An interview with el_bandito

el_bandito is the creator of the popular mod for Medieval II: Total War based on Retrofit and the Grand Unit Addon, Mongolphobia Mod. In this modification he combines fantasy elements and new features with sheer blinding terror at the hordes of fearsome armies that will wind up on your doorstep. Andalus managed to catch up with him and ask him a few questions about himself as a modder, and about Mongolphobia itself.

Andalus: Hi!

el_bandito: Hi there

Andalus: So firstly, tell us a little about yourself.

el_bandito: Ok. My name is Java, and I live in Ulaanbaatar Mongolia. I’m Mongolian, 27 years old, and currently single. It’s almost four years since logging on to TWH.

Andalus: Right. Now, what inspired you to become a modder, and what do you enjoy most about it, and what do you think is your least favourite part?

el_bandito: Hehe. Actually I wasn’t even planning to be a modder, let alone touch any text files. I guess the fact Mongols were unavailable in M2:TW vanilla prompted me to do something about it. I’m very inexperienced as modder, having only about 6 months worth of tinkering, but modding, once I got used to it, was tons of fun. The fact I change any aspect of the game to suit my taste alone was worth the time. I guess the least favourite thing about modding is that it takes time. You will need to change stuff, test it, test it again, and change more… its a long cycle. My family certainly wasn’t happy about me sitting in front of the comp all day. Worst thing about modding is the feeling right after you submit it. I always worry about “Did I submit it right? Did I packed the right files? Did I made that small change I was planning to add?” etc… And the best feeling I get is when everything turns out to be alright.

Andalus: I can agree with that. Modding is certainly not work to be taken lightly, and its amplified by the fact you work alone. What are the pros and cons of being a solo modder?

el_bandito: First, as you probably guessed, solo modding is a slow process. Secondly, having no others to test the game for you and give you feedback can be bad later on… when you see certain aspects of the game were unbalanced. Lastly, I really, REALLY wanted to team up with a 3D modeller. Some of my new units, such as the Zombelephants or the Llama lancers definitely needed new skins, but alas, I couldn’t devote my time in 3d modelling.

I suppose the good thing about being a solo modder is the fact everything I change is up to my taste – not something entirely positive though. Still, I always take the players’ feedbacks into consideration. Some units such as the Seraphim wouldn’t have been in the mod had EoJ and other forummers not suggested it. Lastly, being a solo modder means you can control your work pace, no one is forcing you.

Andalus: You’ve just released version 3.1 of your mod, Mongolphobia. For those unfamiliar with the mod, give us an overview.

el_bandito: The Mongolphobia Mod basically enables four factions that were present in vanilla M2:TW but not playable in Campaign mode–The Mongols, the Timurids, the Papal States, and the Aztecs. The new factions also received many new units to make them fearsome nations which will tax the human players’ skill to the limit. Think of it as a “nightmare” version of the regular M2:TW campaigns. Of course, one can also play as those four factions and steamroll the rest of the nations, should you wish to have fun! Many aspects of the game were changed to streamline the gameplay, such as territory allocation for the new factions, their behaviour towards their neighbours, as well as general changes in the units to make many of them actually fun to play with. Of course, The Mongolphobia Mod requires the Retrofit Mod, and the Grand Unit Addon Mod to function. Those two mods were really great bases for my mod, but my mod will offer a completely new experience to players. Mostly, people who are veterans of M2:TW and looking for a harder challenge will really like Mongolphobia. Did I cover everything?

Andalus: I think so! Expand a little on those fearsome new units. Let’s have anyone reading this trembling in their chair.

el_bandito: Well, I was hoping to surprise the players who want to try it. Allow me to elaborate on some of the new units.

First of all, the Mongols. They were the reason I wanted to create this mod in the first place. In vanilla, M2:TW the Mongols supposed to cause fear to the players but to my disappointment, their units were too ordinary. Therefore, I took time to forge the Mongols and the Timurids into a truly decimating force that people will mention with fear. For example, the Mongol Horse Archers have longer range as well as deadly accuracy. They are almost unmatched in missile duels. The Mongols also received whole new bunch of artilleries. The Inferno Catapult is a barrel throwing version of it’s older form. The barrel explodes in mid air and fill the battlefield with naphtha pots. Operating on the same concept, the Heaven’s Wrath Mortar – another new unit for the Mongols can decimate a whole stack of army in seconds, I kid you not. Then there are the good old Rocket Launchers. It used to have terribly slow reload time and bad accuracy. Now it will shoot rapid barrages that can seemingly home on the enemies. Scary stuff.

The Timurids have received a new type of elephants, with flame throwers on their backs. I’m sure to those who are familiar with both elephants and flame throwers in the world of TW, the combination is simply insane. The Timurids later on can construct a fearsome unit called Nation Smasher after the gunpowder event. It is basically TEN Monster Bombards chained together to give a very nasty surprise to anyone at the receiving end. Their range as well as power is such that you can obliterate enemy cities from almost a full map away.

If one thinks these units are too powerful to be beaten, then the new Papal as well as Aztec units will blow away that expectation. I suppose part of the reason I made those powerful, units was due to better challenge but that’s not all. Ever since I played Rome: TW, I always wondered “What will happen if I can just include a dragon in the battle?” So there was a bit of my own fantasy included there.

Andalus: Any further plans at the moment, or are you keeping those under your belt?

el_bandito: Currently, I am very satisfied with the latest version 3.1. Most of the changes I wanted to make, as well as the fellow TWH forummers wanted to see was included in the latest patch. Everything, from the campaign AI to every single unit in the game had been tweaked, untweaked, balanced, and rebalanced. That does not mean the Mod is perfectly done though. Mongolphobia Mod still has lots of potential to evolve, and currently I have some future changes planned out, even though I thought I was all done. Amazing how new ideas keep popping out. I will not reveal anything specific just yet, since I like to make sure everything is doable before I implement it. Although I made the Mongolphobia alone, I had benefited greatly from the creators of the Retrofit Mod as well as the Grand unit Addon Mod. Mongolphobia today wouldn’t have existed if I did not come across those two mods in the first place. I guess what I want to say is that my mod, like those two, are free for anyone to change to their liking. I want my mod to serve as the base for other just as how Retrofit helped me.

Andalus: Empire: Total War has just been released, advertised by CA as being the ‘most moddable yet’ of the TW series. Do you think you’ll dabble in that at all?

el_bandito: Most certainly. E:TW features the Crimean Tatars, my distant Mongol cousins. There is no way I will pass up the chance of making the world tremble at the mention of Mongols, once again. There will be brand new OMG type of units as well, thanks to the advanced game engine of E:TW. Look forward to it.

Andalus: One last question. When you’re not playing Mongolphobia, what other mods do you enjoy playing?

el_bandito: Aside from Mongolphobia Mod I really like the Broken Crescent Mod as it features more Eastern factions. I am an Asian so I can’t help but love the new inclusions such as the Khwarezmian Empire. I truly wish the CA will make an Medieval Asia: TW as the next of the series. Of course, I am busy playing Mongolphobia too as you can see in my Portuguese AAR. I partly made the AAR so the others can have better idea of the world of Mongolphobia. The challenges I face in Mongolphobia are verrrry exciting, to say the least.

Andalus: Absolutely. Well, thank you for your time, it has been a pleasure.

el_bandito: No problem Andalus, the pleasure was all mine. Let’s meet in the next episode of the Portuguese AAR.

You can find out more about the Mongolphobia Mod and download information in the dedicated TWH sub-forum, here.

To read the excellent Portuguese AAR, see here.

Finally, be sure to check out the Mongolphobia page on our gallery.