Shoutout to Neph

[PFElton]

Hi. I have signed up for these board specifically to issue this message of thanks.

At 22 years of age, I have never been a Zelda fan whatsoever. I always found the "established" lore to be a high-fantasy mishmash patchwork of fairy-tale junk with no rhyme and reason to it. Further, I don't care for the Zelda games either - especially Ocarina of Time, in part because of the aforementioned lore-grief and partially because I found them to be way too puzzle-oriented as a kid. Yes, this fact has generally left me odd-man-out in discussions about great RPG's. The whole IP simply never did it for me.

That is, of course, until now.

Last Tuesday, simply bringing this mod up in (a Hyrule: Total War) conversation led me to actually download it. What was I expecting, you may ask? Something foolish and poorly done, awkward incomplete models and a few broken maps with the fairy-men I interpreted as a child. Later that evening, I was pushing 9 hours of playing this mod and beyond converted. As far as I'm concerned, your lore beats the four-and-counting lore's Nintendo has put out; you've taken the pieces of the franchise and organized them into such a realistic, immersive, vibrant tale that has me banging my head against the wall waiting for more. You have put so much passion and spirit into your project and the fruits born of it are sevenfold. Distinctly, I'm still not a conventional Zelda fan; I am, however, a diehard Hyrule: Total War fan with nothing but respect and appreciation for he who has put so much time and effort into his work and created something that trumps every other modification out there - yes, including my beloved Third Age and Stainless Steel.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you, Neph, for taking this on and producing such a high-quality product that supercedes previously perceived boundaries of Medieval II: Total War. With the Memory Editing Patch promising us Medieval II.V: Total War, I have no doubt that you will take this to greater heights yet. I'm chomping at the bit for the next release in July; after you've squashed the bugs that will arise from that, please, take a well-earned month to recharge the batteries and prepare for the future.

[Nelduin]

This is the better first post I have seen for ages! Welcome here, you man of good taste.

[PFElton]

Thank you.

[UndyingNephalim]

And this sort of thing is why I keep working on this mod despite my waning interest in actual Zelda games and putting up with angry Zelda fans. Thank you so much for reaffirming my faith in Hyrule: Total War. I think I'll be able to make it to the July release without a complaint now.

[Dragus]

Well-said and welcome. Neph's mod was the same reason I signed up on TWC as well.

[PFElton]

Forgive me for hijacking my own Thread of Gratitude, but what's this I keep reading about expansions to HTW? Are they being developed on the side?

[UndyingNephalim]

Forgive me for hijacking my own Thread of Gratitude, but what's this I keep reading about expansions to HTW? Are they being developed on the side?

There are four expansions that will all be made after HTW is complete. The exception is Great Sea: Total War, which I occasionally work on simultaneously.

Great Sea: Total War is a direct sequel. It focuses largely on content from Windwaker, Phantom Hourglass, and Spirit Tracks. It also has a larger emphasis on naval combat.

Termina: Total War is a sequel to Great Sea. Link finds his way into Termina, only to discover Majora is up to something new. It focuses on content from Majora's Mask, Hyrule Warriors, and A Link Between Worlds.

Shadows of Hyrule: Total War takes place before HTW, during HTW, and after the Great Sea. Impa and Rauru find their way into the Realm of Twilight. There they attempt to establish a new Church with the hope of ridding the world of Majora's influence. There is some content from Twilight Princess but it's largely never before seen creatures, factions, locations, and an original enemy not in other Zelda games.

Gods of Hyrule: Total War takes place at the creation of the world and is therefore a prequel. It is not based on any Zelda game and serves as a revelation about the Goddesses and their motives.

Most of this I wanted to include in just one large game, but arbitrary hardcoded limits forced me to separate them. Even with the memory Editor patch they will likely remain separated.

[Son of Osiris]

Well said PFElton, and since you created this post I don’t want to miss the opportunity to thank Neph as well.

I’m also 22 and I didn’t even know Zelda until Twilight Princess, I actually never had a console until the Wii. I’ve always been a pc guy…

But after playing the game I actually wanted to know more about the Legend of Zelda and I ended up finding this Mod on YouTube.
I still remember that epic trailer on IGN that made me go to Amazon, and make a delivery here to Portugal to get Medieval II Total war just to play this Mod…

At the time I knew very little about Zelda, I had no idea spiders where Ghoma or skeletons where Stalfos but the idea of fighting giant spiders and strange creatures with an army of soldiers seemed really epic to me and something unique...

It was because of this mod and of course because of you Neph that I ended up studying stuff about the legend of Zelda, so I could understand the story behind it and what each faction represented...

I was really disappointed when Skyward Sword came out because it had nothing to do with TP. But I think this is why this Mod shines… You made it to separate from the childish that Nintendo took Zelda and actually made a game for those who grew up with the Zelda games from NES, and at the same time it ended up being so epic that even those, like myself who never cared about the Legend of Zelda actually wanted to play it just because of how well made it was.

For all of this I want to thank you, and remember you that the ones who most appreciate your work are not the ones who make the most noise and you should never get the wrong idea about this Mod. A great work will always have his haters, it’s impossible to make everyone happy, but you sure made a lot of people happy, keep it up

[PFElton]

Wow, looks like there's a ton of lore on the way... which gives me an idea...

[CommyXD26]

Great Sea is one of new breakthroughs to Medieval II, as it features sea battles which is impossible in Med II. You can check Neph YT's page for its trailer and 1st gameplay. It's not complete though, so expect many changes.

