PDA

View Full Version : Blue Lotus: Total War



Pages : [1] 2 3

hoggy
10-20-2004, 20:38
edit:This thread is the original thread started in october moved from the modding forum. It has a lot of the background info and early development stuff up til 8th Jan after which point we moved to this sub forum:
http://hoggy.metw.net/other/BLlogo.jpg

Blue Lotus: Total War
BLTW is a mod I’m planning on doing for Rome Total War. Set in a fictitious land of three continents the Mythology of China and Japan blend in an epic campaign with absolutely no grounds in historical reality. In the center of the world lie the fickle drunken gods in their impassable mountains reigning disasters upon the hapless humans. Below them the forces of evil are stirring, demons and evil beast of every kind who’s only plan is to destroy the world. Facing them are two squabbling human kingdoms beset by infighting and feuds. Only Total War will decide the fate of the world! ~:)

Essentially a bit of fun, I’m hoping to do most of the art myself (slowly) but could do with a hand with modding the campaign later on if anyone fancies it. I’ll just post progress up here and if anyone has any ideas for unit types (with visual reference that would be much appreciated) post it here. I’m going to be drawing on Chinese and Japanese mythology, cinema, fiction and random imagination etc as a source so there is no real constraint. A lot of the ideas for the mod will obviously change according to the future moddability of RTW including number of factions etc.

hoggy
10-20-2004, 20:47
Here are my initial thoughts on the army lists:

edit: see Army List Thread:
https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=41921

hoggy
10-20-2004, 20:55
I'm going to try, if I get time, to do little concepts of all the units to get an idea of what they'll look like. Here are some for the japanese infantry and demon infantry (smaller units)

edit:see Arm List here:
https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=41921

radcan
10-20-2004, 21:14
I have to say mate i hope this mod goes weel as im well lookin forward to kickin some demon ass with some shaolin monks or even just looking at some snow monkeys lol. kepp up the good work lad .


Buy haggis. Keep Scotland out of poverty.

Thoros of Myr
10-20-2004, 22:19
Love the concept work. The snow monkey infantry is classic. What's the inspiration for the basket ronin lol?

This popular Japanese fox charactor (kitsune?) might be something to look at.
http://www.coyotes.org/kitsune/media/TheFoxDance.jpg

Will the three continents be caricatures of say china, japan, and korea?

d6veteran
10-21-2004, 01:16
Great idea for a mod. Need magic abilities for the demons.

bthizle1
10-21-2004, 04:28
Though I am not all that into fantasy..this mod looks good so far..keep us updated please.

Duke John
10-21-2004, 06:45
This thread will be certainly one to watch. Your concept art is once again fantastic!

There is one thing that you should think about. At the moment it is impossible to make a campaign without the Senate. The game will crash when pressing the faction detail button. Here is a wild idea to use the Senate:

The Monks (I'm sure you can figure out a better name)
There are 2 warring factions, but the Monks are somewhat inbetween in the beginning. But they want the Japanese and Chinese to forget their issues and start fighting back the Demons to whatever Hellhole they came from. Rome could be transformed to be their religious capital.

Alternatively you could go for something like this:

The Senate from Hell (I have no creativity whatsoever)
The Demons came into the world via a gigantic gate to another dimension. This gate is Rome. The other factions must capture that gate (it's the hardcoded goal of the game). The Senate from Hell commands 1-3 demon factions to destroy mankind. But there is nothing to stop these demon factions to grab power for themselves and overthrow the Senate from Hell.


...hmmm yeah...

Great art, Hoggy! :grin:

hoggy
10-21-2004, 08:13
The monk idea sounds good. I might put them on their own mountainous island.

buujin
10-21-2004, 13:13
sounds fantastic hoggy, i wish you the very best of luck.

If theres anything i can do to help let me know, i have some experience in modding but none in the way of graphics.

Thoros of Myr
10-23-2004, 00:44
This might provide some inspiration http://www.wizards.com/magic/displayexpansion.asp?set=chk&page=1

hoggy
10-24-2004, 16:29
finally after much head bashing got my first Blue Lotus unit model in game using Vercingetorix' fantastic tool:

edit: link temporarily removed - hoggy
Doing some work onthe campmap now, cheers for all the positive feedback.

Thoros of Myr
10-24-2004, 16:44
Excellent work hoggy! It's coming along nicely.

troymclure
10-24-2004, 16:56
wow nice artwork mr hog, i'm also a big fan of the premise, let me know if you need a hand with anything i'm fairly useless but more than willing to help anyways:) this mod looks like it has muchos potential.

hoggy
10-27-2004, 18:16
Here are concepts of some of the 'heavier' Demon faction units in the armylist:
edit: link temporarily removed - hoggy

and the basket warriors in game:
edit: link temporarily removed - hoggy

caspian
10-28-2004, 07:31
Those Basket Warriors are wicked!

Are you going to include the Chinese Vampire? The ones that have that paper ward pasted in front of they're faces.

http://www.morsure.net/geographie/images/chinese.jpg
But this guy has had the ward removed

Any Shinto or Buddhist Priests? I seem to recall they use red chopsticks to exorcise demons, carry staff chimes and have big bamboo hats.

Duke John
10-28-2004, 07:46
Your imagination is just incredible! Very nice work, but I think the basket warriors forgot they had a very large basket on their head when trying to hide in the open :wink:

I fooled around with the effects for the use of fire-arms and at one point I had a rolling jet of smoke that grew larger and larger went over the unit and disappeared. It would be pretty easy to transform that into fireballs, lightning, jets of ice, you name it. The effect itself doesn't affect units, but you can make an "underlying" invisible/very small projectile that hits the enemy.

Ypoknons
10-28-2004, 10:38
Man that is very nice and is a really nice change of pace from historical mods (which are great too) - fruther on in the development process, perhaps the land or sky textures would changed to create a better feel?

Of course more units ! :D Love the Asian style.

hoggy
10-28-2004, 12:11
glad you like them, I'll look into the vampires and magic effects, both sound good. I've only got a Gforce2 at home and an old computer some some of the shots aren't as nice as I'd like. Here are the standard samurai swords and yari samurai:
edit: link temporarily removed - hoggy

NagatsukaShumi
10-28-2004, 12:32
I don't suppose you've ever played Onimusha hoggy? If so, that would be a very good resource for idea's for the demon samurai type units.

Sterling effort hoggy, your work is amazing and your idea's look very interesting, it will be very enjoyable to go stomping around with demonic elephant troops and the undead samurai running around at their feet.

Truly looks amazing, good luck!

Duke John
10-28-2004, 15:00
You can edit the army banners very easily. They are all in one image: Data\models\textures\standard_Faction.tga.dds

For whatever it is worth :shifty:

the_mango55
10-28-2004, 15:58
This mod looks amazing, I cant wait to see more of it.

A faction suggestion I have is perhaps a Mongol type somewhat barbaric faction based mainly on horses and horse archers espescially, but with limited and fairly weak infantry.

Infantry
spearmen
swordsmen
bowmen
Shaman (hero)

Cavalry
Light lancers
Heavy lancers
Heavy sword cavalry
Horse archers
Heavy horse archers
Great Khan (hero)

Special Units
Siberian Tigers
Heavy War Wagon - this could be some kind of huge wagon drawn by 6-8 horses, it would have archer holes and perhaps also have a few ballistae firing out. As well as having huge blades on the wheels to run through enemy formations. Of course there could only be a few of these in each group.

hoggy
10-28-2004, 17:27
top idea Mango, I'll look into it. I'll probably need more than just the three factions, was thinking of possibly Indian/Tibettan also?
Cheers DJ for the banner tip, I wondered where they were. first pass on the evil and japanese faction banners:
edit: link temporarily removed - hoggy

hoggy
10-29-2004, 16:14
Here are 2 more units, heavy 2 handed Naginata troops vs the 'dead samurai' :
edit: link temporarily removed - hoggy

DeadRunner
10-29-2004, 16:34
nive hoggy i am waiting for a release

tombom
10-29-2004, 17:21
Looks absolutely amazing. Very imaginative and very original. As I promised before release of Rome, I'll help in doing what ever you like in text.

hoggy
10-29-2004, 17:33
Cheers Tombom, at the moment I'm going to plod through getting a head-start on the graphics as it's a pretty huge job but I could definitely use your help when stuff is a bit more together.

edit here are some Rokurokubi (long necked demons) :
edit: link temporarily removed - hoggy

tombom
10-30-2004, 13:38
I think you might want to think of a special unit for the japenese - right now they look slightly boring. Maybe dragon chariots? (I'm unimaginitive ~D

hoggy, I have linked this thread over in a thread about what mods exist at the com. If you don't want it, I'll delete the post.

Hagbard la Suede
10-30-2004, 14:14
Wow!I'm amazed at the speed and quality of which you create new units :)
I'm not usually into asian warfare,especially not the fantasy one,but this looks good.

the_mango55
10-30-2004, 15:50
does RTW currently support huge units such as Wang Liang or the copper dragon, which probably has to have a new animation?

This is my new most anticipated mod now, it simply looks incredible! Keep up the good work

Silver Rusher
10-30-2004, 15:59
top idea Mango, I'll look into it. I'll probably need more than just the three factions, was thinking of possibly Indian/Tibettan also?
How about a Korean Kingdom also? They could get really good War Wagons and chariots, and generally loads of really high-tech stuff, maybe that could be their theme.

hoggy
10-30-2004, 18:17
The link is fine Tombom, the more the merrier although it'll be a while before this mod is out. The idea with the japanese and chinese factions was that they should be mostly human infantry and cavalry (with a few heroes and special good units) facing hordes of strange demonic armies rather than having too many mythological units themselves. (bit like lord of the rings)

Mango, for the larger (and smaller) units like the Wang Liang I'm hoping to find a solution to the scaling problem I was looking at in a different thread. Jerome and Vercingetorix both mentioned it should be possible, in theory, to scale existing skeletons although I've come to a bit of a dead end. If anyone with good text modding can solve this I'd be most grateful! There is an oliphant test in the existing text files but I can't seem to apply the scaling values to anything else. If anyone is up for testing this let me know I'll point you to the thread. Eventually I'm hoping we can create and export new animations and skeletons for the strange units but if not work arounds are possible ie. using the elephant skeleton for the dragons.

I'll look into the Korean units Silver Rusher, they sound excellent.

