Work-in-Progress Spotlight
October 29th, 2012 by Felix36

Tales of Middle Earth

By The Modding Community

Hey guys! It’s Felix here again with another Work in Progress spotlight! And today I have a fantastic project lined up for you. It’s been in the pipeline in various forms since the early days of Age of Kings modding. This project started as Battles of Middle Earth and the Middle Earth Total Conversion and over the years a great many of our modding regulars have participated in the project. Recently however, the project has been handed over to the capable hands of Pulkit and Matt LiVecchi and as both of the original projects have been combined, a new name has been set down in stone. It is now called ‘Tales of Middle Earth’. A lovely name, don’t you think? Quaint.

Anywho, the mod itself will be, I can assure: ground-breaking on a scale comparable only to Kor‘s Age of Chivalry as what will soon be AoK’s second completed total conversion mod pack. And now the whole project is edging ever closer to release and one could even say that it sits very close to the brink. Now, before I get on to speaking to Matt LiVecchi about the finer sides of this project, I think we should take a short break to view some of the very pretty models that one will be able to see soon, in game.

ithilienranger.gif orc.gif footknight.gif

Now for the moment you’ve all been waiting for! I’ve had a chance to sit down with one half of the pair leading this: Matt LiVecchi to ask him a few questions about this project. What follows are my questions and his responses.
Quote:

This project has been going on for really quite a very long time! How long have you been following and why did you decide to get involved?

I’ve been involved for a little over two years now (I know, it’s been a long, long time). The original ToME was actually started by long time AoK modder Jorgito, who was one of the many who worked on Battles for Middle Earth, a total conversion attempt that precedes our current efforts by a few years. I joined him shortly after he announced his project to AoKH. Pulkit was simultaneously working on trying to revive Middle Earth Total Conversion, the other significant if unfinished attempt at a LOTR mod for AoK. He would merge with us soon after. Though Jorgito would later disappear from HG, Pulkit and I have continued on.

That’s the short version of it, and if you are interested in further minutia there will be a fairly detailed history of the various incarnations of Middle Earth projects for AoK included in the download file. Tolkien’s work more than any other has inspired AoK’s modding community over the years, and the fact is Tales of Middle Earth will finally be the product of not just my hard work or Pulkit’s, but everyone’s who went before us. That’s something I’m very excited about.

You work very quickly when you’re modding and yet you create excellent models every time! What can you tell us about how you work and what advice would you give to new modders?

Thanks. I have two tips.

One: Don’t! :p Seriously, two years? It’s been an absolutely frustrating project that seemed doomed to fail every other month or so. The fact that we survived and are approaching release should not dissuade you. We are a statistical anomaly, a blip on the radar, so to speak. In well over a decade, there has been us (ToME), and Kor (Age of Chivalry). Two total conversions of this quality and size and scope out of how many attempts? Hundreds? Thousands? Let’s just say the odds are not in your favor.

So the point is, think small. Modify one civilization, not all 18. Design a new castle, not over a hundred buildings. You might actually finish, and you will stay sane. It’s advice someone should have given me years ago (or they did, and I didn’t listen, which is probably more likely).

Now that I’ve mentioned his name, I would just like to thank Kor. Age of Chivalry has been an inspiration to us over the years, and it always helps to see that one example of success when you are near failure. It helps to know someone else was dumb enough to try what you are trying. Besides, Kor’s one of the very best people I met here during my time at HG.

Oh, and that second bit of advice? Learn to use software to do the work for you. Paint is great, but at some point if you are serious about modding, you need to take the scary plunge and learn to use some modelling software. There are plenty of free or affordable options (see our Modding Guild in the forums), and if the learning curve to modelling is a bit steep, it has a big payoff. You’ll look back on your past self sitting their cutting and pasting 250 frames and shudder.

From the looks of things, this project is really close to release! Do you have an ETA?

Tales of Middle Earth is a collaborative effort between myself and Pulkit. And while a lot of group projects fail, I think we’ve succeeded because we both stick to our areas and work hard at them. Pulkit can design graphics (He had done some quality things for METC before joining me on ToME), and I can certainly do the technical editing side as well. But we both have basically given the other free reign to do whatever they want, with only minor input when asked for. It is a system has worked great for us.

I said all that to say this. The graphics are all done. I’ve sent off my files to Pulkit, and he’s hard at work compiling the final version. He’s making changes and doing what he does best, and I’m not heavily involved. I know what he’s doing is going to be great, because he’s already blown me away with the last build of the mod, which was hardly even a finished project. I’m as desperate as everyone else to get my hands on the final build and test it out!

So it’s coming, and sooner rather than later. Many of you have been waiting years, through the disappointments of BoME and METC and along with us for the last couple years. I know how long it has been; I have been waiting too.

And finally, as is customary, we have three screenshots for your viewing pleasure.