Latest Screenshots

[hoggy]

For all screenshots before 8th Jan see the main Blue Lotus thread. New screenshots will be posted here...

[hoggy]

Ok, slowly easing back into unit building. The pace won't be a fast as the past month but steady. Here are the chinese elite cavalry:
http://www.awrate.com/chrishogg/images/chinelitecav.jpg

[Vercingetorix]

Looking good hoggy!

I knew you had wanted awhile ago to make larger units. This is now possible: http://www.twcenter.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=15970&st=80

edit: Damn I posted in the wrong window, sorry hoggy.

[hoggy]

!!! fantastic stuff Vercingetorix! That's excellent news. Do we have to scale up new animations and edit the text file or is it just in the text file?

[Vercingetorix]

Nope you don't have to touch the animations. You just create a new skeleton(I've simplified the process in two ways, one that you can choose to simply use the same animations of the base skeleton to save space. And two the program automatically adds the files to the pack.dat if you do want to change animations).

Then you just hit 's', select your skeleton, and then enter the scale value. Next you open descr_model_battle.txt and add the line "scale x" where 'x' is the same value as the one you just entered in the editor. Hope that makes sense I think I've made the whole process simpler now ~:)

edit - I shall give it a go, many thanks Vercingetorix

edit - working! thank you Vercingetorix:
http://www.awrate.com/chrishogg/images/giant.jpg

[Big_John]

those hanya are ****ing sick!!!

hooray.. or "bonsai" or whatever..
:charge:

[hoggy]

Here is some work in progress on the strat map HUD:
http://www.awrate.com/chrishogg/images/hud2.jpg

[Lief]

Oh my god...that's beautiful.

[blindfaithnogod]

here is an updated campaign map
~:cheers:

http://images5.theimagehosting.com/campmap2.jpg

hoggy: i went with the wider map because it seemed to distort the radar map. what you were looking at on the radar and the actual map were 2 different places. if anyone knows how to fix that id like to know.

[Thedevil003]

Nice job with the map

[Bulten]

Here is some work in progress on the strat map HUD:
http://www.awrate.com/chrishogg/images/hud2.jpg

I know this is an emptied word in here but that looks totally awesome!

[hoggy]

Excellent stuff blindfaith! Damn that was fast. It took me ages to do mine. Map proportions look good too I quite like the sea to the right it gives the map a less crowded look. Top stuff! :bow:


here are chinese imperial cavalry:
http://www.awrate.com/chrishogg/images/chincav1.jpg

[blindfaithnogod]

here's a look at the campaign map with some mountains.

http://img136.exs.cx/img136/3057/campmap39qj.jpg
Thanks to ImageShack for Free Image Hosting (http://www.imageshack.us)

:bow: :elvis: i have the rivers in there too.

[Frostic]

Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet.

[RedSilver]

hoggy...I dont ask this of many people, but...

Have My Babies, Please!

Ahem.....er....yeah....good work.

[MiniKiller]

hoggy...I dont ask this of many people, but...

Have My Babies, Please!

Ahem.....er....yeah....good work.



haha so besides hoggy how many have u asked...and actually been accepeted? lol :charge:

[Myrddraal]

Just think about it, a swarm of mini hoggys. Mod development would be so much easier, one mini hoggy per mod ~;)

[Raziaar]

I'm just blown away by the stuff, the map, the map border things hoggy made, the new units. Everything!

This mod will be top quality!

edit - blindfaithnogod has been the one working on the map, he's doing a cracking job too.

[Big_John]

edit - blindfaithnogod has been the one working on the map, he's doing a cracking job too. you can say that again hogg-diddy. i can call you "hogg-diddy", right?

[Raziaar]

I know that. I was talking about what you did with the strat map hud. :charge:

[RedSilver]

haha so besides hoggy how many have u asked...and actually been accepeted? lol :charge:

More than you would think, less than I would like :P

would be great to breed an army of him eh?

Btw hoggy are you fending off the offers from CA with a stick? :P

[Big_John]

Btw hoggy are you fending off the offers from CA with a stick? :Pwait.. are you insinuating that CA notices and/or cares what goes on in the RTW mod community?!?

[RedSilver]

wait.. are you insinuating that CA notices and/or cares what goes on in the RTW mod community?!?


No....not...at....oh....whats that dear?...you want me to run from the computer and never ever come back to it?...sure honey.

Well you heard the wife,bye :charge:

~D

'twas just saying that someone with hoggy's talent's (and many other like him) are proving to be more and more skilled in they're work, and thus it shows.

And in other news,

Big john and C.A sittin' in a tree, COOM-MU-PUT-ING! (Computing)

:bow:

[DragoonXXIV]

Actually CA ain't so bad, they aren't what Relic used to be, but they're better than a lot. You're probably thinking about Activision which is indifferent.

[junkmonk]

Man those huge demons are amazing!! Are they going to just swing in mid air over the heads of enemies to hurt them? Or is there a way to change the animation so they hit downwards on the smaller enemies? Oh yeah.. and those kappa archers, originally they were really small, can you shrink units too? That would be really cool..

[blindfaithnogod]

ive still got areas that need improvement but i thought you guys would like a look anyway.
http://img104.exs.cx/img104/4848/17mq.jpg
http://img104.exs.cx/img104/6646/26gf.jpg
http://img123.exs.cx/img123/9972/38wi.jpg
~:pimp:
http://img123.exs.cx/img123/6438/43qt.jpg
http://img123.exs.cx/img123/9056/85ex.jpg
Thanks to ImageShack for Free Image Hosting (http://www.imageshack.us) :bow:

[hoggy]

excellent stuff blindfaith! looking good.

[[GG]vonDöbeln]

Positively SWEET! :bow:

[GG]vD

[RedSilver]

Really nice Blind, Really nice, I love the snowy part of it, they're (forgive the pun) Cool !.

~:)

[Kageka]

looks perfect. ~:cool:

[blindfaithnogod]

im glad you guys like it. ~:smoking:
i've finished putting in the new names of the provences and cities. next i'll add the resources and do some tweeking with the ground types and such. ~D

[Al Khalifah]

blindfaithnogod, map is looking awesome - a tip top job. I'm just a little worried about that river I can see, if it gets narrow in places you will have to be careful in ensuring that ships cannot get stuck like they do in places (Marmara) in R:TW. That would be bad.
The river should add an awesome tactical element to the game though, since if you control the river you can rapidly move troops from one part of the map to the other - and because the river is so narrow compared to a sea, a good navy will be essential to control it - to stop hostile crossings and so you can use it as a shortcut yourself.

[hoggy]

here are the chinese bactrian camel archers:

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

[Big_John]

hoggy, i hope you are saving some stuff.. i mean as awesome as your work is, i think it'd be good to hold back some of the new models/features for release of the mod, so we can be surprised in addition to being awed.

[hoggy]

don't worry Big_John we've still got alot of units to go before release.
Here are the chinese swordsmen or Jian Sheng:
http://www.awrate.com/chrishogg/images/swords.jpg

[shifty157]

I like how the Jian Sheng hold their scabbard. Its a cool touch.


For the camel archers. Perhaps a spear would be better than a sword for their secondary weapon. They seem too high off the ground to use a sword effectively.

[Lord Adherbal]

I'm not a big fan of fantasy themes, but the cheer quality of this mod looks amazing. Thumbs up !

[hoggy]

here are the bakemono. originally I was going to do these as small horde demons but I don't think it would work so well. Instead they are heavy infantry for the demon army:
http://www.awrate.com/chrishogg/images/bakemono.jpg

[Kageka]

~:eek: Sweet jesus! Cool!

One question though: Why are there skin color different on their hands than on the rest of the body?

[hoggy]

hehe, well spotted, my mistake. :dizzy2:
here are the faction shields for our main factions, rest to come later:

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

[Meneldil]

Awesome work, as usual ~:cheers:

[QwertyMIDX]

They're really nice looking shields but them seem a little too cartoony to me. Great looking work either way, massive cheers for the new units, just stunning.

