Fortnightly Update

[fatsheep]

By popular demand there will be a new Feature around here- regular updates from the Fourth Age Team. Depending on how quick stuff gets done, they will be approximately every two weeks.

Your first update features the marvellous faction of
DUNLAND



The Dunnish people are spread wide across Dunland. They have a wide variety of units, from barbarian berserkers to disciplined spearmen. Historically, they have enjoyed the sparse lands to the north of the fertile Rohan territory, something which has provoked them to make near constant war with the Rohirrim for many years, culminating in the War of the Ring, when Dunnish forces participated in the assault upon The Hornburg. In the early Fourth Age, with Rohan to the south, and the Orcs to the north, they have a chance for conquest.

Some of the Dunnish units include;




Here they are in action against the Forgoil, as the Dunlendings call the Riders of Rohan





Dunland is one of FA:TW's most varied factions, with the units ranging from wild barbarians to noble Northmen. Their starting position should allow for plenty of fun battles from the slopes of the Misty Mountains to the plains of Rohan.

And here is the very first screenshot of the map- showing the approximate location of the Dunland provinces. As you can see, they will be around the southern Misty Mountains, near the gap of Rohan and the Fords of Isen. Their lands grew fertile in the days of the King, and now they are well established and have a highly defendable region, guarded by the Misty Mountains and the Sea to the west.



Well thats Dunland in a nutshell, stick around for another update soon.

Thanks, Astaldo

Please be aware that none of these units, or the artwork, or the map are final. There will very likely be changes made before the final release

[fatsheep]

Fourth Age Total War Fortnightly Update

Interview with Orc Faction Designers: Astaldo and Marcus Aurelius

Q. Will orcs be small and crawl around - and will they have pikemen?

A. There are obvious problems with making the orcs significantly different from men or other races in the game due to the size and detail of the units on the battlefield. We are thus acting under the constraints of the skeletal parameters of the CAS files, and associated animations; but rest assured they will be - we believe - distinct as a faction and decidedly orcish!

They won't have pikemen but will have plenty of spearmen- Such as these Fellas.


Q. Have you made a decision on the nature of the orcs' population settings?

A. Orcs will breed like rabbits. Their numbers will grow quickly.

Q. Will a contingent of Uruk-hai be able to stand up to the equivalent elite units of the nations of men, dwarves, and elves? How will their forces stack up all together

A. Uruk-hai will probably be roughly equal to a higher end unit from other factions, but not as good as their elite units. As for the other units, they will predictably be cheap but plentiful, as in the books their best tactics will be weight of numbers. Most Orc units would not be as good as their opposite number in another faction.

Q. Any new siege weapons you guys are planning and are willing to discuss?

A. We have ideas that we would like to implement, but some limitations remain with what can be achieved.

Q. How do you plan to implement the trolls? Will they be more of a very powerful/dangerous-to-use unit, meaning will they run amok more than say elephants or Seleucid Charioteers?

A. Yes that's about the size of it. Trolls will be included in the orc unit roster, in the form of Olog-hai. They will be in small groups, devastating in the charge but likely to 'run amok' and damage friend and foe alike.

Q. What sort of player would the orcs be suited too

A. If you liked fighting as the barbarians in Rome, then the orcs will suit you perfectly. In battles, they have large, untrained units, so complex tactics are difficult. This means if you are a beginner or like me you can't be bothered to think of battle plans, then the orcs 'charge and hope' battle tactics would suit you. In the campaign, the orcs will have quickly growing populations, so you'll be able to ugrade your cities and move up the tech tree quickly. This means that orcs will have their elite units sooner than other factions . The downside of this of course is that you might find your cities overpopulated.

Q. What about wargs

A. At the moment we are working on three warg types. One is the 'melee' wargs that we all know and love, with their riders armoured and armed with a big scimitar. The second is a light and fast warg archer, which should act something like the parthian horse archers. There is also hopefully going to a third mystery warg, but it is proving hard to implement in game. We'll have to keep our fingers crossed.

Q. Why did you choose to design orcs?

A. The orcs were, and are, great fun to design. They are nasty, dirty and cruel. This meant that we could give them scary weapons and rusty scraps of armour, and basically heave a lot of fun with them. Tolkien gives them all kinds of weapons and armour so we could really let our imaginations run wild, and we've come up with a lot of scary and intimidating units on the battlefield. Hopefully we can come up with some buildings that are nice and run down, wormeaten and rat infested.

Some scary and mangy orc swordsmen;



Q. Whats so great about the orcs?

A. The orcs let you loose your mean streak upon Middle-Earth. They have some of the most original and terrifying units in their trolls and wargs, and their normal units are very different from other faction's. They also give the player a massive challenge in trying to do what Dark Lords (Sauron), warlords (Bolg), and enterprising chieftans (Golfimbul) couldn't do, and conquer the world with an orcish army.

Astaldo and Marcus Aurelius

Again no units or ideas shown in this post are final, they are undergoing constant refinement.

[fatsheep]

For this fortnightly update, I’m proud to present the Riders of Rohan.

