OOC thread for the KOTF forum :yes:
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OOC thread for the KOTF forum :yes:
Nice, we're really chugging along here. Do we have a set start date in mind yet?
Some of it will depend on getting the FAQ up and any other sub-threads we need. I'll finish the rules tonight trying to work off the discussion thus far.
I'm going to set up the order avatars are chosen in tonight as well (just find some randomizing program to set up with those in the signup thread, most likely).
Then we need our minimod and we're good to go. That's the part I see taking the longest...
Just a quick note to say that I won't be back online until Monday, as I'm going away with my family for a short holiday.
This may be a better place to respond to GHs query in the sign-up thread:
Well, as the dying Boromir said to Aragorn: "You did what I could not." That was a really well administered tabletop battle. :bow: I jumped ship because I just could not find the time to pull it off, so I understand how much went into overseeing it. I am glad you got the "tabletop" system to work as I really like the system of giving orders, allowing for breakdowns in communication and fog of war etc. I suspect it simulates the problem of command better than electronic Total War battles (MP or SP). But it is so time consuming it may be best reserved for the truly climactic engagements. Not only does the umpire have to devote a couple of weeks worth of evenings/weekends etc to it, the rest of the game has to be frozen for one battle that would be resolved in a couple of hours if it were vs the AI.Quote:
Originally Posted by GeneralHankerchief
As for the battle itself, I think it was Lothar who put it best: it was an execution, not a battle. :sweatdrop: Hats off to Rameses for that shocking twist. Indeed, my general impression with the tabletop battles is that they are decided before the first shot is fired - by numbers. The method of combat resolution tends to emphasise attrition rather than tactical brilliance (with FHs turn 4 at Bern being a jaw dropping exception), so that the battle is determined by who turns up with the better army. I am not sure we came up with good, well understood mechanics for resolving that in WotS or KotR, since civil war was not part of the initial game design, but may be the successor game has cracked that. Personally, I am looking forward to getting into character (hopefully one with lots of vices n virtues) and writing some stories in this new game rather than engaging in open civil war, but then again contemplative peace-loving nobility probably did not thrive in the middle ages...
Okay, looking at the signup thread, we have the following people:
Zim
TheFlax
Cultured Drizzt Fan
Cecil XIX
GeneralHankerchief
TinCow
YLC
Ignoramus
everyone
mini
Rowan
Tristan de Castelreng
Dafug3
Vladimir
Ibn-Khaldun
econ21
Marcus Agrippa
Looks like a good start. I've also PM'd AG, prodding him to get him in here, so maybe that'll be one more.
Zim, are you planning on taking a character? If so, you should definitely get first pick, as is a GM's prerogative.
-edit- Many thanks. :bow:
-edit2- And I'd like to welcome our new players Vladimir, Dafug3, and Marcus Agrippa, as well as our EB RPG refugees everyone and CDF. :yes:
AG has plenty of time, I think it will take a couple days to get the mod together (gotta find someone who can do it, plus get that names file to Tristan). I think I'm going to enter everyone from the signin thread into a randomizer to determine who picks in what order.
I wasn't planning on having a character. It worked well in KOTR, but I can see why TinCow avoided it in LOTR. Especially with that and this game allowing me to create events...
Here's descr_names.txt and descr_names_lookup.txt.
The former is easy to understand: names are sorted primarily by faction, and subdivided into men's first names ('characters'), surnames, bynames and women's first names.
I have no idea how the latter file works though, it seems to have names from RTW and MIITW in a seemily random order. I'd guess that whatever additions/removals/changes you make to one file you make to the other, but I recommend that Tristran doublecheck that.
LotR had mixed success with PvP. The battles themselves worked pretty well, with several tabletop battles being fought without any problems as well as two multiplayer battles, which were great for spectators because the battle replays worked properly. However, the rule set for LotR made it difficult for a battle to occur in the first place and this made civil wars pretty anticlimactic for most of the game. Part of the current discussion for the next game is how to resolve this problem.Quote:
Originally Posted by econ21
That pretty much sums up how I feel about LotR in general: many improvements that made the game better, but lots of flaws with the system that prevented it from really coming into its own. Fortunately, a lot of those problems were ironed out along the way so we don't have to deal with them anymore. The 'Royal Army' system that was pioneered in KotR has transformed into an excellent and very efficient system for private ownership of military units, as have the rules for IC legislation and OOC rule changes. The built-in ability for the GM to launch 'events' at will also helps a great deal. However, the House structure and the PvP mechanics were never properly polished up during the game and we're still trying to resolve the problems with them now.
