As promised, I've lined up a second interview for you,this time with one of the head developers and co-leader of RTRVII, the forthcoming full conversion mod of the evergreen Rome: Total War, Tony83!
RTR VII:what is this Mod all about ? | Rome Total Realism VII is the Grand Campaign to which TIC and FOE were the predecessors to. This next installment uses almost all the faction slots, unit slots, building slots, you name it. We have quite literally maxed out the RTW engine with this project. With a map that extends from Atlantic coast to Asia Minor this is certainly not a miniature mod. In every sense of the phrase, RTR VII is a full conversion of RTW. With RTR VII, we hope to achieve what we have been aiming towards since the launch of TIC, and that is to truly represent the situation in the Western Mediterranean starting in 280 BC. If you enjoyed TIC, and were impressed by FOE, then RTR VII shall not disappoint.
Rome Total Realism VII begins in 280 BC. In the west, Carthage, the mighty trading nations seeks to expand the borders of its empire. In Italy, Phyrros of Epeiros has launched an invasion to suppress the power of the rising Roman Republic. To the east the Greek nations continue to descend in turmoil, no man or people great enough to re-unite the mighty Greeks as Alexander once did. To the north lays the threat of the mighty barbarians, whom all civilized men fear. With no land safe, and no people willing to be tamed, the world is on the brink of total war, and only one people will survive.
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Q1 Tell us a bit about yourself: where you come from, what you do in real life, your education, your historical interests today and in the past, and other hobbies etc.I guess this is where I own up to living in an idyllic rural cottage with my two cats, Vodka and Tonic - hehe. Well the rural bit is right at least: I'm 27 and live in a small Welsh village (in the UK) within shouting distance of our two main cities in the south, Swansea and Cardiff and, apart from a couple of years in London, I've lived in the area all my life. I pay the bills by working for local government, covering IT in the training section. It doesn't make me an IT expert (I only know what I need to know!) but the knowledge has uses when your trying to download and install the latest mods for Rome or Med II etc. In my wild youth I also used to work as a dancer at a club, on weekends, but I'm getting too long in the tooth for that now. As for hobbies, I like to keep in shape, so I'm a regular visitor to the gym and pool and also run most days. A group of us at the gym also meet up a couple of times a month for wrestling bouts (something we've carried on from our school days) so, all in all, I keep pretty fit. It's not all rough and tumble though. I've had a passion for history since my early teens and I devoured just about every book I could find, especially if it covered military campaigns and battles(I must confess that social history was never one of my strong points). Oh yeah, we actually do have a cat, who goes by the name of Whiskey! Q2 Before CA games provided the world of military history lovers with their TW series, how did you express your desire(if any) to replay history and/or its set piece military battles? Did you play with, for example, tabletop miniatures?
Life before CA! Was there such a thing? Between the ages of twelve and twenty, or so, I was a keen Napoleonic wargamer, managing to build up several corps of 1805 Austrians and 1812 Russians, and smaller divisions of Peninsular British and 1806 Prussians, using 15 mm metal figurines. Overall I had over one hundred infantry battalions, twenty five, or thereabouts cavalry regiments, and over a hundred guns. My mates had similar armies, and when we combined for one of our infrequent battles, between us, we could field over four thousand miniatures, all lovingly and painstakingly painted by hand. Eat your heart out CA, no AI problems for us, and twenty units per side was considered a mere skirmish - lol.
Q3 How and when were you introduced to the TWC?What made you stay?
