Melee: Battlegrounds. An exercise in excellence which needs your help!

Several years ago, I met a remarkable young man from Serbia. We struck a genuine friendship, and with whom I speak to on a daily basis. Despite the fact he has been involved in a super, ultra secret project with all sorts dire consequences if he even mentioned the name of his project. Which consequently ate massive amounts of his time. After seeing what he and his fellow team-mates have accomplished I understand why they have been living like hermits. It is project Melee: Battlegrounds which has brought us here today and to bring attention to the Kickstart Campaign they need to bring their project forward.

Here is the look they have worked so hard to perfect:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxFaOat2_HU

Q: Who are you? And what project have you been working on for over two years.

A: Hi, I am Siniša Vučković, people and modding community knows me by the nickname Zimke.
I am working on a Medieval Combat Sandbox, a game where you can fight in massive multi-player battles as a single soldier, have duels, tournaments, have your on heraldry and customize the way you look, build fortifications and castles, own a house in a town and socialize in taverns(play board games, even have brawl fist fights there, just beware not to get arrested by guards). Some social system will be also present in that town and you can customize your house as well, it's pretty much medieval life simulator

Beautifully rendered combat scenarios, give this a real world feel. Designed by some of the most passionate and gifted
game designers currently working in the field. 

We made our own engine to make this possible, there just wasn't any other way if we want all of this to happen. The Company and Project are made up of gamers and modders who made all of the modifications on a game called "Mount & Blade: Warband." We are just regular guys that felt passionately about what could happen or better still how to take a game and make it come alive. We knew what we had helped build once before, we knew we could do better. We have created a truly amazing looking and reactive environment but, we need help getting the game to the level where we can manufacture it. That takes money. With money comes the space for us to gather and plan. With money comes the distance from everyday life, so we can concentrate on finishing this amazing game. And lastly with money comes the ability for us to continue to invest ourselves and our spirit into the game.

Q: Tell us of some of the difficulties you have experienced in developing this game.

This is not just an infantry game of sword bashing. Cavalry will charge, or archers and crossbowmen will attack.
This is very much a game that keeps pushing your personal learning curve.

A: The engine itself, took two years to develop, it was really hard during this time, we barely had funds, worked from homes from all around the world while having our regular daily jobs, relationships suffered, friends got alienated because all of the free time we devoted to this, I can't remember when was the last time I slept for more than 5 hours. The name of our company is Donkey Crew, it came from internal joke from within the cRPG mod community.

Q: What countries are home to the Donkey Crew?

A: We come from all over the planet. USA, Russia, Serbia, Austria, Italy, Spain, Poland, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany and Singapore. So it is really hard making a game like this, we really need to get together in one place, rent an office and living quarters, you just come to a point when people need to be together in one room. Telecommuting can only carry you so far. Which is why it is critical we get funds to carry this project forward.
Q: What is exceptional and different about this game... Because there are a lot of games out there. Why should I part with my hard earned money to buy yours?

The level of detail is just amazing! -We knew we have only one chance of producing this game. We worked really hard at getting the details just right.-Zimke.

A: If you want to fight with a new and revolutionary system where you actually control the weapons entirely, and those weapons are actually treated like physical objects, we made it!
If you want to experience massive multi-player battles with far FAR more then 200 players, yes, we give you that as well! Imagine all those players at the same time, every one of them is unique real person, and you just have to figure out how to kill them! But beware of crossbowmen, archers, cavalry, this is not a foot combat only game!

Build a Castle or Assault one! You can do both in this game!

If you prefer to build, you can do that too! Gather resources, stone, wood, make fortifications, or houses which enable faster and closer re-spawn; make smiths for better weapons, build an entire castle and fill it in with all necessary objects!
If you prefer to destroy, we have it as well! Attack supply caravans that bring resources for builders, use siege engine to destroy fortifications and castle walls, and help your friend capture it!
If you prefer to socialize, we have made an entire town, where you can advance in society, own and equip a house, visit taverns and play board games or drink or brawl, might even end up thrown in prison. Be a beggar, peasant, a guard or a governor if people elect you.

