Arthurian Total War: The Raven-Feeders Preview

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Greetings, ATW fans!
We're happy to announce the imminent release of a major update for ATW, The Raven-Feeders. This will be by far the most significant update since our original release in September 2006. This release was originally planned for January, but unfortunately real life got in the way and the mod went on something of a hibernation. More recently however things have picked up again and after more development and testing we will be ready to release very soon!

The Raven-Feeders is not a patch but a whole new iteration of Arthurian Total War with many new features. In this preview we'll be giving you a sneek peak at what to expect, as well as hints on what lies beyond...

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New Units
The biggest addition in The Raven-Feeders are the new units, of which there are almost 20 in the update. Additionally, a number of units from the old version have been given makeovers, and not always just cosmetic. All 4 of our cultures get new units, which are recruited in various different ways. Here are a selection of the newcomers.

Generic Units, available to all factions of that culture:

Picts - Ludocingatae (Armoured Swordsmen)
(Model: Ramon Gonzales y Garcia Skin: Ramon Gonzales y Garcia)
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Armoured soldiers are rare in a Pictish army, and those who do wear it prefer lighter leather equipment. These Pictish nobles are an "upgraded" version of the Ludodaer swordsmen, with a longer shield, leather armour and a metal helm. They are still lightly equipped by the standards of their southern neighbours, but their ferocity, discipline and endurance should not be underestimated.

Gaels - Cliarthairi Crodda (Celtic Infantry)
(Model: Narakir Skin: Agraes)
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Ireland's geographic isolation sometimes allows ways of life that have ceased to exist elsewhere to continue. The "Crodda", as the Gaels call them, are an example: small, isolated communities descended from groups of Gauls and Britons who settled in Ireland centuries before. Though looked down upon as backward, some of these communities are allowed to keep their traditional way of life in exchange for service to a Gaelic king. Their leading men are probably the last people left in the world to fight in the time-honoured equipage of a La Tene Celtic swordsman.

Germans - Hirþ (Medium Infantry)
(Model: Alcibiades of Athens Skin: Agraes)
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Hirþ or Hirth are the lightest of the Anglo-Saxon hearth-infantry, forming the backbone of the smaller fyrd. They are equipped well but not lavishly, and fight as flexible medium infantry, capable of fighting in melee against lighter enemies and supporting the heavier troops against stronger opposition. Their societal rank is not quite comparable to the duguth, but they still form the bulk of nobleman's household guard.

Faction-specific units:

Rheged - Marca Bran (Raven Cavalry)
(Model: Blindfaithnogod Skin: Agraes)
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"Raven Cavalry" are the elite heavy cavalry formation of the powerful Kingdom of Rheged in Northern Britain, the emblem of which is a raven. They are the Northern British equivalent of Arthur's Dumnonian cavalry in the South-West. Under the leadership of men like King Urien Rheged and his son Owein ap Urien these brave horsemen dominated the battlefields of Northern Britain in the late 6th Century.

Dyfneint - Miloora (Cornish Infantry)
(Model: Ramon Gonzales y Garcia Skin: Ramon Gonzales y Garcia)
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In an era dominated by armies of levies and small cores of aristocratic warriors, professional soldiers are something of a rarity. These men are one such, professional fighters raised in Cornubia, or Cornwall, in the South-West of Britain. Since they supply their equipment themselves they are not as fancifully equipped as a noble, but their leather armour, shield and heavy club allows these stout fighters to do considerable damage.

Ui Neill - Cubrieachor Barr (Marshals of the Golden Chain)
(Model: Narakir Skin: Agraes)
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An interesting aspect of Ancient Irish warfare is the existence of numerous proto-chivalric "orders" of noble soldiers with unique customs and practices. The Marshals of the Golden Chain are such a group, and among the earliest Christian ones. Sworn defenders of the province of Ulster and it's ruling family, the Ui Neill, they fight as elite medium cavalry, skirmishing with javelins before charging with their long spears.

Religious units, only available to the Celtic Christian and Pagan religions:

Gaels and Picts - Ceithernn Ban (Women's Levy)
(Model: Narakir Skin: Narakir)
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The pre-Christian societies of Ireland and Scotland were not unaccustomed to females on the battlefield, and even in the early Christian era some continued to do so. The simplest female unit is the women's levy, who are simply civilian women who have chosen to take up arms and defend their homes alongside their brothers and husbands. Like most true levies they are not intended to hold a line, but fight as light, harassing infantry armed with darts (small javelins)

Gaels - Taibdsi (Phantoms)
(Model: Publius Skin: Publius)
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Taibdsi, or "Phantoms" are a pagan relic in Irish warfare. They are probably the last Gaelic warriors to fight naked, something Christians regard as quintessentially pagan. They are generally young, poor men seeking fame by fighting fearlessly with the little equipment they can afford. They derive their name from their habit of coating their bodies in a white powder before battle, giving them a horrifying, otherworldy appearance.

Gaels - Fianna
(Model: Narakir Skin: Agraes)
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The Fianna are perhaps the most storied fighting order in Gaelic history, their exploits in previous centuries under captains like Fionn Mac Cumhail fill an entire cycle of legends. They were not entirely a myth. Thoroughly a pagan order, they are reknowned for their dedication and gruelling nature of their training, learning to fight with numerous different weapons and several unarmed martial arts, as well as athletics, acrobatics and even contortion to increase their flexibility. Lightly equipped by choice rather then poverty, these men are extremely few in number but a formidable threat nonetheless, for their legendary reputation and their almost peerless prowess in personal combat.

