Kingdoms of the Scots - Old Developer Diary (Commenced 21/09/12)

[The Border Reiver]

I'm starting a weekly development diary to show what progress (if any) has been achieved during the weeks leading up to Christmas. This will be delivered in this thread every Friday night, and is a way to hold my work more accountable and plus stimulate activity in the forum with all of those who have been very patient over the years.

Some weeks will show a flurry of activity (like this one) while other weeks, will be as stagnant as a low energy coal forming environment.

Developer Diary 1

There have been a lot of changes both with personel and direction of this mod since it was conceived a few years ago; and hence the focus and work done on it has been sporadic but time consuming. Earlier this year I decided to take this on as a solo project and while this has its advantages (not all positive), it also takes a lot of time. However I am currently looking to share the work with someone, so if you are able or interested in 2D art work or even historical research please PM me.

What is new?

Basically the mod has been designed from the bottom up again, and as such we see a completely new map created of just the British Isles and Ireland. Flanders, France and Burgundy have all made way for a mod totally focused on the British Isles and Ireland. This change of direction takes the focus away from England as the main faction in the middle of the map, and once again places emphasis on why I decided to spend my life making a mod; that of Scotland and her clans.

Before we get in and look at some map screenshots we should discuss what the campaign will now entail. Firstly, I am concentrating all my time on one single campaign to start with. That means all factions will be playable in the traditional Total War campaign entitled The Scottish Wars of Independence. The campaign now begins in 1306 and focuses on the beginning of King Robert the Bruce of Scotland's reign after he has killed John Comyn at Greyfriars church in Dumfries. Scotland's main towns and castles have been held by England for some time now and therefore for the Scottish Faction the power base is now in the lands held by the Bruce Clan and also those allied to him.

Scotland will start at war with England, Clan MacDougall, Clan MacSween and of course Clan Comyn and therefore will need to work hard with maintaining relations with its Highland Clans and also the Douglases and Scotts in the Borders. The following three screenshots show the starting position for the Scottish Faction. Not shown is the castle of Kildrummy in Mar held by the Bruces







The Campaign Map

Start Date = 1306
Map Size = 350 x 420 (Kingdoms British Isles Map was 136 x 171)
Number of Regions = 199
Number of Historically Placed Forts (Named Castles) = 165
Number of Factions = 22

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

1. England
2. Scotland
3. Wales
4. Kingdom of Ulster (Ui'Neill)
5. Kingdom of Munster (Ui'Brian)
6. Fitzgeralds of Kildare and Thomond (Anglo - Irish Faction allied to England).
7. Barons Alliance
8. Clan MacDonald
9. Clan MacKenzie
10. Clan MacLeod
11. Clan MacLean
12. Clan MacNeil
13. Clan Mackay
14. Clan MacGregor
15. Clan MacSween
16. Clan MacDougall
17. Clan Chattan (was previously named Mackintosh)
18. Clan Campbell
19. Clan Ross
20. Clan Douglas
21. Clan Scott
22. Clan Comyn

One of the first things you'll notice apart from the new sea colour textures is that I have changed the campaign map textures and removed the drab yellow highland textures and been replaced by green, which is a far more accurate depiction of the opography if mdeieval times. You'll also notice that the campaign map has quite distinct elevation of mountains and hills, and some hills and mountains actually have forest. This is something I wanted to add to the campaign map as at least 1/3 of Britain was still heavily forested at this time. You'll also see some glens are also highly wooded which will mean that if a particular region is allowed roads, these roads will not pass through open plains all the time, but instead will pass through forests as will rivers and river crossings.

As part of the design of the new map I have tried as often as possible to find the right blend of accuraye topographical heights versus gameplay, and this is evident by the first screenshot below of the region of Badenoch which will be held by Clan Chattan. As the River Spey must run through here I have had to remove some mountains to allow the settlement of Aviemore to be placed beside it. The resulting battlemap pictures (screeshots 2 & 3) show the heights of the surrounding mountains that correspond to the campaign map as does the river passing to the west of the settlement.







The Campaign Features

So far not a great deal of additional features have been added to the campaign with the exception of

Really Bad AI & Settlement Tweaks for the British Isles Campaign by Germanicu5
Creating a World - Named Forts & Stone Forts Mods by Gigantus
Loyal Allies Scriptby Archaon
Re-emergent Factions by TMK
Darker Nights by (mod creator name to be located)
Skies Mod by Swagger
Graphics and Light Tweaks by Alreadyded
High Quality Sky Textures Project 1.0 by Hereje
Strat Map Textures by Charge
Better Water 2 by Davide.cool

Further community mods will be added as time goes by. But in the meantime here are a few other screenshots of the campaign map to show the height elevations and also the named forts:







What's next?

This week I have also been adding the resources to the campaign map which I'm about half way through doing and a lot of features still need to be added and heights need to be changed to fix path finding issues. But next week you'll start to get a look at some of the textures I have created for Clan MacGregor and Clan MacDonald as well as some loading screens and possibly some early icon designs.

I hope you have enjoyed seeing at what stage the mod is up to and how the campaign map is coming along. If you feel like you can or would like to contribute, please end me a PM.

Cheers
The Border Reiver

[The Border Reiver]

Developer Diary 2

Developer Diary 2

This week my secondary focus was working on the Scottish Regions and associating rebel clans to specific regions. There will be 66 rebel clans spread across scotland and a point worth noting is that the major clans listed will not have equivalent rebel clans; so in that way when a Macdonald region rebels, they won't be fighting Macdonalds, but instead will fight MacBeths on Islay, MacFies on Jura, MacKinnons on Sleat etc etc.

The theory here is that if the Clan MacDonald owns a region,they shouldn't have to fight a rebel army of Macdonalds if it appears. This wouldn't make sense, so its important (and to add campaign depth and realism) that these are also split between highland, lowland and border recruiting as has been done with the Scottish Faction which was mentioned in the second preview and which I'll discuss in greater depth next week.


The Primary focus of the week was creating signatures, faction icons, army and settlement banners and loading screens to get some graphics up for the mod. The screenshots below are some of the loading screens I'm working on, plus early versions of the faction icons.

At this stage I expect that the faction icons will be changed to circular shields as opposed to the traditional style.

