The Grey Wizard: Leader of ‘Middle-earth Role Playing’

This interview was first posted on the 24th of March, 2007.

COR: The Grey Wizard from the ‘Middle Earth Role Playing | Total Conversion’ mod for ‘The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion’ has been gracious enough to agree to answer our questions for this fourth Middle-earth modding interview. Many thanks, Grey, and welcome.

Grey: No, thank you, it’s an honor.

COR: So, where are you from, Grey?

Grey: From Middle-earth of course Actually I prefer not to disclose my whereabouts.

COR: And what does the Grey Wizard do when he’s not practising his wizardy on Oblivion?

Grey: I enjoy exercising, especially swimming. I always have to keep forces such as the Balrog and the Witch King in check, and that requires good physical strength and endurance I am also a high school student, so much of my time is spent in the class room.

COR: Most people have heard of the Elder Scrolls series of games, and Oblivion, but for those who may not know anything about them, could you give us a brief description?

Grey: The Elder Scrolls games, such as Morrowind or Oblivion are Single Player Role-Playing Games. They focus on an in depth world and in depth character generation and exploration, though Morrowind retains role-playing roots more so then Oblivion does. For information on this great series check out http://elderscrolls.com

Minas Morgul

COR: So, Middle-earth: Role Playing | Total Conversion – give us a quick overview of the mod, its history, and its goals.

Grey: Our goal is all in the title, we want to make a Role-playing game set in the world of Middle-earth. The whole world of Middle-earth fully explorable and playable is something that is unavailable to gamers currently, we hope to change that. When we say Role-playing we refer more to a pen and paper Dungeons and Dragons type of role-playing rather then the Final Fantasy style of turn based battle and narrow option of adventure. We seek to immerse the player in a world that they are part of. We want the player to feel like they are the character they are playing, that they really are in this world, and that they are playing a role in its unfolding history. To get an idea of the kind of immersion I am talking about I highly recommend finding a Dungeon Master and playing a game of Dungeons and Dragons, or picking up a copy of Morrorwind and play through some quests. It’s highly open ended, and much of what has inspired me.

COR: Do you have a set date for the start of the mod? I gather it will be a Third Age mod? And what about a main quest – any plans there?

Grey: I don’t like to give away too much of what will happen in the mod, though I will say this; the dates do vary depending on what “role” you chose in the beginning of the game. One role is Frodo, in which you will start in Hobbiton during your uncle’s birthday. You will be given a ring, and well, the rest is history. Another role will be the Dúnedain character, in which you will start at an inn in Bree awaiting hobbits of whom the Grey advised you to await.

You don’t have to play a role of a member from the Fellowship by any means, in fact there will be a number of other more “free lance” characters that will allow for more open ended play. You also don’t have to use a name such as Frodo, or Aragorn, nor use the default face. You can select your own character name, and Face Gen allows you to morph and manipulate a face model to a shape, tone, and appearance that best fits your desires. You also don’t have to stay focused on the main quest through out the game, you can take the main quest at your own pace and go take up some freelance quests almost anytime. The only exception for this is when you are somewhere like Moria or Mordor, in which occasion you can’t simply walk out of the quest and resume later.

Note; Characters such as Gandalf, Saruman, Sauron, etc… will not be playable. The only defined “ultra” character that may even be considered as a playable character will be the Witch King or another Nazgûl, though we may only make minor wraiths playable.

The Prancing Pony

COR: Talking about quests, what are you aiming for? Fighting based quests with lots of action, adventure quests, or a good mix of both?

Grey: Role-playing adventure. The combat system of Oblivion won’t really be expanded upon much more. We do hope however to be able to implement large scale battles for the purposes of Helm’s Deep and Pelennor.

COR: From what I’ve heard, you’re very cautious with showing your mod to the community. Can you explain why?

Grey: Quite simple really, forbidden fruit is the sweetest Actually it goes much deeper, there are many advantages to keeping the “hype” down. One thing I really enjoy about having a smaller fan base and a relatively quiet mod is that more work gets done. I don’t have to waste time keeping my site up to date, or constantly reply to forum members, nor deal with the many headaches of a large community, especially in times of disagreement. Least of all, I also don’t want to cause a legal stir if I can avoid it. I’ve already made it quite clear in the past that I won’t quite modding this project weather I can or cannot release it, I simply enjoy doing what I do, so I’ll just keep working on it until it’s done. But to me, private seems the best.

The Party Field

COR: If set in the late third age, will characters like Aragorn, Gimli, Denethor, Frodo, … be present?

Grey: Of course, you can even play some well known characters.

COR: What about your team? Is it a large dev. team, or do you rely mostly on outsourced support, help from the Oblivion modding community at large, etc.?

Grey: I have a fairly large team of dedicated people, though only three people are daily dedicated, that being Kingevil, Fang, and myself. We also have a few other dedicated members that make great contributions from time to time. We get a little help from members of the Elder Scrolls Forums every now and then.

COR: Is the mod based on the books, the films, or an amalgamation of the two, with a little of your own imagination sprinkled on top?

Grey: We focus exclusively (within the limitations of the engine) on the lore of the books when it comes to quests, characters, and game-play. As far as our visual references go, we often use the Movie/Weta concepts for our 3d models and visual development as long as it doesn’t conflict with the lore.

COR: Which sources have you mainly used in your research for the mod? Mainly book based, or does that include the films (and books about the films), websites, forums, and so on?

Grey: Of course the books, which I am yet to read all of, though I have read most. The Fantastic Encyclopedia of Arda has been one of our greatest references as far as lore goes. Wikipedia has been helpful in much the same manner as EOA (Encyclopedia of Arda). http://www.tuckborough.net/ has been helpful as well. And http://www.framecaplib.com/lotrlib.htm is unchallenged as the best visual reference on the net.

The Morgul Wall

COR: To what extent do you feel ‘bound’ by the lore? In such a large and detailed world you would necessarily have to invent quite a lot, would you not?

