Welcome to RJ - RotWK
Robert V. Johnson's modification to EA's BFMEII : The Rise of the Witch King
April to August News



8/24/2007: Mod Advances and a Public Beta

 Well, there is big news on the RJ-RotWK front, both for my mod as well as for BFME2 modding in general. This week Crashdoc, one of the beta testers, was able to crack one of the frustrations that have been plaguing those who mod BFME2. In the past, whenever the structures and other models were imported into RenX or 3DS Max, the uv mapping was always lost. Thus forcing us to re-map the structures before making any changes to animation, model, etc. Well, there is finally a way!

Using just a hex editor, you can modify the .w3d file in such a way that it can be imported with the mapping intact in just a few minutes by pieces together portions of the file from an existing structure. With Crashdoc's help, I put together a short tutorial/article on the site for anyone to use/follow:

http://www.the3rdage.net/item-219

Now what does this allow?

- Easy build-up and other building animations that used to require hours of re-mapping effort.
- The Dol Guldor walls can now be easily modified for a complete Mordor Wall System.
- Modify existing buildings for regions such as Amon Sul, Harad, Rhun, etc. in an effort to more easily complete a new faction.
- Easily modify living world buildings in order to transform the War of the Ring mode for new factions, buildings, etc.
- And so much more (a time saver that now allows much more to be possible)

I personally am very excited to see what this unlocks for the modding community, and thanks go out to Crashdoc for this discovery.

Now onto the next item. My 1.04 public version has been out a very long time, and it is time I released another public version that is both patch compatible as well as using the -mod command. While 1.05 is not complete, there are soo many things that are up and running within the mod that I feel it is time to do a mid-1.05 release. (1.05 will be considered finished once the factions are settled and a couple more maps are added to the campaign as well as all bugs are out of the campaign.)

So what is in this release and the mod in general?

- 10 factions (changing MotW to Gondor and added Rohan, Arnor, Evil Men - the usual)
- A new play style that is a mix of BFME1/BFME2 and Conquest/type mod. The maps use build-anywhere with the BFME1 Castles and there are 7 playable maps
- A return to BFME1 - smaller combinable hordes (All factions except Mordor, Angmar, Arnor, & Evil Men are done), all units can level to 10, Shell map, and other features
- The first 10 maps of a living world campaign - found in the WotR area
- A camera system expanded on Morgoth's Minas Tirith map and The Four Ages. With 4 camera angles and skies you will see BFME in a whole new light)
- A slew of new heroes/units for the factions.
- A new inn alliance system. Join forces with another faction to expand your troops.
- So many other smaller features, many from BFME2 1.05 - Walls only attackable by Siege, 1.05 leadership system, healing for monster units at a higher level, outer wall hub system, and just so much more.

There is so much stuff to the mod that I'm not sure even the beta testers have explored or know about all of the changes. The maps with the camera system:

BFME1 maps - Anorien, Belfalas, Brown Lands, Cair Andros, Dunharrow, Fords of Isen, Mouths of the Entwash
Maps in progess for Wars of the East - Rhun, Dagorland, Harad, Mount Doom, Evendim, Anfalas,
Other maps - The Shire, Mount Doom, Weathertop, Harlindon

RAR:
http://rjrotwk.the3rdage.net/Downloads/1-05/RJ_RotWK.rar

ZIP:
http://rjrotwk.the3rdage.net/Downloads/1-05/RJ_RotWK.zip

Now just remember, this is still a work in progress, so there is still work to be done, but I'm very proud of how it has come along.

Lastly, I want to mention to the credits for the mod. Along with Astrinax (2d art), Allathar (menu color scheme), and El Kevo (misc 2d art), the rest can be found in the following topic:

http://forums.revora.net/index.php?showtopic=50722

As always, thank you for playing,
Robert J.

 8/19/2007: Evil Men Building Anims, Rohan Walls, Rohan WotR

 Welcome to the first of the weekly (hopefully) updates. I thought I'd try to do update topics to show the progress of the mod to those who don't follow it so closely.

So here are some items done this past week or so:

1) I've begun re-mapping EA's Evil Men buildings so I can adjust them and do my own animations and more for them. This week I've done two along with build-up animations:

- Easterling Battle Tower - http://rjrotwk.the3rdage.net/skies/tower_buildup.wmv
- Harad Farm - http://rjrotwk.the3rdage.net/skies/harad_farm.wmv

2) Rohan added to War of the Ring:

Barracks (Based on TEA's barracks model):


Fortress:


AI Controlled:


3) I've re-reworked Rohan's buildable walls. (Fingulfin's walls used as the base) Also, I've added Flameguard's walls for Mordor. I've also begun work on their build-up animations and such:

Rohan Walls:




Mordor Walls:


4) I've re-worked almost all of the trolls to re-enable their walking animations of BFME1. (Including all of the transition states for each weaponstate etc.) Below is a quick example of the trolls walking and charging:

http://rjrotwk.the3rdage.net/skies/troll.wmv

5) Lastly, here are a couple of quick videos showing off the camera system (enhanced version of Morgoth's Minas Tirith map and Four Ages).

- http://rjrotwk.the3rdage.net/skies/elves-mordor.wmv
- http://rjrotwk.the3rdage.net/skies/aragorn-troll.wmv

I hope you all enjoy!
Robert J.

 4/1/2007: Version 1.04 has been released.
 What is in this release?
1) Two new maps have been added to the campaign - Isengard and Helm's Deep
2) All of the new heroes for the good campaign are found in the mod. To play some of them, select Minas Tirith in either Skirmish or Mutliplayer. For this map I have added more hereos to the Men, Elves, & Dwarves.
3) Rohan has been added enabled in Skirmish and Multiplayer. They are not fully complete. The next release will be to ensure their AI is working properly as well as allow them to play in WotR fully.
4) A brand new gameplay style has been introduced. You will be able to find "BFME1 RJ - Fords of Isen" in the Skirmish/Multiplayer maps. See the BFME1 Revisted for more details.
5) Some changes to previous maps as well as bug fixes. Iron Hills should not be so terribly overwhelming.

There was probably other smaller items, but these are the major.

Also, I already hear people asking what will be in the next update. For the next update I am going to focus on a couple of items. First, there has been so much content released with each version, I'm going to do a VERY thorough check to esure that all the heroes have appropriate AI, all units have the correct textures, all hordes have the correct banner carrier, etc. After this, I will be completing Rohan as a fully fledged faction - meaning I will be finishing their Power tree, adding the AI bases, ensuring the AI works properly on everything, etc. Next, I will be creating the evil heroes. I've done all of the good so far, and I would like to have all of the evil heroes created. Lastly, if this does not run too late, I will work on the next set of maps. So that is all for now, but I'd thought I'd give a heads up.

As always, thank you for playing.

4/1/2007: The Web Site Has Now Arrived

My first web site is now up!!!

Welcome to all of those who have followed this mod, especially those who have been around since its infancy as a restoration of BFMEII 1.06 within Rise of the Witch King. Feel free to browse the different areas of the site. Not all of it is complete, but I wanted to get something up. I will be updating all of the areas as often as possible with new information. When you feel ready, head on over to the forum to provide feedback/comments/complaints to your heart's content.

As always, thank you for playing.

One Ring to Rule Them All, One Ring to Find Them,
One Ring Bring Them All and in the Darkness Bind Them