PoP 4.0: Preview #2 - Faction Overview: Faction Traits

[mp84]

Faction Overviews

In this update we're going to reveal more about some of the new factions, together with early details of a new feature called “Faction Traits”.


Melitine Empire – The Theme System
“Safety of the state is the highest law.” - Emperor Basilus

The Melitine Empire is fortunate in its geographical location. It dominates a major trade network with busy road, river and sea connections. A healthy flow of people, wealth and goods allows the Melitines to field a well-equipped and numerous army.

Our new Theme System makes Melitine districts responsible for their own strategic defence. Each district maintains local garrisons to defend areas of importance, while mobile armies under the direct command of lords can come rapidly to their assistance. The Melitines also enjoy influence over a number of smaller nations which are obliged to provide money and manpower to the centralised Melitine forces. Commanders can raise armies and recover from battles more quickly than their foreign foes.

The Theme System – Villages provide more recruits every week. Melitine Lords have more renown and can maintain larger armies.

Kingdom of Nohseru – Renaissance
"A man who seeks truth and loves it must be reckoned precious to any human society” - Shah Antarrah Rashim

The Kingdom of Nohseru is a relatively young nation, in some ways still suffering from the trauma of its birth. While Antarrah himself is regularly hailed as a genius, there are unmarked graves scattered around Nohseru that silently but effectively demonstrate the fate of those who once dared to call him a murderous upstart.

Following his bloody accession to power Antarrah continued to consolidate his rule, but turned his uncompromising intellect increasingly to the concerns of his people, instigating widespread reforms to benefit the wider populace as well as the nobility.

Now Nohseru enjoys a golden age, the most self-confident and prosperous period in the region's history. At Antarrah's court, famous philosophers from as far afield as Pendor or Barclay may be seen debating the finer points of governance or the universal rights of man with nobles and the many visiting merchants. The only subject beyond debate is Antarrah’s absolute right to rule.

Renaissance – Buildings cost less and are constructed more quickly. Nohseru lords can develop their fiefs rapidly and Nohseru grows wealthy as a result.

Grand Duchy of Santara – Imperial Reinforcements
“The day of small nations has long passed away. The day of Empires has come.” – Grand Duke Aurelio Brisuela

The people of the Grand Duchy of Santara once resembled the Vanskerries; a tribal community focused on survival in a hostile landscape. Instead of turning to raiding like their brutish cousins, the Santarans turned inwards, practically ignoring developments beyond their borders.

Over many years, barbarians from the north and west invaded with impunity, regularly stripping Santara of her hard-won assets before retreating again to more hospitable lands. Then a new foreign power appeared nearby. The Empire of Barclay was happy to trade new technologies for the rare minerals extracted from Santara's Mountains.

Santarans quickly adopted the use of the crossbow, for example, but crossbows alone could not deter their savage neighbours. A growing dependence on commerce along with the promise of protection for their neglected borders soon converted a loose trading agreement into an offer of vassalage to the Barclay Emperor, and The Grand Duchy of Santara was created.

Imperial Reinforcements - Under the protection of Barclay, the lords of Santara can call in reinforcements from the Empire. These units can be recruited much like Nobles, but are cheaper and more numerous.

Ashenborn Empire – Liberty or Death
“Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duty, and so bear ourselves that if the Ashenborn last for a thousand years men will still say, ‘This was their finest hour’” – Emperor Marneus

The Baccus Empire came perilously close to extinction. Scattered rebels haunted the woods and hills, while a few starved soldiers crouched behind the battlements of their sole remaining bastion, Darkpass. There was no reason to expect salvation.

Yet when the Snake Cult poured its forces into Pendor and failed to secure a permanent foothold there, defiance flared again as the people of the Old Empire seized the chance to rise up against their monstrous masters. Now, from the cold ashes of their former empire, the Ashenborn struggle to regain their former glory, or at least to weaken their conquerors at any cost and against any odds.

Liberty or Death – Stalwarts of the Ashenborn always stand their ground when fighting against the Snake Cult where lesser soldiers would flee. Their silent determination instils fear in even the most zealous Cultist.

