Orcs Campaign: How, When , Why, What! [important]

[b0rsuk]

I really want to see this zone:

Human Breeding Pits
Contains mutated human females spawning ubermensh human babies at ridiculously fast rate. The end boss is Human Greatmother. By killing her, you deal a terrible blow to the Human race and slow patrol generation rate.

[phantomglider]

I'm not saying that orcs aren't going to have farmers and blacksmiths and architects and whatnot, I'm saying that they are probably going to be regarded as an outgrowth and subsidiary of the military. An extended logistics division, if you will. The first orcish genocide was, what, about 100 years before the start of the main campaign? The orcs got pushed to the ragged edge of extinction; that opens the door for pretty huge founder effects on their rebuilt society.

[b0rsuk]

Neither poll option suits me. I would prefer: "Fix and balance the main campaign". There are nearly useless skills and mechanics, and classes. Armor Penetration is of very little value because only very specific creatures and bosses have armor higher than 0. And then you learn that your weapons already have a healthy dose of penetration. Arcane Blade is a very fragile class that can't survive outside of few specific builds. Marauders are best played if you avoid using their class talents. Brawlers... I could go on.

[Crim, The Red Thunder]

I'm not saying that orcs aren't going to have farmers and blacksmiths and architects and whatnot, I'm saying that they are probably going to be regarded as an outgrowth and subsidiary of the military. An extended logistics division, if you will. The first orcish genocide was, what, about 100 years before the start of the main campaign? The orcs got pushed to the ragged edge of extinction; that opens the door for pretty huge founder effects on their rebuilt society.

I could be quite incorrect, but I was under the impression that it was CENTURIES ago, given that the spellblaze was at least partly to try and defeat the orc army. After that, centuries later, the cataclysm split the continent. And then yet MORE time later, our adventurers come into the picture. I see the orc/spellblaze events as being a LONG way into the past. Much more then just a century.

[phantomglider]

Not at all! The Age of Ascendancy, the current age of the game, was kicked off by Toknor and Mirvenia wiping out the orcs in the West and joining their kingdoms. Current year is something like 110 Age of Ascendancy. The Spellblaze was actually caused by the Shaloren screwing around with Sher'Tul ruins, and marks the transition from the Age of Allure to the Age of Dusk. After that is the period of orcish dominance called the Age of Pyre, which lasted around 700 years; Toknor was born in about 680 AP.

You're probably thinking of Atamathon, who was built early in the Age of Pyre to combat the orcs.

[Grey]

The rise of Toknor and the formation of the Alliance 100 years ago led to the worst wave of genocide against the orcs since the Spellblaze. The Spellblaze was over two millenia ago.

As noted in the lore the genocide left only their military centres intact - their treatment by the others has left them a hardened race. This has always been the way for the orcs. When the halflings enslaved them they bred them for strength, or tore down any cultural creations. The Age of Dusk killed the weakest orcs most of all. The genocide targeted their cities, not their armies. In many ways the races of Maj'Eyal have over the centuries selectively bred the most fearsome enemy possible.

"The other races paint us as evil, they think of us as purely beasts. Not so! If we are cruel, it is because they made us cruel. If we are heartless, it is because they ripped our beating hearts from our chests and stamped them beneath their feet!"

"But what was left of our people in the east was a broken picture. Gone were the majority of our women and children, gone were our centres of culture, gone was all softness that ever lived in us. Our military forces were all that were left, consolidated in the Prides. By arcane experimentation we found ways to breed again, but we are left a hollow people."
- Lorekeeper Hadak

The breeding pits did not produce fertile female orcs. At the time of the main campaign this was seen as a long term problem for them, not a short term one, as their main concentration was on rebuilding their military strength to guarantee immediate security. In the new campaign the prospect of imminent extinction will be a choking black cloud over all of orcdom.

Personally I see an orc campaign as being no different from a Zigur campaign. They are not inherently evil, but when it comes to what they perceive as the enemy they see in only black and white terms.

[Darkmere]

That analogy to Zigur actually made it "click" to me, for some reason. Looking forward to it, all of a sudden.

[darkgod]

Yes indeed as Grey said; for good or bad reasons everybody wants them dead. They only want to live, they have no choice but to fight.
It's not out of ill will, or evil ambitions, it's a simple mater of survival.

b0rsuk: You are welcome to make new forum threads about your problems, but this is not the place

[Crim, The Red Thunder]

A concern arises. If the new campaign is donator only, or even seperately purchased, can we at least integrate it INTO the main game, rather then useing an Add-on? Often add-ons present speed issues, such as with stone warden, and limiting those whose computers can't keep up with it by publishing it as an addon like stone warden would limit the number of people who would be able to play it... Will the orc campaign simply be built into the main game?

[darkgod]

Never said it would be donator only, or purchased
Maybe ? maybe not

As for addon loading/memory problem it should be fixed in 1.0.1

[Ritz]

Dear darkgod, why would you ask us about what goal you should set? You of all people know it better than anyone. All I can say is - be realistic, because if the goal is too low, some people will have doubts as to whether or not you'll actually be able to deliver everything when only asking for so little. So, I'd rather set it to a higher value, but since I have no idea how much effort it actually takes to make a campaign for ToME, I can't suggest any specific sum.

[Dwindlehop]

I agree 100% with Ritz. Set the goal amounts according to what you'll need to deliver in a reasonable amount of time. Set some stretch goals, with associated bonuses, in case you earn way more than the goal. All of that should be set by what is required: rent, pizza, insurance, cutting Shockbolt a check, whatever.

Then come back here and start a poll to figure out what the reward tiers are going to be, because that's the thing you need player input on.

[PureQuestion]

I would imagine he's just as important he know what people are willing to give.

[HousePet]

Given that the current campaign starts with the goal of getting gold and glory, and ends with defeating some crazed sorcerors who are trying to do something even crazier, I don't see why anyone would assume that the Orc campaign will just be "let's get revenge and kill everything!"

Edit: PS. Next tome version fixes addon issues.

[darkgod]

Dont worry there are some twists planned to make you feel heoric too !