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  1. #1
    EB insanity coordinator Senior Member khelvan's Avatar
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    Default EB news - Friday, April 8

    Greetings, Europa Barbarorum fans!

    We have some exciting things to share with you this week! First though we would like to thank everyone who fell for the traditional April Fool's joke (the Thebans and Illyria, for those of you who are still unaware). No big mod would be complete without one! We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did leading you all on!

    This week, for you Phoenician freaks out there, we have a nice surprise: The (Carthaginian) Elite African Infantry, by Adherbal. The elite African Infantry represent both an adaptation to Roman tactics, and a force of extremely well trained and motivated soldiers whose purpose is to fight as a tough and seasoned heavy infantry. They wield good Iberian short swords, carry Iberian Scuta, and wear Roman mail armor with greaves and bracers.



    Next, we know that while you Hellenophiles have been satisfied recently, not many of the barbarian lovers out there have seen new units. So this week we have a special presentation for you, a Germanic warband (models by Alin, textures by Webbird):

    Here we have the Sahsnotaz, Ridon-Harjan, Bedilaz, Bugiz-Mannaz, and Swainaz. Followed by some unit closeups, including the Ridon-Harjan unmounted.






    We have shared quite a bit with you over the past couple of months, but we still do have a few surprises in store. This week we would like to give you a preview of the work we're doing to improve the look of the campaign map, among other things. Eadingas and Alin have been hard at work here; the images you see below were created by Alin:

    We've been working on the blockade graphic:


    Working on fleet models:


    Working on making forests more dense/realistic:


    Working on the new siege model:


    Working on a new barbarian "watchtower" model:


    Watch this space for even more surprises in the future. We are still hopeful for an April open beta, but we have run into some issues with the 1.2 patch that may delay our release somewhat. We're as anxious to have this played as you are to play it.

    Please note that unless stated otherwise, ALL pictures shown in our news posts are of works in progress. We continue to improve on all parts of EB, and will do so long after our initial release.

    As always, if you have questions or comments, the best place to post them would be here:

    https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/forumdisplay.php?f=70

    Or here:

    http://www.twcenter.net/forums/index.php?showforum=60

    We give special thanks to http://www.imageshack.us who provide us with a simple, foolproof, and free way to show you all these pictures each week.

    Have a wonderful day!

    Sincerely,

    -the EB team
    Cogita tute


  2. #2
    boy of DESTINY Senior Member Big_John's Avatar
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    Default Re: EB news - Friday, April 8

    awesomeness. i loved it all.
    particularly liked all the new campaign map models.
    also, i think the elite african infantry is my new favorite unit.
    now i'm here, and history is vindicated.

  3. #3
    Not Just A Name; A Way Of Life Member Sarcasm's Avatar
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    Default Re: EB news - Friday, April 8

    I guess Khelvan was in a "giving" mood today, hum?



    We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars

    -- Oscar Wilde

  4. #4

    Default Re: EB news - Friday, April 8

    Best update so far. I'm really excited to get my hands on this now more than ever.

  5. #5
    American since 2012 Senior Member AntiochusIII's Avatar
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    Default Re: EB news - Friday, April 8

    Hooray!

    Beautiful units and a nice touch in map features.

    FINALLY, CARTHAGE'S RIGHTFUL ELITE INFANTRY!


  6. #6
    graduated non-expert Member jerby's Avatar
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    Default Re: EB news - Friday, April 8

    on the picture (big/first) i see two skirmishers, what's the differnce? one is holding two spears in one hand, how will the throwing animation be? btw will reload be fixed, will the grasp behind their shield instead of javs popping up? will the romans have two pila strapped on their shield?

  7. #7
    EB insanity coordinator Senior Member khelvan's Avatar
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    Default Re: EB news - Friday, April 8

    Quote Originally Posted by jerby
    on the picture (big/first) i see two skirmishers, what's the differnce? one is holding two spears in one hand, how will the throwing animation be? btw will reload be fixed, will the grasp behind their shield instead of javs popping up? will the romans have two pila strapped on their shield?
    They're different units...different names, different places of origin, and so on.

    We currently have a choice for skirmishers - have them carry extra javelins in their off hand/shield hand, or not. We can't change it so they "use" the javelins. They're either there, or they are not. For many units they will remain there. For the Romans no, we decided not to because of the clipping issues this would cause with the Testudo, among other things.
    Cogita tute


  8. #8
    graduated non-expert Member jerby's Avatar
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    Default Re: EB news - Friday, April 8

    Quote Originally Posted by khelvan
    They're different units...different names, different places of origin, and so on.

