- Joined
- Jun 7, 2010
- Messages
- 33
Greetings. This is project lead SilverLeaf (and about the only one still actually mapping) from clan 13sA. Some of you may remember the rather ambitious project to put the whole of Middle Earth as it appeared in the movie in a single map, and wrap some basic RPG gameplay elements around it just to make it playable... if barely. This project started in early 2009, just a Helms Deep which was basically just for me to get better at the WE. It turned out better than I expected it to be, and is available here.
This announcement is just to whoever still has a faint bit of interest and also we don't want anyone saying this project is impossible/dead/vaporware. Here is a brief history.
I was part of FOTR for about the entire duration of Helms Deep Hero Siege's development. After some issues with FOTR, I left/got booted/quit before booted/whatever you choose to call it, and restarted 13sA's Mapping division, my old home clan which I thought had surely long died out. Was glad to be back in, and won't leave for anything the gaming world may offer. Though we were far from active, I quickly got back to work. I'm determined to stay here till I am the last active member. (13sA=battleships ace)
I tested out using and making some RPG gameplay mechanics, and at this stage LOTR rpg wasn't very far along yet (was busy and only had half of the shire and virtually no systems in) so we put it on hold in favor of a battleships map. However, I could feel Tolkein bashing my head against the wall night and day, plus the only mappers from 13sA involved in the project turned inactive, and all of a sudden I was on my own again with a small team of testers.
It was hard to find mappers that I need, and harder to find people still interested in joining a 'vaporware' project. Especially harder since I was unproven, and had no achievements to back my words. So the focus was on what I already had, to improve my basic Helms Deep's rating and get it working. After that, work finally resumed on the RPG, though it is much more active, and with more focus on gameplay now.
------------------------
THE ROAD AHEAD
------------------------
The plan is to have Battleships style airships and ground based traditional RPG teams working and fighting together. The two projects essentially became one. Sure, airships arn't canon, but with the vastness of the world, air transport is the only way without the use of even crappier teleporters. Also, they are fun!!!
Majority of the systems are already in place, and still working on getting a working 2 hero save system (all I've found so far can only save for one hero and I don't know JASS). However, that can wait till release.
Map size is 480x480, and size ratio is 0.7 to 1, that is to say models are on average shrinked by 30%. This is to make buildings appear bigger, unlike vanilla where a farm looks more like a coffin, and will not actually make anything crazy tiny so the terrain looks like crap. Buildings will be scarce but bigger, sorry about that. Huge towns with millions of inhabitants won't fit in an epic 240x240 map, and may just take up an entire 480x480 one.
Also, we decided to include more of Middle Earth, and not just what was in the movies. However this has a terrible price to pay, we can't go into as much detail as we would have liked. Sure, major landmarks and towns will still be in, but don't count on your favorite house, stone and tree in the movie, or in that semi WoW clone we call LOTRO to be in (ok sorry from now on that title is reserved for Derek Dumb's Alganon).
Far flung places may not be included, but the aim is to have everything all the way from The Shire in the West to Mordor in the East. Screenshots follow. Note that in release, it will look better than this, but still taking the effort now, as this project has always been about terrain.
As you can see from the minimap, The Shire had just been shrunk, and the entire green area will be replaced with Bree Land.
Right now, it is basically going to be a more action and twitch orientated RPG with arrow key movement (thanks to the witcher), and as most systems are in, development will focus on making more regions faster.
To accomodate this change in gameplay whereby there is actually a war to fight and not just a 'terrain map', regions will be smaller, and more regions will be in. It will try to, but fail to be to scale, because more important areas have to be bigger, and a large open grassland can be shrunk.
How long more, I can only speculate, but you deserve a straight answer. I reckon first release, with everything up to the Gap of Rohan (featuring shire, bree land, some of the dunland and maybe rivendell) in. Quests will have to wait though as those won't be ready till we're past Helms Deep.
The systems needed for anything PAST the gap and it's extended warfare mode may take a few months, as it is basically a big PVP free for all playground with more units, squad based warfare and basically playing more like a small scale RTS. This involves a new set of systems entirely and may or may not even be possible. However warfare definitely gets more intense.
