The Fourth Age: Total War - The Dominion of Men (Open Beta) Released ==>DOWNLOAD<==

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Mod Information for The Fourth Age: Total War - The Dominion of Men (Open Beta)

Information

Mod Name: The Fourth Age: Total War - The Dominion of Men (Open Beta)

Platform: Barbarian Invasion 1.6

Modfoldered: Yes, completely (bi/fatw)

Timeframe: Western Middle-earth during the early Fourth Age (FO 356 - 856)

Description: The Fourth Age: Total War - The Dominion of Men is a full-conversion modification of Rome: Total War - Barbarian Invasion, inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien's unfinished manuscript entitled "The New Shadow". Based on the professor's created world of Middle-earth, The Fourth Age: Total War aspires to both graphical and creative excellence, while following the lore as strictly as possible.

This is a limited release restricted to the Fourth Age public forum at TWcenter.net and not intended for general distribution.

This open beta is stable, generally balanced and entirely playable. Aspects that are not yet complete or require improvement in this version are:

* Rebel and levy unit cards
* Elven and Dwarven generic battlemap settlement models and plans
* Unique settlement models and plans (excepting Minas Anor)
* Minor coding and text enhancements for traits, ancillaries, etc.
* General visual and other improvements as time and talent permit

Feedback is welcomed during this open-beta stage. Such feedback should be posted in these forums and will be taken into account as we work toward the finished product that will be released late summer 2015.

Open Beta Download

Files (Moddb): The Dominion of Men (Open Beta) (EXE) PLEASE USE THIS LINK
Files (DepositFiles): The Dominion of Men (Open Beta) (EXE) ONLY USE THIS LINK IF THE MODDB ONE FAILS


Installation (EXE):

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

BEFORE you get started:

This version requires BI to be patched to 1.6, so please make sure you have patched your game before trying to install and play. If you do not patch to 1.6, then you will be unable to play the campaign and the Historical Battles and you will start getting messages regarding scripts, models, files, the “select an item from the list” one and more. This has nothing to do with the mod, it simply means you have not patched your BI to 1.6 before installing.

Installation:

Double-click on the FATW_DoM_OpenBeta.exe that you just downloaded, and make sure that you have it pointed to your *main* RTW directory; this usually is “C:\Program Files\The Creative Assembly\Rome - Total War” or “C:\Program Files\Activision\Rome - Total War”, depending on the version you have (if you use Steam then see the complementary instructions and images at the end of this post). In any case, it is the directory where the RTW-BI.exe file exists. The installation should take a few minutes. You can now click on the DoM shortcut on your desktop, and play The Dominion of Men (Open Beta)!

Team

Team Leaders: Aradan, Éorl, MasterOfNone (retired-ish)

Team Members: Aradan, CountMRVHS, Éorl, Webba, MasterOfNone (retired-ish)

Useful links

Media: Avatars, Signatures, & Wallpapers
FATW AAR Library
Fourth Age: Total War On The Net
Fourth Age: Total War On YouTube

STEAM LAUNCH INSTALLATION

In Steam the mod needs to be installed here (may differ slightly according to where Steam has your game installed): C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Rome Total War Gold\ (this should create the mod in the BI folder thus: BI/fatw)

Then go to your Steam library, right-click Rome Total War Gold, go to properties, in the general tab click 'Set Launch Options' and type " -mod:bi/fatw -show_err -nm" (without the speech marks but with the spaces). Then when you launch BI the mod will start (to resume vanilla BI just delete that launch option text). The images below illustrate the procedure...

STEAM SET-UP - IMAGES

Attachment 316049Attachment 316048Attachment 316047Attachment 316046

GETTING THE MOD TO PLAY ON A MAC

NOTE: If your game will not start due to Microsoft updates, try adding the -ne switch to the launch option line. You will also need to ensure your in-game resolution is the same as your desktop.


FACTION MAP


NOTE: Due to the Windows 10 upgrade and a later update to Windows 7 & 8, you will need to apply solutions both to the Steam and CD versions of Rome Total War in order for it to continue working. See the full explanation at THIS LINK.

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Frequently Asked Questions

The Fourth Age: Total War FAQ

Q. Why the Fourth Age?

A. The Rome: Total War system is just that - Total War. The setting in any other time, especially the War of the Ring, would mean that there are essentially two sides; you could make two giant factions, because there was little or no defection or diplomacy. Also, the War of the Ring happened in so short a period, that it would be impossible to reproduce it believably in a video game - at least using the R:TW engine. Thirdly, the numbers are so skewed that it would be impossible to win as the "good" side (the only reason they were victorious was because of timely and often unknown reinforcements at constant battles. Even if the reinforcements were there from the beginning, victory would be almost impossible. It was the surprise and position factor that won it most of the time).