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Re-done Units
In addition to new units, a number of "old" ATW units have been remodelled, reskinned or otherwise modified, for reasons of both aesthetics and accuracy. In fact a great many of our units have been tweaked, but here are some of the most notable makeovers:

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Left to right: Pictish Marchan Tho, Anglian Englisce Angongemacan, Briton Bonheddwyr, Teulu and Draconarius (New work by Agraes, models for Teulu and Draconarius from Razor)

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AoR Levy System
One of the major goals of the ATW development team for future releases is the implementation of a fully functioning Area of Recruitment (AoR) system. The Raven-Feeders will be the first release to feature this system. Now, instead of a generic factional recruitment roster, in any given province it will be possible to recruit the basic troop types of the culture associated with that province. This enables players to access a wider number of troop types and allows us to represent the often complex realities of settlement and migration in Dark Age Britain. Additionally, some more advanced units associated with a particular place rather then a faction have become area-recruitable. The Raven-Feeders features only the first part of our AoR solution; the second part, vassals, is still in development.

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2D Artwork
In addition to unit artwork, The Raven-Feeders will feature aesethetic improvements to a number of other areas of the game. Here are some of our new campaignmap textures, made by Publius, intended to reflect the more Northerly and temperate climate of our campaign map:

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UI Artwork
The new release also features a new campaign and battlemap User Interface for the Germanic, Pictish and Gaelic cultures:

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Historical Battles
Historical Battles are another major element of the new release, with The Raven-Feeders adding over 20 new battles from all over our campaign-map split into several different campaigns. They have been constructed with historical accuracy in mind, and we hope they will provide ATW players an enjoyable challenge, a showcase for many of our new units and a chance to learn about some of the most notable events and personalities of the era. Here are a few of the most significant battles:

The Battle of Celidon - AD 504
"The seventh battle was in the forest of Celidon, that is Cat Coit Celidon." One of the legendary battles of Arthur, Celidon, or the Battle of the Caledonian Forest, sees the aspiring Amherawddyr of Britain fighting in the far North, not against Saxons but against a British rival, the Kingdom of Alcluyd, or Strathclyde.

The Battle of Deniseburna - AD 634
Part of our campaign of battles chronicling the turbulent history of the powerful Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Northumbria, the battle of Denisburna (or Heavenfield) witnessed the return of the exiled Northumbrian king Oswald, one of the first great Christian Anglo-Saxon rulers, and his defeat of Cadwallon of Gwynedd. This was a great moment in the Christianization of the Anglo-Saxons, and also marked the end of the last Brythonic attempt to recover Lloegyr, the "lost lands" of Angle-land or England.

The Battle of Argoed Llwyfain - AD 585
Argoed Llwyfain, or Leaming Lane, was one of the greatest battles in Northern Britain and marked the high point of Urien Rheged's campaign to drive back the invading Angles. Welding together a grand coalition of Northern British and Irish nations, Urien of Rheged won a series of victories which dramatically turned the tide of Germanic expansion, the greatest of which was the decisive defeat of Aethelric of Bernicia at Argoed Llwyfain.

The Final Battle of Niall Noigíallach - 408
Niall Noigíallach, or Niall of the Nine Hostages, was one of the greatest High Kings of Ireland, among the last pagan kings, and among the first to unite the entire country. During his reign he oversaw a massive campaign of raiding and at the height of his power much of Scotland, western Britain and Armorica was ravaged by the Gaels, or Scotti as the Romans called them. All traditions agree that he died in battle outside of Ireland. This battle depicts one version of his death, in which an aged Niall's forces are ambushed by a much larger Pictish army rebelling against him.

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...and of course, bug-fixes, corrections, complete unit-cards courtesy of the indefatigable Uranos, numerous tweaks to unit and economic balancing, and lots of other little improvements you wouldn't notice unless they weren't there.

The Future
The Raven-Feeders won't be the end of ATW, we are hard at work on preparing at least one more major update, internally named 0.8. What can you expect? More new units. A new tech-tree for Dark Age Britain. The second part of our AoR system, vassalage, which will allow you to settle elite groups from a foriegn culture in your lands as vassals and recruit some new higher-tier units from that culture (eg. Britons can acquire German Foederati or Deisi Gaels) Full implementation of a third religion, Celtic Christianity, with all-new traits and ancillaries. And most importantly, a new faction which we will be previewing in the future.

After 0.8? A little hazier, but the goal of the ATW project was always to acheive as close to a total conversion as was reasonably possible, and we plan to keep going until we reach that goal. The prospect of ATW on the M2TW is a very appealing one, but it remains to be seen whether we can muster a team capable of creating a whole new edition of the mod. If you're interested and have the skills, don't hesistate to let us know.

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We hope you have enjoyed this preview of Arthurian Total War: The Raven-Feeders (also known as 0.7) which will be available to download in the near future. Special thanks for this preview go to Publius for the banner, Uranos for providing the unit renders and Antagonist for writing the preview and arranging the layout.

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