Greetings,
I’ve been an avid follower of your subforum since the days of KotR, always in a lurking capacity due to lack of
full internet privileges at work.
Let me tell you, the joint efforts of you guys have helped me spend many a quiet afternoon in this place, for which you have my thanks.
I decided to join now, firstly because I can :beam:, but mainly to remind you that there are probably a lot of people following your exploits who never register because they can’t, or just don’t take the trouble to do so.
I would be tempted to join the next instalment of your game (be it in some minor capacity), there is however one obstacle remaining so don’t regard this as an official sign up yet.
Although I now have full internet access both at work and at home, my actual gaming comp is not connected to the web, and it would require some juggling with dvd’s and usb – sticks to get the whole thing set up.
As soon as a workable mini-mod and some saves are up I will do some experimenting.
Some tips from people who have faced similar problems, especially with regards to uploading saves would be welcome.
Regards.
Based on my experience fighting the Battle of Antiokheia I'd say there's also a big part of "He who makes the least mistakes, wins."Quote:
Originally Posted by econ21
There are just too much things to remember to take everything into consideration when giving orders and trying to prepare for all eventualities. As such I think it simulates the role of army commander in medieval times quite well, you have to trust your lieutenants to take initiative and messengers for the overall picture.
For example, if woad&fangs had used his ram the western wall would have fallen and the whole battle would have been completely different, with most of the fighting mainly on the narrow streets. The whole southern sally would have been a sideshow, or it would have never happened if the southern ram had reached the gate before Bart & Tagaris. And at deployment I forgot to explicitly state that the troops should be positioned on top of the walls and not behind them and guess where GH put them :clown: Or committing my reinforcements I drew a map with a pretty arrow pointing towards the western gate, while in the actual orders only saying "gate". And guess where they went? Not west.
It would be a bigger workload for the umpires, but if there's another big (multiple generals on both sides) tabletop in KOTF I'd like us to expand on the "You only know what you can see or what your messengers tell you" -angle.
Basically all commanders receive a textual representation of the battle based on what they can see or what messengers tell them. This would require the overall commanders to stay on higher ground where they can observe the battle. Committing their reserve (which they would be commanding) would be a last ditch resort because their control of the battle would then be lost until they could extricate themselves from the battle again. Subordinate commanders wouldn't have the same overall knowledge of how the battle is going, only their immediate surroundings, even less if engaged in battle.
Welcome, I was in the same boat as you when LotR was starting, having spent many a boring hour at work following KotR, but never signing up.Quote:
Originally Posted by Snowygerry
If you can get the M2TW/Kingdoms and LTC transferred to your gaming PC the saves shouldn't be too much of a hassle, they are much smaller. You can practice the whole thing by installing all the LotR stuff and trying to load one of the LotR saves. I'd imagine that the process for KOTF will be quite identical, except for requiring Kingdoms.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rowan
Both MTW and Kingdoms are already installed, and I installed several other mods (Third Age Total War being the last one - amazing job those guys did) so that shouldn't be too much of a problem.
I'm more worried about taking and uploading saves in a reasonable amount of time, as I have to take the save, copy it, play the game, transfer the save and upload it again (whitin a couple of hours I believe?).
As soon as the game gets started, I will do some tests, and see how it goes.
Welcome Snowygerry!
Are your gaming and internet computers both at home? If so getting the save from one to the other shouldn't be too hard. I used to have to do the same. :yes:
I should have the rules finalized within the day. Tomorrow I'm also going to get LTC on my computer and see about whatever minimod we're using. Once that's done we can recruit our rbs and set up an order for people to pick their avatars.
