[QUESTIONS] FAQ and Your Own

[anime333]

Yeeeaaah, I don't think anyone would want to wait another 5 years for the units for all the houses you want are finished, so why not just leave it at Tully and Frey? Hey, when the thing is released you can always make a submod with all the houses you want if you like.

A lot of people have done much of the work for these factions already. Just import the skins, family trees, and unit types, and you should be good to go...that is what I plan on doing.

Yeah, to me it doesn't make sense to have that many factions in the Riverlands. The Tully's need all of the minor houses under them they can get, to defend from the Lannisters, Joffrey, possibly Stannis, The Freys, and Arryn's or Starks. Splitting them up would just make them that much easier to take out, and that much harder to play.

Besides, minor factions are just placeholders and they don't make for much fun to play in the middle of a war with eight much larger factions.

This is a good point. Frankly, I find that the only real playable Riverland faction are the Tullys...the Frey's are really just too weak, as are the Darrys and the Mootons. However, it gives the game a very interesting flavor when you leave those factions in...both in playing as the Tullys with less starting power but more of a bulwark against the Vale and Crownlands, and has other factions trying to conquer the Riverlands....for example, I feel like the Joffrey faction starts off in a really bad place at the start of WOT5K...but if you manage to get a ceasefire with Darry and Mooton, life becomes a lot better.

I would definitely argue that outside of the Riverlands, splitting off the other houses has multiple benefits. Examples:

House Bolton causes almost no change in the gameplay....except that there is a real chance that the faction can betray you, especially if you make the Roose and Ramsay evil little ...
House Redwyne helps balance out the Reach by taking out a huge $ source, plus a major city (you can recruit special units in the Arbor).
House Hightower does much of the same.
House Yronwood helps balance out House Martell.

Now, of course, it depends on how many territories each faction starts out with. Depending on the number, the spin-off faction can contribute to the lore-feeling and balance out some of the factions. Given sufficient territories, it can be a playable faction in its own right. That balance is debatable...I typically do not mind if not every faction is playable...

[Iron Aquilifer]

A lot of people have done much of the work for these factions already. Just import the skins, family trees, and unit types, and you should be good to go...that is what I plan on doing.

For 1.0 there is a completely reworked unit system, build tiers ect. ect. The skins wouldnt even match up with the troops and u would get errors. A lot of errors.

A "Riverlands War" submod, yeh sure, create all these one settlement houses and depict the Wot5k or Daemon's Blackfyre rebellion....

But if you add bolton and yronwood, to already financially weak factions, and leave lannister alone, then that isn't balanced, is it? And to make it "balanced" you have to give up quite a bit of lore for it to be possible. I do agree with redwyne/hightower.... or simply make them AI and unable to attack (and then a script to give redwyne to tyrell after... well, Lord Redwyne is happy to follow his lord in war)

EDIT: Then again, does make tyrell a bit weaker... megh, can always submod it.

[Inarus]

A lot of people have done much of the work for these factions already. Just import the skins, family trees, and unit types, and you should be good to go...that is what I plan on doing.

Simple in theory, but utterly infeasible. The models and skins for 1.0 are of vastly superior quality to vanilla Medieval 2's used in 0.53, skins made for Medieval 2's models will not only be difficult to apply to 1.0's models, but will look absolutely awful on them due to being of smaller resolution and lower quality. Imagine importing Rome 1's skins onto Rome 2's models.

EDIT: What Stannis said

[Korpskog]

+ House Redwyne allways invades Dorne which is a slap in the face to the lore..

However I do get why you want more factions anime333, just trust us submoders to get it going once the map,models, skins, traits and characters of 1.0 will be availible!

[Bryce Caron]

Yeah some houses would do, as minor factions. Maybe the Yronwoods, and Hightowers. But thats the thing, if you were to take the Bolton's away from the Starks, and Riverland factions away from the Tully's, then factions that aren't that strong to begin with would have more problems to face than the enemy from without.

[anime333]

Well, with the Boltons, I just give them the Dreadfort and the Eastwatch. They are not at all a playable faction, but don't take too much away from the North, and also present a real threat to the "base" of the Stark faction. Again, if you are concerned with the weakness of the Stark faction, you can always create high-trade settlements like the Stoney shore, add fortresses like Greywatcher Watch, Ramsgate, etc....the perfect way to do it, would be to have a script where Ramsay Bolton appears in the game some 10-20 turns in...and then if the Northern faction isn't doing very well, and Roose and/or Ramsey Bolton is alive, the "Bolton" faction emerges, with the Boltons controlling the Dreadfort, Winterfell, etc.

With the Riverlands, I see your point. It, really, really, depends on the starting point of the campaign and the balance of the mod. Sometimes, with all the Riverland factions under one banner, you start off providing many really easy targets for the Vale, Joffrey, and the Lannisters to pick off...its actually relatively lore-compliant, but you really start off on the defensive and then get the vale attacking you to-boot. Other times, the Mooton and Darry factions act as a barrier to the Vale and Joffrey...it also depends on how Harrenhal is modded. In lore, it is a shell of its former shelf. But in most mods I've played, it is a bad-ass, nearly impregnable fortress....

The other option, like I've seen Stannis do, is combine Stark and Tully into the "Trident" faction...really well-balanced in that the Starks are now a very major player in the game. And it fits with the lore in that riverland armies march together with Northern armies

Just some ideas. Looking forward to a great mod. I myself might start adding some more factions, though I'd definitely start with the Redwynes/Hightower/Florents....

[anime333]

Another question:

Are you going to allow us to recruit our own generals?