[CaeroxVII]

Aww mie GOD, this mod is really getting somewhere!!!!
This mod should be awarded: Best graphical (R)TW mod of the year!!!

[The Panda Centurion]

This...mod...is...FANTASTIC! Hoggy, calling you a genius is an understatement. :jawdrop:

- Panda

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

Hey, I like the shields. They're a nice change from the somber, darker, shields used in RTW.


They're really nice looking shields but them seem a little too cartoony to me

Keep up the great work hoggy!

~:cheers:

[Jay Tee]

This...mod...is...FANTASTIC! Hoggy, calling you a genius is an understatement.

Yeah Hoggy, you thourougly deserve to be called MOAM: Mother of all Modders ~:) .... or was it Modder of all Mothers... or Mother of all Mothers... :dizzy2: I....uuhhhh.. wanders of in confusion... :dizzy2:

~;)

[junkmonk]

hoggy, i hope you are saving some stuff.. i mean as awesome as your work is, i think it'd be good to hold back some of the new models/features for release of the mod, so we can be surprised in addition to being awed.

You don't HAVE to look at the screenshots.... Anyways, Hoggy, keep the screenshots flowin, those new camel models are a lot better than the rome total war ones in my opinion.

[hoggy]

Here are the Chinese light chariots. sadly I'm unable to find away of modding the chariot texture at the moment so the umbrella will come later and the wood will be a redder colour:
http://www.awrate.com/chrishogg/images/chariots.jpg

[Big_John]

fantastic as always! :2thumbsup:
btw, are you going to change the tree models to be more "asian" looking? some super-sized bonsai trees would be pretty sweet on the battlefield! as would white and pink cherry blossoms! :bow:

[Kageka]

Nice nice!

And as you say: it will look even nicer (perfect?) with the chairiot red-painted and having an umbrella on top of it.

[hoggy]

been having a look at altering the banner models,making them bigger but keeping the resolution, here are two samples:
http://www.awrate.com/chrishogg/images/banner2.jpg

[DragoonXXIV]

Great job with the banner design, but don't you think they're just a little bit too large?
It kinda makes it hard to hid in a forest if your banner is taller than the trees.

[Lief]

Well, the banners should definately stand out, since units don't have factions color. Maybe make them a tad bit smaller.

[Big_John]

i like the tall banners.. i could live with 10% shorter.

[shifty157]

I wouldnt want to be the guy assigned to carry the banner into battle.

[Kageka]

Im not sure... It looks good, but in some way it feels wrong... don't know why. The banners seem to be way too big to carry out in battle and in some way dwarfs the units/troops/soldiers.

One solution could be to make the banners 20-30% smaller and try to add some kind of faction color-scheme to the troops.

[SilverSurfer]

Wow

it looks all so phantastic but i totally agree with Kagega... it looks to cartoony when the banners are toooooo big
....

nevertheless awesome work!! :bow:

[Paul Peru]

I haven't been watching this space for a while. Glad to see that Hoggy-knickers (do you mind if I kall you Hoggy-knickers?) is still going strong. Not just the greatest looking units known to man, the UI and shields are amazing as well. It should also be duly noted that Vercingetorix rules OK. And the map seems to be progressing very nicely indeed! I hope the AI will like it ~;)

[Lonely Soldier]

Hoggy,

I was just thinking that the lack of uniform colours in the armies is a great strength of the mod and adds (in my humble opinion) a powerful realism within this fantastical world. Also, in regards to units, I have seen reference to Japanese archers using arrows with whistles incorporated into the head to cause panic among the enemy. This reference led me to think that perhaps some archer unit in the mod could use these whistle-arrows as a fear inducing equivelant to flaming arrows. Just a thought. One other thing, have you considered changing the unit and map highlights (both the unit selection and campaign map movement highlights) to a more subtle variant?

Keep up the phenomenal work, Hoggy!

[HolsteinCow]

What can I say about this mod?

My throat is dry and my pants are wet. ~:cheers:

[hoggy]

I've been revisiting some of the earliest models on the mod as they needed some polish, here are the samurai. hopefully a bit clearer:
http://www.awrate.com/chrishogg/images/samnew.jpg
and the ashigaru:
http://www.awrate.com/chrishogg/images/ashnew.jpg

[HolsteinCow]

It took me a while to notice the differences in both units. It's not much of a change, but I'm sure someone will disagree.

[DragoonXXIV]

Subtle, but better. Just one question, is that clipping on the katana sheath intensional?

[RedSilver]

look's like that sheath isn't going anywhere, what with being wielded to they're armor and such, but I see the other changes, I think ~D

Keep on truckin'

btw the offer of bearing your children is still open, think of it, thousands of mini hoggy's all moding, Buwhahahahaah, the world will quake at the word,

Hogg-mamily

Buwhahahahah, world domitation, here I come.

[Zanderpants]

look's like that sheath isn't going anywhere, what with being wielded to they're armor and such, but I see the other changes, I think ~D

Keep on truckin'

btw the offer of bearing your children is still open, think of it, thousands of mini hoggy's all moding, Buwhahahahaah, the world will quake at the word,

Hogg-mamily

Buwhahahahah, world domitation, here I come.

Wow. Keep an eye on this one folks. :hide:

[hoggy]

here are the japanese standard bearer and officer models to add a bit of spice to the units:
http://www.awrate.com/chrishogg/images/standard.jpg

[Sheep]

I have to say, your skins are realistic looking with just a HINT of cartoonishness to them, which I LOVE. VERY cool look.

[dark_shadow89]

hi hoggy and team

great work!!!! looks awesome!!!!

i just have 1 suggestion after seeing the campaign map.
u could have a vietnamese faction in the indochina area ruled by the chinese, as Han dynasty china ruled over vietnam 4 like 1000 years...

just a suggestion, otherwise, brilliant work!!!

cheers,
dark_shadow89

[blindfaithnogod]

thought i might throw you guys a bone..
http://img227.exs.cx/img227/1593/potrait1mb.jpg
right now i know portraits are being worked on by sykoticrampage. im working on getting names implamented. hoggy is hard at work on models and other artwork. and justmeandthedog has got a great name tool made. this really feels like this mod is coming together nicely, for me anyway as i have most of it..... ~D the parts that are done anyway.

[DragoonXXIV]

Looks wonderful, however i don't like how the map just cuts off like that.

[blindfaithnogod]

yeah, cant do much about that. thats where it ends. its gotta stop somewhere. ~;)

[monkian]

Not to sound rude or stupid but why have that big expanse of open sea thats just going to be filled with one ship AI fleets ?

Why not expand the map more to the East instead ?

[blindfaithnogod]

it was the easiest thing to do at the time. and dont worry no ships can get very far out there.. ~;)

[Shogun Karai]

Awesome work guys, nice to know a northener is doing something great (for a change). I'm from Middlesbrough and I registered just to post here.

Amazing work.

[monkian]

it was the easiest thing to do at the time. and dont worry no ships can get very far out there.. ~;)

Cool ~:)

Thar be monsters ~;)

[hoggy]

here are the 'japanese' general's bodyguard (general coming soon):

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

[junkmonk]

Oh man, those general body guards are sweet! :duel:

[shifty157]

After the general will the japanese be completely done?

[Lief]

Haha...I love their mustaches. Reminds me of the Chinese man in Kill Bill Vol. 2.

[Big_John]

yes, the more pai mei, the better.
http://www.metatopi.com/bilder/foto/blogjournal/pai_mei.jpg

[Zanderpants]

{GONG} :stwbow:

[jlin12345us]

keep up the good work. don't give'up. i really feel sorry for the Sengoku Jidai. john left the team again.

[jlin12345us]

[QUOTE=jlin12345us]keep up the good work. don't give'up. i really feel sorry for the Sengoku Jidai mod. john left the team again. good luck to you team hoggy ~:cheers: ~:cheers: ~:cheers: :charge: :charge:

[Big_John]

keep up the good work. don't give'up. i really feel sorry for the Sengoku Jidai. john left the team again.wait.. what? i thought he came back, like, yesterday. he left again.. again?

