This looks amazing guys, but if anyone has the will and wants to get more people into the community is there any way to make the installation process simpler? I know it's written in a step-by-step in the wiki, but it seems like there are nearly 20 steps and if you install/enable something in the wrong order it breaks everything. I'm just thinking about how easy it is to install the Ultimate Apocalypse mod for Dawn of War and get more people (like me) playing.
This game was a huge part of my childhood and a huge factor in making me a fan of strategy games! I remember playing this nonstop probably played the campaign like 100 times over haha 😅 such a good game wish they made a new one but now a days everyone is so one dimensional for video games everybody plays the same first person shooter games no matter how repetitive and recycled they are...
The slowdown is definitely an engine issue. I once messed around with unit costs in my game files and I brought the game to its knees, the engine just can't handle that many units. Definitely going to check this out. Middle-Earth 2 is my favourite RTS of all time.
I don't know if that's true, I've killed off tons of units with one left in each unit, just to bring the whole unit back. Think I had around 1000 actual soldiers or whatever.
I remember renting Battle for Middle Earth II from Blockbuster playing it on Xbox 360. C&C had great ports to the 360 the biggest issue being the pop cap. But I swear the pop cap was higher than HaloWars 2 pop cap.
@@WolfShadow01 But on the flip side it's considered abandonware, so it's easy to get and maybe a dedicated fan with the technical know how can move it over to a more modern engine.
@@ssfbob456 You're not wrong. I've got cracked copies, and legit copies. Sometimes I'll use a cracked base and legit expansion... Just felt like this game had it all, bulk units, heroes powers
@@WolfShadow01 Oh yeah, I actually forgot about this one. I let my friend borrow my copy years ago and he ended up having to move quickly out of nowhere. Never saw it again.
Me and my dad used to always play this game on the Xbox. His favorite thing to do was set up an ai skirmish map on helms deep where he would just spam the men of the west archers on top of the walls and just see how many enemies he could kill that way.
Its an amazing time. Really well done all throughout, my only grip is that the Spell Powers are wicked strong, ridiculously so. I honestly just went into the mod files and toned down the damage scaling on all the spells in the game, and it feels 100x better on a mod thats already making the base game 100x better
I grew up playing this game and was feeling nostalgic in the past couple years. Couldn't get it to work on Win10 until just recently. This is perfect news! I was aware of BFME1 project but not BFME2! I'm extremely happy this game is still getting love
From age of the ring moddb site "While the main development of AotR's factions is done (of course, the RotK campaign is still coming, as is at least one additional Adventure Faction...), we are continuing to finetune the overall balance of the mod, taking note of the competitive scene's feedback to 8.0 and the data gathered through replays and tournaments. As a result, we have decided to make a number of significant changes to the Rohan faction, to increase their viability."
4:53 Its a product of the game's age. The game can't utilize multiple processors or multiple RAM sticks on modern hardware, though believe there is a workaround on the AOTR's forums for at least helping it a bit.
You won't be disappointed it's very fun to play. Enjoy giving your trolls tree-clubs and watching them level up as the smash through waves of Rohan peasants
@@gomperhooblet were to download? I have tried but always ended up with either the files not opening or not wanting to put the product key and a lot of other issues, luckily I have reinstalled windows so I might give it another try, I was so close last time
@@gomperhooblet pirate isn't the word for it, it is abandonware I have found and downloaded it several times but I don't know if it's the files or my computer it just wouldn't let me launch the game
You read my mind everyone just swallows up the same first person shooter games cause it’s the “cool” game to play...this game was ahead of its time it was so fun
BFME2 is the fantasy equivalent of Star Wars: Empire at War in the sense that they're both by modern standards, archaic RTS games that have been consistently pumped full of life and expanded in ways that the original development team never imagined by a near obsessive modding community.
I've been thinking about replaying this game for many years now, but couldn't find a way to make it work on my PC (Windows 10 compatibility and that stuff). This mod is definitely the perfect excuse to finally do so. Thanks RUclips algorith for the recommendation. And thanks Zade for the great video!