Keep in mind what we are showing you is pretty much all work in progress (WIP) and will be subject to change between now and release.


ROHAN'S BANNER

Eorl and his people were given the vast, green plains of Calenardhon by Cirion of Gondor as a reward for lending their decisive aid in the Battle of the Fields of Celebrant in TA 2510. Since that time the Sons of Eorl have spread far and wide across those plains - from the Mering Stream in the east, to the borders of Isen in the west, to the banks of the Limlight in the north.

The grassy plains of the Mark are the perfect environment for breeding horses - and they are much needed there; for the settlements in Rohan are spread far apart. The people of the Riddermark learn to ride shortly after they can walk - it is second nature to them, and they love their horses almost as much as their own children. It is no surprise then that most of the army of Rohan are experienced mounted troops.

In battle the swift mounts of the Eorlingas lend their forces a massive advantage, for they have the most skilled riders south of Lothlórien. Their warriors are fierce and doughty men, and lack no courage when defending their lands and King...


This faction has access to some of the best cavalry in Middle-earth. Some of them are depicted below for your viewing pelasure:




Although cavalry based, Rohan has acess to a variety of battle-worthy infantry. Four of them are depicted below.




Here's a screenshot of the realm of Rohan, showing some of the natural features of the area kindly labelled by our Campaign Map Manager for all you Tolkien fans:

Well that wraps up this fortnightly update.
-fatsheep

[fatsheep]

For this fortnightly update, we present to you Gondor.

Keep in mind most units shown are WIP, and are likely to change between now and release. And the Knights of Dol Amroth will have new horses.


The banner of Gondor, the White Tree of Minas Tirith.

The Reunited Kingdom is united no more. Gondor is sundered from Arnor once again, and to the east Mordor is repopulated by rebels - or so they are called in Gondor. And in the north there is a new shadow stirring...

The Gondorian capital, Minas Tirith, is a virtually unassailable city built into the side of Mount Mindolluin. It will take a truly determined enemy to force its way through seven walls and seven gates, guarded by some of the best soldiers in Middle-earth.

Troops from all the wide lands of Gondor are at the Kings command: archers from the Blackroot Vale, stout axemen from Lossarnach, and Knights from Dol Amroth, who hold themselves as lords in which the race of Númenor still runs true. The bastions of the Gondorian military, however, are its disciplined and well armed infantry - they are noble and valiant, and as capable fighters as can be found anywhere in the lands of Men.

But to restore Gondor to her former glory, she will need more than valiant Men; she will need a strong leader.

Gondor's military is infantry based, and amongst the very best of Middle-earth. They bear the White Tree proudly upon their chest.



Some say the Knights of Dol Amroth are the greatest cavalry on all of Middle-earth. We know they are the greatest looking.







No map screenshot this week. We have something way better, official Fourth Age: Total Warpaper. Enjoy!



Well, that's all for this update. Hope you enjoyed everything.

- The Fourth Age Mod Team

[fatsheep]

No factions were final enough this week for an update, and since we are against releasing WIP units, we're holding off on a faction showcase this fortnight. Next fortnight expect a grande update, but this week we're giving you a smorgeasborg of promotional material, as well as an interview with everyone's favorite farm animal, fatsheep.

Q: Everyone knows you have been on the team as long as anyone can remember, but are you one of the founding members?

A: Yes, back a short while before Rome was released myself and realm lord came to SCC with the idea for a Lord of the Rings mod. We picked up a handful of people along the way, and eventually became the first mod to be hosted here.

Q: Have you ever worked on a mod before?

A: Before I came to Fourth Age, I had no experience with an organized mod team. I had modded Medieval: Total War before as well as a few other older RTS games.




Q: How come Lord of the Rings? Still suffering from movie-mania, or have you always been a fan?

A: I read the trilogy several years before the movies hit the theatres. No book I have ever read before had such a complex and intriguing universe. I did like the movies too, although Peter Jackson didn’t exactly follow the books word for word, they did do a lot of things well that made me start reading through some of the books again.

Q: What was it like back then? How big was the team, and how similar was the plan for the mod?

A: When we first got our SCC forums, the team was very small, probably not much more then ten or twelve. Our plan has been adjusted over time, but the mainframe that onclejibi laid out in the infant stages of the mod still stand: A mod set in the fourth age, where a “TW-style universe” existed. Meaning there is no fixed good and bad side as you see in the third age.



Fourth Age: Total Wallpaper:



Q: Have things changed for the better or worse? What has changed the most?

A: Many new productive members have joined, our popularity has soared, and much work has been done. Our organization has changed the most, if we had maintained the sorry state we were last year, we would never have gotten nearly as much accomplished as we have. A beta would have been still be far from our thoughts.


Q: What is your job at the mod?

A: I mostly act as a Recruitment, Forum, and Public Relations manager, although I do like to oversee other areas when I can. My duties are mostly just keeping the organization in the mod intact, and dealing with applicants (recruitment).

Q: What is your favourite faction? Favourite unit, or one you'd most like to see?

A: That’s a hard one but If I had to choose one I’d probably stick with the Variags. I’m a fan of Mongol tactics, and they look to be the best at that. One of my favorite units are the Storm Blade Riders, heavily armored Variag shock cavalry bearing two Samurai style swords.