Turin
10-30-2004, 20:58
Those are some great units you've turned out there hoggy! Any chance I can help? I know how to edit models and edit skins. Still having problems with UV maps though. But if you post the skins and models that you've already done, me and other people can help you tweak them and such!

dessa14
10-31-2004, 01:43
you need noface from sprited away, he should go up and eat people.
thanks,
dessa

DemonArchangel
10-31-2004, 01:46
Swordsman- Jian Sheng (Literally- Sword Saint)
just my one bit.

dessa14
10-31-2004, 11:48
heres a site with a whole heap of japanese myth, there is sure to be monsters in the stories.
Japanese Myth (http://www.pantheon.org/areas/mythology/asia/japanese/articles.html)
i thought that the mythology might give it a bit more mythal feeling
heres an idea for the Demon boat

Awabi
Japanese sea demons who live near Nanao. They eat fishermen when they drown and are the guardians of large seashells containing shining jewels.


thanks,
dessa

Marshal Murat
10-31-2004, 13:50
I think you should have a "wizard" unit (druids maybe???) to decrease the demons attack, and enhance your own troops.

hoggy
10-31-2004, 16:17
top ideas folks, keep em coming. here are some zombie ashigaru:

edit: link temporarily removed - hoggy

Crazed Rabbit
11-01-2004, 20:04
Wow, this is amazing.

Crazed Rabbit

hoggy
11-03-2004, 20:25
here are some concepts for the 'Japanese' cavalry:
edit: link temporarily removed - hoggy

Turin
11-04-2004, 00:18
Awesome hoggy!

Just one note: Japanese bows are NOT held like regluar bows!

The Japanese bow (yumi) is a very very long bow (2 meters in some cases) made of bamboo. It is thin, none composite and has little recurve. it is not held in the middle of the bow. The archer holds it about 2/3 of the way down the bow, so that most of the bow is above his hand. This was so that he could shoot it from a horse. Later when foot archers came into use the same practice was kept.

Also, with the armor, I would love it if you kept it in the older style boxy yoroi type rather than the later Sengoku type... Most people think yoroi style when they think samurai.

Anyways, looking forward to those models, hope you can release them right after you're done so we can play around with them before the full mod comes out... they've started that practice on a lot of the other mods!

DemonArchangel
11-04-2004, 03:58
When can we expect the Chinese units to be shown?

Japes
11-04-2004, 08:13
Great work on the development? I'm definately going to keep an eye on this mod in anticipation of the final release.

The concept art is really nice. I'm glad you're taking your time to sketch out a fleshed-out idea on paper before trying to translate it into graphics. Based on the units that you've created so far, the end result is superb!

Anyways, I can help out if it comes down to plot, backstory, or event-writing. Just let me know.


P.S.

I think if you're doing additional human cultures, a Tibetan/Indian one would be a good choice. Very few strategy games have represented Indian units, and there's a whole slew of cultures in that subcontinent to draw on.

If you want to stay focused on Chinese mythology, though, you might want to consider using a Southeast-Asian culture for an additional faction. Ancient units from Vietnam, Burma, etc. would be interesting.

hoggy
11-04-2004, 09:27
Cheers guys.
Marshal Murat: sounds good I might have some magic user demons or monks in the army. seeing the excellent work the guys at the Wheel of Time mod have done.

Turin: I think I may just be short of the 2/3rds in the concept but I did have a shot at depicting the yumi correctly ~:) The samurai cavalry and Heavy cavalry (and heavy infantry) will be in the older 'boxier' style. - I'll definitely release the models if possible after the mod comes out.

DemonArchangel: I'm just working on the models for the japanese and demon armies at the moment to get some battles going but I'll be concepting the chinese next when i get a chance. I'll use Jian Sheng for the chinese sword saint.

Japes: I'm hoping to keep adding new factions to Blue Lotus once the initial three are done so the more ideas the merrier. I'll be calling out for help when I start on the campaign proper so any help will be appreciated. At the moment I'm focussing on the units and campmap artwork though to get the bulk of that sorted first.

Thanks for the support - hoggy

dessa14
11-04-2004, 10:38
the Centipede
A terrifying, man-eating monster the size of a mountain. It lived in the mountains of Japan near Lake Biwa. The dragon king of that particular lake asked the famous hero Hidesato to kill it for him. The hero slew it by shooting an arrow, dipped in his own saliva, into the brain of the monster. The dragon king rewarded Hidesato by giving him a rice-bag; a bag of rice which could not be emptied and it fed his family for centuries.

a japanese Hero: Hidesato

Ittan-momen
A mysterious being from Japanese myth that looks like a long white cloth. It frightens people by appearing suddenly in the night. The cloth is wrapped around the mouth and nose of the victim, suffocating him. The word momen means "cotton".

that could be a special demon unit.

Jikininki
In Japanese myth, jikininki are demons, corpse-eaters, who eat dead human bodies. These demons are often the spirits of dead men or women whose greed prevented their souls from entering a more peaceful existence after death. They continue a half-life by devouring corpses. A particular myth tells of a strong-willed priest called Muso Kokushi who once kept watch near the body of a deceased person. Suddenly a jikininki arrived to devour it, but the priest's prayers liberated the demon's soul.

Kamaitachi
A Japanese monster that looks like a weasel, although it moves so fast no one has ever gotten a good look. They usually assault a victim as a team, where the first knocks down the victim, the second slashes him with its teeth, and the third heals the wound. The word kama means "sickle" and itachi means "weasel".

Kijo
An ogre living in the Japanese woods.

Kintaro
A Japanese hero, whose name means "Golden Boy". He is the son of Princess Yaegiri. Kintaro lived alone in the woods where he talked to the animals. He was so strong he could bend trees like twigs. In one of his adventures he confronted a demon in the form of a gigantic poisonous spider. He uprooted a tree and used it to crush the monster. Later he joined the suite of the hero Raiko (Minamoto Yorimitsu and became a famous warrior himself, called Sakata Kintoki.

Kitsune-Tsuki
A fox spirit, or a demon who appears in the shape of a fox, in Japanese mythology. Kitsune-Tsuki ("Fox-Lunacy") is possession by such a spirit. It occurs mostly in women. The fox spirit enters through the fingernails or the breast.

Kompera
A Japanese god, probably based on the image of the Indian Kubera, the Lord of the Demons, Master of Magic. Kompera is often identified with the storm god Susanowo who sometimes aids people in mischief. He taught the secret of changing oneself into a dragon to the waitress Kiyo.

Konaki Jiji
A Japanese monster that can change its size and weight, often appearing as a baby lying at the side of a road. When a traveler passes by and picks up the baby, the monster returns to its original size, thus crushing the victim. Konaki Jiji means "old man crying like a baby".

that'll do for now, ill be back with more later.
thanks,
dessa

Marshal Murat
11-04-2004, 12:35
A Chinese legend is a old lady who raised a dragon, four foot, all on the ground, lizard like, unable to fly.

Samurai cavalry usually had lesser armor on them, to help free up movement. The box like style should be kept to foot soldiers, the smoother, lighter, streamlined armor kept to horsemen.

Also, I'm going to guess your familiar with the sohei.
Although this translation isn't perfect, they are warrior monks from I think Shinto Temples across Japan (those at Mt. Hiei, famous)
You should add them as druid like warriors, to chant incantations, and carry a box, said to hold the kami, a spirit.
And very good warriors.

hoggy
11-04-2004, 23:15
Here are some medium japanese cavalry:
edit: link temporarily removed - hoggy

Turin
11-04-2004, 23:44
Awe inspiring...!

And the great thing is since they're all mythical, the fact that the little flags do not go with the armor style is fine! Personally I love the little flags and as I've said before I do like the old boxy style more, so what can be better than yoroi with sashimoto?! ~:cheers:

Anyways, since I'm new to 3Ds max, my results with samurai are much more limited. I'll post a screenie soon...

DemonArchangel
11-05-2004, 01:34
Jiang Shi=Chinese Vampire
Chinese Lich=Ku Lo
Also Monkey King is a MUST

Sober
11-05-2004, 02:11
Awesome work Hoggy! I hope you won't be offended by my suggestion, but I really think the horses would look better without those red rings around the neck, and the red around the mouth and ears.

the_mango55
11-05-2004, 04:14
Wow, the quality of these units are unbelievable.

Seriously, i dont believe this, these are as good as anything from CA, and were made so quickly!

Hoggy, You sir, are the MAN!

TigerVX
11-05-2004, 04:29
Wow Hoggy, I love your units. I can't wait for your mod to come out. I can't wait to see Chinese Units Roll out (Cuz I'm chinese =P). But its a really imaginative and creative world your making. Basically, Asia Fantasy TW. I'm definietly keeping an eye on this mod. Keep up the good work!

Ellesthyan
11-05-2004, 18:00
Hehe go Monkeyking!

Anyway, it looks fantastic. Could you make some kind of strategic map concept? Im rather curious what you are planning on that.

Dionysus9
11-05-2004, 18:41
Unbelievably cool. Too bad the R:TW MP experience is in so much disarray...hopefully the patch will fix it so we can play this killer mod.

Absolutely incredible.

RZST
11-05-2004, 19:49
random question, who does the concept art? looks really nice imo.
and good job on the mod, this is the only one im waiting for =). hope to see the campaign map when its done =P

hoggy
11-05-2004, 21:24
Here's the campmap plan. I've got this layout working in game but I need to sort out heightmaps etc properly. Hope to have Junks plying the seas and sea beasts for the demon 'ships'. The top island will have large inaccessible mountains in the middle where the Gods live (you don't interact with them they just live there) Each of the other two main continents will have mountainous spines too. I'm hoping to scale the world down a bit so it's all more central but at the moment it crashes whenever I try. Hope you like.
edit: link temporarily removed - hoggy
and some heavy infantry:
edit: link temporarily removed - hoggy

dessa14
11-06-2004, 07:33
i really like the look of it mate.
i think this could go down as a "GREAT" Total War Mod
thanks,
dessa

hoggy
11-06-2004, 13:42
Here are the concepts for the 'Chinese' Infantry units:
edit: link temporarily removed - hoggy

DemonArchangel
11-06-2004, 22:37
Nice mace infantry! Looks great.

(note: Get rid of the "g" on the end of the jian)

Sephriel
11-07-2004, 00:02
great work hoggy!
thanks for doing that :bow:

how many factions are planning to add in the end? i think, it would be a good solution to split the existing factions into clans or something. you could add perhaps a hero and a special unit for each clan, so you dont have to work the rest of your life for having an acceptable amount of factions(cuz i think, it would be really annoying to fight everytime against the same 3 enemies...)
well, but thats only my opinion and a try to help you...

if you ever need a tester, i'd be lucky to help. or if you need ideas or facts or anythng else...

@murat: sohei were buddhist monks, but they were carrying shinto shrines ;)

cheers
Sephriel

JimBob
11-07-2004, 00:18
Indian factions could be based on the books like the Ramyana. Like a Monkey Kingdom(Ramayana) with diffrent monkey warriors, the monkey kind and Hanuman(maybe even Rama and Lakshmana). A kingdom based on Ravana(diffrent demon kingdom) from the Ramayana. And a human kingdom with lots of elephant based units and possibly chariots

TheSleepyOne
11-07-2004, 18:24
boy! does this sound (and look) good, or what?!?!? can't wait for the release!

Kaiser of Arabia
11-07-2004, 18:34
AWESOME
Dude, you are God. Metaphorically Speaking.

