Countdown to 268 B.C. v1.98 for WARBAND (updated 6/3)

[ealabor]

As usual, here is the itemized list to be updated before release is required.

Faction model/texture construction progress:

Roman Republic
Gaul Federation
Dacia
Kingdom of Pontus
Pergamon
Kingdom of Cyrenaica
Nabataea
Taurican
Syracuse
Massalia
Kingdom of Brigantia
Kingdom of Scythia Minor
Tribes of Illyria
Numidia
Kingdom of Epirus
Tribes of Iberia
Tribes of Sarmatia
Macedonia
Seleucid Empire
Tribes of Germania
Carthage
Chremonidian League
Ptolemaic Empire
Belgic Confederacy


Custom scenes progress:
(each culture will get two or more scenes to be used for stock scenes. Atm some have 1 completed)


Villages -
Roman      vill - done
Illyrian  vill - done
Iberian    vill - done
Carthage  vill - done
Massalia  vill - done
Numidia    vill - done
syracuse  vill - done
C. league  vill - done
macedon    vill - done
Nabataen  vill - done
Epirus    vill - done
Cyrene    vill - done
Taurican  vill - done
Pontus    vill - done
Pergamon  vill - done
Brigantian vill - done
Gaul      vill - done
Belgae    vill - done
Germania  vill - done
Sarmatia  vill - done
Dacia      vill - done
Scythia    vill - done
Ptolemy    vill - done
Seleucid  vill - done  - ephesus

Towns -
Sarmatian culture
Scythian culture
Dacian culture
Numidian culture
Carthage culture
Greek culture
Roman culture
Egyptian culture
Southern Gaul culture
Northern Gaul/Germanic culture


Castles -
Roman      castle
Illyrian      castle
Iberian      castle
Carthage  castle
Massalia  castle
Numidia    castle
Syracuse  castle
C. league  castle
Macedon    castle
Nabataen  castle
Epirus    castle
Cyrene    castle
Taurican  castle
Pontus    castle
Pergamon  castle
Brigantian castle
Gaul      castle
Belgae    castle
Germania  castle
Sarmatia  castle
Dacia      castle
Scythia    castle
Ptolemy    castle
Seleucid  castle

Unique Scenes:
Athens
Carthage
Rome
Pergamon
Halicarnassus
Antioch
Massalia
Corinth
Syracuse
Alexandria
Memphis
Mediolanum
Gergovia
Rhodes
Ephesus
Olympia




1. Port to 1.0+ once module sys released. Warband
2. New formations to be implemented.
3. Accurate names for new faction generals. - Faction leaders + a few done.
4. Retool the code to lower quantity of centers vs AI parties to encourage aggressiveness.
5. Restructure of non lord party types
6. Rework stats/style for phalangites -
7. Resolve excessive buildup of prisoners - possibly with fam member AI
8. Remove Hollywood style units - 300 Spartan
9. Equipment availability on character creation.
10. Remove proposed reformed units - Imperial Romans. Replace with elite ally or patrician units
11. Implement custom music
12. WTF is this leveling-up bug - resolved in 1003 modulesys or not?
13. Cultures, troop trees, historical names needed for new faction units.
14. Revision to existing unit names - need consistent theme to unit names: Latin, or Greek. Revised English where neither possible. Correction to Greek/Roman singular/pluralization: os/oi e/ai ?
15. correct out of place bandit parties spawns - wtf is the cause.
16. Remove overlooked native items - Charger etc. Native models until new BRF released
17. Reduce clone effect in troops - more variety of armors / helmets.
18. Gaesatae need precursor without ranged flag.
19. remember scenes for centers and test them.
20. resolve waterwalking issue
21. Reduce build times for improvements.
22. New recruitment style MUST.
23. Revision to "Overhand" spears.
24. Increase char and renown bonuses to .903 268 B.C. revisions.
25. Increase revenue from centers

26. Equip and assign proper attributes to troop tuples
27. Readjustment to all shield models to account for new animation
28. LODs for items
29. Mod polishing - revision to flora models, ground textures, HDR


Models/Textures -

1. Rework Spartan equipment.
2. More Pilos variety and inclusion.
3. New screen art needed for various new load screens and interfaces.
4. New banners needed for new factions. Include the old ones + replace conflicting banner. Banner pack being made or not?
5. correct texture sheet - DTX3 needs to be converted to 5 for some graphic card and alpha issues.
6. If new BRF - coloring tool to fix over-colored sections of armor models. No longer relevant
7. New icons  for map.
8. 25 new Hoplon texture goal in 5 sheets of 5.  New factions need + old need historic iconogrophy - Ptolemies / Carthage
9. alpha channel/specular texture sheets
10. All armor texture sheets need to be retouched
11. Rework helmet textures
12. New skirmisher shields.
13. footwear needs to be redone.