[hoggy]

It's actually a samurai mask with the moustache rather than an old man but hey :)

shifty157 - yep, when the general is done that'll be the japanese faction finished. I'm then going to go back and spend some time sorting their unitcards, banners and polishing some units etc before moving onto the chinese again to properly finish that faction.

Sengoku Jidai seem to be back on course again now which is good as I'm looking forward to playing it.

[bthizle1]

Those samurai are looking great Hoggy, my fav unit so far, being as I am a huge Japanese History fan.

[hoggy]

here is the japanese general on horseback and on foot:
http://www.awrate.com/chrishogg/images/Jgen.jpg

[Shogun Karai]

hoggy, man your work is awesome. It and Sengoku Jidai have reinspired me and I have just became Shogun as Uesugi.

Amazing work.

[Burns]

Awesome work as always hoggy. Now, in regards to the General's Bodyguard, perhaps you should make the face mask more obvious.

[Lief]

The general looks awesome!

[tai4ji2x]

i'm just a lurker and maybe i missed the reason for it, but shouldn't the swords be just a LITTLE bit more curved? is it a limitation of the modeling tools?

[RedSilver]

Very nice work as always hoggy, as a side note...

Is DJ back again for SJ ?

If he is, then Yay.

If not, then Nay.

[blindfaithnogod]

some japanese units and new cards.
http://img60.exs.cx/img60/4207/00078du.jpg
i hope this will help satisfy some of you craving new screenies... ~D

[saundersag]

Looks pretty awesome, i think it might look a bit better without the black background. Also there is a black lone figure in the background behind the standard bearer, who is he and could we have a close up.

[shifty157]

Looks awesome. I love the new unit cards. They fit so well with the style. Didnt Hoggy make a new HUD a while back?

The "lone black figure" in the background is an officer attached to the samuri archer unit.

As youre making these units are you also playtesting them and giving them appropriate stats? Or are you going to do that later?

[blindfaithnogod]

Didnt Hoggy make a new HUD a while back?

yes he did for the strat map. he hasnt yet made the new hud for battles.


The "lone black figure" in the background is an officer attached to the samuri archer unit.
yup.


As youre making these units are you also playtesting them and giving them appropriate stats? Or are you going to do that later?
to and extent. i am giving them preliminary stats as they get implamented. they will need more playtesting. right now we have alot of other things going on.


think it might look a bit better without the black background.
what do you mean by this?

[saundersag]

sorry for not being clear, i mean the black borders around the unit cards. i preffered the way that unit cards blended together in rtw

[blindfaithnogod]

once we get the hud changed it will look better, among other things. i promise ~;)

EDIT: here are some new screenies. 3/3/2005
http://img221.exs.cx/img221/6587/00240rw.th.jpg (http://img221.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img221&image=00240rw.jpg)
http://img221.exs.cx/img221/7008/00236jx.th.jpg (http://img221.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img221&image=00236jx.jpg)
the charge
http://img221.exs.cx/img221/8518/00221sm.th.jpg (http://img221.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img221&image=00221sm.jpg)
no mans land...
http://img221.exs.cx/img221/7881/00213uw.th.jpg (http://img221.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img221&image=00213uw.jpg)
http://img221.exs.cx/img221/3378/00205fa.th.jpg (http://img221.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img221&image=00205fa.jpg)
http://img221.exs.cx/img221/7097/00191ex.th.jpg (http://img221.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img221&image=00191ex.jpg)

[blindfaithnogod]

look up

[shifty157]

awesome work! nicely done.


Is that the only unit done so far?

[tai4ji2x]

again, just a lurker of the mod, but it's looking good. still wondering however, why aren't the swords a little more curved? the katana and chinese sabres all seem a bit too straight...? just mho

[hoggy]

shifty157 - the Zensen clan has most (but not all) of it's units having zensen colours and the textures are done. Units like the Tomoe Gozen are shared by both factions.

tai4ji2x - blimey, you really don't like the curve on the swords ~:) It's a limitation. There are only a few polys for the swords so i have slightly straightened them. The more curved they are the more noticeable the lack of polys becomes. They really aren't that far off the real thing though.

[hoggy]

Here are two chinese units. The firelances which will eventually fire flaming rockets (when we get round to modding it in) causing disruption and damage to enemy ranks:
http://www.awrate.com/chrishogg/images/firelance.jpg
..and the leopard handlers... slightly more deadly than dogs ~:) :
http://www.awrate.com/chrishogg/images/leopards.jpg

[neogerry]

sweet....

[blindfaithnogod]

sweet....
i'll second that

[MetalSlug]

What else can i say that hasnt been said before? Truely excellent work!

[tai4ji2x]

tai4ji2x - blimey, you really don't like the curve on the swords ~:) It's a limitation. There are only a few polys for the swords so i have slightly straightened them. The more curved they are the more noticeable the lack of polys becomes. They really aren't that far off the real thing though.

hehe, didn't mean to get you all riled up ~;)

just out of curiosity, what does it look like when you DO try and make it more curved? do you have a pic, demonstrating the effect of the lack of polygons?

[Lief]

Awesome new units! Can't wait to see the rockets in action!

[Myrddraal]

I love the leopards, those guys look scared!

[Big_John]

haha, awesome! though the proportions of the cat look more like a cheetah than a leopard. http://www.users.bigpond.com/thepates/somepictures/leopard.jpg

how about tiger handlers for the indian faction?

[blindfaithnogod]

who likes screenshots?
http://img93.exs.cx/img93/592/00307gu.jpg
http://img93.exs.cx/img93/6564/00298dt.jpg
http://img93.exs.cx/img93/279/00264ln.jpg

[Jay Tee]

Looks magnificent! It's great to have a look at the camp map. Are you already playing yourself (to test things out of course ~;) )?

I noticed the pictures of the anciliaries are changed, do you intent to introduce new traits and anciliaries or to use the same as in RTW?

[tai4ji2x]

any chance you could turn on your anti-aliasing at least for the purpose of the screenies ~;)

[shifty157]

the leopards and the campaign map HUD look amazing.

are all the new portraits implemented now?
how fast are the leopards? easily faster than the dogs but faster than horses?
will the two japanese factions have minor combat style differences? One better infantry the other better cavalry or will both be exactly the same?

i noticed you gave china1 another province bordering india. A good move to neutralize india's previously obvious dominance. However i think the province should start with a small garrison (1 unit?) in it and minimum advancements so that china1 doesnt start off with too big an advantage. China1 i think is alot like the seleucids in vanilla rtw. It starts out very big but very weak.

if you could get the buffalo chariot to work that would be amazing. Its such an incredibly unique unit. Even if you cant put 6 archers on it itd still be pretty cool.

good stuff guys. keep up the good work.

[DragoonXXIV]

I like the look and feel of the new textures, they are fantastic and practical. They show a real difference in the factions, not just a different band of cloth. The only problem i can see is that the unit strength is too forced on the unit marker. Otherwise keep up the amazing work.

[Lief]

Looks great! For the campaign map, I'd suggest adding some small islands on the coasts, to make the landform look more natural. At the moment, the map doesn't really look natural...

[blindfaithnogod]

are all the new portraits implemented now?
well most of them, we still need to make a large portion of the cards.

will the two japanese factions have minor combat style differences? One better infantry the other better cavalry or will both be exactly the same?
for now the only difference is their starting positions.

i noticed you gave china1 another province bordering india.
actually no we didnt. that was a shot after a couple of turns. they took the province by force. ~;)

Looks magnificent! It's great to have a look at the camp map. Are you already playing yourself (to test things out of course )?

I noticed the pictures of the anciliaries are changed, do you intent to introduce new traits and anciliaries or to use the same as in RTW?
im more "playing around" rather than actually playing the game. and the ancillaries as of now are the same, but i think we will have to change the names of some to make them more appropriate.

[shifty157]

I think all faction AIs should be as aggressive as possible. That might make the game more interesting.

