Are there plans for an EB 2?

[Mithradates]

I was wondering if the great people of the EB org were even in their wildest dreams of averice pondering the possibilty of a MTW2 modification along the lines of EB?

(not that i cant already not wait for the 1.5 port but i need a long term dream aswell)

[Equilibrium]

We haven't discussed this in the internal forums yet, but I'm sure that some of us(including me) have thought about this. I for my part think that this is a great idea, let's wait what the future brings to us...

[stalin]

"EB team abandons the 1.5 port and prepares to port to MTW2 instead while the fans commit collective suicide"

[oscar.k]

i em not a maker of tis game but tat most take allonge time
(medival total 2 demo ist come out jet)
i tink

[edyzmedieval]

Isn't it a bit too early? Let them finish the 1.5 port.

[Masy]

medival total 2 demo ist come

Really? Where can one download it?

[Masy]

Oopsie, I had a moment of blind joy, and didn't read the post proper...

[Reenk Roink]

Well, to be realistic, the EB team has put tons of time and energy into making this wonderful gift to the R:TW community for no compensation (they haven't received land, money, or women) and to ask them to again do such a demanding job would be unfair.

Now this is not to say I wouldn't want an EB on M2:TW. From what I have currently read, I am very optimistic that M2:TW will have a better AI, and deeper gameplay aspects. I am also hopeful that M2:TW will be easier to mod and give more modding options (now this optimism is without basis but still, I'm an optimistic guy).

So I am praying that M2:TW is not much different to mod than R:TW; I am praying that some crucial EB members come back; I am praying that new modders will rise up and join EB's ranks; I am even praying that I can get some modding skills .

PS: If you are planning to give land or women to EB, make sure I get a look first. I am..um..the official inspector...

[Mithradates]

Well as a loving community it might be worth putting thought in before so any future mod would have some good foundations.

[stalin]

. From what I have currently read, I am very optimistic that M2:TW will have a better AI, and deeper gameplay aspects.

Why would they bother to please the hardcore crowd? This one sold well enough on looks alone.

[Dayve]

Why would they bother to please the hardcore crowd? This one sold well enough on looks alone.

I agree.

I'll be here on the EB forums for years to come, so i'm willing to bet now real money with any of you that M2:TW is nothing but another graphically beautiful game with ugly AI and zero depth. I'm hoping this is a bet i'll lose, but i can't see it. Judging from RTW and BI, CA have joined the ranks of teh sellouts.

[Scott]

Would EB 2 be a mod with the Roman Impire or a mod Medival history or maybe both?

[Dayve]

Nah, they've spent years on making this Roman one, i doubt they'll want to start again. If they made one it'd be for medieval period.

..Correct?

[MaximianusBR]

just a stupid dream:

Would be real COOL if EB and RTR equips make a medieval 2 mod togheter...It would be faster to make and awesome!

Unify the best mod factions!!!

RTR EB

[Ragabash]

I would not like to see RTR and EB join up for a new mod. RTR and EB have different aproaches for both mods.

While RTR is being more arcade kind, not in bad way tho. EB is more focused to realism in battles and campaign map. EB also tends to be slower, mainly due its a lot harder than RTR.

With healthy competition between different mods it will create new ideas, ways and different views, what we would not see if all mods would unite.

RTR is like a candy, while EB is like more like a full dinner. Sweets are good once in a while, but real food taste fantastic after sugar buff caused by sweets. Also living only with sweets for a whole week could make you insane for good.

[stalin]

We had a thread that like this just yesterday so I am not getting involved

[MaximianusBR]

I would not like to see RTR and EB join up for a new mod. RTR and EB have different aproaches for both mods.

While RTR is being more arcade kind, not in bad way tho. EB is more focused to realism in battles and campaign map. EB also tends to be slower, mainly due its a lot harder than RTR.

With healthy competition between different mods it will create new ideas, ways and different views, what we would not see if all mods would unite.

RTR is like a candy, while EB is like more like a full dinner. Sweets are good once in a while, but real food taste fantastic after sugar buff caused by sweets. Also living only with sweets for a whole week could make you insane for good.

Maybe a full dinner and a candy after!

[Krusader]

"EB team abandons the 1.5 port and prepares to port to MTW2 instead while the fans commit collective suicide"

Will not happen. We have put much time into this MOD and want it finished before any other projects.

Would EB 2 be a mod with the Roman Impire or a mod Medival history or maybe both?

Nah, they've spent years on making this Roman one, i doubt they'll want to start again. If they made one it'd be for medieval period.

..Correct?

The current EB team's interests and knowledge is mainly on the ancient era. But there are members who have a genuine interest in medieval history as well.

just a stupid dream:

Would be real COOL if EB and RTR equips make a medieval 2 mod togheter...It would be faster to make and awesome!

Unify the best mod factions!!!

RTR EB

Will not probably happen. EB & RTR have different methods of making a MOD.

-------
The following is my own views and not that of the EB team as a whole

Will the EB team make a MOD for MTW2?

