• Never finished, never admired



    Strolling through the TWC modding sections, you can hardly miss the names of great Mods like Third Age: Total War, 1648 - Thirty Years of War, Roma Surrectum or DarthMod-Empire. All these Mods are astonishing work, without any doubt, but haven't you ever asked yourself, what happend to all the other projects, which have never made it to a full playable version, which struggle and fall back into oblivion..? Can you remind projects like All Under Heaven, Terra Sancta or Rise of the Nations: Prelude to War? Whether or not, don't you think they deserve the same attention as Third Age or the DarthMod-Empire? Haven't their team members worked not as hard as the others? Weren't they not as much promising as the rest? I think yes and at least after all these projects were abandoned, they deserve a splash of our attention, so join me and have a look at the never finished, never admired Total War Mods on TWC.

    Never finished, never admired


    The Shadow of Ishtar

    Screen

    Factions

    - Egypt
    - Judah
    - Israel
    - Pheonicia
    - Assyria
    - Babylon
    - Elam
    - Media
    - Urartu
    - Phrygia
    - Kush
    - Saba

    - Lydia (emerging)
    - Ionian Cities (emerging)
    - Cimmerians (emerging)
    - Skythians (emerging)
    - Persian Empire (emerging)

    - Rebellous Dynasty (unplayable)

    Map



    Why abandoned:
    It is very hard to say, when the Mod was exactly abandoned, but it seems that it was at the mid of 2013. As far as I could find out, the team needed desperately coders to continue their work, but unfortunately no on signed in and the progress was far too slow to keep the mod alive.

    Info:
    The Shadow of Ishtar Mod was set at 814-500 BC. A very interesting timeframe, since there are not many mods which approach this period. The Mod's aim was to represent the struggle of States like Assyria, Babylon or the Kingdom of Judah. The guys who run this project were, Atatürk, Stephan and dragonsign. For the complete team member list check below.

    Team
    Atatürk (Mod Leader)
    Stephan (Mod Leader, 2D Artist, Coder)
    Dragonsign (Mod Leader, Mapper)
    Maxi90 (Researcher)
    EVYATAR (2D Artist, Skinner)
    The Iberian (3d modeler, coder)
    Moros (Researcher)
    FXR (3d modeler, Skinner)
    Venia (Skinner, Video Maker, Coder)
    Carcaju (unit cards, Video Maker)
    Turambar and death (3d modeler)
    Vardan the Great
    Panos Dawetas (coder)

    Contributors
    Raradir
    IVIarkI2I
    LDKsoldier
    Alvar de Montalbo

    Permissions
    IB II
    Real Horses
    Imperium Parsa
    Better Grass
    Crimson Tide 4.2
    Polemarchia
    Eothese's Wardogs
    Bwain's Chariots


    Sadly I can not show you any images of units or at least from faction symbols. There all gone due the reorganization of the image hosting site.
    But, a video can be provided, as luckily they had a youtube channel.
    The video below shows a lot about their awesome 3D-art work, the main reason for which I included it in this article.

    Video





    +Terra Sancta+

    Factions

    - Kingdom of Jerusalem
    - Principality of Antioch
    - Byzantine Empire
    - Georgians
    - Cumans
    - Bulgars (?)
    - Muslim principalities (?)

    Map
    According to the Preview, the map would have included basically the map of the vanilla Crusader expansion, but also extensions to the West and North. Sadly there is no image for the map.


    Why abandoned:
    Well, it is hard to say why the mod has been abandoned, since =Vastator= (the creator) never reappeared after his update in July 2010 on the Byzantine units. He was a member of the Italian modding team of Bellum Crucis, too, so maybe he found no time to work in his project? Anyway, the good thing is, some of these units are included in the Bellum Crucis mod.

    Info:
    This mod lacks most of its basic information, though if you see these units here, you'll surely understand why it has been added to the list:

    Georgia Monapsa Knights


    Byzantine Cavalry

    Signatures



    Definitely, I would like to show you more of these astonishing units, but over the time most of the images were deleted or lost...
    But who created these units??
    =Vastator= and fedeita both from Italy, created these awesome units.


    Tsardoms: Total War

    Factions
    Catholic factions:
    01. Duchy of Austria (the House of Hapsburgs)
    02. Kingdom of Hungary
    03. Republic of Ragusa
    04. Republic of Venice
    05. Republic of Florence
    06. Republic of Genoa
    07. Kingdom of Sicily (Naples)
    08. Kingdom of Trinacria (Sicily)
    09. Old Swiss Confederacy
    10. Duchy of Athens and Neopatria
    11. Knights of Rhodes (Knights of St.John)

    Orthodox factions:
    12. Tsardom of Bulgaria
    13. Tsardom of Serbia
    14. Roman Empire - House of Kantakouzenoi
    15. Roman Empire - Imperial Regency of the Roman Empire
    16. Principality of Wallachia
    17. Principality of Moldova

    Kristjani factions:
    18. Banate of Bosnia

    Muslim factions:
    19. Ottoman Beylik (later Empire)
    20. Karaman Beylik
    22. Aydin Beylik

    Emergent factions:
    23. Papacy
    24. Timurids
    25. Crown of Aragon
    26. Kingdom of France


    The Map:
    The Map was resized, so the mod might get released quicker. In first place, it includes the northern Alps and much more of the East.

