Tzars & Salesmen
IMPORTANT BUG FIX (on 03/03/2020): The official release had accidentally erased access to Vlach Scouts for the factions which can train them, this is fixed as of 03/03/2020 and the download name is TZORSS_2020.zip
Tzars and Salesmen is a new total conversion for Age of Kings The Conquerors (not(!!) HD) which explores the trade republics (in Italy, Flanders, Novgorod) and tzardoms (in Russia and the Balkans) of 11th – 15th century Europe. The list of playable factions also includes West European and Middle Eastern civilizations, which had significant contacts with these „Tzars and Salesmen”.
In terms of aesthetics and gameplay Tzars and Salesmen aims to provide a 100% believable experience of being a game on its own. Replacements are thorough and affect all aspects (history files, stream sounds, unit speech, in-game user interface (for more atmosphere) in addition to the new graphics and stats). Importantly all unit and building graphics were either designed or selected on the criterion that they harmonize well with the graphics that aren’t replaced, which also makes the experience more believable.
General features
- 22 playable factions
- a total of 6 building sets, 3 of which do not appear in the original game
- wider range of civilian units to reflect more aspects of medieval society
- new armor class distinguishes light and heavy units
- more economically relevant research and units
- regional units – shared by some cultures, but most are not available with full-tech tree
- alternative unit upgrades
- in addition to building sets, also monk sets (Catholic, Orthodox, Muslim)
- some factions can unlock additional unique buildings with research (Byzantines, Hungarians, Irish, Novgorodians and Flemish)
- progress in stages, not ages; relic/wonder victories last months, not years
Extended Nature (new gaia units)
Raven – can be spotted over the Balkan and a few other new maps.
Bear – do not let your peasants walk alone where there are bears. Stronger than wolves.
Goat – replaces the Turkey. Can be found on the Balkans.
Extended Society (new civilian units)
Court Lady – for each Court Lady in your dominion the upper population limit rises by +5. This gameplay feature symbolizes lowered child mortality through greater access to wealth and resources for women. The ’Worship the Holy Mary’ technology in addition grants Court Ladies the power to convert enemy units, symbolizing a rise in political influence through a culture of respect for the motherly figures. While Court Ladies can also engage in the healing of the wounded, the handling of relics remains a privilege of the clergy (Monks).
Piper – The bagpipes were the electric guitar of the middle ages. The instrument was popular throughout all of Europe and even the Middle East, in both leisure and military music. The Piper in Tzars and Salesmen represents the class of traveling musicians and as such can engage in trade, for which you don’t need a market yourself, for the Town Center is his drop site. Whether you want to invest more in Trade Carts or Pipers will depend on your faction and research options. In the absence of trade partners, at least farming productivity increases by +15% for each Piper in your dominion, reflecting the importance of music for the motivation of your peasants and symbolizing the spirit-lifting celebrations around harvest.
Saxon Miner – best described as an ’economic mercenary’ this unit symbolizes the German workforce migration that swept Eastern Europe during the so-called ’Ostsiedlung’. Saxon Miners speed up the extraction of gold through mining and are particularly useful if you want to rush the recruitment of expensive armies. Available to Hungarians and Bohemians without research, and can be unlocked for Poles and Serbs, as well.
Other:
Per default, as in the original game, each faction has exactly one unique unit and a building set overlapping with other factions that share its culture or geography. There are exceptions to this rule, however, a 2nd unique unit is available if- the 2nd unique unit is a monk, ship or siege weapon
- the 2nd unique unit exists as an upgrade of the 1st
- the 2nd unique unit is shared via team bonus
The Poles are the only faction that has 2 unique units violating above rules, as they represent 2 factions, actually (Poles and Lithuanians, Commonwealth). Also additional unique buildings (not counting wonders) become available for some factions through research-related upgrades.
Additional info on military units, techs and civs provided with download... Moddb.com
