Age of Stainless Steel mod

Age of Stainless Steel is a AOE2 TC mod with the aim to improve the gameplay to be more a simulation and make each faction as historical as possible. The base gameplay have not changed, with villagers gathering resource and training units like the base game, but there is new tech tree and new faction and other minor changes.
The number of factions is 18 but these are divided in cultures (max 2 faction per culture). The factions in the same culture have same architecture and share 2 faction bonus with each other, there are culture with 1 faction like the Aztecs and Byzantines.



1- Each faction has at leas 1 unique units, but there are factions with more than 1. These units are not recruit in castle, but in a building called Noble Camp. This building is first an unit called Noble Caravan Camp that can be train from siege workshop, after deleting this a villager with foundation near him with show. Build the foundation with this.

The same happen with the Soldier Camp, a building that can enable recruitment of Levy (4 types of the weakest units)


2- There are various type of population limits:
a) The house population (the 200 population limit), used for villagers, siege equipment, ships, levies and unique units.
b) Soldier population, the population used to train common soldiers in barracks, archery range and stables. It is increased by recruiting villagers or by building camps (soldier camps/caravan camp).
c) Knight population (same limit for War Chief/Lord). The population used to promote knights, it can be increased by building castles or towers.
d) Order Knight limit (only for catholic factions), it's limit is increase by 2 for each monasteries, 16 in total (max 8 monastery in Imperial Age)

3- The tech tree has changes, and the most important change is the units tech tree. The unit line is bigger so there is a new building to train soldier, the Polearm Barracks. The knight line can be train in castle and is composed of 4 units, the longest and most expensive line.


4- Blacksmith. To unlock better units you need to research armor in Blacksmith. There are 27 blacksmith research in total compared to 15 from the base game. The armor affect only foot units from barracks, archery range and stables, and only units that are 1 age older than the armor you research [there are 5 timeline, dark age, feudal age, castle age, imperial age and post-imperial age (not a research)]






5- The faction as mention before have changed, and there are 2 categories of faction when playing:
a) Faction for all situation, with good economy and increase power with time.
English, French, Germans, Spanish, Lombard, Hungarian
b) Faction very good at early game based on their unique units.
Norse, Scots, Fatiminds, Chinese, Japanese, Mongols, Byzantines, Novgorods, Aztec
c) Balanced factions, combine unique units with barracks, archery range or stable units.
Danes, Khwarezmian, Ottomans
Below the list of units available for each faction

*Note: Aztecs can't build barracks, archery range, stables or siege equipment, they only can convert these building from others.

Faction rating based on their recruitment, not including unique units

*Note: Aztecs can't build barracks, archery range, stables or siege equipment, they only can convert these building from others.

6- Units. The units are divided in 3 categories based on their cost
a) Mercenaries/unique units + Levies + Special unit (Order Knight). These unit cost only gold
b) Retinues (units of barracks, archery and stables) + Knights. These units cost only food and wood
c) Aztec unique units cost food and gold.
Some units with their stats:







7- Ships units have changed too.
More details on ships:
a. There are 5 types of projectile: arrow, large steel bolt, scorpion dart, 12 pounder shell and 32 pounder shell.
b. There are 2 types of maneuver in ships: fast turn rate + slow speed or slow turn rate + fast speed.
c. There are different hull durability, the more compact the ship, the hardest is to destroy it.
d. The wood price of the ship is linear relation with the ship HP. You get what you pay.
e. The gold price of ships is in relation with ship armament.