[Mod Overview] Unofficial Mod Overview for EB 2.01

[Casual Tactician]

EUROPA BARBARORUM II

"QUISQUE EST BARBARUS ALIO"

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A total conversion mod of M2TW set in the classical era, starting in 272BC



Hoplitai Epilektoi (Elite Greek Hoplites)




Presenting the EBII campaign and battle gameplay with the Roman faction


If you are a skilled modder and want to help with EBII, then head over here: The EBII Recruitment thread

Changelog - last update: December 22, 2014

December 22, 2014 - only chipped condensed the earlier version - no new infos

Also visit the Europa Barbarorum II team's other platforms - esp. on twitter you can find the newest images and infos:

Europa Barbarorum II | Twitter
Europa Barbarorum II | Facebook
Europa Barbarorum II | YouTube
Europa Barbarorum II | Mod DB
Europa Barbarorum II | totalwar.org

Contents

1 - Short Overview & Background
2 - Factions
3 - Campaign Map
4 - Screenshots & Images
5 - Videos & Soundtrack
6 - All Previews & Interviews
7 - Link Collection

1 - SHORT OVERVIEW & BACKGROUND

Short Overview

Basics:

• A total conversion of M2TW:Kingdoms set in the Hellenistic period, Roman era
• designed for Kingdoms and will only work with the Kingdoms expansion, patched to 1.05
• Start date: 272 BCE
  
• End date: 14 CE
• 4 turns per year, with one winter season and overall greatly expanded effects of seasons
• 28 playable factions in the initial beta, for the final release 30 factions are planned

Campaign Map:

• A large campaign map covering Europe (except the far north), North Africa and Asia (as far as north-west India)
• 199 provinces, each with unique description scroll

Gameplay:

• [to be done]

Overhauled Battle Maps:

• There are no unique settlments for cities such as Rome, Athens, Carthage, Persepolis, Babylon, Alexandria etc. for the reasons mentioned in this post
• There are reworked battle maps with new generic ancient settlements & nomad camps, ie. no medieval buildings on battle map
• New vegetation and terrain textures
• Improved water, lighting, skies

Units and Battle Gameplay:

• [to be done]

Other features

• Voicemods in ancient languages for many factions
• Description scrolls of buildings and units offer extensive historic information on the building or unit and the timeframe in general
• Many, many more features...
• Please also read the ofdicial FAQ

Translation of "Europa Barbarorum II - Quisque Est Barbarus Alio"

Translation of "Europa Barbarorum II - Quisque Est Barbarus Alio" This is, to my knowledge, the translation for title and motto: 'Europa Barbarorum' = Europe of the Barbarians / The Barbarians' Europe 'Quisque Est Barbarus Alio' = Everyone is a barbarian to another/to someone So together it then reads: "Europe of the Barbarians II - Everyone is a barbarian to another (to someone)" A thread discussing the linguistics of that sentence can be found here.

Origin and Philosophy of EB2

Origin and Philosophy of EB2 Europa Barbarorum 1 (short: EB or EB1) is a highly respected and already released RTW modification made by the same team, that is now working on Europa Barbarorum 2 (short: EBII or EB2). A link to the EB1 mod for Rome: Total War is here. Statement from the EBII FAQ Europa Barbarorum was started to more accurately represent the barbarian factions in RTW as more than unwashed hordes, but quickly expanded into accurate representations of all of the factions. Over the X years that EB has existed, EB has completely remade the RTW game with the goal of historical accuracy and fair representations of all factions. With the completion of Europa Barbarorum Version 1.1, the team has moved on to the M2TW engine to recreate the Roman Era with the new features available therein. - from the official Europa Barbarorum II FAQ Statement from the official EB1 website Contrary to popular opinion, Europa Barbarorum is not solely focused on barbarian factions (though the name was derived from the roots of the project when our desire was to portray barbarians more accurately). Europa Barbarorum goes to great lengths to portray all factions correctly, including Rome. The Europa Barbarorum project started in January 2004 as a team with the intent of informing The Creative Assembly about the historical nature of the "barbarian" factions in RTW. Our aim was to gather as large an amount of historical information as we could and pass it on to the Creative Assembly, prior to RTW's release, in order for their portrayal of the "barbarian" factions in the game to be more accurate. Later, the team expanded their aim to also correcting the ahistorical representation of Egypt, and several other aspects concerning other factions. As it became clear that CA would not use this sort of information in RTW, the group decided to transform the project into a modification. Our effort has grown from this starting point to become what is possibly the largest RTW mod project in development. - from europabarbarorum.com the official EB1 website hosted by the mod team