[Khan48]

For spear units are u going to have them use phalanx strategies or are they going to fight like the triari? My personal opinion is that in the game the phalanx was too difficult to get to engage and i would prefer to see triari style units as that is the most useful in my opinion. Great work though. :bow:

[Furious Mental]

Phalanxes have always worked fine for me. I rarely tell them to engage. I just tell them to march into whatever I want killed, and the spears do the rest.

[shifty157]

Are the firelances a skirmishing unit or will they be more like roman legions (fire and then charge)?

Also i dont think the phalanx should be included. It is a western military tactic not an eastern one.

[blindfaithnogod]

we will not be using the phalanx formation. i dont think the medievel people of the far east were influenced much by ancient greek warfare. ;)

[QwertyMIDX]

I'd really like it if the Samurai didn't have their swords drawn before combat. Is it possible to give them marching and idle animations that have their swords in the sheath?

[Combine Soldier]

I know its not finished, but the camp map doesnt look so good. It looks a little bare dont you think, armies will spend most of there traveling time walking in a straight line across flat land. The regions look way to big(I would have at least 2 cities per region that size), and seem to have nothing but flatland and a few sparse trees around them.

There doesnt seem to be a whole lot of anything to navigate around. The pic of the mountain ranges looks cool, but there all together. Making it one big lump to move around, then flatland again. You guys need to study the RTW map a little more I think, In a constuctive way. I know this map is fantasy based, but look at the objects and things in the RTW map.

There are virtually NO points where there is such huge flat spaces to cover. But it seems to be predominant on your campmap. What Im trying to say without being rude is, it looks very boring. VERY boring. Most of what I have seen is just one very easy flat path from one city to the next. Whats the fun in that? It looks like almost all paths to another city can be done in a straight line.

Really though, study areas like gaul, greece, spain and germany as such in RTW and take some pointers. There should be NO straight paths to another citie at all. There no point having one big lump of trees, or one big lump of mountains when all you do is walk around it. The point is to navigate through it. Think Alps, germany.

[Khan48]

About his comment on the flatness of the map and it being boring. I have a great topographical map in my social studies classroom but it's not available on the net. One of those big wall maps that roll up. This one i found on the internet is almost as good and give as good sence of the elevation and size of the mountain ranges. Zoom in to get a real good look. One illusion on this map is the size of the mountaions north of the ghobi bordering Russia. Actually bigger than that map implies. You guys also might want to do research on the forestation of asia.

Great map
http://neptuno.fis.ua.pt/~mma/etc/maps/full/asia_1448.gif

[hoggy]

fair point, hopefully we'll iron out problems with the map in testing. Here are the chinese heavy cavalry Guan Yu cavalry:
http://www.awrate.com/chrishogg/images/guan.jpg

[Combine Soldier]

I hope that didnt come across wrong, it probably sounded bad. I just have the most fun in RTW in campmap areas like gaul, spain, italy and alps as such. Because there so populated with mountains, rivers, trees its almost a hassle to navigate through, and that why its cool.

Obviously, the armies and models in BLTW are stunning, adding a whole new feel(hanya, wow) to the game. But the campmap is as much a part as anything, and It would be a shame to have brilliant battles, but a boring campmap. Just go a few pages back and look at the current campmap screens. In most cases, the next city is a long walk, across flat unhindered land.

But obviously im still impressed, and what what I love about you an ur mod hoggy. Your always open to suggestion, and your always giving us something new to look at, and keep us interested. Nice work.

[blindfaithnogod]

yeah ive been thinking some of the same things. we ve been busy on other things. i will definatly revisit the map at some point.

[saundersag]

I guess your guan yu cavalry are based on the three kingdoms story, therfore they should be riding red are, a giant red horse so firtsly i reckon it should be red and also make sure that it is bigger than other horses. But brilliant unit otherwise and i look forward to the mod being released.

[tai4ji2x]

hey, how come THOSE guys have nice, curved blades? ~;)

[Turin]

Wow, this mod is REALLY coming together, it seems that you all have negotiated all the big hurdles for total conversions. I think the map is fine.

Hoggy, are you familiar with animations editing? It seems that Duke John has gotten the two handed spearman animation working, matter of time ere the two handed swordsman is finished. Obvioulsy both would fit nicely into your mod.

[shifty157]

Yeah i saw that. Pretty cool. Definatly a good idea to see if he'd let you borrow them.

Any news on getting a full time animator?

[Combine Soldier]

Errr, as I understand, or hoped, that two handed animation your talking about is simply the same animation falxmen and such use in RTW. its a two handed animation.

[Duke John]

No, I didn't use the 2handed animation from the falxmen. Those guys walk a bit "wide", as the machos they pretend to be. I edited the spearman animation.

But I have no problems sharing my animations with hoggy, he has done enough for me in the past.

Cheers,
Rob

[tai4ji2x]

so uh... hoggy, don't mean to be a pest (i know i can be sometimes, hehe), but could you give a sample pic showing why you feel that trying to make the swords more curved doesn't pan out too well? the guanyu cavalry you just showed seemed to have nice curved blades...

[hoggy]

Cheers DJ, much appreciated. I'm probably going to look at animation at a later date so I'll give you a shout. As you know if there's anything from BL you can use feel free. :bow:

[Kageka]

It was a while since I was active on these forums. But man! The mod still looks extremly good and seems to proceed well. ~:cheers:

It seems like you are done with the Japanese factions and are soon to be done with the Chinese factions. Quess the Demon faction and the Indian faction will be next. And then? Will you and your team release a demo of the mod or will you wait and work the Mongol, Korean, Hanuman ( ~D ), Thai and Monk ready and the release the full package?

[Lonely Soldier]

How's it going Hoggy?

I haven't commented in a long time, but the mod is still looking absolutely brilliant!!!!

I have started a mod (at https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?p=717588#post717588 ) which has the aim of making the settlements in Rome more realistic and much larger (where applicable), and thought that it could probably be incorporated into many mods - using that mod's building models - including Blue Lotus, if you so chose.

Pay no heed to me if you are not interested, but do please consider incorporating my mod into your's. Hopefuly, all you would have to do, once your buildings are complete, is to apply them to our mod.

The details (and even the mods very existence) are still in question - largely technical quarms to iron out - but I can see potential for the mod outside the original game.

Yours,
Lonely Soldier

[hoggy]

Kageka - Just finishing the Chinese faction and polishing then the demon and then indian but I think I want to hold on a release til we really have a lot to show if possible. Ideally I'd like all the factions done bar the monks and some of the special units before release. It means waiting longer but I think the enjoyment will be better.

Lonely Soldier - Looks good. I'll bear it in mind when we're doing the city models.

I'm not going to get much free time this weekend as a good friend is coming to visit from Canada so in the meantime here is some work inprogress on the chinese officer unit:
http://www.awrate.com/chrishogg/images/wip.jpg

[Sheep]

Can we make him less cross-eyed? Heh.


(and by "we" I mean "you" :) )

[Burns]

Heh, excellent. Hoggy, you should hold back release till youve really got a solid number of things to show and factions completed. And remember to back-up your stuff too!

[Aves]

Very sweet... can't wait for this mod

[binsquared]

can't wait til the finished product,...since im already addicted to coming to this thread everyday to look at the screenshots ~D

[Reverend Joe]

I'm about to ask the most annoying question possible- brace yourself Hoggy...

When will the mod be done? Do you have any idea? Even a rough estimate, like 3-5 months?

[Reverend Joe]

I just realised I posted in the wrong forum. Sorry.

[tai4ji2x]

can you lemme see what looks so bad when trying to make the blades more curved? ~:confused: sorry to keep pestering ya :bow:

[Combine Soldier]

WHO CARES MAN!!! get over it, they look fine. I wouldnt respond to you either, you sound like a frickin twat!

As if he is going to remodel the sword, take a screen post it, model it back, then save it, just for you. stop spamming the thread with this crap, what are you 5 yrs old?

