Mod request/help finding

[Wandering Mania]

Does anyone know of a mod, or would be willing to make a mod, where all mountains are completely removed from spawning on any map type/clime (except for highlands of course)?

I ask because no matter what I do, no matter what other mods I use, I get an 'endless valleys' map, like shown in the pictures below. And I personally couldn't make a working mod to save my life, that's just not my forte.

So if anyone knows of such a mod, or is willing to upload one that does that; Please help.

Because for some of us, like myself, that are just the most unlucky/cursed SOBs on the planet, and seem to get nothing but the 'highest possible amount of mountains spawn' every single time, on every single map, no matter how much we try to eliminate them; The game gets really tiresome, really fast. And I do want to enjoy this game, I really do... But with those GD mountains everywhere, every time, it's just no fun.

Thanks in advance for any replies.

The maps I get:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3206197549
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3170802091

[Akazury]

Looking at that first screenshot you are already using a mod since Land Maps don't normally feature lakes.

[Wandering Mania]

Originally posted by Akazury:

Looking at that first screenshot you are already using a mod since Land Maps don't normally feature lakes.

Well, yeah that one was the:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3097485999
But as you can see from that screenshot in the OP, it did very little to reduce the amount of mountains besides those added lakes.

I also use other mods, but none that would cause more mountains to be added. And the only one that is available to reduce them, is that linked 'Land Geography Changed'; And as far as I am aware, that only works on the 'Land only' map type. Personally my favorite being the 'Divide' map type; Which is not seemingly affected.

[Furin]

I am using 'land geography changed' in combination with 'massive maps 12 players' and my land maps look nothing like that. There is still a lot of mountains but also lakes, open fields, swampy areas etc., much variety.

[Wandering Mania]

Originally posted by Furin:

I am using 'land geography changed' in combination with 'massive maps 12 players' and my land maps look nothing like that. There is still a lot of mountains but also lakes, open fields, swampy areas etc., much variety.

Well, then your lucky. I however, am using the same mods, and I just can't seem to get a break, or any 'flat lands' for that matter.

I'm just cursed with the tedium of being basically forced into getting Materium alignment, simply to so I can remove that mountain spam with the 'Tome of Terramancy'.

[Akazury]

Originally posted by Wandering Mania:

Originally posted by Akazury:

Looking at that first screenshot you are already using a mod since Land Maps don't normally feature lakes.

Well, yeah that one was the:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3097485999
But as you can see from that screenshot in the OP, it did very little to reduce the amount of mountains besides those added lakes.

I also use other mods, but none that would cause more mountains to be added. And the only one that is available to reduce them, is that linked 'Land Geography Changed'; And as far as I am aware, that only works on the 'Land only' map type. Personally my favorite being the 'Divide' map type; Which is not seemingly affected.

Well since you're already using a mod with its own generation settings obviously the changes from the last patch aren't going to be applied. First just disable the mod, generate a land map and see if it satisfies what you want. If not I think Cody has a mod that changes the land generation, just not sure if it's standalone.

[Wandering Mania]

Originally posted by Akazury:

Well since you're already using a mod with its own generation settings obviously the changes from the last patch aren't going to be applied. First just disable the mod, generate a land map and see if it satisfies what you want. If not I think Cody has a mod that changes the land generation, just not sure if it's standalone.

That second picture, was taken without using that mod. And just going by the patch itself that "reduced" the amount of mountains.

The first picture was taken while using that mod, and no reduction from the the other was seen.

The 'date posted' shown on those pictures would be the indicator for that.

So either there is something seriously wrong with the game itself, and selecting some machines to have a lower amount of generated mountains, while other machines have a higher amount.

Or...

I'm, as I said many times over the course of this thread, the most cursed/unlucky SOB on the planet Earth, and always get the highest possible roll for the amount of mountains generated, ruining the game for me; Among other things that I shan't mention here.


Also if you mean this one:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2983315059&searchtext=fields
You can see that it's clearly tagged as 'broken'. So there's no point to even attempt on using it.

[Furin]

Is 'land geography chaged' abover 'massive maps and 12 players' in your load order of the mods? I just checked and it's in mine. Maybe that has the desired effect? If everything else fails, there is a mod called 'earth shatter fix' that completely annihilates mountain tiles, so no remnants, and you can place forests everywhere.

[Wandering Mania]

Originally posted by Furin:

Is 'land geography chaged' abover 'massive maps and 12 players' in your load order of the mods? I just checked and it's in mine. Maybe that has the desired effect?

Actually it was below. Or in other words, take how you have it, and reverse it, and that would be how I had mine.

So maybe I have to reverse them; But I don't know why it would still spawn the lakes, if it wasn't working properly.

I was under the impression that the 'load order' worked in the same manner that, say Skyrim's load order works. The higher listed mods, get overwritten by the lower listed mods.

Eg:
Say mod number 10, and mod number 50 touch the some of same things; Mod number 50 would overwrite the same elements that it had in common with mod 10.

There really is no 'Definitive guide' out there. Some say the higher mods overwrite the lower ones, others say the lower ones overwrite the higher ones. So going by my extensive history with modding Daggerfall Unity, Oblivion, Skyrim, Fallout 3, 4, and New Vegas; I guessed the 'lower overwrites higher' was the correct one.

But I will try it with them reversed, and see what it does.