    Map


    Why abandoned:
    Actually, the heading is wrong, because it isn't abandoned yet, but very close to, so it has been included in the list. The team started to work on this project about on 2007, basically set up by il_duce_!, Sarmatian, Matthĉus and phoenix[illusion]. It is one of the most awaited mods on TWC, since they have created custom strat city models, as well as, their own complete new units. Besides, their map includes many factions, never seen in any Total War mod.

    Info:
    The modding team released several unit and faction previews. I will show you only a few images, so that you can have a clear overview of their work.

    The Knights of St. John

    Principality of Moldova

    Republic of Venice



    Silmarillion: Total War


    Screen

    Factions

    The map shows Beleriand and other parts of Middle-Earth.
    Map



    Why abandoned:
    As Tsardoms, it is not abandoned yet, but as thing seems the development is currently paused. But as one could read in their sub-forum Milner (Mod Leader) is about to work on it, as soon as he has reorganized the files of the project.

    Team
    Active Members:
    Milner
    Mod Leader, 3D, 2D Art, Skinning, Coding, Scripting, Mapping

    Bercor
    Co-Leader, 3D, 2D Art

    Algaman
    3D, 2D Art, Skinning

    Peredhel
    Writer, Lore-adviser, Researches

    Infidel144
    Writer, Lore-adviser, Researches

    The Wise Coffin

    2D Art

    Lord Somewhere Out In Space
    2D Art, Lore-adviser

    Nahun
    3D Art, Modeller

    Inactive Members:

    Nelduin

    Co-Leader, Publicy, Communication, Forum Management, Screenshots, Researches

    source


    Info:
    The mod is developed on RTW - Alexander and takes places in the First Age of Beleriand with 17 playable factions for the player. The Team promises among a complete graphical overhaul, new units, custom city models, unique characters, script & events, etc. In total they have already provided five previews and one sneak peak. Of course I cannot show you all of them in this article, so please visit their sub-forum here to have a look yourself. I will show you their latest achievements, the House of Hador:

    Knights of the House of Hador


    Bodyguard of the House of Hador

    Hurin



    I am more than aware that these above are only a few of those that could have been mentioned, but clearly it is not possible to include all of them into one single article. Surely there are many more, so if you have some time to spare, pay the Modding Sub-fora a visit, it is more than worth it and who knows maybe it will help those and other awesome mods to be finished or at least not left behind.

    For those of you, who are working on such projects and are struggling to get things done, there is a place to go. The H.E.L.P Project! Several well known modders are amongst the members of this project, including my humble self. So if you are able to describe your current problem in a proper way, I am very certain we are able to find a reliable solution and get things moving on.

    Here at the very end of our journey through the "Never finished, never admired" mods on TWC, I would like to thank all these modders, who brought and are still trying to bring these great projects to life. I am a modder myself, so I know it is sometimes hard to keep things up, but anyways always keep in mind, Rome was not built in a day either!

    Article written by Neadal

    Comments 18 Comments
    1. Lifthrasir's Avatar
      Lifthrasir -
      Ahhh, memories... It makes me nostalgic... All these promising mods who have disapeared
      I'm very surprisded about Tsardoms with all the people who tried to make it alive. That's a shame.
    1. Aneirin's Avatar
      Aneirin -
      Quote Originally Posted by Lifthrasir View Post
      Ahhh, memories... It makes me nostalgic... All these promising mods who have disapeared
      I'm very surprisded about Tsardoms with all the people who tried to make it alive. That's a shame.
      Concerning Tsardoms, it had some kind of revival, since I have started to lend them a hand.
      Problem is that their latest work is completely in the hand of one person, now that person doesn't show up, so we could get hands on the material.
      It seems we have to do all the work a second time.
      Quite a pity..
    1. Lifthrasir's Avatar
      Lifthrasir -
      That's really bad news
      I hope that the issue will be solved soon
    1. Meelis13's Avatar
      Meelis13 -
      Keep in mind, that its never too late to revive a mod- i've seen few mods that were dead for a decade but then released. So i encourage people who happen to read this to seek out mods that are or seem to be dead and if you find something you'd like to help on (especially coding wise), contact mod leader. It might be that its all thats needed is someone new to join to get things moving towards release..
    1. Flinn's Avatar
      Flinn -
      Quote Originally Posted by Meelis13 View Post
      Keep in mind, that its never too late to revive a mod- i've seen few mods that were dead for a decade but then released. So i encourage people who happen to read this to seek out mods that are or seem to be dead and if you find something you'd like to help on (especially coding wise), contact mod leader. It might be that its all thats needed is someone new to join to get things moving towards release..
      Well said mate We actually published this article in the hope to bring new life to those "dead" mods, and of course in praise of those awesome works that, even if not released yet, remain awesome none the less
    1. Meelis13's Avatar
      Meelis13 -
      Quote Originally Posted by Flinn View Post
      Well said mate We actually published this article in the hope to bring new life to those "dead" mods, and of course in praise of those awesome works that, even if not released yet, remain awesome none the less
      i know
      but i tought spelling it out and extra encouragment cant hurt
    1. Ngugi's Avatar
      Ngugi -
      Good theme and well written article here, N'
      Would say "never admired" is quite a misleading title though. In my experience, and when you check dead mods threads, most failed projects (their creators great misfortune), are "Much admired, never finished" (their fans misfortune) hehe
    1. Aneirin's Avatar
      Aneirin -
      Thank's for your praise Ngugi