[blindfaithnogod]

meat wad: basically the best answer to that is we have no idea when it will be done. there is still alot to do. and there are only 3 of us actively working on this right now. so please show some patience.

tai4ji2x:as for the curve of the blades. i trust that if hoggy says it looks best the way it is, he is probably right. modeling is not an easy art. and hoggy does seem to know what he is doing.

and please calm down guys. ~;)

[PROMETHEUS]

Hi fantastic work so far , but one question , in all mods so far I always see screens of units and campaign maps , but never of city views , did u alter also the buildings types or they will keep staying cathaginians romans or so on?Since from what I heard noone yet has been able to implement them....

[tai4ji2x]

WHO CARES MAN!!! get over it, they look fine. I wouldnt respond to you either, you sound like a frickin twat!

As if he is going to remodel the sword, take a screen post it, model it back, then save it, just for you. stop spamming the thread with this crap, what are you 5 yrs old?

i'm rubber, you're glue.... blah blah blah. who's 5 now? @sshole.

[Saranalos]

and please calm down guys. ~;)

Can you take a hint? Stop please.

Anyway the screenshot looks good. ~:)

[PROMETHEUS]

Hi fantastic work so far the best textures and models I have seen so far all over the net together with the Duke jhon's ones......, but one question , in all mods so far I always see screens of units and campaign maps , but never of city views , did u alter also the buildings types or they will keep staying cathaginians romans or so on?Since from what I heard noone yet has been able to implement them....

[hoggy]

tai4ji2x - sorry for not replying. I've not really got time to be providing screenshots etc sadly. There's alot of work to do on the project and other things come first. I hope you can trust my judgement on this one. :bow:

I'll second Blindfaith in saying calm down guys.

prometheus.- I think it one of those areas we're all hoping to work on but are so busy with the other stuff we've not had a chance to look at it. It's definitely on the list of jobs, Nice big japanese/chinese walls and temples etc :)

[PROMETHEUS]

The problem is that possibly I have heard only reskins are possible , but not implementing new models for them , this is a severe limitations for full conversion mods....I think all the community should start to research in this field.... ~:handball:

[tai4ji2x]

tai4ji2x - sorry for not replying. I've not really got time to be providing screenshots etc sadly. There's alot of work to do on the project and other things come first. I hope you can trust my judgement on this one. :bow:


thanks for the reply and sorry again for the intrusion, heh. can i just ask how you managed to get the guanyu cavalry to have nice curves in their blades? or is that only possible because the blade portion is much shorter and the other side is completely straight? just wondering. no need to reply if really that busy. keep up the good work.

[Duke John]

I think all the community should start to research in this field....
That won't be necessary :grin: The past few days I have been looking into this and within a few hours I will be looking at a Japanese castle on a battle map :grin: just wait for a while I figure out how to explain it to others. Technically it's not perfect, but it's better than nothing :grin: yes I cannot stop grinning :grin:

[hoggy]

Top Stuff DJ looking forward to seeing them! That's the kind of breakthrough I was waiting on. :bow:

tai4ji2x - You have now written 7 posts about the curvature of the blades in the samurai models ~:) . The samurai blades are slightly less curved as i have only used one subdivision in the sword model. This is because it is one of the most reused models in the game and will appear in a number of units some of which have large unit size. The curved blade on the Guan Yu has more polys to achieve the curved surface as the Guan Yu is a small elite unit and only very few will appear on a battlefield. That is a simplified explaination and i hope you will be satisfied with it. If not I can't help you I'm afraid.

[Big_John]

hey hoggy, i don't care much, just curious.. but couldn't you use alpha channels (or w/e it's called) to make a low-poly sword with more curvature than the one you're using now?

[hoggy]

here is the finished chinese officer supporting his troops:

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

[DragoonXXIV]

Looking good as usual hoggy. Just one minor note, i think his grip on the baton is a bit odd, a bit too high i think, but otherwise excellent work as usual. Does this mean you're done with the Chinese?

[shifty157]

Looking good as usual hoggy. Just one minor note, i think his grip on the baton is a bit odd, a bit too high i think, but otherwise excellent work as usual. Does this mean you're done with the Chinese?

Its a scabbard not a baton. And theres still the general, general's body guard, standard bearer, and any other random units hoggy feels like adding.


Keep up the awesome work with those units hoggy. This mod just keeps getting better.

[tai4ji2x]

tai4ji2x - You have now written 7 posts about the curvature of the blades in the samurai models ~:) .

:dizzy2: ~D


The samurai blades are slightly less curved as i have only used one subdivision in the sword model. This is because it is one of the most reused models in the game and will appear in a number of units some of which have large unit size. The curved blade on the Guan Yu has more polys to achieve the curved surface as the Guan Yu is a small elite unit and only very few will appear on a battlefield. That is a simplified explaination and i hope you will be satisfied with it. If not I can't help you I'm afraid.

understood and satisfied. ~:cheers:

[Sheep]

http://img58.exs.cx/img58/3328/chinoff9wo.jpg

Ouch!

[blindfaithnogod]

here are some examples of the building cards and info pics i am working on. ~D
http://img166.exs.cx/img166/9023/japbuildings2zd.jpg
i hope you guys like. i will probably revisit these at some time to put a spit shine on them. enjoy. maybe later you'll get some in game screenies.

[shifty157]

Thats some hot stuff. Any chance youll tell us what each building is?

[hoggy]

... and here is the chinese general :
http://www.awrate.com/chrishogg/images/chingen.jpg

[Sykotyk Rampage]

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v662/sykotykrampage/naga.jpg

demon general portrait

[Sykotyk Rampage]

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v662/sykotykrampage/meltzombie.jpg

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v662/sykotykrampage/devil2.jpg

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v662/sykotykrampage/twoheadzombieframed.jpg

demon general portraits

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v662/sykotykrampage/japanesegeneral.jpg

japanese general portrait

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v662/sykotykrampage/chionesegeneral.jpg

chinese general portrait

[Sykotyk Rampage]

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v662/sykotykrampage/wondermausoleumcopy.jpg

wonder -mausoleum

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v662/sykotykrampage/wonderterracottaarmy.jpg

wonder -terracotta army

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v662/sykotykrampage/spiderportlevel2.jpg

building completed picture - demon -port level 2

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v662/sykotykrampage/Boneroadlevel2.jpg

building completed picture -demon -road level 2

[Sykotyk Rampage]

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v662/sykotykrampage/bottomlesspitlarge.jpg

Building Completed picture -demon infantry barracks level 2- bottomless pit

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v662/sykotykrampage/Chasmoffirelarge.jpg

Building Completed picture -demon infantry barracks level 3- chasm of fire

[Sykotyk Rampage]

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v662/sykotykrampage/encantationcirclecopy.jpg

building completed picture -demon shrine level 1- encantation circles

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v662/sykotykrampage/sacrificialaltercopy.jpg

building completed picture -demon shrine level 2- sacrificial altar

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v662/sykotykrampage/skullshrinecopy.jpg

building completed picture -demon shrine level 3- skull shrine

2 more levels -summoners stone and temple of spirit lock -you have to play and build to see them...LOL

[Sykotyk Rampage]

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v662/sykotykrampage/carrionpitcopy.jpg

building completed picture -demon farm level 1 -carrion pit

Once again 3 more levels of death and destruction -but you will have to wait (play) and see (build)
body vaults --mmm very yummy for the demons tummy
slave corrals - kind of like a drive through for the wicked
breeding pits -not a place to spend your vacation

and closing off the set with a last picture for this batch......

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v662/sykotykrampage/devilhell.jpg

demon general

and good things come to all that wait!

[blindfaithnogod]

here's the ingame shot i promised. hopfully you'll get an idea of what is what. :bow: http://img46.exs.cx/img46/8294/00011ws.jpg
~:cheers:

[DragoonXXIV]

Looks good blindfaith. The thumbnails for the structures are great, but i can't help but think the full-scale image needs to be sharped, have the lines be straighter, but it still looks wonderful.