Nice review. I definitely want to check this out now. Just to be clear, though, the game being "abandonware" doesn't actually make it legal to pirate it.
Those are kind of people that i want to give money to. And all should help them also. It is rare thing today that someone will do anything for free specialy something this big. THey deserve big reward.
I still can't understand why we have an ocean of games for all the "good" races of Middle-earth, but so few games for the followers of Darkness? I'm sure many will agree that the experience of commanding the army of Angmar on behalf of The Witch-king/Sauron/Gotmog sounds both as something new and as something more interesting than playing for another long-eared lover of leaves. We need a project that will allow us to establish our iron will as the only force in Middle-earth. And, of course, we all should not hope for such an ambitious project... Especially lately... But hope dies last. Although the words about hope sound more ironic than ever, from the mouth of Sauron's sidekick
Wauw, i actually didn't know this mod existed for this game! I am going to download it right now and play it! Also, since starting to cover more mod content wouldn't it be interesting to talk about some of the C&C mods as well like Mental Omega, 20XX or Twisted insurrection?
I want to point out the design of the Lorien fraction. So unique and it feels very close to the source material somehow. And the voice of the worker unit is in my opinion, the most beautiful thing there is. I play Lorien to plant Mallorns and hear the voice of the elves
O.o I am beyond envious of wanting to play this. I don’t have a computer though but god damn. I had my dad rent this for me 7 times from Blockbuster before he finally just bought it for me on the 360 because I was so obsessed with this game. I love it. LoTR in general. This mod is just, chefs kiss.
Stretching the UI for games that were developed in the 4:3 era bothers me a lot, especially Generals and BFME, and RUclips compression doesn't do them justice as well. As for the performance issues you mention when there are a lot of units onscreen, SAGE wasn't the best thing in the world and is purely single threaded and Westwood developed it for Renegade.
I love this game Ive been trying to get hands on it for atleast a month now but to no avail. Can I get a tutorial on how to download and install the base game in 2023?
Awesome I played the mod in its early days and loved it, I'm just getting errors getting ROTWK installed but once I sorted that I will Def get age of the ring again
Raise game was so huge in my early years of rts and when rise of the witching came out .. online play the whole thing is a masterpiece... I lost my copies getting older and just want to play this again. How do I without spending ten million on people selling pc copies online?
oh man that looks so cool one thing i don't like though, ROhan being it's own faction. back in BFME1, they were my favorite but i felt that every other unit they had that wasn't a Rohirrim was a waste of space.
Hey Zade as the very first great video. Nice to see that there are still RUclipsr who appreciate this great game. Age of the Ring is a great mod, but have you heard of the Edain mod? If not, it would be cool if you could make a video about it. It's a German mod for Rise of the Witch King, but it's also completely playable in English. In my opinion, it is the best and most comprehensive mod and the mother of all Battle for Middle Earth mods.
The one thing that always bugged me about every game and these mods as well was the bad ai. It not only makes it repetitive to play against, it makes moving units a nightmare. It feels like youre a general but the units dont respect you and only listen sometimes
Maybe you mentioned this in the video and I glossed over it. I am guessing that because it is a mod you will have to have the actual games installed first and can't just download and play this by itself?
This is very cool, but holy crap is it hard to install and get running. I'm now downloading my 7th patch/installer/etc and trying to sort of kludge them all together.
Oh man, I remember years ago, modding this game to oblivion and always going for mods that remove unit caps then annoyed my friends with huge 5 fps battles
Six years of dedicated, loving work for basically no monetary gain simply because people adore the game so much. And yet EA decided that these RTS games don't sell so we won't get any more.
Hey guys haven’t played computer since 2013 😂 but this video really got me motivated to play again. Does it work on an old Mac book or do I have to buy a gamer computer?
It is my favourite game ever... I'am hungarian, and I am not speak english. :( I want to try this mod. But I play Rise of the Witch King first, then after. :D
Dunno what was posted on the site during the making of the video but based on whatt there's now the ROTK campaign isnt cancelled . And there's also work already done to it so it would be a shame to bin it.
