The Ilsamiren Wars

[Ilsamir Lord]

This is
THE ILSAMIREN WARS
an original fantasy concept in development for Medieval II:Total War and the Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion


GENERAL INFORMATION
The mod is not based on any film, book or period in our history. The setting, factions and religions are entirely original. All designs, though influenced by real life equivalents are also original. The concept for this mod came to me after years of toying with a fantasy concept, originally I was planning on writing three novels, but that did not eventuate. I have developed religions, cultures and even the beginnings of two languages relating to this concept and I suddenly realised that a mod was the way to make it public.


BACKGROUND
The world of Cleru Denaurath is generally peaceful, but for the occasional raid on the Ilsamiri by their neighbours of the Northern Kingdom and the Seaborne. These raids have of late become increasingly regular and organised, a poor omen. The Ocean Tribes conduct their civilisation quietly among the Islands of the Dividing Sea and the Southern and Western Kingdoms carry out their trade and agriculture under stable rules, but they too are increasingly threatened, largely because of their close relationship with the Ilsamiri. In the far south, in the great Forest of Light, Clauthnor, the warlords stir.

On the Eastern Continent, the Mekathenain civilisation is preparing a mass exodus. They have been driven to abandon their once fertile land by the encroachment of the desert from the centre of the continent. Rain has not fallen on their farms for almost 100 years, and so they have constructed a mighty fleet of ships and assembled a vast force for the colonisation of as yet undiscovered lands.

Note: Some of the terms e,g. the Malice, are the closest possible translations from the Ilsamiren terms. For example, the people of the Northern Kingdom do not worship what the Ilsamiri call the Malice, they worship the Lechan, the True God.


TIME FRAME
As the mod is in a fantasy setting the timeframe is not particularly important. The period of conflict which the mod is concerned with begins in the 7,032nd year After the Fall. The mod ends about 8 years or so after that date with a world changing cataclysm. The length of turns will be perhaps only a day or a week or a month - this will be considered.


THE WORLD
The world of the Ilsamiren Wars is entirely fictional. I will be posting a map shortly indicating the positions of settlements, province borders etc. The world consists of two continents, one in the East, one in the West, separated by a wide ocean. Throughout the ocean are scattered various islands. The Western Continent is divided among five factions and the Eastern has only one – though there are very few provinces here and all are coastal. The islands in the ocean are divided among two factions, the Seaborne in the North and West and the Ocean Tribes in the South and East. The Eastern Continent is almost entirely desert, the Western is largely Green. As you can see there is a large forest in the South of the Western Continent and a mountain range separates the Northern Kingdom from the Ilsamir lands.


https://img253.imageshack.us/img253/1316/provinceandcityandterrino0.th.jpg (https://img253.imageshack.us/my.php?image=provinceandcityandterrino0.jpg)


THE KINGDOMS AND PEOPLES


The Ilsamiri

People of the fallen Iraneth realm of old, you are bringers of learning, wielders of swords, bearers of shields, shapers of metal, hewers of stone, creators, holders, champions of this Empire.
- from the Call of the King, spoken to all soldiers upon their deployment and first heard upon the Haven Beach in 653 DH ([or] Dari Huler – after [the] fall).

The Sky City, Iraneth, fell, or so say the Ilsamiri, after an assault by the evil spirit of their religion, the Malice. They are the followers of the Weaver, Denaur. Their language is rich and expressive and their script is complex and subtle. They favour plate and mail and blades, and the metal for these things they gather in the mines of the Arkiri Vimer (Northern Mountains).



The Morchanin

What good will it do you to kill me, king, it will only redouble the wrath of my kin.

- the last words of the Instigator, Kudelir, before he was slain by the King Ilregin I. He was seemingly the sole driving force of the Morchanin Mutiny of 1123 DH.

The Morchanin dwelt upon the southern banks of the River Darineth for a long while before the Ilsamiri came to this world. They have become a key element of Ilsamir society, despite their transgressions of the 12th century. They are specialists in guerilla warfare and take much pride in their skill with the distinctive blades and blow-pipes they wield.



The Seaborne

Do not kill them! Take them! And unharmed if you can!
- a snatch of speech from a Seaborne captain recounted by a survivor of a raid.

The People of the Jauchal, Dragon, bear no ill will to the Ilsamiri, but their chief concern, labour, is enough to make them an enemy of the Ilsamiri and their southern allies. They come swiftly in ships both rowed and sailed, take what they can and flee to their mysterious, indefinite home. Equipment recovered from what small engagements have been fought suggests an island existence, though this has not been verified.



The Mekathenain

Bezhir! Begwa’az asin vau la yohim!
- the first words of Mekathenic spoken on the Western Continent, overheard by a Morchanin scout.

Hailing, some say, from a great eastern land the Mekathenain landed upon the southern coast of the Western Continent late in the year 2019 DH. They wear armour of great richness and complexity wrought of bronze and brass interlaced with silk and under this they wear fine silk garments. They brought no beasts with them but came with many ships, almost beyond counting.



The Northern Kingdom

…but know that the Lechan watches you with kindness in all your duties and worthy tasks and that he is all-knowing of your ordeals. This day is no different. He watches and sees and perceives. Fear not! Your d… [Final word missing, see note]

- from Elhea’s Book, date unknown, context unknown; book damaged, surrounding text illegible. Last readable letter is an Ilsamiren “D”.

The people of the Lechan, the True God, Fedh, the Malice, to his enemies, dwell on the Northern Planes and upon the foot-hills of the great mountain ranges. Their capital is Lechanis, City of the True God. They are the bitterest enemies of the Ilsamiri from whom they violently diverged in a religion-fuelled war. What strange beasts dwell beyond the Three Ranges can only be guessed at, but they are sure to be terrible and obscene.



The Southern Kingdom

Strong were our founders but we have gone beyond them, standing for ourselves upon this hard isle, keeping our own but ever fair and generous to our friends. Our Isle is what you defend, and the keep upon its high Hill. Stand now, shield-to-shield and imperishable as the stars and defend what we have made for ourselves.

- from Auldir’s Prayer, first spoken in 1672 LI ([orn ga] Lian Indulath – [in the] Year of the Isle) to the Shields of the Isle as they awaited the foe.

The Southern Port was founded in the Ilsamir year 352 DH partly as a response to increasing bandit activity on the southern borders but largely because of the perfection of what would become the Port Isle (orn Indul Glatir) as a defensive point in their ever-expanding realm. Shortly after the founding and construction of the city the Ilsamiri passed control of their southern lands to a council of merchants who would rule jointly as Kings. The Arkiri Eltarise (Setting Mountains) to the west of the Bay were, like their northern counter-parts, rich in ores and so the warriors of this Southern Kingdom developed a military style unique in the world for its patience.



The Western Kingdom

Lay down scythe and sickle, rest you ploughmen and your beasts, gaze upon the sun, upon the sheafs of wheat. Ended is the harvest, warm the fire, cool the river, dark the forest, plaintive the wolf’s cry.

- from an untitled and unattributable hymn sung across the Kingdom at the completion of the harvest.

The wealth of the Western Kingdom, a client of the Ilsamiri, lies in its abundant wheat fields and wide pastures which are perfect for raising fine horses. The King of the Cehu Cirume’ath, the People of the Sun, has his court upon the Glemir Darinethas and from here oversees all agricultural activity from the Ilsamir border to the west coast and from the Three Ranges to the northern Setting Mountains. The rich among them build structures of wood but the chief technique used among the common citizens is wattle and daub, though none finer is to be seen on the continent. Cavalry is the force for which this Kingdom is famous, but the bulk of their army is made up of strictly trained peasant volunteers.



The Ocean Tribes

Foinlhue o etia, foinlhue hch itlie.
- approximated transcription of an undeciphered Oceanic saying, heard from hiding by a trader of the Southern Kingdom.

The Ocean Tribes are an enigma. Said to undertake vile religious rites in worship of a dark god they are still but a rumour of fear in the south-east of the Dividing Sea.


War is upon the Ilsamiri...

[Ilsamir Lord]

Greetings all,

This week I'm presenting the first of the city plans.

The Capital - Darineth and some of its Quarters

https://img98.imageshack.us/img98/7954/planformattedjpegnq0.th.jpg (https://img98.imageshack.us/my.php?image=planformattedjpegnq0.jpg)https://img155.imageshack.us/img155/2439/darinethplanquartersoverviewv1jpgvn1.th.jpg (https://img155.imageshack.us/my.php?image=darinethplanquartersoverviewv1jpgvn1.jpg)
this first image shows the Ilsamir capital city and the surrounding geography as well as the arrangement of the inner walls. The second image shows a few of the quarters seen above in greater detail.

This city is #22 on the map of provinces and settlements (http://z14.invisionfree.com/The_Ilsamiren_Wars/index.php?showtopic=3) - please note that the map will be changed slightly to fit with these designs.

Lastly we have a map of a second city, the City of Lechen Pass - #5 on the geographical map

https://img88.imageshack.us/img88/5667/thelechenpassanditscityzm1.th.jpg (https://img88.imageshack.us/my.php?image=thelechenpassanditscityzm1.jpg)

Of course it remains to be seen how much editing will be possible for the cities in Medieval II, but they are seemingly much more variable than those of Rome - as long as they can be edited at all.

There you go for this week. Check back next week for more!

[Woad Warrior]

Very nice and detailed. :2thumbsup:

Good luck with this mod, looks like your the only fantasy mod out there. (Until of course LOTR pops up)

If its anything like RTW, you should be able to edit cities with relative ease.

[Ilsamir Lord]

More detail for Woad Warrior then!

I recently wrote these up for our concept artists, so any out of place comments I make are really addressed to them.

Armour and weapons
In Order of Necessity

The Ilsamiri
The Armour of the Ilsamiri is largely of plate and mail construction. Mail alone is worn when plate cannot be afforded. Leather is substituted for both when necessary, but the mountains in the north provide great reserves of ore for the making of metal armour.

Their helmets are either of a single piece of beaten steel or are made in sections and riveted together. All Ilsamir troops are armoured to some extent.

The armour of foot-soldiers ranges from a mainly leather composition with metal vambraces, greaves and pauldrons and steel-reinforced leather helmets to complete suits of mail and plate. Certain soldiers wear combinations of the two styles, as some forms of fighting favour greater protection for the chest than for the limbs.

Their shields are usually tall, covering from neck to knee in most cases, and are shaped simply but elegantly. They are usually decorated simply among the citizen levies and more and more complexly as the social standing of the company rises: for example, a conscript’s shield is painted grey and may bear a simplified symbol of their city while a knight’s shield will be painted much more vibrantly, showing mythical scenes or a complex coat-of-arms. Shields are usually made of hard-wood, covered with leather and rimmed with steel. Precious metals, particularly silver, may be inlaid into the shield’s design in recognition of brave service on a particular soldier’s part. Likewise, silver is used to highlight subtle detail in the armour of the most prestigious warriors.

The Ilsamiri favour some colours over others for the decoration of their shields. These are, in order of commonality: Dark Blue, Grey, Silver, very Dark Green and violet. Other colours are seen, but of these red is the least common.

Ilsamir swords are usually long and somewhat narrow bladed. They are usually excellently made and break rarely. Their guards come in all shapes, and the shapes of their own letters are sometimes used, though some are obviously more suitable than others, to show the city of origin of the sword or the fighter. Swords of lineage usually bear a short history within the fuller of their blades – usually to the effect of “Galuir wrought me in 562” and the like. They favour one-handed swords, to allow the use of a shield, but the Darineth Guardsmen are famed for their use of two-handed blades.

