Prophesy of Pendor - V1.21 Introduction and Release For M&B 1.010/1.011

[Kennylz]

You know, the story and the writing is very nice, and I'm sure when I finish downloading it will be a quality mod, but I think all of you fantasy lovers do a great disservice to fantasy stories every time you fall back on such played out cliches.

The Empire? Another cold, singular, Imperialistic threat?
Pendor? Another crappy sounding name? Noldor too? In fantasy, you don't HAVE to end 40% of all your words in 'dor'.
Order of the Dragon?
Elves?

Needless to say, I'll probably enjoy it, but come on... I just had to complain, because this is the biggest reason why I just can't stand Fantasy themed things like this. No originality to speak of. Everything rehashed.

 

[saxondragon]

You know, the story and the writing is very nice, and I'm sure when I finish downloading it will be a quality mod, but I think all of you fantasy lovers do a great disservice to fantasy stories every time you fall back on such played out cliches.

The Empire? Another cold, singular, Imperialistic threat?
Pendor? Another crappy sounding name? Noldor too? In fantasy, you don't HAVE to end 40% of all your words in 'dor'.
Order of the Dragon?
Elves?

Needless to say, I'll probably enjoy it, but come on... I just had to complain, because this is the biggest reason why I just can't stand Fantasy themed things like this. No originality to speak of. Everything rehashed.

Kennylz,

Thank you for your post.

Most names have ancient roots as any linguist worth his salt will inform you.  Like the research of Karl Jung regarding universal archetypes, names carry forward root meanings that come from our most ancient heritage.  You can prefer to think of that as old fashioned, or maybe out of style, but you cannot escape it.

Meaning.  Aqhul33t has no meaning.  It is a valueless set of characters that is a tabula rassa.  Some people prefer this nomenclature, and that is ok. 

I am not offering a Tabula Rassa.  I am not offering a set of concepts that have to be completely reinvented and explained from scratch.

I am offering a canvas of meaning, using unsaid contexts and root words to bring forth implications for the game that you are about to partake.  The entire concept is rooted, if you want to explore this, in Jung’s research specifically regarding the Hero’s journey.  An archetype and concept you will find in nearly all literature.   

Pendor.  The first time I heard this word was in 1979 when I used it as a name for a Chivalric kingdom in a role-playing fantasy world I had created.  You are correct in that it has been used many times since then and it is possible that others had used this word for other things before me.  However to me, it was and is, a name and concept that I originated that held the right combination of root words to bring forth the meaning I desired. 

The Empire.  I will concede that this was not the best use of terms and I could have done a better job with it.  That said, it is in this simulation an implication of how the “Overlords” of that political body wish to think of themselves and not the traditional concept of an over-arching and all-powerful bureaucracy.  In this case, it is the keeping alive the dream of what was the “Empire” that had fallen (the Great Baccus Empire), and yes, you can trace this whole concept back to our history as well.   

Regardless, I hope that you enjoy this gaming experience.  It is a gift.  Nothing more.  It is for folks, just like you to either enjoy or pass on.  It took several hundred hours of work to accomplish.  Please accept it for what it is and why it is.

Kindest regards,

Saxondragon

 

[Gerhart]

Saxondragon

First off I have to say that your introduction was a very nice read.  I wouldn't mind reading that manuscript given to that gentleman, even with no ending 

I have a slight problem though.  I must admit that there are 3 other mods that I have this exact problem in so it's not just yours.  On some of the Armour's and a horse I have a strange "black" showing up on the textures.  As you move around the model so does the black, here is a picture.



Granted this is not a game killer but to someone like me it is overwhelmingly annoying.  The reason being is that I really love taking screen shots and doing machinima.  Do you have any clues as to how to correct this problem?  This happens in DX9 so I've reinstalled the newest version, tried several different drivers for my video card (BFG 7800GS).  SantasHelper had mentioned it has to do with shaders and DX9, I recently posted over at his mod to see if he has found a solution.

Like I said it's not only your mod but also, Calradia Rising, Rise of Khergits and Eagle and the Radiant Cross.  So far I'm at a dead end on finding help. 