What's expected next week:

There will be more faction icons and loading screens, plus we'll look at the one faction in detail as well as the battle tartan used.

cheers
Border Reiver

[The Border Reiver]

Developer Diary 3 - 05/10/2012

This week I've decided to concentrate on some coding aspects of the campaign as well as looking at the first skins. I'll also release the dev diary over two days as there is a fair bit to add. But first of all let's look at some of the additions. Plus I have also had Malcolm join to make it actually a team. He has a lot of knowledge regarding Scottish History.

I have finished adding all trade resources to the mod with the exception of my highland cattle, which I'm waiting on the model to come through...they are currently camels This was quite an onerus task but have based this on a blend of historical research and gameplay. The following is the list of resources in the game:

Gold - a mining resource (Historically added only)
Iron - a mining resource (Historically added only)
Marble - a mining resource (Historically added only)
Coal - a mining resource (Historically added only)
Tin - a valuable trade resource (Historically added only)
Fish - a valuable trade resource
Apples - a valuable trade resource
Grain - a valuable resource
Cattle - a valuable trade resource
Wine - a valuable trade resource
Weapons - a valuable trade resource
Ecclesiastical - a valuable revenue source
Glass - a valuable trade resource (Historically added only) only available at major ports from Europe
Silk - a valuable trade resource (Historically added only) only available at major ports from Europe
Hides - a valuable trade resource (Historically added only)
Spices - a valuable trade resource (Historically added only) only available at major ports from Europe
Cotton - a valuable trade resource (Historically added only)
Pottery - a valuable trade resource
Wool - a valuable trade resource (Historically added only)
Lead - a valuable trade resource (Historically added only)

New Added Factions

After more intensive research I've decided to extend the faction list by 4 factions. The new clans are the MacRuairis, Frasers, Grants and Camerons. the MacRuairis willl be a starting faction and the Frasers, Grants and Camerons will all most likely emerge.

The MacRuairis have been added as they were direct descendants of Somerled and were highly prominent in the Western Isles until the middle of the 14th century after siding against Robert the Bruce when there clan fall into obscurity. The other clan in the mod which is affected by this is the MacSween's who also pick the wrong side in the Wars of Independence, and what is left of their clan disperse to Ireland and become the MacSweeney's, and some move deeper into the highlands and live under the Banner of Clan Chattan.

Next week, I'll preview the tartans of the MacRuairi and the MacSweens, but this week we'll look at some of the MacNeils and the Macleans skins. I'll upload the battles skins later on the weekend.

Faction Relationships

Something else I worked on this week was establishing the faction starting standings. This was a longer job than I expected having to do this for 26 factions. Here is the list of ALlies and Enemies at the starting date:

Allies = England, Fitzgeralds of Desmond, MacDougall, MacSween, Comyn
Allies = Ui'Neill and Ui'Brian
Neutral = Wales, Barons Alliance
Allies = Scotland and all the remaining factions not listed above.

Enemies = Scotland and her allies and England and hers .

In 1306, in the Western Isles the MacDougalls, MacSweens, Comyns formed quite a powerblock and essentially joined forces with England to capture and kill Robert the Bruce. While the other clans did not declare support for Bruce at this time, the MacDonalds and MacRuairis did so openly.

How does this gameplay work?

One of the criticisms (and rightly so) of Kingdoms of the Scots was that the faction Scotland was too weak and couldn't openly stand up to the clans if they became powerful. To counter this I have added three safeguards:

1. The Introduction of Crusades to the game. Scotland has the papal_states AI label and all the clans loyal to the Scottish Faction above are catholics. With these labels in place Scotland will not attack a catholic faction and likewise they will not attack her.

2. The clans loyal to the Scottish Faction all start allied_to her and have 1.0 pefect relations on the descr_strat.

3. I have added Archaons Loyal Allies Diplomacy mod which ensures that if a peace is to be broken then a diplomat will be sent.

Therefore, if the human player who is a loyal clan wishes to break an alliance, then so be it. But until then, the computer AI should not want to or be able to get past those safeguards, and even if it does, I'm happy for it to do so, as long as it is later in the campaign.
[CENTER]

Anyway as I said let's look at some skins.

The first two screenshots show the MacNeil army strat models

Religion

At this stage Religion has been reintroduced to the mod as this is a key aspect of daily and political life in the Middle Ages. I have removed the Gaelic religion so that all Scottish Factions are now Scottish which makes it easier to Implement the Crusades Function. The Scottish Faction works essentially as the Papal States and you can request to attack an enemy or join in the attack of an enemy as requested by the Council of Nobles and the King.

Bishops will roam the land as they were extremely influential in Scottish politics at the time, and will make up the College of Cardinals which has been renamed to the Church of Scotland. More on this later.



this shows on the left the normal general model next to the Clan Chieftan.



This one shows the heir on the left and the captain model on the right.

Then we have the Maclean models below; heir, captain ,chieftan and general.

Cheers
Border Reiver and Malcolm.

[The Border Reiver]

Developer Diary 4 - Highland Recruiting in Depth - Updated 12/10/12

Highland Recruiting is now more in depth than previously imagined, and this has come about mainly from discussions with dmcraanen regarding The High Road mod, and also the reevaluation of the goals of the mod. As it was my intention to focus primarily on the Scottish factions in particular as the central core of the mod, I wanted to code extra depth and variety into the traditional KOTS3 rosters.

As I was now including 20 Scottish Factions of which at least 17 playable highland and island factions, a change was needed to display differences between clans and regions. As I was also adding greater depths to missions via the introduction of the Crusade feature, I needed to alter the central themes that compliment Scottish recruiting such as:

1. Variety in Faction Sizes
2. Variety in Faction Rosters
3. Variety in Regional Recruitment
4. Diplomatic recruiting

1. Variety in Faction Sizes & Rosters

So let's take a look at the variety of faction sizes. I have initially implemented a three tier faction size approach that will encompass all the Scottish factions, which are simply referred to as small, medium and large clans. This approach due to the way I have coded the EDU and battle_models file is simple and highly adaptable as the mod development progresses

Below is the list of clans and their designated status that effects areas like recruitment replenishment, morale, unit sizes and starting provinces. This is also based historically on the strength and reknown status of the clans at the turn of the 14 century.

