The Silver Shield - 11th Edition

[Subuatai de Bodemloze]

Letter From the Editor

Welcome back readers to a new and exciting edition of the Silver shield! I will thank you in advance for your apt attention... I will admit that while putting together this months edition I was reluctant to push this to release. Mainly due to a lack of articles; you know everyone was getting ready for school, enjoying the last of the bikini watching in the sunshine and all. But in the end the fellas pulled through, albeit at the 11th hour! Nuff said there..
So we have some good stuff for you.. especially for you M2TW modders!
We start this edition off with an article that Vikingr has been trying to get out for a while now.. a interview with Stephen of the Shadow of Ishtar mod. After that I sit down for a long overdue chat with Axalon in the "Gods of Modding" column. Following that hot on my tail is Nole4694's interview with Magister Militum FlaviusAetius of VLTIMVS ROMANRUM. After that I pull double and triple duty and bring you a surprise interview, something that M2:TW modders may not want to miss!! As well as the monthly "A Graphic State of Affairs" Column. And Bringing up the rear we have the classified adds.

I would like to announce a few things while I have you in my grasp... Firstly Armatus... the grandfather of the Silver Shield has decided to slowly make his way to the SS exit.. He as many of you know the main push behind this publication.. Born out of the Silver Auxilia user group it has grown to a great part of TWC. Thanks Arma for all your efforts! Secondly please welcome Capt. Fozdike to his new roll as Armatus v0.2! Assistant Editor... Where is he by the way... LOL.. Also I would like to welcome Permaneo Legio to the staff.. We are working out the details of his column but, what he has in mind sounds pretty cool to me... and well thats what matters. Very lastly, how usefull do you all find the classified ads here at the SS? Shoudl we keep posting it in the edition or should we just have it in the main forum?? Let us know, and if you feel like helping us out here at the SS, contact me or the Capt! Till next time... Keep the trance cranked to 10 and enjoy!

Subuatai

11th Edition Staff

Editor in Chief / Group ModeratorSubuatai de Bodemloze
Deputy Editor / Group Moderator Capt. Fozdike
Honorary Editor / Group Moderator Armatus
Art Director y2day
Reporter Nole4694
Reporter Capt. Fozdike
Reporter KippyK
Reporter Vikingr

Vikingr's Interview

Introduction So today we have for you an interview with Stephan of the Shadow of Ishtar, the mod is for Medieval 2 Total War, and has yet to be released. As the descriptions says; The Shadow of Ishtar is a total conversion mod set in a biblical era with brand new factions such as Assyria and Israel which are pitted against each other on a brand new map with brand new units. Sounds hot or what? Get ready! because Ishtar is coming your way! Q So, to kick this off, tell us a little about yourself and your interest in this ancient period. A Ok, my real name is also Stephan, im from Vienna, Austria (not Australia). Dont know, I've always been interested in this area, its the birth of civilisation and not really the kind of stuff you learn in school. Q And, of course, tell us about your mod. What factions are there? What period does it cover? That sort of thing... A Maybe I should have said this before... I'm a lazy guy, so I'll just copy the info thread. Spoiler Alert, click show to read:  Time Line: 814-500 BC Factions: - Egypt - Judah - Israel - Pheonicia - Assyria - Babylon - Elam - Media - Urartu - Phrygia - Kush - Saba - Lydia (emerging) - Ionian Cities (emerging) - Cimmerians (emerging) - Skythians (emerging) - Persian Empire (emerging) - Rebellous Dynasty (unplayable) Q When did this mod begin? And who founded the mod? A Long time ago... It was atatürk and me who founded the mod, here is the "Beginning Thread", you'll notice that everyting started as mod about Africa. Q What role do you play in Ishtars development? A I'm the coder, I put everything together. Q So what got you into modding M2TW? A I wanted to add the Abbasid Caliphate to SS. I totally failed, but thats how I got into modding. Q What phase would you say the Shadow of Ishtar is at now? A Good question, we are in the middle of everything right now, we have some factions totally finished but on the other hand we haven't even touched others. Q Can we expect new units for EVERY faction? A Since we cant use any Medieval2 units, I'd say YES! Q And the map? What can we expect to see? Is it a large map, or a small map? How many settlements can we expect most factions to begin with? A In our original plans the map reached to Sicily and Carthage, later we cut it to reduce the work, but who knows, maybe, some time in the future, we'll add the deleted part back. Accept for Babylon every faction will get at least 2 starting provinces, but dont feel sorry for Babylon, the city itself will be special. Q Would you say the Shadow of Istar has placed historical accuracy high on its list? How true to history can we expect it? A Of course we want to be as historically accurate as possible, but there are very few resources about this time period and about the military even less. Q It was posted that your mod needs music? So is it possible that we may see all the vanilla music replaced? A Yes of course, the music will be totally new, here is an example. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUwsAOtfMNk Q Have you faced any problems when developing Ishtar due to it being in an earlier time period than M2TW? A No actually not, we knew the limitations and difficulties from the beginning, so we had no surprises. Q Should we expect any new features or suprises in the campaign? You think you could maybe share a few of them with us? A yes there will be a lot of surprises, I cant go too much into detail, but just look at our faction list, 5 emerging factions... Spoiler Alert, click show to read:  - Lydia (emerging) - Ionian Cities (emerging) - Cimmerians (emerging) - Skythians (emerging) - Persian Empire (emerging) Q And what about the AI? Can we expect to see any improvements in that area? Will you be using one of the many AI mods? A We just got permission to use xai 4.0. Q You posted on the 19th of may that new resources have been added to the map? Care to possibly share what some of them may be? A More than a thousand words. Q Using one word, how would you decribe the Shadow of Ishtar? A Awesome. Q Any hilarious or exciting moments in your mods development you would like to share? Come on mate, you know you want to... A No actually not, its very boring around here. Q How good would you say progress is? Have you progressed far? A Difficult, I'd say about half of the work has been done. Q What does Ishtar mean to you personally? A A lot of my free time flushed down the toilet. Q Apart from yourself, who are the developers of Ishtar? A There are a lot of peple who came and went, but our core team consists of Iberian, sirvinniei and Evyatar, dragonsign, Atatürk and of course me. Q Any previews coming our way soon? A We released the egypt preview some time ago, but more previews are planned and we already have a lot of stuff to be previewed but not the time to prepare a preview, maybe we'll use a new method for the next ones. Q Do you have any advice for anyone wishing to start up there own TW modification? A Dont do it. Just kidding, just remember its a lot more work than you think. Q Are you still looking for recruits, how can someone help or join you? Where do they post their interest? A Everyone is very welcome to join. if you are interested pm me or post here. http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=348935 Q For anyone looking, where can they find your latest preview? A Here is the Egypt preview. http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=369993 Q Anything else you would like to add before we finish this interview? A No, not really thx for the interview. So there you have it folks! What I hope is a fantastic interview, about a truly fantastic mod!

