fatsheep
02-22-2006, 23:05
The Coming Forth of the Fourth Age
PRESS RELEASE FEBRUARY 2006 - FOURTH AGE: TOTAL WAR ANNOUNCES MAJOR CHANGES
Decisions made by the Management of FA:TW in early December of last year saw changes to the Mod that have not until now been revealed.
The Modification will now be released as a series of "mini campaigns". This is good news for players as they will be able to roam Middle-earth all the sooner! The first mini campaign will take place in the lands of Gondor, Mordor, Khand, Harad and part of Rhûn and will include 3 factions: The Reunited Kingdom, Rhûn and Harad.
It is set in the 228th year of the Fourth Age and starts at the point of an invasion of Gondor's havens and Southern Fiefs by the Haradrim. All three factions will be playable and the release id set (tentatively) for April 2006.
The Development Team hope to publish 3-4 mini campaigns and include them in the final release with the full campaign so as to provide players with the option of playing provincial campaigns (as well as historical and custom battles of course). We feel this episodic approach a wise one for a number of reasons and trust our fanbase will concur. It will not, incidentally, slow down the final full-map release - indeed it may speed it up by virtue of focusing the Dev. team on one piece of the cake at a time (and we will have our cake and eat it!).
The number of factions has been reduced to 10 in the full campaign but the defunct factions will still be represented in-game as subcultures of the remaining factions. The complete list of factions is: The Reunited Kingdom, Rohan, Dale, Dunland, Harad, Rhûn, Elves, Orcs, Dwarves and a mysterious unnamed faction too closely associated with the Storyline to yet be divulged. Cutting down on the original number of factions will not only speed up the completion of the Mod but also allow for smoother and swifter gameplay.
The game will include some things not seen (to our knowledge at least) in any Mods before and we are confident that players will find the experience enjoyable. Although we aim to provide a quality product, we are also aware of the need to keep things small and simple enough so as to avoid sluggish load times, weird AI behaviour (as much as we can!) and CTDs. The balance is a difficult one but we believe we have it about right.
Here are Just Some of the New Features in FA:TW...
City Development & Diversification. Large cities can now be developed along a path of your choosing, ultimately providing greater diversification for your faction. For example, if you are playing as Rhûn (aka the Easterlings) you might choose to develop a Thrall Stockade in order to have that settlement rely upon cheap slave labour for the construction of buildings, or you may opt to bolster your economy by developing a Cattle Trader, or perhaps you may wish to develop a Wain Workshop to allow your Settlers to use Wains so that they can move greater distances and thus increase population growth and spread.
Wonder-capture. When you take a region with a Wonder you will not immediately gain all its effects. You will need to seize the Wonder, then secure it and then exploit it. Each of these phases will bring more of the Wonder's benefits to your faction. Wonders offer some faction-wide bonuses but such effects will vary by faction.
Marvels. In addition to Wonders there will also be Marvels such as The White Tree of Gondor. These Marvels act much like Wonders except that they exist in or by a settlement rather than distant from it and as such they are considered captured when the settlement itself is taken. Guard these Marvels well as they can bring great blessings to your faction!
Unique Cities. Minas Tirith, Thranduil's Halls and other well-known cities of Middle-earth will populate the landscape of the campaign map, each graphically designed and modelled to be unique and accurate.
Landmark Features. Various features of Middle-earth that we all know and love will also be represented on the map - and some will even afford your faction with beneficial effects. These will include the Beacon-tower Hills of Gondor, the Carrock, the Sea-ward Tower of Dol Amroth and other less prominent features such as castle ruins and barrows.
MEZoRS. The Middle-earth Zone of Recruitment System has been designed like no other. As you would expect with any good ZoR system, units are not immediately able to be recruited as soon as you capture a foreign region but certain local levies drawn from the conquered population may be; you will need to build your own recruitment buildings in order to start training and recruiting your own troops. MEZoRS discriminates between the Mannish, Elven, Orkish and Dwarven races. It establishes up to three types of region per faction (homelands, fiefdoms and outlands) taking into account old loyalties as well as old hatreds. It allows for the deepening of loyalty among local levies but also restricts the building of certain troops that might be available in your faction's homelands.
Assimilation Units. If you take a chief city of another faction, or (where they exist) the chief city of a subculture of a faction, you may in process of time be able to recruit a unit assimilated from the conquered faction. For example, if Dale was to capture Edoras it would have Riders of the Mark available for recruitment once it had built up to the appropriate level of stables.
Settlers & Population Dispersion. Peasants have been renamed to Settlers, downgraded in ability and cost, upgraded in unit size and given zero-time recruitment. Their chief purpose will be to move your population about between settlements. They should be guarded by your armies when on the move, for although they will be able to engage battle they are very likely to run away, unless they seriously outnumber a foe. They should no longer be considered military units. They will also be recruited in a more realistic manner according to the geographic spread of the population.
Factional Fertility. A relatively simple yet slick system has been implemented to base population growth more directly upon race/faction rather than region alone. In Middle-earth, the Elves and the Dwarves had few children, whereas the Orcs multiplied like the proverbial rabbits (except not so cute!). This system allows us to represent such factors in the game regardless of which regions those races occupy.
Seven Cultures. We will be incorporating the extra culture slot to provide you a full complement of cultures to populate Middle-earth, and some of these will even have subcultures. The cultures represented in the Mod will the Dúnedain, Northmen, Barbarian, Haradric, Elven, Dwarven and Orkish.
