Krusader
05-12-2007, 04:21
Greetings Europa Barbarorum fans.
We have a big new preview for you today! This one has it all, with lots of new units, elephants, cavalry, you name it. It's got new buildings, new game features, new traits. There are plenty more where these came from, but it's time we released some more of these to the public now, so we hope you enjoy them! Thanks go out to spirit_of_rob, stefan25, antiochus epiphanes, and alin on the units we are showing here now.
NOTE: These units are WIP!
http://img03.picoodle.com/img/img03/8/5/11/t_Lonchophorom_8812872.png (http://www.picoodle.com/view.php?srv=img03&img=/8/5/11/f_Lonchophorom_8812872.png)http://img02.picoodle.com/img/img02/8/5/11/t_lonchophorom_d22655a.png (http://www.picoodle.com/view.php?srv=img02&img=/8/5/11/f_lonchophorom_d22655a.png)http://img03.picoodle.com/img/img03/8/5/11/t_Lonchophorom_49b900d.png (http://www.picoodle.com/view.php?srv=img03&img=/8/5/11/f_Lonchophorom_49b900d.png)
Lonchophoroi Hippeis - Makedonia, Pontos, Arche Seleukeia
http://img02.picoodle.com/img/img02/8/5/11/t_Callaeciswom_c61b34a.jpg (http://www.picoodle.com/view.php?srv=img02&img=/8/5/11/f_Callaeciswom_c61b34a.jpg)
Callaeci Swordsman - Lusotannan
http://img03.picoodle.com/img/img03/8/5/11/t_Rhomphaiaphm_7e40c7a.jpg (http://www.picoodle.com/view.php?srv=img03&img=/8/5/11/f_Rhomphaiaphm_7e40c7a.jpg)http://img02.picoodle.com/img/img02/8/5/11/t_Rhomphaiaphm_05efcb5.jpg (http://www.picoodle.com/view.php?srv=img02&img=/8/5/11/f_Rhomphaiaphm_05efcb5.jpg)http://img03.picoodle.com/img/img03/8/5/11/t_Rhomphaiaphm_df85838.jpg (http://www.picoodle.com/view.php?srv=img03&img=/8/5/11/f_Rhomphaiaphm_df85838.jpg)
Rhomphaiaphoroi Thraikioi - Epeiros, Getai, Makedonia
http://img03.picoodle.com/img/img03/8/5/11/t_CordinauOrcm_ce6394a.jpg (http://www.picoodle.com/view.php?srv=img03&img=/8/5/11/f_CordinauOrcm_ce6394a.jpg)
Cordinau Orca - Aedui
http://img03.picoodle.com/img/img03/8/5/11/t_indianelephm_3ed9304.jpg (http://www.picoodle.com/view.php?srv=img03&img=/8/5/11/f_indianelephm_3ed9304.jpg)http://img02.picoodle.com/img/img02/8/5/11/t_indianelephm_f0d53a6.jpg (http://www.picoodle.com/view.php?srv=img02&img=/8/5/11/f_indianelephm_f0d53a6.jpg)
Indian Unarmored Elephant - Epeiros, Pahlava
http://img03.picoodle.com/img/img03/8/5/11/t_illyrian1m_d6a2e11.png (http://www.picoodle.com/view.php?srv=img03&img=/8/5/11/f_illyrian1m_d6a2e11.png)
Illyrian Native Thureophoroi
http://img03.picoodle.com/img/img03/8/5/11/t_Drwdae1m_e7b4669.jpg (http://www.picoodle.com/view.php?srv=img03&img=/8/5/11/f_Drwdae1m_e7b4669.jpg)
Drwdae
http://img03.picoodle.com/img/img03/8/5/11/t_sakacataprhm_13b5f3e.jpg (http://www.picoodle.com/view.php?srv=img03&img=/8/5/11/f_sakacataprhm_13b5f3e.jpg)http://img02.picoodle.com/img/img02/8/5/11/t_sakacataprhm_8be5d44.jpg (http://www.picoodle.com/view.php?srv=img02&img=/8/5/11/f_sakacataprhm_8be5d44.jpg)
Saka Late Cataphracts (Late Bodyguards)
http://img02.picoodle.com/img/img02/8/5/11/t_NorthernIbem_6915410.jpg (http://www.picoodle.com/view.php?srv=img02&img=/8/5/11/f_NorthernIbem_6915410.jpg)
Northern Iberian Skirmisher - Lusotannan
=====================================================================
Accurate Unique Building Pillaging:
Tired of getting the same amount for destroying the Temple of Zeus at Olympia as you would for destroying a set of altars on the hillside at Alexandreia-Eschate? All unique buildings have been swapped around and given new estimates of value. There are limits the RTW engine places on how much buildings can be worth, but now if you sack the great temple at Hierosolyma, you will be greatly rewarded, and if you dig up the Calanish stones, you won't find yourself much wealthier at all.
