Campaign map

[Rodion Romanovich]

On the legal issue about using the Family portraits, maybe one of us could write an e-mail to CA and ask them for permission.

Yeah, but then I suggest we do it when the mod is in a more finished state, perhaps when we have around 30 skins and the entire campaign map ready. Otherwise they might just not bother giving us permission, I think.

[Rodion Romanovich]

I'm proud to present map_ground_types.tga:


That's one of the two most time-consuming projects in the campaign map making process, and now that it's finished I'll start work on map_FE and map_heights etc. I'll then make sure the province list is completed and add provinces. The map_ground_types.tga has been based on a great number of maps, photos, studies of differences in terrain now compared to then etc. etc., and it has been created in Paint clicking one pixel at the time with the maps as base.

Edit: oops, this wasn't the final version. Some lakes are in bright red instead of dark red, but in the final version they have the right color. Anyway, the rest is correct on this version of the map.

[skeletor]

WOW Legio, that looks really great..

I have tried to edit maps myself, so i know how mutch work it is..
Really love thework on thenorthern parts, Iceland, Russia, and Scandinavia ++ looks fantastic.

I'm really looking forward to see the complete prowince map ready...

-Skel-

[The Stranger]

wow big map

[ScionTheWorm]

wow!!! didn't see that until now! excellent, wondered how it was going.. really like the northern parts. is there any researching that must be done before making the provinces?

[Rodion Romanovich]

wow!!! didn't see that until now! excellent, wondered how it was going.. really like the northern parts. is there any researching that must be done before making the provinces?

Well, the area around modern Poland and south to the balkans area would need some more research. But it's not only one map .tga left to do, there are loads of them, like 10 or so... Also a lot of txt-file editing. Now that the team is fairly large and I don't need to help with skinning, I've decided to make the map much more detailed and worked-through and it'll therefore probably take longer than the two weeks that I said first. Also I'm not sure it'll all work when I first put it together, so I might need some more time for testing before it'll be finished. I'll try to get map_heights and map_roughness ready quickly, then I'll present map_regions as soon as the research about the area from Poland and south to the Balkans is complete.

[eadingas]

btw, it doesn't matter really what color are the lakes, just as long as they're water.

[Krondor]

Hello i could help you for the name of the citys of the province

take for:

Croatia = Zagreb Sisak as capital

Dalmacia = Spalato or Split

Servia = Beograd or Nis what was a fromer City with a big Castle

Could you guys take Croatia as a Party too? I mean in ancent time there where two Croatian Staates White and Red Croatia, the Region in Poland cald Croabatia was Whitecroatia the Dalmatican Coastline was Redcroatia. The founder of the Bulgarian Kingdom was a Croat and the East Ukrain was once a croat state too...

Servia as a party would be good too. Some strong Knights should they have. they had some good in the history.

Is there a posibility to add new religions like heretic or jews?

What about the English would they have knights?

And the French Templar Knights, for the german would be Toutonic Knighs nice :-)

Can i help with the mod it would be a honor for me ;-)

James

[Rodion Romanovich]

We already have the maximum number of factions allowed, so Croatia and Servia can't be a new faction. But they can be a rebel faction, which means they can have some unique units etc., but not be playable.

New religions can be added, but they're bugged, so we won't add any, as it seems now.

The Englisc wouldn't have something worthy of being called knights, but thegns, who would however be of quite low quality. Their main weapon is the fyrd and later also the huscarles.

The Germans can't have teutonic knights as they were introduced after the mod ended. However the hospitallers will be available to the Germans. But the three crusader units will all be very difficult to obtain before the mod ends.

If you want to help with the mod, what are your skills? Do you know skinning etc.? Do you know unit editing?

[Zenith Darksea]

If you like, I can provide advice on Byzantine provinces. I've already helped Chivalry: Total War out with their Byzantine provinces, and I flatter myself that I do know something of the Roman Empire in this period.

[Rodion Romanovich]

Ok, sounds interesting. You could look at some of our screenshots and see whether it's correct or not. I can post them here, but not now, because our internal forum seems to be down, and the links to the screenshots are there... I'll post the screenies as soon as the internal forum is up

[Zenith Darksea]

Ah, there's one problem that I've just remembered. I'm going to Scotland tonight on holiday over Christmas and New Year, so I won't have very frequent internet access. I might be able to look in once or twice though.

[Krondor]

Longbows for the English would be good too, becouse they had the best one in the Medivieal Area ;-)

I dont have any experince of moding rome but i did a bit for Star fleet command 3 and older games like star wars rebellion.

