enough talk

[general_varro]

I posted this same message on enother mod...

All credit to modders, but in the words of Conan himself..Enough Talk!


The art is great, but Lets play...why do I get the feeling I'll be reading this mods dead in six months???

LETS GO! Even with all the great art etc if the gameplay sux...well....


I will be a beta tester.

[Taranaich]

Trust me, I want to see the damned thing released as much as you do, but there are currently a few problems:

1. This is a big mod. Every single faction is new and different, with new units/art/sounds/text/everything, and that means a lot of fiddling about for balancing (so thanks for the volunteer for playtesting!), and right now only myself and Cherryfunk are working on it. Other people have expressed an interest, but are working on other mods.

2. Real life concerns. I had planned on having an entire year out from education to work on the mod, but a number of outside factors meant that some 4 months were cut off the end, and I had to start work again earlier than I wanted. Combined with *two* recent foot injuries, this means mod progress is going far, far slower than I want.

It's driving me nuts that the mod isn't done yet: I specifically held off on announcing the mod until I had a lot of work done already, in the hopes that I wouldn't have the potential fanbase waiting for so long. At the same time, I want to release a reasonably polished and stable mod, so that people can actually play it and not have to suffer crashes or errors.

But as for the mod being announced dead: not on your life. I'm OBSESSED with Robert E. Howard, and I can't get enough Total War. I've experienced creative burnout many times before, but because of the nature of the Hyborian Age setting it's pretty easy to just switch your attention. If I'm sick of doing Cimmerians, I'll do some Kushites. If I'm sick of units, I'll do art and UI. If I'm sick of visual stuff, I'll record sounds or write up text.

I just hope this doesn't come off as more meaningless platitude (enough talk indeed! :sweatdrop:) but it's all I can do right now.

[Spartan198]

Believe me, T., if there was anyway else I could help aside from tossing suggestions into the bowl here and there, I'd have done so already.

My roles with WotD and Persian Invasion are merely historical research and public relations, which I imagine your needs in those departments are minimal.

@general_varro
Conan: Total War will never die! As a fellow REH/Conan fanatic alongside Taranaich, I won't allow it! :whip:

[Taranaich]

Cheers for the support, Spartan!

[Spartan198]

Cheers for the support, Spartan!
Hey, back to work! :whip:
:tongue:

[Gleemonex]

Enough Talk!


I just hope this doesn't come off as more meaningless platitude (enough talk indeed! :sweatdrop:) but it's all I can do right now.

Very apropos comment, general_varro, and good response Taranaich. Far from meaningless, it's nice to know what is going on.


Hey, back to work! :whip:

:laugh: Nice one.

Anyhow, I felt like stretching my legs from the rewarding, but intense concept work for EB, so I whipped this up. I call it "Enough talk!".


https://img296.imageshack.us/img296/1/enoughtalkem7.th.jpg (https://img296.imageshack.us/my.php?image=enoughtalkem7.jpg)https://img296.imageshack.us/images/thpix.gif (http://g.imageshack.us/thpix.php)

I hope all is well!

-Glee

[Reverend Scott]

The Fans aren't going anywhere- A really excellent mod is worth the wait.

[Irishmafia2020]

Actually, I just purchased a computer that can handle MTW2 graphics, but the best mods are still for RTW... To me that suggests that the elite MTW2 mods (no offense intended to the hardworking modders) probably won't be fully realized until after ETW releases... take your time, Conan is just making a name for himself in video games. On the other other hand, if you take too long you might end up like "chivalry total war", or "European wars", and discover that Sega has decided that the next Total war game will be about the hyperborian age, and that the game will release 2 days after your mod!

[christof139]

:yes::yes::yes::yes:

Could be that something like that happened. Sometimes it does.

Chris

[Taranaich]

Cheers all, it's good to know that we can be courteous savages. :)


Actually, I just purchased a computer that can handle MTW2 graphics, but the best mods are still for RTW... To me that suggests that the elite MTW2 mods (no offense intended to the hardworking modders) probably won't be fully realized until after ETW releases... take your time, Conan is just making a name for himself in video games.

I remember when EB was announced back in the ooold days, when I was considering the first version of a Conan mod on the RTW engine: I was concerned it wouldn't be released like other fans, but ultimately it was well worth the wait, and is still worth it with Medieval 2 out and Empire on the horizon. So here's hoping.


On the other other hand, if you take too long you might end up like "chivalry total war", or "European wars", and discover that Sega has decided that the next Total war game will be about the hyperborian age, and that the game will release 2 days after your mod!

Wouldn't that be just the luck! :skull:

Awesome picture, Gleemonex!

[Helgi]

Sometimes the best mods just take that much time and turn out to be worth the wait, like EB, like maybe Ran No Jidai (when it does come out):rtwyes::england::france::denmark:

[Andrik]

It is worth the wait. I just recently found out about this a week ago I think. I had found a game called Hyborian War that is a Play By Game; and if IT is worth playing and waiting a couple of weeks for a turn result, then Conan: Total War is well worth waiting for.

Would it help if you had donations to help get help or something?

I am a computer nobody, barely able to use a search function properly; but I'd be glad to help where I can.

[Taranaich]

Would it help if you had donations to help get help or something?

Heh, I'd love to say yes, but it's really just finding the time & elbow grease that's the main obstacle, not lack of funds. Plus, where would the money go? Probably waste it on new Conan products. :yes:

[Spartan198]

Heh, I'd love to say yes, but it's really just finding the time & elbow grease that's the main obstacle, not lack of funds. Plus, where would the money go? Probably waste it on new Conan products. :yes:
Not to mention it's illegal to make money off mods. Damn copyright laws, by Ishtar's @$$!