Beautifully rendered objects with their historical references can be seen.

If you are modder, this is a dream game, entire engine and tools we use will be handed out to modders, and they can personally collaborate with us, literally anything is possible in our engine, you can make fire spitting dragon which will be controlled by you, or you can make robots with laser, you name it, it is possible.

Q: What era do you start and does the game allow you to just jump in and begin fighting or do you have to build yourself and your armour level by level?

Even civilian clothing in the game is modeled after historically documented examples.

A: We actually want to implement very wide range of cultures. For the initial release we will work on 13th century, then we will add 14th and after that 15th. At the moment in our trailer you see Teutonic knights attacking Novgorod, that event is when the Battle on the Ice happened.( Which is why you see snow drifting through the battle scenes.) As for cultures, you will see Western, Eastern, Northern and Southern European, Balkan, Mongol, Byzantine, Turkic, and lastly Persian..

Q: Tell us about your research...

A kettle helm straight from the pages of the Maciejowski Bible.

A: I use archaeological finds and manuscripts, for this to make possible a lot of historians archaeologists and enthusiast from all around the world helped out. I myself as an reenactor have been researching the medieval history archaeological finds for many years. Not only how they looks, but also how they behave, real life reconstructions offer a lot of answers once you test them out. Hollywood implanted a lot of prejudice about middle ages, this game will help straight few things out. I would also like to take this time to express my deepest gratitude to those professionals who gave of their expertise. Each was a master of their particular field of research and they gave of themselves and their time in helping this project achieve the look it has.

Q: So let me get this straight, your arms and armour are historically correct and the simulations actually fight like they are wielding real arms and equipment?

Weapons as seen in the Maciejowski Bible and the Morgan Bible.

A: Yes, all that you see in our game is documented, and the real life experiences of handling recreations from those or similar items are gathered and being transferred to the game, we want to make it as much realistic and fun at the same time.

Game play on a massive scale!

Thank you Zimke for taking the time to explain to myself and my readers the game you and your fellows have sacrificed and dedicated so much of your lives to create!

Here is the link to the Donkey Crews aka Melee: Battlegrounds Kickstart Campaign:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1601737664/melee-battlegrounds-spiritual-successor-to-the-crp

On personal note, I think the art is so beautifully rendered, I would like to share a few more pictures that have been graciously granted exclusive first looks by Zimke and his fellows at the Donkey Crew.-Thank you very much!

"Out History the Historians! or Saving Richard III"

The Flag of Yorkshire Saints.
The flag takes its colors from the shield of the arms of two local Yorkshire saints. Wilfrid (blue) and William (gold). William was martyred in 1154 via poisoning and so a Christian cross is present. Maybe it is time to fly this Flag
once more over Richard III. He certainly spent most of his youth riding beneath its banner.
Since he is to be buried in Leicester, maybe this should be draped over his sarcophagus?
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

     There has been a very nice response from the public to my last posting about Richard III. Thank you each and everyone who took the time to read, let alone comment. As most of you know I am the founder and editor of Modern Medievalist on Facebook. I posted the article on my page, and one of my readers brought something to my attention, that had slipped my grasp. We who are outraged at what has been done to Richard III and the terrible foisting off of propaganda have been focused on the slights and injuries he has been subject to, instead of focusing on what can be done instead.

    What can be done? Can we remove him from durance vile? Doubtful at best. Even if someone of the stature of HM the Queen should take an interest, Her Majesty is not above the law. But that doesn't mean that nothing can be done. In fact quite the opposite can be done actually. A friend living in Scotland said, we needed to "Out History the Historians." -I rather liked that sentiment. And since Leicester has been determined to set the bar of excellence so very low, I don't think it is a goal that cannot be achieved.

