The Lordz Games Studio

[Lord Adherbal]

these internal disputes will not affect the LGS. The LGS is composed from the active Lordz who made NTW2. The people who feel offended and are blowing things way out of proportion are inactive Lordz who didn't participate in the community for more then a year. It's just sad that they harm the good reputation of the Lordz, and may bring down the LMC for some sort of revenge. But again, the LGS is not the LMC and will not be affected by this. Work on the game continues.

[sapi]

Good to hear.

[Lord Hal]

I am speaking for the LMC here and would like to express another view of the story about the differences between the LGS and LMC.

I will here only post once and not reply to any questions or follow-up posts as it is not my intention to start a discussion on the org. I just want to clarify the reamining Lordz's point of view as it seems that you have heard (read) only one side up to date and I also want to comment some statements I consider onesided and having to be contradicted.

It is of course their point of view as always there is another side of the story, basically the last three years the new team have build, produced, maintained NTW2 and The Lordz community all around.

So do not judge before knowing some facts.

These statements are true and the reason I'm posting here.

The people who feel offended and are blowing things way out of proportion are inactive Lordz who didn't participate in the community for more then a year. It's just sad that they harm the good reputation of the Lordz, and may bring down the LMC for some sort of revenge.

The ones who are going to kill the work done the last few years have not been active or hardly been involved since 2002-2004. Not one file in NTW2 have they produced.

Firstly I want to say that it is true, that most - though not all - of the remaining Lordz have been inactive (for several - often personal - reasons) within the last, lets say 1 to 3 years.

But the question should be asked if the work on NTW1, ACW, The Lordz website or forums is of lesser worth than the work on NTW 2? If the work a person has contributed to a project looses of worth the longer ago it has happened? If within a Collective the right to participate in decisions more depends on a "current" level of activity or on plain membership?

The Lordz Games Studio is not the Lordz Modding Collective, it is a game developing company formed out of the complete team that build NTW2, so basically 90% of the former Lordz who worked their butts off the last few years.

This is true. But it has to be said that the Lordz Games Studio has been a top secret project until a few days ago, known only to the future participants or staff of the LGS. These future participants have been chosen and individually contacted by the initiator and leading head of the new company. It looks like they have been chosen on base of their skills, talents and worth for the future project - which is only logical.

Nor have the other members of the Collective been informed about the project neither have they been offered to participate. They have been caught by surprise when the LGS went public a few days ago.

Regardless that there are good reasons for the LGS head to only chose the persons considered of worth, the others felt left behind and got upset and disappointed. Before this incident they considered themselves equal members of a Collective with their fellow Lordz. Then they have learnt, that some seemed to have been "more equal" than themselves.

When going public the Collective website and forum have been used to advertise the new venture without informing the person paying all cost for both - it was the Lordz founder, who also had not been informed or offered participance. Later it was stated that they considered themselves having earned the right to do so by having made NTW 2. The remaining Lordz had a different opinion.

Some of the remaining Lordz also disliked the fact that the name "Lordz" has been used. But as the leaving party has made NTW 2 it could be argued that they have themselves well earned this title and so gained the right to take it with them. Of course the founder of the Lordz Modding Collective, who also invented the name, does not share this opinion. A really difficult question which each reader will have to judge by himself.

They can start NTW3, get new people in, build a new team, work further on NTW2, find and motivate new people and build on. The remaining Lordz have been inactive for years. They should start being a modding collective again.

Thats true and maybe this will even happen. But its funny to hear these words from persons, who went along to another project, thus inflicting a heavy drain to what WAS a Collective until a few days ago, when this happened. Maybe they argue that they have been kicked out by the "rest" of the Collective and this is not wrong. But how would they have been able to contribute to future mod projects when they have to run a company? On top of this a company, that is designed to give a modder and gamer the chance to make a living out of his hobby some day, would be FAR more attractive than the collective. Each of us would probably feel the same about picturing himself in their role. So the remaining Lordz have the feeling just to have made official what would have happened anyway.

Indeed it was a disbute among us, but why killing the NTW community who has nothing to do with it and all to loose. People who just like coming to the LMC for years and can still enjoy NTW1, ATW and NTW2 will loose all that.

It is a measure I find in gross disrepect with the fanbase, still I have no part in it anymore, it is and would not be not my choice. The LMC are just punishing their own fanbase and supporters.

Now they kill everything people invested in, all past and present Lordz and especially the loyal fans and supporters. The people who stood by and build the NTW community equally, just as we all did. The NTW community will be the victim of this radical measure and that is just sad.

