[RET] The Quest for Knowledge - An Adeptus Mechanicus Mod (Minor Update, Post #26)

[Croaxleigh]

Pending the culmination of Promythyus' research into the machine spirit of the Retribution Essence Engine, an exploratory force of Adeptus Mechanicus surveyors under the leadership of a Magos Explorator has been authorized. The exploratory force shall survey the Aurelia Sector for information on any previously undiscovered technology within the holdings of the Blood Ravens' recruiting worlds.

More information and visual representation of exploratory force units to come as soon as the release is authorized by the Fabricator General.

Race Overview

Commanders:
Magos Explorator (Offense)
Artisan (Defense)
Electro Priest (Support)

Secondary Commanders:
Techpriest Enginseer
Cyber-Seer

Units:
Skitarri Tech Guard
Combat Servitors
Gun Servitors
Imperial Robots
Steel Confessors Space Marines
Praetorian Combat Servitors

Vehicles:
Specific vehicle variants to be determined

Global Abilities:
Specific abilities to be determined

Super Unit:
Knight Paladin Titan

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How You Can Help:

Several models are nearing completion, though most currently lack textures. The main things that this mod needs are dedicated texturers, animators who are familiar with Santos' Tools for DoW2, and modelers interested in assisting with the creation of new units or the modification/finishing of existing units.

Suggestions for global abilities to be used with each commander are also encouraged. Vehicle and troop suggestions are also appreciated, though this is more a matter of narrowing down options than not having an idea of what to include. ;)

While Prom's work also includes the addition of a fourth commander, one hasn't been listed because I couldn't think of a fourth commander option that wouldn't overlap the role of one of the existing commanders. If you have suggestions, feel free to make them.

(And yes, there will be screenshots soon-ish. Models need to be edited to remove a few DoW weapon assets, but a number of units such as four of the Imperial Robots (who may or may not be call-in units for different commanders) and the Knight Paladin Titan have already been modeled.)

[General Stukov]

I actually have some ideas in regards to the story line if you wish to hear it. I'll also have to take a look through the Codex: Adeptus Mechanicus to check out some suggestions... Hope the titan isn't TOO OP lol... will PM you with the details, only thing I ask is credit for the story line if you like it.

For a walker unit perhaps something like, http://www.urbanmammoth.co.uk/acatalog/34607.jpg

I also think for the fourth commander... perhaps, Astropath? or maybe Machine Cult Preacher? as far as how they work in game I've only seen them played on the field havent done much research into them

[Khorney]

electro priest?

hellooooo 2nd edition, my body is ready

[Potatosock]

OH MY GOD! I'M IN LOVE! YES! SO MUCH YES!

[Croaxleigh]

General Stukov: Will these do? ;)
http://www.ominouscow.com/DoW/robots_group_shot.jpg
(Ignore the DoW weapons; these will be replaced)

At the current time I'm not working on a single-player campaign, though this may be changed eventually. For the time being, at least, "The Quest for Knowledge" is focused solely on adding a new race to MP.

[General Stukov]

Well feel free to use the story I thought up, I'd really like someone special to make a singleplayer campaign and all... the bots are kinda okies? I'm hopin you 40k it up a bit, lol.

[Croaxleigh]

Well, aside from the fact that they're not textured, the robots actually all come from 40k source material. There are two others that aren't pictured (one's partially complete and the other hasn't been started), but they're all documented in the 40k fluff and the designs used for them come from illustrations found in fluff sources. (One of the reasons that the fifth robot hasn't been started is that I haven't been able to find a reliable source for its look, just a description.)

[Deadman]

Is this mod going to be for single player, multiplayer or both?

[Croaxleigh]

At the moment, it's intended for multiplayer only. The AdMech will be a separate race, playable alongside or against any of the six races currently in Retribution. There's a slight chance that I might add a SP campaign later, though it would require a LOT of work as most likely the campaign would be an original creation unrelated to the events of the DoW2 storyline; the campaign that's been considered for my DoW Soulstorm "Cult of the Machine" mod revolves around the battle for Mars during the Horus Heresy, so I'd likely want something equally AdMech-focused for "The Quest for Knowledge." It wouldn't be the AdMech thrown in amongst the activities of the Blood Ravens and company, and most likely wouldn't contain all of the races of DoW2. Most likely, the sort of campaign that I'd want to do isn't even possible at the moment because it would require too many changes from the existing campaign structure (or at the very least would require an amount of work that I'm not likely to be able to complete between other interests, personal responsibilities, and my writing.)

