It's been years in the making, and God knows it doesn't feel like nine years since I started modding. I started Westernesse in late 2012 with some crazy intention of having a release mid 2013, and of course that didn't happen, but it seems that every time I did something, I'd have to fix the bugs surrounding it, and just manage to get it in game. But even now, nearly into September 2015, it feels like nothing has happened, and in a way that's true. The truth is that Westernesse is an awful mess, with none of the new assets in game not working due to unexplainable errors that nobody knows how to fix, and for the last half a year I've been struggling by with the semi-functional tools I've got. I think it's time to call it quits now, since I'm off to university to study this type of thing full-time, and while I've lost no interest in finishing Westernesse, I've come to the realization that it's just too far gone now, and that I will never be able to complete it.
I'm grateful for all the support you have all given me, and I'm sorry for those who awaited a release, but I think the time has come to say farewell.
Namárië.
So after ... a fairly long hiatus, Westernesse is back with both the good and evil structure model basics finished!
I thought it was about time I made some activity around here, so ask away!
Here are the working maps from Westernesse, Minas Ithil, Minas Anor, Aglarond and Angrenost, which can be used simply by placing the unzipped file into...
Wow,Best thing i love about this is the last alliance
Keep up the great work it looks fantastic so far.
Sorry, haven't been here for a bit (Vacationing in a place with **** WiFi) but damn this mod is looking better by the second! I have extremely high hopes for this mod, but I feel like I have to ask a few questions, if that's okay.(BTW I haven't read any lore, at all, so please if you think my questions are stupid and will lead to a lengthy answer, you don't have to answer them.) First of when does Westernesse occur? (What age) and what really is occuring?(I've gathered that there is a civil war between two Numenorean factions, but that's about it.) Well, those are my questions, please don't be mad if you already told everyone somewhere, just send me a link, and If my questions are stupid, feel free to ignore them.
Not stupid questions at all, I appreciate them! Westernesse is set in the Second Age, in the last years of the dwindling Age of Númenor, and depicts the culmination of ideological frictions between the Elendili, who worship the Valar, and the Adûnaim, or Black Númenóreans, who are in the process of rebelling against the 'Gift' of Mortality. With the arrival of Sauron in Númenor, this friction escalates, and ensnares Ar-Pharazôn, the King whose sympathies lie with the Adûnaim, and blood is spilt on both sides, ending up in the Elendili fleeing to Middle-earth and Ar-Pharazôn's beginning of the Great Armament, a fleet intended to conquer Valinor. There is more detail in the lore, and Westernesse explores the human situation and dilemmas involved, and the distrust from man to man, and the fear and violence that springs from civil war.
Awesome! Thanks for letting me know! Good luck on this amazing mod!
Just curious, when will a beta/alpha form of your mod be released?
Well... not yet. I have no idea, but unfortunately, not anytime soon I fear. The first release will have everything functional in it, I don't want to half-*** it, but with that in mind it will probably take a little time.
Read this in Entish-Style:
"A mod tAkes a looooong time to make.."
I think you should work a little on the factions.
For example, Dûrchîn - has both Orc and Goblin warriors at Level 1, Uruks with Pikes and Crossbows at level 2, and Goblin Scavengers & Berserkers at Level 3.
How I see it:
-You musn't have 2 troops of similiar function in lv1 (even if goblins change from sword to bow)
-Goblins should be weaker than Orcs and Orcs weaker than Uruks. So Goblin Warriors would be trainable at Level 1.
-Orcs and Half Orcs could be level 2. My choice for Orcs would be Pikemen and Bowmen. Half Orcs, could be melee(sword/axe)
-Uruks musn't be Pike/Crossbow mixed, because they were Saruman's Uruks. Mordor Uruks are like Shagrat, so they would be Heavy Swordsmen. Much like i.imgur.com/dfWGA4C.jpg.
I'm a little surprised that for the Adunaim factions you use invented creatures like Ahyaröa or the Wretched, or the two types of Wight&Greater; Wight. Or that the Numenorean Swordsmen/Lancers are almost like those of the Elendili. It could be made the most interesting of all factions. I'd suggest to make the Pit more lore-friendly - replacing the invented with lore friendly creatures - Werewolves and Vampires.
Anyway this is how I see it. If you are interested in re-concepting the factions tell me. I do have some ideas. In the period you are setting the mod, many great things could be done especially with your modding skills.
Personally, I agree about the Durchin units but I believe that the Maiar units of the Black Numenoreans are neat. What bothers me on the other hand are the heroes of the Elves and Sauron.
