WWI:Total War- The Progress so far

[The_Ferret]

OK, so for those who dont know, a few brave fools led not by a leader, but by one seemingly impossible goal- to make a WWI mod for RTW, have actually realised it's possible. We had no-sayers, we doubted ourselves at first, but over the last two weeks, we have proven its possible. We have an answer to every doubt you can throw at us, so fire away.

The team-

The_Ferret
Von Richtofen
Coatol(Chilly5)
Adelmo(Ben_is_Sparky)
Sgt.York
themodman
Bassv2
Rinaly15
GoldenKnightX2
lego_xx

We have a German (Bosch) soldier (Sturmtruppens-Stormtroopers)

By Me (The_Ferret)

A British (Tommy) soldier

By Adelmo (Ben_is_Sparky)

German cavalry soldiers

By Coatol (Chilly5)

American (doughboy) Infantry

Also by Coatol (Chilly5)

All of the above are works in progress and as such do not represent the quality of the finished article

Our aims over the coming weeks are to get a few more units out and to model them to look as they should.

We have ideas for press buildings
Town Caller>local press>regional press>small cinema>large cinema

And railways will be a seperate building to roads.

We have more ideas than this, but for the full details visit the site.

For our Oliphaunt cheat, we are looking for the most obscure and off-topic thing possible. i.e Spartans of HALO maybe?

We will model tanks on elephants mainly but change the animation of men hit by them. Machine guns are artillary peices, and MG bunkers are towers. We are remodelling forts to be 2 sets of trench lines, and barbed wire walls. At the moment planes are spies, and zepplin baloons are saboteurs.

We will have unique buildings like Verdun Castle, and the Basilica at Ypres with the Golden statue on top. Historical battles will be the Gallipoli landings, the somme, Passendale ridge, the 1st and 2nd battles of Ypres and many more.

We maintain that any ideas remain in a flux state and are subject to change at any time. For full unit lists, Faction lists, and Building lists, please visit our website

Currently we are appealing for Animators, Modellers, and more Skinners. Any questions? please post.

[Lonely Soldier]

You said in the WWII thread that you had "sussed the trenches", how have you managed this?

And I know what you mean about the nay-sayers... Don't people have anything better to do than pick at hard work?! (I know I made that comment about the trenches - I meant no offense ).

[The_Ferret]

I took no offense. But thanks anyway

Didn't I mention trenches? Oh, well, I need to get a modeller to do it first... We know its possible because some other mod that died a heck of a long time ago did it. But anyway, The nay-sayers are helpful actually sometimes (no less annoying though ) because, our first few members were attracted when we had an answer for every doubt. (showed them lol)

[WarHawk]

Sorry, but the German soldiers look terrible.

Also, you're going to need to make new models, because skins just won't cut it.

[nic_vee]

I must agree with WarHawk, the Huns soldiers just dont look German enough. Oh and is their going to be a Galipoli with the turks and all that.

[caesar44]

good luck !!!
what about tanks

[Myrddraal]

Sorry, but the German soldiers look terrible.

Also, you're going to need to make new models, because skins just won't cut it.

The first graphics of a mod are always the worst. The Ferret is getting practice at skinning, I'm sure the final release will be better, but in the mean time, lets give some constructive critism, instead of saying they are terrible, suggest a way of making them better.

[Sundjata Keita]

Yes those pictures of trenches really showed all those non-believers it is possible But seriously, good to see some progress. A bit of constructive criticsm on the skins, increase contrast a little to define pockets and stuff and maybee sharpen but not so much as to distort the colours. The British tommy soldier is a bit too green and you need to make the camo a bit more noticable, try using the levels and colour balance to make it more visible (if you are using photoshop)

Good luck with it

[Bwian]

Also worth noting that the 'Stormtroops' were a late war innovation. The bulk of the German army were NOT stormtroops. The colour of the uniforms for the Germans are a little to 'blue' and need to be much greyer. The colour you have the Germans would be about right for the French.

You also BADLY need to get some proper 3d models for the units. The 3d meshes from the stock game are no where near the right shape.

[The_Ferret]

OK, we kinda need a modeller- BADLY!!! but its the best we could do. I know about the Stormtroop things, but they looked similar to the legionaires, so it was all I could do without a modeller. I've re-done the Germans and they look better now.

We mentioned that tanks would be elephants.

The mod has grinded to a halt though, we cant go any further without a modeller, if we dont get one soon we'll need to abandon... some already have.

[nic_vee]

Dont abandon to soon.
And sorry about the comment earlier. I would really like to see this mod completed.

Good luck

[The_Ferret]

OH! and- yes, there will be a Gallipoli Battle we think, and Turkey will be in the map. Of course, this is if we get a modeller before everyone gets bored of waiting.

[Rodion Romanovich]

Cool, it actually seems like you'll be able to create a really good ww1 mod out of the R:TW engine, something I thought was impossible. Good luck! I can't wait to play this because ww1 games are too rare as it is now. If you can actually succeed in making good trenches then it'll certainly be interesting. I'm however more curious about the campaign map than about the battles, because once it turns into a trench war the battles won't be as complex as the strategy? How will you modify the campaign map so that digging trenches (forts) will be the most effective tactic and be used by the AI enemies more?