      As my reader put it, and I am paraphrasing her reply here, "Take over a failed chip shop or storefront that is as close to the Leicester Historical Center and create a time sensitive display of what a Royal Sarcophagus should look like, create a chapel within the shop, showing the general public what a Monarch of England should have as his final resting place. Bring in experts in Art, Armour, Weapons, Clothing and Textiles. Create a board to oversee the "counter historical center," take the monies earned and fold it back into the center until it outshines in authenticity that horrid place. I would visit the current center for five minutes. Something that is truly sensitive and 

historically accurate? I would spend hours in."

     I think the Ricardian Supporters have been going about this not necessarily the wrong way, I just think and I am including myself in this, that we have been blinded by not seeing the forest for the trees in front of us. It is time to beat the blighters at their own game!-(Sorry about that couldn't help myself there.)

    My lovely dainty great aunt from Texas used to say, "Something is only as special as we make it out to be." As I have aged in this life, I have found that to be so very true. Where does that leave us then? I have made inquiries with the fine folks at Kickstart. This idea of building a counter historical center is not even a full 24 hours old. However I believe it has merit. The people who believe history has once again suffered a sever miscarriage of justice can once more have an opportunity to create something worth celebrating.

     I am American and as such have been dismissed out of hand because of my birth, but this is our shared history, as I have ancestors who fought in the War of the Roses and regardless of York or Lancaster it is our heritage and our right as descendants of those who fought, to see that it is treated with respect and dignity. So it is time to gird up our loins and be prepared to fight a different campaign, while taking the high road. If the Ricardians of the world work together they can steal a march on those who are only interested in profit for profit's sake.

    One expert who also happens to be an American did a great deal of work and effort preparing a presentation of what historical arms and armour would have looked like at the time of the Battle of Bosworth. I leave his name out as of this writing as I have not consulted to see if I have his permission to use his name. Regardless his presentation and more importantly his scholarly reputation, and expertise were cast aside in favor of a Carling-(c) Lager Can propped up in the corner. (I hope the Carling Beer Company will forgive what I consider an unfavorable comparison.) 

You be the judge... Suit of Armour with
Christmas Eve Party Crown?

Or can of Lager beer? Which would you prefer representing your monarch? The sweat shop horror or the can of beer? Since crass commercialism is in play I would go for

the beer can.













 
     I would be ashamed to hold my head up in public, when it was discovered that the entire team of experts who had been assembled to undertake the expedition to retrieve Richard III revolted. Or when it was discovered that Plagiarism is no longer a crime so long as it relates to historical documents. I am referring of course to the moving quote York wrote about the loss of their king, that was used in the Leicester center that gave the impression of being written by the city of Leicester. 

    I digress... One of my readers informed me he had made several inquiries into what a cast bronze effigy, wearing historical arms and armour would cost, and startling enough, it would have cost less than what the Kleenex-(c) Tissue Box Dispenser is costing the subjects of the crown. I know many of Britain's armour smiths would gladly create something to show what a real suit or harness would look like. To tell the truth the artistic endeavors would in all likelihood pour in from all over the globe.

    Lastly there is a chance to once more celebrate what English history is all about. Hold a festive tournament in his honor the week before the anniversary of the battle of Bosworth. Make it a big deal! Celebrate with all the pomp and circumstances that only the British people can do. Invite every single reenactment house that participates in the various War of the Roses events. Have them conduct archery competitions, dismounted combat exhibitions, with marches and drills.Let the reenactors show interpretive displays, have them line up before the Jousters and parade before them in the list, with their flags and banners flying! Make the weekend, the premier Medieval History weekend on the calendar. Let them show that although Leicester might have his body, they do not posses his Honor or his future! Let the reenactors and jousters shout, "Out History the Historians!"