    We currently have a choice for skirmishers - have them carry extra javelins in their off hand/shield hand, or not. We can't change it so they "use" the javelins. They're either there, or they are not. For many units they will remain there. For the Romans no, we decided not to because of the clipping issues this would cause with the Testudo, among other things.
    your animators can't change the reload animation? is already guessed you can't remove the jav form the shield, but let teh right arm go behind the shield to make it look like it 'grabs' s jav. look at the reload in rtw for javs. they pop up, can't the pop-up be fixed?

  9. #9

    Default Re: EB news - Friday, April 8

    Overall, I am delighted.

    I'll throw in my two cents about the barbarian "hill": It just doesn't look right. The concept motivating the change is a step in the right direction though.

    The new seige/blockade is AWESOME. Whoever is responsible for this work should be VERY proud of themselves.

    The units look excellent of course.


    I read some comments here about changing the army/spy/diplomat tokens.

    Is this hard coded, or do you have something in mind? Quick thoughts: The army token could be changes to a formation, although I have no idea how challenging the animation changes would be. It would like nice though...
    Diplomats could have a carriage or something similar, although I have no idea what was really used then.

    Either way, whatever. Looks good so far. I look forward to the beta. I'll be happy to give you guys some professional beta testing reports.
    "Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." -Einstein

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  10. #10

    Default Re: EB news - Friday, April 8

    About the barbarian watchtower...

    Why not let it rest on a mound of dirt? That way, it would be appropriate for the all of seasons.

  11. #11
    Bored Member Tux's Avatar
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    Default Re: EB news - Friday, April 8

    Quote Originally Posted by Divinus Arma
    I read some comments here about changing the army/spy/diplomat tokens.

    Is this hard coded, or do you have something in mind? Quick thoughts: The army token could be changes to a formation, although I have no idea how challenging the animation changes would be. It would like nice though...
    Diplomats could have a carriage or something similar, although I have no idea what was really used then.
    No it isn't hard-coded and this in our plan to change it and yes a little formation was our thought to do, with the other we haven't decided yet what to do.
    Last edited by Tux; 04-10-2005 at 15:58.

  12. #12

    Default Re: EB news - Friday, April 8

    Really great guys. I'm really loving the German units. However, shouldn't their beard color match their hair color?

  13. #13

    Default Re: EB news - Friday, April 8

    Hey me again.

    I love the new seige art. A quick note on this:

    I am currently reading "The making of the roman army: from republic to empire" (Keppie, 1998). Keppie's history is extremely detailed and he provides a mountain of sources for his work.

    Here is my point: Many times he refers to seiges being conducted by the Roman army, with trenches and palisades, etc. Keppie (1998) details the Seige of Alesia:

    "He [Caesar] dug out a 20 foot trench, with perpendicular sides at the bottom as at the top, and held back the other fortifications some 400 feet behind this trench... ...Behind the ditches he erected a rampart, strengthened by stakes, 12 feet in overall height. On top was a breastwork and battlement, with large forked branches projecting, where the breastwork and rampart met, to slow any Gauls who tried to climb over. There were towers put along the fortification, round the entire circuit, 800 feet apart" (p.89).

    While this was in what, 53 or 52 BC... the specifics are important. If you are going to be so accurate as to change the seige art, you may as well do it in the spirit of your mod: accurately. So perhaps you may include this in addition to your tents? Just a thought.

    I wish I had the artistic talent that you have, as I would do it myself and offer it to your labor.

    reference:

    Keppie, L. (1998). The Making of the Roman Army: From Republic to Empire. London: University of Oklahoma Press.
    "Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds." -Einstein

    Quote Originally Posted by Pannonian View Post
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  14. #14
    EB insanity coordinator Senior Member khelvan's Avatar
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    Default Re: EB news - Friday, April 8

    So, we plan on addressing all of the campaign map models, including the soldier model. Unfortunately we have only so many people to work on these things, and only so much time. I don't think we can have the model change "formations," I believe it is a static model, but I'm not a modeller, so I can't really address that.
    Cogita tute


  15. #15
    Wandering Historian Member eadingas's Avatar
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    Default Re: EB news - Friday, April 8

    About the siege model: we can't really add anything more to this, because it already reaches the limits of how complicated a model in RTW can be (there's a limit on number of polygons available, or sth like that), besides, not all armies have built complex fortifications when they were besieging cities, and this icon is supposed to be universal. So it's a compromise of sorts.
    I'm still not here

  16. #16
    Member Member tai4ji2x's Avatar
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    Default Re: EB news - Friday, April 8

    Quote Originally Posted by khelvan
    We are still hopeful for an April open beta, but we have run into some issues with the 1.2 patch that may delay our release somewhat.
    wait, i'm still unclear on this. the first post of the FAQ still talks about a closed beta. so you're saying it will be fully open to the public now?