Kaiser of Arabia
11-07-2004, 18:36
Those Shaolin Monks are gonna be wicked.

hoggy
11-08-2004, 15:10
Here are the Ghost Geisha units from the army list. Not sure if I'll be able to keep the transparency as it's playing havoc with my pc.
edit: link temporarily removed - hoggy

buujin
11-08-2004, 15:19
im guna create a new religion called hoggyism

Al Khalifah
11-08-2004, 17:37
Fantastic imagination Hoggy - its great to see someone coming up with a mod idea that is not only not historically accurate, but even goes beyond any standard fiction script. From what I've seen so far the units all seem to have a definite unique cultural feel to them - keep up the good work.

Just two questions:
- Have you looked into modifying the building models for the battle map? Hope we see more of the same (and yet different) there in terms of the semi-mythic cultures involved. If possible the ground should be more rice fields rather than grain.
- Have you been able to make any progress in the skeleton animations so far? I haven't been able to do much here myself and judging by the word on the forum it doesn't look like anyone else has either. I ask because I assume we will see dragons at some stage and the closest we've got at the moment is elephants.

Ta

plantman
11-08-2004, 22:40
i had to register just to say how cool this mod looks. the tattered banner for the ghost geisha is a great detail too.
I don't know if this fits into what your doing but i remember all of those cool saturday afternoon karate movies had some wild ideas.
there was one movie called the flying gillateen (cant spell) where the guys throw this frisbee thing that would land on a guys head, a basket drops down then chops of the head of the guy and is pulled back by a rope to the thrower where the head drops out. A classic! Archer unit type perhaps.
There was also some guys that where immune to weapons unless they got hit in a certain spot then there armour skin was no more. Would this be a good hero unit or general trait like hard to kill? just like the light skill may increase movement points?
Look forward to seeing more, wish i was talented enough to help.

dclare4
11-09-2004, 09:49
Those are way too cool! Will you be including mythic heroes as well as monsters and such? Maybe they could be rebels to simulate ronin status and must be bribed (since they're one unit strong they'd be cheaper than an army and more effective!) I'm thinking of characters like Momotaro the peach boy or Isun Boshi the one inch samurai. Not to be kitchy or whatever but maybe for the Chinese there could be drunken masters or real live dragons?

cant wait to try this too, you rock!

Clare

hoggy
11-09-2004, 10:21
Cheers guys, glad you like it so far. still just scratching the surface of the work that needs doing but I'm not in any hurry.

Sephriel - Depending on time constraints (ie how knackered i am after building all the units for three factions) i may well resort to a number of colour variant clans of each faction type to add variety. I'm hoping to use the three as a base campaign and add new factions in future releases.

Al Khalifah - Hoping to do new oriental castles etc and work on the terrain in general adding cherry blossom trees etc. Also I'm going to scale down the trees and grass if i get time (is it just me or are they strangely large?). All depends how long everything takes really. The skeleton issue is one we're working through at the moment. I'm confident a solution will be found but if not then some culling of the army lists and some imaginitive use of existing technology will have to suffice (ie. elephant skeleton for dragon model).

Plantman - Top ideas for units not sure they're all feasable in the RTW engine. One constraint when thinking of these fictional units is that they have to work in full scale battles and with the fight mechanics of the engine. I've put a couple of heroes in each faction but still not sure if they will work. keep the ideas coming though, top stuff.

I'm hoping to have a number of mercenary units that can be used by any faction dependant on location on the map. Wandering Ronin and heroes and occasionally demon units.

Al Khalifah
11-09-2004, 11:50
Al Khalifah - Hoping to do new oriental castles etc and work on the terrain in general adding cherry blossom trees etc. Also I'm going to scale down the trees and grass if i get time (is it just me or are they strangely large?). All depends how long everything takes really.

Oriental castles - most excellent. I'm picturing Shogun-esque Japanese castles and Hero-style Chinese castles. The Chinese structures should allow for some fairly epic architecture considering their massive size.
If you need any assistance in this area I'd be glad to offer a hand - since I'm sure your hands will already be busy with units and camp maps.

The trees are pretty large - but since this is China and Japan that might be a good thing in the forest regions. The grass though does seem a bit OTT - I think CA just wanted it to look good and force you to notice it like in every other game I've played with grass in (look we've got grass bits - LOOK! - oh we'll have to make them bigger.)

For a basic Japanese 'town-guard' type unit you could use the machi yakko (servants of the town). These were a vigilante police group that arose to enforce order and protect the community, especially outside the capital cities, from intruders during the Edo period. Normally just labourers and tough men - no swords.
A more advanced form might be the kabukimono (raving ones). They tended to dress in outrageous manners, having unusual haircuts and would use vulgar language, but these groups could grow to be seen as heroes for fighting against bandits and included Ronin due to their ability to carry swords. It's suggested their mercenary protection antics and behaviour are a precusror to the Yakuza.

DeadRunner
11-09-2004, 13:11
very cool geisha ghost hoggy :bow: :bow: :bow:

when will be a realeased m8.

will you put things of the legend of the 5 rings ???

Vikings
11-09-2004, 16:21
Very good work indeed, i gotta say it would be very interesting to play that module. Take your time there no rush, most fans and developers have moved too fast and not being able to test/check all the possiblies of bugs. And yes it take alot of work and time.

Looking forward to see your module release hoggy, keep up the good work! ~:cool:

-Viking

crusher of eval
11-09-2004, 19:04
just had to register to say how great this mod is looking.

everytime i heard anyone mention a fantasy TW mod/game, it always sounded stupid to me, it always made me think of some corny LOTR knock off or something, but this is very unique and seems really cool. and your art work is really very good, coming from someone whos entire family is artists, not that that makes my opinoin better than nayone elses ~:)

i was wondering if your planning on doing audio for the units and music etc? sorry if thats already been mentioned. i work with a few audio editing programs as im a musician, and i could possibly help or "loan" you some programs if need be, just drop me a pm and let me know.

anyway just wanted to say that this mod looks very promising, and i cant wait to see it in action, keep up the good work.

hoggy
11-09-2004, 21:10
here are the Hanya. I'm hoping to make these guys around 10ft tall and in smaller units (not currently possible):
edit: link temporarily removed - hoggy

Vikings
11-10-2004, 02:18
Oh those ugly mean looking HYENAS, btw can they make hyena's sound?

:fainting:

The Evil Emperor Mindstation
11-10-2004, 02:43
This MOD looks excellent! Keep up the good work!

Paul Peru
11-10-2004, 09:48
Your units look amazing, Hoggy!
The concept is very cool as well.
I enjoy the historical settings, but a bit of fantasy is great for a change.
I just hope limitations in campaign moddability and AI won't stop you from delivering what looks like the most promising mod ever(IMHO).
:bow:

Speiz_Bankurt
11-10-2004, 13:22
I wasn't into the whole fantasy thing until I found this thread. Absolutely brilliant!!

Just an idea for another faction: Indonesia. They had some pretty uniqe unit types.
Just a thought, I don't know if you can use it but another idea would be little people. Most south east asian and pacific cultures have tiny "hobbit" like people in their mythology. Could be interesting but maybe too Tolkien?

Kaiser of Arabia
11-10-2004, 21:18
Oh oh for the chinese, I have some ideas:
A heavy swordsmen unit
and a unit that you get for doing somthing but cant be build, Guan Yus cavalry or somthing with Guan Yu, who Cao Cao declared a God of War, so that would be a cool mytholegy unit.
Just my ideas mate, do with them as you please.

DemonArchangel
11-10-2004, 21:20
Hey, Capo, the imperial guard is the heavy swordsman unit, i'm trying to get hoggy to give the guardsman dual machetes.

DemonArchangel
11-10-2004, 21:21
And besides capo, the fact is, the chinese used swordsmen as light infantry.

Kaiser of Arabia
11-10-2004, 21:33
Oh, ok missed that,
Is there a light swordsman in the planning?

hoggy
11-10-2004, 22:44
top unit ideas guys, i'll do a proper reply when i get a minute. in the meantime a samurai archer screen:
edit: link temporarily removed - hoggy

Kaiser of Arabia
11-10-2004, 23:26
Cool.

TigerVX
11-11-2004, 01:04
Hm, maybe the Chinese could have some sort of Cannon unit? Like a fireworks artillery unit, basically the same idea like the flaming catapults. They're inaccurate, but boy can they do some damage.

Anyways, love the Samuri Archers, keep up the good work. By the way, are you doing this by yourself?

hoggy
11-12-2004, 09:47
Al Khalifah - the Kabukimono sound perfect for a low morale, cheap mercenary unit.

Crusher of Eval - glad you like it. I will be looking into sound later on so i'll pm you then if that's ok. cheers.

Capo and Demon Archangel - I'm going to have another look at the chinese army list when I start on that faction so I'll collate all your ideas then to get edit the final armylist.

TigerVX - Hoping to have a special chinese unit for firelances but the firework cannon sounds good too. and yes, I'm working on this on my own at the moment, it's a big job so I'm going to start by doing most of the units for the three factions and then I'll have a call out for helpers with text files and general modding if anyone's up for it. Still not sure what tools will become available from CA or the excellent Vercingetorix. RTW still has some serious limitations to modding which need to be worked around before a total mod is possible. We'll get there though.

TenjoArthurWellsley
11-12-2004, 10:49
Hoggy congratulations looks sumptuous.

Can I suggest you google "Water Margin". This was a Shaw brothers film in 1972, and also the title of a long running television series shown by the BBC in about 1976. The root of both is an epic book which places 108 heroes of Liang Shang marshes against the corrupt forces of the empirial court. It includes fantasy elements, but the costumes and story lines of the television series should give you plenty to work with. In addition the TV series is available on dvd, so if you wish you could capture and manipulate parts for small movies. After the Water Margin finished its run the BBC replaced it with a television series called "Monkey" (I believe a film is to be made of the same story). The Monkey TV shows had the central kingdom of the drunken gods, and the eponymous hero of the show was trying to become a god. Each episode involved him undertaking tasks & challenges with various companions. This show had much more of a super natural element to it than the Water Margin, and some of Monkeys adventures take him to as far away from China as Mongolia, India, and Arabia. Again I would suggest a very good source for graphics, ideas, and story lines.

Silver Rusher
11-12-2004, 20:42
Is there gonna be a super-fast archery unit for the Chinese?

If there is, it'd be cool if it went miles beyond reality and actually did fire 200rps say, but all arrows inaccurate and not very effective. Maybe lower the firing rate if this is not possible. They'd have to be quite expensive.

Another thing- Is this a campaign mod aswell or just a battle mod? I have an Idea for the daemons on the campaign if it is.

The map is divided into provinces with cities, as usual, but scattered around the place are 'Hellgates' which are basically daemon settlements. They all have one big city, well, stray as far from the idea of a 'city' as far as you can, they can maybe have massive webbed claws as walls, the webs being rock solid as well as the claws, and the interiors all spooky and dark. These 'hellgates' will have two squares and two squares ONLY for a width around the outside, so they basically do not have any lands. However, it is OK because they are always at war with everyone by default, and they have loads of armies constantly roaming around enemy countryside. You may not understand what I mean...