The Ilsamiri favour long blades over axes, though halberdiers are seen in Ilsamir armies. The Ilsamiri do not like heavy weapons, so maces and the like are rarely seen except among the unusually strong. Their spears have long blades and often have guards just below their heads to stop enemies from dodging round them. Pikes are used, but shorter spears – perhaps eight-feet or so – are more popular. Ilsamir knights usually carry a lance as a charge-weapon, the heads of which are wide and long.

Ilsamir bows are long and of dark wood. Their arrows are fletched with grey and white feathers, often from gulls.

Each Ilsamir city has its own crest and coat-of-arms which is placed in circular badges on the helmets and shields of its soldiers.

As a final point, here is a description of the armour of a Darineth Guardsman from the Story of Udeval:


‘…its guards armed with their famed two-handed swords, their hilts shaped after an Ilsamiren letter: D, for Darineth, for that was the name of the city they defended. They wore the same symbol upon their helmets, set into a round field of misty-grey. Their armour was of steel plates, etched with silver in places, picking out subtle designs. They also wore a sash of deep blue cloth about their waists from which they hung their scabbards.’

The Morchanin
NOT A FULL FACTION!
The Morchanin wear armour only when going to large-scale battle and this is usually blackened and concealed beneath their black garments to add to their legend among their enemies.

They usually cover their faces, though it is also common to see them simply blackened with charcoal.

Their blades are usually curved and single edged and all metal is blackened. They use no two-handed weapons.

Their main ranged weapon is the blow-pipe. These are of perhaps three-feet in length from end to end. They are of wood, reinforced with steel bands so they can be used as a parrying weapon when necessary. They use darts, poisoned to varying degrees depending on the situation, which have a long barb upon one side. The venom of the cheiris is favoured. They occasionally go mounted into battle.


The Mekathenain
The Mekathenain favour no one metal over others, except brass, but the make of their armour is uniform. It is of a lamellar construction, usually using silk thread.

The amount and fineness of the lamellar used varies depending on the social status of the soldier. Their helmets are usually of a single piece of beaten metal and are uniformly of a flat-toped, open-faced construction.

They carry curved, single-handed swords, much like scimitars but they usually have a pole-arm as a primary weapon. These pole-arms range in size considerably from long spears (8-10 feet) to strange, axe like weapons with four-foot hafts and half-foot blades.

Their bows are recurved and often made of several layers of glued wood. Their arrows are very important to them and battlefields are often picked clean of all wood thanks to the shortage of trees in their homeland. Their arrows are spiral fletched with two white feathers and one brown feather. Each archer is always given a single arrow fletched in the same way as a nobleman’s. Noble’s arrows are usually fletched with two white feathers and one purple feather.

The javelin is another popular weapon, but wood, being scarce, is reserved for the noble classes. Hollow tubes of metal are used in their place.

The Mekathenain have no horses traditionally, but their conquests in the west bring them many horses as time goes on. On these horses they mount their famed Hunters, arming them with javelins, nets and swords. They also mount their heavy spearmen as lancers.

Beneath their armour the Mekathenain wear silk in many different colours. The most favoured colours for trim are blues, purples and greens while white and sandy colours are used for the main areas of cloth. Purple dye is most expensive and most prized. The designs used range from the simple and abstract to the complex and realistic, but most centre on the shape of water drops and on rivers and rain clouds over lush terrain.

The Mekathenain do not use shields, though sometimes their archers carry shields which they can prop up in front of their line.


The Southern Kingdom
The warriors of the Southern Kingdom fight almost exclusively defensive battles and so favour heavy armour.

They wear full suits of plate and carry tall rectangular shields with which they build walls of steel on the battlefield. They like to use long pikes and shorter than normal swords. Their symbology centres on ships, stars, and the sun and moon. Their armour is similar to that of the Ilsamiri, but should also be individual.


The Western Kingdom
The warriors of the Western Kingdom predominantly wear leather armour, but nobles wear more metal. They use images of the sun and sheafs of wheat and the like on their shields and tunics.

They prefer axes to swords as they require less metal, but they do use swords occasionally. They also use long spears. There shields can be of any shape, but they are usually not made to cover the whole body. They do not use round shields.

They prefer browns and greens, though reds and gold are sometimes seen.

Any plate-armour they wear is usually from the Ilsamiri – who frequently give them armour as a gift.


The Northern Kingdom
Their warriors wear steel armour, but it is simpler than that of the Ilsamiri. They favour curved swords. They use dark reds, whites and dark greens. The concept for the Ethed Knight is a good indication of what their more elaborate armour looks like.

They often wear fur lined cloaks. There is a picture at the forums of a group of Russian knights, there should be one who has a red cloak topped with fur, that's the sort of thing.

The Ocean Tribes
Warriors of the ocean tribes use no metal, as they do not have the technology to fashion the necessary ores. They use bones, teeth, obsidian (a form of black volcanic glass) and green-stone in place of metal in weapons. In armour they use strips of wood, woven much like wicker, and also plates of wood. They carve this wood intricately for their nobles. Many of their warriors go without any garment on their chests and wear skirts of wood and grass. They wear intricate masks as well. All their armour is carved and adorned with feathers, though the kind and amount of carving and feathers varies with the social standing of the wearer.

Their shields are round and usually have a shape of cloth or an arrangement of feathers hanging down below them.

Their weapons are largely of a club or axe-like design, often edged with the materials spoken of above. They also use spears, javelins and bows, as well as slings. Their bows are short.

They use few bright colours, but they use a dark varnish for their armour to make it more durable and less easy to spot in the dense jungles and forests of their islands.


The Seaborne
Seaborne armour is simple and relies heavily on leather, often this is made from the skins of sharks. They use metal sparingly, but know little of how to care for it. For this reason much of their armour is somewhat rusty. All their armour is sectional in nature, using only small plates.

Their swords are usually curved and simple, and usually quite short. They often carry flat round shields. They prefer clubs to blades, but these are often spiked or studded.



Architecture
These are presented in the order they will be needed for the Oblivion Story

The Morchanin
The Morchanin build simply in wood, even their great Council Chambers are built of wood, though they are carved with scenes of history. Their dwellings are simple, usually of one level. They have dirt roads.

The Ilsamiri
Ilsamir architecture favours grey stone and marble. Their houses have tiled rooves. They make detailed carvings in this vein along walls of important structures, such as the four Towers:


‘The entire courtyard was walled about with grey stone, but it was lightly and delicately carven and momentarily the eye would be deceived into thinking that the trees and grass, and the flowers and fruits went on further than they actually did, into a misty forest, reachable, but totally unreal.’

Their roads are paved and straight, much like Roman roads. And the walls around Darineth are high and have battlements. They do not have towers around their outer walls. The four Towers are described thus, and this is a good way to imagine a lot of their architecture:


‘He continued east towards the palace doors, pausing only momentarily to gaze skywards towards the palace tower and to the north and south to its sisters, the tower of the Weaver’s temple and the tower of the Dividing Sea. Further west, beyond the palace tower, was the tower of the Haven, Prethan Darinethas. All were carved after the manner of the courtyard walls, but their stones were finer: stronger, but more translucent. From the ground to their very peaks they were carved to varying depths, to allow the light of the sun entrance to them, but more importantly to allow the wind to whistle and sing through them on its way.’

Don’t look at Roman architecture too much.


The Southern Kingdom
Similar to that of the Ilsamiri, but more solid. Their walls do have towers. They use darker stone. We’ll also need a number of designs for ships.


The Western Kingdom
Look at traditional Russian wood-carving for inspiration here. They use almost exclusively wood. They build walls of wood too. They also build barges to travel on the Glemir Darinethas. Thatched rooves.


The Ocean Tribes
They use wood and stone. Look at Maori architecture and try to find a happy medium between it and central-American architecture (that of the Maya and Aztecs). They’ll need canoes, too.


The Mekathenain
Look at middle-eastern stuff for these guys, but try to make it a little off kilter, not too much like any one style. They favour smooth shapes and stone. We’ll need some ruined looking designs to, which will be seen in the deserts of the eastern continent – though these are really not a priority at this stage. Try to design things we can re-use in the 3d programs, so don’t design too much really specific stuff. The Mekathenain civilisation will be seen at the start of one of the stories, but after that it really isn’t seen much again. It still needs to be done though. They also use tents when establishing new towns, so we can use a number of different tent patterns as the starting stages of settlements. We’ll also need some other, temporary looking structures. They’ll also need ships of an interesting design.


The Seaborne
Do anything you like here really. Nothing too complex, lots of shack-like structures, very run-down and almost destitute looking, perhaps some more complex structures for important places, like the Council Hall. Their ships should have figure-heads like that of the ship at the end of Monty Python’s Holy Grail, much like on the faction icon.


The Northern Kingdom
Like the Ilsamiri, but more solid again. They use whatever stone is available to them. Their architecture should be quite religious looking, perhaps reminiscent of early churches built by the Vikings?

[Ilsamir Lord]

Sorry, double post. I'll put something here shortly :D

[Master_Thief]

This looks really interesting. I'm currently learning to use the TES Construction Set and I would be very interested in helping out with the Oblivion part of the Mod. My main focus is in the creation of interiors, but I plan on learning as much as I can. I've got the next month or so off school so I have plenty of time to practice. If I could help out with the Mod in any way then that would be great.

Sorry if i'm posting in the wrong place, the Oblivion area in your forum seemed pretty empty and i'm already registered here anyway.

Don't be surprised if I don't respond to any replies for a while as i'm away until Sunday.

[Woad Warrior]

Thats great Ilsamir Lord - have you written a book on this mod or something?

[Woad Warrior]

Thats great Ilsamir Lord - have you written a book on this mod or something?

EDIT: Why has this post appeared twice?

[Ilsamir Lord]

Woad Warrior - It double-posted for me too :P .

And yeah, I am trying to write a fleshed out version of the story. I'll post some unit lists in a while, in my last post above this.

[4th Dimension]

Nice idea for a mod. I hope something does come out of it and it doesn't get abandoned for lack of time like eagrly anticipated WoT mod.

[Trajanus]

Looks like a great mod in the making. I have always enjoyed getting wrapped up in fantasy stories. Mix it with a dash of M2TW and its gonna be a nice treat! :D

[Ilsamir Lord]

Thanks guys :D . Of course it all hinges on the moddability of MII, but we'll see how we go, something will come of it.

[Hepcat]

Looks like you have given this a lot of thought and I think it will fit nicely in with the game. I look forward to seeing the finished product. :2thumbsup:

[Ilsamir Lord]

Cheers Hepcat. I should have the latest unit lists formatted soon, so stay tuned.

[kataphraktoi]

send me the list first!!!

[Ilsamir Lord]

Will do :D

[Ilsamir Lord]

Greetings everyone,

This is a news post I made at the ModDb and on various other forums. Please ignore the model, as it is for Oblivion, not MII. The concepts are for both. This post also acts as a bridge to the other thread I had in the Forge. This thread is to be the new thread for the mod, as it is no longer for BI, but for MII instead.

I apologise for missing last week's update, but I have a lot to show you this week to make up for it! Firstly we have a new concept to model render. On the left is the original drawing (by Kataphraktoi), from which the helmet has been modelled (on the right).

https://img82.imageshack.us/img82/5889/ilsamirlightinfantrymm5.th.jpg (https://img82.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ilsamirlightinfantrymm5.jpg)https://img417.imageshack.us/img417/7189/ilshelmformattedep9.th.jpg (https://img417.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ilshelmformattedep9.jpg)

Next we have two more concept drawings, also be Kataphraktoi (click on the thumbnails for details):

https://img49.imageshack.us/img49/8797/heavymorchaninscoutto6.th.jpg (https://img49.imageshack.us/my.php?image=heavymorchaninscoutto6.jpg)https://img99.imageshack.us/img99/7695/ilsamirlancerknightof1.th.jpg (https://img99.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ilsamirlancerknightof1.jpg)

It is worth noting that all the concept art presented here will be used for both the Oblivion and Medieval II versions of the mod. A complete list of concepts, containing 37 images and short notes on each image, can be viewed at our forums. That's all for this week!