     Eventually I would see monies being sent north to York. Let the center support York Minister as Richard III did in his lifetime. Establish an endowment for college bound youth who wish to study history. If all of these things can be done for Leicester, then a healthy bit of competition should eventually make those in Leicester either sit up and take notice or come to their senses and allow the King to be interred in neutral ground with the proper rights. I would suspect if anyone in authority asked nicely, Pope Francis just might hop on a commercial flight and hail a cab to perform a high mass... or at least give a showing for a Catholic Monarch.

-DS Baker

"Matthew Ryan Historical Illustrator"

Battle of Evesham (c) Matthew Ryan Historical Illustrator

     I have a friend who lives in Nova Scotia, Canada named Pat, who like me is into all things medieval. Several weeks back he informed me he had a distant cousin living in the UK, who did historical drawing, paintings and illustrations for books. We have been friends for over four years now. I was a bit miffed, he was just now mentioning this to me. However I also believe things happen at their own time and pacing in our lives. So when something is supposed to happen it does. I asked him, who is your distant cousin? Matthew Ryan he replied.

     Well I don't know about the majority of people out there, but I have known of Matthew's talents and his paintings about as long as I have my friend. Do you think he would be interested in doing an interview? I asked. "That could probably be arranged" was the reply I received. The conversation you will see below, is the result of an off hand remark, coinciding with being in the right place at the right time. Thank you Pat for your assistance.

Matthew Ryan, welcome to Modern Medievalist. With your indulgence, I am going to just jump right in and start asking questions.

Q: I recently read where you said it had taken you 35 years to get to this point in your career. Where were you 35 years ago?

A: Ah, that was a little tongue in cheek but also very true.... I am thirty five so meant that every time I complete a piece of work the it has took me my whole life to get to this "new" stage. Knowledge of the subject, ideas and technical development is all of course an ongoing thing and in my mind my best piece of work is always my next. I have always been interested in Art and have for a long time had a fascination and love of history especially medieval. I have only recently been working as an historical illustrator but am fortunate to have already had some very good clients and briefs.

Q: Did you receive formal training to be an Artist?

A: Yes I did a degree in illustration.... must admit over here an illustration degree does not include what people would call technical formal training. I learnt much from the degree however but my work is I would say (if this does not sound to self congratulating) a combination of talent, practice and work. When I took my degree in Illustration it was not historical illustration that I was working on... a tutor at the time I remember was often saying "draw what you know and what you love" this at the age of about twenty went right over my head and I remember thinking I can draw whatever people want me to draw. However years later when I combined my two passions and painted historical themes my work went to a new place and the realization of what he said became very true. This is another reason why I only advertise as an historical illustrator now. Painting what your are interested in and love gives your work more sincerity and the passion you have for the subject can come through in the finished work.

Matthew Ryan working on a composition.

Q: Where do you find your subjects? (I know in the UK you just about can't swing a dead cat around your head without hitting a reenactor of some sort.)

A: Reenactors are visually a key source for me, you can not beat seeing in real life the textures and combinations of how light plays on a surface, things such as steel - polished in the sun or rusted in the rain on a dull autumn morning all these things give the paintings depth and character. I am a big advocate of artists drawing from nature and the world around them. However in saying that that is only one aspect of sources for my work... landscape photography is an important element and something I also enjoy. Setting the soldier in his landscape is as much of an important thing for me as details such as kit and uniform etc. Another and possibly most important part of the process is direct contemporary sources and for the medieval period this mostly leaves us with tomb effigies, manuscript art and some of the later period paintings and written descriptive accounts. I find the access now available on-line with digitized manuscripts invaluable. All these things can be used and cross referenced to try and bring together what I hope is as accurate as I can be with a glimpse, or view to the past.

Q: What did you present for this year (publication and completed work) and what does 2014 hold in store?

A:Some of the work in the past twelve months have been.... Four paintings for the channel 4 series "Walking through History with Tony Robinson" about the 1719 Jacobite uprising. The battle of Bryn Glas for Medieval Warfare Magazine, A painting I made of the 1460 Battle of Northampton based on my friend and historian Mike Ingram's work. This was made to help draw awareness to the battle and help save the site from potential development work. The original I donated to the people of Northampton and it is currently on display at Northampton Museum alongside the recent facial reconstruction of Richard III. Also worked and working on editorial briefs for some Spanish military history Magazines, Desperta Ferro.