Thank you for reading this and a BIG THANK YOU for sharing your wonderful world (mod)

 

[Justiciar]

Sorry I can't be of help, Gerhart. I had the same problem in earlier versions of M&B. Alas, the one thread that addresses the issue has some obscure title and a handful of posts that basically say "thanks". As such you can't easily search for it. I must have spent the greater part of two hours dredging the forums to find it. The sollution escapes me, I'm afraid.

 

[saxondragon]

Saxondragon

First off I have to say that your introduction was a very nice read.  I wouldn't mind reading that manuscript given to that gentleman, even with no ending 

I have a slight problem though.  I must admit that there are 3 other mods that I have this exact problem in so it's not just yours.  On some of the Armour's and a horse I have a strange "black" showing up on the textures.  As you move around the model so does the black, here is a picture.

Granted this is not a game killer but to someone like me it is overwhelmingly annoying.  The reason being is that I really love taking screen shots and doing machinima.  Do you have any clues as to how to correct this problem?  This happens in DX9 so I've reinstalled the newest version, tried several different drivers for my video card (BFG 7800GS).  SantasHelper had mentioned it has to do with shaders and DX9, I recently posted over at his mod to see if he has found a solution.

Like I said it's not only your mod but also, Calradia Rising, Rise of Khergits and Eagle and the Radiant Cross.  So far I'm at a dead end on finding help. 

Thank you for reading this and a BIG THANK YOU for sharing your wonderful world (mod)

Hello Gerhart,

Thank you for your encouraging comments, much appreciated. 

Santashelper is a crack programmer, and his specialty is graphics.  After looking closely (as close as I can get these days and if you are a grandpa you know what I mean), at your picture I have to agree that it appears to be a shader issue.  If I were having that problem and it is across multiple mods, then I would begin experimenting with the options on the shading configuration setting in M&B. In specific I would turn off Pixel Shaders and see if that helps at all, then start to experiment with other options to see what affects that shading.  Now, I will qualify this all friend, in that I am an ad-hoc programmer and do not have graphics experience to put on my resume. 

The art used by all of these mods and indeed, most mods, are created by a variety of sources in this community.  While I am very grateful for all of their fabulous work, there remains very little consistency or standardization.  Thus the quality, look, feel, texture and presentation will vary greatly.

I hope that this has been of some help and I wish I had a magic bullet and could just give you the answer.

Again, thanks for the encouraging words, and I hope you have a blast with the module.  There is a real story that is a very rough basis for some of the concepts presented in this module.  But that is for another time and place.

Best,

Saxondragon

 

[Gman]

First, I really like the story your trying to add, it's refreshing in a sea of mods that are basically just the same game with different elements.  I'm not very far in but I have some suggestion
It feels like there should be more variety in the armor and weapons.  This doesnt mean you need to make more, that takes time.  Just borrow some for other mods, there are some really great armor and weapon packs out there.
As far as the armor that is in the mod, they are very pixelated even with texture quality at it's highest.  It's not a big deal but it's one of the first things I noticed.
When I started the game I was surrounded by bandits and rogues and what not and barely escaped with my life.  Maybe there are too many?

Anyway, those are just my thoughts.  I understand modding is difficult and takes time and I don't know how to do it, I just give advice for how it looks and plays.  Keep up the good work and I can't wait to see how this game evolves for the better.

 

[Alan Q Smithee]

I like this a lot, it's well done and I hope you continue to expand on it. Really hoping you'll borrow from the two magic mods (Curtain of Fire has weapons and Magic World has a spell system).

 

[tommyboy]

Very nice Mod indeed, and "Thank You"s to all involved.
I've been playing for a few hours and its fun and challenging, with some interesting and unique extras, like the voices and music.
The storyline I haven't really scratched the surface of, yet. I'm too busy barely surviving the early game, where I can't afford troops or companions in huge numbers and get beaten by a wide variety of interesting parties who will all. one. day. Pay.
I think this may have earned a place on my "favourites" list of Mods already.

 

[saxondragon]

First, I really like the story your trying to add, it's refreshing in a sea of mods that are basically just the same game with different elements.  I'm not very far in but I have some suggestion
It feels like there should be more variety in the armor and weapons.  This doesnt mean you need to make more, that takes time.  Just borrow some for other mods, there are some really great armor and weapon packs out there.
As far as the armor that is in the mod, they are very pixelated even with texture quality at it's highest.  It's not a big deal but it's one of the first things I noticed.
When I started the game I was surrounded by bandits and rogues and what not and barely escaped with my life.  Maybe there are too many?

