all a bit drunk in those days. Economy - The Church is the most expensive building (to slow down tax growth). - the Mill has become an expensive building: 500 Wood. In return it has more hitpoints. - Small changes in market prices, the number of resources delivered by farmers etc. - You need a bit more Apple, Dairy and Pigfarms to keep your economy running. To give an idea how to build up the economy for 120 PEASANTS with 1x rations: (numbers are map dependent and vary with distances to Stockpile/Granary) - ?9 Apple Farms - ?7 Pig Farms - ?6 Dairy Farms - ?4 Wheat Farms, 1 Mill and 5 Bakeries - ?7 Hops Farms, 10 Breweries and 1 Inn for double rations of Ale - ?15 Chandler Workshops and a Church for double Church Services. Now your people are willing to pay HIGH TAXES and give you 700 Gold a day. But there is a price to pay, already 65 Buildings are needed for your Food, Ale and Candles (numbers dependent on placement of the buildings). With 4 players there are only 35 Buildings to go, but... - Have some extra Farms to build up reserves for higher rations: 5 - You need all the Weapon Workshops: 8. - You need Iron Mines and Quarries: 8-10. - Don't forget to collect Pitch: 3-5 - Wood Camps are always necessary: 6-12 (more in early game) - The Castle has an Apothecary. - All the Stables must be used: 10. - Wells and Water Pots: 6-10 (medium events, so fires break out) Very soon you will reach the maximum of 100 Buildings, but that's the goal of this Mod: making choices, for every new building you're trading off something. Like the Templars, expect sleepless nights. * John Cleese in French Taunting, Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Working on Mod version 1.2, based on the new DLC update, version 1.0.21103 Takes some time because I have to check every number in the text files. And since we're are able to play as an Arabian faction, those nice Watch Towers will be placeable on neutral desert lands... Also working on some small balancing and economy issues. If you found something that needs to be improved, please post a message. A lot of players have downloaded the Mod. Some sort of prove that the game needed a boost :P Thanks for downloading!

Well thought-out Andreas! You are right, the environment is playing no role. Siege Equipment passes through Woods like it is an open road. Working with different classes sounds interesting, in combination with taxes and a new housing system. Unfortunately, these things are hard/impossible to change. Also, it is not possible to alter the economic system. Instead, to make sure that the mod is absolutely save, I balanced the numbers in the text files, the same as Firefly uses for adjustments. The limitation of buildings is not the best solution but in this case there was no alternative. There are only a few buildings with a maximum number, like Weapon Workshops, Mills, Stables and Watch Towers. This is done to prevent the selling of huge amounts of Weapons, to prevent the domination of Bread and Knights and to make sure that Watch Towers maintain their function as frontline defense. The spawning of Knights is limited now with a few changes: higher costs, more free 'campfire' peasants needed, only 10 Stables allowed and a harder economy that runs at 1,5 taxes, so you can't have an army of those guys. In return, the horses are much stronger, your Knights can reach the Archers now... There are more options for Castle defence, especially against those Siege Camps appearing out of nothing. Ghost Camps are not the honorable way to fight, so I gave the defenders free placeable Pitch, Mantraps and Dog Cages... Armies are smaller but build for Sieges, with Man-at-Arms, Rangers and Pikemen. The normal Archers stay on the Towers for defence. All the maps are build with the standard economy in mind and so is the availability of green land. So I accepted this as a fact and tried something else. The Mod has a hard economy because you have to place more (different) food buildings to get your economy running. The domination of Bread is no more. Wheat is still the dominant food source but you can't feed all your peasants with it. When you play against 3 or more AI-Lords, it is really a challenge to set up a working economy. Hopefully someone is able to hack more game files, that will give a lot of possibilities for modding.

Following every attempt/discussion to make the game more interesting... ;) Good work!

Great post, red it with interest. For the mod I decided not to take any risks (graphics can be tricky) but it's good to see that it is possible. Hopefully some artists stand up ;)

Well, I bought the DLC because it was needed for my mod update. It doesn't add much, the two new Lords seem to be very weak. Their complete Castles were already in the games files and did not change with the DLC. So, it was already build in. After all this game and lag problems, Firefly should have given this DLC for free.