Q: What mod, other than your own, are you most looking forward to and why?


A: There are alot of good mods out there, but Chivarly: Total War looks to have their bearings on things. I think they’ve done a great job on recreating the medieval period with the Rome: Total War engine.

Q: Any tips for aspiring modders out there?

A: Pick up a tutorial, ask around, learn about what you’re getting into. In the state that our modding community is now, I’d recommend joining an existing mod before you look to start your own.




Q: Finally, why the name "fatsheep?"

A: “fatsheep” is one part certa commerical inspired and one part imagination. It’s more of a joke then anything else, a comical character.

Well, that about wraps things up. Thanks.


Avatars- click link to view
Argonath- http://img267.echo.cx/img267/2654/ar...oavatar9ne.jpg
Gondor- http://img267.echo.cx/img267/4971/banner7ik6jk.jpg
Dunland- http://img267.echo.cx/img267/7106/dunland4wb.jpg
Rohan- http://img267.echo.cx/img267/7142/st...ohan6lw6my.jpg

Everyone should be able to find something they like.
While I don't want to give too much away, expect a monsterous :winking51: update next fortnight. And thanks to fatsheep for the interview, it should enlighten most of us about the history of the mod.

Thanks to ImageShack for Free Image Hosting

-Fourth Age Mod Team

[fatsheep]

Hello Fourth Age: Total War fans,

This weeks update is a very special one. We are proud to announce the launch of our website:
www.thefourthage.net

There, you'll find a news page, updated FAQ, member list, screenshot gallery, concept gallery, and a downloads section.

But this doesn't mean our home at SCC is falling by the wayside... just the contrary! We are still keeping our forums here, and you'll be able to get our Updates on SCC before they appear on the website.

But we wouldn't go a month without an update just to leave you new-contentless. We are presenting you with a variety of units from a variety of factions.

First, we present you with a taste of the Elves:

The Elves are the eldest race in Middle-earth, the Firstborn. They are tall, fair and wise beyond the measure of mortal men, and they do not fall ill like the Secondborn, who they call "The Sickly". This means that they are expert warriors, often with hundreds of years of practise, and make formidable opponents for any soldier.

However, the Fourth Age is the dominion of Men. The Elves are waning as a presence in Middle-earth, and there are precious few of them remaining spread out across their territories, the centres of which are Thranduil's Halls, Rivendell and Amon Lanc.




From these cities come many of the finest units to be found in the Elven army.



We're also presenting a small teaser of the Dwarves and Harad:


Note= Dwarve screenshot is to show scale. Captain will be a dwarve.


There is also an update on the DEMO!
Scripting is entering its final stages, and we hope to have an inhouse build this week... which means our public release isn't far away. Perhaps for our next update (but that wouldn't be the first time you've heard that)? The Fords of Isen demo will feature a variety of Dunlendish barbarians, Rohirrim soldiers (many of which have had makeovers and changes), and Orcish hordes.

That's all for this quite eventful update! Hope you enjoyed, and tell your friends to visit www.thefourthage.net !

[fatsheep]

Dear loyal fans:

It's update time again. However, this weeks update is both a time of sorrow and joy. Unfortunately, due to scripting problems impossible to overcome, we've had to abandon the Fords of Isen as our demonstration historical battle. It has been pushed back and pushed back because of scripting difficulties, but some areas of the battle are impossible to script... and thus, we've decided to cancel the endeavour all together, rather than release an inaccurate and flawed product.
Fortunately, there are two reasons to be excited. First is, you will be getting somewhat of an update. Here is a screenshot story of how the battle would have gone:

The First Battle of the Fords of Isen, TA 3019

In the early part of TA 3019 Rohan's scouts had reported an army massing before the Gates of Isengard. Théodred, Second Marshal of the Mark and son of King Théoden, had quickly mobilized his riders to counter Saruman's forces.

On the misty morning of the twenty-fifth day of February of that same year Théodred approached the Fords of Isen and, after leaving a part of his force on the east bank, passed over the river and eyot and led his men north up the western side of the Isen hoping to take Saruman's army by surprise.

About ten miles from the fortress of Isengard the Rohirrim engaged an army of Dunlendings and soon discovered their enemy dug in and well prepared to repulse and rout them. Then a breeze, rising from the west, had blown away the mists and, much to Théodred's horror, he espied a second army moving down the east side of the Isen toward the Fords. A smaller army but one much more dangerous; an army led by the dreaded Wolfriders whose Wargs would strike fear into any horse, and backed up by well-armoured Uruk-hai and strong Dunlendish cavalry.


Ordering a retreat, the Marshal and his riders rode at great speed back to the Fords of Isen.


After stiffening the western defences, Théodred commanded that the rest of his army cross over to the eastern bank whilst he himself with his own dismounted éored would man the eyot.


Saruman's eastern force, led by the Orcish Wolfriders, came down with great swiftness upon the Rohirrim encamped on the east of the river and quickly dispersed them; and those riders sent over the Fords by Théodred did not have enough time to reform before the eastern force also hammered into them. They too were scattered and broken though had some success in leading a part of the Uruk-hai force away.


