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Thread: Colonies & Empires: The Original WIP Thread

  1. #1
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    Default Colonies & Empires: The Original WIP Thread


    Colonies & Empires is an Americas mod for Medieval 2: Total War - Kingdoms. Set in an alternate early 16th century reality, where all the colonial powers have arrived on the doorstep of the New World all at once, can the native peoples withstand this new threat? Or will the Europeans be able to conquer these bountiful lands for themselves? Only one thing is for sure - this IS Total War.

    Work is currently in progress, with the goal of this project being to create a never-before-done, truly unique experience, featuring a beautiful, huge scale map stretching from Canada to Peru, and as many as a dozen new factions. Many other modders have tried and failed over the years. Colonies & Empires plans to be the first Americas mod of its size ever completed.

    ~ Factions ~

    The following are some, but not all, of the factions planned to be included (names are not set in stone):

    New Spain, New Castile, New France, New England, New Netherland, New Sweden, New Augsburg, New Scotland, New Courland, Portuguese, Russians, Ottomans, Knights Hospitaller, Brethren of the Coast, Inca, Muisca, Mexica, Kiche Maya, Itza Maya, Tlaxcaltecatl, Purepecha, Zacatecatl, Apache, Cherokee, Iroquois, Sioux, Rebels.

    ~ Map ~

    After 2 years and 3 months worth of tutorials, tests, failures, re-starts, successes, development and, most recently, finishing touches, my enormous map of the Americas is all-but complete. I am delighted to be able to release the following preview of 43 screenshots which showcases most of the map. If you'd rather not spoil the surprise(s), maybe just look at a couple...

    The preview features roads in most regions, most of which will be removed (they've only be added to make sure they all behave how I want them to). Many ports have not been placed yet either.

    More on roads:
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
    I'm hoping to find a way to disable or at least discourage the building of roads for most factions, because when one thinks about the pre-Columbian Americas and its types of terrain, and the sheer distances between many places, roads are something that could not exist. Not many factions would have the time, money and manpower required to clear hundreds of kilometres of dense jungle and lay out a road, particularly when ships would be much quicker and cheaper. Therefore, I might make roads expensive and time-consuming to construct, rather than this 1 year, 200 florins nonsense.

    The Incas are an obvious exception, and thus they will begin the game with their historical road system already in place.
    The map has a LOT of trees, but runs perfectly fine on my computer. Also, I believe I can change the battle maps associated with the strat map, so even though there is a lot of forest, those unbearably horrible forest battles you may be familiar with (particularly for the tropical climate) will not exist in this mod. I know they aren't popular and I don't like them either.

    The map has not been play-tested. For now I've just tried to make it look as good as I can, and I will change it where needed for gameplay, pathfinding and any other reasons that crop up as the mod progresses. Also, many strat models will be changed at a later date. This is the first map I ever started and it's the first map I've ever "finished". Perhaps other modders may have suggestions on where I can hopefully improve.

    Right now the map has 160 regions + 4 sea regions, giving me plenty of room to add more down the track.

    Anything I've missed or that you would like a better look at? Let me know and I'll get a shot for you. I hope you enjoy this preview as much as I've enjoyed putting it together. Within the next few weeks I will release the map on its own for anybody who wishes to download it and use it for their own purposes.


    The Caribbean
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    Central America & the Great Plains
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    Eastern North America
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    South America
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    Map files showing the full dimensions of the map
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    map_regions.tga
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    map_heights.tga
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    map_ground_types.tga
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    ~ Rosters ~

    With the map all-but done, work now begins with creating rosters for every faction. This is where you come in. Do you fancy yourself as a modeller? Are you keen to learn? Or do you consider yourself a bit of an expert on 15th-early 16th Century warfare? I need help determining what units each faction should have, and even more help again actually creating them and bringing them to life, especially for the native American factions - no one has ever created the Incas or similar factions for M2TW before, to my knowledge. If you're keen to help, please send me a message or reply here, and we'll have a chat!

    ~ Content ~

    This mod is not about historical accuracy at all, but at the same time each new faction will come with a lot of unique content including units and buildings. Progress for this currently rests around 1% complete, but work has only just begun!

    Please comment on this thread with any questions or suggestions you have!

    See the second post for the original idea shared here, which contains a bit more information on what Colonies & Empires is all about.
    Last edited by Frunk; June 10, 2016 at 04:57 AM.