@Lord Chris To explain, I looked on this site for an answer, did not expect an e-mail in my inbox, otherwise I would have checked all my mail boxes, sorry for the misunderstanding. Yes, it's a big file but the installation is now very easy. This crash you had, could have something to do with different systems. I never had a crash and I've been testing and switching (between mod and vanilla) a lot the last weeks. The mod is totally save, because I only changed numbers in the xml files. These are the same files that Firefly changes with every update. Did it on purpose, after a lot of crashes and reinstalls in the past with modswap programs. Drove me crazy so I decided to make an extreme save mod. The first day there are already a lot of downloads. Clearly, the original game is not only lagging but also missing 'something'. For me, I play only the mod, against teams of 3 AI Lords. Fights can last for 6 hours and you can't make any mistakes. With 4 players and the 100 building limit, you really have to choose a strategy. Pump your population up to 120 and you are in a circus act, balancing to keep the economy and the army going. Missed this in the original. A lot of the first Stronghold players like this castle building/hard economy play style. Hopefully Firefly picks things like this up from the community.

There is some misunderstanding because an e-mail from this site has been 'handled' by my anti-virus software. Did not see it, until a few minutes ago when I specifically searched for it. Ok, let's leave it this way so it won't be placed in the Download Center. There is an update already, with a lot of changes and more user friendly. The reason for the complicated instructions coming with the first version was the size of the gamefile. It's quite big, so I uploaded the separate (small) modfiles). Some players had problems with the installation. Now I've uploaded the complete file for easy installation. But now downloading version 1.1 takes half an hour or more. It can be found on Mediafire. The disccussion is on Steam.

@Lord_Chris Tried it, should be working, there are already a lot of downloads on the first day. By the way, I uploaded this Mod a week ago, but I don't see it appearing in the Download Central.

No conversion needed, download is 1 FILE. Install by dropping this assets.v file in the right map. Takes only a few seconds. For Multiplayers, just replace this file for switching from vanilla to mod. Link: removed (old version) VERSION 1.1. Templars Nightmare 1.1 is a complete save and simple mod for a hardcore Economy and real Castle Sieges. There are hundreds of changes for better balance and finetuning. But it's completely save: only numbers are changed in a few text-files. No graphic tricks, no programming, no dangerous modswap software needed. - Upgraded to DLC, the Princess and the Pig. - Version 1.1 changes: * ManatArms, more of them reach the Archers for melee fight. * The Horse has better protection against arrows. * WarDogCages can be placed outside your Castle. * Mills have a maximum number of two, because Bread was still too important. * Knights require more 'campfire peasants' (need a servant, groom, lute player). The Food Economy is completely rebalanced. An example, with 100 buildings (limit with 4 players) and about 120 peasants you need: Apple Farms 10 Dairy Farms 9 Pig Farms 7 Wheat Farms 7 Mills 2 Bakeries 8 In this case, the food numbers are relative equal, depending on the placement of your buildings, and you are on 1.5 rations. So higher rations are more difficult to reach, and here we start to reach the fundamentals of a serious food economy. But you are not reading this because you want a walk in the park. You're a noble Knight that lives for a real challenge, isn't it? MOD DESCRIPTION Original Mod Goal: give the game a better Economy, the feeling of a Castle Builder and some depth and fun, but first... - end the mass spawning of Knights/Trebs; - end the terror of this suddenly appearing Siege Camps; - end this winning-by-things-falling-from-the-sky (candles); - and stop the bread-only economy. Before we start... Long winter nights at the roaring fire, but finally the Counselors returned from the Castles and whispered: 'Sire, the enemy builds up Siege Camps when it's dark, this is a dishonorable way to fight. We must react...'. To crown my thoughts with acts, be it thought and done. Ok, we're in the right Medieval Mood now, listen and shudder: 1. Hard Economy, think before building. More food types required, wood has 'desert' price. 2. Better Castle defence: stronger Walls, Towers, Gates, Hoardings (Oil Smelter is back). 3. Diverse armies: upgraded units (ManatArms, Ranger, Pikeman) so now you use them. 4. End domination of Knights/Trebs/Cats: limited numbers, high costs, slow production. 5. New tactical options: Watchtowers, Mantraps, Pitch, Cages placeable outside the estate. Templars Nightmare gives a real challenge in Single Player Skirmish, fighting against 3 AI opponents, with very low Gold and Medium Events. With 4 players the maximum number of buildings is 100. This ain't exactly easy, but the faint-hearted can always add an AI Lord to their own team and play 2 against 2. Economy changes - Wood: we are in the Desert, remember. So Wood is more expensive. - Iron is the most valuable resource, as it should be. - Bread is more difficult to produce but still the basic food for your starving peasants. - Candles: slower production and selling them is less profitable. - Weapon Workshops: number is limited, selling Weapons is much more difficult. - Market is much cheaper, because now your economy requires thinking. Castle Defence changes - Walls, Towers, Gates are much stronger for longer Sieges. - Engine Towers have double hitpoints so now they can defend your Castle. - Hoardings: double hitpoints so you can use the Oil Smelter. - Pitch: now placeable outside your estate. Gives better defense against Siege Camps. - Castle: build it on the 'white line' because Pitch/ManTraps/Cages are pleacable outside. - WarriorPriest: this peaceful man now fights with Divine Inspiration when attacked. - Church: stronger, expensive, maximum of 3, the house for your Priest, place it carefully. Tactical changes - ManTrap: placeable on neutral terrain (at night following the new code of chivalry). - WatchTower: placeable on neutral terrain (maximum 4) to protect your distant mines. - WarDogCages: limited numbers but placeable outside for disrupting the enemy economy. Army changes - Conscript: upgraded so you will even use this guy a few times. - ManatArms: upgraded, now it's a serious counterunit for Archers. - Ranger: higher cost but is now a good unit for a marching army. - Pikemen: more expensive but less vulnerable to Archers, unbeatable in guard mode. - Knights, Cataputs, Trebuchets have higher (peasant) costs to hinder mass spawning. - Horse: more hitpoints! No more instant dying like it is hit once by Conan the Destroyer. - Siege Camp: maximum 1 per estate, also there are new ways to attack it. - Stable: maximum is 10 to prevent the domination of Knights. Fun Warrior Priests now fight back. Don?t expect miracles from your Priests, although they believe in resurrection. The Woodcutter, walks with an axe but now he's gonna use it. And watch how unsuspecting Miners are eaten alive by your Rottweilers. Like the Templars, expect sleepless nights.

