Leipsana Rōmaika - previously Byzantine: Total War

**Zenith Darksea** · February 25, 2006, 12:22 PM

I think that with M2TW it would be time to relaunch my old Byzantine: Total War, although under a new name: Leipsana Rōmaika - The Remains of Rome. Here's the run-down for those who can't remember what the old one was about.

The year - 1205. The Byzantine (or Roman, as they themselves think of it) Empire is shattered, laid low by the Fourth Crusade. In the West the lands are torn up by Normans, Bulgars, Scythians and others, while in the East the Turks and Saracens run wild and unchecked. The Mongol Hordes loom on the horizon. Can a great leader reforge the Roman Empire, or will a foreigner conquer the land? The map focuses around Greece, Italy, Asia Minor, Bulgaria, Khazaria and the Tauris (Crimean) peninsula. Four turns per year, and whatever other interesting features that can be implemented. The mod draws to a close in 1299 (historically, this was the beginning of the Ottoman Emprie).

Here's a glimpse of the nature of the campaign map:

The Factions:

BYZANTINE
House of Lascaris (Empire of Nicaea)
House of Angelus (Despotate of Epirus)
House of Comnenus (Empire of Trebizond)
WESTERN
Latin Empire
House of Montferrat (Kingdom of Thessalonica)
House of Champlitte (Principality of Achaea)
House of Roche (Duchy of Athens)
Crusader States
Republic of Venice
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
The Papal States (unplayable, of course)
BALKAN
Kingdom of Bulgaria
Kingdom of Serbia
Kingdom of Hungary
Kipchak Khanate (Cumans)
ASIAN
Mongol White Horde (an emergent faction, if this will be possible)
Kingdom of Georgia
Kingdom of Cilician Armenia
ISLAMIC
Sultanate of Rum (Seljuk Turks)
Ayyubid Kaliphate (Egypt)
Abbasid Kaliphate (Baghdad)

Recruitment, government and so on will have to wait until we see what the exact mechanics of M2TW are, but I intend them to be interesting and accurate. Expect to see units such as the Pronoiarioi, Paramonai, Skoutatoi, Tzakones, Helepolis (a Byzantine trebuchet), Norman knights, Saracen Ghulams, and Turkoman horse archers.

If you are interested and wish to contribute, what this mod needs at the moment is historical research (I want to have all the historical knowledge and designs for factions ready to click into place as soon as M2TW comes out and we know how to mod it). We're pretty well covered on the Byzantines (though every little helps), but other factions need just as much accuracy! Accuracy is a primary aim of this mod, though gameplay will also be a key issue, and the two features will be balanced as best as possible. I sympathise with many gameplay complaints (especially the headache of governing too many cities), but I also want to have an atmospheric and believable game. Want to help? E-mail me at hachiman101@hotmail.com, PM me, or post in this thread.

**Kakhaber** · February 25, 2006, 01:53 PM

verry interesting mod ! really ! this mod is more historycal accurate, then others !
faction are chosen with verry historycal accurate !

**Zenith Darksea** · February 25, 2006, 03:03 PM

Yes, well it's only theoretical at the moment. However, if there is interest, and people are willing to set up a research team now, I'd happily create this mod for M2TW.

**hellheaven1987** · February 25, 2006, 04:16 PM

Mmm... it sounds intersting... but I thought it appeared in Medieval I ready? (I mean, when you play High Age for Byzamtine, it feels same.)

**Zenith Darksea** · February 25, 2006, 04:55 PM

Yes, but this project is much more focused, and gets a lot more detail in. In Medieval I, not only is it unrealistic, but you can only play as the Nicaeans. Only a couple of those other factions above were in it.

**Kscott** · February 25, 2006, 05:20 PM

Well the start date is one year after the Wrath of Khan mod, so I think we would be able to do some good collaberation on this

**Zenith Darksea** · February 25, 2006, 05:55 PM

Oh yes indeed. That's a good idea.

**Zenith Darksea** · February 26, 2006, 01:44 PM

Updated.

**dragases1453** · February 27, 2006, 07:09 AM

Me i want to help this mod! i always wanted a mod on the last part of byzantine empire!

**Zenith Darksea** · February 27, 2006, 09:05 AM

Name change. I discovered that Basileos Leandros is using the motif of 'Romaiki Aftokratoria' already in his 'Byzantium: Total War'. Plus I've finally bitten the bullet and used modern Greek spelling (considering that this is after all the late Byzantine Empire, it's how they would probably have spoken).

**Basileos Leandros I** · February 28, 2006, 10:01 AM

I wish to you all the best Zenith.

2 mods for MTWII about the Byzantines won't hurt nobody.

BTW will be continued for MTWII also.

**Zenith Darksea** · February 28, 2006, 10:43 AM

Well, we can at least pool the research to some extent.

**Zhuge_Liang** · February 28, 2006, 01:59 PM

A great idea! This is what i mean by a different 'spin' on the same/similar era (the era in this case overlapping with MTW).

**Zenith Darksea** · February 28, 2006, 02:15 PM

Why, thanks very much. Though I think that I need a more impressive sig than this one!

**Zhuge_Liang** · February 28, 2006, 03:58 PM

Its a much better idea than just redoing the same era with more accurate units, or redoing STW or RTW eras once more with just higher quality units. I hope other potential mods take some inspiration from what you are suggesting and realise they don't have to always do it just like CA but more accurate.

**byzantineklibanophori** · March 01, 2006, 03:26 AM

"verry interesting mod ! really ! this mod is more historycal accurate, then others !
faction are chosen with verry historycal accurate !"

Nothing to do with Georgia is it now?

You can't stop him, he's a Juggernaut!!

In this instance I do think Georgia would be a suitable inclusion as their ties to many powers in this time period where extensive.

**Zenith Darksea** · March 01, 2006, 04:12 AM

Yes, they are quite relevant to this particular concept, as they were very closely tied to the Empire of Trebizond. I must agree with you though; I put Kakhaber's enthusiasm down to the inclusion of Georgia as well...

**Kakhaber** · March 02, 2006, 01:28 PM

Originally Posted by Zenith Darksea

Yes, they are quite relevant to this particular concept, as they were very closely tied to the Empire of Trebizond. I must agree with you though; I put Kakhaber's enthusiasm down to the inclusion of Georgia as well...

Empire of Trabizon established by Georgian quin Tamar in 1204 ad. Alex Comnen, the first Trabizon emperor was cousine Tamar. Trabizone Empire was satelite and vassal state of Georgia.