Principality of Pendor – Royal Bodyguards
“Gods bless Pendor. Guard her people, guide her leaders and give her peace.” – Sir Darlion of Pendor, Grandmaster Knight of the Griffin.

Although the story seems to differ with each telling, it seems most likely that distant Pendor has finally been re-united by an heir laying claim to the ancient lineage. It is not yet clear if the famous prophecy was simply a political tool employed to unite mutinous factions, or something more. It is clear, however, that only part of the prophecy can be considered fulfilled while the integrity of Pendor is threatened by a foreign power so corrupt and cruel that, it is said, no single nation can stand against it and survive.

The latest rumours, some admittedly from reliable sources, suggest that Pendor has dispatched a mighty armada, led by the heir to the crown, to seek out and eliminate this terrible foe for all time.

Assuming these reports are accurate (Mettenheim, Barclay and Veccavia all refuse to discount the possibility), the dangers facing the Scion of Pendor seem immense, taking into account the precarious political situation and the other more tangible horrors that now stalk the land of Amala.

Royal Bodyguards - The Pendor Monarch sent loyal warriors to aid and guide the heir. The Knights of the Griffin stand ready to serve once again, their mastery of warfare unmatched. The armouries of the Order were plundered long ago, but the heir may choose to replenish its stocks with whatever arms and armour they feel will best aid in the quest against the Cult.

[Zemdu]

eh, these factions are'nt in the mod?

[M0rdred]

PoP4 takes place on a new continent. Some of the old faces from PoP1-3 will be there but most are all new for this version.

[mp84]

Aye,

Any previews going forward are solely going to be about PoP 4.0..

The current version, PoP 3.302 takes place in the familiar continent of Pendor, but PoP 4 takes place 20 years after the events of PoP 3 and as Mordred states, it takes place in an entire new continent for the first time in the series.

With that, comes new factions, new knighthood orders, new map, the works

So stay tune for more stuff with PoP 4.0 for sure, as the plan is to have smaller exclusive previews here first for a few days before it hits our Taleworlds PoP Boards.

regards,

MP

[centurion1]

*salivates*

[NicotiN]

Regarding the troop tree that means that:
1)Melitine, their troop tree will be weaker because they get more recruits? they will be something like the curent pendor troops?
2)Nosheru, their troops will be harder to train, expensive, not so many and high levels?+mercenary armies....kind of like the adventure/rogue knights company+ some empire troops
3)Ashenborn, the 2 of them combined?....now there is a big "?" not reatreating isn't much of a big trait since in pop 3 there is an option to turn routing off or it was on the forum how to turn it off.....so it will not be in pop 4?
4)Santara, that means a new troop tree for the barclay? or they will just be same as now with improvements?more stronger than sapper/heavy inf/conquiztador or the same?
5)Pendor, Custom knighthood, custom soldiers?
Does that mean that the player will join the pendor bodyguards? because there are max 6 factions and those 5+snake cult=6. Since there can't be 7 factions that means yes
So the mettenheim castle will be like elecrai and the noldor will get a new castle...
And the minor factions, until now all major factions had minor factions army spawns in their teritory but now....looks like half will be anti player and half anti snake cult.
Some thoughts and news about pop, would you care to comment on that sir?( bad repo men the genetic opera quote)

[mp84]

I'll comment what I can for now.

1)Melitine, their troop tree will be weaker because they get more recruits? they will be something like the curent pendor troops?

No not all, since they are sort of our faction in the middle sort of speak (not smack in middle like the Sarleon where), their theme system goes hand in hand with a centralized military system they have. Think Eastern Roman Empire if you would like an idea, but naturally with it's own PoP flavor.

2)Nosheru, their troops will be harder to train, expensive, not so many and high levels?+mercenary armies....kind of like the adventure/rogue knights company+ some empire troops

Can't really answer that at the moment, sorry..

3)Ashenborn, the 2 of them combined?....now there is a big "?" not reatreating isn't much of a big trait since in pop 3 there is an option to turn routing off or it was on the forum how to turn it off.....so it will not be in pop 4?

Well it may not be the case this time, since Routing and Morale are going to be important factors in POP 4, so that's TBD. And yea people I guess can remember how they got rid of it in PoP 3.xx, and do it again, but hey it's there choice if they do that .

