Scandza: Total War

[demagogos nicator]

Wow, what an amazing surprise, I am glad to see full scandinavian campaing being prepared. The map looks extremly good especially the coasts of Norway and Frisia.

[Dansk viking]

Thank you!

I recently changed the coast and fjords of Norway a bit actually:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[CountMRVHS]

Great to see this coming along!

So what factions are we looking at? Outside of Beowulf, I'm not terribly informed on this place & period.

[Serapio]

ok, i think i can make some propositions for additional settlements in frisia, lower saxony (like Treva and maybe Marklo the famous thing-place) and around the pomeranian coast. all beyond the east will be very difficult, because i have no further knowledge about the eastbaltic coast around 400 a.d. at least you should implement the settlements of ptolemys map. make some big rebel settlements with large garrisons.


there is an older mod for med II called "wind of scandia" which starts around 360 .a.d. http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showt...ind_of_Scandia



in the screenshots you can find possible aditional factions. regarding the problem of historical settlements, the developers have chosen a mixture of tribel names like "Lemovia" (tribe of the Lemovii) or geographic names like the isle of Usedom (Uzedom). the mod leader was a russian, so i think, he gave his best to be almost historic correct. surly he had access to slavic sources etc., that we dont have. i propose, you should follow a similar way to represent the tribes and settlements of the baltic coast.


how many free settlement and faction slots are left in your mod?



here is another map with possible settlement locations in north germany around 15/200 a.d. (also based on ptolemys map)

[Dansk viking]

Great to see this coming along!

So what factions are we looking at? Outside of Beowulf, I'm not terribly informed on this place & period.

Cheers!

Well, most of the North Germanic factions are based on those that are in Beowulf and related poems, only in an earlier state, but some are taken from various Norse sagas and coupled with classical information (e.g. the "Finnaithae" and "Raumarici" from Jordanes becoming Finnheiðingar and Raumar, their characters taken from Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks and Hversu Noregr byggðist). On the screenshots above, you see the Rygir, the Haðar, the Hörðar, and the Raumar.

ok, i think i can make some propositions for additional settlements in frisia, lower saxony (like Treva and maybe Marklo the famous thing-place) and around the pomeranian coast. all beyond the east will be very difficult, because i have no further knowledge about the eastbaltic coast around 400 a.d. at least you should implement the settlements of ptolemys map. make some big rebel settlements with large garrisons.

Yes, that was the plan. The Frisian coast will be more developed though, and I have a friend who's been helping me with that area, so that should not pose a problem when I get there.

there is an older mod for med II called "wind of scandia" which starts around 360 .a.d. http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showt...ind_of_Scandia



in the screenshots you can find possible aditional factions. regarding the problem of historical settlements, the developers have chosen a mixture of tribel names like "Lemovia" (tribe of the Lemovii) or geographic names like the isle of Usedom (Uzedom). the mod leader was a russian, so i think, he gave his best to be almost historic correct. surly he had access to slavic sources etc., that we dont have. i propose, you should follow a similar way to represent the tribes and settlements of the baltic coast.

I see. To be honest, I think it looks pretty generic. Mostly it's as if he's used the tribal names to form some kind of pseudo-name (which you might also blame me for in the Wærnas example) - often in a sloppy way (Rugen, Angiland, Danorland Saxon/Teutondal, Geatia, Aestia - not to speak of the plainly terrible pick of the mediaval names Dago, Esel, and Hammershus... And Fennland in Uppland?). My scope is deeper than the normal RTW mod - I don't want generic tribal settlements like we see elsewhere; most of my settlements are placed in accordance with the area's significance, and the names are picked from available place names that have archaic suffixes - then transformed into the OE/ON standard.

how many free settlement and faction slots are left in your mod?

Should have around 60 settlement slots left, and theoretically quite a few faction slots - though I don't plan to implement more factions for now.

here is another map with possible settlement locations in north germany around 15/200 a.d. (also based on ptolemys map)

Thanks!

[Serapio]

Hey dansk,
i have looked for some old german or dutch settlements, that are placed within the borders of Frisia Magna and old Saxony. here are some proposals. you will find the locations marked with letters and numbers on the map:


A.) Utrecht
Ultra Traiectum (around 48 a.d.) became Dutch Trecht; with the U from Old Dutch "uut" (downriver) added to distinguish U-trecht from Maas-tricht. old high german: Uztreht or Uztrehte => Frisian faction


B.) Bremen
Mentioned in the 9th century as Brema, 858 as Bremon. Based on the old saxon word "Bremo" (border, edge) => Rebel faction


C.) Verden:
first mentioned in 782 Ferdun, 810 Ferdi, 849 Ferdi, 874 Feride, 890 Verdi, 932 Ferdiun, 973 Werduun. old saxon word "fardi" means crossing, passage, ford => Saxon Faction


D.) Hamburg or Bad Odeslohe (north-east of Hamburg)
Is identified with Treva (Treoua and Trefa) from Ptolemys map ( Germania magna) => Saxon faction


E.) Bardowick
Mentioned in 795 in the anals of Einhard as Bardewyk => Saxon faction


G.) Osnabrück
deduced from the river Hase (germanic: Osna, meaning water or river). old notations: Osnabrugki, Osnabrucgensis, Osnaburgensis und Asenbrunensis, Asanbrunensis, Asnabrugensi => Rebel faction


1.) Dokkum
first mentioned as Dockinga in Willibald's vita of St. Boniface as his place of death around 754. => Frisian faction


2.) Groningen
Described as Cruoninga. Archeological evidence ffor settlement traces are dated around 300 b.c.. around 600/700 a.d. it was a permanent settlement. => Frisian faction


