Campaign map

[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.

[Rodion Romanovich]

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

ok, but they have to be one of the three allowed sea colors, don't they? I think I used a fourth red color temporarily during the work with the map so I would see the lakes before coloring them in the darkest sea color. Anyway, thanks for the tip. It would probably be more practical to have all the lakes in the brightest water color so they're easier to spot against the often dark background.

[Incongruous]

Ok, you just listed that the Magyars as being cinverted into Armenia, they should be around the area of Scythia, Tribus Gatea, Bosphorus and possibly Maeotis.
Sorry another attack of bad english, I hope it helps

[ScionTheWorm]

we understand you, you don't need to double post all the time

[Rodion Romanovich]

Ok, you just listed that the Magyars as being cinverted into Armenia, they should be around the area of Scythia, Tribus Gatea, Bosphorus and possibly Maeotis.
Sorry another attack of bad english, I hope it helps

No, Armenia -> Magyars means we'll use the hardcoded Armenia faction in R:TW to change to Magyars. Which faction you choose to remake doesn't matter except in that those with the same culture in R:TW gets the same culture in the mod. We haven't decided the magyar provinces yet, see the Provinces thread. Most of the provinces west of Kiev and east of the Holy roman empire aren't complete yet. If you have any good suggestions about which cities should be included in the area east of the Holy roman empire and west of Kiev, feel free to post those suggestions in the Provinces thread. Which cities are going to be included is more important than how the provinces are divided, but if you have good province names too we're interested.

[skeletor]

I have planted some seeds for the mod at the RTR forum, and some of them have turned in to interesting discusions... Specially this about the Byzantine Empire... Worth a watch http://www.rometotalrealism.com/phpb...opic.php?t=993

-Skel-

[ScionTheWorm]

The extent of Total War-gamer's history knowledge never stop to surprise me... just wondering as I'm not in a mood for finding out myself, when did the byzantine empire go under?

[Incongruous]

I beleive in 1453. Don't listen to that Romanus guy, he said that the Byzantine Empire was at its zenith during the time period of this game so clearly he has no real knowladge of the,
But Apostate has a great knowladge, wow!

[Rodion Romanovich]

In 1204, Constantinople was sacked by the fourth crusade, thanks to the Venetians who were enemies of Constantinople due to how trade in Constantinople was favored to the Genoese and others. Then for many years there was no Byzantine empire, until a guy united some of the men again and took Constantinople. They survived the mongols and many years of emnity with Turkish tribes, but in 1453, the Ottoman turks, having been beated by Timur Lenk and pushed to strengthen their small colonies in the Balkans area, thought Constantinople was the next logical step for their expansion. After Timur Lenk's empire had gone, the Ottoman turks had retaken their positions in Asia minor and thus had an empire both in Balkans and Asia minor with Constantinople in the middle being like an isle in the middle of their empire. The Byzantines (or Latin empire which it was called after the reuniting after the 1204 disaster), hadn't got much of an army to resist the invasion. The had also got a flourishing economy and hired the best European artillery along with their own, and could completely crush the walls of the city. The inferiority in numbers of the Byzzies, perhaps around 1 to 10, had been able to resist before the advanced artillery came, but now they were chanceless. They also seem to have had a much weaker fleet and didn't use the greek fire that had killed so many earlier naval assaults on the city, so the ottomans could attack from the sea as well.

According to what I've read, the Byzzies had been steadily losing power up to 843 AD, but then things calmed down and they had a golden age for a few centuries. In 1071, they were defeated so badly at Manzikert that it ended the golden age and started a steady decline of the empire which continued until in 1204 AD. The loss of good provinces made them unable to recruit the skilled troops they had been using previously, and the general loss of land made their economy decline, meaning they could no longer pay their mercenaries. Most mercenaries therefore refused to fight in 1204, according to the legend only the varangians tried to resist the crusaders when they entered the city but they were vastly outnumbered and soon had to give up.

Also, 1204 wasn't the first time the empire was nearly destroyed. During the muslim expansions, the greek fire and great fortifications of Constantinople, as well as some luck, saved an otherwise much weakened empire from destruction. Same thing happened when the bulgars came. The bulgars defeated them in the open but couldn't siege the city to death (the bulgars didn't have much of a fleet so they only tried land assault). Then there was also a viking siege of the city. The viking siege was apparently the most successful one, probably because they had a great fleet. They recieved a tribute among other things. But it wasn't unil in 1204 that the city really fell.

[eadingas]

There was also an expedition of Kiev princes, who fared quite well in besieging the city. They received major trade benefits and tribute.
It seems Constantinople wasn't such a tough nut to crack after all :)

[ScionTheWorm]

Hehe fooling around.. thought we could have an axe like this for the intro background. If we can get some info on how to make an animation, I'll make the light on the axe move; would look really cool in my opinion. Now it's just a... wallpaper or something made it myself (or composited it myself or whatever)


Edit:

[Rodion Romanovich]

Wow, cool!

[ScionTheWorm]

The good quotes gets some rewards... heh


ah love doing this...

[ScionTheWorm]

A real badass. Found no quote to fit it, so I ran an old Bathory classic. Shrinked it for better browser view...

[ScionTheWorm]

Sad one...


Edit:
Sorry the quotes may not always fit, but that's always what I start with and then make the pic... I think maybe it should not be used on this one...

[ScionTheWorm]

btw legio, pic nr 3 (drinking olav) is what I ment for loading screens some time ago. with some screenshots I could make tons of cool pictures
ops nothing wrong with my selfesteem today...

[skeletor]

The good quotes gets some rewards... heh


ah love doing this...

I really fell for this one.. superbe

Do you think you can make someone in the same genre with christian and islam motives?

Keap on making those tons, i sent you some screens by mail now.

-Skel-

[ScionTheWorm]

sure. haven't got any mail though

[GoreBag]

Those loading screens are fucking metal. They all kick ass. I'm also very pleased that my quotes made it in.

[ScionTheWorm]

give us some more excellent satanic or sentimental-as-hell quotes , and let me be inspired...

stay metal

[Renly]

Sad one...


Edit:
Sorry the quotes may not always fit, but that's always what I start with and then make the pic... I think maybe it should not be used on this one...

You made that from scratch!? I absolutly love that one.

[GoreBag]

give us some more excellent satanic or sentimental-as-hell quotes , and let me be inspired...

stay metal

Deal. Coming right up.

[Zero1]

Need some righteous Pagan metalhead quotes?, I think I could be of some help there

[GoreBag]

I just saved some of them for desktop and background images. I'm eager to see some more. Maybe the loading screens should have their own thread?

[ScionTheWorm]

will make a few more first and then start a thread. I have some badass ideas to loading screens now. I can certaintly use neongods new ones, but I have an idea which requires an authentic historical quote about the greatness of christianity (or islam) - if anyone has such a thing up in their sleeve - would be great. Will also make some for the eastern steppe culture, islam etc, but if not, they will certaintly appear when the units and screenshots are coming. I think they will all contain some kind of wartheme, not only nature or medieval people.

Btw does anyone know the max number of loadingscreens in rtw?

And, I have no idea about how or if your quotes will be used in the mod....