As our schoolboy wargaming team started drifting apart, l found myself gravitating to PC games for my "fix". I tried a number of games: Risk!; Lords of the Realm; Caesar; Pharaoh; Emperor etc., before chancing across a copy of Shogun in a charity shop, going for two pounds. It took me a while to get into it but eventually figured it out and managed to complete a campaign. Shogun's Risk! style campaign map didn't bowl me over but but the real time battles piqued my interest enough to use the Internet to find out a bit more about the makers of the game. It was the summer of 2004 and I discovered that not only was there another game in the series available, Medieval, but that a brand new game, Rome was due to be released that very weekend, 22 September. Intrigued, I popped along to the PC shop in the nearby town that Saturday and saw and bought both of them. Deciding that Rome was likely to be the more advanced of the two games, I installed it and felt my jaw almost thud to the floor when I first saw the new 3D campaign map, and Victoria introducing herself and offering to guide me. By the time Maximus was talking me through my first battle against the barbarians I was hooked; it was love at first sight and have remained passionate about the game ever since. CA have come out with some good stuff since but nothing has equalled the shock and awe of that first encounter - it changed my PC gaming for ever (well, so far at least!). Not knowing anything of mods or modding communities, RTW kept me happy for the next few months and it must have been early in 2005 that I was curious to see if there any like minded souls out there playing this amazing game. Imagine my surprise when I came across the thriving communities of The Org and here, TWC.
Needless to say that I joined both and soon found that I was gravitating more towards TWC due largely, I think, to the additional wide range of non-game related topics discussions being held therein. TWC was a lot less "politically correct" (refreshingly so, some would say) and soon found myself joining in the rough and tumble and enjoying some "robust" debates. Somehow, I managed to get noticed (maybe it was my free and frank debating style, or the dodgy photos I was posting in Say Cheese - stuff that I wouldn't get away with today! , and within six months of joining I was invited to apply for Citizenship, by Garbasardar, who offered to be my patron. The rest, as they say, is "History". Q4 How did you start with RTR?
Having registered with TWC and The Org in 2005 it took me about six months to realise what a mod was and how to install them (not being all that knowledgeable with PC's etc.). However, once the plunge was taken, there was no going back. RTW modding, indeed TW modding, was still in its infancy and there was that heady feeling of being involved, even if only as a player, in something revolutionary and new. Some of the great names of TW modding, such as Darth Vader and Lusted (to name but two) were trailblazing insights into our wonderful game. Once bitten with the mod bug I was ravenous, I tried them all: Darth Mod; SPQR; Terrae Expugnandae; and ,of course, Rome Total Realism. RTR 5.4.1 was the current marque at the time; I don't recall an awful lot of exact detail, only that it was a lot more challenging than vanilla, even if it did look and operate a little rough around the edges. I do remember Rome being one faction instead of the three families, and the Senate being protected by a couple of stacks of uber Praetorians. The mod, which I still have the files for, came in at 73 MB's (tiny compared with most of today's mods), which was the norm in those days, so changes tended to be limited to units and maybe a few splash screens. Generally, the join between the vanilla and a mod was anything but seamless but, while making the game a lot more enjoyable, mods back then didn't have that professional look and polish that we expect today. RTR6 changed all of that! The build up to the launch of RTR6, 2006, was incredible. The anticipation was electric, something akin to that of Empire's release (only RTR6 didn't disappoint so many people). It is estimated that there were over 80,000 downloads on the first day! Firing it up for the first time you knew that you were experiencing something new and special - the first ever full conversion of a Total War game. While the game still had the same premise as the original, everything was new, from the map, units and gameplay down to the last splash screen, there was nothing to remind you directly of vanilla; it seemed like a completely new game. I, along with thousands of others, was completely caught up with its power to immerse. RTR6 raised the bar of modding and became the benchmark by which others were measured. It proved that gameplay and historical accuracy weren't mutually exclusive. RTR6 was quickly followed by 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, and ,finally, 6 Gold.
6 Gold, and later The Platinum Edition (6 gold ported to work on the Barbarian Invasion expansion) became my game of choice, and it has stood the test of time, as its legacy is still alive and its heirs are still being played and developed. In particular, I'm thinking of RTR Extended Realism (ExRM), which is based on Platinum and is still being actively developed, by Quinn Inuit and his team (I believe that version 4 is close to release).