Thanks for reading!

PS - how would I go about getting my mod put in the Mods in Development section at the top of the MII modding page?

[Hepcat]

Go into the section and click Add Link then enter the details.

[Ilsamir Lord]

Thanks, Hepcat, I should have seen the sticky :) .

Here's a brief run-down of my aims for the mod:

The mod as I envision it is a professional production all the way through. I wish to limit the public release of content for the mod to two versions for each engine.

These versions are - for Medieval II: Total War:
A Demo Version - which will include two historical battles, two of the seven factions (the Ilsamiri and the Mekathenain) and a select sample of units.

The Full Version - which will include the completed campaign map, several historical battles, a full soundtrack, recorded dialogue etc. Within the Full Version there will likely be a number of patches, and of course a beta-test process will be carried out, though this will be selective.

There will also be - for the Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion:

A Demo Version - taking in two chapters of the Story of Udeval and limiting the player to a comparitively small area of the map.

The Full Version - taking in the entire world map, the complete set of items and equipment pieces, three complete story-lines, the soundtrack, the unlockable "free-play" mode, a number of side-quests etc. This version, like that for MII will be beta-tested by a selected group and will be patched as necessary.

The aim of this release pattern is to create interest through the demoes and then to deliver a high-quality and much expanded final product.

[AliAS]

GREAt I love the Elder Scrolls and Total war. By best games in 1 game.
.:bow: :2thumbsup:

[Hepcat]

Are you intending to do most of it yourself? Or are you looking for help with something or have you already got your team?

Will you need any beta testers? ~;)

[Ilsamir Lord]

Well, I'll need help with the modelling and all that for MII, but I've done a fair bit of stuff for the Oblivion version. Hopefully MII will come with a little more functionality when it comes to mods though, and I'll be able to do some more for that version directly. We'll need beta testers certainly, but I won't be offering a public beta version, just a demo and the full release.

[Ilsamir Lord]

Here's something of an update for everyone:


The History of
The Ilsamiren Wars
an early draft!


Below is recorded all that is known of the great events of the Ilsamiren Wars, a period which lasted some 7,000 years between what are known to the Ilsamiri as “The Fall” and “The Coming of the Hidden Truth”. These writings also contain the religious beliefs of each of the Seven Peoples which may stretch beyond the constraints of the Wars both into the past and future. Many matters are excluded, for much may happen in such a long period, and those events of importance are only sketched, in some cases because no fuller account is extent, and in others for the constraints of time and for the sake of brevity.



https://img218.imageshack.us/img218/9053/ilsamirenjh7.gif
THE ILSAMIRI

It all began with the Weaver, a benevolent force who controls the wind, waves and vapour. His rival was the Malice, lord of fire. Where once there was wind-swept void the weaver made a sphere of wind, and within this he set a sphere of earth. And about the earth he wrapped the clouds, woven of wind and water. Upon the clouds he set the Ilsamiri, his much-loved children. The Malice saw what had been made, and he too made a sphere. His sphere was of fire and with it he hoped to topple the Ilsamiri, to burn away their vaporous home. The Weaver strengthened the wind, and with it caught the globe of fire, holding it far, but not far enough, from the sphere of the world. The sphere of flame did what it was made to do. It destroyed the Sky City of the Ilsamiri, and sent them tumbling to the earth below. The fire then threatened to bake the earth but the Weaver called on the vapour and with it made the seas, and strengthened the clouds with rain to protect the land from the onslaught. So were made the mountains, baked into rock by the fiery orb, too far from the sea to be spared its scalding touch. This orb of fire was named Sun, Cehu, and the sphere of rock was named Weaver’s Mercy, Cleru Denaurath.

The fall of the Sky City rent the world where it fell, and into the channel flowed the new Sea. The island formed would be a haven in times of strife, another gift of the Weaver to his children.

Where the City fell became the site for a new city, a city bound to the Earth, Darineth. This city the Ilsamiri came to call their home, and they fortified it against their half-glimpsed, half-imagined rivals.

There was a people not far from the new city, they dwelt on the edges of the Forest of Dry Trees and they came out from the eaves of that place to take water from the Darineth River. It was then that the Ilsamiri saw them and did offer them peace and a safer place of dwelling beside their own city, between the walls, the Sea and the River. They were called the Morchani – Morchanin in their own manner of speech – and they accepted these offers graciously. (A fuller account of the Morchanin perspective is to be seen in their own history; the Ilsamir account is somewhat simplistic and fails to address a number of events which occurred in the process of the Morchanin resettlement.)

Soon the hunger for land, but above all food, grew too much for the Ilsamiri, and striking out in parties of 40 or 50 they began to explore the lands the Weaver had given them. Soon they came upon mountains in the north, and the continuation of the river by their city. The river they crossed with difficulty and found vast fertile plains. Upon these plains roamed a strange beast. This creature, having four legs and a long flowing mane was named thairie, horse. The Ilsamiri immediately realised the potential of these swift animals, employing them for the use of their scouts, and later, when bred to greater strength and size, as mounts for their orders of knights and noblemen.

During further forays into what were supposedly uninhabited lands to the west, the Ilsamiri encountered a primitive people, living in wooden structures, without military or social development, but with a grasp of natural forces which far outpaced their own.

These people the Ilsamiri befriended, and an oath was sworn between the Ilsamir king and the chief of those western tribes that would bind the twain for untold centuries. Protection from bandits and thieves was promised by the Ilsamiri in return for supplies of grain and horses.

Soon, with a stable source of food, the Ilsamiri struck out to the south, sending similar parties to map the vast territories that lay south of the Glemir Darinethas. Soon they came upon the wide inlet which they came to call the Beautiful Bay. In the centre of this Bay there was an island and about it the climate was such that strange fruits were bountiful there. These fruits, which grew on vines, were small and of varying colour from white to green to a dark reddish-purple and the Ilsamiri found their taste sweet and pleasant. There was another fruit also. These grew on gnarled trees and were not sweet like the others, but were pungent and leaked a flavoursome oil when crushed. The first fruit the Ilsamiri named Hyer and the second they named Hyai, the grape and the olive. These fruits the explorers brought back to the king Ilharin II and he ordered that a port should be constructed that a supply might be maintained.

Ilharin sent many engineers to locate an appropriate spot, and they chose the island of the Bay as the site. Here they built the Southern Port, Heirua Nomer. Ilharin did not live to see the port completed, but his son Ilharin III did, and when it was done he ordered that half of the population of Darineth should be relocated there and that the south should be its own kingdom with its own religion, a religion which would reflect the needs of sea-farers. To this end he ordered the Temple of the Sky to be built in the mountains to the west of the Southern Port to glorify the lights of the sun, moon and stars.

Some years later the lands of the Southern Kingdom were threatened, but that is a matter for that Kingdom’s history. Suffice to say that the warlords of the deep, uncharted south were restless and wished to claim the Southern Port and the Bay for themselves. The Ilsamiri therefore advised the new Merchant Kings to construct the fortress city of Forest Watch (Thenor Mekas) to hold the old kings in check.

Now began a period of prosperous development for the Ilsamiri. In this age they founded many mines in the ranges of the north and struck iron and gold and silver.

This new prosperity could not have come at a better time, as upon the eastern horizon stirred an enemy. They were the Seaborne. Their ships were made as great lizards, which they named jauchal – dragon. Raiders they sent to strike the ships of the Southern Kingdom and to bring fire and fear to the towns of the coast. The Ilsamiri were stunned by their ferocity, but also amazed by the numbers of those they left alive and dragged to their swift ships, though none that were taken were seen ever to return. The language they spoke was harsh and unrecognised, but after some 15 years of fighting their tongue became more like that of the Ilsamiri, but harsher. Many supposed that this was the work of the slaves they had taken, who now outnumbered their masters, and were used as teachers for the Seaborne children.

Their new metal wealth the Ilsamiri wrought finely into plates and rings of armour, and into swords to counter the Seaborne threat. Some 20 years into the conflict the famed smith Galuir forged the first steel armour and sword for the king Ilahir I and these new things were used to terrible effect in the Battle of the Haven Beach. Ilahir alone was a match for many Seaborne. Their weapons were turned easily upon the silver-etched plates of his armour and his mighty weapon, which he named after the smith and a sword Galve, was not slowed an inch by their flimsy leathers. The king alone turned the tide and the Seaborne did not return for nearly a century.

The secret of steel was kept within the Ilsamir army for many a long year, but soon the Western Kingdom wondered at the new lustrous shell in which the Ilsamiri envoys were clad and asked that they might know the secret. Soon enough Ilahir sent Galuir to them to teach them the method and they were grateful. Ilahir had feared that such an action might make them a rival, but he decided that it would simply make them better able to aid the Ilsamiri if ever they were in need.

A second age of prosperity began and lasted all but uninterrupted for nearly a thousand years. Seaborne raids became things of the past, stories with which to frighten wayward children and Darineth grew. It was in this age that the Four Towers were built. The Tower of the north was that of the Great Temple of the Weaver. The Tower of the South was that of the Dividing Sea. The Tower of the West was that of the Palace and the final Tower, of the east, was the Haven Tower. The towers were built all of grey marble and quartz and were of mysterious craft, such that the wind would sing as it passed through them and that the light was allowed entry through many openings and shallowly carved places all about them.

In the reign of Ilsean IV this was to end and the Tower of the Temple was to become a place of confused feelings. The Wars of Divergence shook the Ilsamiri to their core, and never again did they rise to the heights which they had known in the centuries before. The conflict began as so many conflicts do, with a minute act of protest.

On the third day of the tenth lunar month, a high priest of the Weaver, Ilhau, posed a question to the Council of Tempests (the highest authority in the Ilsamir religion) which would result in civil war.

The question he posed was not faithfully recorded by the Ilsamiri; for fear that it may again engender war, but it essentially highlighted what Ilhau thought of as injustices and untruths in religious doctrine. Soon Ilhau had gathered a large following for his ideas among the younger members of the priesthood as well as from many areas of society, particularly from the poor. Ilhau’s question was recorded by the people of the Northern Kingdom, and can be read in their history.

These developments were watched cautiously by the Ilsamir ruler Ilsean IV, but for a long while he tolerated them. This was to change when, precisely a year since Ilhau’s question was posed, he was brutally murdered, his body hacked and torn and left hanging from the tower of the Weaver’s Great Temple for all to see when dawn broke.

No record exists to tell us who killed Ilhau, and perhaps no-one ever discovered the culprit. It was immediately assumed by Ilhau’s followers, that the Chief Tempest, Dauril had ordered the killing, for he had been Ilhau’s strongest opposer. The Weaver’s priesthood denied these accusations, claiming that Ilhau had simply been killed by a criminal. This argument convinced only those faithful to Dauril.

Ilhau’s murder split the populace. Those faithful to the Weaver sided with the priesthood and those who followed Ilhau established a new religion. The deity at the centre of the new faith was known to the Ilsamiri as the Malice, a creature of evil responsible for their fall from grace. To those of Ilhau, the Malice was the True God for it was he who had made the sun, he who had struggled, judged as evil, to bring the truth of the Weaver to them.

So began the war, a war which would grip the Ilsamiri and the True God’s People for a century. Only with many brutal battles, lost and won on both sides, did the war end. What had begun as a questioning of dogma had ended with the divergence of the Ilsamiri and the deaths of thousands. Ilhau’s spirit was said to be seen weeping in the skies over the Haven of Darineth after the Divergence had been sealed. The populace was exhausted, and so the True God’s People marched north, founding a Northern Kingdom beyond the as yet unpassed mountains, ending a war and beginning a truce.