Thank you for your interest. If you think you can help (mapping wise - triggering, fixing my terrain or as an alpha tester or just as a fan) please contact me, we need you. MSN and email is silverleaf321@gmail(dot)com (avoids spam spiders)
Also, 13sA is recruiting
This announcement is just to whoever still has a faint bit of interest and also we don't want anyone saying this project is impossible/dead/vaporware. Here is a brief history.
I was part of FOTR for about the entire duration of Helms Deep Hero Siege's development. After some issues with FOTR, I left/got booted/quit before booted/whatever you choose to call it, and restarted 13sA's Mapping division, my old home clan which I thought had surely long died out. Was glad to be back in, and won't leave for anything the gaming world may offer. Though we were far from active, I quickly got back to work. I'm determined to stay here till I am the last active member. (13sA=battleships ace)
I tested out using and making some RPG gameplay mechanics, and at this stage LOTR rpg wasn't very far along yet (was busy and only had half of the shire and virtually no systems in) so we put it on hold in favor of a battleships map. However, I could feel Tolkein bashing my head against the wall night and day, plus the only mappers from 13sA involved in the project turned inactive, and all of a sudden I was on my own again with a small team of testers.
It was hard to find mappers that I need, and harder to find people still interested in joining a 'vaporware' project. Especially harder since I was unproven, and had no achievements to back my words. So the focus was on what I already had, to improve my basic Helms Deep's rating and get it working. After that, work finally resumed on the RPG, though it is much more active, and with more focus on gameplay now.
------------------------
THE ROAD AHEAD
------------------------
The plan is to have Battleships style airships and ground based traditional RPG teams working and fighting together. The two projects essentially became one. Sure, airships arn't canon, but with the vastness of the world, air transport is the only way without the use of even crappier teleporters. Also, they are fun!!!
Majority of the systems are already in place, and still working on getting a working 2 hero save system (all I've found so far can only save for one hero and I don't know JASS). However, that can wait till release.
Map size is 480x480, and size ratio is 0.7 to 1, that is to say models are on average shrinked by 30%. This is to make buildings appear bigger, unlike vanilla where a farm looks more like a coffin, and will not actually make anything crazy tiny so the terrain looks like crap. Buildings will be scarce but bigger, sorry about that. Huge towns with millions of inhabitants won't fit in an epic 240x240 map, and may just take up an entire 480x480 one.
Also, we decided to include more of Middle Earth, and not just what was in the movies. However this has a terrible price to pay, we can't go into as much detail as we would have liked. Sure, major landmarks and towns will still be in, but don't count on your favorite house, stone and tree in the movie, or in that semi WoW clone we call LOTRO to be in (ok sorry from now on that title is reserved for Derek Dumb's Alganon).
Far flung places may not be included, but the aim is to have everything all the way from The Shire in the West to Mordor in the East. Screenshots follow. Note that in release, it will look better than this, but still taking the effort now, as this project has always been about terrain.
As you can see from the minimap, The Shire had just been shrunk, and the entire green area will be replaced with Bree Land.
Right now, it is basically going to be a more action and twitch orientated RPG with arrow key movement (thanks to the witcher), and as most systems are in, development will focus on making more regions faster.
To accomodate this change in gameplay whereby there is actually a war to fight and not just a 'terrain map', regions will be smaller, and more regions will be in. It will try to, but fail to be to scale, because more important areas have to be bigger, and a large open grassland can be shrunk.
How long more, I can only speculate, but you deserve a straight answer. I reckon first release, with everything up to the Gap of Rohan (featuring shire, bree land, some of the dunland and maybe rivendell) in. Quests will have to wait though as those won't be ready till we're past Helms Deep.
The systems needed for anything PAST the gap and it's extended warfare mode may take a few months, as it is basically a big PVP free for all playground with more units, squad based warfare and basically playing more like a small scale RTS. This involves a new set of systems entirely and may or may not even be possible. However warfare definitely gets more intense.
Thank you for your interest. If you think you can help (mapping wise - triggering, fixing my terrain or as an alpha tester or just as a fan) please contact me, we need you. MSN and email is silverleaf321@gmail(dot)com (avoids spam spiders)
Also, 13sA is recruiting
