[Terra Magna] Terra Magna is now available!

[asterix]

The Council is both happy and proud to announce a new release!!!

 

What is it?

Terra Magna is a total conversion mod for 0 A.D. focusing on Asian, American and African civilizations. This mod used to be called Rise of the East (RotE). The name of this release is simply Terra Magna in recognition of the recent change. It is based on Alpha 23 release so do not forget to install it first(https://play0ad.com/new-release-0-a-d-alpha-23-ken-wood/).;)

What is new?

Thanks to Alexandermb talented new modder that is responsible for a lot of the new models especially Xiongnu faction, Wackyserious our new texture artist, Stanislas69 our artist doing Han Chinese buildings and Zapotec units and templates Lion.Kanzen icon and texture artist doing new logos, localized words plus a lot of historical research, Niektb (icon, texture, building artist and mapmaker) responsible for maintaining work plus work on Zapotecs and Han Chinese and thanks to Lordgood 0 A.D.’s lead artist, who helped us immensely to introduce you to Zapotec civilization as a whole. This release we are happy to introduce you to two new civilizations Zapotecs and Xiongnu, Han Chinese faction are updated this release as well.

 

Zapotecs

The Zapotec civilization that flourished in the lands of America to the far West.

This release Zapotecs are introduced and they have an almost full roster of amazing buildings such as new market, a variation of houses, corral, blacksmith, civic centre and special types of pyramids with red carvings or paint.

Xiongnu

The Xiongnu nomadic tribes have come and they have some new tricks to show you.

This release we are happy to introduce you to first nomadic civilization that has some interesting playstyle.  

Han Chinese

From Rise of the East we are reintroducing you to Han Chinese that this release got new wonder, blacksmith, animations, cavalry crossbowmen and textures.

New skirmish map Tarim Basin created by wowgetoffyourcellphone.

Many smaller changes were made in this release too, but it would be too elaborate to list them all.

 

How to:

1. Unzip the download but leave the inner archive intact.
2. Place the unzipped folder into /binaries/data/mods. You'll see another folder there called 'public'.
3. Launch the game and enable the mod in Options>Mod Selection. Press 'Start Mods'.
4. Enjoy the mod!

Download:

https://0ad.mod.io/terra-magna

ModIO installation:

1. Main menu -> Configuration -> Mods -> Download -> double-click

In the last few years, some members retired leaving us shorthanded. We are currently especially in the need of artists. So if you're a talented artist with a passion for history and you would like to help us out, please contact us using a PM or (preferably) in this thread: https://wildfiregames.com/forum/index.php?/forum/423-rise-of-the-east/ Thanks in advance!

Our thanks go to everyone that helped us to achieve this mod through contributing, playtesting or in another way!
If you have tips/suggestions, feel free to let us know. Also if you find bugs, let them know too. Support 0 A.D. if you like us: Play0ad.com

The main menu background is made by Lordgood. You can find him here: https://www.deviantart.com/lordgood

The soundtracks are created by Omri Lahav. You can find more of his work here:

https://www.omrilahav.com/

and some in-game civilization soundtracks created by Lordgood and Niektb. You can find more of his work here: https://www.deviantart.com/lordgood

Terra Magna 0.23 changelog.rtf

Edited August 11, 2018 by asterix

[Loki1950]

Just a nit pick wrong species of camel should be Bractian (two hump) not dromedary.

Enjoy the Choice  

[LordGood]

I would get rid of the proto-(x) discriptors.

[Stan`]

9 hours ago, LordGood said:

I would get rid of the proto-(x) discriptors.

Wut ?

[wowgetoffyourcellphone]

11 hours ago, asterix said:

proto-Aztec civilization

 

[Sundiata]

44 minutes ago, stanislas69 said:

Wut ?

 

12 hours ago, asterix said:

proto-Aztec

Zapotecs were enemies of the Aztecs. The proto-Nahuan language, Nahuatl being the language of the Aztecs, seems to have appeared in Mexica around 500 AD, more than a millennium after the establishment of the Zapotec culture.

