Sanguivorant

Hello there. Is there any way to configure hot keys? I want to access my town center in the press of a button. I also want to cycle through barracks with a button press as well, just like in AoEII. I also want to make hotkeys to build buildings, kind of like how I can queue units. Is that planned, or how can I do that on my own?

Here's a video depicting some early Islamic warriors during the battle of Yamama. It might give some inspiration: It was only after the end of the Rashidun Caliphate when soldiers began to wear luxuriously. In the beginning, most just wore baggy, white or green clothing along with a chest plate and a helmet. So obviously, they were at a huge disadvantage when it came to fighting the Byzantines, a much better equipped and trained military. It was only through high morale and leadership that they managed to expand outside of Arabia, so that should be the main part of their gameplay.

Most melee units are okay against elephants when you mass them, so the idea is to keep infantry away from your ellies.

The idea is that one Caliph succeeds the other, and each one has a different method of game play. Some of the ideas I've outlined are just things which would make the faction unique. I don't mind any change to the idea, since I'm not the one making the mod in the first place.

The idea is that they would only have four generals, and those are the four. But idk, it's just a brainstorm.

I have some suggestions about the Muslims to radically change their game play from others. Religion was a very big part of this empire, so I am using that as a basis for my suggestions. Overview: The Muslims are a faction that have weaker units than most other factions. They are slightly vulnerable in the late game, having only several key buildings to construct, and instead of upgrading their phase, they must elect one of four historical caliphs, which each either unlock a specific building, units or technologies (I can explain that later). In addition, it also spawns that leader, who has a special power. After "researching" all of the caliphs, the Muslims have the option to either upgrade to the Umayyad or Abbasid Caliphate, which unlocks special units from Iberia or Persia respectively. Mosque: It is a unique building of the Muslims. It is both the religious and political hub of the Muslims, and does a few things: -Expands territory -Trains champion units -increases the attack and hitpoints of units within its aura. -Used as a stockpile -Trains the Slogan Bearer The Slogan Bearer is a unique unit that holds the flag of the Islamic Shahadah. When ordered, the slogan bearer has an ability to decrease the attack strength of all enemy units in his aura, and that is signalled by the slogan bearer shouting Islamic phrases or Slogans (Such as Takbir (Allahu Akbar), Ahadun Ahad (He is one, He is one)). The mosque can be upgraded to either increase its aura or increase territory capabilities. Units: Muslim units have two special things that make them stand out from other units: -They are 10% weaker than their other counterparts at the same cost (That also means female villagers, who gather 10% weaker than other female villagers) -They all have the ability to perform prayer to increase their efficiency. Prayer: Each individual unit can be ordered to pray anywhere on the map. When ordered, the unit goes through an animation that lasts 30 seconds, during which that unit cannot do anything else, even retaliate. Completing the prayer animation causes various effects: For any soldier, it increases their attack power by a certain percent. For female villagers, completing a prayer animation will make them 10% more efficient. Units can pray for a maximum of five times until they will no longer be able to receive improvement. As a consequence of that, soldiers of any type cannot be upgraded through the barracks for their ranks. Starting Phase: In the beginning of the game, Muslims only have access to citizen infantry spearman, female villager, house, stockpile, mosque, farmstead, farms, corrals, palisades and outposts. That is why rushing to elect a leader quickly is important. Leadership: Instead of advancing into various phases, the Muslim faction instead has leaders to elect that unlock certain abilities, technologies or units depending on what they did in real life. It also spawns that leader. Choosing a leader kills the leader that you chose before, so that there is only one leader at one time. Choosing a leader is cheaper than normal phasing, but each leader specializes in one thing so that it is balanced. The first leader you choose costs 400 food and 400 wood. Each leader you elect costs the initial price, plus 200 stone and metal. There are four leaders to choose from in this order: Abu Bakr, Umar ibn al-Khattab, Uthman ibn Affan and Ali ibn Abi Talib. Abu Bakr: During his lifetime, Abu Bakr mostly fought rebellions in the Ridda Wars and began the campaigns against the Sassanid and Byzantine empires. He will unlock the following things: -Barracks -All other citizen infantry -First tier of economic upgrades. The Abu Bakr leader is a cavalry swordsman that increase the hitpoints of units within his aura. Umar Ibn al-Khattab: During his lifetime, Umar focused on political and civil administration, and focused mostly on consolidating the power in the area under Muslim control. Electing him offers various abilities: -Unlocks the market, blacksmith, tower and walls as well as their technologies. -Boosts the territory power of all buildings. The Umar ibn al-Khattab leader is a cavalry spearman that decreases the training and construction time of buildings within his aura. Uthman ibn Affan: During his reign, the Caliphate developed a navy and had many reforms that led to economic prosperity. Electing him offers various things: -Unlocks all economic upgrades, the dock and all ships. -Buildings are 10% cheaper to construct. Mosques are 25% cheaper. The Uthman ibn Affan leader is a spearman that increases productivity of all resource-gathering operations within his aura. Ali ibn Abi Talib: He spent most of his reign quenching rebellions, though one thing he did was to decrease centralization of capital control and divided the revenues from the state treasury equally among Muslims. He was very concerned with agriculture. He unlocks various things: -Unlocks anything that has not yet been unlocked (Fortresses, wonders, champion units, etc.) -Unlocks an upgrade that improves farming by 50%, but decreases metal gathering by 40%. -Units are cheaper to train. The Ali ibn Abi Talib leader is a swordsman who shares all the bonuses of the past leaders, but has a less effective outcome. Imperial phase: After electing the last leader, the Muslim faction can then upgrade to the last phase from which they have to choose whether they want to become the Umayyad Caliphate or the Abbasid Caliphate. The upgrade costs 1000 of each resource, and will unlock a military outpost, another unique building that trains units specific to this upgrade. It also can be used to increase territory. When the Imperial phase is reached, the last leader, Ali ibn Abi Talib, dies. If the Umayyad Caliphate is chosen, the player will be able to build Iberian units from the military outpost. If the Abbasid Caliphate is chosen, the player will be able to build Persian units from the military outpost. For either case, the units will be fully upgraded and trained at the highest rank. After that, I have no other ideas.