The war was crippling, but the Ilsamiri eventually recovered. For the next 2,000 years they remained in a state of shock induced stagnation. Their culture, while it did not grow or increase in its complexity, became set in its ways to such an extent that no new developments of any great importance were made. It was in this period that the Morchanin saw the perfect opportunity to erupt in mutiny against those who, they said, had taken their lands from them.

The Mutinous Struggle began, but it only lasted a little while. Many important Ilsamir citizens were taken and executed as the street-fighting raged in Darineth but the death of the Morchanin instigator, Kudelir at the hands of Ilregin I saw the wars end. The reprisals were brutal. Many Morchanin were driven into exile or executed, but once these acts had been committed the Ilsamiri established the Morchanin Council and allowed the Morchanin to keep their settlement between the South Wall and the Coast as a sign of forgiveness.

It was after this war that the Ilsamiri gathered the resources necessary to construct a vast network of roads and forts stretching from the capital south to Thenor Mekas and west to the Meldar Arkiris (the Mountain Fort). The People of the Western Kingdom extended these roads further to connect their settlements beyond the Arkiri Eltarise. They also fortified the Kwith Vethas (Kwith Lechan to the Northerners) with a mighty fortress city. This act would plague them endlessly.

Raids on Aneth Vethas by the Betrayers became more and more frequent and eventually the city fell to them, though it was to change hands many times throughout its history.


SPOILERS BEGIN HERE

The Seaborne were now a distant memory, but they returned and fiercely, sinking many ships of the Southern Kingdom and then striking Darineth itself from the Clomeni Prethanas. Attacks on the Southern Kingdom itself also increased from the Warlords of the south. And into this fray came a new rival – the Mekathenain they named themselves and their tongue was unknown, their armour alien and their numbers vast, seeming more so for the suddenness of their arrival.

This was not an invasion fleet; it could not be, for no invasion fleet brought so many civilians. No, this was a fleet designed to carry an entire people across an unknown sea. The Ilsamiri were rightly wary of them, for soon tensions between them and the Warlords erupted in war at Bol Clauthnoras. No word was sent for some months so the Ilsamiri sent an agent to discover the fate of the Warlord’s hold. It had been gutted by fire. No sign of life could be seen, but the earth had been disturbed in the courtyard and upon closer inspection a vast grave was found with the bodies of Mekathenain and bandit laid in honour side by side. This new folk had treated their enemies with the honour they afforded their own sons. This, more than anything else concerned the current king, Ilahir X, for an enemy who respects his opponent is far more dangerous than a mere rabble of unthinking savages.

The Seaborne raids became increasingly threatening, so much so that the Ilsamiri declared that no Seaborne should be taken prisoner, all should be slain.

But in the north the Betrayers were stirring. They struck out and recaptured Enuth Lechan (as they called it) and mustered a great army there awaiting the order to strike.

The Ilsamiri called on their allies in the West and South to come to their aid, but few came. The Mekathenain threatened the South and the West had been struck suddenly and violently from the Kwith Ulres. The allies who did come helped the Ilsamiri to arrange a massive formation to block the Kwith Vethas and to hold the Northerners back.

In the Battle of the Wall of Warriors the Ilsamiri and their allies were driven back by the furious assault of a line of massive armoured beasts. They retreated to the safety of Darineth.

The Battle of Darineth saw a second defeat, and it was after this battle that the Weaver’s Tower was toppled. Those who could fled to the Haven. They were then attacked on two sides. From the east came the Seaborne and from the west came the Betrayers. In the Battle of Endless Night a strange unknown people came to the aid of the Ilsamiri and drove the Seaborne from the shores of the Haven. Then the now free Western men came to strike at the unguarded North. Soon the world was at war. In the South the darkened sky had been seen by the Southern Kingdom as a sign that the Gods had left them. They struck out south in hopes of freeing themselves of the darkness and there they met the Mekathenain in a terrible clash – the Battle of the Clauthnor.

The Ilsamiri and their allies won the day and Ilahir met with the Chief of the Ocean Tribes to thank him and gave him many gifts. The people of the Northern Kingdom suffered much at the hands of the Westerners out for vengeance, but soon the fighting in the North ended. The Mekathenain won, but barely and fled to their ships. The Southern Kingdom’s warriors returned to their Port and the endless night broke on a ravaged world.

The finest minds of the Ilsamiri met with the people of the Ocean Tribes and they together gained a mutual understanding. The Mekathenain too headed northward, avoiding the lands of the Southern Kingdom, and came, in mode of peace to the mouth of the Glemir Darinethas where Ilahir welcomed them with feasts in a bid to calm the shattered nerves of his people and their allies. The Merchant Kings arrived in Darineth soon after to attend the Great Council of Peace, and, having heard of the honour bestowed upon their own fallen by the Mekathenain, they forgave them and a great and lasting peace was born.

The Seaborne had been driven away, but some say that they too found new lands in the wastes of the Northern Seas and were content among themselves after so many years of bitterness.

The Betrayers too never troubled the Ilsamiri again, but after many years they sent an emissary who bid them to attend a religious congress in their own city that the rifts of the deep past might be healed.

When the delegation of priests came to the North Lands they were astounded by the green that welcomed them. It was a treeless place, as the tales said, except in small places here and there where they were specially tended, but the plains were lush with grass and wild-flowers, except where war had ravaged them over the centuries. Their great city, Lechanis, was nought compared to Darineth, but it was grand after its own fashion. No lasting agreements were made, but the association between the crushed betrayers and the victorious faithful was never again so dire as it had been for all those millennia passed.


HERE ENDS THE HISTORY OF THE ILSAMIRI TO THE PRESENT DAY

[Gazi Husrev-Beg]

Sounds cool..I played Elder scrolls Morrow wind.But havent played Oblivion, my cpu is down, maybe permanetly.Who cares, becouse i will most probably buy new by end of november :2thumbsup: (just when medieval2 gets out)

Good luck with mod..concept art looks cool...

[Ilsamir Lord]

Thanks, Gazi,:D .

[Ilsamir Lord]

We still quite desperately need a mapper. Just thought you'd like to know :)

[Ilsamir Lord]

THE ILSAMIRI
Draft Unit List

Knights
https://img99.imageshack.us/img99/7695/ilsamirlancerknightof1.th.jpg (https://img99.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ilsamirlancerknightof1.jpg)
Armed with lances and armoured heavily. They also carry shields and swords.

Mounted Morchanin Scouts
https://img49.imageshack.us/img49/8797/heavymorchaninscoutto6.th.jpg (https://img49.imageshack.us/my.php?image=heavymorchaninscoutto6.jpg)
Simply Morchanin Scouts on horse-back. They are armed with blowguns and swords. The sword pictured does not represent the final design.

Outriders
https://img82.imageshack.us/img82/5889/ilsamirlightinfantrymm5.th.jpg (https://img82.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ilsamirlightinfantrymm5.jpg)
Another form of scout, occasionally used in attack, but largely a reconnaissance unit. These regiments are usually the domain of young aristocrats hoping to rise to the status of knights. A light infantryman is pictured, as their armour will match that of the outriders.

The King’s Guard
https://img98.imageshack.us/img98/4426/darinethheavyguardsmanwipfm6.th.jpg (https://img98.imageshack.us/my.php?image=darinethheavyguardsmanwipfm6.jpg)
Essentially mounted Darineth Guardsmen. Armed with long lances and two-handed swords for use when dismounted.

Captain-generals’ Knights
The best knights, picked to guard the general in any particular battle.


INFANTRY

Warrior Priests
https://img130.imageshack.us/img130/3773/warriorpriestsfv6.th.jpg (https://img130.imageshack.us/my.php?image=warriorpriestsfv6.jpg)
On the left is pictured a priest of the Weaver and on the right a priest of the Malice (or Lechan to the people of the Northern Kingdom). They are bitter enemies.

Halberdiers
These soldiers wear heavy armour and carry long pole-axes.

Captain-generals’ Knights
The best knights, picked to guard the general in any particular battle – infantry variation, simply not mounted.

Morchanin Scouts
They wear black and blacken their faces and any metal they carry. They often wear armour under their outer garb.

Darineth Guardsmen
See image of King's guard above

Archers
https://img136.imageshack.us/img136/2869/ilsamirbowmanwy8.th.jpg (https://img136.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ilsamirbowmanwy8.jpg)
They wear little armour, and carry one-handed swords as back-up. This shows the lightest form of Ilsamir armour. The helmet will change to look more like that of the Light Infantry (Outrider) above, but will remain close-fitting, and the bow will be of the standard dimensions for a long bow - some 6 feet or so.

Pikemen
Armoured heavily on the chest, less heavily on their limbs. Have a go at a few different styles of spear-head for them.

Spearmen
These soldierss use spears and shields and are armoured with metal and leather.

Heavy Spearmen
Armoured more fully than those above.

Conscripts
https://img136.imageshack.us/img136/9160/ilsamirconscriptqr8.th.jpg (https://img136.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ilsamirconscriptqr8.jpg)
The style of armour here is more illustrative of materials than form, but it is a nice indication of the colouring used in Ilsamir military wear. Armoured and armed basically as they are called on, often, with little warning. They carry spears or swords and are available in either form.


WAR MACHINES
The choice of war machines is yet to be finalised.

The concepts above (as seen in the outrider, archer, knight and king's guard/Darineth guardsman concepts) indicate the overall style of Ilsamir armour. Variations on these styles will be seen in historical battles which predate the Final War. All concepts presented here are the work of Kataphraktoi and NodachiSam (as indicated in each image).

Further concepts (for the remaining six factions, indicating their own unique styles) will be shown periodically. The focus of the modification is now Medieval II, due to a lack of interest in the Oblivion version.

[GiantMonkeyMan]

wow! it is good that you are continuing this mod for M2, it is a shame that you couldn't get it finished for RTW though... it is also great that you are doing this for Oblivion as well, oblivion is my second most played game (it would be my first if it wasn't for a barely able CPU)

keep up the hard work
GMM

[Ilsamir Lord]

I should have a map preview along shortly, or at least a few WIP shots of the reworked map. At the moment I'm trying to get all the necessary files for a Rome map done (as I assume the maps will work the same way in MII, as they look nearly identical). I've got a WIP region map half-way finished and I've made a height map template. I'll post more soon.

In the meantime I've been writing a lot more back-story, which is largely for the Oblivion mod, but which sets the scene for the MII mod nicely.

[GrimSta]

looking veeerrrrrrrrrrrry nice :)

[Ilsamir Lord]

Cheers Grim :) . I'm still working away, but I've had a lot on lately. I'm on holiday for 3 and a half months now so I should be able to get a lot done. Look forward to more from the Ilsamiren Wars soon!

[Maizel]

Amazing, I'll be following the progress on this one

[alpaca]

Which modders are working on this project? Or do you do it all alone?

[NagatsukaShumi]

This is one of the mod projects I have kept an eye on, looks very interesting, mostly down to it being your own work, I am doing something similar, only I don't think (sadly) I'll ever get tomake a mod about it.

Good luck!

[Ilsamir Lord]

Well thanks everyone, it really helps to get positive comments. At the moment I'm going it pretty much alone, at least on this version. I've got a lot of plans, and I'll be having a crack at some modelling and such (which I'm improving at, but its slow going) for MII just as soon as I've got the cash to get it :) .

Here's the current (WIP!!) version of the region map:
https://img359.imageshack.us/img359/5529/regionswipsomewestcstufki6.th.png (https://img359.imageshack.us/my.php?image=regionswipsomewestcstufki6.png)
The image is fairly small, but it does give some sense of the new more spread out positioning for the islands. All this may need to change again though if MII has the same limitations on land:sea ratios as Rome does.

