SP Fantasy Kingdoms of Arda (Lord of the Rings for Bannerlord)

[Marko͘]

As someone who invested thousands of hours into a mod for a trademarked franchise, I think it's just not healthy to think about potential copyright issues. It's not a battle you can win. It shouldn't even be seen as a battle, the copyright owner is always in the right and their word is final and should be respected.

Bannerlord isn't out yet, the work on this mod is still in progress. Just like nearly every mod out there, it's a labour of love and passion for the franchise, the idea, the playerbase. Copyright laws isn't something any of us can affect and I advise not even thinking about it. My mindset has always been that even if something so dramatic should happen and the mod would get shut down, it wasn't all in vain. It's the journey, and not the destination that is the driving force of all non profit projects like these.

At the end of the day, the Kingdoms of Arda team has produced amazing assets on all levels we've seen so far, learned new things, progressed and learned new things as a team and individual persons. I truly hope it will be crowned with a majestic release this project deserves free of any copyright or other issues.

 

[John_M]

Thanks Marko, I agree more or less. No point in wasting time worrying.



And on that note, another update:

Spoiler

 

[Schwarzwolf]

Seems nice, is it meant to be an Orc? And when will you upload new videos

 

[John_M]

An orc from Mordor, yes One of many variations

Well this armour has been recorded for a tutorial, so whenever I can be bothered to edit and upload them

 

[Schwarzwolf]

An orc from Mordor, yes One of many variations

Well this armour has been recorded for a tutorial, so whenever I can be bothered to edit and upload them

Sweet, keep up the good work!

 

[Mandible]

Thanks Marko, I agree more or less. No point in wasting time worrying.



And on that note, another update:

Spoiler

Looks good, as usual.

If I may dare to submit some suggestions, when I look at it, I don't really think "orc". After looking closely and trying to figure out what it is, I have decided that the wear, tear and crudeness is mostly focused on the micro level, without much on the macro level. It kind of looks like good quality armor that has just aged a bunch, instead of armor that has been cobbled together out of crude metal sheets and such with no eye to aesthetics, symmetry or beauty (which is how I imagine orcish armorers working).

What I mean is that if you look closely at the scales and armor and such, it looks worn, beat up and "orcish", but when you zoom out and look at the overall form, silhouette and such, it doesn't look as "orcish" anymore. I would go about trying to fix this by rethinking the silhouette and trying to make shapes that read as crude, battered, asymmetrical, etc. from a distance.

We might have entirely different ideas about what orcs should look like, of course, but those are just my thoughts.

Keep up the great work!

 

[sserobinsse]

hi people


is mod is making me wanting  bannerlord sooner then later.

Dammit first when i i discovered bannerlord i could not  wait to make characters for it (already have a few in mind)  and now is mod is making me want to make a few characters for is mod so thanks for that its not that am already going mad wanting for bannerlord but other than that i can REALLY not wait for is mod getting release i hopes bannerlord has a skirmish mode like the one in warband but improved  becouse i have some battles i would like to play out


about the skrimish mode i hopes it is so that we can choose what units we fight with and against

like gondor invantry and archers with some small numbers of high "level" elf infantry/archer hybrid  against isenguard* infantry


o and great work on the armor can not wait to see them in game when bannerlord has release (i know is mod will probably  not exist on release date)

 

[John_M]

I see what you mean Mandible.
It is worth noting that the armour isn't suppose to be entirely orc forged. It is partially forged and partially looted. Though I agree with your criticism overall. I will make changes to this model. It doesn't really fit with what we have for other Mordor armour either. I'll revisit that shoulder armour to look more orcish. And I will change the scale tasset, either major damage so it is clear it was looted. Or I will change the scales themselves to look more orcish. I will make sure this is in mind while making future armours.
Thanks for the feedback



@sserobinsse
We have discussed a bit about what we will do with custom battles/multiplayer. We will probably have some preset scenarios to play. And hopefully Bannerlords custom game feature won't have to be changed much. But I think having multiple factions fight on the same team is something that will have to be added.

 

[Mandible]

I see what you mean Mandible.
It is worth noting that the armour isn't suppose to be entirely orc forged. It is partially forged and partially looted. Though I agree with your criticism overall. I will make changes to this model. It doesn't really fit with what we have for other Mordor armour either. I'll revisit that shoulder armour to look more orcish. And I will change the scale tasset, either major damage so it is clear it was looted. Or I will change the scales themselves to look more orcish. I will make sure this is in mind while making future armours.
Thanks for the feedback

Scavenged armor is totally fair. Here's a shot of an orc from ROTK with scavenged Gondorian armor.

