SP Dark Ages The Sword And The Axe

I'm glad people are liking the new companions!  Antonis was very generous (and trusting) in letting me make up any one that I wanted as long as they fit in the theme.  I like to write, so I had a blast helping out!

@Ambrois LeGaillard: So glad you like the NPCs.  I think it would be difficult to make the opening quest "more viking."  Constantly referencing mythology and Norse gods is very difficult to do without being corny and unintentionally funny or annoying.  I tried to change the Calradia references in very subtle ways.  When in doubt, I tried to err on the side of subtlety.  The only time I intentionally included some silly moments were with a couple of companions (notably Magni), which you can take out of your party if you find annoying.

Just wanted to point out a few more things.

1. Defeated Kings are not leaving the realm. I had to go find Ragnar and Fornjot and make peace with them long after their faction was destroyed. King Olaf is also standing around in the snow near Alburg castle. There are variations of this problem with most WB mods so I am not sure what can be done about it. I think it is part of the lord get home center dilemma.

2. There are still some Khergit and Sarranid castles and villages. Also when you look out at the horizon from a lot of the redone scenes you can see desert with palm tree clusters. I think tha map is still trying to represent this area of Calradia.

3. I was thinking you might be able to make the Gulf of Bothnia accessible by ship from the north sea by just removing the land strips that connect  Kvenland and Danemark and having some type of ferry. Alternatively you could just remove it and the player cannot cross that section until he has bought a ship. You would end up with a situation where you want to cross from one side and your ship is on the other side but oh well. I think a ferry that charges you based on party size is a cool idea. I think that is how sea travel is handled in Brytenwalda but you would have to reconcile it with not charging you when your are cruising around on your own longboat. I also think the boat speed just be dropped just a bit. Like from 15 to 10 or 11.

4. To be honest I feel the map is just a bit too compact. It seems like you value performance over all else and we are definitely on the same page but there are some large maps in mods with little or no lag. I love the mod PoP but the #1 reason I get bored with it is that the map is just too small. It's just not epic enough. Scandinavia is huge and I would really like to get that feeling when playing this mod.

5. Along with the sword length problems there are problems with the spears. A balanced war spear is heavier than a balanced heavy war spear and more expensive. I think the amount of weapons in the mod is more than sufficient for now but at some point you or one of your minions is going to have to sit down and restat most of the weapons. Even the axes need to be looked at. I have still only found 1 hidden chest so far (you weren't lying about it being very VERY hard, maybe a bit too hard.), but I was wondering if you put the Ulfberht sword in one of them. That would be pretty sweet.

6. Last but not least. Vassals need to pay tribute. Period.

So, to answer to your list:

1. That's a problem with many mods, I cannot find a way to solve it. In fact, I don't know if it is possible to solve it.

2. I will take care of the villages that remain etc. and as for the horizon, I am working on it.

3. To alter the map it's easy(just I will erase a line of land or two, easy stuff). But as you said, there will be trouble with your ship and I have not the adequate level of knowledge to make a ferry operation.

4. Yes, indeed performance is a bit high on my list of priorities. As for the size of the map, it's actually a little bigger that Native Calradia. Yes, you feel it smaller, because there is water in the middle. Also, the map is tight for gameplay reasons. I could make it bigger- a bit or a lot- but then, there would be a great distance between settlements and it wouldn't be what I had in mind. What I was thinking is that you would have to be wary during a siege, because other enemy castles are near and you could be attacked any time or other situations like this.

5.Item stats have to be rebalanced and are being already. Also, this:

Adrale said:

... but at some point you or one of your minions is going to have to sit down and restat most of the weapons.

Click to expand...

What? The team members are my friends, I am not their lord !?
All I could think is this:
Apart from this, yeah, some items are really a problem and will be rebalanced asap. As for the hidden items, I am guessing you found a chest in one of the towns(the only one in towns). The others are way more concealed than this, so... Also, as a spoiler, I say to all, if your PERSONAL looting skill is skyhigh, you will find interesting stuff dropped from kings(only kings, though, uniques for lords are being worked upon).

6. I agree, I will see what I can do.

You always have such awesome and detailed replies. You must be the most considerate modder in the MnB community.

On the lords pay tribute thing, I wonder if you could make it fair by adding a weekly expense for the player in the form of a tribute you pay to one of the kings if you are part of a faction. It would need to be less than the amount you receive from the fief he gives you but I think its a nifty idea. I have seen mods where you receive tribute from your vassals but not where you have to pay tribute. I think it is quite Viking!

I seem to remember you mentioning putting some neutral villages at the extreme of the map to raid. You could have them drop items like this from PoP

On a completely unrelated subject and since I was posting a photos anway, here is the view from my balcony in Nicaragua.