Anyway, those are just my thoughts.  I understand modding is difficult and takes time and I don't know how to do it, I just give advice for how it looks and plays.  Keep up the good work and I can't wait to see how this game evolves for the better.

Hello Gman,
I am very happy that you are having a good time and thank you for your compliments. 

If you are not very far in, then the merchant shops have not had time to really get into full swing.  One of the things I have found in native and in many other mods and wanted to address is the feeling that I had only one "top of the line" armor option.  At the end game, heck, in the mid game, all my companions looked the same.  I wanted to avoid that feeling in this mod.  I have added 95 new armors to the game, a few of which can only be found and not purchased.  There are also 35 additional weapons. 36 helms, 30 shields, horses etc.  All of them are from the the work of people who put out weapon packs or the open source project.  I am aware of the variance in quality of the objects but that is the nature of what I have to work with and am appreciative of any creative work by the various community artists.  I just to not have the skill or knowledge to make these items.

It is my hope that once you are in the game, and actually have working cash in the 5-10K range, you will start to see the options really expanding. 

Your initial battles were tight, difficult...but you lived.  Actually, that is perfect.  If your heart raced, you came really close, had to make the right decision at the right time, and yet, somehow survived.. that is what I was looking to achieve.  This mod is not for the beginning player.. it is more difficult, more challenging and it challenges in a very subtle ways.

I like this a lot, it's well done and I hope you continue to expand on it. Really hoping you'll borrow from the two magic mods (Curtain of Fire has weapons and Magic World has a spell system).

Hello Alan,

Thank you for the compliment.  I do plan after this initial release and support phase, to evaluate and add some additional functionality as well as to expand the immersion aspects.   I believe your thoughts are spot on.

Very nice Mod indeed, and "Thank You"s to all involved.
I've been playing for a few hours and its fun and challenging, with some interesting and unique extras, like the voices and music.
The storyline I haven't really scratched the surface of, yet. I'm too busy barely surviving the early game, where I can't afford troops or companions in huge numbers and get beaten by a wide variety of interesting parties who will all. one. day. Pay.
I think this may have earned a place on my "favourites" list of Mods already.

haha.. I am very happy you are having such a good time.  I am replaying myself right now, have a small 25 man force and just got owned by a party of 13 Jatu raiders.  I keep forgetting what a pain they can be.  It got down to my main and three raiders.. I had lost my horse to one of their lances and was on foot.  I jumped into the river to negate their mounted advantage, but then got peppered by their bows.  I cringe when I think of the possibility of them spawning an army.

Again, thank you for your encouraging words and luck to you with the battles 

Best to all,
Saxondragon

 

[QuailLover]

Decent mod bro. I'm enjoying it alot.

I do have to say that I like the Ravenstern. They are quite awesome to command.

 

[xcskiguy]

Hi I've been on the forums for a little while now but I still have no idea about computers so where do I put the files from this patch? By the way it was a great story and I was very impressed with the wording.  Thanks for the mod I guess I'll give it a shot until I can get a reply.

 

[Gerhart]

Thank you both Justiciar & Saxondragon, for your replies.  I will keep fiddling around to see if I can find a solution to this.

Oh and yes I really am a Grandpa and have been made a Grandpa again, on December 17, with a brand new grandson.  My avatar is my grandaughter just a little over a year old.  My daughter will be 21 here in a few days and she is the one that has given me this new title, twice 

I have 3 more children, the rest boys and one of them is my daughters fraternal twin.  The other 2 are 18 and 19 years old.  I'm 41 and have been a gamer since the days of Zork and Pong 

 

[Elenmmare]

Wow, you started a family pretty early. My parents spawned me when they were 30, but then again I am the youngest in my family.

 

[saxondragon]

Decent mod bro. I'm enjoying it alot.

I do have to say that I like the Ravenstern. They are quite awesome to command.

I like them also, the variance in the troops makes it challenging.  Glad you are having fun!

 

[Kennylz]

You know, the story and the writing is very nice, and I'm sure when I finish downloading it will be a quality mod, but I think all of you fantasy lovers do a great disservice to fantasy stories every time you fall back on such played out cliches.