I've also got the height map outline done (that is without any gradient data or anything) and I'm not all that confident to continue with it at the moment. I think I'll do some reading first.

As some of you may not be aware, I am in fact writing the narrative for the Oblivion version as I go and I've got about 40 or so pages down for it. I might begin to post snippets of it if anyone is interested.

[Ilsamir Lord]

Never fear, update coming soon!

[Ilsamir Lord]

And here it is:


THE STREETS OF DARINETH

The List
Below are listed, in no particular order, the streets of the great city of Darineth as they were named at the time of the Final War. Where necessary an explanation is given as to the name, and all names are given in English and Ilsamiren. This document refers to the map below which shows the quarters separately at this time. They will later be conglomerated in a final map and numbered as they are here. Currently the Temple Quarter is missing, as I have yet to draw it to a good enough standard. Much of it mirrors the Port Quarter however. An overview map is also shown below, which gives some indication of the final layout and shape of the city. Numbers 28 to 32 of the Port Quarter section refer to the Haven (the central quarter on the map).


The overview map:
https://img98.imageshack.us/img98/7954/planformattedjpegnq0.th.jpg (https://img98.imageshack.us/my.php?image=planformattedjpegnq0.jpg)

The numbered street map:
https://img144.imageshack.us/img144/684/darinethstreetstp4.th.jpg (https://img144.imageshack.us/my.php?image=darinethstreetstp4.jpg)

The Palace and Military Quarters
1. The Great Way – Or Sedh Gail
2. Archers’ Lane – Id Glaihali’ath
3. Range Street – Eth Glion
4. Port Way – Sedh Glatir
5. The Southern Barracks Road – Orn Erim Herion Nomer
6. Southern Barracks Lane – Id Herion Nomer
7. Soldiers’ Southern Lane – Id Hali Nomeras
8. The Lords’ Paths – Orn Eri Heiruri’as
9. Soldiers’ Northern Lane – Id Hali Vimeras
10. Northern Barracks Lane – Id Herion Vimer
11. Temple Way – Sedh Leriya
12. The Northern Barracks Road – Orn Erim Herion Vimer
13. Stable Street – Es Thior
14. Knights’ Lane – Id Ralkiri’ath
15. The Palace Way – Or Sedh Elayir

The Port Quarter and the Haven Port
1. Guardhouse Lane – Id Duhaldh
2. and 4. Galuir Road – Erim Galuir – Galuir was the great smith who forged the first steel sword and armour for the King Ilahir I.
3. Tower of the Dividing Sea Way – Sedh Diler Orn Eris Laudhas
4. See 2
5. Sea Lane – Id Eris
6. and 23. Ilsem Road – Es Ilsem – Ilsem was the king to reorganise the entire trade system between the Southern Kingdom and Darineth.
7. First East Shortcut – Erisal Himer Arina
8. Second East Shortcut – Erisal Himer Ramudwe
9. and 12. Warehouse Street – Es Holedh
10. Eastern Thoroughfare – Igleth Himer
11. Garden Way – Sedh Tangwe
12. see 9
13. Second West Shortcut – Erisal Domer Ramudwe
14. Western Thoroughfare – Igleth Domer
15. Third West Shortcut – Erisal Domer Rafina
16. First West Shortcut – Erisal Domer Arina
17. Dockman’s Lane – Id Lathe (like “dock worker”)
18. , 24 and 27 – Smith’s Road – Erim Cefali’ath – a hub for blacksmithing activity.
19. , 20 and 21 – The Market Band – Or Figal Hiolsir – a triangle of roads around the market.
20. See 19
21. see 19
22. Ignore this
23. see 6.
24. see 18
25. Builders’ Road – Erim Navori’ath – a street where a concentration of builders has traditionally had their workshops and offices.
26. Shipwrights’ Road – Erim Yalori’ath – here are the offices and workshops of a number of old shipwright companies.
27. see 18
28. Channel Road – Erim Clomeni
29. South Haven Road – Sedh Prethan Nomer
30. Haven Dock Way – Sedh Lat Prethan
31. Haven Dock Lane – Id Lat Prethan
32. Hultir Street – Eth Hultir – Hultir contributed greatly to the security of the Clomeni Prethanas by proposing and then overseeing the construction of the great chains which are at either end of it.

This city will be recreated as closely as possible, allowing for some possible limitations of the MII engine. Ultimately I hope to present the city identically in both mods so the player will be able to experience both the perspective of an individual and a more cinematic overview of the city.

I'm considering posting excerpts from the storyline for the Oblivion version if people are interested.

[richyg13]

I LOVE original fantasy! Its what games need.

I particually like the way you've kept a consistant style with the armour designs. I looking forward to seeing more of your concepts for the other factions.

[Ilsamir Lord]

Thanks Richy, but, well, you might be waiting a while I'm afraid. I'm not sure that either of our artists will be returning to the project at this stage.

There's a full list of the current concepts and the units they relate to here (http://z14.invisionfree.com/The_Ilsamiren_Wars/index.php?showtopic=60).

[Ilsamir Lord]

Here is yet another "small" update (what an awful pun):

Its just the finished WIP of the region map I've been working on. I'll be getting on with the fun task of transcribing the RGB values to the province names shortly, something which I only recently discovered was necessary :D .


https://img91.imageshack.us/img91/738/regionswipfinishedwippiny0.th.png (https://img91.imageshack.us/my.php?image=regionswipfinishedwippiny0.png)

I based the dimensions on the current RTR map for Rome (in terms of height, though I did make it smaller in width).

This is the earlier region plan I based it on:


https://img91.imageshack.us/img91/1097/provinceandcityandterriuu5.th.jpg (https://img91.imageshack.us/my.php?image=provinceandcityandterriuu5.jpg)

As you can see there are a few changes I've made, and I'll no doubt need someone with a little more experience than I have to make sure it's all working properly, but it is at least something.

Speaking of more experienced people; does anyone feel like giving me some assistance regarding the height map? I've got a black and blue template and I broadly know what needs to be done, but I'm finding it difficult to see how the heights (in grey-scale) equate to the in-game campaign and battlefield maps.

I'm sure I can have a crack at it soon, but it seems rather complicated to be doing it from scratch. Some recommendations of good ways to go about it wouldn't go astray.

Thanks for reading everyone!

[Ilsamir Lord]

The Ilsamiri had founded the Southern Kingdom in the depths of the past, partly resettling their own, partly turning and assimilating the old kings of the lands around the Bay. Now the Kingdom had become almost entirely autonomous, though their strongest allegiance remained with the Ilsamir King, unbroken even in the great Uprising of millennia past. This was the seat of power of the Southern Kingdom, a great walled island set perfectly within the Beautiful Bay, a bastion of rock, moated by the sea itself and untaken through the long centuries of its existence. Within this ring of walls, of men’s make and of strong cliffs, stood the Hill, a tall rise at the Island’s western edge which came down steeply as it neared the western walls.

Below is the first decent product of my architectural modelling - The Gates of the Southern Port:

https://img81.imageshack.us/img81/7779/southernportvw1.th.jpg (https://img81.imageshack.us/my.php?image=southernportvw1.jpg)

The main gates of the chief city of the Southern Kingdom, the Port Isle. The blue indicates the sea, which for much of the time covers the walkway seen leading from the stairs. The gates themselves are missing from the image. The gate-house is 42 feet high. Atop each tower is a look-out post from which horns are blown (when the sea recedes) and bells are rung (when the sea laps over the walkway). The houses behind are place-holders for the moment and are included merely to fill in the image more believably. The blue represents the sea, the shade of grey above that blue represents a sandy beach and the grey above that represents rugged rocky slope or cliff.

[richyg13]

Just had a proper look at those concepts and they are absolutly great! I assume you drew them?
Not to take your thread off topic but how long have you been sketching for?

Also, that model of the gates is highly encouraging :)

[Ilsamir Lord]

Well, the ones which are, what I would describe as really good, are by Nodachi Sam and Kataphraktoi (as I believe he is known here). I did the city plans though.

Cheers re: model :D

[Ilsamir Lord]

Hello everyone,

I'm posting to say that recruitment is on for the Ilsamiren Wars (a link to the forum of which is in my signature).

Most wanted skills are:

Unit Modellers: nothing too out of the ordinary and little or no animation should be required.

2D Artists - to finalise faction icons and banners and potentially to work on textures should the modellers be unavailable for such work.

Mappers - to help me get my WIP map to a workable level - no further help will be required, I'd just appreciate someone who's prepared to get me on the right track and to show me the ropes.

Concept Artists - We've got most of this done, so this job would only require a small amount of further work, mainly in defining styles for the Seaborne and the Western Kingdom. Because nearly no work has been done for these factions you will have a bare canvas to work on.

But anyone who thinks they have something to contribute is welcome.

I know that people are keener to help those who help themselves so here is what I'm bringing to the project:
The fully planned concept, a large body of descriptions, some basic modelling skills (mainly focused on architecture), some basic drawing ability, writing "skills" and, everyone's favourite intangible quality: commitment.

What we've achieved so far:
Over 30 concept drawings (http://z14.invisionfree.com/The_Ilsamiren_Wars/index.php?showtopic=60) detailing 5 of the 7 factions in detail, a drawn version of the map (http://z14.invisionfree.com/The_Ilsamiren_Wars/index.php?showtopic=3) (as well as a work-in-progress region map), over 100 pages of narrative, descriptive and planning text (as well as the grammatical structures, phonetic styles, scripts (http://z14.invisionfree.com/The_Ilsamiren_Wars/index.php?showtopic=51) and some vocabulary for 4 languages (http://z14.invisionfree.com/The_Ilsamiren_Wars/index.php?showtopic=49&st=0)), a number of basic unit models for a (now superseded) Rome version of the mod and a number of architectural models probably suitable for Medieval II. Aside from this we have conceptually complete, but not finalised, faction icons.

If you think you can offer assistance PM me here or at the mod's forums.

Thank you,
Ilsamir Lord

[][GERUDO][Mojoman]

this looks amazing! can't wait ....:2thumbsup:

[Ilsamir Lord]

Thanks, Gerudo :) .

Just another small update on the mapping front:

I've begun on the ground types map and I thought I'd show everyone a WIP version (in jpeg for size and compatability reasons):

https://img147.imageshack.us/img147/1928/groundtypeswipxb0.th.jpg (https://img147.imageshack.us/my.php?image=groundtypeswipxb0.jpg)

I'm basing it on this map (of which I drew an original, later NodachiSam kindly cleaned up and coloured it and I have now re-edited):

https://img403.imageshack.us/img403/5440/scaledmapbackgroundtempje0.th.jpg (https://img403.imageshack.us/my.php?image=scaledmapbackgroundtempje0.jpg)

Any tips and critiques are welcome. At the moment I've (obviously) only done the mountain ranges and the sea-depths. Just a quick question: are forests (passable and impassable) added through the ground-types file?

Next I'll be finishing off the region map and probably the trade-routes and feature maps after that. I'll eventually have a stab at the height and roughness maps though I'm sure I'll need a long time to get them right.

Comments? Suggestions?

[Ilsamir Lord]

As some of you may already be aware, this mod has gone on, with patches of success, since around this time last year. Apart from amassing a substantial library of concept art (provided by the generous NodachiSam and Kataphraktoi, as he was known on the .org forums) a plan for the map including settlement names and substantial quantitites of historical, narrative and descriptive text we have acheived little in the way of actual, working content.

