Exilian
Game Design and Project Resources: The Workshops Quarter => Total War Mods - The Engineer's Shed => Mods, Maps & Game Add-Ons - The Bazaar => A Game of Colleges: Total War => Topic started by: Jubal on January 25, 2013, 01:42:07 AM
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OK, not every college can be a faction so here is the organisation, please comment, discuss, banter etc:
The Backs Alliance
Members: St Catherine's, Clare, King's, Trinity, Trinity Hall
Government: Prosperous, forward-looking, trade-focussed populist oligarchy
Faction words: For the Alliance!
Suggested music: We Are the Champions
Notable Quote: "They say that money is the sinews of war. I disagree; it is a lot more than that. Wooly-minded idealism is all very well, but at the end of the day it's a coin in the bag that gives John's a bloody nose, it's a coin in the bag that we can then use to keep our students safe, it's a coin in the bag that's really going to win this war for us. Us, I say! Come on, give a little! For the Alliance!" - Money collector for the Alliance war effort
Synopsis: The Alliance formed early on due to a desire to monopolise river trade from the South and thereby prosper at the expense of John's; the college fellows at the different colleges banded together, using their influence to get the students to fall in line. Their governance tends to be efficient and the areas under their command well managed, with a generally open society and a popular leadership. The oligarchy of the fellows has remained stable, except at Queen's where the fellows decided their academic freedom was compromised (they defected and signed the Western Treaty). Populous and wealthy, the river colleges hold a central position that gives them many opportunities both heading towards the town centre and out across the river, as well as holding most of the major river crossings. However, due to their centralised location they are faced by rivals on many sides: the republic of South Cambridge to the south, the Western Treaty to the West and the River Entente to the north.
The Republic of South Cambridge
Members: Pembroke, Corpus Christi, Emmanuel, Peterhouse, Downing
Government: Enlightened but disorganised scientific republic
Faction words: The south shall sing!
Suggested music: Do You Hear the People Sing?
Notable Quote: "Friends of the republic, remember what we are fighting for. Your colleges demand of you that you do not what is easy, but what is right - that you stand with flags held high and know that what you are defending is not just your college but your rights, and your votes. Students of Emmanuel! Stand firm! Students of Peterhouse! Remember your traditions! Students of Corpus! Let them know their time has been eaten whole! And students of Pembroke... let the martlets fly, and prepare to receive unwelcome guests!" - Captain Baillie, defending the back gate of Pembroke College
Synopsis: After seeing the rest of the colleges falling into alliances, the colleges of Pembroke, Corpus Christi, Emmanuel, Downing and Peterhouse formed together as students and fellows alike met in small cafes, built barricades, and eventually declared that the rights of students and fellows could only be preserved by allowing each one to vote on their leaders. They were the last group to repudiate the suzerainty of the central University, but the revolutionary ideas of liberal democracy they are signed up to are seen as being worryingly infectious by the more centralised powers to the north. Being on the southern edge the of the city they hold a strong defensive position and the presence of the New Museums and Downing sites could give them a crucial advantage later on, but for now they must man the barricades and keep a careful watch on their nearby rivals along the river and the Sainsbury's Pact to the north.
The Sainsbury's Pact
Members: Christ's, Jesus, Sidney Sussex
Government: Highly organised egalitarian authoritarians
Faction words: Comrades of the pact, to war!
Suggested music: Red Fly the Banners, O
Notable Quote: By these presents, the students of the colleges of Cambridge, be they present or not to the signing of this document, make this declaration: that the student proletariat stand in unity, that the fellows and masters are nothing more than students in themselves, and that all the inequalities of our bourgeois past can be borne no longer. - Preamble to the Sainsbury's Pact
Synopsis: Upon seeing the Entente and the Alliance begin to square off, radical students at Christ's saw in this not just a battle, but an opportunity. Meeting with students at nearby Sidney Sussex and Jesus in the porch of Sainsbury's, they signed the Sainsbury's Pact; a constitution promising to share the goods of the store and the colleges equally, and to do all they could to spread their revolution. The resulting politburo then organised revolts in each of the three colleges, with the former fellows being pressed into service as comrades and leaders of the Pact forces. The Pact has the advantage of fervour amongst its students and the disputed town centre between them and the power bases of the Alliance or the Entente - and, even better, close access to the food-producing centre of Sainsbury's. This economic power, however, makes them a target for their many rivals along the river to the west and from the Republic to the south.