-Wow! You have really been busy-

I  have been working on a large canvas of the battle of Bosworth, this is a self made brief and so it has had to be side lined for the moment, but I hope to have time to work on it again soon. My Bosworth piece has been in the planning for a couple of years, with the interest now in King Richard III I am sure it will be a popular image and something I hope to become iconic. I have many possible exciting projects for next year, some of which may be work for the Magna Carta 800 project that I would relish. Also in the cards (and due to my archery I must do this) is paintings to mark the 2015 anniversary of Agincourt!

Q: So you are an Archer then?

A: I am. I have been practicing archery since I was a child. My father had several flat bows, and I started from there. I also became a Fletcher, and have made my own arrows. My practical experience with Archery, Fletching led me to creating some of the illustrations for Mike Loades Osprey book on Archery, and they also used several photographs of arrows I had made. By the way, it was perhaps my love of shooting the English/Welsh Warbows that started me off drawing and painting things medieval.

The Power of the  English/Welsh Warbow.

Q: Can anyone commission your work? Or do you strictly work for Authors, Historical Organizations, or Museums?

A: Any one can commission my work, however the magazines, book and TV shows are a great avenue to showcase my work. Also the publishing side of things allows me to have interesting and helpful communications with historians, editors etc within the profession and helps with my constant learning on the subjects. I try and stay fresh with input from reenactors. Without the input of people who have practical application of building a Bow or some other medieval object, then the art would become two dimensional and flat.

Q: What is the latest offering from Matthew Ryan Historical Illustrator?

A: Hopefully by the time this article is published I will have a website up and running, where my art can be viewed and limited edition prints of my work can be ordered.

-His website is up, and will be listed in the link section below.-

Thank you Matthew Ryan. It has been a pleasure speaking with you. Considering all of the irons you have in the fire, I truly appreciate the time you took away from your art to speak to me and my readers. All of my best, and I eagerly look forward to viewing your latest projects.

-DS Baker.

Here is Matthew Ryan's Website address:

http://matthewryanhistoricalillustrator.com/

Here is Matthew Ryan Historical Illustrator's page on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/matthewryanhistoricalillustrator

A Conversation with Debra Brown, Author and Editor.

    "Dearest David, we cannot simply continue to exist on a diet of Arms, and Armour."-A reader sent me this note about a month ago.

     Which has prompted me to change or rather expand the horizons of my blog. I decided right then and there to search out interesting  persons and or personalities to profile on my blog. One of the first persons I met is a lady named Debbie Brown. She is an American author, and like me she has a blog. But unlike me it is not just a single person's view point but an entire community of historical fiction writers and historians!

     Last week I had an opportunity to interview Debbie Brown, and we spoke at some length about her writing and her latest literary efforts. I hope you will enjoy the conversation as much as I did. Thank you very much Debbie for your time. As we both know time is truly the one commodity once given away never returns.-DS Baker.

Q: What started your love of things historical?

A: When I was a child, I had the My Bookhouse Books. They were an amazing 7 volume set of books that a woman put together. The stories were written by famous authors and poets like Shakespeare, Chaucer, Keats, etc. not to mention Hans Christian Andersen. Later editions went up to 12 volumes, the last being a collection of biographies of all the writers.
I loved those books and read them endlessly. They had fabulous art, too, and all of it put together taught me about old England and other places which I came to love.
I became acquainted with older fashion, customs, etc., but didn't really have time to pursue knowledge of history till I was much older.

Q: So where did those books lead you in your love of history as an adult?

A: When I worked on jewelry for some years, I would watch period movies and series. I learned more about past customs from that, and would look things up on the internet if I was confused. Most of my history education is very informal. However, it is a driving force for me as it is for many. I also get library books now that I am not making jewelry. There is plenty to learn.

