Wow, this mod has come a long way...

**Xanthippus of Sparta** · December 16, 2009, 02:40 AM

Hey guys, former RTR dev here. I'm about to get a new computer and I can't wait to play the Fate of Empires campaign...I left the team a LONG time ago (probably late 2006) because of time issues and because I just didn't play much RTW anymore. It's amazing that this mod is still alive and kicking and has a bigger team and just as much as a following as it did when I was a dev.

I started on the team as a playtester and eventually I joined the history team (that being my major in college). Back then it was just Driddle and I, and ramareddy was a contributer who specialized in the Indian units were were about to add back then. We also had a guy who totally revamped the Germanic units, sadly I forget his name. I wrote a lot of the original unit descriptions for the Carthaginian/Hellenic troop types...it took us forever to get some basic info about the units in there.

Here's some old bits about the mod that you guys might find amusing...stuff that shows how far the mod has come.

-Around the time when I joined RTR as a playtester, most of the units were from Vanilla with simple reskins (Caius had not started to churn out new models/skins like he would eventually). RTR was probably the first released mod for RTW...when I started, the original team was in the midst of an exodus while new people that really built 6.0 were comming in. One thing I remember distinctly is that the Ptolemies still has Heavy Archers from RTW, but with a Greek reskin.

-We always had problems with Ptolemaic Egypt attacking the Carthaginians, so at first we gave the Carthaginians Pikemen (just after 6.0) so that the AI would not slaughter a Punic player's armies easily...the AI liked to send full stacks of Pezhetarioi across Libya constantly. Finding no historical basis for Carthaginian Pikemen, our map guys ingeniously made a strip of invisible water just west of Cyrene to keep this from happening.

-Driddle was all about the Seleucids, they were his pet project early on. One of our early aims was to shift the center of the world east to the levant. In vanilla RTW the western areas were far richer than they should have been. Most of the cities added from Anatolia to India and the Seleucid unit roster were driddle's creation. He sadly left the team abruptly in mid/late 2005 if I remember correctly.

-There was a lot of discussion about a mini campaign, long before Fate of Empires and the release of BI. Seleukos (our main mapper at the time) wanted to do a Syrian Wars Campaign and even had a map started for it. Caius and others wanted to do a late Roman Empire mod, I remember that he even made some 4th-5th century Legions.

Does anyone remember the offical RTR forum, before it crashed? That place was awesome...

Well thats all that I can think of...right now my video card is shot, I'm awaiting my new PC. Can't wait to try out FoE!

**Caesar Augustus** · December 16, 2009, 06:12 AM

This is really interesting for me

As you can tell from my post count, I'm very new around here. But just looking through the forums and seeing the work these guys have done is phenomonal.

**Clearchus of Sparta** · December 16, 2009, 06:53 AM

Its always good to see former RTR devs still around.
Without you guys and the work you did before us, there would probably be no TIC or FOE.

We have simply built on the foundations you created, and I think I speak for most when I say
not only did you leave a legacy but a reputation that many mods would love to achieve. Thats not to
say that those mods arent good, but RTR (and some others) have achived a reputation for quality and
innovation in certain areas.

**Caesar Augustus** · December 17, 2009, 08:56 AM

Originally Posted by Clearchus of Sparta

Its always good to see former RTR devs still around.
Without you guys and the work you did before us, there would probably be no TIC or FOE.

We have simply built on the foundations you created, and I think I speak for most when I say
not only did you leave a legacy but a reputation that many mods would love to achieve. Thats not to
say that those mods arent good, but RTR (and some others) have achived a reputation for quality and
innovation in certain areas.

Indeed, it was a friend of mine who put me on to RTR, when I was complaining about vanilla RTW. That was back when I was about 15 or so. Of course, I then had to get the internet and all that jazz, but when I finally found it, it was glorious. Since then, RTR for me is syonymous with RTW modding and I hope it continues for many years to come!

**MasterOfThessus** · December 16, 2009, 07:57 AM

The forums were indeed a great place back then, with that warm feeling... But TWC is a great home, and we are glad they are hosting us

As to all old devs, you are welcome to sneak into the dev-forum and say hi, perhaps get a preview of FOE 2

Just PM Muizer or Tony83, and they'll give you access

**Xanthippus of Sparta** · December 16, 2009, 02:36 PM

That would be great I'd love to take a look at what you guys are doing right now...

**Salvor Hardin** · December 17, 2009, 03:35 PM

Hey, Xanthippus, it is great to see another old comrade from the RTR Forums. Welcome back home.

**Xanthippus of Sparta** · December 18, 2009, 05:44 PM

Thanks.

Wow I have to say that the amount of infomation in the dev forum is staggering. I read the history forum for almost two hours last night...there's enough research there to fill a monograph on the military history of the RTR era.