Land of Our Dreams: CK2 GW2 Total conversion mod.

[Ace Whisper.7185]

As the title says I am making a total Conversion mod. As you've probably guessed it's set in Tyria and is quite and en-devour for just myself... I know literally nothing! I am figuring things out as I go and am handling the map (the hardest part I think) first! Here is the link to the OG thread. It's just me updating people that wanted to know some more about the mod.

https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/92577/help-i-need-a-non-artsy-map-of-tyria-or-just-the-gw2-map#latest

I'll be posting weekly updates here and when there is enough interest in this quest I will make a discord server. If you wanna help ask me so, but keep in mind that my knowledge base for modding in CK2 is about as deep puddle I messed my shoes up in this morning. But I am trying my best, and I will do it bit by bit. So! Here is the the first Offical update of the mods thread!Land of our Dreams is set in GW2's Tyria, with the goal to be to script the events of the game up until PoF. The First part of this is the map. This might be for people that want to learn how to mod with me.

This is the map so far, it is black and white and in a PNG formatt because I can basically use it to copy and paste over to the BMP and DDS formatt without having to do a big pain in the arse. You might have noticed and said "WAIT! This isn't the map from GW2 or from GW1!" And yes... You are right, I actually merged them together. Lore wise this is unacruate since ORR's sinking and subsequent raising buggered up the coast some... This took a while and you are getting used to this map format. If I get emailed by a de- I mean a nice patron; a good and comprehensible GW2 map then I will be happy to use it.

The road map once the world map is finished is as follows.

1. Get rid of Generically generated characters and add cool lore characters in certain counties
2. Add custom cultures and religons (Non reformable to begin with, then heresy then reformable.)
3. add different ethnics (Races)
4. Figure out the magic system... Might have to ask the Guardians of Azeroth team or the Elderkings team for help on that one... Unless someone joins me and helps.
5. Societies... We need em. Maybe the PvP mists? That'd be neat.
6. Artifacts! I want Items from the game in the mod!
7. Cool descions... Like reform Ascalon or Reclaim orr for men. That was actually one the main driving factors for me making this mod...
8. Bloodlines! I want some bloodlines that you can get! And ones that you can't!
9. Events from the game! But different because they have the issue of taking like... less than one lifetime. And CK2 is not a one lifetime kinda game.
10. Add some kind of portrait? I was thinking I would just take the ingame character editor and give a million and one combinations for each race?
11. I want some events that can make part of Destinies edge... Or bad guy characters... Or make it completely ahistorical. Y'know?
12. Make or get someone to make custom models for armies
13. add wonders! Ruins of Ascalon or other cool things. (Big ass wall)
14. Make special landmark models on the world map. How cool would it be to seethe great Ascalonian wall on the map? Or the big rubix cube that is Rata sum? It is possible I have seen it done in EK and GoA.
15. Get some god damn help...
16. Get flags sorted... For Coutnies, Duchies, Kingdoms, and empire.
17. Obviously make some immortal dragons. Really big and powerful, that'd be damn nice.
18. gather the finest lore MASTAHS of the community. My Guilds Lore Mastah(s) is pretty neat but they don't know everything.
19. Make custom government types. I want you guys to be invested in having a diverse world. Not all fuedal not all Tribal and such.
20. I wanna make it so that you can be a merc band, like in that one mod, same with holy orders.
21. TONS MORE. CBA TO TYPE ALL OF IT.

Anyway! Call me "The Dreamer!" Since I dream of being in Tyria... Look go read the last OG post by me in the old thread, I did a whole speech. It was ok. STICK AROUND FOR MY ENDEAVOR TO MAKE THIS A REALITY! And if you're into it post down bellow and when I think enough people wanna see what I got to offer I'll make a discord (Or make the one I have for the mod public).

Thanks for your Patience.Signed: Acturian Vi Gent "The Dreamer" See you in our Dream land.

[Ace Whisper.7185]

Greetings all! This is the first weekly update of the Land Of our Dreams GW2 Total Conversion for CK2.

This week I ended up fixing the CTD at the loading screen and actually got it to start but one of the big issues I ran into this week was that the world simply didn't load in. Kind of. It was there technically but for some reason all of the land was invisible with the colormap_Water.dds being the only indicator of it not being a water world. The Actual Terrain and the Climate was there but without a ruler... Quite annoying but not the end of the world! Having asked the GoA team they simply stated it's a matter of trial and error, so nothing else for it eh?