4)Santara, that means a new troop tree for the barclay? or they will just be same as now with improvements?more stronger than sapper/heavy inf/conquiztador or the same?

Barclay will still have it's own troop tree, the units that Santara will get will be unique to just Santara, but will be part of the Barclay Empire. In other words, it's going to balance the Santara faction out, since what Santara is weak in, Barclay can provide.

5)Pendor, Custom knighthood, custom soldiers?
Does that mean that the player will join the pendor bodyguards? because there are max 6 factions and those 5+snake cult=6. Since there can't be 7 factions that means yes
So the mettenheim castle will be like elecrai and the noldor will get a new castle... And the minor factions, until now all major factions had minor factions army spawns in their teritory but now....looks like half will be anti player and half anti snake cult.

Who says the Noldor are getting a castle in PoP 4.0?... The Pendor Knighthood Order is part of the Pendor Faction itself (Order of the Griffons), I can't really reveal more then that at the moment, but what I can tell you it will still be just "one troop" like other Knighthood Orders, however the big difference, it will be truly customizable based off of players decisions and naturally certain conditions being fulfilled in PoP 4.0.

For now that's all I can give on that, but naturally more to come soon enough, so as usual just stay tune!

Anyone else has anymore questions feel free to ask them I'll be happy to answer them if I can.

regards,

MP

[Kamos]

IWell it may not be the case this time, since Routing and Morale are going to be important factors in POP 4, so that's TBD. And yea people I guess can remember how they got rid of it in PoP 3.xx, and do it again, but hey it's there choice if they do that .

Will I at least still be able to turn off formations? It's really neat stuff but I never bother to work with it anyways.

[molonthegreat]

This looks great, it will be very interesting to play version 4.0

[mp84]

Will I at least still be able to turn off formations? It's really neat stuff but I never bother to work with it anyways.

You should try it.. Once people have experienced Vicky they never tend to go back, because it's overall the only way we can buff the AI on the battlefield, which is just awesome.

We're probably gonna do even more in POP 4.0 giving certain Lords unique tactics and such, which should spice things up considerably .

However, while I can't confirm 100% I'm sure there will be an option to turn off Formations like there was in POP 3.xx, so no worries.

@Molonthegreat

Awesome to hear!.. But why wait for POP 4.0 (still longs off, talking months here), when you could simply check out PoP 3.302 which is just as fun and already out!

Plus expect a pretty nice update to PoP 3.xx within a week or two, so overall while we're working on POP 4.0, we're still not done with PoP 3.xx just yet .

regards,

MP

[molonthegreat]

I have played v 3.something earlier and that's why I'm so excited , however lately I haven't had that much time and it requires quite a lot to start up a new campaign but when you get going it's awesome. So I will probably download the latest version when my vacation comes and start up a new game.

[Kamos]

You should try it.. Once people have experienced Vicky they never tend to go back, because it's overall the only way we can buff the AI on the battlefield, which is just awesome.

We're probably gonna do even more in POP 4.0 giving certain Lords unique tactics and such, which should spice things up considerably .

However, while I can't confirm 100% I'm sure there will be an option to turn off Formations like there was in POP 3.xx, so no worries.

Oh no way dude. Vicky AI tried to kill Will Smith in that one movie.

[Zemdu]

is it open for beta testing?

[mp84]

is it open for beta testing?

No and it probably won't be till closer to release if at all. Usually our Alpha Version is all internal by the dev team and our testers (currently that's what we're up to)

When we hit Beta, the plan is to invite well known community members from these boards and also over in our Taleworlds Boards and ask them if they wish to become a beta tester for us.

How do you become well-known community member? Well quite simply just be helpful on the forums with any problems newer members have, and naturally always provide through provoking discussions that make us pay attention to them.

Basically we want thinkers, and those passionate about PoP the privilege of testing it for us to make the best version yet, so overall the rest of the fans can enjoy it after when it's officially released, to those who perhaps don't like the testing part of it, and instead just want to play the game

However, as always it could be subject to change.

MP

[Zemdu]

are you going to include naval battles?

