Assalamualaikum,
Seperti yang dijanjikan hari ni aku nak update entri pasal video game. Mod pilihan aku kali ni ialah Realm of Thrones (ROT) untuk game Mount & Blade: Bannerlord. Dulu aku ada review dua mod GOT Bannerlord, iaitu The Long Night (TLN) dan juga Trial of the Seven Kingdom (TOTSK). TLN ada features yang menarik (dragon and wights), tapi faktor yang buat turn-off ialah kekurangan lore material, TOTSK in other hand memang dah okay, cuma pembikinan mod ni terhenti for quite sometimes and tahu-tahu projek cancelled. So, aku pun beralih ke ROT yang boleh katakan gabungan these two earlier mods
Bannerlord : Realm of Thrones or senang kita panggil ROT dalam entri ni dibangunkan oleh Carolina Warlord Modding Team yang bertemakan novel A Song of Ice and Fire, hasil karya agung George R.R Martin yang mengisahkan the War of Seven Kingdoms. Ni merupakan major faction yang ada di Westeros berserta ruling house, in bracket:
- The Westerland (House Lannister)
- The North (House Stark)
- The Iron Island (House Greyjoy)
- The Riverland (House Tully)
- The Vale (House Arryn)
- The Dorne (House Martell)
- The Dragonstone (House Baratheon of Dragonstone)
- The Stormland (House Baratheon of Storm's End)
- The Reach (House Tyrell)
- Night Watch Order
- Free Folks
Ni pulak faction di Essos:
- House Targaryen of Mereen (Daenerys' faction)
- House Targaryen of Yunkai (Aegon's faction)
- Free Cities (Lys, Bravos, Qohor, Myr, Volantis, Pentos)
- Dothraki Khalasar
1/3 map Westeros. Boleh tahan besar kan?
1/2 map Essos. Similar with TOTSK, dalam map ni ada custom model untuk major towns/castles yang ada dekat Westeros ni. Meh aku share a few gambar before kita proceed dekat improvement lain.
The capital of Seven Kingdoms - King's Landing
Ancestral castle for House Arryn of The Vale - The Eeyrie yang merupakan point paling tinggi at the Westeros continent.
Winterfell, the ancestral seat of House Stark of the North.
To the West, Casterly Rock - the formidable castle of House Lannister of the Westerland
From their castle of Highgarden, the Tyrell rule fertile lands of the Reach
The mighty castle of Dragonstone - the former ancestral seat of House Targaryen, but now owned by Stannis Baratheon. Later he abandoned the castle and now ruled by House Florent
Riverrun, capital of Riverland held by House Tully. Currently occupied by House Reyne at the end of War of Five Kingdoms.
Sunspear, capital of the Dornish people ruled by House Martell
House Greyjoy previously ruled the Iron Island from their unique castle of Pyke. Now held by House Karstark in the aftermath of the North-Iron Island War.
Castle Black and The Wall - the headquarter of Night's Watch order.
Ada jugak a few custom castles such as Harrenhal and The Twins. Unlike TOTSK dan TLN, semua town, castles dan juga villages telah pun 100% ditukar nama from native to lore naming`
The Ruin of Old Valyria, the capital city of the once-great civilization of Valyria Freehold at Essos.
Dalam game ni, korang boleh pilih ciri-ciri karekter dari physical appearance, race, traits etc, sebab apa yang korang pilih tu la yang akan main peranan dalam game ni. Luckily dalam game ni takde House Reyne of Castamere macam kat TOTSK, so bolehlah aku roleplay guna my all-time favourite character, Ser Fredrik Reyne. Bear in mind, untuk review kali ni aku dah main sampai tahun ke-sepuluh. So memang banyak jugak progress. If tengok dalam ni, si Fredrik tu pun dah berkahwin and have three kids. Huhu. Umur dia time aku start game ni sekitar 25 tahun, sekarang ni dah masuk 35 tahun!
