- Stainless Steel Medieval 2 Factions
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- Medieval 2 Total War Stainless Steel Install Guide Kit
Medieval 2 is a favorite among Total War fans.
Feb 05, 2010 Here it goes: If you take a look at your Medieval II - Total War directory (or wherever you chose to install it), you will notice a mods folder. Most mods are installed in this folder. If you click the StainlessSteel6 folder, you will see a lot of few files and a few other folders. 3.1 patch for Stainless Steel 3.0 version. PC Game Reviews, News, Mods & Videos. Trending Medieval 2: Total War. We use cookies to enable you to log.
For players who prefer medieval warfare with sword-yielding knights, peasants, and crossbows, Medieval 2 would be your go-to in the vast selection of TW games.
Whether you’ve completed multiple playthroughs or are looking to re-explore what it has to offer, here’s some of the coolest mods you can try out to make the game even more fun.
15. MapMod: Trees, Textures, Sea
A good visual upgrade is always a great way to enjoy older titles.
Not bad for a first time modder, Charge has received mostly positive feedback from the community for his texture pack.
Upgrading mostly the environment textures – trees, land, and especially water now look much better than in vanilla.
Now I’m completely aware that most of you don’t play M2TW for the graphics.
But you’d be surprised at how much of an impact this has. Fire up the game with this on and you’ll end up thinking to yourself “I don’t remember it looking this good”.
14. The Character Names Project
Total War has always been known for realism and historical accuracy.
A huge part of why the game has such an active community is the ability to create mods that further improve on the realism of these games.
The Character Names Project does exactly that, but by focusing on a less common aspect of the game.
Names of characters have been updated based on research to reflect historical accuracy.
Playing as Egypt for example, you might notice that characters now have names like “Tahir al-Rida” or “Dawud al-Sarraj”.
Based on tons of research to make sure names are accurate and relevant to the time period, just under 500 names have been added to each of the factions in the game.
A seemingly unnoticeable change. But this one adds a sense of realism and level of detail that few would think of.
13. HaHawk’s Native Voices Mod
To improve on the game’s realism even further, modder HaHawk took it upon himself to replace audio samples with new dialogue.
The mod currently contains voice samples in English, French, German, and Russian (among a few other languages, or so it’s claimed). Just the fact it goes beyond English is impressive!
Like the Character Names Project, this is another mod you didn’t know you needed.
Once you get this installed, there’s just no other way to play the game.
Dialogue won’t be overbearing as you probably won’t understand everything that’s being said. But the localized languages just make immersion much better.
12. Mr.Crow’s Warwagon
Another great way to make the game more interesting is by adding new units.
If you’ve completed multiple playthroughs of M2TW, you’re probably already familiar with the different units. So adding new ones can make a big difference.
Mr. Crow’s Warwagon adds a particularly fun unit to the game. Now what’s a war wagon?
It’s actually a medieval siege weapon: a wooden wagon that held riflemen.
You can now use these in-game as each wagon holds 3 soldiers. These soldiers are protected by the wagon and shoot through holes in the wood.
What’s even more fun is that the AI actually makes use of war wagons as well.
They even place war wagons in the front of formations, recreating the famous “wagon wall” or “wagon forts” of the time. Neat!
11. DarthMod
A staple for any Total War mod list, Medieval 2 being no exception.
Vader’s entry for M2TW includes tons of updates such as unit balances, map changes, and gameplay tweaks.
But as with all DarthMods, the improved AI is really what stands out here.
Just as DarthMods are known for, enemy AI will be much smarter making for a more challenging experience.
They have improved field battle, flanking, and aggressiveness, keeping you on your toes.
This will definitely make the game more interesting as you’ll probably be outsmarted by the AI here and there.
10. Santa Invasion
I always like to throw in something silly, and here we are!
This immediately caught my attention because it’s the only mod on twcenter.net that was classified as a “Humour Mod”. Just what I’m going for.
Almost all games with mod capabilities have sillier ones. And if you’re just looking to have some stupid fun, here’s Santa Invasion.
As you can guess, Santa Invasion allows you to play an additional faction. Led by Santa Claus himself, lead your reindeer cavalry, snowmen, and elves into battle!
Enemies are on the naughty list and aren’t getting any presents this year.
9. Hispania in the Middle Ages
Now the remaining entries on my list are the larger mods that add tons of content from scenarios and campaigns, units, balances, and much more… starting here.
With Hispania in the Middle Ages, we’re taken to the Iberian Peninsula where Christians and Muslims war over the land.