[Lleman]

Nice to see you're reviving your original DoW mod idea in DoWII, Croax.

Re. the Techmarine, (despite his relationship with the Mechanicum and the evident link with the Steel Confessors), why not replace it with a Secutor? (for the non-initiates, a Secutor is a techpriest that devotes themselves to the knowledge and subsequent mastery of combat in all its forms, turning themselves into the best tool to fulfil this task, to the exclusion of all other knowledges).
This specialized and 'dead-end evolution' character would fill a specific niche and make a good secondary commander choice in his (its? :p) function, albeit with quite a versatility in the 'vs' role it could have, depending on a sensible choice of weaponry. Basically, a sturdy 1-man weapon platform and an excellent back-up to the Magos...
Another choice for a secondary commander could be a Skitarii officer (Tribune was old naming, name from Mechanicum or Titanicus eludes me right now), devoted to CC and buffed to such a role; this would imply making the Secutor (if retained) a long ranged specialist.
Both would then need abilities bolstering the relevant concordant troops choices, making them useful in other ways than just 'that mad guy that shoots/melees them foes insanely on his own'.
Well, food for thoughts, or rubbish for bin... your call. :p

[Shuma]

Interesting, the Ad Mech in DoW II? That's awesome. I don't know much about them but i for one welcome our martian overlords. ;)

[Potatosock]

This mod is gonna be amazing... I've been hoping for an Adeptus Mechanicus mod since... Well, forever. I think the unit choices so far sound good as well. If you're looking for suggestions than I'd definately suggest that they have a really powerful call down for their "500 point ultimate" ability instead of a nuke to add some variation. Maybe even dial up the points cost a bit.

[Croaxleigh]

Lleman: Stop trying to kill my dreams of getting a Steel Confessors Techmarine in game, dammit! :P Plus I'd already given thought to the inclusion of a Secutor in some role anyway. A lot of this is still kind of early-draft sort of stuff, since I'm trying to make what I'm doing here different from the work I'm doing in "Cult of the Machine" (with the obvious difference being that I'm not doing three separate factions here... yet.)

Potatosock: Well, the Steel Confessors will likely be call-in units (since they're a Space Marine chapter created by the AdMech and have the closest ties to the AdMech of any chapter), though I really like the idea of having a nice Deathstrike Missile strike. ;)

[Shuma]

Steel confessors hmmm? 2 words: Terminator Techmarines. I know that technically they don't exist in fluff, but then again, up until the Grey Knight dex there was as far as i know, no mentions of Apothecary terminators, besides if someone was to have Terminator Techmarines it would be the confessors, sons of medusa and/or Iron hands no? Additionally a quick read through lexicanum mentions Skitarii using terminator-like armor in Tarsis Ultra.

As for the 4th commander, you could have a Steel Confessor Veteran and or Captain, he could be offense too but you could make him a ranged specialist, or if the Magos explorator is a ranged specialist then he could be a melee specialist, after all i believe Retribution introduced melee animations for the Techmarine, so you could even keep the servo arm.

[Croaxleigh]

Steel confessors hmmm? 2 words: Terminator Techmarines.
A Techmarine Termie has long been on the to-do list for the Steel Confessors mod I'm working on for Soulstorm. :D Though someone who was somehow connected with GW once made a statement about how a Techmarine with a full servo harness couldn't take things like assault jets, terminator armor or bikes, nothing strictly official has ever been said along those lines to the best of my knowledge and Techmarine Termies just look too (http://www.the-vanus-temple.com/?p=483) awesome (http://www.coolminiornot.com/230875) to not exist somewhere in a universe with physics based on the Rule of Cool. ;)

If I do introduce a 4th commander it likely won't be someone from the Steel Confessors; not that I don't love them (because I do, they're right up there with the Storm Wardens and Blood Ravens in my favorite Chapters), but I'd prefer the AdMech force to remain wholly AdMech at the command level. Maybe something that's not quite as commonly seen in the fluff, like a Fabricator-Architect, Genitor or an Acquisitor... or possibly a Cyber-Seer.