I always were an edain mod player, even more after they changed the building system to the bfme1 one, but i have to say, what the aotr mod does, is great, i enjoy it playing fron time to time
OH MY GOD U DID IT!!!!! THANK YOU!!!!
Nah bro. YOU did it
For real mick did it xD
@@Zade_95 how to download the game? and where? is the the update can be auto update
Thanks a bunch, glad you enjoyed it!
Based
Your mod looks great but I have a question do you know where I could buy the game?I bought it once but it was a pirated version
@@capgreen3805 it's explained in the video!
This looks amazing guys, but if anyone has the will and wants to get more people into the community is there any way to make the installation process simpler?
I know it's written in a step-by-step in the wiki, but it seems like there are nearly 20 steps and if you install/enable something in the wrong order it breaks everything.
I'm just thinking about how easy it is to install the Ultimate Apocalypse mod for Dawn of War and get more people (like me) playing.
Links in the description :)
This game was a huge part of my childhood and a huge factor in making me a fan of strategy games! I remember playing this nonstop probably played the campaign like 100 times over haha 😅 such a good game wish they made a new one but now a days everyone is so one dimensional for video games everybody plays the same first person shooter games no matter how repetitive and recycled they are...
Helm’s deep skirmish games were 🔥🔥🔥
played a lot of pvp and remember building a new base somewhere random when i was losing just to prolong it
The slowdown is definitely an engine issue. I once messed around with unit costs in my game files and I brought the game to its knees, the engine just can't handle that many units. Definitely going to check this out. Middle-Earth 2 is my favourite RTS of all time.
Yep, I think it's bound to a single core so it struggles. Medium settings made it mostly without issues for me!
*Corpse decay* is how you offset a lot of chug -- reduce it, and the game can support more than enough units to be a convincing LotR game.
@@shoahkhan5670 Oh I'll try that, thanks :)
I don't know if that's true, I've killed off tons of units with one left in each unit, just to bring the whole unit back. Think I had around 1000 actual soldiers or whatever.
I remember renting Battle for Middle Earth II from Blockbuster playing it on Xbox 360.
C&C had great ports to the 360 the biggest issue being the pop cap. But I swear the pop cap was higher than HaloWars 2 pop cap.
Damn I loved these 2 games. They could do with a re-master especially focusing on performance enhancements. If only!
Check out the Battle for Middle Earth Reforged project
EA lost the rights, so sadly the game can't even be sold anymore.
@@WolfShadow01 But on the flip side it's considered abandonware, so it's easy to get and maybe a dedicated fan with the technical know how can move it over to a more modern engine.
@@ssfbob456 You're not wrong.
I've got cracked copies, and legit copies. Sometimes I'll use a cracked base and legit expansion...
Just felt like this game had it all, bulk units, heroes powers
@@WolfShadow01 Oh yeah, I actually forgot about this one. I let my friend borrow my copy years ago and he ended up having to move quickly out of nowhere. Never saw it again.
Me and my dad used to always play this game on the Xbox. His favorite thing to do was set up an ai skirmish map on helms deep where he would just spam the men of the west archers on top of the walls and just see how many enemies he could kill that way.
3:30 whats Ragnar doing there? 🤣
He probably just discovered new lands
Its an amazing time. Really well done all throughout, my only grip is that the Spell Powers are wicked strong, ridiculously so. I honestly just went into the mod files and toned down the damage scaling on all the spells in the game, and it feels 100x better on a mod thats already making the base game 100x better
"Our ruins are being ruined!"
"You can be replaced! Wait, so can I!"
This game is SO intense. Great product, a work of art, truly.
I grew up playing this game and was feeling nostalgic in the past couple years. Couldn't get it to work on Win10 until just recently. This is perfect news! I was aware of BFME1 project but not BFME2! I'm extremely happy this game is still getting love
theyve just confirmed return of the ring is in the works!