Grey: The lore tells us a lot. One thing that Tolkien was keen on was detail. The universe in which Arda takes place is very well detailed and there is a reference for almost every part of the western part of Middle-earth. Places such as Rhûn, and the vineyards east have little information, but enough to inspire us to credit the lore. It is unknown whether it is elves, men, or some other undiscovered free-folk that yields the greatest wine in the west, but we can make a fair guess with the lore provided, you’ll have to wait and see what we choose to use in the mod Another great example is Gothmog, lieutenant to the Witch King. The idea of an orc playing this role is rather unrealistic in my opinion, and it can be disputed of what race he came. We will go with our “best instinct” again based on the lore provided, and you’ll just have to wait and see One last measure of dispute is weather Balrogs have wings or not. :p I can tell you now though, our balrog will have wings

COR: I believe you started modding for ‘The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind’? Or did you mod any other games before that?

Grey: I did some notepad modding for a game called Carnivores 2. I was trying to make fantasy themed maps inspired by EverQuest at the time. I had fair success and I still have the files. I play around with them from time to time. Morrowind came out shortly after and it was love at first sight when I discovered the Construction Set. I bought Morrowind about a week after it’s launch and began modding it immediately. I never released anything to the public because I was working on a Middle-earth mod (alone) and making little private mods, though I did gain much Construction Set experience from it.

Inside Minas Morgul

COR: Which is your favorite part of modding?

Grey: 3d Modeling and world/level/dungeon building.

COR: What was your first view on modding?

Grey: I thought it looked like fun. I’ve always liked building things, and modding gave me the opportunity to build my favorite fantasy world in it’s entirety.

COR: If you had known that modding requires a lot of spare time, hard work that sometimes just leads to nothing, would you still have chosen to become a modder?

Grey: Of course, it’s my passion.

COR: Do you think Bethesda supports the mod community enough?

Grey: No, we hardly ever hear form anybody of any authority, though Joel Burgess is very dedicated from my perceptions of him.

COR: Do you prefer Morrowind over Oblivion or vice verca, putting aside the graphics?

Grey: I prefer Morrowind to Oblivion a million to one. Oblivion is a good game, but I have often commented that Morrowind is by far my favorite game of all time. It’s left a very deep impression on me.

COR: Which is your favorite Oblivion or Morrowind mod?

Grey: I enjoyed Solstheim Castle for Morrowind quite a bit, though I don’t really have a favorite. I enjoy my own mods a bit, but I don’t generally play either game often. I don’t use mods for Oblivion, because I don’t want them to conflict with my personal modding. I play Morrowind on occasion, but the only time I play Oblivion is to test the mod.

COR: Do you think the Construction Set is user-friendly, or is it more for the advanced user?

Grey: At first, it’s not user friendly at all, but after five years it grows on you. For how powerful it can be (especially Oblivion’s Construction Set) I would say it is very user friendly in relevance.

COR: Could you give us an estimate for a releases date, or – barring that – an estimate of where you are now as far as the development goes?

Grey: I always say 12%, because no matter how much progress there is, it’s always twelve percent of what I want completed. :p We don’t have a EDA (estimated date of arrival).

Hobbit Holes

COR: Will the next release be a public beta, or a stable release after some private beta testing?

Grey: We will do some private beta testing, which is within the bounds of the law. After all the bugs are worked out, if we don’t receive a cease and desist, we will make a public beta, which is not as much of a beta as it is just a demo of what’s to come. The chances of a cease and desist are low, at least we as well as all of our sister mods (FA:TW, LotR:TW, BF2ME, etc…) are yet to receive even one. I think the hope of making a public release is high, and if not, just sign up for private testing

COR: And at the very end we again have some ‘quick questions’:

COR: Which is your favourite race in MERPTC?

Grey: Dwarves because they are unique to Oblivion.

COR: Which is your favourite class in MERPTC?

Grey: Magician, not the fireballs Magician, the lore master kind of Magician that Gandalf was

COR: Which is your favourite book by Tolkien?

Grey: The Silmarillion, it’s an absolute masterpiece ;D

COR: Who is your favourite character from a book by Tolkien?

Grey: Gandalf

COR: What is your favourite moment from a book by Tolkien?

Grey: The bridge of Khazad-Dum with Gandalf and the Balrog

COR: Which is your favourite film?

Grey: The Fellowship of the Ring

COR: Which is your favourite character from the films?

Grey: Gandalf

COR: Which is your favourite scene from the films?

Grey: The bridge of Khazad-Dum with Gandalf and the Balrog

COR: We await your mod with great anticipation. I’d like to thank you for your time and I wish you the best of luck with MERP|TC. For more information on Grey and his mod please check out their website.

Discuss in the forums.

mrtn: ‘Head Henchman’ of ‘Lord of the Mods’

The LotM title screen

This interview was first posted on the 1st of November, 2006.

COR: In this third Middle-earth Modding Interview we are honoured to have mrtn from the Lord of the Mods modification for Civilization III as our guest. Thank you, mrtn, for taking time off from what must be a busy schedule to answer our questions.

Hi, thanks, it’s really no trouble at all.

COR: To start this interview off, perhaps you could tell us a little about yourself? Name, age, location, whether you are a student or worker – that sort of thing.

My name is Martin and I’m a 30 year old Swede from Stockholm.

COR: And what is your position within the LotM team?

We don’t have a fixed “command structure”, but I’d say I’m “Head Henchman”. That’s “Second in Command”, but without the fancy hat.

I’m mostly responsible for 2D graphics and ideas, and the usability of those ideas in a Civ 3 context.

The LotM military advisor screen

COR: For those who may not know much about the Civilization games, could you give us a quick introduction to the series?

Civilization was one of the games that made Sid Meier one of the most famous game developers in the world. This mod is being developed for Civilization III: Conquests (aka C3C), the second expansion pack to the game.

COR: When was the mod started? I believe it has been in development for quite some time?

Yes, it’s been quite a while now, more than two years. We started even before C3C was released, with preliminary discussions.

COR: Lord of the Mods is a unique name for a LotR-related mod: how was that decided upon?

It was a joke that got out of hand.

The LotM domestic advisor screen

COR: Do you have a large development team? Could you tell us a little about how the mod is organized? Do you, for example, have one ‘Mod Leader’, or a number of ‘Managers’, or perhaps a more ‘democratic’ set-up where everyone has equal say, or even a combination of any number of the above?

Well, the mod is quite disorganised, actually.

We have a democratic set-up, but with a Mod Leader, PCHighway. He does most of the work putting the mod together, and thus is allowed to put his foot down from time to time.

