Return of the Shadow: The War of the Ring

[AmazingAllstar]

I really want to play this mod, it looks amazing! However is there a updated version of the unit art, sound and text for the latest patched version? The previous one is missing a few units and it's not compatible.

 

[Lord Malbeth]

I really want to play this mod, it looks amazing! However is there a updated version of the unit art, sound and text for the latest patched version? The previous one is missing a few units and it's not compatible.

Do you have a Mac? I know this has issues running on Macs. Otherwise, I guess I wasn't aware this had missing units.

 

[Lord Malbeth]

Does anyone have a copy of this game? I can't seem to find my original files anywhere...

I have uploaded a version of this scenario, and I believe it's good to go now.

 

[ReindeerThistle]

Thanks! Still playing after 4 years.

 

[Lord Malbeth]

So, after several years, I finally got Civ3 loaded back up on a PC. The first thing I did was DL this scenario, and as we're speaking, I'm working on an update/patch. I don't think there's going to be huge changes, but I'd like to roll up the two dl's on the first page into one package, and there is some Civilopedia and unit sounds work that needs to be done. I don't know if anyone is still playing this scenario, but if there are any bugs, kinks, or weird things that you'd like fixed (or just ideas you have in general) let me know.

 

[Jarovid]

I played it before, and I am sure I will play it in the future.

 

[r16]

more units in case it's possible . ı have always been planning to add those that are not in the LotM .

 

[Lord Malbeth]

more units in case it's possible . ı have always been planning to add those that are not in the LotM .

Do you have any suggestions?

 

[r16]

anything that might please you , regarding the question that it would fit in the game . You know , ı regularly die as Isengard here but things look different . Apart from being lazy and lacking computer time ı also had troubles when the game was bugged and the like . While testing Sci-Fi , so never had a chance to look at what's available elsewhere . But let me stress that in case it's possible line . Having dabbled a bit , ı know units can demand a lot from a scenario-maker .

 

[Lord Malbeth]

anything that might please you , regarding the question that it would fit in the game . You know , ı regularly die as Isengard here but things look different . Apart from being lazy and lacking computer time ı also had troubles when the game was bugged and the like . While testing Sci-Fi , so never had a chance to look at what's available elsewhere . But let me stress that in case it's possible line . Having dabbled a bit , ı know units can demand a lot from a scenario-maker .

Good to know, especially in regards to Isengard. I'll try to bulk them up in a way that doesn't unbalance the game.

Most of the edits I'm making are either minor balancing modifications, or civilopedia re-writes (there are quite a few embarrassing entries in the civilopedia right now that I'd like to see go). With that said, I'm also adding in a few new cities, units, and improvements to make this all a bit more interesting.

Big changes so far:

• Carn Dûm is present and is a Mordor-controlled city (much like Dol Guldur). Now, I know that Carn Dûm fell right after the Battle of Fornost way back when, but this change allows Eriador to actually be interesting rather than a big ol' boring land of nothing.
• In the 'main' version of the game, Arnor and the Shire as civs no longer feature. All of the Shire's settlements have been collapsed down into one city, The Shire, and it, along with Bree are now under Gondor's control. While this isn't super-orthodox (there's little if any evidence that the Shire and Bree recognized the authority of the Gondorian steward), it reflects the reality that both the Shire and Arnor aren't really political/military powers at the time of the War of the Ring (OK, the Shire had a governing body, but, c'mon, they're hobbits, not warriors). However, the new download will also include versions wherein the player can play as Arnor and the Shire.
• A handful of new improvements and wonders are now in the game.
• New civilopedia entries and updated unit stats.
• The graphics for a number of units have been 'down-graded' back to standard Civ3 units. Why? Recently, I've come to appreciate those games (like Quasidemo's OG LOTR scenario) that try to capture the feel of a given situation without necessarily leaning on fancy graphics. That's not to say that this scenario doesn't have cool unit gfx or that other scenarios that have beaucoup amounts of units are bad or anything, just that my tastes have changed a bit, and this update will reflect that.
• Entwives have been added! Why? Just to make the game a little more interesting. Ents are now the only civ that can build settlers, and while they are really expensive, entwives allow for new city placement. This has the potential to spice up the game, as Ents could potentially build a new city, only to have it fall and became a bastion for either the good side or the evil side. This will add a bit of randomness to an otherwise really structured game.
• I've added Tom Bombadil! He's basically a free artillery piece that anyone can pick up and use.

