Empire: Total War Windows game

Foothold in India: The Ottoman overhaul

Hello everyone! I'm delighted to present you the 1.4.3 update. The main focus of it is to overhaul the Ottoman roster.

New Ottoman units

No Ottoman army can be imagined without a strong and numerous cavalry arm. In the new update, the Ottoman Empire acquired 2 new cavalry units:

• The swift and capable Deli Lancers, acting as high-class light lancers, posessing outstanding melee stats and training, similar to Hungarian Uhlans
• And the terrifying Silahdars - the Ottoman palace guard cavalry unit, comparable to Ahadis and Qurchis

Aside from these, the Mamluks also received a buff in training and unit size, making them more resilient in proper melee fights, especially in comparison to Deli Scouts, which used to simply surpass the Mamluks in almost everything in vanilla.

Moreover, the update introduces one infantry unit: the Anatolian Janissaries. These are an even stronger version of Cairo Janissaries, designed to be a counter to the elite infantry of the West. Incapable of forming squares, armed with sabers, with somewhat lacking shooting skills but excellent melee stats and very decent morale, this unit is almost on par with most European elites, providing the Ottomans with the needed firepower, while still keeping the focus on cavalry and artillery. Only 4 units can be recruited, in Anatolia. The unit is unlocked in grand campaign by activating tgg_unitpack_anatolian_janissaries.

Other changes and wrap-up of previous updates since 1.4

In the new update, most of the cannons recruitment and upkeep costs are multiplied by a factor of around 1.3 - 1.4. This should make the AI use them less and create more balanced armies, technically balancing the artillery against other troop types. A similar strategy is used, for instance, in Napoleon Total War.

1.4.1 and 1.4.2 have seen the Russian roster receiving some minor improvements, acquiring Streltsy with firearms and optional improved line infantry in 2 different flavours.

Portugal became an absolute monarchy. The better bulk of Eastern musketeers are now capable of applying European firing drills if you choose to apply the corresponding pack. While all the new [non-vanila] units received slight stats and price adjustments to make them a bit more varied and less similar to vanilla prototypes.

And finally, 1.4.3 introduces one new loading screen: the gorgeous "Bathsheba" by Jean-Léon Gérôme, 1889. So enjoy the artwork. And have fun!

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Detailed changelog since 1.4:

New in 1.4.1:

• Made Saxony catholic in tgg_campaign_late_vanilla.
• Fixed Azzars unit size in tgg_unit_manpower.
• Enabled Mughals to recruite Banduqchis (Hindu Musketeers) in tgg_unitpack_india - this is historically accurate and doesn't change a lot, since the pack already gives them Islamic Musketeers.
• Added tgg_unit_eastern_firing_drills, giving access to European firing drills to Janissaries, Jazayerchis, Qizilbashi, Bargir and Sikh Musketeers.
• Added tgg_unitpack_streltsy giving firearms to Russian Gorodskiye Streltsy.

New in 1.4.2:

• Made Portugal an absolute monarchy in tgg_campaign_early.
• Added optional packs tgg_unitpack_russian_line_trained and tgg_unitpack_russian_line_suvorov, buffing Russian Line Infantry, improving their training (in both packs) and shooting skills (only in "Suvorov" pack).
• Significantly nerfed Gorodskiye Streltsy's [with muskets] melee stats in tgg_unitpack_streltsy.
• Significantly reduced vanilla Ottoman Mamluks upkeep in tgg_unitpack_ottoman.
• Tweaked the new Eastern units' stats and prices to make them more varied and less similar to vanilla prototypes.

New in 1.4.3:

• Increased Mamluks unit size to 80, improved their training, reverted their upkeep cost back to vanilla values and increased Circassian Armoured Cavalry upkeep in tgg_unitpack_ottoman.
• Gave Deli Lancers and Silahdars guard cavalry to Ottomans and Mamluk States in tgg_unitpack_ottoman.
• Gave elite Anatolian Janissaries to Ottomans in custom battles in tgg_unitpack_ottoman.
• Added tgg_unitpacks_anatolian_janissaries pack, unlocking elite Anatolian Janissaries in campaigns. Recruitment is only possible in Anatolia and is limited to 4 units. In my opinion, tgg_unitpack_ottoman makes Ottomans a cavalry-heavy faction by giving them brilliant and diverse cavalry, while giving them elite infantry, almost on par with elite European, diffuses this focus. However, it is up to the player to decide. To deactivate, append the `.bak` extension.
• Added tgg_unit_guns_expensive pack, increasing most artillery recruitment and upkeep costs by a multiplier of around 1.3-1.4.
• Added one new loading screen in tgg_media_orientalist_loading_screens.