Contributors(pending new skeletal BRF):

Corrections to elephant Skeletons
Finalization of chariots Not happening until mod tools updated.
reintroduction of saddleless horse models.
renaming of horse types Moved to later version


1.98 Changelog + Discussion -

-  All armors resistance to cutting damage has slightly been increased.
-  Troop experience gain slightly increased.
-  Garrisons of castles and towns have been significantly reduced to encourage AI aggressiveness.
-  Javelin stack sizes have been reduced 20-30% (except Pilum)
-  Gaesatae now have a chance to spawn with spear in addition to spawing with precursor weapons as well.
-  Corrected several misplaced centers in Eqypt, and reworked Egypt geography.
-  Building times on center improvements have been reduced 90%
-  Renown has been tweaked to give 1 additional troop per 2 renown.
-  Speed of overhand spears significantly increased. Damage moved from pierce to cut.
-  Added magelord's all centers gather tax script.
-  Non lord faction parties now join battles
-  Scaled down the thureos and Gallic body scutum shields.
-  Corrected precursor type for Roman Leves and Rorarii
-  Hastati armor value slightly increased.(pectoral)
-  Maniple units - Hastati / Principe / Triari  have had their level values increased.
-  Both Sarissa models have been moved to 2 handed class. They will also no longer function on horseback.
-  Equipment which was previously numbered to represent the various ethnicities has been changed. No longer is it numbered in scale to represent the ethnicities, but rather they are now marked A - African and E - Eastern. Also with the .960+ BRF version, the skin tones were overdarkend from the transition from .903 BRF. Skin tones between equipment should now correspond much more efficiently on account of textures being generated for each ethnicity.
- Reworked helmet models: the alpha feathers have been replaced with models in order to allow speculars for all helms. The cheek guards for all Montefortino helmets have been revised.
- Added Highlanders player kingdom script. 
- Increased the length of Kopis models and stats to reflect this. Kopis has also had it's item class changed and has been given a small piercing thrust attack.
- Created custom world / battle map terrains.
- Added OSP unarmored horse textures
- Long Sarissa reach slightly increased to match model length.


Hegemony 268 B.C. Staff and contributors:

Active Team members:

Ealabor - Mod director. Custom interfaces, all Strat map models, most scene prop models and textures, and retexture to native props, most custom scenes. Most new equipment textures - Muscle cuirasses, Linen cuirasses, hamatas, chitons, armored horse textures, hoplon models and textures, retexture and revision to helmet models, retexture and revision to footwear models.

AlphaDelta - Mod Assist. Textures galore - Stay tuned for the finale tally.

Stelious - 95% of helmet models. Kataphract elephant helmet model. Bireme model

Alxcruel - Scythian/Sarmatian shield models, rigging support.

Jamoecw - Scripting related projects

Nick Wylie - Exclusive music composer www.nickwylie.com



Contributors:

Phoenix  -  Gastrophetes model, Egyptian prop models and textures, retexture to Roman  scene props, revision to Roman and Greek scene prop models, revision to Wonder scene props, arena prop models, Celtic scene props. Custom scene creation of Chersonesos, Athens.
PuuKKo - Original source (since refined)
Tercero - Custom scene creation of Massalia, Memphis, Arretium.
Andeg - Original map (since refined)
William Berne - Elephant models and textures. Armor rigging support.
Tiberius - Faction banners
Shifty - Original 7 Wonders models
Alxcruel - New Scythian and Sarmatian armour and helmet models.  Armoured horse models.
Johnny Shumate - Art

Mirathei - Formations script
LCJr - Faction renouncement script
Grailknighthero - Formation hotkeys concept
Fei Dao - Scripting support, working revision to Mirathei's recruitment script. Naval recruitment script.
Calous - Custom animation support.

Elmetiacos - Celtic research
Somairle - Celtic research
Swisshalberdier - Roman research
Weaver - Scythian, Sarmatian, Taurican research
Zima - Syracuse research
Tacit- Greek research

 

[Tacit]

Ambitious. 

 

[ealabor]

Ambitious. 

I think "unhinged loon" are more suitable words

 

[Berkona]

curious as to why the change from overhand spear from pierce to cut?

 

[ealabor]

curious as to why the change from overhand spear from pierce to cut?

to offset the damage increase from speed.

 

[Pode]

Ambitious. 

I think "unhinged loon" are more suitable words

Three cheers for lunacy!!!! 

