Joe's Improved EA Ctis Thread - Dominions 4: Thrones of Ascension

Another nation mod here that adds some extra flavor to EA Ctis. I've mostly changed around the caster commanders spell schools and added the Sobek lizardmen to this era. Go here for the files.

Tthis mod WILL change CTis units in other eras so turn it off if not playing in the Early era.

Update 1.1 : Some units now generate gold to offset high upkeep costs. Tame Scorpion Beast, a weaker version of the summonable, is now a recuritable unit.

Updated to 1.02 - The Heirdole wasnt working for me so I ditched it and brought back the Reborn who is a lesser version of the Sauromancer. Gave the Sobek General some improvements to make him more savage. Upgraded the Lizard King who is now a better leader with minor awe and starts each battle with a bodyguard. Gave the Lizard Heir a chance at single but diverse magic path for thug potential.

1.00 Changes :

I've switched the Sauromancer to be a fire/death focused with the possibility of blood. The old Nature/Water style Sauromancer is now called Serpent Shaman and is reflective of deeper study into the wild magic of the predator lizards. He also picks up the lvl 2 priest powers as the High priest was replaced by a Sobek general.
The Heirodule are now monk-like unarmed combat specialist who who can lead undead troops.
The Serpent Dancer, Ctis holy unit, has been replaced by a limited recruitment Sobek unit.
I've given EA Ctis the spell to summon a Grave consort, who is a weak undead priest who can reanimate the dead if you want to go with undead armies as a strat
I've moved summon Coualt earlier in the research tree. 7 seems a bit to deep.
Bind Scorpion Beast now only requires fire magic to cast. I wanted it for Sauromancers but didnt want to give them earth magic.
I've improved the Serpent King pretender snake form to make it more interesting and worth risking in melee combat.

Lemme know what you think.

Edited by: Fenryder

You could just give them a national version of bind scorpion beast that only needs fire rather than changing the spell for everyone.

Admiral_Aorta wrote: You could just give them a national version of bind scorpion beast that only needs fire rather than changing the spell for everyone.

I thought about that but the spell isnt really so great that it needs 2 schools and I dont like making new spells/units etc whose ID numbers might clash with other mods.

#newspell doesn't use an ID, so there's no risk of conflict with another mod..

Updated to 1.02 - The Heirdole wasnt working for me so I ditched it and brought back the Rebord which is a lesser version of the Sauromancer. Gave the Sobek General some improvements to make him more savage. Upgraded the Lizard King to make him more interesting. He is a better leader with minor awe who starts battles with a bodyguard. Gave the Lizard Heir a chance at single but diverse magic path for thug potential.

I am hoping cost and slow recruit balances out the various improvements and leaves the player with real, tough interesting choices when it comes to which commander to buy next.

I'm thinking this nation needs a scout. Is there some reason one was left out ?

Edited by: Fenryder

Because each of your mods apparently breaks the other eras of the affected nation, people will have to be turning these mods on and off from game to game, rather than just leaving everything on. For that reason, it's totally inappropriate to change preexisting spells in any of your mods. If I'm playing Abysia, the path requirements for Summon Scorpion Man does should not depend on whether or not C'Tis is playing.

If you are not playing MA Ctis why is the mod active ? The modding guide doesnt instruct on how the AI works so I cant give it instructions on the changes I've made. You -can- leave the mod on but I have no idea if the AI will "see" the changes I've made and adjust it unit buying behaviors accordingly. The changes are designed for humans who can say "oh this looks interesting"

Summon scorpion Man is unchanged. The much earlier version every race gets, summon scorpion beast, lost its earth school requirement but retains its fire primary. I created a second spell that summons more than 1 beast.. Not a particularly useful spell since the number of these weak fairly mundane critters that you can add to your army is insignificant. Hardly game altering to have it slightly more accessible help invoke that "desert"/fire feel feel..I'm considering replacing the Sobek mundane unit with this giant scorpion instead.

Edited by: Fenryder

Let's say I'm playing MA Abysia. I want to know whether my Anathemant Dragon can summon a scorpion beast. The answer should definitely not be "It depends on whether a different player is playing MA Ctis in this game."

Joe, I don't understand why you even bother asking for feedback on these mods. People give you legitimate feedback, (such as that you're setting up conflicts with other mods and even other nations in the same game) and you pretty much just ignore those concerns. What kind of feedback are you actually looking for?

Edited by: sum1won

Orionja wrote: Let's say I'm playing MA Abysia."

you answered you own question.. If you are not playing EA Ctis then the mod is turned off, in which case the spell has its normal needs. If in doubt the in game spell research page has all the requirements listed. Only Ctis Ea is familiar enough with Bind Scropion Beast to use it easier than other factions.

sum1won wrote: Joe, I don't understand why you even bother asking for feedback on these mods

I love feedback..its great to be able to bounce ideas of players and hear what others are thinking. And if not valuable then at least entertaining, which has its own value. However I tend to like my changes..they were changes I wanted in -my- game..I'm quite happy to share my ideas and its great if other people use them..and no one is stopping you from modding this mod youself if want something slightly different, Now another perk is getting to lol'n at the OCD of some people who have trouble coping with the need to turn mods on/off. Some people are just so lazy. I'm not going to wipe for you mate. If you cant handle the huge inconvenience of turning a mod off/on when you use it...well there are drugs for that.

Edited by: Fenryder

So this mod is strictly for single-player?

People can wear the mod as a hat if they want..no rulez. I personally only play single player so that is the direction I crafted this from.

You should probably tag your mods as such, to avoid having your time wasted by people pointing out problems with your mods in MP scenarios.

Tag them as wearable on the head? Sp, MP, ERP..use the mod where ever you like.

When you post your mods here, what is the response you are hoping to receive?

Thanks? Feedback? A response really doesnt figure into the equation. I made these changes for myself but it takes 2 seconds to share them so why not. I'm not looknig for a customers or donations if that is what you are asking.

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Edited by: Maerlande