The New Shadow - the full campaign
Research on the campaign map concept design took months totalling literally hundreds of hours before even a pixel was created. Only official maps (from the novels and the History of Middle-earth series by Christopher Tolkien) were used in the creation of the map (and no animals were hurt during its making), along with the excellent (though not faultless) The Atlas of Tolkien's Middle-earth by Karen Wynn Fonstad. The map is probably one of the most accurate gaming maps of Tolkien's Middle-earth to date. We have even added new textures to give it more of a distinct look appropriate for Middle-earth! The campaign map is shown below.
https://img260.imageshack.us/img260/3622/mapfactionsfinalminicamp6wr.th.jpg (https://img260.imageshack.us/my.php?image=mapfactionsfinalminicamp6wr.jpg)
Nope, no key - you have to guess ;)
https://img149.imageshack.us/img149/6908/trollattackingdoor0vh.th.jpg (https://img149.imageshack.us/my.php?image=trollattackingdoor0vh.jpg)
Nobody's Answering...
The above image shows a WIP troll (not to scale) illustrating the ingenuity of the Mod in creating units capable of siege attack. This particular invention was a joint venture between the Fourth Age and The Lord of the Rings Mod.
Corsair Invasion - Mini Campaign #1
https://img240.imageshack.us/img240/748/mapfactionsfinalminicamp13ru.jpg (https://imageshack.us)
Dark Blue = Reunited Kingdom, Dark Red = Rhûn, Light Red = Harad.
The Corsair Invasion Mini-Campaign is basically the southern region of the campaign map. Harad, Rhûn, and the Reunited Kingdom are included. The hordes of Rhûn are positioned in the east. Rhûn has access to a variety of barbarian units including beserkers, warbands, wains (chariots).
https://img240.imageshack.us/img240/1953/wainriders1qh.th.jpg (https://img240.imageshack.us/my.php?image=wainriders1qh.jpg)
The mighty Wain Riders of Rhûn!
The Haradrim occupy the southern regions. They bring all kinds of warriors to the table including the mighty mûmakil, infamous corsair warriors, and a diverse mix of desert infantry.
https://img239.imageshack.us/img239/1932/corsairsofumbar9gm.th.jpg (https://img239.imageshack.us/my.php?image=corsairsofumbar9gm.jpg)
The deadly blades of the Corsairs.
The reunited kingdom lies in the north-western regions of the campaign map and boasts well armoured, disciplined infantry supported by longbowmen and the knights of Dol Amroth.
https://img136.imageshack.us/img136/1045/gondorianswords0vy.th.jpg (https://img136.imageshack.us/my.php?image=gondorianswords0vy.jpg)
Gondorian Swordsmen (foreground) supported by Dol Amroth Men at Arms (in blue).
Haradrim Fleets embark from Umbar and the hordes of Rhûn march west. The reunited kingdom is about to be attacked from both land and sea on its eastern and southern borders. In this epic struggle no alliances are to be trusted. The fourth age has begun.
KEY MEMBERS OF THE FOURTH AGE: TOTAL WAR DEVELOPMENT TEAM
The Fourth Age Development Team has been in existence since late 2004. It was the Team that brought you...
The four-horse chariot
The extra culture slot
Mote control
https://img136.imageshack.us/img136/4381/fourhorsechariot3zp.th.jpg (https://img136.imageshack.us/my.php?image=fourhorsechariot3zp.jpg)
The four-horse chariot in action.
As well as other smaller discoveries such as:
Faction-specific building descriptions
Multiple upgrades on buildings
How to port R:TW win conditions into BI
Disabling of building destructability
Multiple bodyguard units for recruitable generals
The FA:TW team consists of members from many countries including the Netherlands, United States, Germany, Canada, and England. We thought you might like to meet some of its members:
fatsheep (American) - Founder (founded mid October 2004)
The oldest member of the team and yet I think the youngest in age Fatsheep was one of the Founders of the FA:TW mod, even before it was called that. He has acted as a forum moderator and helped out a lot with PR and relations with SCC (our forum and site host). A mature and easy-going guy, he has done much I am sure to nourish the ground from which this mod has sprung.
-apocalypsis- (Norwegian) - Faction Design Manager (joined November 2004)
Apocalypsis is one of our two Tolkien Consultants and holds the responsible position of Faction Design Manager. He has a good knowledge of the text of the books and has been a very valuable and committed member of the team almost from its inception. He also carries out a lot of the textual work for the mod such as gathering quotations, recording ancillary and trait ideas, writing battle speeches, and compiling character names. He is also spearheading the coding of traits and ancillaries. As FDM he works with the Art Director to aid and make decisions on the non-technical aspects of design, including making sure such work accords with both the spirit and known detail of Tolkien's world.
Tb0ne (Canadian) - Supporting Art Director
One of our professionals. Sadly, that profession has meant he has not been able to be as involved as he would like of late. TbOne was our Art Director until he and Prof teamed up to become the Joint Art Directors! He acts in more of an advisory role now.
Balbor (British) - Art Director
Balbor has single-handily modelled and skinned more units than everyone else combined. He has excellent texturing skills and much of your future visual enjoyment will be traceable to his work. He also has a good grasp of how the game engine works which gives him a great insight into how to balance factions. Although never formally accepting the position of a faction designer he has nevertheless also done a lot of the non-graphical design work, usually implementing it along with his virtual production line of units...he has recently stepped up to take on the role of Art Director.
Spraehbuer (German) - 2D Artist (joined January 2005)
Spraehbuer is a 2D artist though he does do some of the textures for the 3d models too. Event images, menu-related art, symbols, icons, cursors etc. are all within his range as well as loading screens and some work on interfaces. His work is much appreciated as without him the visual appearance of the Mod would look very Roman!
Tittils (Norwegian) - Map Manager & Assistant Coding Manager (joined February 2005)
This young man joined the mod about half way through the mod's life but has done a great job as Map Editor in coding and editing the files which compile to create our finely honed strategy map. He is also helping out with the coding of the text files associated with the campaign map. It is in part due to him that the campaign map is the most advanced area of the mod. He now acts as Campaign Map Manager and has just recently become Assistant Coding Manager. He now also is the main force behind the unit build for the Mod.
