Empire Rising (Roman Republic last civil war mod)

[MagusCaligula]

Empire Rising is a mod for Medieval II Total War Kingdoms I'm developing set at the twilight of the Roman Republic during its last civil war. As it's a mod I'm making on my own, all ideas and help is welcome, I need specially all historical information possible regarding armies, etc at this specific time period. I'd like to thank to all modders and teams who gave permission to use their work.

Campaign Map:


FACTIONS:



- Saka (Eastern Schytians + Indo Scythians)
- Sarmatians
- Kingdom of Kush
- Satavahana Empire
- Indo Greeks
- Numidia
- Greek Cities
- Bosporan Kingdom
- Sabaean Kingdom

Features (WIP):

- Campaign starting near the last civil war of the Roman Republic (41 BCE)
- 21 Factions
- Recruitment based on a government system, unique buildings and AOR
- Campaign map from Iberia to India
- 4 turns per year (seasons affect gameplay)
- Historical trade routes, wonders of the world and other important historical sites
- Historical units and buildings

[MagusCaligula]

So I've decided to replace the map with the one from De Bello Mundi which means that factions will have all their historical regions and that will be added more factions. This will obviously delay things a bit as will be extra work but it will be for the better All game design will remain though nothing will change about that but instead of this small map you'll get one from Iberia to India and more factions, not a lot more but a few more at least.

EDIT: I've actually rebuilt the mod from scratch using DBM as base.

[Dismounted Feudal Knight]

Interesting. I'll keep a watch on this.

What exactly do you need? What fields are you working on, and which ones are the slowest or best developed?

[MagusCaligula]

Well I'm working on all fields xD any kind of help is welcome, being it 2d art, modeling, historical information, anything.

[MagusCaligula]

Interesting. I'll keep a watch on this.

What exactly do you need? What fields are you working on, and which ones are the slowest or best developed?

Well I'm working on all fields xD any kind of help is welcome, being it 2d art, modeling, historical information, anything.

[Dismounted Feudal Knight]

Well I'm working on all fields xD any kind of help is welcome, being it 2d art, modeling, historical information, anything.

What I seek is a plan, organization, even a log - you do not approach it as 'all fields at once', do you? Step by step in getting various pieces functional, and having a broad, mechanic based idea of how to implement exactly what you want, even if you have not made it - even the basic explanation of what it is can prove helpful. The idea here is also to get the idea that you're structured and approaching things one by one, as evidence that the mod will make it to completion because of those factors and not sheer luck if it does get that far.

Are you establishing placeholders, and then putting content into them? Temporary models and such would be very useful while you get the mechanics going. Are the factions defined (at the very least, their label and which ones will be used/dropped), ready to have information put into them bit by bit, or is that yet to be done? The reasons for having each faction? (some are obvious, some could be good to explain, for the sake of designing gameplay around them - gameplay and historical reasons in other words, as well as distribution across the map).

[MagusCaligula]

The mod has been rebuilt from scratch using DBM as base. Description updated, also new screenshots from campaign map and factions selection menu.

[MagusCaligula]

So ofc I do things step by step and yes in many cases I just use placeholders. The factions have been chosen and placed on the campaign map as you can see in the newest screenshots. I've used Augustus campaign map from Rome II as the base for the placement of most factions (as it starts exactly at same date) and also researched about all factions, placement of factions outside Augustus map was based on my research.

Criteria for the factions chosen: 1st - the major factions at the time obviously, 2nd - the representation of most peoples covered by the campaign map, 3rd - factions that weren't much relevant at the time anymore but that feel different and are fun to play.

What I'm looking to do now is all the UI stuff and after that start working on the recruitment, government system, unit rosters, etc. It would be great if someone could make some nice government building icons

Additonal explanation regarding certain factions:

Greek Cities: 40 years before the starting date of the mod, Sulla had already crushed the Greek rebellion and subjugated them. However there was still an important and completely independent city which was Byzantium and an excuse to have this faction which will have an unique gameplay. Byzantium would keep its independency for a long time and would only lose it in 196 CE after siding with the wrong Roman faction (the one who lost xD )

Indo Greeks: By the starting date of the mod they had already lost most of their territory to Indo Scythians inluding Taxila and Ghandara region a few years back, however to make them worth even be in the mod as they're close to 2 giant factions I also gave them Taxila / Ghandara region.

Indo Scythians: Indo Scythians it's basically the name given to Sakas who migrated to India regions so in the mod they're included in the Sakas, however they'll be represented by the government system with an Indo Scythian government building in India.

Bosporan Kingdom: They were almost finished but not quite yet

[Dismounted Feudal Knight]

Alright, good, good. I'll ask about specific uses of mechanics, mostly to get an idea of what specifically is in mind, but feel free to tell me to shoo if I ask too much. I probably am I tend to be an inquisitive fellow...

So first, perhaps most fundamental - Is the base working from DBM 1.0 or the 2.0 version? Aside from getting an idea of the contents in the thread, I'd be interested to know which version to base on if I were to eventually contribute things here. I can get into mechanics from there, and perhaps contribute a thing or two down the road.

[MagusCaligula]

Alright, good, good. I'll ask about specific uses of mechanics, mostly to get an idea of what specifically is in mind, but feel free to tell me to shoo if I ask too much. I probably am I tend to be an inquisitive fellow...