It seems they rather excecute the community than swallow their pride. We worked hard and now simple revenge will leave all those NTW fans in the cold and kill seven years work in a minute. The whole team who build NTW2 was excecuted yesterday, with hands tied to their backs.

It was the remainig Lordz who made the decision to disband the rest of what had been the Collective, to close down the website and forum. This is true.

But let me ask the question if solely they are to be blamed for their measures. Each move has a cause. It can be a small stone thrown to the right place that unleahes a landslide - who is responsible for the damage, the stone or the landslide? Maybe both instead just one of them.

The remaining Lordz did not so much feel hurt pride but more a deep disappointment for having been what they see as left behind by their former comrades. Also they felt that the Collective itself has suffered so much damage, that it virtually couldn't recover from that loss - there are not so many talented 3D modders around, who on top of this are interested in the Napoleonic Era. They considered it unlikely that there would be a chance to further produce new mods, especially as MTW 3 seems to be a big drawback for the modding community in general due to a lack of support by CA.

But modding was all the Collective and forums have been about. So instead of slowly shrinking into insignificance they chose to pull back with Trumpets and Standards. This desicion is being reconsidered now as the community on the forums expressed very clearly how they felt about the split of the Collective and the announced close-down of the forums and that they intend to stay loyal to the Collective.

There is no final decision made yet, but it will be made within the next days. If website and forum should be allowed to further exist, there will significant technical improvements to be made as both have not been cared for in the past two years as they should have been. The remainig Lordz will inform the Org Community at first place about any further decision.

Please do not ask us any questions here as they will not be answered. If you want to learn more facts about this story (Although I think I didn't miss anything important here) feel free to ask your questions at the Lordz forums. Please let me conclude with the hint that we will welcome everyones opinion about the future of the Lordz website and forums but not allow flaming or bitching against the LMC or LGS.

Lord Hal for The Lordz Modding Collective

[x-dANGEr]

This is the kind of threads a "Wow" would be suitable for I guess.. And wouldn't be considered spam. Right?

[sapi]

@Lord Hal

[Lord Zimoa of Flanders]

Who´s your concept artist? Rembrandt?

That is the actual nickname we use for him on the team , and the first one is not up at the website so an Org exclusive. We are making some others as well, will be a couple of weeks before they are done. Will post regular upgrades here for the Org.

LZ

[sapi]

What worries me is that the concept art is so good the game's going to look horrible by comparison

[Lord Zimoa of Flanders]

What worries me is that the concept art is so good the game's going to look horrible by comparison

I hope we can prove you otherwise, we sure will give it our best to give strategy gamers something different and do the Napoleonic period justice. We will just have to work very hard again and we will.

LZ

[sapi]

Well, if you keep up that sort of quality in the rest of the game i can't see you failing ;)

[CountArach]

Woah! Those are incredibly awesome!

Great work guys! Can't wait to see the final stuff!

[Lord Adherbal]

What worries me is that the concept art is so good the game's going to look horrible by comparison

Hoggy (from Blue Lotus and NTW2 mods) is our lead 3D artist, so I'm sure you realise that'll be no problem

[Monarch]

I just have a kinda...out there...question.

You guys are now making a commercial game, and are called the Lordz Game Studios. Will workers on this game be taking this on as a full time job, I mean you guys are a game company just like say CA, and all the CA workers are full time.

Or will your team remain doing this in their spare time?

I'm just intruiged is all because obviously theres a huge difference between being a modder and being a game developer. So basically are you guys just kinda blurring the lines or are you actual full time developers.

Sorry for being a lil nosy, I'm just intruiged.

[Lord Adherbal]

most of us have other jobs or school which currently have priority. But at the same time we are highly motivated, so motivated that a lot of us consider giving up our current "careers" in order to work full time for the LGS. But until we have released our first game that isn't possible. The reason is that we have no publisher who's paying our salaries so we can pay our taxes and feed our children. The plus side is that no one tells us what to do, we create the game we really want to play, without being obstructed by some 3rd party.

truely a game by gamers for gamers

And rest assured we nolonger have social lives, all our free time goes into developing this game

[Lord Zimoa of Flanders]

The title of the game and the first game features will be revealed through another official press release, probably in just a few weeks time.

Cheers,

Tim aka LZ

[CountArach]

Can't wait!

[Monarch]

Sounds good.

I still hope "Drums of War" is selected, short, sweet, memorable, has flow etc.

But we'll see what yiou guys have came up with. Out of interest, is it one that a member suggested in the suggestion thread on your forums, or did a lord come up with it?

