Demetrios Poliorketes Development Thread
Hello everyone! :)
This is my latest project (it has been quite a while since I started a new modding project, returning with a large one seems just right :thumbsup2), a scenario overhaul of the Wrath of Sparta campaign. The start date is pushed forward to 294 B.C., when Demetrios Poliorketes ascended to the throne of Macedon. The mod starts right after Demetrios' abandonded campaign in Sparta and the attacks of Lysimachos and the Ptolemies in A.Minor, snatching Demetrios' holdings there.
This mod is very early into development, so far a map has been drafted (it is still subject to change), but you can still take a look on how the campaign map will look like
https://i.imgur.com/dusohVf.jpg
Key:
Disclaimer: 3 isles, Kefalonia, Zakynthos and Ikaria are unoccupied as of now, as I haven't found any good hints regarding their ownership in that period.
PLAYABLE FACTIONS:
Demetrios, Lysimachos, Pyrrhos and the Ptolemies are definitely going to be made playable during development, with more factions planned to be unlocked. Some early candidates are Sparta, Athens and the Aitolians. For now expect 6-8 playable factions.
DEVELOPMENT ROAD MAP:
The unit rosters of the factions are going to be drafted next, in order to ensure a decent variety of units between the factions. Since the campaign is only sporting Greek factions one could expect dull and repetitive rosters, rest assured though, as Dacians, Thracians, Egyptians, Karians, Illyrians and Pannonians among others are set to distinguish the big players between them. The city states and smaller leagues will also have their own identities, from the pirate state of the Aitolian League to the infamous Hoplites of Sparta. Also expect a variety of different mercenary units spread across the map.
Once a first iteration of the unit rosters has been made, work on the campaign map will begin. The factions are going to be placed on the campaign map and receive their armies, agents etc. Work on diplomacy will follow afterwards. Once the work on the map is complete and all factions are fully functional, mercenaries are placed etc, playtesting will begin.
WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP THIS MOD?
The best thing you can do now as the mod starts taking shape is to give me suggestions/feedback. If you want to suggest changes to the map or a certain unit, a source would be greatly appreciated, as historical accuracy is a priority for me (as it was with my previous project of this kind). I currently do not plan at expanding the team, if I need to recruit someone, a specific announcement will be made.
If you want to discuss on the development of the mod, join my discord server (Read the rules before participating)
https://discord.gg/VyMvYHs
Cheers.
Re: [WIP] Demetrios Poliorketes
Wonderful, congrats for the plan, Gyros! :thumbsup2
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A touch of Diadochi in R2 at last! I love it!!!
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Very promising, always exciting when new alternative scenarios are in development. May i ask, have you consider making the DEI mod as a base for this scenario? mostly for the battle changes that it prings and to let the possibility open in the future other great submods like Jakes' PIGs etch to be implement to yours scenario campaign.
Re: [WIP] Demetrios Poliorketes
Quote:
Originally Posted by
nikossaiz
Very promising, always exciting when new alternative scenarios are in development. May i ask, have you consider making the DEI mod as a base for this scenario? mostly for the battle changes that it prings and to let the possibility open in the future other great submods like Jakes' PIGs etch to be implement to yours scenario campaign.
No, I haven't considered that, mainly because A) I want the mod to be as accessible as possible, i.e. you own the Wrath of Sparta DLC, you download this and you are good to go so that you don't have to download some extra GB (even if quite a large part of the playerbase uses DEI) and B) DEI Battles and DEI in general personally are not my cup of tea, DEI brings some interesting ideas and features into the game but I do not plan using DEI as a basis for the development of the mod. Now if the lead DEI team is interested at including it as an official submod I am open for a discussion with them, but I am not going to develop it as some kind of independent DEI-supported mod
Re: [WIP] Demetrios Poliorketes
Some first unit previews. Paionian Warriors and Cavalry, available to Makedon (Demetrios Poliorketes)
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Seleukos beat me to the punch, finally some Diadochi action! And maybe a good reason for me to buy wrath of sparta. :yes:
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A first iteration of Demetrios' roster:
https://i.imgur.com/9p79zhj.png
Note that the 440 Sword unit and that the 500 Cavalry unit are going to be exclusive to Demetrios, while the 650 Sword, 500 Spear and 420 Skirmisher will not be available to recruit from the offset (to represent the Thureos reform, which will occur earlier in the mod than it actually did in history). Artillery will be added later on.
Next up is Lysimachos, due to the fact that both of them got their hands on parts of the former Empire of Alexander they will share many units, however Lysimachos will be able to weild Thracian and Dacian units instead of the Paionians that Demetrios can recruit. Planned units are the Dacian Falxmen, Thracian Warriors and the Thracian Horse skirmishers.
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A first version of the rosters of Pyrrhos and Lysimachos respectively
Lysimachos:
Pyrrhos
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A first iteration of the Ptolemaic roster is also complete, some unit previews:
If you want to discuss on the development of the mod, join my discord server (Read the rules before participating)
https://discord.gg/VyMvYHs
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Some unit cards of new units
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I have started working on Sparta, one of their unique units, the Skiritai will get a shield with a unique shield pattern especially for them
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Sparta is also complete. Due to the fact that historical accuracy is a priority in this mod Sparta will not have access to Pikemen (Kleomenes III's reign started from 235BC), the Skiritai however will be a pleasant surprise ;)
https://i.imgur.com/6CIKd0F.jpg
Some unit previews
IMPORTANT NOTES ON FURTHER DEVELOPMENT
Next on the roadmap is Athens. The two famous city states alongside the "Big 4" are going to be the first batch of playable factions, this doesn't mean that there are not going to be more playable factions. Work on the campaign map will begin once all rosters are completed (land and naval units)I also plan at experimenting with a different recruitment path (regarding buildings). For those of you interested all units (yes, all the generic Hellenic units and of course the new ones I created for this campaign) have been created from scratch, I would have made more progress had I taken all the generic units, but creating all of them from scratch allows me to play around with various things I wouldn't have been able to mess with without making the mod prone to a lot more conflicts, given that mods like that are generally not the most "compatibility friendly".
I hope to finish the land rosters by the end of February, however don't take this for granted, if I find the time to work on the mod a bit more intensively I may be able to finish a beta build round about May, so that playtesting may commence however take this with more than just a few pinches of salt.
If you are interested and want to discuss with me about it join my discord server.
https://discord.gg/VyMvYHs
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Update: The Aitolian League will become the 7th playable faction
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I decided to test historical leader traits on the character of Demetrios Poliorketes
https://i.imgur.com/a7gJzmG.jpg
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Possibly one of the best mods out there. Looks very good. Thanks a lot Gyrosmeister
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Very interesting mod! Really good!
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Quick note on the current state of development:
The rosters, both land and naval are finished, I am currently working on the building chains
Banditry and Plagues from Empire Divided will also be included
I have also cleaned up the map, there have been some slight changes to region ownership from the preview I posted on the top
I am currently unable to work on db etc, I am making drafts and preparing the icons for new buildings, aswell as planning the mercenary units that will be spread across the map.