Darthmod Yes or No?

[Baden Korps]

Hello,

After playing Attila and Warhammer for a while, I decided to give Empire another shot. I heard about the Darthmod and was wondering if it is a must have.

Does it really improve gameplay?
I have heard people complaining about crashes, is that true?

What do you guys think? Should i get it or just play the original campaign?

[Alwyn]

You mentioned people complaining about crashes. My first day of playing DarthMod was like Total War heaven - so many new factions, new units, improved graphics and sound effects and plenty of options. My second day was Total War hell - the game crashed when loading a save. After uninstalling and reinstalling Empire Total War - even without using DarthMod - the save game corruption problem still happened. There are a number of similar reports in the DarthMod technical help forum: http://www.twcenter.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?1646-DarthMod-Empire-Installation-amp-Technical-Support, so the problem of crashing is real, at least for some players. The solution which worked for me is explained here: http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?726463-Savegames-won-t-load-after-certain-year&p=14922549&viewfull=1#post14922549.

I suggest taking a look at the full range of ETW mods here: http://www.twcenter.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?1071-Empire-Total-War-Hosted-Modifications. You might prefer a mod which moves the action into the 17th or 19th centuries, or a realism mod, or something else completely.

My preference, for what it's worth, is:
- Empire Total Factions: unlocks minor and emergent factions
- Either Swiss Halberdier's Additional Units Mod or the Minor and Emergent Factions Units Pack
- Shock Hates Sieges
- Bran's Battle AI
- Mods which remove gabionades, remove bomb ketches, rocket ships and steamships and remove extreme weather

All of these mods are available from the Total War Center. Empire Total Factions is in the StartPos sub-forum of Empire Total War Hosted Modifications, the others are in sub-forums of http://www.twcenter.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?1073-Empire-Total-War-Modifications

[Baden Korps]

Thank you guys. I have played the Darthmod a few days now and so far I am satisfied. I had no crashes so but as for the AI, I am still not really seeing a whole lot of intelligents. :D. But it ´probably is better than the Vanilla, honestly I don't remember Vanilla to much it has been years since I have played it. But i am definatelly going to look into some of those other mods for my next campaign.

[(IIW) DreadedNorwegian]

YES!
I will never, ever, go back to vanilla empire. Darthmod makes it sooo much better, in every sing,e imaginable way.

[Semaj]

Darthmod > Vanilla. Major battles in 18th century with only around 4000 soldiers max? No thanks, I'll take my 40 unit saves and up that to 25,000 with two full stacks going at it. Naval battles also get bigger, messier, more realistic, thats just one thing TW has never had, the sheer scale of a battlefield and armies.

[Smokedice]

I would say yes except for the naval battles. They are not fun at all in Darthmod, it completely ruined an otherwise fun-improving mod.

[Bobby_Lee]

Originally posted by Semaj:

Darthmod > Vanilla. Major battles in 18th century with only around 4000 soldiers max? No thanks, I'll take my 40 unit saves and up that to 25,000 with two full stacks going at it. Naval battles also get bigger, messier, more realistic, thats just one thing TW has never had, the sheer scale of a battlefield and armies.

this man gets it, more units and bigger battles who would disagree. and I have used darthmod for most of my time wasted on empire and I can say I have not seen constant crashes

[Empire_TW]

Originally posted by Semaj:

Darthmod > Vanilla. Major battles in 18th century with only around 4000 soldiers max? No thanks, I'll take my 40 unit saves and up that to 25,000 with two full stacks going at it. Naval battles also get bigger, messier, more realistic, thats just one thing TW has never had, the sheer scale of a battlefield and armies.

The numbers in darthmod are still no as much as the big major battles were and game mechanics and quality come first. Line Infantry with 400+ men don't even function properly and the mod had to do away with platoon firing because it made it buggy. Small skirmishes were much more common in this era and it is impossible to get a small skirmish in darthmod. Every battle in darthmod is some huge mess that means nothing while a big battle in vanillia is usually a turning point in a war which is by far more realistic then every battle being massive. Also darthmod makes late game naval battles unplayable because the AIs and their unlimited money build fleets of heavy first rates and heavy first rate bumper cars isn't exactly historical.

[Smokedice]

Originally posted by Brad:

Originally posted by Semaj:

Darthmod > Vanilla. Major battles in 18th century with only around 4000 soldiers max? No thanks, I'll take my 40 unit saves and up that to 25,000 with two full stacks going at it. Naval battles also get bigger, messier, more realistic, thats just one thing TW has never had, the sheer scale of a battlefield and armies.

The numbers in darthmod are still no as much as the big major battles were and game mechanics and quality come first. Line Infantry with 400+ men don't even function properly and the mod had to do away with platoon firing because it made it buggy. Small skirmishes were much more common in this era and it is impossible to get a small skirmish in darthmod. Every battle in darthmod is some huge mess that means nothing while a big battle in vanillia is usually a turning point in a war which is by far more realistic then every battle being massive. Also darthmod makes late game naval battles unplayable because the AIs and their unlimited money build fleets of heavy first rates and heavy first rate bumper cars isn't exactly historical.