The Silver Spotlight

. Introduction Welcome, readers, to the next issue of the Sizzling Swingers... Wait, that’s not right. Ohhh, that’s another publication I write for *nudge nudge*. Anyway, this month we are introducing a new section; the Silver Spotlight! This new section is where I pick some poor bloke off the LM list and round him up for an interview. This month I am interviewing the Lazy Knight, enjoy! Interview with Lazy Knight Hi there Lazy Knight, when did you join TWC and why? I joined TWC in 2007. I played MTW2 back then, including Broken Crescent and Stainless Steel. I did not post much back then. When ETW was released I became rather active here. I was interested in the new Mods, first Darthmod and then Quixotes Combat and AI overhaul mods. What are your responsibilities and commitments on the site and where are you an LM for? Last year was the time I was really active here. After Quixote disappeared, his mod (which was by then called Imperial Splendour) was left on an early stage to version 2.0. He had just recruited a splendid team, Ahiga and the Vicar, and we decided to continue the project without him. It was may to july when we developed 2.0. Getting this done was my commitment and responsibility in a way. It is in the Imperial Splendour forum where I am a Local Moderator. On the way and later, I wrote together most of the stuff we had learned to share it with the other modders. What do you like about being an LM on Total War Center? I like helping people What is the thing you like most about TWC? TWC gives people who want to mod this game a stage. A place to work, with developers forums, mod forums, general modding forums, lots of tutorials and helpful people. It is the place for TW Modding. What area do you post in and feel most at home in on TWC? I feel at home in the Imperial Splendour Subforum of course . Most of my posts are there and in the dev forum. The ETW Mod workshop is the other forum I feel at home in. The big forums are not my thing. How did you come up with the name; Lazy Knight? It was during MTW2 times when I registered, the knight part was just for the theme. And Lazy is an attribute that fits me quite well What mods have you worked on here on TWC? I have worked a lot for Imperial Splendour. 2.0 and patches are the work of mainly Ahiga, the Vicar and me. I tried working for other mods after that but I did not manage to stay motivated. What is the hardest aspect of modding for you? The hardest aspect of modding is keeping yourself motivated. It is what I failed in. What first got you started in modding? I first started modding because I needed perfection. Quixote had unlocked all the factions to play in ETW, and the factions that weren't meant to play did not have victory conditions. I simply could not bear this ammount of imperfection (don't even get me started about SS's armenian_infantry), so I got rid of it. This was the starting point and I kept helping Quixote out with the startpos.esf modding What is your favourite Total War mod? Ohh, you can't ask the developer of a mod that! I'll just answer the questions with the addendum "your own mod excluded" and then the clear answer is: Broken Crescent. There is too much good stuff to say about it, so I will just say that it has a gaming concept that has been implemented that its competitors lack. What is your favourite Total War game? Hard question. I really liked MTW2, I really liked ETW. ETW has its issues. It was discontinued, it has broken sieges, its modding is very limited. Sure it is easier to mod once the tools were there. The way CA handled ETW made me turn back on the series for now. I was really disappointed by NTW, since it offers hardly anything new. It's just ETW warmed up with a smaller map. What are your plans on TWC for the next few months? I don't have any plans on TWC the next few months. Are you looking forward to S2TW? NTW has left me pretty frustrated, so I don't think I will play or mod S2TW. Would you mod future games such as Shogun 2 Total War? While I like swords & bows more than the musket setting, the japan setting is really not interesting to me. I'd like a revamp of Rome or Medieval. Well there you are ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls. And that’s all from me for this issue of the Silver Shield! Hope you enjoyed it and please give some rep to the interviewee, Lazy Knight.

