Maya Total War?

[Rakoua]

[is fully aware of the chance that he will make an epic fool of himself]


Okay, so recently I've been developing an intrest in in the Mayan civilization.
And I believe that it can be made into a M2TW Kingdoms Mod. It would focus various events during the collapse of Maya civilization, for example the rise of Tikal and such.
Here's what I plan for the features:
-Medium size campaign map including the maximum reaches of Maya civilization
-Regions split into one large city and smaller villages with their own mini regions (these wouldn't need to be based on historical research, as they'd be more to provide a more complex economy and make it impossible to destroy whole factions by just racing to their cities) (I believe something like this was done in another mod, can't remember which one though...)
-Several Mayan city states (these would be the only playable factions)
-Other, non Maya nonplayable factions
-Various events
-The units would generally be the same as in the Kingdoms campaign, give or take a few extra units for historical accuracy
-And various other stuff


Just wondering if anyone would be interested in helping me out with a mod like this. I'm doing some work on outlining the map and doing some historical research. I'm a newbie modder though...

[Heart of Madness]

I don't doubt Hrobatos will be here soon to chastise you, but I say go for it.

He'll tell you that modders don't like being told what to do for one thing. Then ask you if you know how to mod. Lastly, he'll ask about a mod team.

[Jaguar Paw]

Rakoua, great idea, I have been waiting for someone to show an interest in making a Meso-American mod for Kingdoms! I would be more than willing to help you with this endeavour on two conditions. A) Though the Classic Maya are an extraordinary and fascinating subject on their own; if you were willing to expand the scope of your mod to include as far north as the Tarascans and Huastecs, as far south as to include all of the Highland Maya cities of Guatemala, and Honduras/El Salvador area; and as far east as to include all of the Greater Antilles and the Taino culture. B) Expand your time period from the end of the Classic period to ca. 1500ad. This allows you to include the collapse of the classic Maya, and the rise in the Yucatan of Mayapan and Chichen Itza, and allows a greater and more diverse number of factions, and opportunities for expansion.

I know this sounds like a lot, but if you did this, I might be able to bring on board 2 or 3 other people who have an interest in this general area.

I have a fair amount of experience in 3d unit modding, but you would need (or have to learn yourself) people to do mapping, text editing, and 2d art, these positions are crucial.

[Rakoua]

The Young Dragon: Well, I don't really know how to mod, but I'm blitzing trough tutorials and working on the map, which I do know how to mod.


Jaguar: Excellent, I was hoping there were other people intreseted here!

About the timeframe, that was about the timeframe I was hoping for: about 900 AD to 1597 AD. Of course, there would probably be various campaigns and not only one, as playing infantry only for 600 years untill the Spanish and other arrive would be hopelessly boring to people. So one long for the people who like Mayan history and several short for those who just want to enjoy themselves.

And this is about the map I was hoping for:



Of course, I will need a lot of help with this. I could probably to the mapping myself after eating up a few more tutorials on mapping.

Also, major rivers will be navigateable but will be enclosed so ships can't go in blocking the ports, but the trade can flow trough the ports along the river.

[Jaguar Paw]

Well this sounds like a decent starting point, keep reading those tutorials. I'll see what other supporters I can find.

[Hrobatos]

I'm just gonna say good luck!

and yeah, with no people who can mod and want to do mod with you, your idea will never be more than that.

[Horsa]

I like the idea. Will keep eye on this thread.

[Rakoua]

OK then, I'll start gathering a mod team.

[Druvatar De Bodemloze]

OK then, I'll start gathering a mod team.

gathering a team is (something that just happens if you are lucky) & is not really something that is high priority!
what is high priority is your effort!
now this does look like a project you may find a team for . Optimistically Jaguar Paw has already shown some interest in helping
my advice is if you want it to be a small to mid-sized map you should some intense scripting for instance Look at "defender of the crown" mod it is great example of using intense scripting to add a whole rpg feel to the game I feel this mod would defiantly
benefit from this approach
good luck!

