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General discussion (archive)Mod Spotlight: Knights and Merchants(18 posts)(18 posts)
(18 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted December 23, 2013
When a mod becomes a remake.

There are games that never get hyped much in the media and aren't considered milestones of their genre, but still success in accumulating a modding community so large and dedicated, that you could say the development of such title never really stopped. Such is the case of [url=http://j.mp/KaMremakeGOG]Knights & Merchants, a medieval real-time strategy with in-depth society simulation and epic-scaled armies. Even though the game came out in 2001, a community of talented fans doesn't stop in their effort to, fix and tweak it, make it enjoyable for the modern gamer, and support it with all the features the fanbase demands. All this goes towards a impressive mod, appropriately named [url=http://www.kamremake.com" target="_blank]KaM Remake[/url].

Even though the GOG.com version of Knights & Merchants has been prepared to run on modern Windows systems "out of the box", the mod greatly improves many technical aspects of the game, as well as it introduces many improvements to its mechanics. The extensive support of online play itself, allowing hundreds of gamers daily to carry their epic campaigns against each other, makes the mod essential to getting the most out of your Knights & Merchants. The creators, however, don't stop at that. The original game engine has been completely rewritten from scratch, to make sure the remake's superiority in gameplay. This didn't happen in an instant, of course. The mod is in development since 2008, and all of the changes it makes to the game are the effect of ongoing debate within the community of its creators. Even now, the modders are looking for people to beta-test the newest version, expected to arrive first quarter 2014.

Navigate to the [url=http://www.kamremake.com" target="_blank]KaM Remake official website[/url] for some further details, download, and installation instructions. The Knights & Merchants game itself, complete with its Peasants Rebellion expansion, is currently available 50% off on GOG.com. That's only $2.99 until Sunday, December 29, at 1:59PM. Every copy bought through the links provided in this editorial sends a little money towards the remake developers and supports their further work on the project (or you can support them directly via PayPal donation widget on their page, if you already own the game and bought copies for everyone including your cat).
Posted December 23, 2013
Very interesting, the game still lives on! I'll try out that mod in few days, thanks! :)
Posted December 23, 2013
Why is your news post filled with links to a URL shortener? What is the point of them? They just make a link look shady and untrustworthy.
Posted December 23, 2013
Nice!
Zoom, setting up groups for selecting them by 1-9, time control (thank god!) and even a multiplayer mode over internet.

Allthough I played KaM and finished all maps, handling was always the main problem of this game. I am tempted to play it again with these new features...
Posted December 23, 2013
Cool that you are supporting this project! Thanks a lot for that!

I'll definitely consider installing it but I'm not sure yet. The thing is I really, REALLY like playing vanilla versions even if they are not perfectly balanced. Bug fixes, widescreen patches are always welcome but I just don't like gameplay-wise changes. Don't get me wrong, I'm first to admit that Siege Workshop and Town Hall are poorly balanced but at least I would like to have a possibility to decide myself if I want to switch them off or on. In case of multiplayer it should be a host who decides.
Posted December 23, 2013
Thanks for this interesting news!
Posted December 23, 2013
This is really cool.
Posted December 23, 2013
So this add-on makes it easier to control? I could not get past the tutorial.
Posted December 23, 2013
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J_Darnley: Why is your news post filled with links to a URL shortener? What is the point of them?
Presumably it's how they're implementing this:
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GOG.com: Every copy bought through the links provided in this editorial sends a little money towards the remake developers and supports their further work on the project
Posted December 23, 2013
The orginal Knights and Merchants was released in 1998. Only the "expansion" was released in 2001. ;)

Just makes it more crazy, that this game is still played. :D
Posted December 23, 2013
Does this mod in its current state fix pathing and AI issues?
Posted December 23, 2013
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Nirth: Does this mod in its current state fix pathing and AI issues?
From the faq:

"Q: Do you have the source code to KaM TSK or TPR?
No we don't, the original source code has never been released. We have rewritten the entire game engine from scratch."

and:

"Q: Why doesn't the AI build a full village and attack in multiplayer?
We haven't completed the code to make the AI build a complete village and attack, so currently their behavior is limited. We will add this to the Remake but it is complicated, and we want it to work well. (better than the original KaM AI which wasn't very good) However, if you want to play against the AI in multiplayer you can play the co-operative missions, where the AI already has a complete village and is scripted to attack."

So it's all new code, all new issues. I'll have to dig some more to see if this AI limitation is multiplayer-only and the new AI works for single player.

EDIT: There is some discussion of the pathing and AI in the comments section of this page. In short, it looks like they might have pathing under control, but their AI needs much work.
Post edited December 24, 2013 by TheJadedOne
Posted December 24, 2013
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Nirth: Does this mod in its current state fix pathing and AI issues?
We have improved pathing from the original game, especially with soldiers. The decision making of builders and deliveries within villages is also significantly improved.

The AI player is currently at about the same level as the original game. It works fine when the AI has a village at the start of the game and some instructions in the mission script for when to attack the player. This covers all of the campaign missions, so the AI is fine for most singleplayer.

However, when the AI has to build their own village they struggle to cope, the same as they did in the original game. It's a lot of work to make the AI intelligently build an entire economy from scratch and manage resources, we haven't been able to finish it yet. This is the same in the original game, the AI would not work very well when they had to build a village for themselves.

Almost all singleplayer missions do not require the AI to build a village, and all of the co-operative missions in multiplayer don't either. The issue is normal multiplayer maps designed for humans (without villages). If you put an AI on those maps instead of a human they do not make for a very challenging opponent because they build slowly. But there are plenty of co-operative missions so you can have fun against the AI in multiplayer with those until we finish it.

If you have any further questions I would be happy to answer them :)
Posted December 24, 2013
There should be more of these spotlights for reverse-engineering efforts, not everyone knows of them. Here are a few i know of that are pretty playable:

<span class="bold">CrosixTH</span>: Theme Hospital
<span class="bold">Nuvie</span>: Ultima VI
<span class="bold">Exult</span>: Ultima VII

There are a lot of other attempts, but most of them get abandoned.
Post edited December 24, 2013 by HiPhish
Posted December 24, 2013
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Lewin: If you have any further questions I would be happy to answer them :)
I do have a question! I loved this game in 1998 (I bought it more/less immediately when it was released) and it was one of my first purchase here. I still like to play it from time to time...

My question is about scripted attacks (campaign mode). At some point your enemy will likely send a huge army to destroy you. It's very hard to fight them off unless you know exactly how and where to arrange your troops. But then... it becomes extremely easy, AI is just sending his troops to be slaughtered. I know that an important part of this game is to be able to find a suitable spot to arrange your defenses in each mission. But I wish that AI would be a bit more flexible. After taking heavy casualties he should somehow adjust his tactics, knowing that you usually station flanking troops in point A and archers in point B. Do you have any plans to implement more flexible AI? That would be great because it could somehow change the polarized difficulty of the game. At the moment it's:
- extremely difficult if you arrange your defenses poorly
- extremely easy if you know exactly what to do.

I know that it's not easy to implement but I would like to know if you were thinking about something like this?
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General discussion (archive)Mod Spotlight: Knights and Merchants(18 posts)(18 posts)
(18 posts)