[Andrik]

Have you ever set out a list of things that need to be finished?

How does this work exactly?

Do you have an expected "launch" date in mind?

I only ask questions...well, because I want to play the thing so bad! :yes:

Now get to work! :whip: :furious3:

:beam:

[Taranaich]

Everything was kind of usurped by real life: from a while before the announcement I was expecting to have an extra four to five months with no distractions to work on the mod, but that was unfortunately preempted and I had to get to work on those commitments, completely wrecking the schedule I had. Hence how there were a whole bunch of faction previews followed by staggered snippets and mini-previews. :sweatdrop: As a result, I'm left cramming in work on CTW when I have free time instead of having to take breaks from CTW. At least the loss of time wasn't in vain, the project was a success, and I got a trip to Parliament as a result. :2thumbsup:

It's hard to quantify how "far along" the mod is in meaningful terms, but I'll try: units about 70%, map conception 90%, environment 20%, balance 20%, UI 30%, text 70%. I've been trying to implement Bwian's brilliant chariot and fiddling about with modeling for the most relevant new units, as well as various other aspects.

I will say it will be out before Medieval 3: Total War. :beam:

[Andrik]

I can't even imagine how much you have had to work on this.

Thank you for all you have done!

[Ogre313]

It is worth the wait. I just recently found out about this a week ago I think. I had found a game called Hyborian War that is a Play By Game; and if IT is worth playing and waiting a couple of weeks for a turn result, then Conan: Total War is well worth waiting for.

Would it help if you had donations to help get help or something?

I am a computer nobody, barely able to use a search function properly; but I'd be glad to help where I can.



Actualy if your talking about the turn based play by mail which takes 2 weeks, that game has been out for 20 or so years now. I use to play it along with a bunch of other play by mail games back in the day.

[Spartan198]

Actualy if your talking about the turn based play by mail which takes 2 weeks, that game has been out for 20 or so years now. I use to play it along with a bunch of other play by mail games back in the day.
Sounds boring.

[Andrik]

Sounds boring.

Not boring at all...especially if you are in the military and look forward to mail call anyway.

I'm not one to believe what others say without checking it out for myself though...so anyone that is interested:

http://www.reality.com/hwpcont.htm

[christof139]

Yeah, that PBM game has been on line for a looongggg time. The site also has good info. and is interesting.

A good source book to have is 'A Gazeteer of the Hyborian World of Conan (including also the world of Kull) and an Ethnographic Dictionary of Principle Peoples of the Era' compiled by Lee N. Falconer, HB, Starmont, 1977, ISBN: 0-916732-01-0. Good book with some errors, but highly thought of book none the less. VERY limited copies printed (I have one). Refers to the fabulous Starmont Map of the Hyborian World.

[The Wicked]

hello boys and girls(?) is there any news from the mod?

[Taranaich]

The sudden and unexpected death of celebrated Howard scholar Steven Tompkins on March 23rd (though I only found out a short while ago) has kind of knocked me for six. The man was a brilliant writer who'll be sadly missed, and all the little things I wanted to ask him - about Howard, Conan, pulp fiction, Tolkien, mythology, et al - seem rather small compared to the loss his family and friends feel.

But the show must go on: Tompkin's one of the giants of REH scholarship, and though it's a small gesture in comparison to his impact on his field, Conan: Total War will be dedicated to his memory.

To get an idea of how brilliant and important Steve was, here are a few essays by the man:

The Chants of Old Heroes, Singing in Our Ears (http://www.rehupa.com/tompkins_chants_of_heroes.htm) - An overview of Conan in the perspective of Howard's work.

Grinning, Unappeased Aboriginal Demons (http://www.robert-e-howard.org/VisionGryphons1.html) - an exploration of the Picts.

What A Mummer Wild, What An Insane Child (http://www.thecimmerian.com/?p=1413) - a review of "The Dark Knight" and its intriguing connections and comparisons to Robert E. Howard.

[Irishmafia2020]

Sorry to hear of his loss... Interesting essays. At least now I can defend my Conan reading to my wife as "literary studies" and quote scholarly essays to support my argument...

[Taranaich]

Oh certainly, there are PLENTY of scholarly sources on REH: The Cimmerian (http://www.thecimmerian.com/?cat=46), REHupa (http://www.rehupa.com/?cat=11), REHeapa (http://www.robert-e-howard.org/home.html) are some of the premier online sources, but the very best stuff can be found in their printed magazines and periodicals, or in the critical anthologies such as The Dark Barbarian (http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Barbarian-Writings-Critical-Anthology/dp/1587152037/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_b), The Barbaric Triumph (http://www.amazon.com/Barbaric-Triumph-Heroic-Fantasy-Robert/dp/0809515679/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239475843&sr=8-2), Two-Gun Bob (http://www.amazon.com/Two-Gun-Bob-Centennial-Robert-Howard/dp/0977173453/ref=pd_bxgy_b_text_c), and The Fantastic Worlds of REH (http://www.amazon.com/FANTASTIC-WORLDS-ROBERT-E-HOWARD/dp/B000RFEJLO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1239475998&sr=1-1).

While Howard's tales can be enjoyed on a simple level as adventure yarns, there are indeed surprising depths for those who would seek them: even now, 25 years after "The Dark Barbarian", there are new insights and opinions from new readers and scholars. Tompkins was one of the most unique and erudite voices in the field.

[Mylitryan]

well i would love to help with this,
but i really dont know how to mod anything,
and i cant seem to find any "easy to understand" tutorials.

Good Work, and long live Hyboria: Total War!