Arthurian Era Mod for VI?

[CountMRVHS]

Has anyone done this before? I'm kicking around ideas for my own little mod based on this time period and I wondered if anyone had actually finished one previously. I'm wondering specifically if anyone has a campaign map kicking around, showing the British Isles and parts of the Continent.....

If not, well, I'm working on an Arthurian mod for VI. As this was originally going to be just for me I was planning to just use the Viking era map and mod the factions and units from there, as that's all I really know how to do. But I wonder if other people might be interested in this. If so, I'd like to expand it a bit by having a new campaign map, more provinces (including Brittany, parts of France, etc.) and maybe even new unit graphics. First things first though: I need to find out if someone's done this before. Any thoughts?

CountMRVHS

[The Blind King of Bohemia]

A mod like this was released and he did a great map for it. He was called old and faded or something to that effect.

[barocca]

there are two arthur mods? (not including camelot)

i have not played either of them, so i have no idea how "complete" they are,

one can be found by reading this thread
old n faded's mod

the other is a campaign with some new units?,
but i have not tested it to check what it actually does

download link


NOW
if you take these two and see what they have,
then add in your own ideas

THEN make your own mod

you may freely discard or add to the work they have done
as long as you mention the authors of these works in your mod credits you should have no troubles
:-)

ALSO have a browse of 3D downloads and look in the beta files section,
- it's where we stash any old thing, incomplete mods, bits and pieces
a real treasure trove of resources

also check these for ideas
http://www.3ddownloads.com/strategy-...agandawnv2.zip
http://www.3ddownloads.com/strategy-..._Addon_1.1.zip
http://www.3ddownloads.com/strategy-..._Addon_1.2.zip
http://www.3ddownloads.com/strategy-...gResources.zip
http://www.3ddownloads.com/strategy-...t_Mod_Pack.zip
http://www.3ddownloads.com/strategy-...nimagepack.zip
http://www.3ddownloads.com/strategy-...cess%20Mod.zip


good luck and have fun


(and if you are worried about the rights and wrongs of expanding on others work you should check my list of credits in Samurai Mod forum - over 100 people have contributed to Samurai Mod)

cheers,
B.

[CountMRVHS]

Rock!!!!

Thanks for the links, Barocca, and BKB.

At the moment I'm downloading oldnfaded's mod.... at least I HOPE I'm downloading it. I've never downloaded someone else's mod before so I'm not sure if I'm doing it right. When I started, I had the option to "Run" or "Save", and I picked "Save". Then it wanted to save it into what appeared to be my Save Games folder. I figured the computer knew what it was doing so I said ok.

Now, though, it's going to take something like 4 1/2 hours for me to see if it will work.... Then I've got to install it, which will be another interesting challenge. Hopefully there's some very idiot-proof mechanics behind all this or I may be screwed!

CountMRVHS

[CountMRVHS]

Alright, this is probably not the right place for this but I'll make it quick:

how the heck can I get a downloaded mod working?

As I said above, the Arthur mod was downloaded to my savegame folder. I can see it in there; it looks like a disk drive with an arrow pointing down at it. When I double-click it and click Run, it says there's invalid material.

Should I move it someplace else? What do I need to do? How do I install?

I'm Hopeless!!!!!! Help!!

CountMRVHS

[barocca]

did you make a clean copy of Viking Invasions

and i think the mod checks if you have deleted the VI starpos files

Viking Invasion\campmap\startpos\ early, high, late etc

[CountMRVHS]

Yes I just reinstalled VI.

So I need to delete the Viking era startpos? Or all of them?

That would mean I couldn't play the Viking era and have this mod on the same installation....

something seems wrong here. I'd understand if the mod saved to the place where the startpos files are... maybe I'll try moving it there and see if it works.

[CountMRVHS]

Still can't get this thing to work;

Barocca, do you mean that I'll need to delete all the current startpos files in order for the mod to work?

Hoping I can get to play this mod, it sounds great...

CountMRVHS

[ChaosLord]

CountMRVHS you need a program capable of extracting zip files(a type of archive). I recommend WinRAR, you can download it from www.rarlabs.com or alternatively you could just use www.google.com to find a download link for WinZIP(another program capabel of extracting zip files).