If anyone know where i can get a free version of 3ds Max i can make the models or a semilar program would be nice too.

Is there a ingame limitation of the number of faction that a game can have?

[.Seal]

Seems nice

[kataphraktoi]

From your brief on the mod (Introduction), it goes from 843 to 1099. This means it covers approximately two periods in Byzantine military developments. But I’ll simplify it without compromising accuracy and realism into a singular list. Advanced units take a while to train so there is no need to sharply list two different military unit lists due to the development that occur as Byzantium builds its structures on the tech tree.

Elite troops:
Tagmatic Cavalry Units:
The Tagmatic troops were centred in Constantinople (and later in the provinces). The Tagmata were the nucleus of the Byzantine army and its full time professional soldiers. The Tagmata had at its core, the four Tagmata schools which were essentially cavalry units with possible exception of the Numeri
Excubitores – Senior school of elite cavalry
Scholae – Another senior school of elite cavalry
Ikanatoi – Youngest tagmatic school of elite cavalry set up by Nikephoros I
Numeri/Arithmos/Vigla – Tagmata with duties that range in looking after the capital’s walls to guarding the Emperor at night when on campaign

Other Tagmatic Units:
Immortals - Earnt its name under the Golden Warrior - John Tzimiskes – as an elite cavalry unit personally trained and raised by the Emperor in the last quarter of the 10th century. Following the fashion of their sovereign, their appearance would be quite lavish. And yet, they could fight as any elite unit would.

Klibanophori – Though attributed to Nikephoros Phokas, there is reason to believe they appeared in the 930s under Gourgen Kourkuas (John Curcuas). The expense of such a unit meant that they were a Tagmatic unit raised and equipped by the government.

Thematic troops:
Thematic Kataphraktoi – First class Thematic cavalry were called Kataphraktoi in Byzantine sources. Thematic Kataphraktoi were derived from the province’s local wealthy magnate class (from which the Phokas, Sklerus and Kuorkuas were descended from) and also other wealthy thematic cavalrymen who served as officers and first-pick soldiers. IN addition, they served as the retainers of a Thematic Strategos.

Thematic cavalry – Not as well armoured as the Kataphraktoi but still well armoured enough to serve as heavy cavalry of another kind.

Theme Militia - generally the backbone of any Byzantine army. They are moderately equipped unarmoured infantrymen with the usual sword, spear and shield panoply with a leather or iron helmet with aventail if mail/clothe.

Skutatoi – well armoured pikemen who are the best heavy infantrymen from the Themes.

Menavlatoi – well armoured heavy infantry with heavy darts/javelins to hurl against heavy cavalry

Trapezitoi – light cavalry javelineers

Psiloi – light archers

Akritoi cavalry – hardy tough frontier cavalrymen who make excellent scouts and ambush units

Mercenaries:
Pechenegs
Magyars
Khazars
Alans
Varangian Rus – Unlike the Varangian Guards, the Varangian Rus were not a formalised tagmata, they served as seasonal mercenaries under agreement with the Kievan Rus who sent these elite warriors to Constantinople.
Pharganoi – The Pharganoi are from the Ferghana region in Central Asia sent as slaves or recruited to the capital. They serve as an elite bodyguard unit to the Emperor as cavalry archers.

Varangian Guard – The Varangian Rus were the forebears of the later Varangian Guard when they were formalized as a proper Tagmatic unit

Note: This is a list of military units so far. I will make a more detailed list later. WHen I mean detailed list, I don't mean more units, I mean a detailed description of equipment and appearance and hopefully concept drawings.

[Csatadi]

This is the current campaign map. Please send your comments.
I know the eastern part isnt perfect yet and there are some economical issue we must to solve.
Personally I think there are too much provinces. Whats your opinion?

[Greek_fire19]

I like it.

I personally don't think there's a problem with the provinces, really. It seems to have a similar sort of province density as mods like EB and they work fine for me.
The only issue with provinces for me is when they are 'clumped' as in RTR, in high-population areas, but that doesn't really seem to be a problem with this map.

EDIT: love the way Iceland's in. Any chance of Greenland? Maybe Even Vinland? Im assuming not, but an eric the red epic voyage as the Vikings would be fun.

[Rodion Romanovich]

Any chance of Greenland? Maybe Even Vinland? Im assuming not, but an eric the red epic voyage as the Vikings would be fun.

Nope, unfortunately not in, and it might also be impossible because it would increase amount of sea much. The RTW engine for some reason protests if sea percentage is too big...