Ah Sykotyk, i hate to say it, and i don't know about the other people at this forum, but i don't like your choices for the demons. I think those images are too harsh and rather blurry, i don't think they fit in very well with the feel of this mod, and i really don't think they are a good representation of the purposed demon faction. Far too centered on blood and gore, and not enough dark symmetry, insane logic and the such. Remember these are militaristic demons, not just a mindless bloodlusting horde, but a capable firmly led and organized legion.

[Khan48]

How would demon buildings be made on the 3d battlemap?

[Sykotyk Rampage]

Hi,

Well Dragoon, we appreciate your insight as we try to incorporate all views and ideas.

We made a decision to "alienate" the demon faction’s mood and illustrative style away from the worldly factions. This estranged approach will give the demon faction a completely different feel than just another “Rome” faction. Every person will play the faction(s) different and have a diverse view of how demons could be, appear, and how they are to be played. It is left up to your individual gaming style whether you envision demons as a mindless blood lusting hoard or a militaristic demon legion that will…
“MAKE THE WORLD YOUR PYRE”
Please remember some of the pictures are not the finished product and the 13 demon pictures posted here are only a small fraction of the overall collection, something in the range of 3.7% to be exact....LOL and only .08% of all the pictures in the game. So don't take the blood and gore to heart...demons will be demons....

Happy “eater” bunny day …..

Again, keep the comments coming it only inspires us to get better!

Sykotyk Rampage

[DragoonXXIV]

I see, thanks for the clarification Sykotyk, since you posted those images first i thought that all the demons would be extremely blood and gore oriented, which is rather different then thier unit depiction and mythological background. Good to know i was wrong, and keep up the good work then.

[tai4ji2x]

i know this is a fantasy game, but i was wondering if there was a rough time period you're basing the units on? the chinese general portrait you plan to use is from manchu/qing era, while many of your actual chinese battle units are something like tang or song dynasty fashion. then again, i guess it would be difficult to mix the japanese units in otherwise, since the sengoku-style units you're using didn't appear until the late-ming to mid-qing.

[shifty157]

Hey hoggy. Were you going to use the chinese chariot unit you made earlier?

What is the general holding in his left hand?

Cant wait to see the chinese standard bearer.

[Lief]

I like the human building pics, but I really don't think the demon pics fit in with the whole theme of the mod. They look more like Heroes of Might and Magic demonic buildings than the type you'd expect the sinister and somewhat mischevious demons of Asia to live in.

[hoggy]

I'm with Sykotyk on the demon pictures here, once you see them all together and in context they work really well. The mixture of surreal images and bizarre montage allows you to add your own interpretation and really makes them strange compared to the serene human factions.

Khan 48 - They'll be modelled like the other factions so we'll have demonic wall/gates,buildings etc.

tai4ji2x - The units for all the factions come from a range of periods, I tend to go with whatever looks best :)

shifty157- I wanted the generals to be on horseback as their first choice as i find generals on chariots are less fun to play, don't ask me why, they just seem to move in a less decisive way. He's carrying a closed fan in his left hand.

[tai4ji2x]

tai4ji2x - The units for all the factions come from a range of periods, I tend to go with whatever looks best :)


k, that's what i figured. still, i'd recommend changing the chinese general portrait to an earlier period depiction, to match better with the chinese units

[shifty157]

shifty157- I wanted the generals to be on horseback as their first choice as i find generals on chariots are less fun to play, don't ask me why, they just seem to move in a less decisive way. He's carrying a closed fan in his left hand.

I thought it was a fan but i wasnt quite sure.

I agree fully with not putting the general on chariots. Theyre too cumbersome and die too easily for a general. But i was asking if you were going to use the chariots at all. I remember you were kind of annoyed because you couldnt figure out how to skin it and i was wondering if you managed to figure out how. Even if you cant reskin them i htink theyre worth using.

Too be honest i was kind of hesitant about the demon pictures too for the same reasons. But i guess if everyone whos actually building the mod says they work fine then ill have to believe that. How will you do the demon unit cards to keep them in the same surreal style but still make them easily distinguishable at a glance?

I still cant wait to see the firelances in action. Watch them rain death on enemy formation. Thatll be pretty awesome. I guess you would need a new animation for them though. Any progress on getting an animator?

[blindfaithnogod]

firelances anyone?
http://img179.exs.cx/img179/9985/00007zd.jpg
http://img179.exs.cx/img179/4226/00016jk.jpg
anyway they obviously need some tweaking. and new animations. but i thought you guys would like a look.(shifty) ~;)

[ramareddy]

That's is way cool guys, I commend you.

Out of curiosity, how is the Indian faction doing?

[hoggy]

not started on the Indian faction yet, it's next after the demons are finished.
here are the chinese bodyguards:
http://www.awrate.com/chrishogg/images/chinbod.jpg

[shifty157]

Thanks blindfaithnogod. Much appreciated. The effect looks pretty great. Have you edited the javelin mesh to be a rocket or do you still have to do that? They look like they could be quite a potent force though i wouldnt my troops anywhere near there.


Thats an interesting idea making the general's bodyguard horsearchers. its cool from a strategy standpoint but will they be able to hold their own in melee? It wouldnt be too good if enemy troops could chew through the general's elite bodyguards like normal horsearchers. Perhaps counteract their bow and sword prowess with severely limited ammo and few numbers?

Regardless thats some impressive work.

[saundersag]

I agree with shifty and i think that the body guards should be heavy cavs, as this would allow you to make them luxiourious, as they would be made of nobles which would be very wealthy also i reckon that they seem slightly strange compared to the rest of the chinese units as they wear black while all the others are bright colourful. I reckon they woul make a good unit however not as a bodyguards.

Also the firelances look very good but there seems to be too much smoke, theere needs to be more fire compared to smoke. Well that is my opinion.

However this mod is truly awesome and one of the rtw mods that i am really looking forward to. :grin3:

[DragoonXXIV]

I think the Chinese bodyguards are excellent especially if they're good at shooting and close combat, like the russian boyars in M:TW. Remember the chinese liked archery and many of their famous heros started battles with a few quick arrows then charged into the foray. The one suggestion i have is that they have a strong shot but a very limited number of arrows.

[Khan48]

Old gunpowder made lots of smoke. Anyways it would be cool to set them all of and when the smoke clears nothing left. Horse archer general is good. People ususally keep them behind the lines anyways and i'm sure he'll make them good in melee

[hoggy]

yep, bodyguards will be good archers and as close combat.

Here are the chinese standard bearers:
http://www.awrate.com/chrishogg/images/chinstand.jpg

[Burns]

Neeto.

[hoggy]

..and been going through doing bits and bobs of polish, here are updated chariots with proper colours and umbrella:
http://www.awrate.com/chrishogg/images/chinchar.jpg

[The Panda Centurion]

Woah! That standard almost made me wet my pants! Great job, hoggy. ~:eek:

[shifty157]

I love the standard bearer. It looks so cool.

The darker red wood and the umbrellas make the chariots look so much better as well.

Awesome work across the board.

Is that it for chinese units then? Besides reskinning them for the other faction. I also notice you need to make a banner but didnt you already make one a while back?

[ramareddy]

That is just awesome. I can't wait to see the Ox-chariot.

[Goth]

The one suggestion i have is that they have a strong shot but a very limited number of arrows.
i agree with Dragoon but wouldnt the bows be long bows?

[Khan48]

I like how these models look but i was wondering w/ all the extra umbrellas and banners on the back of japanese soldiers does the game slow down? Otherwise looks great! :bow:

[soibean]

just a few ideas for names for the demon buildings

wall of bones
wall of souls
(I have no idea how you would make those into 3D models so goodluck there)

I dont know if you wanna name the road upgrades but you could have something along the line of...

Highway to hell (april fools :bow: )
actually something like pathway of the damned or some such

[DragoonXXIV]

i agree with Dragoon but wouldnt the bows be long bows?

not necessarily, remember the chinese (and mongols) had composite bows, or if you perfer in Chinese myth, sheer massive arm strength.

[Revolting Friendship]

There's no with-holding the excellence of your work Hoggy, that standard is unbelievable, and the chariots simply made me happy. Seeing them going through a pack of kappa like that, well, it's truly poetic.