Zade back at it again giving much needed praise to community projects, thanks alot homie :D
Fun fact, they just announced that they were beginning development on Return Of The King!
From age of the ring moddb site "While the main development of AotR's factions is done (of course, the RotK campaign is still coming, as is at least one additional Adventure Faction...), we are continuing to finetune the overall balance of the mod, taking note of the competitive scene's feedback to 8.0 and the data gathered through replays and tournaments. As a result, we have decided to make a number of significant changes to the Rohan faction, to increase their viability."
The greatest mod of all time ❤
This guy, this is so nostalgic for me. To be able to play this game, like it is new. Thank you!
They announced that they're doing a ROTK game
These games were so well made considering the timeframe it came out ! It holds up incredibly well to this day.
I know right. Almost 20 years old! (bruh)
AOTR is a whole new game for real, custom voice acting alone is worth checking.
4:53 Its a product of the game's age. The game can't utilize multiple processors or multiple RAM sticks on modern hardware, though believe there is a workaround on the AOTR's forums for at least helping it a bit.
Im from the future, the return of the king campaign has been confirmed
thank you rupert
Impressive. Never played the game but looks much better than modern games aka soulless cash grabs. I put it on my list.
You won't be disappointed it's very fun to play. Enjoy giving your trolls tree-clubs and watching them level up as the smash through waves of Rohan peasants
@@gomperhooblet were to download?
I have tried but always ended up with either the files not opening or not wanting to put the product key and a lot of other issues, luckily I have reinstalled windows so I might give it another try, I was so close last time
@@elpsykoongro5379 you're gonna have to pirate and crack I think, there is no legal way to purchase this game now
@@gomperhooblet pirate isn't the word for it, it is abandonware
I have found and downloaded it several times but I don't know if it's the files or my computer it just wouldn't let me launch the game
You read my mind everyone just swallows up the same first person shooter games cause it’s the “cool” game to play...this game was ahead of its time it was so fun
So impressive what people can do when they give something their love and patience
AOTR made some of the most beautiful maps ever in BFME community.
Well, i dont know if it just dropped after your video, but they mayde an announcement trailer for The return of the king :) We'll get this too i guess
BFME2 is the fantasy equivalent of Star Wars: Empire at War in the sense that they're both by modern standards, archaic RTS games that have been consistently pumped full of life and expanded in ways that the original development team never imagined by a near obsessive modding community.
I've been thinking about replaying this game for many years now, but couldn't find a way to make it work on my PC (Windows 10 compatibility and that stuff). This mod is definitely the perfect excuse to finally do so. Thanks RUclips algorith for the recommendation. And thanks Zade for the great video!
Kia ora my brother! cheers for the awesome content
nzer game thanks mate
Nice review. I definitely want to check this out now. Just to be clear, though, the game being "abandonware" doesn't actually make it legal to pirate it.
Those are kind of people that i want to give money to. And all should help them also. It is rare thing today that someone will do anything for free specialy something this big. THey deserve big reward.
I still can't understand why we have an ocean of games for all the "good" races of Middle-earth, but so few games for the followers of Darkness? I'm sure many will agree that the experience of commanding the army of Angmar on behalf of The Witch-king/Sauron/Gotmog sounds both as something new and as something more interesting than playing for another long-eared lover of leaves. We need a project that will allow us to establish our iron will as the only force in Middle-earth. And, of course, we all should not hope for such an ambitious project... Especially lately... But hope dies last. Although the words about hope sound more ironic than ever, from the mouth of Sauron's sidekick
Wauw, i actually didn't know this mod existed for this game!
I am going to download it right now and play it!
Also, since starting to cover more mod content wouldn't it be interesting to talk about some of the C&C mods as well like Mental Omega, 20XX or Twisted insurrection?
Video idea: tempest rising just had some news including an interview and a multi-player pvp match which you could talk about
3:28. You can recruit Ragnar Lothbrok. Instant download
the GOAT
Amazing, props to everyone who updated this and still plays this gem
This was my favorite game to play back in the day. Overseas was huge in the net cafes. Used to have big lan parties with multiplayer.
