RTR Manifesto

[Muizer]

Past and Present

We at RTR owe a great debt of gratitude to our predecessors. They brought RTR to a point where, in many ways, the brand became larger than life. A mixed blessing perhaps? Some might say RTR7 collapsed under the weight of expectation. However, the loyalty inspired in our fans also brought back the fire. When the spark was all but gone the fire was rekindled. Thanks former RTR devs, thank you RTR fans, thank you Marcus! We’re here because of you.

Our Mission

The Rome Total Realism team is dedicated to improving the immersion value of Total War games through a mix of historical detail and gameplay innovations. Earlier this year, the team released The Iberian Conflict: a historical campaign that takes the player back to the days of Hamilcar Barca. The team is currently working on two more projects for the Rome Total War engine, at least one of which will be released to the public this year. Aside from being ends in themselves, these projects serve to build up a team capable of undertaking the full conversion of Empire:Total War to the classical era.

What Drives Us

What binds us obviously is a passion for ancient history and a desire to bring it to life on the TW game engine. Each of us brings something to the game from real life. At the very least dedication and passion, but in many cases also knowledge and skills gained in school, university or business. Significantly, this is not a one way street: there is real potential to have the skills we learn modding, technical and organisational, feed back into real life. That alone makes time spent working on our team time well spent.

On a day to day basis, of course, what drives us is the desire to create something new. Despite the fact that it has been four years since RTW was released, and despite the fact that great mods have been released, we believe we can bring more………… or rather, something different. After all, more realistic ingredients don’t make a more realistic game. For that, realism needs to be extended to gameplay itself and that’s what we are doing.

The Nature Of Our Organisation

RTR has a fairly fluid hierarchy, if it can be called that. While a degree of central oversight is necessary to maintain focus across the board, every member is expected to have a say about the direction of the project. Above all, Rome Total Realism is a team of specialists. On technical matters, the word of the individual specialist is the law. In this environment, a specialist with a great deal of initiative can have many of his ideas turned into reality. At the same time, each one of us depends on the others to get their work released. When you have a joint mission and respect each other, consensus isn’t far off. On the whole the team has been very harmonious, and we like to keep it that way!

How We Operate

Our current base of operation is the RTR forum at TWC (under hosted modifications for RTW). Our former leader Marcus Cornelius Marcellus (MCM) put great emphasis on team communications, and rightly so! The forums themselves have areas dedicated to inter-disciplinary communication (concept development), intra-disciplinary communication (production of code, gfx, movies etc.) and mod assembly. Furthermore, the Developer forum can be seen as a hub connecting communications to off-site facilities for program file storage (ftp), documentation storage (WIKI) and bug tracking (ModCenter). The use of MSN is also encouraged.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, we are in the process of setting up our own task forces aimed at improving and broadening the modding skills of our members.

Joining The Team

RTR does recruit occasionally. New members roughly come in three categories:

- Regulars of our public forums who like to help but have little or no experience modding. They may join as beta testers (a dedicated user group) and from there move to modding itself or administrative and supporting roles.

- Members who have shown the necessary initiative to teach themselves modding skills, may have released sub-mods, but are not (yet) part of existing teams.

- Experienced specialists. They tend to contribute to one particular aspect of the game in a more or less free-lance role.

If you're interested in our work and want to help, feel free to contact any member of the team. You can also directly contact Master of Thessus for information about joining as a beta tester or Muizer for joining as developer.

[kepper]

So in the future the team is planing to convert to Empire Total War. very good.
But i have prefer some preview of the recent work any way is good to now, keep the work.

[Quinctius Cincinnatus]

So in the future the team is planing to convert to Empire Total War. very good.
But i have prefer some preview of the recent work any way is good to now, keep the work.

I think (but don't know for sure) that you will get some preview rather soon. But that is all speculation of course.

RTR is alive and kicking that is the main thing.



Q.

[Sphere]

The team is currently working on two more projects for the Rome Total War engine, at least one of which will be released to the public this year. Aside from being ends in themselves, these projects serve to build up a team capable of undertaking the full conversion of Empire:Total War to the classical era.

You just broke the first two rules of RTR.

[HouseOfHam]

You just broke the first two rules of RTR.

You've just made no sense.