[Marshal Murat]

I am saddened by the unfortunate destruction of the Lordz Modding Collective.
A fan from the beginning, I remember the NTW beta mods for MTW:VI.

I was drawn away by other circumstances, the net result being I visited the LMC occasionally, but always proud to be part of the NTW group.

While the letter is disturbing to say the least, my feelings on this new group are mixed at best. A die-hard conservative here, staying while the ship is sinking. I feel disappointed that such measures were taken, and I am not at all sure who has become Lordz Game Studio members and who were left of the remaining group.

I feel, and while you may mark me for such unusual viewpoints, I will say that in the beginning it was a very joyful and entertaining group, and now it feels like ashes on my tongue. The 'abuse' as I would term it of Krazy's space is what I would call shameful. Now absconding with the names of this marvelous group and using it to work with Slitherine rather than attempting to use the gunpowder units of M2TW, I feel it is a terrible sin.


I read little on the subject, most of my information coming from the e-mail that was sent out, and I'm sure if I were to read the informative posts on the front of the .Org I would see a much more enjoyable side. My current feelings are that of anger and a sense of pride that when I walk into the game store, I can point at a Slitherine game with Lordz and say "I contributed in my small way to that piece of work!" Then the anger and indignation at not involving all members of the community in this enterprise.

I am pained by this unfortunate event, and wished only that the Games Studio involved all the Lordz and members of the forum in their choice. I would have liked to have received an e-mail asking me to join such an illustrious group, than to have recieved this unfortuante news by a herald so impersonal.
I am asking no .Orgah to dispute my feelings on the subject, discuss if you may, but know that my enjoyment of such new mods will be diminished when it is known by myself that these modders have little experiance in this new system, and that those more responsible and able did leave a ship that while not seeking a port as of late were bound to one, but they did take a lifeboat to a passing isle, that while it would give them bounty, they left their former home a distraught ship that has fallen in the unfortunate waters of obscurity and nothingness of the Total War fanbase.
A heavy heart I am presenting to you, one laden by a sorrowful emotion that some try to obscure this (a percieved injustice) by blaming hubris and revenge for this unfortunate event.

Lord Hal's feelings are of a measure equal to my own, and maybe of more merit due to personal involvement.

RIP Lordz, for the joy and happiness that you brought to my gaming experiance. From NTW and the cannons and muskets, to NTW2 and the massive artillery crews.
Salute my Lordz, for the fallen are but those of the strong.

[Warluster]

Seems fair enough, that post says it all, I say we hold an funeral for LMC, and an wedding for LGS!

[IrishArmenian]

Smell that? That is dedication...yes I know, it smells like many men trapped in a small, dank room filled with sweat, vomit and piss, but that is dedication.

[ELITEofWARMANGINGERYBREADMEN88]

Looks good boys. good luck. I be stoping by later..

[TB666]

any news on this front ??
Maybe some screenshots to show us ??

[Marius Dynamite]

Hold on a second, so someone liked your NTW mods for RTW and now they are helping you to make your own game? So your a developer like CA now and can make money like them? Sorry if I got it wrong :P

[Lord Adherbal]

yeah that's about it.

No actual ingame screenshots for quite a while though, but there will be an update about the game's features and title soon.

[Gawain of Orkeny]

truely a game by gamers for gamers

That about says it all for me. NTW1 was the best TW game ever by a mile IMHO. Are there still members in LGS that developed that? Its sad that all Lordz didnt get to join LGS but as its a commercial venture I can sort of understand you can only have so big a work force , if they all have to get paid. The only real thing I see wrong was using the LGC forum.

I personally cant wait for this game. If you guys ever need a tester please let me know

Sincerly Marshall Blucher Leader of the PVI clan.

[Judge]

Im with GAwain on this i too had my first taste of Napoleonic batles in MP in the ntw1 modd,, and loved it, so now i await the next game with interest

[Vuk]

Details released!

Get them: Here

And

Here

[Lord Zimoa of Flanders]

Game features revealed

We just revealed the first set of game features of the Napoleonic strategy war game in development by The Lordz Games Studio:

The Lordz Games Studio website, the Games section


Have a look and enjoy,

Lord Zimoa of Flanders

[doc_bean]

Any chance you'll reveal whether you are licensing an engine (and which one) or building one yourself ?

Good luck guys !

[Lord Zimoa of Flanders]

That info is already available on The Lordz Games Studio website, it was released in an official press release, here is the text.

The Lordz Games Studio website, the Press section


Have a read and enjoy,

Lord Zimoa of Flanders

[doc_bean]

Ah thanks for the info