Astaldo (British) - Assistant Faction Design Manager & PR Manager (joined March 2005)
Astaldo joined a few months ago and has contributed a great deal in writing unit descriptions and various other design-related aspects of the mod as well as some PR work. He has recently been acting as our demo manager, though still new to the position. His enthusiasm and commitment, both to the mod and things Tolkien, are a great asset. He has been our liaison between the Staff and SCC to bring you what you are reading now.
Palantir (British) - Coding Manager (joined November 2004)
Palantir's role on the mod has gone from Tolkien Consultant to Map Manager to Coding Manager. His main contribution to the Mod in the early stages was in the researching of the geography of Middle-earth and design of the subsequent concept for the campaign map. He spends most of his time now trying to understand more about the code and inner workings of the game and has written a number of tutorials under his other names of MasterOfNone and Dol Guldur. His main area of work now is in the tech trees which he is trying to code both optimally and perfectly.
Professor420 (American) - former Art Director
Prof, as we call him, has been a rock in the development of the mod and though he has now left it would be remiss not to mention him here for his past effort. His skills lay in the technical side: 3D modelling, video, animation and also support in the audio and texturing/2D art areas of the mod. His commitment was always consistent, and his work productive as Art Director for the Mod. Some of you may have seen Prof's video tutorials on how to use 3ds Max on the modding forums.
UPDATED FAQ
The FAQ posted to the public forums at SCC many months ago were in need of an update. So without further ado, here they are...
Q. Why the Fourth Age?
A. The Rome: Total War system is just that - Total War. The setting in any other time, especially the War of the Ring, would mean that there are essentially two sides; you could make two giant factions, because there was little or no defection or diplomacy. Also, the War of the Ring happened in so short a period, that it would be impossible to reproduce it believably in a video game - or at least using the R:TW engine. Thirdly, the numbers are so skewed that it would be impossible to win as the "good" side (the only reason they were victorious was because of timely and often unknown reinforcements at constant battles. Even if the reinforcements were there from the beginning, victory would be almost impossible. It was the surprise and position factor that won it most of the time).
Q. How can there be total war in the Fourth Age when Tolkien has Men live on happily ever after?
A. When you play R:TW, you are not reliving history. You are playing out an alternate reality. The same is true for FA:TW. In "The New Shadow" Tolkien talks about a new, growing threat. The Mod Team has set up a history of what has happened in the Fourth Age so far (seeing as Tolkien never really explained it), and we continue on from a believable point. Our game starts at a crossroads of sorts; to make up a major war or fantastic event (like the forging of another ring, or the releasing of Morgoth) would be blasphemous... instead, we diverge from "history" where we believe it is quite harmonious with Tolkien's history (especially referenced and based on "The New Shadow"). As Balbor (our Art Director) put it: "Gaul never invaded Egypt."
Q. Why are allies - such as Rohan and Gondor - fighting against each other?
A. We have very good back-stories for all factions that we cannot discuss. Rest assured, they are more than believable.
Q. How can you include the Elves, since they all went over the Sea to the Undying Lands?
A. It is a misconception that "all" the Elves left Middle-earth in the Fourth Age. The Elves of Mirkwood did not, for the most part, leave. Elves never had the great numbers of Men or Orcs, and their numbers have admittedly decreased - but after our story diverges/begins, what is to stop them from building back up? Once the game begins the player has total control (although population increase will certainly not be as strong among Elves and Dwarves as it is among Men and Orcs). There is also the fact that the mod only starts about 230 years into the Fourth Age, and the Elves will not have had the time to decrease significantly. After all, what is 230 years to an Elf?
Q. When will the full mod be released?
A. Short answer: when it is done. Long answer: the people on the Mod Team all have real lives, with families, girlfriends, work, and school/university. As much as we'd like to work full time on the mod, that is just not possible. Remember that we want to play the mod just as much as you do, so we are working as hard and fast as we can, but we will not release it until it reaches our expectations. We still have many months of hard work before us.
Q. Will the Fourth Age: Total War be a full mod conversion?
A. Yes, every necessary aspect of the game will be modded - including units, campaign map, buildings, video, audio, music, interface, graphics and animations. However, we will make use of what we can - the total amount of images number in the thousands and it would be unrealistic not to take advantage of those that fit with some of our cultures.
Q. Is the mod based on the books or the movies?
A. This mod is based solely on the written works of J.R.R. Tolkien. We try to stay as true to the source material as is possible, and will not include anything even remotely associated with the movies.
Q. What is the starting date?
A. Exact date is not decided yet, but it will be around FO 220-30, about a hundred years after the death of Aragorn.
Q. What are the major factions?
A. The Reunited Kingdom, Dwarves, Rhûn (Easterlings), Elves, Harad, Orcs and Rohan but we're including Dunland, Dale and an as-of-yet-unnamed faction too.
Q. How big is the map and how many regions will there be?
A. The Middle-earth campaign map has around 100 regions and takes in the whole of the area of western Middle-earth as illustrated in the official maps in the back of the books.
Q. Will there be historical battles?
A. Yes. We will include as many historical battles as we can but our main focus is on the campaign.
Q. Will monsters and creatures be included?
A. Trolls and Wargs will be included, as will Mûmakil. Balrogs, Dragons, Eagles, Fell Beasts and Ents will not.
Q. Will there be navies?
A. Yes, but ships will play an overall much smaller part in the strategy than R:TW; the mod - as in Tolkien's tale itself - will be largely land-based in its focus.
Q. Will there be battle speeches, like Théoden's and Aragorn's in the movies?
A. Yes, we are writing new pre-battle speeches.
Q. Will there be new music?
A. Yes, there will be all new music.
Q. Will there be heroes?
A. No. Heroic traits for family members is a possibility though.
Q. Will there be Wizards and magic?
A. No, there will not be Wizards. Magic will be in the mod, but not as sorcerers spouting fire out of their fingers or throwing fireballs. It will be subtle, like the magic in the books - or even less prevalent than in the books, since magic has waned in the Fourth Age.
