Noob Question: Please Introduce me to this stuff

[Fioret]

I'm brand new to the forums so I'm really confused about everything. Basically, I wanted a new BFME and through Google eventually stumbled upon this, and later realized it was actually a mod for Total War.

Now, Total War is a computer game, correct? And Third Age: Total War is a mod that will completely change the old game, correct?

Please enlighten me, or direct me to some sort of "Ask Questions Here Thread" if one exists

- If it a RTS game, where you control units and attack buildings/other armies?
- Can you control heroes or atleast unique units such as Aragorn/Gandalf etc?
- Do units, buildings, and places have their own unique appearance? Will I be able to immediatly recognize some one like Elrond, and the buildings in Rivendell for example? Does Rivendell exist?
- How does the game play.
- Does this game/mod have an active community? Is it still alive?
- Does this game have an editor that will allow me to manipulate the original Total War game, or improve upon Third Age: Total War? If its anything like the 'ol WC3 Editor I'll be really good at it... like, REALLY good


I'm going off to do my own research now with Google/Youtube, so I'll return to this thread and hopefully see some or all of my questions answered. Thank you in advance everyone!!

[knight of meh]

Now, Total War is a computer game, correct? And Third Age: Total War is a mod that will completely change the old game, correct?

Please enlighten me, or direct me to some sort of "Ask Questions Here Thread" if one exists

- If it a RTS game, where you control units and attack buildings/other armies?
- Can you control heroes or atleast unique units such as Aragorn/Gandalf etc?
- Do units, buildings, and places have their own unique appearance? Will I be able to immediatly recognize some one like Elrond, and the buildings in Rivendell for example? Does Rivendell exist?
- How does the game play.
- Does this game/mod have an active community? Is it still alive?
- Does this game have an editor that will allow me to manipulate the original Total War game, or improve upon Third Age: Total War?

-turn based strategy game i would call it
-yes they have been added as generals and through various submods they also have hero abilities
-rivendell is in and yes there are unique battlefield models for most heroes (hard to see some of the 3k people ina full army average)
there are also individual unique settlements erebor , minas tirith , imladris etc.
-hard to explain ... well? there is money which pays for everything you build up individual settlements to produe more money population units etc.. you use these units to attack other settlements and win by completeig victory conditions (there are also spies assasins and diplomats)
-yes it lives
-yes you unpack and edit the files there are a list of tools for specialized stuff though like mapping , 2D art , individual battle models etc.

and can a moderator change the title of this thread from noob question to noob interrogation please

[The Juggernaut]

Hi there Fioret, welcome to the Forums. Yes, Total War is a computer game, and Third Age is a mod that will greatly change many elements of gameplay. I don't think there is a FAQ thread for your questions, so I'll try to handle them, assuming you haven't played any Total War games in the past.

1. Total War is a combinantion of Turn Based Strategy and Real Time Tactics; that is, you'll build your economy, recruit units, negotiate with allies and enemies, and maneuver armies on the campaign map in a turn based fashion, similar to Risk or Axis and Allies (except the map is open, not just set provinces). On the other hand, battles take place on 3D modeled battle maps with the armies you bring to the fight, with realistic effects based on terrain, stamina, morale, etc.
2. Third Age has made custom units for this mod, including many of the heroes of LotR, with their own abilities and appearance.
3. This mod has put in a LOT of work in making models for both the campaign and the battle maps, with Minas Tirith, the Mines of Moria, and other locations being (rather amazingly, imo) modeled. Last I checked, Rivendell did exist, you should be able to check this section of the forums for more details.
4. The game plays the way you want to play it. You can wait for turns without aggressively advancing on your enemies, or you could start blitzing from turn 1, your choice. I've been playing Total War for years now, and it's one of the few games that I always come back to.
5. These forums are hopping, there are updates to this mod all the time and it's been in the works for years. Medieval 2 is one of the most modded games for Total War, and it doesn't look like they're going anywhere soon.
6. The files are text-based I believe, I've never modded any of the older games but if you'd like to get involved there are mod workshop thread to get you started, and many modders are always looking for people with experience to help, even if they need some training.

All in all, I would heartily recommend both this mod and the Total War series in general. These forums are awesome, and our modding community is fantastic. Hope you enjoy you stay here, hope to see you around.

- The Juggernaut

EDIT:

A link for you:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTcNL7dU_vA

[knight of meh]

Yea i forgot to say hi and welcome

to clear something up there are really two sections two the files the .txt and the others this include stuff like:

-.TGA and other pic formats for the map and pictures ,
- and then the decidedly more complicated model , skeleton files
-some XML files
- others for projectiles..

yea that's all can remember of hand but there are other people much better at this than me

[Lortano]

Welcome to the forums!

Yes this game has an active community indeed, which is why there area huge number of Lets Plays for this mod, feel free to check them out, some of them are really good!

[Mhaedros]

If you want to mod the game or just this mod, you can ask your questions about that in the Mod Workshop.

[Ngugi]

Welcome to the TWC Forum Fioret

This is a Total War game mod. You need Medieval 2: Total War, with the Kingdoms-expansion, for Third Age: Total War to work
Read info about the games
http://www.moddb.com/mods/third-age-total-war
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medieval_II:_Total_War

and check out youtube videos of Total War games and/or TATW and you get a good look what you're up to

The Mod Workshop can be found here: http://www.twcenter.net/forums/forum...-and-Resources

Answered and Closed

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

*If there is any considerations on moderation actions - feel welcome to contact me*