My Rome Fan Project

[Metal Storm]

Hello everybody,
I have been working on a Rome Mod (V 2.0) now for a little while and it is nearing it's completion. I'm so close that I just wanted to do a little advertising for it and let you all see some screen shots. here is the URL

http://www.angelfire.com/scifi2/mezzma1970/RomeMAIN.html

It features over 115 new units and art work, over 35 new buildings and 9 new factions including the Roman Empire and a custom Mod for each individual faction.

The Mods are all based around the fall of Rome. I took some artistic liberties but based all the factions on similar ones during Roman times. The challenge (if you play Rome) is to keep it all together by crushing rebellions and warding of Barbarians and other hostile invaders while you try to restore Rome to its former greatness. If you like a challenge, this is for you

Nothing is available for download just yet but I anticipate it's Beta version to be completed by Halloween.
I would love you to check it out and let me know what your impression may be. Thanks and happy gaming

[Antalis::]

WOW

Amazing work: 115 new units, 35 new buildings

Are you also planing a new map?

And one question: Why are the Vandals black, they were a germanic tribe, maybe you meant the Nubians?

9 factions: Romans, Ostrogoths, Turks, Gauls, Vandals, Seuves.

What are the other three?


I can´t wait to get this mod in my hands to play it all day long http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[handyandy]

what a mod sounds great it must have taken ages.
As soon i get medieval total war i shall download it

[HopAlongBunny]

Looks great

I would download it just for the new eye-candy http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[Antalis::]

I love your roman units http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif .


Antalis::

[Lord Of Storms]

Greetings Metal Storm, Looks like you put alot of work into this mod it looks very impressive, there alot of Roamn mod projects in the works and there was in my opinion one of the best mods around The Patrician Mod by King David. I am going to copy your original post over to the Dungeon so the other Modders can see what your doing. LOS

[Scipio]

Hey I must say great looking mod. Finally it looks like a roman mod project is gonna be completed as there have been many gone askew... Anyway when will you bring it out? How much of the Roman empire is left? Is it at its peak and starting to wind down? Its all good but it would have been cool if you could have made it say 230 bc. around the punic wars as those battles are the most interesting parts in Roman History. The real FIRST WORLD WAR. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

[Metal Storm]

Thanks for all the positive feed back, I wasn't sure if people would give a rats @#$ about another Rome mod when the real deal should be out in January. At least, last time I check that's when it was to be on shelves but you know how these dates are always changing.

Scipio,
This mod is during the fall of Rome. I started out making this mod historically accurate but the research was well...not as fun as the creating so I did take a few liberties.

I am working on a custom map but decided to finish all the mod work first then release an update for the Punic wars.

I should have it uploaded about the End of October.

Lord Of Storms,
Thanks for putting the post elsewhere I don't have access to the other forums.

Antalis::
This mod will not have a new map but I am working on one for an updated release of the Punic Wars but not until after I finish this Mod. Also, thanks for mentioning the Vandal mix-up. I didn't know what you were talking about until I logged on to my web page and realized I put the Nubian units on the Vandals page. I just copy and pasted after I made the template. oops Thanks for mentioning it. I will update it soon.
The Factions are:
The Romans-Playable
The Ostrogoths-Playable
The Vandals-Playable
The Franks
The Seuves-Playable
The Gauls-Playable
The Turks-Playable
The Nubians-Playable
The Rurikids-Playable
Attila the Hun-Playable
The Britons

Thanks again for all the Feed back

[Scipio]

You and king david are my heros Of course people give a rats ass about a roman mod it is only the most interesting part of world history(Ive ready about 5 books each with about 1000 pages each and I'm still only done the punic wars and Sullas time And ya it would be great if you feel like doing an earlier one later. But just stick to it1 http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/pat.gif

[TheSilverKnight]

Quote[/b] (Metal Storm @ Sep. 24 2003,18:04)]Thanks for all the positive feed back, I wasn't sure if people would give a rats @#$ about another Rome mod when the real deal should be out in January. At least, last time I check that's when it was to be on shelves but you know how these dates are always changing.

Scipio,
This mod is during the fall of Rome. I started out making this mod historically accurate but the research was well...not as fun as the creating so I did take a few liberties.

I am working on a custom map but decided to finish all the mod work first then release an update for the Punic wars.

I should have it uploaded about the End of October.

Lord Of Storms,
Thanks for putting the post elsewhere I don't have access to the other forums.