As soon as the enemy had control of the east approaches to the Fords, a company of axe-wielding orc-men (a part of Saruman's eastern force which had until that time remained hidden) surrounded and assaulted the eyot.


Théodred, overwhelmed, fell despite the valiant attempt of Grimbold, his second-in-command, to save him.


Many lives were lost and a greater tragedy was only avoided by the early arrival of Elfhelm and his riders at the waning of the day, an event which turned the tide of the battle in Rohan's favour.


Théodred's death was a great blow to Rohan and its people. It was later discovered that Saruman's forces had indeed been given special orders to slay Théodred at all costs. And so another obstacle had been removed in Saruman's designs to subdue Rohan and its people.

(The full story of "The First Battle of the Fords of Isen" can be read in Tolkien's
"Unfinished Tales" in the section entitled "The Battles of the Fords of Isen")

But wait, that's not all! We haven't abandoned a demo, we've just changed the battle. We have changed our demo to the Battle of the Crossings of Poros. The following is from the the Encyclopedia of Arda:

More often called the 'Crossings of Poros', the Fords marked the point where the Harad Road from Harad and South Gondor entered the lands of Gondor proper. As such, their strategic importance was considerable, as attacking armies from the south had no choice but to cross the Poros at this point.
In III 2885, the fierce people of that southern land occupied South Gondor and attacked Ithilien across the Poros. Steward Túrin II was aided in his defence by King Folcwine of Rohan, whose twin sons Folcred and Fastred rode with his army. These two northern armies forced the Haradrim back across the Fords and had the victory, but the sons of Folcwine both fell in that battle.

The Rohirrim buried the twins in a great mound, after their custom, and that mound, the Haudh in Gwanûr, guarded Gondor's southern boundaries for long years after.

This battle will feature the armies of Gondor, Harad, and Rohan. This includes the noble swan Knights of Dol Amroth, secretive Rangers of Ithilien, thunderous cavalry of Rohan, swarthy warriors of Harad, and, yes fans, the mighty Mûmakil! Each faction will have units not previously seen before! There is much reason to be excited. Our team is working furiously to make up for lost time, and polish up the large amount of material and graphics for the battle. That means, unfortunately, its quite unlikely that we'll have another update until the battle is released, which could see the public in as soon as 3 weeks. So do not despair, because oft hope is born, when all is forlorn.

[fatsheep]

For this update, I'm going to take you through the process of creating a single FATW unit, from conception to final product. For this example, I'm using the swan Knights of Dol Amroth, an elite Gondorian unit. I hope to show you the entire creative process that goes into many of our units... Rarely is a unit correct on the first try, and they usually go beyond minor tweaks, to repeated redesigns. This is especially true on the important factions such as Gondor/Arnor/RG, Elves, Rohan, Dwarves, and Orcs.
So when you read someone write "How come FATW is taking so long?", you can point them in the direction of this thread.
There is essentially no existing conceptual or design work we can use... everything is entirely homegrown. We cannot google "Knight of Dol Amroth" and come up with a good concept (and no, we don't consider Games Workshop figurines good concepts). We are doing what the entire WETA workshop has done for the films, except in our free time, for no pay, and most of us are not professionals. I highly doubt any other mod has this intensive of a process; historical modifications have much reference art and drawing and studies, and most fantasy modifications are alot more arbitrary and open-ended (if not a complete creation of the user's mind). We are aiming to have a greater feeling of Middle-earth authenticity than even the movies. So here I present you with, while not a graphically stunning update, one that will give you some insight into what goes on behind our closed doors, and a way to get to know the team members.


I started by modelling the basic model from scratch, in Alias|Wavefront's Maya.

Here is the WIP Knight of Dol Amroth.
A few things:
I have no texture yet for his legs
I have not modelled or textured his shield, I am thinking an oval though. Any better ideas on the shape?
The texture is a WIP, but the design concepts are all there.



I tried to incorporate the swan wing motif onto his breastplate, and shoulder plates. The plate is only prominent in the front, in the back it is much narrower and only really there to keep it on. Under he wears a shirt of (what should be) chain mail. He has plate guantlets, but I left his arms with a soft leather dyed the Dol Amroth blue. He has a long cape, the emblem should look more like a swan, I know it looks more duck-like. Beak is too big. Weapon is modelled after the movie Arwen's Hadhafang, a curved, 1H blade.
Also, any ideas on what his legs should be? I think I need to continue out the shirt of mail into a skirt/halberk(sp) if I'm not giving him plate leggings, which I'm not.
I did this texture at school in a couple hours, once the design details are ironed out I will have another go at it, and if it still comes out like crap, I'll pass it off.

