After introducing some final(?) touches to the tech trees... here a strategical characterization of the civilizations:
~~Venetians~~
As a city build mostly on water, Venice probably had little opportunities for expert horse breeding so no bloodlines nor husbandry, also no Paladin upgrade and no final upgrades to the siege machines, nor access to 'Siege Engineers' reflect Venice's dependence on crusader support for their conquests during the 4th Crusade.
Other than that the strong points of this civilization concern...
maritime trade and warfare:
-Trade Cogs travel faster and generate +33% gold
-all battle ships +3 attack
-unique battle ship (Great Galley) can fire several cannon balls which cause an area of damage
in addition and accordance with their supporting role during the 4th Crusade:
-Transport Ships travel faster and carry more people
warfare:
-the unique (Stradiot) and regional (Genovese Crossbowman) units are an ideal combination against heavily armed forces. The fast and light Stradiot cavalry can take more blows from spears and with an attack bonus against heavy cavalry and footknights defend the slowly shooting Genovese Crossbowmen, who also cause considerable damage from afar.
As a final remark the unique technology of the Venetians (Monopoly) adds an unique economic skill to your empire, making trading with one self rather profitable (no trading fees).
~~Dalmatians~~
This faction represents foremost the Republic of Ragusa (Dubrovnik), although other Italo-Croatian cities, like Zara, can be represented accurately by these people, too.
The Dalmatians are sea-faring people as well, though their advantages on water are more restricted to economy alone:
-Fishing Ships travel faster and carry +5
-Trade Cogs generate +20% gold (somewhat less than Venice, since Dubrovnik never reached the level of economic success that Venice had)
On land the Dalmatians profit from a well-organized and equipped urban militia - the Barabant
-unqiue unit (Barabant) is a spear-type infantry with unusually high pierce armor, this means they can stand ground against approaching cavalry while enemy archers can be of less back-up support
-the unique technology (urban militia) makes the Barabanti even more resiliant
-the regional unit (Genovese Crossbowman) can additionally defend the Barabanti from enemy archers, through their long range and strong shot
-access to Bombard Towers and Cannons, the latter are cheaper and available to allies (team bonus) reflecting the role of Ragusa in supplying the Serbs with gunpowder against the Ottomans
Likewise the Venetians, the Dalmatians do not invest in strong cavalry - no husbandry, no plait barding armor, nor Paladin upgrade.
~~Hungarians~~
The faction primarily reflects the Hungarian war machine of Matthew Corvin - the Black Army. As such the two strongest units are the Hand Cannoneer and Black Knight (unique unit).
-Hand Cannoneers fire faster and cost 25% less (due unique technology)
-Black Knights are strong against buildings, like the Tarkan in the Conquerors, but with more HP (appropriate for knights), trample damage (due unique technology) and created 20% faster (due team bonus)
-Cuman Settlement (regional technology) allows cheaper access to cavalry archers and reflects the renewal of this fighting style by Cuman migrants to Hungary
Economically the Hungarians can profit from Saxon Miners (regional unit), their fleet is reduced to the bear minimum, as for most of its history the country was lacking direct access to the sea.
~~Bulgarians~~
The faction represents the 2nd (Vlacho-) Bulgarian empire. Unlike their Serbian neighbors and cousins the Bulgarians of this time invested more in war than economy, but the Bulgarian war machine made use of defensive tactics (light cavalry and ambush) for offensive purposes. To represent this playing the Bulgarians eases the use of defensive units for assaults.
-spearmen have +1 range, are created 20% faster and cause +4 damage to heavy cavalry and footknights (due team bonus)
-skirmishers are created 20% faster and cause +4 damage to heavy cavalry and footknights (due team bonus)
-the regional scout (Vlach Scout) is created 20% faster and costs 25% less, Vlach Scouts are particularly dangerous to archers
Although Cuman mercenaries were employed from Egypt to Austria, their presence and role in the Vlacho-Bulgarian Empire was so paramount that they were chosen as the faction's unique unit. The influence of the Cumans on other cultures is reflected by the regional technology 'Cuman Settlement' (also available to the Hungarians) which obliterates the gold cost for this unit and cavalry archers in general.
-Cuman Archers travel and shoot faster than other cavalry archers, and their shot is strong against heavy cavalry and footknights, reflecting their victories over the knights of the 4th Crusade, they basically trump any close-range unit, but...
-shorter range, lack of default armors and ring archer armor makes Cuman Archers more vulnerable to crossbowmen, towers and castles which are the effective measures to counter their force
The unique technology 'Boyar Privileges' represents the rise of the Bulgarian Boyars and their mixed marriages to Cuman ruling clans by granting both Knights and Cuman Archers +2 melee armor.
Rare instances/reports of western style chivalry or use of crossbowmen in Bulgarian armies has been represented by the lack of upgrades for foot archers and knights, overall the faction is forced to construct atypical assault armies, which are fast to draft and cause a lot of damage, but are also more vulnerable, especially easy to halt with towers and castles and therefore rely on the support of siege machines to take cities.
~~Serbs~~
The success and rise of the Serbs relied on a growing economy and economic migrants (Saxon Miners) which is reflected by:
-resources last 20% longer in general
-gold in particular can last up to 40% longer (due to unique technology)
-gold acquisition can be rushed by the employment of Saxon Miners (due to unique technology)
As a consequence of their economic growth the Serbs employed many knights from the German lands, which eventually westernized their military, this is reflected by:
-full unit- and armor upgrade for the knight line (except for the new French Chivalry upgrade)
-the unique unit is a German mercenary footknight (Alemannic Guard)
Traditionally warfare in Serbia had been more centered around the use of spears and light cavalry:
-spearmen +1 range
-shared team bonus unit is a spear-throwing light cavalry (Gusar)
-access to Vlach Scouts
The final struggle with the Ottomans involved sparse use of gun powder supplied by the Republic of Ragusa:
-access to Bombard Towers
-if allied with the Dalmatians cannons become available, but this is for the player to choose and concerns all civlizations
[This message has been edited by Khan Ivayl (edited 02-22-2018 @ 04:52 AM).]