Small Clans: Macneil, Maclean, MacSween, Macgregor, Mackay, Campbell, Cameron, Grant, Fraser.
Medium Clans: Macleod, Mackenzie, Douglas, Scott, Comyn.
Large Clans: Macdonald, Macdougall, Chattan Confederacy, Ross, MacRuairi and the Kingdom of Scotland.

As the names suggests, smaller clans will have smaller unit sizes and will not have access to all unit types, whereas the large factions will have access to all unit types. The concept here is simple, each faction must have positive and negative attributes for variety and apparent realism. In the case of the island bound Clan Macneil that starts off with the two settlements of Barra and Colonsay, they will have access to normal highland infantry types such as highlanders, rabble, nobles, archers and galloglaisch, but they won't have access to mounted highlanders and pikemen in their recruitment roster. Should they venture out and colonise other parts of the mainland (as they historically did in Kintyre and Galloway and the island of Gigha), then they will be able to recruit mercenary or feudal cavalry.....but not on Barra and Colonsay as they are not required.

Similarly, a large clan that is also island bound like the MacRuairi's will not have access to cavalry and pikemen until they also take feudal or other highland regions that can recruit cavalry, but they will have access to all highland unit types including two types of Gallglaisch. Conversely, if we look at another small clan like Macgregor that are a land based faction, they won't have access to Galloglaish & Noble Archers & mounted units.

Highland Roster (current 11/10/12)

1. Highland Rabble = all factions
2. Highlanders = all factions
3. Spearmen = all factions
4. Pikemen = not macneil, not maclean, not macruairi, not macleod
5. Highland Nobles = all factions
6. Highland Noble Archers = Only large & medium factions
7. Mounted Swords = Only large Clans (land based)
8. Mounted Spears = Only medium Clans
9. Chieftans Bodyguard = all factions
10. Caterans = only available to Scotland, Douglas, Comyn and Scott.
11. Galloglaich 1 = Macdonald, Macdougall, Macsween, Macleod, Macneil, Maclean, Macruairi, Mackenzie
12. Galloglaich 2 = Macdonald, Macdougall, Macsween, Macleod, Macneil, Maclean, Macruairi, Mackenzie
13. Highland Archers = all factions

It should also be noted that there will be an emphasis on smaller battles, especially when they non feudal armies. Here is the breakdown of expected soldiers per unit in the clans:

Small Clans = Infantry 50 - Archers 30 - Cavalry 20
Medium Clans = Infantry 70 - Archers 40 - Cavalry 30
Large Clans = Infantry 90 - Archers 60 - Cavalry 40

Question. Will small clans be outmatched in battle?

In shear weight of numbers against a larger clan, yes they will. However this will be tempered with aspects like morale, and experience.

Variety in Faction Rosters & Regional Recruiting

We've already briefly touched on the variety of faction rosters above, but a larger change comes in the separation of commoner and gentry within the clans. Previously, the units have simply upgraded via the armourer building; now the un-padded highland units with just the plaid are commoner units, whereas the padded jerkin and chainmail units are gentyr and separately recruited.

The largest change comes with Kingdom of Scotland, Douglas and Scott. They will no longer be able to recruit unique highland units in their own faction colours; instead they will be able to recruit allied units from allied factions, when they have conquered that region. In the non allied highland factions like Comyn, Macdougall and Macsween, when they conquer their regions, they will simply recruit feudal units as the highland poulation in that region has now been made Scottish.

Diplomatic recruiting

This is how the highland recruiting will work:

Scotland and her allies = Can recruit Allied units after taking the region
Scotland and her enemies = Cannot recruit Macdougall, MacSween or Comyn after taking region.
England and her Allies = Can only recruit Macdougall, MacSween or Comyn after taking region.
England and her Enemies = Cannot recruit Scotlands Allies.

When Scotland, Douglas and Scott (as well as England) advance into the highland regions and take them, they can only recruit those factions units which are allied to them, more succintly put, they can only recruit those units in the traditional (starting lands) of the associated clan. For instance if Scotland takes Breadalbane or Strathearn which is Macgregor territory, then the Macgregors become part of the Scottish Faction and scotland in those regions will recruit Macgregor highlanders which retain the macgregor battle skins. The only time this will change is when Scotland loses this region in a rebellion.

It is important to note that all regions either islands or land based are locked into set recruiting patterns via hidden resources according to the traditional owners of the land. Conversely, the highland clans can only recruit their own units and not other highland faction units (which makes sense).

If Scotland, Douglas or Scott take an enemy held region of Macdougalls, Macsweens or Comyns, then they will need to recruit mercenaries or supplement thier lists with feudal units after the new religion quota of 75% conversion has occured, or bring in troops from regions outside. This is conversely true of the highland factions that when away from their powerbase will have to do the same.

The Crusade Function

Works the same way as it does during MTW2, however the difference is associated with the Diplomatic recruiting. These units plus additonal rebel highland factions like Lamonts, Maclachlans, Huntersetc can all be recruited in their traditional territories as well. These will all have unique skins as well which are retained when incorporated within a faction.

Well that pretty well does it for highland recruiting for the time being, now let's take a look at some faction skins.

Nota bene: The targes present in the screen shots is a mod by Tyre.

Clan MacNeil

Clan Status = Small clan recuitment.
Starting Settlements = 2 (Barra and Colonsay)
Difficulty = Medium
Diplomatic Status = Allied to Scotland

The Clan MacNeil claim descent from Niall who was a descendant of Aodh Ui’Neill, the King of Northern Ireland at the beginning of the 11th century. It is said he was 20th in descent from Niall of the nine hostages who was the founder of the Ui’Neill Dynasty in the 5th century. The MacNeils are considered highly influential in the Western Isles and are among four clans that supply princes to the Council of the Isles. This influence has also extended to the Kingdom of Scotland where diplomatic talks have gone on with King Robert the Bruce. Indeed one of kinsman has been granted the lands of Larganfield in the Rhinns of Galloway by the King.

Starting with the island of Barra which is the principal seat of your clan, you also hold power on the island of Colonsay. As your clan is an island clan you’ll need to consider naval invasions to extend your territory. But don’t forget, managing diplomacy is key to succeeding in this game, don’t forget the new ties you have with the King of Scotland, ensure you know who your allies are, and certainly don’t mistake your enemies.



