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Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2006 8:39 am

Hello, I am the modeller and co-leader, with tom, of Zulu: Total War, a modification of the Total War game. My name's Julian but on our other forums I am known as Sundjata. I'm glad that you have taken an interest in out project and so I thought some screenshots would be appropriate, I gather you have seen mainly works in progress so far?

Here are some Zulu units, the one with the British coat still needs some work.

Here are some British Gloucesters

And a slightly low quality screenshot of them firing (smoke and bullets have not been added yet, in fact they still shoot out arrows but we have done tests and we can get smoke)

That's all for now, I'll post some more screenshots as they come. We have a lot of works in progress at the moment and some units such as the Batavian Dragoons that are finished but we have not done screenshots.

If you spot any historical innacuracies please say. Some we know of and have had to work around but we would like to know anyway if you have spotted any.

Regards,

Julian

Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2006 9:26 am

Hey Sundjata!

Guys this is THE REAL magician behind our mod and nothing, absolutely NOTHING would happen without his mad modding and modelling skillz!

Tom "Harlechman"
Zulu Total War Team, RTW

Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2006 11:50 am

Absolutely fantastic !

The Zulu Warrior images are great, as are the soldiers.

Last year I looked around the internet for wargaming figures, buildings, etc., but a computer strategy simulation game based on AZW battles (especially Isandlwana) will be brilliant.

I appreciate the amount of work necessary to create such a game, and look forward to future updates and screenshots.

Good luck to the Zulu Total War Team.

Watching with interest.

Coll

Posted: Sat Feb 18, 2006 9:35 am

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the first look at ZULU TOTAL WAR...

Yes it's missing the bell tents and wagons which actually still need to be modelled but thats generally what you will be seeing in the Late (1870-1884) period battles.

Enjoy,

Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2006 2:14 pm

Looking really good Tom.. I'm a real fan of this genre of game, and can't wait.. I should really go out and buy Rome: Total War!!

Peter

Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2006 8:55 pm

Peter

That's exactly what I was thinking. So much so, that I purchased a copy of a gaming magazine for any news and found a whole page featuring the cover of Rome Total War/Rome Total War Barbarian Invasion Expansion Pack in a Gold Edition.

Can someone tell me are DVD Rom and CD Rom games able to be played on the same computer, or is there a specific difference ?

My computer says DVD Rom, but I can play CD Rom games with it.

I find it all quite confusing.

Also, my computer's gameplaying capacity allows me to play Waterloo, Medal of Honour, Max Payne, but a few of the other games I have (Call of Duty, Shellshock, Prisoner of War, Ground Control, War and Peace) appear to need 128MB or more.

I really am still very much the novice, but do intend to get a more up-to-date computer, hopefully this year, capable of playing these other games, rather than upgrade(?) this one.

What is Rome Total War and the expansion pack's playing requirements, regarding a computer's capability, and will it be the same for Zulu Total War ?

I don't know if what I have wrote has made any sense, but sometimes computer operation goes way beyond my understanding.

Coll

Posted: Mon Feb 20, 2006 12:48 am

Hi Coll,

Hehe.. I hear you! It's all pretty techy after a bit. The CD-ROM and DVD-ROM question relates to the disc itself. A CD-ROM can hold aroun 700Mb of data, whereas a DVD-ROM can hold at least 4.5Gb of data. So, if you have a DVD-ROM, you can read both CD's and DVD's, whereas of course, if you have only a CD-ROM drive, you would be unable to read DVD's.. The laser inside isn't upto it Smile

(sounds good eh?!)

Any half-decent and modern PC will have a DVD-ROM, but as you say, it says on the front anyway.

Having looked into http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/rome-total-war/550385p3.html for a review of Rome: Total War, it's not that demanding a game.. 1Ghz processor, 256Mb of memory and a 64Mb graphics card.

Having said all that, the faster, the better.. Certainly, if you're thinking of getting a new machine, it'll run very nicely indeed.

Did you get a demo disc with the game on it, or have I mis-read your message?

Peter

Posted: Mon Feb 20, 2006 1:17 am

Peter

Thanks for answering my question about the discs.

I couldn't ask anyone that I have dealings with at home, because it appears that I'm the one with the most knowledge about computers. Is that not scary ?!

My apologies for wording my post badly, as there was no demo game.

I had bought a copy of PC Gamer out of interest, and on looking through it found an excellent illustration of the cover of Rome Total War and Rome Total War Barbarian Invasion Expansion Pack Gold Edition box set.

At the bottom of the page there is a small screenshot.

