The Modeling Blitz news - The Clones of War mod for Men of War: Assault Squad 2

First off, to clarify my last news post, I hereby firmly state that the project is NOT DEAD and in fact, about to enter a new wave of development and prosperity! I thank you for your supportive comments, they are appreciated! I can assure you that after all that has happened I finally feel ready to move on and I want nothing else! Release this mod, we must!

So what is the Clones of War, anyway?

This project started as a little addon. A simple test, if you were. Since then, it has grown into something... substantially larger. Mostly under wraps and among a lot of chaos. In essence, I hope to one day go to a film academy and learn film-making! To this end, the project had changed from purely a total conversion of a game into what I regard as a learning experience, namely to practice directing. To craft an experience that will make one feel as if the characters and vehicles of the films had walked into their toy box for the player to play with. And of course, to battle other players online with and feel part of the epic Clone Wars. So I've always tried to keep the presentation authentic and to emulate that feel of the movies and to make you, the Star Wars fan, swoon.

This is also a reason why many of the models showcased so far, except for the fact that we are making this for a real-time tactics game and it just works performance-wise, are pretty low-poly. This entire project is built on nostalgia, and I hope the lower poly models help bring you back to playing games like Star Wars: The Clone Wars on PS2, Star Wars: Bounty Hunter or Republic Commando or any of the many fun games that our beloved now-shut down LucasArts and auxiliaries have brought us over the years. But! One can go too far and on a few occasions that may have been the case. I try hard to strike that balance between low-poly and recognizability!

So where will the Clones of War end?

It will end in your hands, of course! Or on your hard drive, at least! But only when its perfect and it represents a level of quality and authenticity that will put a smile on your face as you play it and remind you why you love Star Wars.

I would also like to reveal something I've been working on for the past months whenever I had some time. I love writing and designing and I love Star Wars. So some time ago, I tried to combine these interests into a side project that might end up joining with The Clones of War. The animatics will speak for themselves. Please let me know what you think and if you would like to see something like this included with the mod! Your feedback is always appreciated!

Please note that:

- These are mere tests and preview renders.
- I'm definitely not among the best of animators!
- These are all concept animatics and are subject to change if I decide to pursue this.
- I LOVE doing this.

Announcing the Modeling Blitz
To usher in a new era of production, I officially announce the start of The Modeling Blitz. The Modeling Blitz is what it sounds like. It basically means that I will use most, if not all of my free time in this vacation, to model assets. As many assets as I can, to shorten the time it might take to make a playable beta release. Of course, units have priority, but we cannot forget environmental assets like working buildings, landmarks and clutter for the maps like new trees, civilian speeders to litter the maps for Dwarf Spider Droids to trip over (that was a joke, I can't actually get them to do that)!

Expect a weekly update detailing a unit from the canon universe or maybe newly-designed buildings that will appear in the mod and a description of how I see that unit in the lore, be it a specialized soldier, a weapon, a droid, a tank or anything, really, and further elaboration on how this unit will fit into The Clones of War's roster and the mod's depiction of the Clone Wars. I will also give insight into how these units are translated to be playable and balanced, while staying true to canon and the feel of the movies. In the end, the movies are law when it comes to canon. After the Modeling Blitz inevitably ends and we prepare for winter, we can focus on getting a playable beta out by focusing on balancing units and tweaking the overall gameplay into being more Star Wars-like. How long it might take to release a beta is anyone's guess, with whatever the future may hold.

Up next week, the first of these showcases and where every well-planned military campaign begins: The scout vehicles of the Clone Wars!