The River Entente
Members: St John's, Gonville & Caius, Magdalene
Government: Traditionalist high-church collegiate principalities
Faction words: By ancient right and ancient river
Suggested music: Land of Hope and Glory
Notable quote "May every battle go in your favour; may your duty to your liege never waver, may your hope and your courage never fail, may your enemies shrink from your righteousness. Let your sword be swift, and your justice true, and your faith resolute. Be not afraid, for remember that your honour makes you strong." - a divinity student recruited to the chapel at John's blesses the levies as they march to war.
Synopsis: Upon seeing the backs alliance beginning to form against them, the master of St. John's realised he needed to react. Calling upon Gonville & Caius and Magdalene as partners, the three college masters banded together to prevent a monopoly on river trade forming, taking the northern river trade for themselves! The old John's/Trinity rivalry stands at the centre of the dispute, John's insisting that they are upholding the traditions of the university and placing the entente's chapels at the centre of their ability to keep the students and fellows united under their masters. Their centralised location leas to them sharing borders with many rival alliances: the Backs Alliance to the south, the Sainsbury's pact to the east and the Hill College Confederacy to the north-west. They nevertheless start with significant wealth, and the location of Caius in particular gives them early opportunities to strike towards the town centre.
The Hill College Confederacy
Members: St Edmund's, Lucy Cavendish, Fitzwilliam, Murray Edwards
Government: Militarised, semi-tribal confederacy
Faction words: The Hill Remembers
Suggested music: While we were marching through Georgia Magdalene
Notable Quote: "The hill remembers. It remembers the days when we were seen as a backwater, it remembers the days when the banners of our colleges stood dusty and unrecognised, when we were merely seen as outposts of the city. And because it remembers, we know what to do. We have longed for this for many years; longed for the chance to fortify, to train, to let our old foes know the meaning of fear. You can become our ally if you co-operate or our vassal if you do not; it matters little to me. There is no other negotiation. The hill remembers." - General Longley refuses parley before the Battle of Magdalene Bridge
Synopsis: As unrest stirred within the city the hill colleges rallied around to hold the only piece of high ground in the city. With an eye for tactics and long-standing grudges against the so-called "cultured" city centre, the Confederacy had little difficulty pulling its students into military service and now looks hungrily at the richer lowlands to the south. They are economically not the largest or richest colleges, but are both in a strong defensive and offensive position overlooking their nearby rivals, the Western Treaty to the south and the River Entente to the east.
The Western Treaty
Members: Churchill, Newnham, Darwin, Queen's, Selwyn, Wolfson
Government: Alliance of libertarian and anarchist freedom fighters
Faction words: Freedom and the West
Suggested music: The Ballad of Serenity (Firefly theme)
Notable Quote: "And so this we beg of you; not just that you remember the name of Churchill, not just that you remember our old friendship, but that each of you thinks on yourselves too. Think upon all that you hold dear, the chance to walk and say that you are beholden to no man. My friends, I beg of you - think of freedom!" - A Churchill messenger calls for aid
Synopsis: The Western Treaty was created when messengers from Churchill college came south to ask Newnham and Selwyn for aid in protecting their freedoms from the growing Confederacy; Churchill college defected and joined the alliance brewing in the JPs of the Western colleges and on the Sidgwick site. Signing a treaty declaring that no alliance should ever take away their ancient collegiate freedoms, the three colleges swore to protect one another, joined soon afterwards by Darwin and Wolfson. Also, seeing the Backs Alliance as contrary to the goals of the university, Queen's college too defected to the Sidgwick colleges. The Western Treaty forces are now in training, and the nearby UL and Sidgwick Site could prove valuable if rapidly claimed. Due to the nature of the more open west Cambridge landscape their lines are spread thin, with the Backs Alliance and the Republic to the west and the Hill College Confederacy to the north.
