ES Vol. IV|Iss. XI: Darth Vader interview, Hex Khan interview, and AAR

[therussian]

The Eagle Standard


Editor's Welcome

Yes, that's right. The XI issue of Eagle Standard. That means one more to go until we close out the Edition. But let's not think of that now, let us look to the present, and delight ourselves in current issue of the Eagle Standard! Issue XI contains a (very humourous) interview with Darth Vader, a look into the mind of a caged lion, aka Hex Khan, another MTW AAR from myself (this time Viking Invasion style!), and Modders' Classified Ads. No PotW this week, unfortunately.

Hex Khan interviewing resident TWC Sith Lord (and awesome modder) Darth Vader

Could you tell us a little about yourself?

I can tell some generic things to understand of what universe I come from. I live in a galaxy far far away…where my dark powers are really enormous and I can destroy someone even using my single grip. Yes, that is true! One day I found a portal that made possible to travel almost instantly to this solar system and in fact to my current beaconing position, Greece. Unfortunately in this system my powers are not that strong and I can mostly rely to my mental consistency if I want to survive in this unfair but rather interesting world. From my current survey I have came to a conclusion that here, in order to be a master you have to be weak than strong. If only I knew this I would have sent this weakling fool, Obi-Wan in my place….anyhow…once I found this little subspace of TWcenter forum I found a little peace as I was able to create a strong interactive test of myself and my fading powers.

What inspired you to set about making these mods?

I was in love of epic battles from the age I could not really speak…(Maybe this is the reason I conquered my past galaxy…). Secondly, I have very good drawing skills and I used to draw battle comics from very young age as well. Thousands of soldiers battling with each other in fantastic places, a lot of years before LOTR came to screens to inspire me more.(I will upload them somewhere in the near future)
Imagine myself when I saw the first TW game, where I was able to actually play these battles than sketch them. By playing more, I got passionate and wanted to optimise the game to my supreme liking. I felt obliged to share this with the public and here I am….saying these historic quotes.(Darth Vader’s Breath)

Have you included unique features in your mods, if so what are they?

I use some basic general concepts in my mind and then try to implement them to the modding procedure.
-Balance (If I change something, the rest changes too, so I have to adjust accordingly and universally)
-Creativeness (I must use all of the available means in a mixture of combinations to create unique subspaces. Always there is more behind a single lifeless data…)
-Effectiveness (I will choose the straightforward and less phantasmagoric way to give birth to the challenge than decorate it.)

In above mentioned words one can understand that my mods are dedicated to enhance and improve the current engine of TW than try to take it to a decorative new place with a different name and outfit. I see it as manipulating its organism and internal mechanics, its blood and muscle system. Even though I always change a lot, still, I feel I have a lot less means to create the best of me. It is only a mod, so I get over it quickly…
The unique features, are my application of the above mentioned thoughts to the peripherals of the AI, in various direct and indirect positions of the gameplay.

In your opinion what would you say was the best feature in your mods?

In RTW/BI-DarthMod I created a certain balance and with the help of my innovative formation methods in which I was able to “play” with the internal and hard-coded pre-programmed by CA off-sets of the AI armies, I was able to correct most of its usual malfunctions. Also I managed to create certain battle character per culture according to their unique weaponry. The most impressive effort of me (I believe) was to implement, as much as I could, the maniple roman system for the AI. Fighting against Romans in DarthMod came to another level after this.
In M2TW-DarthMod, my efforts are a lot more helped by the new engine since I have access to a lot more AI files. The last version for patch 1.1 was an effort to enhance the gameplay in all possible levels. It was an unfair but valiant fight due to the many-many bugs I have traced and corrected myself or have used other modders help to do so. The unique AI army characterisation could not be implemented here because of different internal and unknown mechanics of the new engine. Still the new mod, as played, was a lot different and more effective than vanilla. So that pleased me enough.

Do you have a favourite faction inside your own mods and why?

In RTW I used to play a lot with the Romans (To test the mod universally and easier), and all the Hellenic factions (Obviously why  ).
In M2TW I played a lot with the Byzantines (Again my Greek spirit called).

Since we’re on this topic of game play, what sort of player are you? Personally I’m the aggressive sort always looking for another fight and more lands to conquer.