I forsee the first Council session opening very soon, within the week depending on how long the minimod, picking characters, etc. takes. Main thing is it might be after this weekend. The 4rth is going to be pretty busy for me (stuck doing guard duty for an event Friday-Sudnay) but my schedule clears completely starting Monday. :2thumbsup:
So I'm about to purchase Kingdom's via Amazon. Once I freshly install MTWII and Kingdom's then I'm in position to apply the mods.
Can someone please confirm?
@ AG : Yep, you'll only have to download and install the LTC mod that got chosen plus the minimod required for RGB and namechanges if I can do it...
EDIT : I'm checking right now in the Modders' section about the namefile changes in order to implement them...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zim
I have internet - access at work, and at home I can use the connected computer of a roommate, so using an usb-stick for the save, I really only foresee timing issues.
(Being off-line on weekends, roommate being busy etc.)
Furthermore since I’m planning on starting out with some minor character, quite a lot of orders can be given by simple text messages, updating an SOT-thread etc, so quickly down/uploading the save will probable not be necessary each and every turn.
Anyway thanks for the welcome and I’ll keep you posted.
I'm screwed.
Kingdoms will arrive between the 13th and 20th of July!!! I can't increase the delivery speed. :wall:
Not screwed persee, ways around it temporarily...but anyway, that means you won't be quite ready for the opening then. I am sure we can make an exception, since wherever you are it seems package delivery is still made by horse and buggy :laugh4::clown:Quote:
Originally Posted by AussieGiant
Normally I can select airmail or priority express and it's here between a 3 to 5 days. In this instance that was not possible.Quote:
Originally Posted by YLC
:inquisitive::laugh4:Quote:
Originally Posted by AussieGiant
Oh, the rotten luck...
Can you buy an online copy?
What do you mean by "online"?Quote:
Originally Posted by YLC
It's a copy that you buy that registeres the game online for you, skipping the entire CD/DVD, and downloads it directly to your computer. Not only do you not need a physical copy, but if you have to reformat, want to install it on another computer, etc, you may download it as many times as you need.Quote:
Originally Posted by AussieGiant
Check here.
Does that install a "client" on your machine or just a simple down load authorisation?
A client, similar to Steam.Quote:
Originally Posted by AussieGiant
Good point YLC, though Steam has it at $15 rather than the $30 for D2D. I currently love Steam, so I shall do that unless I stumble across a hard copy while I'm out today.
Ignore the above... just realized the Steam version of Kingdoms requires the Steam version of M2TW as well. Guess I'll have to scrounge up a hard copy version as well.
That's exacly my problem TC.Quote:
Originally Posted by TinCow
I've got a hard copy of M2TW so I need the DVD version. That's going to take 5 to 11 working days!!
Boooo!!
I think we've still got some time. The rules don't appear to have been finalized quite yet, which is a prerequisite of starting.
I'd just like to mention that buying from D2D might be risky. From my past experience with them, you can't mod the games you download there, unlike with Steam. I have no idea if that's the case with M2TW and Kingdoms, but it was with Oblivion.
Ahh, the joys of Wal-Mart.
Really though; given how buggy MII was how can you not have Kingdoms?
Just ordered it on Amazon, since my local shops didn't have it in. $9 with shipping, though I'm not quite sure when it will get here.
Ah, the beauty of buying games years after their release. :laugh4:
If everything goes as planned then tomorrow I'll have a brand new(at least for me) Kingdoms DVD on my hands.:2thumbsup:
Man, there was *tons* of discussion yesterday, even into the wee hours of the night! (At least for me. :sweatdrop:) It's great to see such enthusiasm.
:yes:
I was up all day refreshing the forum, waiting for replies and there was not much. Then I wake up today and find out that there's a ton of new posts! (Not complaining) I'm glad to see such enthusiasm, probably Zim will be happy too. :clown:
It's gone a little banana's hey!! :2thumbsup:
Is anyone else spoilt by PBMs? I find it has made it hard to play Total War any other way.
I load up LTC as English to try out what sounds like an excellent mod but I just stare at the screen, then quit. I feel no enthusiasm to continue my Gondor Third Age game despite it being an amazing mod. I have not tried out the 1.3 Empires patch - no motivation.