A few examples: Capturing the Temple of Artemis at Ephesos, and destroying and looting its great temple and other associated buildings, you can expect to pocket the most money the game will allow - 333 talents (which equals 20,000 mnai). Looting and pillaging the Ammonion in Libya would get you 100 talents (6,000 mnai). Looting and pillaging the Sammallahdenmaki Cairns in Sapmi province would get you 500 mnai, and a collection of seashells.
Periodos:
https://img521.imageshack.us/img521/9492/gamespz2.th.jpg (https://img521.imageshack.us/my.php?image=gamespz2.jpg)
The Olympian, Pythian, Isthmian, and Nemean Games are now included in the modification. Each one comes with an icon featuring the site and a full description of the games, including instructions on how often the games should be set to maintain accuracy (the Olympian and Pythian games being quadrennial and the Isthmian and Nemean games being biennial). Additionally, they provide the ability to stage competitions.
An example description of the Isthmian Games
Hiera Isthmia (Isthmian Games)
The Isthmian Games are biennial. They are held in April and May before the Olympic or Pythian Games, in the first and third years of the Olympic cycle (e.g., 272, 270, 268, etc.).
The Isthmian Games were held at the Isthmos of Korinthos and organized by that polis, under the patronage of the god Poseidon. They took place every two years, on the first and third years of the Olympic cycles, in April and May. The Isthmian Games were said to be funerary in nature, with its mythological origins found in the honoring of a dead child named Melikertes. The festival itself would begin with a sacrifice to Poseidon at dawn, and the contests would each begin with a ritual chant. The games were traditionally begun in 582 or 580, at almost the same time the Pythian Games were established and near the starting date of the Nemean Games as well. The archaic temple dates to well before this period, so the site was considered a holy place long before the games were begun.
Being held at such an important crossroads, the game was always attended by very large crowds, and with an important polis like Korinthos hosting the events, with so many visitors coming in to the polis easily from the Korinthian Sea and the Saronic Gulf, its location ensured its popularity.
There were numerous age divisions at the Isthmian Games, between the categories of men and boys was a special youth category. The usual contests were held, especially noting the chariot-races in honor of Poseidon. The first musical contests were held in the third century. Nikokles of Taras won six musical victories in that century. A painting contest was held here also, as at Delphi. A woman, Aristoache of Erythrai, was recorded to have won twice in an epic verse contest in the early second century BC also.
=====================================================================
Realistic Starting Character Portraits
O'ETAIPOS is also starting work on creating character portraits for those individuals at the start of our game who we have depictions of by coinage or portrait busts. The key element though is that he is making them look like they belong in RTW, so they do not stand out so much. They are not just cut and pasted into the portrait, but reconstructed to match the RTW style. Here is one of his first examples (any idea who this handsome fellow is? :grin:):
https://img169.imageshack.us/img169/7324/portraitseleukde1.jpg
Here's a hint, and you can see how he created the image:
https://img444.imageshack.us/img444/7676/antiochoswo5.th.jpg (https://img444.imageshack.us/my.php?image=antiochoswo5.jpg)
This is something that we might put out to the public here as a way to help also. If you have an image you'd like to submit, try your hand at it. Maybe first showing the picture you'd like to work on would be a good idea. O'ETAIPOS has done a couple more in addition to this one, but we'd like to make sure they don't overlap if we can help it.