Antalis::
This mod will not have a new map but I am working on one for an updated release of the Punic Wars but not until after I finish this Mod. Also, thanks for mentioning the Vandal mix-up. I didn't know what you were talking about until I logged on to my web page and realized I put the Nubian units on the Vandals page. I just copy and pasted after I made the template. oops Thanks for mentioning it. I will update it soon.
The Factions are:
The Romans-Playable
The Ostrogoths-Playable
The Vandals-Playable
The Franks
The Seuves-Playable
The Gauls-Playable
The Turks-Playable
The Nubians-Playable
The Rurikids-Playable
Attila the Hun-Playable
The Britons

Thanks again for all the Feed back
Looks very good. Let me ask you, is this an expansion, which doesn't change anything about the game, just adds a new campaign/units/etc, or is it a replacement mod? which replaces certain files to make it work? http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[Scipio]

Ya good question thatwould make life just that little bit better.(but for me Im just happy to see a roman mod soo good Ive seen so many promising ones im lead to beleive a roman mod all to good to be true) http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/confused.gif

[Gregoshi]

Welcome to the Org Metal Storm. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wave.gif Looks like your mod is going to make quite a few people very happy. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/pat.gif

Thanks LoS for copying this to the Dungeon.

[Metal Storm]

TheSilverKnight,
There are several files that will be replaced and some new ones of course. Unfortunately the official campaigns will not work with this mod. Most of the replacing is in the Textures/men files for the units body type. I added new weapons and shields on several of them and completely replaced others.

I tried to just add these new units to the CRUSADERS_UNIT_PROD11 to be able to play all campaigns but it seems there is a maximum number of units that can be used in this file. I believe it is some where around line 256 but I can't say for certain.

Gregoshi,
Thanks for the welcome http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wave.gif

[Antalis::]

Zitat[/b] (Metal Storm @ Sep. 24 2003,18:04)]Antalis::
This mod will not have a new map but I am working on one for an updated release of the Punic Wars but not until after I finish this Mod. Also, thanks for mentioning the Vandal mix-up. I didn't know what you were talking about until I logged on to my web page and realized I put the Nubian units on the Vandals page. I just copy and pasted after I made the template. oops Thanks for mentioning it. I will update it soon.
The Factions are:
The Romans-Playable
The Ostrogoths-Playable
The Vandals-Playable
The Franks
The Seuves-Playable
The Gauls-Playable
The Turks-Playable
The Nubians-Playable
The Rurikids-Playable
Attila the Hun-Playable
The Britons


Wonderful, I always wanted to play as Attila http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif .

Maybe you could make the Franks and Britons also playable?
Would be amazing http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

You know, a new map is one of the most importantant things in such a mod: It would a bit strange to see my roman units conquere Austria (it didn´t exist at that time).
Please take the time and make a map.
Maybe you could ask one of the skillful mapmakers in this forum, like komninos or someone of the Napoleon Mod team to make a map.

Please think about it.
A map would be great http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif
Also without one it´s a very good mod with all the units, but with a map it would be really, really great http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif .

[MILITARYMAN]

Hello Storm http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wave.gif
A pat on the backs in order m8
COOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooooolll.well done.

[The Blind King of Bohemia]

Top work dude. I will be downloading this http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

Love the new shields, wicked http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wave.gif

[[DnC]]

It certainly looks great I will definitly give it a try
The amount of new units I saw amazed me http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif
Good luck on completing this Mod

[Metal Storm]

Hello Everybody http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wave.gif
I just wanted to give you all an update. Originally I was going to release all the campaigns as 1 mod but due to the size of it all and custom map complications I've decided to make a few separate but smaller mods out of the original giant mod.
The first one will be the first Punic war. Basically Rome, Gaul, Carthage as the major factions. I apologize as my goal was bigger than my free time. However I still intend to finish all 5 campaigns, they will all have a different map, units, blah blah blah.
I didn't want to leave everybody hanging. I am still on schedule for an Oct 31 release of my first Rome Mod The first Punic war

[Scipio]

Hey I finally found this mod again I was askin about it in twc tw.com and in the dungeon here so where are you at?

[Marshal Murat]

Yes how far are you?