Once you have a program capable of extracting the zip you should extract its contents to the main M:TW folder. It might create a folder called arthur101patch in the main M:TW folder instead of extracting right to it. If thats the case just go inside that folder and copy all the files from it into the main M:TW folder. Remember to back up beforehand if you don't want to have to reinstall if you find the mod not to your liking.

I haven't actually installed the mod myself yet as I have another installed already. If you experience any problems let me know and i'll go about installing a fresh copy to test it.

[CountMRVHS]

Thanks very much for the advice, ChaosLord. This is the first mod I've downloaded so I'm trying to get used to this.

I think I already have something that allows me to extract files. I've done it before with other things like Gnome Editor, and a couple of other things that came already "zipped". But maybe I need WinRar *specifically* in order to open this mod.

On another note, I downloaded the second "download link" in one of Barocca's above posts last night. It appears to be an updated version of the campaign I'm trying to get working, but the difference is I can actually open it and look around at things like the startpos files and unit files. Maybe THIS is the thing I should be trying to install?

I'll try a few things and get back to you. Thanks again!

CountMRVHS

[CountMRVHS]

Ok, a bit of progress has been made, I guess. Here is what I did.

That thing I downloaded from Barocca's post (mentioned above) actually seemed to be the thing I wanted. When downloaded to My Documents, it showed a file folder with a little zipper on it. It was called "arthur101patch". I can open it and look around. There are 3 folders in there:

a Battle folder
a Campmap folder
a Loc folder

and 3 text files:

ARTHUR_BUILD_PROD
ARTHUR_UNIT_PROD
and "changes".

I chose to "extract all files" and selected the MTW directory. It seemed to work: the 3 txt files are all visible in there and when I go to Campmap/Startpos I can see a txt file that says "ARTHUR".

All that done, I start up VI, go to New Campaign.

Now, at the top of the list of campaigns, right above the Vikings, is "Arthurian Legend". There is a description underneath that tells me about the campaign. However, there is no mini-map to the right showing me what the campaign map will look like.

I click to start the campaign but, instead of going to a screen where I would be able to choose factions, I am dumped to the desktop.

I go back, open up VI again and select a different campaign -- the Vikings, or Early. Every time I select a different campaign I am automatically dumped to desktop.

Apparently some of the stuff I need IS actually in there... but I can't play it.

Perhaps what I just downloaded from Barocca's link is actually just a sort of patch for the arthur campaign and I'll still need to extract the files from the FIRST thing I downloaded; the thing that took me to 3ddownloads and took 5 hours.

Problem is, that thing doesn't give me an option to unzip it. The icon appears to be a disk drive with a red arrow pointing down at it. Whenever I doubleclick it, it tells me there is "Invalid data". Do I need WinRar to get to a point where I can open that?

Only other thing I can think of is that, since I just reinstalled VI, it's still unpatched, so I'm working with version 2.0. But I don't think that would make a difference.

ChaosLord, if you could try installing that as well I think it might help me out a lot, to see what I'm doing wrong. Your help is really appreciated,

CountMRVHS

[ChaosLord]

Hmm, I didn't pay enough attention, thought the zip was the mod. You're right in thinking the first link goes to the main download of the mod, and the zip is just a patch. The file is an .exe and from what I can tell reading the thread they made a self-extracting installer using WinZIP or WinRAR. You shouldn't need WinRAR or any unarchiver to extract it though as it should have everything it needs in the .exe.

But you could try downloading WinRAR anyway, then going to the folder with the file using WinRAR and opening it up. Any self-extracting installers made by WinZIP or WinRAR, WinRAR should be able to open and extracted manually, so maybe that could do it. I'm gonna start downloading the mod and see if I have any problems installing it but since i'm on dialup it won't be until later today before I can install and test it.

I'll let you know how it goes.

[CountMRVHS]

Thanks ChaosLord. I wonder if something went wrong with the downloading process, as both times I tried it (downloading the mod, not the patch) the same thing happened: once I got to the point where it said I had an hour left, the download finished.

I also patched my version of VI to see if that would help, but nothing.