DemonArchangel
11-12-2004, 21:13
Dude, Cho Ko Nus already fire around 60 times a minute
no need to make it even faster.

hoggy
11-12-2004, 23:21
hehe, some top ideas guys. Here are the kappa archer units, i've made them slightly different from the original concepts:
edit: link temporarily removed - hoggy

Vikings
11-13-2004, 05:59
I call them koko puff, remind me playing Diablo 2. I didnt like that game much it was boring as hell after a week or two.

-Vikings

Vercingetorix
11-13-2004, 09:54
I've been lurking following this mod but I thought I had to finally post. Awseome work hoggy! I'm amazed how fast you can churn out units and at such quality.

Don't stop ~:cheers:

Silver Rusher
11-13-2004, 10:32
Dude, Cho Ko Nus already fire around 60 times a minute
no need to make it even faster.
Maybe so, but one thing that makes fantasy great is to really exaggurate on stuff that was emphasised historically. Maybe I suggested something a bit too fast though... *reads previous post and laughs out loud* HAHHAHAHA LOL that was so stupid... maybe just 200 bolts per minute maybe?

Silver Rusher
11-13-2004, 10:54
Alright, that's it, I am too madly crazy about this mod now.

I know you are not on the campaign yet, but can I please make the campaign map for it? Please read my last post on page three to see my idea.

Also, does it have to be geographically accurate, or can I freeform it completely in a kind of archipeligo type thing?

hoggy
11-13-2004, 11:43
Glad you like it Vercingetorix, all done using your excellent exporter :bow:

Silver Rusher- I'm afraid I've already done a large portion of the campaign map (see page 2) but cheers for the offer. I reckon we can play test the fire rate. Start fast and see if it's too powerfull.

Silver Rusher
11-13-2004, 13:30
Well, I really do want to help, I have an idea of a faction that isn't even similar in culture to anything in history, completely original and unique.

Can I design their units maybe and their tech-tree, and also some other stuff related to them? If you say yes I'll send you a pm describing my very own people.

Sp00n
11-13-2004, 13:31
This does look very good Hoggy if it plays as good as it looks you may have a winner :)

MizuSp00n :charge:

Vikings
11-13-2004, 14:08
Besure to gives Hoggy a hug and a hog for all the work! Good Job Hoggy!

-Vikings

hoggy
11-13-2004, 15:42
some Snow Monkey infantry (i need to get rid of the double highlight on the sheild):
edit: link temporarily removed - hoggy

Silver Rusher
11-13-2004, 15:57
Whoa, cool... So how about it? (read previous post)

EDIT: How far are you on the campaign map? If you've only done the province locations and cities etc. I could take it from you.

Voigtkampf
11-13-2004, 17:00
Remarkable work, hoggy. Respect. :bow:

CGS
11-13-2004, 17:01
I just wanted to say that it is really great.
I know nothing about modding, but if you want the game to be translated into Spanish, I could do it quite well, I think.

Silver Rusher
11-13-2004, 17:24
Factions not on the list: (note, these are just suggestions)

Korean Kingdom
Infantry: (possibilities)
Korean Spearmen
Swordsmen
Crossbowmen
Heavy Crossbowmen
Archers
Heavy Swordsmen
Mountain Rangers
Boatmen/Mariners
Fireball Warriors
Hero: Land Admiral
Hero: Almighty King

Cavalry:
War Wagons
Heavy Chariots
Chariot Archers
Light Cavalry Lancers
Heavy Cavalry Lancers
Cavalry Archers

Special Units:
Iron Turtle (large siege weapon with a flamethrower in the mouth)
Firelances (maybe just unique to china)
Land Ships (ships that sail on land... pretty neat huh?)
Giant Crossbow
Mechanical Catapult

Naval: (Koreans are an especially naval faction)
Turtle Ship
Iron Barge
Iron Galley
Light Galley

hoggy
11-13-2004, 17:46
Silver Rusher - Korean faction sounds excellent. not sure about a purely fantasy one though, I'd rather stick to the theme of the mod. Cheers for the offer of help on the campmap but I'm going to sit and work it out myself at some point, The campmap is fundamental to the campaign and I'd like to know how it all fits together myself. Thank you for the offer though I will definitely need help later on.

Silver Rusher
11-13-2004, 17:54
Meh, it's not purely fantasy. I could model some units if you want, please, I need to mod. I have an URGE to mod for this game. Just let me know what you want me to do and I'll do it.

Ferocious_Imbecile
11-13-2004, 19:05
Hoggy, you're a genius. Your drawings are not only beautiful, but are really original, and I love the fact that you've gone so far as to create new skins even for the horses.

Good luck on your mod. I'm keeping close track of it.

One thing; I hope your eventual Campaign Map is in the same richly coloured 3D manner as the original RTW Campaign Map, with all sorts of fanciful symbols in it. Has this aspect of the game been fully cracked for modders? Link?

You haven't said anything yet about changing the cities; I certainly hope we're going to see some beautiful oriental cities, even cities set on rivers!

Mr.Grim
11-13-2004, 23:27
Hoggy I've got a few questions for you if you dont mind...

First of all which programs do you mainly use when creating models for this excellent mod? I'm a pretty good artist but I have very little experience with 3d modelling. I've gone through the tutorials that came with gmax and I've read Burebista's guide at twcenter but his english is kinda broken and he doesnt really explain how to make the units from scratch.

Basically I'm looking for some type of tutorials or guides to help me get started down the path to modding RTW. What programs do I need other than photoshop and gmax? I've been able to load the .cas files into gmax using vercin's importer/exporter but how would you go about making the models from scratch? (Also how can I get the models to show up as they would in the game itself without the wierd coloring and wireframes everywhere.)

If you could take that time to say write of a tutorial just using one of your blue lotus units as an example it would be very awesome and I'm sure it would get a lot more people interested in modding which in turn would advance the whole modding community! If you cant do this I understand, creating a mod by yourself can be a very daunting task.

If you could just point me in the right direction I would really appreciate. Great work on Blue Lotus btw.

TigerVX
11-13-2004, 23:30
Actually, I believe the script for CAS import and export only works for 3D max (Gmax cannot export).

Mr.Grim
11-13-2004, 23:43
Bleh. It's a good thing 3ds max only costs nearly 4,000. I still cannot grasp how they can charge more for one piece of computer software than for a top of the line computer.

Ferocious_Imbecile
11-14-2004, 03:03
Bleh. It's a good thing 3ds max only costs nearly 4,000. I still cannot grasp how they can charge more for one piece of computer software than for a top of the line computer.
gMax, the version of 3DMax for modders is totally a free download. You can use it just like 3d max for all your skins and there's lots of textures out there too...

check it out.

Mr.Grim
11-14-2004, 03:21
gMax, the version of 3DMax for modders is totally a free download. You can use it just like 3d max for all your skins and there's lots of textures out there too...

check it out.

Yeah I have Gmax but as Tiger stated above the vercin's import/export program for the .cas files will not work with gmax. I found a 30 day trial of 3ds max 7 though.

hoggy
11-14-2004, 12:31
Hi Mr. Grim. You should only need photoshop and Max and the related plugins/exporters etc. I've just done the quick tutorial you asked for in the guides section of this forum. As I point out it's not a Max tutorial (you should be able to find those on the internet and they are too big for me to beable to write up) Hope it helps.

Mr.Grim
11-14-2004, 19:17
Thanks a lot Hoggy I really appreciate it.

mad caligula
11-16-2004, 17:49
cool idea :charge: demon are really cool

Des_Miridius_Maximus
11-17-2004, 11:57
Just had to comment on how awesome this is coming along... ~:)

If I could just make a quick suggestion.

It would be great if heroes had special abilities. For example an elephant can throw men into the air, maybe you could have an evil hero with the same ability.

*Has an image in his head of an evil hero slashing Samurai into the air* :duel:

Might be a bit stupid but just thought i'd let ya know... ~D

Thx

Paul Peru
11-17-2004, 18:01
It would be great if heroes had special abilities. For example an elephant can throw men into the air, maybe you could have an evil hero with the same ability.

*Has an image in his head of an evil hero slashing Samurai into the air* :duel:
Thx

This is possible. Any unit can toss people about. It's a simple attribute to the primary/secondary attack stats.

hoggy
11-17-2004, 19:08
Sounds excellent. would be great to see samurai heroes crashing into armies like that, will definitely include it.
Here are the Noh demons (screenshot looks nicer than usual as it was done on a different computer hence real shadows and everything!)
edit: link temporarily removed - hoggy
I'm away til monday now so it'll be a little quiet.

Meneldil
11-17-2004, 19:28
Though I haven't posted in this topic untill now, I must admit that your work is amazing. I really look forward to play your mod ~:)

Silver Rusher
11-17-2004, 21:13
About the Noh- WOW!!! That is amazing. If only I had that modelling skill.

If only Citadel: Total War had any decent modellers, I would be sooooo thankful.

(sorry 'bout the shameless spam btw)

tombom
11-17-2004, 21:43
These look amazing! Bizarre, but amazing. I see they're bigger than other troops.

SwordsMaster
11-17-2004, 21:54
Lol, anyone realized the Nohs have a barbarian(?) standard bearer?

mad caligula
11-18-2004, 03:43
cant wait for it

~:cheers:
cheers

chemchok
11-18-2004, 08:34
Hoggy, your concept art is simply amazing. Your ability to take it and translate it into something just as good with your 3d models and skins is just as unbelievable. In fact, I check in on this thread every day and hope to see something new.

:dizzy2:

Keep up the good work. :2thumbsup:

Ferocious_Imbecile
11-19-2004, 03:29
Hoggy, I sure hope you're not going to compromise on the music the way RTW did and wind up with some conventional trite boring Hollywood style music. If the music for your mod is going to match the incredible graphics work you're doing, then I certainly hope it will be replete with amazing, mysterious, authentic, bizzarre oriental music from the entire ancient Chinese Japanese, and Myanmar opus....

And the in game announcement cards too...I hope they're all hand drawn or painted or at least chosen from authentic oriental art by you. You've got an amazing sense of style and taste

DragoonXXIV
11-21-2004, 09:00
I just have to say that is turning into an amazing mod, and the speed at which you make models is simply astonishing. Bravo.

Actually i'm surprised no one has mentition it yet, but why not include a Buddhist faction. Possibly fighting for Japan but definately against the demons. They could use the various guardian deities as shock troops with the Buddhist monks/priests as spellcasters/support, however they would be lacking in line troops and low class grunts.

Also while the unit graphic look excellent i'm a bit worried about the quality of the animations. Actually the animation in R:TW wasn't very good to start out with but if you can get it to that level or even improve upon it i can say without doubt you're the best modder i've ever seen.

Anyway good luck with the mod. And once again, simply amazing so far.