This is clan menu, kat sini kita boleh review progress clan kita sendiri. Apa fief owned by us, our businesses (caravan, production) dan juga party. Selain their ancestral castle of Castamere, House Reyne juga currently holding Riverrun, the former capital of the Riverland. In term of business, the Reyne owned six businesses in Lannisport dan Riverrun, respectively. In term of party, Fredrik maintained two active garrison, two patrol squadron dan juga his own squadron of Castamere's knight.
Macam mod lain, sini pun boleh lepak-lepak kat tavern untuk rekrut tentera upahan, hire companion dan main mini-game. Unlike Warband, dalam Bannerlord takde penyair/penyajak dalam tavern since korang dah tak payah nak mengorat pakai sajak, syair segala jadah tu. Kat tavern pun, dah takde merchant. Pendek kata banyak jugak non-playable character or NPC yang dikurangkan. But, ada banyak jugak NPC baru yang diperkenalkan dekat town/castle. Ada gangster, thugs, barber, merchant, artisan, beggar etc. NPC main peranan untuk korang tingkatkan influence clan. Lagi good relationship korang dengan merchant dan artisan, lagi banyaklah orang yang akan support clan kita.
Elemen real-time strategy (RTS) didalam TOTSK ni dapat dilihat melalui role karekter dalam nation yang dipilih. Mirip Total War, ROT membolehkan party yang diketuai karekter untuk attack, defend, reinforce, besiege atau scout open world. Konsep RTS dapat dilihat melalui tema game ini iaitu ketika War of Seven Kingdoms, berlatar belakangkan konflik yang berlaku di Westeros. Dalam ROT korang boleh pilih untuk lead your own army or join forces dengan faction leader's army.
Watak, tempat dan event yang wujud didalam open world ialah berdasarkan watak dalam cerita Game of Thrones. Watak seperti Tywin Lannister, Mace Tyrell, Edmure Tully, Robb Stark, Doran Martell, Balon Greyjoy, Lysa Arryn dan lain-lain merupakan watak fiksyen ketika zaman itu.
Dalam game ni korang boleh setting dua outfit, satu battle outfit yang akan dipakai ketika pertempuran. Satu lagi civilian outfit macam gambar atas ni yang akan dipakai ketika melawat bandar, castles, village etc. Kira takdelah pelik sangat orang tengok kau selalu merayau pakai armor je. Haha.
Kingdom panel - kat sini korang boleh access information berkaitan house/clan lain dalam kingdom, juga fief, policies, diplomacy dan lain-lain. Boleh lah tengok influence point house korang against other houses. Ada banyak cara untuk kita increase influence, such as donate garrison or prisoners to other lords, winning the battle dan seperti biasa, running errand dalam erti kata lain, jadi kuli lah. Haha
Fief management lebih mudah sekarang, just buat queue and let your governor do the rest. Sebab dalam Bannerlord ni anyone can die in the battlefield, so aku pun belajar dari kesilapan lampau. Fredrik's wife, Lady Joanna elok stay as governor je instead of join war-party. Karang mati, tak memasal kena cari bini baru. Huhu
Ada a few feature yang menarik dalam mod ni, contohnya execution. Kalau dulu once kita execute lord/lady, boleh katakan relationship kita dengan other kingodm pun akan negatif which will affect our future interaction later. Tapi kali ni, negative relationship untuk clan tu sahaja. So, senanglah kita nak execute orang sekarang especially those rebel clans yang akan selalu appear dalam game
Ada jugak feature "Raven", where kita boleh hantar surat to other lord/lady despite their location. Cumanya untuk use this feature, you all mestilah pernah berjumpa diorang in-person dulu.
Dalam mod ni pun ada balancing feature where we can set the preferences. Dulu time main TLN dan TOTSK, memang susah if korang join faction Westerland since diorang bertarung dengan almost all factions dekat Westeros. But with this feature we can preset the condition, contohnya the Westerland vs the North first, then at certain point, the Reach akan join the war etc. Dengan cara ni kita akan ada control sikit, if not memang barai lah Lannister kena gangbang depan belakang! Haha
Macam biasa tak lengkap kalau aku tak share sikit story untuk hero kita ni. Tapi, kali ni aku takde masa nak rewind secara detail time mula-mula aku main game ni, cukuplah simple one sahaja. This is Castamere, the ancestral castle of House Reyne. Located at the north-eastern part of Westerland, the castle served as the administrative center for a few villages, with Castamere Mines and Tumblestone are the largest and most populous.