The Exarchate
Members: Homerton, Hughes Hall
Government: Highly focussed militarised war bureaucracy
Faction words: Cambridge and unity
Suggested music: 1812 Overture
Notable Quote: "There was a time, my friends, when the name of this town was spoken the world over. Do they talk of Robinson the world over? Of Girton, of Corpus Christi, of Murray Edwards - even of Hughes Hall? No. They talk of Cambridge, and that is why we must fight. For Cambridge and unity!" - The Master of Hughes Hall rallies his forces
Synopsis: The fleeing administrators of the central University headed south to find safety, and then proclaimed the two remaining loyal southern colleges to be an Exarchate. Setting up a central administrative system, they did their best to mobilise Hughes Hall and Homerton to war on behalf of the University. They quickly lost power to the collegiate forces, however; the Master of Homerton claimed the title of "Exarch" and inherited the bureaucrat's plan of reconquering Cambridge. On behalf of the University's unity, of course. The Exarchate has just two colleges to begin with - the least of any faction - but has a lot of lands nearby to expand into and a good starting treasury. Homerton, in the far south, is also well protected by the few crossings of the railway line.
The Kingdom of the Outlands
Members: Girton, Robinson, Clare Hall
Government: Opportunist raiding Dukes and Kings
Faction words: Be the wilderness
Suggested music: Anything by Howard Shore
Notable Quote: "Some don't even think we're in the bubble, you know. That beyond the hill is just some frozen wasteland. But we know who we are, and that we're a college like any other. And more, because we're not just going to sit and take orders like Clare or Jesus or Caius. Miles away we might be, but a game of Colleges is beginning, and Cambridge is about to find out that we know how to play." - the Mistress of Girton, speaking a day before her death in an ambush
Synopsis: As central Cambridge dissolved into warfare, the Mistress of Girton sent her forces south through the West Cambridge Site and the forests of Arbury on raiding missions, unable to take the main road from the Hill Confederacy. Girtonian raiding bands established the far outer colleges of Robinson and Clare Hall as allied raiding bases ready to prey on the weak Western Colleges or capture the Hill. The Mistress of Girton proclaimed the Robinson and Clare Hall masters to be Palatine Dukes, and gave the Girton Bursar a similar title and the college mastery, herself leaving her college ties to become the Queen of the Outer Lands. Unexpectedly killed in a Western Treaty ambush as she visited Clare Hall, her successor, the former Bursar, is now already the second monarch of the two week old Kingdom. The Outer Lands are mainly protected by their remoteness and wild terrain. They are one of the more difficult factions to start conquering Cambridge as rapidly, and need time to turn from a nation of raiders and guerilla fighters into real student-soliders. Nevertheless the hard lands of the north and west breed fine men and will be difficult for foes to capture.
NB: Other Locations
There are a number of other locations ingame, as follows:
Market Square
Sainsbury's
The Union
New Museums Site
Downing Site
Sidgwick Site
The University Library (UL)
Castle Mound
Arbury Outpost
Science Park Outpost
Train Station
Botanic Gardens
Engineering Dept.
West Cambridge Site
Anglia Ruskin
The Grafton Centre
Old Addenbrooke's Site
The Fitzwilliam Museum
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The south Cambridge republic sounds like it'll have a very long border, is Homerton being included? Also, perhaps we should somehow figure out which college will be captial for each faction, and discuss their logo (could be some variation on the college crests maybe?)
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Would the 'special areas' act like Wonders? If so, the Union could perhaps improve the effectiveness of your diplomacy through experience in the debating hall.
Also, won't Girton and Homerton be a tad miffed for being left out?
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They will be, no doubt, but at the same time making a larger map would have been prohibitive. The left out colleges (and there are, sadly, several- Clare Hall, Downing, Girton, Homerton, Robinson, Wolfson, Hughes Hall) I'm hoping to represent with mercenaries or local troops only available near the map edges. I should probably have tried to make a bigger map, but I want to keep some fairly tight bounds on this project as it's so, so easy for mod projects to have ten million ideas and no work done.
The wonders in RTW are pretty much unmoddable, they're rather a pain to deal with and the effects can't be changed so far as I know. My plan is to use the additional areas to train particular units or provide bonus income. The sidgwick, downing, and new mus sites, and possibly the UL, will be for training specialist troops like ASNACs or possibly more diverse ranges inside particular subjects. Sainsbury's will be a massive cash cow basically, the Union will train vicious debaters, not sure about the Market Place just yet.