  2. #2
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    Default Re: [WIP] Americas Redefined: an ahistorical New World mod

    OP:

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 
    Hi forum,

    Please allow me to introduce my WIP for an ahistorical mod set in the Americas. Ever since I began playing M2TW back in 2009 I've had desires to create a mod, and for the past year or so that desire has evolved past simply dreaming and researching, into actual creation. With help from the numerous tutorials available here and elsewhere, I've been gradually teaching myself how to mod, mostly with mapping.

    Like every budding modder I initially set out with grand designs in mind, only to eventually be confronted by the cold truth of reality, that modding is hard. Ergo, this has led to me all but abandoning a totally different WIP I started here back in 2010 for an historically accurate, Europe-wide Dark Ages mod. I know now that, unfortunately, anything like that is simply beyond me, a part-time hobbyist modder. There's just too much to do, what with all the completely new units, factions, etc., etc.

    The same cold truth applied to my earliest mod dream from which this new one has evolved. Initially, I wanted to create a trans-Atlantic mod featuring a good chunk of Europe (and Africa) and a good chunk of the New World. A way of doing justice to both the Vanilla Grand Campaign and the Americas expansion, I suppose.

    I changed tact. Forget the Old World, I want to play in the New World, I thought to myself... But wait, do I really want to play in the New World? Do I really enjoy slaughtering thousands of natives with vastly superior technology? Maybe a little, but it gets old pretty quickly. The best battles are always the foot battles, in my opinion. Calvary and archers are great, too, and gunpowder still has its merits.

    I reconsidered things again. The problem with the Americas has always been the timescale. The major native factions were conquered by the Spanish before any of the other later colonial powers were even on the scene. So I'm left with two options: I can have my natives pitted against the Spanish, with guys like the French and the English turning up a little later as emerging factions, or; I can set the date back a bit, which would mean the English, the French, everybody can start as playable, but they have very few natives left to fight, and must wrestle an omnipotent Spain.

    Both options suck. The first is literally the Americas campaign produced by CA, which was nice enough to inspire myself and no doubt dozens of others, but unfortunately lacks the replayability that makes Total War games famous. It was only an expansion, after all. The second option is pretty much Empire: Total War, and we all know that went down like a lead balloon, not so much because of the content, but more so the implementation. Spain would dominate everything, and the idea of the European factions battling it out may as well be played out in, well, Europe. Still, maybe it's just me, but post-15th century warfare is a bit bland.

    By now the answer might be staring you in the face, the same way it was for me after all this pondering, all this research into my dream mod. As a keen student of history, it was hard to admit, but I just don't think it can be done with historical accuracy in mind. Maybe, and I say this with the utmost respect, maybe that is why other New World mods have failed. It's just a bridge too far, with so much new content to create on top of all the research, trying to do justice to all factions and creating a game that is playable, historical and beautiful, all at the same time.

    My solution is to blur the lines of history, or rather, to bend, snap, rip and shred history, but only where it suits me. I doubt it's a unique idea, or a particularly brilliant idea, but it's one I think might just provide an intriguing and fun mod.

    So, here's what I have so far:

    Working title: Colonies and Empires (just a working title for now as I haven't settled on anything I really like)

    Map: I recently cut the map down by about 30%. I had too much wasted space in the eastern portion of South America, and the Atlantic to the north of it. Unfortunately, this means Brazil has been completely removed, as well as Newfoundland, but I think the mod will be MUCH better off without them. The eastern border of the map is now marked by Nova Scotia and Barbados. The only faction really adversely affected by this is Portugal, but I will more than likely still include them somewhere else on the map. I also took a tiny bit off the south of the map - Lake Titicaca was looking like a major pain (since high elevation lakes aren't possible), so I got rid of it entirely. I also slightly cropped the north and the west.

    This is an approximation of the map's original dimensions, with its current dimensions being within in the red square:



    Progress: I'm currently mapping, and map_heights.tga is done, including smooth coastlines (minus some touch-ups). map_ground_types.tga is my current focus, and I'm making good progress in South America. I'm hoping to have map_ground_types.tga done by the end of September November, after which I'll be working on map_regions.tga.

    Date: Late 15th or early 16th century (TBC). Obviously, the start date isn't particularly relevant since history is being sacrificed in favour of gameplay. The end date is also undecided.

    Turns per year: Undecided. I'm considering 4tpy or maybe even 12tpy. I'm interested to hear what you think about those options, as I've only ever played 2tpy mods.

    Factions: Currently I'm a one-man band, and my knowledge does not extend far beyond just the basics yet. Therefore, as I alluded to earlier, I'm realistic about my goals. For starters, I will be taking advantage of Vanilla content, as I imagine it will be difficult for me to create new factions out of the blue and do them justice. Still, that's quite a way off. I want my map finish before I put too much more thought into factions. By that time I may be recruiting a team who can help me create factions like the Incas, who are exceptionally important to this mod.

