Zulu Mod!!!

[dclare4]

Wow! Like that running man I'll resend those blasted textures this week (my diskette died on me last sunday) and that Thin Red Line site had details on British army accoutrements for the campaign w/c will certainly make our mod one of the most detailed photo-realistic ones I hope! I'm thinking, If I could do the textures (lets say for the Warwickshires) could you place them on the model? I'd like to (if possible) include all those nice little details - since the photo will be the one providing the detail the actual model could just have flat or minimally detailed areas for these detail areas. What do you think?

Cheers!
Harlechman

[Duke Malcolm]

Lookin good. I'll be earning those eleven VCs in no time

[Myrddraal]

Love the Zulu

[pyradyn]

Hey if u need any help at all my yahoo is pyradyn. I lived in South Africa for a year and have many Zulu friends but Zulu wasnt the only tribal power the Xhosa (pronounced Kosa) and the Boars (the dutch) were a major part of the fighting. The dutch settled the shores of SA and lived peacfuly with the Xhosa and the Zulu who were inland and waring constantly with each other. When the british came they forced the Boars inland and thus causeing strife with the tribes. The Boars were defeated and put into british POW camps to live. The Zulu and Xhosa allied to fight there comman enemy the British. The British only called them Zulu because that is the only tribe they met. Xhosa painted their faces white for battle and Zulu left it plain. The Zulu worriors carried black sheilds with white spots. Only royalty had white sheilds with black spots to signify their nobility. Just a reminder the Zulu thrived long before even troy fell.

[dclare4]

Hi there Pyradyn, we'd be more than glad for any support or insights you can give. I myself am an enthusiast who's long on research but short on actual experience - never been to South Africa or England and Wales for that matter. We'll try to make it as good as we can and we'd be glad for any insights you can share.

Most grateful,
Harlechman

[Sundjata Keita]

It's great that we get support from people in South Africa (I think two others have posted) and any information you give us would be great. We have been researching very hard for the mod and so we have quite a lot of info at the moment (including all the shield patterns and colours for the different regiments) but really it all just needs sorting out so thanks for the support and we may need you in about 6 months when we finally release a BETA

Sundjata Keita

[dclare4]

Hi there Sundjata,

Thesiger and the Old Deaths comin' your way!

What we could really use now though is a bit more info on the Portuguese army. The way this balances out (as I see it) is:

British - potentially the best units but also the most expensive to recruit. They are a Colonial Power so their regulars are limited to Port Durban.

Portuguese - average units but cheaper and probably better native levies (this is a debatable point, I'm just guessing here). They are a Colonial Power so their regulars are limited to Port Lourenco Marquez.

Boer - superb all locally recruited units, highest value militia units for the Euros but precious little support from home (what home? South Africa is our home!) Boer commando however should be expensive to keep on permanent establishment.

Zulu and "Zulu style" (Ndebele, Swazi, etc) tribal groups - potentially the best melee fighters (after Shaka reforms discovered), locally recruited and able to maintain a long service standing army due to low costs. Minimal firearms units and the best ranged weapons (till enough firearms come along) will be thrown assegais.

African Tribal groups - while I'd like the other groups to be able to develop alternative but effective methods of fighting (they were historically unable to keep up with the Zulu) I think this needs to be discussed further (along with the Portuguese) to make sure they're not a 'pushover'. Technically they would have stuck to thrown assegai and warrior-vs-warrior combat (as opposed to ikhlwa melee fighting by regiment/impi) so I'm wondering if this can be improved on.

Cheers,
Harlechman

[Sundjata Keita]

Well I am hoping that playing as the tribal groups will prove a real challenge and will be for the more hardcore gamer, however we really want to open this experience for the casual gamer and so I think at least on easy difficulty we can give some of the factions bonusses on stats etc. to balance it out. It's like at current in the vanilla RTW you would not think the barbarian factions would ever beat the Romans for skill and so they do so by numbers, this is the same as tribal groups, they massively outnumber the British allowing the player hopefully to develop a stratergy using this advantage to beat the European powers.