Currently I have Trinity, John's, Pembroke, Newnham, Fitzwilliam, and Christ's as respective capitals, though that can change.
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That's a fair point, I like the idea of having them represented by mercs though. A good compromise.
Shame about the wonders though.
How far can we go on changing buildings for cities? I'm thinking we could do some straight swaps ie: academies for libraries, temples for chapels (not sure how we'd deal with the huge variety of deities though)?
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Buildings are fairly flexible, troops are my next concern and then I'll move onto buildings a bit more.
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So we have engineers for artillery, bicycles for Calvary. How about fleets? If we include then we could use punts/boaties for that. As for infantry we could do then by subject maybe? Or by year of study? Eg freshers are light infantry and post-grads heavy?
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Year of study would probably be less complicated. Generals are Fellows? How would family members work - recruiting scholars?
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Year of study would probably be less complicated. Generals are Fellows? How would family members work - recruiting scholars?
that might work, though I guess R:TW may insist on generals reproducing?
years if study gives us: fresher, undergrad, masters, PhD student, post-doc, fellow (maybe not this far?) We could make porters really good for defense too maybe?
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What about peasants? Freshers? Townies?
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I think townies, if we think about it what we have here it's the colleges fighting to dominate the city, do population is townies, peasants ate a cheap and quick way to get boots on the ground, do it fits. Perhaps town watch could be trained townies?
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That would probably work. I assume things like archers will simply be archers? And are all the colleges going to be the same basic faction or are there going to be 'Roman'/'Barbarian' colleges?
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Bicycles I've looked into and I don't think that's going to be feasible. As I think I said on FB, the biggest difficulty we have in making this is our lack of 3d artwork - and that's something I can't do much about unless we miraculously find someone with a copy of 3ds max and a lot of time on their hands.
I'm thinking that the basic troop tree will be based on subjects, with fellows as generals, and some other college staff/librarians as troops. Townies probably mercenaries of some type. A subject tree gives us more opportunities for themed/whimsical unit types.
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Ah yes, I didn't consider that, so we use the vanilla sprites still? Or will we able to get some form of customization there?
Subjects is probably going to more fun, especially broad courses like Nat sci
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Basically we use recoloured vanilla models (or models from other mods, I have a lot of Warhammer/Narnia/other stuff available too) and don't use sprites at all (which is bad for low-end computers, but that's low end computers by the standards of about seven years ago so I'm not too worried about us losing a lot of our audience).
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If it's any use (though I doubt it) I have the EB files saved, so I can send them your way if needed
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Is 3ds Max available on the uni computers? Would it be at all possible to use a different, freer program like Blender? I actually would not mind learning how to do this 3D modelling stuff as I go along. Make bikes and such.
Previous experience: messed about on Blender for a couple hours this one time.
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I think 3ds is the only way; even then you need a special fan-made converter to get the .CAS model files into a form you can manipulate. If you can get a copy then I will happily throw as many tutorials and jobs at you as I can until the cows come home and beyond, but I'm pretty sure it definitely does require the full version of 3ds as a result of the unusual file type.
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So, I got bored with my essay and decided to procrastinate by writing some faction descriptions. Obviously these are unfinished since we've yet to decide on troops for each faction. What do people think of these? I improvised a bit on some of the 'history' around the alliances forming so if anyone thinks an alternative line is better feel free to edit them.
The backs alliance:
Consisting of St. Catherines, Clare, Kings, Trinity and Trinity Hall this alliance formed early on due to a desire to monopolise river trade from the South and thereby prosper. However, due to their centralised location they are faced by rivals on many sides: the republic of south cambridge to the west, the western treaty to the west and the river entente to the north.
The republic of south cambridge:
After seeing the rest of the colleges falling into alliances the colleges of: Pembroke, Chorpus Christi, Emmanuel and Peterhouse formed together into a democratic union of mutual protection. Being on the the of the city they hold a strong defensive position, but must keep a careful watch on their nearby rivals along the river and the Sainsbury's Pact to the north.
