Archive for February, 2009

The Total War Center - The Eagle Standard

The Eagle Standard is the Total War Center’s monthly publication chronicling what has been happening in the TWC community during the preceding month. This February edition comes on the eve of the worldwide release of ‘Empire: Total War’ and contains more articles than any ES I can remember. The modding-related content in this issue is staggering – it starts off with four mod interviews:

And then continues with a new feature called The Oblong Table which resembles a round (oblong?) table discussion where four modders answer questions about the state of Total War modding, their hopes and fears for the future, and much else. Another new feature, All Loud on the Modding Front, focus on the goings on of the modding community. February’s article is dedicated to the tools, small mods and tweaks for the ETW demo, and what that demo can tell us about the moddability of full game. Very interesting!

Read ‘The Eagle Standard Vol. VII, Issue II’ here.

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The Greek Wars - Hoplites

The Greek Wars - Hoplites

‘The Greek Wars’ is a modification for ‘Rome: Total War’ v1.5 set in ancient Greece. The mod starts in 360 B.C., and lets you choose between one of eleven factions: Athens, Thebes, Megara, Corinth, Argos, Sparta, Messenia, Elis, Arcadia, Achaea & Sicyon. Your objective is to take control of one of these factions and achieve hegemony on a map of southern Greece consisting of forty regions.

Based on a fan fiction group story started at totalwarforums.com (story here), the mod has some of the ahistorical elements which comes with fiction and multiple authors. But, for the most part, it tries to stick with the historical realities of 360 B.C. Greece (or what is known of it). Read more about, and download, the mod here.

The Greek Wars - The Map

The Greek Wars - The Map

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Age of Chivalry: Heroes & Legends

«Age of Chivalry, Heroes & Legends is a massive update to the widely popular Half-Life 2 Medieval mod, first released on steam in October 2008. The game is a first person medieval combat experience that revolutionizes the genre of FPS games by thrusting the player into the middle of medieval battlefields complete with swords, armour, bows, catapults, siege towers, massive castles, sprawling outdoor landscapes and up to 32 player online battles.»

On the Prowl...

On the Prowl...

This latest release from Team Chivalry is chock full of medievalish goodness, such as more gore, blunt force head explosions and directional blood splatter. Other improvements include a better hit detection system, stat tracking through Steamworks and new GUI and interfaces. Find out more about ‘Age of Chivalry’ at their website, or download the mod directly from Steam. The full announcement can be found here.

There will be blood...

There will be gore...

A brief list of changes:

  • Brand new advanced hit detection system that is accurate and reliable
  • Support for Achievements and Stats via Steamworks
  • All new GUI, HUD and Interface
  • Five new maps
  • New siege weapon, the Ballista
  • Blunt-force head explosions
  • Directional blood splatter and improved gore effects
  • Catapults now shred players they kill into bits
  • Parry and blocking speeds made faster on all weapons
Siege weaponry deployed.

Siege weaponry deployed.

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ModDB Mod of the Year Awards 2008

‘Mount & Blade’ was just awarded Editor’s Choice for Best Indie Game in the 2008 ModDB Mod of the Year Awards. You can view the other nominees and the video announcing M&B’s victory here. Congratulation to all at TaleWorlds! Well deserved win!

In addition to this, a video interview with TaleWorlds producer Cem Çimenbiçer was recently released by Gamereactor, giving us some more insight into the recently announced expansion pack. You can view the video below:

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Cave Trolls

Cave Trolls

«Upon the defeat of Morgoth by the hosts of the Valar, the many creatures bred by Morgoth in the pits of Angband were hunted down and destroyed. Those who escaped the forces of the West fled deep into the dark places of the world, awaiting their time for vengeance.

Many orcs of Morgoth’s host fled into the roots of the Misty Mountains, where no other power could hunt them.There they remained throughout the Second Age, nursing their hatred and waiting for the time to strike. Throughout the Third Age these Orcs and Goblins fought against the Dwarves in a great war, ending in the Battle of Nanduhirion, where Dáin Ironfoot slew Azog, the great Orc-chieftain of Moria. What these Orcs lack in individual valor they more than make up for in numbers, using the horde as an alternative to single combat.

Now, as the Third Age wanes, perhaps that time has come. In 2941 TA, Bolg, son of Azog, led the Orcs against the combined might of Elves, Dwarves, and Men in the Battle of Five Armies. Their defeat served only to strengthen their resolve and lead them to their ultimate goal: to destroy the Free Peoples of Middle-earth.»

Heavy Goblin Infantry

Heavy Goblin Infantry

‘The Third Age: Total War’ are back with a new preview showing the Orcs of the Misty Mountains faction. While in the previous showcase we were acquaintanced with the Uruk-hai of Isengard, this time it’s the «lesser» Orcs, Goblins and Snagas, of the Misty Mountains that are being exhibited. Check out all the screenshots here.

