TABS Cinematic Overhaul

by SeriousMango21

⚠️ CHANGE THE CONFIG SETTINGS TO HOW YOU LIKE IT

Almost everything in this mod can be turned up, down or off. If something is too much, too little, or too heavy for your PC, go change it in the config. (r2modman → Config editor → com.seriousmango21.tabscinematicoverhaul)

What it adds

5.3.2

Fire does full damage (BurnDamage 1)

5.3 (config section 30)

Smarter, smoother Director camera: it works round hills, buildings, walls, trees and crowds to keep the action in view, cuts instead of staring at a wall or flying through one, never lets units walk through the lens, and picks shots from what's happening (over-the-shoulder fights, crane shots over big blasts, tracking shots)
Fire does more damage and burns longer; the game's own flames on units stay on longer and burn down over 25 s
Burning units vault walls and fences, trip over low things, stumble off ledges and slam into walls while they run, sometimes botching it headfirst

5.2.2

Fire hits a little harder, burns longer, and the game's own flames on units stay on longer and burn down over 15 s

5.2.1

Duel close-ups framed on the real eyes (not the neck), duels for any unit (quick-draw for shooters, animals, giants, riders), and F11 to start a duel on whoever is in the middle of the screen
The game's own flames on burning units last the whole burn and burn down afterwards; fire lasts longer and burning is more violent by default
Gunpowder fires work even when no fire units are in the battle

5.2 (config sections 28-29)

Director duel standoff: both fighters frozen solid while the camera slowly circles them, pans their weapons and pushes into their eyes, never clipping into them
Fire burns longer and looks it; burning units drop their weapons (and never go back for them), run, collapse, thrash and kick, try to crawl or get up; bodies smoulder afterwards
Burn survivors struggle to stand, can't run, and the worst burnt die slowly
Gunpowder blasts can start small fires on units that sputter out, flare up or spread to whoever they touch
See-through dust and smoke (the game's own too), much shorter-range dazing

5.1 (config sections 23-26)

Fire hurts less, doesn't make units gush blood, and burning units thrash in pain
Burns you can see: blisters, peeling skin, black char, glowing cracks, shrivelled bodies, curled-up corpses
Animals and sliding units actually step when they walk
Dazing and shell shock fall off with distance
Director-camera duels: frozen squinting standoff, charge, flashy clash, then a different set of showcase shots every time

5.0 AI overhaul (config sections 23-26)

Every unit thinks for itself: armies spread out, take their own lines, split up over targets and recover from getting stuck
Confidence from the team and the unit's surroundings: friends, enemies, fire, injuries, being surrounded
Shooters aim up and down at targets above or below them
Real kicks, feints, heavy blows from strong units with impact freezes, and finishing blows on downed enemies
Duels: focused, squinting, taunting fighters, plus a Director-camera duel intro
Fire burns longer with panic, charring and running for water; drowning only when out of breath; X-ray electrocution
Dirt and soot on units, blood on weapons, wounds on giants, bloodless skeletons
Only medics heal; artillery backs off from enemies; Longship / Dragon / Bank Robbers left to the game's own control

Blood

Blood on the ground and walls is a real liquid: puddles merge, spread, run downhill and drip down walls
Blood graphics setting: Off / Low / Medium / High
Thick pools are a lit, glossy liquid that sits in the sun and shade like real blood
Blood stays on the map for the whole battle, on every map
Blood flies in streams and drops, all the same red
Wounds, cuts, stabs and bruises on the body, bleeding out
Blood splatters onto nearby units and attackers, and soaks bodies lying in it
Dismemberment and broken bones with real bone pieces
Wet, reflective blood pools with sun glints
Blood mixes into water, drifts with it, flows downhill on sloped water and stays inside the banks; walls and banks bleed into it
Blood drips off ledges and pours over edges

Ragdolls

Euphoria-style reactions: staggers, stumbles, grabbing wounds, rolling, catching walls
Dying units act it out, then die for real (no getting back up)

Units read the map: walls, low cover, steps, drops and gaps, and plan body-width routes around them
Units that can't reach or see the enemy search for it, go after another one, or hold and wait
Ranged units push cover to cover and take high ground
Shooters turn and aim at their target before they fire instead of shooting wherever they face
Artillery (cannons, ballistas, catapults...) has its own AI: lays the gun, holds steady, waits for friends to clear the line
Melee units block, dodge, counter and use different swings
Units pick their own way in: straight, their own lane, round a flank or out wide by another route, balanced so groups split up
Flanking, ambushes, formations, rescues, medics, retreating
Confidence: the winning side is brave, the losing side gets scared
Personalities, chatter and expressive googly eyes

Graphics

Graphics preset: Off / Low / Medium / High / Ultra
Better shadows, ambient occlusion, anti-aliasing and lighting
Soft sky light on shaded sides and warm light bounced off the ground
Real light shafts through gaps in buildings and trees, and a real sun
TAA with sharpening, optional film tone mapping and cinematic motion blur
Real water physics: floating, wading, swimming, splashes and ripples

Other

Automatic cinematic camera
First person effects
Bone crack and blood sounds

Keybinds

Key	What it does
F9	Cinematic camera on/off
F10	Cinematic camera: next shot
F8	Film look on/off
F7	Letterbox bars on/off
F6	Clear all blood
F5	AI on/off
F3	AI debug view on/off
F2	Watch the unit under the mouse (debug view)
F11	Duel standoff: the unit in the middle of the screen vs its opponent (Director camera)

Keys can be changed in the config under 5. Hotkeys (DuelKey is under 28. Duel Standoff).

Requirements

BepInEx for TABS (installs automatically with r2modman)