I also managed to have a grasp on understanding the map filler tool by the Witcher kings dev. This is important because I refuse to manually add every little ruler and title to the mod. The second biggest problem I have is that the mod does not always load into the mod but instead into vanilla CK2. Which is confusing but not the worst!

That is all I have to report so far, a short one to start it off but that is because I have just recently began wrestling with the map in a comprehensible way. Next weeks goal is to get the world to actually appear in physical form rather than have vague idea of its metaphysical one. After that I am going to mess with the either the provinces or the the colour map and terrain.

Here is that discord I said I'd only give out when people show interest! But I am giving it out now to so that if people want to throw out ideas (Not for the mod itself, I don't want your hypotheticals on why there needs to be a Quaggan imperium) for the mod. Y'know, help with why it's doing this or it's not working this way etc etc.https://discord.gg/QRgGN38And on that final note I think I'll be signing off for today! I'll get to playing some GW2 and CK2 then I'll get back to making the mod. Thanks for keeping with me. Signing offSigned: Acturian Vi Gent 'The Dreamer'

[mindcircus.1506]

@"Ace Whisper.7185" said:And the kitten GUILDWARS TWO TEAM DIDN'T MAKE A COMPREHENSIBLE MAP!?!? THEY JUST WAS LIKE "Uhhhh what do we do for map?" "Oh Idk throw that bucket of mixed paints over it! That'll do!"... Can you tell I am salty? This took a while and you are getting used to this map format. If I get emailed by a de- I mean a nice patron; a good and comprehensible GW2 map then I will be happy to use it.As a person who has modded a number of projects on a few different games I find it absolutely incomprehensible that someone would take this kind of entitled and critical stance towards the artists and designers who's work you are essentially looking to appropriate.

[Ace Whisper.7185]

@mindcircus.1506 said:

@"Ace Whisper.7185" said:And the kitten GUILDWARS TWO TEAM DIDN'T MAKE A COMPREHENSIBLE MAP!?!? THEY JUST WAS LIKE "Uhhhh what do we do for map?" "Oh Idk throw that bucket of mixed paints over it! That'll do!"... Can you tell I am salty? This took a while and you are getting used to this map format. If I get emailed by a de- I mean a nice patron; a good and comprehensible GW2 map then I will be happy to use it.As a person who has modded a number of projects on a few different games I find it absolutely incomprehensible that someone would take this kind of entitled and critical stance towards the artists and designers who's work you are essentially looking to appropriate.

Aye, perhaps I was too harsh. But keep in mind that it is quite frustrating to make a detailed and well scaled map.

I ain't saying that they should do me a favour nor that they should pay me any mind for my criticising them on their arst style for their world map. As it is very pretty. Perhaps you should take it as I meant it; in a jovial frustration. If I was so entitled and critical would I have still made the world map I did? Or would I have just given up and sat on my cheeks complaining. And am I appropriating it? Perhaps in a sense. But I feel like your view point on this total conversion mod is flawed in the sense that I'm doing it for some kind of ulterior motive other than a love of the game and lore? Regardless don't take the words I say to heart, as it is only the internet and you'll find it's a fast track to being depressed and stressed. Anyhow, if I've angered you in anyway I'm sorry but it was meant in a more joking manner. You'll find that the tone of an edgy joke is often off when you're imagining the worst of people.

[Ace Whisper.7185]

we are now following the new format for updates which will be as Follows.[brief summary here]

[1st section; Ideas for the future of the mod and some issues that we are currently facing]

[2nd section; What has currently been implemented and what is currently in the works]

[3rd and final section, either announcements such as new team members joining the dev crew (If any idk, non as of yet), or idle talk about the mod in general. As well as any vague ideas for the future of the mod... The far future.]

So here we go.Weekly Diary 001This week we have a little bit about the plans for the future in a more concrete form, as well as current state of the mod as a whole. This past week has been slow with actual content to the mod, I have mostly just been trying to wrap my head around the spacing of the world map.