[ShadesPanther]

hmm 31st of october

I will be off then http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

btw is it for vi or 1.0 as quite a few mods are out that are 1.1 for some reason http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/confused.gif

[Scipio]

I really dont know but hopefully metal storm will start talking

[Metal Storm]

Hello everyone,
Sorry I've been a little out of the loop. I have 2 maps I am working with for my Rome mod which is for VI. 1 map Fully works but is 1/2 the size and smaller than I would really like so I made one 4096x3072 or what ever the full size is, I don't remember off had. The bigger & new map is giving me trouble and doesn't want to work with my Early Start Position text. It something I'm overlooking I'm sure and have been Debugging for the last 2 days. If I can't get it to work by the end of the weekend I will just go with the first map to keep with my end of the month goal.
I hope that answers some of your questions. See ya http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wave.gif

[ShadesPanther]

Thanks for the info

[ShadesPanther]

I noticed on the campaign map tere are Assyrians But were the not along time before the Romans

[Metal Storm]

Hello Everybody in MTW Land http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wave.gif

Good news about my new map. After 3 hair pulling and stressful days I finally got the new/good/larger map to work I am now starting to place all the files from my old MTV folder and integrate them into the new Clean MTW VI with the new map. At the same time I am duplicating all the new files into a separate section for the actual MOD zip. I will probably have multiple zips for this mod as I believe there is a 2 meg Max with the upload tools.
Right now I am debugging/looking for missing .bifs and Names & Descriptions and stuff like that.
I will update my webpage for this mod later tonight or by Monday night. I will post here again to let you all know what is going on.

ShadesPanther,
You are absolutely correct I originally was going to have 1 map that would cover Classical/Hellenistic and Roman times. I bit off more than I could chew with that one. So I am making a few smaller mods.

[ShadesPanther]

Thats ok I was just wondering http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

a yay for the map http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[Marshal Murat]

Hey, with Carthage, although hard, after the Mod is released could you do Elephants, or to much hassle?

[Metal Storm]

Marshal Murat,
Though I am not sure but I believe the official Rome Project will have elephants as steeds. I wish I could do them but I am not sure how MTW reads the .bifs to determine which movement is for what and so on. Perhaps somebody with a little more knowledge may know how? http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/confused.gif
For now I am content to wait until Jan 04'

[Scipio]

Check around the dungeon there was a post by someone there that talked about how to make elephants and chariots

[Metal Storm]

Hey thanks Scipio I found some good info and How too posted there. I must say I have a MAJOR itch to create Both Chariots and Elephants now

[Metal Storm]

Hey thanks Scipio I found some good info and How too posted there. I must say I have a MAJOR itch to create Both Chariots and Elephants now

[Scipio]

Great your inspired i cant wait to charge into rome baring elephants

[Scipio]

I saw your post about the elephants and charios lol I didnt know you didnt know you could post in the dungeon how long have you been a senior patron?

[Metal Storm]

I can Post in the Dungeon? Hah, What do you know? I didn't know that. Cool Thanks for letting me know. I didn't know I had anything other than Newbie status. I'll have to check out this senior status stuff you mentioned.

[Scipio]

so hows it comin we almost lost this to the depths of forum so i had to speak

[Metal Storm]

Sorry, I got side tracked by creating the elephant mount but apart from the elephant its only got some missing descriptions and info pics here and there that I need to track down or create. As it is it all works without any crashes (that I have discovered).
Originally Oct 31 was my goal. With the addition of the elephant Mount I can't say for sure as it is a new realm for me and I am not 100% sure how to create action pages but I have some tuts now. Basically It will be ready for release shortly after the elephant is completed. Was that too evasive of an answer? http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wacko.gif I'm just not sure how long elephant will take but this mod will be done soon.

[Scipio]

Wow graet news you think after a release you will make a chariot?

[Metal Storm]

Quote[/b] (Scipio @ Oct. 31 2003,00:00)]you think after a release you will make a chariot?
Funny you should ask, If the elephant works I will probably go crazy making bifs I already have a basic 1 horse chariot model rendered but have done nothing else with it because I want to see if the elephant will work and get the Punic War Mod completed. Then I'll delve into chariots and even some other models perhaps. I'll have to play it by ear, no promises but I too would like to see chariots, specially in a Hellenic or classical type mod.

[Scipio]

That would be great are you a programmer of some sort or just a lot of free time to make those elephants perfect?

[Metal Storm]

Quote[/b] (Scipio @ Nov. 01 2003,15:14)]That would be great are you a programmer of some sort or just a lot of free time to make those elephants perfect?
I'm aspiring to become a 3D animator. Call it a mid-Life crisis but I'm going back to school in Jan 04 to study digital media(Computer animation&Graphics).
And Free time? Hmm... Never heard of it? http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wacko.gif

[Scipio]

lol me niether

[ShadesPanther]

i have alot of free time atm but sadly have to start revising for my GCSEs soon http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/dizzy.gif

[Scipio]

So where are you at Metalstorm?