The Gods of Modding

Introduction Please allow me to introduce our next guest in the God's of Modding column. You may know him from his sexy bottomed green avatar.. Of from his fondness for amazonian princesses found everywhere in his mod. Please give a warm welcome to Axalon... the man behind Medieval Total War REDUX. He is a man of few posts here on TWC, so may not be know by many. But his mod has been played by about 1500 people.. pretty good in my books for a solo performance. A big welcome to Axalon.. and his she hulk! Interview with Axalon Profile Axalon is the man that developed and produced the mod MTW: Redux. A Sweed who has traveled all over Europe, and to Japan. He is a student at present. Milestones: On September 05, 2008, Axalon joins TWC. On September 06, 2008, Releases MTW: Redux On January 27, 2010, presented Artifex badge for his work on MTW:Redux The Interview Would you mind giving a little backstory on yourself? Who you are in RL what you do etc... Well, I am a student (studying film as is) and currently work as part-time GFX-designer as well. I lived most of my time in my native Sweden with the exception of a few years in the UK as a kid. Traveled plenty around Europe but never left it – with the exception of Japan (a really cool country btw). My “TW-career” began back in 2000 with STW; once MTW was released in 2002 I was hooked for sure and have been ever since. I played ‘em all except NTW (although, I do have that one as well) and I started my first attempts on modding TW (small scale) about 2001. How long have you been a member here at TWC? I signed up as a member at the TWC in Sep 2008. I have been active here to various degrees from that point on (usually in the MTW-section). What enticed you to sign up? Redux basically… I was aware of this place before (since about 2004, maybe TWC had a different name back then?) but I rarely visited. The same story is true for other places as well. I lurked on occasion, and that was pretty much it. Getting active, and forwarding a major project like redux has brought both some joys and sorrows with it - but I guess it comes with the territory. Is there any meaning to your alias? None that I am aware of – I have used that alias for game-saves for a long time. It sounds pretty Greek to me for some reason (no specific one). But it’s an easy and simple enough name to remember and throw around, thus I use it here as well. Later, I found out that it is also is the name of some big fat spaceship in the Transformers-universe… Imagine that. How long have you been modding? TW-wise, I started small-scale with STW in about 2001. Nothing fancy, changed some stuff and visuals, minor things like that essentially. It never really flew and I moved on to other games. Major TW-modding started for me in about 2005-2006. By then I was working on MTW1 improvements – and I virtually have ever since. It all goes in waves for me, sometimes that (massive) work is put away on stasis, but when I get interested enough in it again I have yet another go at it, and so it goes... Were there any driving factors to you becoming a modder? I guess it all ultimately boils down to thinking that something X should be different in game Y. If that stuff annoys you long enough you will probably make it happen or do doing something about it - if you can - or you probably quit play the game. I guess both RTW and but above all MTW2 have been factors for me eventually end up working with MTW1-plattform. By the time RTW hit the world, TW-games had obviously changed direction and put a strong focus on strategy stuff – it somehow tried to be Civilization-game of sorts – I feel that this came at the great expense of the experience of battle-simulations and tactics – the stuff that made me play TW in the first place. The very thing that made the previous TW-games stand apart from others had been “designed away” by CA. The battlefield-simulations and tactics were simply never the same or as interesting after that. For the usual strategy and management-player; RTW certainly offered a lot of stuff and entertainment, but for the hardcore battlefield-commander interested primary in battle-simulations and tactics it had little to offer. It simply was the wrong game for it. It could not create, nor replicate some of that experience on the battlefield that had been the trademark of previous games. Tactics and related stuff had somehow ceased to matter essentially. By 2006, it became clear that MTW2 only could offer more of the same already found in RTW (essentially). By that point I soon realized that I would have little choice but to turn to MTW1 again and create my own game if I was to continue playing what are TW-games to me. TW-wise I am a hardcore battle and tactics-player, RTW and MTW2 is simply the wrong games for that, they are essentially strategy and management-games – only STW and MTW1 can somehow offer what I am actually looking for. Thus I eventually set out to create the game I wanted to play since CA was no longer interested doing that somehow. Thus both RTW and MTW2 have been important factors for me eventually end up working with the MTW1-plattform I guess. There already was a ton of things that annoyed me or that I wanted to change in raw MTW1 anyhow - so at some point I decided that I might as well try to redesign the entire game from scratch just to get rid of all that (if possible) and make things the way I like it. I guess it ultimately comes to that in the end; wanting to somehow play the game you like and prefer – otherwise you would have little reason to mod anything. You were the brains behind MTW Redux yes? Yeah, that’s true. Nobody else applied for the job, so it has to be me. For better or worse I guess. My vision for redux has always been clear in its core; offer a more diverse, challenging and interesting game with massive replayability capacities which at the same time; either complies with, or surpasses, the GFX-standards found in the original game. That’s my vision basically. My primary interests are battle-simulations, tactics and the overall circumstances attached to that - thus I have worked much with that because I believe that it is here that the MTW-plattform may shine. The result is, among many things, a unique combat-system that offers a more complex and demanding experience then what we can find in the original game – actually regardless whatever we do. It is structural changes, not cosmetical ones. The entire combat-model is more diverse and detailed basically. The same is true for the new troop-roster etc. etc. There are tons of other changes as well of course (too much to mention here). - It is a very different game from original, but it might offer some familiarity to old MTW-players in various regards. Were there any other members of your team? No, this is a solo-project so far. The closest thing to that would be an old buddy of mine who have on several occasions played a multitude of MP-battles with me. This is a lot of fun, but above all it has been extremely useful design-wise. Overall flaws, weaknesses and capacities (including unexpected ones) in units and faction-rosters get identified more easily that way etc. Working solo have both some disadvantages (workload, speed and PR-stuff for instance) and advantages (no conflicts, forced compromises or half-hearted stuff) with it. I would have enjoyed working in a smaller group of likeminded and able people on this project. However, collective-efforts usually come at a price – as all who have done that can surely attest to – especially if that is done unpaid. Since this is so massive in scale it would strain people and relations no doubt – as is the usual story for any project of this magnitude I guess. Can you explain it's origins and what was in your mind when you decided to take on that task? In short, redux as a concept was probably born in 2006 after I had played MTW2. By that point I knew that I wanted to focus on MTW1 and not MTW2 since the latter could not really offer the game I actually wanted due to its overall characteristics. My willingness to preserve the existing CA-design was also finally gone at that point. After a few years of tinkering with MTW1 I somehow finally decided that I might as well virtually redesign the entire game from scratch in order to get (or close to) the experience I actually wanted. MTW2 was probably the final thing that set the whole redux-thing in motion for me. In MTW1 I had already been annoyed by some GFX and the usual AI-peasant-frenzy for years anyhow - while I totally loved the battle-simulator