Clan Maclean

Clan Status = Small clan recuitment.
Starting Settlements = 2 (Tiree and Coll)
Difficulty = Medium
Diplomatic Status = Allied to Scotland

The origins of Clan Maclean are obscure and they have only recently came to the attention of the Kings of Scotland. It was during the Battle of Largs in 1263 where Gilleathan Na Tuaidh also known to us as Gillean of the Battle Axe came to prominence. It has also been suggested that he may be the brother of Fergus Macerc, descended from the royal house of Lorne, who is also said to bea direct descenadant of the Kings of Dalriafa. His son was a signature on the Ragman Roll as Gillemoir Macilyn in 1296, swearing fealty to King Edward I of England as many other Scottish nobles did.

Starting with settlements on the islands of Coll and Tirree you will be allied to the Kingdom of Scotland and her allies, and you will be responsible for helping the war effort against the Macdougalls, MacSweens and Comyns who have decided to join the English.



Clan Macruairi

Clan Status = Medium clan recuitment.
Starting Settlements = 4 (Nth Uist, Sth Uist and Rhum, Garmoran)
Difficulty = Medium
Diplomatic Status = Allied to Scotland

The Clan MacRuairi are a very powerful force in the Western Isles in the 13th and 14th century, but are now a largely forgotten clan and rarely mentioned in popular history. The progenitor of the clan is Ruairi one of Somerleds grandsons and therefore rivalry and feuding is common with the Macdonalds and Macdougalls. During Haakons invasion of the Western Isles in 1263, the MacRuairi's were the only clan that openly answered Haakon's call to arms. Although the Norse were beaten in 1263 and Haakons dream of a Norse empire were dashed, the MacRuairis remained allied with them until 1268.

After the death of the Clan Chieftan Dugald in 1268, relations with the Kingdom of Scotland improved and together with the MacDonald's and the MacDougall's they attended the Great Council at Scone to debate the succession issue of the Maid of Norway in 1286. As with most Scottish families they were caught up in the upheaval that followed Edward I's occupation of Scotland and actively fought against the Earldom of Ross during this time in the early 1300's. Together with the MacDonald's they now openly support and supply the Kingdom of Scotland with boats and troops.




Clan Macsween

Clan Status = Samll clan recuitment.
Starting Settlements = 2 (Skipness Castle and Castle Sween)
Difficulty = Very Hard
Diplomatic Status = Enemy of Scotland

As with the MacRuairi's, the MacSweens have largely been forgotten in Scottish History. For the most part they will not appear in clan history books. They were however a small but very powerful clan in the 13th and 14th century, so much so that the porgenitur of the Clan, Sween (Suigne) was able to construct two formidable strongholds in Argyll during this time.

Just as most of the Island clans, they were heavily involved in the fighting in Ireland and were allied to the Ui'Neills and actively supplied them with galloglaich units. The MacSweens were highly prominent and held the Earldom of Mentieth only two generations ago, but constant struggles with John of Mentieth and now actively supporting Clan MacDougall against Robert the Bruce has left them in a very disconcerting position.

[The Border Reiver]

Developer Diary 5 - Clan Cambel and Clan Dugall

This week was mainly spent on designing the coding for the recruiting as discussed in Developer Diary 4 last Friday. One of the other things you'll notice over the next few weeks as more research is done will be the move away from the modern traditional spellings of the clan names and I still haven't made my mind up to present the clans names with the traditional Gaelic spelling, or the early scots anglicized variants. However, my current methodology is to present the clans in Gaelic where possible, and if not in the earliest version of the name.

For instance in the title above I have used the early 13th century versions of Campbell and MacDougall, just as the Clan MacDonald, will be renamed to either Clan Donald or a Gaelic variant such as Mac Dhomhuill.

A great deal of the research I have been using will have the titles of the books previewed next week. However this week I have previewed bothe battle skins and strat skins for both Cambel and Dugall. I hope you enjoy what you see.

Strat Map changes

I have finally decided upon the colour for the ocean, plus the waves design as below. I have also been given permission to use some of davovas strat map characters from his brilliant Dark Age mod The Last Kingdom and unit models and skins, so as I alter these in the coming weeks I'll preview them. The battle models will be used to represent the Clan Chieftans bodyguard and also the Caterans which can be recruited by non highland factions.

Clan Previews

Clan Cambel

Clan Status = Small clan recuitment.
Starting Settlements = 3 (Inneschonnel Castle, Dunoon Castle & Tyndrum Village)
Difficulty = Medium
Diplomatic Status = Allied to Scotland

There is a belief that the origins of Clan Cambel dates back to the Britons of Strathclyde as the men of this clan have always testified. The recognised progenitur of the Cambels was a knight called Colin Wry-mouth or "Cam-buel" that has come down through history to be known as Colin Mor Cambel; who supported King Alexander II of Scotland in his war against the Norse invaders and clans of the Western Isles. For his loyalty and service he was granted substantial lands including that of Lochlow and Loch Awe where he built the current castle of Inneschonnel on an island in the middle of the loch.

The dominance of the clan has continued grow to such an extent that the macDugall lords to the west have felt the need to strike at the clan while they are still smaller in number. In 1294 war broke out between the clans and the chief of clan Dugall John of Lorn slew Colin Mor Cambel in 1297. Shortly after this the clan along with mant other prominent families have openly made peace with England during the years of occupation

The current clan chieftan Neil Cambel is a staunch ally of Robert the Bruce and his fortunes and that of the clan will either wax or wane with the outcome of the current war with the macDugall, macSween, Comyn, England alliance. The Cambels start the game hemmed in on the west by the powerful Lords of the South Isles, the macDugalls and their allies the macSweens so they must maintain peace with the neighbouring macGregors and the Kingdom of the Scots to whom they are allied.

Clan Dugall

Clan Status = Large clan recuitment.
Starting Settlements = 4 (Aros & Duart Castles on Mull, Dunstaffanage Castle in Argyll & Appin Village in Lorn)
Difficulty = Very Hard
Diplomatic Status = Allied to England

The Clan Dugall are among the three most powerful clans along with Clan Donald and MacRuairi in the Western Isles and Argyll. The clans progenitur was Dugall the eldest son of Somerled, King of the Isles, upon whose death were awarded the isles of M<ull, Jra and most of Argyll. His sons Duncan and Ewen built stone strongholds throughout their lands to cement the clan authority.