[absinthia]

a Meso-american mod without the boring old Europeans, that i would like to see.

i am doing some other map work at the moment, so tell you what... i can provide you with a basic modfoldered map. nothing more than the basic shape, some rivers and the amount of settlements needed for the map to load.
sadly that is all i can help you with...
you will have to create the vegetation and place most settlements/regions your self.

which City states are you considering?

[Rakoua]

I was thinking of a healthy mix of RPG and Total War. Scripting would certantly be involved.

Absinthia: Well, the Europeans will come very very late, so there will be more then enough time for non european fighting.

And what you are suggesting would be EXTREMLY helpfull. I can handle the rest of the work myself.

[Druvatar De Bodemloze]

& feel free to contact me for any extended support you may need! just like Absinthia
many of us will help where we can as long as we no it is not in vain & you are trying (doing) on your end! good luck!
& once again I really have it crystallized in my mind how awesome this would be if was an rpg story like campaign as is "Defender of the Crown" reach out to "Tarsies" as that is his project

[absinthia]

then this is what i have for heights map.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

a loadable version should be ready within a few days.

seriously, i have been waiting for such a mod since ever. have even provided maps for some attempts that never came through...
this map is the by product of such an earlier attempt.

[Rakoua]

Druvatar: OK, thanks!

Absinthia: That's awesome. The only thing missing is the navigateable rivers, but I'm rather confident that I can do those myself. Can't wait for the loadable version!


Anyways, since my sister is currently on the main comp, I'm doing various historical research. Here are some of the Maya factions that I plan to use:
-Tikal
-Ceibal
-Copan
-Quirigua
-Naranjo
-Palenque

I also have their 'emblems' for use, but they're from the classical period, so aditional research is required.

[Jaguar Paw]

Give me a few days to come up with a decent list of cities for the non-Mayan area, I am busy with work all of tomorrow, but I am very happy to see such talented modders offer us some help Thanks guys.

[Druvatar De Bodemloze]

Absinthia: That's awesome. The only thing missing is the navigateable rivers, but I'm rather confident that I can do those myself. Can't wait for the loadable version!

what Absinthia sampled there is a "heights_map" the Base map in which all other maps become based on do too your work
the navigable rivers will be able to be seen on features_map these two plus several others will be in your C:program files\sega\medievalII\mods\your_maya_mod\data\world\maps\base all tga`s

edit: that is why you cannot see them but he most likely did not forget them & rivers are easy but they do require focus as they can easily produce ctds

[absinthia]

Absinthia: That's awesome. The only thing missing is the navigateable rivers, but I'm rather confident that I can do those myself. Can't wait for the loadable version!

i would not recommend adding navigable rivers.
while ordinary rivers is placed in map_features, navigable rivers are made in map_heights. in real it is just an elongated stretch of ocean and requires a couple pixels in each direction not to grow shut.
so navigable rivers easily become big ugly scars in the landscape.
map_heights and map_regions is two of the more prominent map files. for some reason map_heights is twice the size, while map_regions display the actual map size. when generating the campaign map_heights is shrunk and so the river pixels as well...
one would think that a map this size and in highest resolution would support navigable rivers, but sadly ocean i about 50% so land is actually a bit scarce.
the Antilles would result in bigger ocean, while landmass would shrink even more. so unless there were some prolonged and serious interaction between the people there and the mainland, then i would not recommend including the Antilles.

[Hrobatos]

I would truly suggest leaving Europeans out, or only leaving them role that usualy Mongols get, to appear later and harras the map

[Druvatar De Bodemloze]

I would truly suggest leaving Europeans out, or only leaving them role that usualy Mongols get, to appear later and harras the map

I agree!!!

[irontaino]

I can provide some research if you need it.

Also maybe include some of the Lesser Antilles so if the Caribbean is included, the Tainos have another faction to fight (Carib). Zapotec, and Teotihuacan should be included also