^This, the ultimate reason why darthmod fails to satisfy. It did well with the units and skins and sounds, but everything else sucks

[Insaniac]

I disagree about the units. The skins may be nice, but in terms of overall detail (description text, thumbnails, info tab pics, etc.) it is VERY lacking. Furthermore, a lot of what DM does can simply be done in the vanilla game without breaking MP which is the highest challenge the game can give.

[Semaj]

Everything in the mod works fine for me, and always has, no idea what you mean by line infantry not working 400+, space them out... It is possible to get "small skirmishes" of maybe only 3-4 regiments max on the battlefield, and the AI has a lot of money in Vanilla endgame too, every time Spain has like 30 1st rates by 1750.

Vanilla is so far from realism it hurts, you think 4000 soldiers turns a war? Are you joking? Try fighting a battle with 20,000 men every other turn, THAT is 18th century warfare, the numbers aren't up to par for later 18th century wars, but not too innacurate for the early 1700s. Also what about miniscule artillery range in Vanilla, you get 2 shots off then you're in firing range by infantry... And you don't think fleets were massive? The only true thing you said is the late game 1st rate spam, yet that has always been in Empire.

The only viable points were from Kumelowski, DM has no multiplayer and that honestly sucks the most next to the horrendous unique unit labels that should just be removed if you ask me. Don't get me wrong, I think the base game is nicely balanced, but DM adds features that cater to a more realistic experience and if you think Vanilla is more realistic I'm laughing at you...

Originally posted by Brad:

Originally posted by Semaj:

Darthmod > Vanilla. Major battles in 18th century with only around 4000 soldiers max? No thanks, I'll take my 40 unit saves and up that to 25,000 with two full stacks going at it. Naval battles also get bigger, messier, more realistic, thats just one thing TW has never had, the sheer scale of a battlefield and armies.

The numbers in darthmod are still no as much as the big major battles were and game mechanics and quality come first. Line Infantry with 400+ men don't even function properly and the mod had to do away with platoon firing because it made it buggy. Small skirmishes were much more common in this era and it is impossible to get a small skirmish in darthmod. Every battle in darthmod is some huge mess that means nothing while a big battle in vanillia is usually a turning point in a war which is by far more realistic then every battle being massive. Also darthmod makes late game naval battles unplayable because the AIs and their unlimited money build fleets of heavy first rates and heavy first rate bumper cars isn't exactly historical.

[Empire_TW]

Originally posted by Semaj:

Everything in the mod works fine for me, and always has, no idea what you mean by line infantry not working 400+, space them out... It is possible to get "small skirmishes" of maybe only 3-4 regiments max on the battlefield, and the AI has a lot of money in Vanilla endgame too, every time Spain has like 30 1st rates by 1750.

Vanilla is so far from realism it hurts, you think 4000 soldiers turns a war? Are you joking? Try fighting a battle with 20,000 men every other turn, THAT is 18th century warfare, the numbers aren't up to par for later 18th century wars, but not too innacurate for the early 1700s. Also what about miniscule artillery range in Vanilla, you get 2 shots off then you're in firing range by infantry... And you don't think fleets were massive? The only true thing you said is the late game 1st rate spam, yet that has always been in Empire.

The only viable points were from Kumelowski, DM has no multiplayer and that honestly sucks the most next to the horrendous unique unit labels that should just be removed if you ask me. Don't get me wrong, I think the base game is nicely balanced, but DM adds features that cater to a more realistic experience and if you think Vanilla is more realistic I'm laughing at you...

Originally posted by Brad:

The numbers in darthmod are still no as much as the big major battles were and game mechanics and quality come first. Line Infantry with 400+ men don't even function properly and the mod had to do away with platoon firing because it made it buggy. Small skirmishes were much more common in this era and it is impossible to get a small skirmish in darthmod. Every battle in darthmod is some huge mess that means nothing while a big battle in vanillia is usually a turning point in a war which is by far more realistic then every battle being massive. Also darthmod makes late game naval battles unplayable because the AIs and their unlimited money build fleets of heavy first rates and heavy first rate bumper cars isn't exactly historical.

Line Infantry don't work properly because fire by rank only works in 3 ranks or less which is pretty much impossible and they had to remove platoon firing because it made it buggy. CA deveopled Line Infantry to have 80,120, and 160 men, bumping them up to 500 it should be expected for it to break them in some way. Small skirmishes in darthmod do no happen because you and the AI get all the money in the world and the AI and all human players just spam all the units they can. So much that you cannot fit them into your cities and you got 5 stacks standing by each of your cities. In my 2000 hours in vanillia I have not seen any great power with more then 3 heavy first rates at a time, the most ive seen was Naples and siciliy had 5 and it was bankrupting them and quite frankley i don't believe your statement about spain when you have a measly 161 hours. By 1750 spain has fleets of 4 and 3rd rates with a few 2nd rates AT BEST.

