FM Preview: Shadow of Opportunity

[demagogue]

Edit: This was originally an April Fools Joke "FM Release Thread" because Diego wanted more April 1 fun.

Now it's an FM preview thread! Shadow of Opportunity is the actual FM I've been quietly working on. Unfortunately I don't have much to show for it now, though I have the campaign all scripted out now.

I'll leave the joke below for the record and talk about the mission some more below all of it.

 

To offer something, my campaign does add a lot of world building in the Dark Mod world, so people can ask questions about the world of Bridgeport and the world around it and I can give some fun non-spoiler answers about my vision for the world in the campaign, if that would be something fun to do.

 

Here's the original joke thread:

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In the last few weeks I have been quietly betatesting a mission. And now it's ready for release. This is the first mission of "The Dark Campaign", which may or may not see every mission released, but no reason not to try.

 

It is a time of war between the Imperial Builders and the Menoan Ghazi. The Menoans are laying siege to Bridgeport as the Builders & Inventors prepare for the worst. The player, Khursand, is neither Builder nor Ghazi nor pagan, trusted by no one, which is exactly what makes him valuable as an intermediary between the two sides, if only he can survive long enough to demonstrate his unique skills.

 

Without further ado I present: Shadow of Opportunity

 

[Springheel]

Holy shit. Is that TDM??

[Diego]

:laugh: :laugh:

[GameDevGoro]

Haha, nice one. xD

[Diego]

Holy shit. Is that TDM??

 

Google images took me to this guy: http://www.ronenbekerman.com/forums/finished-work/1366-medieval-science-room.html

Not ingame. Modeled and rendered in a 3d software.

[Diego]

It also took me to this upcoming game "Sirius" http://gamez-bb.org/pc_games/windows_games/3060-a-sirius-game-2012.html

And I'm guessing they "found the image on the internet". (I'm sending an email to the author of the image)

[grayman]

NO FAIR!

 

I WANNA PLAY!

[nbohr1more]

LOL

 

(Well done.)

[lost_soul]

 

Damn! ... and I was all ready to devote the next few hours to playing a great new mission!

Well sir, you got me... well played!

 

 

*resumes listening to music from the Amiga*

Edited April 2, 2012 by lost_soul

[Sotha]

Ha! I knew it!

[firoso]

Reminds me of Amnesia the Dark Descent.

[Melan]

Ha!

[Bikerdude]

Holy shit. Is that TDM??

hehehe thats what I thought when i saw the announcement,

[SiyahParsomen]

no way.

[SeriousToni]

Haha suckers!

[SiyahParsomen]

I'm sad and mad

 

[betpet]

Hahahaha! Epic win!

[Jesps]

Lol, nice one.

[AluminumHaste]

Oh god damn it!!!! I so fell for that one

[demagogue]

Thanks for playing everybody. This was mostly for Diego because he wanted more April 1 fun, and I just threw it up on a lark.

 

As I edited into the OP, Shadow of Opportunity actually is the first mission of the campaign I scripted and is (one of) the missions I've been quietly working on. I couldn't find any respectable media for it.

 

But as a peace offering, my campaign does a lot of world building for the Dark Mod world, all the regions and factions. So if people want, they can ask questions about Bridgeport, its surrounding world, any of the factions, the situation at the time of the campaign, and I can give non-spoiler answers about the world itself and my vision for it, as I see it through this story. Does that sound like fun?

 

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Edit: I'll give a little for now for fun:

 

The basic set up for this campaign ... the Menoan Empire is the rival empire to the west of The Empire. In my vision, it's a doppelganger of the Turkish Ottomans/Arabs (flipping east & west compared to our world). Their capital, Menoa, is like Baghdad, Bridgeport is the equivalent of Constantinople, and Sancta Civitas (further east in the Empire) is like Rome of course. (There is both great political and religious affection and tension & rivalry between Bridgeport and S.C., visible e.g. in the complex relationship between the Archbishop of Bridgeport, who has been growing increasingly independent over the last few decades, and the High Patriarch in S.C.) The dominant Menoan religion is Ghazi (Arabic for holy warriors), which is a caricature of Islam like the Builders are a caricature of Catholicism.

 

There are a number of smaller nations in the region between the Empire & Menoa, most importantly for this FM are the Pakdamani, which are the equivalent of Zoroastrins, a third peaceful monotheistic religion, important because the player-character, Khursand, is of this nationality (though he's not particularly the religious type), which makes him deeply distrusted by Ghazi and Builders. He lives in the Lowtowne Quarter in a region called Little Menoa, the main ethnic district in Bridgeport for its very old Menoan population, but other races are in there too, with Menoan mosques and Pakdamani temples about (most casual Builders couldn't tell the difference between a Ghazi and Pakdamani if their life depended on it.) The first mission takes place in this district. The Builders have an ebb and flow of tolerance for its minority populations, but there has always been a community that's managed to hold on through history.

 

Over the last few years the Menoans hordes have been encroaching into the Empire. Many decades ago they occuped the Pakdamani nation and were mercilessly cruel to its people. At the time of this campaign, they are at the doorstep of Bridgeport and laying siege to it, trying to find a way through the walls. The Turkish invasion of Constantinople in 1453 provides a lot of inspiration here. The Empire has sent its Imperial Army from Sancta Civitas to defend Bridgeport, led by the able General Strava. Naturally the entire Little Menoa district has been basically walled up and guarded like a ghetto to keep the Menoans from coming to their old homeland's aid, and there are worries of a coming pogrom. This is the situation the player finds himself at the start of the mission.

[pusianka]

Its gonna be looking ancient? Like Rome and athens? Funny I am very much on topic, since I had an idea of making a game based in such theme. Have you heard of Ostracism? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostracism This is pretty much my inspiration for the game. You are hired to invigilate some of the most well known people in town and tell your employer what you found out in their homes and at the end, basing on what you found, the person has to decide whose name to scrub out so as to be expelled from the society.

 

I could do some modelling for you after I'm done with exams.

Edited April 2, 2012 by pusianka

[demagogue]

It won't look any more ancient than Constantinople, Rome, & Baghdad did in the 15th Century, which is to say there are some very old buildings around, but these are medieval cities.

[demagogue]

I could do some modelling for you after I'm done with exams.

 

That could be nice. In particular I'm looking for arabesque objects for the Little Menoa district ... rugs, lanterns, dressers, chairs, etc, with a very medieval-Arabian look to them.

[Xarg]

I read the post, knew it was a joke, and my reaction to the picture was still "Mother of God!!" I looked, and looked, and STILL couldn't find anything from TDM in there, though a few things looked pretty close... you got my hopes up, I was just waiting for the "haha this is a joke, but we did some amazing custom models and they're coming to a campaign (and update) near you!".

[Melan]

It wouldn't be easy, but I think everything in this screenshot is doable in TDM if someone puts the effort into it.

 

We just need our own Purahs and Lady Rowenas to do it. .)