December 6th Update: Old Foes news - The Dwarf Holds mod for Battle for Middle-earth

From Forums.revora.net
by Nertea.

Old Foes

As the mod moves closer to release, we're finishing off some minor work on the other factions. We've been concentrating on Isengard and Rohan, as these two factions were the most incomplete in the old Rhovanion Alliance Mod.

The Horse Lords

The bulk of Rohan's forces have been recently remodelled and reskinned to match the high artistic quality that characterizes the Dwarves and other factions in The Dwarf Holds. One of the key aspects of this quality is randomization. In our other factions, we've included variety within hordes - for example, there are 32,000 possible Orc Warriors that are randomly generated when the player builds a horde. Our new Rohan is no different - but the scale is even larger. Riders of Rohan have, for example, a pool of 24 million possible variations - no joke! Chances are that you'll never see the same Rider, mounted Archer or Yeoman in the same game.

These Riders of Rohan cut easily through any legion of Uruk-Hai

We have also of course eliminated the vanilla BFME gold armour, and added a new effect for the Forged Blades upgrade - Tengwar runes are inscribed on the blades of upgraded weapons in Good factions.

Armoured Yeomen jeer the fleeing Uruks as Elves of Lorien show off their new weapons

I'm particularly proud of our work on the Peasants, who have also been remodeled and given a horde of amusingly agricultural weapons - your undrafted peasants will now wield pitchforks, scythes and rough axes, and gain some more professional weapons and shields when drafted.

On the left, peasants claim a farm. On the right, they are drafted into its defence

The Elves, Aragorn and Legolas have also been given their Rhovanion Alliance models

Secondly, as Gimli son of Gloin has been moved to the Dwarf faction, we're adding a new Rohirric hero to replace him. Enter Elfhelm, a heroic Marshal of Rohan who fought in Theoden's host at the Pelennor. After the battle, he was given command of the Rohirric forces charged with the defence of Anorien and Gondor while King Eomer and the Lord Aragorn led a host to challenge the Black Gate. He was later honoured with the rank of Marshal of the East-Mark on Eomer's victorious return.

On the left, the mounted heroes of Rohan. On the right, Elfhelm using his Outrider power

In the mod the combat capabilities of King Theoden and Eomer have been increased, and Elfhelm has claimed the role of early-game hero. His heroic powers include the ability to detect invisible units, a power that boosts his speed temporarily, and a leadership bonus to mounted troops. His late-game power is very potent - he can declare a Blinding Charge, stunning enemies that are nearby and negating their pike damage for a short period. Combined with Theoden's Glorious Charge, this is sure to be devastating.

The White Hand

The forces of Saruman have also recieved a facelift so they can stand beside their old foes. Lurtz and Saruman have new skins, and the Uruk-Hai now start off in the rough leather armour of the Scouts, and are upgraded to plated armour.

Lurtz prepares a force of Uruks to cross the plains of Rohan while Saruman inspects the troops

Warg Riders have new skins as well, and all units have a new, subtle effect for Forged Blades - runic Black Speech inscribed onto their weapons.

These Peasants were no match for the vicious Wargs and their bloodthirsty riders

Fully Upgraded Crossbowmen

That's all for this week, hope you enjoyed the update!