Some responses:

From the novel text we discover the following about the men of Dol Amroth:

- their Prince had blue banners which were gilded and bearing the token of the Ship and Silver Swan
- their knights rode on grey horses, in full harness
- they had men-at-arms tall as lords, grey-eyed and dark-haired
- "Amroth for Gondor!" was their battle cry
- their Prince wore shining mail
- the Prince, and his knights, held themselves as lords in whom the race of Númenor ran true
- their Prince had a bright-burnished vambrace upon his arm
I agree that the sword should be straight (with hand guards), and the shield not round. I'm not too keen on the enclosed helm; I know there is a strong tendency to want to make these knights look like medieval ones but I think it should be avoided.

Good start!

I've seen a picture of a banner for Dol Amroth, of a ship and a swan, but IMO having two objects on the banner that do not interact does not work graphicaly. How about having a swan-like ship, since the sentence can be interpretted that way (especially since he says "token" and not "tokens."
The breastplate is not full plate armour, and it makes the unit unique and cool, so I'm not removing it (though this shouldn't be a problem).
I would like to see their face as well, but I can't find a helm that would look good on the unit that leaves his face open. Unless they are completely helmet-less. But I've change the model of the helmet, I'll post screenshots when I finish it. Or find me an image of a helmet that would look good.
Also, I'll change the arms appropriately (I was planning on giving them vambracers anyway).
Apoc said he didn't like the rectangular shields for Gondor, they were too-movielike. We should come to a decision on this, I don't mind either way (round, ovoid, rectangular, or something else). Also, I'll fix the sword.
The unit has changed substantially for the much better, I'll post some screenies when I get home. Also, I need suggestions on his legs and pelvic region.

Do you mean something like this? (re banner)
http://home.earthlink.net/~asrd1/newtales.htm
?
I suppose their unique facial look among Gondorians is one of the reasons why it would be good to have the helms open.

Here are some pics of winged helms:

http://nordicmaid.com/catalog/viking_helme...ngs_3197457.htm
may be a bit too basic.

http://www.knightsedge.com/armor/arm...ing-helmet.htm

http://nwvault.ign.com/Files/other/d...87611099.shtml
Hmm..maybe alter those antler-looking wings a bit
Check with Apoc on this - but what do we think about kite shields (Norman cavalry)?

Apoc is the FDM and knows a little more about this side of things than me, but I would say that this unit is likely to be more subject to alteration and discussion than others. Please be flexible

p.s. apoc and prof - lots of helms at:
http://www.webleyandscott.com/acatalog/HELMET_S.html
What do you think of the Roman Horn Helmet?

Changes:
Head and helmet changed entirely. I am using a Triarii face, which is not very Numenorian, but I guess is better than a blank grey.
Various other mappings changed around the body, and I redid the breastplate.
Redid the sword.
Redid the cloak emblem. For space's sake, I think I need to come up with a symmetrical texture/emblem, otherwise the rest of the texture will suffer.
Fixed the overall blue color to a darker one.
Gave him bracers and mail gloves.

To Do:
Give him his hauberk.
Make his shield.
Map his legs (I am going to give him blue leather pants, with metal boots starting just below the knee.

At this point, the KoDA has undergone its major first revision:

Here are the newest renders of the Knight of Dol Amroth:

Just a few notes about it:
Right now his skirt uses his chest texture. I got this idea from the little figurines posted above. I think it looks good, but if everyone disagrees, I can change it. The reason I did this was mainly because it frees up alot of room on the texture, and since he needs a 2/3 shield and 2/3 cape, this is almost neccessary. Unless there are serious objections, it's going to have to stay this way.
The emblem can change, I just used this one to demonstrate we can have non-symmetrical emblems, and its only taking 2/3 of the needed room. Pretty proud of myself for figuring out how.
At this point, I'd like to pass the texture off to Marc or Travis or anyone that feels capable of doing a nice texture for it, I have decided not to because lack of ability and lack of time to make up for my lack of ability.
So please when you critique the unit, keep the texture space limitations in mind, and remember this will be 256x256, right now its still 512x512, so a small loss in quality here (by having to add things into the texture) will quadruple in impact on the lower res texture.

More comments and critique:

Nice work, Prof. It's a good basis for the unit.

Some input:

The helm: I don't like the wings. They are probably one of the most difficult features of the Gondorian soldier to imagine, and make, I would assume. I think they should be of steel. Perhaps they could start as close-fitting cheek-guards slanting at an angle back and upwards, so they protrude a little above the helm. It's hard to describe, and I'm crap at drawing so that's probably the best description I can give. I think a kick-ass helmet is essential for this unit, though.

The breastplate: I'm not too fond of it (bet no-one saw that coming, huh?). Perhaps it could be some sort of patterned scale armour (the Elves used scale armour in the Elder Days; the Knights of Dol Amroth had connections to the Elves). The scales could (I have no idea if this is workable or not) be made in the likeness of feathers. If I am outvoted on the breastplate, at least I think the "wings" going over the shoulders should go under the cloak.

The cloak: Finally! Thank you, Prof. Excellent cloak!

The shield: The form is a little ... unusual. My preferred form (and educated guess as to what they would have used) would be the smaller of the shields I sent you.

The mail: It looks great! Exactly the type of shining mail the Knights of Dol Amroth would prance around in.

The colours: I think the only places the KoDA wore blue were on their shield and their cloak.

They rode, btw, grey horses.

