Installation
To install Mundum Ignem Et Gladium simply unpack the folder provided in the .7z archive into the Modules folder of your Mount & Blade: Warband and select it from the modules drop-down menu in the game’s launcher. All of the files required to play the mod are provided in the said .7z archive.
About This Mod
I call Mundum Ignem Et Gladium (the World of Fire and Sword) to be an expansive submod of the 16th Century Mod due to its origin as a series of modifications to the 16th Century Mod and use of its many assets and features. It contains all of its 33 factions spread across 5 continents, all of the equipment used with the 16th Century Mod, features such as building your own village, expanded diplomacy options, or medical system, and it’s set in the same setting of the 16th century.
The Difference
What sets this sub-mod apart from the original 16th Century Mod then? In Mundum Ignem Et Gladium troop trees of the 33 factions are going to be expanded to represent one of three different faction types to reflect their historical movements and flavors based on a degree of research mixed with creative freedom (criticism and suggestions are always welcomed in comments below as to what units or equipment you believe certain factions should possess), the NPC stats are going to be assigned based on tested formulas, all of the armors and weapons will have their stats changed in order to fit one of several tiers based on tested formulas in order to make equipment choices more balanced and less punishing when choosing one suit over another purely for aesthetic preference, and quality of the English translation of the 16th Century Mod will be improved in regards to equipment especially. It is possible that in the future additional bandit parties and mercenary troop trees will be added to Mundum Ignem Et Gladium, as well as additional assets to provide a wider range of equipment available to factions and players, however that will be based on time and energy constraints on my part. Another major difference is that the 16th Century Mod has a development team behind it that could potentially plan on providing continuous development and support to that mod, while I’m a single fan doing edits on my own and outside of the additions I outlined above and providing some limited fixes, I don’t really have much in the way of programming skills, or plan on providing further development once what I want to be in the mod is added in. As such, it is possible that 16th Century Mod will eventually have more features and be much more stable than Mundum Ignem Et Gladium.
Features
Main features of Mundum Ignem Et Gladium are expanded and balanced troop trees of existing factions. This is done by first assigning a faction to one of three categories that help better define it: Focused factions are standard factions which have four units that go up to Tier 4, one unit ending at Tier 5 that shows the special focus this faction has towards a particular combat style, and one unit ending at Tier 3 that shows the weakness in their military formations; Specialized factions have three units that end at Tier 5 and three units that end at Tier 3 in order to show their military specialization towards a particular type of combat and the drawbacks that come with it; Versatile factions are those that at the time of 16th century were much more progressive, modernized, and organized than others, this is shown by all six of their units ending at Tier 4, having no advantages but no drawbacks as well. Full list of factions divided into four regions is shown below, factions with X next to them have been expanded upon within the latest available release
Africa
Ottoman Empire - Versatile - X
Mamluk Sultanate - Specialized - Armored Units X
Safavid Dynasty - Focused - Musketeers
North African States - Focused - Dragoons X
Songhai Empire - Focused - Medium Cavalry
Swahili - Specialized - Archers
South African Tribes - Specialized - Shield + Spear Infantry
Arabia - Focused - Heavy Infantry
Europe
Union of Poland-Lithuania - Focused - Medium Cavalry X
Principality of Moscow - Focused - Musketeer X
Kalmar Union - Focused - Two Handed Infantry X
Holy Roman Empire - Focused - Polearm Infantry X
Kingdom of England - Focused - Archers
Italian States - Focused - Shield + One Handed Infantry X
Kingdom of Spain - Focused - Dragoons
Kingdom of Scotland - Focused - Pikemen
Kingdom of Portugal - Versatile
Confederacy of Livonia - Specialized - Armored Units X
Knights of Saint John - Specialized - Melee Units
Crimean Khanate - Specialized - Ranged Cavalry X
Kingdom of France - Focused - Heavy Cavalry
Asia
The Ming Empire - Focused - Heavy Cavalry
Mongolian Khanate - Focused - Horse Archers
States of Japan - Versatile
Delhi Empire - Focused - Dragoons
States of Southeast Asia - Specialized - Shield Infantry
Joseon Korea - Focused - Archery
Jurchen Tribes - Specialized - Archery
Kazakh Khanate - Specialized - Cavalry
Americas
American Indian Tribes - Focused - Archery
Aztec Empire - Specialized - Infantry
Maya Civilization - Focused - Spears
Incan Empire - Focused - Clubs
In order to balance the NPC soldiers and make sure they are on the same level, their stats are applied by following formulas: Tier 1 troops start at level 5 with 20 points of Stats usually distributed as Strength 7, Agility 5, Intelligence 4, Charisma 4, all Proficiencies at 80, and 10 points of Skills, at Tier 2 they are at level 15, with 30 points of Stat s usually distributed as Strength 12, Agility 10, Intelligence 4, Charisma 4, all Proficiencies at 100, and 15 points of Skills. After that their levels increase 5 per Tier, they gain 5 extra Stat points, their Proficiency increases by 50, and they gain 3 extra Skills. My play testing showed this distribution to be very effective both against NPCs and PCs, making high tier NPC soldiers challenging in combat even for high level players while not impossible to overcome.
In the future, factions whose troops might be given equipment and armors of lower Tiers due to what was available to that faction at the time (such as Swahili, Aztec Empire, or South African Tribes) may be given troops of higher levels than those available to other nations at the same Tier in order to make playing them against other nations more viable and make them into a greater challenge for player to face.
In order to balance chest armors, 12 different Tiers have been designed, with values ranging from 0 Head armor, 5 Body armor, 5 Leg armor, 5 Weight, Price of 25, Abundance of 120, and no Strength requirement at Tier 1 which could include a simple Linen Shirt, to 10 Head armor, 60 Body armor, 25 Leg armor, 25 Weight, Price of 51200, Abundance of 10, and Strength requirement of 16. The progression of these attributes is not fully linear, the tiers will be shown in detail in one of the images attached to this mod. At this point every available Chest Armor in game has been assigned to a Tier, appropriate stats applied, and its English translation improved.
Future Releases and Road Map
Future versions of the mod will be released when major progress is finished. Next release is planned to be released when expansion upon remaining factions in the European region is finished, it could also possibly include re-balancing and improved translation of Head Armor items such as helmets and hats. The African region will be worked on afterwards, followed by Americas, followed by Asia. Once all of the factions have been expanded upon one final update might be released containing last balancing efforts, improved translation, and addition of assets to provide a wider range of equipment.