=====================================================================
http://www.houseofhagen.net/rome2.jpg
Roman Ethnicities Preview
Salve, EB Fans! We on the Roman team in EB-land have decided it was about time to give you a little preview of some of the new things we've been working on for the Senate and People lately. Firstly, we need to all send a big thanks to Atilius, who has worked tirelessly on this massive overhaul of the Roman naming system to bring these ethnicities to life in Europa Barbarorum. Also, Tanit, Phillipvs, Blacksnail, and not least of all, Bozos, should recieve much spoila opima for their work on this project.
--Zak
_____________________
We decided to portray the intense competition and inner-workings of the Roman Senate by representing the major families, or gentes, of the Res Publica as "ethnicities'. Each of your family members will belong to a specific Roman Gens, and will be working to expand and heighten the honor of his family and his ancestors through bringing glory upon himself and the Republic.
Here then, are a few samples of your new Roman Gens:
Gens Fabii
Patrician Romani
Family names--Ambustus, Maximus, Licinus, Dorso
This man is a scion of Gens Fabii that derived in legend from the joining of Hercules and a river nymph as well as famous Arcadian, Evander. The Fabii were one of the several leading patrician families of the City. Fabius Maximus Rullianus, five times a consul, was a hero of the Samnite Wars; but even he was eclipsed by the Fabius Maximus who fought against Hannibal in the Second Punic War. The Fabii are believed to be a mix of Latin and Sabine blood, and the question of their origin has perplexed historians for ages. The house derived its greatest lustre from the patriotic courage and tragic fate of the 306 Fabii in the battle on the Cremera, 477 BCE, where all perished but one survivor who returned to Roma to carry on the family name. But the Fabii were not only famed as warriors--artists, poets, and historians have also graced their family lineage, as well as Consulships. The Fabii believe in Roman expansion across Italia, uniting the entire paeninsulae under Roman might, and expansion northward against the Gallic tribes.
The Fabii are more likley to promote the crushing of independent cities on Italia, despising of slave uprisings and those who forsake the rule of Roma. They are orators and artists, as well as skilled tacticians and strategists, knowledgable of raids and ambushes as well as siegecraft and marching. They are more likley to appreciate the finer things in life--music, wine, women.
Gens Claudia
Patrician or Plebian Romani
Family Names--Claudius, Pulcher, Crassus, Sabinus,
Plebian Names--Cicero, Marcellus, Flamen
Tribus Claudia was one of the oldest families in ancient Rome, and for centuries its members were regularly leaders of the City and Res Publica. The family was traditionally held to have begun with Attus Clausus, a Sabine warlord who favored peace with Rome, an unpopular position that led to him leaving Regillus with his followers around 504 BC. Rome was welcoming however, making his followers citizens and giving them land, and making Appius Claudius Sabinus (as he changed his name to signify his new loyalty to Roma) a Senator. It is assumed that the name came from the latin claudeo (to limp), as many of the family members were lame, probably from some congenital disease. The Claudii were often hated by the Plebs for their arrogance and hauteur, hatred of the commoner, and disdain for laws in order to achieve their goals. It was an Appius Claudius who served as one of the ten Decemvirs during the constitutional crisis of 451-450 BCE, when democratic offices were suspended and the Claudii held powers of dictatorship, which led to many abuses of power and executions of citizens. The Claudii are proud of their ancient bloodline, and favor Roman expansion southward into the sea-lanes of the Meditteranean. They are scholars and warriors, admire the culture and knowledge of the Hellenes, and dream to see the great future of Roma be realized.
Gens Octavii
Plebian Romani
Family Name: Octavius
There are many indications that the Octavian family was in days of old a distinguished one at Velitrae; for not only was a street in the most frequented part of town long ago called Octavian, but an altar was shown there besides, consecrated by an Octavius. This man was leader in a war with a neighbouring town, and when news of a sudden onset of the enemy was brought to him just as he chanced to be sacrificing to Mars, he snatched the entrails of the victim from the fire and offered them up half raw; and thus he went forth to battle, and returned victorious. There was, besides, a decree of the people on record, providing that for the future too the entrails should be offered to Mars in the same way, and the rest of the victims be handed over to the Octavii.