I tried to wait to comment here until I would have something constructive to write besides just pure praise, but it seems, that won't be happening anytime soon... ~D Obviously I think your samurai are excellent, given the focus of this mod. With that said, you should know that I had some complaints about the units in S:TW, I just think yours are both better looking and more accurate.

The swords are perfectly well curved too I might add, given that the avarage sori(curvature) of a 65-70cm(standard lenght cutting edge) blade had only a 2-2,5cm dip at the deepest point... That's an approximation tought, but anything more than 3cm is a rarity and found mostly on o-gatana and no-dashi-blades.

Keep up the excellent work, you and Blindfaithnogod, who is also making a tremendous effort.

I would have to say thought, that I'm not exactly exited about the demon-pictures, I would have rather seen the same kind of line-work as Blindfaithnogod is using, as it feels more asian. Secondly, I'm all with the bizarre path here, just look at japanese mythological creatures and the word will gain a few dimensions, but I think it should again be asian bizarre, not what I enterpret as medieval europe bizarre. Those pictures reminds me more of the scare-pictures of hell and pergutory commissioned by the catholic church, rather than what you would expect from asian horror/myth.

Sykotyp, could you please consider to revise your art, adding a more asian flavor to it? Wether it's japanese, chinese or indian I do not care, but that's what I'd rather see.

But if you guys feel like what you have is what you want, then just ignore me. Sykotyp's work does have energy to it, so I'm not saying it's shit, on the contrary, but I just feel it doesn't suit.

[Sykotyk Rampage]

Hi

Well first, please reference my post #176 for a broad explaination for the pictures.

Please try to expand your view of the fantasy mod Blue Lotus; it actually encompasses a very wide geographic and cultural area. It reaches from the shores of the Indian Ocean to the cold tundra of Siberia. It stretches from the Caucuses and Himalayan Mountains to the volcanic islands of the Pacific Ocean. The time period is well fantasy.

So the culture of the “Demons” is not restricted to just “Asian”. China, Japan or Korea as different as each of those cultures believes are the rest from factions encompass a much larger cultural and geographic game area - Mongolia, Russia, Tibet, India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Pacific Islands, Sri Lanka…Islam, Buddhism, Theravada, Hinduism, Daoism, Shinto, Sikhism, Confucianism, Qi Gong, Animism, Jainism and yes even a dash of Christianity 1498 India style etc… so as you can see the list we referenced is very extensive.

Every picture is actually referenced from those believes. The demon generals, civilians and buildings have a mixture of all those cultures. Fire chasms and gaping holes to the netherworld – fiery demons red and “devilish looking” -dragons and sea monsters –snakes, spiders, turtles and frogs- decaying “zombie” two headed skeletons –birds, bees and bats are mention throughout these cultures history. We just by-passed the pictures you are accustomed to seeing, the pretty “WATER COLOUR” drawings that give the demons a rosy outlook on life… LOL ..we made the numerous pictures "asian bizarre" and directly referenced from the art and litature of the vast cultures of the area.

Like post #176 these are only a small fraction of the pictures, and in a complete view and context they separate the demons out from the "worldly" factions.

Here is my reference for the first picture... of course it is twisted to demonic.
Azi Dahaka ('fiendish snake') is conceived of as partly demonic and partly human. He was probably originally the 'snake' of the storm-cloud who was a counterpart of the Vedic Ahi or Vrita. In the Yasht, he is described as struggling for the Hvareno, or Kingly Glory, against Atar (Fire).

Well take care and keep the posts coming…

Sykotyk

[Revolting Friendship]

Well first, please reference my post #176 for a broad explaination for the pictures.

Been there, done that. ~;)


Please try to expand your view of the fantasy mod Blue Lotus; it actually encompasses a very wide geographic and cultural area. It reaches from the shores of the Indian Ocean to the cold tundra of Siberia. It stretches from the Caucuses and Himalayan Mountains to the volcanic islands of the Pacific Ocean. The time period is well fantasy.

So the culture of the “Demons” is not restricted to just “Asian”. China, Japan or Korea as different as each of those cultures believes are the rest from factions encompass a much larger cultural and geographic game area - Mongolia, Russia, Tibet, India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Pacific Islands, Sri Lanka…Islam, Buddhism, Theravada, Hinduism, Daoism, Shinto, Sikhism, Confucianism, Qi Gong, Animism, Jainism and yes even a dash of Christianity 1498 India style etc… so as you can see the list we referenced is very extensive.

I can't help but look to the cultures represented by factions in the mod instead. I really feel like they matter more to the choice of graphics than the topographic features and historic cultural and religious distribution of asia.

And here you also hint to my actual point, the fact that the demon faction should draw character from the cultures it's derived from, which is already appearant in the factions unit rooster.


....We just by-passed the pictures you are accustomed to seeing, the pretty “WATER COLOUR” drawings that give the demons a rosy outlook on life… LOL ..we made the numerous pictures "asian bizarre" and directly referenced from the art and litature of the vast cultures of the area.

No you didn't, you made the pictures "sykotyp enterpretation of demonical energy bizarre", and referenced only textual accounts of the demons attributes. You just said yourself that you found asian depictions of demons to rosy, so you ditched them. There's no hint of indian, no hint of persian, no hint of chinese, no hint of japanese flavour in your pictures. Still, the demon unit list and the demon models gives an overwhelming asian flavour, mostly japanese/chinese/korean. The "rosy" kappa in the above screenshot for example. From where do you suggest that their appearance has been lent?


Like post #176 these are only a small fraction of the pictures, and in a complete view and context they separate the demons out from the "worldly" factions.

That they surely do, and so we arrive at my argument, they seperate the demons to much, so much it's not good. The demonic energy of your art has lost it's asian origin in everything but theory.

This is how I feel, and really, your reasons to feel exited about your art are my reasons for not doing so, so there was never any point of bringing them all up, I didn't make the first post out of ignorance you know. Sure this is pointless unless you are affected by it, I'm just hoping you will be.

I'll also point out that I am trying to help here, I don't want you gone, I would rather see how you would handle a rework of your graphics. I've already reworked all my stuff from scratch on someone elses suggestions(and I hope you are still satisfied Crusher of Eval).

[Tricon]

Hi. Another lurker coaxed into the open by this fine mod (and EB, to be totaly honest).
Looks like I will end up with about three installs of RTW... sigh.

Please keep up the good work. All of you.

On the demon faction art: I commend the energy of the pictures. At first I did not like 'em, then I did, and now I'm not so sure.
It's a matter of expectancy... and I really did (and do) not expect the demon faction to be presented by ...by ... this. I envisioned a kind of "Khali" feeling to the artwork, or maybe russin folklorish as in the stories of the Baba Yaga (unit or building hint, btw.). But that's just it: that was how I wished it to be. But it's your baby, and I'll just be happy to take what you all give to the comunity.
I just have a hard time envisioning the asion demon units milling about in such enviroments.

Anyway, kep up the great work!

[hoggy]

hehe, I think we're going to have to agree to differ. I'm quite happy with the contrast in styles and Sykotyks interpretation. Good to get feedback though :bow:

[Big_John]

the more i look at sykotyk's representations, the less i dislike them. they seemed so alien the first time i looked at them, but going back and looking at them now, they don't feel totally un-asian, imo. really, the main thing that bugs me about them is not the content of the pics.. it's the glossiness. the demon portraits are just so shiny.. like something from a glossy magazine cover or playing card or something. i think in-game the portraits and other pics will seem less out-of-place, once everything is put together.

[Revolting Friendship]

Sure thing, I can handle that.

