Project True Viking

[PTV-Jobo 820]

WELCOME TO THE OFFICIAL RELEASE THREAD OF PROJECT TRUE VIKING!

Project True Viking aims to represent the fictional Nordic country of Askeland in Arma 3. Our team has worked over many years, many iterations (ASTFOR), and many problems to get to the point we are at now. We aim to firstly provide a highly detailed mod covering the entire Askeland Defence Force--including a vast and rich history that intertwines with real-life history, giving the existence of our fictional nation more plausibility in sounding like something than can truly exist in real life! Our next step will be to get the actual nation of Askeland in game before introducing the public services, and some of Askeland’s most prominent enemies.

 

 

Welcome to Askeland:

Askeland (Old Norse: Askrland), a country borne from the ashes of volcanic fire and home to warriors so fierce that even their fellow Vikings were scared of them…or so the legends say. According to surviving pieces of an Askelandic saga, it got its name from when its originally Norse settlers first saw it's beauty and vast ash trees. It was nicknamed after Ask (Old Norse: Askr which means literally "Ash Tree"). According to sources such as the Poetic Edda, Askr and Embla were the first man and woman created by Odin, Hœnir and Lóðurr and went on to be granted a home in Midgard.

 

To some, as often found in Germanic paganism and mythology, these ash trees became something sacred to its people. Some scholars hypothesize that there existed notable amount of ritual and reverence shown, especially by its warriors. Many boat and spear were made from these revered "children" of Askr and Embla as well as burnt ash from these trees ritualistically rubbed into the skin before battles or raids. This lead to them also being known--according to the 11th century German (Saxon) Historian and Geographer, Adam von Bremen's historical writings called the "Gesta Hammaburgensis Ecclasiae Pontificum"--as the nickname of Ascomanni, or "Ash Men".

 

Askeland Today:

Modern day Askeland is very different from the days of yore, it is a vibrant and cultural Scandinavian nation. Askeland has a budding tourist industry taking advantage of the natural vistas and sports facilities dotted all over the island. The people enjoy the benefits of modern politics in the Scandinavian union, their embassies across the world allow them to play a key role in the modern world. Askeland is, on the face of it, just like Norway, Denmark and Sweden.

 

Below the surface however there is a darker side to Askeland. Recent political troubles in Europe has led rise to multiple extremist groups becoming more open in their actions across the country. The Askeland Defense Forces face a troublesome future, though they have years of tradition and a proud history to maintain morale their resolve is being tested. They face a war on multiple fronts, maintaining their NATO commitments overseas, preparing for a potential threat to Scandinavia by Russia, and helping the public services at home. No matter the threat, no matter the cost--these sons and daughters of Askeland--like their ancestors, will face any challenge with the same amount of bravery and ferocity as their ancestors.

 

Til Valhall!

 

THE LATEST RELEASE

The latest release at the moment is our first (Alpha) release. In this pack you will find enough gear to get a squad together along with many weapons that have been used by the Askelandic Defense Forces both past and present.

THE TEAM

Project Lead:

Jobo

 

Project Manager:

Robert Hammer

 

Developers (Current):

HorribleGoat

Tasksoldier121

Specter

Wessex

 

 

Former Devs/Contributors:

Jones

ThePugLife

Nanshaker420

 

CREDITS

We wish to thank the following people who have taken the time to support us by contributing during the lifetime of development for Project True Viking. We appreciate all of your help throughout our development. And it is with your help and support that helped us make it here to our first ever release. We appreciate the help more than than you'll ever know!:

 

WR5, Kiory, RedRogueXIII, Hell, Crash, Tenoyl, MikePhoeniX, Christian Øelund, Stefan Engdahl, Iansky, Kouoaeha,Troska, Toadie, SPS Team, da12thMonkey, Tom3dJay, Syn, Tigg, Thanez, ArtemSh, warden_1, JSRS Studios, Ca Chua, hatchet, Zeealex, Reyhard, Darkstorn, Sylon, MediumSolid.

 

A VERY SPECIAL THANK YOU

StalkerGB, Folkward, R0adki11, Da12thMonkey, Adacas, Slatts, Sabre, Jawolf55, CrazyCorky, Sgt. Potter, Laxeman, Vilas, and so many more people both on the Bohemia Forums past and present as well as our old Facebook page that had always supported and cheered for us for so long since our beginnings with Project ASTFOR!

