Previews

[tone]

I'm thinking it would be nice to think about getting some sort of preview out in a couple of weeks....maybe the factions icons, plus some of the new units? Or do them separately? Just to keep the momentum up and the fans interested.

[Drtad]

I'm thinking it would be nice to think about getting some sort of preview out in a couple of weeks....maybe the factions icons, plus some of the new units? Or do them separately? Just to keep the momentum up and the fans interested.

Yeah, people react very well to previews. I know I do. Maybe you could preview the new icons and the new Armenian roster, and then in the next preview you could show the new Pontic and Parthian rosters, and then blah, blah... all the others.

[aja5191]

Honestly not a bad idea, as we have (most?) os the material on hand, and all there is to do is format it all together.

[Spartan_Shame]

I think three more weeks. I can have the icons and sigs done, and it gives the modellers/skinners some extra time, or whatever.

Maybe 1 faction at a time eg

Roma Surrectum 2.0 Preview 1: Rome

Or whatever.

[spirit_of_rob]

If you are gonna do previews dont burn out like Hegemonia did with our previews it has the opposite effect of intended Moral of the story pace your previews dont show too much to early otherwise people assume the mod is finished if they see the units they think it is done

[removeduser_426582376423734]

If you'd like, I can get some screenies of whichever units you need, maybe with the sun in the back, or something like that?

[dvk901]

If you are gonna do previews dont burn out like Hegemonia did with our previews it has the opposite effect of intended Moral of the story pace your previews dont show too much to early otherwise people assume the mod is finished if they see the units they think it is done

I tend to agree with SoR. Let them wonder and beg. Feed them a doggy biscut, but not the whole bone.

[Drtad]

Good point Spirit. Perhaps to negate that you could have a nifty progress bar thread?

[pseudocaesar]

whatever we do, we dont want to do a RTR 7

[Drtad]

whatever we do, we dont want to do a RTR 7

Yes. They don't have a progress bar. Progress bars are the greatest things since sliced bread.

(Unless you don't like sliced bread of course. In that situation you're hopeless.)

[removeduser_426582376423734]

Who doesn't like sliced bread?

So, how are we gonna do this thing?

[tone]

Im going to be away for a week from this Friday, so won't get anything done for a week. Thoughts about order:

1) We reveal the identify of the other factions and unveil the new icons
2) ?Generals: We have celtic generals, scythian, Hellenistic (if SoR is done by then) and I could do a Dacian before then (then being maybe 3 weeks' time)
3) Armenians?
4) .....others. It really depends on how AE's progress goes, because while I'm starting off a few Eastern units (those with new models required) there's no way that I'm planning on doing the skinning on all of the Eastern stuff.

[Drtad]

I agree with 1 completely. I would mesh 2, 3, and 4 together and just call it "New Units Preview" instead of making it specific.

[tone]

Maybe do the monthly preview thing a bit like EB? with the new units we've done that month? There's certainly plenty to show.

The other thing well worth previewing is the new map!

[Deus ret.]

Is it ready? Well, it would certainly be a good teaser.

[dvk901]

Yeah, that would be nice, but right now it isn't very presentable. Expanding it like Squid did 'flattened' it to the point where it looks dull. NR is going to fix it. Then we could.

[Drtad]

The map should be presented a in the second Patch 11 preview. It seems like a long, hard job. Faction symbols and new units should be done first.

[cherryfunk]

If we're going to preview the factions, I think we should do an overview of why we chose those factions and how it will present a new strategic template for RTW. One of the keys I think is our desire to do something fresh from a gameplay perspective, to 'mix things up' a bit and give the player some new RTW experiences.

The faction situation in most mods is pretty familiar, -- some of the mods have slight differences, like the Illyrians in RTR or the Arverni/Auedi split in EB, but with most mods the strategic situation at the start of the campaign is 90% the same as any other mod.

With the introduction of Syracuse, Pergamum and the Bosporans, Roma Surrectum started to offer something different, and these new factions have been popular. But that was just the tip of the iceberg. In upcoming releases, we're planning to add:

-- Three new 'permanent' unique factions: the Belgae, the Boii and the Scythians, each of which is unique, and each of which occupies a formerly-vacant spot on the map. This means any faction the player chooses in Europe or on the steppes is going to be a new and fresh experience, regardless of how long he's been playing RTW. These are either brand-new campaigns to try, or they're brand-new enemies to fight; either way they give the player something new.

-- The new 'selectable' Greek Cities: Syracuse, Sparta, Rhodes, Massilia, Crete, and Athens. Each of these will offer a fun Greek campaign, and most of them have never been seen before in any mod. And if the player isn't playing a Greek faction, he can choose the one that's nearest his chosen faction and make the situation in that part of the map even more dynamic. For example if I decide to play the Arverni, I can select Massilia and have to confront a Greek faction right on my southern border -- perhaps my first victim, but perhaps my worst nightmare! If I'm playing Rome, I 'activate' Syracuse, and suddenly I have to confront both Carthage AND those !*&%$! Greeks!

And speaking of Carthage...

-- The new start-date, and the creation of a Carthaginian base in the Po valley, with Hannibal and his army poised to invade Italy and threaten Rome; this will give the Roman player a fun new challenge, and will allow the Carthaginian player to try something different and lead Hannibal on one of the greatest campaigns of history. Can he take Rome? And if he does, what then? How does Carthage defend such a widespread empire? These two factions will each be in a brand-new situation for the RTW player.

I think if we can preview this new strategic setup with some nice pictures and pretty maps it should generate some interest, because one thing people are looking for is a fresh new angle on this game that we've been playing for years...

[GershomPatmos]

Scythians? We already have Sarmatians (I believe), and a few other factions in that area...I don't believe we need another horse-ridden faction to be honest. I would take the "unique" Scythian units and just use them for AOR units instead - either for mercenary or tie them into military buildings for AOR. With Parthia, Macedon, Sarmatia, Pontus, etc. - I definitely think this faction would end up being unplayed or cared very little about.

I'm all go for the belgae and boii though...I think people just long to see diversification now. I hate looking at same units or similar ones over and over. But definitely like historical aspect of course.

later,
Gersh

[tone]

Actually we made a firm decision a while ago to include the Scythians, Boii and Belgae as the remaining 3 factions. The Scythians by this stage have become much more settled and have some interesting unique units and as a faction are much more colourful than the Sarmatians will be and stronger in the infantry department, so quite an interesting melange of horse archer and Greek culture. Take a look at the Scythian preview and you'll see what I mean about the colours - I think they'll probably end up being my favourite faction.