Q. Will there be guns and gunpowder?
A. No, absolutely not.
Q. Is there a website for the mod?
A. Yes. Go to: www.thefourthage.net
The Founding of FA:TW
Well, you were wrong if you thought it was King Elessar aka Aragorn II who founded the Fourth Age; it was in fact fatsheep. Here is his explanation of how it all began:
My memory of the beginning of the project is somewhat foggy but I'll attempt to recall what happened starting around October in 2004:
Rome: Total War was to be released shortly and there was a shortage of things to discuss on the message boards. We had already discussed and discussed all the screen shots, interviews, and other info Creative Assembly had released about their upcoming release. I was skimming through the topics on the boards when I came upon a thread about an idea. An idea that would turn from one discussion into one of the largest modifications in the Total War community. Being a fan of the books and Peter Jackson's movies I instantly took to the idea of modifying Rome into a Lord-of-the-Rings-style game. No other strategy game I have played has done J.R.R. Tolkien's writings justice.
With Rome, the massive scale of battles, the cities, the sieges, and tactics were already in place. We had the means to create something amazing. However, we knew that this would not be achieved without many hours of work. I shot some messages back and forth with the creator of the thread, Realm Lord, and decided that I should look around for others who shared our interest in making a LOTR modification for Rome. I didn't have to go far. I came to the SCC forums and immediately after posting a topic about our idea, Amirsan decided to host our mod. I had the luck of running into many talented modders. Spongebob created some of the first work ever done on the mod, including a variety of Orcs, Elves, and an awesome Mûmak. Another modder, Gutang, did some of our first work with the campaign map, a Ring-wraith unit, Riders of Rohan, and some very original Elves. TigerVX did an amazing job on the Easterling faction as well. WhiteWolf, who acted as the Art Director for some time, breathed new life into the project's graphics work. We lacked organization at the time and although we were getting loads work done, as a team we weren't going to be able to complete a total conversion mod the way we were going.
Our project was growing fast and filled with talented modders but we lacked the knowledge of Tolkien's works to make it a success. Then OncleJibi, a guy who possesses an amazing knowledge of Middle-earth, came into our mod. OncleJibi realized that the a game about the events that happened during the War of the Ring would not fit Total War's engine. The Ring could not be represented using the TW engine and we would have problems with overpowered factions such as Mordor and Isengard. We needed a setting with looser alliances, a free-for-all between all the countries of Middle-earth. From this idea came Fourth Age: Total War, a setting where no one country would be too much of a dominating factor. Mordor had been crushed, Isengard dismantled, and the strength of men had increased. However, new enemies would come in from the North, the East, and the South to make things interesting. In the Fourth Age, since Tolkien had written little about what transpired after the destruction of the Ring (the end of the Third Age), we were free to use some creativity.
Fortunately I've had the luck of running into many dedicated and gifted individuals that have helped greatly in not only keeping the project alive but turning it into something successful. We still have much work ahead, the cast has changed and will likely continue to in the future. However, as long as there is still interest in Tolkien's amazing world of Middle-earth and the great Total War series then there will be more success in this project's future.
-fatsheep
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The 1.0 version of the demo has been downloaded by over 6,000 fans!
We hope you enjoyed it. The demo was always intended as a mere teaser - one historical battle, The Battle of the Crossings of Poros, and some custom-battle units. It allows fans of the Mod to play around with some WIP (work-in-progress) units and get a flavour of things to come. It's pretty basic. We've provided no sprites and the audio is all WIP or incomplete. Unit balancing has certainly not been rigorously tested either. But we hope that more feedback on all these points will help us develop the real build of which the demo is but a shadow.
Having said that, the 1.1 version does contain some enhanced music, 2d art, a few more voices, and some texture upgrades for Gondor and Harad. Of course, the main addition that most people will be interested in are the mighty Mûmakil.
Here's what some people are saying about it...
I just had to tell you all how great the demo is. I love it. The models are just awesome. - DiMi, SCC
Incredible work. - Beleg, SCC
I installed it and...am amazed. Great Mod. - Bello Gallicum, TWC
This looks AMAZING! Definately a must-have. - Menander, TWC
The quality of this demo is outstanding. - Nobunuga oda, TWC
Links You can download the latest demo and access the forums from the official site at thefourthage.net (http://www.thefourthage.net/)
Screenshots of Mini Campaign #1 - Corsair Invasion
https://img115.imageshack.us/img115/4262/aerialview6yy.th.jpg (https://img115.imageshack.us/my.php?image=aerialview6yy.jpg)
Bird's eye view of a battle in the river.
https://img372.imageshack.us/img372/2070/anothermelee2ho.th.jpg (https://img372.imageshack.us/my.php?image=anothermelee2ho.jpg)
Corsairs cutting through a unit of easterling peasants
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Beserkers of Rhûn, in bloodlust and oblivous to the world.
https://img136.imageshack.us/img136/9144/crispy9ns.th.jpg (https://img136.imageshack.us/my.php?image=crispy9ns.jpg)
Extra crispy...
https://img239.imageshack.us/img239/7903/easterlingcavarly1ue.th.jpg (https://img239.imageshack.us/my.php?image=easterlingcavarly1ue.jpg)
Easterling Cavalry chase down fleeing Corsairs.
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Charge!!!
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Haradrim Archers prepare to fire.
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Men of Far Harad. Notice the carpet of dead easterlings.
https://img240.imageshack.us/img240/7656/mumakil9zd.th.jpg (https://img240.imageshack.us/my.php?image=mumakil9zd.jpg)
A mûmakil on a clear day.
https://img109.imageshack.us/img109/1866/spears7yh.th.jpg (https://img109.imageshack.us/my.php?image=spears7yh.jpg)
Haradrim Spearmen.
PRESS RELEASE FEBRUARY 2006 - FOURTH AGE: TOTAL WAR ANNOUNCES MAJOR CHANGES
Decisions made by the Management of FA:TW in early December of last year saw changes to the Mod that have not until now been revealed.
