Oceania: Total War

[attilavolciak07]

A brand new mod idea about the Oceania continent.
New cultures-Melanesians, Polynesians, Micronesians, Australasians
Native factions and European factions
See more in the thread for possible maps and research.

If you want to join the team, feel free and post here. Any help would be appreciated.

[Captain Blackadder]

It would be interesting however there are some problems with accuracy that could come about firstly the European powers are much better militarily speaking then the cultures that were there the only race that managed to resist in some way were the maori being the only really noticeable resistance however it could be very fun if you include the various countries that tried to take parts of the area.

[Praetyre]

I'd be inclined to agree. The development of Australia and colonization of islands is culturally interesting, but outside of the Musket and New Zealand wars (http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=186500) I can't really think of any major military conflicts in the area.

[Lord Willy]

I think its a great idea!!!

[attilavolciak07]

I was thinking about this. Doesn't Empire have three different maps, America, India and Europe? If so we could divide the regions of the different cultural zones in Oceania. I was concerned because the map would have to be close up for us to get villages in the islands which are small, so we could divide them into three. This is the map of Melanesia, with some of Australasia and Micronesia.

all pics from wiki

firstly the European powers are much better militarily speaking

You do make a good point but Polynesia was totally colonized in the early 1900s. There was little mining industry in Polynesia so it was little more than a passing interest for the Europeans.

We could do the same as Kingdoms, make it a little harder to get top-grade Europeans units so you might have to rely on native mercenaries.

[attilavolciak07]

Culture(not factions, they'll come later): Polynesians

Religion, farming, fishing, weather prediction, and canoes were very important to the Polynesians. They needed all to basically survive, living on a small island meant food needed to be distributed fairly and the community always helped other members of the community, as if one big family.
Navigators were highly respected in their soceity because they knew their way around the archipelago of islands. Navigator group is displayed below

And for pictures, I used wiki


Settlements: Hamlets and Villages

Usually, hamlets were on smaller islands and had around five to ten households within. Usually on largic volcania islands, hamlets were populated. The hamlets would set up in different patterns around the volcano, so resources were plentiful for the families living as such.

Villages, on the other hand, were usually built on the coasts of islands. Villages usually contained around thirty of thirty five households. Unlike hamlets, villages were more often fortified. The village was fortified by walls and often palisades made of wood and stone.

Combat: The Polynesians mostly fought with wooden swords and sometimes with swords made of stone. Stone and wooden weapons were considered to be more powerful the better they were made and decorated.

Religion: While there are some differences in their spoken languages they largely have the same explanation for the creation of the earth and sky, for the gods that rule aspects of life and for the religious practices of everyday life.

[banzai_travis]

i think i read somewhere that the M2TW engine had major (crashing) troubles if a certain percentage of the map was water maybe you'll have to wait for ETW. good idea though, could make for some interesting scenarios in an otherwise ignored corner of the world.

[attilavolciak07]

Yeah. Empire would be better. It would have the type of technology for the Europeans, but I hope I can base some Pacific units off maybe Southeast Asian or Indian troops

[attilavolciak07]

Maoris-Focus on Combat

War was a splendid affair for the Maoris. Fighting or even dieing was considered noble. The Maoris weren't an entire huge force; in fact, they usually fought with other local tribes in a type of guerilla warfare.

Weapons

Battles were mostly fought hand to hand. The Maori tribes had two traditional weapons-the patu (club) and taiaha (spear). Before going into combat, the Maori tribes would try to instill fear in their combatments by performing a haka or war dance.

Time to Fight

The Maoris most often would fight seasonal wars. These wars began after the crops were planted and ended just before harvest. This time period was dedicated to their god Tu, or the god of war.

Mana

Mana is a hard word to translate to English but it translates mostly to courage, honor and skill in battle. Mana could be seen as a military rank, because the higher your mana was, the higher your responsibility was to lead men to battle and encourage them to fight bravely.

All the info comes these great and imformative sites about Maori warfare
http://www.zealand.org.nz/whakapapa5.htm
http://www.historyorb.com/nz/guerilla_warfare.shtml