Conbribute to the mod - don't be a freeloader

[ABH2]

Figured I would start a thread like this to see how it goes. A mod like this has a lot of tasks that go into it, and I know a lot of you are looking forward to our project. I frequently get messages from people with little modding experience who say they want to help/contribute. They tend to vanish or feel overwhelmed. This thread can be a place where people who aren't ready to make the commitment to a large modding project can help us out and make sure our first release has more detail than it otherwise would. There are others out there who are definitely creative and capable enough to add little bits to the mod. So this thread is basically a place for people to provide contributions. Anyone who provides material we use will be credited when the mod is released.

Things we could use help on:

• Unit descriptions.
• Main Menu faction descriptions.
• Factional intro text. The advisor box that pops up when you start a new campaign
• Factional chapter objectives. The mod starts in 202 BC. Some of this can be geared around Rome II's. Some will need an adjustment. Double points if you can actually do the basic scripting or at least match regions and such to the DB, though not required.
• Historical background info on cities. This is the concept in Wrath of Sparta, or DeI where if you select a city for the first time, an advice box pops up giving you some info.
• Historical background info on historical characters (I know we haven't released a list, but feel free to throw them out there).

Most of the above is just doing a bit of basic research on Google, and writing a coherent paragraph. Or a few.

If anyone has more complex stuff they wouldn't mind contributing, feel free. Outline a concept, supply a variantmesh for a unit etc. Or if you are a modder who wants their work included/considered for AE.

Thanks to anyone who helps us out.

[N0vaxz]

I think people are pretty confused as to where the mod is and when it is looking to be released. There seems to be no real transparent plan or visible indicators. People are unlikely to commit their time to something they cannot visibly see or understand where things are and what things are and how they are going to be and when they are going to be etc. A couple previews here and there doesn't explain much and there is no real sticky that really keeps people updated with a progress track/marker. Im sure the core modders might have a good idea but to everyone else it just looks like a never never project.

[The Wandering Storyteller]

I think the mod itself is getting active with lots of updates, its a lot of hard work being put here and I would rather wait for now.

[ABH2]

I think people are pretty confused as to where the mod is and when it is looking to be released. There seems to be no real transparent plan or visible indicators. People are unlikely to commit their time to something they cannot visibly see or understand where things are and what things are and how they are going to be and when they are going to be etc. A couple previews here and there doesn't explain much and there is no real sticky that really keeps people updated with a progress track/marker. Im sure the core modders might have a good idea but to everyone else it just looks like a never never project.

We haven't done many previews of late. More out of laziness in that are than lack of progress.

• Macedon
• Ptolemies
• Achaean/Aetolians
• Epirus (in progress)
• Galatians
• Germans
• Parthia (In progress, ported from DeI)
• AOR/Mercs are being added

Campaign wise:

• All factions in place
• All family trees done
• Character arts are ~95% done (this is not an easy process)
• Buildings are being added in along with recruitment
• First tech trees being added in
• Character traits in progress
• Military traditions, character skills in progress
• Stances in progress
• Population system in progress

When I say in progress, I mean work is going on in those areas right now. Sometimes with team members the public isn't even aware of. I just added in a large number of buildings yesterday. Ptolemaic roster was just completed.

Most mods don't have any progress tracker in public. I'm very proud of the work our team does and the progress we make. There is a very solid core of modders and I think we've been very successful at attracting talented modders. This thread is about detail work that we are slow to get around to. Even when we lose a modder who is doing interesting things, we have another step up and take their place.

I understand that people judge a lot by the forum, but this mod is constantly active and has never been close to stagnant or dead, thankfully. We have about 8 people working regularly which is quite good for a mod team.

[The Wandering Storyteller]

This is background info on Philopmen of the Achean League.

Philopoemen the Strategos, the last of the Greeks now stands at the crosspoint of destiny. The Achean Army has been restored to its former heydays of glory. Elected over eight times as Stragetos, he has humiliated the Macedoniains, subjugated the Spartans and commands troops from many regions of Greece. His famous victory against the Spartans and Illyrians when Philopoemen launched his attack, the surprised Spartan forces fled that day. In the encounter, his horse fell and he was wounded by a javelin, yet he continued to fight behind the enemy's lines. In the end the Spartan forces were massacred by the Macedonians and their allies and Cleomenes was forced to flee to Egypt. As the leader of the Achaeans, Philopoemen’s actions impressed Antigonus III. Philopoemen helped turn the Achaean League into an important military power in Greece. He was called "the last of the Greeks" by an anonymous Roman.