The Modification will now be released as a series of "mini campaigns". This is good news for players as they will be able to roam Middle-earth all the sooner! The first mini campaign will take place in the lands of Gondor, Mordor, Khand, Harad and part of Rhûn and will include 3 factions: The Reunited Kingdom, Rhûn and Harad.
It is set in the 228th year of the Fourth Age and starts at the point of an invasion of Gondor's havens and Southern Fiefs by the Haradrim. All three factions will be playable and the release id set (tentatively) for April 2006.
The Development Team hope to publish 3-4 mini campaigns and include them in the final release with the full campaign so as to provide players with the option of playing provincial campaigns (as well as historical and custom battles of course). We feel this episodic approach a wise one for a number of reasons and trust our fanbase will concur. It will not, incidentally, slow down the final full-map release - indeed it may speed it up by virtue of focusing the Dev. team on one piece of the cake at a time (and we will have our cake and eat it!).
The number of factions has been reduced to 10 in the full campaign but the defunct factions will still be represented in-game as subcultures of the remaining factions. The complete list of factions is: The Reunited Kingdom, Rohan, Dale, Dunland, Harad, Rhûn, Elves, Orcs, Dwarves and a mysterious unnamed faction too closely associated with the Storyline to yet be divulged. Cutting down on the original number of factions will not only speed up the completion of the Mod but also allow for smoother and swifter gameplay.
The game will include some things not seen (to our knowledge at least) in any Mods before and we are confident that players will find the experience enjoyable. Although we aim to provide a quality product, we are also aware of the need to keep things small and simple enough so as to avoid sluggish load times, weird AI behaviour (as much as we can!) and CTDs. The balance is a difficult one but we believe we have it about right.
Here are Just Some of the New Features in FA:TW...
City Development & Diversification. Large cities can now be developed along a path of your choosing, ultimately providing greater diversification for your faction. For example, if you are playing as Rhûn (aka the Easterlings) you might choose to develop a Thrall Stockade in order to have that settlement rely upon cheap slave labour for the construction of buildings, or you may opt to bolster your economy by developing a Cattle Trader, or perhaps you may wish to develop a Wain Workshop to allow your Settlers to use Wains so that they can move greater distances and thus increase population growth and spread.
Wonder-capture. When you take a region with a Wonder you will not immediately gain all its effects. You will need to seize the Wonder, then secure it and then exploit it. Each of these phases will bring more of the Wonder's benefits to your faction. Wonders offer some faction-wide bonuses but such effects will vary by faction.
Marvels. In addition to Wonders there will also be Marvels such as The White Tree of Gondor. These Marvels act much like Wonders except that they exist in or by a settlement rather than distant from it and as such they are considered captured when the settlement itself is taken. Guard these Marvels well as they can bring great blessings to your faction!
Unique Cities. Minas Tirith, Thranduil's Halls and other well-known cities of Middle-earth will populate the landscape of the campaign map, each graphically designed and modelled to be unique and accurate.
Landmark Features. Various features of Middle-earth that we all know and love will also be represented on the map - and some will even afford your faction with beneficial effects. These will include the Beacon-tower Hills of Gondor, the Carrock, the Sea-ward Tower of Dol Amroth and other less prominent features such as castle ruins and barrows.
MEZoRS. The Middle-earth Zone of Recruitment System has been designed like no other. As you would expect with any good ZoR system, units are not immediately able to be recruited as soon as you capture a foreign region but certain local levies drawn from the conquered population may be; you will need to build your own recruitment buildings in order to start training and recruiting your own troops. MEZoRS discriminates between the Mannish, Elven, Orkish and Dwarven races. It establishes up to three types of region per faction (homelands, fiefdoms and outlands) taking into account old loyalties as well as old hatreds. It allows for the deepening of loyalty among local levies but also restricts the building of certain troops that might be available in your faction's homelands.
Assimilation Units. If you take a chief city of another faction, or (where they exist) the chief city of a subculture of a faction, you may in process of time be able to recruit a unit assimilated from the conquered faction. For example, if Dale was to capture Edoras it would have Riders of the Mark available for recruitment once it had built up to the appropriate level of stables.
Settlers & Population Dispersion. Peasants have been renamed to Settlers, downgraded in ability and cost, upgraded in unit size and given zero-time recruitment. Their chief purpose will be to move your population about between settlements. They should be guarded by your armies when on the move, for although they will be able to engage battle they are very likely to run away, unless they seriously outnumber a foe. They should no longer be considered military units. They will also be recruited in a more realistic manner according to the geographic spread of the population.
Factional Fertility. A relatively simple yet slick system has been implemented to base population growth more directly upon race/faction rather than region alone. In Middle-earth, the Elves and the Dwarves had few children, whereas the Orcs multiplied like the proverbial rabbits (except not so cute!). This system allows us to represent such factors in the game regardless of which regions those races occupy.
Seven Cultures. We will be incorporating the extra culture slot to provide you a full complement of cultures to populate Middle-earth, and some of these will even have subcultures. The cultures represented in the Mod will the Dúnedain, Northmen, Barbarian, Haradric, Elven, Dwarven and Orkish.
The New Shadow - the full campaign
Research on the campaign map concept design took months totalling literally hundreds of hours before even a pixel was created. Only official maps (from the novels and the History of Middle-earth series by Christopher Tolkien) were used in the creation of the map (and no animals were hurt during its making), along with the excellent (though not faultless) The Atlas of Tolkien's Middle-earth by Karen Wynn Fonstad. The map is probably one of the most accurate gaming maps of Tolkien's Middle-earth to date. We have even added new textures to give it more of a distinct look appropriate for Middle-earth! The campaign map is shown below.
https://img260.imageshack.us/img260/3622/mapfactionsfinalminicamp6wr.th.jpg (https://img260.imageshack.us/my.php?image=mapfactionsfinalminicamp6wr.jpg)
Nope, no key - you have to guess ;)
https://img149.imageshack.us/img149/6908/trollattackingdoor0vh.th.jpg (https://img149.imageshack.us/my.php?image=trollattackingdoor0vh.jpg)
Nobody's Answering...