COR: Is the mod largely based upon one single Age of Middle-earth, or have you drawn inspiration from all four Ages?

The mod stretches from the Age of the Sun to the end of the Third Age. In other words, everything in Beleriand and Middle Earth, but not the Fourth Age or Aman.

COR: Which civilizations can we expect to be able to play as? And who are they led by?

Gondor led by Hyarmendacil
Númenor led by Tar-Minastir
Arnor led by Valandil
Rohan led by Théoden
Northmen led by Vidugavia
Easterlings led by Ulfang the Black
Harad led by Sangahyando
Isengard led by Saruman
Mordor led by Sauron
Angmar led by Dwimmerlaik
Noldor led by Gil-Galad
Moriquendi led by Galadriel
Sindar led by Thingol
The Dwarves led by Durin the Deathless
The Shire led by Samwise Gamgee

King Hyarmendacil of Gondor

COR: What types of units do you have for the different civilizations?

Oh, a lot! Maybe 15-20 for each civ. As the game is divided in four Eras we usually have one defender, one offensive unit, one archer and one cavalry unit for each era. Plus settlers, workers, scouts, kings and special units. We also have über-units for the evil civs (trolls, dragons, spiders…) and special units spawned from Great Wonders you can build in the game. The total is somewhere around 300 units.

Some of the units in LotM, including Ents and Nazgûl

COR: What got you interested in Tolkien and Middle-earth? Was it the films, the books, or something completely different?

My dad read The Hobbit to me when I was seven years old.

COR: Is the mod based on the books, the films by Peter Jackson, or a combination of the two?

The mod is only based on the books. This means that there are no crossbows in it, for example.

COR: Research is particularly time-consuming for most LotR mods; has that been the case for LotM too? Are there any particular books, websites, etc, that have been of special help in the development of the mod?

Yes, it has been quite time consuming. The Encyclopaedia of Arda has been of help, and of course the professors own writings.

The LotM science advisor screen

COR: How ‘strictly’ have you been adhering to the lore?

As strictly as possible. But we’ve had to adjust to the fact that Civ 3 is a game of technological advancement, while Middle Earth has declined for most of its history. But we couldn’t start the game with dragons and balrogs, and later “downgrade” those to hobbits, that wouldn’t really work…

COR: Is there one particular aspect of LOTM you think is crucial to the immersion into the world of Middle-earth for the player?

We will make a brand new interface to the mod. We will also rewrite all text files and change most of the graphics, so there shouldn’t really be anything much left to remind the player that you’re playing a version of Civ.

COR: How did you enter into modding? Did you mod any games prior to Civilization III?

I’ve been making house rules for board games for a long time, I’ve also modded Civ 2 Test of Time prior to starting to mod Civ 3.

The Rohirrim battling the Elves

COR: Which aspects of modding are you most proficient in? And which, if any, are you totally clueless about?

Personally I’m most proficient in modding 2D graphics and realising “what can the AI handle”. I’m also very much an “ideas man”. I’m quite clueless about making 3D unit graphics, but the mod team has other members and friends who help us with that.

COR: Is there some aspect of the mod that you are personally very proud of having modded?

I have made some elven and evil city graphics that I’m quite proud of. I’ve also made most of the new tech icons.

Cities of Mordor

COR: Most people stumble into the modding scene: any advice for those out there who’re just starting out modding Civ., or indeed any other game?

Find a forum for people who are modding the game you want to mod. See what they have done, and learn from their successes and mistakes.

COR: What would you say is the difference between LotM, and other fantasy mods out there?

The fact that it lets you immerse very deep into Middle Earth. I don’t want to go into “which mod is best?” (especially not since I’m also heavily involved in the Warhammer Mod ), but the feel of this mod is something I hope will be unique.

COR: Will you have entirely new units and city improvements, or will you use some from the original game?

The vast majority of the graphics we use are fan made. Quite a lot of them were made specifically for this mod.

More awesome LotM units, incl. Eagles and Mûmakil

COR: Which of the famous cities and fortresses of Middle-earth will we encounter? Will Isengard be on the map, and Minas Tirith, Barad-dûr, etc.?

First and foremost, we design this mod to be played on a random map, but those cities are all in our city lists to be randomly settled. Also, and this may be going out on thin ice, but I’d claim that you must really search to find a city not included in the mod.

COR: Will there be many wonders? Perhaps you could give us a few examples, and tell us a little about them?

Yes. There are 25 Great Wonders in the mod, and also quite a number of Small Wonders. In addition to those wonders, every civ will have a Unique Wonder that only they can build, and then we also have common wonders that only certain races/civ-groups can build. One such unique wonder is the Stronghold of Umbar, that produces a Corsair of Umbar every twelfth turn for Harad. The wonders stretch all the way from the first era (e. g. Elostirion which lets you sail safe in the high seas, and give your ships +1 movement) to the third (e.g. Hornblower’s Farm, which gives one happy citizen in each city).

Some of the many wonders included

COR: When it comes to civilopedia entries, will each civ, unit, tech, etc, have detailed entries?

That is our goal, though some of them will get less attention. After all, when you’ve said that an Easterling spearman has a spear and shield, what more can you say? But all of the units that have a real history should get that described in the civilopedia.

A 'Great Worm' civilopedia entry

COR: As we all know, the map of Middle-earth is well-known and well-loved – will you be using this map, or will random maps be used?

We will include one of more maps in the mod (or at least link to them), but the mod is constructed with a random map in mind.

COR: Will there be new graphics for terrain?

Yes. Most of it will use fan made terrain already posted on Civfanatics, but some will be made uniquely for the mod.

COR: Are you planning any innovations in gameplay, compared to the original game?

One of the big changes will be the Isengard civ, which will have very special gameplay due to the fact that it won’t be able to build settler units like the normal civs. Instead they will get a fixed amount of settlers spawned from wonders, but in turn they will get Orthanc Tower, one of the most massive structures in the game. You will want to have ent or dragon units to be able to destroy the tower and consequently defeat them.

Isengard and the Tower of Orthanc

COR: I have heard some rumours about unique victory conditions: are they true, and if so, could you tell us something about them?

Yes, one of the special victory conditions will be the destruction of the ring. This will only be available to the Shire, and is a peaceful way to win.

