The Rise of Macedon

[McMonkey]

As you're probably now aware, John Petroski, Grishnach & myself have been working on a project for several weeks/months now about Philip II & his son Alexander & the rise of the Macedonian empire from a peripheral, semi-barbarian backwater to the Hegemon of Greece.

From the start, it was our vision to be a true cooperative project, with each partner contributing according to their skill set. We also wanted to explore the many new possibilities ToTPP & Lua offers. We have made some really revolutionary developments which build on the work John & Grishnach have already done with Caesar's Gallic Wars. John plans to make some short YouTube videos showcasing some of the new concepts over the next few weeks, which will be posted in this thread.

For now, I'll just post this teaser screenshot

 

[McMonkey]

The map covers Greece, the southern Balkans & eastern Anatolia. It begins in 359 BC when Philip took the throne after the death of his brother, Perdiccas II, in battle versus the invading Dardanians (Illyrians) in Upper Macedonia. Philip also faced simultaneous invasions from the Paeonian tribes of the Axios river valley, an invasion from the west from the Odrysians (Thracian) in support of a pretender to the throne, whilst the Athenians landed a force in Methone in support of yet another pretender, Argeus.

The scenario is designed to run to around 334 BC, as Alexander rampages through Asia. The furthest point east is Gordium, where Alexander famously solved the riddle of the Knot.

The scenario will use the missile units (so-called 'K' units) and mercenary recruitment introduced in Gallic Wars (coming soon!) as well as a new multiple choice diplomacy system which we hope will revolutionize scenario events.

 

[Patine]

The map covers Greece, the southern Balkans & eastern Anatolia. It begins in 359 BC when Philip took the throne after the death of his brother, Perdiccas II, in battle versus the invading Dardanians (Illyrians) in Upper Macedonia. Philip also faced simultaneous invasions from the Paeonian tribes of the Axios river valley, an invasion from the west from the Odrysians (Thracian) in support of a pretender to the throne, whilst the Athenians landed a force in Methone in support of yet another pretender, Argeus.

The scenario is designed to run to around 334 BC, as Alexander rampages through Asia. The furthest point east is Gordium, where Alexander famously solved the riddle of the Knot.

The scenario will use the missile units (so-called 'K' units) and mercenary recruitment introduced in Gallic Wars (coming soon!) as well as a new multiple choice diplomacy system which we hope will revolutionize scenario events.

This looks VERY interesting. I had a scenario idea I had never started (one of many, I know) about the Diaodochi Wars, a similar (if later) epoch. I look forward to seeing how this unfolds.

 

[tootall_2012]

Hi McMonkey,

I'm looking forward to the scenario but I have to be honest, I'm not a fan of the city graphics chosen. Perhaps I was influenced by the rich and vibrant colors in Caesar, but I just find they are a little too bland (no disrespect meant to the designer).

 

[McMonkey]

Thanks Tootall

You're free to change any graphics you like. I sometimes swap graphics in scenarios to suit my own tastes. This happens to be my favorite city style & matches the terrain villages etc...

 

[tootall_2012]

That's a good solution. As my mom used to say: "de gout et des couleurs; on ne discute pas", which loosely translates to each his or her own tastes, and that's okay.

 

[McMonkey]

I may include alternative city graphics for players to switch to if they choose.

 

[JPetroski]

They just look bland because the lands haven't yet experienced the full glory of Rome. Give it a few hundred years

 

[McMonkey]

I'm going to have a go at changing the roof colors to make them pop. More red, like the ones in Gallic Wars.

 

[Patine]

I'm going to have a go at changing the roof colors to make them pop. More red, like the ones in Gallic Wars.

All of the common colour drawings of Hellenistic cities (which all look like they were drawn long after the Hellenistic era, but still) all have either bright red, blue, or green roofs, at least that I've come across. I don't recall seeing subdued colours like the roofs above.

 

[Tanelorn]

I love them as they are.
The background shouldnt be too cluttered or ivert attenton from the action, you did a great job.
(It is Loudias, not Loudais btw)

 

[JPetroski]

Please enjoy a brief video showcasing some groundbreaking new lua work that Grishnach and McMonkey have been up to. We are all very excited about the possibilities that these new dialogue boxes will unleash.

Enjoy!

 

[McMonkey]

Great video John. This new feature really is a game changer when it comes to accurately recreating historical scenarios. Nations can be forced to surrender or re-emerge upon key events. No more interminable campaigns against remote backwaters if that's not how things went down historically. With Lua the possibilities are immense. So many potential combinations. Scenarios that didn't translate well to Civ2, say a World War One on the Western Front, are now doable, with ranged artillery. World War 2 scenarios with strategic bombing, tanks & battleships firing shells, the sky's the limit! So far Lua seems to be very stable which is something I was sceptical about upon first hearing about these new features. I'm definitely a Lua convert & look forward to picking apart the events & learning for myself.

 

[McMonkey]

Thanks Tanelorn. Loudias it is!

 

[techumseh]

This might be just what I need to finish Blood and Iron. It needs a complex diplomatic model that is beyond ToT events. Essentially, Prussia needs to decisively defeat Austria, but leave it's territory intact in the peace settlement, in order to ensure German unity for the defeat of France.

 

[McMonkey]

That would work here. I found that cities with NONE as support do not get destroyed and can move out of the reassigned city (in this case back to Prussia). The units in Pella that were homed to that city were automatically disbanded when the city changed hands, which is something to bear in mind. I would imagine that units homed to other cities would survive too, but I have not confirmed this yet. It seems logical.There are a great deal of scenarios where this would fix major flaws.

 

[JPetroski]

It's possible to check how many units of a certain type or certain civ are killed in a certain coordinate "box" or region in a certain period of time now.

In other words, if the Prussians defeat the Austrian Army in the field, then Austria capitulates. Perhaps they keep all cities but they are now Prussian Allies and Prussia perhaps gets a gold or unit bonus.

Frankly, very few wars throughout history have hinged on the capture of a city. Far more it seems were won by the destruction of an army in the field. With lua, civ2 can finally do that.

 

[techumseh]

Prussia's objective was to neutralize Austria, and to switch the allegiance of the German states to itself. Austria must be kept neutral, while Bavaria, Saxony etc. make peace with Prussia and become its allies. They would then declare war on France when Prussia does. So you figure Lua will do the trick?

 

[Kyriakos]

These Lua new options look really great. Good work!

 

[JPetroski]

Prussia's objective was to neutralize Austria, and to switch the allegiance of the German states to itself. Austria must be kept neutral, while Bavaria, Saxony etc. make peace with Prussia and become its allies. They would then declare war on France when Prussia does. So you figure Lua will do the trick?

I suspect yes but in about 6 to 8 weeks I could probably tell you definitively as a major goal of this scenario is to overhaul diplomacy and see how lua can make it better. I know you can force peace and change attitudes but I also know how much the AI loves to cheat so there will probably be some hiccups along the way!