Q. How can there be total war in the Fourth Age when Tolkien has Men live on happily ever after?

A. When you play R:TW, you are not reliving history. You are playing out an alternate reality. The same is true for FA:TW. In "The New Shadow," Tolkien talks about a new, growing threat. The Mod Team has set up a history of what has happened in the Fourth Age so far (seeing as Tolkien has not really explained it), and we continue on from a believable point. Our game starts at a crossroads of sorts; to make up a major war or fantastic event (like the forging of another ring, or the releasing of Morgoth) would be blasphemous... instead, we diverge from "history" where we believe it is quite harmonious with Tolkien's history (especially referenced and based on "The New Shadow.") As Balbor put it: "Gaul never invaded Egypt."

Q. How can you include the Elves, since they all went over the Sea to the Undying Lands?

A. It is a misconception that "all" the Elves left Middle-earth in the Fourth Age. The Elves of Mirkwood/Greenwood did not, for the most part, leave. Elves never had the great numbers of Men or Orcs, and their numbers have admittedly decreased, but after our story diverges/begins, what is to stop them from building back up? Once the game begins the player has total control. There is also the fact that the mod only starts about 350 years into the Fourth Age, and the Elves will not have had the time to decrease significantly. After all, what is 350 years to an Elf?

Q. Is this the final release?

A. No, as much as we wanted to have a full release in 2014 certain areas of the mod were not completed or polished to a standard we were happy calling finished. Though the mod is mostly complete, and fully playable, we are calling this release an open beta and hoping that your feedback on it will help us complete the final version to be released as soon as possible.

Q. When will the final version be released?

A. Short answer: When it is done. Long answer: the people on the Mod Team all have real lives, with families, girlfriends, work, and school/university. As much as we'd like to work full time on the mod, that is just not possible. Remember that we want to play the mod just as much as you do, so we are working as hard and fast as we can, but we will not release it until it reaches our expectations. We have at least a couple months hard work before us.
While we have set an internal deadline in the not too distant future to avoid making false promises or creating unnecessary hype we will not yet state a public release date. It will most definitely not be as long a wait as you have previously had, however.

Q. Is the Fourth Age: Total War a full mod conversion?

A. Yes, every necessary aspect of the game is modded - including units, campaign map, battle map, buildings, video, audio, music, interface, graphics and animations. Though city battle maps in particular are currently unfinished.

Q. Is the mod based on the books or the movies?

A. This mod is based solely on the written works of J.R.R. Tolkien. We try to stay as true to the source material as is possible, and will not include anything even remotely associated with the movies.

Q. What is the starting date?

A. The starting date is set in FO 356, a bit more than two hundred years after the death of Aragorn and more than one hundred years after the death of his son, Eldarion.

Q. What are the major factions?

A. In The Dominion of Men the major factions of The Reunited Kingdom, Rohan, Harad, Adunabar, Dunland, Rhun, Dale, Elves and Dwarves are joined by the playable minor factions of Tharbad, Beornings, Rhovanion, Dorwinion, North Rhun, Khand, Harondor and Far Harad.

Q. How big is the map and how many regions will there be?

A. The Dominion of Men features a full Middle-earth campaign map of around 170 regions and takes in the whole of the area of western Middle-earth as illustrated in the official maps in the back of the books.

Q. Are there historical battles?

A. Yes. We currently have 4 of them in the latest release, some taking place during the 3rd Age and some during the 4th (obviously before the mod's starting date). While these are not a huge priority for us right now if you have any great ideas for a historical battle, we would love to hear them!

Q. Are monsters and creatures included?

A. Trolls and Wargs are included, as are Mûmakil. Balrogs, dragons, eagles, fell beasts and Ents are not.

Q. Are there navies?

A. Yes, but ships will play an overall much smaller part in the strategy than R:TW; the mod - as in Tolkien's tale itself - is largely land-based in its focus.

Q. Are there battle speeches, like Théoden's and Aragorn's in the movies?

A. Sadly good voice-actors are rare and speeches are not at the top of our priority list. However, if you happen to sound like the son of Thengel, and would like to offer your help in this area there is still time to do so.

Q. Is there new music?

A. Yes, we have some great new music in this release.

Q. Are there heroes?

A. It depends how your family members conduct themselves, really. The potential for heroism is there.

Q. Are there Wizards and magic?

A. No, there are no Wizards. Touches of magic are in the mod, but not as sorcerers spouting fire out of their fingers or throwing fireballs. It is subtle, like the magic in the books - or even less prevalent than in the books, since magic has waned in the Fourth Age.

Q. Are there guns and gunpowder?

A. No, absolutely not.

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If you have questions other than these, or questions about the FAQ, post them in the Open Beta Feedback Thread. Please DO NOT start a new thread with questions that have already been answered in this FAQ.

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Moddb link is working again. Please try downloading from there first, thanks.