    Below is a list of potential factions, not set in stone. It may change greatly if I have team members with different ideas, and I have a few surprises I'll keep under wraps for now.


    • Europeans:
      • The Viceroyalty of New Spain
      • The Viceroyalty of Peru
        • Spain's dominance in the 16th and 17th century cannot be disputed, so they were always going to feature as very strong in the game. I had the idea to split them up into two factions, so that they’re not ridiculously powerful, or ridiculously vulnerable. It also gives the player some variety, and I have some ideas on just how I'll create each faction, make them unique from one another, and so on, which I think will be pretty cool.

      • English America
      • New France
      • The Governate-General of Brazil
        • Brazil is gone, but Portugal will likely remain as a faction.

      • The Netherlands
      • Sweden
      • Scotland
      • Russians
      • Ottoman Empire
      • Denmark
      • Courland
      • Hospitallars
      • Pirates!
      • and more... These are all just ideas for now.

    • Native Americans:
      • Aztecs
      • Mayans
      • Apache
      • Tlaxcallans
      • Tarascans
      • Chichimecs
      • Incans*
      • Muiscans*
      • Cherokee*
      • Welsh (yes, Welsh)
      • Other undetermined North American factions*
      • *Obviously, these don't exist in Vanilla, so they I will need to make them.


    Gameplay:
    I want to create a very challenging campaign, both for the player and for the AI. I haven't put much consideration into unit rosters yet. Guns will be present, of course, but I won't be placing an over-emphasis on them, like I believe the Americas campaign and Vanilla do.

    Other details: In regards to assembling a mod team, I won't consider it until I've progressed a fair bit farther (at the very least I'd want the map all but done). This is mostly because I work at my own pace. This is a hobby of mine and with real world commitments I may be forced to drop it for months at a time. I'll do my best to avoid that, and I can assure you I have every intention of seeing my mod come to fruition, but I am a realist. I wouldn't dream of burdening a team at this early stage of the game.

    I'm also hopeful that, when the time comes, I might be able to include what I can from other mods and modders. God knows that there is a lot brilliant work done by the modding community that I can't hope to best. It would be especially helpful if anyone has any existing custom New World content such as Native American (North, South or Central) factions, units and the like. I intend to try my hand at making my own, but my one fear is that some areas of the map will be under represented. I do have some ideas to remedy that if need be, but still, you never know unless you ask. That's a mile away, though. There's plenty to do before then.

    I've come to realise that it's best to start simple. I'm aiming for a Beta release by the end of the year. Something very basic that doesn't give me too much grief, before maybe trying to recruit a team and take the mod to the next level.

    What's next? Comment on this thread! Please, I'll be happy to answer any questions you have, or any comments you can give. It will encourage me to keep working. I've been eager to make this thread to share some of my plans and get some feedback to spur me on further. I'll be sure to keep you up to date in the meantime, and post a few screens when I have something decent to show off.

    Thanks for reading!

    Cheers, Frunk.
    Last edited by Frunk; March 25, 2016 at 01:10 AM.

  3. #3
    Morrowgan's Avatar Centenarius
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    Default Re: [WIP] Americas Redefined: an ahistorical New World mod

    Good luck for this bold undertaking
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    Default Re: [WIP] Americas Redefined: an ahistorical New World mod

    Quote Originally Posted by Deutscher Kaiser View Post
    Good luck for this bold undertaking
    Thank you, sir!

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    Default Re: [WIP] Americas Redefined: an ahistorical New World mod

    It's a shame that there are no overhauls of the Americas campaign. I suggest you could add the German colony "Klein-Venedig" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klein-Venedig).
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    Default Re: [WIP] Americas Redefined: an ahistorical New World mod

    Quote Originally Posted by Deutscher Kaiser View Post
    It's a shame that there are no overhauls of the Americas campaign. I suggest you could add the German colony "Klein-Venedig" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klein-Venedig).
    Absolutely! Even though it wasn't a state-based exercise it doesn't have to be expressed with total accuracy in game (which is the whole premise behind this mod). If I have enough slots I'll certainly look to add them as a faction.

  7. #7
    Morrowgan's Avatar Centenarius
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    Default Re: [WIP] Americas Redefined: an ahistorical New World mod

    If you need help, then consider this: http://www.twcenter.net/forums/forum...-E-L-P-Project
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    Default Re: [WIP] Americas Redefined: an ahistorical New World mod

    It's a very interesting mod. It misses a mod about America. Courage with the project!