as such – and it was above all that and the fluid stratmap efficiency that I wanted in my game. The rather cumbersome experience offered by MTW2 was simply out of the question as a viable alternative for me (A pure strategy-gamer will have more enjoyment out of MTW2 then I will ever have. I am basically into battle-simulations and tactics – not strategy and management which is more or less its primary focus). It essentially could only offer things that had little or limited interest for me in comparison – everything else MTW1 did faster (except the battle-simulations), more efficiently, thus it clearly was no doubt for me that it had to be MTW1. I wanted the game I like, not what CA and Sega liked. I had simply found out that I actually had better chances of getting just that if I did it myself and outright ignored the already existing CA-design as I created my own on the drawing-board. I simply wanted to play the game that was tailored for what I like basically (as a public entity it is of course great if others do too). That is hardly unique; it is probably true somehow for every modder out there. Have you played ETW and or NTW? If you have what is your opinion? Yeah I played some ETW and I don’t like it much. Unreliable, unstable, constant crashes, unacceptable loading-times, cumbersome game-play and a bad interface – for me it was straight up the worst TW-game I have ever played to date. I guess the only people who could ever stand the wretched thing and the constant crashes are people already in the love with gunpowder and the general setting for ETW – I am neither category. I also loathe Steam™, which is forced upon us with this game. That is as unsexy as it gets. There is nothing I like about Steam™ – nothing. If I had my way, I would pay extra just too get rid of Steam™ permanently out of any game. All the same, there are probably even worse games out there. It is amazing what people can put up with in crappy designs in videogames. As for NTW, I own it (since March) but I have yet to play it. The setting does not interest me much and yet another forced acquaintance with Steam™ functions as another trusty “turn-off” in that equation. Maybe I’ll try the darn thing someday, but not today… I have been saying that for months now… How do you see the future of modding the TW series? It can swing either way… Ultimately, that future is heavily influenced by CA and SEGA. What the modding-community as a whole can do about it has been done at this point. If CA don’t want to support modders (for whatever reason) - they wont. Regardless what we may think of it. Public TW-mods and modders as such will still probably have a future, of sorts, in the already converted minds of the hard-core TW-enthusiasts. Many modders find their favourite platform and may eventually stick to that (or quit/retire) because the newer games simply don’t offer the same fun for ‘em – regardless how “fancy and shiny” it may be to others. Modders like that may eventually make up a collective of “old-guard” modders with their old TW-games – whatever the platforms - while the average gamer are busy with MTW5 or some such (which cant be modded). It is possible that we may have a future in which TW-modding as such becomes a strange obscurity in the eyes of the casual and average gamer. Anyhow, the “expected standards” for games in general, including mods, are getting ever higher. That means harsher and harsher terms for modders to compete with all the “shiny” stuff out there - which is also struggling for attention from the same potential players. The bar of basic “expected standards” in a mod is thus constantly rising. It is a question of competition on all levels to a degree. A public mod/alteration with no players and posts will not survive effectively – regardless how good it may be. Thus it is, as an entity, forced to compete somehow, whether we like it or not. The future of modders may increasingly be that of a specialist while the happy mediocre-enthusiast-modder chance of survival is getting ever smaller. And, that may be bad news in the long run. At this point there are some gamers that already don’t even consider it worthwhile just to try mod-X out - for free - because there are supposedly “shinier and fancier” stuff around – even regardless if that may come with a pricetag (commercial game Y). Thus mod-X has to be able to compete and appeal somehow, even in such circumstances as in offering what is rare and/or unique and not available elsewhere. Modders may that way be forced to turn into specialists, doing whatever X better then the competition as a matter of survival. Whatever happens, I doubt things will get easier for modders in general. Do you have any advice for new or future modders? Ok, some advice for the road… Think and start small. Complete and then expand further (if need be)… Plan ahead and make designs before you actually do mod something. Modding “on the fly” don’t work well on some 200 separate things. Make lists of what to do - things will get done faster that way. Verify that the game can handle your goals and that these are indeed realizable within the game- before you do work on it for real. Archive your working-materials and copies properly while working with ‘em, otherwise you will get lost in no time. Study the work of others (mods) and learn from it. Regardless if it is mistakes or something brilliant – learn from it. Oh, and do credit these modders, you owe them that much for it… Strive for solid and high quality craftsmanship. It will be hard at first but you will eventually get there if you are stubborn enough - and it will pay off in the end. Some for the public scene… Going public is no small thing and thus do consider the commitment and effort involved in that (the grander scale, the greater workload). Think of all the answering of strange posts and being nice and so forth (it can be real hard at times). If and once you do go public, there is no turning back. Stick to the truth. Whatever claims you do about your mod, be sure you have rock solid basis for it. Don’t make claims you can not deliver on or back up – that will hurt you and your mod big-time… Treat your work/mod with respect – if you don’t, can you somehow expect that anybody else will? Even if you don’t, at least treat the work of others with plain respect and you will be happier modder. Only post about your mod where it actually belongs and is warranted. Otherwise be prepared to explain yourself and with good reasons as well. If not, it will eventually reflect poorly on your mod – you don’t want that. Everywhere else rely on and put faith in your sigs. Don’t compare your stuff with the work of others in public because it can so easily become extremely rude and stupid. Don’t fall into that trap; you have worked too hard to end up there. Besides you really should respect your fellow modders and their work better then that. If you must compare your stuff, do it with the original game – that is fairly safe and ok. Besides, have faith in your stuff and let your work speak for itself and do the “convincing”-part for you, if people are too fancy to even try your stuff out then they are hardly worth bothering with anyhow, now are they? If it is good and solid stuff it will eventually show and people will discover that at some point - and those are the people you want for your mod anyhow. Don’t ever tolerate bad attitude and arrogance from half-witted gamers while discussing your mod. If you don’t make that clear from day1, expect that others will follow that pattern and there will be no end to it - thus be crystal clear on that note. Besides, some basic respect is the least they can do for using your hard work for free, right? Ok, that’s it; those are the ones I can think of at the moment. Do you have any final comments? Um….. Only that I like sexy and hot amazons/princesses and I would like more of those everywhere in my games (everywhere!). To me that will always be a major plus and selling point in any TW-game, regardless the settings, along with snarling dragons which are cool and we should more of those as well in TW. Other then that, nah I’m good. Thanks for having me. Links of Intrest Axalon's Profile: Axalon Mod Main thread: Medieval Total War – Redux Download Links: Spoiler Alert, click show to read:  Download MTW-Redux 1.0b.rar-version: http://files.filefront.com/MTW+Redux+10brar/;13843647;/fileinfo.html Download MTW-Redux 1.0b.zip-version: http://www.atomicgamer.com/file.php?id=72369 Download MTW-Redux Info_V3b.zip: http://www.atomicgamer.com/file.php?id=78600

