Shadows of the Past mod for Lord of the Rings: Conquest

Shadows of the Past is not just going to be a remastered version of the original Conquest, it is going to be a re-imaged (reforged) version of the game. New stuff will be added and some things will change to fit the up-to-date gaming industry.

What is Shadows of the Past?

Shadows of the Past is a non-commercial fan-made project remastering and adding new features to the game “Lord of the Rings: Conquest" developed by Pandemic Studio and Published by EA in January of 2009. This game is still under development.

What are the Changes from the Original Lord of the Rings: Conquest

Here is a list of changes that will take action in our version of the game

• Larger Maps
• More Maps
• New Playable Units
• More Factions
• New Hero Point System
• Additional Heroes
• Up to Data Combat System
• Execution System
• Immense Battles
• Brand New Game Modes
• New AI System
• Changes to all Units

What new features are you guys adding?

Feature #1 - Factions

New Factions

There will be a total of 10 different factions

Good Side:

• Arnor
• Gondor
• Rohan
• Lothlorien
• Lindon
• Rivendell

Evil Side:

• Mordor
• Isengard
• Easterlings
• Haradrim

Feature #2 - Combat

New Combat

We plan to implement a new combat system similar to the original game but also “revising” it to a more up-to-date combat system, as well as adding a cinematic execution system.

Feature #3 - Mage Re-Work

Mages are going to be nerfed and work in a very different way in our version of this game. Depending on the faction, mages have a variety of new abilities. Here is a screenshot of the different mage abilities:

To review our plans on the mages, take a look at our website - Mage Rework

Feature #4 - Archer Re-Work

Archers will have a limited amount of arrows but can pick up arrows from dead bodies or certain areas on the map. Due to their limited amount of arrows, they will have a sword as a backup weapon. This sword will not deal as much damage as a warrior. It will do 10% more damage than a Grunt would do to a unit.

We are also changing the way arrow physics work. Arrows will have a drop to them when shooting at longer range and they will not hit their target instantly after shooting, it will take time for the arrow to make a direct impact on their enemy.

Feature #5 - Scout Unit Changes

Instead of backstabbing their enemies, they will perform an execution that can only hit certain enemies. Normal scouts cannot kill a hero with one backstab anymore. Normal scouts will be able to do fifty percent of the current heroes' health with a successful sneak attack. Hero scouts will be able to kill a normal unit player at full health with one successful sneak attack. But has a five-second cool down after every sneak attack to turn invisible again.

Feature #6 - Blood & Dismemberment (Gore)

Blood VFX and Dismemberment (Gore) System

Blood VFX & a dismemberment system are both planned to be added with an option to disable both blood and dismemberment.

Feature #7 - New Units

New Unit

A new unit will fight on the battlefield. This unit is called the Defender/Guardian. We say “Defender/Guardian” as it will be named “Defender” for all factions except Elvish Factions and it will be named “Guardian” for all Elvish factions. This unit will be wielding a sword and shield in combat. This unit can block arrows and magic from the front if blocking. While blocking, he is not able to move forward and his block can be countered by a warrior’s special heavy attack from all sides. All other units can only counter his blocks from behind or on his side.

Feature #8 - Map Changes

Map Changes

All the maps that were in the original conquest will be bigger in size, new areas, and POI, and all maps will be well thought out. There will also be new maps; Here is a list of all the maps that will be included in our version

• Battle of Dagorlad
• Helm's Deep
• Edoras
• Isengard
• Mines of Moria
• Battle of Ithilien
• Osgiliath
• Minas Tirith
• Pelennor Fields
• Minas Morgul
• Weathertop
• Rivendell
• The Shire
• The Black Gate
• Mount Doom

Feature #9 - Special Units

Special Units

Special Units will appear in the game. They will act as heavier units compared to the default units. They will vary depending on the faction you choose. Here is a list of the special units per faction

Good Side:

• Arnor - Arnor Noble (Defender Unit) & Steel Bowmen (Archer Unit)
• Gondor - Fountain Guard (Warrior Unit) & Citadel Guard (Defender Unit)
• Rohan - Royal Guard (Defender Unit) & Knight of the Mark (Warrior Unit)
• Lothlorien - Marchwarden (Archer Unit) & Mallorn Defenders (Warrior Unit)
• Lindon - Ulmo's Faithful (Warrior Unit) & Ulmo's Faithful (Mage Unit)
• Rivendell - Smith of Eregion (Warrior Unit) & Imladris Noble (Warrior Unit)

Evil Side:

• Mordor - Black Numenorean (Warrior Unit) & Dark Serpent (Defender Unit)
• Isengard - Berserker (Warrior Unit) & Uruk-Hai Captain (Defender Unit)
• Easterlings - Rhunic Warlord (Warrior Unit) & Dragons Breath Sorcerer (Mage Unit)
• Haradrim - Black Serpent Assassin (Scout Unit) & Serpent Guard (Defender Unit)

Feature #10 - New Heroes

Heroes

We will be featuring a lot more heroes in this game.

To review our plans for the new heroes, take a look at our website - New Heroes

Feature #11 - Point System

Point System

To obtain a hero you will need enough points to play as one. You obtain points by playing the objective and getting eliminations.

Feature #12 - Hero Tiers

Hero Tier Rankings

Heroes will now be set out in tiers ranking from Tier I to Tier IV. Here is how the tier ranking system will work.

