AoM Models to 0 A.D.

[Jugulator]

So i read about the 'completely moddable' feature of 0AD, and the first thing that came to my head is to export lots of AoM models into 0AD, but secondly M$ have the copyright of the entire AOM models.

Would it have legal repercussions?

[Kimball]

Yes. All of the AoM entities are proprietary to the Microsoft Corporation, and this would be very much illegal. Not even the artists responsible for the assets in the game have the legal right to release that art to you.

[GONdorman]

Really? I used to believe that when you´re not trying to make profit from another people´s stuff(and don´t declare it´s yourself´s stuff), it´s legal

[Mythos_Ruler]

It's a tricky business, that "not for profit" clause. You can take the original work and change it beyond the point that it is reasonably unrecognizable from the original. Or you can take copyrighted material and use it in an "educational" way, and even then must not use the entire copyrighted work. You can use copyrighted materials for political or "free speech" reasons, such as political satire. There are a lot of minefields to navigate, so a good catchall is "No, it's illegal, mostly."

A good way to do it is to just import the AOM models into Max or Blender and just use them as a basis for your own models. That would work. And then use the textures as a good guide for your own textures.

[feneur]

Creating things yourself is more rewarding too Than merely copying I mean.

[Kimball]

By all means, we encourage you to make a mod for 0 A.D. that demonstrates everything that you wish you had in AoM. Perhaps some sort of Mythology Mod to our current factions. Here's an outline of a projected 'Mythology Mod' that I originally intended to be my first 0 A.D. release. I've got other plans now though..

Units

Carthaginians

Celts

Catt Siu

*Armament: Some form of firey touch.

*Appearance

-Body & Clothing: A small cat that walks on its hind legs.

*History: A common figure in Gaul's mythologies, a type of evil fairie. It was incited to help by burning cats to it; a cult even sprung up around a specific one named 'Big Ears'. The creature is highly intelligent and was believed to grant wishes if properly appeased with sacrifices of cats and wine. While in Gaelic myth, this became the Cait Sith, a slighty different creature, and more or less just a ghostly mountain lion in Scotland, to the Gauls they're depicted as being a small cat-like man who walks on his hind legs. In all, fire is associated with the being, and they were commonly blamed for starting unexplained fires.

*Reference: The Ile Cauldron is probably the best depiction of one.

Coun Siu

*Armament: Biting and slashing with claws.

*Appearance

-Body & Clothing: A large, black wolf/hound.

*History: A Coun Siu, Fairie Dog, also written in parts of southern Gaul on objects as Coun Dusi, or Demon Dog, was a werewolf-like creature feared by Gauls, but also revered to some extent. They were supposed to be the spirits of heroes killed ingloriously, such as by assassination or in an accident, infuriated they died without recieving proper recognition. They defend ther native tribe, but kill everyone else mercilessly. They were commonly put to blame for the theft of small children from villages.

*Reference: Tales of such creatures survived and changed over time, remaining common even now in Laurentian French areas, as well as in their diaspora, such as among rural Louisiana Cajuns. Figurines of the creature with the name written on them exist dating to about 300 BC up to around 150 AD.

Cavarillus

*Armament: Cudgel

-Upgrade: A large socket axe and shield, or a sword and shield

*Appearance

-Body: A very tall human. Should not seem savage, giants to the Gauls were held in high esteem, even if often depicted as enemies. Long hair, a tall, willowy but well-toned body.

-Clothing: Barechested, with a neck torc and plaid trousers like a normal Celtic warrior.

-Upgrades: Tunic and helmet for advanced, scale or mail armor for elite

*History: Giants in Celtic myth are extremely common, and vary widely. Some are great one-eyed beasts or many-headed ogrish creatures, but some were supposed to be friends of 'other' men, a recognition of giants being humans, simply massive in size. They would largely appear to be like other men, dressing like them, fighting similarly, but tall as two men, and often lean in appearance, different from the thick, huge juggernauts of many other myths. Truly monsterous giants were often quite a bit bigger, particularly in Gaelic and later Welsh myth, were giants could stand as tall as a hill. However, in Gallic myth, they appear to have simply been notably big men, and took for them normal wives.

*Reference: Giants figure in Celtic myths heavily. Figures of giants are extremely common in Celtic gravesites or religious sites. Giants vary in myths from monsters, like the one-eyed primordial god Balor of Ireland who killed with his great eye, to heroes like Find mac Cumail. In Arthurian legend, Arthur defeats a giant on the continent. Sucellos and the Dagda were depicted as naked giants with a hammer or cudgel when they took human forms. Giants were thought to have created various things, such as Stonehenge, or the Giant's Causeway.

Tavisi

*Armament: Ancient Celtic axe, spear, or sword and shield, Hallstatt era.

-Upgrade: A flaming weapon

*Appearance

-Body & Clothing: A ghostly, ashy-colored figure in armor and helmet, variants without either; the armor is irrelevant to their stats. Should appear wounded.

*History: Phantoms in Celtic myth have many origins. These are specifically the souls of dead soldiers killed in battle. Celts regularly prayed to their ancestors, particularly warriors who had passed on, to request their aide in times of strife, though, probably not so literally. They were sometimes depicted with firey weapons of great power, but not always.