Yet, I am bouncing around in my computer chair like an energiser bunny waiting for KotF to start. Heck, I have half a mind to book a couple of flights and whizz off to give TC and AG copies of Kingdoms so we can start.
Spoilt, just spoilt.
I agree with you! :beam:
I can perhaps play couple of turns M2TW but then it starts to bother me. Stainless Steel is better but after owning 10 or so provinces I loose interest. The same is with EB. Just can't get those campaigns there going!
Yeah, none of my attempted campaigns last very long anymore. Maybe the Getai campaign I'm playing in EB will do better.
What do I hear?? You play EB??:idea2:
Perhaps you consider joining WotB then. We are in a need of army commanders since Pahlava, Makedonia, Ptolemaioi and probably Epeiros again will try to take us down! :beam:
I've been doing a bit better with an SP ETW campaign, personally. There was a French one I've been playing on-and-off for a while. I want to finish it and conquer the entire globe, but it's gotten to the point where playing a turn has been so tedious that I doubt I'll finish.
Definitely looking forward to this. :yes:
Heh, I thought you'd say that. I don't normally like the idea of playing two of these at the same time, but I'll think about it once I'm done reading the WotB threads. (Up to just before last December now.)Quote:
Originally Posted by Ibn-Khaldun
Just a heads-up, this marks the start of my "three weeks of Hell", so to speak, and I'm calculating that my free time, total, will be about 1-2 hours per day (not including weekends). Therefore, expect my activity to drop during that time.
-edit- Nice, I see AG's email campaign worked. Welcome back OK. :2thumbsup:
Holy crap. I go to bed after reading everything here, then I wake up seven hours later to find that new messages have been posted in seven topics. I don't think that's ever happened, even when a spent a day in between visits. :dizzy2:
Make the "Save my Senator" thread, NOA! :smash::smash::smash:Quote:
Originally Posted by Cecil XIX
For thos of you interested, GH and I were talking on the Steam chat the other day.
The young man is now cranking out two jobs for the next three weeks and the shifts are back to back.
The hours work well for vampires but normally normal humans do no function this way. :egypt:
Solo play definitely isn't as engaging. I tried all the Kingdoms campaigns once through. Not too impressed. The Americas campaign was the only one I didn't finish, not because of difficulty but because there are only so many mass infantry slogs I can bear.
Lately I've run up to the Mongols in BC 1.05 a few times just to get some decent battles. If I could trust the AI to manage cities and castles this would be a more viable way to run a SP campaign. I couldn't get started on the 3rd Age mod.
Haven't bought Empires. Lots of bugs left to shake out before it looks playable to me; I am not a beta tester.
:egypt:
Again I have to go through 9 threads! :wall:
hehe
My M2 skills are very rusty. Does anyone know of any good online guides that would be helpful in bringing me up to speed? I'm looking for something that incorporates the changes made with Kingdoms and the latest patches. Anything that also takes into account LTC would be a bonus.
Econ21's guide and FAQ in the Citadel is a great resource, but might be a little out of date.
Any thoughts?
My impression of LTC is that it keeps the core game but "tweaks" it, mainly for better AI and better balance. While making Kingdoms, Lusted made a big effort with Palameides to better balance the M2TW units[1]. LTC uses these new stats for the grand campaign (strangely, installing Kingdoms alone does not retrofit stats). BrandyBarrel has produced a really nice graphical faction by faction listing of these new stats in one his FAUSTs. I recommend downloading and printing it out - at least the page on France. I have posted a link to it, and my impressions of the main changes compared to vanilla, in this post:Quote:
Originally Posted by OverKnight
https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showp...1&postcount=62
EDIT: I wasn't going to say this, as it is a little off topc, but adjustments for balance do have their limits. ETW players read this and weep:
https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showp...&postcount=564
Thanks for the info. :2thumbsup:
I stopped playing Empire a while back, figured I'd wait until they get through the public beta stage.
Sorry for the double post:
The various KotF threads seem a bit scattered at this point. Should I start a FAQ thread with links to the various KotF threads and perhaps links to that FAUST guide and LTC gold?
