Great Sea: Total War - A Demo of a Hyrule: Total War Expansion Pack! news

Early October to November 2nd, 2023 - Great Sea: Total War, the unfinished demo of an expansion pack to Hyrule: Total War, made by the original creator The Undying Nephalim/IceCreamMan back in 2013-2014, was polished as much as was possible by me between early October 2023 and November 2nd 2023, which did lead to a release of the demo.

Great Sea: Total War was/is an expansion of Hyrule: Total War set a few years later and following Tetra(lyna Nohansen Zelda V), Link, the Hero of Time, Captain Linbeck, Queen Laruto and the girl Aryll on their adventures out on the great seas against the Moblin Settlers, the Empire of Bellum and others - unfortunately this expansion was never developed past the demo-stage, as the original creator Undying Nephalim/IceCreamMan/Chasen Lindsay had released a demo on December 31st, 2014 for a selected few in the hopes they would handle the coding of the mod. There were in total five rosters completed in terms of models being made, but only one of these rosters had all of its models rigged for the mod. New Hyrule is the one finished faction- with the heroes mentioned earlier -none of the land-units had been coded though, they lacked cards and half the units weren't UV-mapped.

I've done all of this, as in the 2014-release only the two navies had been implemented into the game with cards.The mod has increased from 606.14mb to 1.49gb in size- 3 factions have been implemented, two of which are using mostly Hyrule: Total War models but with slight alterations to make the rosters feel unique for this mod. The main new feature of this mod besides the new faction of New Hyrule is of course the Naval Battles in which you get to control two navies with ships - New Hyrule's Navy and the Navy of the Ocean Blins or the Moblin Settlers - both of these navies have completely new models of ships with new crews. The third faction named the "Empire of Bellum" consists mostly of River Zora troops and Bigocto creatures- this faction has swimming Zora's in the naval battles as well.

The mod is custom battle only but is a very unique smaller demo of a would-be awesome expansion to Hyrule: Total War - all the music is remade for every intended faction but sadly most of the factions lack rosters. There were 10 intended factions and out of these only 5 were ever completed in terms of models - sadly only one single faction got their new roster into the mod, the other two have placeholder units except the Moblin Settlers who has a new navy but an old land-army with some alterations made to it.

In order to play a naval battle out on the ocean using the "Outset Island" Battle map you'd need to do the following:

1. Land or Navy Battle - Select "Navy".

2.Choose Battle - select "Outset Island".

3. Level/Ocean Size - Select "Castle".

4. Culture/Navy Battle Type - Select "Naval Battle".

5. Defences - Select "Naval/Ocean Size 1".

This will enable you to fight a Naval battle out on the Ocean on the "Outset island" Battle Map.

In order to play a Naval Battle on the "Ruins of the Cobble Kingdom" Battle Map - select "Citadel" instead of "Castle" - and select "Naval/Ocean Size 2" - also don't forget to select the correct Battle Map - leave the rest the same.

To play a land-battle just leave the selection as is when starting the game, essentially a land-battle will be initiated when you have land-battle selected, and it's selected by default.

So the original creator of Hyrule: Total War did publish a video in November 2013 where he laid forth plans for an expansion pack to his mod Hyrule: Total War set a few years later out on the Great Sea. The expansion would focus on New Hyrule, a mix between the Kingdom of Hyrule and the Lanayru and their adventures against the Oceanblins, Gerudo Pirates, Rito, Lost Goron Tribes, the Annouki, the Empire of Bellum, the Cobble Kingdom and others - unfortunately this project never got very far and only ever released an unfinished demo in December of 2014.

Neph had previewed the finished factional rosters of every single faction planned for the mod, but most of these unit models weren't actually rigged for the mod and implemented - they were created though with pictures posted of them..

Sadly the demo only included two navies, that of the Oceanblins and the New Hyrule faction - New Hyrule being the faction of Tetra, Captain Linbeck, Queen Laruto and Aryll- in addition to the Hero of Time Link.