*Reference: Very common in Celtic myths all over the Celtic world. Bloody Bones is sometimes said to have once been a Cornish Celtic soldier betrayed in battle and slain by his own captain, for example. The Morrigu (Morrigan) in Gaelic myth and her rival, Donn, both deities of death, had armies of them. Dis Pater on the continent allowed dead soldiers to swear loyalty for him and serve in his army.

Betrix

*Armament: Biting, devouring men whole

*Appearance

-Body: A massive, four legged lizard-like beast, with a very long tail, and webbed toes. A wingless dragon with bronze, yellow, green, or red scales.

-Clothing: ...It's a dragon. Maybe upgrade to have wings?

*History: Dragons in Celtic myth typically do not have wings or breath fire, though some do expell a poisonous mist, and a few very particular ones do expell fire. Some do possess wings, but these mainly appear to have been deities, like Dewi of Cambria. Dragons are, to Celts, largely just enormous, somewhat intelligent serpents or lizards that live in the sea or under hills and mountains. They do not tend to trouble about the business of men unless properly motivated, usually by a chance at treasure, much like many Celtic mercenary warriors. They represented ferocity and loyalty to a tribe, being the children of Teutatis, the tribe-father.

*Reference: Figures of dragons are very common in Celtic art, though the most famous surviving image is probably that of Dewi, which is on the flag of Wales. Figurines of dragons for religious purposes are usually found without wings though. The names applied to them are also typically vague. The Gallic name 'betrix', means 'beast-king', which was also applied to other large monsters, and another common name, sevilis, simply means 'serpent' and was used the same as snake.

Helenes

Cyclops

*Armament: Large wooden club, strength

-Upgrade: Spiked club

*Appearance

-Body: Giant, one eye, small ears, horn varies

-Clothing: Loin cloth, uprgade to crossed belts and thick armbands

*History: A cyclops is a member of a primordial race of giants, each with a single round eye in the middle of its forehead. Commonly, the term "Cyclops" refers to a particular son of Poseidon and Thoosa named Polyphemus who was a Cyclops. Another member of this group of Cyclopes was Telemus, a seer.

*Reference:

Cerberus

*Armament: Sharp teeth

*Appearance

-Body: Three-headed dog

-Upgrades: Add spiked collar and extra snake heads to the tail.

*History: Cerberus or Kerberos was the hound of Hades, a monstrous three-headed dog with a snake for a tail (sometimes said to have 50 or 100 heads) called a hellhound. Other hell hounds included Orthus, his two headed brother. Cerberus guarded the gate to Hades and ensured that spirits of the dead could enter, but none could exit (additionally, no living person was to come into Hades). Among his siblings are Chimera and the Hydra. He is the offspring of Echidna and Typhon.

*Reference:

Centaur

*Armament: Bow/Sword/Spear/Axe

*Appearance

-Body: Horse body with a human torso

-Clothing: None until advanced, then gains crossed belts and finally a sash and armbands

*History: Centaurs are a race of creatures composed of part human and part horse. In early Attic vase-paintings, they are depicted as the torso of a human joined at the (human's) waist to the horse's withers, where the horse's neck would be. This half-human and half-animal composition has led many writers to treat them as liminal beings, caught between the two natures, embodied in contrasted myths, and as the embodiment of untamed nature, as in their battle with the Lapiths, or conversely as teachers, like Chiron.

*Reference:

Gorgons/Medusa

*Armament: Eyes that turn men to stone, sharp talons and tusks

*Appearance

-Body: Wings of gold, a human head with hair of snakes, brazen claws and the tusks of boars

*History: Gorgon was a vicious female monster with sharp fangs and hair of living, venomous snakes.Gorgons are sometimes depicted as having wings of gold, brazen claws, and the tusks of boars. According to the myths, seeing the face of a Gorgon turned the viewer to stone. Homer speaks of only one Gorgon (Medusa, the only mortal gorgon who could not fly), whose head is represented in the Iliad as fixed in the center of the aegis of Zeus.

*Reference:

Pegasus

*Armament:

*Appearance

-Body: A winged horse, but everyone knows what Pegasus is.

*History: Pegasus was a winged horse that was the son of Poseidon, in his role as horse-god, and the Gorgon Medusa. Athena caught and tamed Pegasus, and presented him to the Muses at Mount Parnassus. After he became the horse of the Muses, he was at the service of the poets. Pegasus aided the hero Bellerophon (or in later versions Perseus) in his fight against both the Chimera and the Amazons.

*Reference:

Iberians

Persians

Manticore

*Armament: Ranged scorpion spines, thundering voice and lion head can attack.

*Appearance

-Body: Although legend says that the manticore possesses a human head, we will use a lion head because it doesn't look weird.

*History: The manticore is a legendary creature similar to the Egyptian Sphinx. It has the body of a red lion, a human head with three rows of sharp teeth, and a trumpet-like voice. Other aspects of the creature vary from story to story. It may be horned or not. The tail is either of a dragon or a scorpion, and it may shoot poisonous spines to either paralyze or kill its victims.