Go ahead and draw one up, but post the stuff in here or PM it to Zim. Zim needs to make the thread or he won't be able to edit the posts if he needs to at a later date.
At the moment, I think most things are still at the "draft" or planning stages, so I am not sure we need to point people to read specific threads. When the mini-mod works, which could be very soon, fingers crossed, I expect Zim will call time and then I expect we will see him starting or requesting new threads setting how things are - perhaps with this thread being the only one still worth linking to.Quote:
Originally Posted by OverKnight
I'll PM Zim with the various links formatted into [noparse][url][/url][/noparse].
I'm thinking any thread posted into since the start of July related to KotF might be worth linking to at this point.
Here's a taste:
So do we know who the King and Princes are?
Also, I;m guessing we're free to pick our house at the start?
Yep. :yes:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ignoramus
I am trying to clear up my confusion. After everything is installed almost forgetting to add the patch 1.5 what version should be displayed? Kingdoms 1.02 and LTC 1.04 I added the patch last and I am not sure if it went into the correct files. Should there be 1.5 version displayed?
Yes, when starting kingdom, in options, it should display 1.05 and medieval should be 1.3
has anyone got any links to Alan de Rohan?
And there are more than two of these guy's so I'm not sure which one is the actual one for this time.
I think this is the chap you want:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_IV,_Duke_of_Brittany
Hey deguerra is that a Hamster rampant on your shield? It will inspire fear in your enemies.
It sure is. Let's just say I was going for a slighty tongue in cheek symbolism :clown:
I think its rather cute. :clown:
In fact, it would rather be this one : Alain I de Rohan, the Black (wikipedia in French, sorry)Quote:
Originally Posted by deguerra
Rohan comes from the briton roc'han (little rock) from the building of his first castle on a promontory near the Brittany town of Josselin ( funny thing is that my wife's grandmother lives just in that town...)
ah i see. our bugger was never actually Duke of Britanny. my apologies AG.
So I can't read French, and if you compare Wiki articles you will quickly realise it should never be used as the primary source for anything.
I'm still confused as to which Alain I am.
There's a family tree from Wiki, which could be my family tree for all I know.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dukes_o...ny_family_tree
Well for starters, your chap was never a Duke of Brittany, only related to their line.
I think he is on that family tree, as Alan the Black, Earl of Richmond.
However, the tree has him as married to Bertha of Brittany, whereas Tristan's wiki article atttributes that marriage to his son, Eudon (I think. My French is far from perfect)
But you're in the right ballpark. Maybe Tristan can help you more.
AG :
To make it short, the de Rohan are rumoured to be descended from Conan Meriadec (Cynan Meiriadog in welsh) legndary king of Brittany in Roman times. Alain's grandfather took part in the conquest of England with William. Alain built the chateau of Rohan (in Josselin) in 1104.
Alain 1er aka Le Noir (the Black) (I think that would suit you... another dread knight ?) was born 1084, died in 1147.
The genealogy you find here (the first one) begins with your character.
he was the founder of the de Rohan line which became the line that became Dukes of brittany and later Princes of Brittany (hence my choice as avatar)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tristan de Castelreng
Thanks Tristan.
So you are the King then?
But we are not related.
He is King and I am the youngest prince, Charles.
Oh dear. :sweatdrop:Quote:
Originally Posted by Ibn-Khaldun
Flax is Constance.
So who is the middle child?
I'm the Prince. :party:
:egypt:
Can we get a list of who's who somewhere? It seems like this information has only been provided to the people who have been given avatars.
I think things were still settling down, and we were all just working out an introduction story. I only came forward because the news was leaking already. :laugh4:
edit: To be clear; we're working on a collaborative introduction story for the royal family in a quicktopic.
:egypt:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ramses II CP
I knew it!!
I tell ya, I just smell this stuff coming a mile off!! :balloon2:
Actually, I don't have an avatar and will not get one in the next 16 turns! :beam:
Anyway, I know who are in royal family..
King Philippe - Tristan
Prince Louis - Ramses
Constance - TheFlax
Henri - mini
Charles - me
Please, someone let me know if I'll be able to work on my tan. :cool: