402 replies to this topic

[oshron]

Thorfinn the Shallow Minded, on Nov 8 2010, 02:53 PM, said:

What is the Biblical reference for the Pentagram god power? Where is a hell hound in the Bible?

pentagrams are associated with the devil. hellhounds actually appear in numerous european legends, but giving them to the christians seemed the most fitting.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellhound

and its not JUST a hellhound that could be summoned, just an early-game christian myth unit; teh hellhound was just the only one that came to mind when i was typing that before. also note that i actually plan to make it so that both Dieu (i renamed Jehovah to give Him the french name for God, since the christian language will be rendered as french) and Lucifer can acquire the hellhound unit because of the obvious association of hellhounds with hell, but also because there's some thinking that hellhounds are actually used by God, not the devil, to keep the souls of the wicked from escaping hell

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There are actually hundreds of amazing things that the Bible mentions that you could consider a god power. For instance, let's take the siege of Gog and Magog. There are two potential god powers there. #1 God, rains down fire on the bad guys and #2 Satan causes the world to supply him with a massive army. (it is described as having the number of the sands of the sea and having magnificent armor and horses. I am not saying that they would have to be that big, but you could perhaps summon a fairly large army.) What about the Trumpet of death? That caused millions of horsemen to come over and slaughter over 1/3 of the earth's population with fire, sulfur, and smoke? (excepting Christians) As for Biblically accurate myth units, what about Seraphim, Cherabim, leviathons, chariot angels, messenger angels, demons that can posses humans and animals, kill humans, torture them, etc,...

thats very true, but remember that i have to consider the other civilizations as well. lucifer's pentagram is just the only one that ive put down so far i plan to give as many overtly bible-based powers and other abilities, creatures, etc to the christians, but i have to leave a fair number of other supernatural events and natural disasters aside for the other civilizations, and be creative whenever possible: i made one of the late-game greek god powers "solar flare", and as i envision it, that could very well look like the power of God raining down on sodom and gomorrah.

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As for the reason for conversion giving favor instead of the shear existence of Christians, may I remind you of the parable of the Prodigal Son or the shepherd finding the lost lamb. Angels do rejoice when a person is converted according to the Bible and Jesus commands Christians telling them to go out into the world and spread the Word of God. Christians are commanded to convert other people not just exist.

maybe i'll make it so that the christian hero unit, the crusader, generates favor whenever he converts an enemy unit (but only a small amount). and only mortals can be converted, so no getting heroes, demigods (super units), or myth units

btw, the christian myth units that i have down so far are: Antaeus (based on the divine comedy), Archangel, Basilisk, Cherub, Cockatrice, Fiery Serpent (subject to change), Furies (based on the divine comedy), Gargouille, Hellhound, Leopard (based on the divine comedy), Peluda, Quinotaur, Salamander, Tarasque, and Unicorn

yknow, i just realized that a fair number of those myth units are french in origin, and french is gonna be the christian language here


EDIT: i finally added the last myth units for the celts; before they were missing a few terrestrial MUs where they had only naval ones before. now, they have these myth units:

TOWN PHASE: Pech, Grindylow, Bogeyman, Banshee, Selkie

CITY PHASE: Questing Beast, Knucker, Lambton Worm, Jack-in-Irons

EMPIRE PHASE: Cu Sith, Green Knight, Lake Maiden, Dullahan, Niseag

LEGEND PHASE: Redcap, Water Giant, Leprechaun, Aughisky, Wyrm

Edited by oshron, 09 November 2010 - 02:18 AM.

[Aldandil]

Hm, if Angels and Archangels are available as myth units, what about other orders of angels? There is an angelology that posits seven "ranks" or choirs (I don't know the word used) of angels, I think they are Thrones, Powers, Dominions, Angels, Archangels, Cherubim, and Seraphim. I don't know which are the most powerful/important and which the important angels such as Michael, Gabriel, etc. belong to according to that angelology, but if you have the good lesser "gods" for the Christians be very important/high-ranked angels, then you could potentially use the lesser ranks of angels as myth units.

And I suppose that you could have demons that can possess enemy units, and maybe nephilim, as myth units specific to Lucifer.

Likewise, for the Mandinka Muslim civ, there could be good djinn and/or ifrit myth units specific to Allah, and evil djinn and/or ifrit myth units specific to Ibliss.

Edited by Aldandil, 09 November 2010 - 02:58 AM.