VLTIMVS ROMANORVM & Magister Militum Flavius Aetius

Introduction Hello once again, fine TWC goers! I bring you a little peice of heaven in my article this week, well actually its the modder Magister Militum FlaviusAetius and his mod INVASIO BARBARORVM : VLTIMVS ROMANORVM, and as always I hope you all enjoy the read and this time find yourself a new mod to look forward to. But enough chit chat, ON TO THE INTERVIEW!! Interview with Magister Militum Flavius Aetius Q: So Magister Militum FlaviusAetius(MMFA) tell us a little about yourself, what do you do (and like to do) outside of modding and TWC? Well, outside of modding I like to read, draw, and write. In fact I'm writing a book about the Fall of Rome in the 5th century. I'm a huge gamer, and I love the Halo series (made by Bungie). I also play others but CA's games and Halo are tied for my longest hours gaming. I do play sports (not professionally) like basket ball and soccer with some of my buddies up at the church. I also work as a roadie at the same church. Q: What drew you to TWC? And more over, why (and when) did you decide to join our ranks as a member? I was drawn to TWC by the original IBFD Rio's BRG III, which I wanted to DL. I eventually signed up as a member on March 4th, 2010, so I'm relatively new here, for a modder. Q: Why did you decide to mod Rome: Total War, especially so late into its life, over M2:TW or Empire? I chose to mod RTW because I was basing my mod off of Rio's BRG III, and later BRG IV, which was already a well developed mod that was made for RTW. Also my computer can only run RTW, although I have M2:TW for when I get my new laptop. RTW also was a platform that people knew how to mod easily, and it lead to the quick buildup of an efficient and well-balanced team. Q: Is this your first modding project? If not, what other mods have you been associated with before VLTIMVS ROMANORVM? Yes, this is my first modding project. IBUR is my first mod, although in the future I may work on a few others. Q: But now to the good part, the whole reason we are here. Could you tell us a little about VLTIMVS ROMANORVM? (ie. when is it set, what are you forcused on changing or imporving, etc.) INVASIO BARBARORVM : VLTIMVS ROMANORVM (IBUR for short) is set in 429, focused on the growing power of Flavius Aetius. Attila the Hun is the antagonist of our mod, and to some extent bonifacius and Gaiseric are too. Many new features have been added, and e are the FIRST mod to feature playable naval battles in campaign for RTW. We are redoing the map, and adding new factions. We changed the platform to Alex v. 1.9, because it is more versatile. We've so far added many new units, we're working on re-doing many of the cities and provinces, and we've added many new traits and ancillaries. We've improved some of the models from Rio's mod, and we've altered the recruitment system too. Q: Wow, Naval battles? That sounds great! I know you are planning a preview soon, but do you think you could give us a little glimpse of what you have in store, for both your fans and potential ones? I have two pics of some developmental stages, but one i wont reveal, however here is the other: Spoiler Alert, click show to read:  It doesn't reveal much on purpose though... This is a strat model of a trireme. Q: Ohhhh, Tantalizing. Now, might you tell us why you chose this time period? Who was this Flavius Aetius, and what was so special about 429 (AD?) Flavius Aetius was considered by many scholars, most notably by Edward Gibbon, as "The Last of the Romans." He single handedly upheld the Roman empire for 29 years, and won the legendary Battle of Chalons against Attila in 451. Here's a little Background; Born around 396 AD, Flavius Aetius quickly became a page under the service ofthe Augustus Honorius and his father, Gaudentius. He spent time in the camp of Alaric from aprroximately 406-408, and in the camp of Rua the hun from approximately 410-414. His time with the barbarians gave hima a Marshall vigour which was lacking at that time, and he quickly distinguished himself. In 425, he blackmailed the empire at the head of 20000 huns, and was granted the title of Magister Militum per Gallias. In 432 he and his rival Bonifacius, another candidate for the "Last of the Romans" title, engaged in the battle of the Rimini, which was Aetius' only Military defeat. Bonifacius was mortally wounded, and died shortly therafter. Exiled, Aetius fled to his huns, whi helped him blackmail the empire in 433, in exchange for Pannonia Savia. Aetius gained the title of Magister Utriusque Militae, and fought vicioucly aginst encroaching barbarians. Repeated sucess swelled the ranks of the army, and soon the Roman Comitatensis were able enough to fight on thier own, just in time for the Disasterous Battle of Tolosa in 439. Without the edge of his hun Foederati, Aetius only had the roman field armies to fight barbarians. In 440 Aetius was preparing a campaign to take Africa, but Attila invaded the East, and it was called off. In 451, Aetius led about 40000 Roman troops, and an equal number of Foederati Visigoths and other Barbarians against Attila's germanic coalition. After a devestating Battle, Attila Retreated. And the indesicive Battle of Chalons was declared a Roman victory. Aetius was assassinated on September 21, shortly after the death of the hun empire. His assassination would send rome spiraling into oblivion. I chose 429 AD because that was the beginning of the the invasion of Africa, and it gives leeway to alter history. It immediatly switches over to 430 nex turn, and the beginning of the siege of Hippo Regius Q: Do you have a team to work with? What have they brought to the table and added to this mod. So far we have about 15 members to our team, and many donors to our project. hannibalcaesar cracked naval battles in only about 5 days in fact, and Remlap and Lu Bu are our head 3D modellers. Our historians and betatesters are also major parts of this mod, and Aurelius Silvanius Tacitus added about 5 maxed-out posts of reasearch on the franks in the Development Forum. juvenus and lionheart have added plenty, and our critics just as much. Q: As I understand it you are still a long way from the finish line, yes? What progress have you made so far in your time modding? Our biggest jump so far has been Naval battles, which will be out around the end of August in a preview, and our conversion over to the Alex platform. We have room for 100 custom general models, although 20 max. will be made. The team has done 2 new units, and we have about 10 more in planning currently. We're working on the Regnum Bospori as our Newest faction, for the moment. Q: And what do you still have to do before you think it would be ready for a first release? We have to redo the Frankish, Burgundian, and part of the Visigothic Factions. We also have to add the Alans, Thuringii, Frisii, Gepidae, Regnum Bospori, Persarmenia, and a few others. Many new units still, redo the provinces and map, and fix any bugs or things we can dig up. We also have to do a new plumbata animation. But there's plenty more I can't mention or I haven't thought about yet. But I can pretty much gaurentee a first Release before the end of 2011. Q: Do you have any plans for the future on TWC? Or are you just focusing on the moment right now. In the future we have plans to make a version of IBUR for our beloved BI v1.6 players, and I do plan to become a Citizen after our first release. In the future I will also have more time to help out with other mods, and I'll continue adding too and further editing VLTIMVS ROMANORVM. Q: And last, but definatly not least, who would win in a fight: Superman or Batman? Batman, Super man can stop bullets with his chest, but he ducks when you throw a pistol at him ! I would like to thank MMFA for answering my questions and the team that works with him for the mod as a whole. Now for all those interested (and for those who aren't you still better listen!) I want you, yes you. No not the guy behind you leering from over your shoulder, YOU, to head on over to their forum here and show your support and to check this wonderful mod (in development) out for yourselves. Now a thank you, once again to all you readers out there, and I will see YOU next issue.