I like this question. I play battles the way I play my chess games. Unpredictably (hopefully). I may use a very cautious strategy with one army and a very aggressive with another. It depends on my resources and a lot of my current mood which is cycling periodically as it seems…the dark side has this and I cannot help it.
In campaign map I am mostly the same player. I use a slow, cautious and swallowing method of progressively consuming my surroundings than take big risks or create over-extended borders. This does not help me to conquer quickly but I always have solid defense everywhere is needed.

Could you try and sum up your mod with 10 or less words?

Innovative, effective and unpredicted challenge is…DarthMod

Have you a catchphrase for your mod?

It is pointless to resist… join the dark side of DarthMod (it reminds me the days I owned the galaxy far far away…)

Got any words of encouragement to potential fans?

I am afraid that my powers are fading away. My artificial hand has already malfunctioned and maybe the only way to heal it, is to travel back to my imperial base in Coruscant and stay there for good. This world has not the technology needed to repair it, as my imperial medical droids are able to. However I will try to produce something after the patch 1.2 before I go there…I cannot guarantee the pace. (You were right about me…tell your sister…you were rightttttt……Darth Vader’s breath fading away)

What’s your favourite Total War game?

Everyone had something to offer for its era. Honestly I believe RTW was the best for me since inspired me a lot to begin “professional” modding. (Although I do and did for a lot of games but never or seldomly did I promoted them to the public)

Do you have any favourite mods other than your own?

I am afraid that I will disappoint a lot of my fellow co-modders but I really do not play other mods. In fact I seldom play with my own …if you want believe it. My current “satisfaction” is to check the game and try to find ways to enhance it, mod, test…stop. I have never ended a campaign in RTW-BI.

So outside of the Total War Franchise, what’s your favourite game of all time?

I remember the days of good LucasArts games and the Xwing vs Tie Fighter. Also all its predecessors. Again all of Lucasarts games until the era of Episode I…then it all ended…for me. It was a disgrace to see the new films and games for them as they were all rounded by mere stupidity and simplicity.

Now is there anything you’d like to show off and tease us with?

I write all this now in a fading humorous and pleasant way and I am sorry for the fade out. It seems that my artificial hand is shaken and cannot do much now than to tell you…the future is cloudy…always changes it is…

Please don't find my faith lacking, but for the sake of all things Total War I must ask. Are you, My Lord Vader, really Darth Vader?

I find your lack of faith disturbing...
This was the last blow....bring my shuttle. Destination my Executor flagship ... oh no, it is lost (now I remembered). Ok I will stay in this galaxy for a while but I will not be as forgiving next time.... thank you for the honour Hex Khan!

And now, for some role reversal...

selenius4tsd interviewing Hex "Kahn" Khan, successful writer of AARs and Eagle Standard reporter

Hex finds himself in an awkward position this week - in the hot seat as he prepares to be grilled for a change! Let's hope he survives... Or else he may be so scarred that he is locked up in the cage forever!

Tell me about yourself:

I'm a 18 year old Scottish Aberdonian, 5'4-ish, brown eyed, born on the year of the dragon, tattooed chest (which by the way hardly hurt at all almost fell asleep through it )
I'm also a trained swordsman taught to use the Italian style of longswordsmanship, I'm also a mediocre fighter using the German Style. I can fight using a long and short spear, I own currently 21 various weapons from the king of weapons the sword to glorified stick which we call wasters (which i know is the term for a wooden training weapon so don’t start! ) I also own many forms of weapons and armour ranging from classic chainmail in fact called 'maille' since chainmail is a Victorian term so don’t go there either. Currently working on a suit of Milanese theme armour better know as a harness (now stop thinking that you sickos, no really, get out more ) personally I like the smoother sexier look opposed to the spiky fluted outlook of the German gothic.
I put my various martial arts to use on the reenactment battlefields across Scotland and England from Castle Fraser to Tewkesbury.
Also a bit of an artist I like drawing manga, I've failed many a test because the minute I get bored I draw, that includes an art exam too since the teacher was strongly against manga. (that unenlightened racist swine )
Also firm supporter of rock music in all its glorious forms, Iron Maiden, Blind Guardian, Metallica, Sonata Arctica and System of a Down I love it all.


What made you decide to start writing AARs? Was it a revelation you had one day when you woke up?

