Imperator Romanorum!

[captainjack]

Awesome ambition!
The 2d graphics have a strange charm and manage to convey the intent remarkably well - maybe you should keep an "alternative graphics" option?

Slightly more seriously, on the BC/AD issue, the Roman calendar started when Rome was founded in 1/1/0 (or possibly 1/1/1 as they didn't have 0 as such), so by using Roman calendar you will only need positive dates. Beyond that, historical details about whether years start in January or March, how many days there were in each month and calendar reform won't add to gameplay and can safely be ignored.

[Akkula]

I like the captainjack idea about two mod versions: 2d icon graphics and the standard pzcorps style.

[BiteNibbleChomp]

Here, take a Quinquereme

(image)

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

Isn't Soviet Storm pretty much done now? Because the legions are going into battle against Pyrrhus soon! (That quinquereme will have its first battle in the First Punic War, which will be coded soon as well!)

Anyway here's an update on the UI!

ui.JPG (7.99 KiB) Viewed 7019 times

I like the captainjack idea about two mod versions: 2d icon graphics and the standard pzcorps style.

The 2d graphics have a strange charm and manage to convey the intent remarkably well - maybe you should keep an "alternative graphics" option?

You weren't supposed to like the 2d graphics but I'll keep them around anyway - only problem is that they cannot have any combat animations due to their playing card appearance. But it's certainly possible that I'll release them.

Slightly more seriously, on the BC/AD issue, the Roman calendar started when Rome was founded in 1/1/0 (or possibly 1/1/1 as they didn't have 0 as such), so by using Roman calendar you will only need positive dates. Beyond that, historical details about whether years start in January or March, how many days there were in each month and calendar reform won't add to gameplay and can safely be ignored.

It would be 1/1/1, but AUC years are kind of hard to work with seeing as everyone knows when certain events occured based on their BC dates (Cannae isn't as well known for being on 537 AUC, it's much easier to say 216 BC.). Plus I don't know how to edit the calendar, so after 50 turns there won't be any more 'round' dates (1/1/44 BC for example) - as each turn is six months and there is an odd amount of days in one year according to PzC (and using the Roman calendar complicates things further with leap months and other madness!). So I found it easier to add the date as on-map text that changes every second turn, and centers at the start of each turn.

First post updated. Check there to find units that still lack a 3d icon

- BNC

[BiteNibbleChomp]

Victory Conditions have been decided:

victory.JPG (11.94 KiB) Viewed 7012 times

(44BC was chosen for the DV as it is the earliest date for a civil war if you enact the Trivumrate decision that appears around 70 BC - otherwise the civil war can come as early as 60 BC. This ensures that the Roman Republic conquers all for a DV, removing the need for an empire entirely)

And the First Legion in PzC has now been deployed and is ready to fight Pyrrhus.

firstlegion.JPG (119.15 KiB) Viewed 7012 times

- BNC

[McGuba]

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

Wow, this is a great idea, I really like it, but now I am only missing Pannonia

I also like those ships by Akkula, they are very nice!

As for the other units I would suggest searching for some Civilization or other similar game icons over the net which could be borrowed for use in this mod. There are plenty of unit mods made for Civ and the Total War series I think you could find unit pictures in those which could be re-used in yours. I mean things like these:

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=237192

others like this could be used for 2D units:

http://www.twcenter.net/forums/download ... le&id=1894
http://www.gamershell.com/static/screen ... 5_full.jpg


So really, I think you just need to do some Google search and find some nice graphics that could be used and I am pretty sure most of those mod makers would give permission as well to use their graphics.

[Akkula]

A generic scorpio ballista unit:

[BiteNibbleChomp]

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

Wow, this is a great idea, I really like it, but now I am only missing Pannonia

Unfortunately I had to combine provinces to make them fit within the zone limit. I am using 9 zones for the decsions and diplomacy - leaving 23 for the provinces. 'Wild regions' such as Scandus, Scythia, Desertum Africanum and the undiscovered areas didn't need one, so they can be ignored.

Anyway I used a pad image of Rome during Hadrian's reign (c.120, a number of years after the mod ends), which had 44 - so nearly every region on the map is actually a combination (Gallia should be divided into Lugdunensis, Aquitane and about 4 others, Germania is Belgica + Germania Inferior, Noricum is Germania Superior, Noricum and something else.) I then added Hibernia/Caledonia, Parthia, Suebia and possibly another region that Rome never conquered. Anyway Pannonia has been split and added to Dacia and Dalmatia.

Also the 51 AD date comes from Rome's final major battle with the British Tribes - which was fought in Southern Wales.

others like this could be used for 2D units:

http://www.twcenter.net/forums/download ... le&id=1894
http://www.gamershell.com/static/screen ... 5_full.jpg

No need - I can hand (mouse!) draw the 2d icons. I don't have any experience from 3d though - that's why I get others to make things far better than I can do, like this:

A generic scorpio ballista unit:

- BNC

[Akkula]

War Elephant for Carthage


...and for Epirus

[McGuba]

Anyway Pannonia has been split and added to Dacia and Dalmatia.

Sorry to learn it, but I understand your reasons. The limited AI zones is probably the greatest obstacle in modding PzC. But still, nobody likes it much when superpowers split up their homeland to parts and give them to the neighbours.

"Divide et Impera."

War Elephant for Carthage

Very nice icons indeed, keep going! Those elephants should go to the tank class, I guess.

[Akkula]

Thank you McGuba . I will try to donate more units to bite if I can.

[Akkula]

Greek Town. Keep in mind I just put a flag I liked, change it if you already have your own standard:



Note: Maybe the right icon position needs to be adjusted to avoid "repositioning" depending the direction of the attack.