Forgive my ignorance of this, but would it be possible for me to contact the guy who made the mod and ask him to just send it to me? Or would that entail a crazy amount of time-consuming uploading on his part? Just wondering if that's a last-resort option.

Thanks again, and I'm curious to see how everything goes for you

CountMRVHS

[ChaosLord]

Oh, that may be your problem CountMRVHS. The file you download should be 39.87mb according to 3DDownloads. It might be a little smaller or bigger then that (by a few .mb) but if its 1mb or more smaller your download ended too soon and you need to re-download it.

As for the mods creator e-mailing you it, i'm not sure if hes around or not and most e-mail services only let attachments go up to a few mb. I'll go ahead with downloading the mod and if you still have problems with it i'll see about putting it up temporarily on another website or hosting an ftp for you to download it from.

[CountMRVHS]

Ahhhh.... you know, I just checked and the thing called "Arthur" that I have is only 32.2 MB.

But why would it end prematurely, both times, at the same general time during the download?

I'm on dialup myself so it took me awhile to dl it; but I am home during the days now (summer vac.), so I will try it a third time tomorrow, when the wife's away at work. If that doesn't work, then I would be incredibly appreciative if you could somehow make it available to me through one of the methods you mentioned. Maybe my computer doesn't like 3ddownloads? Who knows.

Looking forward to seeing if you can get this working, at least in your own computer!

[barocca]

this is going to be sacrilege,
maybe you should install netscape and use it for tricky downloads,
netscape is vastly superior to IE at finishing downloads

cheers,
B.

[ChaosLord]

Alright, I finished my download and got all of the mod. It is 39.8mb so yours did end too soon for some reason. I tested to see if I could run the install and I could, so it appears to be working fine. Tonight i'll install a second copy of M:TW and VI to see if the mod works fine.

[CountMRVHS]

Well, that's good news -- the mod itself isn't the problem, just something on my end that can hopefully be figured out.

I think tomorrow I'll try downloading it again -- you got it from Barocca's link, 3ddownloads, right ChaosLord? -- on the dialup wonder that is my computer, and hope that I get all of it this time. Do you think it would be worth it to use Netscape instead? And how easy would it be to get Netscape? I have to admit I'm rather confused about how I could make the computer use that as opposed to IE -- when I use Juno as my ISP.

I hope you get it working, ChaosLord; thanks again for taking the time to do all this.

[Iustinus]

A while back I put together many of the Arthurian mods but never got around to fine tuning the little details and making a title and loadscreen. I added tons of sfx (real british birds) new terrain (for night battles, real fun for ambushes) and traditional welsh music.
Hopefully I can get around to fixing it soon, the problem with all of the mods I've done with the new night or dusk terrain is that the tiles and backdrops take up too much space to easily get to whoever wants it.
If help is need just ask,
Justin

[CountMRVHS]

That sounds cool -- night battles? for MTW? If you have any screenshots or something I'd love to take a look at what you've done. If you get it to a point where anything can be downloaded and played, let me know.

I'm just hoping this download will work, this time...

Oh, as an amusing side note. Since I can't start a campaign where I've got the patch for this mod installed but not the mod itself, yesterday I tried to reload a previous savegame from VI as the Northumbrians. It loaded fine, but the map looked strange.... then I realized, somehow, that I was the REBELS! I know there's a command line you can use to play rebels but I've never done that. Very.... strange.

[ChaosLord]

Yes, I downloaded it from 3DDownloads. I installed it this morning, following the instructions to delete the startpos files beforehand. First I couldn't get the mod to work at all, I ended up with 2 "Arthurian Legend" campaigns listed and clicking one or the other would cause a crash. So I tested deleting the Viking startpos file, didn't work. Oddly though deleting the Arthur startpos file actually let me hit continue and see the map, as well as select a faction. But thats as far as it worked, because as soon as the campaign loads it crashes.

Another oddity that in the startup screen theres the "Fall of Rome" title, which leads me to wonder if this mod was built ontop of it, and needs it to function. It certainly looks interesting enough, but these crashes are starting to get on my nerves. I'd test it more but i'm leaving today and won't be back till Tuesday, hope you have more luck with it CountMRVHS.

