A preview of things to come...

Hello everyone,

This thread is dedicated to the discussion of my upcoming mod, initially entitled "Rising Factions". Basically the purpose of this mod is to bestow some variety on the different factions' play styles. This may be achieved by creating a unique unit roster for each faction. As such, you can expect to see a lot of new units, all of which re-skinned. Even the very few units that will be used from vanilla MTW will be re-skinned.

The mod focuses on the medieval early period and starts in 1066. Only a few units will be introduced in the high and late eras. Also. you can expect to see more infantry and less cavalry so no more Gothic and Chivalric Knights as they shouldn't be available in the early period. However the available cavalry units should be more effective on the battlefield.

This mod encourages the players to be aggressive since every conquered region on the map should offer new units, some of which can be very helpful in battle, e.g Armenian Infantry, Genoese Swordsmen, etc.

I have a clear vision of how to proceed with the English and the Danes in terms of the unit roster. However, I may be in need of your suggestions as far as the Slavic factions are concerned. Needless to say, vanilla MTW and most of the mods that came out afterwards didn't do the Slavs justice. Axalon's Redux, and MedMod, are probably the only mods which tried to depict them in a more unique style. If you have opinions/suggestions/comments on the Slavic factions, or any other faction for that matter, then please share them!

I will post screens of my work every now and then.
Thank you

In the first screen, you see the new Boyar:

https://img854.imageshack.us/img854/7724/boyar.png


In the second screen, you see the new Feudal Sergeants re-named to Light Sergeants:

https://img88.imageshack.us/img88/63...tsergeants.png

Looks pretty interesting. I definitely like the reskinned Boyars. :yes: Regarding the Slavs, are you looking for more historically accurate units, or just better skins and aesthetics?

Also, let me know if there is anything the Org can do for you. We have media hosting, so if you want to post sample game vids we can set that up for you, and we can host files on our server (AtomicGamer) if you want.

Thank you very much, drone! I would be honored to have my mod hosted on your server. But it's still too early for that since I started working on it two weeks ago and I will not release it until I'm 100% happy with it.

Historically accurate units or fancy ones are welcomed. I'm just having a hard time choosing the names. I don't want to have generically named units like Slavic spearmen, Slavic bowmen, etc. That goes for the other factions as well. Any help would be appreciated.

Hello Leith....

I like what you done with the Boyars, cool stuff... Anyway, some remarks and thoughts regarding unit/troop-names in general for you (including Slavic ones)....

The way I see it, you are at a crossroads of design-doctrines. You either take the "XL-path" or the "Redux-path". Many of the major mods have chosen the "XL-path", so far, and from the way it sounds, it seems you are bent on following the XL-path as well.... Now, to me, the "XL-approach" basically means that you actively seek to rely on a bunch of potentially "historically accurate" names that lazy guys such as myself will just get scared of and don't even dare try to spell - let alone to successfully understand what the hell it means or what it actually signifies both in reality and within the game.

The term "Kataphraktoi" is a good example on what I mean. I know what it means, that is not the point, the point is that it is screwed up and weird term for many people, and thus it is unrealistic to expect or assume that people do know what it means. Or for that matter that people even want to know such obscure stuff. Using names/terms like that essentially demands time and effort from the player to actively figure out what things means and what unit X is good for - when they should be focusing on playing the game instead. At least one is forced to read the unit-descriptions to hopefully get a clue. I have in the past jokingly described it as "spending more time searching specialized dictionaries, then playing the actual game - just to get some sort of understanding of all the names in the first place, so you can play the darn game without all those annoying question-marks swimming around in your head"... It's a joke on historically ambitious games like XL, of course, but for guys like me, it does have some truth to it all the same.

Then you have the "Redux-path", which to me, is about using plain and simple names that is in effect self-explanatory to everybody. Thus gives the player an instant understanding what the troop is essentially used for and what the hell it is about. This means no weird and strange names, the terms are unproblematic and we can get rid of all dictionaries for a change and focus directly on playing the darn game - as supposed too... Of course, the downsides are that many people regard it as too "generic" and "dull" - and it has no "historical accuracy" or such association what so ever. It's plain and sheer fiction only created to serve as a label of distinction and orientation. Personally, I am fine with all that, as I simply don't care about that stuff - and that may possibly be very TW-unorthodox of me, but there it is....

Now, we all know which design-path/doctrine I chose for my work, but we are discussing your project and thus it is your choice on it that matter here. All I am saying is that - if you have not done so already - take some time to consider the all the aspects of whatever doctrine you decide to apply here, as it will somehow influence the final result and how that is experienced. If it still is to be the "XL-doctrine" and all what that brings - excellent, fine and ok. If not, yay for that....