That is set to change as I near completion of the first (work in progress) version of our campaign map:

What started as a rough drawing, scrawled off to illustrate my original plan...

https://img297.imageshack.us/img297/2327/ilsamirenwarsmapcropped6sz.th.png (https://img297.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ilsamirenwarsmapcropped6sz.png)

Became a finely coloured adaptation by NodachiSam...

https://img80.imageshack.us/img80/2422/landtypesyb9.th.jpg (https://img80.imageshack.us/my.php?image=landtypesyb9.jpg)

Which I mutated into...

https://img152.imageshack.us/img152/8430/scaledmapbackgroundtempme6.th.jpg (https://img152.imageshack.us/my.php?image=scaledmapbackgroundtempme6.jpg)

And this has become (after further tweaking and effort...

https://img152.imageshack.us/img152/4504/regionsia3.th.jpg (https://img152.imageshack.us/my.php?image=regionsia3.jpg)
The Region Map

At present I'm working away on the ground-types map, though I imagine I would be wiser attempting to get the map in-game in a more basic form before investing mammoth effort in a potentially fruitless exercise.

Check back soon for more updates on the map and the mod including unit lists!

PS - could someone direct me to a tutorial on how to get a quick test version of a campaign map in-game? I'd really hate to slave away and then have to make massive changes later which I could have avoided.

[Ilsamir Lord]

I didn't have much to post today, but I thought people might be interested in this. It would be best to refer to the short pronunciation guide below (though if you have studied Japanese, or have bothered to read the appendix in the Lord of the Rings on pronunciation you shouldn't need it).

Consonants: b, d, f, g, h, k, l, m, n, p, r (unrolled English r), s (always soft, never pronounced as a z), t, v, w, y, th (as in thin), dh (as in clothes), ch (as in German achtung), kh (as in church), sh.

Vowels: a (as in part), e (as in end), i (as in pin), o (as in born), u (as in boot), ai (as in eye), oi (as in toy), au (as in cow), ei (as in hay) and ea (pronounced as if saying e and a, by the values given above, to form one sound, similar to saying "yeah"). The values given here are the default.


An Example of the Ilsamiren Language translated from the History of the Ilsamiri

It began with the Weaver, a benevolent force who controls the wind, waves and vapour. His rival was the Malice, lord of fire. Where once there was wind-swept void the weaver made a sphere of wind, and within this he set a sphere of earth. And about the earth he wrapped the clouds, woven of wind and water.
Upon the clouds he set the Ilsamiri, his much-loved children. The Malice saw what had been made, and he too made a sphere. His sphere was of fire and with it he hoped to topple the Ilsamiri, to burn away their vaporous home. The Weaver strengthened the wind, and with it caught the globe of fire, holding it far, but not far enough, from the sphere of the world. The sphere of flame did what it was made to do.
It destroyed the Sky City of the Ilsamiri, and sent them tumbling to the earth below. The fire then threatened to bake the earth but the Weaver called on the vapour and with it made the seas, and strengthened the clouds with rain to protect the land from the onslaught.
So were made the mountains, baked into rock by the fiery orb, too far from the sea to be spared its scalding touch. This orb of fire was named Sun, Cehu, and the sphere of rock was named Weaver’s Mercy, Cleru Denaurath.

The fall of the Sky City, Iraneth, rent the world and into the channel flowed the new Sea. The island formed would be a haven in times of strife, another gift of the Weaver to his children.


Ie teruse il or Denaur, o gedhal dethir ca batheibe or hiren, luri ve gluir. Cothai eras sureb or Fedh, heru Vauri’as. Ce inase sures yith hiren-flothes, or Denaur egase olin hirenath, ev ise to er hoise on olin solurath. Ev udho or solur er bales orn iruri, enause hiren ive glumath.
Seg iluri er hoise orn Ilsamiri, tior-ve iheri. Or Fedh awese ci esegase, vi er gia egase on olin. Olin eras sures vauri’ath ev il ie er clenes aduri orn Ilsamiri, acheli fiel endh gluire thio’as. Or Denaur eyause or hiren, iv el ie snese orn olin vauri’as, nuoleb ie cather, ai dacather iso, yan orn olin ulteras. Orn olin vauri’as giles ci ie egase agil.
Ie khaules orn aneth irer Ilsamirath, eve hures hoiri calgeb at orn ulter gudh. Or vauri asi havas achalo or solur ai or Denaur saldes i or gluir ev il ie egase orn erisir, ev eyause orn iruri le glir a pria or loir yan orn ahal.
Tir egase orn arkiri, chalose anat suld is orn olin vaurire, cather fai yan orn eris antocleru sari chaibe ie’as. To olin vauri’as vithes Cehu, v orn olin suldath vithes Cleru Denaurath.

Or dari Iranethas claches orn ulter iv anat or clomeni loglase orn eris iwe. Orn indul pasise insurem o prethan an ulgar ihilas, agia garis Denaurath at iheri eras.

I'm not sure what sort of comments I expect about this, seeing as it is probably a colossal waste of time :) . I suppose that if people could be bothered telling me how plausible it sounded that would be nice. Difficulty in speedy pronunciation should only be commented on after comparison with some of the more complex languages of our own world, though there are some ways I have in mind to make it flow a little better if need be. Also, there may be some inconsistencies, as I have not had the luxury of an Ilsamiren spell-checker, and I have varied one or two words (particularly them [thior/hoir]) in an attempt to find a more euphonius version.

[Ilsamir Lord]

Hi everyone, I'm just after some advice:

When using Big Map Labyrinth (which I must say is excellent) as a base for my own map I get this error:


09:37:48.203 [script.err] [error] Script Error in BigMapLabyrinth/data/world/maps/campaign/imperial_campaign/descr_strat.txt, at line 69, column 12
could not create settlement at script line 69.

Just to clarify, I haven't had any problems or errors running an unmodified version of BML, so this error must be of my own making.

Because my mod has an Aztec-like culture, the Ocean Tribes, I copied the entry for Tenochtitlan from vanilla, changed the region name to "Foinil_Island" and made all the appropriate changes to the other files so this name would be recognised, and indeed I now get no "could not find name in string-table" errors. Instead I get the error above.

This is the settlement entry which seems to be causing the problem:

; >>>> start of factions section <<<<


faction aztecs, balanced smith
ai_label default
denari 50000
denari_kings_purse 10000
settlement
{
level city
region Foinil_Island

year_founded 0
population 9000
plan_set default_set
faction_creator aztecs
building
{
type core_building stone_wall
}
building
{
type temple_pagan high_temple
}
}

To further clarify, I'm not wanting to play as the Aztecs, but as the Russians, for whom I've added other settlements down the list, which will no doubt also have this error, but if I can fix this one I can fix the others. I've added the three settlements I've done so far in the same order in which they appear in the descr_regions.txt and in the same format (number of lines between entries etc.) as in the vanilla descr_strat.

I suspect I will need to add all the new regions I've made to descr_strat, but if I can get past this error (like I nutted out the "could not find settlement name in string-table" one then I'll be right as rain.

If any more details are needed for a diagnosis, I'll provide them immediately.

[Ilsamir Lord]

Well, its getting better. Having replaced my maps with some corrected ones (my region map had some cities which were in questionable positions) I have now progressed beyond the could not create settlement error to an unspecified error! Woohoo!

Anyway, after that jubilation, would anyone be willing to look over my map files and tell me where I've gone wrong? I know that it is probably not the most enjoyable of work, but perhaps I have made a simple mistake which would be obvious to someone with more experience.

[Ilsamir Lord]

Well, thanks to oscotty, the Tsar and Goatbuster3000 (of the TWC) my map is now in-game, albeit in a single settlement form.

To prove it, here's a screenshot. I stress that this is a WIP, but it did turn out better than I thought it would, considering its the first bit of height data I've ever made.


https://img409.imageshack.us/img409/7636/mapreleaseshot1tv9.th.jpg (https://img409.imageshack.us/my.php?image=mapreleaseshot1tv9.jpg)

The brightening is caused by windows picture viewers auto-correct function. The region in game was beneath the fog of war.

The image is of the mountain range called the Final Wall, Ar Hlan Kires in the language of the Hoir Lechan (the Northern Kingdom, literally True God's People), and the Dwindling Forest, Or Thenor Firige in the Ilsamiren language as spoken by the people of the Western Kingdom (Heirua Domer). The lake behind the range is the Icy Lake (Ar Todh Licher). There will be two cities in this shot when it is finished, Varas Thenor and Enuth Licher (Forest Gate and the Icy City).

[Ilsamir Lord]

These forums seem quite dead at the moment, that or nothing I've posted in the last five or so posts has been regarded with any interest.

Oh well, must press on. We now have two modellers, who will begin just as soon as the necessary files are released, a concept artist (Kataphraktoi has returned :) ) and a composer who has already given me some very encouraging conceptual ideas for the soundtrack.

Today I'm posting an example of another language, that of the Mekathenain, usually referred to as Mekathenic. The same pronunciation guide as for Ilsamiren above applies, though there is the extra consonant combination zh which produces a softer, longer j sound.

The format of the translation is this: English original, Mekathenic, literal translation and word order.

The text comes from the Mekathenain introductory narration:


Since the first storm we have dwelt here, provided for, kept and loved by the gods.
Hatir Shothol gir oy tola budgliar, Bezhan’ur kioar, dhuar ha vahiar.
First Storm-since(/from) we [at]here have dwelt, gods-by provided for, kept and loved.
The gods gave us the flowing water, the rain, the still water and with these things they made the fertile plains, the swift rivers.
Bezhan oyir galgin, yarhen, golin hinar ha sin ja nar Bezhan kayin shol, kyal zolgin ozirar.
[The] Gods us flowing water, rain, still water gave and with this thing Gods fertile plain, swift river made.
We hailed from these Great Plains which are now the Rainless Wastes.
Oy ja Gilur Shol gir tadhar de ur Yarhen’oi Marnud ishor.
We these Great Plain from hailed which now Rainless Waste is/are.


In centuries past our people wrought great works in that place, crafting our futures with metal and stone.
Thur mayinal oyon telim gilur zir jau udal uzhirar, oyon muthin kalya ha goi’in goziror.
Past centuries our people great work that place-in wrought, our future metal and stone with crafting.
We had our rivals, but they are now a part of us.
Oy oyon zhag doar, i kay ur oyon zo ishor.
We our rivals had, but they now our part are.
They have added to us, as we have added to them.
Ay oyir ubigliar, khu oy ayir ubigliar.
They us have added to, as/like we them have added to.
But now the Wastes encroach.
I ud Marnud khathor.
But now Wastes encroach.
The gods do nought to provide for us so we must provide for ourselves.
Bezhan oyir kioar la mair auzhor. - incomplete, grammatical problem needs solving.
Gods us provide-for-to/in-order-to nought do.
But we cannot provide all that we need.
I oy zhoi jau oy unior ilodhaor.
But we all that we need provide-cannot. (Ilo – to provide is modified to potential by adding dhor then to negative potential by adding a before the or.)
From the Gods came the Rain, and of that there has been none these past hundred years.
Bezhan gir yarhen datar, ha jau’on jau thur maloim adir ishgliar.
Gods from rain came, and of that these past hundred-years none has been.
The Wastes encroach, held only by a mighty Range and we dwindle, down to the sea.
Marnud khathor, kur soa Zherir’ur kolor ha oy with’iz dul hafar.
Wastes encroach, only great Range-by held and we to sea down dwindle.

The text is incomplete, though the English has been written, I'm just about to translate the rest.

[Ilsamir Lord]

CONCEPT PRESENTATION

As the demo version of the mod will include the Ilsamiri, the Mekathenain and the Southern Kingdom we (our concept artist Kataphraktoi and myself) have decided to focus on these factions before the others. To that end we've got a couple of new concepts to show today and a few descriptions to go along with them.