Q: How long ago did you start actually writing your first story, that you felt like was good enough for someone else to read?

A: Three years ago. It was published a year after I started. That was "The Companion of Lady Holmeshire."

Q: How many times did you edit it, and how many times did your support group of friends or family comb through it?

A: I went over it a dozen times before I sent it to the publisher. Each time, I thought it was the last, but then I would want to give it a last read-through ... repeatedly. Then my family and another author read it and I had more corrections to make. I did not realize that was the normal process at the time - it was done as a hobby.
A year after it was published, I revised it again, having learned more about writing.

Q: Where did the publication of your story take you after that? What sort of connections did you find all of a sudden blossoming in your writing life?

A: I began to blog, as they say one must have a web presence, and an author helped me to learn much about promotion. I also read in online writer's guidance publications, and applied some of what I learned. As time went on, I decided to team up with a group of authors that formed a blog which posted Daily British history, as I thought many people would be like me-hungry for that information. It became a popular blog, English Historical Fiction Authors. We also have a Facebook group by that name.

I also started a Goodreads group named Historical Info for Historical Fiction Readers to provide back up information to the stories we all read. Not being a historian myself, I invited authors to write about the eras their stories are set in. I met many new reader and author friends there.

Q: It sounds like you enrolled yourself into a steep gradient of learning not only how to write, but to edit as well. So tell us about the Anthology that came about as a direct result of your friends and associates

A: After we celebrated the first anniversary of our blog, one of the authors suggested we put selected posts together into a book. It was a wonderful idea, and I jumped right into it. One in our group has a very professional publishing business, and she agreed to publish the book. It was a year's work to get it ready for our second anniversary, and it was released on that day, Sept. 23, 2013.
The title is Castles, Customs, and Kings: True Tales by English Historical Fiction Authors. It is a big, wonderful, and beautiful book.

Q: How does it feel to be the Editor of an Anthology, and more importantly did you think it was going to be as much work as it has turned out to be?

A: It was a surprise to become the editor of an anthology. I am thrilled with the results, though it meant putting the brakes on my own writing project. I am creative at heart, but to see this book in print and to celebrate with the fifty-five contributors has made it well worth while.

Q: What sort of true-tales might we find within its pages?

A: Castles, Customs, and Kings is set out in chronological order for the most part, starting with the Roman occupation. I know your readers are interested in medieval history, and probably some of the Tudor era. These sections take up a good part of the book. Topics that are covered include interesting bits like Harold Godwinson, William Before He was the Conqueror, the Knights Templar, Simon de Montfort, The Religious Hysteria Caused by the Black Death, the "Notorious" Alice Perrers, early Theater, medieval bestiaries, the Tudor Court of Wards, the last Nun, the death of Henry VIII, and many more.The book continues and covers up through World War II.

Q: How have your marketed the book and how has the reception been?

A: I created a blog tour, and my co-editor and I are writing posts for various blogs. We started with a post on our own blog, which included a giveaway and the first spot on a blog hop which included twenty-three blogs. Now we are visiting the various blogs on the tour. Twitter is also a major means of informing the reading public about the book. Because of sales on my first book, Amazon is helping out by notifying my earlier readers. I can't complain about that! Also in the first week we were #4 in the section History > European > England for some days, and #1 in Historical Essays for some. That was exciting!

Thank you Debbie Brown for this interview and more importantly for helping to keep history alive and vibrant! I have included below the various American and UK Amazon Links to Debbie Brown and M.M. Bennetts anthology
US Amazon Link:
http://www.amazon.com/Castles-Customs-Kings-English-Historical/dp/0983671966/|
UK Amazon Link:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Castles-Customs-Kings-English-Historical/dp/0983671966/
Also on Kobo:
http://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/books/castles-customs-and-kings/8Z74tNQVG0ubh-TttCWW0g

-DS Baker