Reception of EB2's predecessor: EB aka Europa Barbarorum 1

Reception of EB2's predecessor: EB aka Europa Barbarorum 1 Statement by Creative Assembly Back in the Rome days, Vercingetorix created tools that were absolutely key to the explosion of Total War modding; tools such as the CAS exporter and the unpacker. You were happy, we were thrilled and some fantastic mods (such as the breathtaking Europa Barbarorum) were born, and enjoyed by thousands, us included. We’re still in awe of what people achieved with Rome and Medieval II’s engines. - from the post Official CA comment - Total War: The modding situation Excerpt from a PC Gamer article 1. Rome: Europa Barbarorum Fans of historical accuracy will be delighted with Europa Barbarorum, easily the most well researched of the mods on this list. Five new factions have been added to diversify the barbarian forces, and all of the vanilla factions have been rigorously reworked to bring them closer to what modern scholars know of the era. This is an essential download for history buffs, or for anyone looking to get a more detailed and challenging experience from their copy of Rome: Total War. - from 10 essential Total War mods a PC Gamer article from late 2010 Excerpt from the EB1 wikipedia article Europa Barbarorum was featured and reviewed in a number of video game magazines. It has been reviewed in PC Gamer (UK) twice, in March 2005 and February 2008.The 2008 review was overwhelmingly positive, saying that "EB feels like a whole new Total War game", and going on to praise the modification's "stunning" scope and the "striking" extent of the differences between it and Rome: Total War. The review was somewhat critical of the modification's graphical user interfaces which "[occasionally]" had a "home-made" feel to them, as well as its lack of accessibility and steep learning curve, although it adds that the second point is not a large problem as the modification is largely a "master's challenge for accomplished Rome players". The review finished on a positive note, summing Europa Barbarorum up as a "superior game". (...) - from the 'Europa Barbarorum' Wikipedia article (October 2011)

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2 - FACTIONS

Starting Positions

Starting positions on old EB1 map:

[click on map to open large version]

map used is from Europa Barbarorum 1, not EB2


Official EB2 beta version map, with correct faction positions:

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

from CanOmer using the offical EB2 antique campaign map:

[click on map to open large version]

Faction List

Europa Barbarorum II features 28 fully playable factions. There are no emerging factions. The eight factions new for EB2, compared to EB1, are marked with an asterisk*:

01) Aedui -- Gallo-Celtic faction -- Central France
02) Arche Seleukeia -- Seleucid Diadochi Kingdom -- Anatolia-Syria<->Western Pakistan
03) Areuakoi* -- Celt-Iberian faction -- Eastern Spain -- preview
04) Arverni -- Gallo-Celtic faction -- Southern France -- aar
05) Baktria -- Hellenistic Graeco-Bactrian Kingdom -- Afghanistan-Tajikistan
06) Boii* -- East-Celtic faction -- Czechia -- preview1 preview2 preview3 video1 video2 video3
07) Bosporos* -- Hellenistic Crimean Kingdom -- Southern Ukraine-Russia -- short announcement
08) Epeiros -- Hellenistic Western Greek Kingdom -- Albania
09) Getai -- North-Thracian faction -- Eastern Romania -- preview1 preview2 video1 video2
10) Hayasdan -- Armenian faction -- Armenia
11) Koinon Hellenon -- Alliance of Greek Cities -- Southern Greece
12) Lugiones* -- Baltic faction -- Poland -- preview
13) Lusotannan -- West-Iberian faction -- Portugal
14) Makedonia -- Antigonid Diadochi Kingdom -- Northwest Greece
15) Massylia* -- Numidian faction -- Algeria -- preview video
16) Nabâta* -- Nabataean-Arabian faction -- Jordan-Israel-Palestine preview
17) Pahlava -- Scytho-Parthian faction -- Western Turkmenistan-Kazakhstan
18) Pergamon* -- Attalid Diadochi Kingdom -- Western Turkey -- preview video
19) Pontus -- Perso-Hellenistic Anatolian Kingdom -- Northern Turkey
20) Pritanoi -- Brito-Celtic faction -- Central England -- preview
21) Ptolemaioi -- Ptolemaic Diadochi Kingdom -- Egypt<->Southern Turkey tweet
22) Qarthadastim -- Republic of Carthage -- Tunisia-Libya<->Southern Spain -- preview
23) Romani -- Republic of Rome -- Central Italy -- preview1 preview2 video1 video2 aar
24) Saba -- Sabaean-Arabian faction -- Western Yemen -- preview
25) Saka Rauka -- East-Scythian faction -- Eastern Kazakhstan preview
26) Sauromatae -- Scytho-Sarmatian faction -- Southern Russia -- preview
27) Sweboz -- Germanic faction -- Northern Germany -- preview1 video1
28) Taksashila* -- Indian faction -- Eastern Pakistan -- preview1 video1 image-preview
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Eleutheroi -- Independent Peoples (rebel faction) -- North Africans

Have a look at the faction descriptions of EB1 to get a rough idea of some of the yet unpreviewed factions.