Until 1263, the Clan Dugall were vassals of the Norwegian King Haakon, however unlike the MacRuairi did not answer the muster call that included the fateful defeat at the Battle of Largs. By 1273, the Clan Dugall had submitted to the Scottish Crown and later by 1294 were regularly supplying troops to fight in Irleland when a border dispute with the Campbells of Lochlow and Loch Awe escalated. Following years of continued warfare it was decided that a meeting should take place to come to terms, however when the Cambels had arrived and not found the clan Dugall present, they left, but came across them as they came down the glen. A major engagement took place in which the clan chieftan Colin Mor Cambel was killed.

From that point on both clans have been traditional enemies. ALthough, they were supporters of William Wallace, thier marriage ties to the Comyn faction have menat that they are now at war with Robert the Bruce after the assassination of the Red Comyn in Greyfriars church in Dumfries. Combined with the MacSweens, the Clan Dugall has allied with the Comyns and the Kingdom of England to put the Kingship of Robert the Bruce and his supporters to an end.

[The Border Reiver]

Developer Diary 6

Clan Ross & Clan Mackenzie

A great deal of this week has been spent in the implementation of of recruiting lines, plus working on the various other mods I'm contributing to such as The High Road and War of the West. The exciting news this week is after being given permission to use some of danovas strat models and battle models, I've now implemented them into this mod. Although the battle models have not been reskinned, I have stated doing some of the strat models. These models are much closer to the look and feel I always anticipated for the mod. Here is an early version of the reskinned models for the Highland Merchants and Ambassadors. Next week I'll show all the models reskinned for the next factions.

Also with regards to skinning, something I had not mentioned is that there will be variety in the colour and hues of the plaids worn by each unit. For instance, the highlander texture model allows 6 skins arranged in two's for each unit. As you may or may not see in the photo's below, I have started to vary the colours on the template, so that one unit may be wearing a faded plaid, while the next may be wearing a darker version of the same plaid. The changes and differences are subtle but nonetheless there. This was something The Bruce had implemented in the previous version of Kingdom of the Scots, and I'm continuing to use here.

The following Introductions to the clans were not written by me and represent the work of Maca who was once part of the team a couple of years back. There may be some re-writing done at some stage, but they shall for the most part be presented extant.

Also there are two corrections to clan sizes, both Mackenzie and Comyn are large clans and not medium to represent the manpower at their disposal at this time.

Clan Mackenzie

Clan Status = Large clan recuitment.
Starting Settlements = 4 (Eilean Donan Castle, Gairloch Village, Strome Castle & Balloan Castle)
Difficulty = Medium
Diplomatic Status = Allied to Scotland

The Clan MacKenzie claim descent from Colin, forefather of the Earls of Ross who died in 1278. They held lands between Aird on the east coast and Kintail on the west coast, as well as on the Isle of Lewis. \n\nIn the 14th century during the Wars of Scottish Independence the Clan Mackenzie was among the clans who fought against the English. The Clan Mackenzie fought on the side of King Robert the Bruce at the Battle of Inverurie (1308) against the forces of the Clan Comyn who were rivals to the throne. Chief Ian Mackenzie is said to have led a force of five hundred Mackenzies at the Battle of Bannockburn 1314 where the English were defeated.

Later in the 14th century the Mackenzies became involved in battles against their powerful neighbour the Earl of Ross and his allies. This resulted in the capture and subsequent execution of chief Kenneth Mackenzie in 1346. Soon after this it appears that his successor, chief of the clan Mackenzie was living in an island castle in Loch Kinellan near Strathpeffer in Easter Ross and it was from this base that the clan was to advance westward once again to Kintail. In this game the lands held by the MacKenzies are the strongholds of Inverlochy and the trading town of Gairloch. To the west the MacDonalds and the MacLeods will make good allies to help drive away the Norsermen once and for all. But beware of the Comyn's to the East, and the ever land & power hungry Scottish Royalty.

Clan Ross

Clan Status = Large clan recuitment.
Starting Settlements = Royal Burgh of Dingwall, Dunrobin Casle, Cromarty Castle and Lochinver Village)
Difficulty = Medium
Diplomatic Status = Allied to Scotland

Clan Ross is a Scottish clan from the north of the Scottish Highlands, the area of Ross-shire, from where they gain their name.The first of the Chiefs of Clan Ross was Fearchar, Earl of Ross from the O'Beolain family of Applecross. When King Alexander II ascended to the throne, a rebellion broke out in Moray and western Ross-shire, whose populations were opposed to the laws and customs of the south. The King marched northwards with his army but was unable to crush the insurgents from Ross and Moray. However, Fearchar, with a large body of men from his own clan and his allies, appeared on the scene and soon wiped out all opposition to the King's authority. Fearchar brought the King the heads of the rebel leaders and was knighted on 15 June 1215. He was created Earl of Ross in about 1234.

Clan Ross have an ongoing feud with their close neighbours the Clan MacKay, raiding and fighting between them is frequent. They start with Dunrobin Castle in Sutherland & The Royal Burgh of Dingwall in Easterross. The MacKays to the north hold a strategic position on the north-west coast; perhaps it would be in your interests to acquire these territories first. From there, the Norsemen are a constant threat to your coastal communities that would be best dealt with early before any move to attack the south.

[The Border Reiver]

Developer Diary 7 - Clan Chattan

Mod News

After much deliberation I've altered the playable factions list and removed Clan Cameron, Fraser and Grant at this stage from the mod. They will still be created as proper factions, but the map in its current form is too small (although 2.5 times larger than the default British Isles Map) to properly add anymore factions, especially factions that were up and coming at this time. These factions will be added as rebel factions and mercenary units at the moment instead, which still offers extensive usage of the units.

They will be readded into a second campaign that will be developed using The High Road map, which will go back in time 11 years previously and offer a William Wallace (First War of Independence) campaign with 12 turns per annum. This is a long way off and won't occur until the staggered release updates of the initial campaign. Anyway that's about it for the time being; I have been making great headway again and although I still haven't finished the recruiting yet, the mod is jumping forth in leaps and bounds and is clearly in it's best position since being announced years ago.