Well in the mean time we better get some more models done, here are the 17ths. With lovely texture from dclare.



Regards,

Sundjata Keita

[dclare4]

It occurred to me (well... hopefully we're not too late.) we should back up the threads in TWCenter.

Harlechman

[Sundjata Keita]

Good idea, they contain quite a bit of info, I have most of the pictures and maps stored already but a lot of the text is useful. It was restoring a backup yesterday I think but before that I posted Zulu technology tree and a list of Zulu weapons, I have a backup of the tech but not of the weapons. I will backup our threads as soon as they come back online.

Regards,

Sundjata Keita

[dclare4]

By the way Sundjata, that was a great idea, compiling the tech tree. I'll check it out in a bit. I just saw that they're back online again.

Also, did you get that 'Scottie' I sent you last weekend ;-) I separated the shoulder straps (they're in the same position for the 17th Lancer and should go over the crossbelts - if the crossbelts are the same, we might actually just do them as part of the texture rather than having a separate object for them. My worry is figures like the British infantry where one crossbelt supports the haversack and the other supports the canteen) and for the infantry there's a bunch of other paraphernalia including canteen, haversack, bayonet scabbard and frog and some straps.

Cheers,
Harlechman

[dclare4]

Out of total morbid curiosity (kidding!) how do you get those cool avatars? Can I get one that has Michael Caine's pic from ZULU or something like that?


Harlechman

[Rifleman1848-98]

VERY GOOD WORK !!

[Epistolary Richard]

Out of total morbid curiosity (kidding!) how do you get those cool avatars? Can I get one that has Michael Caine's pic from ZULU or something like that?


Harlechman

You can pick your own avatar from a selection of those available by going to your UserCP in the top right and then clicking on Edit Avatar.

Custom avatars are being worked on. You can visit the Watchtower if you want to see the latest progress.

Keep up the good work, we're all looking forward to this one!

[Sundjata Keita]

Also, did you get that 'Scottie' I sent you last weekend ;-) I separated the shoulder straps (they're in the same position for the 17th Lancer and should go over the crossbelts - if the crossbelts are the same, we might actually just do them as part of the texture rather than having a separate object for them. My worry is figures like the British infantry where one crossbelt supports the haversack and the other supports the canteen) and for the infantry there's a bunch of other paraphernalia including canteen, haversack, bayonet scabbard and frog and some straps.

Cheers,
Harlechman

Yeah I got the scottie though I can't use it as a texture because I can't remove the writing and it has no alpha channel, could you send me it in dds format please. It looks really good though and I will begin work shortly on the model. As for shoulder straps I am going to make them seperate objects because they nicely cover the join of the crossbelts and mean I don't have to align them properly, just bung a shoulder strap on

You like my avatar? I changed it recently because I noticed as you post more you get more avatars available to you. Once I hit 500 posts there is another avatar I have seen that looks a little less stern and looks a bit like a Zulu. Then sometime in the future when I get poser and when custom avatars are allowed I will create my own Zulu 3D head. Well that's my plan anyway

@ Rifleman1848-98

Thanks for the compliment, that reminds me I still have to put in the animations for the mealie bag walls. I will do it when I put in the rifle animations. Good things to come I feel

Regards,

Sundjata Keita

[dclare4]

Sounds good re the shoulder strap... though I think I should redo the lancer dude with his crossbelts painted on as they're the same anyways. As for the Scottie, there should be two - the one you're referring to is my reference sheet w/c I included so you'll know which ones are which but there should be another one in DDS TGA format as usual which has the cape and plume areas over-written. Let me know though if you need me to resend.

By the way, TWCenter seems to be down again today! Scary...

Harlechman

[Sundjata Keita]

Yeah, TWCenter was down earlier but I thought it must of been my computer, I'm not sure how to back it up so I'm going to copy all the improtant information into text files.

Your right about the Scotties, the dds file was right under my nose and I didn't spot it, completely my fault, sorry for the confusion.

