The Eagle Standard Interviews Blue Lotus
Well a few weeks ago after the release of the Troy Total War interview I was contacted by one member asking for an interview with the org based mod Blue Lotus. Many people here who don’t visit org know little about this mod so I thought I’d make at least one person happy and interview the great hoggy of Blue Lotus. I have done some research and collected some eye candy from the mod which will hopefully get this great groundbreaking mod a bigger fan base.
While editing this in the staff forum Archer commented and expressed in a few words exactly what I think of the mod, he is quoted as saying “holy crap. That is a very good looking mod. Almost like a brand new game.” The comment is justified just by looking at the screenshots, the game is beautiful and the artists went mad, so to speak. This is not a rigid realism based mod like many other mainstream mods it is unique and captures a more eastern cultural and artistic appeal. So, without further ado here is the TWC exclusive interview with hoggy!
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1. So to start off, can you tell the members what your Blue Lotus mod is all about? What are the aims of the team and modification?
Blue Lotus is a RTW mod with an oriental fantasy theme. We had the idea about a year and a half ago to make a fun mod incorporating historical elements from Japan, China and India. The map is a distorted map of Asia and factions use units from different periods of their history (and some which are just plain made up). A large force of demon units from oriental mythology are forming in the west and threatening the peace. So you have samurai armies, Chinese imperial troops, Indian elephants etc all fighting each other and the demon horde in the west.
The aim has always been to make a fun mod with a unique environment that could make the most of the RTW engine. The focus of the production has been to keep the team small and the goals achievable and to release before MTW2.
2) Who are the members of the team?
There is Blindfaithnogod who is no longer active but provided most of the text modding for Blue Lotus plus the Japanese building images and help in a number of different areas. Then there is Sykotyk Rampage who provided loads of research, lots of building images and demon artwork, did the excellent music and a whole raft of other bits. And Dromikaites who came on board for a couple of months to convert Blue Lotus to the 1.5 patch. A friend of mine, PixelGenie built most of the Mongol units too.
3) With the release of the Beta, how long would you say till the mod is complete?
That depends on progress really. The goal now is simply to get rid of most of the crash bugs and tweak gameplay. After that the mod will be what it was intended to be. I’m taking a break at the moment and trying to hire team members to get to the updated patch. After that I’m hoping to pass the mod on to a new team to take wherever they want it to go. There’s a lot of scope, new factions, scripted events, conversion to MTW2 etc.
4) What Version of RTW do members need to play the mod?
The current version is for RTW 1.5 patch (not BI)
5) A question I recently asked the Troy TW team was whether it is easy to coordinate and keep a team motivated and working together? What advice would you give other members interested into putting together a team?
Yes, the team dynamic is the critical part of a mod. For BL we didn’t need researchers or historical experts so the team has never gone above 3 main members. Keeping the team small makes coordination simple and stops it going off the rails. Motivation was easy but then we were lucky with our team members. Everyone knew from the start it could take a year or more and everyone had their specific tasks. The main thing to make sure of is that when someone is no longer able to continue that they let the team know so a replacement can be found.
6) Another question I recently asked other teams, what makes your mod project stand out with all the other competing mods out there, why should they download your mod?
Erm, don’t know. It’s definitely very different from other mods. I think people just need to look at the screenshots and decide whether they like the idea of Blue Lotus. Would they enjoy playing it? I hope that if they say yes the mod itself doesn’t disappoint.
7) Out of all the other rival mods, which most impressed you?
There’s been amazing work done on a lot of Mods. I tend to be interested in the artwork on mods more than most other areas. caius britannicus’ work on the Crusades Mod is excellent Chivalry TW looks great too. NTW2 is very professional and interests me because of the period. But in truth there are too many to be specific.
8) TWC doesn’t have much content and information about Blue Lotus, have you guys got any screenshots, Sigs and previews to show us?
Heh, well just for the record that’s no slight on TWC. It’s more of a result of our small team size so I can’t cope with having BL on more than one site and answering questions all over. The best bet is to visit the Latest Screenshot thread here: http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/forumdisplay.php?f=96 there are loads of up to date ones on page 38 of that thread.
9) Ok, here is an ES Classic - If you could make a slogan or catchphrase to go with the mod, what would it be?
Blue Lotus – ‘…Just when you thought it was safe to enter into aggressive dynastic struggles in the orient…’
Blue Lotus – ‘Puts the L into Lotus’
Blue Lotus – ‘More than just a Chinese restaurant’
Blue Lotus – ‘Choose life, choose Lotus’
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Well at this point you might want to see some eyecandy, and though editing linked images if something I hate doing, just for you guys, I have put together some pictures from the mod, more pictures can be ofund on the .org forum.
Here are some Unit and battle Screenshots -
Here is one from the campaign map -
Some Very impressive city screens - (note the cultures)
They even edited the battlemap! -
What else can I say? I think the mod speaks for itself, a truly artistic masterpiece which breathes a breath of fresh air into the modding community. I strongly encourage all of you to try it out yourselves and download the beta from the link below.
You can download the Beta from Here!
I would like to personally thank hoggy and the Blue Lotus team for their time!
(The images and content shown in this article are not official and do not credit specific features to any mod, the mod team should not be held responsible for any content shown in this article.)