The Lordz Games Studio

http://thelordzgamesstudio.com/downl..._Logo_Long.jpg



The Lordz Games Studio

We are very proud and pleased to announce a new project: The Lordz Games Studio.

This newly founded game developer company can announce its first commercial project: a new Napoleonic strategy game.



Links

For further info just visit, read and register at the new website and forum:

The Lordz Games Studio website (or www.thelordzgamesstudio.com)

The Lordz Games Studio forum (or www.thelordzgamesstudio.com/forum)



Have a look and enjoy,

Lord Zimoa of Flanders

sounds promising.
Good luck!

Wow! Good luck, I really enjoyed your mods so far.

Wow, gosh, and gee-wizz. Best of luck to thee. :2thumbsup:

Good luck, Heer Zimoa van Vlaanderen ! ~:cheers:

Looking pretty good. Now I'm curious about it.

good luck

So this means you guys will have to move away from the TW engine and make your own?

Well we now use now a shared engine and source code, it means our programmers can make what we want or need, so no more modding restrictions.

The Arcane Legions : A Rising Shadow game engine will be used as a base for our next project, most recently the Arcane game engine has been nominated for the technical excellence award at the Independent Games Festival 2007.

Slitherine Software has put a lot of time and effort into this new and improved engine for Arcane Legions. We are altering and programming this engine towards our own liking, so it will be a new game on our hybrid engine.

LZoF

The engine looks quite impressive, although obviously M2TW has taken a bit of the shine off it. Still it's good to see that a group of talented modders who are committed in their focus and work well together (something most mods miss out on), get rewarded by having the chance to create something new and exciting for themselves. The best of luck with it.

Good luck with your venture, Lord Zimoa of Flanders! :2thumbsup::whip:

Best O' luck to ya guys!

Best of luck fellows.I hope we will be seeing a great Napoleonic era game.:bow:

Very impressive. Best of luck to you.

Aha

Have fun.:2thumbsup:

Cannot wait. Keep us posted!

Wow! This will be awesome!

I love your Nap1 Mod! Let's try to keep it to that level!

Good luck!

How expensive will the final version be?

Good luck guys. ~:)

Yeah, best of luck guys!

Good luck :medievalcheers:

Fortune favours the brave, best of luck to the Lordz for this ambitious move. :2thumbsup:

Antagonist

Best of wishes to you LORDZ!

I really hope it works out alright and am very curious about the end-product!

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Best of wishes to you LORDZ!

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Best wishes and a big ~:cheers:

OA

good luck Lordz!

All the best Lordz!

Just had a look at the Arcane Legions screenshots and it looks rather like Total War battles:

http://www.slitherine.com/arcanelegions/

I think the Lordz should be able to use that engine to provide serious competition to CA. My only advice would be try to get a decent strategic layer. Its combining the superlative battles with the hook of a meaty campaign that really makes TW shine, IMO. Just doing historical battles alone will probably remain a niche market.

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Originally Posted by econ21

All the best Lordz!

Just had a look at the Arcane Legions screenshots and it looks rather like Total War battles:

http://www.slitherine.com/arcanelegions/

I think the Lordz should be able to use that engine to provide serious competition to CA. My only advice would be try to get a decent strategic layer. Its combining the superlative battles with the hook of a meaty campaign that really makes TW shine, IMO. Just doing historical battles alone will probably remain a niche market.

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I second everything that has been said here! I would suggest making the campaign a huge part of the game.

We use the Arcane engine, that does not mean the new game will be a TW or Arcane Legion clone. Just like the Quake or Torque engine provides very different games. We are not modding, but writing a new game and programming a fitting game structure. That will look and play totally different.

All we can tell you at this stage is that the new game we are developing, will be a historical strategy game set during the Napoleonic Wars. It will support single-player and multi-player battles and have a campaign, more focused on military micro-management.

LZoF

Best of luck, I just looked at Screenshots for Arcane game, wow, i am at a loss for words, Finally, a Napoleonic game which is good! No, cancel that, a Napoleonic game which (Hopefully) will be awesome, spectacular and great!
Good luck, and I will cetianly be getting the game,

Arcane doesn't look great but graphics aren't the issue in games such as this.

It's good to hear that you're not planning to just produce a TW clone - that would be a waste of talent, imo.

Well I never heard of that Arcane so you'll have to do a good PR job, otherwise no-one will everm hear of it

You guys have set the way for a new era of gaming! Other mods may now follow.

Talented modders are allways welcome in our house.

LZoF :2thumbsup:

You have at least one customer right here.

Congratulations and good luck!

