TAS submod: Return of Sith for Mount & Blade

Q: How does this mod differ from normal SWC?

A: This mod changes things quite a bit. Troop recruitment has been changed so, that species are now hired from their homeworlds, instead of mercenaries from cantinas. Cantinas do still have some troops in them. Also, faction settlements and villages givea ccess to different troops.

The bank interest rate was fixed, so obtaining money is easier.

Also, on the matter of money, the arena yeilds now much greater rewards, offering an easy way to gain some wealth with ease.

Starter classes were overhauled, with class now defining skills, equipment, money and honor. No more grind.

AI is very aggressive, suicidally so. They will attack towns even with 0 chance to win, instead of sitting idle in their worlds. Gives player opportunities to join their favorite lords in countless battles.

AI lord respawn time is 3 weeks instead of 2 days. As such, battles matter more.

A new system for field battles provides improved gameplay, as now AI can hold their ground instead of madly charging.

A script replaced all battlestations with a list of 3 scenes, better fit for sieges.

Some experimental systems added in, burst blasters which can damage more than 1 foe from close range, rocket launcher code from an earlier version restored (a little unstable, can be dangerous to shoot), a visual effect for the force lightning power

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Q: I understand there to be an Warband version of this mod too, why should i play this old game version instead?

A: The warband version is heavily WIP, and not really in a playable state. While lacking Warband's features and certain graphics options, the mod on old M&B is generally more enjoyable and functional. While not perfect, Release 2 is unquestionably the best so far.

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Q: So what's the deal with needing an specific game version, why won't my Steam version do? What about GOG version?

A: Old M&B suffers from performance issues, owing to the game having been restricted to use only 2GB of RAM. This is a common fault in many older games. This can be fixed by using an version of the Game Executable (EXE), that is capable of accesing up to 4GB of RAM. However, this change can not be done on Steam version of M&B. Steam does not allow it, it forcibly redownloads the file, if the change is done. That is why, it is necessary to get the game version from Taleworld's own page. Within the module folder, i have included an archive file containing a fixed EXE for the Taleworlds page version of the game. Remember that you need a legit code for activating it, which you would have, if your game is from Steam.

# 26.08.2022
Modified version of the GOG game exe, was included a few weeks after this article was released

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Q: i'm not still sure i get how to install this, can you help me?

A: Sure, just know that i don't check ModDb every day, i am easier found on Discord, or Steam
Discord.gg
Steamcommunity.com

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Q: I've finally got into game, should i know something before starting a game?

A: The starting class selection is significantly more important than before, for class selection affects not just starting equipment, but also skills, money and honor. Most classes start with a few thousand credits, but merchant, warlord and politician start with tens of thousands. Dishonorable classes, alike bounty hunters, pirates and smugglers have a negative honor penalty, which affects relations to lords.

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Q: I started a new game but some people are bald and disfigured, what is this?

A: A bloody annoying bug, that i haven't been able to fix. Try starting a new game, it rarely happens 2 times in a row. My theory is that there is an facecode in the troops file, that bugs the system. I have hunted an solution for years, but haven't found one.

Should this happen to you, just start a new game. It is best to check for it as the first thing, after entering gameworld.

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Q: There seems to be much less troops that you can hire from Cantinas, where can i find more?

A: Most Cantina troops were moved to their homeworlds, Kashyyyk, Ryloth, Dathomir, Kamino, etc. The troops are randomized to some degree, so you might get anything between recruits to veterans. Droid foundries and cloning labs can still be built,and Force sensitive temples allow recruiting force sensitive troops, only i forgot to link the new armored Jedi and Sith warriors there. As such, these troops are unrecruitable, but can frequently be obtained as prisoners.

You can also recruit troops from minor worlds and spacestation, alongside cantinas and species homeworlds

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Q: I can't shoot as fast as before, what gives?

A: When you take a shot in M&B, the game needs to complete an "ready" animation, before the shot is released. I purposefully extended the time, as doing so, enforces that the shots don't go all over the place. This does make an delay between shots, but i find the increase in accuracy worthy of this trade-off.

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Q: What are these, very expensive troops?

A They were initially an test, very high level troops that excell in melee combat and shoot much faster. Troop level increases some stats that are not immediately obvious, alike firing speed. The price is also due to the levels. These troops are not recruitable to player, unless he finds them as prisoners. They are supposed to disbalance the game against player, as he tends to get very overpowered over time. The "hero" troops add more challenge to the game, especially their firing speed can be difficult to match.

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Q: My game crashed when fired my gun at enemy, what happened??

A: Did you have ammo equipped on your character? If you shoot a gun, while not having bolts equipped, the game WILL crash. Never do that. I do not know why exactly it happens. My theory is that the game can't figure out what your ammo type is supposed to be, when you don't carry any.

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Q: I think my character did some kind of a roll, but i am not sure how?

A: Combat rolls were added as a new feature, that player can use when he has 3 points in agility. The moves can be performed to front-left, front-right and straight forward, by pressing Left Control + W, A and D.

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• Q: There seems to still be a lot of unfinished locations, and civilians still wear old SWC clothing, will these change? Will more content be added, or is this it, the final release?

A: Well... this is an awfully old game. I can reskin it to look better, i can change animations and maps... but i can not fix the old engine and it's numerous restrictions. I do not know, if i will have the spark to work on it again. I already have spent years on it, since 2016. I was 21 when i started modding. I am 27 now. It has been a long time. While i still like the mod, the engine's limitations become ever more apparent, every single year.

I might still update it, from time to time. It seems though, that this mod has failed to gain much any interest from the people, and i do work it primarily for myself in any case. As such, even if i do update it, that does not mean that the updates will be uploaded online. But there is a few glaring issues with the mod, many scenes, particularly villages and cities, need a rework. I contemplated replacing the most dysfunctional town siege scenes with some kind of an universal "walls" scene, as to make city sieges better. I will never be able to replace them all, there is just too many. I would be working on this mod till next decade, if i tried to.