The Road to Edain 4.6: War of the Ring - Graphics Update Part I news

As is tradition at Easter, Edain also wants to share colourful surprises with you: Today, we are presenting the latest results of our overhaul of the War of the Ring gamemode for 4.6. We want to focus on a plethora of visual changes first, starting with changes to the LivingWorld and will then proceed to show other changes over the next couple of days. But as a picture is worth a thousand words, we will simply let you see for yourself:

As you can see, all fortresses are now represented by their own models on the Livingworld. We also managed to add in a few other distinct places that are meaningful enough to warrant their own model. We are particularly fond of Edain's own Dol Amroth, from where Gondor's ships are patroulling its shores. The iconic bastions of Mordor, Minas Morgul and Cirith Ungol, are also visible. The Red Eye itself is paying close attention to the slopes of Mount Doom; Orodruin, from where smoke is ever rising into the sky.

In the Misty Mountains, Durin's Tower crowns the highest peaks of Zirakzigil, and from it the golden Mallorn Trees of Lorien can be seen, and the farsighted may even be able to see the great Argonath near Amon Hen.
Further South, Isengard and Helm's Deep control the Gap of Rohan, and in the West of Middle-Earth lies the peaceful Bree. The comfortable settlements of the Hobbits have also found their way onto the map, as well as the deserted ruins of Arnor, reminding the world of its downfall. At this point, we want to thank MaxHardy for helping to remove shadows from mountain ranges and bodies of water.

One gameplay effect of the new models for fortresses is that their territories no longer have a buildplot on the LivingWorld - it is automatically occupied by the powerful fortress that can already defend the territory. Joining this already existing and well known group of fortress maps is Umbar, which will also be a fortress map in the War of the Ring from now on. Another unique territory is the island of Tolfalas: It does not offer access to a buildplot, but the entire bay of Gondor and Harad is reachable from there.

Some of you will have already noticed that we adjusted the regions - more on that in the next update - but we also restructured and combined some of the smallest territories as part of some quality of life changes. Conquering a region such as Rohan will flow differently and lead to more contested skirmishes and battles, and the overall number of territories is now exactly 100 in most scenarios.
Many of the old scenarios will also make their return in 4.6. We paid special attention towards the historical scenario, adjusting it to Edain's factions. In this scenario, you can fight in 109 different territories or 109 different maps, making it the biggest scenario in 4.6.
Regarding the colouring of the conquered territories, we have followed your feedback, which is why they will be fully filled with the player's colour in the upcoming version.

We hope you liked this update and are, as always, looking forward to your feedback! Part II will follow soon, so stay tuned for more War of the Rings news.

Your Edainteam

PS: Since it is Easter, we have hidden a few hints here and in the other articles thay may or may not make it easier to find Eastereggs in 4.6. Good luck. ;)