Ypoknons
11-21-2004, 14:11
I'm just back from a school trip to Sichuan (Chinese province in the southwest, just next to Tibet) and I got a set of miniature Chinese spears and polearms. If you you'd like me to scan those I would be pleased to do so - my family can add some commentary about the weapons.

The monkeys are utterly awesome. Very Chinese - perhaps the dao could be shinier.

hoggy
11-21-2004, 18:47
back from my brief holiday, cheers for all the responses. if you have time scan those spears in Ypoknons, the more reference the better really, pm me for my email address. As to sound and animations ideally i'd obviously like to change everything in the mod but it always depends on the amount of work involved. I'm definitely going to look into it. Here are the Sohei monks btw:
edit: link temporarily removed - hoggy

Emperior Eric
11-22-2004, 05:26
Hoggy your mod is simply amazing! and as an artist myself your concept art is fantastic. I cant model at all but your models are magnifico. I love the whole concept of the mod. If you need some quality testers I am part of a modding group and we would love to to help you test the mod on a Lan or something.

But anyway the mod is awesome. I am trying to think of some more factions for you but my brain is pounding lol. my email is Barbarianbob68@aol.com and my aim is the same. contact me if you want to take me up on my offer for testing. I could definetly get a team large enough to have a player for each faction on a multi game. I have about 6 people if we need them all.

anyway let me go do something. hope to talk to ya later.

hoggy
11-22-2004, 20:57
Definitely need testers at a later date I'll keep you in posted Eric. Here are some floating hags. My PC won't do the shadows or transparency properly but they should look better on a better pc.
edit: link temporarily removed - hoggy

Emperior Eric
11-23-2004, 00:34
nice. gosh this mod is going to be awesome. I cant wait lol you have a new unit everyday and with such quality. I am surprise you arent making your own video game instead of modding

soibean
11-23-2004, 03:35
wow
this is going to be one awesome and original mod
I cant say Ive ever seen anything like this

DragoonXXIV
11-23-2004, 04:28
I hate to be a bother, but have you thought about releasing an alpha version to tune the units you've already made?

Al Khalifah
11-23-2004, 10:29
Still going strong Hoggy. Loving the new units so far.

A thought just came to my head when I looked at your most recent picture, captain (centurion) models for the daemons....
If you look at the snow monkeys unit in the background they seem to be standing next to a Carthaginian captain, unless my eyes have gone.

Will you be using these in your modification ? - as I think its possible (not sure though) for a unit to not have a captain character. If they are going to be included or have to be then answer this as a number - how many times more badass than the already badass daemon units will they be? (if a regular-run-off-the-mill-rookie snow monkey is that evil and sadistic looking - how monstrous should their leader be ~D )

Oh.. general units...

Des_Miridius_Maximus
11-23-2004, 10:36
Awesome to see a masterpiece in progress... Just hope I can make some sort of contribution ^_^

--- Wish I could be a tester =p ---

Ahem... Anyway, keep up the good work.

jlin12345us
11-23-2004, 16:57
Hoggy are you japanese ???~:) ~:)

Saranalos
11-23-2004, 19:27
just 3 words... Work Of Genius :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow:

tombom
11-23-2004, 20:33
Hoggy are you japanese ???~:) ~:)
I think he's from Leeds, England :D



I hate to be a bother, but have you thought about releasing an alpha version to tune the units you've already made?

He's only created the graphics.

If you want, I could be a tester as well :D

Saranalos
11-23-2004, 21:47
Hey If anyones doing testing count me in too.

Medieval Kenieval
11-24-2004, 06:00
Hi Mr Hogg, guess who! ive finally got my PC working and the interweb connected.

I'd be up up for helping out code-wise, is there anything that currently needs doing?

BBD

brimston3
11-24-2004, 06:52
:thumbsup: hey i want to to tell u great job man. things are looking great. i know how hard it is to model, back when i tried to make gun models for CS, and making the right textures. looking real good. if you need help i might be able to help. i just have to get used to the program u guys use, just give me the 101. i just got some suggestions. the ghost things with the masks are a little too big. can you size them down a bit? also from things ive heard, isnt it possible to remove the group leader from the unit? its weird to have a human lead some ghosts 2 times bigger than him. and the hyena things. their weapons just look so harmless. anyway you can replace the iron clubs and attach two a blade on both side of the staff? how are you going to make the dragons work? will they just walk around and claw stuff or will they have fire? maybe you can make them shoot the flaming rocks from RWT that the orangers have. but have them be close range and reduce the AOE. have you ever played Onimusha? is there anyway you can add rifles to the game or anything of the sort flaming arrows? (if you add gun powder it will really open up even more room for different unit types) like the romans have the javliens b4 they charge, the heavy sami's can have rilfes. Also on the Onimusha topic, the demons in that game look pretty sweet. maybe you can copy some models. maybe some ninjas :tongue3: . haha just a sugestion. maybe add some more cavarly units too. :inquisitive:

Paul Peru
11-24-2004, 10:26
Just a wild stab in the dark:
This mod probably needs some new sounds.
Voices: oriental, animal, diabolical etc.
(There's a voice mod in progress for RTR)
Sound effects of all sorts...
My guess is much can be replaced by using the same names for sounds and attributes. There are the attributes for armour type, for instance. They determine which sound is heard when a unit is hit.
I hope that

there aren't too many limitations to moddability that will make this "feel" like Rome with gorgeous new units and a strange map...
Some people with similiar skills in other "modding disciplines" will help Hoggy with this project

hoggy
11-24-2004, 14:55
Dragoon – As Tombom mentioned there’s not really enough at the moment for any kind of release and I won’t be releasing test stuff til a big portion of the campaign is done and playable.
Al Khalifah – Each faction will eventually have it’s own type of captains, standard bearers and generals etc. just not got round to them yet will do concepts first.
Jlin12345us – I’m from Leeds England (Adel is near Leeds in Roman Britain)
Brimstone – some good ideas there cheers
Paul Peru – I’m hoping sounds will play a part in this mod but not had time to look at the technicalities yet. Will certainly look into it.

On a separate note I won’t be posting for a couple of weeks as I’m sorting out a few personal things but please don’t change channel, normal service will resume shortly… :bow:

jlin12345us
11-24-2004, 19:09
hoggy i ask beacuse you know their culture very well!! ~:) ~:) ~:) btw i love you mod man keep up the good work and happy thanksgiving :charge: :charge: :charge:

brimston3
11-25-2004, 19:24
yo hoggy i got a question about the campain map. Let say you start the game playing as the Chinese. my persumtion is that you will get starting towns and the other towns surrounding you will have to be conqured. now, who is going to own these surrounding settlements? the other factions like the Indians and the koreans will have to be impelmented, unless all other settlements are controlled by rebels and they are one giant faction with an AI so they build and try to "liberate" you cities.

What purpose will the monks on their little island serve? it says senate but im confused what they will do. can they be attacked? do they hand out missions to all 3 (as of right now) factions?

What is the point of the gods if you can never interact or see them? wouldnt be better if you just opened up that land and put both the Chinese and the Japanese there and give it some back story like: the Chinese and the Japanese were trying to expand their colonese on recently discovered islands. then when they are on the last island (where is says territory of the demons) demons spawn because of the immense hatred on the lands. so this is where the player starts. it would be similar to the campain map you show, but the japanese and the chinese would have 1 or 2 towns on the central island, trying to hold off the demon onslaught and the attacks of the other faction as well.

Saranalos
11-26-2004, 17:36
:. i just got some suggestions. the ghost things with the masks are a little too big. can you size them down a bit? is there anyway you can add rifles to the game or anything of the sort flaming arrows? (if you add gun powder it will really open up even more room for different unit types) like the romans have the javliens b4 they charge, the heavy sami's can have rilfes. :
~:eek: ~:eek: ~:eek: ~:eek: :furious3:
Please Do not add gunpowder in the game cos it would totally ruin the theme of the mod and rifiles would be crap for this mod. Please Leave Rifles to some other mod and the noh demons are the perfect size.
:bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: ~:)

Sad Ronin
11-27-2004, 12:16
Hi Hoggy!
Amazing job!
Accept my congratulations and admiration!
Besides theme rather unusual...

You saw " Princess Mononoke " film?
Whether you will apply elements from this film in game?
Animals, hand-gun...

How at you are a situation with architecture?

KyodaiSteeleye
11-27-2004, 16:49
Wow, sad ronin, i haven't heard that song since i was about 6 and it was on the telly. :bow:

kendonosensei
11-28-2004, 15:04
Hi, everyone. I have to say I think this is a great idea.

Hoggy, I am so glad to hear you are a fellow Yorkshireman. I think we're all quite creative ~:cheers: I was born in Leeds but am currently studying at York.

I have a few suggestions - sorry if they have been repeated.

1. Don't include Indians yet. I think Japanese and Chinese are enough for now - perhaps Koreans could be added later. Perhaps to add a little variety you could give those three human factions different families - would spice things up a bit.

Guys, don't pressure hoggy into biting off more than he can chew. Once he gets the mod in place, it works, etc - then he can add factions on.

2. How about a regular geisha unit of the ilk of the original "Legendary Geisha"? I guess all you'd have to do is to change the colours of the demon unit.

Perhaps you could give them a bonus when fighting their evil counterparts - they either hate them or can "dispel" them or something.

3. Have you looked on the official forums and over at the TW Center for any help? There are lots of good mods over there, especially at the TW Center.

I am more than happy to help you with any historical or mythological information. However I have no coding skills - sorry about that. Any idea how long it would take to produce, polish and finish such a mod. Couple of months?

kendonosensei
11-28-2004, 21:33
(Rats, no edit function )

4. Why not let daughters be generals as well? Better than having to constantly worry about picking the right husband for them to marry!

DragoonXXIV
11-28-2004, 21:53
Kendonosensei:
I'm pretty sure that daughters not being generals is a hard-coded part of the game.

DemonArchangel
11-28-2004, 22:40
if you want india?
https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=27958

kendonosensei
11-28-2004, 22:43
I'm pretty sure that daughters not being generals is a hard-coded part of the game.

Though I doubt there is anything to STOP it happening, I think it's more a question of they didn't build the code to make it possible (if you can see the difference).

The portraits and names will have to be changed so that they reflect the mod properly. Perhaps if there was a way to trick the game into giving you only "sons" - then if you could randomise the names and portraits you would end up having daughters in effect.

The problem I see with that, obviously, is how to

a) make female names and portraits match up, if the code says that they are male
b) give the daughters husbands, instead of wives

Out of curiosity, how would one go about modding the current portraits, names, etc. Perhaps the relevant info would be found there.

hoggy, I guess you'd have little or no idea how to do this, right?

Anyway if it can't be done, it doesn't matter. It was just a fun idea. Plus I liked the idea of getting two generals from one child - obviously the husband could then be a general too.