[oshron]

Aldandil, on Nov 8 2010, 06:58 PM, said:

Hm, if Angels and Archangels are available as myth units, what about other orders of angels? There is an angelology that posits seven "ranks" or choirs (I don't know the word used) of angels, I think they are Thrones, Powers, Dominions, Angels, Archangels, Cherubim, and Seraphim. I don't know which are the most powerful/important and which the important angels such as Michael, Gabriel, etc. belong to according to that angelology, but if you have the good lesser "gods" for the Christians be very important/high-ranked angels, then you could potentially use the lesser ranks of angels as myth units.

the cherub and archangel myth units are meant to be generic, nameless angels in the same feel as the regular mortal soldiers while the important angels like gabriel and michael function as minor "gods". btw, the cherub isnt the fat little winged infant that its usually depicted as, its a fierce warrior of God that flies low to the ground and uses a sword, while the archangel is a legitimate flying unit that attacks from above. i think i'll be going over the christian pantheon again and switch it up so that named archangels/seraphim are the late-game gods while patron saints replace the earlier ones. also, the idea of giving angels and whatnot to lucifer is kind of that those would be angels that are deceived by the devil and join him in rebellion against God

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And I suppose that you could have demons that can possess enemy units, and maybe nephilim, as myth units specific to Lucifer.

thats definitely a possibility; minor gods specific to a single major god arent uncommon

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Likewise, for the Mandinka Muslim civ, there could be good djinn and/or ifrit myth units specific to Allah, and evil djinn and/or ifrit myth units specific to Ibliss.

yeah, im mostly giving them djinn as myth units (also note that, in islam, the devil--Iblis--is held as a wicked djinn) to emphasize their muslim aspects while the rest are filled in with native african units, going outside their normal range only when necessary; im trying to give them as many legitimate west african creatures as possible, so they'd probably get something along the lines of a catoblepas as one of their MUs

[Thorfinn the Shallow Minded]

These are just several notes about angels. There are elect angels, angels that care for churches. Messenger angels are important in their own way and could actually do pretty cool stuff. (Look at the story of the announcement of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah.) Seraphim were dedicated to worshiping God. They are known to usually have six wings. Cherubim are by the way quite similar to seraphim as in they have six wings, but their function in the classes of angels is dedicated to protecting the holiness of God. They should also be depicted as very fiery. (Their name actually means "fiery".) They are also depicted with four heads in Ezekial chapter 1 and riding in a chariot. Actually, Lucifer was a cherub. Angels could do incredible feats such as striking entire armies with sickness and could move very massive rocks. The thing that I would emphasize the most about their overall physical characteristic of being very bright. Their flight pattern by the way, was described with only flapping one pair of wings. (Isaiah 1) As for heroes, I would suggest saints such as Saint George. The main problem with him though is that he is English.

[Aldandil]

Also, the winged humanoid version of angels isn't the only way they're depicted. They could be other, totally non-humanoid shapes, such as ophanim which look like spinning wheels covered with eyes. If you don't want to make all the angel myth units look similar and redundant, using the Biblical references for non-humanoid appearances would be very cool and arguably more accurate. As for using the cherub and archangel as myth units, it's worth checking to see if those are pretty high ranks, and maybe using one of the other ranks (ophanim, principalities, thrones, dominions, powers, virtues) might work better. You could try to find more info about them and what they do to serve God.

Edited by Aldandil, 09 November 2010 - 05:42 PM.

[oshron]

for the record, i plan to only use the aforementioned cherubs and archangels as myth units; all other angels that are mentioned would serve as minor "gods" (and one major "god" if you count lucifer )

as i always understood it, cherubs were basically like God's footsoldiers while archangels could, i guess, be called "problem-solvers" (kinda like the "state alchemists" from the anime 'Fullmetal Alchemist'; theyre brought out when the government has had it with people's bullshit). so, fittingly, cherubs are available very early while archangels come in very late

[Aldandil]

oshron, on Nov 9 2010, 01:34 PM, said:

as i always understood it, cherubs were basically like God's footsoldiers while archangels could, i guess, be called "problem-solvers" (kinda like the "state alchemists" from the anime 'Fullmetal Alchemist'; theyre brought out when the government has had it with people's bullshit).

So God brings out the archangels when He's fed up with a Christian civ player's lack of gaming skills?

Sorry, that sentence was too funny not to respond.

Edited by Aldandil, 10 November 2010 - 03:00 AM.

[oshron]

lol, i guess that pretty much sums it up

i made that comparison because, iirc, it was archangels that destroyed sodom and gomorrah. in short, you dont want to @#$% with them if you have the choice








buuut, for the purposes of the game, they would, of course, be powered down and not at all invincible like they are in the bible. theyd still be among the most powerful christian myth units, and flying gives them an added advantage, but i dont think theyd be any more powerful than the mesopotamian pazuzu or the semitic ziz (which are both flying MUs as well)

EDIT: any ideas for which patron saints i could use as minor "gods" for the christians, as long as we're on the subject?