Clan Chattan - The Set-up

With the Clan Chattan and also Clan Donald I have approached these differently to what the standard faction recruiting would be. I'm unsure whether other mods use this feature but if they do then this is not new news for you reading this. As Chattan and Donald are quite large clans and offer the potential for diversity with numerous internal clans, these two clans will be unique in the game and have mini factions protrayed within the main faction, complete with their own family trees, and battle skins as displayed further down.


Historically, Clan Chattan is a confederation of 12 clans as listed below:

Mackintosh
Macpherson
Farquharson
MacIntyre
Davidson
MacGillivray
MacBean - Shaw
MacThomas - Macleans of Dochgarroch
MacPhail - MacQueens of Strathdearn

I have chosen to represnt 5 of the separate clans (highlighted above) under the Clan Chattan banner. Each will have its own clan tartan but will all fight under the Chattan Banner and Icons etc. The MacIntoshes will rule over Aviemore in Badenoch and Inverlochy Castle in Lochaber, the MacIntyres will rule over Inverroy in Badenoch, the Faquarsons over Braemar, the MacPhersons over Aberlour in Moray, and the Davidsons in Glengarry.

Historically, trying to trace the the movement and ownership of areas within the highlands that were occupied by certain clans before the 15th century can be troublesome, especially when you only have so many regions that can be added in the game. For instance, the Davidsons after 1396 moved northwards to the Dingwall area, but before then were further south, and also the Clan Chattan were tennants of the Comyn faction in Lochaber at this time. However, at this time Chattan allies itself with the Bruce against Comyn, and as the Comyn are defeated withing the next few years, I have decided to move them from Lochaber to show the shift in power in this area. They will still however retain a military presence in the area which can be seen in the screenshots below.

The screenshots below show the regions as controlled by the separate clans within the Chattan confederacy at the start of the game. Each of these regions when controlled by Clan Chattan will recruit the clans as described with their unique skins.

Lochaber



Mar and Moray - Farquarson and MacPherson territory



Badenoch - Central MacIntosh territory



Badenoch and Invergarry - MacIntyre and Davidson territory




Update to General Recruiting

Another aspect of recruiting right across all factions of the mod has been my idea to remove the idea of unit armour upgrades as we traditionally know them, and simply design rosters around the set unit armour. Now this is a not new idea and many mods use it; and so too am I.

Unit Rosters for England and Scotland (then in turn Comyn, Scott and Douglas) will be completely overhauled as per the Second Preview, but this will be greatly influenced by new models and new skins from Ornamentum, The Last Kingdom, Patria Libera, and Dawn of Kingdoms as they become available.

Rebel Clans and Mercenaries

This is something I have developed and modified continually for the past few years, and for the first time I think I'm happy with the outcome and the current strategy. One of the most difficult aspects of trying to accurately fit historically placed rebel factions that can't be used as playable factions, whilst trying to focus on gameplay and authenticity.

I'm not sure whether others mods use this, but all rebel clans in the highlands (so far, lowland and border families may be added depending on the 500 unit limit) are being added both as slave units, and also as mercenary units. That means every rebel clan army can be bribed and or recruited as mercenaries, and thus retain their individual skins and stats. I have added them as mercenaries primarily to ensure their availability with the Crusade functionality; as such I currently need to add new mercenary regions zones for nearly every rebel clan; sometimes though ceratin rebel clans will hold multiple territories.

This functionality will be escpecially succint next week when we look at Clan Donald and how they recruit their kinsmen such as the MacIans, the Macduffies, the Macphees and the Macallisters etc etc. This will also outline how difficult it is to ensure that their kinsmen are not rebel clans in their beginning territories, and it will also show that as the mod develops how certain kin groups will fight against each other (by being either rebels or mercenaries) as they did historically.

Clan Chattan

Clan Recruitable: MacIntosh, Davidson, MacPherson, MacIntyre and Farquarson

Clan Status = Large clan recuitment.
Starting Settlements = 6 - Badenoch (Aviemore and Inverroy), Lochaber (Inverlochy Castle) and Glengarry, Moray (Aberlour Village) and Mar (Braemar Village)
Difficulty = Medium
Diplomatic Status = Allied to Scotland

Although it has been suggested that the origin of the Clan Chattan starts in antiquity with the movement of the Chatti Gallic tribe. However it is more likely that they are descended from Gillchattan Mor, the great servant of St Cattan and he was most likely the baillie of the Abbey lands of Ardchattan. Around the beginning of the 11th century during the regin of King Malcolm II of Scotland the clan possessed lands in Glen Loy and Loch Askraig and made the site of Torcastle the chiefs seat.

By th 13th century the clan had been well settled in Lochaber as it's size grew and no doubt was used as manpower by the great Comyn clan who owned Inverlochy Castle. It was until this time that the clan seems to have operated as a normal clan structure but after the marriage of the clan chieftans daughter daughter to Angus MacIntosh, the clan became a confederation of smaller clans combined to offer the best protection for all.

It is for this reason that the structure and lands of this clan are extensive and consist of the Davidsons in Glengarry, the MacIntosh's in Lochaber and Aviemore, the MacIntyre's in Badenoch, the Macpherson's in Aberlour and the Farquarsons in Braemar. Although the territory owned by the clans are extensive, their former lords, the Comyns are out for revenge after they have sided with King Robert the Bruce. Several Comyn armies have been dispatched to immediately recover their lost lands and to bring them to bear.

Below are some of the skins I have created this week for the Chattan Clan.

Clan Chattan Highlanders




Clan MacPherson Highlanders




Clan Davidson Highlanders




Clan MacIntyre Highlanders



Clan Farquarson Highlanders



In closing, I am still looking for people who are interested in helping push this mod along, especially those willing to do some historical research and text work and some graphics. Please send me a PM if you are interested

[The Border Reiver]

Developer Diary 8 - Clan Gregor

Mod News

This is a relatively small preview this week owing to my coding commitments on The High Road mod.

A great aspect of the mod this week was the confirmation that the Patria Libera XIV mod team, through the mod leader IVIarkI2I have confirmed that this mod will be able to use quite an extensive list of thier models and skins. This is brilliant news as this will give a greater variety of units and will give it a fresher look moving forward. These will not be implemented into the mod until around or after Christmas depending on the workload.

Another aspect of the mod was started this week, that of creating icons which you will see in the screenhsots below. I'm very happy to say that Smoesville has agreed to design and create my faction icons in the future. You can check out his work on the Ui Neill Faction Submod for the Last Kingdom. In the meantime though, you can take a look at the my first attempts at faction icons and strat map battle banners and settlement banners.

