Three is Company

Just in the way of an update:

I would say I'm 15% done with the topography. Slow going on a 480x480. Heh.

Trying to keep it as close to the book map as possible, so it should be pretty accurate when I'm done. IMHO, of course. :)

It took a Knight unit about 4-5 minutes to go from top left to bottom right, on the fastest game setting. Whoa. Big big. This is good though, since it oughta' give the Hobbits a chance at avoiding the Nazgul.

I plan on giving the Hobbits really good sight range (in the day), and the Nazgul pathetic sight range (again, in the day). This'll also help the Hobbits avoid the Nazgul, at least during the day. At night they need to be in a building. There will be plenty of farmhouses, etc., around the map for them to overnight in. Farmer Maggot would love to have 'em over for mushrooms, of course. ;)

If you're wondering what in the heck Three is Company means, it's the chapter in the Fellowship of the Ring when the four Hobbits set out from Hobbiton for Rivendell. Read the book!

Care.

Lol, and for the few that have no idea what this is an update of, its is an update for our MOD, Lord of the Rings.

P.S. Heaven GET ON ICQ!!!

20% done. Brandywine (Baranduin) River is 90% complete. I'm doing the waterways WITHOUT cliffs, so they look really cool, with the land smoothly flowing into the water's edge. I originally made the entire map water, then raised the entire map to land. This was so all I would have to do was lower some land and there would be water.

Only problem is I forgot to turn off the enforce water heights. Duh. So I have to lay down water, raise it back up, then lower the terrain for the rivers and such. Takes a little longer but I've learned my lesson. Heh. Copy and paste has been a boon as well. Don't underestimate it's usefullness, especially with fixing water/land interface problems.

Anyway, I still need to add the 4 or 5 tributaries remaining to the Brandywine and all of the water will be done. Next I do Hobbiton and the other small villages in the area, and after that Woody End and on to Buckland and the Old Forest. From there it's a lot of effort into the Barrow Downs (lotta' cliffs and broken terrain) and then to Bree. Tidy up the surrounding areas and we're done! With the terrain at least. Then we add the unit mod. But I'm getting WAY ahead of myself.

Keep an eye out for updates. I would probably like to start beta testing the map for bugs when I get over 50% done. You can add me to your bnet Friends list if you're interested, and try to get up with me when I get on. Ninquenor is my account name.

Speaking of bugs, a funny one was when I told my test Knight to move to the far side of the Brandywine. He immediately set off, like there was a good path. I kept an eye on him and started laughing my butt off when he approached the edge, dove right in, and walked along the bottom completely out of sight except for his bubbles, and came back up the other side. LOL! These are the kinds of bugs I'm no doubt gonna' need help with. On a map as big as this there are bound to be lots.

Thanks for your interest (if anyone's reading this, heh), and stay tuned!

Take care.

Nice thoughts, may not want to make it too big there is only a limited amount of Nazgul, unless they travel really fast compared to the hobbits. :) good work though, hopefully we'll have some good skins :)

Dunno' about the skins. That'll be Arcuivie's department, maybe Klintel's. For my mod (different version, focus on multi- vs. single and melee vs RPG) I just use the mounted Arthas model darkened a lot. Looks decent for a Nazgul.

As far as big, yeah, it needs to be way big. If the hobbits are discovered that's all she wrote. Unless of course they happen to have made it to the wandering party of elves in the Woody End, or to Buckland with the Buckland warriors (although that'd take a large toll in Hobbit lives), or to Bree with Strider.

If the Nazgul band together (there will be 9 player controlled Ringwraiths, probably 3 per player in my version) then they will practically be unstoppable versus anything on the map with the possible exception of that wandering band of elves. Even Aragorn/Strider wouldn't last long in a full on battle against all nine Ring Lords. But if they do that, band together, the map is so large they run the severe risk of losing the Ring. I don't plan on forcing the Hobbits go to Bree, although by doing so they will gain the benefit of Aragorn's companionship (don't know if he should be Rescuable, or just triggered to lead the Hobbits out of Bree to the east). A sizable force of Buckland Hobbits could manage to kill the Nazgul's mounts, but I doubt very seriously if there'll be a Westernesse blade among the lot, and a magic blade is a requirement if yer gonna' harm the buggers.

Dunno'. Lots of decisions to make. :) Gonna' be a fun map!

Care.

Check here for latest!

http://forums.modzetc.com/index.php?act=ST&f=22&t=43&

Care.

Tip: Resist posting minor updates at every opportunity. I've wasted a lot of time myself doing that, back in SC's day.

Uhh...checking THIS forum, it's been over a month since I've updated this thread.

On the forum I linked to, the screen shot I just posted was SIX (6) days after my last one, and the difference between them was anything but minor.

Not to be defensive, but just what exactly were you talking about?

:)

Care.

It's been over 3 weeks since my last update (here). Have made considerable progress, although it sure doesn't seem like as much as it could be because the map is so big. :)

Check the website in my signature for the latest! I'd love to hear what you think.

Take care.