 

[Lord Malbeth]

Alright! Here's the new version! Please let me know if there are any bugs that you run into: https://mega.nz/#!zZNxjbRS!EfX3obE-KM-87U8RV0ZgyUAGYytceTIRzsWZqc-fBng

EDIT: Updated the first page and got the screenies working. I've also updated some of the info, but nothing major there.

EDIT2: I've added a Steam version of the labels.txt file. If you're playing on Steam, you will need to replace the labels file included in the main download with the one here.

 

[r16]

truly in the finest traditions of the scenario . Downloaded by like the 3rd of the month , played on the fifth . Died at turn 21 . Really needs a warning right at the very beginning crawl like "Idiot, the named guy you looad troops onto is not army but a King unit. It dies, you die!" Certainly might have been useful for me . ı love the wheat stocks on the mountains , is it possible to give them a negative cash value , so that if you use them in the city screen , you loose money ?

 

[Lord Malbeth]

truly in the finest traditions of the scenario . Downloaded by like the 3rd of the month , played on the fifth . Died at turn 21 . Really needs a warning right at the very beginning crawl like "Idiot, the named guy you looad troops onto is not army but a King unit. It dies, you die!" Certainly might have been useful for me . ı love the wheat stocks on the mountains , is it possible to give them a negative cash value , so that if you use them in the city screen , you loose money ?

That's an interesting idea. Like, to show that if you have to use the wheat stores, you're likely being blockaded/starved by the enemy? I'll look at the editor and see if something like that is possible.

 

[r16]

a very nice twist to what ı was thinking . That you import them from a different city or AI so that you have to pay cash for them .

 

[Lord Malbeth]

a very nice twist to what ı was thinking . That you import them from a different city or AI so that you have to pay cash for them .

Looks like it is indeed possible. I'll see if I can implement this in a later patch or something.

 

[nick0515]

I sadly have no time for playing/modding these days but if I do find some time in the future I'd love to play you're excellent mod again!

 

[r16]

ı was expected to use a horse/ox-cart icon for imports to the city , bringing all sorts of stuff .

and how do those "king armies" act ? Does the AI keep them in the capital , move them out to a different city as it's the CivIII custom , or just as armies ? Might autoproduce some , because my scenario will start quite unbalanced .

 

[Lord Malbeth]

I sadly have no time for playing/modding these days but if I do find some time in the future I'd love to play you're excellent mod again!

Ah, shucks! Well, if you do find time, let me know what you think. It was fun to revisit and update this.

ı was expected to use a horse/ox-cart icon for imports to the city , bringing all sorts of stuff .

and how do those "king armies" act ? Does the AI keep them in the capital , move them out to a different city as it's the CivIII custom , or just as armies ? Might autoproduce some , because my scenario will start quite unbalanced .

By 'king armies', do you mean kings being loaded into armies? I'm not sure if I've witnessed that yet. I'm sure it happens, though. The AI doesn't handle 'hero' units very well.

 

[r16]

ugluk ı see , Ugluk ı load a unit and set off for war and get killed . Might autoproduce such armies tagged as King units to keep weaker civs survive longer ; would like to know if AI Isengard ever lets its Ugluk off the cities .

 

[Lord Malbeth]

ugluk ı see , Ugluk ı load a unit and set off for war and get killed . Might autoproduce such armies tagged as King units to keep weaker civs survive longer ; would like to know if AI Isengard ever lets its Ugluk off the cities .

I know that the AI does not use armies very well. I tried to implement the "one unit, +10 hp" fix, but we'll see if that works. I'll need to do some experimenting.