The Journey of the Ring special victory condition

COR: Can you give us an estimated date for a release (hard as that may be)? I believe you have a private beta out now?

No, sorry. I’ve learned my lesson not to promise something you don’t know if you can deliver. At the moment PCHighway is quite busy in real life, and as he’s the head developer I really can’t promise anything in his name. We’re doing our best, though, and we’re of the firm belief that the quality comes before holding any deadlines. It will be out sometime in the future.

COR: What does the future look like for LotM? After this release, will you continue to patch it and perfect it? Will there be any additional releases such as scenarios, or specific “mini-mods” focusing on different ages or regions?

I think there will be scenarios from members in the LotM team, but at the moment we’re focusing on the mod.

COR: Do you have any last words for all the old – and new, after this interview – fans out there, who are eagerly awaiting LotM?

We will deliver quality turn based game play in a Middle Earth setting. Hang in there.

The main civilopedia screen

COR: And at the very end we again have some ‘quick questions’:

COR: Which is your favourite civilization in LOTM?

Hm, tough question… Rohan maybe?

COR: Which is your favourite unit in LOTM?

The Balrog is looking awesome. One of the very best Civ 3 units ever.

COR: Which is your favourite book by Tolkien?

The Hobbit. You didn’t expect that from a hard core Tolkien nut, now did you?

COR: Who is your favourite character from a book by Tolkien?

Gandalf.

COR: What is your favourite moment from a book by Tolkien?

I like the siege of Minas Tirith as it’s seen from the eyes of Pippin.

COR: Which is your favourite film?

Out of the Tolkien films I assume? The Return of the King.

COR: Which is your favourite character from the films?

Gandalf.

COR: Which is your favourite scene from the films?

Gandalf and Bilbo hanging out at the birthday party.

COR: It has been great chatting with you, mrtn – many thanks!

My pleasure.

COR: For more Lord of the Mods info check out their thread at civfanatics.com

The First Age tech screen

The foreign advisor screen

COR: Some of the screens above show Work In Progress. Many thanks to WildWeazel for the screenshots.

Discuss in the forums.

Palantir: Coding Manager of ‘The Fourth Age: Total War’

The Guards of the Citadel await the onslaught

This interview was first posted on the 16th of October, 2006.

COR: Greetings! This is the second instalment in our series of Middle-earth modding interviews. This time we have managed to catch Palantir (MasterOfNone/Dol Guldur at other sites) of ‘The Fourth Age: Total War’ for an interview. Palantir, thank you for finding the time for a chat.

PAL: Delighted. You did well to catch me!

COR: Can you tell us a little about yourself, how old you are, where you live and what you are up to in ‘real life’?

PAL: Well, I’m thirty-cough and live in England. I am often up to many varied things one of which is modding – a terribly time-consuming hobby with a tough learning curve for something unpaid.

COR: Could you tell us what your job is in the mod team?

PAL: Currently I am the Manager of the Coding Department and also one of the three Mod Team Managers. I have a number of other roles such as a lore researcher, Middle-earth Consultant (chiefly on geographical matters), Designer (non-graphical), writer, and a game researcher (the latter of which is still much a part of coding). My task in the early days of the Mod was to research and design the concept for the campaign map. But, to be honest, I have done a bit of everything with the exception of modelling – I do not possess 3ds Max or the skills to use it.

Umbar Guards & the great Mûmakil

COR: So ‘The Fourth Age: Total War’, what is it all about?

PAL: Briefly put it is a modification for Rome – Total War: Barbarian Invasion (patched to 1.6) which seeks to faithfully and accurately bring to life the lands and peoples of Middle-earth as they (probably) existed about two centuries into the Fourth Age. For those unfamiliar with the Total War engine, the game has two distinct levels: an RTS battle campaign where you can enter into real-time combat with huge armies, and a strategic turn-based level where you can view the entire map, move your armies and manage your cities.

COR: Which factions will we be able to play as?

PAL: Currently for the full campaign, called The New Shadow, we have slots set up for the Reunited Kingdom of Gondor and Arnor, Rohan, Dale, Rhûn, Elves, Dwarves, Dunland, Harad, Orcs and another Dúnedanic-based faction which is of yet unnamed. These are subject to change though. Originally we had more factions but game and time restrictions forced us to be more realistic and those factions were assimilated into the 10 factions listed. As of writing it is intended for all factions to be playable.

COR: Can you give us any info on the storyline behind the mod?

PAL: The storyline is set about 200 years after the crowning of King Elessar at the end of the War of the Ring and is based upon “The New Shadow”, a Fourth-age story begun but abandonded by Tolkien. This is the Dominion of Men but we have allowed for the other non-Mannish races to become a force to be reckoned with should the player wish to guide it that way.

A Haradrian host marching to battle

COR: Why the Fourth Age, and not some other, more explored period of Tolkien’s writings?

PAL: I think the fact that it is open and unexplored is exactly why it was chosen, that together with the fact that the stage was set with the breaking of Sauron’s power for a game of independent nations which lends itself to the game engine. We can alos avoid having to script or create certain “historical” events of course as well as entirely avoid the problem of heroes. Only Thranduil is still walking Middle-earth from all the rulers and lords of former stories!

COR: This ‘Corsair Invasion’ mini-campaign – what is it exactly? What can we expect to see and experience?

PAL: It’s a provincial campaign which encompasses approximately one third of the full campaign map. It is set one year before the start of the New Shadow. Harad is poised with land armies and its Corsair allies to invade Gondor and the Easterlings have crossed into the eastern extent of map. Players can choose to play a strong but sandwiched Reunited Kingdom, a poor but horded Rhûn, or the large Haradrian forces which are going to run out of money fast provisioning their armies unless they make a massive attack against Gondor.

COR: In which ‘phase’ would you say the development of the mod is in now?

PAL:That’s difficult to answer. We’ve had the full map for a long while. As far as the Corsair Invasion is concerned we have sought to complete the graphical interface, the units, the coding & in-game text, the 2D art and the strategy map. The battlemap vegetation has been adjusted slighlty but not modification to battlemap buildings has yet occurred (and they will remain that way for the upcoming public release). We have also quite a bit of 2D art to complete even though quite a bit has been done, so WIP images will also be around in the release. Waiting to get all the 2D art done (of which there is a huge amount) would just delay the release too much. The future of the Mod as a whole will be reviewed probably toward the end of November.