[i have recently come to terms that world of Tyria is quite vast while the MMO map is quite small. This is an issue for actual counties being in the world and being believable. As such I have opted to actually upscale what each county is; I have made each county the equivalent to a barony with each barony level holding being a building slot in the barony, while Duchies stay Duchies and have Counties added to their tier list (Some cultures will have Duchies referred to as Counties) Empires and kingdoms are where it gets real interesting. First we will have to actually describe how empires will work before we can get into how Kingdom level Titles will work. Empires will be split up into two catagories: the first being Empire level titles that were Empires in the lore, or in function, and Empire Level titles that were kingdoms in the lore, or similarly were kingdoms in function. That means Empire level titles that were functionally empires or in the lore were empires will have a larger De jure territory made up of smaller kingdoms. But if an Empire level title that was in the lore a Kingdom and/or functioned as a kingdom will have a significantly smaller De jure Territory (Maybe even just their De jure Kingdom) With a later decision being that of proclaiming a greater or restored Empire (Take Vanillas Slavic Union for a good example). While this may be confusing at first, it all boils down to it being up-scaled. A good example is the territory in Ascalon, Ascalon was a Kingdom in the lore but an empire in function. So it will be made up of smaller kingdom level titles while the Empire level title (Either called the Kingdom or Ascalon or New Ascalon idk.) will be made up of smaller kingdoms over a larger area. Ascalon city and it's surroundings, in Lakeside County GW2 will be called Old Ascalon and will be a Kingdom level title. With the Black citadel being part of a separate De jure kingdom. I have also had to add many more counties to the map that people simply didn't give any notice to. Take Ascalon again, the east of Ascalon city has a Tribal fort for Ogres, it has no name but does exist, I barely even remembered it being a thing. Though I have explained this in some detail this has not yet been put in the mod, I'm still adding counties to the map.]

[Like I just mentioned Above, I am currently adding a great many number of Counties to the map, I also added a number Major rivers, I did not add many since the coast line of the world is rather large, so some rivers and lakes are simply not in the mod. I may yet add them in at later date when I have a functional public release. I am adding the counties around Ascalon, centering around Ascalon city. (It has been named Ascalon City Ruins, as that is what it is.) Other than filling out the world starting with Ascalon, I have added the Island of Claw Island to the map. I saw that there were many islands in the map and some not really part of GW2 world, I refuse to remove these as I actually have a plan, but this means that I need to add some of the newer islands to the world. Such as Claw Island.]

[Ahhh, finally we are at the end of the update. Sadly no screenshots. I have some minor screen shots on the discord (Just me atm... The entire server.) I have also come to the conclusion that if I want help I might need to go to ModDB or Steam to gain traction and support by making a mod page on both platforms. I don't want or need Monetary support but rather just kind words or technical help in the form of tips or full induction to the currently meager Dev team... Just me.The Current feel for the mod is that it is very incomplete and there is much to do! But as I actually begin to understand the world of modding in CK2 (Keep in mind this is my first and only mod so far, and boy what a doozy) that I keep coming up with ideas of how the mod could work, I actually started this project with the idea that I wanted to kick out the Charr and restore human glory in Ascalon. And now I want add even more than just that! I want a class system like GoA's classes or whole new Government types! I want many Religions, some reform-able and some with many many heresies. (looking at you Inquest! I want you to have a nice cool culture and special religion. I always felt they were underrated.) I want to add some custom models for each cultures armies! I have many ideas and I wanna share them.]

And finally I wanna address something, it may come across as me being entitled but I wanna get it straight! I HATE the GW2's world map. And not for any other reason than the detail for the coast line for the GW1 map. I am salty about it, and I will not apologize for that. But I wanna apologize if it makes anyone angry or annoyed that I dislike something that they enjoy and it comes across as a little bit more prattish. I don't mean to anger anyone, but it's my opinion and it's not wrong because it is mine and mine alone. So I'll keep my opinions to myself from now on in this thread. But not from my discord, that is my space. Sorry for any inconvenience.

Signed:Acturian Vi Gent 'The Dreamer'https://discord.gg/QRgGN38

[Ace Whisper.7185]

Weekly update 002

This week I did jack squat in the grand scheme of things. I did a little bit of the map in terms of counties and I tried to grapple with how I'm gonna handle the Colourmap.DDS (You know, paint the world onto the terrain. Make mountains look like mountains... Make the giant purple ass scar actually purple...)