DragoonXXIV
11-29-2004, 00:10
I haven't been able to find any mod-able file that contains male/female birth ratio, and due to some comments in the offical R:TW forums i think it's hard-coded at 50/50 chance of male or female.
However if you want to change/add names for generals then it's:
descr_names.txt
You can add models generals in:
descr_character.txt
I think you can also add faces in the \data\models_strat\ but i'm not positive.
In this way you can kinda have female generals, but your daughters will still be regular daughters and not characters. Personally i think if both male and female children became characters than your family will be huge, espeically if the women can also marry and you get another general.

kendonosensei
11-29-2004, 00:52
Personally i think if both male and female children became characters than your family will be huge, espeically if the women can also marry and you get another general.
Yeah, that's a good point. Anyway it would still be so great to have this mod running.

hoggy
11-29-2004, 13:57
Hi folks, sorry about lack of screenshot postings for a few days, as i pointed out earlier I'm a bit tied down til next week. Should have some good stuff then though.

Brimston3 - I've not quite sorted out the exact setup of the factions yet, alot will depend on gameplay and moddability.

Saranlos - No you're right I won't be having guns (although the chinese may have one or two crazy firework cannon things)

Sad Ronin - glad you like it, good to see you again! I've not had time to start on architecture yet but it's definitely something i want to mod.

Kendonosensei - good to hear from another northener, some top ideas there. I'm hoping to add more units once the base units are done, I like the idea of female generals if it turns out to be moddable and doesn't break gameplay.

Demonarchangel - cheers for the link.

more soon

Antwawn
11-30-2004, 05:49
Good god Hoggy, this concept is looking brilliant. I would love to help in any way I can, and there are many. Here's my skills:

Very good at 3ds max for
Modelling, animating (learning it, just need to get acquainted with the Rome TW bone system)
and Unwrapping

I can texture to some degree in Photoshop, but I'm still learning texture work in PS, so you may have to help me with some.

I can also write storylines, or history work.

If you would like to have some graphical help on Blue Lotus, respond here, or contact my via MSN Antwawn@hotmail.com. I've worked on several mods, especially for the Battlefield franchise, so Rome shouldn't be too much of a change. :duel:

Here's some recent game models:
https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v175/Antwawn/soldier2.jpg
https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v175/Antwawn/Leopard2-2.jpg
https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v175/Antwawn/render5.jpg
I did the textures on that last one too

CaeroxVII
11-30-2004, 14:47
Antwawn, let me guess, you made those models for battlefield!!

And hoggy, great mod and thank you for helping me out on the 3D modelling tread!

Saranalos
12-01-2004, 01:14
Brilliant Glad to hear that guns wont be in the mod, And the chinese having crazy rocket firework things would be brilliant. I cant wait for this mod to come out and have you a rough idea of when you will finish it.
and if its just you making this mod brilliant artistic work and models.
(im learning myself at the moment and know how long it takes to get a model up and running, So how did you do these so fast???) anyway BRILLIANT work hope to see more screenshots soon. :charge: ~:cheers: ~:cheers: ~:) ~:) ~;)

hoggy
12-01-2004, 12:15
Antwawn - top models there, I've yet to work out a work plan but I'll be in touch at a later date when I've worked out how much there is to do.

Saranlos - cheers, not really sure about an end date yet, I'm currently working on this on my own as a hobby project. I've been a games artist for seven years (hence the speed) but started modding in the evening recently as the games I was working on required little or no artwork. I'm just using it as a release for pent up creativity but it's an extra bonus if people enjoy the result ~:).

Here are a couple more units: Kamikaze units modelled loosly on the character from the seven samurai and Elite Swordsmen:
edit: link temporarily removed - hoggy

Antwawn
12-01-2004, 14:28
I can see seven years of experience, especially in the speed and the texture work, nice job. Do you have an MSN where I can let you assign me a model, or do you just want to PM me?

Looks great with those last too, keep it up! ~:cheers:

DeadRunner
12-01-2004, 14:44
very cool job hoggy

kendonosensei
12-01-2004, 17:13
Keep it coming, hoggy. I hope that you're getting people to help you out. It would be awful if you crashed and burned!

jlin12345us
12-02-2004, 02:03
can you tell me when is this mod is going to come out hoggy???? and good jobs man
:charge: :charge: :charge: :charge:

thank you

DemonArchangel
12-02-2004, 02:25
Dude hoggy, i told you, elite swordsmen=kengou.

CrownOfSwords
12-02-2004, 03:40
GREAT work Hoggy, eagerly anticipating your mod ~D

Antwawn
12-02-2004, 05:02
Im just adding an opinion here, but I think that Hoggy's original concept, with a few added embellishments would fit perfectly with the half realistic, half fictitious feel of this mod that seems to draw everyone's attention. A slightly, or even non-modified map of Eastern Asia could suit with Japan and China in their normal places, and the Demons serving as invaders from the north (which characterized much of actual Chinese and Japanese history). The gods could be in the middle, as hoggy mentioned, probably in northwest China, or even Korea, which would set them off from the battle areas, but still in the middle of the three. I was thinking, however, that each faction could have a or many patron gods which support their faction and serve as the Senate. This would not be too far from popular folklore, now that I think of it, from the Classical era, in which the gods stayed north and away from the Greeks and Trojans; while some supported the Greeks and others the ill-fated Trojans.

Just an idea..

hoggy
12-02-2004, 12:52
Here are a couple of cavalry archer units, japanese archers and Tengu camel archers:
edit: link temporarily removed - hoggy

CaeroxVII
12-02-2004, 14:59
OMFG those camels are gods work!!!!!
They are officially IMO the coolest units so far!!

DragoonXXIV
12-02-2004, 15:20
Guy's let not rush hoggy, he's doing a fantastic job already so it'll be done when it's done. The last thing i want to see for this mod is an unbalanced and unpolished version rushed to fans, especially considering how good the models and concepts are.

I do have one question for hoggy though, i thought that tengu were supposed to be master swordsmen and they had fans of giant wings, any reason why you decided to make them mounted archers. That aside i still think it's a cool unit. :bow:

brimston3
12-03-2004, 01:22
how good are the cavarly archers going to be in the game? will they be primarly ranged or will they have a desent melee attack too? back in RTW i never ever build cavarly archers. will you change this? they absolutly suck in RTW. btw they look &%$#ing awesome also, will there be any kind of secondary arrows types for the archers like the archers did in RTW with the fire?

bthizle1
12-03-2004, 03:45
Hoggy, I looked into this mod about the first day this thread was started, then fell away from checking up on it, for which I am sorry....This is looking simply amazing, I am astonished at what you have done, I personally would like to thank you for your work, and say good luck.

CrownOfSwords
12-03-2004, 05:44
Lol Brimstone you are crazy to say horse archers suck, play alittle more as the Scythians unbeatable faction except maybe by Egypt.

hoggy
12-03-2004, 08:34
Here are Elephants ridden by red kappa units and Yari Cavalry units (grey horses):

edit: link temporarily removed - hoggy

hoggy
12-03-2004, 12:32
... and a Hero Ronin unit:
edit: link temporarily removed - hoggy

Duke John
12-03-2004, 13:07
You are overdoing it, hoggy. If you still have any bit of compassion left, please stop make such gorgeous models, it will make R:TW and the other mods look bad.

:stare:

Antwawn
12-03-2004, 14:23
Haha lol. Yea, I've been looking for a mod, since hoggy can hold his own with this one, to join, and none are even comparable in graphic quality.

kendonosensei
12-03-2004, 16:53
Hoggy......please.......don't........burn........out

Emperior Eric
12-03-2004, 21:22
man this mod gets better like so fast it is awesome. I cant wait you know I can own you all online lol

Speiz_Bankurt
12-04-2004, 02:34
Crikey Hoggy, you do this in your spare time just to relax? I'd love to see the work you do that you get paid for!

BTW, has CA contacted you with a job offer yet?

brainiac74
12-04-2004, 02:58
Hoggy,

I am completely blown away by the work you have done here. This message board, more specifically this thread have become a daily web destination for me. When it seems that I can't possibly be more impressed, you post more screens and I suddenly am more impressed. Well, please keep up the great work and good luck with your mod... also, as an above poster said "please don't burn out".

b

hoggy
12-04-2004, 09:28
hehe, don't worry about burning out I've just had a little time off from work recently so I've had more time to work on it. Here are the Shishi Riders:
edit: link temporarily removed - hoggy

CrownOfSwords
12-04-2004, 10:46
You are god

Silver Rusher
12-04-2004, 10:53
WHOA!!! Those dragons (or whatever they are) look brilliant.

Chimpyang
12-04-2004, 13:04
Shi Shi........probably Mythical Chinese Tigers/Lions (My chinese isn't great - it should be though :S)

But great work btw...I look fwd to this, if i can ever get a second copy of RTW installed - my comp always refuses to let me do another install.

kendonosensei
12-04-2004, 16:35
But great work btw...I look fwd to this, if i can ever get a second copy of RTW installed - my comp always refuses to let me do another install.

Don't bother. Just create a new folder and copy the entire contents of the RTW folder into it. Should work then.

hoggy
12-04-2004, 16:45
Some Samurai Heavy cavalry:
edit: link temporarily removed - hoggy

saundersag
12-04-2004, 20:19
I have beeen watching this thread alot and have been waiting for new screenshots avidly. The units look awesome, in the last picture i think i you can see a unit you have not shown before, in the bottom right what unit si it and why is he wearing a basket

Meneldil
12-04-2004, 20:21
Well, they are the fearsome Basket Ronins.

junkmonkeh
12-05-2004, 03:05
I've been watching this mod since it began, and just want to add something, no mean to be a synical bastard but could you maybe change the shishi rider's face or atleast eyes to maybe not look so cartoony? Because everything in the game has this "real" look to it, and the shishi riders just kinda take it out of context.

Thanks,
THE MIGHT JUNKMONK LIVES ON

Emperior Eric
12-05-2004, 03:18
awesome Samurai cavalry and those dragons are revolutionary. oh and no less glory to ya hoggy bu he isnt god people lol he is an amazing modder that should like go to CA and be like give me a great job or ill run you out of business. lOl

Antwawn
12-05-2004, 15:50
Beautiful job hoggy. Nice work.

CaeroxVII
12-05-2004, 19:29
Nice! now you are done with all the japanese cavalaries(sp??)

Marshal Murat
12-05-2004, 20:40
I think Duke Johns got some competition. When you've completed this awsome (understatement) mod, you should check in with Sengoku Jidai, as far as I know, there are no samurai models. At all. Ever.

But what the heck, I can't wait for this.