The White Company, the guard of the Prince of Ithilien

COR: What kindled your love of Tolkien’s works?

PAL: Now you are pushing the borders of my memory! I read The Lord of the Rings as a child, and the Hobbit too. I also like Tolkien’s view of things. I have read some of his essays, letters and a few biographies and other books in addition to strictly Middle-earth-related books. The fact that Tolkien draws so much from the culture and myth of my own land and people also helps me to relate to it, and certainly kindles my love for his world all the more. The books are filled with a lot of symbolism too, but that’s another topic

COR: Which books, resources, websites, forums, and so on, have been especially helpful in the development of the mod?

PAL: For Modding I would have to say it is the Org (Totalwar.org) which has provided great research and tutorial threads and responses from a greater number of the more experienced TW modders than I have found anywhere else. Karen Wynn Fonstad’s The Atlas of Tolkien’s Middle-earth has been priceless in our research for the map. Of course, Tolkien’s books have been well used as have the History of Middle-earth series by Christopher Tolkien.

COR: Have research been a lengthy process? And exactly how thorough have you been?

PAL: Yes, very lengthy. I think the first 6 months of the Mod must have been largely research. I focused on the geographical elements mainly. Apocalypsis, who joined the Mod as a Tolkien Researcher, has provided a massive amount of textual and visual research on every other aspect of Middle-earth. From the beginning he must have had everything Middle-earth related in electronic form and could locate anything about anything in seconds!

A Man of Far Harad in the fury of battle

COR: One of your stated goals has been ‘Tolkien accuracy’: what exactly does that entail? How have you gone about achieving it, and have you in fact, in your own opinion, been successful in realising that goal?

PAL: Research is what it entails! We’ve really tried to portray Tolkien’s world accurately even down to using the same sort of language found in the books. I think it’s important to say that we have tried to avoid the Mod being too “fantasy” as well. I’m not sure everyone will know what I mean by that, but I’m not going to explain it yes, I think that – within the parameters of the game engine – we have been successful in conveying Tolkien’s world accurately. The Mod will of course be open to criticism and improvement though – from modders and Tolkienists alike.

COR: How have you ‘filled in the gaps’ of Middle-earth, so to speak, in what is not known from Tolkien’s own writings?

PAL: Where it has been necessary to ‘fill in gaps’ we have based it on what little we do know and kept to the spirit of Tolkien in our projections of likelihoods. We hope this comes across in the game.

COR: What first got you into modding? Was it a game before Rome: Total War?

PAL: No, in fact I am not sure I even knew what modding was before Rome: Total War came out. I cannot remember exactly what ensnared me into the world of modding; I think I came across the original Fourth Age forum at SCC (StratCommandCenter.com) and read something about them needing help with the regional boundaries in Middle-earth. I was at SCC because of R:TW of course. This would have been around October 2004 I believe.

'Shoot at their eyes!'

COR: What ‘type’ of modder would you describe yourself as: coder, modeller, skinner, scripter, etc.?

PAL: I would have said a designer or researcher when I first joined. Now I would definitely say a coder / game mechanics researcher. I’ve covered a lot of different aspects of modding on my two-year journey but modelling and scripting are two areas I can say I know virtually nothing about – modding comprises quite a wide set of skills and I doubt you’ll find modders who are proficient in all of those skills.

COR: Where did you first start with coding R:TW, was it with units, stats, traits?

PAL: Hmm…I may have to preface every answer with the words “I can’t quite recollect…”. I believe it was the tech trees that I started coding first, though I’ve done a ton of other stuff since then. Thinking about it, I probably did some light map text-file coding at the very beginning too, but I did not continue that as another coder, Tittils, took over that part of the coding. Traits and ancillary coding I researched and coded a little but this was again taken over by another coder, Apocalypsis (now Apoc, his High King majesticalness….grovel, whimper, bow…), and so I went back to focusing on the tech trees and the rest of the files. I have coded many units into the game and done much stat work but I must say it is not my favourite part of coding though I am comfortable with it I guess. My favourite type of coding is what we coders call “tinkering” – researching the code, changing things and test, test, test! It’s great to get things working (or working in a way) that were not in the original game and making discoveries to share with the community.

COR: Which part of coding has given you the most trouble? And which has given you the most joy?

PAL: Now that’s an interesting question and one I do not think I have been asked before. My heart probably lies in the EDB file. This is the file which sets up all the tech trees for the factions, declares hidden resources, and assigns capablities (bonuses and recruitment) to buildings. I’ve no idea why I like it really, perhaps it is the sense of building and creating something that gives life to the strategy side of the game. Maybe it is a bit like models and unit creation except for coders Vegetation-related coding & generation can be very fiddly; it took many weeks for me to get the palm tree forests for Near Harad displaying and working the way they should. If you’re not careful it can mess up your whole battlemap turning it into essentially one big sky

A look at the Haradrian interface

COR: Any advice for all the would-be modders out there?

PAL: Don’t join a team – let alone start a Mod – unless you are committed (not just excited), have a good deal of spare time, and – if starting a mod – have some understanding of what you want to achieve and how long it will take to get there. Do some research on the modding forums and see how long other mods took to complete. Be a member of a modding team for a good few months before even trying to start your own mod. It is probably wise to set a limited mod goal to begin with such as Wlesmana, creator of the LOTR:TW mod, did when he decided to mod a faction of R:TW into Gondor – that grew from that to battles and then to a campaign. Aim to achieve your goals in such a way that each goal is a completion of a playable, releasable mod. This will give you a sense of achievement and boost the morale of the team.

COR: One of the most important aspects of any ‘Tolkien’ mod – at least to me personally – is atmosphere, creating that sensation for the player that he is truly experiencing Middle-earth. Is this something you have worked towards? Has it been a goal in the development? Do you think this ‘atmosphere’ is present in FATW?

PAL: Players must answer this for themselves but I think our images, our music (compiled and coded by Arakorn) and our in-game text have stuck as close as we can make them to the spirit of Tolkien’s Middle-earth. It certainly is our hope that players do feel they are in Middle-earth.