 

12 hours ago, asterix said:

proto-Hun

There is little consensus on the Huns descending from the Xiongnu (there's even some controversy). It's one of the proposed theories, but Mongolic and Turkic are also often cited as descendants, even the Uyghurs claim descent. As for the origin of the Xiongnu (language), Iranian/Scythian and Yeniseian (Siberian) are mentioned.  

 

Nice work on the release though! Can't wait to play it  !

Edited August 11, 2018 by Sundiata

[asterix]

14 hours ago, LordGood said:

I would get rid of the proto-(x) discriptors.

 

3 hours ago, Sundiata said:

Zapotecs were enemies of the Aztecs. The proto-Nahuan language, Nahuatl being the language of the Aztecs, seems to have appeared in Mexica around 500 AD, more than a millennium after the establishment of the Zapotec culture.

 

3 hours ago, Sundiata said:

There is little consensus on the Huns descending from the Xiongnu (there's even some controversy). It's one of the proposed theories, but Mongolic and Turkic are also often cited as descendants, even the Uyghurs claim descent. As for the origin of the Xiongnu (language), Iranian/Scythian and Yeniseian (Siberian) are mentioned.  

Thanks for noticing already corrected

 

3 hours ago, Sundiata said:

Nice work on the release though! Can't wait to play it  !

Thank you for your kind words. Hope you will like it.

[Servo]

It’s nice to try this mod again but I’m wondering why this mod and mil AD are not or can’t be combined. I think the mechanics are the same and its easier and more fun to try the new Civs pitted against each other. 

I played this mod before and it’s quite fun to play the Zapotecs. I hope this time Xiongnu is complete and be more fun to play against. 

[Guest]

13 minutes ago, Servo said:

It’s nice to try this mod again but I’m wondering why this mod and mil AD are not or can’t be combined

Terra Magna features civs that were from the same time period as vanilla unlike Millenium AD. Atleast, thats what I think.

[Servo]

I don’t think time frames matter right now. Each mod has vanilla Civs playable too. They gather same resources and units specs are the same.

[elexis]

Congratulations on the release!

The announcement is both informing and entertaining and makes one interested in playing this new version. The nomad screenshot is flawless.

Some feedback on the screenshotst:

Spoiler

• Before creating the scene to be depicted, make sure that the black map border is not in view if possible. It represents a hard end, an unfinished map. (Depending on the camera angle it means the horizon has to be visible, which may be covered up with terrain or trees.)
• If preparing the scenes in atlas, you might want to paint some roads under the buildings, as it is unlikely / unfamiliar that they stand directly on grasslands.
• There is a hotkey for 6400*4800 screenshots. But they are stored as huge BMP files and still  10-20MB in size in JPEG with 90% quality (see ours).

and for the feature presentation:

Spoiler

• The introduction of the two new civs could be highlighted a bit more in the text and some catchy details could be mentioned.
• Maybe a closeup of one or two buildings and units in action
• Some historic and geographic  information to provide more context.

(not that these are important defects, rather ways to spend time on the computer)

[Guest]

Regarding the black border, placing one of those large horizon “bill boards” towards the camera may also be a solution. Havent actually tried it myself, so might not work out as well it did in my head.

[asterix]

1 hour ago, elexis said:

Congratulations on the release!

The announcement is both informing and entertaining and makes one interested in playing this new version. The nomad screenshot is flawless.

Some feedback on the screenshotst:

  Reveal hidden contents

• Before creating the scene to be depicted, make sure that the black map border is not in view if possible. It represents a hard end, an unfinished map. (Depending on the camera angle it means the horizon has to be visible, which may be covered up with terrain or trees.)
• If preparing the scenes in atlas, you might want to paint some roads under the buildings, as it is unlikely / unfamiliar that they stand directly on grasslands.
• There is a hotkey for 6400*4800 screenshots. But they are stored as huge BMP files and still  10-20MB in size in JPEG with 90% quality (see ours).

and for the feature presentation:

  Reveal hidden contents

• The introduction of the two new civs could be highlighted a bit more in the text and some catchy details could be mentioned.
• Maybe a closeup of one or two buildings and units in action
• Some historic and geographic  information to provide more context.