:bow:

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Originally Posted by Stig

Well I never heard of that Arcane so you'll have to do a good PR job, otherwise no-one will everm hear of it

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It would be a mistake to focus on graphics in pr.

Trying to get CA's permission to use NTW and NTW2 in the marketing would probably be the best bet.

As an extra bonus , just some more concept art.

Cheers,

LZoF


http://www.slitherine.com/lgs/images...onceptArt1.jpg

:bow:

:stunned:

Who´s your concept artist? Rembrandt?

Whoever he is, he could make a living out of it

:jawdrop:




I'll buy your game just for the art!

Congratulations to the Lordz and good luck with your aspirations. Your work has been outstanding and well executed in scope.

Dol Guldur, Fourth Age Development.

Good luck. New legend just born :idea2: :egypt:

Hmm just got this email:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

The following is an email sent to you by an administrator of "The Lordz Site". If this message is spam, contains abusive or other comments you find offensive please contact the webmaster of the board at the following address:

Administrator@thelordz.co.uk

Include this full email (particularly the headers).

Message sent to you follows:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear fellow Lordz, community members, gamers and friends of the Lordz.

Today, it is a very sad event we have to inform you about.

It has happened that a certain group of Lordz separated from The Lordz Modding Collective to found their own game company. Basically there is nothing wrong about doing such - especially as it has happened after the release of NTW2 and not in the midst of a running project. In this special case it was just the way it has been done that makes this certain group a legitimate target for critics.

These are the facts - not disputed by even themselves:

They used the Lordz name and fanbase for their own personal company.

They have NOT informed the other Lordz forming the collective together with them, especially Lord Krazy, who is the founder of the Lordz Modding Collective, about their plans, except for the ones considered "useful" for their plans.

They have used the Lordz site and forums to advertise their new company, without permission, knowing that it is Lord Krazy who is paying for webspace and server!

Despite the fact that these "Lords" have invested countless hours to keep the collective running and getting NTW 2 on the way, Lord Krazy and the other Lords, the ones considered "less useful", feel left behind and betrayed by this group.

The leading member of this group, who is solely in charge of making desicions for the group, did not make any serious attempt to find a solution suitable for all. His explanations and style in handling the issue could be considered as not much more than lame excuses and so the only conclusion was, that it all has happend this way intentionally and not by accident.

As he chose the most skilled Lords to draw them out of the Collective and as MTW 2 seems to be even less moddable than RTW the Collective will probably sink into insignificance.

So we took the difficult decision to officially dissolve the Lordz Modding Collective.

We do not name the persons, who actually acted as the Collective undertakers, because its not our intetion to provoke bad feelings or flame wars within the Napoleonic Wargaming Community.

Despite their - in our views - unethical and dishonest behaviour we wish the new company success in producing a good game for the sake of the Napoleonic wargaming community. Although if Karma has anything to do with it ...

We finally want to thank our fans and supporters for their loyality and their support over the years. The forum will be online for some more weeks to give you all the chance to post your opinion. After that the Lordz website and forums will be closed down for ever.

The Lordz Modding Collective

If that is true, then I am shocked and saddened. I was under the impression that this was endorsed completely by the Lordz, and had no idea that this underhand betrayal was going on.

If - and note the if - this is true (which is quite possible, though I wish it wasn't), then I believe a public apology should be issued to the founders of the Lordz. :bow:


I will, however, reserve judgement until I know both sides of the story.

It is of course their point of view as allways there is another side of the story, basically the last three years the new team have build, produced, maintained NTW2 and The Lordz community all around.

The ones who are going to kill the work done the last few years have not been active or hardly been involved since 2002-2004. Not one file in NTW2 have they produced.

It seems they rather excecute the community than swallow their pride. We worked hard and now simple revenge will leave all those NTW fans in the cold and kill seven years work in a minute. The whole team who build NTW2 was excecuted yesterday, with hands tied to their backs.

So do not judge before knowing some facts. If anyone needs more info, you can get to me personally. I'm not going to let this mass suicide go and ruin all we worked so hard for the last three years.

The Lordz Games Studio is not the Lordz Modding Collective, it is a game developing company formed out of the complete team that build NTW2, so basically 90% of the former Lordz who worked their butts off the last few years.

LZoF

Now back to work one of my favourites we produced lately:

http://www.thelordzgamesstudio.com/d...-1280x1024.jpg


LZoF

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Trying to get CA's permission to use NTW and NTW2 in the marketing would probably be the best bet.

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Not a very big change afaik .... CA might want to use those names themselves when they come with their next game ~D

We moved on and are not members of the LMC anymore, so we can talk as a fan of the NTW series now.