With 5 playable campaigns, updates to factions, map, textures, and gameplay, there is much to explore here.
Most interesting are the added scripts that make gameplay more dynamic. There are now possibilities of protection by payment, kingdom unions through marriage, and help from allied kingdoms.
Definitely one to consider for a unique M2TW playthrough.
8. Rusichi Total War
This time we’re taken to a war-torn medieval Russia.
With 3 playable factions based on historic Russian kingdoms, each the Kyiv, Novgorod, and Ryazan have unique features, and even updated texture skins.
The mod also introduces a settlement system wherein most of a cities’ income is provided by nearby villages.
This makes it more likely that nearby villagers will fight invaders rather than hide in fear.
An exciting story of the 3 kingdoms fighting for a united Russia while faced with external opposition and internal conflict at the same time.
7. Rise of Three Kingdoms
Moving over to Asian, our next stop is China.
Following the fall of the Han Dynasty was a 100-year civil war known as the Three Kingdoms period.
Fought between 3 Chinese states Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu, the Three Kingdoms period was one of the bloodiest war eras in Chinese history.
This mod takes you right to the action with custom textures, accurately depicting the armor and weapons of the time and place.
There’s tons of content to explore here from balance changes, additional units, and gameplay mechanics.
6. Call of Warhammer
If you’re looking to take a break from the realism of M2TW, this is the mod for you.
Taking a more fantasy-based approach, Call of Warhammer completely changes the game.
You can now battle with mages, elves, orcs, and even vampires in a world similar to that of Total War: Warhammer.
Each faction comes with unique combat units including matching skins.
Upgraded AI, unit cards, and exciting new quests make for a unique experience of Medieval 2. If fantasy is more your speed, this is the one you’re looking for.
5. The Third Age: Total War
Continuing on with fantasy-themed mods we have Third Age which takes us to Middle-earth.
That’s right, this transforms your M2TW experience into a playable Lord of the Rings game.
You can play as 14 different factions from the world of LOTR, including Dwarves, Gondor, Mordor, and High Elves, among others.
Some units were also taken from the film and novel series and added to the game. Ents, trolls, and wargs are now usable in battles.
With improved AI and updated movies, sounds, and artwork, this is the most immersive Lord of the Rings experience you’ll be able to get within M2TW.
4. Europa Barbarorum II
If you’re ready to jump back towards historically accurate mods, Europa Barbarorum II is one of the best out there.
Another overhaul mod based on the initial mod created for Rome: Total War, EBII gives us a glimpse into the expansion of the Roman Empire.
The mod comes with 28 playable factions including, Pontos, Getai, Saka Rauka, and more.
Gameplay mechanics have also been updated focusing more on making the experience much more realistic.
The overall pace of the game is slower, as the map is twice the size of the original. But more than exploring the map there are hundreds of new units, systems, and gameplay mechanics to discover.
If you’re into historical accuracy this is the one for you.
You’ll learn a lot about the history as well as there are very detailed descriptions provided for locations and units.
3. Broken Crescent
This time we’re taken to the Middle East. Play as one of 18 new factions (which is huge), engage in battle with over 300 new units, all in a brand-new campaign map spanning from Anatolia to India.
New units include the Rostov Retainers, Alani Swordsmen, and Volga Pikemen.
Playthrough prominent battles of Middle Eastern history, including The Battle of Didgori, Second Battle of Tarain, and the Battle of the Meander River to name just a few.
2. 1648 – Thirty Years of War
1648: Thirty Years of War.
A rather specific name for a mod, yeah?
It tells the story of a war fought in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648.
Known as one of the most destructive wars in human history, the mod recreates the events of the Holy Roman Empire, where some of the most advanced weaponry was made much more complicated by political and religious motives.
There are 22 playable factions, an updated map including 198 provinces, and a great campaign story to be discovered in this mod. Highly recommend giving this one a shot.
1. Stainless Steel
Easily the most popular mod for M2TW, Stainless Steel is like a New Game+ for Total War fans.
It takes most of what the game did great, improved on it even further, and even took some of the best ideas from other mods.
Stainless Steel Medieval 2 Factions
All of this combined into Stainless Steel, which for most is the ultimate M2TW experience.
Tons of new content including new factions, units, and an expanded map are typical of these mods by now.
Stainless Steel takes it a step further with loads of new systems, balances, and gameplay updates too. The modders also made changes to sounds, interface elements, buildings, and textures, making this easily the biggest mod for the game.