298AC - our hero, Fredrik started his military career at the age of 25 where he took command of his father, Lord Reynard Reyne's cavalry squadron during the Westerland's campaign against Robb "Young Wolf" Stark's army of the North. The campaign saw the destruction of three Westerland's army in the hand of the Young Wolf followed by the sacking of Ashemark in the Westerland's soil. Lord Tywin Lannister having capitalized the instability in the North's rank, succeeded in plotting conspiracy which later ended with the death of Robb Stark during the infamous Red Wedding.
299AC - A year later, he saw actions during campaign against the Riverlords. The campaign was best remembered of being his first time commanding the Reyne's contingent to replace his ailing father. His critical maneuver near Red Fork river managed to rout the more experienced Ser Brynden "The Blackfish" Tully, and paved way for Ser Jaime Lannister's main army to secure the Riverrun gate, thus ending the six-months long siege.
301AC - In his 28th birthday, Fredrik wed Lady Joanna Swyft, youngest daughter of Lord Harys from House Swyft of Cornfield. The couple are blessed with twin-daughter; Ellyn and Rohanne and a son, Alastair.
The Dragonstone's forces under King Stannis Baratheon invaded Crownlands with 50,000 troops in 305AC. The invasion was a week after the death of Lord Reynard, and immediate ascension of Fredrik as the new Lord of Castamere. At Highgarden, Lord Petyr Baelish negotiated fresh alliance between the Lannister and the Tyrell, which saw the participation of the Reach into the conflict. This rendered Stannis to fight against common enemies from two fronts; against the Westerlands from the West and the Tyrell from the South.
After their failed uprising against the Lannister some forty years ago, House Reyne of Castamere lost its status as major power in the Westerland. However, they still possessed one of the largest field army in the West with a force of 800 infantry, 300 missile troops, 300 cavalryman including knights and around 100 auxiliary troops. In this recent conflict, the Reyne's contingent was a part of Tywin Lannister's Army of the West summoned by King Joffrey Baratheon in a war against his uncles.
A relentless attack from multiple fronts proven too much even for seasoned commander like Stannis. The Dragonstone quickly lost cohesion and their will to fight. Their land were razed with burning villages due to Tywin brutal tactics. Later on 308AC with all hope lost, Stannis decided to flee north and to rendezvous with Lord Jon Snow, the commander of Stark's loyalist. There, he planned to merge force with the Stark in a bid to defeat Tywin's proxy, Lord Roose Bolton and reclaim the North.
Lord Fredrik, hoisting the Reyne's banner upon capturing the final Stannis' stronghold, the castle of Rook Rest. Cerita aku habis sampai sini je, sebab dah takde perang. Kalau ada pun later macam akan challenge House Martell sebab nampak possibility to war tu dah almost 70%. Tunggulah war council vote nanti, tapi macam biasalah si Fredrik ni abstain je. Lalang lah katakan. Huhu
Oi, apa benda tu? Yeah, ni satu lagi feature baru dalam ROT. Dragon! Aku takde gambar gameplay, tapi from review gamers lain, naga ni memang OP gila sebab boleh terbang dan juga BBQ orang. Huhu. Memang dahsyat gila ler. Tapi dalam mod ni ada sorang je karekter yang dragon-rider, iaitu...
Queen Daenerys of House Targaryen. So kalau korang nak try, cuba lah lawan. Kalau menang you guys kena execute her and then can retrieve her dragon. Huhu. Maaflah, our kingdom not in conflict pun sekarang, lagipun takde masa aku nak main pakai naga tu. Nanti macam kurang seronok pulak nak main.
Baiklah, that's the end untuk review ROT. To be honest aku memang layan mod ni je sekarang. Tapi tu lah sekarang ni pun main game time weekend je, itupun dalam sejam dua. Penat mat, kerja banyak sekarang, buat pulak ada bos baru. Huh