(The original plan for the demo included only the Ilsamiri and the Mekathenain, but by adding one more faction we will be able to show more variety, both in tactical gameplay and design.)


Infantry of the Southern Kingdom
https://img527.imageshack.us/img527/8751/skinfantrybp3.th.jpg (https://img527.imageshack.us/my.php?image=skinfantrybp3.jpg)

A - Harrier
Harriers are typically men who have shown certain special skills during their time in the archer regiments of the Kingdom. They are given special training for closer range skirmishing and are often used in ambushes for which they wear specially camouflaged quilted leather tunics.

The bows they carry are short (3 feet in length when strung), but still powerful and accurate, when used at an appropriately short range. Their armour is lighter than most of that worn in the South, but it is still heavy enough to stand up to fierce fighting in close quarters. They carry straight swords in reserve.

B - Peasant Levy Soldier
As in most societies the peasant classes will be called on in times of dire need to bolster the professional army. The men of these levies are equipped, as they have traditionally been, with quilted leather armour and a stiffened leather hat, much like those worn by the men when they are farming.

They carry varying weapons, depending on their usual vocation, which can range from hoes to pitch-forks and from wooden mallets to axes.


Ilsamir Infantry
https://img506.imageshack.us/img506/4494/ilsamirinfantryvx7.th.jpg (https://img506.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ilsamirinfantryvx7.jpg)

A - City Guardsman
These dedicated volunteers are provided with basic equipment, in the form of sword and shield, but, as a rule, augment this gear with higher quality weapons and armour which they purchase themselves.

The regiments of city guard are usually maintained from the coffers of the Knight Chiefs and the High Merchants, though should the King wish to employ them in war away from their home province it will cost him considerably as these men have agreed to defend their own homes rather than fight in defence of others.

Typically the City Guard operate as a kind of all-purpose law enforcement and fire service, usually functioning on a roster - this allows its members to pursue other trades when they are off duty.

B - Militiaman
Drawn from the poorer sections of society, Ilsamir militia wear leather armour, often emblazoned with the crest of their home city, and carry spears and swords, both of which are mass-produced and distributed as and when danger should arise.

While these men are extremely useful in times of great hardship, they are neither well trained nor well equipped and are best used as either a cheap alternative to professional soldiers or in the flanking and pursuit of other enemy infantry.

C - Pikeman
These are the lowliest professional soldiers of the Ilsamir army. The rank of pikeman is the lowest for a professional soldier, and it is where most of the men of the army begin, except those gifted enough to enter the ranks of the officers or the more celebrated regiments.

Pikemen carry a very long spear and wear a metal cuirass and helmet, though they have little other protection. Should an enemy close to an uncomfortable range they will fare badly without support for they lack the fuller armour of other troops. They are armed with swords however, and an experienced unit of pikemen has been known to hold its own even after their spiked wall has fallen.

[SigniferOne]

Must press on indeed, nice job so far :)

[][GERUDO][Mojoman]

lookin good, keep up teh good work dude :2thumbsup:

[Ilsamir Lord]

Thanks guys :) .

I've been considering my options for smaller scale campaigns (focussing on a smaller area, but giving more detail to that area and having equipment of different periods etc.) and I've come up with a short list with accompanying descriptions. The list is in no particular order - though I've attempted to base it on a rough chronology. I am, however, still finalising the timeline. Each of these wars will have unique and varied victory conditions (or as unique and varied as the game will allow) to reflect the, sometimes radically, different goals in each conflict.

The War of Expansion
This is the first true "Ilsamiren War" and concerns their exploration of the Western Continent and its neighbouring islands. The area covered will include most of the Western Continent between the Three Ranges and the Clauthnor. The conflicts will largely be between the Ilsamiri and rebel enemies, though perhaps some "mini-factions" will be added to expand this if interest is shown.

The Seaborne War
This would follow the typical TW "invasion" system as seen in M:TW VI and S:TW MI. The two main factions would be the Ilsamiri and the Seaborne and this campaign would stress the danger the Seaborne posed to the coastal settlements of the Ilsamiri and the tactics developed to counter the Seaborne.

The War of Divergence
This campaign would see the Ilsamiri split into two factions: the Weaver's Children (Orn Iheri Denaurath), the name under which the Ilsamiri went during this period, and the People of the True God (Ar Hoir Lechan), who would become the people of the Northern Kingdom. This campaign would focus on religious unrest and the methods used by either side to quell the rise of the rival religion. Use of priests will be important. This war will also include several unique religiously inspired units. The geographic focus will be quite small.

The Mutinous Struggle
This campaign would see the Morchanin appear as a seperate faction in direct opposition to the Ilsamiri. This campaign would stress the differences in culture between the Ilsamiri and the Morchanin and also the difference in tactics which stems from this. The geographic focus would be small.

The Southern War
Another conflict fought largely with rebels, this time with the Southern Kingdom as the player faction. The key point of this campaign would be the contrast between the heavy, slow fighting style of the Southerners and the geurilla tactics of the warlords of the Clauthnor. The geographic focus would include the Bay and most of the Clauthnor.

The Final War
This is detailed above and would constitute the "full" campaign and the key focus of the modification. All factions will be playable and the entire map will be accessible.

The Peninsula War
No, not one of the Napoleonic Wars but the war fought be the Mekathenain in a bid to drive the barbarians of the southern peninsula of their continent into the sea once and for all. Their other goal in this war was to seek more agrible lands as their plight in their home territory became ever more dire.

The Second Morchanin War
A repeat of the first dire war of independence fought by the Morchanin against the Ilsamiri. The main goal of this war was the establishment of a Morchanin ruled province in their ancestral lands south of the Darineth River.

Possible Extras
The Nomadic War
This would detail the rise to power of the Mekathenain on a much more vibrant Eastern Continent as they fought against the other nomadic tribes of the region.

The Oceanic War
A similar scenario to the above but concerning the rise of the Ocean Tribes, or rather the establishment of a unified body of tribes.

Hopefully I'll be able to nut out how to actually incorporate them. One option would be to release the mod in seperate "chapters" but I'd rather have it as one condensced package.

I thought I'd post my current campaign structure, just to give people an idea of how it would play out.

https://img291.imageshack.us/img291/7064/flowchartcampaignmapen5.th.jpg (https://img291.imageshack.us/my.php?image=flowchartcampaignmapen5.jpg)

The faction mentioned after the name of each war is the one which will be earnt/unlocked for selection in the Final War. The War of Expansion must be completed in order to play the Final War but if you only complete the War of Expansion only the Ilsamiri and the Western Kingdom will be playable in that campaign.

Another example - If you wished to unlock the Mekathenain for play in the Final War you would need to complete the Nomadic War and the Peninsula War. If you wished to unlock the Seaborne you would need to complete the Seaborne War etc.

[Ilsamir Lord]

Concept Presentation
Just one this week, but a fine one I'm sure you'll agree. I've posted this in its original and coloured forms (the colouring was done by me in PS and is by no means the finished product). The original is by the very talented, may I say, Kataphraktoi (though he may go under a different name here).


https://img250.imageshack.us/img250/3695/ilsknight2sealedmu5.th.jpg (https://img250.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ilsknight2sealedmu5.jpg)https://img148.imageshack.us/img148/4910/ilsamirknightchiefcolouzq3.th.jpg (https://img148.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ilsamirknightchiefcolouzq3.jpg)

Royal Knight or Knight Chief of an as yet undecided Order
From the ranks of all the knightly orders come the King’s Knights who bear only his seal and serve as bodyguards and servants during campaigns. They carry lances and shields, and also long swords and wear the deep blue of the Ilsamiri beneath their rich armour. They typically go mounted into battle.

The Knight Cheifs govern all military matters in their own regions but this function can be vetoed or taken over by the King when he deems it necessary. The Chiefs have typically risen from the common soldiery as it is believed that a man who has had to work his way to the top will have a stronger grasp of military matters than one whom privilege has provided for. Each order bears distinct arms, both offensive and defensive, and wears different colours.

Aside from these governing Orders of knights, the King traditionally maintains a number of his own orders, among them are the Knights of the Autumn, of the Spring and of the Waves.

That's all for now, but we've still got some concepts in reserve to show in coming weeks. At present I'm working with our composer, Bedford, on the score and also on finessing the map.

[NagatsukaShumi]

It is still looking an impressive project IL, I continue to wish good luck to yourself on completing the works!

[Master_Thief]

This is looking mighty impressive. Keep up the good work.:2thumbsup:

[][GERUDO][Mojoman]

go illy go! :2thumbsup:

[Ilsamir Lord]

Thanks, guys! The encouragement really helps :) .

I'll be posting another shot or two of the map soon, I just want to get some of my mountains under control and to make the textures more varied. I'm also looking for a way to change the campaign map army banners and faction icons without unpacking my whole MII install (I'm low on HD space) and without damaging my vanilla folder. Any one have any ideas?

[Ilsamir Lord]

Here are two more in-game shots to be going on with:


https://img339.imageshack.us/img339/6132/theclauthrnoronacleardacw4.th.jpg (https://img339.imageshack.us/my.php?image=theclauthrnoronacleardacw4.jpg)
The Clauthnor on a Clear Day

The Clauthnor is the vast "Forest of Light" which dominates the Southern Lands of the Western Continent. It is roamed by ancient clans of warriors typically referred to as the Warlords of the Clauthnor (or Halteruri or Clauthnoras). Their chief fortress is the Stain of the Clauthnor from which they raid into the fertile lands around the Tairen Virone (the Beautiful Bay).

The Clauthnor will be one of the harder landscapes to present as I had intended, and to achieve the effect I'm striving for may be impossible, but ultimately I plan for the forest to come across as much like this as possible:


As the light grew to be stronger than the clouds outside, the scene became one of unparalleled wonder. The drops of rain were caught by the smallest and sharpest shafts of light Udeval had ever seen and it was as if the roof of the Forest glowed from some inner light, like to the sun but wrought of something finer than fire and as cool as mountain water and tiny beads of gold fell from it. The roots and trunks of the broad trees were covered in delicate green moss which caught the droplets as might a spider’s web and the floor of the forest itself was similarly carpeted with soft lichens, green and brown and mild yellow, now and then interrupted and accompanied by minute flowers, white and yellow. The smell of it was sweet, but edged with the distinct note of new rain and wet earth. There was not a sound to trouble the place, only the softest of murmurs from the golden droplets falling to the moss. Udeval stopped, his mission forgotten and only the cool green and brilliant gold occupying his thoughts. His eyes were enchanted, his mind put to rest and the world arrested, frozen outside his senses.

Well, that's what I'm after. :) .



https://img250.imageshack.us/img250/518/northclawsouthwestkp5.th.jpg (https://img250.imageshack.us/my.php?image=northclawsouthwestkp5.jpg)
The Bay, Looking South-West from North Claw

This second image shows a coastal keep which overlooks the Bay and serves top make a stronger choke point of the narrow inlet which leads into it. On each side of the inlet is a fortress which doubles as a light-house point and a military position from which can be launched fleets to blockade the inlet.

More map shots soon!

[Ilsamir Lord]

https://img95.imageshack.us/img95/3351/easternarkirigarisepn0.th.jpg (https://img95.imageshack.us/my.php?image=easternarkirigarisepn0.jpg)
The Arkiri Garise - The Giving Mountains - from the shore of the Anchor Lake at Glemandh

Here is the view looking north-east from the city of Glemandh across the Anchor Lake (Or Taidh Gleman) to the Arkiri Garise. The Anchor Lake is believed to be the place to which the Weaver anchored the winds to the world and so is a site of major religious significance for the Ilsamiri, though the king of the West is its custodian.

When an Ilsamir King dies he is borne to the centre of the Lake and his sarcophogus is sunk at its deepest point. This act allows the King's spirit to fly upon the winds which rise from the Lake and ascend to the sky and to the Weaver.

