1809Vers5 Napoleonics....

[noone23]

I happen to be one of those Napoleonic enthusiasts. Please tell me(and everyone else who doesn't know)about this project. I don't think I was really aware of it until I saw your post here. What is it? What does it do? How does it compare with what is already available? What does it replace? What do we need to run it? That combined screenshot looked like some serious business, I'll say that much. It looks like something to look forward to, and I for one will do just that.

[falkonfive]

Hi Noone,

Ok, heres the full story. Coupla years back I stumbled on NTW1 on the net and became interested. My background is Napoleonic figure gaming and it struck me that NTW1, a mod of MTW, had a lot of potential as the Napoleonic wargamers dream. i.e a figure game type system that you could play on a PC. Visually a tabletop Napoleonic wargame can look very impressive, problem is ya need hundreds of well painted figures, a rule book 6" thick and the patience of a saint to play a big action. But it is very accurate. If there was something on a PC that could do the job reasonably well the advantages would be enormous. Instead of loading 5 boxes of figures into the car, driving down to the local club, spending 2 hours setting up terrain and laying out your army then playing a few turns, packing it all up and going home again now you have an alternative. Pour a beer, switch on the PC, load up Davout's Corps at Wagram in less than a minute ( more of that later ) and away ya go.

The original NTW was the work of the Lordz collective and all credit to them. They did a great job of turning MTW/VI into a basic Napoleonic mod. But to a grizzled old Napoleonics buff there was a lotta work to be done to make it something Napoleonic wargamers would consider playing. We've all seen Cossacks and other various attempts at the period. Enough said. Lordz then went on to develop NTW2 and NTW1 kinda got left behind , played by a few enthusiasts. Falling in with a couple of these we formed a group, The 1809 Society, to see what could be done with it. First thing was to totally re-do the stats. Took a long time to get it right but eventually we got troops behaving like their historical counterparts. This meant that the style of gameplay totally changed, rather than the usual arcade style 'bar room brawl' tactics and manouevre became the important factors. In the early days we discovered basic and very simple modding techniques and managed a few name changes which allowed us to bring in a few more troop types.

Along the way we came up with the idea of Orders of Battle for major actions that a player could just enter and have an instant and accurate historical battle. We now have a fairly extensive library ranging from the Peninsula to the 100 days. Each command is roughly Corps size and combined with the talents of our mapmaker who produces beautifully accurate battlefield maps it makes for an impressive sight in a multiplayer game.

The last great part of the project was the visual thing. The original graphics were loosely based on Brits being Red, French blue, Russians green etc. Anyone who appreciates the period knows that the uniforms are a great part of the attraction. We read everything we could find on modding MTW and set to work. With some useful advice from the 'wise ones' of MTW modding ( I still owe Macsen Rufus a goat!! Don't ask ) we now have some respectable looking Napoleonic types. Not perfect but closer than anything found in a PC game I've ever seen. We have added 30/40 troop types and can now field fairly presentable Brit, French, Austrian, Russian and Prussian armies. There just remains some tidying up to do and then its ready for release.

1809 NTW is ideally designed for MP games but of course can be used in the normal SP fashion against the A1. There are a small group of us who play regularly and anyone is welcome to join in. Beta tests so far have gone perfectly but, of course, the real test comes when a few more start to play the full version. We will welcome any input from players that will help improve the game.

If you keep an eye on our website the mod should be available for download hopefully by the weekend. All you need is MTW and the Viking Invasion add on. The download will supply the rest.

http://s15.invisionfree.com/ntw1revival

Regards

Falkonfive

[macsen rufus]

Some very nice looking units in there now, does justice to the colour and pageantry of Napoleonic armies, I'll be sure to give it a try

[Raz]

Ahh, glad to see this coming along FalkonFive. It wasn't that long ago when I remember you coming onto this forum for some advice on where to get started - now you've progressed very quickly.

[cegorach]

Good work !

I will surely download that stuff.

I hope you don't mind 'stealing' anything ?

I am looking for something as close to the late XVIIth Hungarian Hussars as possible - one of last few animations I can add to PMTW while the tests will last...




A minor issue for sure, but those coats over their shoulders are quite unique and too difficult to add by myself. Only few units will use these in my mod, but I don't like leaving any space I can possibly use...

[falkonfive]

Thanks for the kind remarks guys, praise from the 'wise ones' is praise indeed!
Absolutely right Raz, without the articles on the Guild and some sage advice it wouldn't have been possible. We've been asked to do a demonstration of 1809 at the British Army wargames convention In Rheindalen, Germany at Easter. The pressure was on to make it look as smart as possible in pretty short order. They say the best way to learn is 'on the job'. Thanks to the Guild once again.

With regard to your Hussars, Cegorah theres a couple of hussar models we have
that may do the trick. The headgear will need adjusting but they have the jackets in place. just a case of getting the colours right. be glad to send you the BIF's if you can supply an e mail address. I can be contacted at falkonfive@hotmail.com or just take 'em out of the files when the download is out.

Regards

F5

[cegorach]

Perfect.

I can change the heads myself - I have prety many to use for that + the entire thing is very simple with cavalry models.

I would like to see all your hussar models because I have only few palettes left.

Please use my usual e-mail address - cegorach77@o2.pl