I want to point out the design of the Lorien fraction. So unique and it feels very close to the source material somehow.
And the voice of the worker unit is in my opinion, the most beautiful thing there is. I play Lorien to plant Mallorns and hear the voice of the elves
I can't wait to try this, I used to love battle for middle earth 2
O.o I am beyond envious of wanting to play this. I don’t have a computer though but god damn.
I had my dad rent this for me 7 times from Blockbuster before he finally just bought it for me on the 360 because I was so obsessed with this game. I love it. LoTR in general.
This mod is just, chefs kiss.
I need this game in my life again.
hey man can u please make a video tutorial for installing BFME in 2023 with this mod?
I never had the privilege of playing the original. thank you for this!!!
dang, recently i have been wanting to play this game again and here you are to share this mod.. its fate
Stretching the UI for games that were developed in the 4:3 era bothers me a lot, especially Generals and BFME, and RUclips compression doesn't do them justice as well.
As for the performance issues you mention when there are a lot of units onscreen, SAGE wasn't the best thing in the world and is purely single threaded and Westwood developed it for Renegade.
3:30 Ah yes, my favorite hero of Isengard, Travis Fimmel.
Brings back memories ❤ one of my favorite games of all times.
they are wokring on return of the king campaign too
Finally! Can't wait to do a run of this! (or 5)
Thank you for reigniting my love for this game.
I love this game Ive been trying to get hands on it for atleast a month now but to no avail. Can I get a tutorial on how to download and install the base game in 2023?
It's in the video. And if you google it you'll find the Revora site pretty quick
Awesome I played the mod in its early days and loved it, I'm just getting errors getting ROTWK installed but once I sorted that I will Def get age of the ring again
Wow i havent seen this game since i played it religously as a kid!! Might have to pick it up again
Oooh that gives me the hope of a TotalWar LotR
You really should start covering more mods. Theres a lot of potential there for making new videos than covering the infrequent RTS release.
100% agreed! there's a few i've got planned :)
Well damn, I need to get myself a new SATA cable to hook my BD-ROM back up
Update: the one I forgot I ordered arrives today lol
They've recently announced that they are making a ROTK campaign
i saw! so sick and hilarious timing lol
Yo! Is this still available to play on pc? I tried buying it but it wouldn’t register
Also can’t buy it online
Raise game was so huge in my early years of rts and when rise of the witching came out
.. online play the whole thing is a masterpiece... I lost my copies getting older and just want to play this again. How do I without spending ten million on people selling pc copies online?
I too lost my copies growing up which im extremely mad about lol
In 2024 and still playing Lord of the Rings. The whole Anthology. Greetings from Greece.
oh man that looks so cool
one thing i don't like though, ROhan being it's own faction.
back in BFME1, they were my favorite but i felt that every other unit they had that wasn't a Rohirrim was a waste of space.
Is there any way to download this game in windows 10?
Hey Zade as the very first great video. Nice to see that there are still RUclipsr who appreciate this great game. Age of the Ring is a great mod, but have you heard of the Edain mod? If not, it would be cool if you could make a video about it. It's a German mod for Rise of the Witch King, but it's also completely playable in English. In my opinion, it is the best and most comprehensive mod and the mother of all Battle for Middle Earth mods.
Did you not watch the video? Shake my head
I wish there was a way to disable catpults so I can do a long defence style session.
The one thing that always bugged me about every game and these mods as well was the bad ai. It not only makes it repetitive to play against, it makes moving units a nightmare. It feels like youre a general but the units dont respect you and only listen sometimes
I was just thinking how I was about to download this game again. Now I have a reason to!!
Maybe you mentioned this in the video and I glossed over it. I am guessing that because it is a mod you will have to have the actual games installed first and can't just download and play this by itself?
This is very cool, but holy crap is it hard to install and get running.