[The_Ferret]

It never was an effective tactic. If the player doesn't like the trench idea, he can decide to not let one peice of land become too contested. If he/she decides that trench warfare is necassary to defend a strategic area, so be it. The AI will only dig trenches were necassary too. WE NEED A MODELLER! THE MOD IS IN JEOPARDY!!!

[Myrddraal]

The Ferret, I could do a little work for you, (since you did for me), but at the mo I don't have acess to 3ds max. As soon as I do I'll tell u.

[The_Ferret]

Great, thanks Myrddraal. I'm still trying to figure out how to get the texture mapping onto photoshop... Does anyone know how?

[Rodion Romanovich]

It never was an effective tactic. If the player doesn't like the trench idea, he can decide to not let one peice of land become too contested. If he/she decides that trench warfare is necassary to defend a strategic area, so be it. The AI will only dig trenches were necassary too.

Are you saying that trenches with machineguns, barb wire and artillery weren't an effective defensive tactic during ww1?!! Then please mention one method you'd say is better than that? Isn't the sources about frontline movements (or lack thereof) during ww1 good proof that trenches and fortifications was a very strong type of defense? Only tanks (which were again FORTIFICATIONS, although mobile ones), could break through them without extreme losses. I know that there was a pretty long and important phase before the almost static trench warfare begun, but as soon as the german offensive was slowed down and the trench systems could be built they become some of the most effective defense methods in the war.

How will trenches be implemented if they are going to be forts? Will they disappear if you don't keep a garrison in them? Will they have to be besieged? What "siege equipment" can be built with build points or is that removed? Will it be possible to just bypass a fort without besieging it in the mod? And if mg bunkers are "siege weapons", won't that mean they'll be able to move around on the battlemap? Will you edit cities so they look modern and how will you treat the former walls from R:TW, will you make modern fortifications with bunkers instead of towers and trenches+barb wire instead of walls, or have you got any plans for city fortifications at all?

[The_Ferret]

and also a good way of preventing any tactic that alowed you to foil the enemies such defense. People always say that going over the top was always a bad idea, there was no other way. The trench lines and constant shelling destroyed any possibility of an effective attack. Thats a static war, when neither side can attack as or more effecticely than their adversery defends.

And the machine gun bunkers are no longer artillary they are towers. Machine gun squads however are artillary. And yes, the fort would become derelict if there is no army there, in reality the enemy would move into an unoccupied trench and move forwards. Or the trench would be caved in before the army left, or the trench would collapse on itself anyway.

AND we are thinking of having a seperate building plan for cities that DID have walls, and cities that DIDN'T have them. Or maybe a hidden resource.

[Rodion Romanovich]

and also a good way of preventing any tactic that alowed you to foil the enemies such defense. People always say that going over the top was always a bad idea, there was no other way. The trench lines and constant shelling destroyed any possibility of an effective attack. Thats a static war, when neither side can attack as or more effecticely than their adversery defends.

Ok.

And the machine gun bunkers are no longer artillary they are towers. Machine gun squads however are artillary.

Can machinegun squads and others be placed down in the trenches while firing, and then get a bonus against troops who aren't in trenches because half their bodies are covered?

And yes, the fort would become derelict if there is no army there, in reality the enemy would move into an unoccupied trench and move forwards. Or the trench would be caved in before the army left, or the trench would collapse on itself anyway.

Yes, I think that's a good thing.

AND we are thinking of having a seperate building plan for cities that DID have walls, and cities that DIDN'T have them. Or maybe a hidden resource.

Ok.

There was one question I didn't get an answer too, and that is if you "besiege" a trench. With the R:TW mechanics, wouldn't that mean you'd be able to starve it out? And if you "besiege" a trench, and then choose assault, would the battle start with the defender in one end of the map with good trenches and bunkers and the besieger on the other side of the map, or would it look like in R:TW when you assault a fort - that the defender is in the middle of the map and a possibility to move around the fort in the middle as you wish? Another thing about trenches - would you have to build different trenches for vertical (north-to-south) trenches on the battle map and for horizontal (west-to-east)? If you have built trenches in one area and another set of trenches just next to those trenches, would they then look like one long continuous set of trenches on the battlemap? Because on the battlemap you also see adjacent squares, but would the trenches on adjacent squares be visible and look like they're continous with the trenches on the main battlemap if they are continuous on the campaign map?

[The_Ferret]

Hopefully yes. We also hope (hope) to find some way of explaining the starving out thing. NO WAIT! IT JUST OCCURED TO ME NOW! When you are 'besieging' a trench, it would BOMBARD the enemy. So many turns until the trench is destroyed?

[Infestus]

Aparently this mod died some time ago.

It's quite sad...

This post is kinda useless, i just wanted to make sure if it was really dead. Everything i found about this mod has it's last posts dated in April.

[Chilly5]

yep, afraid its dead *takes a moment of mourning* though, i'm not too sure, since i havent been to the foums since april

[Abokasee]

dudes what treches!!! eh?

and make them have guns to!!

[The_Ferret]

Mod= dead- Very Very dead- in fact so dead that it can not even be given a funeral- so dead that death itself is too small a word. So dead that... well- you get me :D