A Silver Shield Scoop

Introduction Well readers it's not often that we can bring you a special surprise; a surprise that will make any of the M2:TW modder's happy campers.. I present you a special interview with Azim. Azim has also brought along his special bag O' tricks! The Scoop Welcome and thanks for taking the time to do this interview Azim... Would you mind introducing yourself to the masses? Thanks for the interview! It will be a great opportunity for me to stroke my ego. Sorry, what I meant is that this will be a great publicity stunt for Dominion of the Sword. Wait, no. I meant this will be a great opportunity for me to provide an interesting and entertaining article for the TWC community. Yes, that’s what I meant. I am an undergraduate college student in the US majoring in biology and computer science. I am not doing much at the moment as it is still summer vacation, but there are only a few days left now and I will probably be back to school (bleh) by the time this article is posted. I have many hobbies - reading, playing the piano - but probably the most relevant one is programming. Even by the age of 14 or 15, I was already quite an experienced programmer. I skimmed through some of the files for RTW and was surprised by how simple the files were compared with the stuff I had worked with before. Soon enough, I started working on my own total conversion mod. But after a while I realized that a total conversion mod was too much work for one person to tackle by himself. Would you mind giving us some history about your time here on TWC? I joined TWC in July 2008. I was a long time lurker on the .com forums, but TWC was the go-to place for modding as far as I knew, so I registered at TWC and started working through some M2TW modding tutorials. I eventually applied to Dominion of the Sword after seeing a post in the Modder's Classifieds and became assistant scripter to Archaon (then known as Sounds like Killing). About a month later, Archaon left DoTS to work on other projects, including some popular sub mods for Third Age: Total War. (An amazing mod, for those who haven’t played it.) That left me as the only scripter for the mod. Since joining DoTS I haven't been too active on TWC, but every now and then I drop into the Modding Workshop to write a tutorial or post a tool or answer a question. I know you from DoTS, (Dominion of the Sword) would you mind telling the folks here, what areas of the project are you involved in? I am currently the scripter and source manager for DoTS as well as one of the mod leaders. Scripting is really one of the most interesting aspects of modding in my opinion because it has such a wide scope. The M2TW scripting language is inflexible as far as scripting goes, but it is still very much the most flexible part of the M2TW engine. I've had the pleasure of working on a diverse list of features including civil wars, the governments system, attrition, titles, inflation, and some AI tweaks among other things. I like to think that I've brought a bit of a fresh approach to scripting in M2TW that will help make Dominion of the Sword one of the best mods out there. And then fresh approach is automation. The help any non-modders understand what I mean, I will give a thirty second tutorial on computer science. (Modders can skip ahead) When I started scripting for M2TW, I was astounded by the lack of variables. As non-programmers will remember from grade school math, a variable is a symbol that can stand for many different values. Variables are essentially the same thing in computer science. They allow for something called generalization: the same snippet of code can be applied to hundreds of different values by substituting different values in for the variables in that snippet of code. This property of generalization is called code reuse. M2TW almost completely lacks support for variables, so there is no potential for code reuse. Let me give a practical example of what this means: A garrison script allows units for different factions to spawn in different settlements when those settlements are under siege. We can see two variables here: factions and settlements. If M2TW allowed code reuse, than the garrison script could be as short as twenty lines with two variables allowing it to be reused for each faction and each settlement. But M2TW doesn't allow code reuse. So the garrison script has to be copied once for each combination of faction and settlement. Let's say you have maxed out the game with 199 settlements and 31 factions. Multiply that for 20 lines per copy, and you have a total of 123,380 lines. That is the size of a decent length novel. Writing 123,380 lines of code is no easy task, and as you might expect the copying and pasting of code is a major time sink for scripter’s. A few bright people came up with the idea of using Excel to automate this copying and pasting. This works well, but only if you are experienced with Excel and its rather complicated macro system. Using Excel to copy scripts is kind of like using a sledgehammer to get a staple into a piece of paper. It was just an unwieldy solution. Now, scripter’s didn't just have to be familiar with the campaign_script.txt file, but also with the Excel workbook for every section of the file that had to be duplicated. I felt that there had to be a simpler way. (Modders can continue reading here.) As you remember, Subuatai, about a year ago I was working with you to create a framework for the titles system for Dominion of the Sword. The consensus among the mod team was that we didn't want the simple drag-and-drop ancillary system typical of many other mods. We wanted something much more substantial: titles that are automatically passed from father to son, governors that inspired more loyalty when governing their home provinces, titles such as "Bishop of X" that were linked to buildings such as cathedrals. I finished the framework, but once I was done, I had dozens of lines of code split up among about a half dozen files. This code would have to be copied and customized for each title. It was simply too complicated for practical use, but I didn't want to give up the advanced functionality it offered. Using Excel wouldn't be practical either, because there were simply too many variables involved - seven or eight for each title - and each variable could completely change the code associated with the title (inherited vs appointed titles, for example). Instead, I decided to try using macros to generate some of the code. Early on in this phase, we asked GrnEyedDvl to give us some help on the titles system. GrnEyedDvl was pretty impressed by our idea of using macros to duplicate for us, and a few weeks later he went on to release his script replication tool. It essentially took the idea of using macros to the next level by allowing the logic of the replication to be expressed directly in the campaign script. This tool was still too simple to help us with titles, however, so development on our super-secret titles tool continues to this day. To be frank, I initially had my doubts about the titles tool. Its complexity quickly spiralled out of control. But GrnEyedDvl's script replication tool proved that such a tool could be successful, so I took the idea of scripting automation even further. I kept the highly specialized, very advanced titles tool, but added some new, more general tools to Dominion's arsenal. First, I created a new script replication tool. It was similar to GrnEyedDvl's tool but also allowed for nested variables and numeric variables. It was also a command line tool which meant it could be invoked from a mod's batch file rather than having to be run separately beforehand. Finally, that 123,380 line garrison script that should only have been 20 lines could be coded in just that - 20 lines, right in the campaign script. Then, I worked with our mapper, Ressurection, to create AutoMap, a tool that could generate a M2TW map_ground_types file from satellite terrain data. These tools dramatically increased our productivity and have allowed us to achieve things that were previously considered impossible. Our titles system will be the first of its kind, more feature-rich than even the original MTW's title system thanks to the titles tool that made it possible to replicate such complicated code hundreds of times. Now, I am working on the granddaddy of all automated modding tools: the transitions tool. Dominion of the Sword fans will know that one of the man features of the mod will be transitions, the ability for factions to switch between the control of different historical dynasties and ethnic groups. Using super-duper secret sauce, we will be able to change not only faction banners, tech tree options, and recruitment options, but many other things that were previously considered unchangeable: faction names, the names available for family members, even region names (not the settlement names, which are already easily editable from in game). And all this can be based on what happens in game. If the Mamelukes overthrow the Fatimids in Egypt, expect Egypt to become an entirely different faction. DoTS will essentially become the first mod with more than 31 available factions thanks to an Empire: TW - esque transition system (although only 31 will be on the map at any given time.) For all the TW mod players out there, I hope I have you revved up. The rest of the mod team and I hope to make Dominion of the Sword the best mod out there, the first Total War Supermod, and with the talent of skilled research staff and production staff multiplied by the productivity boost of automated tools, I think this is a very likely possibility. And for all the TW modders out there: I will be releasing some of our internal Dominion of the Sword tools periodically. Within a few days I will be releasing the custom DoTS script replicator in the M2TW Modding Workshop Tools and Tutorials forum. Make sure to stay tuned. Azim DoTS is a big team.. In numbers anyways.. What would you say to any potential applicants to DoTS or any other mod for that matter? DoTS has the largest membership of any mod that I know of. Since Hross originally started DoTS, well over 250 different people have been on the mod team. Currently our mod has about 40 members. However, DoTS has also taken longer than normal to get its first release done. The reason is that many of the 250+ people who worked on the mod had no sense of commitment. 90% of DoTS members were active for two weeks or less and submitted no finalized work. On the other hand, there has been a core of about two dozen people who have shown a great deal of commitment and have continued to work on DoTS even when their real lives became very busy or complicated problems arose. Even though DoTS has not yet had a public release, many of the members of this core team have been showered with honours on TWC for the high quality work that they completed while working on the mod. To put it simply, anyone who is interested in joining a mod should know that it is A LOT of work. If you are thinking about joining a modding project, you should be thinking of a time commitment on the scale of years and not weeks. And over these years, you will have to be willing to commit hours of work each week on a steady basis. Mods do not simply pop into existence; they are the culmination of tens of thousands of man-hours of coding and scripting, modeling and texturing, mapping and bug-testing, supporting and patching. Another bit of advice I would give to any would-be modders would be to take the initiative and learn modding BEFORE joining or starting a mod. It is impossible to appreciate the amount of work a mod will require without knowing anything about the process of developing a mod. Almost every single one of our two week members joined our mod after giving us the following disclaimer: "I have no modding experience, but I am willing to learn!" Most of us DoTS mod leaders have learned to dread these people. We often spent weeks training these people simply for them to then disappear without having ever completed even the simplest task. The net result is that the work these members contributed was essentially negative: other members took time to train them but they never repaid us by contributing work back. I myself spent months learning modding before ever thinking about joining a mod team. I would advise all prospective modders to do the same. You along with the old time members of the team have seen DoTS through some tough times... some hurtles that have killed other mods.. How do you feel DoTS differs from the status quo so to speak? DoTS has dealt with a lot of problems. As I said before, DoTS has had a major manpower problem because the vast majority of new members do not complete any work. As if the stress of a perpetually evaporating workforce was not enough, many members of our core team have had to deal with all kinds of real life problems, ranging from the mundane (lots of backwork at school or the office, broken computers and internet connections) to the tragic (serious illnesses, deaths in the family.) And then some people have the nerve to post messages on our TWC forum telling us that we are incompetent lazy bums who cannot finish a mod within three years. This can be pretty depressing at times, but DoTS' strength is two-fold. First, our core mod team is a tightly knit, hardworking group. I mentioned before that many of our veteran members have had very serious real life issues. But, even the situation was almost unbearable, they continued to complete tasks, or, if they could not, came back with full force after a short absence. And every veteran member also has the support of the rest of the DoTS family during times of trouble. Our second source of strength is our fanbase. We have some very extraordinary fans. It takes an advanced level of patience to follow a mod for over three years and through multiple delays to see that there is still no public release and yet still be excited about the possibility of an upcoming public beta. The mods fans are an enormous motivator for the mod. We work on the mod not only for ourselves (because we want to see the fruits of our hard labour), but also for the fans. (Because they still have faith in us after so many disappointing delays.) Notice At the time of publication Azim was still sorting out school and probably drinking too much. But watch here (the Silver Shield) for the tool release links. You can also watch the Dominion of the Sword forum for the announcement.