If you’re looking to retain most of what you know from M2TW, but make it better, Stainless Steel should be right up your alley.
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| Topic Subject: | The Stainless Steel thread |
| posted 27 January 2011 04:37 EDT (US) It's about time we had another Stainless Steel discussion methinks, probably the best and most popular Medieval 2 mod. I haven't actually downloaded the new 1.4 patch as I don't like the sound of some of the changes. I've only just started a campaign as England, striking up into Scotland first of course, but I'm forced to give them a respite or face excommunication. The French have expelled me from their shores after two nail biting defenses of the wooden Castle at Caen. There is currently a Crusade on for Jerusalem as the Crusader States lost it to a Jihad. The area looks pretty intimidating though with one Fatimid and one Turkish stack camping in it's back yard. Still, I sail a fleet of pilgrims, spearmen and basic archers toward the Holy Land but I'll probably need to pick up some decent Mercenaries when I get there so long as they're not too costly. Interestingly the Moors have just taken Sicily and Venice has turned into a powerhouse, as have the Byzantines. I lost a decent portion of my main army trying to wrestle Bruges from the rebels. During the siege their poor quality spearmen clogged the streets and my men's morale was not enough to deal with their numbers. Its a battle I would have won on vanilla Medieval, but that is why this mod is so refreshing to play. A A R S ::The Sun always rises in the East::Flawless Crowns::Dancing Days:: 'We kissed the Sun, and it smiled down upon us.' | |
| Author | Replies: |
| posted 27 January 2011 09:13 EDT (US) 1 / 23 Is this vanilla Stainless Steel or Real Recruitment? If it's the latter, good luck in holding the holy land early on if you're not based there I play the RC/RR compilations, and I've had some awesome times. Teutons are actual buggers to play late campaign, as your units are so slow to recruit while your enemy has decent facilities for themselves. And you're surrounded. If you push into Lithania, you get the two Rus factions declaring war on you at the same time, so your big push is flanked on two sides. It's ridiculously hard manoeuvring and conservation of troops while balancing a very small economy. Often I had no choice but to hole up in cities while Novgorodian armies walked freely through, and I had to send a slash and burn stack down to Kiev to occupy (read: sacrifice themselves to as dearly as possible) the Kieven armies massing around their capital. It took me until gunpowder to gain enough control of Lithuania to be able to launch a second attack, which is brilliant- a couple of bad battles and honestly I was on the ropes a few times. And I shall go Softly into the Night Taking my Dreams As will You |
| posted 27 January 2011 23:05 EDT (US) 2 / 23 Being in university i generally have a hard time finding the time to play stainless steel, but i absolutely love the game. Havent been able to finish a campaign yet, but the turns and recruitment updates seem to make the campaigns last alot longer compared to vanilla or retrofit. havent tried real recruitment yet. |
| posted 28 January 2011 09:56 EDT (US) 3 / 23 I have tried real recruitment before but honestly found it too slow and frustrating. I've also tried the latest version of Byg's Grim Reality and find that overcomplicates the base gameplay. Whilst I understand some enjoy these mods, they're not my cup of tea. A A R S ::The Sun always rises in the East::Flawless Crowns::Dancing Days:: 'We kissed the Sun, and it smiled down upon us.' |
| posted 28 January 2011 13:12 EDT (US) 4 / 23 Urgh, I just looked at the table of contents at Byg's and screamed. At least I can still recruit in every castle without fiddling about. Best battle I've had was as Portugal I was against Aragon and was attempting to relieve a city. Only problem was they had a rather huge army, while I had a half stack of similar quality, and the garrison was a 3/4 of militia (up to swords militia, but still). It was a really interesting battle field as well- I set up my lines so that crossbowmen could fire from some ruins above my left flank, which got charged by crusading knights, and I had to strategically disengage at one stage a few metres up a hill. Cavalry were also pinned back by having to constantly charge and retreat against the enemy cavalry that outnumbered them, and my infantry were groaning under the weight of numbers and quality when BAM goes the garrison, ploughing directly onto their unguarded flank. In goes the King, bye bye Aragonese! And I shall go Softly into the Night Taking my Dreams As will You |