[Promythyus]

Holy crap those minis are awesome! If you could make anything close to that, I think my mind would melt with the awesomeness!

[Croaxleigh]

See? Rule of Cool. It's awesome, so it HAS to exist somewhere in 40k. ;)

Hmm... maybe I should change the direction of the Black Library submission that I'm working on to include something about a Techmarine Terminator. If it gets accepted for publication, that'd put it in the fluff. Hmmmmm...

[DeusImperator]

As a big fan of the Mechanicus, I can offer what limited coding I can help with. I'm very busy, so it won't be much, but I'm willing to help if I can.

You could add Secutors as offensive commanders or elite units.

[Calgar]

This may seem a bit stupid but Croax its your mod, so you do what you want with it.

Anyway this looks really good, maybe I'll get round to getting Retribution.


And I'll do the same with the submission idea, that way theres more of a chance that it will get in. ;)

[Shuma]

That second techmarine terminator is fucking awesome, i love that gun above his head.

[Croaxleigh]

He's likely going to heavily inspire my Techmarine Termie, though whether it'll appear in this mod or just in "Cult" I don't know at the moment.

[Gabriel Gorgutz]

Great idea! I wanted an AdMech army for CE too. I'll definitely be watching this one!

[Croaxleigh]

GG: When things progress a bit farther (i.e., when there are actual models in-game that do stuff when you tell them to do stuff) I'd be more than happy to send an expeditionary force your way. ;)

[Croaxleigh]

Here's a bit of an update, of sorts... given the discussion of Techmarine Terminators, I decided that if it wasn't in the fluff then I'd do my best to put it there. ;) Black Library's open submission period is coming up here in a few months, so I figured that'd give me some time to get a different submission than I'd originally planned ready; I started work on a piece that centered around the Steel Confessors, because if anybody was going to have a Techmarine Terminator then it'd be them. So I started up the research on the chapter again, determined to find every bit of verifiable fluff on the Steel Confessors to get a better understanding of the chapter. (Yeah, there's not much.)

What do I find? One of the official Steel Confessors minis made for the battle they were featured in at Games Day 2005. It was the Steel Confessors' Chapter Master, Protonus (http://www.coolminiornot.com/118873), wearing full Terminator armor (with the exception of a helmet) with a custom Techmarine servo-harness. Link is to the CMON page of the guy who got to make the mini for the battle.

The events of that battle are the main piece of Steel Confessors fluff that exists, and according to that bit of fluff their Chapter Master was wearing Termie armor with Techmarine adaptations. That's more than enough justification for me to add in a Techmarine Termie in some way, shape or form. ;)

[Shuma]

And everything was right in the world again :p That's awesome.

[Croaxleigh]

After reading through Prom's instructions a few times and trying some things out for myself (both with Retribution's UI and the DoW Soulstorm campaign files), I've been thinking more about what sort of a campaign I would do if I were going to do one. So there's the possibility of a campaign, at some point after the Adeptus Mechanicus is playable in-game. It would be quite a departure from the current campaign style (which would of course require a lot of UI work) and would be largely separate from the multiplayer game as well.

For those of you who don't get what I mean by that, the campaign that I have in mind very likely wouldn't have ANY of the multiplayer races in it. ;)

In more immediate mod news, work has started on character design concepts and modeling. References have been found for the Artisan and the Magos Explorator (well, the latter is a combination of two or three different inspirations) and planning is underway on which current units can be kitbashed to create things like the Steel Confessors (who will have a few enhancements that separate them from the regular Space Marines) and the Skitarii (not sure how much they'll be kitbashed and how much they'll be original... there are so many different concepts for them that people have done and I'm not sure which I like best.)

I'm also modeling a bird. That's not short for anything or code for something; it's an actual bird, the kind with feathers.

[Shuma]

I was under the impression that Skitarii were just the "Imperial guard" of the Mechanicus, although there has been fluff about more specialized ones, including some wearing something akin to Terminator armor, i think it would depend on what role you want for them. If you're going for the IG look then you could just make them from kitbashed pieces from the ig body, eldar ranger hood, commissar's bionic eye and those gas masks space marines have in the campaign, you'd just have to model the robe and obviously, retexture some of the other pieces like the hood.