So first, perhaps most fundamental - Is the base working from DBM 1.0 or the 2.0 version? Aside from getting an idea of the contents in the thread, I'd be interested to know which version to base on if I were to eventually contribute things here. I can get into mechanics from there, and perhaps contribute a thing or two down the road.

It's DBM 1.2

[MagusCaligula]

Also CommodusIV, in terms of scripts the ones in DBM are irrelevant as this mod will have its own scripts, what will remain probably from DBM is most of the graphical stuff, units (which will be edited) and most of the campaign map icons, everything else will be new including AI and gameplay will be completely different. New gameplay mechanics and different things like for example the only agents in the mod will be the same as in Rome TW (spies, assassins, diplomats). The economy and happiness factors will be harder and the pace will be slower. Also most traits and ancillaries will be overhauled.

I'm not going to write big texts in the forum like usually you see as I rather spend my time in actually making the mod, I'll rather show the progress with screenshots, I'm also not looking for a modder team as I like to work at my own pace and implement my own ideas, however external help in some specific areas like 2d icons and modeling/edit is always welcome

[Mamlaz]

Very interesting.

What is that red faction from east Iran to the Urals though?

Also, this Thracian kingdom may interest you as a candidate for a faction;

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odrysian_kingdom

or perhaps the Kushans as an emerging faction;

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kushan_Empire

[MagusCaligula]

That faction is Saka Rauka which include the Indo Scythians as they were actually the Saka who invaded India regions. The Indo Scythians will be represented by the Indo Scythian government building in India regions. However this mod is on hold atm as I started working on a new project which is kinda of an overhaul to DBM 1.2 It will start at the time Pyrrhus of Epirus had Syracuse in his possession. The reason I've started this new project instead it's because this mod was taking too much of my time as I needed to build all factions from scratch, so a lot of boring stuff to do. While in the new one I can focus on stuff I like to do and less boring stuff In terms of factions there will be new ones like Epeiros and the Nabatu and many removed. In total they'll be 20. There will be ofc changes to some factions owning settlements as it starts at an earlier period. But in general I'll not need to lose a ton of time with stuff like traits and building/troop trees and I'll use that time to work on gameplay and aesthetics which is essentially the stuff I like to do

[Razor]

Nice setting! If I could make a suggestion it would be: focus. Focus on the setting of the mod, the Roman Republic in civil war. That means cutting the map in the east and only include parts of the Parthian empire. Also cut the map in the north at Denmark and in the south to include Egypt. The reason being: you don't need all that area for your mod and definitely not the whole area all the way up to China.

By making the map smaller you can make it bigger and more detailed, with more factions specific for the setting. Here's another map you could use: http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showt...a-Campaign-Map
Using that map I'd suggest cutting off the north and the east a little bit.

The reason I've started this new project instead it's because this mod was taking too much of my time as I needed to build all factions from scratch, so a lot of boring stuff to do. While in the new one I can focus on stuff I like to do and less boring stuff

Trust me, there's a lot of boring stuff ahead when you make a mod or a game in general.

[MagusCaligula]

Thanks, I'll take a look at the map.

[Razor]

Thanks, I'll take a look at the map.

Let me know if you can run the map. A few days ago I couldn't start the map and I had to fix a small error. If you run into the same error, that means that it's not just me and that I have to update the resource map.

[MagusCaligula]

Let me know if you can run the map. A few days ago I couldn't start the map and I had to fix a small error. If you run into the same error, that means that it's not just me and that I have to update the resource map.

I've tested it and it's working perfectly to me. Great map btw and being built on Geomod is great too, editing stuff in DBM map is a pain as it won't load on Geomod and I need to do everything manually in the code...

[bahabuh]

I like this mod but if have add asia is will very great

[HolyBob]

You don't need anything in Asia past Parthia. Please do as Razor suggested and keep your campaign focused on Roman territory and frontiers. It will make it much more enjoyable for your fans. I would even suggest the same for your other mod based on Pyrhhus's military career. Cut the map for that mod to include Italy, Sicily, Greece, the Balkans and North Africa, if you are able. Doing this will separate your mod from every other Roman era mod in existence.

[MagusCaligula]

You don't need anything in Asia past Parthia. Please do as Razor suggested and keep your campaign focused on Roman territory and frontiers. It will make it much more enjoyable for your fans. I would even suggest the same for your other mod based on Pyrhhus's military career. Cut the map for that mod to include Italy, Sicily, Greece, the Balkans and North Africa, if you are able. Doing this will separate your mod from every other Roman era mod in existence.

I agree for this mod but not for the other one as they're different concepts. The other mod is kinda of an overhaul to De Bello Mundi, the description is just temporary, I mention the Pyhrrus campaigns to give an ideda of the starting date but is not focused on the Pyhrrus campaigns at all. Anyway the other mod is the one I'm working on, this one is on hold atm. I know people seem more interested in this one as it's a different time frame but the other one it's more of a personal thing, yeah most mods and games in antiquity start around that date but that's because it's the most interesting in terms of factions and units variety. This is my personal take on that era, I've played great mods and games on that era but none was exactly as I wanted and Aurei Imperii will be as close as I can get it to be The interest (or lack of it) in that mod is not a concern to me.