In other news this week:-

I have done a list of Zulu proverbs which I have also donated to www.isizulu.net for them to display. Hopefully we can get any help we need with translations and stuff there too. Skip this bit if you don't want to read them.

Zulu, English and meanings

Format:

Proverb in Zulu
Literal translation in English

Meaning of proverb

Imbilaph' ivun' isilonda.
The groin pains in sympathy with the sore

(similar) Isilonda sisola imbilapho
The wound blames the groin

(similar) Imbilapho isuswa yisilonda
The groin is brought forth by the wound

This Zulu proverb is said because the groin will be painful when one has a sore leg. This is regarded as an act of sympathy that brands the two as friends.

Esuka ’muva ikolwa izagila
The last partridge to rise gets the most sticks thrown at it

In hunting, the natives bring down birds by throwing sticks (izagila) at them. So in war, the last to run is most likely to be killed, etc. Intendele, a partridge, is understood. Kolwa means besides belief also, satisfaction, affliction, etc.

qina lipum’ embizeni
The buck has got out of the pot.

Literally, the buck has escaped the hunter just when he thought he had it.

Uhlakanipa nganhlanye njengomese
You are sharp on one side like a knife.

You are clever, but still not all that you would wish us to think you

Lomhlaba Unzima, Lohmhlaba
This world is a harsh place, this world

Iqil' elintethe zosiwa muva
He is the crafty one whose locusts are roasted last

Locusts were, and still are, eaten by some people, especially boys. When out herding, boys run after locusts, and when they catch them, they push a sharp stick through the thorax until there is a whole row of locusts. When they have collected enough, they make fire and roast them. A wily one will not allow his locusts to be roasted first. The practice is that everyone partakes of the locusts which have been collected by the others. It is possible, therefore, by careful manoeuvring, to save one's locusts until the very end, when it is probable that the others have had enough and do not want more.
Thus the cunning one has all his locusts to himself.
The proverb is used of a person who is keen to benefit from and by the efforts of others, but is reluctant to allow others to have anything from him. He behaves in the same way as the boy who wants the locusts of others but keeps his own for himself

Iqili lidliwa ngamany' amagili
A crafty person is consumed by other crafty people

The English say, "Set a thief to catch a thief." A crafty person employs cunning to outwit other people. Because he knows the tricks of the trade, he will be able to catch other tricksters.

Amaqili kalali ndlininye
Crafty people do not share the same bedroom

Crafty people live by outwitting others. They choose for their victims the unsuspecting who fall easy prey. A crafty person, however, will see through the cunning of another. The crafty, therefore, cannot feel happy in each other's company.

Isandla sigez' esinye
One hand washes the other

Help is reciprocal

Uphembel' emoyeni
He lights the fire in the wind

He is foolish

Isiphukuphuk' esadl' amahlul' amakhaza.
The fool who ate the clotted blood of a tick

Said of one who is extremely foolish

uKucele imphunzini
ask from the duiker

Equivalent of English proverb "fly like the wind"

Intandane enhle ekhothwa ngunina
A good orphan is one that is licked by the mother

By “good” here is meant “one that is in better circumstances”It is well
known that mothers are more tender and sympathetic towards their children. Fathers are, as a rule, more hard-hearted. A mother is capable of making great sacrifices for the welfare of her children, whereas a father may not care so much. Thus a child without a father is generally in better circumstances than a child without a mother.

Khulisa umntwana ngendlela elungileyo lapho esekhulile kayikuphambuka kuyo
Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it

Teach children the path and they will follow it


Only English and meanings known

Format:

Literal Proverb
meaning in brackets


Every stream has its source
(What occurs now was caused by something in the past cause/effect)

Do not speak of a rhinoceros if there is no tree nearby
(Don’t say something unless you can back it up; some things are better left unsaid)

Travelling brings forth a male calf
(a rolling stone gathers no moss)

You begin with the meal before the water is boiling
(count chickens before they hatch)

The cow licks the one that licks her
(Kindness brings its own rewards)

Copying everyone else all the time, the monkey one day cut his throat
(If everyone jumped off a cliff would you?)