In the demo you could fight the naval battle between these two navies. As for land-units the entire roster of the New Hyrule faction was available in the files but hardly any model had been implemented into the games code, all of them were rigged however -half of them weren't properly UV-mapped.

I did implement and UV-map all those New Hyrule land-units into my submod for Hyrule: Total War called "Classic Ultimate" - they're now implemented into the demo!

So Neph also posted a battle between the navies in April of 2014, and a second video with Tetra in 2015 using improved models.

Unit_Info cards done for both navies -for both New Hyrule and the Moblin Settlers/Oceanblins.

Rito Unit_Info card and Oceanblins Unit_Info card updated!

Rito Unit_Info card and Oceanblins Unit_Info card updated!

Repeater Crossbow with a new Assault Battalion crew!

Tetra is now the captain in any custom battle army of New Hyrule, this is because it's impossible to add heroes as officers on elephants/ships in Medieval 2 - by using her as the Captain she can be on the actual ships.

Sadly this means that Captain Linbeck and the girl Aryll can't be on their ships in custom battle. In a campaign all of them would have been custom generals so it would have worked fine - but in custom battle you can only have one captain sadly.

I've added the Zuna Triballistae from Hyrule: Total War 4.6 to the new faction of the Gerudo Pirates.

I've added a new crossbowmen-unit for New Hyrule - the Outpost watch - they're usually the crew on the ships of New Hyrule but are now also available in land-battles.

I've implemented every single land-unit of New Hyrule tot he Great Sea: Total War demo.

On this picture we have all their units, their heroes and now also including the Rito hero Medli and the hero of time Link.

The Rito were supposed to be their own faction but sadly we only had two units for the faction - the rest were never rigged.

The Outpost Watch still needed a new unit card on this pic.

So the blue Zora tunic of Link gave Link the power to breath underwater. Using this tunic he can partake in sea-battles together with a battallion of Aquamarine Escorts consisting of both Lanayru and Zora's Domain Zora's.

New Hyrule is a mix between the Kingdom of Hyrule and the Lanayru Province, and one of its heroes is Queen Laruto of the Lanayru - the Zora units are remnants of the destroyed Zora's Domain.

All the projectiles, UI-elements and Battle Events ported to Great Sea!

I've fixed any missing UI, Battle Event picture or wrong projectile of the Great Sea: Total War demo.

It now has all of Hyrule: Total War's projectiles, UI and event pics.

So I've replaced the "Hylian Crossbowmen"-crews of the 2014 demo with the intended "Outpost watch" (or at least I named them such as that unit was missing) of the Great Sea: Total War intro-video posted by Undying Nephalim/IceCreamMan in November 2013.

Bantu, the guy who rigged 80% of the models for Warcraft: Total War - helped me with an issue where the crossbowmen pointed their crossbow downwards, as I had myself had to hand the crossbow to the unit from the melee-unit known as "Knights of New Hyrule" - for some reason they pointed it downwards..

I had the same issue with the Labrynnian Pistolmen/Pistolmen and the Labrynnian Hand Cannoneers back in 2019 where he also helped with this issue.

I've fixed an issue where one of the crew-members where outside of the Gunboat - by lowering the numbers down a bit.

I've added the intended crew of Surveyors for the Navigator-ship - the smallest scout-ship of New Hyrule.

I've included the two different Rito-units (both using the same model of Medli) for New Hyrule as the Rito only had two units rigged for the mod.

The 2nd unit of the Rito flies high above in the air and will die in the sea as it's the same unit but in use in sea-battles.

The hero Medli is also added with an extra officer.

The Labrynnian Pistolmen followed with Captain Linbeck of Labrynna as his personal bodyguard as he ventured with Tetra(lyna Nohansen Zelda V), Aryll and Queen Laruto out onto the Great Sea after most of Hyrule had been flooded. Labrynna being destroyed they are the few remnants of the Regime now fighting for New Hyrule.