I just created an account here in order to congratulate you, Antonis and your team, for this wonderful mod. I found it when I was looking for viking's themed mods and I must admit that I fell in love with it. In fact, I also shared it with a great spanish community (Can't post the link here due to my recent registration).

Keep doing an awesome job, we'll be waiting for patches and new features ^^

@Adrale: Wonderful view you have there. It must be awesome to wake up to such a sight.

@Rumeu: Thanks, I appreciate it. Please, transfer my regards to the spanish community!

some news, Antonis? have you modified something on the version 2?
waitin impatiently to the bettered version 2.

GO GO GO ANTONIS!!!!

I have taken care of the floating bridges and now, if other parties want to move to sea, they will move to sea(but ONLY if they want to go there). I have fixed some minor issues, rebalanced some stats, that were wrong and I continue.

Good work.

well, when the reworked version 2 is ready, I will take.

For now, good sunday, and good Teotokos dormition



italiani e greci: Una faccia-Una razza

@Adrale: Thanks!

@Ambrois LeGaillard: Thanks, but I am a bit of an unbeliever(not an atheist, I just don't have an interest for religion). But I can appreciate your motives and thank you for that.

Also,

Ambrois LeGaillard said:

italiani e greci: Una faccia-Una razza

Click to expand...

It's funny, but we have the exact same saying here(borrowed from our Italian neighbours, of course, as we have different words for face and race. But, yeah, a nice cultural crossover.

i am orthodox christian,Antonis, this explain because I know the feasts in Greece (Teotokos sleeping is in August 15, some days later for those that use the Julian calendar, like me)  : when I came on Greece, many years ago, Ihave visited Rhodos and Patmos, and many people said that words at me.

Aniway, they was right to say in this way: this an is the real proof that we are a face, a race:



Ugo Foscolo. Noone better of himis the real proof, born in Zakintos, here is exalted as one of the greatest italian poets, with Giacomo Leopardi and Alessandro Manzoni, other poetrian and writers of the XIX century and also in Greece is highly respected and known.

For many students it's a great font of yawns...he heee...how many times in school we have read some his poetry...but only now, that I have 50 yrs old, I have acknowledged his greatness.



 

Strange, my uncle lives in Rhodos for the last 30 years!
And of course I know Foscolo, I wrote a study on him. He was, among other things, the teacher for a good deal of our poets(from the Ionian Sea), including the poet of our national anthem, Dionysios Solomos. Yeah, our people have a lot in common.

b-but you should hate each other, remember WWII
*drops the apple of discord and runs*

I know you were joking, but still, why would we hate eahce other? Even our grandfathers didn't hate each other, they did their goverment's orders. Actually, my cousin is married to an Italian and he is a great guy.

yep just joking, and also asking in a stupid way if there's friction between the greek and italian people.
Nice to see that it has been left in the past.

usually no, crodio: I remember that many greeks resembling italian from South Italy, like Calabria and Sicilia.
Here's we have also in South Italy some little towns in Puglia and Calabria, speak ancient Byzantine, because they was part of the Byzantine empire once a time.

Near Agrigento (Sicily) and Lungro (Calabria) we have also Albanians-NOT modern immigrants, but people that come more than 400 years ago, fleeing from Turks, and remained here, and they speak ancient Albanian like in XVI century.

A face, a race

I didn't knew that the Greeks and Italians were so close, it is nice to know that (i am of italian ascent, but from Cuneo, this seems more like southern thing, is it?)
Did the Greeks recieve italian volunteers in their war of independence of 1821?
People talking Byzantine is something i'd be interested in seeing hehe, do they speak ONLY Byzantine or Italian also?
Are those Albanians muslim albanians? or christians? (Orthodox, Catholics?)
If i'm asking too much let me know 

how much asks! Happy to see an interest in culture.

Well, starting:
about 1821 rebellion, I don't know much, really.

of course Puglia's people speak italian, then our regional dialect. Those townmens speak Italian, then this Byzantine as our dialect.

Albanians immigrants came in XVI century, guided by Georgios Castriota Scanderbeg, they are greek-catholic, (NOT orthodox like me) and follow the Byzantine rite. In the city of Lungro they have the Eparchy seat.  Their culture is called"Arbereshe" and some famous writers and noticeable people came from them.
Here's for you a video at Easter, with the Kristos Anesti hymn.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDzdAOsTeXQ

here's the page from Wikipedia, please seek in English, this is italian.

http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arb%C3%ABresh%C3%AB

an ask for you: but you are from Fanar? I remember that in Turkey there are descendants of italian immigrants.