The Octavii were traders and merchants, and were not of aristocratic status. Later hostile gossip would claim the Octavii descended from an ex-slave who on having won his freedom made a living as a rope-maker in the neighboring town of Thurii, in Italia's deep south. It was also rumored that the founder was a money-changer, with "coin-stained hands". When Augustus wrote his memoirs, he simply claimed to have come from "a rich old equestrian family".
The family was admitted to the senate by king Tarquinius Priscus among the lesser gentes, and was later enrolled by Servius Tullius among the patricians; in the course of time it returned to the ranks of the plebeians and, after a long interval, was restored to patrician rank by Julius Caesar. The first of the house to be elected by the people to a magistracy was Gaius Rufus, who became quaestor. He was the father of Gnaeus and Gaius, from whom two branches of the Octavian family were derived, of very different standing; for Gnaeus and all his scions in turn held the highest offices, but Gaius and his progeny, whether from chance or choice, remained in the equestrian order down to the father of Augustus. Augustus's great-grandfather served in Sicily in the second Punic war as tribune of the soldiers under the command of Aemilius Papus. His grandfather, content with the offices of a municipal town and possessing an abundant income, lived to a peaceful old age. This is the account given by others; Augustus himself merely writes that he came of an old and wealthy equestrian family, in which his own father was the first to become a senator. Marcus Antonius taunts him with his great-grandfather, saying that he was a freedman and a rope-maker from the country about Thurii, while his grandfather was a money-changer.
New Romani Traits and Ancilliaries
We won't ruin the suprises, but here is a list of new traits and ancilliaries being worked into the newest build:
"Passed Under the Yoke"
"Avctoritas"
"Primus Inter Pares"
"Manumitor"
"Publico Equus"
"Consular"
"Praefectus Fabrum"
"Tribune Aerarii"
"Arval Priest"
"Fetiales"
And that's just a few! Not least of all, Phillipvs has been working hard on a rehaul of the Roman religious titles, and you can expect to see a new system of positions for the various Pontiffs and Augurs, Rex Sacroum, etc.
And we've still got a few big projects underway that we're not yet going to reveal..
=====================================================================
Ancient Greek voicemod
The Greek voicemod will be updated as well. Expect strategymap commands in the future.
Also a few other factions might start talking in their own tongue too...
=====================================================================
New EB Lighting and Skies
Some of you may know of the recent offer by Goth, on a thread (http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=92840)in the TWC forum, to help us out with a new set of lighting preferences, to make the lighting on units look a little more realistic and keep them from being overwashed with bright light as happens sometimes now. Goth also has agreed to help make totally new skies for EB so that it will have a complete set of its own unique skies. Here are the first images of that combination in action:
https://img517.imageshack.us/img517/959/0037kj4.th.jpg (https://img517.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0037kj4.jpg)https://img522.imageshack.us/img522/7136/0047dh8.th.jpg (https://img522.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0047dh8.jpg)https://img293.imageshack.us/img293/4181/0041rq5.th.jpg (https://img293.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0041rq5.jpg)
We're trying to also talk him into working on other things like siege engine textures and some building textures to make them look a little more realistic, and we hope to eventually even look at the ground textures, but for now this is a great start.
=====================================================================
We hope you have enjoyed this preview of some of the new units and content.
Please note that unless stated otherwise, ALL pictures, names, and descriptions shown in our previews are works in progress. We continue to improve on all parts of EB, and we will continue to do so long after our initial release.
Since some areas where these news items are posted cannot handle wide images, we appreciate your restraint from quoting full-size images.
As always, if you have questions or comments, the best place to post them is here, where the EB team is most active:
Europa Barbarorum ORG forum (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/forumdisplay.php?f=70)
Europa Barbarorum TWC forum (http://www.twcenter.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=31)
We give special thanks to Picoodle (http://www.picoodle.com) that provides us with a simple, foolproof, and free way to show you all these pictures each week.
Have a great day!