The Sainsbury's pact:
Upon seeing the sparks of conflict beginning in the rest of the city the colleges of: Christ's, Jesus and Sidney Sussex united together over a desire to hold the supplies of the only central supermarket. This however makes them a target for their many rivals along the river to the west and from the republic to the south.
The river entente:
Upon seeing the backs alliance beginning to form the colleges of St. John's, Gonville & Caius and Magdalene baned together to prevent a monopoly on river trade forming, by taking the northern river trade for themselves! Their centralised location leas to them sharing borders with many rival alliances: the backs alliance to the south, the Sainsbury's pact to the east and the hill college confederacy to the north-west.
The hill college confederacy:
As unrest stirs within the city the colleges of: St Edmund's, Lucy Cavendish, Fitzwilliam and Murray Edwards rally around holding the only piece of high ground in the city. This puts them in a strong defensive position overlooking their nearby rivals, the western treaty to the south and the river entente to the east.
The western treaty:
Following a disagreement over the holding of the hill, Churchill college defected and joined the alliance brewing on the Sidgwick site to the west. Also seeing the backs alliance as contary to the goals of the university Queen's college too defected to the Sidgwick colleges. This resulted in the formation of a western treaty of: Churchill, Newnham, Darwin, Queen's and Selwyn. Due to the nature of alliance their lines are spread thin, with the backs alliance to the west and the hill college confederacy to the north.
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I've just noticed that Robinson has been completely forgotten - I assume they'd be in the Western Treaty
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The left out colleges (and there are, sadly, several- Clare Hall, Downing, Girton, Homerton, Robinson, Wolfson, Hughes Hall) I'm hoping to represent with mercenaries or local troops only available near the map edges. I should probably have tried to make a bigger map, but I want to keep some fairly tight bounds on this project as it's so, so easy for mod projects to have ten million ideas and no work done.
Just makes life easier.
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The left out colleges (and there are, sadly, several- Clare Hall, Downing, Girton, Homerton, Robinson, Wolfson, Hughes Hall) I'm hoping to represent with mercenaries or local troops only available near the map edges. I should probably have tried to make a bigger map, but I want to keep some fairly tight bounds on this project as it's so, so easy for mod projects to have ten million ideas and no work done.
Just makes life easier.
Ahh sorry, must've eye-skipped when I read that earlier.
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I think 3ds is the only way; even then you need a special fan-made converter to get the .CAS model files into a form you can manipulate. If you can get a copy then I will happily throw as many tutorials and jobs at you as I can until the cows come home and beyond, but I'm pretty sure it definitely does require the full version of 3ds as a result of the unusual file type.
Well, I'm sitting here at a library computer in John's and there's no 3ds Max here. There's Blender, but I just did a quick Google and there doesn't appear to be any way of converting 3ds Max files into a type usable in Blender. Oh well!
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What RTW factions will represent the different college alliances? I was thinking the further out ones could be faster ones due to their need for bikes.. Like the egyptians?
Or is it possible to mix and match units in a mod?
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It's very much a case of mix and match, it's a pretty flexible system in many ways.
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OK, just spent rather longer than was reasonable fleshing out all these descriptions. Feedback?
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Oh I love them! This is sounding amazing now, actually can't wait for it!
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This is absolutely hilarious! :D Congratulations! I was imagining RTW-style introduction videos accompanying them though I'm sure that's not feasible.
I'm starting to wander around Fitz checking for weak points, is this going to my head?
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I've constructed a strategy for defending Emma to the last, so I'd say no
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It's surprising how many entrances most colleges have. You'd honestly think they weren't built for defence, almost.
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Updated with the last two factions. :)
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I hate to nitpick but in the Exarchate quote I think it should be "they talk of Cambridge" not "they take of Cambridge"
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Good shout, fixed.
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Do we have any idea what's going to be special about the extra places? Is that even possible in fact? And if so, to what extent?
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Not exactly for all of them: many or possibly most will train specialised localised units (so ASNACs and Medievalists can only be trained on the Sidgwick Site), others I'm less sure about. Some will have specialised buildings too.
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Sounds good! Any idea when we could roll out a first testing version?
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Probably in the next week I'd hope, mostly just needs me to plug some time into sorting it and the relevant instructions etc out.