If not, I would strongly recommend a greatly expanded family tree (very easy to do...I can help with this)..that way you have a huge source of future generals.

[Iron Aquilifer]

They are adding pretty much every character mentioned in the books. Although i can't speak about the recruitment of generals

[Mhaedros]

Every faction will have like 20-50 generals at start, I doubt you will need to recruit anything

[Murfmurf]

In before someone asks: "Can you switch to R2TW now that there's mod tools out?!"

Answer: no, the mod tools still don't, and probably never will, allow you to make full-conversion mods.

[anime333]

Every faction will have like 20-50 generals at start, I doubt you will need to recruit anything

If you'd consider it, maybe make a lot of those family members.

I went through and made family trees for all the noble houses (plus some other prominent ones in the books). Basically anyone with a holdfast in the game.

[Bryce Caron]

A lot of the houses are intertwined as is, no need to make them related through blood. Just look at the alliances formed before Roberts Rebellion, Eddard + Catelyn, Lysa + Jon, Robert + Cersei, and The Blackfish could have ended up with a Redwyne.

[Iron Aquilifer]

A lot of the houses are intertwined as is, no need to make them related through blood.

He might just mean hidden family trees, if so, that is most likely in

[Korpskog]

@anime333

Im sure the team have allmost every familly tree hidden in game (noble houses), you can see this at some previews were minor houses are being represented with their own strat_skins like in KORAH, this is being done by hereditary traits (member_of_house_xx) etc.

Also as for famillytrees some are harder then others, I remember creating House Frey for The Winds of Winter and Fire and Blood with badger-dude and we had to find some new ways to get all the Walders in there. In reality the game only allowes one character named Walder Frey in a tree so you have to create other names that are being translated to Walder Frey in game.

If you can't wait for the game to be released as much as the rest of us (me especially) I recommend you to start learn some modding on your own meanwhile, the more you learn to understand the game-mechanics you understand how hard a work the team is doing. For example you are welcome to join me and the Essos development team, if you have plenty of passion and are willing to learn im sure we can find some work for you (and everybody else who wants to help)

[Lordinquisitor]

On the matter of family trees:

I think that we have all, or almost all, families represented in the game with hidden family trees. If the main ruling house should die out, the leader of another minor family with the highest authority will claim leadership.

On the matter of smaller factions:

It was mentioned, that minor factions bordering only their main faction (like, Boltons and Stark) don`t attack them as much as feared-

But, the issue that they won`t help you in your war remains. They would sit only there- Which isn`t an enjoyable experience and not accurate to the books either. Why should factions be added which only sit there? That`s not rewarding.

Now, i like faction variety, too. I`m pretty sure and i hope that a submodder might tackle that aspect somewhen.

Certain houses, which actually border enemies of one of the major houses (Like House Yronwood) could be made into a rewarding faction on their own, which will actually do something.

And ofc, one could also create an "ahistorical" mod, which starts off with several factions and most of the map owned by rebels, in order to create alternate histories.

[Bryce Caron]

Even if you can manage to ally with the minor factions currently in game, as a major faction. I.E. Stark and Bolton, neither one will be helping you with any wars as Lord pointed out. They aren't conducive to the M2TW engine, as people wish they would be. They won't march right across your lands with all of their military prowess and fight your enemies and your battles, they'll sit and fester in the one region which they might be lucky to have.

[Bryce Caron]

What are we looking at for factions that you guys still have to go, and want to re-touch on? I thought I remembered someone saying Joffrey would be re-done, and there was still quite a bit to go with the Martells, and the Arryn's were almost done. Certainly not asking for a release date, because completed factions don't dictate all of the other work that has gone into this.

Also what about the map? Did Toho say he was re-doing stuff when he released his old one?

Lastly, custom generals. I love what you guys have put out so far, and will each/most factions have at least a handful?

Thanks!

[Emperor Hantscher]

On the matter of family trees:

I think that we have all, or almost all, families represented in the game with hidden family trees. If the main ruling house should die out, the leader of another minor family with the highest authority will claim leadership.

On the matter of smaller factions:

It was mentioned, that minor factions bordering only their main faction (like, Boltons and Stark) don`t attack them as much as feared-

But, the issue that they won`t help you in your war remains. They would sit only there- Which isn`t an enjoyable experience and not accurate to the books either. Why should factions be added which only sit there? That`s not rewarding.

Now, i like faction variety, too. I`m pretty sure and i hope that a submodder might tackle that aspect somewhen.

Certain houses, which actually border enemies of one of the major houses (Like House Yronwood) could be made into a rewarding faction on their own, which will actually do something.

And ofc, one could also create an "ahistorical" mod, which starts off with several factions and most of the map owned by rebels, in order to create alternate histories.

I always wished the the diplomacy system in TW games would give you an option to "Borrow an Army" from one of your allies. If you have good standing with an ally you can take one of their armies under your command for a set number of turns at an agreed price. That would solve alot of issues regarding alliances being basically useless in these games.

But as far as modding M2TW is concerened, if you made new factions for minor houses you could have units recruitable as mercenaries in your allies region. They will serve as allied units helping you in your campaign, since you are right that their units will just sit there and do nothing. Then if it can be coded that once they stop being your ally those mercs are no longer available. I have no clue if such a script would be possible but it would certainly be a good idea....patent pending.

[Bryce Caron]

I wish the game engine wasn't so outdated, because I've often thought that before.

[Mhaedros]

I wish the game engine wasn't so outdated, because I've often thought that before.

In before someone asks: "Can you switch to R2TW now that there's mod tools out?!"

Answer: no, the mod tools still don't, and probably never will, allow you to make full-conversion mods.