Who uses the Wardogs on a regular basis? Maybe in the first few days, but when you have Archers, your carefully placed cages are useless, because your own helpful Archers shoot the dogs immediately. Asking this, because I'm thinking about free placement of the cages in the mod. Brings them back to life and can be used tactically, for instance to disrupt enemy resource routes...

As a hardcore Single Player I have listened to rumours coming from distant Castles, where the Lords fear something mysterious called Multiplayer... 'Thou shalt make a simple and save mod for the Multiplayers and so it be done'. It's simple, for changing between mod and vanilla you replace one file, the assets.v file in the map: Stronghold Crusader 2\assets. It's save, there are no graphic changes or programming tricks. Only numbers are changed in text files (hitpoints, melee damage, sell price etc.). Ok, a lot of numbers to balance the game but numbers never hurt. It's save and you can check this, because the mod is installed by dragging and dropping the 3 mod files in the correct maps. Most players don't like exe-files that install mods automatically. In this case conversion is needed, so the best solution was to upload the modfiles with the conversion software and instructions. Installation is easy but for those who drink their first coffee or open their last beer, these instructions are made dummyproof. In short: convert the assets.v file into rar/zip, paste the 3 modfiles in the correct maps, convert back into assets.v and copy to the assets map. That's all. Vanilla to mod and back goes by replacing the assets-file. No modswap software is needed. I had a lot of reinstalls in the past because of complicated mods. Try the mod, you won't regret it, expect epic fights, there will be many sleepness nights :D

Thank you! After buying I only played a few Skirmish maps and then stopped for weeks. As a fan since the first Stronghold, I missed the 'depth'. Then I started modifying. At first slowly, just changing the Wall hitpoints and things like buy and sell prices. Soon, the units were changed to make sure we have to build up a diverse army, not only Knights and Trebs. After that, I tried to bring in some tactical options and fun elements. Surprise, I started playing again and now I liked it. Especially the new WatchTowers are fun. It seemed good to share this with the players. Of course, if modders dig deeper in the game files, much more is possible But the advantage is, the mod is 'low profile', you have to replace one file to (un)install, so everyone can try this without fear for their Steam installation.