The above image shows a WIP troll (not to scale) illustrating the ingenuity of the Mod in creating units capable of siege attack. This particular invention was a joint venture between the Fourth Age and The Lord of the Rings Mod.
Corsair Invasion - Mini Campaign #1
https://img240.imageshack.us/img240/748/mapfactionsfinalminicamp13ru.jpg (https://imageshack.us)
Dark Blue = Reunited Kingdom, Dark Red = Rhûn, Light Red = Harad.
The Corsair Invasion Mini-Campaign is basically the southern region of the campaign map. Harad, Rhûn, and the Reunited Kingdom are included. The hordes of Rhûn are positioned in the east. Rhûn has access to a variety of barbarian units including beserkers, warbands, wains (chariots).
https://img240.imageshack.us/img240/1953/wainriders1qh.th.jpg (https://img240.imageshack.us/my.php?image=wainriders1qh.jpg)
The mighty Wain Riders of Rhûn!
The Haradrim occupy the southern regions. They bring all kinds of warriors to the table including the mighty mûmakil, infamous corsair warriors, and a diverse mix of desert infantry.
https://img239.imageshack.us/img239/1932/corsairsofumbar9gm.th.jpg (https://img239.imageshack.us/my.php?image=corsairsofumbar9gm.jpg)
The deadly blades of the Corsairs.
The reunited kingdom lies in the north-western regions of the campaign map and boasts well armoured, disciplined infantry supported by longbowmen and the knights of Dol Amroth.
https://img136.imageshack.us/img136/1045/gondorianswords0vy.th.jpg (https://img136.imageshack.us/my.php?image=gondorianswords0vy.jpg)
Gondorian Swordsmen (foreground) supported by Dol Amroth Men at Arms (in blue).
Haradrim Fleets embark from Umbar and the hordes of Rhûn march west. The reunited kingdom is about to be attacked from both land and sea on its eastern and southern borders. In this epic struggle no alliances are to be trusted. The fourth age has begun.
KEY MEMBERS OF THE FOURTH AGE: TOTAL WAR DEVELOPMENT TEAM
The Fourth Age Development Team has been in existence since late 2004. It was the Team that brought you...
The four-horse chariot
The extra culture slot
Mote control
https://img136.imageshack.us/img136/4381/fourhorsechariot3zp.th.jpg (https://img136.imageshack.us/my.php?image=fourhorsechariot3zp.jpg)
The four-horse chariot in action.
As well as other smaller discoveries such as:
Faction-specific building descriptions
Multiple upgrades on buildings
How to port R:TW win conditions into BI
Disabling of building destructability
Multiple bodyguard units for recruitable generals
The FA:TW team consists of members from many countries including the Netherlands, United States, Germany, Canada, and England. We thought you might like to meet some of its members:
fatsheep (American) - Founder (founded mid October 2004)
The oldest member of the team and yet I think the youngest in age Fatsheep was one of the Founders of the FA:TW mod, even before it was called that. He has acted as a forum moderator and helped out a lot with PR and relations with SCC (our forum and site host). A mature and easy-going guy, he has done much I am sure to nourish the ground from which this mod has sprung.
-apocalypsis- (Norwegian) - Faction Design Manager (joined November 2004)
Apocalypsis is one of our two Tolkien Consultants and holds the responsible position of Faction Design Manager. He has a good knowledge of the text of the books and has been a very valuable and committed member of the team almost from its inception. He also carries out a lot of the textual work for the mod such as gathering quotations, recording ancillary and trait ideas, writing battle speeches, and compiling character names. He is also spearheading the coding of traits and ancillaries. As FDM he works with the Art Director to aid and make decisions on the non-technical aspects of design, including making sure such work accords with both the spirit and known detail of Tolkien's world.
Tb0ne (Canadian) - Supporting Art Director
One of our professionals. Sadly, that profession has meant he has not been able to be as involved as he would like of late. TbOne was our Art Director until he and Prof teamed up to become the Joint Art Directors! He acts in more of an advisory role now.
Balbor (British) - Art Director
Balbor has single-handily modelled and skinned more units than everyone else combined. He has excellent texturing skills and much of your future visual enjoyment will be traceable to his work. He also has a good grasp of how the game engine works which gives him a great insight into how to balance factions. Although never formally accepting the position of a faction designer he has nevertheless also done a lot of the non-graphical design work, usually implementing it along with his virtual production line of units...he has recently stepped up to take on the role of Art Director.
Spraehbuer (German) - 2D Artist (joined January 2005)
Spraehbuer is a 2D artist though he does do some of the textures for the 3d models too. Event images, menu-related art, symbols, icons, cursors etc. are all within his range as well as loading screens and some work on interfaces. His work is much appreciated as without him the visual appearance of the Mod would look very Roman!
Tittils (Norwegian) - Map Manager & Assistant Coding Manager (joined February 2005)
This young man joined the mod about half way through the mod's life but has done a great job as Map Editor in coding and editing the files which compile to create our finely honed strategy map. He is also helping out with the coding of the text files associated with the campaign map. It is in part due to him that the campaign map is the most advanced area of the mod. He now acts as Campaign Map Manager and has just recently become Assistant Coding Manager. He now also is the main force behind the unit build for the Mod.
Astaldo (British) - Assistant Faction Design Manager & PR Manager (joined March 2005)
Astaldo joined a few months ago and has contributed a great deal in writing unit descriptions and various other design-related aspects of the mod as well as some PR work. He has recently been acting as our demo manager, though still new to the position. His enthusiasm and commitment, both to the mod and things Tolkien, are a great asset. He has been our liaison between the Staff and SCC to bring you what you are reading now.