So, as you can see, my involvement, as a player at least, started back in 2005, but it wasn't until the summer of 2007 that I got actively involved with the team. Of course I had been following the team's progress; it's near collapse and it's rebirth under the leadership of MCM (MarcusCorneliusMarcellus) but, not knowing the first thing about modding, I didn't feel that I had much to offer. However, I plucked up my courage and applied to be a beta tester for TIC (The Iberian Conflict), then just beginning its serious testing stage. To my surprise I was accepted and started one of the most interesting and enjoyable journeys of my life. I find it incredible that after only three short years (and some typically Romanesque bribery, corruption and judicious assassination - lol) that I find myself with the incredible honour of being, alongside PatricianS, one of the team's co-leaders. Q5 For those of us who have never heard about the RTR Mod series (highly unlikely) and RTR VII in particular, can you tell us about the RTR Mod series, RTR VII, and what is so unique about it?While the Rome Total Realism team has been around for a long time, I am sure that there must be quite a number of recent TWC members, brought in by Empire and Napoleon Total War who probably have never played RTW, let alone heard of us (shocking as that may sound ). As I mentioned above, with RTR6, the original members of the RTR team brought the first full conversion of Rome : Total War to the modding community. Not only that but it introduced a level of historical accuracy that was lacking in the original game (something CA can't get away with these days) and RTRVII builds on that legacy. Preceded by the mini-campaigns RTR: The Iberian Conflict (TIC) and RTR: Fate of Empires, RTRVII will be the third and final instalment in project that has its genesis in RTR7 (RTR7 morphed into RTRVII when its original concept was found to be unworkable, due to RTW engine limitations, and had to be redesigned, almost completely), which started almost as soon as the final version of RTR6 was released, so it's been a long time in development. With all the experience that we have gained by working on the mini-campaigns, we have been able to fine tune our ideas and we believe that RTRVII takes the RTW experience on to a new level. Almost every aspect of the game has been changed and improved on since 2006. Our Major and Minor Region concept, and radically new Economic system, are just two examples of unique and unprecedented gameplay elements that will be present in our new campaign. Q6 The RTR Mod development team is a very large team. Can you tell us about your role in that team, and how the team interacts with each other?Modding teams tend to be in a continual state of flux, and RTR is no different. While we may have over fifty "team members", with access to our Development and Beta Testing forums, we usually only have about a dozen developers and testers active at any one time. Most of us multi-task, and a high proportion of our beta testers go on to become valued members of the Development Team. We are a world wide extended family who meet up, from time to time, in different groupings, but what we all share is the RTR vision and a passion for the game.
Q7 How is the historical research being done? Does, or did, the team get any help from 3rd parties like universities or other educational institutes?RTR's History Department has fluctuated in strength over the years but we have always been lucky in the high quality of people we have attracted. Not only keen and knowledgeable amateur historians but full blown professionals from the academic world. Indeed, our current head of department, HamilcarBarca, lectures on history in an Australian university. You only have to read his historical essays in our RTR VII previews to appreciate the depth of his knowledge, spanning from Carthage to the Balkans: we are very lucky to have him.
Q8 What is the current status of the RTR VII mod, and how is it progressing? Will there be a public beta?While it's never been RTR policy to release a beta, we did consider it for RTR VII, however, we decided against it because we didn't like the idea of knowingly releasing something that was knowingly unfinished or had flaws that would detract from the immersion and enjoyment of playing. Besides, the fans will usually find the things we miss anyway - lol). Player feedback on the final release is important to us, as it is an essential ingredient in helping us fine tuning VII's campaign. I am sure that you will appreciate that it is impossible for us to test every permutation of every faction. RTR VII is in the final stages of development: all the major elements are in place and the current beta not only looks good and plays well, but it's also incredibly stable. What's left are a myriad of little things, including: some unit and building descriptions, lots of little graphics that never seem to get done etc. For example, we are currently looking at replacing our "spindly" spears with shafts of a realistic thickness, and also of implementing naturally veined wood colours, instead of the usual plain black or dark brown that we have been using. However, we are chipping away, relentlessly, at what's left.
