Okay, I think I'm actually going to be able to do this one.
I've scaled it down somewhat so that I should be able to complete at least a beta version by myself in a relatively short time. Provided the computer doesn't decide to be.... irritating.
The idea is that this will allow me to get back into moding so that I can hopefully finish off Extended Factions to a high level. That and give me just a bit more experience in texturing, something I've never been able to do very well.
INTRODUCTION:
As you might have guessed from the title, this is a Warband mod set in Middle-Earth. Big surprise right? Now, as a lot of people might know, not many LotR mods for M&B actually get anywhere. This is usually down to the fact that it's quite difficult to get something to live up to the books and/or movies. So that's why the initial premise of this is actually based around an idea had by a company whose prodcuts are far less impressive.
EA created a game way back in 2004, based around an "alternate fellowship" who followed the Fellowship of the Ring. Now, I actually thought the game was incredible, and I think it could possibly be considered the reason I got so into Warhammer and by extension, RPG's. Unfortunately, the story was probably not the strong point, though this is really down to the fact that EA had the licence to the movie material, but not that of the books, which really got in the way I imagine.
Moving on,
THE PREMISE:
So, my idea was as follows,
LotR mods are thin on the ground, mainly because they only focus on either an area of the game or an area of Midle-Earth. As such, big sweeping mods which cover both multi-player and single-player are non-existent. The only ones which succeed are ones that focus entirely on at least one area of the two categories. Let's just discuss the released LotR mods.
The Last Days is a single-player mod for the original M&B, which stretches the entirety of Middle-Earth east of the Misty Mountains. It is also completely based on the book. No Gondorian plate harnesses to be found here!
Unlike the others, at least this one is still being worked on, a good thing too as it is fairly bug prone, though the cinematics and the like are quite impressive.
Battle for the Hornburg was an Invasion based multi-player mod for Warband. It is based around a single map of Helm's Deep and challenges you to survive to the very end of wave 36. As you can imagine, this is very basic, though it is well-made. What's more, Kazzan is no longer working on it, so it will never be finished.
Ak Ela was a Turkish mod for the original M&B, based off the movies. They did not get far and the released beta is often considered quite lacklustre.
I'm pretty sure that's it. The cream of the LotR mods for a game that lends itself distinctly to Middle-Earth. Admittedly, I am somewhat out of the loop when it comes to the modding scene so maybe I've missed some.
So my idea is a multi-player mod for Warband, the initial release at least containing the journey of EA's 'alternate fellowship,' from here on referred to as the Company of the Shield. Players will take the role of one of seven companions, each of which has access to different equipment and abilities to survive a perilous journey through Middle-Earth.
There will be a succession of maps stretching from Eregion to perhaps Minas Tirith which players will have to navigate their way through, coming up with strategies to defeat the parties of enemies which will come their way.
The construction of the maps and the balancing between the different playable characters will hopefully promote team play, instead of competition seeing who will obtain the most kills, each player will have their own way of ensuring the party's survival.
To make the mod work, EA's story will be abandoned. Players will have to come up with their own reasons for the party to be travelling this path. But that's okay, let's not try to think too much about that.
THE CHARACTERS:
Berethor:A Citadel Guardsman from Gondor, Berethor has access to the heaviest armour of the companions from the start, along with a shield and an arming sword. He is the 'tank,' if you will, capable of taking a few hits and turtling behind his shield, drawing enemies from his weaker allies. He is also able to deal decent damage with his sword, although his attacks are fairly slow. His weakness however comes from not having any ranged ability.
Idrial:An elf from Lothlorien, Idrial is one of Galadriel's handmaidens. She is clad in cloth and leather and armed with an elven lhang. Her squishiness is offset by her magic, which allows her to cause great damage with Loudwater Fury, in addition to hopefully being able to heal her allies with Gift of the Eldar. Her attacks are fast, although she does not cause great amount of damage with her sword. Her main ability lies in 'pinch-hitting' with Loudwater Fury.
Elegost:A Dunedain ranger, Elegost is clad in tough leathers and armed with a bastard sword and a longbow. His armour is not tough, though he is skilled at both melee and ranged combat. He does good damage with his sword, although his lack of a shield means he could be in trouble taking on multiple opponents. His bow is slow to nock and draw but deals high amounts of damage.
Hadhod:A dwarf of the Blue Mountains and friend of Elegost, Hadhod is relatively well-armoured in leather and chain and carries an assortment of weapons. He may carry anything from a selection of throwing axes, hand axes, greataxes, warhammers and even a shield, making him capable of taking on a variety of roles in the party. He is however, slow to both move and attack. (I also hope that I can have a dwarf skeleton available in the multi-player, something a lot of modders find difficult.)
Aranel:Idrial's brother, a marchwarden of Lothlorien, Aranel is only a gues character in EA's game, but will be playable from the beginning in Wars of Middle-Earth. He is clad in leathers and armed with an elven lhang and a hunting bow. He lacks his sister's ability with magic, however he capable of shooting at considerable speed, making him very good at mowing down large numbers of unshielded enemies.
Morwen:Though this shieldmaiden of Rohan was armed with two axes in EA's game, Morwen here is represented with a single axe and a Rohirric roundshield. She is relatively lightly armoured, making her fast but unable to take many hits. Her main role is to be used as a 'pinch-hitter' in close combat, using her speed and high-damage dealing axe to take on opponents busy with her allies.