[CountMRVHS]

Ahh, you know you may be right about the Fall of Rome. In the thread that Barocca links to, Oldnfaded mentions something about his mod being made to go along with FoR. I just noticed it today when I read through the thread again.

I guess the thing to do would be to see if I can get in touch with Oldnfaded, or just try to download FoR. There would likely be more support for that mod anyway, in case I had problems, and I could try Oldnfaded's mod from there.

Still wondering what's wrong with my computer not downloading the entire thing, however. I tried again today and the same exact thing happened -- had about an hour and a half left to go, and Juno shut down on me. Ridiculously frustrating.

Anyway, thanks for all your advice & help. Let me know if you end up getting anything to work!

CountMRVHS

[IrishMike]

The unpatched version of the mod, I got to work. If you install the patch, the game crashed when you try to start a campaign.

[Taiko]

Hi guys. I downloaded this mod about two weeks ago and like ChaosLord was unable to get it running. I've also downloaded and installed Fall of Rome (version 2.1 I believe) and then installed the Arthur mod by I'd get a CTD right away. I think the problem is in what OldnFaded stated in the first thread: "It is actually designed to run with the fall of rome mod and even then a modified version" (post 10). I'd love to get this mod running as well. I've just started Winter King by Cornwell, after finishing his excellent The Last Kingdom, and would love to play around in the Dark Ages! Hope someone can get it working and let us know what we're doing wrong. Take care everyone.

[Taiko]

Great ColdKnight!! I'm going to go give it a try!

[Iustinus]

Hey all!
Yes, I think I remember that this mod does most certainly require the last Fall of Rome mod. But, I don't think for the most part both are compatible- it will change stuff such as unit descriptions in the Fall of Rome mod proper.
For people having ctd's, be careful about the patch that went along with it. When I have the time (which might not be for a few days) I'll probably send the version I fixed up a few weeks ago, which works.
On the night mod, I have experimented with it all year and found that it's only good for certain mods due to various reasons. Because there is no arid, mediterranean landscape in Britain or Scandinavia, this was the best and most logical choice to pick for a night mod. First of all, you don't have hardcoded sandstorms and hardcoded lack of trees. Second, there is very little rain and fog, and in the winter some times a beautiful mist and some light snow and rain, which looks very realistic. I also modified bird sounds specifically for the night. I know big battles very very rarely happened at night but storming forts did happen as well as raids and small skirmishes in the dark. Then all you have to do is make some of the maps arid in startpos, maybe key border locations.
Thanks!
Justin

[Iustinus]

K, this is my first time figuring out how to post screenshots. The quality isn't great, hope this works:

http://www.imagedump.com/index.cgi?pick=get&tp=273277

http://www.imagedump.com/index.cgi?pick=get&tp=273279

Justin

[Iustinus]

Sorry about those pictures, here's some better ones. I used to have a ton of good ones but seemed to have lost them. Flaming arrows look really good against the dark backdrop.

http://www.imagedump.com/index.cgi?pick=get&tp=273284

http://www.imagedump.com/index.cgi?pick=get&tp=273285

Justin

[Taiko]

Iustinus, those look very nice. I'm very eager to see what you have come up with as it sounds very cool! I think I'll wait a few days before I mess with my MTW install, and use yours. I'm curious do you use alot of Oldnfaded's mod such as the new map, all new factions, new troop types, new agents, new buildings? Looking foward to it. Take care.

[CountMRVHS]

So Iustinus, I'm not sure I understand. You have made a mod based on Oldnfaded's Arthurian mod? And it includes night battles? Also, what do you mean about "sending" a version you fixed up a few weeks ago? Do you mean you could send a version of the mod? If so, that would be awesome; PM me for email addresses and stuff.

The other question I have is this: If Oldnfaded's mod requiers a version of Fall of Rome, which version should I use? Especially since his mod came out awhile ago and AFAIK FoR is still going with updates and new versions. I would want to download the correct version of FoR.

Iustinus, those screenshots look great! Particularly the one with the crumbled island fortress -- is that a battlemap you made yourself? Anyway, awesome work, if you can send a playable version or tell me where I can get it that would be wonderful!

CountMRVHS