| posted 30 January 2011 00:57 EDT (US) 5 / 23 The Crusader States are a very, very interesting faction to handle ( that would be the best way I can put it) in Stainless Steel. Within the first fifteen turns any work you put into your Jerusalemite territories or diplomatic negotiations with the Fatimids will be quickly undone by said Fatimid. Full stacks will fall in from the south and soon your small economy will buckle from the pressure of defending. From then on, you're more than likely going to have to live off of Nicosia's lands with your rabble. In spite of this, what made the Crusader States so interesting for me was the choice of play after this. When I knew Jerusalem was about to fall, I fell to relations with the Sicilians using my Roman diplomat and, with proper retribution, managed to acquiesce Bari and turned that into my new economic base of operations. If there was one bonus that made the Crusader States so savoury, it was the upkeep levels of their religious foot infantry that rarely, if ever, went above the 150 marker. After exploiting the benefits of a cheap date, I soon rebuilt and created enclaves all around the Mediterranean (Cagliari, Palma, Tunisia, Rhodes, Athens, etc.). Also in tow was a fleet that could control the naval trade of any faction that dared to oppose me since the base in Bari allowed me to reel the Pope's actions with mortal temptations. The amount of turns that I needed to establish such a spread put me at the early half of the Renaissance but now I had the ability to meddle in the affairs of every faction bordering the Mediterranean. Loving that sheer flexibility, but I honestly believe that if one was looking for a real good challenge of their battle abilities, they would try a Crusader States campaign and actually attempt to hold the Holy Lands instead of the alternative route. One day, someone showed me a glass of water that was half filled. And he said, 'Is it half full or half empty?' So I drank the water. No longer a problem. ~Alexander Jodorowsky |
| posted 30 January 2011 05:55 EDT (US) 6 / 23 Sounds awesome I just had a tussle where I shrank to Antioch or something but then crusaded my way back to Jerusalem and Cairo. And then when the HRE was excommunicated, crusaded up into their territories, using Bologna as the starting point of a colony. And I shall go Softly into the Night Taking my Dreams As will You |
| posted 01 February 2011 11:03 EDT (US) 7 / 23 Actually I checked my game settings and Real Recruitment is infact enabled. I must have gotten it mixed up with some of Byg’s settings. My England campaign has progressed a fair few turns, but I haven’t made considerable progress on the actual map. My Crusade fleet arrived one turn too late. The Genoans captured Jerusalem from the Fatimids before I could even unload my forces on the coastline. My young promising military general now sits on deck off the coast of Nicosia with no enemies to his numerous troops to fight. Not to mention I’m paying in full for them, including the expensive mercenary Templars, Gallogliach and Gwent Raiders I picked up. I don’t want to land and attack Adana for the sake of it with little chance of holding it in the long term. At the same time I don’t want to waste 10+ turns sailing back up to England, by which time I may have convinced the Pope to launch a second Crusade. What to do with an idle army so far from a relevant enemy? Much to my dismay Scotland is still sticking around in all of their original settlements. Everytime I engage their forces on the border the Pope slaps me with a ‘cease and desist’ and so I wait it out. I ignored the last one however and took Edinburgh after an (almost lost) battle. I couldn’t sit around and let them continue to rebuild their forces else I’ll never be rid of them. So hand in hand, between my failed Crusade to appease the Pope whilst I kill the Scots, and my complete lack of actually killing the Scots I have achieved nothing over the past 20 turns except for conquering Ireland and defeating the French at Caen. A A R S ::The Sun always rises in the East::Flawless Crowns::Dancing Days:: 'We kissed the Sun, and it smiled down upon us.' |
| posted 01 February 2011 14:09 EDT (US) 8 / 23 You could always sail that army back towards Italy, move on the Scottish again and if the pope objects, use the crusaders to correct his view. That's probably an awful idea, but thought I'd mention it. I used one of the early stainless steel mods for a while and I did download and run 1.3 recently; but my computer is still in limbo following my house-move waiting for somewhere to be put and I whilst my wife has very kindly let me install retrofit on her laptop so I can continue the forum hotseat, I thought SS might be a step too far... I like the idea of Byr's complications, but I've never been brave enough to try them. I remember there being lots of campaign AI options and thought it quite odd that I couldn't see any option for having all of them at work - being assigned to factions at random at the beginning of the game. That would have seemed to me to be quite a jolly twist, particularly given some of the versions uphold alliances and behave honourably and the others are untrustworthy - it could add personality. Virescit vulnere virtus Sicily HotseatA campaign (finished) AI compilation mod |