Eaoden:An outrider of Rohan, Eaoden is armed with only a spear, however this makes him very effective at keeping enemies at a distance. It is a quick weapon and capable of dealing high amounts of damage, which is good as Eaoden is clad only in leather and a small amount of chain, making him vulnerable to heavy attacks.
THE JOURNEY:
Players will start in Eregion, a heavily forested region filled with game trails. The enemies will spawn at various points across the map, separated from each other. As Warband's AI forces bots to adopt the closest path to their opponents, this will create the illusion of waves of enemy troops. The centre of the map will be dominated by an elven waystation, which will provide a somewhat defensible position for the group to stave off the orcs and Rhudaurian wildmen. Upon surviving the 'level,' a prompt will appear asking the players if they wish to move on to the next map.
The companions then find themselves in the High Pass, a labyrinth of rocky, snowy highland filled with orcs, more wildmen and perhaps a handful of wargs. It's possible to have the wargs act like they do in TLD, however they are a bit basic, acting like horses with high charge damage and an invisible rider... Might skip on the wargs sadly. Eventually however, the party is then asked about the next map.
Leading to having just approached the West Gate of Moria. The Watcher has disappeared after having torn down the doorway, but there is still a small way in, where the rocks have piled up leaving a small access. Inside is a multitude of Moria goblins, which will be weaker than the orcs the party has already fought, although in higher numbers and clad in tougher armour. Moria will also be very dark, leading to archery being ineffective. The door to the Chamber of Mazarbul will be open, though going in there is likely a death-trap, it being far safe to get to the intact bridge of Khazad-Dum. Chances are they will have to then fight off a large wave of goblins and maybe a handful of trolls if a good skeleton can be constructed. They will then be asked about the next map.
The party finds themselves in East Emnet, a maze of caves and rocks. The map itself is in much the same fashion as the Eregion and High Pass maps, though the enemies are the same orcs as before, joined now by Saruman's scout uruk-hai. The uruk-hai will be tougher, stronger and faster than the orcs and armed with powerful, though inaccurate bows, falchions and shields and armoured in leathers. The main defensible position is an elven outpost in one of the caves where the orcs can only come towards the party so many at a time.
The next map is Rohan, which will mainly revolve around a small homestead where the party will be besieged by a small group of orcs, scout uruk-hai and Dunlending wildmen. From there, the party moves on towards a high bridge and into Snowbourne. Snowbourne itself is quite defensible, with high walls and several gates which may be used as chokepoints.
The next map is Helm's Deep, comprised of the Deeping Wall and the Hornburg. Now, while I personally would love to be able to play the Siege of Helm's Deep, I can't think of a way for the players to be able to command the men of Rohan, maybe the elves of Lothlorien and then Gondorians later on. This leads me to think that perhaps we need to invent a second Siege where the players can go it alone, or perhaps that the Siege itself needs to be skipped. The latter would be a pity, but I can't think of a way to do it properly in a way that makes sense to the story.
Regardless of whether Helm's Deep is played through or skipped, play would continue through to other regions, eventually culminating in Minas Tirth, which would be difficult for similar reasons to Helm's Deep, what with having Gondorian soldiers everywhere. Perhaps, those sieges need to be dropped from the list of campaign maps. Perhaps the campaign as a whole should just be wrapped up with the defence of Snowbourne.
WHAT IS NEEDED:
First of all, a mapper. I seem to be awful at it, which is a bit of a pity. I assure you, it's not through a lack of trying, I simply seem to not be any good. So someone capable of designing the battle-maps would be great.
Secondly, a modeller. Luckily, not someone for doing the armours, which seems to be something lots of people have trouble with. Not yet anyway, as I hope to be able to get by with just native retextures to begin with, but someone who can create the scene objects the mapper will need. Things like the elven waystation in Eregion will need to be modeled and I lack the hardware to do it myself.
If I can get those two things, everything should be fine. Hopefully. In fact, if everything works out, I hope that this mod could be expanded with extra campaigns, something like the the Fellowship of the Ring or the Companions of the North from the old LotR SBG supplement I helped out on over on the old Last Alliance forums.
I
should be able to do all the necessary coding and texturing myself, though offers of help would naturally be appreciated.
EVIL MODE:
One thing EA's game did that many found interesting was Evil Mode, where players were able to control the forces of evil in order to take out this 'alternate fellowship.' In light of this, I think it might be interesting to open up a possibilty for a player to take control of the evil forces in a scenario to try and crush the good guys. I believe the ability to play as a Ringwraith would make this possible, the idea being that the Evil player's commands are akin to how the orcs were always more effective when their masters were cracking the whip at them. An Evil player would be able to do all sorts of things to make the situation easier for his minions, such as opening doors and issuing commands so that the orcs attacked as a cohesive band rather than a series of small parties.
I find this interesting, though I suppose Ringwraiths would only fit in some circumstances. Perhaps orc champions might be possibilities as well for situations when one of the Nazgul would not be in charge.
Anyway, that's all for now, I hope that some people might be able to help out a bit, though I realise that this is unlikely.
Cheers,