And why a bird? what kind of bird? An Aquila like the one Coteaz has? A Lord of Change? A pidgeon the size of a dog?

[Godlike_Power]

Don't you know? The Birds! Dangerous enemies of the Imperium, due to their habit of flapping around and getting sucked into the holy engines, tainting them with feathers, bringing down the mighty machines of man! The age of the Squawks!

Seriously, what are the birds for? Map decoration for jungle maps? Or is it just for expierience? And how will the Steel Confessor SM differ to regular SM? Im not too knowledgable about the chapter.

[Potatosock]

If you're looking for some place to go with the Skitarii...

http://media.moddb.com/images/groups/1/3/2055/KICK20ASS20SKITARII.jpg

And if you wanna use Skitarii Storm Troopers as well...

http://www.ashhammer.com/images/large/mech/skitarii-001.jpg

[nathaniak]

The top ones look like father christmas! I'd recommend you avoid that in this mod!

[General Kong]

well thats just the colour nath, only needs different ones and it will be perfect

[Khorney]

actually, thats some pretty badass conversions right there

[DeusImperator]

http://www.shop.microartstudio.com/iron-brotherhood-http01-p-383.html?cPath=36_43

These guys are nice too.

May I offer some advice/Suggestion?

[Shuma]

well thats just the colour nath, only needs different ones and it will be perfect

The Mechanicus wearing anything but Red? HERESY, nay! Worse than Heresy, even the Dark Mechanicus wears red:

http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/2429/1300623661352.png (http://img27.imageshack.us/i/1300623661352.png/)

Then again i suppose they would be team color-able, so double heretics can make them in purple! The color of the warp!

Anyway, those were precisely the Skitarii i had in mind when i said how you could make them by kitbashing.

[Croaxleigh]

Shuma: Skitarii are similar to IG, though much more fanatical, cult-like, and augmented. There are a lot of variants that people have made similar to the examples Potatosack has shown, plus other variants that go in a few different directions. All that I know for sure at the moment is that there's a good chance that SOMEBODY in a Skitarii squad is going to have a robotic arm. ;)

Also, some members of the AdMech have been known to wear white, brown, and even orange. So they have the full range of colors used in every "gritty, realistic" game on the market. ;)

Godlike_Power: Ah, the Steel Confessors. Picture the Iron Hands, but make them a bit more pissed off and dedicated to machinery. ;) The quick summary is this: The Adeptus Mechanicus decided that they needed a more reliable Space Marine influence to protect their interests. Behind everybody's backs they used Iron Hands geneseed to create their own Chapter. The Inquisition found out and wanted the Chapter destroyed; the High Lord of Terra on the other hand decided that more Space Marines to defend the technology of the Imperium isn't necessarily a bad thing so they just insisted that the Chapter take the usual loyalty oaths and be essentially a regular Space Marine Chapter. This pissed off the AdMech, but they weren't really in a position to argue. The entire First Company of the Steel Confessors are Terminators, and every Force Commander is a Techmarine. They abhor weakness of any kind, taking their love of machines and metal even further than the Iron Hands. They worship the Emperor in the same manner as the AdMech, i.e. they see him as the Omnisiah and physical embodiment of the Machine God. Also, a Tyranid fleet attacked their homeworld and they fielded the entire chapter to fight them off. After the battle, there were between 260 and 360 Space Marines remaining in the Chapter (with the entire 8th and 10th companies completely eradicated.)

Nathaniak: It's fairly apt, since the Skitarii are known for bringing presents. OF DEATH.

EDIT: Bah. Accidentally locked the thread when I posted. :P Oopsie. Fixed that now.

[Potatosock]

Not to sound like a schoolgirl horny for screenies but... Can we have some screenies of your models and textures?! I'm your biggest fan!

[Croaxleigh]

Most of the models-in-progress are currently either in need of conversion from having DoW parts to being DoW2-centric, or are of a half-completed bird. ;) The first full model will likely be the Artisan, since the GW mini that was produced of the Artisan shares a few characteristics in common with some SM units that are in-game so will probably be quite kitbash-able.

And as far as textures go, I suck at 'em for the most part. I can alter existing textures pretty well, but I'm still working on getting a knack for original textures. (Hence why so many preview shots are untextured.)

