Subscribe to download
Strategic AI & Tech Mod

For use with the Shogun, RotS, and FotS campaigns.

This mod is intended to increase difficulty in a minimalistic way by adjusting the rate in which technology is increased, and AI behavior in how it builds and creates armies.
If you want a version of the mod without the technology changes then go here:
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2447959233

(IMPORTANT: You may use any other mod with this as long as it is not technology related.)

Changes:

<Technology related>

*GLOBAL TECH TIMES INCREASED:

The time it takes to accumulate technology has been globally increased by 2x. There are several reasons for this change:

1. It was felt that technology is acquired too quickly in the game, especially considering the number of turns per year.
   
2. Longer tech times cause research buildings to be important (they are of minimial importance in the base game).
   
3. Longer tech times cause general buffs like "Poetry" to be important (it was of minimal importance in the base game).
   
4. Longer tech times make the tech tree choices more significant, rather than wandering through the tree haphazardly and randomly, just to pick "something" because of the bother to choose another one so soon again.
   
5. Longer tech times prolongs the "middle game".
   
6. Through an effective use of research buildings and general traits, a faction can now actually surpass others in technology in the middle and end game. As it was before, everyone more or less aquired technology quickly, and at similar times (large and powerful factions rarely ever achieved tech supriority in any area, nor really had many technologies that everyone else did not also have).

<Campaign AI related>

The following campaign AI changes are straight forward and were made in the interest of keeping the adjustments minimal but effective. **Disclaimer: this mod in no way claims to make the AI "smart", the goal is to make them "less stupid".**

*AI BUILDING PRIORITIES:

The AI has been adjusted to more intelligently prioritize its building on the campaign map rather than to be evenly divided in priority as it is in the base game. The AI will now prioritize military (so that it can be better armies, rather than ashigaru hordes) and economy (so it can build bigger armies, and non-military and non-economic improvements later).

*AI ARMY RECRUITMENT PRIORITIES:

The AI has been adjusted to be more intelligent in how it recruits and composes its armies, so that there is a higher proportion of melee troops and a more realistic proprtion of ranged, cavalry and artillery units.This helps provide better battles, rather than those frequent battles of armies consisting of ~50% ranged units.

*BETTER GEMPEI WAR (DIFFICULTY):

The Rise of the Samurai (Gempei War) campaign has been slightly adjusted in difficulty, by making unit upkeep costs for everyone (AI and human) be 2x higher. This helps make the campaign more about smaller armies, fighting smaller battles (the armies of the period were quite small), rather the campaign quickly turning into Armageddon like the regular Shogun campaign. Now the user (and the AI) has to work hard at fielding armies of samurai, instead usually being able to only field a few samurai units which is realistic for the period. This helps set this campaign uniquely apart from the other two campaigns.