*Reference:

Roc

*Armament: Wings, talons.

*Appearance

-Body: A huge beautiful bird. But not too huge. You could compare the size of 0 A.D.'s ships to their full-size components for a good ratio.

*Notes: This unit will not transport units or carry that stupid tent around in its talons like it does in Age of Mythology. ES was just trying to create an interesting advantage for the Egyptians.

*History: A roc or rukh is an enormous mythical bird of prey in Persian Mythology (that's right, AoM stole from the Persians), often white, reputed to have been able to carry off and eat elephants.

*Reference:

Angha/Simorgh

*Armament:

*Appearance

-Body: A colorful flying peacock with the head of a dog and the claws of a lion.

*History: Simorgh also known as Angha is the modern Persian name for a fabulous, benevolent, mythical flying creature. The figure can be found in all periods of Greater Iranian art and literature, and is evident also in the iconography of medieval Armenia, Byzantium and other regions that were within the sphere of Iranian cultural influence.

*Reference:

Karkadann

*Armament:

*Appearance

-Body: The literal translation to English is rhinoceros, so I'm assuming that it's just a rhino, and we'll decorate it.

*History: The Karkadann was a mythical unicorn-like creature said to live on the grassy plains of India, Persia and North Africa. The karkadann was an extremely ferocious beast, driving away from its territory animals as big as the elephant. It is said it would fight an elephant and kill it. It would then hoist it above its head in triumph using its horn, before going blind as the elephant's fat flowed into its eyes as it melted in the sun.

*Reference:

Huma

*Armament: Healing abilities

*Appearance

-Body: A phoenix-like bird that joins both the male and female natures together in one body, each sharing a wing and a leg.

*History: The Huma, also known as the "bird of paradise," is a Persian mythological bird, similar to the Egyptian phoenix, which consumes itself in fire every few hundred years, only to rise anew from the ashes. It is considered to be a compassionate bird. The touch of the huma bird is said to bring great fortune. The huma joins both the male and female natures together in one body, each sharing a wing and a leg. It avoids killing for food, rather preferring to feed on carrion. The Persians teach that great blessings come to that person on whom the huma's shadow falls.

*Reference:

Romans

Harpy

*Armament: breathes fire and has lion/snake attacks.

*Appearance

-Body from Homer's brief description in the Iliad is the earliest literary reference: "a thing of immortal make, not human, lion-fronted and snake behind, a goat in the middle, and snorting out the breath of the terrible flame of bright fire"; from Hesiod's Theogony following the Homeric description: "a creature fearful, great, swift-footed and strong, who had three heads, one of a grim-eyed lion; in her hinderpart, a dragon; and in her middle, a goat, breathing forth a fearful blast of blazing fire. Although some myths tell us that it was the serphant or either the third head which in some descriptions is a dragon would breath a most dreadful blaze of fire. Here did Pegasus and noble Bellerophon slay."

*History: Harpies were mainly winged death-spirits (Harrison 1903, p 176ff), best known for constantly stealing all food from Phineas. The literal meaning of the word seems to be "that which grabs" which means to grab.The Harpy could also bring life. A Harpy was the mother by the West Wind Zephyros of the horses of Achilles (Iliad xvi. 160). In this context Jane Harrison adduced the notion in Virgil's Georgics that mares became gravid by the wind alone, marvelous to say.

*Reference:

Chimera

*Armament:

*Appearance

-Body: The head of a lion, the tail of snakes and a goat in the middle.

*History: The Chimera is a monstrous creature of Lycia in Asia Minor, which was made of the parts of multiple animals. Chimera was one of the offspring of Typhon and Echidna and sister of such monsters as Cerberus and the Lernaean Hydra.

*Reference:

Griffin

*Armament:

*Appearance

-Body: Body of a lion, head and wings of an eagle

*History: The Griffon (alternate spellings include griffin and gryphon) is a legendary creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle. As the lion was traditionally considered the king of the beasts and the eagle the king of the birds, the griffin was thought to be an especially powerful and majestic creature.[3] In antiquity it was a symbol of divine power and a guardian of the divine.

*Reference:

Basilisk

*Armament:

*Appearance

-Body: body and head of a chicken, tail of a snake and the wings of a dragon or eagle (mixed sources).

*History: A basilisk is a legendary reptile reputed to be king of serpents and said to have the power of causing death by a single glance. According to the Naturalis Historia of Pliny the Elder, the basilisk is a small snake that is so venomous that it leaves a wide trail of deadly venom in its wake, and its gaze is likewise lethal. The rooster's crow is deadly to the Basilisk.

Minotaur

*Armament: An axe

*Appearance

-Body: A human with the head, legs and tail of a bull

-Clothing: A loin cloth or the lower half of a tunic, very minimal

-Upgrades: Greaves, armbands, waistbands, light armor similar to gladiators are all upgrading indicators that we'll decide on later.

*Reference:

There it is, 5 myth units per civilization. You'll have to do some research for the Carthaginians and Iberians, unfortunately.