[ShadesPanther]

maybe hes playing wth the elephant so much...

[Metal Storm]

Hey,
Sorry I have been working on the Elephant. It's 1 problem after another but luckily Duke John(DJ) is gracious enough to share his knowledge. After reading his help I believe I understand now. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/idea.gif

I have implemented them into the game but had problems with the Image Origine but DJ helped me with that.

The problem I am having right now is the SIZE of the Elephant. I had to replace the EHorse bif with the elephant because MTW would not recognize the new Elephant Mount type I created. So that stinks. Also Mounts don't have Scale Height or Radius stats. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/frown.gif

I posted for help on this yesterday but I haven't got a response back yet. So I am reworking the image origin for the elephant I do have and also starting to make the Elephant (With 2 Riders on it's back) as an INFANTRY type unit and resize it that way.

I don't have the answers yet. I'm still trying different things but very close to not using the elephant bif. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/mad.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/frown.gif http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/mecry.gif

[Scipio]

Dont give up on the Elephant my advice is to finish the other units and the rest of the mod and then come back to the elephant after

[ShadesPanther]

thats good advice scipio http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[Metal Storm]

Quote[/b] (Scipio @ Nov. 06 2003,21:16)]Dont give up on the Elephant my advice is to finish the other units and the rest of the mod and then come back to the elephant after
Very good advice indeed. I have taken a breather from the elephant and have started working on the Documentation for the Mod. I'm not big on documentation (not much fun) but it is important just the same. Thanks

[Mr.Scary ClanMan]

Hey your work looks really cool how long do u think it will be till its released?Im dying to play this mod http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[Marshal Murat]

So how soon Metal Storm haven't heard from you in a while

[Metal Storm]

I can't say for sure but the early period is being tested now without the elephants. I am working on the elephant but can't project anytime for sure. My schedule this last week has been crazy and I haven't put as much time into it as I would have liked. I will post again shortly this week with a better assesment of a time frame and perhaps start to upload some documentation.

[Metal Storm]

What is the best way to upload the beta of a large MOD? The upload tools have a 2meg max (last I looked). I have seen several people splitting their MODs up into several zips. Is that the best way to go?

[Marshal Murat]

I would say so, or ask Barroca about it, he does all that stuff. (needs to take down that STW stuff&#33http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

[Metal Storm]

The First Punic War: -Beta- for MTW v2.0
By Metal Storm (Mark Roller)
=========================================================
=========================================================
Credits:
--------
This MOD would not have been possible without the help from the following people. (in no particular order)Wellington, Duke John, Hedge, Barrocca, Gnome.

A big special thanks to:(in no particular order)
Scipio, Marshal Murat, Lord Of Storms, TheSilverKnight, Gregoshi, ShadesPanther, TosaInu, _Martyr_

Also, like to thank:
Antalis,handyandy,HopAlongBunny,MILITARYMAN,The Blind King of Bohemia,[DnC],Mr.ScaryClanMan,Eastside Character, NagatsukaShumi, flip, hellenes,Jeebus_Frist,Jacque Schtrapp,CreativeAssembly,Activision,Sierra Studios and Impressions Games.

If I left your name out I apologize. I would also like to thank All the people at the ORG for their patients, help and kind words.
========================================================
Tools/Programs Used:
--------------------
From the ORG;
Bifreader***
Buffy the Bif Slayer***
LukeMap Maker 4.0 Beta***
Gnome Editor***
HedgesMTWDEditor***
Ultimate Paint**

Others Used;
Paint Shop Pro
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Word
=========================================================
The First Punic War: -Beta- for MTW v2.0
Features:
---------
-MAP: Standard map, modified (colored) and Zoomed in 2x
-New Units: 109 new units about 8 modified body types
-Factions: (8) Gaul, Germanic Barbarians, Romans, Carthaginians, Illycrium, Seuves, Nubians
-Buildings Over (40) Roman Specific
-3 Periods Early, High and Late
============================================================
This Mod is based on The First Punic War. The 2 Main Factions are The Romans and the Carthaginians. There are a few smaller/minor factions that will cause some problems as well. They will all be playable but the most custom units and buildings are Roman and Carthaginian.
This mod is loosely historic. If you’re looking for strict adherences to history you will not find them here.
===========================================================
---Recommendations for more enjoyable play---
---Set the difficulty to the Hardest. Unless you stink
---If you play the Romans or the Carthaginians I fully recommend that you never become Allies with them even if they try to ally with you. That’s the best way to ensure THE FIRST PUNIC WAR
============================================================
============================================================
The (3) periods Early High and Late are just different starting situations. All 3 periods will have all buildings and units available and the same start date.