Sincerely,
The Europa Barbarorum team.
We have a big new preview for you today! This one has it all, with lots of new units, elephants, cavalry, you name it. It's got new buildings, new game features, new traits. There are plenty more where these came from, but it's time we released some more of these to the public now, so we hope you enjoy them! Thanks go out to spirit_of_rob, stefan25, antiochus epiphanes, and alin on the units we are showing here now.
NOTE: These units are WIP!
http://img03.picoodle.com/img/img03/8/5/11/t_Lonchophorom_8812872.png (http://www.picoodle.com/view.php?srv=img03&img=/8/5/11/f_Lonchophorom_8812872.png)http://img02.picoodle.com/img/img02/8/5/11/t_lonchophorom_d22655a.png (http://www.picoodle.com/view.php?srv=img02&img=/8/5/11/f_lonchophorom_d22655a.png)http://img03.picoodle.com/img/img03/8/5/11/t_Lonchophorom_49b900d.png (http://www.picoodle.com/view.php?srv=img03&img=/8/5/11/f_Lonchophorom_49b900d.png)
Lonchophoroi Hippeis - Makedonia, Pontos, Arche Seleukeia
http://img02.picoodle.com/img/img02/8/5/11/t_Callaeciswom_c61b34a.jpg (http://www.picoodle.com/view.php?srv=img02&img=/8/5/11/f_Callaeciswom_c61b34a.jpg)
Callaeci Swordsman - Lusotannan
http://img03.picoodle.com/img/img03/8/5/11/t_Rhomphaiaphm_7e40c7a.jpg (http://www.picoodle.com/view.php?srv=img03&img=/8/5/11/f_Rhomphaiaphm_7e40c7a.jpg)http://img02.picoodle.com/img/img02/8/5/11/t_Rhomphaiaphm_05efcb5.jpg (http://www.picoodle.com/view.php?srv=img02&img=/8/5/11/f_Rhomphaiaphm_05efcb5.jpg)http://img03.picoodle.com/img/img03/8/5/11/t_Rhomphaiaphm_df85838.jpg (http://www.picoodle.com/view.php?srv=img03&img=/8/5/11/f_Rhomphaiaphm_df85838.jpg)
Rhomphaiaphoroi Thraikioi - Epeiros, Getai, Makedonia
http://img03.picoodle.com/img/img03/8/5/11/t_CordinauOrcm_ce6394a.jpg (http://www.picoodle.com/view.php?srv=img03&img=/8/5/11/f_CordinauOrcm_ce6394a.jpg)
Cordinau Orca - Aedui
http://img03.picoodle.com/img/img03/8/5/11/t_indianelephm_3ed9304.jpg (http://www.picoodle.com/view.php?srv=img03&img=/8/5/11/f_indianelephm_3ed9304.jpg)http://img02.picoodle.com/img/img02/8/5/11/t_indianelephm_f0d53a6.jpg (http://www.picoodle.com/view.php?srv=img02&img=/8/5/11/f_indianelephm_f0d53a6.jpg)
Indian Unarmored Elephant - Epeiros, Pahlava
http://img03.picoodle.com/img/img03/8/5/11/t_illyrian1m_d6a2e11.png (http://www.picoodle.com/view.php?srv=img03&img=/8/5/11/f_illyrian1m_d6a2e11.png)
Illyrian Native Thureophoroi
http://img03.picoodle.com/img/img03/8/5/11/t_Drwdae1m_e7b4669.jpg (http://www.picoodle.com/view.php?srv=img03&img=/8/5/11/f_Drwdae1m_e7b4669.jpg)
Drwdae
http://img03.picoodle.com/img/img03/8/5/11/t_sakacataprhm_13b5f3e.jpg (http://www.picoodle.com/view.php?srv=img03&img=/8/5/11/f_sakacataprhm_13b5f3e.jpg)http://img02.picoodle.com/img/img02/8/5/11/t_sakacataprhm_8be5d44.jpg (http://www.picoodle.com/view.php?srv=img02&img=/8/5/11/f_sakacataprhm_8be5d44.jpg)
Saka Late Cataphracts (Late Bodyguards)
http://img02.picoodle.com/img/img02/8/5/11/t_NorthernIbem_6915410.jpg (http://www.picoodle.com/view.php?srv=img02&img=/8/5/11/f_NorthernIbem_6915410.jpg)
Northern Iberian Skirmisher - Lusotannan
=====================================================================
Accurate Unique Building Pillaging:
Tired of getting the same amount for destroying the Temple of Zeus at Olympia as you would for destroying a set of altars on the hillside at Alexandreia-Eschate? All unique buildings have been swapped around and given new estimates of value. There are limits the RTW engine places on how much buildings can be worth, but now if you sack the great temple at Hierosolyma, you will be greatly rewarded, and if you dig up the Calanish stones, you won't find yourself much wealthier at all.