Palantir (British) - Coding Manager (joined November 2004)
Palantir's role on the mod has gone from Tolkien Consultant to Map Manager to Coding Manager. His main contribution to the Mod in the early stages was in the researching of the geography of Middle-earth and design of the subsequent concept for the campaign map. He spends most of his time now trying to understand more about the code and inner workings of the game and has written a number of tutorials under his other names of MasterOfNone and Dol Guldur. His main area of work now is in the tech trees which he is trying to code both optimally and perfectly.
Professor420 (American) - former Art Director
Prof, as we call him, has been a rock in the development of the mod and though he has now left it would be remiss not to mention him here for his past effort. His skills lay in the technical side: 3D modelling, video, animation and also support in the audio and texturing/2D art areas of the mod. His commitment was always consistent, and his work productive as Art Director for the Mod. Some of you may have seen Prof's video tutorials on how to use 3ds Max on the modding forums.
UPDATED FAQ
The FAQ posted to the public forums at SCC many months ago were in need of an update. So without further ado, here they are...
Q. Why the Fourth Age?
A. The Rome: Total War system is just that - Total War. The setting in any other time, especially the War of the Ring, would mean that there are essentially two sides; you could make two giant factions, because there was little or no defection or diplomacy. Also, the War of the Ring happened in so short a period, that it would be impossible to reproduce it believably in a video game - or at least using the R:TW engine. Thirdly, the numbers are so skewed that it would be impossible to win as the "good" side (the only reason they were victorious was because of timely and often unknown reinforcements at constant battles. Even if the reinforcements were there from the beginning, victory would be almost impossible. It was the surprise and position factor that won it most of the time).
Q. How can there be total war in the Fourth Age when Tolkien has Men live on happily ever after?
A. When you play R:TW, you are not reliving history. You are playing out an alternate reality. The same is true for FA:TW. In "The New Shadow" Tolkien talks about a new, growing threat. The Mod Team has set up a history of what has happened in the Fourth Age so far (seeing as Tolkien never really explained it), and we continue on from a believable point. Our game starts at a crossroads of sorts; to make up a major war or fantastic event (like the forging of another ring, or the releasing of Morgoth) would be blasphemous... instead, we diverge from "history" where we believe it is quite harmonious with Tolkien's history (especially referenced and based on "The New Shadow"). As Balbor (our Art Director) put it: "Gaul never invaded Egypt."
Q. Why are allies - such as Rohan and Gondor - fighting against each other?
A. We have very good back-stories for all factions that we cannot discuss. Rest assured, they are more than believable.
Q. How can you include the Elves, since they all went over the Sea to the Undying Lands?
A. It is a misconception that "all" the Elves left Middle-earth in the Fourth Age. The Elves of Mirkwood did not, for the most part, leave. Elves never had the great numbers of Men or Orcs, and their numbers have admittedly decreased - but after our story diverges/begins, what is to stop them from building back up? Once the game begins the player has total control (although population increase will certainly not be as strong among Elves and Dwarves as it is among Men and Orcs). There is also the fact that the mod only starts about 230 years into the Fourth Age, and the Elves will not have had the time to decrease significantly. After all, what is 230 years to an Elf?
Q. When will the full mod be released?
A. Short answer: when it is done. Long answer: the people on the Mod Team all have real lives, with families, girlfriends, work, and school/university. As much as we'd like to work full time on the mod, that is just not possible. Remember that we want to play the mod just as much as you do, so we are working as hard and fast as we can, but we will not release it until it reaches our expectations. We still have many months of hard work before us.
Q. Will the Fourth Age: Total War be a full mod conversion?
A. Yes, every necessary aspect of the game will be modded - including units, campaign map, buildings, video, audio, music, interface, graphics and animations. However, we will make use of what we can - the total amount of images number in the thousands and it would be unrealistic not to take advantage of those that fit with some of our cultures.
Q. Is the mod based on the books or the movies?
A. This mod is based solely on the written works of J.R.R. Tolkien. We try to stay as true to the source material as is possible, and will not include anything even remotely associated with the movies.
Q. What is the starting date?
A. Exact date is not decided yet, but it will be around FO 220-30, about a hundred years after the death of Aragorn.
Q. What are the major factions?
A. The Reunited Kingdom, Dwarves, Rhûn (Easterlings), Elves, Harad, Orcs and Rohan but we're including Dunland, Dale and an as-of-yet-unnamed faction too.
Q. How big is the map and how many regions will there be?
A. The Middle-earth campaign map has around 100 regions and takes in the whole of the area of western Middle-earth as illustrated in the official maps in the back of the books.
Q. Will there be historical battles?
A. Yes. We will include as many historical battles as we can but our main focus is on the campaign.
Q. Will monsters and creatures be included?
A. Trolls and Wargs will be included, as will Mûmakil. Balrogs, Dragons, Eagles, Fell Beasts and Ents will not.
Q. Will there be navies?
A. Yes, but ships will play an overall much smaller part in the strategy than R:TW; the mod - as in Tolkien's tale itself - will be largely land-based in its focus.
Q. Will there be battle speeches, like Théoden's and Aragorn's in the movies?
A. Yes, we are writing new pre-battle speeches.
Q. Will there be new music?
A. Yes, there will be all new music.
Q. Will there be heroes?
A. No. Heroic traits for family members is a possibility though.
Q. Will there be Wizards and magic?
A. No, there will not be Wizards. Magic will be in the mod, but not as sorcerers spouting fire out of their fingers or throwing fireballs. It will be subtle, like the magic in the books - or even less prevalent than in the books, since magic has waned in the Fourth Age.
Q. Will there be guns and gunpowder?
A. No, absolutely not.
Q. Is there a website for the mod?
A. Yes. Go to: www.thefourthage.net
The Founding of FA:TW
Well, you were wrong if you thought it was King Elessar aka Aragorn II who founded the Fourth Age; it was in fact fatsheep. Here is his explanation of how it all began:
My memory of the beginning of the project is somewhat foggy but I'll attempt to recall what happened starting around October in 2004:
Rome: Total War was to be released shortly and there was a shortage of things to discuss on the message boards. We had already discussed and discussed all the screen shots, interviews, and other info Creative Assembly had released about their upcoming release. I was skimming through the topics on the boards when I came upon a thread about an idea. An idea that would turn from one discussion into one of the largest modifications in the Total War community. Being a fan of the books and Peter Jackson's movies I instantly took to the idea of modifying Rome into a Lord-of-the-Rings-style game. No other strategy game I have played has done J.R.R. Tolkien's writings justice.