The Empire? Another cold, singular, Imperialistic threat?
Pendor? Another crappy sounding name? Noldor too? In fantasy, you don't HAVE to end 40% of all your words in 'dor'.
Order of the Dragon?
Elves?

Needless to say, I'll probably enjoy it, but come on... I just had to complain, because this is the biggest reason why I just can't stand Fantasy themed things like this. No originality to speak of. Everything rehashed.

Kennylz,

Thank you for your post.

Most names have ancient roots as any linguist worth his salt will inform you.  Like the research of Karl Jung regarding universal archetypes, names carry forward root meanings that come from our most ancient heritage.  You can prefer to think of that as old fashioned, or maybe out of style, but you cannot escape it.

Meaning.  Aqhul33t has no meaning.  It is a valueless set of characters that is a tabula rassa.  Some people prefer this nomenclature, and that is ok. 

I am not offering a Tabula Rassa.  I am not offering a set of concepts that have to be completely reinvented and explained from scratch.

I am offering a canvas of meaning, using unsaid contexts and root words to bring forth implications for the game that you are about to partake.  The entire concept is rooted, if you want to explore this, in Jung’s research specifically regarding the Hero’s journey.  An archetype and concept you will find in nearly all literature.   

Pendor.  The first time I heard this word was in 1979 when I used it as a name for a Chivalric kingdom in a role-playing fantasy world I had created.  You are correct in that it has been used many times since then and it is possible that others had used this word for other things before me.  However to me, it was and is, a name and concept that I originated that held the right combination of root words to bring forth the meaning I desired. 

The Empire.  I will concede that this was not the best use of terms and I could have done a better job with it.  That said, it is in this simulation an implication of how the “Overlords” of that political body wish to think of themselves and not the traditional concept of an over-arching and all-powerful bureaucracy.  In this case, it is the keeping alive the dream of what was the “Empire” that had fallen (the Great Baccus Empire), and yes, you can trace this whole concept back to our history as well.   

Regardless, I hope that you enjoy this gaming experience.  It is a gift.  Nothing more.  It is for folks, just like you to either enjoy or pass on.  It took several hundred hours of work to accomplish.  Please accept it for what it is and why it is.

Kindest regards,

Saxondragon

It is difficult to be too critical of your mod now, considering the fact that it is indeed a gift. No payment necessary, and you receive no reimbursement except from others compliments. So I will not try to speak in terms of 'bad' but in terms of constructive criticism. Firstly, I didn't think the mod was of poor quality. It is actually well put together, the fundamentals, and the content. The story itself is also pretty good. I haven't seen one part of it which I cannot directly point to another work of fantasy that hasn't done the exact same thing, including the introduction with the sick man's final literary work, but I guess in this day it is getting harder to do something entirely original without being bizarre.

I won't go into detail, just leave by saying that on your next intellectual property seperate from this one, since no one would expect you to redo this one, to try and really find something different. With a solid success under your belt, it might do you some good to take a shot into the dark and see if you miss or hit gold. Preferably no dragons, elves, faceless empires, destined rebuilders of the lost kindom... There are a lot of, if not untouched, very barely touched resources of inspiration out there. One of my favorite stories revolved around Indian/Eurasian mythology. It did to that region what Tolkien did to Western Europe. Totally unfamiliar sets of fantastical civilizations with plenty of room to work with. Even though you call your elves a different name, even the introduction admits that they are actually still elves, something someone else dreamed up.

Anyway, to repeat again I'm enjoying playing the mod, I just don't like seeing the fantasy genre going towards a point where it has to follow some sort of guidelines. It's fantasy for a reason, you don't always have to have bloody elves in everything as if they are as plausible as photosynthesis.

 

[Connors]

I liked the mod very much, thank you 

 

[MrQwerty]

A suggestion: The option to rename your party whenever you want, like in The Eagle and The Radiant Cross. This would be nice for the people (dweebs like me) who like to get in character when playing.

Edit: And would it be possible to have the troop trees for the different factions and mercenaries in the first post?

Edit2: And please for the love of god, add melee weapons for the archers in tournaments! I'm fairly certain this was overlooked by Armagan in native so it's not something that was intended, since the crossbowmen have always had swords but the archers only have their fists.