Apoc

And now my retort and comments:
The helm wings: I have tried literally a dozen different helmet and wing types. To get good looking wings that don't look as funky as those little figurine guys is very difficult. The wings are in fact the cheek guards that move up and away into the wings. I can angle the cheek guards a little closer to the face, but the wings form that part of the helmet. I think this is a more than satisfactory helmet, putting wings on a helmet is IMO the most difficult part of a character I've every made.
The breast plate: I will have to wait until I get someone to work on the texture to try this out. I wanted to keep it an engraved plate, but we can see how embossed scales look. The pauldron-wings are my favorite part of the unit, so I would like to keep them.
Shield: Anything with 1/4 symmetry (round, oval, rectangular) is fine. But having a 1/2 symmetry shield like the Gondor spearmen would reduce the quality of the shield texture.
Colours: I'll change the arm leather colour.

At this point, with the model satisfactory, it was sent to Tb0ne (who works at Valve) for retexturing. The result is:

looking good !

but maybe to much "wingy armour" and chainmail. it must be very heavy (if its not mithril).
little bit of leather, less mail imo . . . but looking realy good so far.

Looking good

Does the helmet have wings on it, I cant tell in the black. I know you were having some problems getting them to look good.

[fatsheep]

Continued from above post:

Very nice Professor! I think it looks great, although the helmet is a little tall...

I like the Knight very much, the scale armour looks amazing. I've got two gripes, though.

1. The colour. He has blue in places where I think a much more neutral colour would look better, such as the grip of the sword, the arms, etc. I really don't think the KoDA had blue anywhere else than the cloak and shield, and possibly a cloth covering over the horse. The horse should be grey. (I would be nice to see the test skin, Travis).

2. The emblem(s). The swan ship is from a table top game. Aside from copyright issues, I wouldn't want people to go: 'Hey, where did I see that before?'. Plus, it's not really a nice design. I talked to Tb0ne about this, and he was fine with someone else changing the design. We should also use spraeh's White Tree, unless that's already on there.

If I had to name a couple of other things, I'd say maybe he shouldn't have scale armour on his knees, and I'd also mention the helmet, but I know Prof. is working on that.

Good work Travis and Prof.!

Apoc

PS. One minor thing. I think he has blue eyes? The KoDA had sea-grey eyes.

1. The colour. I agree it should be a more neutral colour. Last night desaturating the blue out of the texture and the results were promising. It makes it look more real but still gives a good range of colours and values.

2. It is currently using spaerbauers' Gondor Tree emblem. I inverted it and placed it on the shield (in a much smaller form). The stars were difficult to place, but i did manage to get them on one of the trees, I can proably add them to the other if need be, but not sure if there is room.

He doesn't have scale armour on his shins, it's more of a engraved plate that starts as a stronger, more detailed form at the top, then slowly fades into the metal on each new row of feathers. Same technique was used for the arm bracers. The reason I added the pattern to these areas is because with all detail on the scale mail feather motif chest armour it ended up looking like an unbalanced design with all the detail concentrated in one area. Making the arms and shins also in the feather pattern it brought greater balance to the units design.

Perhaps I can make the pattern look more like plate, I didn't know it looked too much like the chest scale mail.

The eyes I can change very easily, I didn't know they were supposed to be that colour.

Taking all the criticism into account, the third major revision:

An updated Dol Amroth Knight-


Something still doesn't look right. I'm not really happy with him ATM. Things I'll do over the next few days-
-Fix up the alpha on the wings so it looks cleaner and not ripped.
-Play with the levels and saturation of the texture as a whole.
-I can't say I like the feathers on the bracers or greaves. I'm going to either reduce them to an engraving, or remove them entirely. I think they are making him look too much like a Halloween custume.
-Fix the swan emblem/make it look better.

Some questions:
-Do the colors work better now?
-Is the helmet better?
-I feel that the chainmail on his legs is too much, and also contributes to the costume-y feel. The skirt must remain as is... should I make the legs leather, or what should I do to increase the variety? Right now the chainmail gets too monotonous.
-What do you feel about the face? I'm going to try overlaying it with a Roman face or playing with the contrast/levels, right now it's looking a bit pudgy and indistinct... he should have a more solid jawline and cheekbones.

I'm pretty dissappointed, doesn't look as bad-ass as I'd hoped. What do the rest of you think.

-Do the colors work better now?

I like the desaturated blue overall, however I do not like the parts of the blue cloth that were made darker. It breaks up the outlines of the various pieces of the armour/design too much. (Refering to the belt, the cloth under the bracers and shinguards, the cloth lining under the scale mail).

-Is the helmet better?

It's better, but it doesn't look as much like real helmets I have seen, especially the chin guards. I realise its a more fantasy inspired design but we should try afew things before we call it final. Perhaps the wings need to look more like Swan wings?

-I feel that the chainmail on his legs is too much,...

We should try some more materials, preferably inspired by some real world armour/middle ages soldier.
Overall I do like the design. But if you really think it's not living up to your expectations I suggest some new design, based first on a historic example, then with some of the fantasy elements of your old design mixed in, such as the wing motifs, scale mail with feather motif, the blues, the shield, etc.