[Biggles]

Nice mod man really looking forawd to it ~:thumb:

[Sykotyk Rampage]

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v662/sykotykrampage/framedmoondemon.jpg

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v662/sykotykrampage/frameddragon.jpg

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v662/sykotykrampage/firedragonframed.jpg

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v662/sykotykrampage/BLACKFEARHO.jpg

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v662/sykotykrampage/ADVANCEDWARDSMITH.jpg

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v662/sykotykrampage/queen.jpg

[Big_John]

i like this last set :2thumbsup:

whereas before, the impression i got was 'blood-n-gore', this set evokes more 'nightmare', which i like more. not saying that approach is any more valid, just more my liking. the small pics are great too, b/c they don't seem to shiny, which was my only real complaint. and who/what is that last one.. it's pretty wicked. :bow:

edit: aww, you changed the last pic.. well, it was wicked, whatever it was.

[shifty157]

Id have to agree that i like these last pictures better. Especially the building pictures. Nice work.

[Revolting Friendship]

I'll join in by saying, the new pictures are much better, and as already said, especially the buildings. But for the portraits, exept for the top one I think they are a bit too carnival, which is more crazy than gloomy and demonic. They have ofcourse made the right approach since they feel more asian.

At least now I understand why you felt the asian way of depicting demons is rosy, but that's not at all what I was reffering to. You can tone the colors down, make the backgrounds more dark and misty, and maybe make their features a bit more 'live', since they still look a lot like masks/statues and such.

http://www.computersonline.se/webpic/_pictures/DEMONsmall.jpg

http://www.computersonline.se/webpic/_pictures/DEMONsmall2.jpg

This is how I imagine asian demonic creatures, and it's inspired mainly by the japanese wood-block prints i've seen. Perhaps it might inspire your future work. Keep it up. ~:cheers:

[hoggy]

This is just a work i progress for the Wang Liang, it's not skinned properly as it'll need it's own skeleton/anims at a later date so it's arms and other areas are wrong but should give an idea:

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

[randomhero210]

Impressive work yet again. Are the animations for them correct?

[DragoonXXIV]

Those look wonderful, or rather i'd rather not send my troops against those things. However i'm a bit curious if you can implement a fear inspiring ability, or rather something to make these brute's target more likely to run when fighting or even charged by these guys?

[randomhero210]

Speaking of their behavior, is there a way for them to be an easy target for arrows and other ranged attacks? They could be beastly in melee, so your tactic against them would be to pepper them with arrows to thin them out before they get too close.

[shifty157]

Very impressive. What are the big round things on its bandelier?

[ramareddy]

I'm not sure if you guys went over this, but would it be possible to have "Elements" (fire, water, earth, air, void) implemented into the game?

Maybe just for one of the Chinese or Monk factions. Or maybe each faction could have a particular element.

Nice work by the way.

[hoggy]

Here are the 4-armed demons. This unit,like the wang liang will also have its own animation later so please ignore the stray back arms for the moment.

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

[The Blind King of Bohemia]

Your in a league of your own son, you do know that don't you? Amazing pics ~D

[Moros]

really cool those new demon faction can't wait to see them in action with their proper animations.

[shifty157]

Simply Amazing.

I dont know what else to say.

[MetalSlug]

Excellent work , do/will they actually use all 4 arms?

[dark_shadow89]

I'd say yes by the looks of it...keep it up hoggy! AMAZING STUFF!!!

[shifty157]

Yes they will once hoggy gets around ot making the new skeleton and animations. So perhaps not for a while but when theyre done theres the very large possibility of going instantly blind from the sheer awesomeness. As well as heart failure and high cholesterol.

Did you finish converting the chinese skins to the other faction and their unit cards?

[hoggy]

Well my good friend PixelGenie is having a go at some of the Mongol faction units starting with some Khanate cavalry in their green and yellow livery. Here they are biting off more than they can chew but looking good at it:
http://www.awrate.com/chrishogg/images/mongscreen.jpg

[Sykotyk Rampage]

WOW.....all I can say....WOW

[Moros]

almost a real hoggy :p !

[hoggy]

and another unit by PixelGenie, the Mongol infantry, looking even better than the cavalry I reckon!
http://www.awrate.com/chrishogg/images/monginf.jpg

[blindfaithnogod]

excellent. im glad to see he agreed to help out.

[shifty157]

I wasnt too sure about the quality of the cavalry but the infantry is amazing. A good addition to the team. Keep up the great work!
:2thumbsup:

[Emperor_Martimus]

I have a question. Will you be editing the terrain? to look more stylish? I notice in the screenshots that the terrain is unaltered and it stands out because of the contrast with the colourful player skins. The player models are very nice, and the campaign map, and the interface. Everything is incredibly well done. :bow:

[randomhero210]

I have a question. Will you be editing the terrain? to look more stylish? I notice in the screenshots that the terrain is unaltered and it stands out because of the contrast with the colourful player skins. The player models are very nice, and the campaign map, and the interface. Everything is incredibly well done. :bow:

On another thread, Hoggy has discussed just this and like you said, he stated the need for colorful and dramatic backgrounds to fight on.

[Voigtkampf]

Hoggy, this modification is formidable. Actually, any word I might use will only diminish its vast and overwhelming quality. I have been following it for quite some time and had to express my sincere admiration for you and the rest of the modding team. :bow:


Very impressive. What are the big round things on its bandelier?

Human skulls, perhaps?

[kaya]

hey there, when will the mod be ready cause i cant wait to play it guys, really you guys are doing a great job :charge:

[Ferocious_Imbecile]

This mod is astounding, but I have to say, that I too don't feel the demon portraits are really appropriate to it. They're fine in their own way but they're just not authentically oriental in the way that Hoggy has outlined so far. And their style is jarring when placed next to Hoggy's work. Surely some inspiration can be more directly drawn from athentic oriental art sources?

[hoggy]

Thanks for the comments guys, I'm hoping PixelGenie will do the whole Mongol faction, it depends if he's got time really.

in the meantime here are the demon army officers and standard bearers (ignore the old egyptian banners they're being replaced):
http://www.awrate.com/chrishogg/images/demoff.jpg

[shifty157]

Holy shit hoggy. How are you so awesome? That standard bearer is amazing. Definitly one of your best jobs yet.

[SigniferOne]

Hoggy that is some amazing work! I have been lurking to admire ur work for some time, but now I have to say something to express my appreciation. 1st class work!

[Lonely Soldier]

I'll second that! This stuff is just getting better and better! Are all the demons following a Japanese theme? I've got no problems if they are!

[Myrddraal]

You are the envy of the modding world hoggy!

[Goth]

Hail Hoggy!! we mere mortals are not worthy, we are not worthy

[littlecheese07]

looks great as always but I have to say I feel really sorry for the banner holders those things must be a total pain not just being unweilding but imagine what your boss will do if you fall behind. :whip:

[Paul Peru]

Those last screenies brought tears to my eyes.
If this stuff flies anyway near as good as it looks, the top of my head will fall off.
~:cheers:

[shifty157]

Im thinking it might be cool if the Wang Liang threw a volley of those big sphere things before they charged like legionaires. You would only need to apply the javelin animation and remodel a javelin into a ball. That could be a cool touch.

[monkian]

I'm pretty sure those 'balls' are of a spirtual nature - like prayer beads ? They appear on lots of Japaneese 'demons'

[Sykotyk Rampage]

Hi
Ya that would be cool, exploding prayer beads, kind of like a molitov cocktail or the unholy hand-grenade of Antioch. Those wang are devastating, a little volley of hell fire would add that little extra touch.

Of course we just need to talk Hoggy into adding it to the "List of Fantasic Things To Do"...#1000. LOL

[Lord Adherbal]

lol those models are certainly as brilliant as they are crazy :)

[shifty157]

They dont even have to be explosive (although that would be cool). I just figured that a 30cm wide ball of solid brass flying through the air at high velocity would do enough damage. That could easily cut one or two people in half. But if you want to make it explosive then why the hell not.

[Sykotyk Rampage]

Here are some India buildings........

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v662/sykotykrampage/_EASTERN_INDIAN_TEMPLE.jpg

temple

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v662/sykotykrampage/EASTERN_MUSTER_FIELD_CONSTRUCTED.jpg

1st level infantry -guard house

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v662/sykotykrampage/indiatrader.jpg

Trader

https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v662/sykotykrampage/indiamarket.jpg

market