A few examples: Capturing the Temple of Artemis at Ephesos, and destroying and looting its great temple and other associated buildings, you can expect to pocket the most money the game will allow - 333 talents (which equals 20,000 mnai). Looting and pillaging the Ammonion in Libya would get you 100 talents (6,000 mnai). Looting and pillaging the Sammallahdenmaki Cairns in Sapmi province would get you 500 mnai, and a collection of seashells.
Periodos:
https://img521.imageshack.us/img521/9492/gamespz2.th.jpg (https://img521.imageshack.us/my.php?image=gamespz2.jpg)
The Olympian, Pythian, Isthmian, and Nemean Games are now included in the modification. Each one comes with an icon featuring the site and a full description of the games, including instructions on how often the games should be set to maintain accuracy (the Olympian and Pythian games being quadrennial and the Isthmian and Nemean games being biennial). Additionally, they provide the ability to stage competitions.
An example description of the Isthmian Games
Hiera Isthmia (Isthmian Games)
The Isthmian Games are biennial. They are held in April and May before the Olympic or Pythian Games, in the first and third years of the Olympic cycle (e.g., 272, 270, 268, etc.).
The Isthmian Games were held at the Isthmos of Korinthos and organized by that polis, under the patronage of the god Poseidon. They took place every two years, on the first and third years of the Olympic cycles, in April and May. The Isthmian Games were said to be funerary in nature, with its mythological origins found in the honoring of a dead child named Melikertes. The festival itself would begin with a sacrifice to Poseidon at dawn, and the contests would each begin with a ritual chant. The games were traditionally begun in 582 or 580, at almost the same time the Pythian Games were established and near the starting date of the Nemean Games as well. The archaic temple dates to well before this period, so the site was considered a holy place long before the games were begun.
Being held at such an important crossroads, the game was always attended by very large crowds, and with an important polis like Korinthos hosting the events, with so many visitors coming in to the polis easily from the Korinthian Sea and the Saronic Gulf, its location ensured its popularity.
There were numerous age divisions at the Isthmian Games, between the categories of men and boys was a special youth category. The usual contests were held, especially noting the chariot-races in honor of Poseidon. The first musical contests were held in the third century. Nikokles of Taras won six musical victories in that century. A painting contest was held here also, as at Delphi. A woman, Aristoache of Erythrai, was recorded to have won twice in an epic verse contest in the early second century BC also.
=====================================================================
Realistic Starting Character Portraits
O'ETAIPOS is also starting work on creating character portraits for those individuals at the start of our game who we have depictions of by coinage or portrait busts. The key element though is that he is making them look like they belong in RTW, so they do not stand out so much. They are not just cut and pasted into the portrait, but reconstructed to match the RTW style. Here is one of his first examples (any idea who this handsome fellow is? :grin:):
https://img169.imageshack.us/img169/7324/portraitseleukde1.jpg
Here's a hint, and you can see how he created the image:
https://img444.imageshack.us/img444/7676/antiochoswo5.th.jpg (https://img444.imageshack.us/my.php?image=antiochoswo5.jpg)
This is something that we might put out to the public here as a way to help also. If you have an image you'd like to submit, try your hand at it. Maybe first showing the picture you'd like to work on would be a good idea. O'ETAIPOS has done a couple more in addition to this one, but we'd like to make sure they don't overlap if we can help it.