And the fourth major revision of the KoDA, and it takes its final glorious form:

Here is an updated KoDA. Change ALOT of the texture, and I made a whole new helmet. I'm alot happier with him.



Texture is WIP, should be touched up by a skinner before completion.

Some work on the Dol Amroth horse:

I've been working on the KoDA's horse between doing the Gondor LoD's. What do you think so far? The texture is very placeholder ATM, the needed straps and an overall better looking texture will come in a few days.

http://img276.imageshack.us/my.php?image=22eg.jpg
http://img252.imageshack.us/my.php?image=38zs.jpg
The KoDA is a 512x512 texture, the horse is a 512x256, and both units are unfortunately a bit more poly-heavy than others... capes, swords, helmets, and elaborate armour just adds alot of polygons to it, but I've been as frugal as I can.

[snapback]92479[/snapback]

With a few touch ups, we eventually achieve the end result:

[fatsheep]

Here is the Fourth Age: Total War official demo trailer:

http://www.imperii-romanvs.com/cgi-b...pl?file=000009

DL is 32.7 MB, and the video is about 4 minutes at 640x480.

[Professor420]

Dear loyal Fourth Age fans,

As most of you know, the demo that we have been promising, for, oh, about 4 months now is finally entering its final stages. It's gone through almost half a dozen transformations, from different themes to different factions to different battles, each of which had set the battle back to nearly square one.
We think we've got it this time, though. Unfortunately, we've decided to do without a scripted battle, as we had originally planned. This was consuming most of the time of our limited coding department. And to our suprise, we just found out that we were nowhere as far on the unit coding as we had thought. But with our latest change of direction, and with the help of Julius Ceasar, we are finally moving alot closer to the actual release than we have ever been. And with this final confirmation of the feasibility of our demo, we've finally decided its safe to release some screenshots since our unit lists have been finalized. Here are some units from Gondor and Harad:






Also, I'd like to give you some specifics of what's included in the demo:
New UI
New Music (all battle and frontend)
New Loading Screens and Quotes
Approximately 6-7 units from Gondor, Rohan, Dunland, and Harad (including a handful of never-before seen units, and the mighty Mumakil)
Correct Unit Sounds
(Unscripted) Historical Battle: Crossings of Poros


We're not setting another date for release (we've broken enough of them that they don't really mean anything anyway). But I can assure you that better days have arrived, and the demo is on the horizon. So please be patient, and if you have any coding capabilities, please contact me (I'm sure any help Julius can get will only help speeding things up). I really do thank you all again for your understanding and support, even though we've often been less-than-forthcoming will all new graphics, content, and developments.

-The entire Fourth Age Mod Team

[Amroth]

Rhûn

For this update, we present you with the Easterlings of Rhûn.

Graphically, the Easterlings are virtually finished. The White Ox is the symbol of the Easterlings, and can be seen on many of their units. The mighty Easterlings are a diverse people, and many cultures fight in the armies of Rhûn. Three of them are described here.

The Wainriders are the leaders and noblemen, and are the largest of the three cultures. They are the leaders and captains of the Easterlings, and thus can often be seen wearing intricate war dress and mail. They lead their forces onto the battlefield on the back of great four-horsed wains, instilling terror into their foes.

The second group are the farmers and traders of the forests to be found on the borders of the Sea of Rhûn. Their professions belie their skill in combat: they are extremely proficient at laying ambushes and utilising ranged weapons. Their dress reflects this: they wear browns and furs to blend into their woodland surroundings, and mainly fill the ranged support roles in the Easterling army.

The third group are the barbaric slavers of the southern Eastlands. They are gladiators and beserkers, preferring intimidating metal armour to the warmth of furs. They trade and gamble with slaves, who are put to work in the ore mines and forges to make brutal weapons and armour for the ferocious warriors. Their ferocity is unmatched in all the men of Middle-earth.


The Chariots upon which the Easterling leaders are borne to battle:


The unit info cards pictures for all completed Easterling units:


Regards,

The Fourth Age Mod Team

[Amroth]

As you all by now know, the first release will be featuring the Reunited Kingdom, Harad, and the barbarians of Rhûn. The next few updates will feature profiles of the most famous units from each faction.

The Guards of the Citadel

The Guards of the Citadel are some of the finest soldiers in all the lands of Middle-earth. They are tasked with protecting the Citadel of the City of Minas Tirith, and most especially the Court of the Fountain where the White Tree now stands. In the days of the Stewards they were the only men allowed to bear the livery of the kings: the White Tree for Gondor, surmounted by seven stars and a high crown for Elendil, first High King of Arnor and Gondor.



Even though they have ceremonial duties, the Guards should not be mistaken for ceremonial troops. Entrance into their ranks is something attempted by many but achieved by few, for only those who are valiant, hardy, and skilled in arms are admitted. A man of arms of the Guard of the Tower of Gondor is held worthy in the City, and such men have honour in the land. The Guards have fought in most of Gondor’s numerous wars, and those of the Reunited Kingdom since it was reforged by Elessar Telcontar. At the Battle of the Morannon men of the Guard stood by the Great King’s side, and they went with him to subjugate the wild peoples of the East.