[MrBlazzar]

This looks like its going to be pretty freakin epic. I will keep watching and see how the progress goes on this mod.

[Croaxleigh]

Ok, looks like I was wrong. Skitarri are likely to be the first new unit previewed, just because I got to reading a thread at Bolter and Chainsword (I think it was there, anyway) in which they were discussing the Skitarri and some of the ways that they were described put such vivid images in my head... now I've just got to figure out how to translate those images to a model that can go in-game. ;)

[Croaxleigh]

Slight update to the unit list; Techmarine is out, Cyber-Seer is in. Even have some references for what will eventually become the Cyber-Seer, and ideas for some abilities.

[General Kong]

what are the abilities of the cyber seer?

[Croaxleigh]

To start with, here's a lovely quote from the Dark Heresy rulebook.

They ain't quite human no more. I mean, more than yer average Tech-Priest. No one could keep all that... you know... dangerous stuff in their skull an' stay normal.
These are the people who delve into the forbidden and occult matters of machinery, including "unnatural" geometries and Warp-touched machinery. In-game they'll be able to do things such as attract and repel metal objects (think Magneto), fly (well, hover), boost their reflexes and speed, heal themselves by kicking the filters and autosanguinators in their blood into overdrive, temporarily negate damage, and otherwise be a pain in the ass to anyone who might want them dead. I wouldn't let them get too close to your vehicles, either. ;)

Keep in mind that the exact abilities that make it in-game for the Cyber-Seer may vary slightly for balance reasons.

[Steel*Faith]

This sounds really awesome Croaxleigh! I just sent you an email in regards to the AI project though. I'm looking at all these potential mods with excitement; yet i'm nervous that all this hard work might be in vain if we don't get a good AI modder on board. I hope you're still planning on combining your AI project with this mod as well though!

Regardless, i'll still be looking forward to your work!

[DeusImperator]

The Dark Heresy/Rogue Trader and such rulebooks are a great source for Mechanicus Lore ,I strongly advise you to use them.

[Croaxleigh]

I've been using them since my AdMech modding plans were still in their infancy in my DoW mod. I even quoted the DH book above in regards to the Cyber-Seer (with that book being the origin of that particular character. ;) )

[DeusImperator]

Oh that is why I said that they are such a great source, but it seems it was unnecessary. I approve of using such good sources for lore.

[Croaxleigh]

Yup, I'm quite fond of them. Especially considering that the first few books of Dark Heresy were written in-house by Black Library before they decided to license the development of the games out... and that FFG worked hand-in-hand with GW as they continued development of DH and started development of RT and Deathwatch. :)

[DeusImperator]

You might wish to check out the Secutor lore ....I think its in Ascension. They would make good Commander / elites.

[Croaxleigh]

The Secutor has been suggested elsewhere, as well. Unfortunately, Ascension is still on my "to get" list... :( Since I moved out of town and no longer have access to a regular gaming group, I've fallen behind on some of my RPG purchases.

[DeusImperator]

Until you'll get it, I'll say Lexicanum does a good job at summing them up:

http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Secutor

[Croaxleigh]

Oh, right... the Divine Light of Sollex are a cult of Secutors. Damn it, that means that if I did Secutors then I'd have to do at least two different types because there's no way that I could leave the Divine Light out if I was going to put in the others (so it'd be similar to standard Devs and Plasma Devs for SM, though instead of plasma it'd be crazies that worship lasers.)

[DeusImperator]

Or you could make the Sollex one a hero, and the other one an elite squadron. Now all we need is a binary prayer strip that say's "I'm firing my laser" .

[Croaxleigh]

Nah, the Divine Light is often described as a "cult within the Cult"... wouldn't want to strip the cult-ness away from it. ;)

[Potatosock]

Dead?

[kattwuver229]

send a pm to the creator otherwise dont bump threads :/

[Hellcobra84]

good idea:D

[Croaxleigh]

Not dead. My part of the US has been hit by MAJOR storms in the past few weeks, so I've been through 4 power outages in the last week and a half (with some of them lasting one or more days due to severe line damage from fallen trees) and there's major flooding in a lot of areas. Between all of that and trying to catch up with work that I've gotten behind on I've just had higher priorities.