So, it's been a while, and finally I get a little while to mod, but since last time plenty of thought's been going into Westernesse. As you may have been aware, I've been writing music for Westernesse, which unlike Howard Shore's compositions for The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies is entirely synth-based, as I don't exactly have an orchestra in my backyard to play with, and also differs in that I will not be writing particularly 'evil' or 'good' motifs for the Black Numenoreans or Elendili, as the story of Westernesse is in its most basic form the story of a civil war. There is no good side, nor a bad side, if you really want to look at it for what it really is. This leads into the revelation of what Westernesse will become, after such thought has been put into it. I don't want to create a perfect island, as I've set the mod in the later years of Numenor for timing reasons, by which time there is extreme tension between the Black Numenoreans and Elendili, and I don't want a mod set around a war. I want a mod set in a cold, harsh real vision of Numenor, filled with revolution-esque fear, discrimination and street violence. I want it to feel like you can reach out and touch the rough stone walls, smell the smoke and fire, hear the screams of terror that echo as a last breath escapes the helpless and oppressed. Plagued with fear as much as any rodent's disease, communities divided by great walls to segregate the 'nonbelievers', and an enemy slowly picking you off one by one, but who is the enemy? Is it the guard standing by the gate, cold-faced and colder-hearted? Is it the hundreds of people that lower their eyes as they walk past you in the street? Or is it your spouse, or children, or parents, watching and reporting your every move in case you decide to make a move?
I will build Numenor as it ever was, a human island, and with humanity comes distrust, betrayal, nervousness and insecurity, and blood running in the cracks of stone pavement. I will create a place true to Tolkien's vision of an island that the survivors try ever to forget and erase from their history, yet inevitably influencing their lives uncontrollably. It is Tolkien's Numenor, but with the honesty of civil war, taking hints from real-life conflicts such as those in Israel and Syria, and also in Nazi Germany, the latter of which probably being most useful due to Tolkien's personal involvement in the War.
Ok, now onto a more visual and sonic news post:
By the way, I just thought I'd say I really appreciate any feedback on here, positive and negative alike. It really helps!
Awesome! I hope you reach your goal to make the mod feel so dark as you wrote!
For some reason I can not get your soundtrack to play. Other than that I have been watching your news fed and I must say i am deeply impressed. I must put this mod as my top fave as it is rare to find people building a sensible mod hat is balanced and detailed. The fact you are doing so is beyond enough to gain my respects to what your aiming to accomplish and also, to say I am more than waiting to see the final product.
I wish sometimes that gaming companies would take in people like you o expand on the work of the origional project. Honestly, with how vast Middle Earth is, there could have been a good three more sequels to Battle for Middle earth and its sad no one is putting efforts into an official disk copy. Its because of people like you we get to dive into things like this and for that I again thank you deeply. I wish you the best on your progress and hope this truly does become a successful mod.