3.) Levefanum
roman castellum with vicus (near the town of Rijswijk) . it is suposed that the name derives from the germanic goddess "Haeva" (Haeva Fanum = temple of Haeva). It is also marked in Ptolemys map ( Germania magna). => Rebel faction


4. Stavoren
in frisian language: Starum. one of the oldest frisian towns in the netherlands. first mentioned around 900. => Frisian faction


5.) Norden
germanic origin: Nordwidi (northern forest/wood). first mentioned in 885 as Norditi. In 884 the Frisians defeated a wiking army near Norditi/Nordhunwig. => Rebel faction


6.) Sievern:
first mentioned in 1139 as Sivorde. germanic origin: Sivard / Sifard
Si/sîfe (frisian/germanic) = stream/brook/boggy
ard (germanic) = acre / english = eard/ native place)


Near Sievern there is a large circular hillfort. archeological evidences are found from 50 b.c. till 100 a.d. (radiocarbon methode). this ring wall is identified as Fabiranum from Ptolemys map (Germania magna) => Saxon Faction


7.) Odisheim
the name has germainc origins (Odeshem/Odishem) meaning "Odins home". => Saxon faction


In several sources you will find also two famous tribal places of the saxons. the Eresburg (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eresburg) and the central thing-place Marklo (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marklo) But i think, these two locations are a little bit too southwards for your map.

.

[Aradan]

Looks very promising - focused-scope campaigns is what TW is most suitable for, I think. Congrats on keeping up with it!

[Serapio]

Exact Aradan! I love your viking and norman mod! i also downloaded fatw, but since i installed windows 10 i cant play rtw. ich hope, there will be a patch soon!

[demagogos nicator]

Are you familiar with Wrath of the Norsmen mod for M2TW. It is concerned with simmilar geographical area just few centuries later (mod starts in the second half of the 8th century). You may find there some inspiration or material in regard to the UI, texts and buildings (eventurally unit concepts). I quite like the building tree in that mod which is designed to represent the economic system in the pre/early viking age scandinavia however the development is quite slow there and it took ages unitll the factions develop their economy and reach their best recruitment options.

Btw. fjords of Norway looks really impresive, I can celarly distinguish the landmarks of Sognefjord area, Hardangerfjord, Island of Osteroy and others..

[Dansk viking]

I was part of the team years ago.

*snip*

Very nice, thank you!

Looks very promising - focused-scope campaigns is what TW is most suitable for, I think. Congrats on keeping up with it!

Cheers!

[Serapio]

no problem dansk! do you need something else or some more information?

[Dansk viking]

All that you've given me is much appreciated. Now it's up to me to make good use of it. Modding is currently low priority for me again though; you could call it a kind of hibernation after the summer activity. Perhaps things will pick up again later this year - whenever time and motivation is plentiful!

[Dansk viking]

I made a page on ModDB, mostly due to me being tired of all the expiring upload sites, but it could prove to work out quite well: http://www.moddb.com/mods/scandza-total-war


Started on the forests of Scandinavia and Northern Germany. I'd really like some new models for trees (I love the ones used in EB for instance, and could easily put them in, but there's no way to get permission for those resources...). Any ideas how it should be done ideally would be appreciated. Currently I'm just trying to make it look natural (obviously needs to have more forest than there is now).

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[Dansk viking]

I've made quite a bit of progress. Firstly, I finished the forestation (though subject to change), added rivers to the Baltic coast, made three new settlements (one for the Varini, one on Rügen, and one at the Vistula estuary). The Norwegian highlands have received several more passages through the low mountain terrain.

Lastly I've been experimenting with clan names for characters of important descent (Skjöldungar, Völsungar, Ynglingar, etc.) and managed to make some new traits that grant epithets (for example: "Fróði Skjöldunga"), and that are inherited from father to son - so it will be possible to see whether characters are in-laws/adopted or indeed descend from the original house; the patrilineal descendants will also receive an influence bonus.

[Dansk viking]

So, quadruple-posting here for another progress report.

The North of Germany and the Frisian coast have received some attention finally. Most of the settlement choices thanks to Serapio. There may still be room for a settlement east of Bardowick and one west of Bremen.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

In other news, I started scripting the Anglo-Saxon migration (along with a general population reduction for all settlements to portray the harshness of the period and the general migration).

The first few decades will be less harsh in terms of the Anglo-Saxon migration, to portray the more small-scale raiding/mercenary focus (with small chances of these returning as well), but later on it'll be very hard to maintain a high population in the southern North Sea coast settlements (as well as some eastern Saxon and Anglish settlements - the Jutish settlements already being quite low to begin with).

[demagogos nicator]

Nice work as always

[Dansk viking]

Thank you!



Just as a little teaser, I can reveal that many heroic and tragic stories will bring life to Scandinavia in the mod. Examples of characters included are those from the tragic love story of Hjálmarr and Ingibjörg (romanticised depictions above) as well as Hagbarðr and Signý, and the adventures of Hagbarð's brother, Haki (possibly the father of Harðnefr/Hnæf), and their uncle, Helgi Hundingsbani.

It's interesting how many of these stories are more or less clearly connected, enabling me to figure out when some events took place in relation to others in parallel stories. The more I've delved into the legends over the years, the more fascinating it becomes.

[Nelduin]

Eager to see more of this.

[Dansk viking]

Thanks!

So, I decided that I'll no longer keep the old beta version up. It's very outdated, and I also realised that a few assets were used that I didn't have the proper rights to (e.g. the remade MTW:VI portraits and the music). I've already replaced these elements in my current version, but perhaps I'll seek permission to use the work of other artists in the future.

[Serapio]

hey dansk, good to hear from you and very nice work! this is one of the most fascinating rtw-mods. unfortunately i cant play rtw with my win 10 system.