Antwawn
12-05-2004, 21:29
Hoggy do you have a solution to the problem of lower poly models? So that you can reduce the polies for the different levels of detail without losing UVW maps, and not having to retexture each poly level model? Do you think the Optimize modifyer will work?

hoggy
12-06-2004, 13:50
Caerox - with the unit below all the 'Japanese' army units on the army list are now done. I may add some more hero units later and I want to revisit the early units and I still have to do the lower versions of each model but otherwise the base army list is done for that faction.
Marshal - I think Sengonku has all it's models built already,they're just doing different texture versions now for each faction.
Antwawn - sorry, I don't know. I hope there is but somehow I doubt it.
Here are the Hero unit temporarily called the Tomoe Gozen unit:
edit: link temporarily removed - hoggy

kendonosensei
12-06-2004, 15:42
Hoggy, they look very good. I agree I can't think of a good name either. The problem is that traditionally there were no women samurai - so there's no corresponding Japanese phrase. "onna no bushi" perhaps?? Still, doesn't sound that good, does it?

brimston3
12-06-2004, 19:06
hey hoggy, keep up the good work. since you are now done with the japanese units will you start working on their city models? i am especially anxious to see what you do with the demon city.
i was also wondering if, by chance, you can have a little progress report with your posts. such as -Modeling- japanese military - 15/15 chinese military 5/15 demon military 6/15. and -Functionality- when you adjust their attack power, defence, upkeep and so on. you dont have to do it. i thought it might let people know how much progress you have made and we can form our own opinion when the mod will be completed.

Lonely Soldier
12-08-2004, 01:44
hey hoggy,

do you have any idea when you will be in a position to release a demo/trailer of this absolutely breathtaking mod?!

thanks for such excellent and original work!!!

Zanderpants
12-08-2004, 02:00
Hey all,
Hoggy, I was wondering if you'd need testers for your mod. I tested H:TW, so I've had some experience in testing. Also, I am quite familiar with Feudal Japanese history, as well as Japanese mythology. I'm sure that you've had lots of offers for testig, but I figured I give it a shot.

Thanks,
Zanderpants

Btw, amazing job you're doing here. ~:cheers:

hoggy
12-08-2004, 16:08
Brimston3 - I'll try to do an update soon, I've mostly been concentrating on unit building so very little else is done at the moment. The Japanese base army is done and about 90% of the base demon army. Edit: Just updated page one of this thread to show completed units in red on the army list

Lonely Soldier - No idea for a release yet, it won't be soon as there's still so much to do.

Zanderpants - When it comes to testing I'll post here to call for testers. you sound eminently suitable though.

I'm having my PC overhauled at the moment, upgrading to a GForce 3! Hooray! Might be a bit intermittent inthe meantime. Here are the beast riders:
edit: link temporarily removed - hoggy

wilpuri
12-08-2004, 16:19
Hoggy, this is amazing. You are a true pioneer of the TW modding community, great work. ~:cheers:

Myrddraal
12-08-2004, 16:48
*lost for words*

DragoonXXIV
12-08-2004, 17:06
Amazing job on the demon yaks :charge:

hoggy
12-08-2004, 22:18
Cheers guys, I was just having a think about region names and wondered if anyone could help. I'm looking for chinese and japanese (for now) names for fictional regions with their english translations. I'd like quite mystical names but don't speak chinese or japanese and don't trust online translators. If anyone has ideas please pm me or post them here (Demonarchangel, ypoknos, jlin12345us, zanderpants and any others ?) Regions can be called simple things like 'serene valley', 'autumn moons' 'land of the western winds' etc. Hope you can help :bow:

dclare4
12-09-2004, 11:16
Hi Hoggy,

For Japanese names you can't go wrong with the names of WW2 Japanese warships, particularly the bigger ones. Japanese ships have very nice poetic names (for killing machines that is!) and I think you could use some at least.

cheers,
Clare

Bulten
12-09-2004, 11:36
Hoggy, this is amazing. You are a true pioneer of the TW modding community, great work. ~:cheers:

I couldn't agree more :)

jean_s
12-09-2004, 15:44
Hoggy, they look very good. I agree I can't think of a good name either. The problem is that traditionally there were no women samurai - so there's no corresponding Japanese phrase. "onna no bushi" perhaps?? Still, doesn't sound that good, does it?


Who told you that there were no samurai women?
http://www.womeninworldhistory.com/sample-08.html

~:handball:

kendonosensei
12-09-2004, 16:35
Who told you that there were no samurai women?
http://www.womeninworldhistory.com/sample-08.html

~:handball:
There WERE samurai women, but not in the way that we imagine them. They very, VERY rarely fought on the battlefield and then only in Japan's earlier history. Fighting was a man's job. A bushi woman's responsibility was to run and protect her husband's household. They did help defend castles under siege if the situation was very desperate, but that was very rare.

No offence but that site is far too simplified. Plus it's hardly objective - it's whole purpose is to highlight women's prescence in history, rather than put it in perspective. For a better overview of Japanese women's martial traditions, look at this article by Ellis Amdur.

http://www.koryubooks.com/library/wwj1.html

Turin
12-09-2004, 17:58
As far as names go... I know both Chinese and Japanese enough to give you a few.

For Japanese lands...

Fuhei for "wind peace" i.e. a plain or valley
Nagashima for "long island"
Houkyo for "Northern Capital"
Heian old name for Kyoto, means "Peace and safety"
Ouyama for "great mountain"
Nanagawa for "Seven Rivers" straight from the Silmarillion
Wayama for "Sundering mountains"
Wayou for "Sundering ocean"
Taiheiyo Pacific Ocean, literally means "Ocean of great peace"
Teyama for "Iron Mountains"
Shuukawa for "Sake river"
Tsukiko for "Moon lake"
Akitsuki "Autumn moon"
Uekami "upper spirit" silly I know
Asashima "Dawn island"

And here are some real place names that might suit your needs:

Nara: old Japanese capital
Edo: old name for Tokyo
Kamakura: place of the former Shogunate
Enryakuji, Kofukuji, and Hieiyama were sites of famous Sohei temples



For Chinese Lands...

This is where you can get creative Hoggy

Unlike Japanese place names where the kanji/characters can have different pronounciations depending on the word before it, Chinese place names have uniform prounciation (one of the only saving graces of the language).

For the first character, a direction or description is used, i.e. north, wind, long...

Bei "north"
Nan "south"
Xi "West"
Dong "East"
Fong "wind"
Tian "heavenly"
Yu "rain"
Chang "long or enduring"
Yue "moon"
Chun "Spring"
Xia "Summer"
Guei "Ghost"
Shen "Spirit"

For the Second character, a terrain type is used or the word "capital"

"Ping" plain
"Shan" mountain
"He" lake
Jiang "large river"
Goe "valley"
Hai "sea"
Yiang "ocean"
Jing "capital" thus Beijing
Ling "forest"

yeah, so just pair up one of the first characters with one of the second ones to make your own place name.

Here are some real place names that might suit your needs:

Wu Tai Shan: famous mountain temple with fierce warrior monks
Shaoling more accurate than "Shaolin", same place though
Yiang An: ancient city of the dynasties, no longer exists not to be confused with Yian An
Da Xi An Ling "Great peaceful Western forest" huge forested area in nrthern China

Hope this helps!

DragoonXXIV
12-09-2004, 18:47
Following up on a previous comment, a few japanese battleship names and thier origin:
Fuso: "Land of Divine Mulberry Trees" (also an old name for Japan)
Akagi: "Red Castle" (a volcano in the Kanto area)
Mikuma: "Three Corners" (a river in Ooita province)
Tatsuta: "Dragon Field" (river in old Yamato province)
Kuma: "Wounded Valley" (a river in higo province)
Kiso: "Steep Slope" (a region near Nagano)
Kashima: "Ferry Island" (a place and shrine in hitachi province)

hoggy
12-09-2004, 19:51
Top stuff Turin and Dragoon, using almost all of your suggestions.

Japanese: I need about another ten, some good demonic ones would be useful too.

Chinese: Top idea for name generation, I got a lot from using your samples Turin. I don't suppose you could give me some more? any of these?:

Evil, dead, big, red, blue, jade, yellow, demon, stormy, winter, ice, white (for descriptive)
and...
Hills, castle, fort, meadows, pass, tree, town, city, port (for place)

cheers guys, just putting the map together at the moment.

DragoonXXIV
12-10-2004, 01:15
Just an idea, but you can also use the 16 Buddhist Hells for demonic places.
Hot:
Samjiva (Reviving)
Kalasutra (Black Rope)
Samghata (Crushing)
Raurava (Howling)
Maharaurava (Great Howling)
Tapana (Hot)
Pratapana (Very Hot)
Avichi (Uninterrupted)
Cold:
Arbuda (Blistering)
Nirarbuda (Broken Blisters)
Atata: This hell is named after the sound of chattering teeth
Hahava: This hell is named after the sound made by those shivering in the cold
Huhuva: This hell is also named after the sound made by those shivering in the cold
Utpala (Blue Lotus)
Padma (Red Lotus)
Mahapadma (Deep Red Lotus)

Ferocious_Imbecile
12-11-2004, 03:12
Hoggy, those horses you've redesigned for your heavy cavalry are superb. I'm in awe...

I'm bored with RTW right now, but I can't wait for your mod.

Turin
12-12-2004, 07:14
Actually, I can give you all of them:

Here they are in kango (Japanese for Chinese) :)

Evil: Yiao
Dead: Shi
Big: Da
Red: Hong
Blue: Lan
Jade: Yui
Yellow: Huang
Demon: Muo
Stormy: Bao
Ice: bing
white: bai

Hills: no real word for this
castle: chen
fort: diao bao
Meadows: no direct translation
pass: dao
tree: shu
town: Zhen
City: Chen (there were no castles, only walled cities, thus the two words are synomous)
Port: gang

Alright, I have to spill it... in my honest opinion, of the tree East Asian languages (Korean, Japanese. Chinese) Chinese is the worst suited for Romanization. In fact, it is impossible to do it with even a decent degree of accuracy. My suggestion is that for the Chinese place names, use English. The Japanese place names work well though. Using Roman letters to simulate Japanese prounciation works superbly well (using Japanese to simulate English works horribly).

Hope this helps!

Turin
12-12-2004, 07:16
Oh yeah, one request, can you make the samurai archer wear the same armor as the melee samurai cavalry? It's a bit more accurate that way if nothing else.

Zanderpants
12-13-2004, 02:13
Alright Hoggy, sounds good, thanks. I'd find names, but it looks like I returned a bit late! If there's any other things you might need info on, feel free. :bow:

plantman
12-13-2004, 19:22
BAD NEWS!!!! HOGGY and his mod have been kidnapped by Creative Assembly and the Total War team! His mod is making them look bad and they want it for the next game in their series.

Just kidding! Although If I was in charge over there Hoggy would be working for me full time now.
Hoggy, every post you make just looks better and better, The dragon riders are just too cool, even if they were the weakest units in the game I would make a ton of them just so i could see them in action all the time. Even the standard army with those long swords look great. And the giant demons, awsome! I wish i could help out but i have no design or computer talent. Where can i donate to the feed Hoggy fund? ~:)

hoggy
12-14-2004, 09:48
Howdy folks, Sorry about the delay in replying. Finally got my PC sorted, I'm working the mod from scratch on a clean copy of RTW and doing it correctly this time so it's a period of reorganisation at the moment. I've finished the geography of the campmap but still need to mod all the region names correctly etc.