At Mantinea in 207 bc, the Spartans led by Machandias were defeated and their ruler killed in one to one combat. The Acheans erected a brozne statue in triumph which captured the fight between Machanidas and Philopmen. Nabis of Sparta in 201 BC, was a powerful regent and nobleman of Sparta. Before, in 205 bc, Phillip of Macedon made a temporary peace with Rome on favorable terms ending the first Macedonian War. After the peace Nabis went to war, but was crushed at Teagea and forced his dreams of a resurgent Sparta to be denied.

Gortyna was besieged in 199 BC, Philopoemen returned to Crete again as a mercenary leader who changed his tactics in the style of guerrilla warfare and helped them defeat their enemy. In the meantime Nabis took advantage of Philopoemen’s abscene, laying siege to Megalopolis for a lengty period. Accquiring Argos with the Macedoniains in an alliance would prove nothing, as he later defected towards Rome in the expectation that he would hold onto his conquest.

The Romans checked Nabis’s growing influence with the accusation of Pro Counsul Titus Quinctius Flaminius that he was abusing his power as a tyrant. The Romans took Gythium in Laconia and forced Nabis to surrender Argos thus withdrawing in 194 BC from Greece. With the Romans no longer in Greece, the domiant powers became Macedon, the Aetolians, strengthened Achean League and a weakened Sparta. The Aetolians who had opposed the Roman intervention in Greek affairs incited Nabis to retake his former territories and regain his influence in Greek affairs. The Achean League re-elected Philopoemen’s return as stragetos to lead his fight against Nabis. The Romans responded favourably by sending Praetor Atilius with his navy, as well as an embassy headed by Flaminius. The Achean Army and Navy headed towards Gythium under the command of Philopoemen and defeated the Spartans in sea. On land the Acheans missed a chance to defeat the Spartan forces outside Gythium and Philopoemen retreated to Tegea.

Philopoemen managed to gain a victory over the Spartans at Laconia after being ambushed. He pushed his plans back for capturing Sparta itself by the request of the Roman envoy, Flaminius after his arrival in Greece. Both sides agreed a peace treaty.

Nabis then appealed to the Aetolians for help. They sent 1,000 cavalry to Sparta under the command of Alexamenus. However, the Aetolians murdered Nabis and temporarily occupied Sparta. The Aetolian troops seized the palace and set about looting the city, but the inhabitants of Sparta were able to rally and forced them leave the city. But Philopoemen took advantage of the Aetolian treachery and entered Sparta with his Achaean army.

Now in full control of Sparta, Philopoemen forced Sparta to become a member state of the Achaean League. Sparta's entry into the league raised the problem of how to deal with all of the Spartans exiled by the social-revolutionary regimes that had dominated Sparta for a number of years. Philopoemen wanted to restore only those Spartans who were willing to support the league. This meant that he adopted an uncompromising hostility to traditional Spartan concerns.In 188 BC, Philopoemen entered northern Laconia with his army and a group of Spartan exiles. His army demolished the wall that the former tyrant of Sparta, Nabis, had built around Sparta. Philopoemen then restored Spartan citizenship to the exiles and abolished Spartan law and its education system, introducing Achaean law and institutions in their place. Sparta's role as a major power in Greece ended, while the Achaean League became the dominant power throughout the Peloponnese.

These actions provoked opposition even from Philopoemen’s supporters in Sparta. As a result, his opponents in Sparta appealed directly to the Roman Senate, which repeatedly suggested solutions to the disagreements, all of which Philopoemen and his supporters rejected. In fact, Philopoemen and his supporters refused to recognise any Roman role in Achaean internal affairs as they argued that Rome had previously recognised the Achaean League’s independence through a formal treaty.

This aggressive attitude towards Sparta and towards Rome split Achaean politics. However, Philopoemen died before these matters were resolved. In 183 BC, Dinocrates, who strongly opposed Philopoemen, encouraged Messene to revolt against the League. After Dinocrates announced that he would capture Colonis, Philopoemen decided that he needed to subdue the rebellion.In the ensuing battle, Philopoemen found himself behind the enemy's lines and was captured by the Messeneans after his horse threw him. He was then invited to drink poison to allow him to have what was then regarded as an honourable death. On hearing of his death, the members of the Achaean League joined forces to capture Messene. With his death, Philopoemen's body was cremated. At his public funeral, the historian Polybius carried the urn with Philopoemen's ashes and later wrote a biography and defended his memory in his Histories. Pausanias wrote that after Philopoemen's death, 'Greece ceased to bear good men'

[The Wandering Storyteller]

Deleted post.

