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The first step in creating EB on M2TW was to create a base platform from which to build. A solid foundation would ensure that EB II would sail far smoother than EB I had. I began with the Kingdoms Barebones mod and started by tearing out all code that wasn't necessary for the game to run. All units were ripped out from the export_descr_units.txt as were the code for the buildings (though I had to keep the building complexes in as the settlement files still fed off them). descr_strat and campaign_script were likewise butchered. From this far more limited position I felt I could begin the great task of the day, the creation of our own internal names for elements such as factions, cultures, religions, regions and settlements. One of the problems in coding in EB I was that either the internal names did not match up to their external counter-parts (as in the case of factions) or they did, but these elements were in a constant state of flux and so their internal names were also constantly changing (such as provinces and settlements). It was decided that for those internal elements whose position had been decided, most notably factions, we would give suitable and memorable internal names (so now factions have the internal name of f_rome, f_carthage and the like - "f_" being a constant prefix so as to make the names easily findable in the code), whilst for elements such as regions and settlements we would use a consistent internal naming system that could be kept unchanged no matter the changes that would occur on the external side (so now regions have the name region_001 to region_199 and settlements have the name sett_001 to sett_199).

The largest area that has been worked upon so far has been the inclusion of the EB I map into the EBII Barebones campaign. This has not been scaled up as of yet, nor have the province changes so far finalised been added, but it is a huge step forward for the mod as we can begin to place campaign elements onto the map, slowly reaching our goal. That is my next step, the addition of campaign elements such as new strat map characters (based on EB I models) and new strat map settlements and ports (based on EBI models also).

As, of course, many of you will know, M2TW allows for 10 new factions, and EB II intends to take full advantage of this situation. Already some new factions have been implemented into the internal build, and menu and strat map image elements are being worked upon as we speak. No doubt we will release previews of these factions when work enough has been done, but until then be paitent - we promise it will be worth it.

Some screenshots from game:



I shall return with further news soon.

Foot

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great info, thanks, Foot.
why hasnt it been stikied yet?

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Great news!

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Wow, that's bloody good progress, keep up the good work.

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Great! Plus it's nice to see the Steles back too!

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I'm going nuts!

Luckely EB 1.0 is going to keep me busy for at least another year. :)

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Nice one foot, it's great to see such tangible progress.
Time for a proper preview now isn't it?
(Just kidding!)

Cheers, great stuff.

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Wow, I only just noticed this, good to see that you're really starting on EB2 now. Great news!

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These steles are also worthy tutorials on how to plan and work out a mod and you deserve extra thanks for it.


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Very interesting, and awesome to see some shots. I can't wait to see what you guys can do with the improved graphics engine and all the new stuff.

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Thanks Foot. It seems you have successfully managed to export the Map. Good luck in fulfilling the rest of your objectives

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Looking sweet, Foot. Keep up the good work and you will make this old man very proud.

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Ooh, I just looked on totalwar.com and it turns out they're planning a patch for Kingdoms, so you guys might want to hold back on full-blown EBII production until it's out. Not that I'm trying to delay the release of EBII of course , but it might just save the team some time to start work when the next (and presumably last) Kingdoms patch has been released.

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That's good news indeed but by the time it comes around I don't think we'll be that ahead so that we'll need to go back on a lot of things.

I probably won't cause the same impact the 1.2 to 1.5 port caused and will only fix bugs and hopefully restore functionality to some commands and stuff like that.

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Any possibility for increasing the number of weapons a soldier can carry from 2 to 3 or more??? This is what I'm really concern about

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Patch announcement at the ORG
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I'm sure that'd require more than a patch's worth of code changes.



And those mountains sure got tall!

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i noticed that arretium and ariminum arent named on the maps, is that because they are being replaced by forts?

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No its because I turned off settlement names.

Foot

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after what ive heard on MTWII AI it is a good news indeed.
fingers crossed theyll address all the issues and it wont take CA too long to release it.

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Just the fact that they responded to huge fan demands and stepped back from their previous 'no patches' decision is good credit for them. But, given the performance of patches in previous games (2.01 for MTW-VI, 1.5/1.6 for RTW/BI) I wouldn't hold expectations too high.
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I am happy to hear that! The high hopes for a revamped MTWII without that crappy UI and ugly campaign map with ludicrously designed diplomats etc. has kept me so far from throwing MTWII + Kingdoms out of the window for good... the only really cool thing about MTWII are the battles...and maybe EBII won't torture us anymore with long loading times... apart from that imho EBI is still the best strategy game around...
Keep it up, boys!!!

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OMG,OMG,OMFG Thanks for the pics man, more to come soon I hope.

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Awesome. I can't wait to see it on the optimized M2 engine. I really hope the models are revamped to M2 level.

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Yes, they will be.

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Will the EB team release an early version of EB2 using RTW EB models as placeholders, assuming that the line-up remains similar?

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Converting RTW models to be compatible in MTW2 is, according to one of our modellers, just as time-consuming as creating a new one. So I don't think we will be doing that.

Foot

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im definitely buying M2TW just to play EBII!

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You most buy the MTW2 and Kingdoms because EB 2 is for Kingdoms

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oh....... well, ill get it anyhow!

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