Well in all honesty I used to play Dungeons and Dragons and I was always the DM So my job was to ensure the players had an enjoyable yet violent games to play, and through the years I got better more epic in nature when story telling It was at the point when I had finished the Sin war campaign and was beginning of the Children of Galidur, I realised I wanted to write, proper fiction at that, and eventually I did start writing I have 3 novels yet unpublished, (not that I've tried I must confess) and another one in the works.

But it wasn’t until early this year I though "Hell I've seen attempts to tell stories through TW series, I'll give them something that'll blow them away!"
So in short I had no intensions of actually writing after action reports but rather it was a conscious excuse to vent my fictional talents

What process do you go by when you are writing? Do you follow a set way every time, or do you just write as you get inspiration?

The process as a rule is generally the same, that is I'll focus writing around a few main characters mostly two, in my first Caledonian Horde it was Edmund and Tristan, the Kazak was Jagadai and Kaishan. Then I'll spend time thinking about something do with them, usually loosely based on things that happened in history but not necessarily to that peoples from thereon in I follow my inspirational muses.

Out of all the reports you have done, which is your favourite?

Of them all I have to say the Caledonian Horde AAR was my favourite so far, at least until my new one develops that is

Do you prefer writing about a specific period of history, i.e Medieval 2 or Rome, and why?

Like I said about the source I use doesn’t really matter since the story comes from my mind, I could easily do it for something like command and Conquer or Battle for Middle-Earth and the era isn’t that important either but personally I prefer Rome, my beloved laptop handles it better than medieval 2, not to mention the great variation between factions making for better visuals since medieval was pretty much the same factions but with differing colour palettes

What can we expect in the future? More of the same?

Yeah more or less, I have been considering trying out that blog thingy Giga has set up but to my understanding that’s more geared for things relevant to the games as opposed to writing

Maybe I could submit something to the scriptorium?

Anything else you want to add?

What will my royalty fee be for this?
Will there be in close ups involved?
Is there any topless scenes involved?
How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
What came first the chicken or the egg?

Thanks for your time! Ladies and Gentlemen, that was Mr Hax Gahn! ... er.. Axe Kann? Hex Kahn? Khan? Thats the one!

Check out some of Hex's AARs:
Caledonian Horde AAR: http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=81619
Kazak Invasion AAR: http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=82048

After Action Report



Presents:

Sons of Drest
by Bulgaroctonus

Mull of kintyre
Oh mist rolling in from the sea,
My desire is always to be here
Oh mull of kintyre
Far have I traveled and much have I seen
Dark distant mountains with valleys of green.
Past painted deserts the sunsets on fire
As he carries me home to the mull of kintyre.

PART I

King Domnal III

Our history begins in the year 793, at the ascension of King Domnal III, who was at the time 26 years of age. At the time of his ascension to the throne, the kingdom of Dal Riata controlled all the lands on eastern shores of the Muir Eire, and also had land in Éire itself, in the northern province of Ulster.

The northern highlands are not a very hospitable place, and Domnal began to eye the green pastures of Éire with greed. In the 10 years following his ascension to the throne, Domnal simultaneously built up his military forces, and made alliances with the Pictish kingdom to the east, and the Northumbrian and Mercian kingdoms to the south. With his flanks secure from invasion, Domnal crossed the Muir Éire and landed in Ulster in 806. Unwilling to risk war the Irish, Domnal decided to conquer Connacht as a show of force. There was an uneasy peace for 4 years, each side waiting for the initial attack. That attack came in 812 when the Irish invaded Ulster, and the army there was forced to pull back behind the defensive walls of Eamhain Macha. The following year the army was relieved, and Domnal went on the offensive: in 815 he invaded Irish controlled Brega, and besieged Teamhair. Several months later, Domnal received reports of a large army, numbering upwards to 7,000 mean, under the command of High King Donchad I marching to relieve the besieged city. Instead of retreating, Domnal decided to meet the enemy army with his own army numbering 6,000. The two armies met just south of a small village located in the hills.

