Imperator Romanorum!

[BiteNibbleChomp]

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Progress Report:

All military actions up to 261 BC and date system until 261 BC currently under testing.
90% of Roman, Epirote, Punic and Etruscan units complete, all with 2d icons in game and 3d icons in my PC files
Still awaiting a Heavy Infantry (Swordsman) 3d icon.
Espionage system under consideration.
Map complete
Still a Work in Progress (I put this here so that I don't get any more 'is it finished yet' posts)
Political map-colouring system under trial

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For a while now I have been mentioning the fact that I have been working on a project other than WWI or the Mongols... I now reveal it to be 'Imperator Romanorum' - a mod focused on Ancient Rome!

Currently the mod is still in early stages as I have been doing other things as well as modding a lot more lately (mostly playing CK2!), but I thought it would be best if I announced the mod and then you guys have the opportunity to be part of this new idea!

Features I have decided upon:

Map is 100x75 hexes, covering most of Europe (except roughly one quarter will be covered in 'terra incognita' - unknown land)
Game starts in 280 BC with the Pyrrhic wars and will go on until 51 AD
A new decision system that will allow you to recognise nations as Great Powers, Reform the Republic and more...
Diplomacy including trade, peace and war with the other three current great powers.
Six Great Powers in total (Rome, Carthage, Egypt, the Seleucid Empire and potentially Suebia and the Iceni)
A province system. The map is divided into 23 provinces, each with a major town. Control of the town gives you effective control of the province.
Buildable towns that can be placed throughout your provinces (and outside of them if you wish to expand into barbarian regions)
An improved quest system similar to that found in the WWI grand map.
The ability to conquer regions that Rome never got to such as Caledonia, Suebia and Parthia (OK, attempted were made into all of these but none were successful )

Of course, more will be revealed, and some screenshots will be shown as the mod gets closer to release.

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Possible ideas that could do with icons as well:

Merchant goods in both land and sea variants
Pirate ships
Spies (designed like an air unit but with a land unit appearance)

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- BNC

[Cataphract88]

SPQR Corps, great idea, BNC!

[BiteNibbleChomp]

SPQR Corps, great idea, BNC!

You clearly haven't changed with your smily-face habit.

Anyway this mod is taking a very different direction to anything that has been released before. For starters, it isn't going to be much like WWI or the original campaigns (multi scenarios).

Instead you will be forced to play it as if you were an emperor (or a consul if you prefer to be more accurate!) - managing civilian wishes as well as campaigns. Units will also move fairly slowly, probably no more than 2-3 hexes a turn. That will make your initial campaigns against Carthage, Epirus and the Samnites easy to reinforce, but once you get into Britain or the Middle East it will be a different story.

Anyway I will be adding an events system that will include demands from the Senate (build xx towns in this province), people's uprisings (such as that of Tiberius Gracchus in 133 BC), and enemy declarations of war (Gallic Invasions, Wars with Carthage etc.). Do you choose to keep the republic, or overthrow the system and rule with an iron fist?

IR280westend.JPG (4.17 KiB) Viewed 11012 times

I now present to you the western half of the map. You will be able to see that some of 'Scandus' appears to be water. This will be the limit of the map in that area (anything further is unknown to the people of the time), and will not be accessable. I will be putting the diplomacy 'panel' in a region of terra incognita that would now be known as the Ural Mountains so that you cannot move a legion into it and kill the Seleucid diplomat.

Also, feel free to ask questions - I have much that is not yet revealed...

- BNC

[BiteNibbleChomp]

More news from the Ancient World:

The map has been completed!

Strategic Map

Strategic Map.JPG (77.31 KiB) Viewed 10955 times

Battle Ground of the 1st Punic War - the first major game event:

Italia et Africa.JPG (66.81 KiB) Viewed 10955 times

Gaul:

GAUL.JPG (132.57 KiB) Viewed 10955 times

Also, legions will not be purchaseable before ~270 BC (turn 20) as the Samnite Wars and the fight with Pyrrhus were more dependant on small bands of warriors rather than the great legions of the Punic Wars through the Imperial Age. They will also be improved as the game goes along - Improved Legions will be ready for Hannibal and Advanced Legions for the campaigns of Julius Caesar.

The large black areas on the map represent terra incognita and mare incognitum. These regions will be impassable

- BNC

[Vulcan54]

Wow, what vision! Sounds as if this is going to be a fantastic mod. I can't wait to try the finished article!

[BiteNibbleChomp]

Wow, what vision! Sounds as if this is going to be a fantastic mod. I can't wait to try the finished article!