Originally posted by Furin:

If everything else fails, there is a mod called 'earth shatter fix' that completely annihilates mountain tiles, so no remnants, and you can place forests everywhere.

Yeah, I got that one too. I'll give you 3 guesses why, and the first 2 don't count.
(I refuse to use emojis or other acronyms. So insert mild chuckle here.)

But yeah, that option still forces me into the 'Tome of Terramancy', kinda breaking the immersion of the way I wanted to set up some of the custom races I make; All in the name of 'play-ability'.

[Wandering Mania]

Welp, after trying to set the load order as follows:
1: Land Geography Changed
2: Massive Maps 12 players
and so on

I still see the same thing, mountain spam, some lakes, and no hope. I took pictures of everything this time to. (For once I didn't forget to do that)

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3209494615
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3209494992
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3209494797

As you can see my map settings, the close up, and full map (yeah, I used the cheat to see the full map on turn 1). But still there is no hope in sight, only mountains. (insert sad chuckle here).

[Furin]

I am sorry I don't know more, maybe it is possible to go inside the mod with the editor tools and tweak it? I did that successfully with the 'kaige more realm traits' mod and reduced the spawn rate of infestations. I had never used the mod tools before but I could do it still with a little headsup of the mod author. Could be that the number of mountains is just a number that you can raiser or lower. With Kaiges, it was a random chance/province consiting of 2 numbers and I had to raise the second number to decrease the spawn chance (like from 1 in a hundred/turn to 1 in a 500/turn). If the mountain generation works anything like this you might be able to do something here.

You could also try requesting a mod in the mod forum that gives a lvl1 tome that has ALL the terraforming inside and never worry about map generation ever again. I have been pondering this but it's a lot of work, especially with my non existent modding experience.

[Wandering Mania]

Originally posted by Furin:

I had never used the mod tools before

I have never used them either. Not for AoW(any version).

The last time I tried to make a mod was for Skyrim LE. I thought I did everything perfectly, followed the guide and everything; The result was... Nothing. Nothing happened at all, nothing was changed, it was like it wasn't even there.

Then I tried to do a simple edit to add some keywords to a Fallout 4 mod to make an armor set compatible with the 'Legendary Crafting' mod. I once again followed the guide to the letter. And the result was... (insert drum roll here) Nothing. The armor still didn't have the keywords needed to add legendary addons. And so I just figured there's nothing more I could do.

I mean I can get mods, that shouldn't 'play nice' with each other, to play nice with each other, by organizing load lists.
Hell, I can even make direct text edits to config files to make it so a game using mods can still get achievements, and have vehicles cost nothing in maintenance (Transport Fever 2 reference for that one).

But making a mod... I follow a step-by-step guide on how to do it, and it still fails to work.
So yeah... "We all have out talents." As was said by Kim and Lee in 'Deathproof(2007)'.

But, what I really wish that hadn't happened, was Triumph's removal of the terrain sliders from Planetfall to this one; Replacing them with an of 'X clime' + 'Mountain Spam' oversimplification.

Anyway, sorry for my long-winded rant. But when I get nothing but mountains, mountains, more mountains; And oh and did I mention mountains? With even mods that are supposed to be reducing them not clearing them out; It just gets real tiresome.

Still, thanks for your input none the less. At least now I know that it ain't something I did wrong in the load order. It's just those blasted intrusive mountains.

[Furin]

Hey, it's me again, I just noticed in Kages Realm traits mod there is a new modifier called wetlands where he has a detailed list of the weight of mountain generation (with respective numbers) in the in game mouseover window. I bet you could easily mod this! Saves you the trouble of going all other routes. Cheers.

[Wandering Mania]

You mean this one?
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3179716649

If so, I don't use that one; And I'm not sure if it would conflict with the one I do use, being this one:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2973096488

But still, unless it's using a text based 'config' file; I'm not really sure if I could change it in any meaningful way; Or even a 'functioning way'.

Or in other words; If it requires the mod tools to change something about it, my history with using those tools (or any mod tools for that matter) would suggest, that it's result would be nothing changing.

[Furin]

Yes I mean this one, you edit it with the tools in the games directory, it's not much harder than editing a text file. Lemme check really quick which tool exactly.

Okay you use the tool 'resourceed' and then go into the workshop download and find kages mod (sort by date, if you just downloaded the mod it's todays date), then there is a folder called packs. Then there is a pak called empire core more realm traits, open that pak, go to entry 17 called 'Swamp realm - Geography Terr(ain i guess)' in the window to the right find the entry 'theme weights' and the click the little pointy thing left to the entry. This will bring up the weights for each terrain type and you can change the number and save. This should do it I guess, I haven't tried myself though so I don't know if a higher or lower number is needed. You'll figure it out.

In theory you could make a realm of your choice and just overwrite the swamp realm - then choose it as modifier in the game setup. You choose this realm in the game setup, like small underground for example and it seems to overwrite other mods (fe. I choose a realm with no roads and it worked, even though I had the other mountain mod still going).

Hope this will finally make your dream of endless fields, swamps, forests or whatever come true!

Ah yes and for load order, I have the kage mod pretty much at the top of my mod list, so either it belongs there and everything is okay, or if that doesn't work (although it works for the afformentioned 'no roads') put it at the very bottom, so either top or bottom.

[Furin]

Gotta run ,peace out, lemme know how it worked out for ya.