High King Donchad I was able to use these hills to his advantage: while his main body of troops advanced to the right of the hills, in the vision of the Scottish army, he sent his cavalry to his left flank and hid them right behind a large hill. All of a sudden the Scottish highland warriors on the right flank were overwhelmed by a thunderous charge, and were dying left and right

Not even a charge from the Scottish cavalry was able to break the Irish cavalry. Elsewhere, the Irish infantry were slowly gaining ground on the Scottish spears. The only place where the Scots were winning was in the village, where a unit of Scottish highlanders were fighting with great tenacity trying to hold the village. Alas, their efforts were in vain: the right flank was broken, and following their defeated comrades, the rest of the line disintegrated into flight. There was still fighting in and around the village, but seeing that the day was lost the troops there made an ordered retreat back to the rest of the army.

It was a horrible day for the Kingdom of Dal Riata. Of the 6,000 man army there on that day, more than 4,000 fell in battle. The Irish in contrast had lost about 2,500 men, and threatened Ulster for several years. It is doubly interesting, therefore, why Donchad I sued for peace between the two countries. In 822 he proposed a marriage between his daughter, Princess Lerborcham, and Prince Aedh of Scotland. Peace would for 17 years.

The following year King Domnal III died, and his son, Prince Aedh (who had just married the Irish princess Lerborcham) became the King of Scotland.

King Aedh II

Aedh II was already 44 years old when he took the throne, and his reign was not a very eventful one. In 824 his son Prince Artgal was able to take Munster in the south from rebel forces not under the dominion of the Irish Kingdom, thus encircling them. King Aedh II was also able to take the Isle of Manu in the middle of the Muir Eire. The next two years, the armies of Scotland were preoccupied in suppressing rebellions in Munster and Manu. Munster was eventually pacified, but Aedh II was forced to retreat from Manu and leave the island alone. In 835 King Aedh led an expedition into Reget, on the main Isle, and took the province with heavy casualties.

In two years the war with Irish Kingdom was unexpectedly resumed when a large Irish force invaded Ulster, and took Eanhain Macha by storm. Meanwhile a Scottish force invade Laigin from Munster, but it was soon abandoned and the Scots were forced to retreat. In 844 King Aedh II crossed the Muir Eire with a large army and was able to regain control of Ulster.

Soon after regaining Ulster from the Irish, King Aedh died at the age of 66, most likely of natural causes. He was succeeded by his son, who became King Kenneth III. He was 31 years old at the time, and his reign would perhaps be the most turbulent of all Scottish kings...

Picture of the Week

Unfortunately, there was not POTW this past week, due to the deliberations about its new format. That's right, the POTW will soon have a new format! Get on over to "A new PoTW System" thread and read up about it, and maybe speak your mind a bit!

Modders' Classified Ads

Calling all modders, welcome back to the Modders' Classified Ads section. In this week's issue, we come to the help of the following mods, helping their cries of assistance be heard.

Wrath of the Norsemen: looking for coders, modellers, and skinners

Punic Total War: looking for a scripter

Middle Ages: Total War: looking for 2D artists

Narnia: Total War: looking for modellers and mappers

Diadochi Total War: looking for 2D artists, modellers and skinners

And don't forget to check out the Modders' Classified Ads section for more ads.

That's all for this week folks. Make sure to tune in next Sunday for the grand closer to the Fourth edition of the Eagle Standard!

[selenius4tsd]

That was highly entertaining, even if I say so myself. I cant believe our reader list is dropping...

[The Walrus]

That was highly entertaining, even if I say so myself. I cant believe our reader list is dropping...

Actually last weeks went up by 116

[IrAr]

Great interview!

[Augustus Lucifer]

I very much enjoyed Darth's humorous responses (and Hex's as well), adds some spice to the fact that the exact same questions are used every week, give or take . I run Achtung! on RTR forums, their equivalent of this/Helios, and link to you guys every week when you have a new issue, so hopefully some people follow the link(although the forums have been down lately). Eagerly awaiting the last installment of this Volume

[therussian]

I very much enjoyed Darth's humorous responses (and Hex's as well), adds some spice to the fact that the exact same questions are used every week, give or take . I run Achtung! on RTR forums, their equivalent of this/Helios, and link to you guys every week when you have a new issue, so hopefully some people follow the link(although the forums have been down lately). Eagerly awaiting the last installment of this Volume

All the Best,
Chris
Achtung! 0v3rl0rD

Wow, thanks a lot! If you give me the link, I'll make sure to link you as well, if you like.