      You are quite right, most of these mods were admired, but never received as much as attention as the ones already finished.
      That's why I chose never admired.
      Probably a bit of over dramatisation
    1. Bercor's Avatar
      Bercor -
      Thanks for the eulogy .
    1. Aneirin's Avatar
      Aneirin -
      Quote Originally Posted by Bercor View Post
      Thanks for the eulogy .
      So you'd better get it done to live up the expectations
      Just kidding!

      I hope you'll soon start work on it again!
    1. morfeasnikos's Avatar
      morfeasnikos -
      Thank you for this thema!
      I just want to say that the mod list that never finished is very big...
      And the idea behind the HELP project is, that the modders, that have unfinished mods, will share they work between them , and help each other.
    1. Yayattasa's Avatar
      Yayattasa -
      I'm fairly sure AUH is sorta back on tracks thanks to collabs with Chinese modding teams.
    1. nhinhonhinho's Avatar
      nhinhonhinho -
      As a struggling modder right now I did experience the following problems which may lead to the death of the mods

      - Real life: well it's probably the biggest none technical problem out there. Generally we can hardly help with it. The only viable option here is to have another person to take his/her position so a rather large mod team seems to be better

      - Enthusiastic: I believe all mods started from enthusiastic and it keeps the mod alive. However enthusiastic can be lost especially if the modders get into unsolvable problems, argues or simply because lack of progress or the lack of success, also lacking attention may lead to the loss of enthusiastic

      - Older games: mods base on older games will suffer it a lot because nobody are going to play them anymore. MEDIITW seem not suffering much for this because it's still popular however Rome Total War mods are greatly suffering this currently

      - Skill: In my opinion there're few skill modders and modders who lacking skills will run into unsolvable problems.

      - Too ambition: some mods tried to do what they can't handle.

      - Lacking true support and too much argues: often people will show up telling their ideas then the other show up argue about it then all become mess as more people join in. In the end the need information were buried under huge text walls. For example we got some topic in AUH forum, they dragged out for hundreds pages and most of them were kinda nonsense argue.

      - Mapping: probably the biggest problem and the single most important thing of the mods. Units can be trade, request, borrow quite easily but map is another story. And the mod won't be count as finished without maps

      - Scripting: not as serious as mapping but good scripts make mods more valuable. Yet scripting is kinda weird!

      Well that's my thinking.

      PS: I'm still working on a RTW mod at the moment and having a lot of problem...
    1. Flinn's Avatar
      Flinn -
      Good points dude! As I always say, modding is the toughest job, that's why I believe modders, all of them, deserve the maximum recognition.

      Best of luck with your project!
    1. Sarmatian's Avatar
      Sarmatian -
      I'm particularly sad about Tsardoms, as I'm the one who helped it get set up.

      We may have been too ambitious with it, in hindsight.
    1. Milner's Avatar
      Milner -
      How many time is needed to say a mod is dead?...one week, one moth, one year...or the desire of play the mod?

      nhinhonhinho, you're a wise man!
    1. morfeasnikos's Avatar
      morfeasnikos -
      I second that
      "nhinhonhinho, you're a wise man! "

      And 3 good questions from Milner also!
    1. Macrath's Avatar
      Macrath -
      Of course unfinished projects aren't as admired as finished works. You ask about mods that have been abandoned by their team " don't you think they deserve the same attention as Third Age or the DarthMod-Empire? Haven't their team members worked not as hard as the others? Weren't they not as much promising as the rest?"

      Personally I say no to all of the above. They certainly don't deserve the same attention as the best and most complete mods. Their teams didn't finish the mod and then abandoned their work on it, so no, I wouldn't say they worked as hard as those who released a complete project. And whether or not they were a promising idea matters very little. Lot's of people have great ideas for mods, those ideas certainly are not as deserving of admiration as a finished product.

      Mods truly deserving of additional attention and admiration are those that have reached a fully released state but are overshadowed by the more popular mods. Medieval 2 Total War Kingdoms mods have dozens of mods that deserve additional attention and support. Thera Legacy of the Great Torment, Broken Crescent, De Bello Mundi, The Italian Wars, Deus Lo Vult, Europa Barbarorum II, Hyrule, The Elder Scrolls Total War etc...
      And that is not even mentioning the mods that are still being worked on, and not abandoned Like Dragon Dawn for example.

      With all the amazing mods that are not very well known it seems quite pointless to try and raise support and awareness for mods that even the creators have given up on. If the creators aren't willing to work on their mod then you certainly can't expect others to shower more attention to them. I wouldn't praise a bakery for making a half baked cake