I think it still lines up pretty well with what I said. It's asymmetrical, (missing a pauldron) covered in grime, and looking at the outline you wouldn't really mistake it for a Gondorian soldier. (I actually would have gone further than this personally and maybe had some extra plates cobbled to it here and there, to repair the damage that killed the original owner or something... Far be it from me to suggest that you should copy the movies. I think that orc armor gives you an enormous amount of freedom to do whatever the heck you want.

I like your thoughts. The shoulders are a great place to add orcish touches.

 

[HoJu]

The main thing that feels out of place for me is the long scale skirt (part of a scavenged Rohan armour I suppose?). Maybe it's just me but these kind of long almost robe-like armours always feel more "noble" or solemn to me, and that doesn't sync with Orc. Maybe having the skirt not only torn and ripped  at the bottom but cut at about knee length would give it a more thuggish look.

 

[John_M]

Despite the relative silence over the past months, we are quite active.

Music

The musicians are making plenty of progress. Here is a few samples of their work:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DHXVPcMJIE

The main theme of Kingdoms of Arda, made by Arktos.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEUzMymG3Eg

Under the Banner of the White Tree, by Martin Renner.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kIv7vKrntM

The Men of the West, also made by Arktos.

Thanks to Martin and Arktos, Kingdoms of Arda will have a soundtrack worthy of Mordor! Without it the mod would not have the proper feeling of a LotR mod.

Fiefdoms

In Kingdoms of Arda we plan on expanding Bannerlord's Clan features to represent the fiefdoms in GRIM(Gondor, Rohan, Isengard, Mordor).

Here are the planned fiefdoms for the GRIM factions. Icons and map courtesy of SimonJW

Each fiefdom will have a leader, which all of the parties of the fiefdom will follow. The military leader of the faction might call on fiefdoms to follow them in a larger campaign. For example Boromir the Captain-General of Gondor can call upon fiefdoms like Lossarnach to bolster the main army's numbers. Fiefdoms will also get a unique troop to bolster their armies. Armies are made up of the faction's milita and elite troop trees, along with the relevant fiefdom troop. Erkenbrand as the Lord of Westfold, would use troops from the Peasant, Noble, and Westfold troop trees(seen below). Isengard's fiefdoms will be unique, as its legions are all out of Isengard instead of their own land.

Gondor

Anorien - The royal demesne of Gondor, led by Boromir its unique are the Tower Guard, made up of some of the best infantry in Gondor.

Ithilien - Overrun by orcs, Faramir and his captains lead elite rangers in guerrilla warfare against Mordor and its allies.

Lossarnach - The Lord of Lossarnach Forlong brings heavy shock infantry with axes to the battlefield.

Lebennin - Orodreth's fiefdom specializes in naval warfare with the Pelargir Marines. The Lebennin troops from the mainland bring a skirmishing aspect to Gondor's heavy infantry.

Belfalas - Home of the Swan Knights and Prince Imrahil. Featuring some of the heaviest and effective cavalry in Middle Earth.

Lamedon - Angbor of Calembel leads foot knights specialized in dueling with great swords.

Morthond - Duinhir and the soldiers of Mornan are adept with the bow, with archers and heavier infantry both effective at range.

Pinnath Gelin - Hirluin's fiefdom is one of the least wealthy, but their troops are hardy and quickly trained into effective soldiers.

Anfalas - This coastal fiefdom will have unique naval troops and ships because of constant threat of corsairs. Its lord, Golasgil, has no specialized land troops available.

Rohan

Folde - Ruling from the Golden Hall, Theoden brings the Royal Guard, Rohan's best cavalry.

Westfold - From the Hornburg Erkenbrand brings lancers and Helmingas, a troop specialized in foot combat, skilled in both archery and melee combat.

Eastfold - From the Eastfold Rohan draws their best horse archers, well armoured and equipped, they can devastate armies from afar.

West-March - Having a strict focus on infantry, the sturdy troops of the West-March will be the first wall to stop the tide of the Orcs of Isengard.

The Wold - The Riders of the Wold are light skirmishing cavalry. Their training, steeds, and light equipment makes them some of the fastest riders in Middle Earth.

Isengard

Storm Legion - The first legion has the standard Uruk-Hai soldiers and berserkers.

Orthanc Legion - The second legion has Orthanc Guard, elite Dunlendings, alongside their heavy Uruk-Hai.

Pavise Legion - The last legion(in dire need of a new name), has Uruk-Hai drilled in formations with their broad pavise shields, becoming impervious to straight on missile fire.

Scouts - Lurtz and the Uruk-Hai scouts have lighter equipped soldiers better suited to skirmishing.

Warg Riders - The orcs of the White Hand make up the entirety of Isengard's cavalry force, focused entirely on riding their wargs into battle, letting the Uruk-Hai make up a more formidable mainline.