(not that these are important defects, rather ways to spend time on the computer)

I see that still there many things to improve, some of those things I already internally discussed with @stanislas69 .

2 hours ago, Servo said:

It’s nice to try this mod again but I’m wondering why this mod and mil AD are not or can’t be combined. I think the mechanics are the same and its easier and more fun to try the new Civs pitted against each other. 

I played this mod before and it’s quite fun to play the Zapotecs. I hope this time Xiongnu is complete and be more fun to play against. 

Well, technically it could be done but spiritually not because both mods, as mentioned by smiley, are going different ways and depicting different events. About the Xiongnu they are still not complete because some of those missing things could not be found enough evidence to visualize it or some of our artists already wanted to go on vacation so to speak.

1 hour ago, (-_-) said:

Regarding the black border, placing one of those large horizon “bill boards” towards the camera may also be a solution. Havent actually tried it myself, so might not work out as well it did in my head.

Thank you for the hints, down the road I may look into it.

[wowgetoffyourcellphone]

10 hours ago, Servo said:

It’s nice to try this mod again but I’m wondering why this mod and mil AD are not or can’t be combined. I think the mechanics are the same and its easier and more fun to try the new Civs pitted against each other. 

I played this mod before and it’s quite fun to play the Zapotecs. I hope this time Xiongnu is complete and be more fun to play against. 

 

10 hours ago, (-_-) said:

Terra Magna features civs that were from the same time period as vanilla unlike Millenium AD. Atleast, thats what I think.

 

10 hours ago, Servo said:

I don’t think time frames matter right now. Each mod has vanilla Civs playable too. They gather same resources and units specs are the same.

I'll reiterate my 0 A.D. Epoch idea (rhymes with "epic").  Eventually, many of these mods can be folded into the "main" game and then the host of a match can determine which "epochs" of civs the players can choose from. The same way the host can choose different victory conditions. So, there can be these epochs (the exact names can be up for debate in another thread, don't debate them here): 

Bronze Age

• Assyrians, Babylonians, Egyptians, Hittites, Trojans, Mycenaeans, Minoans, Israelites, et al.

Classical Antiquity

• Essentially the current Empires Ascendent roster plus a few more. Zapotecs, Western Han, Xiongnu from Terra Magna, plus some of the others we've talked about, like the Thracians, Scythians, Parthians, etc.

Late Antiquity

• Principate Rome, Sassanids, Guptas, Germans, Huns, Aksumites, Nabataeans, et al., the Empires Besieged era. 

Middle Ages

• Millennium AD potential roster. Mayans, Arab Caliphates, Carolingians, Norse, Mongols, et al. 

Renaissance

• Early gunpowder (you still have pikes and heavy cavalry at this time). Aztecs, French, English, Ming, Songhai, Incans, 

The host can choose any one or multiple epochs and the available civs list populates accordingly. Some civs that don't change much (please don't argue this point here), like the Scythians could populate more than one epoch (Bronze Age and Classical Antiquity for example), while some that we do have a lot of reference material for changes can also populate multiple epochs,  but essentially be very different civs in each epoch (Romans: Classical Antiquity, Late Antiquity, and Middle Ages; Chinese: Classical Antiquity, Late Antiquity, Middle Ages, Renaissance; essentially differently playing and looking civs, but still called "Romans" or "Chinese" in each, just with an epithet like Republican/Principate/Byzantine or Western Han/Eastern Han/Tang/Ming).

Of course, this would be a long term plan. Perhaps a plan to implement later after Empires Ascendant is released, instead of the old "Part II" idea. By then there will be a lot more mods and the current mods will be a lot more mature too (in a state that can be merged with the main game).