[mp84]

are you going to include naval battles?

No.

[M0rdred]

1)Melitine, their troop tree will be weaker because they get more recruits? they will be something like the curent pendor troops?

The Melitine lords will have larger armies, the quality is not affected at all. It will also be easier for Player to recruit troops in Melitine villages (get more each week). Their faction is very cavalry focused, with some very powerful medium and heavy horsemen. Imagine the Fierdsvain "Green Horde" but purple, and riding horses...

Regarding the troop tree that means that:
2)Nosheru, their troops will be harder to train, expensive, not so many and high levels?+mercenary armies....kind of like the adventure/rogue knights company+ some empire troops

Their special trait doesnt affect their troop tree, it is purely focused at the lords. The increase in building speed, and decrease in cost will mean that the Nohseru will have more money to spend on better troops. Their renown will still be normal, but the quality (tier) of their troops will be higher than that of their foes.

3)Ashenborn, the 2 of them combined?....now there is a big "?" not reatreating isn't much of a big trait since in pop 3 there is an option to turn routing off or it was on the forum how to turn it off.....so it will not be in pop 4?

You raise a good point here. Morale is going to have far more of an effect now, as we are introducing fear causing troops and ways of boosting morale during battle. Hopefully this will result in individuals breaking, not entire armies at once (though eventually that will happen if you are beating them soundly enough). If we think up a good alternative we may use it, but it is the Players choice if they want to disable morale, they just need to be aware that it will affect the Ashenborn.

4)Santara, that means a new troop tree for the barclay? or they will just be same as now with improvements?more stronger than sapper/heavy inf/conquiztador or the same?

Santara recieves a third type of soldier, the "Imperial Reinforcements" which are somewhere between top tier commoners and mid tier nobles. These guys will be expensive but require no training. They are also very well equipped and bolster Santara where they are weakest.

Will I at least still be able to turn off formations? It's really neat stuff but I never bother to work with it anyways.

Yes, and to build on what MP said, we have coded the factions and troops in such a way that we can apply individualised tactics to each. So the tactics of a Santara lord will be different to that of a Melitine one. The Santara will try to find a hill and turtle up on it, bringing his powerful crossbows to bear, while the Melitine will probe with his light cavalry until he finds a way in, then slam home with the heavies.

@Molonthegreat : Great to have you onboard. I also intend to start a new game on PoP3 when we get the next patch out. Lots of nice tweaks happening on it. Loving the avatar too, Littlefinger is a legend.

@ Zemdu : Not decided on open beta yet. It will likely happen but riiiiight at the end of the development cycle, and we are still months away from that. As to naval battles, afraid not. As much as i'd love to see the Mettenheim Ironclads crushing the Barclay cowards beneath the waves we simply do not have the resources to make it feasible and still get in all the other juicy features we are working on.

[The Horse]

The Pendor Knighthood Order is part of the Pendor Faction itself (Order of the Griffons), I can't really reveal more then that at the moment, but what I can tell you it will still be just "one troop" like other Knighthood Orders, however the big difference, it will be truly customizable based off of players decisions and naturally certain conditions being fulfilled in PoP 4.0.

So are they customizable in the sense that your actions affect them, or will we be able to actually go in and give them items to use, as one might a companion?
The latter is what I was hoping for, honestly. D:

[M0rdred]

When you first get the Griffin's, you will only be able to hire "Griffin Squires", these are weak for a Knighthood soldier so you will want to upgrade. The way you do this is by finding, and completing certain quests - often from the faction leaders or other important NPCs. Once you complete, you will unlock a new "blueprint". You then select the "blueprint" that you want your Griffin soldiers to follow. For example;

D'Shar
Griffin Blademaster (Medium Armour, Long 1 Handed Blade, Shield)
Quest for Nohseru

Pendor
Griffin Footknight (Heavy Armour, 2 Handed Blunt Weapon)
Quest for Griffin Grandmaster

Misc
Griffin Hope (Ultra Heavy Armour, 2 Handed Weapon)
Quest for Mettenheim (Rare and tough)

[dowdpride]

lol the griffin hope sounds hilarious. "CHARGE MY HOPEFUL GRIFFONS!"