Mordor

Gorgoroth - In Barad-Dur are the orcs fiercest, the Black Uruks. Sauron also commands more fearsome servants from the Dark Tower, the Black Numenoreans are Sauron's most effective troops,

Morgul Vale - The Witch King brings forth foul Morgul Orcs and his own retinue of Black Numenoreans.

Morgai - Orcs from the western mountains of Mordor. They are equipped with large armour piercing javelins, capable of unleash great damage into ranks if they are left unchecked.

Udun - Uruks of Udun are tasked with the defence of the Morannon, so are trained to be long ranged and accurate archers.

Nurn - Being the only somewhat fertile place of Mordor, wargs are available, providing some much needed cavalry to Mordor's legions.

Gaer Durlith - The smiths of Gaer Durlith equip Olog-Hai with heavier armour and shields, giving trolls a new dynamic with a defence against their biggest weakness: projectiles.

Unit Concepts
Thanks to our 2D artists we get to design our units before they are put to 3D, here is some of their recent work:

Assorted Dol Amroth designs from Roman. Swan Knights will be receiving updated graphics based on what is seen here. And other assets are to be made, such as Imrahil, foot knights and mid/low tier Amrothian troops.

A Black Numenorean design, also designed by Roman. The Black Numenoreans have been a work in progress design for a long time, but this concept will help finalize them.

Riders of the Wold, a concept done by BLBoca. Finally some more work done on everyone's favourite horselords! We will be seeing more from Rohan this year, as they are our least developed faction.

Concept for warriors of the Blackroot Vale by JoshuaF. This is the first work being done on the fiefdom, so it isn't entirely set in stone, but is definitely the theme we are aiming for.

A Lossarnach redesign by SimonJW. We felt the previous design ( https://www.moddb.com/mods/a-lord-of-the-rings-mod-kingdoms-of-arda/images/lossarnach-elites#imagebox ) while being a great design in itself, did not fulfill the aesthetics of a Gondorian unit. Now they belong in Gondor's battleline!

The Orthanc Guard by SimonJW. Equipped with modified Uruk-Hai equipment, these Dunlendings are the ones Saruman trusts to protect the Orthanc.

Troop Trees
Gondor

Rohan

Isengard

Mordor

These troops trees are still work in progress and likely still much different to what we will finally implement into Bannerlord, changes are still being made, so suggestions are welcome.


If you have any comments feel free to leave them down below, or come join the community in the discord: https://discord.gg/7thG9zY

 

[Eärendil Ardamírë]

Looks good! The whole team there is making a great job there!

 

[DtheHun]

The right owners should buy your team with the BL engine.

 

[John_M]

Not for sale

 

[DtheHun]

I don't mind. Just they don't say, it's not for free.

 

[Count Delinard]

Impressive! Congratulations John for organizing your team in what seems to be a very professional way!

and for building up hype 

The music is beautiful, will totally achieve immersion with it.

Troop trees seem massive btw, are you thinking of introducing maybe simplified versions of them for easier management/reading your enemy forces and assessing their weaknesses/strengths?

 

[gokiller]

Awesome work!

 

[John_M]

Impressive! Congratulations John for organizing your team in what seems to be a very professional way!

and for building up hype 

The music is beautiful, will totally achieve immersion with it.

Troop trees seem massive btw, are you thinking of introducing maybe simplified versions of them for easier management/reading your enemy forces and assessing their weaknesses/strengths?

Lets hope we can appear the same when Bannerlord comes around

The troop trees themselves seem big, or the number of troops in each faction? At this point we will only be cutting down for Gondor, the only "complete" set of trees. There are some techniques used to try to more easily assess one's army. Naming of units are similar for each rank. So if you see Gondor Knight or Dol Amroth Knight, you know they are of similar quality. Also, its worth keeping in mind that lords will only draw troops from around 2-3 troop trees.
How this effects gameplay we are yet to see, though I am prepared to revise it, if that is necessary. Though we would still want to keep the fiefdoms represented. If anything, we would likely merge the militia and elite tree and cut down on unnecessary branches in the fiefdoms. But something closer to what we have posted is still the goal, how it plays after being implemented will decide what we will do from there.
Believe it or not, the versions posted has already been downsized multiple times 

 

[NPC99]

Interesting updates. How are you intending to maintain a number of cavalry only rohan war parties on the campaign map? I expect the vanilla code will tend towards mixed parties.

 

[John_M]

I don't think we plan on Rohan's armies to be cavalry only. Infantry would still be a big part of their armies, unless they do a march like the one to Minas Tirith. And something like that sounds like a scripted event, perhaps something we will consider though.

We could have some scouts and patrols made up of only cavalry, maybe even war parties like are in TLD. Which I don't think would be complex with a party template. But none of the lord armies will be cavalry only.