@Sir Markson Increase distance between ranks, remove all ranks can fire (or whatever that firing drill is in that game that allows all ranks to shoot). Once you figure out how much space a single soldier can take for a single rank to consist of half the unit, you then go in and change the distance between the files accordingly. Unfortunately, the Great War mod has trenches that are too tall for men to kneel and shoot in, and I believe the unit sizes are too large for a very loose line.

Also, how were you able add the skirmish line to the units? I would like to make this for the Napoleon Total War Great War mod.

I've been dreaming for this kind of mod for years, thank you

would love a 2x unit size version, game would go crazy

great, thanks for the reply. Fun mod that changes the same old gameplay we're all used to by now, appreciate modders like you keeping the scene active.

@Fruitshops Thank you! Unfortunately, both of those things are known issues in vanilla. I personally have not seen the AI do nothing but march face to face even with artillery though; they usually will engage in a firefight from my experience (even if they will take so many casualties slowly marching to their range).

I adore the changes to infantry in this. FOTS always felt wrong in how it played. One thing i've noticed on the campaign after 3 or so campaigns. AI tends to march in slow order to your lines when you have artillery in your army. Even after entering in range with their guns they'll keep walking to point blank and often die easily this way. AI artillery tends to pick one target in a battle, fire at it until its destroyed or leaves its range, and then joins the rest of the army in slow walking to your lines, never setting up or firing again.

This was on hard difficulty. No idea if this is how the AI behaves in vanilla FOTS since I haven't played it in a while. I know this is likely out of the scope of this mod, but I figure i'd put in some comments since I love everything else about the way this turns FOTS into real late Victorian era warfare.

@SFgev Yes. Loose formation is kind of silly from a gameplay perspective. In the description I say only the breechloader infantry have loose formation, repurposed to close the distance between the two lines.

@Americaissupior Both unit packs clash with my philosophy (I do not like roster bloat). I would also need to basically edit every single unit, and I would need to balance them, which takes a lot of time and effort for something I think actively harms the gameplay.

intentional that spear levy can no longer use the loose formation?

It’ll be nice to see some new units but if you ever wanna go the easier path you could just make this compatible with the radious units or death unit packs just a suggestion

@The Worst Gamer In History

Kachi units would perhaps be 100-160 men. The melee units (mostly just going to be pikemen without yari wall, which is a poorly designed ability (and i want the pikes to properly be shock units)) would lose their armor but have good stats, and still fight in close order. Matchlocks would be traded for percussion firearms (probably smoothbores with bayonets, except for a skirmisher unit with muzzleloading rifles). I want to portray a semi-modernized force (although it would be entirely ahistorical; but the game and mod are not historical regardless). They would essentially be a development of the early game armies: melee infantry + line infantry (and cavalry obviously), with a certain degree of emphasis on close combat. I can't see small (sub 100 men) melee units being useful without giving them ridiculous stats.

If you change traditional units, what ideas do you have for how they would fight? Like would Yari Kachi be in small really tight formations? Or would they be spread out in a looser order like Matchlock Kachi but with spears?

@Americaissupior Haven't decided. Making new unit pictures is kind of a pain, but I was thinking about modernizing the traditional units (no skirmish line, lowish unit size, high upkeep, great morale and stats), but if I ever get around to that, it'll probably be a submod.

@Jeyzebel I'm unsure if you would need to restart the campaign. I'm also unsure if you realized by now, but any mod that edits the units is essentially not compatible (a bayonet mod is integrated for everyone else reading).

@C4nn0nF0dd3r_ I figured it out, the bayonet mod I had interfered with this mod. so Imperial and Elite infantry would act like in the basegame, standing in a tight line, but with no abilities at all. Unfortunately that meant re-starting a 6 hour campaign

Do you ever plan on adding new units by any chance?

@Jeyzebel They passively fight in a loose formation while taking cover (kneeling). They also have suppression fire.


Kneel fire literally removes the point of this mod, square formation makes no sense, and hold fire doesn't aid them at all.

@C4nn0nF0dd3r_ In my game, imperial infantry has no abilities, no square, no hold fire, not even kneel fire.

@Jeyzebel The point of the mod is to make them act as a completely different unit. I'm not sure what you mean.

is there a reason why imperial infantry lacks basically all the abilities that normal line infantry has?

since sinfonia semplice doesn't work, will this mod be ever made compatible with the real sound fix mod?

what if using loose formation with SIR infantry also gave them fire by rank, would that be too unbalanced? i don't even know how that would be implemented tbh

Ah sry didnt catch that

@Legion
The riflemen with breachloaders do not have it; the riflemen with muzzleloaders do (see second bullet point)

just a quick follow up question is it intended that most rifle units in custom battles dont have the kneel fire ability

@Legion that is in the vanilla game, and kind of random as to whether or not they let themselves get sniped. usually they will move forward in my experience.

@mr miyagi thank you, I do not plan to add more units. i may at some point make a submod that "modernizes" the traditional units, wherein the primary difference would be morale and unit size (although they will still have access to pike units) (would be kind of ahistorical (there were guys in armor with bows and matchlocks early on in the Boshin War), but the whole setting is ahistorical so whatever).

This mod is perfect. I love how with the breach loading infantry you are basically using world war one tactics. Do you have any plans to add more units?

is it normal or a bug that the AI will just let itself be sniped if you outrange it with rifle infantry?

this is actually really good lol.

it works with the last domains campaign map mod

or can it works with some mod that modify the campaign map?

is it possible to run this mod with moss map?

yeah edit it works! it was just a conflict with the unit pack mod.
really cool mod!

Also if you aren't playing FotS, you shouldn't have this mod enabled anyways, since it makes changes that don't work with base Shogun 2.

@Edolf
I put that in the description.

@Suzuha
They are supposed to

are the imperial infantry not supposed to have bayonets? :(

My Ikko Ikki bow ashigaru (did not test regular bow ashigaru) is affected by the range reduction. I can just deactivate the mod when playing Sengoku period, but it is worth knowing about.

weird but cool, just had a fight against Edo. and their levy infantry all be wearing samurai armor

i know this is a battle mod, but it also makes shogun army too weak in the auto resolve. a player's army full of line infantry can destroy an army full of katana kachi with less than 100 casualties. even tho in the manual battle, the katana kachi can make it to the firing line with no problem, even tho player can still make it out, but it will be a costly victory

wow, thx

@pimpingbunny
fixed, was unintended.

now the white tiger is weaker than levy infantry as they can't do the 2 ranks firing

@quasar
"New" mods are now saved in the steamworkshop folder I believe. So it should be there.

What is the pack name of this mod as I am unable to find it in my data folder for some reason even though launcher detects them?

Love how this mod makes breechloader plays entirely different rather than being a straight upgrade to line infantry as in base game. Although skirmish line helps them taking less bullet, they can lose to line infantry in melee charge.

And Banzai charge with bear infantry is so badass!

@hivemindtime123 Yes it brings them into a closer formation, Use within castles or as an attack column.

How does Loose formation function with Breechloading Infantry in this mod? Does it just bring them into a closer formation?

@C4nn0nF0dd3r_

Ah well that Sucks, I was hoping they would be buffed. Overall This mod is probably gonna be the mod that I use in all of my Future FOTS games

@hivemindtime123
The Foreign Marines feel practically the same to me, but the US Marines are supposed to be the worst marines in the game notwithstanding their melee buff.

Would there be any chance of U.S. Marines getting Spencer Rifles? Because they feel really weak compared to the other Foreign Marines

This mod is amazing !

It adds realistic line formations and also demonstrates early loose formation tactics. Worth a go!