I'm now downloading my 7th patch/installer/etc and trying to sort of kludge them all together.
yeah it's a little unfortunate there's no 'one click install' kind of thing. still, i've experienced worse :P
I was 4 when i played this game, im 89 now and im going to download it for my annual fix
Fingers crossed the team goes back to ROTWK HD mod now Age of the Ring is complete
How can I play this?? What PC will support it? Do I need to have a physical copy of the original game?
5:14 It shall be done!
well, the only reason why I restart playing this game 2 years ago was because of age of the ring. Because this modd is a beast
It's sad that they won't make a Return of the King campaign but the amount of work would be just as big as the mod itself
they've recently announced that there will be a return of the king campaign
@@usabestarmy Where did they announce it?
@@darthkarnage7538 ruclips.net/video/QsP9pF4zkZI/видео.html
RoTK is actually coming to Age of the ring, theyre still working it
Oh man, I remember years ago, modding this game to oblivion and always going for mods that remove unit caps then annoyed my friends with huge 5 fps battles
I still think that's medieval divide &conquer mods is the best LOTR game now and for some time in the futur :)
Man, Isengard gets Ragnar Lothbrok from Vikings as a hero!
Looks pretty good the only issue I see is no support for wide resolution...
Now next game will be galactic battlegrounds expanding fronts?
yes, actually! this week
How would you say this mod compares to Edain Mod? Been playing Edain since I was a kid, but I would love to try this one too!
YOOOOO! This game is now abandonware? This is amazing! I had so many issues finding it back in the day, even "on the high seas".
I am greatly pleased that people like exist
Thank you for the links!
thank you for actually checking they're there 😂 unlike most people it seems lmao
Age of the Ring's Return of the King is in the making! Check the source site.
Six years of dedicated, loving work for basically no monetary gain simply because people adore the game so much. And yet EA decided that these RTS games don't sell so we won't get any more.
Its criminal how the locked up the rights to prevent another company making it either
BFME1 elvenstar mod's taste is very very unique
I want a real company to create a new Middle Earth game.. It deserves attention!
Please have a look at castle strike!
Guys play this its worth it as a fellow strategist to another. Cheers! 🎉
Now I just have to get the base because I've tried to get this game so many times and haven't been able to on PC. I DON'T HAVE A GAME KEY!
BFME II:
RZSJ-6NFD-AH3A-MHTF-AW6Q
K3QQ-9PWX-VD4U-7EPK-8TTX
QNBK-4XK2-22CZ-PP5N-3HRR
VKMM-V8JK-3JFF-9QM5-HARD
SCHH-9MZX-NECD-LDP7-S9NJ
5E22-G557-AUFE-7T3G-B8ME
ROTWK:
S4BT-M2ZW-MDUP-WY9L-HG2C
YEB3-EHY5-PQLJ-JPXG-EKQU
BMGY-PSQY-HSKU-6NT2-NFKF
KQZR-6HAB-AF7U-2LMZ-24W2
DXZR-9QU7-DEV8-ZJ4D-CHBF
SJS2-QMYV-DR9G-G9Z2-G35V
You telling us we can download the original game online is my good news of the day
I need this mod? Going to download asap. I love rotwk right now, surely this will top it
I miss this game and rts games in general
Where can i get the lord of the rings battle of middle earth II? And its expansion?
link in description
For real, is there a reliable way to get BFME2 for PC?
Hey guys haven’t played computer since 2013 😂 but this video really got me motivated to play again. Does it work on an old Mac book or do I have to buy a gamer computer?
I’m gonna try to get this running on Linux, wish me luck
It is my favourite game ever... I'am hungarian, and I am not speak english. :(
I want to try this mod. But I play Rise of the Witch King first, then after. :D
Dunno what was posted on the site during the making of the video but based on whatt there's now the ROTK campaign isnt cancelled . And there's also work already done to it so it would be a shame to bin it.
I always were an edain mod player, even more after they changed the building system to the bfme1 one, but i have to say, what the aotr mod does, is great, i enjoy it playing fron time to time