| posted 22 March 2011 17:40 EDT (US) 9 / 23 When playing real recruitment, does this stop you getting a certain number of particular units per province or over all of that factions combined provinces? Also does anybody know if this also works for the AI controlled factions and how you know what the maximum of each unit is you can build? Thanks for any help, I am thinking of playing real recruitment next but not really sure of how it works. |
| posted 05 April 2011 09:21 EDT (US) 10 / 23 Would anyone like me to write Opening Move guides for SS6.4 or Perhaps Vanilla or Kingdoms, upload walkthrough videos on youtube? Is anyone wanting for someone to do that, cause i may be willing to. |
| posted 07 April 2011 10:14 EDT (US) 11 / 23 Does anyone know how to tone done the model detail, other than setting the in game visual effects all to lowest? It eats up a massive amount of my laptop's resources... |
| posted 07 April 2011 12:34 EDT (US) 12 / 23 SEGA/M2TW/Mods/SS6.3/default (open with notepad)/Then: grass_distance=9000 unit_detail=high CREATE BACKUP! change to grass distance to 1 to turn it off or 0. There's no grass but it helps alot. Unit detail to lowest if not already, because the in-game way doesnt work. Change resolution to the lowest possible bearable resolution. SOMEONE PLS CORRECT ME IF IM WRONG! |
| posted 07 April 2011 18:06 EDT (US) 13 / 23 Alternatively, in the options at the main menu, there's an option for 'texture detail', separate from 'Unit detail'. Play with this option to see if that results in a better frame rate And I shall go Softly into the Night Taking my Dreams As will You |
| posted 08 April 2011 01:44 EDT (US) 14 / 23 I thought he said 'other than the visual in game settings'. I'm pretty sure he has them all at the lowest |
| posted 08 April 2011 06:25 EDT (US) 15 / 23 Yes, he's probably fiddling with the 'Unit Detail' option, while what you've described can be done by changing the 'Texture detail' option on the main menu And I shall go Softly into the Night Taking my Dreams As will You |
| posted 08 April 2011 06:30 EDT (US) 16 / 23 ohh alright Btw make unit scale small or normal. |
Medieval 2 Total War Stainless Steel Install Guides
| posted 08 April 2011 17:41 EDT (US) 17 / 23 This mod sounds rather good. Might have to re-install M2TW, which has been gathering dust since I (rather quickly) got bored of Third Age Total War. Though it does sound a bit slow for someone who does not know how to develop his economy in ways other than enslaving every town he comes across. 2009RLT&ETWHCraziestForummerAward! I had to remove the excessive numbers of smilies I used á la VampiricCannibal so as not to inconvenience low bandwidth users too much... - Edorix |
| posted 09 April 2011 14:52 EDT (US) 18 / 23 I can promise you that this mod is amazing!!! The battles are just EPIC The game with SS is alot harder, but its way more fun, especially when you enable Byg's Grim Reality Mod (comes with SS), Real recruitment and longer assimilation. |
| posted 09 April 2011 19:38 EDT (US) 19 / 23 Well, not Byg's, but Real Recruitment and Real Combat are awesome. IMHO. I can guarantee you will get at least three major (and by that I mean major that live in the memory) battles before turn 75. Unless you're Teutonic knights, in which case it'll be by turn 40. And I shall go Softly into the Night Taking my Dreams As will You |
| posted 10 April 2011 04:57 EDT (US) 20 / 23 trying to reinstall. For some reason, data pack 4 refuses to be installed. Crossing fingers it decides otherwise, so I can download SS tomorrow and play in the holidays. I.E, next week. Any faction suggestions? 2009RLT&ETWHCraziestForummerAward! I had to remove the excessive numbers of smilies I used á la VampiricCannibal so as not to inconvenience low bandwidth users too much... - Edorix |
| posted 10 April 2011 06:39 EDT (US) 21 / 23 Try redownloading pack 4. Faction suggestions? Portugal's good fun, actually- and Iberia is one of the places where the new map has been reworked brilliantly. And I shall go Softly into the Night Taking my Dreams As will You |
Stainless Steel Medieval 2 6.4
| posted 11 April 2011 04:02 EDT (US) 22 / 23 I mean M2TW vanilla. It isn't working, for some reason 2009RLT&ETWHCraziestForummerAward! I had to remove the excessive numbers of smilies I used á la VampiricCannibal so as not to inconvenience low bandwidth users too much... - Edorix |
| posted 14 April 2011 09:36 EDT (US) 23 / 23 Scotland is probably my all time favorite faction, i just love their units and their location. The Teutonic Order is brilliant, Principality of Antioch, England, France, Sicily, HRE. These factions are available in Vanilla. |
Medieval 2 Total War Stainless Steel Install Guide Kit
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