[I want a] Battle For Middle Earth 3

I liked the faction balancing better in BFME 1 and I hated the walls in BFME II. The idea of picking a site for my base and my walls was excellent, but the implementation wasn't. Walls went down too quickly compared to how much they cost in resources and time to put up. Which is a shame, because the idea of walls really added something for the BFME formula.

All-in-all, I think BFME II had better sub-systems but a less enjoyable high-level game (the customizable heroes and some of their powers were especially kick-ass). BFME is the only RTS I've played that I really enjoyed from moment to moment and I loved doing LAN and Internet games with/against my friends. Something about the way it was balanced and the fundamentals (unit formations, mixed-unit dynamics, etc) really hit the spot. Every RTS I've tried since has fallen short for me, though BFME II and Company of Heroes to a much lesser extent than most.

I came for the LOTR fix and stayed for everything else.

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Originally Posted by Grizzly

This mod aims to return the BFME1 bases into BFME 2 for it's newest version. Should be worth checking out.

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Ooooooh. Shiny. I like it.

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Originally Posted by DetCord

As close as you're going to get.

http://www.moddb.com/mods/third-age-total-war

http://www.twcenter.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=654

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Know if that plays nicely with Steam?

Looks like it does:

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Additional installation instructions only for Steam users:
1. Install all parts of the mod as instructed above.
2. Open "Steam/Steamapps/Common/Medieval II Total War/mods". There you will find all your installed Kingdoms campaigns as well as the "Third_Age_3" modfolder.
3. Edit the name of one of the Kingdoms folders (americas, britannia, crusades, teutonic), preferably your least favorite campaign. The new name doesn't have to be anything specific.
4. Change the name of the "Third_Age_3" folder to the former name of the Kingdoms folder you just edited. For example, if you edited the "americas" folder, the "Third_Age_3" folder should be named "americas".
5. Select the appropriate campaign from the steam menu. If you renamed the "Third_Age_3" folder to "americas", select the americas campaign. If you named it "crusades", select the crusades campaign and so on.
6. Steam will now launch the mod.

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I loved the first BFME! Definitely agree about the limited structure placement.

I would also love a DoW3. THQ problems make me sad.

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Originally Posted by Skeletor68

I loved the first BFME! Definitely agree about the limited structure placement.

I would also love a DoW3. THQ problems make me sad.

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Well there's hope with the DOW 3 regard in that Sega already have a professional relationship with Games Workshop (e.g. the recently announced Warhammer Creative Assembly game), it isn't too much of a stretch to imagine them going after the 40K license and allowing Relic to continue that series.

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Originally Posted by Jockie

Well there's hope with the DOW 3 regard in that Sega already have a professional relationship with Games Workshop (e.g. the recently announced Warhammer Creative Assembly game), it isn't too much of a stretch to imagine them going after the 40K license and allowing Relic to continue that series.

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This fills me with joy!

I too enjoyed Battle for Middle Earth 2. It's one of those games that I rarely think about now but I do remember having some extremely long games on it that went into the very early hours of the morning. I'm tempted to reinstall!

Now if only I could remember whether it was the first or second game I used to play.

Edit : Looks like it was the second game, and dammit why you no' on Steam!

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Originally Posted by Skeletor68

I loved the first BFME! Definitely agree about the limited structure placement.

I would also love a DoW3. THQ problems make me sad.

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DoWIII was officially announced if I recall correctly and I really hope the whole THQ deal isn't effecting it.

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Originally Posted by Walincas

I vouch for Third Age Total War as well, awesome mod - if you're into the Total War franchise - hell, if you're into Middle Earth, this is one of the best immersion games you will get.

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I was impressed with it, especially the map. The locales were very immersive and the attention to detail on the various factions was pretty deep.

Right click and view image. The map itself is massive.
http://www.totalwar.cz/sites/default...rd_age_map.jpg

All of this reminds me of a Warhammer game, Dark Omen. Now that was awesome.

It's always interesting to see people's perspectives on BFME 1 vs. the sequel. I vastly prefer the mechanics of BFME2, but I honestly wish they had thought of ways to iron out the first game's problems rather than throw their hands up and go in a more traditional direction.

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Originally Posted by laneford

Can I bear reinstalling Medieval 2:TW (&Kingdoms) from about seventy three cds?

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It's definitely worth it, Third Age is amazing! (I'm a huge fan of both LOTR and Total War games, so it's pretty much perfect).

As for BFME 1 vs 2: I think I actually preferred 2 (gotta love the Dwarves!), except, obviously, the building placement. The fixed camps/castles of the first game was a great idea, I wish they'd stuck with it for the second.

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Walls went down too quickly compared to how much they cost in resources and time to put up. Which is a shame, because the idea of walls really added something for the BFME formula.

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This is exactly my opinion too. Done right, it could have been awesome. As it is, I never build walls (unless it's to distract the AI, which occasionally decides that a single wall hub is the most important target, giving you time to recover)

vote here for The Return of the Lord of the Rings: Battle for Gog

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Originally Posted by QuantaCat

All of this reminds me of a Warhammer game, Dark Omen. Now that was awesome.

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I prefer Shadow of the Horned Rat.

I liked the games. The original was definitely my favorite though. It made Helm's Deep feel like Helm's Deep.