1066: Anglo-Saxon Campaign Map Preview!

[Reiksmarshal]

After months of hard work the team is finally ready to reveal the first preview of the campaign map. In this preview we are going to take a look at the Anglo-Saxons and some of the features that will make this faction unique.

Anglo Saxon Campaign

January 5th, 1066 is a fateful day in history, for the King Edward the Confessor is dead. The Witenagemot, supreme authority under Anglo-Saxon law and council of elders in service to the King, choose Harold Godwinson, the powerful Eorl of Wessex, to be the new ruler of England.

Immediately, a bitter struggle for power ensues….

You, the Anglo-Saxons, fierce warriors descended from the Germanic Angles, Saxons and Jute tribes that came to this land many years ago, have carved out a noble kingdom. Your lands cover the south and east of England, ruled by your Eorls and loyal Thegns, encompassing a large collection of petty rulers, sub-kings and peoples, all who pay homage to you. Do not be fooled, these allies are all eager to usurp those in power for personal gain, and will easily change sides and join with your formidable neighbors and other challengers to the throne.

Be warned: they remain loyal to you only as far as a sword’s length and will take advantage of any sign of weakness.

Your lands were won by many hard fought battles, and your past leader’s sagas live on through their legends: King Offa of Mercia, King Alfred the Great who fought and defeated many of your fearsome foes, bringing them under your people’s suzerainty, King Althestan who consolidated these victories and added more peoples and lands to your vassals and allies.

Yet, it is an unholy alliance with these fickle peoples and you must master the art of intrigue, playing one petty ruler against the other in order to maintain your hegemony.

Alas, greatness and wisdom is not passed by blood alone, and a series of weak rulers has plagued your peoples, gradually loosening your grip on power. Some, like Ethelred the Unready, allowed new enemies to arise, resorting to bribery rather than face battle. Was this honour? Your people’s legends are at stake.

In truth, this day and age sees your hold on these lands we call England to be tenuous at best….

It is up to you to change the course of history.

In an ever changing web of promises, lies and intrigue, the year 1066 unfolds. The new King, Harold II’s claim to the throne is under assault from all sides. The King’s envious brother Tostig, deposed Earl of Northumbria, has called on King Harald Hadrada of Norway to invade your lands and claim power back for himself. To make matters worse, King Harold’s throne is now contested by another, and perhaps more dangerous rival: cousin to the late King Edward the Confessor himself, Duke William of Normandy.

William claims that the throne was promised to him by the late King when Edward stayed in Normandy years earlier. He comes armed with an awesome alliance with the Pope and a powerful chivalric army. The Normans fight in the continental manner with heavy cavalry, but their true strength lies in their combined arms warfare with archers, infantry, and cavalry supporting one another.

Your Anglo Saxon troops, foot solders beyond par, are known and feared throughout the land: Thegns and Huscarls stand ready to fight to the death, yet you have no cavalry of any note to guard your flanks, nor archers to bombard the enemy from afar. You must win by strategy alone, and the art of subterfuge…

One thing is sure- the Normans will invade and seek battle. Perhaps this will encourage others to rise up against your leadership.

Now is not the time for indecision: You must fight off the various threats to your power and defeat William and his Norman warriors that seek to claim your land as their own! Remember the legends that are your people, of Beowulf and Byrhtnoth and the brave men who fell to the last man at Maldon!





Campaign Features

1066 Conquests will boast a totally unique campaign script that adds several new features. The campaign itself is based on a 12 turns per year cycle in which the characters actually age properly, and there are several months of both winter and summer. Winter has many effects, including movement, population growth, and income penalties. In addition both the length and severity of winter has been randomized. Some years you will have a mild winter, summer will last forever and give you time to expand your empire. In other years the severe winter will kill your crops and make it a struggle to survive.

Some unique faction specific features will include a Fyrd system which will give the player the ability to call on the Fyrd when they go to war however if you decide to use this feature it will take some time before you can use this ability again. Another unique feature is the Saxon resistance which will occur when the Saxons lose a certain amount of territories to the enemy. There is a possibility for characters such as Eric the Wild or Hereward the Wake to appear on the map to try to retake the territory back.



King Harold and the Anglo-Saxon Fyrd waiting for the Normans to cross the channel.



These are some of the strat models that you will see in the 1066 mod. Left to right King, Heir, General, and Captain.



Stonehenge - will be one of the wonders featured in the mod and will be a mustering point for the Anglo-Saxon fyrd.



Hastings is one of the areas that will have a custom tile for the battle map so that battles in the region will be fought on the historical battle map.



Battle of Hastings historical battle map.



Exeter



Lincoln/York



Norwich



Warwick





Team Members

I would like to thank everyone who has made this project possible and the guys on the team who have been very dedicated in making this project happen.

DisgruntledGoat - developer, artist, and modeler
Reiksmarshal - developer, mapper, researcher
GrnEyedDvl - Script writer
M.CorneliusMarcellus - Producer, PR, music productions and writer
B. Ward - mapper
Harry Lime - building design, text editor