So Captain Linbeck (formerly of Labrynna) was supposed to have the Command Frigate as his personal ship in sea-battles, and the Pistolmen never leaving his side makes for perfect crews on this particular ship.

The Pistolmen are the bodyguard of Captain Linbeck in the land-battles.

The Command Frigate is a big ship with two Labrynnian cannons shooting cannonballs.

The Assault Battalions are manning all the cannons of the biggest ship in New Hyrule's navy - the Broadside Frigate!

You will only ever see the captain of the ship.

So I've actually implemented the entire land-army of New Hyrule into the Great Sea: Total War demo. Of course I had already made most of the unit-cards and implemented/coded the units plus done the UV-mapping of half of the units back in like 2019 for the Hyrule Total War: Classic Ultimate submod.

So implementing them to Great Sea wasn't that difficult when the units already existed in Classic Ultimate, but there are certain differences - we have the heroes in custom battle here, there are a few changes to their stats, names and crews - I've managed to add one additional unit too and one additional hero.

I did remake a few unit_info-cards, and made some new ones including the unit cards of any new hero or unit.

So the demo has sea-battles unlike Classic Ultimate so this is like only their land-based army. The factions of this mod has one land-army and one navy.

So the model of "Moblin Demise" had been in the files of Hyrule: Total War since 2012, but it had never ever been implemented into the game - so I decided to try the model in the game and it didn't work properly with its groups being all over the place rendering everyhting but the head invisible inside of the battle.

I did manage to combine all the groups and make it visible by looking at the working .mesh-file of King Ganon who is using a similar model. But it ended up with the crucifix-bug or "T"-issue where the model was static and would move but its parts wouldn't visibly move making it look like a wandering cross or "T".

Bantu re-rigged the model and now it works. And I've made it into the unit "Doom Knights of Ganon" which was a unit intended for Great Sea: Total War in use by the Ocean Blins or the Moblin Settlers. As the original land-army is lost I did end up using this model instead - it was supposed to be a big Moblin with heavy armour and a giant mace - instead here it has heavy armor and two swords.

So Demise is a demon hero of the Moblins, and this model was originally one out of three models of Demise used by Hyrule: Total War - it's the Moblin-form of Demise, then there are two demonic forms too.

So he was originally using a different skin for the body but I couldn't find it so here the unit is using the same skin as Ganon.

Yes, I've implemented the entire land-army of the Moblin Settlers or Oceanblins. Of course using placeholder models from Hyrule: Total War as the Great Sea roster has mostly been lost - the exception being the ships and their crews of Oceanblins.

So the Moblin Settlers are using their Hyrule: Total War roster, but with some alterations. First off they do have the intended crew of Oceanblins- manning both their ships and their siege equipment in land-battles, they do have the intended "Flaming Ballistas" of the Darknuts, and they do have the intended "Mortar Battery" - so two new siege engines for the Moblin Settlers - using the Ikanian Mortar as the mortar with a new name, they also have new units -first off they do have a unit of Shield Blins which are supposed to be Oceanblins with shields -instead these are female Moblins with shields using the model of the Moblin hero (of Neph's canon) Ogalon - she had a spear and shield so she fit perfecty, they also have the general as a new unit - Moblin Chieftains, and they have the "Doom Knights of Ganon" which are giant Moblins the same size of King Ganon using the model of "Moblin Demise" with Ganon's skin for the body.

Yes, it's not the Great Sea roster but it's a proper land-army for the Moblin Settlers that will be able to fight New Hyrule on land. Sadly Neph's original roster was never rigged and so it wasn't included in the demo.

I've added the River Zora army to the Empire of Bellum, a faction supposed to consist of mainly River Zora units as the main army - then reinforced by the occasional sea-beast and Bigocto monster.

