Mod: Better Independents

[Edi]

Yes, there is that. The point is that you should not use enslavement against indies or you will suffer the consequences. I can't fix things perfectly. Using inflated resource costs causes the AI to still try to build them, stuffing up recruitment. Inflated gold cost makes them impossible to recruit, but if you hit one with an enslavement spell, you're suddenly paying 600 gold upkeep on that unit.

So, save enslavement against AI armies, they will only have the unmodded units in them.

[Edi]

All right, people update. The last one was screwed up and it disabled a lot of units it was not meant to. The mod has been renamed, because "Better Independents" is a far more accurate description than "No independents".

I have reuploaded the attachment to the first post, as well as uploaded it to my home page. The File is now called Better_Independents.zip and contains three mods:

• Better Independents, which increases gold costs to 9000 and base resource cost to 800 for the modded units
• Better Independents Gold, which only increases gold cost to 9000 for modded units
• Better Independents Resource, which only increases base resource cost of modded units by 800

Each mod has its own banner and this approach will allow everyone who wants to use them to pick whichever one suits them best. If you play an astral heavy nation and worry about enslave mind bankrupting you, use the resource version. If that's not a concern, you can pick the gold one or if you really want to make sure, pick the plain Better Indies, it has both gold and resources.

The only difference between the mods is that the resource cost version also prevents Militia 30 (the one you get through events) from being recruited, but that mod also has the issue that sometimes the AI may get the brilliant idea of trying to recruit the 800+ resource units and ganks its recruitment. The gold version can lead to instant bankruptcy by careless use of Enslave Mind but the AI won't try to recruit the indies. Pick your poison.

This mod is also not likely to get any foreseeable further updates, since my limited time does not allow me to waste any more effort on it that could be better spent on the bug list, the DB, the FAQ, my studies and other pursuits.

[MischiefMaker]

Does this mod still work with the new patch?

[Edi]

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.

[MischiefMaker]

My apologies, I'm actually thinking of buying the game and I'm debating whether it would be worth it for the Single Player experience alone.

[Zentar]

MischiefMaker said:
My apologies, I'm actually thinking of buying the game and I'm debating whether it would be worth it for the Single Player experience alone.

Your name is fitting. You have to joking, but I will take this as an excuse to sing the praises of our favorite game.

This is the best damn hardcore turn based fantasy strategy game you'll ever play for either the single player experience or multiplayer. There are infinite mods, maps, strategies, and more. It comes with one of the most informative manuals I have seen. I have never had a game crash or not run properly like many other games published these days. Then there are the incredibly good contributors on this forum! They just keep coming up with new features adding to the never ending thrill. I can think of only two things that might make me stop playing Dominions-3 ..... my death or maybe a Dominions-4.
The game never gets played out or boring. Even hot woman are asking for it

Sombre said:
NI maps require far more work? I don't see how. All the NI maps require is copying the map's original text file, adding in a single copy pasted chunk of code and renaming the map.

You're right that they're different though. I like the fact that you can't get poptype mages with NI maps, so it's not a problem at all in my eyes.

Sombre hits the nail on the head! The NI maps not only address the indies issue, but they help maintain pure nations. This aspect of the game was partially addressed in the game's original design by not allowing you to hire units that would be available in captured alien nation capitols.

Sombre, is a copy of that pastable chunk of code available? A NI-LOEM map, Faerun, and vanilla World of Warhammer come to mind as good applications.

[Zentar]

Edi said:
All right, people update. The last one was screwed up and it disabled a lot of units it was not meant to. The mod has been renamed, because "Better Independents" is a far more accurate description than "No independents". ........
Each mod has its own banner and this approach will allow everyone who wants to use them to pick whichever one suits them best. If you play an astral heavy nation and worry about enslave mind bankrupting you, use the resource version. If that's not a concern, you can pick the gold one or if you really want to make sure, pick the plain Better Indies, it has both gold and resources. ...........

This mod is also not likely to get any foreseeable further updates, since my limited time does not allow me to waste any more effort on it that could be better spent on the bug list, the DB, the FAQ, my studies and other pursuits.

Edi you must constantly be working yourself to exhaustion trying make improvements as well as tweaking out minor (bugs) to reach god-like game perfection. You also seem to have a personal desire to create this mod for those who hire alien nation mages to diversify their magic base while also making the independents better. A noble cause for those who use this strategy.

Using the game's present Conjuring, Enchanting, Construction, Special site searches, as well as God design points is another (more) challenging strategy for diversifying your magic. In addition to addressing Indies, there is this second and maybe the more important point of Sombre's NI-Map approach.

Both mod approaches add to the diversity of the game and I will have to play all of them also. Dominions-3 is hundreds of game(s) variations coming out of one game box. How much more can I say!

[Edi]

Attachment deleted.

[DaveCG]

I'd just like to thank you Edi for your work on this, I use it all the time now, and although I can't have my Conan indy anymore, I don't mind 'cause I at least I don't see the ai use chaff as much, so anyway thanks alot!

[Edi]

Thanks for the feedback. The BI mod will be back, but not immediately. I made some modifications to it that made it even better and allow for more strategy variation and which incidentally also beefs up the AI some more.

I'll see about this and other things sometime in the next two weeks.