Tier I Heroes - Will cost the least amount of points, deal the weakest damage, fast in speed & combat, and will obtain the lowest amounts of health points. These heroes will be

Good Side:

• Frodo
• Sam
• Merry
• Pippin
• Eowyn

Evil Side:

• Grishnakh
• Gorbag
• Bruda
• Snaga
• Sharku

Tier II Heroes - Will cost the second most amount of points, deal heavier damage than a Tier I hero but will not do more than a Tier III Hero, slower in speed & combat but not as slow as a Tier III hero, and will obtain the second most health points. These heroes will be

Good Side:

• Legolas
• Gimli
• Théoden
• Gandalf
• Prince Imrahil
• Boromir
• Isildur
• Haldir
• Arwen
• Eomer
• Gil-Galad
• Galadriel
• Faramir

Evil Side:

• Khamûl The Easterling
• Gothmog
• Saruman
• Mouth of Sauron
• Ugluk
• Nazgul
• Guritz
• Mumak Rider
• Shagrat
• Lurtz
• Grima
• Squint
• Murgash

Tier III Heroes - Will cost the most amount of points, deal the heaviest amounts of damage, slowest in speed & combat, will obtain the most health points out of all tiers, and will have 4 weak AI bodyguards that will follow them anywhere they go. These heroes will be

Good Side:

• Aragorn
• Elrond

Evil Side:

• Sauron
• Witch King

Feature #13 - Grunts Changes

New Grunt System

We are taking a different approach to the AI Grunts in the game. We will be dividing up the grunts into different sections. There will be a “Weak Grunt” and a “Heavy Grunt”. Depending on the faction, they will be named differently. Here is an example for both grunt versions:

Weak Grunt - Faster but weaker, less geared up in armor, and will only wield a sword

Heavy Grunt - Slower but stronger, more geared up in armor, and some will be wielding swords and shields

Here is a list showing the different grunt names:

Good Side:

• Arnor - Light Infantry (Weak Grunt) & Man at Arms (Heavy Grunt)
• Lindon - Ehtyari (Weak Grunt) & Macari (Heavy Grunt)
• Gondor - Light Infantry (Weak Grunt) & Man at Arms (Heavy Grunt)
• Rohan - Militia (Weak Grunt) & Theign (Heavy Grunt)
• Rivendell - Eithryn (Weak Grunt) & Megir (Heavy Grunt)
• Lothlorien - Eithryn (Weak Grunt) & Megir (Heavy Grunt)

Evil Side:

• Mordor - Rabble (Weak Grunt) & Light Infantry (Heavy Grunt)
• Isengard - Light Infantry (Weak Grunt) & Heavy Infantry (Heavy Grunt)
• Easterlings - Clansman (Weak Grunt) & Heavy Clansman (Heavy Grunt)
• Haradrim - Tribesmen (Weak Grunt) & Savages (Heavy Grunt)

Feature #14 - More Cinematics

MORE CINEMATICS

With Unreal Engine 5, it allows us to do more than we could ever imagine! We plan to have the campaign tell a better story than what it did in the original Lord of the Rings: Conquest by recreating cinematics from the movies and even creating scenarios not even told by JRR Tolkien or Peter Jackson themselves. We plan to do a lot with Unreal Engine 5 and we will try our best to push Unreal Engine 5 to its limit.

Feature #15 - New Modes

New Modes for Multiplayer

We plan on adding a new mode called "Survival". The description of the new mode is:

• Survival Mode - Survival mode is a never-ending PVE mode that you can play with up to 8 players. Players will fight against hordes of AI, each round becoming more difficult and last longer. Players earn XP and points for each kill they get. They can spend money on getting score streaks and perks to help aid them to last longer.

  Point streaks for Survival

  • Catapult Strike (Call in a catapult strike in an area)
  • Lightning Strikes (Cast multiple lightning strikes in an area)
  • A volley of Arrows (Call in a volley of arrows in an area)
  • Call in Infantry (Sends in a group of Infantry)
  • Call in Heavy Infantry (Sends in a group of Heavy Infantry)
  • Call in Warriors (Sends in a group of Warriors)
  • Call in Scouts (Send in a group of Scouts)
  • Call in Archers (Send in a group of Archers)
  • Call in Mages (Send in a group of Mages)
  • Call in Defenders/Guardians (Sends in a group of Defenders/Guardians)
  • Call in Special Units (Sends in a group of Special Units)
  • Call in Tier I Hero (Sends in a group of Tier I Hero of your Choice)
  • Call in Tier II Hero (Sends in a group of Tier II Hero of your Choice)
  • Call in Tier II Hero (Sends in a group of Tier III Hero of your Choice)

  
  

  Perks for Survival

  • King Hands (Do more damage and faster combat that will last until you go down)
  • Self-Revive (When down, you can get up without having another player revive you)
  • Thick Skin (Able to take more damage without going down)
  • Quick Feet (Run faster)
  • Never Giving Up (When the player is knocked down and revived, he does not lose any of his perks, but he does lose the "Still Alive" perk)

  
  

  Maps for Survival

  • Every map will have a survival mode, some being more difficult than others as well as having some different kill streaks or enemies.

This is just a basic understanding of our view of this game. Some features may be changed or removed. We will be going further into detail on this list in the next few development vlogs.

Sincerely,

- Brandon Elder (Team Lead at Team White Council)