=====================================================================
http://www.houseofhagen.net/rome2.jpg
Roman Ethnicities Preview
Salve, EB Fans! We on the Roman team in EB-land have decided it was about time to give you a little preview of some of the new things we've been working on for the Senate and People lately. Firstly, we need to all send a big thanks to Atilius, who has worked tirelessly on this massive overhaul of the Roman naming system to bring these ethnicities to life in Europa Barbarorum. Also, Tanit, Phillipvs, Blacksnail, and not least of all, Bozos, should recieve much spoila opima for their work on this project.
--Zak
_____________________
We decided to portray the intense competition and inner-workings of the Roman Senate by representing the major families, or gentes, of the Res Publica as "ethnicities'. Each of your family members will belong to a specific Roman Gens, and will be working to expand and heighten the honor of his family and his ancestors through bringing glory upon himself and the Republic.
Here then, are a few samples of your new Roman Gens:
Gens Fabii
Patrician Romani
Family names--Ambustus, Maximus, Licinus, Dorso
This man is a scion of Gens Fabii that derived in legend from the joining of Hercules and a river nymph as well as famous Arcadian, Evander. The Fabii were one of the several leading patrician families of the City. Fabius Maximus Rullianus, five times a consul, was a hero of the Samnite Wars; but even he was eclipsed by the Fabius Maximus who fought against Hannibal in the Second Punic War. The Fabii are believed to be a mix of Latin and Sabine blood, and the question of their origin has perplexed historians for ages. The house derived its greatest lustre from the patriotic courage and tragic fate of the 306 Fabii in the battle on the Cremera, 477 BCE, where all perished but one survivor who returned to Roma to carry on the family name. But the Fabii were not only famed as warriors--artists, poets, and historians have also graced their family lineage, as well as Consulships. The Fabii believe in Roman expansion across Italia, uniting the entire paeninsulae under Roman might, and expansion northward against the Gallic tribes.
The Fabii are more likley to promote the crushing of independent cities on Italia, despising of slave uprisings and those who forsake the rule of Roma. They are orators and artists, as well as skilled tacticians and strategists, knowledgable of raids and ambushes as well as siegecraft and marching. They are more likley to appreciate the finer things in life--music, wine, women.
Gens Claudia
Patrician or Plebian Romani
Family Names--Claudius, Pulcher, Crassus, Sabinus,
Plebian Names--Cicero, Marcellus, Flamen
Tribus Claudia was one of the oldest families in ancient Rome, and for centuries its members were regularly leaders of the City and Res Publica. The family was traditionally held to have begun with Attus Clausus, a Sabine warlord who favored peace with Rome, an unpopular position that led to him leaving Regillus with his followers around 504 BC. Rome was welcoming however, making his followers citizens and giving them land, and making Appius Claudius Sabinus (as he changed his name to signify his new loyalty to Roma) a Senator. It is assumed that the name came from the latin claudeo (to limp), as many of the family members were lame, probably from some congenital disease. The Claudii were often hated by the Plebs for their arrogance and hauteur, hatred of the commoner, and disdain for laws in order to achieve their goals. It was an Appius Claudius who served as one of the ten Decemvirs during the constitutional crisis of 451-450 BCE, when democratic offices were suspended and the Claudii held powers of dictatorship, which led to many abuses of power and executions of citizens. The Claudii are proud of their ancient bloodline, and favor Roman expansion southward into the sea-lanes of the Meditteranean. They are scholars and warriors, admire the culture and knowledge of the Hellenes, and dream to see the great future of Roma be realized.
Gens Octavii
Plebian Romani
Family Name: Octavius
There are many indications that the Octavian family was in days of old a distinguished one at Velitrae; for not only was a street in the most frequented part of town long ago called Octavian, but an altar was shown there besides, consecrated by an Octavius. This man was leader in a war with a neighbouring town, and when news of a sudden onset of the enemy was brought to him just as he chanced to be sacrificing to Mars, he snatched the entrails of the victim from the fire and offered them up half raw; and thus he went forth to battle, and returned victorious. There was, besides, a decree of the people on record, providing that for the future too the entrails should be offered to Mars in the same way, and the rest of the victims be handed over to the Octavii.
