Comments - Scutatus

Sorry Andrelm, I might have been missing your point. Are you arguing against the dwarves fighting ANY war or battle in the game at all, because they a) did not in Tolkien's history because b) they did not have the strength to do so? In which case, as much as I love the dwarves, I would have to agree with you. :D

You are correct, the dwarves did not send forces to the south to help Gondor - but I have already reminded you why. The Dwarven forces of Belegost and Nogrod did indeed fight Morgoth himself, as you yourself say.And so mighty were they back then that they were the only ones who could stand against the host of dragons, when no one else, not even the elves, were able to (due largely to their all encompassing armour and masked helms). But that was two Ages and 7000 years before the War of the Ring.

A lot happens in 7000 years. In Middle-earth, as I said, the dwarves went into decline, were expelled at great cost from one home after another, and by the dying days of the Third Age were a shadow of their former glory. Expecting the dwarves to field armies in the War of the Ring of the sort they could in the First Age against Morgoth, is a bit like expecting Italy to still be a super power today because of the Roman Empire two thousand years ago. Or more accurately, expecting Egypt to still dominate the world because it was the finest civilisation around in 5000 BC. It's nonsense.

In the First Age of Light the dwarves were a super power. But no super power lasts forever, not here, and not in Middle-earth. 7000 years later the dwarves were barely strong enough to hold one settlement and could do no more than basically fight a last stand defensive campaign. Hell, even the elves couldn't do any more than that either, so why expect the dwarves to do more?

Ok, the issues.

Character generation screens - the first things players see and their first taste of what your game has to offer - still refer to the vanilla game factions. This is not a good first impression and they obviously need a re-write.

The illustrations behind the text are pretty and atmospheric, but in places could be said to be overdone. At times it is difficult to see said text. There might be a case for scaling it back a bit, making the backgrounds behind texts less busy?

The Dwarven banners need work. A flag emblazoned with a dwarven helmeted head and runes is appropriate - but not for ALL of the dwarven lords. So can I suggest Viking banners? The Hobbit tells us that Erebor in particular had a close association with the ravens; the dwarves could speak with them and use them as messengers, and the liberation of Erebor was tied in prophecy to the return of the ravens. So variations of the Viking raven banner seem to me to be logical and appropriate - because of the raven connection, the dwarven "Nordic" culture, and because, well, in the game they are literally dwarf Nords!

Some of the settlements seem a bit off too. Dwarven Moria is, bizarrely, a wooden settlement (Sargoth?) while Edoras is made of stone!? Isn't that backward? Should not the Rohirrim have the Saxonesque wooden settlements and the dwarves those made of stone?

Could these matters be addressed?

I have only recently begun playing this mod, but as a Tolkien fan I am simply loving it. Adventuring in Middle-earth is a real treat. I can see that real effort has gone into places, units, names and armour and it is paying off, working well for the most part. Many thanks for all your efforts. Please, may your efforts long continue!

I do have some issues to point out, but before I do, I want to make it clear that I don't want to sound like I am just griping. There is so much good and enjoyable about this mod; it would just be nice to see the little quirks ironed out and corrected. So I hope my criticisms are taken as CONSTRUCTIVE criticisms, as intended. Issues aside, all in all I am loving your work. Thank you and keep it up!

As a "huge fan of LOTR" I think you forget that the dwarves were no longer a great power in Middle-earth. Just a hundred years before they had lost "half their number" fighting the war of dwarves and orcs - and that came after a thousand years of defeat, decline and calamity (THREE strongholds overrun, by balrog, dragons and then a dragon again - with great loss each time). By the time the War of the Ring came along, there really could not have been much left in the way of dwarven strength.

The dwarves - and the men of Dale - had their backs against the wall during the War of the Ring. They fought the Battle of Dale against the Easterlings, and then, defeated, were forced to take refuge in Erebor, where they were besieged. They never really go the chance to "contribute" in an offensive way. That said, if you don't count tying up the Easterlings in the east and preventing them from rampaging westward at will a "contribution" then I don't know what is! If the dwarves had not made their stand it would have been down to the elves to stop them - and they were already in similar dire straights themselves holding off the Mirkwood and Misty Mountain orcs! So in short, the eastern forces of darkness would have rolled over the elven woodland realms and then hit Gondor from the north - and that would have been that. The dwarves prevented that. Not bad for a people who "did not contribute".

No.

Could you not just add another faction? Say, Goblins of Misty Mountains, Gundabad, or even a more active and separate Dul Guldur? Or here's another option- the Easterlings of Rhun! Any of these would solve the "all quiet on the northern front" problem more appropriately than a war between dwarves and elves that never quite happened - Not in the Third Age any how.

Tick tick tick...

Today is the last day of the Estimated Time of Arrival, as given by Antonis. So how is it looking Antonis? You have many people on the edge of their seats with anticipation here - try not to make them wait so long that they begin to fall off! ;)

I hope that there has not been any problems, and that the work is going smoothly and as you want it to be. I am eager to discover just how soon "soon" really is. :D

Whatever state it is in, and however long it takes, thank you again for all of your hard work. It truly is appreciated.

@LGPG. In wartime, such things as a unit's "proper complement" go out of the window. The establishment of garrisons and outposts to maintain lines of communication, escorts for travellers and supplies, scouting or raiding parties, desertion, accidents, casualties, leave and worse of all, sickness, altogether ensured that, at least until very recently, few units in any war fought in battle with anywhere near proper full complement.

Battalions in the Napoleonic wars, that on paper should have been 1000 strong, rarely actually fought with more than just a few hundred men. In World War Two, British attrition was so high by 1944/45 that entire Divisions and Brigades had to be broken up and their units distributed among surviving units, meanwhile Battalions all lost an entire company, wholesale, all just to sustain effective fighting forces. The story was little different in the Zulu War, where sickness was particularly rampant.

With this in mind, although an Officer SHOULD be commanding more than six men, it is not unrealistic to see him being reduced to having just a handful of soldiers under his command.

Greetings. I have already posted this enquiry in an earlier thread, but am duplicating here for clarity - and because I have actually enrolled now and am not now lost amongst the anonymous "guests".

Hello Antonis! :) We are now in the stated delivery window, so how is it looking? Can we expect to see the ultimate final version of Sword and Axe make an appearance imminently?

I have been thoroughly enjoying this mod - indeed, after Diplomacy it is my favourite mod of them all for Mount and Blade - and I look forward to playing the finished product. :) Many thanks for all your efforts, I have wasted many an hour on your offerings - and enjoyed every moment! :)