Indeed it was a disbute among us, but why killing the NTW community who has nothing to do with it and all to loose. People who just like coming to the LMC for years and can still enjoy NTW1, ATW and NTW2 will loose all that.

It is a measure I find in gross disrepect with the fanbase, still I have no part in it anymore, it is and would not be not my choice. The LMC are just punishing their own fanbase and supporters.

They can start NTW3, get new people in, build a new team, work further on NTW2, find and motivate new people and build on. The remaining Lordz have been inactive for years. They should start being a modding collective again. Now they kill everything people invested in, all past and present Lordz and especially the loyal fans and supporters. The people who stood by and build the NTW community equally, just as we all did. The NTW community will be the victim of this radical measure and that is just sad.


LZoF

its like the Roman Empire, and Rised, got ripped apart, rised again, then massacerd, but the Eastern Empire kept on going...and going...and going...and going... and then they were all killed as well, oh well.

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and then they were all killed as well, oh well.

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lol :laugh4::laugh4::laugh4:

I'm sure it will be a pretty good game, tho they must find a way to get it to the main public as well, and good graphics will help that ... and seeing the Concept Art I think they will succeed in that

yes. Quite a controversial split. As a fan, I'm not overly concerned about the developer's feelings though, I want a high quality game that I'd spend my time and money on. It's kind of sad that this happened, but alas, its probably not the first time.

I got newsletter from admin from The Lordz. Very disturbing. :no:

A rather biased email Duke. I got it too, it was out of order to make that dispute public in such a way as to provoke fans to choose 'sides'. I advise you to stay well clear and enjoy the mods and games to come.

Thanks Myrdraal. :2thumbsup:

I just asked. I was maybe 4-5 times in Lordz forum.

I was registered there as well ... but I believe my overactive spamfilter caught it :laugh4:

So, LZoF, its true the letter?
Will the project be continued?

The project will be continued.

While some of what is said in the letter could be put down to internal disputes, some of what is said worries me.

I still wish you guys the best of luck, but you would have done better to start off without this dogging you.

There is no doubt that this will not affect the overall quality of the coming game, but it leaves a bad taste in the community's mouth and that is never a good thing.

Good luck from now on, and let's hope LGS will create a solid competition for CA.

these internal disputes will not affect the LGS. The LGS is composed from the active Lordz who made NTW2. The people who feel offended and are blowing things way out of proportion are inactive Lordz who didn't participate in the community for more then a year. It's just sad that they harm the good reputation of the Lordz, and may bring down the LMC for some sort of revenge. But again, the LGS is not the LMC and will not be affected by this. Work on the game continues.

Good to hear.

I am speaking for the LMC here and would like to express another view of the story about the differences between the LGS and LMC.

I will here only post once and not reply to any questions or follow-up posts as it is not my intention to start a discussion on the org. I just want to clarify the reamining Lordz's point of view as it seems that you have heard (read) only one side up to date and I also want to comment some statements I consider onesided and having to be contradicted.

It is of course their point of view as always there is another side of the story, basically the last three years the new team have build, produced, maintained NTW2 and The Lordz community all around.

So do not judge before knowing some facts.

These statements are true and the reason I'm posting here.

The people who feel offended and are blowing things way out of proportion are inactive Lordz who didn't participate in the community for more then a year. It's just sad that they harm the good reputation of the Lordz, and may bring down the LMC for some sort of revenge.

The ones who are going to kill the work done the last few years have not been active or hardly been involved since 2002-2004. Not one file in NTW2 have they produced.

Firstly I want to say that it is true, that most - though not all - of the remaining Lordz have been inactive (for several - often personal - reasons) within the last, lets say 1 to 3 years.

But the question should be asked if the work on NTW1, ACW, The Lordz website or forums is of lesser worth than the work on NTW 2? If the work a person has contributed to a project looses of worth the longer ago it has happened? If within a Collective the right to participate in decisions more depends on a "current" level of activity or on plain membership?

The Lordz Games Studio is not the Lordz Modding Collective, it is a game developing company formed out of the complete team that build NTW2, so basically 90% of the former Lordz who worked their butts off the last few years.

This is true. But it has to be said that the Lordz Games Studio has been a top secret project until a few days ago, known only to the future participants or staff of the LGS. These future participants have been chosen and individually contacted by the initiator and leading head of the new company. It looks like they have been chosen on base of their skills, talents and worth for the future project - which is only logical.

Nor have the other members of the Collective been informed about the project neither have they been offered to participate. They have been caught by surprise when the LGS went public a few days ago.