COR: And related to the above question; which aspects of the mod do you think will immerse the player the most in the world of Middle-earth as envisaged by the FATW development team?

PAL: Another difficult question. I would have to say that it all blends together to create the illusion. I suppose the map and unit appearance (and maybe the music) will be how most judge it, perhaps justly so.

An example of the work that has been done on the ancillaries

COR: You have created something called MEZoRS – can you tell us a little bit about what that is?

PAL: It is a ZoR-based system where units are harder to train and recruit the further you go from your initial territories and into hostile areas. We’ve divided the map regions into two types of area which, in the Corsair Invasion at least, divides the two faction alignments. This has a bearing on recruitment. Furthermore, each region is tagged as either a homeland, fiefdom or outland for any one faction. Homelands are populated by your own population, fiefdoms by a different but fairly friendly population, and outlands are inhabited by hostile populations. All this affects recruitment, by both increasing building build times and pushing units further up the tech tree levels. For example, Gondor Militia are recruitable from a 1st-level barracks in homelands, but creep up to am availability at 2nd-level barracks in fiefdoms. To complement this we have “local levies” which are low-moraled troops recruited from those you have conquered in a fiefdom or outland. These are available at the lower levels and are useful to create a little protection for your new conquests whilst on the path to gaining access to your own troops. There’s a bit more to it than this – such as chief cities and assimilation units – but I think that’s the basics. Oh, MEZoRS stands for Middle-earth Zone of Recruitment System

COR: You also have a feature you call ‘City Development & Diversification’; what does that entail?

PAL: This is a somewhat inchoate feature of something we hope to develop in the future. Currently, when you city arrives at the Large City level you have the opportunity to engage the City Development process. This opens up a number of building options (a bit like temples) depending upon where you are. For example, if you are playing as Harad and have a haven (a 3rd level port) in the area then you will have the option to build a Corsair Stronghold to endow your haven with more strength which enables better Corsair ships and more experienced Corsair units among other things. Such technolgies cannot be reversed. You may only choose one per settlement. Testing has shown that the AI will also build these so be warned!

COR: Some other features of the mod include Marvels, Wonders, Landmarks, and Unique Cities. Can you give us a quick overview of what those are?

PAL: OK, let’s start with Marvels. Marvels are actually Diversification Buildings (see above) that exist at the start of the game. They can be considered as Wonders except that they tend to be in the actual city rather than some remote location within a region. One Marvel is the White Tree of Gondor for example. Wonders work the same way as in vanilla except that we have set down a sequential approach to gaining their bonuses by means of a three-level tech tree which simulates seizing, securing and exploiting the Wonder. An example of a Wonder in the Corsair Invasion is the old Elven haven of Edhellond. Landmarks are famous features on the landscape such as the beacons of Gondor. Some are just eye candy but most offer regional bonuses of some kind or another. They use the unused 0-trade visible resource models. Unique Cities, or Cities of Renown, are reserved-tier cities that we use to represent cities that had a certain distinct apperance or nature. Minas Tirith is a Unique City for example.

Adrahil, the Prince of Dol Amroth

COR: What about other areas of the mod such as units, the campaign map, interface, music, etc.?

PAL: There’s one or two models knocking around that are still WIP or placeholders but 95% are done, complete with lods in many cases. The map is done although some of our models need a bit more work. Hopefully there’s a screenshot of the regions in this interview so you can see how many regions there are! We have interfaces more or less finished though, as of writing, the new menu interface, loading bars and screens are still be put together (let’s hope they make the release!). Music is complete, though it is of course an ongoing course in perfection

COR: How have you gone about balancing the units and factions? Will some be more powerful than others, or ‘overpowered’?

PAL: Initially we asked for beta testers but the response was not as great as we had hoped, or perhaps my expectations were too high. In the end I spent several weeks creating an Excel sheet, punching figures in, coding, testing and studying the efforts of others in the realm of the AI. Despite the amount of time gone into this there are no doubt many things that still need tweaking.

COR: And now to the most dreaded question for any mod team… There seem to be a lot of rumours about a release date before M2:TW comes out. Can you give us an estimated release date?

PAL: OK, I’ll go out on a limb and say that you should see a public release around late October/early November of this year. We really want to get the Mod out at least 2 weeks before people start playing M2TW. We will no doubt release it to registered Fourth Age members first for a quick test run. You can register at www.thefourthage.org if you want to be notified before the rest of the community

Aldarion, third King of the Reunited Kingdom

COR: What is the plan after ‘Corsair Invasion’ is released? Will you continue to work on a full campaign release for R:TW? Are you considering modding Medieval 2: Total War?

PAL: What happens after the CI release will depend upon the Team as a whole, people may leave – others may join. We’ll just have to make a decision some time in November as to the best course of action. However, as the map and much of the basic placeholder coding has been done for the full campaign it would be a great pity to lose that work. We are hoping that the release of CI will enthuse some new blood into supporting our efforts. We are only so many and no one has a skill in all areas of modding.

COR: And at the very end we again have some ‘quick questions’:

PAL: OK

COR: Which is your favourite faction in FA:TW?

PAL: In CI’s campaign factions it is the Reunited Kingdom. They have the most diverse and developed units. Though I must say I also have a softspot for Harad as I have probably had the most dealings with that culture and faction in terms of imagery. I would probably most want to play as Rohan if they were in the campaign, and probably as Dale if it were the full campaign.

COR: Which is your favourite unit in FA:TW?

PAL: I don’t really have one. Some of the Reunited Kingdom superior and elite units look great though I do quite like the Helmingas (a Rohan infantry unit). I’ve given them a slightly different attack behaviour to most other units to reflect their nature (see if you can notice it when the mod is released).

COR: Which is your favourite book by Tolkien?

PAL: The Lord of the Rings – no other of his works is so epic whilst at the same time being so cradled in the storyteller’s rich narrative.

COR: Who is your favourite character from a book by Tolkien?

PAL: I think it is King Théoden of Rohan. I like the way he changes, puts on his vigour and rides without fear to both victory and his own doom.

COR: What is your favourite moment from a book by Tolkien?

PAL: I think it has to be the chapters where they are in Rohan up to and including the Battle of Helm’s Deep.

COR: Which is your favourite film?