Clan Gregor

Clan Status = Small clan recuitment.
Starting Settlements = 3 villages (Killin in Breadlabane), Aberfeldy in the Earldom of Strathearn, and Balquidder in the Earldom of Mentieth.
Difficulty = Hard
Diplomatic Status = Allied to Scotland

Like many clans of Scotland the Clan Gregor's beginnings are shrouded in mystery and legend. Nevertheless, the seanachies of the clan affirm that thier descent is from Griagor the son of King Kenneth MacAlpin the King of Dalriada in about 833AD. Nothing has been written about the intervening years until a clan chieftan was reputedly captured by the English in the First War of Independence, and in fact it wasn't until the beginning of the 14th century that Gregor of the Golden Bridles became the first recorded Clan Chieftan.

Currently, your land borders that of the Kingdom of Scotland and a growing power in the west; that of the Cambels. Stretching from Glenstrae, Glenlochy, Glenlyon, Glengyle and Glenorchy, your power base is beginning to grow as your population expands. Starting with 3 primary villages that of Balquidder, Killin and Aberfeldy in the Earldoms of Mentieth and Strathearn, the leaders of your clan will be expected to supply men to the Earls for whatever purpose they need; just as they have always done. As such you start allied to the Kingdom of Scotland, but will meet fierce opposition from the English who have taken the Castle of Stirling and the city of Perth to the East; and to the North you must be very extremely wary of the Comyn menace who are allied to the English.

Destroy the Comyns early and help Robert the Bruce bring order to the Kingdom, but beware the Clan MacLaren are a significant threat to your stability in Mentieth. To survive, maintain your alliance to the Kingdom of Scotland and her allies, but when the call to arms is sounded by the Council of Nobles, ensure that you supply troops or send out the fiery cross on your own campaign against the dreaded English.

Kind Regards,
Border Reiver

[The Border Reiver]

Developer Diary 9 - Clan Macleod

Mod News

It has been a very busy week working with dmcraanen on The High Road Mod, and therefore my time this week has been a little limited to work on Kingdoms of the Isles. However, saying that I've still managed to get a fair bit done, but the pace is not as fast as I had hoped for; which means that my Christmas release is not looking as likely as at first thought.

I have also started to build the mod around the Gold Edition and using Gigantus's BareGeomod which as most of us know, will have no effect on how the mod installs for the user; its just a far better and more efficient way forward for the mod.

This week the battle screenshots display 4 skins, that of Clan Macleod, and the rebel clans of Macauley which the Macleods will face on Harris, and the Morrisons that they'll face on Lewis, and the MacKinnon's which they'll face on Skye at their seat of Dunvegan.

Anyway, this is just a small preview again this week as most of the work being done is coding behind the scenes, especially with the extensive recruiting I have planned.

Clan Macleod

Clan Status = Small clan recuitment.
Starting Settlements = The village of Tarbert on Harris and the castles of Stornoway and Dunvegan on Lewis and Skye.
Difficulty = Easy
Diplomatic Status = Allied to Scotland
Strat Map and Battle Colours = yellow and black

The Clan Macleod are of Scandanavian origin having been established by the progenitor of the clan, Leod, who gained possession of much of Skye, including the Cuillins, Harris and Lewis in the mid 13th century. Leod was of royal blood from Olaf the Black, the Norse King of Man who gave Leod the land which would later occupy the the stronghold of Dunvegan, which since then has remained the hereditary seat of Clan Macleod.

Leod had two sons, or grandsons, Tormod and Torcall who became progenitors of the MacLeods of Harris and Dunvegan, and the MacLeods of the Lewes. Although the Macleods have other small holdings on Raasay and in Assynt, their influence there is much smaller and held under sway by the Earldom of Ross. In the not so distant past when rebellion erupted in Lewis, and Ferchar Macantagart, the Earl of Ross invaded Lewis with a large force, Olaf the Black was forced to flee and find shelter on the mainland, never to return. Clan Macleod and their kindred are no strangers to warfare and should be seen as a force to be reckoned with.

The choice of Clan Macleod as a starting faction should generally be easy as you have allies surrounding you with the Macruairi to the South and the Mackenzies and Macdonalds to the West and the Mackays to the North West. Therefore, it should be quite an easy game; that is unless you wish to expand your territory. If that is the case it would make sense to firstly destory the Macdonalds of Sleat that occupy the West of Skye, which would hen give you easy access to the mainland, but at the same time allow you an island fortress on Skye.


Screenshot 1 - The Macleod settlements on Harris and Lewis



Screenshot 2 - The Macleod settlement on Skye; the historic seat of Dunvegan.



Screenshot 3 - The Macleods fighting against the rebel faction on Lewis; the Clan Morrison



Screenshot 4 - The Macleods fighting against the rebel faction on Harris; the Clan MacAuley.



Screenshot 5 - The Macleods fighting against the rebel faction on Skye; the Clan Mackinnon.



Finally, I have loaded the loading screen for Clan Chattan, which is similar in style to the Macgregors and Macleods.

[The Border Reiver]

Developer Diary 10 - Clan Ross

Clan Status = Large clan recuitment.
Starting Settlements = (4) The Royalburgh of Dingwall, and the Castles of Dunrobin, Cromarty and Balloan.
Starting Territories = Easterross, Westerross, Sutherland and The Black Isle
Rebel Clans present = Sutherland (Clan Sutherland), Westeross (Clan Sutherland), Easterross (Clan Macnicol), The Black Isle (Clan Urquart)
Difficulty = Medium
Diplomatic Status = Allied to Scotland
Strat Map and Battle Colours = green and red

Clan Ross

The clan of Ross take their name from the lands of the Earldom of Ross and are descended from Ferchar Macantagart who was awarded vast lands in Westerross by the O'Beotain abbots of Applecross. Initially these lands strtched from Applecross to Cromarty but as the clan grew and branches such as the Mackenzies developed, these lands became concentrated around their current starting regions of Westerross, Easterross, Sutherland and the Black Isle.