[The Wandering Storyteller]

Deleted post.

[The Wandering Storyteller]

Deleted post.

[The Wandering Storyteller]

@ABH glad to hear the progress going well.

@ all

I might have made a few errors, but please do correct me where I got wrong, etc.

[Petellius]

1) the celts are also done ABH forgot that faction.

2) we could do with some people renaming the cities to Rome 2 era names. If you could edit them in DB too that would be great

[The Wandering Storyteller]

Deleted post.

[The Wandering Storyteller]

deleted post.

[The Wandering Storyteller]

Deleted post.

[The Wandering Storyteller]

I've used wikipedia as my source, but hey its to get the flavour of each faction going.

[Sheridan]

That's some serious steam, Triumph. For the sake of making your descriptions accessible, I would suggest that you consolidate all faction intros into one post and other categories in other posts. It'll help us finding them and eventually returning with any comments - plus it's easier for others to track.

[The Wandering Storyteller]

All faction intros in one post, you are free to delete any of my posts if they don't contribute much.

For Ptolemic Egypt:

Egypt lies in ruins after Sosisbius retired, Agathocles exploited the opporunity causing civil war and resulting in the explusion and destruction of him. Ptolemy V Epiphanes inherits the throne after his guardian Tlepolemus takes place. He too is removed from his incompetence. To the East, the over-confident and aggressive Selecuid Basleios, Antiochus III looks to exploit the opportunity of uncivil rest and he builds his armies. The Galations seem to be under the influence of the Selecuids, and Macedon is also willing to join in alliance. Oh Glorious Pharoah, will you take the reigns and drive the Selecuids away and establish an empire worthy of Alexander's successors?

For Rome, the faction intro when it comes to the campaign:

Consul!

Scipio's army has landed in Carthage and now reports that Hannibal is 130 kilometers south west of Carthage. This is the chance now to defeat Hannibal and end the 2nd Punic War! Numidia has joined in with us and their King is sending over three thousand troops to aid us. We can either negotiate a peace treaty, or elsewhere...take the city later Elsewhere, Makedon looks at us suspiciously, rebuilding their armies after their first defeat. The barbarian tribes to the north resent our relentless expansion and we are facing hostilities with the Iberians. Counsul, if you were to expand, removing Carthage from the Mediterranean will make Rome the dominant superpower. Attacking Cornith will result in the explusion of all Greeks who wish our destruction, and the Selecuid Empire to the east makes for ripe pickings. Expand to Macedonia and you will get the annoying Dacian/Thracian tribes. For the Glory of Roma, Rome will win, Rome shall triumph!


For the Achean League:

Main campaign intro:

Stragetos! Your actions have spurred the Achean League into a power respected by Makedon, Rome, and Sparta. Our armies are strong, and the treacherous Spartans led by their corrupt tyrant Nabis wait for a chance to restore Spartan Hegemony on the Hellenic Peninsula to take control of all Greece! Will we allow such a thing to happen? Macedon is on favorable terms after the victory against the Spartans at Mesentia. Rome is still annoying thorn in our plans, and I believe that we need to strike and take Sparta. They are nothing like their forefathers. Those Spartans that support the league are welcome to join. By Zeus, we can retake Greece, destroy Macedon and expand into the East, and make an empire worthy that Alexander, the brute destroyed all of Hellenic Greece. If we do that, then we can meet and deal with's Rome countering influence. Carthage would be useful as an ally against the Romans, and we will meet their needs. Destroy Sparta, defeat Macedon and expand into Greece, then onto Rome, will establish the glory of the Greeks again as we did at Thermolpaye!

For the Selecuids:

This shall be the in text intro when you launch the campaign and read it.

Following the succession of the new Selecuid Basleios, Antiochus III has awoken the Hellenic World like never before. Taking advantage of the Hellenic philosophy that has been spread among all free Greeks, Antiochus III declares himself the champion of Greek freedom against Roman Domination. He has restored the Selecuid Empire and rebuilt into such a glorious and magnificent beast of Greek Triumph. The Selecuid army is strong, with Rome not daring to even face us! Antiochus III watches as civil war erupts in Alexandria, and the lands of Ptolemic Egypt are ripe for the taking. Perhaps Antiochus III can honour Alexander by finishing the Ptolemies off, for adopting foreign customs and becoming weak as they have become. The Aetolian League is a respected neighbor, while Macedon's Kings are weak, they are ripe for the taking. Seleucid intervention in Greece may secure the Greek stronghold against Roman expansionism. Rome has not been kind to its enemies, after defeating the invincible Hannibal who now commands our fleets ready to strike at the Romans. The Greek city states have given full agreement to respond to our calls of war, and it is only a matter of time before Carthage is gone and Greece too. Our borders near the Mauryn Empire have been secured, having been gifted 300 wonderful elephants by their most magnificent king, Porus. Take control of Greece, take Rome, and then expand into the north. The Selecuid Empire must expand and win! We shall build an empire worthy of Cryus the Great and of Alexander!