PAL: The Two Towers. The Battle of Helm’s Deep, the Rohirrim…and some of the best music and scenes of all the films.

COR: Which is your favourite character from the films?

PAL: Théoden King – Bernard Hill’s a good actor who I think played the part very well. I just love the whole story of this King and his people. I guess the English and Scandinavians would relate to this most. Sorry that everything is Rohan!

COR: Which is your favourite scene from the films?

PAL: I think I have a few: the sun peeking over the rise as Gandalf leads the Rohirrim into the Uruks at the conclusion of the Battle of Helm’s Deep – Gandalf fighting the Balrog as they plummet through the earth and ascend to the high places – the arrival of Gandalf at Minas Tirith as he rides up the walkways of the city – the release of Théoden from the spell of Saruman and his clasping his sword once more – oh, and strangely enough, the scenes as the camera follows the lighting of the beacons of Gondor; I just love that!

COR: Many thanks for giving us the opportunity to ask you these questions, Palantir – it has been an honour!

PAL: Thank YOU. It’s been a pleasure!

COR: For more information on ‘The Fourth Age: Total War’, check out their website and forum at: thefourthage.org. I would also like to thank messenger, WimPyTjeH, and Alatar for their help with this interview.

A look at all the regions included in 'Corsair Invasion'

One of the loading screens in 'Corsair Invasion'

Discuss in the forums.

Wlesmana: Creator of ‘The Lord of the Rings: Total War’

The charge of the Rohirrim: Forth Eorlingas!

This interview was first posted on the 23rd of September, 2006.

COR: This is the first instalment in what will be a series of interviews dealing with Middle-earth related modifications. We have been extremely fortunate to have Wlesmana, creator of Lord of the Rings: Total War, as our first interviewee. Wles, thank you for accepting our invitation to talk with us.

Thank you for having me. It is an honor.

COR: Tell us a little about the man Wlesmana: where you’re from, how old you are and what you do when you’re not busy with LOTR:TW.

I’m 29 years old and when I’m not busy with modding, I try to spend time with my wife. Usually by watching movies or playing video games. I’m born and raised in Bali, Indonesia, went to university in University of Michigan then worked in US for a while. I’m back in Bali now.

COR: Could you tell us about the premise for LOTR:TW? When it is set, which factions are, or will be, included, if there is a storyline behind it, etc.?

The premise of LOTR:TW is to control the massive armies as seen in the movie trilogy and create epic battles. The storyline is set during the War of the Ring, which will be the title of the campaign.

COR: LOTR:TW is based on the film trilogy and the vision of Peter Jackson, and perhaps especially WETA, but to what extent have you used the works of J.R.R. Tolkien as a source of inspiration?

Well, anything that is left out or not explained in the films would use the books as a source of reference. Of course, to create a sense of continuity, if something is contradicting the films and the book, I’ll have to go with the films’ version.

COR: How have you gone about doing research? Have you primarily been researching the films? Or have the books played an important role, perhaps even an increasing one as you venture further from what was shown in the films?

The farthest research with the films I’ve done is purchasing the official companion book “The Lord of the Rings: Weapons & Warfare” by Chris Smith. It explained various reasoning on the design decisions made for the films. But even that is not enough to fill in the gaps so in the end, I have to rely on the books for information. I also use the online Encyclopedia of Arda and Wikipedia extensively.

COR: Could you give us an estimate on how much the mod is based on the films vs. the book vs. your own imagination? (For example: 60% films, 20% books, 20% imagination.)

Hmmm, that’s a bit tough since the division is not as simple as that. Most are based on the films or at least based on the design and style of the films. There are some based solely on the books such as the Variag and the many fiefdom of Gondor. Then there are completely new ones which I made up to fill a function in a faction’s composition. An example would be the Kingsguard, the general bodyguard for the Noldor elves, and the various Dwarven units.

COR: Which of the three films is your favourite? And which of the three major parts of the book do you like the most? Do they coincide?

The Two Towers is my favourite in regards to theatrical release versions. But with the Extended Version DVDs, my favourite is Fellowship.

Warriors of Dale meet the black fury of the Uruk-hai of Isengard

COR: What made you want to embark on the journey that is modding, and did you have any idea of exactly what you were getting yourself into?

Oh, I have absolutely no idea. No idea at all. The sole reason that started this whole fiasco *laugh* is my desire to see Gondorian soldiers in the game, appearing just like in the movies. I found the idea to be very exciting and, most importantly, quite achievable. But instead I kept making more and more models and before long it’s enough for a decent sized mod.

COR: I remember seeing your first small steps into the world of modding RTW at SCC, with a unit of film-inspired Gondorians. Was that your first try at modding, and did you ever think that you would go on to do a Total Conversion?

Yes, that was my first model, done by altering a Roman model. A lot of it was trial and error since I have no previous 3D modelling experience. I never thought I’d start The Lord of the Rings: Total War. I was planning to make only a mini-mod, with a faction of Gondorians in RTW. In fact, I was going to call it “Rome of the Rings” just to be silly. My modding folder in my PC is still called RomeoftheRings until this day.

COR: Which unit was the one you liked creating the most? And which gave you the most problems?

I have to say the Easterlings are my private pride and joy. It’s still not as good as I wanted and I am planning to fix them but that was my first model that I planned out on how to build and came out decent right away. The ones that gave me the most problems are without a doubt the orcs and trolls. It wouldn’t be this complex if we’re able to edit the skeleton but since we couldn’t, I have to rely on visual tricks to make them appear unnatural while still using a standard skeleton. I still cringe whenever I see the bad distortions though.

COR: Congratulations on winning the Best Modder Award for Summer 2006 at the Total War Center. Modding, of course, includes many diverse aspects – many of which you seem to have skill in. In what areas of modding do you feel you are most proficient?

To tell you the truth, I didn’t know until you told me *laugh* I blame mac89, my PR guy, for not telling me news from the modding community. It’s an honor to get the votes (and tied with Caius Britannicus) and I thank everyone who supported me and the project. As for modding proficiency, I’ll have to say character modelling is my strongest suit, with animation second.

COR: In which areas of modding do you feel you would rather rely on another’s skill?

Scripting. Anything dealing with a lot of text and especially coding.

COR: LOTR:TW is perceived to be a “one-man Mod”. Is this true and just how much time do you spend per week on modding?