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    Default Re: [WIP] Americas Redefined: an ahistorical New World mod

    Gracias, Miguel!

    As an update, I'm making good progress on my map. I'm a bit meticulous, though, so hopefully I'll be able to post some screens of the map by the end of the month.

  10. #10

    Default Re: [WIP] Americas Redefined: an ahistorical New World mod

    Yes, make a map is a long process, it requires hard work and patience. By the way, I suppose that you know the error in Medieval II with dense forest in tropical climate. You have to add on the configuration in "climates.txt" file. It will be useful if you didn't know it.

    http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showt...rest-behaviour
    Last edited by Miguel_80; February 13, 2015 at 01:04 PM.

  11. #11
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    Default Re: [WIP] Colonies and Empires: a New World mod

    Just wanted to report that this mod is not dead! To prove it, I have a teaser of the map below. There is still plenty to be done, but this is my first foray into "decorating" the map via the intimidating 'map_ground_types.tga' file. There are no shortcuts in this process, and I want to make the map very beautiful, as I plan to release it to the modding public should anybody wish to use it. The current regions are just placeholders.

    It's not much, but it's a start. Obviously it may need to be changed for pathfinding purposes when the time comes. Lag is not too bad. I'm editing on a very basic laptop and it seems to handle it fine. Still, I'm aware that I won't be able to go overboard with either sparse or dense forest (which is a shame because that terrain type is obviously very rich in this part of the world, if I'm not mistaken). I've also updated the first post, which reflects the current progress of things.

    Last edited by Frunk; September 01, 2015 at 07:20 AM.

  12. #12
    Morrowgan's Avatar Centenarius
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    Default Re: [WIP] Colonies and Empires: a New World mod

    I still have a great interest in this mod and I admire your effort.
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    Default Re: [WIP] Colonies and Empires: a New World mod

    I greatly appreciate that, mein Kaiser.

  14. #14
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    Default Re: [WIP] Colonies and Empires: a New World mod

    Progress has continued, somewhat slowly, over the last month, but coming up to the Australian summer, I'll have a helluvalot more time to put into smashing out my mapping.

    Here is another teaser for you, this time of Costa Rica and Nicaragua. I'm working my way north, and when I actually have time to work, I work very quickly, so I'm confident of "finishing" the map in the short term.

    I do have one concern, and that is in South America, where I have a large amount of space in the Amazon with very few regions. Ideally, I need an impassable terrain type like dense forest, but to use dense forest would be waaay too taxing and cause lag and crashes. Does anybody know of a "forest" ground type that doesn't "move"?


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    Default Re: [WIP] Colonies and Empires: a New World mod

    How about a mosaic of impassable and dense forest?
    all hail the flying spaghetti monster!

  16. #16
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    Default Re: [WIP] Colonies and Empires: a New World mod

    *insert praise here*
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    Default Re: [WIP] Colonies and Empires: a New World mod

    Maybe a custom trade resource model that looks like a large forest of trees? AFAIK that's how some mods put wonders and things like the big ring around Minas Tirith in TATW, and they'd be static models, which I think you can place as many as you want. Not sure if they'd be much less intensive, but at least they wouldn't have animated shadows.

  18. #18
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    Default Re: [WIP] Colonies and Empires: a New World mod

    Quote Originally Posted by yuezhi View Post
    How about a mosaic of impassable and dense forest?
    I tested this on a portion of the Amazon, as that is the method I am using to do other parts of the map, as you can probably see, adding pixels of wilderness for good measure. Aesthetically the result was fine, but lag was a huge factor, and we're talking only about 1/4 of the Amazon.

    Quote Originally Posted by WhiffOfGrapeshot View Post
    Maybe a custom trade resource model that looks like a large forest of trees? AFAIK that's how some mods put wonders and things like the big ring around Minas Tirith in TATW, and they'd be static models, which I think you can place as many as you want. Not sure if they'd be much less intensive, but at least they wouldn't have animated shadows.
    That could be the way to go. When I get further along, I'll look into this. Cheers!

  19. #19
    Aneirin's Avatar of flowing verse
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    Default Re: [WIP] Colonies and Empires: a New World mod

    Your map looks quite promising!
    Keep it up!
    Proud son of Aikanár and brother of Iskar

  20. #20
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    Default Re: [WIP] Colonies and Empires: a New World mod

    Thank you, Neadal! Here is another preview. Guatemala and southern Mexico. Personally, I'm thrilled with my progress and the way the map is looking. It's going to be a lot of fun designing central Mexico, which I'll begin tonight in earnest.



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