[MasterOfThessus]

1. Giving an release date

2. No idea

[Sphere]

1.) You don't talk about release dates.

2.) You don't talk about release dates.

3.) If its your first time, you have to fight.

[HouseOfHam]

1.) You don't talk about release dates.

2.) You don't talk about release dates.

3.) If its your first time, you have to fight.

Still not making much sense. :hmmm:

Muizer has not given an exact date. "This year" means up to 6 more months (TIC was completed in less than that, and the next project is already well under way) and that's just what we'd like to do, not a promise. And, I suppose, that's as accurate of an estimate as you can expect, given that we don't have people working 8 hours a day, nor trying to set/meet any deadlines.

[Brusilov]

1.) You don't talk about release dates.

2.) You don't talk about release dates.

3.) If its your first time, you have to fight.

Well saying 'released this year' isn't very specific - there's still a long way to the end of the year.

[Quinctius Cincinnatus]

Well saying 'released this year' isn't very specific - there's still a long way to the end of the year.

haha this 'you should not talk about release dates (in public)' reminds me of the "TheAmazingAtheist" on Youtube (if anyone knows him here) like he said: 'you shouldn't talk about politics in public' I always laugh out loud when reviewing him.

Q.

[Riannorix]

I don't understand everything that you sayd, but RTR7 will be (later) a full conversion with empire engine?

i think RTR7 is a great teamand when it was very known with RTR 6.2 gold, did it have some contact with musician and famous artist? because EB does it!

how many campaign do you want to add?

[Quinctius Cincinnatus]

I don't really get the rule breaking thing. The fans scream for dates or estimated terms of release every single time...

Q.

[Brusilov]

I don't really get the rule breaking thing. The fans scream for dates or estimated terms of release every single time...

Q.

Surely, you realize that it's impossible to keep everyone happy.

I also don't know what #2 is...

[Tony83]

.... I also don't know what #2 is...

It's probably "Thou shalt not break Rule 1!"

[Brusilov]

It's probably "Thou shalt not break Rule 1!"

That's almost as bad as the Monty Python "Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition" (which was funny at the time, honestly).


Ximinez: NOBODY expects the Spanish Inquisition! Our chief weapon is
suprise ... surprise and fear ... fear and surprise .... Our two weapons are fear and surprise ... and ruthless efficiency .... Our *three* weapons are fear, surprise, and ruthless efficiency ... and an almost fanatical devotion to the Pope. ... Our *four*...no ... *Amongst* our weapons .... Amongst our weaponry ... are such elements as fear, surprise .... I'll come in again.
(Exit and exeunt)
Chapman: I didn't expect a kind of Spanish Inquisition.


http://web.ukonline.co.uk/thursday.h...nquisition.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tym0M...eature=related

[zznɟ ǝɥʇ]

Hehe Brusilov, love that clip.

(RTR rules!)

[Tony83]

Hehe - good old Monty P! Me and my pal, Wizzable Woderwick, wank them quite highly.

[MannybeingManny]

So, RTR 7.0

[MannybeingManny]

So, RTR 7.0 never got finished eh? well no real surprise there i guess...

; )

So, Let me guess this straight, RTR 7.0 has been abandoned, but instead the team is planning to start over on a brand new project based on Empires called RTR VII?

Are we expected to believe this project will actually get finished?

: )

[Tony83]

So, RTR 7.0

So, RTR 7.0 never got finished eh? well no real surprise there i guess...

; )

So, Let me guess this straight, RTR 7.0 has been abandoned, but instead the team is planning to start over on a brand new project based on Empires called RTR VII?

Are we expected to believe this project will actually get finished?

: )

I don't know where you get the idea from that RTR 7 has been abandoned as, in fact, it has evolved into RTR VII! The history behind the transition is long and complex, and the best description of it I know of are in the words of our recently retired pontifex maximus, MCM himself (here).

Our Empires: Total War project has not got a name yet but it's highly unlikely that it's going to be called RTR VII. That is the name currently reserved for the Grand Campaign, currently scheduled to be worked on after the successful launch of our current project FOE, and which is likely to be our last project using the RTW engine.

Whether or not you personally believe that we will finish these projects is up to you really. All I can say is that Team-RTR is focused on achieving these objectives, and that there are a lot of people out there who do believe in us. So we are going to do our damndest not to let them down!