 

-----------------------------

Some additional examples:

Romans (as an example of a long-running civ) can populate multiple epochs like so: 

Bronze Age 

• Rome (Monarchy)

Classical Antiquity

• Rome (Republic)

Late Antiquity 

• Rome (Principate)

Middle Ages

• Rome (Byzantine)

In each one, the armies are much different and the architecture is much different. Not to mention the technologies. The host could choose the Late Antiquity and Middle Ages epochs and the Rome (Principate) and Rome (Byzantine) civs would be available along with all the other civs of those 2 epochs. Or the host could choose to narrow the historical epoch to just one, repopulating the available civs to that one epoch.

Edited August 12, 2018 by wowgetoffyourcellphone

[Lion.Kanzen]

Quote

Bronze Age 

• Rome (Monarchy)

 

Late Bronze Age.

[LordGood]

Very nice, Zapotecs and their battle priests just as fun to roll around with as I remembered. The Han need a sentry tower eh?

[Lion.Kanzen]

The origin of Aztecs.

https://www.thoughtco.com/aztec-origins-the-founding-of-tenochtitlan-

Quote

The Aztecs, or, more properly, the Mexica as they called themselves, were not originally from the Valley of Mexico but rather migrated from the north. They called their homeland Aztlan, "The Place of Herons.", but Aztlan is a location which has not as yet been identified archaeologically and was likely at least partly mythical. According to their own records, the Mexica and other tribes were known as a group as the Chichimeca, left their homes in northern Mexico and the southwestern United States because of a great drought. This story is told in several surviving codices (painted folding books), in which the Mexica are shown carrying with them the idol of their patron deity Huitzilopochtli. After two centuries of migration, at around AD 1250, the Mexica arrived in the Valley of Mexico.

 

Today, the Basin of Mexico is filled with the sprawling metropolis of Mexico City; but underneath the modern streets are the ruins of Tenochtitlán, the site where the Mexica settled, and the capital city for the Aztec empire.

 

Edited August 12, 2018 by Lion.Kanzen

[astheroth]

It looks awesome. Good Jobs. I will test it as soon as I can

[wowgetoffyourcellphone]

On 8/10/2018 at 6:03 PM, Loki1950 said:

Just a nit pick wrong species of camel should be Bractian (two hump) not dromedary.

 

The game definitely needs some Bactrian Camels.

[Sundiata]

4 hours ago, wowgetoffyourcellphone said:

Bactrian

I'm surprised that the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom isn't suggested more often. Their contact with the Maurya Empire and the Seleucids go without saying, but there's also interplay with the Scythians, wars with the Yuezhi and most exciting of all, they bordered the Chinese (on the doorstep of the Xiongnu), possibly even fighting them in Xinjiang in 220BC. Unlike the mythical Roman-Chinese contact, the Greek-Chinese contact was totally real! They're probably also the least "Greek" of the Hellenistic civilizations, partly converting to Buddhism, as well as having resident Hindu and Zoroastrian populations.

 

Spoiler

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greco-Bactrian_Kingdom

"Probable statuette of a Greek soldier, wearing a version of the Greek Phrygian helmet, from a 3rd-century BC burial site north of the Tian Shan, Xinjiang Region Museum, Urumqi."

 

Probable Greek soldier in the Sampul tapestry, woollen wall hanging, 3rd–2nd century BC, Sampul, Urumqi Xinjiang Region Museum.

 

Contacts with the Han Empire[edit]

To the north, Euthydemus also ruled Sogdiana and Ferghana, and there are indications that from Alexandria Eschate the Greco-Bactrians may have led expeditions as far as Kashgar and Ürümqi in Xinjiang, leading to the first known contacts between China and the West around 220 BC. The Greek historian Strabo too writes that: "they extended their empire even as far as the Seres(Chinese) and the Phryni". (Strabo, XI.XI.I).^[10]