So the original creator Undying Nephalim/IceCreamMan had previewed pictures of the updated River Zora units, all of whom had the same facial and bodily features as the old models but with updated HD-quality models - where the Cueball mounts were in HD, where the River Zora units were fewer in numbers but had heavy golden armor unique for them (not the same as the Zora) - I've tried to give the same units the same type of upgrade using the older models.

On this picture we have the Cueball Dragoons, they were supposed to be in use by the Empire of Bellum - but unlike in Hyrule: Total War they were now clad in heavy golden armor and their mount were updated into HD - in this demo I'm still forced to use the older models, so instead of the new models (which were sadly never rigged and as such never included within the demo) I'm using the Zora-clad raider-unit for the armor upgrade.

Unlike in Hyrule Total War: Classic Ultimate they are their own units here and not just armour upgrades.

The dismounted manhunters are also upgraded with this model, and so are the crews of any normal siege like the Catapults or the Mage Cannons.

I've implemented the entire land-army of the Empire of Bellum, of course using placeholder Hyrule: Total War models as the intended "Empire of Bellum" models were never rigged, and as such weren't included in the demo - there were one model included but it just used the ordinarie "Manhunter"-model but was rigged for a new swimming animation in use in the sea-battles.

So the Empire of Bellum would have consisted mainly of the River Zora, but with the occasional monster/creature - usually Bigocto's.

I've included the entire River Zora army of Classic Ultimate, and I've also added some extra units from the Zora such as the Mage Cannon and the Siegeocto mount - and I've given the faction a new cavalry unit - the Bigocto Riders of Bellum that uses new HTW 4.6 mounts with the old Octozora unit riding them - besides this I've also made new units out of the Raiders clad in Zora-armour, and out of the heroes - the only exception being Archduke Neighleth who is cut.

All of these units are available in the sea-battles for the Empire of Bellum, and the infantry will swim with new animations when they fight the enemy - while the siege will move on land below the water - even though the crews will swim.

All the normal melee cavalry and ranged infantry has been cut from the sea-battles. Unlike other factions the Empire of Bellum will bring the majority of their land-army into the naval battles as well.

So this Navy was already added by Neph, but I've added the unit_info cards and the names as they were missing from the files.

The Moblin Settlers will not have any new naval units since the 2014 upload in the development-thread.

This is the updated navy of New Hyrule, now including heroes such as Tetra(lyna Nohansen Zelda V), Link, the Hero of Time in a Zora-tunic, Queen Laruto of the Lanayru Province and Medli of the Rito.

Tetra is the Captain of the battle and will be on a ship or underwater depending on the unit you pick as your first unit as this was the only way to include her as an officer on a ship in custom battle.

Link and Queen Laruto have a bodyguard of Aquamarine Escorts - they will swim in the sea-battles.

Medli has a bodyguard of the "Rito Ano Fencers Air" - a flying Rito-unit that flies higher up in the air compared to the land-unit.

The Navy of New Hyrule also includes the five ships that Neph added in 2014, and the Aquamarine Escorts.

And lastly I've implemented the infantry-units of the Lanayru Province as extra-troops in the naval battles for New Hyrule, as they do have Queen Laruto as a hero after all - and I felt like the battles against the Empire of Bellum and their River Zora would be more epic if there were a few more Lanayru troops in the battle.

The Lanayru Mages are also added to the sea-battles but they work more like the "Zora Healers" in these battles and won't be able to shoot any projectile- this is because the swimming animation and the mage-projectile/animation aren't compatible.

CREDITS:

Credits for all the assets in the Demo except some cards - TheUndyingNephailm/IceCreamMan.

He made the demo and its assets, animations and what-not back in 2013-2014.

Credits for polishing up the demo between early October 2023 and November, 2nd 2023 - Mr_Nygren, I also read through the entire thread at TWC (Total War Center).

I had been sent a copy of the unfinished demo by Neph back in December 2016 or 2017.

I think that the other two mods will get separate articles after all.