It all boils down to three questions:

1. Is MTW2 more easily moddable?
2. What era will it be in?
3. Does the team wish to make another mod?

1. RTW is a moddable game and many things can be changed with some text edits. However, it's still sometimes (mildly put) a pain in the ass to MOD, as you have to use "try & fail" method to find out what limits you got. EB was originally meant to be released a year ago, but then recruitment got FUBAR'd and that alone cost 3 months. In the mean time several members left due to various reasons and for a month or two, little work was done. Then in December we released the Open Beta and have been working since.
If we had known what hurdles, problems and endless hours we would put into finding solutions to a few problems, then I think many wouldnt have joined EB.
I still cringe and feel a short yet burning wish to smash anyone who complains why this and this isn't working and why some things takes too long to mod. To me it seems they obviously does not know anything about modding RTW.
If it's easier to mod MTW2 and we kind of know what to do and what not to do, that will affect the outcome. Belive me, every EB member would love to see diverse soldiers within a unit. KH Hoplites with different shields and Macedonian phalangitai with different helmets for example is a dream of mine to see.

2. Which period would we go for? Keep to Roman-era or go medieval? I think first choice would be most preferred as this is were our joint expertise lays in, and if we go medieval that could perhaps lead to some leaving.

3. A bit carried over from above. Does the EB team want at all to work on another project? EB has taken a lot and lots of time and work to get done. Endless hours have been put down on research, coding, writing, modelling, skinning etc. and that can burn a person out. Some EB members who have left probably did so, because they felt they did a lot of work, yet there was so very much more to do and they didn't see a light in the tunnel. But it's not just the work itself which has been "exhausting or irksome". For some, the work on EB have had a impact on their social life. I know of one member who probably left, because his girlfriend got angry at the little time spent with her.
But if the EB team decided to mod MTW2, there is just not that about modding the game itself with coding, skinning, and all that. It's also the team itself and the commnity. Let me explain:
Many have left EB, most due to inactivity, but others due to disagreements with others again. I can count on my hand people who left because their view on history was not accepted by the other team members, like naval warfare & the extent of Macedonian & Greek influence in occupied Persia. Would we want to go with another MOD. The EB team gets along fairly well, but there some people you consider dead-weight or you just plainly don't like. Some might not want to work anymore with people they constantly disagree with. But for most EB members I think this is kind of a moot point as we can discuss historical topics reasonably and we can suck it up when some people annoy us.
However...the main reason for why or why not we will make a mod for MTW2 is the Total War community. The EB fans have been great and very supportive and I for one was very pleased how the Open Beta was received. The support from our fanbase might make us want to make another MOD. However the critisicm from the community might also make us not want to make a mod again.
No one likes to get criticized, but it's a right a person has. When we get criticism we try to reply in a cordial tone, yet that might not work every time. However, sometimes some of the criticism is really annoying and feels like a kick in the family jewels. When people come to our forums and criticise in a manner which invites from trolling and we try to avoid it, it becomes tiresome. When people criticise us for the work we have done and have no wish to even discuss it or refuses to accept that their point has been proven wrong, it annoys us. When people come and complain about units, gods, skins and refer to websites as proof, this irritates us. When people come and complain about stats in a manner that shows that we are just wrong and we have just placed random numbers for units, that's annoying too, as people have put hours upon hours into writing and calculating so this is as historically accurate as we can make it with the limitations set by the RTW engine. And also people who can't accept the idea that Celts could bathe and had a culture!! There have been people who you literally could read didn't like EB's represenation of the non-Roman & Greek cultures, because it conflicted with their view of the supreme civilization of Rome & ancient Greece.
You wonder if its worth all those hours you have put into researching at the Uni library, checking for JSTOR articles, going through books with a critical eye and then writing the description, and then being flamed by 14-year olds who disagrees because that website said so and so. And There are many times we ask ourselves, if its worth answering those trollposts because they can easily let a member down and it takes up time, and you don't want that a-hole the get the last word.
But the Total War MOD community in itself is something that can also put a mod team off. Compared to other modding communities, the Total War one is a bad soap opera. Never have I seen such fierce rivalry, fanbois screaming for attention and shit being thrown at eachother. Most here know of the previous EB-RTR debacle, which really put a damper on our mood (Just to get it straight: The current relationship between EB & RTR is very good and there is no ill will towards eachother from neither team. Any EB vs RTR you will come across is fanboi created). Then you also have certain MOD creators/leaders who sit on their high horse and call down upon other MODs for not sharing this , not doing that, not doing it like this etc. There are many who mean the MODs should help eachother out with the ideas and new stuff they have created, yet it has not happened in the Total War community and how can you expect that to happen when you can't have a decent conversation with other MODs or top modders? Many have accused EB of not sharing what we have created, and my reply is. Why the hell should we? We have created this stuff and if we should share with others what we got, it wouldnt be special when we release our own MOD. Anywho Im getting derailed.
My point is. Do we want to create another mod and go through the same trolls who are eagerly waiting for a small historical cockup to appear so they can triumph or again quarreling with other MODs, when all you want to do is create a MOD of a game you like in peace, without constantly being called for and treated like a representative of a company who produced that grill thats now broken and you want your money back and expect you to behave like they bought this product and have a right to complain and receive answers.
We do this of our own free time and do we want to spend more free time on a project which we do for fun, but which entails frustrating things on the side?
This is a MOD created by students, historians, office workers etc. We created this mod for free because this was how we wanted RTW to be. If we want to create a MOD for MTW2, it will have to be worth the effort, sweat and tears put into it.