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3 - CAMPAIGN MAP

The campaign map for EB2 features numerous changes, both large and small, from that of EB1. These changes include borders, ownership, province names, different cities, different ports, and amalgamation, removal and addition of provinces.

Official beta version antique campaign map of EB2:

[click on map to open large version]

The Provinces

The Provinces Information on EB2's provinces: The mod features 199 provinces; 198 'playable' provinces plus Eremos, the unconquerable wilderness. Each province has it's own unique province building contaning a detailed text description.

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4 - SCREENSHOTS & IMAGES

Small Collection of Miscellaneous Screenshots



New Menu and User Interface (Pergamon faction)

[<- click to enlarge ->]
- - -
Faction Selection Screen --- Building Info Scroll --- Settlement Details --- Unit Info Scroll




Carthaginian Elite Cavalry






The Ambush

[click to enlarge]





Sauromatae Horse Archers







Aedui Heavy Infantry






Early Roman Infantry Units






Taksashila Units






Epilektoi Hoplitai (Elite Greek Hoplites)

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5 - VIDEOS & SOUNDTRACK

[to be done]

EB2 Soundtrack

EB2 Soundtrack The EBII Soundtrack Playlist on youtube.

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6 - ALL PREVIEWS & INTERVIEWS

Here's the link to the thread All the Previews in one Thread.... All as yet released previews and interviews in order of release date; plus other posts or articles with preview-like character:

All Official Previews

All Official Previews Mini images-preview of Taksashila (in spoiler of post #26) Aug 14 An EBII AAR, Roma May 14 Saka Rauka Mini-Preview Jan 14 EB2 Playtest: Arverni Dec 13 State of the Mod Adress, Fall 2013: We're Almost There Oct 13 Settlement Mini Preview (post #8 of Areuakoi preview) Dec 12 Resources Mini Preview (post #9 of Areuakoi preview) Dec 12 Preview: The Areuakoi Dec 12 Preview: Arabia Apr 12 Stele 10: Missing pieces of the UI puzzle Dec 11 Stele 9: another old name: XIDX Oct 11 Stele 8: release time... Oct 11 Preview: Taksashila (Mauryan Satrapy) Jul 11 Europa Barbarorum 2: Sweboz preview I May 11 Preview: The Boii (III) Apr 11 Preview: The Generals Jan 11 Preview: The Lugiones Dec 10 Preview: The Qarthadastim Nov 10 Preview: The Romani - (II) Jun 10 Preview: The Pritanoi Apr 10 Preview: The Boii (II) Apr 10 Preview: The Getai (part2) Mar 10 Preview: The Boii Mar 10 Preview: The Sauromatae Nov 09 Preview: The Getai Oct 09 Preview: The Romani Aug 09 Preview: The People of North Africa Jul 09 Preview: Mamla'ha biMassylim May 09 Preview Provinces Apr 09 February Preview! Feb 09 Stele #7: Making the models Oct 08 Announcement: The Gaza Campaign Sep 08 Stele #6: Pergamon May 08 Stele #5 Apr 08 Stele #4 Mar 08 Stele 3 Nov 07 Stele 2 Aug 07 Stele 1 Aug 07 Europa Barbarorum II FAQ

Interviews with team members

Interviews with team members Interview with V.T.Marvin Apr 13 MundusBellicus.fr Interview with Red_Devil (English version in second spoiler) Dec 12 Leviathyn.com Interview with JMRC Apr 12 Eagle Standard Interview with Foot Sep 11

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7 - LINK COLLECTION

Europa Barbarorum 2 Links

Europa Barbarorum 2 Links official: EB2 on Twitter EB2 on Facebook EB2 on YouTube EB2 on Mod DB EB2 at totalwar.org non-official: EB2 TWC Wiki EB2 fan-forum at mundusbellicus.fr

Europa Barbarorum 1 Links

Europa Barbarorum 1 Links official: europabarbarorum.com EB1 here at TWC EB1 at totalwar.org non-official: EB1 Beginner's Guide & Mod Overview EB1 online unit list EB1 TWC Wiki EB1 Fan Wiki EB1 Wikipedia article

Miscellaneous Links

Miscellaneous Links link-section of europabarbarorum.com EB1 bibliography at totalwar.org

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The End ...


Baktrian Hetairoi

[Casual Tactician]

[reserved]

[Casual Tactician]

Mainly for anyone new to EB wanting to checkup on EB2 before the beta release next month. Enjoy!

