Question and Answer

[Dogman55]

Hey guys, great job so far

This has probably been brought up many a time, so im sorry if its getting annoying now.

How long untill the first release, and if everything goes smoothly, done? Also will the full campaign map include all continents and the far east such as cathay? Where could i find a complete list of the factions you are aiming to have in the finished campaign

Well, I don't know as for a time table, Bwian may not even of set one yet. The Campaign map (as far as I know) is shown under a topic known as "A world to play in" or something to that liking. A list for the factions are color coded a few posts down under the same topic.

Cheers,

[Bwian]

There is also a faction conversion thread, which lists which factions are being used for which Warhammer race.... which is a pretty clear guide also, as luck would have it, of which races are going to be in the initial release.

As we work up the units for each race, there is a stickied thread put up for discussion on the actual units to be made for each faction.

Now...you ask the million dollar question about release times.

For a mod, any attempt at giving a release time is....to be honest...pretty futile. I have a full time job, a wife and a family...and I fit modding in when I can. Some weeks I can do a lot...some virtually nothing...and the same is true for the rest of the team. We have other commitments to our time.

Professional software houses can rarely get a realistic release date right, and usually overrun...and they have the advantage of paid employees who have nothing else to do all day long... so there has been no discussion of release dates. When I feel we have something we can release...then we will let people know. That would imply we had a balanced set of races and were just doing the final bits to tidy it all up. Thats a while off yet.

We are making good progress, and have already got quite a bit done ... but there is a LOT more to go. It will be done when it's done, and we won't rush it. It must be quality, and it must be fun to play. Anything less than that would be failure.

[DrZoidberg]

That would imply we had a balanced set of races and were just doing the final bits to tidy it all up. Thats a while off yet.

And I have a feeling balancing will be a bitch, since most factions have a very assymetrical setup when it comes to strengths and weaknesses.

[Bwian]

Cost and upkeep are what balances unbalanced units in a campaign. If you have to spend 10 times the cost to maintain a unit of Bone Giants, but you could defeat the Giants with 10 units of spearmen, then there is the balance. That's a very simplified and unrealistic example, but it gives an idea of how this is achieved. You could expend a lot of gold in building and maintaining a super unit, but if you have to defend 5 cities, you need to spread your forces. If you reach the point where you could station a unit og super trosps in every territory you own, and still have enough money to keep the masses happy, then you are probably well on the way to winning anyway!

It's not necessary to balance every unit to every other ..you need to have a scale that makes the best units cost a lot. That way, the player has to decide to spend a load on one army, knowing that he has nothing left to defend with. If you plan a destructive pillaging raid through the enemy, then go for it. If you plan on taking and holding the ground, you need to have the troops to garrison your new territories until they can start contributing.

[Born in lust for blood]

Will the vampires really stand out in the game in both looks and power?

[DrZoidberg]

Cost and upkeep are what balances unbalanced units in a campaign. If you have to spend 10 times the cost to maintain a unit of Bone Giants, but you could defeat the Giants with 10 units of spearmen, then there is the balance. That's a very simplified and unrealistic example, but it gives an idea of how this is achieved. You could expend a lot of gold in building and maintaining a super unit, but if you have to defend 5 cities, you need to spread your forces. If you reach the point where you could station a unit og super trosps in every territory you own, and still have enough money to keep the masses happy, then you are probably well on the way to winning anyway!

It's not necessary to balance every unit to every other ..you need to have a scale that makes the best units cost a lot. That way, the player has to decide to spend a load on one army, knowing that he has nothing left to defend with. If you plan a destructive pillaging raid through the enemy, then go for it. If you plan on taking and holding the ground, you need to have the troops to garrison your new territories until they can start contributing.

ha ha, you make it sound so easy :) I have a sneaking suspicion it won't be. It's not only a question of making it balanced, but also gearing a build path. We want the chaos player to mostly use Marauders, and we want the Orc player to use mostly Orc Warriors. To keep the spirit of WH. But we can't allow them to be too powerful, so the player will only fill his army with it. Similarily, we want Skaven Clan rats to suck monkey balls, but we still have to make them worthwhile to buy.

Anyhooo that's tomorrows headache, and it'll be a lot of fun tweaking to get right.

[dancingthemantaray]

Ok ,two questions:

1). Will all the balancing/stats work out the same as for the tabletop game (i.e if unit has 1/3 chance of hitting/wounding/beating other unit etc will be the same in the mod?


2). Would it be more sensible to have a world map just focused on the old world, with chaos wastes to north, undead to south and choas dwarf bit to east?
Would perhaps enable the game to be more focused, and reduce the workload, plus it would be easier to keep everything relevant and in context that way

[Krazysigmarite]

Ok ,two questions:

1). Will all the balancing/stats work out the same as for the tabletop game (i.e if unit has 1/3 chance of hitting/wounding/beating other unit etc will be the same in the mod?


2). Would it be more sensible to have a world map just focused on the old world, with chaos wastes to north, undead to south and choas dwarf bit to east?
Would perhaps enable the game to be more focused, and reduce the workload, plus it would be easier to keep everything relevant and in context that way

Answer 1.) - Most likely, no. Medieval's combat system is a lot different than the tabletop's, which is actually extremely simplified. I'll leave the balancing questions to the text-guys, but from what I can see so far, we will be basing the troops' abilities based on their actual rules as well as their fluff. For example. Orc choppas might hit a bit harder than Empire Free Company units because of the obvious size and muscle advantage orcs have, even though the tabletop has them listed with the same strength and attacks. The Free Companies might have better defensive skills to represent their martial prowess, as they are grizzled mercenaries and adventurers.

Answer 2.) If we focused the map on the Old World only, it would leave out the High Elves, Dark Elves, and Lizardmen, three very popular and interesting factions. It is better to have a larger scale map - the current early shot of it is in the "A world to play in!" thread, which displays Casuir's wonderfully detailed work.

To answer Blood's question - From what I've read in the Vampire Counts thread, Von Carstein vampires will be represented by the 'Family Member' Generals for the Vampire Counts. I'm sure the text guys can come up with some innovative ability that all Von Carstein generals have. Something like Vampirism, which gives them a bunch of hitpoints and dread. So, in short, yes, using a VC Family member will probably be a significant force on the battlefield - And we'll make sure the graphic for them is equally impressive. Bwain has the official say on all of this, of course.