Q9 What can we expect from RTR VII in regard to new units, new factions, maps, or AI improvements? Will you implement the RS II environments?As FOE built on TIC, so does RTR VII expand on FOE. VII's map is amazing. Designed and implemented by our ex-leader, Muizer, It extends from Iberia in the west, to Asia Minor in the east. While the map covers less geographic area than the traditional RTW Grand Campaign it's scale is huge; it's physical size almost reaches the limits of the RTW engine. This means that we are able populate it in remarkable detail and actually use up all 199 regional slots. FOE had five playable factions, VII has seventeen, as well as three unplayable and the rebels. The Greeks are well represented by six playable factions and one unplayable so, as you can imagine, mainland Greece becomes a maelstrom of conflict, as each competes for dominance. At the last count we were using just under 200 DMB entries, fed by an EDU with over 350 unique units items - and we are still creating and implementing new units, all of which use textures that are twice the size of vanilla's (512 pixels instead of 256). Innovative gameplay elements, such as the already mentioned Major and Minor regional and Economic systems, introduced in FOE, have been refined and improved. Furthermore, we are also working on producing a series of video tutorials explaining how all these new elements work and tie in with each other. And lastly, the map. This is going to be a feast for the eyes, as it combines elements of both RSII's and Limes' (a very talented modder) environmental systems. It's certainly the best map we have produced so far.
Q10 Speaking of RS II, how is the interaction with other major Rome Mod teams and how does that translate?The RSII team are a great bunch of guys and we enjoy a very close collaborative relationship. A number of us are members of both teams and we are always helping each other out with ideas and material. For example, we are using part of their superb environment, a number of their units, and elements of their units (such as the Spartiate cuirass), while we have helped them out with scripting (the launcher) and shared our SVN resources with them. In fact there are just too many instances to cite and I sometimes feel that we are just one big team. If our future plans come to fruition, this might almost become a reality. I can't give you more details at the moment - but watch this space!
Q11 Are there any other present or upcoming TW Mods you or other team members are participating in?I'm currently concentrating exclusively on RTR, although I have done a few odd jobs for a couple of people. I know some of the team are working on some personal projects, and others freelance here and there but I prefer to concentrate on one main task, it's just the way that I find I work best.
Q12 Besides your current work on RTR VII, what other historical mods would you like to do on the RTW engine?One thing I would really like to see, whether it be on the RTW or Medieval 2 engines, is a really comprehensive Classical Greek mod, covering such exciting times as the Peloponnese Wars. I find it hard to fathom how, after all this time, that this gap has yet to be filled.
Q13 With Shogun2 released and the direction Modding is heading after the Empire and Napoleon TW games, how do you feel about the future of modding TW ?As with all new TW games since RTW, I have Shogun 2 on pre-order (yeah - I've gone for the bamboo box with the figurine ). However, I can't say that I am feeling my usual sense of anticipation at the prospect of a new TW game. I think part of the problem is my sense of disappointment that CA have failed to provide the tools that would open up Empire and Napoleon to full conversion modding. I know that Darth Vader (with Empire), and a lot of other very talented modders, are doing great work with the limited tools available, but we still appear to be unable to make any changes to the maps and, as far as I know, insert new models. In such a situation a RTW to RTR 6 type project would be impossible to achieve. However, there may be a light at the end of the tunnel. I do recall reading that CA were making noises about doing something to remedy this and open up their games again to easier modding. Whether this would only apply to their future game releases, or be applicable to Empire and Napoleon, I guess only time will tell. I do hope that something comes of this, as I'd hate to think of Medieval2 becoming the end of the line, as far as full conversion projects are concerned.
Q14 Is there anything you would like to add to this interview?I'd just like to thank you for this opportunity of speaking to you and for being able to pass on information about ourselves and our work to the Eagle Standard readership. We are very excited about RTR VII and what it offers, and I would like to invite anyone who has not tried RTW, or one of its many mods, to give us a try. RTW may be an old game, and maybe it cannot compete with the latest bells and whistle graphics but, personally, I think that it is still a game reckoned with; it can still surprise; it still delivers the goods! I'd like to thank you very much for this interview and I wish you all the best of course with the eventual and final release of RTR VII!
You're very welcome matey.
For more information on everything regarding RTR VII and RTR in general,please go here !
MorganH. |