Snaga Archers

Snaga Archers

Source: twcenter.net

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Empire: Total War Banner

Modders have started to mod the ‘Empire: Total War’ demo, and there are already a few tutorials available for how you can edit the files. Modding the demo is, of course, a lot more difficult than modding the full game will be (at least we hope it is!), as it’s not designed to be moddable. For those of you out there who feel adventurous enough to try, Vowlesy has put together a small tutorial on editing the demo files.

Empire: Total War Demo - Rank Fire Mod

Rank Fire Mod

Currently there are a number of tiny tutorials available for how you can edit the demo, such as Chernabog’s ‘Play As the Americans’, ColdFire’s ‘How to have American Units as the British’, and three by Vowlesy: ‘Rank Fire’, which allows up to three ranks to fire; ‘Unit Size’, which lets you play with more men; and ‘Unit Experience’, which lets you edit the – surprise, surprise! – experience of your units. The tutorials can be found here.

Unit Size Mod

Unit Size Mod

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Warriors of Rhûn

Warriors of Rhûn

This was totally unexpected, but all the more welcome: ‘The Last Days’ is out with a new preview and some news! TLD is, for those unaware, a modification based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s ‘The Lord of the Rings’. The next version, which will be for ‘Mount & Blade’ v1.011, will expand the map into the far north, add five new factions, and all of the existing factions will, according to lead developer AW, be getting “facelifts”, as well. The factions shown in the preview are the men from Rhûn (Easterlings) and Khand (Variags), plus the Elves of Lothlórien and Orcs of Gundabad. The units include the Galadhrim Royal Infantry and Warg-riders. The full preview can be viewed here.

Warg-riders from Gundabar

Warg-riders from Gundabar

If you’ve – like me – got the urge to play ‘The Last Days’ after seeing this fantastic preview, you need to download the old .808 version of M&B, and the 2.4 version of TLD. More information on the mod can be found at their forum.

Galadhrim Royal Infantry

Galadhrim Royal Infantry

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Roma Surrectum II Preview: Dacians

«The Dacians were also in motion, a people which never can be trusted, and which, now that our legions were withdrawn from Moesia, had nothing to fear. They quietly watched the opening of the campaign, but when they heard that Italy was in a blaze of war, and that the whole empire was divided against itself, they stormed the winter-quarters of the auxiliary infantry and cavalry, and occupied both banks of the Danube.» – Tacitus

The Dacians

The Dacians

There have been a lot of great previews for Total War mods released lately and the latest one comes from the ‘Roma Surrectum II’ team. This time it’s the Dacians that is focused on, and the guys from RS promise that they will “do them justice like no RTW mod has ever done before!” After looking at the screens I have no problem believing that! Go to their preview thread for historical information on Dacia, and absolutely massive amounts of screenshots.

The Charge of the Dacians

The Charge of the Dacians

‘Roma Surrectum II’ is a modification for ‘Rome: Total War’ v1.5.

Source: twcenter.net

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Halie Satanus, maker of such illustrious mods as End of Days, End of Days II: Lycan Rising and Sicilia, has posted a couple of screenshots – Mod Realms exclusives! – for his, we hope, soon to be released mod: ‘300′ Warlords of Sparta’. They show the famous Persian Immortals and Sparaba units, as well as the defenders of Greece. Find out more about this mod here.

‘300′ Warlords of Sparta is a modification for ‘Rome: Total War – Alexander’.

Persian Immortals go toe to toe with the Defenders of Greece

Persian Immortals go toe to toe with the Defenders of Greece

Persian Sparaba on the March

Persian Sparaba on the March

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«Lying at the southern spur of the Misty Mountains, Isengard commands a position of great strategic importance, for to its south lies the Gap of Rohan, the only reliable passage from one side of the mountain range to the other. Isengard itself is a fortress of carefully crafted stone, built in the earliest years of Gondor’s existence. At its centre stands the tower of Orthanc, a massive edifice of polished black stone, bound tight with sufficient magic to render it virtually indestructible to physical assault. Though originally constructed as part of Gondor’s western defences, Isengard is little mentioned in the histories, which would suggest it remained empty for much of the time.»

Uruk-hai Captain

Uruk-hai Captain

‘The Third Age: Total War’ is a modification which attempts to bring Middle-earth, as envisioned by Peter Jackson, to life on the ‘Medieval II: Total War – Kingdoms’ engine. They have now released a new preview showing the units of Saruman’s Isengard, the fearsome Uruk-hai and the Warg-riders. The entire preview can be found here.

Heavy Uruk-hai

Heavy Uruk-hai

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