The Octavii were traders and merchants, and were not of aristocratic status. Later hostile gossip would claim the Octavii descended from an ex-slave who on having won his freedom made a living as a rope-maker in the neighboring town of Thurii, in Italia's deep south. It was also rumored that the founder was a money-changer, with "coin-stained hands". When Augustus wrote his memoirs, he simply claimed to have come from "a rich old equestrian family".
The family was admitted to the senate by king Tarquinius Priscus among the lesser gentes, and was later enrolled by Servius Tullius among the patricians; in the course of time it returned to the ranks of the plebeians and, after a long interval, was restored to patrician rank by Julius Caesar. The first of the house to be elected by the people to a magistracy was Gaius Rufus, who became quaestor. He was the father of Gnaeus and Gaius, from whom two branches of the Octavian family were derived, of very different standing; for Gnaeus and all his scions in turn held the highest offices, but Gaius and his progeny, whether from chance or choice, remained in the equestrian order down to the father of Augustus. Augustus's great-grandfather served in Sicily in the second Punic war as tribune of the soldiers under the command of Aemilius Papus. His grandfather, content with the offices of a municipal town and possessing an abundant income, lived to a peaceful old age. This is the account given by others; Augustus himself merely writes that he came of an old and wealthy equestrian family, in which his own father was the first to become a senator. Marcus Antonius taunts him with his great-grandfather, saying that he was a freedman and a rope-maker from the country about Thurii, while his grandfather was a money-changer.
New Romani Traits and Ancilliaries
We won't ruin the suprises, but here is a list of new traits and ancilliaries being worked into the newest build:
"Passed Under the Yoke"
"Avctoritas"
"Primus Inter Pares"
"Manumitor"
"Publico Equus"
"Consular"
"Praefectus Fabrum"
"Tribune Aerarii"
"Arval Priest"
"Fetiales"
And that's just a few! Not least of all, Phillipvs has been working hard on a rehaul of the Roman religious titles, and you can expect to see a new system of positions for the various Pontiffs and Augurs, Rex Sacroum, etc.
And we've still got a few big projects underway that we're not yet going to reveal..
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Ancient Greek voicemod
The Greek voicemod will be updated as well. Expect strategymap commands in the future.
Also a few other factions might start talking in their own tongue too...
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New EB Lighting and Skies
Some of you may know of the recent offer by Goth, on a thread (http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=92840)in the TWC forum, to help us out with a new set of lighting preferences, to make the lighting on units look a little more realistic and keep them from being overwashed with bright light as happens sometimes now. Goth also has agreed to help make totally new skies for EB so that it will have a complete set of its own unique skies. Here are the first images of that combination in action:
https://img517.imageshack.us/img517/959/0037kj4.th.jpg (https://img517.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0037kj4.jpg)https://img522.imageshack.us/img522/7136/0047dh8.th.jpg (https://img522.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0047dh8.jpg)https://img293.imageshack.us/img293/4181/0041rq5.th.jpg (https://img293.imageshack.us/my.php?image=0041rq5.jpg)
We're trying to also talk him into working on other things like siege engine textures and some building textures to make them look a little more realistic, and we hope to eventually even look at the ground textures, but for now this is a great start.
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We hope you have enjoyed this preview of some of the new units and content.
Please note that unless stated otherwise, ALL pictures, names, and descriptions shown in our previews are works in progress. We continue to improve on all parts of EB, and we will continue to do so long after our initial release.
Since some areas where these news items are posted cannot handle wide images, we appreciate your restraint from quoting full-size images.
As always, if you have questions or comments, the best place to post them is here, where the EB team is most active:
Europa Barbarorum ORG forum (https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/forumdisplay.php?f=70)
Europa Barbarorum TWC forum (http://www.twcenter.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=31)
We give special thanks to Picoodle (http://www.picoodle.com) that provides us with a simple, foolproof, and free way to show you all these pictures each week.
Have a great day!
Sincerely,
The Europa Barbarorum team.