Dragoon - excellent, I've used those names for areas inthe demon lands.

Turin - cheers, that's sortedmost of the chinese names

Zanderpants and all. I still need about ten good Japanese mythical region names if anyone has time.

Another call for help: I think it's about time we names the three existing factions: Demon, Chinese and Japanese. I've toyed with a few ideas but any ideas welcome. They need to be a bit more catchy than the region names and can be in english if they sound good.

Thanks for all the help

Emperior Eric
12-14-2004, 13:17
Hoggy, you might try to split the japanese into 3 or 4 factions as different clans. They could each have 2 or 3 special units that the other clans dont have. This would also make them easier to name as you could simply name them after their special unit or just something like Scorpion Clan, Dragon Clan, something like that. And then more then one person could use the Japanese online.

Highland Storm
12-14-2004, 23:44
Though I am not Chinese, I know Chinese language and mythology.

One of the great Chinese heroes, Gong Guan, would be an interesting addition. If you have ever seen a statue of a Chinese general, most likely it was him.
:bow: this is the best mod I have ever seen. :bow:

Highland Storm
12-14-2004, 23:45
And I believe the nimber of factions is hard coded into the game.

Highland Storm
12-14-2004, 23:48
Looking over Turin's post, I realize, there may be more than one word for these, but I learned 'evil' as 'kuai', and jade as 'yu' and dead as 'si'(pronouced s z/u mixture, very hadr to type Chinese pronounciation...)

Highland Storm
12-14-2004, 23:58
Sorry for all the posts, I have nothing else to do.
For 'hills', you could use mountain, shan, or dirt(but that would not sound as good)

By the way, what about temples/religious buildings. For the Chinese/Japanese/Koreans it would not be hard, but for the Demons? ~:confused:

brimston3
12-15-2004, 00:53
well I dont personally know japanese or chinese, but if you are shooting for "mytholocial" type names i could suuggest a few. maybe a color can be used as an adjective for a noun. such as Amberfire Fields or Bluegrave Mountain. how many provinces wil there be on the map? and how big? naming a province after a few fields just seems awkward. anyway here are some suggestions
Prairie Peak (for the northern tip of an island)
Phenoix Rock
Maroon/Curse Valley
Moonshine Meadow

Kallimachus
12-15-2004, 01:12
Outstanding work on everything so far, pretty much sums it up. ~:cheers:

Hate to inundate you, but just a couple of lil questions. First up (though it may be early yet), how are you thinking of balencing the armies? Personally I thought it would be quite nifty to have to fight unflinching (super high morale) demon hordes with perhaps, weak peasant (basket ronin, zombie ashigaru, undead samurai etc) units and elephant (ok not quite that tough) strength actual demons.

On another note, would separating the factions onto three separate continents not put too much of a focus on naval power? Perhaps land bridges between the 'demon isle' and two other islands? Or rather just a couple of each factions cities close to each island to use as an easy one turn embarkation/disembarkment battleground.

And here's a couple of words/terms I've caught flying around that could come in useful, all are (I believe) Japanese in origin but are probably more useful for the demonic stuff. ~:)

Yomi - The shadowy land of the dead
Gaki - A demon usually associated with the dead
Makai - A Japanese demonic plane
Reikai - Japanese spirit world
Fukumaden - abode of demons

Hmmm, faction names :S

Once again the Japanese stuff

Utsu - to avenge
Kaimodosu - to redeem
Watarimono -wanderer
Shoukin, Shoukan, Shoukyaku - redemption
Ittou -blade of a sword
Suetsukata - end of the world
Zensen - to fight a good fight
Yuusen -desperate fight
Tenmou - heavens vengeance

Good hunting.

Zanderpants
12-15-2004, 03:14
Hoggy~
Lots of names coming later tonight, just waiting to get back on my computer! Also, when needed, I've got tons of names for generals for both the Japanese and Demons.

~:cheers:
Z

Zanderpants
12-15-2004, 08:20
Urashima
Kusinada
Kono
Hinano
Konohana-flowers on the tree
Sakuya- to bloom
Iwanaga- long rock
Totoro
Momotaro
Yamato
Oyeyama
Kakemono
Kaguya

Most of these are just names from myths, they sounded like they'd be good province names. Hope this helps

dessa14
12-15-2004, 08:47
great work hoggy, keep it up... just don't drive yourself insane, i would go insane from all this work.
thanks,
dessa

plantman
12-15-2004, 21:14
Hi all here are some chinese names translated according to the pinyin system whatever that means. Also one of you mentioned that you thought some of the translations were different then what you knew, could be the fact that there where both mandrin and cantonese versions of chinse plus who knows how many other dialects.
Bixue Danxin - Loyalty Zhuangshi - Warrior
Yanyangtian - Sunny Sky Xia - Clouds
Longzhu - Dragon's Pearl Wa - Baby
Tenghu - Wisteria Court Fozuo - Buddha's Seat
Zhongguo Gudia - Chinese Ancient Qianye - Thousand
Longfei - Flying dragon, i guess long = dragon, how boring
Sai - Super or greater Fei - Flying
Jianwu - Sword Dance Feng - Phoenix
Yuloutia - Jade Tower JinFeng Chuchao - Golden Phoenix
Yuwan - Jade Bowl Wucai Feng - Colorful Phoenix
Xiao - small Da - Large
Chunshui Fucui - Green Mountain Bia He - White Crane
Fucui - Mountain Zuibei - Golden Cup
Bai Xianzi - White Fairy (didnt know they believed in fairys, maybe it is the other type)
Hanjiang Dudiao - Fishing Alone (thought that was funny)
Tianjiao - Heavenly Beauty

In a Japanese book i found refrence to 'Visnu' who was the sun god then became there chief god later his name became 'Pundarika', 'Sri' was his wife and was also considered the earth goddess. 'Seca' was the king of serpents.
there is also something about the god of Varuna where man arrives after passing hell where one kills and eats another. i will see if there is more there that could be useful. However this could be related to hindu.

plantman
12-15-2004, 21:31
sorry i broke the list into 2 sets of colunms and it came out not spaced apart i should have used commas if there is any words there you like i can match them up again for you.

Highland Storm
12-16-2004, 00:35
Also one of you mentioned that you thought some of the translations were different then what you knew, could be the fact that there where both mandrin and cantonese versions of chinse plus who knows how many other dialects.

I know that, but anyone who knew chinese would be able to tell that we were both refrencing mandarin.

Cantonese sounds very different compared to mandarin, and generally when one refers to "Chinese", they mean "Mandarin Chinese"

Highland Storm
12-16-2004, 00:37
And pinyin is the system of writing Chinese for English.

And Hoggy, if you have sounds(of names/provences etc.), have a Chinese speaker pronounce them, because Pinyin has different pronounciation than English.

Azzaturtle
12-17-2004, 01:01
I don't know anything about modding...but I had to register to say the mod looks wicked!!! Looks well worth the wait. :bow:

Zastrow
12-17-2004, 03:23
I concur.

hoggy
12-17-2004, 20:18
I've been spending the last week or so working on the campaign map and other text files (getting region names in took quite a while) The basic plan at the moment is to have 2 Chinese, 2 Japanese, 1 Monk, 1 Demon, 2 more specific factions (indian and one other) and assorted other factions with 1 shared army list. Here is a basic outline, could the chinese and japanese speakers among you check I've not accidentally put swear words in or give any feedbackon region names. At the bottom left is the radar from in game:

http://www.awrate.com/chrishogg/images/BlueLotusMap.jpg

Byzantine Prince
12-17-2004, 20:25
LOL, China is an island? Why can't we change the whole map. I hate how everything so is so hardcoded.

Zanderpants
12-17-2004, 20:28
Oh man MONGOL! Um, I don't see any swear words, but on the southernmost small island, you have the city of Nagashino which the site of a famous battle between Takeda, Oda and Tokugawa. I dunno if you want that in there or not. Looks awesome as usual! ~:cheers:

anti_strunt
12-17-2004, 20:31
Doesn't Ashasima (the island of the yellow clan) looks awfully much like Cyprus? Regardless, it is looking great as always, just don't overdo it adding all these new factions in; I'd rather see a mod with just the Japanese and Chinese than see you work yourself to death creating quality skins... ~:eek:

Though I must say I concur with Zanderpants, Mongols are just too cool to pass up! ~D

Unseen Potato
12-17-2004, 20:34
Awesomme work Hoggy!!!!! Cant wait to play this mod :bow: :bow: :bow:

Just wanted to say that Hoggys post has now reached 20.000 views!!!
~:cheers:

hoggy
12-17-2004, 21:08
Zanderpants - yep, I put that one in there as I thought references like that might not be too bad. A Mongol faction is a definite option at a later date ~:) .

anti_strunt - er, yes.. cough, maybe. Well spotted :bow:

Unseen Potato - mad isn't it, I just noticed that too! I just hope the mod lives up to peoples expectations, I'll try my best. Cheers for all the support from everyone.

Silver Rusher
12-17-2004, 21:58
I notice that a lot of the map is copied. The demon continent is central europe and the north of the eastern continent is is asia minor! (that's why cyprus is in there) You shrewd devil you. :devil:

Emperior Eric
12-17-2004, 23:21
It has to be copied because it is hard coded. unless hoggy has found a way to uncode it because i have tryed before it is insane

Azzaturtle
12-18-2004, 02:40
Map looks great...I think the path that you are taking with the mod is going to work well... ~:)
Keep up the good work!!!

Kallimachus
12-18-2004, 03:15
OT: Was taking a lil' browse around and noticed that the Ultima mod has what at least appears to be a 'from scratch' map Emperor Eric.

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?p=653782#post653782

Given the work I guess the Blue Lotus map is finalised, still, the computers tendency to build insane fleets worries me, unless that's re-codable?

Cheers

Emperior Eric
12-18-2004, 03:25
favorite units and difficulty is able to recoded and ill check out that map you were talking about

Emperior Eric
12-18-2004, 05:03
Your above link didnt work Kallimachus

hoggy
12-18-2004, 08:07
Yep, I basically started with the world map and moved provinces that didn't fit my new map. It is possible to start from scratch, DJ has done an excellent tutorial but at the time this way worked best and crashed least so I went with it. I've moved alot of borders to fit what I'm after province wise and the terrain is significantly different so when you play the game you don't notice the similarities.

edit: Starting on the Chinese armies now. Here are bamboo spear peasants:
http://www.awrate.com/chrishogg/images/peas.jpg

Kallimachus
12-18-2004, 18:16
Can't wait to see these in action ~D

Still OT: Sorry, quite right you are Eric, academic now I suppose but here's the right thread

https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=38835

Myrddraal
12-18-2004, 18:36
What do you mean hard coded eric?

Have a look at these two threads:

In progress: Editing the campaign map (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=39773)

Making a new campaign map. (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=39456)