New Mod: Halls of the Underkings

zepath · #1 February 6th, 2006, 04:21 PM

Hoburg Champions just not enough for you?

I say it's time to do justice to the little people of Dominions II. If you're up for a diminutive adventure, try this mod that replaces Ulm with a nation of slighty inebriated, heavily-armed dwarves.

Let me know what you all think and please offer help or suggestions if you see things that need improvement. Thank you.

*edit: The file has now been updated to include the full names list which I omitted on first upload.

WraithLord · #2 February 6th, 2006, 05:39 PM

First, I really like the mods banner and the units animations...

Although like the animation of the theme (the background for the GUI windows) I think it should be more transparent, as it is, it catches the eye and makes it hard to see the window content.

Also I see the mod comes with a new pretender, the stone king. Is it meant for earth bless strat?

I like the units, mostly the paladins and bolt thrower.

I'm not sure a dwarf scout is thematic.

The blessable mages are very good.

WraithLord · #3 February 6th, 2006, 06:02 PM

Zepath, seeing how you are making such nice mods I thought maybe I'll throw something your way in the hopes that it kindles your interest

There are two things I really would have like to see a mod for.
The first is the drow, aka dark elves. At least the way they are described by RA salvatore or maybe the similar to their representation in masters of magic.

The second could be a huge undertaking and probably not feasible but I'll say it anyway. It is a mod that reflects the noble houses of George Martine's song of ice and fire.

zepath · #4 February 6th, 2006, 09:37 PM

Quote:

There are two things I really would have like to see a mod for.
The first is the drow, aka dark elves. At least the way they are described by RA salvatore or maybe the similar to their representation in masters of magic.

The second could be a huge undertaking and probably not feasible but I'll say it anyway. It is a mod that reflects the noble houses of George Martine's song of ice and fire.

I would be quite interested in creating more mods. However, I'm still trying to iron out the kinks in those I've already made, and I have certain professional obligations that will be occupying much of my time through the next few weeks.

Dark Elves and/or Drow sound like a fascinating pursuit and would make a good replacement for Ermor or Vanheim. It would be exciting to play as the Drow against the Forest of Loren or vice versa. However, I don't know very much about the lore surrounding classic Forgotten Realms Drow or their representation in MoM. The only Dark Elves I've ever learned much about are those from the Warhammer miniatures game by Games Workshop. It will take some planning, but this is a good idea.

As for the houses from Song of Ice and Fire, I know nothing. You'll have to fill me in.

*edit: Since Dominions 3 is on the horizon and is supposed to have even greater modding freedom (?) perhaps I'll keep these ideas on the back burner and pay them full attention with the new game.

Endoperez · #5 February 7th, 2006, 08:24 AM

DomII mods will work with DomIII. Even then, new modding commands will probably appear.

IIRC, all themes will become their own nations, and that'll make it possible to edit e.g. Helheim of Vanheim into Dark Elves. The current Svartalfs (svart-black, alf-elf) are the Scandinavian version, more or less the dwarves of generic fantasy.

Daynarr · #6 February 7th, 2006, 08:48 AM

Quote:

Endoperez said:
DomII mods will work with DomIII.

Lets wait and see. I'm not sure of that but I hope you are right.

WraithLord · #7 February 7th, 2006, 08:46 AM

If you like reading books I'd recommend for you the "Dark elf trilogy" by R.A. Salvatore. This, I'm sure, will give you plenty of ideas for drow.

George Martin's ice and fire is another matter. It is imho one of the best fantasy stories and a must read. I'd recommend that you grab a copy of "A game of thrones" and start the journey.

It is true that dominions III is on the horizon. However it is possible that it will support DOM-II mods to some (large?) extent.

zepath · #8 February 7th, 2006, 12:49 PM

Quote:

WraithLord said:
If you like reading books I'd recommend for you the "Dark elf trilogy" by R.A. Salvatore. This, I'm sure, will give you plenty of ideas for drow.

George Martin's ice and fire is another matter. It is imho one of the best fantasy stories and a must read. I'd recommend that you grab a copy of "A game of thrones" and start the journey.

I've had some friends who've read Martin's series and loved it, but as I remember those books are heavy enough to kill someone with and I've never picked them up. I usually prefer science fiction over fantasy; e.g. Foundation, Starship Troopers, Ringworld, Hyperion, etc.. Nevertheless I am an avid reader and will have plenty of time for that sort of thing in the coming year. So, I may finally pick up one of Martin's novels.

On the issue of Dom3 and mods. It would be no problem to change simple things in a .dm file like unit ID number. That's why we have the Replace command

It's good to hear that mods will be at least similar in Dom3 if not totally compatible. My only worry now is that the graphics in Dom3 will advance considerably. If each monster had, for instance, more than two animations it would increase modding time significantly.

shovah · #9 February 6th, 2006, 06:12 PM

dude your mods hate me, i opened it and unzipped it to /mods and the folder isnt there... the only mods that havnt worked for me are yours (which sound like some of the best imo)

Endoperez · #10 February 6th, 2006, 07:25 PM

About the dark elves, and mods in general:
Check out Conquest of Elysium. Illwinter's first game with some interesting features that weren't transferred into Dominions series, it includes elves and dark elves, as well as trolls and draconians and dwarves. Dwarves specialized in siege engines, and had worm riders, and few other things.

Congrats on being able to do so many mods, especially the graphics.