The Guards of the Citadel are robed in black, and their helms are high-crowned, with long cheek-guards close-fitting to the face, and above the cheek-guards are set the white wings of sea-birds; but the helms gleam with a flame of silver, for they are indeed wrought of mithril, heirlooms from the glory of old days. Upon the black surcoats are embroidered in white a tree blossoming like snow beneath a silver crown and many-pointed stars.



Under their black surcoats the Guards wear hauberks, with rings forged of steel, black as jet, made by the master metal-workers of Gondor. They are armed with spears and swords, but prefer the former upon the field of battle. They also carry large shields, with which they, if the situation requires it, will form a thangail (Sindarin: ‘shield-fence’) or shield-wall, a formidable formation that is a headache for any captain of men - even were it not the Guards of the Citadel behind the shields.



In battle, the unit will be one of the best defensive forces in the game; they were, after all, recruited with the aim of protecting the rulers of Gondor. That said, they are pulled from the finest soldiers in all Gondor and do not lack attacking prowess.



Should you wish to celebrate your respect and support of the Guards of the Citadel on our forums, we've prepared some signatures for you to use.





Equally, if you want to profess your love of all things Gondorian to your friends, family and colleagues then what better than a Fourth Age: Total War wallpaper?




- The Fourth Age Team.

[Amroth]

Continuing the signature unit theme, we bring you

The Wains of Rhûn

The Easterlings' chariots represent the two extremes of their army. The first wains are used by the chieftans and warlords (Noblemen would be pushing the definition somewhat) of Rhûn to carry them into battle in as imposing and impressive way as possible, the better to instill fear in the enemy and admiration in their own men. The second are used by the farmers and smiths of the land to carry them to new lands of prosperity and plenty, or so they hope. These wagons replace warriors for wives and axes for cooking pots and are far less of a spectacle on the battlefield.



The Chieftan's Wains go to battle decked in the shields of warriors from all areas of Rhûn, displaying to their followers that they have the best interests of the entire Easterling people in mind. The shields are also a warning to any foe from within or without- this leader has the support of all the Eastern lands. Not that foes facing down the Easterling chieftans need much by way of a warning. The rows of vicious spikes that line the front of the wain and the cruel scythed blades that grin from their wheel demonstrate clearly enough that these men have no mind for negotiations. Not, at least, until they've finished conquering and pillaging and you're in no position to refuse anything.




Every civilisation in The Fourth Age: Total War has a settler unit, which they use to populate newly conquered cities and territories. The Easterlings, however, have access to a unique kind of settler unit: horse-drawn wains. They lend the peasantry who use them many advantages over their footsore opposite numbers. Speed is the obvious upside - a horse-drawn wagon will allow for a much faster and easier journey, especially when a man is accompanied by his wife and children. They are also significantly better off should they be attacked, despite their reluctance to fight and inexperience of warfare. There are not many soldiers who would relish the chance of facing down a team of maddened horses dragging a half ton box and a man defending his family and his life...

In most cases, however, the settlers are no more willing to fight than their would-be opponents and find that their superior speed is of great convinience.



Again, those of you who are so enraptured by the Wainriders that you want to spread their joy can do so with these signatures.





...Or this wallpaper.




- The Fourth Age Team.

[MasterOfNone]

With this update, the Fourth Age Team would like to announce their new website. Its address is www.thefourthage.org (although the previous address, www.thefourthage.net, will still redirect to it) and it has a number of new features.



You'll notice that in the stylishly-crafted menu bar at the top there are nine links. The Home button takes you to the website's homepage. This is where the team will post updates on our progress or announcements about the Mod. The Factions and Features links explain a little about - you guessed it - the factions and features that FA:TW will contain. The Factions are introduced with a short paragraph about them and their faction icon, and the Features are described by Palantir.

The FAQ section is the updated Frequently Asked Questions from the February Press Release (with some very minor changes) which were originally crafted by Apocalypsis. The Downloads part of the website lists the Crossings of the Poros demo release and will soon have the first Provincial Campaign - Corsair Invasion! In the Media section you can download all the signatures, avatars, and wallpapers made by various members of the team. As well as this, there are links to past Updates and video-trailers downloads.



The members of the Fourth Age: Total War are listed in the Team section, along with a description of their roles. There are Links to websites FA:TW is associated with, or that we recommend: Tolkien-related, modding-related, and Total War-related.



Finally, you may have noticed the Forum button. This does not link to our forums at SCC, TWC, or RTR, but our own forums hosted at www.thefourthage.org/forums. We'd love to see the community there grow. We are moving our main forums from SCC to the ones at www.thefourthage.org/forums, and I hope to see you all there!



The website and forum were both designed by Cronus over at fancony.com and coded by him and our own Arakorn-eir. Both have done a brilliant job getting it up and running. The domain is hosted by Apocalypsis' Middle-earth-modding-and-lore-hub website www.chamber-of-records.com, which also has an accompanying forum.

Astaldo and the Fourth Age Team.