It would almost be like getting a Titan in AoM. +8 hack attack? That's huge! Those techs should be expensive so that they are harder to obtain. I imagine they should only be used in a scenario where the game has dragged on long enough, and the victory goes to the one with the best economy.

It could definitely be a special feature for the Iberians and Celts, who did ambush to the fullest extent. I'm thinking of some expensive upgrade that would give all infantry the power to camouflage. Some unique units could also be hidden when in the aura of a tree.

I made another about Siege weapons: One thing to note: Bolt shooters are extremely underpowered. Most range units can range or outrange it. They should at least have more range than other units.

I think aura boosts should be left to heroes, yes. But having distinct warning alarms for each civilization would be neat. I'd love to hear the Carnyx when I'm under attack and I'm playing as the Gauls.

I would love for the Celtic tribes to have this horn in battle, especially at 0:32

A campaign kind of like Rise of Nation's Conquer the World campaigns would actually be interesting, if you guys are aware of them.

Just a speculation. Would it be too much work to make a unit that, when commanded, plays a horn that temporarily boosts either hitpoints or attack of units in its aura? Is it even a necessary component to add? It would almost be like Arkantos in Age of Mythology, who temporarily boosts the attack of nearby units when he attacks, and then it takes some time to recharge the special. What do you guys think?

Not yet. I hope I will soon =). Some of the beasts in the release multiplayer include Borg_, Tango_ and SWORD. I want to get a match between either of them one day and show you guys what I mean. Those guys are literally unstoppable.

It is the SVN, but I have tried it in both and succeeded. It is remarkably easier with SVN though, since the military colony is cheaper. I tried one multiplayer game in the SVN where I managed to surround my opponent with military colonies in a matter of minutes. Though he was booming, so I was being a douche to rush him with archers like that.

I've made another Youtube video demonstrating the classic Ptolemaic Archer Flood. It's a strategy you can use to either quickly raid your opponent or get an economic edge over them. It is also really good at defend against rushes, particularly those that come from the Romans: I'm currently experimenting using several screen recording software. My voice is kind of faint in this video, so I should probably buy a microphone soon if I am to make more videos.

To the person that made these soundtracks:

I freaking love it. Who agrees? My favourite ones are the Athenians, Britons and Gauls.

I tried to do some kind of commentary on two players playing a short match. I did this by having two other players and deleting all my units and buildings so that I can see the whole map. There is a small but thriving community in the multiplayer lobby. I recognize most of the people that go online and have probably battled against every one of them. Perhaps next time I should try to comment a 2v2.

yeah, because troops can also gather resources, the nature of rushing in this game is a bit different. I have personally never encountered the javelin cavalry rush, though I have attempted it myself and failed. Some of the other rushes are devastating as well, like the Roman Rush and the Briton slinger rush. The only way to counter those is to be planning a rush yourself in the early game. Speaking of slingers, how the hell do you counter them? They seem to be good against everything.

How do I get the SVN version. This is for Alpha 15 Osiris by the way. Also, if I get the SVN version, will that remove my ability to play multiplayer?

I found out that the best counter to a Roman rush is a Ptolemian Nubian Archer rush.

Compare it to the superpowers of the East (Persia) and West (Rome).

I know the game is up to 500 AD, but if Arabs are going to be added, it cannot be before the timeline of Islam. The Arabs contacted most of the "Ancient" cultures before they converted to Kingdoms, although they were contacted at a date of degradation. Besides, the Arabs themselves did absolutely nothing prior to Islam.

If so, could I briefly understand what each formation does to an army? Thanks.