A Graphic State of Affairs

Subuatai's blog Hello readers! I am going to keep this short and sweet... I hope you enjoy this editions interview and the artistic content The Winners circle GC #77 World Exposition Finlander won his bronze brushes with this win. GC #78 American Football Abbews long bombed the competition with this baby! Go Bobby, Bobby Booshay Spoiler Alert, click show to read:  GC #79 Beast Squeaks won this 3 time tie breaker vote to take the victory Runner up was Finlander (my favorite of the 2 personally) GC #80 Technology Killerbee flies past the other contestants strafing them in the trenches.. GC #81 The 4 Elements Master Necromancer wins this one with some nice elementals.. watch out fire tends to be hot!! GC #82 Mythology Abbews sent his enemies to Valhalla with this win.. But what do you expect from a Viking? GC #83 Rock! What me a winner no way! Rock on boys!! GC #84 Magazine Advert Beer the elixir of life? What else could you expect from a lowlander? Good job lolgast! GC #85 Religion Good job Squeaks! very nice signature. GC #86 Freestyle This was a odd week... no theme and the quality was noticeably down from where it is normally... Regardless Marcel still makes a good sig. Congrats. Question Period Introduction In this issue of GSoA I am pleased to present an interview with Cedric37. A recent addition to the curia under our very own y2day. He has shown great talent and promise. He has a wonderfull M2TW UI tutorial that is quite helpfull. He is a great guy and quite helpful. Now lets see what he has to say shall we? Interview with Cedric37 Hi ya Cedric, how are thing? Would you venture to let the readers know a little about yourself? A: Hey Sub! Life is going well, a bit busy, as you could expect from a 37 years old father of twin daughters! Well i could add on top of this that i am living in France, a country rich in history if not in money. And like we say in France, "we get lots of ideas but no money to implement them". Fortunately i get the ideas and the meanings to implement them in game. My job position is that of a system analyst and i work for a multi national company that has offices and manufactures all around Europe and in the world. How long have you been a member of TWC? What brought you to the site? A:Well i am not belonging to the old guard of TWC, i am a rather new member. I will celebrate my 1st anniversary as a TWC member in the midst of September. I started browsing TWC forums at start just to find some tips on how the combat autoresolve things worked exactly (i mean the algorythms) in M2TW engine. Well after nearly one year i still don't get the answer but i cannot spend a day without browsing the forums and participating to this Community ! Your on a few mods yes? Could you list them for us as well as your area of responsibilities? A:Well i am on more than enough mods to make me nervous when i read your question First of all i started making user interfaces for Call of Warhammer (a total mod conversion for M2TW/Kingdoms), at start because i did not like the colour of some background. Then rapidly I teamed up with some friend to remake all the UI's (User Interfaces) for each of the factions. This project is still not fully finished today although all cultures get their generic UI implemented in the mod and most of the factions are done. After that I made my own submod to remake all the UI's for Stainless Steel (a mod for M2TW/Kingdoms) and they are implemented in RR/RC famous submod. At the same time i have redone all UI's and menues for Eras Total Conquest and all UI's for Russ2. I also signed on as 2D artist for the mod Patria Libera at this time. Later, i have started my own submod AUI for Third Age, which is my major achievement. I have developped all faction specific UI's and make alternate menues for this great mod, and some of my stuff have been implemented in the mod itself (most of the buttons i made for the generic cultures UI's). On parallel i signed on as a 2D artist in DaC (Divide and Conquer submod for TATW) team and TroA (The Ruins of Arnor submod for TATW) team. On the latest i have already remade all the menues and UI's. My other responsabilities are: - 2D artist of Fourth Age team (for RTW/BI) - on which i made the menues and most of the UI's already. - 2D artist for Second Age TW (for M2TW/Kingdoms) - on which i made the menues and 1 of the UI's already. - 2D artist for African Conquest (for M2TW/Kingdoms) - on which i made the menues already. - 2D artist for Eden TW (for M2TW/Kingdoms). So as you can see i am quite a busy fellow Which game titles do you play? How did you get started with modding TW games? A:Well since i have started playing extensively TW games i don't play a lot of other titles than TW games. My favourites being RTW and M2TW so far, especially the latest. I really started modding after i was trying to change some background colour for a UI in Call of Warhammer. I then decided that i could change the whole layout and this was the beginning of a great adventure. Now i have already modded dozens of UI's and i am also modding more and more menues as well. Some links to screenies of my work: - Some UI for Call of Warhammer: Spoiler Alert, click show to read:  - Some UI for Stainless Steel: Spoiler Alert, click show to read:  - Some Buttons concept art for Third Age: Spoiler Alert, click show to read:  and - Some Menu for SATW: (Second Age TW) Spoiler Alert, click show to read:  - Some Menu for African Conquest: Spoiler Alert, click show to read:  - Some sig i made: the sig i sent you Your User Interfaces are fabulous and so are your signatures and other art.. Have you always been artistic? Did you grow up with a pencil in hand? How did you get into graphic arts? A: Thanks Sub! This is something hard to answer... but yes, i have been always attracted by the graphic arts since i was a very young child. I can remember i already spent my time drawing when i was in primary school (6 to 11). I used my free time drawing and inventing games. So it came naturally i think, it must have been there, somewhere lying in me since i was a baby When creating new UI's how do you start.. do you have a certain way of approaching your design? A: Well, i cannot say that i get a definitive approach when creating a new UI. Usually i start researching pictures on the web (Google searching) and i stop only when i feel that i get enough material to make something. Then i either start by designing all the buttons or the lower layout of the UI. Those are the most important parts of the UI. Buttons are what the player interact with and set the tone to the rest of UI. And the lower part of the UI is always on the campaign screen and is almost as important. Once this is done, i normally finish everything in the lower part (buttons + layout) before attacking the other UI aspects (like the upper scrolls or even the batlle UI). What are your artistic influences? Do you have any artists here on TWC or in life that you take inspiration from? A: Well i don't think i get a particular mentor artist generally speaking, but as a long time Heroic Fantasy fan, i am particularly fond of arts from John Howe, Ted Nasmith or Angus mac Bride. On TWC, the first guy that inspired me a lot as a 2D artist is Agis Tournas. Lately, i have also taken inspiration from various artists in the Graphics Workshop, as there are so many great talents there. It is difficult not to raise your level within such a friendly team Do you have any art you have made that is your personal favorite? A: Well i do. Quite recently i made this menu for the Second Age TOTAL WAR, which is really my favorite so far. Just after it, i love the art i made to enter the wallpaper competition organized at totalwar.org and sponsored by CA. Spoiler Alert, click show to read:  Do you have any tips for your fellow artists and anyone starting out with photoshop? A: Well my first tip is: "don't desperate!", it is not because you cannot do something today, that you won't be able to do it in 1 month (or in 6)! Persevere! Work hard! Practice a lot, and don't dismiss other's advices. For me it was all about learning and practicing, and listening. I'm pretty sure this is the key to become a good 2D artist. Do you have any final words for the folks here at TWC? A: I would like to invite every people that like drawing or painting or playing with Photoshop to open their workshop in the Graphics Workshop! Don't stay in your corner, thinking that you have not the shoulders to get your own Workshop! Do it! Learning alone is hard and sometimes demotivating, but learning in a big family like the Graphics Workshop will boost your motivation and creativity. So i await you in the GW C U Ced. Final note Well folks what do you think? Pretty good stuff for a frenchman eh! LoL All jokes asside Cedric it was great getting to know you and Thanks for your time. I look forward to watching your skills grow and your future artistic works. Just a note since conducting this interview Cedric37 has joined Dominion of the Sword to do the user interfaces.