Almost is not eaten
(don't put the cart before the horse)

I cannot hear what you say for the thunder of what you are
(A person’s overbearing personality drowns out the message they want to convey)

This too shall pass
(time continues; all things must end)

The elephant has fallen and the tribes have gone to cut off pieces
(used when a strong person falters and others take advantage of his weaknesses)

There is no polecat that ever smelt its own smell
(a person seldom knows his own shortcomings)

The crocodile devours in the strong current
(a warning not to fall in bad company)

The leopard does not sleep with the goat
(used when people do not get along together)

The leopard devours its master
(used when a person gives back bad for good)

The seed waits for its garden or ground where it will be sown
(take your opportunities)


Only English known

Abundance does not spread; famine does

No stake ever grew old with the bark on

He who hates, hates himself

Old age does not announce itself

These will be used as prebattle quotes along with some Xhosa ones and the list of 60 or so Ndebele ones posted at TWC.

In other news I was wondering if the prebattle speeches are going to be in Zulu or not (presuming we can get someone to speak the Zulu) because there are several phrases that would be good such as

benza njengabantwana - they act like children
bakhala njengomfazi - they cry like women
sifanele phumelela - we must win
Bhekinkosi - look to the king
Bhekizifundiswa - watch and learn from the educated ones
Mpinkulu - great war
Musawenkosi - gods grace
Sinenhlanhla - we have luck
Sinethemba - we have hope

For those that don't know work has begun on the building pictures and we are speculating doing them in 3D because a lot of the pictures will be repeats for the native tribes. An example is the Zulu cattle kraal



I know it is not great quality because I didn't have much time to render (and I am not too good at texturing )

The final currency that will be in game will be the "amandla" meaning power in Zulu.

Also what do people think of us doing weekly updates but just all put in this thread? I could post more info but that's what our sub-forum at TWC is for so visit there if you want more info.

Regards,

Sundjata Keita

[dclare4]

Wow those are great quotations Sundjata! I hope we can find someone or a friend of someone who can speak Zulu. Those taunts would be really great if spoken 'in the original Zulu' (to paraphrase the Klingon quote) with subtitles. No prob about the Scottie, all's well that ends well.

We gotta be careful of our forum posts now as well, it seems that there are a lot of malicious codes and hackers going around. Netwar here we come!

I'm trying to remember a quote w/c I'm pretty sure is either Zulu specifically or South African, something that goes, 'if you can walk you can dance' or something like that. Our Zulus should be able to dance while taunting if possible, I think.

Cheers,
Harlechman

[dclare4]

Check this out for another superb reenacting group. They have some info for drill w/c might help with the animations ;)

http://hicketypip.tripod.com/default.htm

Harlechman

[Sundjata Keita]

Ha, those drills are the same ones we do today. I didn't read it all but I expect they still had all the classic rifle exercises "Present Arms!" (that still go on today) Good old British army

[Sundjata Keita]

Well it seems none of you really care about the weekly updates but I will keep doing regular updates so people here can check on the progress. Remember you can post any comments or questions on this thread if you want, I check it most days.

Anyway, this week :-

New Zulu model with monkey tails round waist (old texture)



New shield model on this one (old texture)



British Argyllshires (plus showing off load, aim and fire animations)



Also some research has been done on the faction symbols and we have some ideas for the african tribes (because they had few actual symbols) We would also like a volunteer, if possible, to do some designs but otherwise I think stich will do them with me once he's finished his finals (though some more help would be nice )

Other than that it's been a pretty quiet week

Regards,

Sundjata Keita

[Stormy]

Wow! Marvelous.. I'm looking out for this one.

[UpWithEvil]

Hey, I care about the updates! :)

Lookin' good, this mod could be a real sleeper.

[shifty157]

Can we see more pics of your rifle animations?

This mod looks pretty impressive. It could be very interesting.