Several statuettes and representations of Greek soldiers have been found north of the Tien Shan, on the doorstep to China, and are today on display in the Xinjiang museum at Urumqi (Boardman).^[16] Middle Eastern or Greek influences on Chinese art have also been suggested (Hirth, Rostovtzeff). Designs with rosette flowers, geometric lines, and glass inlays, suggestive of Egyptian, Persian, and/or Hellenistic influences,^[17] can be found on some early Han dynasty bronze mirrors.^{[18][citation needed]}

Some speculate that Greek influence is found in the artworks of the burial site of China's first Emperor Qin Shi Huang, dating back to the 3rd century BC, including in the manufacture of the famous Terracotta army. This idea suggested that Greek artists may have come to China at that time to train local artisans in making sculptures^[19][20] However, this idea is disputed by Chinese scholars.^[21]

Numismatics also suggest that some technology exchanges may have occurred on these occasions: the Greco-Bactrians were the first in the world to issue cupro-nickel (75/25 ratio) coins,^[22] an alloy technology only known by the Chinese at the time under the name "White copper" (some weapons from the Warring States period were in copper-nickel alloy).^[23] The practice of exporting Chinese metals, in particular iron, for trade is attested around that period. Kings Euthydemus, Euthydemus II, Agathocles and Pantaleon made these coin issues around 170 BC and it has alternatively been suggested that a nickeliferous copper ore was the source from mines at Anarak.^[24]Copper-nickel would not be used again in coinage until the 19th century.

The presence of Chinese people in India from ancient times is also suggested by the accounts of the "Ciñas" in the Mahabharata and the Manu Smriti. The Han Dynasty explorer and ambassador Zhang Qian visited Bactria in 126 BC, and reported the presence of Chinese products in the Bactrian markets:

"When I was in Bactria (Daxia)", Zhang Qian reported, "I saw bamboo canes from Qiong and cloth made in the province of Shu (territories of southwestern China). When I asked the people how they had gotten such articles, they replied, "Our merchants go buy them in the markets of Shendu (India)." (Shiji 123, Sima Qian, trans. Burton Watson).

Upon his return, Zhang Qian informed the Chinese emperor Han Wudi of the level of sophistication of the urban civilizations of Ferghana, Bactria and Parthia, who became interested in developing commercial relationships with them:

The Son of Heaven on hearing all this reasoned thus: Ferghana (Dayuan) and the possessions of Bactria (Daxia) and Parthia (Anxi) are large countries, full of rare things, with a population living in fixed abodes and given to occupations somewhat identical with those of the Chinese people, and placing great value on the rich produce of China. (Hanshu, Former Han History).

A number of Chinese envoys were then sent to Central Asia, triggering the development of the Silk Road from the end of the 2nd century BC.^[25]

 

"Map of the Greco-Bactrian at its maximum extent, circa 180 BC."

 

Ai Khanoum (Afghanistan): 17510391.pdf

 

https://www.academia.edu/6748335/The_Spatial_Organization_of_Ai_Khanoum_a_Greek_City_in_Afghanistan_American_Journal_of_Archaeology_118.2_p._267-283

[updated]

 

Sorry @stanislas69, I did it again, didn't I?  If there's interest I might start a separate topic for them...

Edited August 12, 2018 by Sundiata

[Stan`]

55 minutes ago, Sundiata said:

Sorry @stanislas69, I did it again, didn't I?  If there's interest I might start a separate topic for them...

I've found the best way to startle interest here is to provoke it

so if that's something you are interested in feel free to go ahead.

[wackyserious]

What should we work on next? Scythians? Thracians?

[Trinketos]

I liked the Xiongnu, and more when you train a lot of cavalry all over the map.

[wowgetoffyourcellphone]

1 hour ago, wackyserious said:

What should we work on next? Scythians? Thracians?

The latest issue of Ancient Warfare Magazine is about the 4th century BC Thracians. Pretty cool issue. Scythians can use Xiongnu assets as placeholders,

Edited August 13, 2018 by wowgetoffyourcellphone

[wackyserious]

The Thracian building set was already started by Stan too, merging the assets to the mod could be a good start.

What if we also include the added factions of DE (Thebans, Epirotes) to Terra Magna?