With Rome, the massive scale of battles, the cities, the sieges, and tactics were already in place. We had the means to create something amazing. However, we knew that this would not be achieved without many hours of work. I shot some messages back and forth with the creator of the thread, Realm Lord, and decided that I should look around for others who shared our interest in making a LOTR modification for Rome. I didn't have to go far. I came to the SCC forums and immediately after posting a topic about our idea, Amirsan decided to host our mod. I had the luck of running into many talented modders. Spongebob created some of the first work ever done on the mod, including a variety of Orcs, Elves, and an awesome Mûmak. Another modder, Gutang, did some of our first work with the campaign map, a Ring-wraith unit, Riders of Rohan, and some very original Elves. TigerVX did an amazing job on the Easterling faction as well. WhiteWolf, who acted as the Art Director for some time, breathed new life into the project's graphics work. We lacked organization at the time and although we were getting loads work done, as a team we weren't going to be able to complete a total conversion mod the way we were going.
Our project was growing fast and filled with talented modders but we lacked the knowledge of Tolkien's works to make it a success. Then OncleJibi, a guy who possesses an amazing knowledge of Middle-earth, came into our mod. OncleJibi realized that the a game about the events that happened during the War of the Ring would not fit Total War's engine. The Ring could not be represented using the TW engine and we would have problems with overpowered factions such as Mordor and Isengard. We needed a setting with looser alliances, a free-for-all between all the countries of Middle-earth. From this idea came Fourth Age: Total War, a setting where no one country would be too much of a dominating factor. Mordor had been crushed, Isengard dismantled, and the strength of men had increased. However, new enemies would come in from the North, the East, and the South to make things interesting. In the Fourth Age, since Tolkien had written little about what transpired after the destruction of the Ring (the end of the Third Age), we were free to use some creativity.
Fortunately I've had the luck of running into many dedicated and gifted individuals that have helped greatly in not only keeping the project alive but turning it into something successful. We still have much work ahead, the cast has changed and will likely continue to in the future. However, as long as there is still interest in Tolkien's amazing world of Middle-earth and the great Total War series then there will be more success in this project's future.
-fatsheep
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The 1.0 version of the demo has been downloaded by over 6,000 fans!
We hope you enjoyed it. The demo was always intended as a mere teaser - one historical battle, The Battle of the Crossings of Poros, and some custom-battle units. It allows fans of the Mod to play around with some WIP (work-in-progress) units and get a flavour of things to come. It's pretty basic. We've provided no sprites and the audio is all WIP or incomplete. Unit balancing has certainly not been rigorously tested either. But we hope that more feedback on all these points will help us develop the real build of which the demo is but a shadow.
Having said that, the 1.1 version does contain some enhanced music, 2d art, a few more voices, and some texture upgrades for Gondor and Harad. Of course, the main addition that most people will be interested in are the mighty Mûmakil.
Here's what some people are saying about it...
I just had to tell you all how great the demo is. I love it. The models are just awesome. - DiMi, SCC
Incredible work. - Beleg, SCC
I installed it and...am amazed. Great Mod. - Bello Gallicum, TWC
This looks AMAZING! Definately a must-have. - Menander, TWC
The quality of this demo is outstanding. - Nobunuga oda, TWC
Links You can download the latest demo and access the forums from the official site at thefourthage.net (http://www.thefourthage.net/)
Screenshots of Mini Campaign #1 - Corsair Invasion
https://img115.imageshack.us/img115/4262/aerialview6yy.th.jpg (https://img115.imageshack.us/my.php?image=aerialview6yy.jpg)
Bird's eye view of a battle in the river.
https://img372.imageshack.us/img372/2070/anothermelee2ho.th.jpg (https://img372.imageshack.us/my.php?image=anothermelee2ho.jpg)
Corsairs cutting through a unit of easterling peasants
https://img156.imageshack.us/img156/1039/beserkermayhem8lw.th.jpg (https://img156.imageshack.us/my.php?image=beserkermayhem8lw.jpg)
Beserkers of Rhûn, in bloodlust and oblivous to the world.
https://img136.imageshack.us/img136/9144/crispy9ns.th.jpg (https://img136.imageshack.us/my.php?image=crispy9ns.jpg)
Extra crispy...
https://img239.imageshack.us/img239/7903/easterlingcavarly1ue.th.jpg (https://img239.imageshack.us/my.php?image=easterlingcavarly1ue.jpg)
Easterling Cavalry chase down fleeing Corsairs.
https://img400.imageshack.us/img400/4607/greataxemenofrhun9ja.th.jpg (https://img400.imageshack.us/my.php?image=greataxemenofrhun9ja.jpg)
Charge!!!
https://img240.imageshack.us/img240/116/haradrimarchers7hy.th.jpg (https://img240.imageshack.us/my.php?image=haradrimarchers7hy.jpg)
Haradrim Archers prepare to fire.
https://img240.imageshack.us/img240/9199/menoffarharad1qr.th.jpg (https://img240.imageshack.us/my.php?image=menoffarharad1qr.jpg)
Men of Far Harad. Notice the carpet of dead easterlings.
https://img240.imageshack.us/img240/7656/mumakil9zd.th.jpg (https://img240.imageshack.us/my.php?image=mumakil9zd.jpg)
A mûmakil on a clear day.
https://img109.imageshack.us/img109/1866/spears7yh.th.jpg (https://img109.imageshack.us/my.php?image=spears7yh.jpg)
Haradrim Spearmen.