Some concern over reducing garrisons leading to capture of centers by kingdom armies and possible effects that would have when it came time to allocate said centers.  I *think* it would be robust and recognize that no lord captured the center and thus not award a capturer's bonus to anyone.

 

[Meatwad]

Is it too late to suggest the 300 Spartans be left in as an easter egg?  In other words, unrecruitable as they were in the last release, so to access them you would have to make them recruitable yourself?  Or are (were) they just too much of a waste of space?

 

[JT]

A simple scene object easter egg in a town or tavern somewhere which allows us to recruit one 300 Spartan upon each activation would be fun, for those of us who don't care enough about anachronisms to avoid them, but who do care enough about anachronisms to avoid Timeless Kingdoms.

I'm eagerly awaiting the next version.  Band of Warriors Expanded kept getting too-tamper-heavy and I eventually lost interest, but 268 B.C. has internal consistency that I really like.

 

[ultimaratioregum]

whats the final list of factions?

 

[ealabor]

 

[Zima]

Hey I see you got the Nabataeans in, I forgot you were including them! Did you ever manage to learn much about them?

 

[ealabor]

Hey I see you got the Nabataeans in, I forgot you were including them! Did you ever manage to learn much about them?

Not enough. I still dont know what I will call their troops. Probably will generate some troop names and types based on what seems reasonable.

I know at this point from what I had read, they had seen some Hellenic influence, but they were still a great deal culture all of their own.

 

[ultimaratioregum]

how did you design the troops if you didn't find anything?

 

[ealabor]

how did you design the troops if you didn't find anything?

I havent yet. I've found a few bits of info to where I can piece together a near legitimate ensemble. Alot of their history like so many other people's is lost for all time, so in cases like this i'll have to guestimate.

They will feature crude weapons for most of their troop types - club / mace type weapons, spears. At this point they certainly had to trade with the Ptolemies, and Seleucia im sure, so their higher tier troops would see the benefit of that with some refined weapons. They wont be rolling hoplites though thats for sure.

Light troops with an assortment of headcloths and sparas, wicker shields. Maybe a few Hoplon esque shields for higher tier infantry.

 

[Archelaos]

Nabateans may have some thureophoroi type troops, although maybe without body armour. Some light horsemen are possibility too.

 

[ultimaratioregum]

Did some quick research. So these guys were basically pre-islamic arabs, big on trade, living in a harsh climate.
If I can throw in my two cents, i'd give them a mix of 'ancient babylonian kingdom' troops(chainmail phalanx with heavy, body size rectangular shield, lightly armored composite bowmen,etc) and 'trade empire' type troops:

Lots of money from trade = local and exotic mercenaries(I'd go with light and heavy javelin cavalry), also generally means a rich middle class with a vested interest in the continuation of the system(medium short swordsmen and cavalry, wearing better than average armor. Good skills, as they travel through wasteland and live in a ****ty climate), and wealthy upper class(lets say cavalry with a medium spear, a short sword, small metal shield and two heavy javelins).

For equipment motif, I'd extrapolate from early islamic conquest gear. Short/medium straight one edge swords with a slight forward curve, splint mail, iron bars, spears of various sizes. Strong emphasis on cavalry type gear.


Basically my reasoning is that they held their own against the romans and the successors for quite a while. Surviving against the roman empire means troops that can do damage without getting caught by the heavy infantry, surviving against successor troops requires combined arms, powerful skirmishing cavalry especially(heavy enough that they aren't destroyed by kataphracts, but with a ranged component because even super heavy cav can't frontally charge phalanx troops).

I just woke up so hopefully some of this is actually in english

 

[ealabor]

I just woke up so hopefully some of this is actually in english

Hehe, yeah it is

You are giving them too much credit though. Their trade income wasnt as extensive as it was in 1st century B.C. up. Although considerable, it wasnt anything which could support a weaponized middle class of a Babylonian style lineup.

Most of their great success against outside forces was due to their arid climate, not their quality of troops. Their lands werent as arid as by today's standards, but they kept thier water areas secret, which helped to discouraged foreign occupation.

I'm probably going to go with some chain for lords, and maybe 1 elite unit with them, but they rest would be considerably lighter.

 

[Humanoid]

Wicker shields make me laugh.  I studied Ancient Greece in college and the running joke was Persians with wicker shields fighting bronze covered Greeks with long spears and superior tactics.

 

[ultimaratioregum]

hm well if you're going with light troops, that reminds me of something I suggested a while ago.. did you ever test out giving light troops extremely high athletics/riding skill so that they can skirmish properly?

 

[Weren]

Well there is much job to do, I wish you the best of luck with it!