[Sundjata Keita]

Well OK then I will try to do weekly updates as long as stuff has happened in that week, sometimes nothing happens. I will try to sort out the animations too, maybe I could do a render and make it into a gif file.

Sundjata

[Sundjata Keita]

Looks like it's been another week and so it's time for the progress report for this week.

First thing to mention is the great news that grudgebringer from SCC has offered to help us with the textures so hopefully this will mean not only a speeded up process but added realism in terms of looks. He is on holiday at the moment so it will be a few weeks before you get to see his work.

Only new unit this week is Lord Chelmsford himself, here commanding a couple of 17ths



He also has corrected boots to the WIP shots that I don't think got posted here but here's a screen of them anyway. Nice boots I'm sure you'll agree ;)



Also this week we have been working on the music for the mod, we want a really in depth experience so I went looking for traditional Zulu music and south african drums and chanting. I have found about 10 30 second tracks which can be used and made loopable if neccessary to fill in winning the battle music etc.

Also I had a go at composing my own track which is just some drum beats done in reason with an african chant over the top. (not sure how to make it listenable but try this link)

My music track

In other news the unit names for other native south african tribes (excluding Zulus) will now be in Zulu after a poll was done at TWC on our sub-forum. The option to use Zulu names for native tribes units won by 50% and so I am compiling a list of units that will be given to each faction, then each will get its own unique ones. What I have got so far

Umlindi - watchman
Ichobanswani - advanced guard
Umpakati - veterans
Izimpohlo - younger soldiers
Insizwa - younger soldiers
Amabutu - lads who have not served in war
Ijoni - a soldier
Isosha - a soldier
Umholi - leader
Ujenele - military general

Once the list is compiled I can write a comprehensive unit list and not only can we start designing them but balancing them too. If anyone has any suggestions in Zulu or English then we would like to hear what you think we should have. If they are in english I will try to translate them into Zulu.

Just a small note - I will be going on a fornights break in 3 weeks so there will be no activity from me during those two weeks but mod progress should continue and then maybe I can make a big update at the end. Another update coming next week!

Regards,

Sundjata Keita

[Duke Malcolm]

Lord Chelmsford looks good, even though I don't know who he was, and the Argyll Highlanders look good also

[shenrougu]

for music, during battle for the british, can i recommend rule britania? or the british grenidiers, both would give a great atmosphere for a british player. And a slow version of god save the queen for the strategy map would be good, i have MP3's of them if you want them.

[Sundjata Keita]

We're just not sure yet on the music front shenrougu because there are so many great British tracks that will give atmosphere, I think rule Britania might go nicely on the campaign actually.

Anyway, on to this weeks update (now moved to the Monday). Well it's been a pretty quiet week but I have some more great news! Pyradyn has joined the team, he will be doing some voice acting for the Zulus hopefully and also wants to learn to mod, he's good with history too. The team list has been updated to account for the new arrivals

-Sundjata Keita - models, some textures and historian for the Zulus and other native tribes

-Stichmaster1 - shield textures, ideas and colaboration

-deLancey - main texturer and historian for the British and Boers

-Baiae - research and text editing

-Captain Quark - Official historian

-Forgotten - texturer (focusing on realism)

-Pyradyn - Boer war historian, Zulu culture historian and colaboration

In other news I finally got poser the human 3D modelling program and so did an example of what the portrait pictures will eventually turn out like (they will be of course smaller)



Opinions welcome on the style.

Also this week I have got some new books which will help with research and concept art. One includes a map with city names on and so work on the campaign map will begin soon.

I haven't got any new units to show you this week (I didn't say at the start because I knew most of you would have stopped reading ) but I can tell you that work on implementing animations will begin this week and so I should be able to show you something by the end of this week but no promises. Once this is done the smoke effects will be added which will again take time.

Thanks for taking the time to read the progress report and another update will come in a week

Regards,

Sundjata Keita

[Epistolary Richard]

I think this style of portraits is excellent, it'll look really original and it'll allow a consistency through the mod that trying to clip contemporary photos and drawings just won't allow.