The Silver Shield Classifieds

MEDIEVAL II KINGDOMS De Bello Gallico Mod Overview De Bello Gallico is a Roman Era modification, covering Caesars' Gallic Wars. We wish to bring this exciting series of wars to the M2K engine. The main campaign will follow Caesar as he brings the whole of Gaul to its knees, and eventually his march to Rome, and the end of the Roman Republic. Mod Information Platform: M2TW Kingdoms Main Forum: Link Developers Profile: Link Positions Available Jobs available: 1. Modellers 2. Historians/Researchers 3. Mappers These are the main positions we are recruiting on, but we are also looking for people on all other fronts. Modellers: Requirements: Knowledge of lowpoly and or highpoly modeling. The job: creation of new equipment, and or creation of strat map models Historians: Requirements: interest in history of the gallic wars. The job: reading, making summaries for the team, thinking about implementation of ideas, finding material for new units Mappers: Requirements: Ability to create a campaign map The job: Adding regions to our current campaign map, as well as adding different landscape features such as mountains, rivers, and ground types. BROKEN CRESENT 3.0 Mod Overview Broken Crescent a mod legendary in name has begun development on it's next version. The limits of map, factions, and units will be reached as BC will be ported to MEII Kingdoms. A new team has been assembled, but more talented modders are needed. 569 years have passed since the Hijra. The world of Islam is divided. The crescent is broken. From the shores of the Bahr al-Rum to the Hindustan, from the Bilar al-Saqaliba to the Bilad al-Barbar – there is perpetual war raging. The war for fame. The war for land and riches. The war for souls. Muslim steel drinks Muslim blood with just the same willingness as it drinks blood of Kuffar. This cannot be! Will you bring an end to this chaos, my Sultan? Will you bring peace to this realm of human misery? Will you succeed, my Lord? Inshallah! But sleep light, oh Mighty one! For there is an envious dagger lurking in the darkness of Your court! The Broken Crescent 3.0 team would like to present to you the first new preview after the BC 2.0 release! It is rather a pre-preview, a foretaste of what we want to include in next major version of the mod, but we hope that what we present now is satisfying enough to support our efforts. We all are very happy that we can further improve Broken Crescent – which is already one of the greatest modifications of Medieval 2 Total War! We would like to underline the fact that we are continuing the work of other great modders, who did very much to give us this exceptional piece of work called Broken Crescent. Many thanks to them! However, there are lots of wonderful things to be included in a mod, and Broken Crescent lacks many of them. Looking at our plans one could think that we intend to make a completely new mod. Indeed, the list of things to implement is quite long and our plans are bold. One would ask: what is the scope of further development? Roughly speaking it is: 1. New, bigger and more detailed map. 2. New factions. Mod Information Broken Cresent 3.0 will be available for Medieval 2 kingdoms LINK TO MAIN FORUM LINK TO MOD LEADER(s) wudang_clown Y2day OpiumGhost79 Positions currently available Jobs available: 1. Coders [vacancy] 2. Modellers [vacant!] 3. Texturers [vacant!] 4. Historians/Researchers [vacant!] Coding: Requirements: knowledge about coding syntax, relation between various text files and knowledge about game factors influenced by changes in text files... The job: creation of traits&ancillaries system, faction specific campaigns, events, changes in recruitment system, buildings-effects system, economic system, military supply system, etc. in collaboration with researchers. Modellers: Requirements: experienced modeler. The job: creation of new units or/and strat map models. Texturers: Requirements: experienced texturer, good 2d art skills. The job: creation of textures for new units or/and strat map models, elements of UI. Historians: Requirements: interest in history of India, Central Asia, Middle East, North-Western Africa, Anatolia, interest in medieval Asian warfare + up to 10 hours of spare time a week. The job: reading, making summaries for the team, thinking about implementation of ideas, finding material for new units ROAD TO JERUSALEM 4.0 Mod Overview Road to Jerusalem: A mod for Kingdoms focusing on the Crusades. Featuring completely new units, factions and much more, in three seperate campaigns. A mod legendary in name and the first big mod for Medieval 2 began development on version 4.0 nearly year ago. The Mod based on Rammstein's vision as all previous version were done by him. We have assembled a new team and are finished near 70% of mod to date. But more talented modders are needed to help finish. Become a part of a legend. Road to Jerusalem 4.0 needs you! Mod Information RTJ 4.0 will be available for Medieval 2 kingdoms LINK TO MAIN FORUM LINK TO MOD LEADER(s) master zuma sinople y2day Positions currently available Jobs available: 1. Modellers [5 vacancy] 2. Texturers [5 vacancy!] 4. Historians/Researchers [vacant!] Modellers: Requirements: experienced modeler. The job: creation of new units or/and strat map models. Texturers: Requirements: experienced texturer, good 2d art skills. The job: creation of textures for new units or/and strat map models, elements of UI. DOMINION OF THE SWORD Mod Overview Dominion of the Sword is an ambitious project aimed at making a Super-mod, we have a large team made up of several contributing mods as well as our own dedicated staff. The mod aims to maximize the possibilities in the M2TW engine to make a game with realism, historical accuracy and playability. Most of all we are concentrating on an atmospheric and fully immersible experience of medieval warfare and rulership. Mod Information Dominion will be available for Medieval 2 kingdoms LINK TO MAIN FORUM LINK TO MOD LEADER(s) Hross Alkidas Azim Copperknickers II Resurrection Subuatai de Bodemloze Sumskils Positions available Jobs available: 1. Coders [1 vacancy] 2. Modellers [vacant!] 3. Texturers [vacant!] Examples Coding: Requirements: knowledge about coding syntax, relation between various text files and knowledge about game factors influenced by changes in text files... The job: creation of traits&ancillaries system, faction specific campaigns, events, changes in recruitment system, buildings-effects system, economic system, military supply system, etc. in collaboration with researchers. Modellers: Requirements: experienced modeler. The job: creation of new units or/and strat map models. Texturers: Requirements: experienced texturer, good 2d art skills. The job: creation of textures for new units or/and strat map models, elements of UI. TWCENTER.NET Publications Silver Shield (as posted in the Silver Auxilia) Local Moderators of TWC, We Want You! The Silver Shield News Publication is now seeking writers and reporters to join our team in highlighting the best of TWC's local communities. If you are a creative writer or aspiring journalist this is a great opportunity to hone your talent and get some exposure. The following requirements apply for consideration: You must be a Local Moderator Attention to detail Good grammar Strong work ethic Enjoy what you do Salary and benefits negotiable So what are you waiting for? Send us your resume! Silver Shield

Closing Comments

Well folks that all for this edition of the Silver Shield. Hope you enjoyed this edition, as It was a struggle to get to release. Thank you for your time and have a great one! See you next time!

If you have any comments or concerns. Or if you are interested in becoming a part of the content staff and contributing to the Silver Shield, you are welcome to contact myself or Capt. Fozdike.

© The Silver Shield A publication of the TWC local moderators social group: The Silver Auxilia

[cedric37]

Wow, great edition guys !

[Agisilaos]

cool work

[Finlander]

Fantastic edition!

[Hektor27]

likes it a lot!

[Major Darling]

Great Edition

[Horsa]

Another excellent edition.

[EVYATAR]

WOW!

[Magister Militum Flavius Aetius]

Great work fellas! +rep

[Nole4694]

I never fail to amaze myself with my own brilliance! I must congradulate myself on my heroic efforts!

I kid, I kid,

You guys should really give Subuatai a pat on the back for all his work in this edition, with us short on staff he's written two articles and was editor to boot.

Dude, You da man.

[Subuatai de Bodemloze]

Thanks Nole..

[y2day]

Nice work everyone, and a special thanks to our beloved editor. Thanks Sub you are indeed the driving force behind the Silver Shield.

[Armatus]

You've taken this to a whole new level Subu and are to be commended. Looks like a professional publication now. The Shield is a great opportunity to become really involved in the community. It's like a spring board to higher levels. So you up and coming local moderators don't hesitate to sign on or contribute and article, this is your avenue use it!

And Armatus v0.2? LOL best be getting his act in gear!

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[The Noble Lord]

As always, you guys did a superb job!

[Capt. Fozdike]

Another great issue guys.

And remember people, we are in dire straights at the moment and we are in desperate need of more writers. So if you have any interest in writing for one of TWCs great Publications, send a PM to either Me or Sub.

You've taken this to a whole new level Subu and are to be commended. Looks like a professional publication now. The Shield is a great opportunity to become really involved in the community. It's like a spring board to higher levels. So you up and coming local moderators don't hesitate to sign on or contribute and article, this is your avenue use it!

And Armatus v0.2? LOL best be getting his act in gear!

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

What act is that? Being able to dance awkwardly on the table while drunk? Oh yes, I was there...

[IVIarkI2I]

excelent edition!