Double post, bump, or what have you, I've got some new stuff to say.
How would everyone feel if I removed the old factions entirely, replacing them with five new ones, in addition to the three that I've already mentioned? I had this thought last night at work. Here's my reasoning:
- This would give us a little more creative freedom to write histories for each of these factions, and explain why they all ended up together in the same geographical location. It's been difficult for me to reconcile the existence of the Laerteans and Azathoths with the established existence of the original five, and it would be much cleaner to start a new history for this hypothetical location on the planet if we were to start from scratch.
- The establishment of the current factions is not conducive to the Advanced Soldier Tree concept. When I was adding the new troops, I felt like I was jumping through hoops trying to add to these factions without merely making "better" versions of the same troops or adding troops that barely fit with the theme of the factions in the first place. Best examples where I came close to the latter is the Khergit Samurai and the Rhodok Phalanx, both of which have high potential, but were largely without precedent in their parent factions.
- I'd like to be able to work without precedent, so I can, without infringing unfairly on the original design of Native, write entirely new troop trees and unique lords for you that will be more unique and equally, if not more, memorable.
- Starting from scratch would allow me to completely reinvent the way troops are recruited for certain factions. For example, I had an idea for a faction or two that will have base recruits of different types at different villages, each of which will have a fully developed, though narrower troop tree. For example, I had the idea of making a faction that represents a hypothetical empire that occupies everything from India to Japan in the timeframe of 400 BC to 1000 AD, and settled villages on this peninsula with settlers of Indian, Chinese, and Japanese descent (in a parallel, not literal way). Each of these recruits could evolve into two or three possible elite troops, representing the best of those areas for those time periods. Meanwhile, one faction would recruit a limited number of women in addition to, rather than instead of strictly male troops (which would have meaning in their culture). I've already mentioned, I think, how I intended for the Azathoths to have a unique prisoner recruiting system in addition to their current troop tree. I believe I've also said how the Satyrnians will be able to recruit from bandit parties. Stuff like that.
- Since I wanted to have more distinct personalities for the new lords, it would be unfair to leave the current lords devoid of individuality, while at the same time it would be self-righteous of me to presume that I am able to bestow upon all the lords created by TW the types of personalities they may have intended but never implemented. I'd be more free to do this with brand new lords.
- Removing the old factions could potentially speed up my modding process. I was concerned about the fact that there would be so many NPC parties operating at once after I add all the new parties, and that I'd have to go back and fix all areas in the game to be compatible with the modifications I'm making for the battle system, among other things. Starting over would allow me to make all the new factions smaller from the start, and thus keep the game around the same size, and also lower the level of scenes I'd have to adapt for the sake of functionality. Of course, this means I'd have to create each new one, but oftentimes it's quicker to start over with an objective in mind than it is to go back change something that was never your own work in the first place. It's also more rewarding.
- Finally, if I intend for this mod to have the success we'd all like it to, I think it might be better to create an entirely separate world for it, rather than have it rely on what's already been mastered by TW. Case in point: when you're fighting the Azathoths as the Laerteans, you shouldn't be thinking about how you first started playing Native and got your ass handed to you by the Swadians, Nords, or whomever. Those are experiences we all learned from, and this is a new world in which to apply those lessons, not to be reminded of them.
And keeping so many pieces of Calradia in this mod would also, now that I think of it, ruin the immersion of this mod, seeing as we'd then constantly be reminded while playing that we are playing. I'd like to keep ASTCM as fluid and immersive as possible, so it can exist as its own entity.
And for those of you who really loved the new troops I added in the current release, assuming we decide to start from scratch as I described above, don't worry; I've got every intention of retaining everyone's favorite ASTCM soldiers. I'll probably just change their names and a couple finer points to make sure they fit in with their new factions. Also, there's no reason for me not to keep the currently available mercenaries, though I've thought of a new, cleaner, and simpler way of obtaining and training them.
So as much as I love each of the old factions, even the Khergits, it seems that it's time to move forward and start something new for the betterment of the mod. Feedback on this would be very much appreciated.