The city of Glemandh (which translates approximately to Anchor Town) has become wealthy from the constant tide of pilgrims visiting the Lake and many of its merchants have taken advantage of this religious ferver to an unhealthy degree, selling trinkets and hiring boats at high prices to anyone gullible enough.

[Ilsamir Lord]

I'm hoping, as you will see, that the multiple campaigns of the expansion will allow for a set sequence of progression which will allow for "unlocking" of new campaigns. I also hope that victory conditions can be considerably more complex.

https://img181.imageshack.us/img181/8785/campaignflowchartsz9.th.jpg (https://img181.imageshack.us/my.php?image=campaignflowchartsz9.jpg)

Explanatory Note
The number beside the name of each campaign refers to the overall order in which the campaigns would need to be played to have all factions unlocked for the Final War. The faction names beneath each campaign name are those of the faction which will be unlocked for the Final War upon completion of that campaign. The arrows refer to which campaigns can lead to the Final War for the named factions.

I - The War of Expansion

Background
When the Ilsamiri suddenly appeared on the coast of the Western Continent they brought with them a desire and drive for conquest. This campaign details their wars of expansion to the South and West, their encounters with the Morchanin, the various warlords of the Southlands and with their future allies, the Western Kingdom.

Participants
Playable:

The Ilsamiri - Orn Ilsamiri
Objectives:
1. To capture X number of provinces
2. To send an emissary to and gain an alliance with the Western Kingdom
3. To capture and develop into a large city the Southern Port (or Glatir Nomer)
4. To build paved roads in all their provinces.

The Western Kingdom or the Descendants of the Sun - Or Heirua Domer, Or Cirume Cehu'ath - Escgliro Sive
Objectives:
The objectives of the Western Kingdom are:
1. To send an emissary to and gain an alliance with the Ilsamiri
2. To crush the Warlord of the Lake

Non-playable
The Morchanin – Or Morchanir (Matto Morchanin)

The Warlords of the Lake – Or Halteruri or Taidhas

The Pirates of the Bay – Or Kareinir or Tairenath

The Warlords of the Clauthnor – Or Halteruri or Clauthnoras

Unlocks
By beating this campaign as the Ilsamiri you will unlock the Western Kingdom and the Ilsamiri for play in the Final War and the Western Kingdom for play in the War of Expansion. You will also gain access to Campaign II.

[Incongruous]

Mmmmm.. Im hungry for you're MOD:yes:

Like the way you'll make us work for the great camp, nice work so far aswell. So glad this will finally become a reality.:2thumbsup:

[Commanderkickass]

Hey, I really would like to see this mod. I saw it in this forum a couple of weeks ago…about a month actually. I really like how you came up with this whole world of yours, which belongs in a book with LOTR or Harry Potter. I joined this forum to keep track on your mod. I’m really looking forward to The Ilsamiren Wars. Just a little more encouragement from another MOD fan. :2thumbsup:

[Ilsamir Lord]

Cheers, guys :) !

Sorry the update is taking so long, but in the mean-time I thought I'd post a request (what great compensation for the lack of an update :P ).

What I'm after is someone with experience (or the necessary software) to make an Ilsamiren font - that is, a font for the Ilsamiren language ideally compatible with word and other MS Office programs. This font, while it could not be used for in-game text due to engine limitations, would be utilised in UI, cutscenes and publicity materials.

The Script
The Ilsamiren language is written left to right, top to bottom and without spaces between words. It is based on a diacritic system similar to Arabic (http://www.omniglot.com/writing/arabic.htm), but is in fact, at least initially, based on Tolkien's Quenya mode of Tengwar (http://www.omniglot.com/writing/tengwar.htm).

The script contains 23 consonants and a vowel holder which are modified by 13 vowel diacritics, though these diacritics are made up of only three shapes - the crescent, the diagonal stroke and the dot - which vary in alignment and size. It also has eight punctuation marks.


https://img245.imageshack.us/img245/9930/ilsamirenexamplescriptmaster7i.th.jpg (https://img245.imageshack.us/my.php?image=ilsamirenexamplescriptmaster7i.jpg)
An Example of the Ilsamiren script (some letters/words may vary from their current forms as this is an early version of the letters)

I have a complete list of letters and symbols which I am currently reworking. I will post it as soon as it is ready. Also, I am in the process of composing a numeral system, which would be nice to include later but which is by no means essential as numbers could easily be written out fully.

Possible Bases for the Font
As the font bears similarities to Arabic (a writing system I have little knowledge of besides certain key aspects), IME fonts for that script may be a good basis for the Ilsamiren letters. Another possible base would be the Japanese IME system which works by converting English letters into the appropriate syllabic symbol or character.

However, using Japanese as a basis for the font would mean that the script would need to be redesigned as a syllabary then disguised as a diacritic based alphabet - which is hardly ideal. To do this each individual consonant would need to be included in the font with each individual vowel as well as with capitalisation and "new-word" modifiers meaning that the script would not contain 24 letters and 13 vowel diacritics but 336 individual symbols plus the punctuation.

If someone with knowledge of the Arabic IME system can assure me that the Arabic IME works in the way I wish it to that would be great news.

There is a large community of Tengwar writers out there, seemingly, who have developed a number of transcription tools for Tengwar, perhaps these could also be a base for the Ilsamiren script.

Thanks for reading,
Ilsamir Lord

[Ilsamir Lord]

I've now finished off the reassignments for my letters, so they're available to send to anyone interested in working on the font.

I've also completed an extended, hand-written example of the script to give an idea of the overall look using the new letter assignments - I've chosen not to release the conversion table for the time being to retain an air of mystery.


https://img242.imageshack.us/img242/4677/extendedilsscriptexamplob0.th.jpg (https://img242.imageshack.us/my.php?image=extendedilsscriptexamplob0.jpg)
The Ilsamiren Script, written using the Religious "Mode"

The capitalisation system (which uses the ~ symbol) is at its most complex in the Religious Mode which is used in sacred texts and when writing words of religious significance, even if the mode of the document is otherwise non-religious. Various other forms of capitalisation and vowel placement exist and are used for differing purposes. For example, the Modern Mode uses the capital symbol only at the start of a new word, below the line to indicate a space, above it to indicate a capital letter and the ~ is often simplified into a straight line.

[Ilsamir Lord]

Well, in the absence of any models to show off - after nearly a month :P of waiting for our modeller - I thought I'd just give everyone a general update:

The Map
Well, it's basically finished, including most of the resources and all but two or so of the regions - I've done about 78 of 80 I believe - and now I'm investigating battle-map fog in a bid to make the view distances a bit more Rome-like in terms of visible mountain ranges and the like.

I'm planning out the new building types, only very roughly, and I'm still planning out my settlement maps and such for my additional campaigns, which are all but a certainty now that the Kingdoms expansion has so specifically included the ability to add them.

The Planning
At present most of the planning is done and I'm simply executing it or having it executed by a number of capable team-mates. Further units are a possibility as I plan the additional campaigns, but most will probably be just more basically equipped versions of their future counter-parts.

The Story
My writing of the central plot document - which is a fancy way of saying "that story I'm writing about that guy" - has slowed to a stop with the encroachment of university on to my time, but I occasionally go back to it for revision or addition.

I've been working on the story mainly in the capacity of a historian and I've written a substantial timeline for the Ilsamiri themselves which runs from their arrival on the continent to some one thousand years later with the arrival of the Mekathenain on the Forest Coast and the subsequent war. I'm also considering a massive expansion of the map for some far off project involving conquest or exploration into the vast, uncharted seas.

Well, that's the news for the moment. I hope to be able to show a model shortly - which I know is hardly an impressive boast after so long in development, but that's just the way it goes. I'll have more shots of the map up just as soon as I find someone(/work out how) to do the UI for the campaign map as I don't want vanilla unit flags and models cluttering up my nice new map.

I hope that's been interesting to some people as I know I haven't really posted here since, well, a month ago. Suffice to say, progress is slow, but I think steady, and you can expect a version of the mod in the not-too-distant future - by that I mean late this year, I hope :D .

[Ilsamir Lord]

Hello everyone,

Time, at long last, for a news update I think. This time I’ve got a number of images to show, both of practical elements – such as the following banners – and of the results of my height-mapping.

To start off: here are a couple of shots of the mountain range known to the speakers of the Ilsamiren language as Or Hlan Kires – The Final Wall. This is the range which separates the Eastern lands of the Betrayers from the green fields of the Descendants of the Sun, the Western Kingdom.


https://img186.imageshack.us/img186/1918/thefinalwalllookingnortab3.th.jpg (https://img186.imageshack.us/my.php?image=thefinalwalllookingnortab3.jpg)
This first image shows the dwindling eastern extreme of the Final Wall as it descends to the Open Pass.

https://img186.imageshack.us/img186/856/theroadtocerinantheseatme4.th.jpg (https://img186.imageshack.us/my.php?image=theroadtocerinantheseatme4.jpg)
This image shows one of the roads which link the Western Capital, Cerinan, with the smaller farmsteads and trading posts of the kingdom.

The next images show a piece of practical progress – the implementation of banner colours and symbols into the strategic map. These symbols were designed from my written descriptions by NodachiSam.


https://img186.imageshack.us/img186/73/theilsamirbannerld1.th.jpg (https://img186.imageshack.us/my.php?image=theilsamirbannerld1.jpg)
The banner shown above belongs to the Ilsamiri and is based on the Ilsamiren letter “D”, which stands for Darineth, their capital city.

https://img186.imageshack.us/img186/3817/varasthenorwiththesunbakm4.th.jpg (https://img186.imageshack.us/my.php?image=varasthenorwiththesunbakm4.jpg)
This image shows the Sun-flare banner of the Western Kingdom, flown from the city of Varas Thenor, or Forest Gate.

That’s all for now, but hopefully it shows that work is still being done. Now that I’m on holidays again I should be able to finish off the UI, or at least get it to a workable point. There should be a model (or two) to show off in the near future, but don’t hold your breath – I’m not :smile: .

Thanks for reading,
Yours,
Ilsamir Lord

[alpaca]

Very nice screens, you're definitely spending a lot of time on this :beam:

[Ilsamir Lord]

Cheers, alpaca :) . I've been doing my best to get all the faction banner icons in, then I might move on to reskinning some of the strategic map characters. I'd rather not have them all purely colour coded though, as I think that's relatively unrealistic - instead of distinctive colouring I'll favour distinctive costuming. So, stay tuned and we'll see how it goes ;) .

I'm also doing my best to fend off some potential copyright issues (or rather, a few cases of possibly coincidental convergence in concepts - to avoid giving it a legal tone) , but that shouldn't be too big a deal, seeing as all my threads predate those of this other mod.

[Ilsamir Lord]

I'll start publishing unit lists soon. These will contain a complete list of all available units for that faction, covering every campaign in which that faction appears. It will also contain the names of those units in the appropriate language - these will be the names heard in-game.

[Ilsamir Lord]

I just wanted to update everyone on the project. It's not dead by any means, I've just moved to a much more useable platform for the concept and, if I'm honest, it will give me the scope to realise my original ideas much better.


https://img522.imageshack.us/img522/3584/iwbsy3.jpg (http://www.crymod.com/thread.php?threadid=22571)

A Total War mod is not beyond the realms of possiblity in the future, but for the moment I'm focussing on this new iteration.

I won't be posting here anymore, but if anyone is interested in doing some concept work for the new mod that would be great. Shoot me a PM here or at Crymod.com if you're interested.

Thanks to everyone who has offered support during the MII phase of the concept - it has been invaluable as a source of encouragement, but sadly, there's only so much I could do by myself with such a tightly stitched engine.