Latest News (view all)

Greetings Modders!

We've just opened up a new Discord server dedicated to T3A modding! So far the channels have been set up similarly to how they are here on the forums. We've included subchannels dedicated to the hosted mods on Revora as well as links to where the mods can be downloaded. There is also the option to give yourself dedicated roles to what expertise you might have.

You can access the server by following the link here: https://discord.gg/aGXwyMb

Hope to see you there!

Good evening BFME1 players,

We are happy to announce and immediately release a fix for BFME1's stretched UI, which occurs for players using a Widescreen resolution.

The fix was developed by long-time The3rdAge modding veteran and staff member Kwen. Thanks Kwen!

This fix is intercompatible, meaning that installing it doesn't prevent you from playing with people that don't have it installed!

Together with our Patch 1.06 Widescreen Map height fix, you can now play BFME1 in proper Widescreen.

DOWNLOAD NOW

How does it work?

1. Unpack the _aptpatch.rar file using WinRAR.
2. Place the _aptpatch.BIG file in your BFME1 installation folder (for example: C:\Program Files (x86)\EA GAMES\The Battle for Middle-earth ™)
3. Play the game without the stretched Palantir and Spellbook!

How to use a Widescreen resolution?

1. Visit your My Battle for Middle-earth Files folder, easily accessible by typing %appdata% in the Windows Search bar.
2. Open Options.ini and add the following line: Resolution = 1920 1080 (if you have a different widescreen resolution, type that instead)
3. Play the game in full Widescreen!

How to play BFME1 online?

• Visit our server website at http://t3aonline.net/

We hope you enjoy,

The3rdAge & T3A:Online Staff

Fixed UI screenshot 1

Fixed UI screenshot 2

Hello fellow BFME artists,

As you probably know, Windows 10 was recently released. As you also know, BFME artists are confined to creating their models in 3ds Max 8, a 3ds Max version from 2008. It so happens that Windows 10 has finally been bringing the inevitable; it's breaking 3ds Max 8 in different ways. So far we've had people completely unable to run the installer, people getting start-up issues after start-up issue, constant program freezes when opening or importing files, and other, smaller issues. 

If you want to keep creating art for BFME and want to get Windows 10, I strongly recommend making a drive partition and install Windows 10 on there (I can explain this method to you if Google fails you entirely). The way things are at this moment, this is the way to keep using 3ds Max 8 properly. If you have already installed Windows 10, you can go back to your previous OS (7, 8, 8,1) this way. Obviously, this isn't a great solution at all. Which brings me to my next point:

We are doomed.

Well, a little bit. We can probably manage to band-aid 3ds Max 8 to a degree that most people can install it. We'd have to further lower our expectations of a properly functioning program, though, because the freezes and other issues aren't going to go away. And if they did, we'd have the same problem on Windows 11, or whatever is next. Our tools (the W3D importers, the Mod SDK's W3D tools) are simply too old. They have to be ported to newer versions of 3ds Max. I have no idea what sort of programming this involves, so I'm hoping I can get some people in here to give me an idea, or to come up with other solutions.

Thoughts?

Battle of the 9 Armies



Wait that's not right...
Well you get the idea.
The 9th faction will be Erebor, faction of the shaving adversed.

Erebor has been the faction I've wanted to release most but at the same time it has always been the faction with the largest workload.
Finally Erebor has started progressing enough to be released in the nearish future.





Erebor are a powerhouse infantry faction fielding a large number of strong infantry units for both attack and defence.
Familiar faces will make up the hero list like Gimli, Gloin, Dwalin and King Dain Ironfoot.
Via the spell store other dwarf heroes will also be making an appearance such as Thorin Oakenshield and his ill fated companions.

Breaking with tradition Erebor won't be coming alone they'll be released at the same time as the Strongholds.

Return of Shadow Beta 0.2

Download Link






Rivendell is now finally available for play without having to use a game mode code.
The mod now has 7 factions available.
Rivendell plays differently from the other factions it uses a good variety of strong units culminating in some powerful elite units with exclusive upgrades.
As well as the support unit the Lightbearer that can be upgraded to use either Healing, Defensive of Offensive spells.






Notes

Beta 0.2 is the first full version release since Beta 0.15 and has a new file structure and updated launcher.
The file size has been reduced as well by trimming as much fat as possible bringing the current size down to 2.5gb from somewhere around 4gb.

A new optional addon is coming soon that will change the look of the game slightly to give a more cinematic look.
The UI has an updated look to match the Return of Shadow theme, even the launcher has been tweaked to match it.

Check out roschangelist.txt for a full list of changes.
Beta 0.2 also includes a small hotfix 0.21 that fixes a few issues I noticed while I was slowly uploading the Beta (it took me about a week to do so).

An installer and old version uninstaller is planned to be released later today.

You can also read the updated manual from the download section.