Edited by oshron, 10 November 2010 - 04:37 AM.

[Aldandil]

I don't know anything about saints.

But what I meant about cherubim and archangels is that if they're the most important angels (and if archangels are invinvible then they must be pretty powerful) then using something else instead for that myth unit could make more sense. Thing is I don't know what role ophanim, thrones, powers, etc. serve in the Heavenly Host, but I think they're worth looking into if it is the case that they're less invincible/important/major than archangels.

[Thorfinn the Shallow Minded]

Saint George was the patron saint of England. Saint Lucy was the patron of the blind. (She is the source of the song Santa Lucia.) Saint Nicholas is well.... oh never mind. Michael is the saint of policemen. I will have to look into that a bit more though.

Edited by Thorfinn the Shallow Minded, 26 November 2010 - 12:08 PM.

[WhiteTreePaladin]

Thorfinn the Shallow Minded said:

I was also wondering, what is your belief of God, on the origin of the earth, on the purpose of man, and of afterlife

Those discussions are better had in the Hall of Intellectuals forum.

[Thorfinn the Shallow Minded]

ok

[Aldandil]

Oshron, you know how in 0 A.D. some civilizations get the ability to capture and tame animals that other civilizations can't tame (elephants and/or camels, I think)? Well for Godstorm the Egyptians should be able to capture and tame antelope/gazelles. Egyptians as early as the Old Kingdom kept herds of tame antelope (gazelles, bubal hartebeest, and oryx, maybe other species) for food.

Edited by Aldandil, 14 December 2010 - 06:40 PM.

[oshron]

well one thing i was planning was to make it so that there was a different setup of animals for each civ using the same concept as all civs sharing the same basic units (ie, Infantry Spearman) and a different name and appearance for each unit depending on their civ. there's already a two planned antelope-type animals (a generic antelope and a generic deer), but maybe the egyptians could get another in place of a wild horse. they wouldnt be able to actually domesticate it (presumably; maybe there could be some programming to allow that), but it would look good for scenarios

[Tzuridis]

Hi I am a new member to 0 A.D.
I have been looking to see if they were making AOM 3 or 2 if you can the titans expansion pack as number 2. Anyway I soon found that this looks like a potential successor to the quite possible never to come next Age of Mythology game.

I have a two questions:
1. Is this mod in the making? Is it going to be quite similar to AOM?
2. From what I have read the majority of the replies on this board are about the foundations of the mod, so has there been a foundation for the mod?

This looks so promising and AOM was and will always be my favorite game, it taught me so much educationally and was extremely fun. I was always hoping to come across an RTS that would incorporate a mythological theme to their game. I am willing to help in anyway possible, because I want this to be made so people can experience the joy I had from AOM. AOM wasn't just a video game to me, its was something increadible and I hope this mod makes that happen.

I really think that there should be another thread or edited post that in depth defines this mod (if it is in the making)

[oshron]

Tzuridis, on Nov 28 2010, 06:36 PM, said:

Hi I am a new member to 0 A.D.
I have been looking to see if they were making AOM 3 or 2 if you can the titans expansion pack as number 2. Anyway I soon found that this looks like a potential successor to the quite possible never to come next Age of Mythology game.

thanks!

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I have a two questions:
1. Is this mod in the making? Is it going to be quite similar to AOM?
2. From what I have read the majority of the replies on this board are about the foundations of the mod, so has there been a foundation for the mod?

not yet. im waiting until 0ad is pretty much completed and un-buggy before attempting anything material, and in the meantime making written designs

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This looks so promising and AOM was and will always be my favorite game, it taught me so much educationally and was extremely fun. I was always hoping to come across an RTS that would incorporate a mythological theme to their game. I am willing to help in anyway possible, because I want this to be made so people can experience the joy I had from AOM. AOM wasn't just a video game to me, its was something increadible and I hope this mod makes that happen.

tnaks again thats kinda what im aiming for, 0ad with an AOM coating

btw, about your registration to my database website, i took down the pages pertaining to the mythology mod not too long ago because of clutter and a lack of progress on them

[Tzuridis]

"0ad with an AOM coating"

Exactly what I was hoping for! Gonna check up on this a lot will help if needed.

[oshron]

hey, all. i decided to set up a separate wiki just for my RTS ideas

http://rts-database.wikispaces.com/

this way its more organized than including them in my rpg database. its still a work-in-progress, though, and ive also included pages for a different rts idea that details the modern period

[SMST]

Nice, I thought the info for this mod was missing some structure.

(Maybe I should set up something similiar for ARCHÉ, too.)

[kkaallllee]

Maybe a bit less faction will make it more balenced?