In 1214 Ferchar was knighted by the King for his service in suppressing the rebellion led by a rival claimant for the throne, Donald Bane MacWilliam. It was from this moment on that the Rosses became prominent in the region and Scottish domestic affairs. Ferchar became so powerful in the region and his manpower so immense that he was sent to quell the rebellion in the Macleod held island of Lewis where King Olaf the Black had grown unpopular. The Rosses also helped suppress another uprising against the Canmore dynasty when Kenneth MacHeth (Mackay) was killed in battle, and as a reward for loyalty and service, the Earldom of Ross passed from Clan Mackay to the Clan Ross when Ferchar Macanatagrt was made the Earl of Ross.

After this in 1261 the clan also fought a savage campaign in the King's name against the Macruairi in Skye and laid waste to much of the land and caused great slaughter amongst the population. Then in 1263, the clan were again prominent at the Battle of Largs when King Haakon was defeated and remained defiant and fought for the Scottish cause in the first War of Independence under Wallace and Moray.

Although initially succombing to military pressure and occupation during the Second War of Indepence and subsequently supporting of the English and Comyn dynasties, the clan chief (the Earl) came out in support of Robert the Bruce and helped shaped Scotlan's immediate future. The clan Ross as it came to be known starts with four regions and has large clan recruitment. You must immediately attack any English or Comyn forces present in the region and make use of the Fiery Cross (crusade function) take the fight from your lands further afield. Although you have vast manpower reserves, the English garrisons are strong and must be defeated at all cost; if you fail the English and Comyn factions will become too strong, and the House of Bruce will not truly rule over all of Scotland.



Battle Screenshots

Clan Ross

Clan Urquart of Cromarty and Glen Urquart

Clan Sutherland and Clan Gunn of Sutherland, Caithness and Strathnaver

Clan MacNicol of Westerross and Assynt

[The Border Reiver]

Developer Diary 11 - Clan MacAoidh (Mackay)

Clan Status = Small clan recuitment.
Starting Settlements = (3) The villages of Lochinver in Assynt and Tongue in Strathnaver, and the castle of Auldwick in the Earldom of Caithness.
Starting Territories = Assynt, Strathnaver, Caithness
Rebel Clans present = Assynt (Clan Macnicol), Strathnaver (Clan Gunn), Caithness (Clan Sinclair and Clan Gunn).
Difficulty = Medium
Diplomatic Status = Allied to Scotland
Strat Map and Battle Colours = Dark Green and Dark Blue

Clan Mackay


The Clan of Mackay is an ancient family which has been deeply involved in the nobility and governing of the Scottish Kingdom from quite early on. They are believed to be descended (depending on the sources) from the Royal House of Moray and were known as either Mac Heth (Aoidh) or Morgan in these early years; and from early times they had connections with the the Royal House of MacDuff in Fife. Much of the clan was transported north to Strathnaver by Malcolm IV for inciting rebellion and rising against the Crown of Scotland; and indeed by the 13th century, the whole North West of Scotland was controlled by the Mackays.

The first recorded Clan Chieftan was Malcolm MacAoidh who had held the Earldom of Ross until the earldom passed to the Macantagart Rosses before his death in 1168. Malcolm had further royal connections after marrying the sister of Somerled, and as such his son would later become the Earl of Caithness which extended their influence to include the entire North Coast of Scotland. However, after being so intricately involved in Scottish nobility circles, the quest and question of rightful power became too much for Malcolm MacAoidh to ignore.

In 1130 he raised open rebellion against King David I and this went well until he was captured and imprisoned in 1134, and inturn the rebellion was quashed. His son Donald also raised rebellion in attempt to finish what his father had started, but he too was captured and imprisoned in 1156 where King Malcolm IV and Malcolm MacAoidh reached an uneasy settlement which saw Donald become the Earl of Caithness. But this wasn't the last attempt made by the MacHeths to take the crown; Malcolm's grandson Kenneth also raised a rebellion which this time ended in disaster for the MacHeths as Kenneth was slain by Ferchar Macantagart of the Clan Ross, and as such the Earldom of Ross passed from the Mackays to the Rosses.

The Mackays start with 3 settlements at the northern most part of Scotland with the sea to its back and facing their arch enemy the Rosses to the South. An uneasy ceasefire exists between the clans as they wait to see how the current instability in the Kingdom proceeds. At this stage the Comyns and the English do not present a threat to their regions, and the best course of action would be to remain allied with the extremely powerful Ross faction; that is unless your preference is to make a successful try for the crown again.

Clan lands of Strathnaver

Clan lands of Caithness

Clan lands of Assynt

Battle Skins

[The Border Reiver]

Developer Diary 12

This is very much a work in progress and don't represnt the final product, but it gives a very good indication of what to expect for the UI in the mod. There are two different styles used; 1, wood and brick for the battle UI and 2, wood and white wall for the campaign.

Although this may seem a minor update, quite a lot of work has gone into changing this UI and the associated elements. Although there will be changes to the design the overall rustic approach will be maintained throughout...now that I've worked out how easy it is to do with paint.net, rather than photoshop elements.

Anyway. I hope you enjoy this minor update

Splash Screen

Front End Screen

Custom Campaign Loading Screen

Choose Faction Screen

Campaign UI Screen

Campaign UI Screen

Battle UI Screen

[Celtoi]

Excellent idea to inform the rabble on a weekly basis and it looks superb so far !
I really like all the differences in heights on the battlefields......Cheers !

[The Border Reiver]

Thanks Celtoi, I'm glad you like what you see so far. I just figured that was a far more effective way to show the mod wasn't dead, and that things are being added every week.

[madscot18]

Border Reiver Ah its great to have you back I'd thought that you'd given up bless you!!! Great to see you back and that things are progressing. SUPERB!!!

Best Wishes
Madscot

[The Border Reiver]

Madscot...you're still around...well done! You'll be happy to know this mod will be out by Christmas....even if it only has two factions

[GRANTO]

this looks great , keeping an eye on it ,if released i will play this on christmas day with a wee whisky glow after a massive scran feed , great work BR +rep

[The Border Reiver]

Thanks Granto, I'm looking forward to playing it as well. Hopefully, if a couple of people jump on board shortly, then it will be a sure thing

[The Border Reiver]

Added second dev diary to the 2nd post.

[The Border Reiver]

Hi everyone, I've added the 3rd developer diary. Unfortunately the new skins for Maclean and Macneil didn't make it as they appear as silver units still, and I need to work out what I did wrong!