Darthmod is so much further from realism it kills. I'm gonna go ahead and skip the ridiculous things that happen in the darthmod campagin like natives getting land in europe, mugol empire invading the americas 10 turns into the game, or how armed farmers beat guards. Bigger does not mean better, who cares if there is a battle with 40,000 men every turn? Those battles don't matter you don't feel like your turning the tide of a war the AI will just spam up more stacks next turn. 18th century warfare is about linear tactics, artillery, and cavalry numbers don't define warfare. I'd take smaller battles that has units that actually funtion properly and when a war is on the line any day over a sloppy turkey shoot which are just gonna repeat the next turn. Artillery in vanillia is fine if you actually know how to use it if you don't know how to use it then it is your problem not the base game. Fleets were massive but not with heavy first rates and regular first rates, only 2 ships that fit the game's definition of heavy first rates ever existed and one never saw combat. As stated before the AI in vanllia never spams heavy first rates, it cannot afford it, the only time where i saw a large amount was the situation with naples and sicily and that was bankrupting them.

Darthmod doesn't even add much, just tweaks gameplay (most of which have a negative affect) and in some cases takes away featues, the only thing it adds is a family tree (that doesn't really have any funtion). Caters to realism you say? Like the concept of trade being thrown out the window because you and the AI get insane amounts of money? Or every single battle being some giant mosh pit? Milita beating guards? The Cherokee getting parts of Greece? Seriously what does Darthmod do that adds realism besides making the armies larger, which i remind you still isn't accurate to the actual numbers armies fielded. At the end of the day this is a video game and it will not and for the most part cannot be realistic. If darthmod is about realism where is wounded? Where is the concept of going bankrupt? Where is the aspect of hurting an enemy economically? Where is the aspect of wars being mostly about small skirimishes and being mostly decided by the few larger battles? Where is the concept of small armies of better units overcoming against armies of low quality units?

Gameplay comes over realism. Darthmod only caters to people who think seeing thousands of people on a battlefield is entertaining. Gameplay is what really matters, vanillia and just about every other mod blows darthmod out of the water in that aspect. If you think Darthmod is all about realism i'm laughting even harder at you...

[Inardesco]

I much prefer Minor Factions Revenge over Darthmod.

As for numbers, you can easily tweak that vanilla aswell. Though, line infantry larger than 408 soldiers won't be eligible for square formation so that's pointless to have them that large.

[Semaj]

This guy... Every thing added in the mod compensates tenfold for little AI bugs, you're just sounding like a brutally picky child.

Take your pathetic little battles and enjoy them, idc. Seeing you only play in like 1366x768 with medium graphics at best I doubt you can ever run DM, lol.

[Empire_TW]

Originally posted by Semaj:

This guy... Every thing added in the mod compensates tenfold for little AI bugs, you're just sounding like a brutally picky child.

Take your pathetic little battles and enjoy them, idc. Seeing you only play in like 1366x768 with medium graphics at best I doubt you can ever run DM, lol.

AI bugs? It doesn't fix bugs. I'm pretty sure you don't know what you are talking about anymore. This mod which is mostly cosmetic and tweaks gameplay does notfix bugs. If anything you ate the child, throwing a tantrum when other people don't like your mod. You keep these discussions going pathetically crying how your mod is the best thing ever. This discussion was over but you still came here to start this ♥♥♥♥. Againspecifically what does this mod add or change that makes the gameplay good?

You can take your meaningless cluster ♥♥♥♥ battles. Sorry that I prefer this game when stuff matters and the gameplay is good.

I did play darthmod because unlike you I actually experience things before I talk about them and not make false claims.

[Semaj]

You're honestly terrible at interpreting people, maybe learn to read? You're the one crying here, everytime I say DM is better than Vanilla you're flocking to me and it's laughable.

At least I'm not blowing up when someone hates on my game, and it's hilarious you're trying to say I'm doing that to you when you start these discussions every single time, no matter the forum...

Originally posted by Brad:

Originally posted by Semaj:

This guy... Every thing added in the mod compensates tenfold for little AI bugs, you're just sounding like a brutally picky child.

Take your pathetic little battles and enjoy them, idc. Seeing you only play in like 1366x768 with medium graphics at best I doubt you can ever run DM, lol.

AI bugs? It doesn't fix bugs. I'm pretty sure you don't know what you are talking about anymore. This mod which is mostly cosmetic and tweaks gameplay does notfix bugs. If anything you ate the child, throwing a tantrum when other people don't like your mod. You keep these discussions going pathetically crying how your mod is the best thing ever. This discussion was over but you still came here to start this ♥♥♥♥. Againspecifically what does this mod add or change that makes the gameplay good?

You can take your meaningless cluster ♥♥♥♥ battles. Sorry that I prefer this game when stuff matters and the gameplay is good.

I did play darthmod because unlike you I actually experience things before I talk about them and not make false claims.