For Pergamon:

In game text intro:

Oh Great Attalus! Great Basielois of Pergamon, your city is the tale of merchants when they spring through your markets. Gold fill your coffers, and you are seen as the protector of the Greek cities in all Antonalia! . As a loyal ally of Rome, you have earned the title of Soter and King. You have defeated the Macedonians twice and Galations, and have harassed their navies to throughout the Aegan, gaining possession of the Greek islands of Aegina and Andros during the first war. Samos is ripe for the taking, Chios to the North, and your allies, Rhodes, Byzantium and Cyzicus will join you next year to gain further expansion. The navy is strong as well as able to defeat any of the larger empires navies. Phillip of Macedon awaits for a chance to besiege Pergamon, and Rome keeps an ever watchful influence. They are good people, unlike the Seleucids or the Macedonians. A war between the Macedonains and Rome is ever likely, and the people are behind you. Rome will call on your help, for she has honoured your commitments. Be ready and destroy Macedon! Take control of the Macedonian Kingdom with the help of the Achean league and your allies. When done, then slowly expand in Asia minor, attack the treacherous Selecuids and take control of Asia minor, then expand into Greece, into Rome, and the world shall see the glory of Pergamon!


For Parthia:

It is the year 202 BC. Arsaces II, o glorious leader, you now wait patiently for the end of the Selecuid Empires and to build a great Empire of Parthia. We are close to the descedents of Persia, and by Ahura Madza, we shall expand. Antiochus III inflicted an crushing and humailiting defeat for which we willl take our revenge. We now lie as vassals. Antiochus III will be soon going to war in Greece and Rome. When the time is ripe, your sons will take over and expand the Empire when he is not looking. Doing border raids and further skrimishing will do the trick because Antiochus III cannot always send his armies over. The Empire is too vast for that. Which is why we wait, when the time is right and our armies have gathered, we shall strike down the Backtrians, and then build an empire by allying with the city states who are suppressed. We shall then move to Selecuia and restore the capital of Cyrus the Great and Darius II. We must build our armies, grow our economy, and defeat the Scythian tribes should they be troublesome. When the time is right, we strike and defeat the Selecuids! But we must be careful of Antiochus, his armies wreak havoc. Be prepared, and when he dies, then is our time to expand!






For Eprius:

In-text game intro.

The Epiroites could rule the world. Alexander took an army to the Indus and established an empire worthy of all Greece. Our leader, Phyrrus has been dead for a long time. Our once glorious empire and army now lies in a state of a decadent ruin. The Romans disturb our borders, harassing our citizens while we wait and watch. Philopeomen of the Achean League shows no friendliness towards us, and the Aetolians, treacherous snakes, dance as if they were in the hills of Olympius! The Macedonians, whom we separated from, seem intent on making us allies. There is danger though.....the Molssasins seem to side with Macedon, while the Chaonians and Thesprotains seem in the future that they will ally with Rome. The Greeks live in a dangerous time, and further division will only lead to the Romans expanding into Greece. If we all had united, then the Romans would never have expanded into Greece. But Carthage seems weak, and Hannibal, their invincible general has fled to the Seleucid Empire. I fear the Romans will use their cunning. O Stragetos, you must side with Macedon to defeat Rome, and then expand and rebuild Epirus by defeating the Macedonians, and attacking the Aetolains. Alternatively, let us side with Rome, and attack Macedon, and slowly get on their best sides. Once we become powerful, we shall expand and throw them out. It is up to you Stragetos, but Epirus must survive in these difficult times. Perhaps.

[The Wandering Storyteller]

@Sheridan, noted and will post a post with all faction intros. I thought it would be easier separating them, but no probs.

[tgoodenow]

Which cities do you want the historical information for?

[Petellius]

Well first we need the Vanilla cities (such as Ravenna) converted into something more fitting for our time frame. So just finding things like that would be great.

[The Tribunal]

If I could get a unit list I could write up some unit descriptions. Just got done with finals so I'll have some free time for a bit and all of my history books are all over my living room already so might as well put them to use before I put them back in storage.