  17. #17

    Default Re: EB news - Friday, April 8

    WOW! i love it.
    the onlything that i noticed that was a bit odd was the barbarian watchtower.
    i think it would be best as a crude version of the already existing one.

    also just wondering will their be the eastern extinsion and how many new provinces will be included?
    Last edited by Dark11; 04-09-2005 at 06:35.

  18. #18
    EB insanity coordinator Senior Member khelvan's Avatar
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    Default Re: EB news - Friday, April 8

    Quote Originally Posted by tai4ji2x
    wait, i'm still unclear on this. the first post of the FAQ still talks about a closed beta. so you're saying it will be fully open to the public now?
    https://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showthread.php?t=45130

    I haven't updated the FAQ. Too busy working on releasing things.

    Quote Originally Posted by Dark11
    WOW! i love it.
    the onlything that i noticed that was a bit odd was the barbarian watchtower.
    i think it would be best as a crude version of the already existing one.

    also just wondering will their be the eastern extinsion and how many new provinces will be included?
    The factions we're talking about didn't build watchtowers as CA had them. They made small camps on the tops of tall hills. So that is what we're making.

    We've remade the map to be bigger north, east, and south. It isn't just an "extension." We're at the province limit of 199, I have no idea how many "new" provinces that makes.
    Last edited by khelvan; 04-09-2005 at 07:03.
    Cogita tute


  19. #19
    boy of DESTINY Senior Member Big_John's Avatar
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    Default Re: EB news - Friday, April 8

    Quote Originally Posted by khelvan
    The factions we're talking about didn't build watchtowers as CA had them. They made small camps on the tops of tall hills. So that is what we're making.
    unfortunately, i assume there is no way to change that model with the seasons, right? to me, the green grass is what makes the hill odd looking in the snow. it'll look great in the summer though..

    where these hills earth works or were they natural hills that they just built little camps on? if they used pre-existing hills, maybe the scout camps can exist in-game at the start (and be part of the camp map terrain, thereby getting snowy in the winter and green in the summer)? what about having the 'hill' be abstracted, and just having a 'scout camp' (a few buildings on the ground)? is any of that possible to do?

    if they were earth works, what about a brown (earth) color to the hill instead of green?
    Last edited by Big_John; 04-09-2005 at 07:19.
    now i'm here, and history is vindicated.

  20. #20
    EB insanity coordinator Senior Member khelvan's Avatar
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    Default Re: EB news - Friday, April 8

    You really don't like our little hill, eh?

    We, of course, are keeping our options open. This is just a scout camp, it isn't any sort of fortification.
    Cogita tute


  21. #21
    Wandering Historian Member eadingas's Avatar
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    Default Re: EB news - Friday, April 8

    Actually, we could use your help with that hill, if any of you have any idea how to do it. I want it to make partially invisible, so that patches of snow/sand would come through the 'holes' in the hill texture, this way the hill could change its appearance a bit with seasons - but I can't get it to work, no matter what I do... the alpha channels don't seem to work, or maybe I'm doing something wrong.
    I'm still not here

  22. #22
    boy of DESTINY Senior Member Big_John's Avatar
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    Default Re: EB news - Friday, April 8

    Quote Originally Posted by khelvan
    You really don't like our little hill, eh?


    for me, it's mostly just that the blocky little green lump looks so incongruous in the snow (i imagine it'll be less odd looking in summer). what about a scout camp without the hill? just a small group of buildings set on a small clearing (earth-colored). that'd make sense in winter or summer... well sort of.. i don't know. obviously, it's not a big deal.
    now i'm here, and history is vindicated.

  23. #23

    Default Re: EB news - Friday, April 8

    Quote Originally Posted by Big_John
    unfortunately, i assume there is no way to change that model with the seasons, right? to me, the green grass is what makes the hill odd looking in the snow. it'll look great in the summer though..

    where these hills earth works or were they natural hills that they just built little camps on? if they used pre-existing hills, maybe the scout camps can exist in-game at the start (and be part of the camp map terrain, thereby getting snowy in the winter and green in the summer)? what about having the 'hill' be abstracted, and just having a 'scout camp' (a few buildings on the ground)? is any of that possible to do?

    if they were earth works, what about a brown (earth) color to the hill instead of green?
    I don't have an answer to the seasons question, but I will say that up close, that is an extremely detailed and kick-butt "scout camp". Too bad it's hard to see at that distance.

  24. #24
    Member Member Birka Viking's Avatar
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    Default Re: EB news - Friday, April 8

    Very nice job again EB. Can`t wait to play the beta version..

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