Anyway, all the best on this venture regardless.

- A

Thank you, Axalon, for your feedback. I agree with you for the most part but then again don't you think that "Kataphraktoi" has a better impact on your ears than, say, Byzantine Cavalry ? I will probably take the middle road here, using a mixture of generic names, e.g English Sergeants, and more creative ones, e.g Chevaliers, etc. Now time for more screenies!

In the first one you see Italian Sergeants:

https://img810.imageshack.us/img810/...nsergeants.png


In the second, you see Armenian infantry to the right fighting Spearmen and Genoese Swordsmen to the left:

https://img534.imageshack.us/img534/...speargenoe.png

The new Fyrdmen:

https://img52.imageshack.us/img52/2292/fyrdmen.jpg

The new Feudal Knights (Renamed as Feudal Horsemen):

https://img406.imageshack.us/img406/...alhorsemen.jpg

These look very nice, Leith! I especially like the new boyars, but am curious as to why they have the Sicilian triskelion on their shields?

I wonder if the Orthodox cross wouldn't be more appropriate:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cr..._Church_01.svg

(Still, I must say, the triskelion looks superb. :2thumbsup:)

As for your earlier queries, I am very much in favour of a heavily AORed mod with culture-unique unit names (even if someone is completely averse to learning new languages, it quickly becomes clear what each unit is and does).

Out of curiosity, are you planning on retaining the original (1.1/VI expansion) factions, or will you be adding some more? It looks like you're building on some of BKB's units (based on the Slavic warriors I see in the screenshot). Have you considered getting permission to modify a mod such as BKB or XL? (Leith's BKB has a nice ring to it. :laugh4:)

Unfortunately, I'm not around these forums very much, but I'd love to throw around some ideas for potential unit rosters. Let me know.

Hello and thank you, Cyprian2, for the kind words! If the new Boyar's shield looks cool, then we both owe BKB a "well-done" since it was taken from his mod :) I would rather have an entirely new mod since I have played the mods you referred to for hundreds of hours as have most MTW fans. That said, it would be nice to play, say, BKB's mod with some new skins added here and there.

As for the factions in this mod, adding or removing them depends on your feedback and requests. Right now I think there is a need for adding the Scots, since, in my opinion, playing as the English can get quite boring especially in EARLY. Not only will the English have to contend with their French enemies but they will also have to deal with the danger coming from the north, an enemy which has a unique roster. I have quite a few ideas when it comes to the Scots' unit roster.

I welcome your ideas for new units and that goes for all factions. :beam:

P.S I have been busy lately which is why there haven't been any new screens.

Do I need Viking Invasion?
The disk for my Medieval: Total War (gold edition?) Viking Invasion was thrown out by mistake... so I have two copies of MTW but no Viking Invasion.

I really think this mod looks cool.

New factions and more provinces? :D

Hello, friends!

I have been working on improving unit graphics, which is quite time-consuming. All the previous units that have been made, including those in the above screens, have been binned. I have also been working on another MTW mod which is related to Ancient warfare. Due to the serious electricity problems we have been facing here, I can only keep working on one so perhaps you could help me decide. Which kind of mod would you like to play in the future: a mod focusing on early medieval warfare, or a mod that turns MTW into Rome TW ? I have placed all the factions on the map, with their new flags and faction-specific bodyguards, when it comes to the Rome TW mod. 18 factions have been included so far:

Barbarian Factions:
------------------
The Britons
The Gauls
The Germans
The Dacians
The Celtiberians
The Iberians

Hellenic Factions:
----------------
The Achaean League
The Seleucids
The Epirotes
The Macedonians
The People of Pontus
The Ptolemies

Eastern Factions:
----------------
The Carthagians
The Numidians
The Parthians
The Aremenians

Last but not least the Romans

I'm thinking about adding the Masilians or another barbarian faction but haven't decided yet. The campaign starts in 270 BC.

Cool work, Leith! :2thumbsup:

I don't really have a suggestion for an era to set the new mod in, but one approach would be to look for an underused setting that isn't actually represented by other mods. But I'm probably not the best person to offer input on this, since I never play other people's mods - I always do my own home mod.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Leith

Which kind of mod would you like to play in the future: a mod focusing on early medieval warfare, or a mod that turns MTW into Rome TW ?

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What do you mean "early medieval warfare"? European early medieval (like VI on the whole medieval map) or something else? I'm not a big fan of Roman times but I still think it'll be more interesting that quite well known medieval times.
I hope you're ok and in the new 2013 I wish you a lot of free time and unlimited power supply for all you're doing for us :medievalcheers:.