Regardless that there are good reasons for the LGS head to only chose the persons considered of worth, the others felt left behind and got upset and disappointed. Before this incident they considered themselves equal members of a Collective with their fellow Lordz. Then they have learnt, that some seemed to have been "more equal" than themselves.

When going public the Collective website and forum have been used to advertise the new venture without informing the person paying all cost for both - it was the Lordz founder, who also had not been informed or offered participance. Later it was stated that they considered themselves having earned the right to do so by having made NTW 2. The remaining Lordz had a different opinion.

Some of the remaining Lordz also disliked the fact that the name "Lordz" has been used. But as the leaving party has made NTW 2 it could be argued that they have themselves well earned this title and so gained the right to take it with them. Of course the founder of the Lordz Modding Collective, who also invented the name, does not share this opinion. A really difficult question which each reader will have to judge by himself.

They can start NTW3, get new people in, build a new team, work further on NTW2, find and motivate new people and build on. The remaining Lordz have been inactive for years. They should start being a modding collective again.

Thats true and maybe this will even happen. But its funny to hear these words from persons, who went along to another project, thus inflicting a heavy drain to what WAS a Collective until a few days ago, when this happened. Maybe they argue that they have been kicked out by the "rest" of the Collective and this is not wrong. But how would they have been able to contribute to future mod projects when they have to run a company? On top of this a company, that is designed to give a modder and gamer the chance to make a living out of his hobby some day, would be FAR more attractive than the collective. Each of us would probably feel the same about picturing himself in their role. So the remaining Lordz have the feeling just to have made official what would have happened anyway.

Indeed it was a disbute among us, but why killing the NTW community who has nothing to do with it and all to loose. People who just like coming to the LMC for years and can still enjoy NTW1, ATW and NTW2 will loose all that.

It is a measure I find in gross disrepect with the fanbase, still I have no part in it anymore, it is and would not be not my choice. The LMC are just punishing their own fanbase and supporters.

Now they kill everything people invested in, all past and present Lordz and especially the loyal fans and supporters. The people who stood by and build the NTW community equally, just as we all did. The NTW community will be the victim of this radical measure and that is just sad.

It seems they rather excecute the community than swallow their pride. We worked hard and now simple revenge will leave all those NTW fans in the cold and kill seven years work in a minute. The whole team who build NTW2 was excecuted yesterday, with hands tied to their backs.

It was the remainig Lordz who made the decision to disband the rest of what had been the Collective, to close down the website and forum. This is true.

But let me ask the question if solely they are to be blamed for their measures. Each move has a cause. It can be a small stone thrown to the right place that unleahes a landslide - who is responsible for the damage, the stone or the landslide? Maybe both instead just one of them.

The remaining Lordz did not so much feel hurt pride but more a deep disappointment for having been what they see as left behind by their former comrades. Also they felt that the Collective itself has suffered so much damage, that it virtually couldn't recover from that loss - there are not so many talented 3D modders around, who on top of this are interested in the Napoleonic Era. They considered it unlikely that there would be a chance to further produce new mods, especially as MTW 3 seems to be a big drawback for the modding community in general due to a lack of support by CA.

But modding was all the Collective and forums have been about. So instead of slowly shrinking into insignificance they chose to pull back with Trumpets and Standards. This desicion is being reconsidered now as the community on the forums expressed very clearly how they felt about the split of the Collective and the announced close-down of the forums and that they intend to stay loyal to the Collective.

There is no final decision made yet, but it will be made within the next days. If website and forum should be allowed to further exist, there will significant technical improvements to be made as both have not been cared for in the past two years as they should have been. The remainig Lordz will inform the Org Community at first place about any further decision.

Please do not ask us any questions here as they will not be answered. If you want to learn more facts about this story (Although I think I didn't miss anything important here) feel free to ask your questions at the Lordz forums. Please let me conclude with the hint that we will welcome everyones opinion about the future of the Lordz website and forums but not allow flaming or bitching against the LMC or LGS.

Lord Hal for The Lordz Modding Collective

This is the kind of threads a "Wow" would be suitable for I guess.. And wouldn't be considered spam. Right?

@Lord Hal

:bow:

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Who´s your concept artist? Rembrandt?

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That is the actual nickname we use for him on the team :laugh4:, and the first one is not up at the website so an Org exclusive. We are making some others as well, will be a couple of weeks before they are done. Will post regular upgrades here for the Org.

LZ


http://slitherine.com/lgs/images/LGS_ConceptArt5.jpg



http://slitherine.com/lgs/images/LGS_ConceptArt4.jpg

What worries me is that the concept art is so good the game's going to look horrible by comparison :laugh4:

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What worries me is that the concept art is so good the game's going to look horrible by comparison

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I hope we can prove you otherwise, we sure will give it our best to give strategy gamers something different and do the Napoleonic period justice. We will just have to work very hard again and we will.:whip::beam:

LZ

Well, if you keep up that sort of quality in the rest of the game i can't see you failing ;)

Woah! Those are incredibly awesome!