[PFElton]

Great Sea is one of new breakthroughs to Medieval II, as it features sea battles which is impossible in Med II. You can check Neph YT's page for its trailer and 1st gameplay. It's not complete though, so expect many changes.

That naval combat, alpha and unpolished as it may be, is incredible. I had no idea Medieval II was even capable of that - then again, it's a stroke of brilliance, adding a water texture and simply modeling ship-units. Why couldn't CA do this in the first place?

[Drazule]

I found out about Hyrule Total War by stumbling upon the Gerudo Wars' page on the Zelda Wiki years ago. I straight up bought Medieval 2 to play this game, and while I've also enjoyed the main game as well as other mods, I have no regrets putting the time and money to play this mod first.

We all owe Neph a great deal, and no matter how much we complain or question him on the forums, he deserves all the respect we can give him. Maybe something more, but that's about the extent we can do for now.

[Eldren]

I found out about Hyrule Total War by stumbling upon the Gerudo Wars' page on the Zelda Wiki years ago. I straight up bought Medieval 2 to play this game, and while I've also enjoyed the main game as well as other mods, I have no regrets putting the time and money to play this mod first.

We all owe Neph a great deal, and no matter how much we complain or question him on the forums, he deserves all the respect we can give him. Maybe something more, but that's about the extent we can do for now.

Hear! Hear!

For me. I got Medieval 2/Kingdoms just to play Hyrule Total War. I don't even bother playing the other Mods. That's how good this game is.
I did try Third Age before, But it was crap compared to Hyrule Total War, "At least in my opinion". I much prefer HTW's Game play over Third Age's.

[tedster1995]

Hear! Hear!

For me. I got Medieval 2/Kingdoms just to play Hyrule Total War. I don't even bother playing the other Mods. That's how good this game is.
I did try Third Age before, But it was crap compared to Hyrule Total War, "At least in my opinion". I much prefer HTW's Game play of Third Age's.

Same here i came across this game completly by accident and im sooooo glad that i did, it is very rare that i follow a game to the degree i do this one. It is the best mod i have seen period. All i can say is a massive thank you really

[Sir Aroun]

I love this mod! Even though I can't play it (Ubuntu Computer) I always keep up to date with it and look for LPs of it. When I do complane It is because I just what it to be the best it can be. Keep on going you crazy modder!

[SirMark9]

I guess this is turning into "How I discovered Hyrule Total War", so I'll chime in.

I enjoy the Medieval Era and enjoyed playing Total War Shogun II, so during the Steam Winter Sale of 2013 I picked up Medieval II and its expansion for cheap. I immediately starting playing vanilla, but when I stopped playing the "Recent News" segment had an article about Hyrule Total War by PC Gamer (Hyrule: Total War trailer celebrates 3.0 release with of the Medieval II mod with a giant scorpion). Having a passing interest in the LoZ series even though I never really got in depth with any of the games or the lore, I ended up giving it a try.

So, now I'm here. I still haven't touched any other mods besides HTW (there are so many other games I still need to play), but I loved the Hyrule Historia and the cinematics included with it. I'm still a noob when it comes to knowing everything there is about HTW, but it is an enjoyable mod that renewed my interest in the mainline LoZ series. So, great job on your work for HTW, Neph!

[Jakeford]

I discovered Hyrule: Total War after I played Twilight Princess 2 years ago. I played A Link To the Past and Oracle of Seasons as a kid, but Twilight Princess re-established me as a Zelda fan and I came very interested in it. Now I own many Zelda games and enjoy them. (all of which are older than Twilight Princess)

For many years I have also been a Total war fan. I started to think of how awesome it would be if their was a Hyrule: Total war (yes I thought of it with that name) full conversion for medieval 2. Then I Google searched that name and found this. While it is not exactly what I wanted, I wanted a mod relatively loyal to canon with a good campaign, Hyrule: Total war is still a Zelda mod!

I always found the "established" lore to be a high-fantasy mishmash patchwork of fairy-tale junk with no rhyme and reason to it. Further, I don't care for the Zelda games either - especially Ocarina of Time, in part because of the aforementioned lore-grief and partially because I found them to be way too puzzle-oriented as a kid.

Ouch.

[PFElton]

I stand by my comment on the "established" lore; the quotations are there because there is now 4 different official lore's by Nintendo and counting, so I don't understand how Neph was supposed to stay loyal to the lore.

As far as I'm concerned, for the work and creativity involved, Neph's lore is at least as legitimate as anything Nintendo churns out.

[Jakeford]

I stand by my comment on the "established" lore; the quotations are there because there is now 4 different official lore's by Nintendo and counting, so I don't understand how Neph was supposed to stay loyal to the lore.

As far as I'm concerned, for the work and creativity involved, Neph's lore is at least as legitimate as anything Nintendo churns out.

It would be impossible to stay 100% loyal to Zelda lore with a total war mod and I never said he should do that. That being said their is still plenty of room in this mod to be more loyal, their are tons of cases where Undyingnephalim ignored or changed a perfectly good piece of lore. To be honest many of those changes are not for the better if you ask me.

Yes, Undyingnephalim is a much better story teller and lore writer than Nintendo, but I still wish that it was more loyal, this is a Zelda mod after all.

[starwars90001]

I go into zelda after I got project64 and keep hearing about oot, I don't discover neph unit a few months later when I was looking for zelda fan made games, I got into to HTW through nephs older games so I played fallen sage first and time's menagerie before I play this, with the open ending of time's menagerie I wanted to what came next in HTW which was going to end the story, it wan't unit I saw the mission on youtube that I got instead in getting HTW.