[romanius24]

Are you guys going to announce the day as well or is it gonna be a surprise release?

[Casual Tactician]

I'm not a team member, only your standard EB fan. This is an unofficial mod overview.

All I know is, that the team are going to release the beta in august - not matter what. It's probably going to be the 31st, I guess.

[Kull]

Are you guys going to announce the day as well or is it gonna be a surprise release?

The month we can 99% control, the actual date is going to depend on a number of factors. Without going into too much detail:

- There is a stop work date in early August (no more new content after that date)
- There is a follow on period of a few days where all team members will play the final version to ensure the last minute "content rush" did not insert any previously unknown CTDs
- If needed, a short period to trace down and fix these new problems (should they be found)
- Release the result to the installer creation team.
- Installer built and released to the team.
- A brief period to test the installer.
- Release the mod to the public.

As you can see, there's a lot of moving parts there, so it would be foolish to try and lock this down to a day - at least until we know for sure that everything is ready and it works. Which won't be more than a day or so before the release, anyway.

BTW - Very nice effort here, Casual Tactician!

[BarnicleBill1]

As happy as I am to see this released it also saddens me that it will most likely be right as I leave for school. But all good things come with time, I can wait another couple months to play this awesomeness!

[IGdood]

I'm actually a little scared that I'll have to "relearn" the recruitment of the units as undoubtedly this mod will be more advanced than EB1, but at the same time I'm happy to see such huge amounts of progress in a relatively short period of time.

[Anubis88]

Lol i forgot about half the features it took so long . Nice to see everything in one place again, great work.

I remember when the first EB was released it took me like 2 months to find a faction to go more than 10 turns with as everything looked so amazing. I have no idea how long it will take with EB2

[paradamed]

Nice effort in compiling all this info, man! It just gives us a taste of the delightful hours we will spend immersed in this beautiful world created by the team!

[Casual Tactician]

It just gives us a taste of the delightful hours we will spend immersed in this beautiful world created by the team!

Well spoken!

BTW updated the OP a little: only some rearrangements of sections and a few new images in the screenshots seciton, that's all.

[Gryphon Templar]

The government system is out of date. The team has abandoned the concept of Authority buildings.

http://forums.totalwar.org/vb/showth...d-public-order

[Casual Tactician]

Thanks! Corrected that.

[Diglytron]

Really looking forward to this. When I return from my trip to Iran, I know this is awaiting me.. That's a good feeling!..

[sitnam]

I'm super pumped for this mod. One thing I really liked about RTR VII in comparison to EB1 is the more concentrated number of factions in certain areas. Now with another Iberian faction, two new celtic factions, two new greek factions, etc we get that benefit here with the added benefit of a much larger map. I cant wait to vie for supremacy of Eastern Europe with the Lugiones

[tls5669]

Will EBII have its own webpage like the spiffy EBI one?

[alin]

Will EBII have its own webpage like the spiffy EBI one?

Yes.

[Menidas]

Yes.

Great news, I always found it difficult to keep track of all the information across the two forums. Especially when I don't have the opportunity to check for updates every day.

On topic: A massive thanks for this guide. Unfortunately I haven't been able to keep track of all recent announcements and changes around EB II, your post has saved me a lot of time digging through the relevant forum threads for snippets of information.

[Casual Tactician]

I've updated the Overview/OP:

- some new links in the 'Faction List' in section 2: newest Romani video, Ptolemy micro-preview (tweet), Taksashila image-preview and AARs for Romani and Arverni
- also added new Romani video 'Small Romani preview' in section 5
- added the 'Mini images-preview of Taksashila' and 'An EBII AAR, Roma' in section 6
- dumped most embedded images, but included loads of new, up-to-date links where to find good images of the new custom settlments, new vegetation, units etc.
- dumped the entire detailed features section, now there's a shorter version in the 'Short Overview' in section 1
- added links to other official EB2 platforms such as twitter, moddb.com etc.
- other, more minor changes
- polished presentation

[Menidas]

I've updated the Overview/OP:

- many new links in the 'Faction List' in section 2 to newest videos, mini-previews and AARs
- dumped most embedded images
- but included loads of new, up-to-date links where to find good images of the new custom settlments, new vegetation, units etc.
- dumped the entire detailed features section, now there's a shorter version in the 'Short Overview' in section 1
- added links to other official EB2 platforms such as twitter, moddb.com etc.
- other minor changes
- polished presentation

Thank you for all your work on this, it's a great and very handy summary to have. I've only now discovered the reputation feature of TWC (newcomer, I know...) and I'm glad to be able to test it on such a well-created and useful thread.