The set seems to be available from this month.

Looks great. If Zulu Total War is anything like these games, it will be an absolute must for AZW enthusiasts.

I'm really looking forward to its completion.

Thanks again

Coll

Posted: Mon Feb 20, 2006 3:38 am

Hehehe... you should be able to run it without too much trouble even on an old machine like what I've got - Pentium III 566, 256RAM, CD Drive, ATI Radeon All in Wonder Video Capture card - I think though the key things are the Video capture card w/c gives me exceptional graphic performance (and it helps when I watch Zulu on the computer) and the RAM which can really boost machine performance. That being said I play with many of the bells and whistles turned down particularly for smoke and other heavy effects so (sigh) I may never see ZTW in its full glory. Upgrading at this point is impossible I'm afraid. That's another reason I've kept with texturing - 3D Studio Max 7 w/c is used to work on the models does not work with my system which is Windows 98. No worries, the game should run on your machine if its at least as good as what I got. That being said I must caution you that you will need to get Rome Total War AND Barbarian Invasion (BI) - though if that's what they got in the Gold Edition then it will be complete (I bought the compilation Medieval Total War and it's Viking Invasion (VI) expansion plus Rome and when Barbarian Invasion came out I bought that separately). Once that's there you're set!

Best wishes,

Posted: Mon Feb 20, 2006 8:39 am

Yes the joint pack of Rome Total War and Babarian Invasion is the best option for anyone without the game already as it reduces the cost. Our mod will of course be free so once you have the game and babarian invasion and once we've finished there is no extra cost.

Also, I'm actually modelling with 3ds Max 6, not 7. If you look at the prices you'll see why I have'nt upgraded yet Wink

Also, seen as this is the screenshots thread, here is the latest version of Melvil. He's still not quite complete and major adjustments are being made to the flag, the pistol and the vertex weighting (basically that will stop the elbow going thin and other bodily movements that look odd)

Here's a render:

But when it rendered it glossed over some of the textures, I'm not sure why so here is my modelling view to show you the real colour of the pistol, canteen and other accesories. Remember though this is the modelling window and therefore redued quality. It should be render quality as above in game (though that depends on how good your computer and graphics cards are)

Regards,

Sundjata

Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2006 1:55 pm

Julian and Tom

Thanks for the replies and images.

Pleased to say that I've got the Gold Edition box set today.

Although, as mentioned before, my computer only appears to play games around 64MB (or is it RAM ? ) Unless certain games have a minimum requirement, like Max Payne for instance, which I think is 128MB (or RAM) but allows my computer to play. However, maybe the game will be affected in some way. I don't know for sure.

I see there is a booklet with the box edition, obviously containing instructions on how to play the game. So, if anything at the moment, I'll be able to get an understanding of the game's operation.

Excellent stuff.

I did enquire about the best computer to get, regarding memory, etc., and was informed that the highest capability is 500 or so (MB/RAM). This capacity would allow me to play just about every game available, would it not ? Apparently, also PC Flight simulators ! Are they any good do you know ?

Anyway, thanks for activating this subject, as the abilities available now for gaming scenarios, etc., are absolutely amazing.

Looking forward to Zulu Total War, as well as other ideas about computer games, especially for Isandlwana and Rorke's Drift.

Coll

Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2006 11:48 pm

Hi Coll,

In and of itself Rome TW: BI is fun. It would be a good idea to familiarize yourself with the game systems by (what else) playing. I'm glad they finally went and released the two as a set (saves a lot hehehe)

Like I said a good minimum is a Pentium III (Pentium IV is naturally better) and it would be better if you had, well a trifle more RAM (I have 256). The game is rather heavy on the system because you have many detailed models (up to 10,000 men on the field says the blurb). That being said I play with just the units turned up to full detail, terrain maybe at half, trees at low, shadows at minimum if at all, smoke and fire usually not at all (those are the REAL framerate killers! - which is sad as I look forward to the day I will see a volley from the British line cloud up the screen). But if you set these to the minimum the game should be playable.

Yes the higher the capacity the more games you can run on the machine. I would recommend you also get a video capture card as these usually have very good graphic capabilities (I'm getting superb mileage with my ATI Radeon All In Wonder).

Just give us a holler if you hit a roadblock - and have FUN!

Best wishes,

Posted: Tue Mar 14, 2006 4:59 pm

Well I haven't updated much, which is mainly due to the fact that I haven't done much! But here is a render of a building. It is a British storage building for ammo. Hope you like it! All comments are welcome.

Regards,

Julian