Personally, I would add Galadriel (being the ruler of Eregion and later, Lothlorien she is certainly important and of course, she played an important role in the creation of the Rings) and possibly, Cirdan.
Apart from that, I imagine Sauron as less of a one-man army and more of a scheming mastermind that can summon ancient, evil creatures like werewolves and vampires.
Well Elendili And Andunaim aren't of much difference.Except in Armor and Weaponry,maybe.The Faithful were hiding,while the BLACK ones(damn this sounds racist)had everything from food to best armor and weapons.But later when Elendili came to Middle-Earth they had Armor as Black Numenoreans,only it wasn't EVIL looking
@Guest - the whole Elven faction needs a remake. Come on - Lorien and Greenwood troops? Where are the Noldor? Or the Galadhrim? Annûndili needs a complete re-conception. For me, the heroes should go as: Elrond, Cirdan, Oropher, Gil-Galad, Gwaihir and Galadriel.
Why? Simple:
Elrond was at the Battle of the Last Alliance, together with Gil-Galad.
Gil-Galad, Cirdan and Galadriel held the Three Rings of Elves.
Oropher was King of the Silvan Elves during most of the Second Age and died at the Battle of Dargolad(at the end of the 2nd age).
Gwaihir - because Elves need an ally powerful enough to fight Dragons, Wyrms etc.
King-Thranduil, of course they were different in Armor and Weaponry, but also in combat. Black Numenoreans were worshippers of darkness, thus helped by all sorts of Sauron's beasts and aberrations.
Bro, how you see it is your perception. The author of the mod has a right to make what he or she thinks best. As for you, first you stick to cannon. I, for one would love to see these Ahyaröa. Then you push your own preferences.
I quote "Mordor Uruks are like Shagrat, so they would be Heavy Swordsmen". So pikes and crossbows were not invented in the Second Age? You can't just barge in and demand YOUR vision from someone. Its rude!
Also, werewolves and vampires have been
done before in other BFME mods... and they're also very mainstream mythological. Even though I like these monsters, I would rather see something that's invented but unique than yet another take on monsters we've seen a milion times on different mediums..
I appreciate all the inputs you've made here, and I'll try to answer them.
ThaneWulfgharn, the idea behind putting both Goblins and Orcs into the first level is to give players a choice between an extremely large swarm of weaker units and a smaller group of stronger, yet not quite elite units. Hence you can during the early phases of battle use Orcs as a main body of your army, and the Goblins as a general blockade or a method of swarming the enemy camps and preventing easy movement.
Then, as you say, you've got the even stronger units, the Uruks, however the Uruks are not solely the creation of Saruman, and in fact the general usage of the term Uruk-Hai refers to larger orcs, not specifically to those assaulting Helm's Deep. Thus there is no need to confine them and say they cannot be equipped with both melee and ranged weapons.
Furthermore, I have said early on in this mod, and continue to hold it as part of the fundamentals of Westernesse, that my main focus is not to be constrained by the lore, but rather create a mod with the primary intent of enjoyment and interest in play. This isn't a decision borne out of lack of knowledge of the lore, but just that there are too many mods out there who find themselves bending over backwards and sacrificing their creativity for the sake of keeping to the lore absolutely. Thus, if you do have any qualms about the fact that Westernesse isn't entirely accurate, then I'm afraid perhaps it isn't the mod for you. Hence the Wretches and Ahyaröa are staying, sorry about that.
On the other hand, the fact that in their early unit classes the Númenórean factions bear strong similarities is deliberate, owing to the fact that, although they are on different sides in the war, in their most basic form they are actually not dissimilar, and that it is more a war of different ideologies rather than different peoples.
The Elven Heroes were chosen based on their involvement in the Siege of Barad-Dur, which is the only point at which they appear in the Westernesse campaign, hence Galadriel and Cirdan are not terribly relevant. Oropher I considered for a long time, but then ended up deciding against it because he died before the actual siege. There would always be a limit of three Heroes per faction, partly because Westernesse deals on rather a smaller scale than the previous BFMEs, with overall smaller horde sizes and such, but also because there is a LOT of work to do in making a mod of this size, and another Hero per faction is another thing to add to the list of things not yet done. Perhaps when the rest is done, however, I will consider adding more heroes.
To answer the guest above, too, I would not consider Sauron as a one-man army, but as a strong component of it, as all heroes are. He is not terribly changed from what we see in the previous games, except for the addition of 'Black Tongue', and is supported by the two chief Nazgul, Khamul and Úlistar, the Witch-king (remind me to change that name, someone made a great suggestion a while ago I just remembered about).
I hope some of this reply answers your queries, but for where you have further questions, feel free to ask :)
I can't read that much