It’s true for version 1.1c but it won’t be for the next one. I’m getting tremendous help from the community and my team this time.

COR: Do you now have a Development Team or is it a case of public submissions and working with Outsourced support? Has this changed over time and how do you hope to see it develop?

Well, the most important part is that we have a scripter now, Bardo, who will be dealing with campaign script. He’s the most integral to the atmosphere of the campaign since with his scripts, many aspects of the game will be altered that it would feel like a different game. I’m not actively looking for team members since I think we got all the modding factors covered, but if anyone with experience willing to lend a helping hand, I’m always grateful.

Let all the foes of Gondor flee!

COR: How much of a conversion do you intend? Will trees, vegetation, battle-map models, music, portraits, event images, animations, interface and ancillary/trait/diplomacy coding all undergo significant modding? Do you see this all being present in the next major release?

Trees may get a facelift, using the technique developed by DukeJohn. I’m also experimenting with using higher poly trees. It’s a bit tough to juggle since with nice trees, it may look good on paper but if the average player can’t play because of the extra load and had to resort to lower his setting, then he wouldn’t be able to see the trees anyway. For battle-map models, I’m planning to have new buildings but not custom settlement just yet. Music, portraits and event images would be modded, so will interface and new traits and ancillaries. I’m already altering a lot of the base animations. Yes, I foresee all of these would be in the next major release.

COR: Have modding communities at sites such as TotalWarCenter.Net and TotalWar.Org been useful to you and, if so, in what ways?

Oh, absolutely. They have been invaluable, especially when I just started and didn’t know my EDU from DMB. I find the Org to have the most active modders while TWC having the bigger community. So when I have a technical question, I go to the Org. When I have an open question, I asked the members of TWC.

COR: Mods, especially those which stray far from the Roman era, can take a lot of effort and time to complete. What advice do you have for someone who wants to start a new Mod for Total War?

Baby steps are important. If your first thought is “Full conversion!! New everything!! Hey, what’s a DMB?” then it’s probably a failure from the start. Start small, mod small, get to know the waters, then plan out the next step. Also, be prepared to do everything yourself. This is common knowledge to anyone who ever lead a team on a project.

COR: You have very active forums, and there are always plenty of gasps when new screenshots of LOTR:TW are put up in public forums. What do you feel is the secret to the success and popularity of your Mod?

Peter Jackson? *laugh* But that’s the truth though. The mod is popular because the films were good. The visual style is very appealing and my persistence on getting the models to look “right” appears to have paid off.

COR: What has been the vision behind the Mod? What is it you want people to get from LOTR:TW when they play it?

The vision is simple: to have a LOTR (films version) game that I’d want to play. I want to feel like I’m truly controlling this vast army and empire and have a real war scenario, not just a short skirmish with a couple dozen soldiers. I want to see what-if scenarios, things that the film didn’t show, such as battles between the Easterlings and Gondorians, or what if the Elves raised a proper army and attacked Isengard.

COR: You recently announced that your Mod will be porting over to Alexander: Total War. Can you explain why you are leaving BI behind for CA’s latest RTW Expansion?

One reason really: the unique generals. After testing, we’ve found that Alexander supports a lot of unique generals to appear on the battle-map AND campaign map. It would add a lot of atmosphere, especially since the films made the characters very visually memorable. Even though the features of Barbarian Invasion are nice, the premise of actually having both Theoden and Eomer on the battlefield looking like they are in the films, Alexander’s feature won by a landslide.

COR: Will the format for the final release of LOTR:TW be a -mod folder release sitting under Alexander: Total War? Will there be variations for multi-player, custom battles etc?

Yes, I will be using the mod switcher. I will also include different mod folders for the multiplayer, since with the campaign included the factions are no longer balanced per army (like in 1.1c). They will be balanced with the timeline of the campaign as the main concern. So we’ll need a different game for a balanced multiplayer to avoid confusion.

The axes of the Dwarves! The Dwarves are upon you!

COR: What do you think of the ‘competition’? I’m thinking about the host of LotR games that have been released in recent years, and perhaps especially EA’s efforts.

I don’t think of them as competition at all since the gameplay is very different. The two Battle for Middle-earth games are faster paced and more Hero oriented, so it would appeal to the classic RTS crowd. The RTW engine is more geared towards the military campaigns and empire management.

COR: If you could recommend one other game, or mod, to your fans, which would it be?

City of Villains *laugh* I know, I know, it’s completely random, but I’m playing it right now and having a blast. What can I say, I love comic books and superheroes.

COR: May we know what the future will bring for LOTR:TW? Can you give us an estimate for a release date? Will we see a LOTR2:TW for ME2:TW?

I can’t say for certain for a public release, but I’m planning to start closed beta in October, assuming the scripts are working properly. This would be barebones, with much of the visuals still need work so a closed beta doesn’t mean it’s close to completion. I’m just giving the testers more time to test since testing the campaign would take quite some time.
I doubt I would mod M2:TW, but I’m waiting until the game is released and the modding capabilities made more apparent.

COR: And what about yourself? Do you think you will be busy modding into the foreseeable future?

Maybe. I know I like 3D modelling now so I might focus on that for a while.

COR: Is there anything you would like to tell the folks who are anxiously awaiting the next release of LOTR:TW – anything that has not been touched upon above?

Check out our forum. There are more juicy information on the features there *laugh*

COR: And at the very end we have something we call ‘quick-questions’ for you (this of course relates to the LotR films, book and mod):

Which is your favourite film?

Fellowship of the Ring (Extended Edition).

Who is your favourite character in the films?

Aragorn.

What is your favourite moment in the films?

The Rohirrim charge at Pelennor Field.

Which is your favourite part of the book?

Siege of Gondor.

Who is your favourite character in the book?

Aragorn.

What is your favourite moment in the book?

Climax of Siege of Gondor.

What is your favourite LOTR:TW unit?

Noldor Swordsmen (Bladeweavers)

What is your favourite LOTR:TW faction?

Gondor

COR: We thank you for taking the time to do this, Wles – it has been a pleasure.

Likewise

COR: For more information on Wlesmana and ‘The Lord of the Rings: Total War’, check out his website and forum at: lotrtw.com

Discuss in the forums.