AFAIK this is giong to be the upper limit of what the PzC engine can do.

You may notice the green square in the Northeast Corner of the map: Think of that as a diplomacy, economics and decisions screen.

- BNC

[Akkula]

I would love to see this Civilization / PzCorps hybrid!.
Good work bite, you never stop modding you are a machine or what?

[BiteNibbleChomp]

Well I don't think Civ has massive labels over the various parts of the world:

British Isles.JPG (120.23 KiB) Viewed 10867 times

Rome II Total War was the main inspiration for this mod - though it will be nearly impossible to add real time battles.

- BNC

[Akkula]

Fantastic touch!. Maybe darker letters could fit even better.

[BiteNibbleChomp]

Fantastic touch!. Maybe darker letters could fit even better.

If I do that then you can't see them in the Strategic Map

- BNC

[BiteNibbleChomp]

The labels are now fully working on all parts of the known world, so here's the updated strategic map:

Strategic Map.JPG (83.17 KiB) Viewed 10829 times

At some point I will add the decision system and start assigning countries but other than that the map is basically done.

Also I have begun making 2d mockup units so that I can begin testing the scenario and setting up all the code, but they aren't good enough for a release (and my 3d skills couldn't impress the corpse of an enslaved gladiator!)

RoWE.png (4.31 KiB) Viewed 10829 times

CaSpear.png (3.95 KiB) Viewed 10829 times

At this point I am focussing on Rome, Carthage and Epirus as they are all in play at 280 BC. The Samnites and Etruscans will follow (~275 BC) but after that what is done will be more determined by random).

Anyway if you have some free time please help make some decent 3d units! I can't do the graphics without you!

- BNC

[BiteNibbleChomp]

Here's the list of units I've made (or confirmed) so far:

Diplomat (Roman)
Town (3 Versons - Latin, Greek/Egyptian and Celtic)
Light Infantry armed with Spears
Heavy Infantry armed with Swords
Legionary (far more powerful than above)
Archer
Javelin Thrower
Light Cavalry (Numidian Style)
Heavy Cavalry (Celtic Style)
Trireme (Generic Mediterranean)
Quadreme (Rome)
Quinquereme (Rome + Carthage)
Scorpio (Like a giant crossbow/ballista)
War Elephant (Both for Carthage and Epirus)


- BNC

[Akkula]

I hope you like it.

[Akkula]

One more, I am going to bed

[BiteNibbleChomp]

I hope you like it.

Well then you succeeded . Still trying to work out exactly what unit it is though (the ancient boats all look the same!)

One more, I am going to bed

See above.

I'll be setting the units up in a few hours. (Any screenshots made between now and a couple of months will be using the 2d graphics - this is so that I don't have a random jumble of 2d and 3d units in any released version)

- BNC

[Cataphract88]

Very nice ships, Akkula.

[BiteNibbleChomp]

Very nice ships, Akkula.

Indeed.

Anyway I'm going to put up a few more of my grpahics so that if anyone is able to make the infantry units then they know what I'm thinking:

RoHvyInf.png (3.8 KiB) Viewed 10723 times

RoHvCav.png (3.98 KiB) Viewed 10723 times

RoArcher.png (3.81 KiB) Viewed 10723 times

- BNC

[BiteNibbleChomp]

RoLtCav.png (3.42 KiB) Viewed 10723 times

RoLegio.png (4.26 KiB) Viewed 10723 times

RoJav.png (3.57 KiB) Viewed 10723 times

- BNC

[BiteNibbleChomp]

Well, I give up on trying to make the game display BC dates. So I came up with this:

280b.JPG (15.31 KiB) Viewed 10700 times

and then made them impossible to view in the briefing screen:

briefing.JPG (70.43 KiB) Viewed 10700 times

Now, what to make the victory conditions? I'm open to suggestions. Remember, the mod ends in 51 AD (Turn 661)

Also, the first 100 years or so follow a story that roughly covers the Punic Wars, Pyrrhus and the minor collapse of Seleucia. That's not stopping you from invading Egypt during this time as well!

- BNC

[Akkula]

Well then you succeeded . Still trying to work out exactly what unit it is though (the ancient boats all look the same!)

- BNC

First one is a generic Trireme, second one a generic Quadreme.

Here, take a Quinquereme



By the way, that UI looks AWESOME, keep your fantastic job friend . This Mod looks very promising.

Very nice ships, Akkula.

Thank your Richard, I wish I could help more to Bite, but my own Soviet Storm mod keep my hands full