-Early period:
-------------
Recommended for those who like to get the full feel of the strategic campaign. This period requires building up your provinces to make more powerful units available. This is also the most challenging and Rewarding campaign period.

-High period:
------------
In the high period the provinces are somewhat developed and more units are available at the start.

-Late period:
-------------
Recommended if you don't like to spend time developing your provinces to obtain more powerful units. You will start out with several prosperous provinces and have almost all the units available at the start of the Campaign.
=============================================================
Status:
-------
Map: 100%
New Units
BIFs&LBMs 100%
InfoPics 25%
Descriptions 50%
Factions: 100%
Buildings 100%
Documentation 50%
Early Start 100%
High Start 100%
Late Start 0%
===============================================================
Some Screen Shots at my web page, Not all up to date, sorry.

http://www.angelfire.com/scifi2/mezzma1970/RomeMAIN.html
==================================================================
Bugs:
--For some reason the Sueves are shown to occupy Syracuse on the
faction select menu when in fact the Romans start with it.
--Illycrium Does not show up on the Factions Select Map.
--The Elephant Model;The Custom Elephant I was working on turns
out to be the size of a horse. It looks silly like a baby elephant on
the battlefield. As there is no way (yet Known) to scale it larger I will
NOT include the elephant as a steed in this mod. I will however make the
Elephant_H.bif available along with the elephant pics in case somebody
wishes to play with it or try to make it larger. As it is, The Elephant
side tracked me, taking way too much time and pushed my release date back.
--The Castle flags seem to move further away from the castle as it increases to a higher level?
--?

[Marshal Murat]

Thanks alot Metal Storm. Also, for elephants, you could scale up in the unit prod files I believe, crusaderunit prod, if you go along a clean version, they have radius and scale. To bad about the size, is there one rider or two? Forget all the unit prod, I tried it withmy Spartan Inf. and they didn't increase in size.

[ChErNoByl]

So do you have an estimate as to when we will be able to play this mod?

[Marshal Murat]

yea, we are all very interested.

[Antalis::]

I saw your campaignmap of the Punic War: Really impressive http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif


I think this mod will be great.

Good work.



Antalis::

[Metal Storm]

I'm glad you all seem to like it. I appreciate your kind words. I hate to keep you waiting much longer but I don't want to release it all until I get all the bugs out.
I'd love to give a new release date but I am reluctant. For now I think I will start to upload SOME of the files that are Complete. They won't be playable but you might be interested in seeing some of the stuff. I'll probably start to upload some documentation and maps and such tomorrow. I'll post here again and let you know what's up and where to get it.

[Metal Storm]

I Uploaded some Unit Info. You will need Microsoft Excel to view the Pics of the Units.

The File is called TEST_PunicWar_Unit_Info.zip (366k)

http://www.totalwar.org/Downloads/Mtw_Uploads/MTWbeta/

[Metal Storm]

I just added the Elephant_H.bif to the same place. Feel free to use it or even work on it. If you figure out how to scale it larger please let me know. Thanks.

[Marshal Murat]

hey are you going to post the entire mod in parts up or what?

[Metal Storm]

MM,
I've been thinking about what would be best for uploading. Right now I am still finding missing descriptions and Tweaking details like that. I just want it to be a fairly clean beta version with as few bugs as possible.
What I'd like to do is put it all on CD and mail it to somebody who has high-speed cable (Within the USA) that would be willing to help me clear up the beta and upload it to the Org for me when we complete it.
There are so many files and so many things I changed I am sure I will miss something when I zip it into groups. I would like to put it all on CD and Mail it. Then have whomever gets the CD unzip it and play with it and let me know if they find something missing. That way I could email the missing files or Upload them to my site and then have them add the missing files to the zip.
Of course this would be asking allot of somebody so I am reluctant to post a help request. In the mean time I'm still tweaking it.
Today I decided to add greater loyalty bonuses to all provincial governors because on Expert there are far too many Revolutions within the Carthaginian Empire.
I watched football most of the day so I didn't work on it much. All I can really say is it is not ready just yet but getting there.

[Marshal Murat]

Well just upload the files. Then they ask What happened to this file? and you can post a correct version. or just have some people beta, see if there are any problems, and fix them in due course.

[Gregoshi]

Okay, I think it is time to move this to the Dungeon - Alchemist lab forum.

Keep up the good work Metal Storm. You've developed a small following. http://www.totalwar.org/forum/non-cgi/emoticons/cool.gif