SP Antiquity [WB] Shadows in the Desert - An Ancient Middle East Mod

[Gulchatay]

We've not decided on this but I am curious for public opinion. How would you prefer the faction leader & nobility?

1) Tied to a specific date. So let's say it's 660 BC. Assyria would have Ashurbanipal, Persia would have some dude named "Temti-Humban-Inshushinak I" (according to wiki), Egypt would be Psamtik I, Scythia might be "Koloksai", and so on.

2) Based on the most famous rulers, regardless of historical date. Sargon II or Sennacherib for Assyria, Ramses II for Egypt, Cyrus the Great or Darius or Xerxes for Persia, and so on.

3) Based on the founding fathers (In most cases). Sargon II for Assyria, Menes/Narmer for Egypt, Cyrus the Great for Persia, presumably Koloksai or whatever for Scythia, gets trickier with Syro-Hittites.

since it is not a historical accurate mod, feel free to use all the options up there.

 

[Sahran]

I forgot I asked that before. I was about to ask it again. 

I would add to that list a 4th and 5th option:

4) NPC nobility based on (if applicable) a famous, mythological hero or king. Kai Khosrow and Rostam for Persia, Solomon or David or whatever for Israel, might be Sargon the Great for Assyria (though probably just Sargon II), and so on. This would not imply any fanciful elements like them being super-human or anything, it would just invest further into the idea of SITD as an "Age of Heroic Epics, of Legendary War" and so forth.

5) NPC nobility based on completely fictional figures named in native style (King of a Persian name, King of an Assyrian name, ect.).

I imagine you'd still say any of them work, given our historical fiction, Gulchatay. 

 

[Al_Mansur]

Nice mod.

Spoiler

Great. Has Kuauik made this new face too ?

 

[Gulchatay]

I imagine you'd still say any of them work, given our historical fiction, Gulchatay. 

well you are right so farr, Sahran
but i would take the 5th option only, when you run out of names of the famous ones. that shouldn't happen at all, since the mythology is full of heros and kings
btw the first scythe was Targitai, he had three sons Koloksai, Lepoksai and Arpoksai, Kolo was the youngest one. ksai means king as farr as i remember.

 

[Sahran]

Nice mod.

Spoiler

Great. Has Kuauik made this new face too ?

I believe the face is from Jedq's pack. Thanks Al-Mansur, I hope you don't mind the historical fictional nature of the mod.  Could certainly appreciate your help in modeling some weapons... 

Gulchatay: Awesome, thanks for the info on the Scythians. That's really helpful, as I had only been able to find threadbare stuff on them previously (Pretty much just something about Koloksai, and it erroneously said he was the first king).  Might have a few more questions on them if they are in your area of expertise.

 

[Winterz]

The 6th faction should be Carthage(only part of it though)!! (Adding the phalanx fun!) 

I'm confused, Sahran aren't you working in 1148 Realism mod anymore? It's because Outlawed said the members were absent and so the isn't having any breakthrough?! 

Anyways I like your idea! Good luck with it! 

 

[Gulchatay]

Gulchatay: Awesome, thanks for the info on the Scythians. That's really helpful, as I had only been able to find threadbare stuff on them previously (Pretty much just something about Koloksai, and it erroneously said he was the first king).  Might have a few more questions on them if they are in your area of expertise.

they are in my area of interest just ask, i'll try to help. in the meantime i'll try to summarize the scattered informations about them.

 

[Sahran]

The 6th faction should be Carthage(only part of it though)!! (Adding the phalanx fun!) 

I'm confused, Sahran aren't you working in 1148 Realism mod anymore? It's because Outlawed said the members were absent and so the isn't having any breakthrough?! 

Anyways I like your idea! Good luck with it! 

I love Carthage but odds are they won't be in, since it would require eventual expansion to North Africa (once we get a Real World Map) and itself would entail further growth in a direction we're not very interested in - you'd need the Western Mediterranean to really justify Carthage.  The 6th faction will be a bit of a surprise, and might be revealed sooner rather than later when we have some material for it - we'll see!