 

[Alan Q Smithee]

Now some bug reports. Sorry if these were already mentioned:

* The big golden axe used by the viking raider-types, a new model apparently, doesn't work right. It appears strapped to the character's chest when wielded, leaving them swinging an empty hand. It still does damage this way though.

* While fighting one of the heretic-priest types, he got stuck in one position (his animation froze?) and stopped attacking; it must have messed with his HP too because I must have dealt more than 100 dmg before one of his mates offed me, so I couldn't see if it was possible to kill him at all in that state. I can't imagine what in a mod could produce this type of thing, but I've never seen the likes in Native.

 

[GodsHand]

Sounds good I'm downloading it now.

Thank you both Justiciar & Saxondragon, for your replies.  I will keep fiddling around to see if I can find a solution to this.

Oh and yes I really am a Grandpa and have been made a Grandpa again, on December 17, with a brand new grandson.  My avatar is my grandaughter just a little over a year old.  My daughter will be 21 here in a few days and she is the one that has given me this new title, twice 

I have 3 more children, the rest boys and one of them is my daughters fraternal twin.  The other 2 are 18 and 19 years old.  I'm 41 and have been a gamer since the days of Zork and Pong 

D= Those kids got one sweet grandpa xD. I wish my dad at least would TRY to game, but he's totally against it X_X

 

[saxondragon]

I liked the mod very much, thank you 

Awesome and you are most welcome!  Watch out for the Jatu and the Noldor.. the two banes of my existence as a player!

Thank you both Justiciar & Saxondragon, for your replies.  I will keep fiddling around to see if I can find a solution to this.

Oh and yes I really am a Grandpa and have been made a Grandpa again, on December 17, with a brand new grandson.  My avatar is my grandaughter just a little over a year old.  My daughter will be 21 here in a few days and she is the one that has given me this new title, twice 

I have 3 more children, the rest boys and one of them is my daughters fraternal twin.  The other 2 are 18 and 19 years old.  I'm 41 and have been a gamer since the days of Zork and Pong 

You're 41?  You are still a pup!   Congrats on the new addition to your family! Did you ever play 'Telengard' back in the day?

Now some bug reports. Sorry if these were already mentioned:

* The big golden axe used by the viking raider-types, a new model apparently, doesn't work right. It appears strapped to the character's chest when wielded, leaving them swinging an empty hand. It still does damage this way though.

* While fighting one of the heretic-priest types, he got stuck in one position (his animation froze?) and stopped attacking; it must have messed with his HP too because I must have dealt more than 100 dmg before one of his mates offed me, so I couldn't see if it was possible to kill him at all in that state. I can't imagine what in a mod could produce this type of thing, but I've never seen the likes in Native.

Hello Alan,

Thanks for posting these.  I found issues with both and will be releasing a patch soon to address them.  The raider axe was set to force 64 bit and was skewed with its damage doing piercing instead of cutting damage.  The heretic I really scratched my head over until I could reproduce it... 

For all the modders out there.. The heretic had a strength of 12 and was using a Morningstar (requires strength 13).  The system had a hard time dealing with this so the NPC who has such a weapon and insufficient strength, cannot die, cannot move and cannot attack.  He is a great target dummy however..and you do get exp for beating on him.

In game until I get the patch out, lets just think of this that the Heretic confessor did something that angered the demons so they are punishing him with infinite torture! 

A suggestion: The option to rename your party whenever you want, like in The Eagle and The Radiant Cross. This would be nice for the people (dweebs like me) who like to get in character when playing.

Edit: And would it be possible to have the troop trees for the different factions and mercenaries in the first post?

Edit2: And please for the love of god, add melee weapons for the archers in tournaments! I'm fairly certain this was overlooked by Armagan in native so it's not something that was intended, since the crossbowmen have always had swords but the archers only have their fists.

Hello McQerty!

Thank you for the post!  I will record your suggestions for the next full release. The renaming option, and the tourney melee weapons are coding changes, so it will require a full recompile and release. 

The Troop Trees.. I thought long and hard on this and elected not to release them.  I wanted this aspect to be part of the exploration of the game to determine what was possible and what was the optimal troop mix for the denar. 

Best,

Saxondragon