Great work guys! Can't wait to see the final stuff!

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What worries me is that the concept art is so good the game's going to look horrible by comparison

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Hoggy (from Blue Lotus and NTW2 mods) is our lead 3D artist, so I'm sure you realise that'll be no problem ~;)

I just have a kinda...out there...question.

You guys are now making a commercial game, and are called the Lordz Game Studios. Will workers on this game be taking this on as a full time job, I mean you guys are a game company just like say CA, and all the CA workers are full time.

Or will your team remain doing this in their spare time?

I'm just intruiged is all because obviously theres a huge difference between being a modder and being a game developer. So basically are you guys just kinda blurring the lines or are you actual full time developers.

Sorry for being a lil nosy, I'm just intruiged.

most of us have other jobs or school which currently have priority. But at the same time we are highly motivated, so motivated that a lot of us consider giving up our current "careers" in order to work full time for the LGS. But until we have released our first game that isn't possible. The reason is that we have no publisher who's paying our salaries so we can pay our taxes and feed our children. The plus side is that no one tells us what to do, we create the game we really want to play, without being obstructed by some 3rd party.

truely a game by gamers for gamers ~:)

And rest assured we nolonger have social lives, all our free time goes into developing this game ~;)

The title of the game and the first game features will be revealed through another official press release, probably in just a few weeks time.

Cheers,

Tim aka LZ

Can't wait!

Sounds good.

I still hope "Drums of War" is selected, short, sweet, memorable, has flow etc.

But we'll see what yiou guys have came up with. Out of interest, is it one that a member suggested in the suggestion thread on your forums, or did a lord come up with it?

I am saddened by the unfortunate destruction of the Lordz Modding Collective.
A fan from the beginning, I remember the NTW beta mods for MTW:VI.

I was drawn away by other circumstances, the net result being I visited the LMC occasionally, but always proud to be part of the NTW group.

While the letter is disturbing to say the least, my feelings on this new group are mixed at best. A die-hard conservative here, staying while the ship is sinking. I feel disappointed that such measures were taken, and I am not at all sure who has become Lordz Game Studio members and who were left of the remaining group.

I feel, and while you may mark me for such unusual viewpoints, I will say that in the beginning it was a very joyful and entertaining group, and now it feels like ashes on my tongue. The 'abuse' as I would term it of Krazy's space is what I would call shameful. Now absconding with the names of this marvelous group and using it to work with Slitherine rather than attempting to use the gunpowder units of M2TW, I feel it is a terrible sin.
:sweatdrop: :sweatdrop: :sweatdrop:

I read little on the subject, most of my information coming from the e-mail that was sent out, and I'm sure if I were to read the informative posts on the front of the .Org I would see a much more enjoyable side. My current feelings are that of anger and a sense of pride that when I walk into the game store, I can point at a Slitherine game with Lordz and say "I contributed in my small way to that piece of work!" Then the anger and indignation at not involving all members of the community in this enterprise.

I am pained by this unfortunate event, and wished only that the Games Studio involved all the Lordz and members of the forum in their choice. I would have liked to have received an e-mail asking me to join such an illustrious group, than to have recieved this unfortuante news by a herald so impersonal.
I am asking no .Orgah to dispute my feelings on the subject, discuss if you may, but know that my enjoyment of such new mods will be diminished when it is known by myself that these modders have little experiance in this new system, and that those more responsible and able did leave a ship that while not seeking a port as of late were bound to one, but they did take a lifeboat to a passing isle, that while it would give them bounty, they left their former home a distraught ship that has fallen in the unfortunate waters of obscurity and nothingness of the Total War fanbase.
A heavy heart I am presenting to you, one laden by a sorrowful emotion that some try to obscure this (a percieved injustice) by blaming hubris and revenge for this unfortunate event.

Lord Hal's feelings are of a measure equal to my own, and maybe of more merit due to personal involvement.

RIP Lordz, for the joy and happiness that you brought to my gaming experiance. From NTW and the cannons and muskets, to NTW2 and the massive artillery crews.
Salute my Lordz, for the fallen are but those of the strong.

Seems fair enough, that post says it all, I say we hold an funeral for LMC, and an wedding for LGS!

Smell that? That is dedication...yes I know, it smells like many men trapped in a small, dank room filled with sweat, vomit and piss, but that is dedication.

Looks good boys. good luck. I be stoping by later..