[in terms of the future of the mod, the short term is to get one section of the world finished and tucked away without having to worry about the rest. I am focusing on the Old Ascalon area since it is my fave place in terms of Human reconquest. Next up I have also got to start work on the Colourmap.dds and Topology.BMP, both of these are really important to the overall feel of the mod and will allow me to further get a handle on things. One other thing I wish to add to the mod but will most likely come after I've gotten a at least functionally fun demo of the mod out is that of events! I'm going to split it up into two sections. one will be a sub mod for the main mod that will add some non GW Related events but events that will link it to other fictional universes (I was gonna add a Primaris Space marine crashing to Tyria event and killing all non humans and such. Tbd)]

[so far the only thing in the works is me trying to put together Old Ascalon with naming all the counties and duchies. I've gotten a method in my mind now so it will proceed a bit faster. I have not yet put these into an updated version of the mod. Unfortunately]

[Ah, back again at the rambling part of the update... Where I am actually allowed to ramble rather than it slipping through. I am feeling good about the mod but it is hard to actually work on it when you have no one helping or encouraging you. My family are actively discouraging me, I know right?!, and my friends don't play CK2 so it's hard for them to find anyway to help out.

I wanna ask if it is ok if anyone wants to help out! I know most of you will not want to but I'd enjoy it if you could do something as simple as throw names for counties, Castles, Towns and Temples. Simply join the discord and @ me in the names channel or leave me a comment with the template of Castle: Addleton fort. idk. Thanks :3]

Signed: Acturian Vi Gent 'The Dreamer'Discord: Discord.gg

[Ace Whisper.7185]

Weekly update 003 (Not really this week tho)

This week I have some interesting news regarding the map and Culture! Other than that we got some news on how the map itself is coming along. I think you guys will find it interesting over all.[The future of the mod had some ups and downs, I've been looking into the ingame portraits as that is kind of what needs to be looked at. I've been looking around the world to find interesting places to put into the world map. It has actually been causing me a bit of trouble since the zones are so big but so empty and small at the same time, it is hard to convert them to counties. So I am also encountering some issue with how many god damned mountains are in the world. I understand they want to keep the zones separated naturally... But that is lazy AF and it's making me scratch my head. I think I will tweak the world a bit to this end. I am thinking of making either an undead culture for the Orrians called "Undead Orrian" but I might go the lazy route and just make an "Undead" culture that has the ability to raise other undead that count as your children without regards to race. I'll probably do this route ngl.][Now onto the big news. Soon a playable Demo will be released OMGGGGG! Now hold your horses, this is by no means an alpha or beta or whatever. This is probably a Zeta! This will literally be one kingdom with no empire level title to speak of, no topology nor colours on the map. Just green! But it will have a custom start date, one custom culture with full names, sadly no city textures yet. And a workable religion with all the human gods of GW2 and perhaps a heresy that get rid of grenth and gives us back the old one idk his name I forgot. Along with main temples of each god as their own religion. Sadly no holy orders or holy sites as I wanna finish the whole world map! But I'll get chu nw. (I stole the EK names while I gather a ton of Human names from the Wiki and the game, I'm also harassing my guildies to give me some. Literally by the end of next week I will of removed these names so don't worry. You can even cross reference to make sure! I don't mind. They may not even be in the demo if I get them before the end of this week.) And that is also what we are working on, some of this is done! Not all...][Ramble time, I still rambled but with good reason. So! None of you are wondering why I didn't put a weekly update for I think two weeks? Maybe one idk. Well let me tell you anyway, I was really demoralized! Literally no one came forward to help and a mixture of laziness and apprehension at having to do all this big ass work of learning and figuring this shit out all on my lonesome. Now don't get me wrong, I am not upset no one came to help and no one seemed interested in my mod, there is nothing here so I don't blame you. But it still stings a bit that no one even had some "OH! I know, here have a name that I wanna see" moments. So I figured I'd approach this as I have always intended! For myself! Just to prove I can. And to those who thought I'd fail. So Big Kekers, go suck it. For those that wanna see what I am doing go check my discord or just keep an eye on ModDB and this page. When the mod has a full map of counties I will plop it down on Steam. Thanks :3]

Signed: Acturian Vi Gent "The Dreamer"https://discord.gg/QRgGN38