EDIT: Celtic Town (same thing for the flag icon thing):

[BiteNibbleChomp]

Sorry to learn it, but I understand your reasons. The limited AI zones is probably the greatest obstacle in modding PzC. But still, nobody likes it much when superpowers split up their homeland to parts and give them to the neighbours.

Hungary wasn't inhabited by Hungarians until the 'Dark' Ages though, so at 280 BC your homeland is somewhere in the Terra Incognita (making it very safe!). And Rome doesn't divide, it just absorbs.

Though maybe I should make a 'Ruina Imperii' update which covers 376-500 AD after this is finished, so that Proto-Hungary can join forces with Attila and conquer its modern land. (Well at least I'm hoping this is the correct history!)

Very nice icons indeed, keep going! Those elephants should go to the tank class, I guess.

Elephants can't be considered tanks until they have wheels . Most likely they will go to recon with the other cavalry units, but ultimately it doesn't matter much as Rome can't buy any.

War Elephant for Carthage
...and for Epirus

Greek Town. Keep in mind I just put a flag I liked, change it if you already have your own standard:
Note: Maybe the right icon position needs to be adjusted to avoid "repositioning" depending the direction of the attack.

EDIT: Celtic Town (same thing for the flag icon thing):

Amazing work! I'll probably remove the flag symbols entirely though as cities that aren't destroyed in war will most likely by captured if the province flips ownership at the end of a war (I've yet to test this mechanic).

Thank you McGuba . I will try to donate more units to bite if I can.

Please do! It will be well worth it! (and I'll be able to post more screenshots!).

FIRST POST UPDATED

- BNC

[captainjack]

It's a long time since I was good at ancient history, but I'm pretty sure that the Romans did use some elephants (possibly with 88mm L47 trunk). But not on the scale of the armies they faced, so a "No Roman elephants" policy would be defensible.

I did once play an Ancient British Army that fielded elephants. When one of my fellow generals pointed out that Britain doesn't have elephants, the British commander simply said "There are elephants in Whipsnade zoo and this tribe comes from the Whipsnade area". It was hard to counter that at the time! While rather amusing after all these years, this is probably more a reason for restricting use of elephants to those armies that actually did so.

[BiteNibbleChomp]

Maybe they used them in Claudius' invasion of Britain, but other than that I don't think they really bothered. Their legions proved far more effective and when combined with Gallic cavalry and ballistae there was little they couldn't beat.

Plus, Claudius is the extreme end of my timeline.

- BNC

[asuser]

Hello Bite,

after a long time of making other things I saw your new project of "Rome" theme. It's very interesting, but also difficult to find the right pictures to make good looking icons.
To get the right inspiration I made some tests with the right sizes of soldiers, catapult and town parts. Should they measured like the size and proportions of the Panzer Korps stuff, so we have to make the town parts very small, or, like Akkula, a little bit bigger? With the soldiers ... is it important for you to get the soldiers with different pose and colors - for the different use of Legionaer, Preatorian and so on? Battle formations like a "Turtle" could be also interesting. Therefore you can make the simple- lone- standing soldiers "switchable" as a stronger, elite battle formation.

Further: One of the most exiting periods was also the battle against the Teutons. So we need also "Limes" constructions and other urban stuff. What do you think about that?

Examples:

[flakfernrohr]

Just make sure all those elephant equipped units are all "female" cause when an elephant goes into heat, the bulls get very unmanageable. Check your history if you don't believe it.

[BiteNibbleChomp]

Hello Bite,

after a long time of making other things I saw your new project of "Rome" theme. It's very interesting, but also difficult to find the right pictures to make good looking icons.
To get the right inspiration I made some tests with the right sizes of soldiers, catapult and town parts. Should they measured like the size and proportions of the Panzer Korps stuff, so we have to make the town parts very small, or, like Akkula, a little bit bigger? With the soldiers ... is it important for you to get the soldiers with different pose and colors - for the different use of Legionaer, Preatorian and so on? Battle formations like a "Turtle" could be also interesting. Therefore you can make the simple- lone- standing soldiers "switchable" as a stronger, elite battle formation.

Further: One of the most exiting periods was also the battle against the Teutons. So we need also "Limes" constructions and other urban stuff. What do you think about that?

Examples:

For most of the combat in the mod you will be dealing with units that are roughly 1/4 the size of a legion, though there will be a few super-powered legions around the place as well. So don't worry about battle formations. Instead I will find it easier if we just stick to the list on the first post - there won't be endless frontlines like in PzC and so I don't want to overcomplicate the unit roster.

Urban stuff is pretty much immobile town units that can be built to move to fog of war away from regions within your proivnces - they aren't the most important thing around so I'm sticking with just 'town' units rather than villages, armed camps, abandoned ruins and other pointless junk.

While I like the Colosseum icon, it is a bit later than the mod (it was built in 80ad, mine ends in 51) - but if you would like to post it up I will be happy to have it

The Teutons... Barbarians will occasionally make their way into your republic/empire, so this lot is no exception. However I will use more randomness in this area so the exact battles are unlikely to be replicated in the mod.

When designing the units, please take into account all the ones that have already been uploaded - I want them to all fit well with each other

- BNC

[Akkula]

Carthage/Egyptian town



Next I will try to upload for you some cavalry units, wish me luck

[BiteNibbleChomp]

Next I will try to upload for you some cavalry units, wish me luck

Sounds great. Hopefully your mod doesn't distract me too much in the meantime (but seeing as it's 9 May, I guess it's alright for today!)

- BNC

[BiteNibbleChomp]

Also, for those of you who are interested in the 2d units, the cities are going to remain 3d. This is because I don't see them as actual units but more as killable landmarks. The settlers that create them will be 2d still though.

First post updated again.

- BNC