That was back around Christmas, when shortly after I was able to come back and finish my help with the faction research. I look forward to 1147's Release, but I'm a bit too exhausted of the medieval age to continue to work on it. 


Gulchatay: Some of the stuff that leaps to mind is:
1) Names of major 'cities' (They would probably be Scytho-Greek or Scytho-Thracian or Scytho-Saka, but that's fine), as well as 'villages', or 'forts' (Forts simply being particularly strong citadel villages or citadel cities)
2) Possible names for NPC nobles. If they used common Iranian names or if there was a specific naming style to them.
3) Pictures of arms and armor we are fairly squared away on, but more might not hurt (Don't need the Osprey ones).
4) Later on ideas for banners and such, but that's not necessary right now.
5) If you know their military organization, that'd be great. I am fairly sure it wouldn't be too extensive, but what they referred to their nobles as, or their free warriors, or their lowest class warriors, or unfree serf-type scythians, and so on.

 

[Gulchatay]

Gulchatay: Some of the stuff that leaps to mind is:
1) Names of major 'cities' (They would probably be Scytho-Greek or Scytho-Thracian or Scytho-Saka, but that's fine), as well as 'villages', or 'forts' (Forts simply being particularly strong citadel villages or citadel cities)
2) Possible names for NPC nobles. If they used common Iranian names or if there was a specific naming style to them.
3) Pictures of arms and armor we are fairly squared away on, but more might not hurt (Don't need the Osprey ones).
4) Later on ideas for banners and such, but that's not necessary right now.
5) If you know their military organization, that'd be great. I am fairly sure it wouldn't be too extensive, but what they referred to their nobles as, or their free warriors, or their lowest class warriors, or unfree serf-type scythians, and so on.

noticed.

 

[Winterz]

  The 6th faction will be a bit of a surprise, and might be revealed sooner rather than later when we have some material for it - we'll see!

I'm guessing you are gonna put some of the (Israel) kingdoms like Judah....but they only got their independence when Assyria collapsed so I'll just scrach this one...
You probably come up with some southern arab kingdom no? (or maybe it's just Babylonia!) 

 

[Lordique]

Suggestion: Making Sea Raiders as greeks, which were basicly the pirates of that time in that zone.

I think Sardinians would be better...


EDIT: And those weapons...they will be made from bronze only, partially, no bronze? I think that some of them maded from bronze would be really neat. (?)

 

[Sahran]

Weaponry is a bit of an issue right now, as Kuauik's modeling skill is more in buildings/armor/helmets than weaponry. Most weapons will probably be iron, but we'll ee about at least some bronze stuff when we're able to pull it off. Might be interesting to have a mildly tiering structure of bronze weaponry then superior iron. But the truth is by at least the golden period for Persia/Assyria iron was the primary weaponmaking material - it was armor that was more often bronze.

 

[Sahran]

Work in Progress of Persian troops by Kuauik. Credits to Llew2 for a modified pants, lynores for axe & sword (I think crescent taka, I am not sure if it's Kuauik's or Lynore's):





The unarmored tunics are examples of what Takabara, Aryan Youths and Bandaka Archers will wear, while the quilted tube and yoke cuirass is what Thanvabara and Sparabara and Asabari (Cavalry) will wear.

 

[Winterz]

Scythian shileds? 

 

[Gothic Knight]

Scythian shileds? 

Achemenid Persian shields.

 

[Winterz]

Yes indeed...but the scythian shields have same shape...

 

[Sahran]

It's the taka shield, which seems to share with the Scythians and Thracians and Mycenaean era Greeks, all of whom had some sort of crescent style shield.

 

[Lordique]

Very good ones. It seems that Youre making another mod in which one I cannot decide to who ill join. 

 

[Der Einzige]

This is pretty cool. Is there going to be multiplayer?

 

[Sahran]

Focus is on singleplayer right now, but I'm fairly certain we'll try and compile it for multiplayer eventually too.

Gulchatay, or anyone knowledgeable in ancient Iranian language: The terms for Scythia I really need are stuff like

Title for King
Title for Nobility (for the NPC, like Lord)

"Upper Nobility" title
"Lower Nobility" title
Retainer or servant or entourage warrior
Tribesman/Nomad
Villager