Anywho, its getting late, I might go edit this post later if someone doesnt delete it.

[MaximianusBR]

relax man...

you looks very stressed and tired...sleep a litle more, take a sunbath at the garden, drink a tea...

"don't worry, be happy"
-
Really, this MOD appears to be getting EB equip exhausted...but will worthwhile!!!!

---------

If you make a EB2 you think in call some other good and famed modders to integrate the equip at least??they can help...

[Trithemius]

Maybe MTW2 will be perfectly historically accurate and not require any comprehensive modification?

[Geoffrey S]

Anyway...

EB 2 would be great. Just looking at what the team has achieved in Rome makes an updated EB a mouthwatering prospect. Hopefully, there will be some way to use units modelled for RTW in MTW2, which would save quite a bit of time in getting started; all the collected research for EB would also make a great point to start from. And hopefully, hardcoded limits will be more flexible in the sequel.

Hopefully.

[Reenk Roink]

Yep...well...thank goodness that's over...

I can't honestly believe why there is hostility to the EB team. I myself have made some suggestions, like getting the factions to expand like they did historically, and I was tactfully told that not only has this not been figured out, it is not the will of EB to recreate history.

I also pointed out a (small) historical suggestion bringing a couple of sources, and not surprisingly, Teleklos Archelaou responded tactfully and it was changed in the next version of the Beta.

It has always been my experience that the EB team is always open and nice to their fans (except when they torture us with 'occultus').

Much thanks to Krusader for his views on the matter. Once again, the possibility for an EB 2 for M2:TW depend on the willingness of the modders, the new games moddability, and did I say the willingness of the modders. As many a dedicated EB member has pointed out, many former members have become inactive for one reason or another, and it must be known that these things are bound to happen. The current EB members have worked very hard to create this mod, and I will be very happy playing EB on R:TW [currently, I am waiting for the port and do not have it installed as there were always glitches with my 1.2 copy (something stupid about trade wagons everytime the loading screens went up)].

Now, I am still optimistic about the engine of M2:TW and that some EB members will want to work on an EB 2. Hopefully, they will be joined by other modders.

As for speculation on what time period EB 2 would set itself in, I was always betting that it would remain in antiquity. After all, much information on this age has already been collected. Now, personally, I would like it to begin in the early diadochi period (circa 300 BC) but I could also see it taking place during the time period of the Unofficial Late Period Project or even of the Barbarian Invasion era.

[Arbaces]

If you keep it the way you started with finishing the Beta version, hopefully releasing a stable version before MTWII gets out, I think I'd no longer need an EB for MTW too. It's better not too look too far, though a mod 280BC based on the MTW2 engine with high poly models with the skins you people have would be like a dream.

Farewell,
Arbaces.

[Dayve]

EB is already like a dream. I have long since dreampt of a mod for RTW where the game is a challenge... Where creating an empire is the only way of becoming a superpower... Where, after conquering 3 or 4 cities, you don't get so much cash overflow that you're already a superpower and already have won the game before it has even started...

And also a mod that is as realistic as can be, but immensely fun at the same time... Which EB has managed to do.

LONG LIVE EB!

Not to mention that it is now being ported to 1.5 which has better AI and other fixed stuff, which is great.

[Cronos Impera]

Arbaces, if you need help with the Ages of Darkness Carpians you can count on me.

[Ypoknons]

I know that there will be a Rome mod for MW2; that is inevitable, but I fear that I will be unable to touch it because EB has set the mark too high for a Total War experience in the classical era in terms historical fidelity and the resulting gameplay - especially the units. Unless, of course, there is EB2.

[Epistolary Richard]

Thread title changed to better reflect the initial post.

Off topic discussions about issues with other sites have been removed - as previously stated these should be taken up on those sites with those staff and not here.

Off topic comments about RTR have been removed - the EB forum is for discussion of EB and not unrelated mods.

Off topic spelling pedantry removed. Denigration or mockery of other members is not acceptable behaviour.

If any of the above behaviour is continued then further action will be considered against those involved. You guys all know how you should be behaving and yet some of you choose not to behave in an acceptable manner.

EB team members who wish to retrieve any of their own comments that may have been removed can PM me.

As EB team members have answered the original question then this thread will now be locked. If any team co-ordinator wishes to make a formal response then they should feel free to do so. PM me again if you have trouble posting.