 

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Q: Wait, I'm confused. Is this still Project Astfor or totally something else?

Spoiler

A: Yes and No. It's really quite complex and has quite a big TL:DR behind it. A lot has changed during the past few months while secretly in development—lore, history, names, structuring, equipment choices, etc. It shares a bit of common things with ASTFOR, yet quite very different.

 

Q: What made you decide to come back?

Spoiler

A: Well once you figure out what went wrong—as painful as it was—things kind of fell back into place slowly but surely. It was still a great and unique idea that deserved to see the light of day and succeed in some way. But more than that, I wanted this for my team who invested a lot of time and hard work over the years. The deserved to see their hard work released for you all to enjoy and see their skills and passion. And for you, the community. A lot of you out there supported us from the beginning, through thick and thin. You all deserved to experience in some way the very thing were were so passionate for and fought so hard to get to this point and to have fun with it!

 

Q: What happened to all the stuff we saw with ASTFOR? Because PTV feels a bit lightweight and really lacking compared to all the WIP pictures from ASTFOR. Just saying....
 

Spoiler

 

A: Reality happened. It's all really TL:DR, but let's just say ASTFOR became an uncontrollable beast. One of my many mistakes during the learning process. I think even most established teams probably can agree with me on—it can be way too easy to fall into a trap of biting off more than you can chew. Constantly adding more and more stuff. What happens? Too much shit to do and nowhere near enough people to help or time to get it done. What little team we had was bouncing between so much stuff, not a lot got finished. And it became too stressful for everyone in all the worst ways.

 

When I shutdown ASTFOR, I was in a really bad place. Probably once of the worst ones in like 20 years. But then a good friend and team member shared something with me that helped me with the biggest moments of clarity I needed. And through that, I had to face my own demons and realize a major portion of our failures were my own damn fault. Sometimes you need to take one to the chin, admit your screw ups and make yourself better by learning from it. And that's exactly what happened. I lost sight was made ASTFOR fun and so important to myself. I let it slip away from me going from something so fun for all of us to something out of anger and resentment. It cost me my passion for my own project, friends, etc. But like I said, at least I can man up and admit I ****ed up and am incredibly sorry for it and learned a tough lesson from it.

 

PTV now operates under far more realistic goals and expectations with a Work to Publish mentality for the most part. Start small and reasonable. Get shit done and move on. That is how ASTFOR originally was and should have remained, but thankfully we're back on track.

 

Because of this, we've had to make a lot of sacrifices in favor of more realistic goals. Trust me, it hurt me way more than all of you having to plant my feet back down on the ground and be realistic in what we can get accomplished right now. I wanted to have a huge release complete with Michael Bay explosions, but eh....reality can really bite you in the ass. Oh well...

 

Even so, don't worry. A lot of things we still have planned for the life of the project. Some of it fans of ASTFOR will recognize. Some of it that has been released will eventually be phased out with gear that reflects the new "Askeland". When those things will get done and released? I refuse to give estimates.

 

 

Q: So what now? Where does Project True Viking go from here?

Spoiler

 

A: Honestly, the answer somewhat depends on the community as well. We're a very tiny team and a lot of time is limited that can be invested into the project for what little numbers we have with our team.

 

So it is our hope that with finally releasing assets, we will be officially established and taken more seriously than just seen by most as just another full of hot air project that will never release anything. That those in the community will see that we are here for the long haul and have a lot of heart and soul invested into this project that people will be more willing to help us out in the future. So if there are things the community really wants to see released in the future, the community is going to need to help us out. That's all there is to it, realistically. Our doors are always open and welcome to any and all help people can share with us. It's the only way we can keep moving forward in all honesty.

 

I wish we could have a massive team, but I also wish I had a million dollars and built like Terry Cruise. Doesn't mean it's going to happen, lol. All we can do is keep taking baby steps forward, be far more realistic in our goals and hopefully the community will be more willing to help us out more since we have proven we are here to stay and official now.

 

 

Q: What kind of help does PTV need?

Spoiler

 

A: Everything. We welcome any and all types of help. Whether its helping working with marvelous designer files and 3d modeling programs to help finish up/improve the backflow of infantry kit (uniforms, pouches, etc), improved textures, scripting/coding so we can add more cool little features and details, etc. Any help is welcome help. And for those out there who self-doubt their skills who want to help—no worries. Look, most of us have been there. Hell we still self-doubt our skills and abilities, lol. Don't let that stand in your way! Most of the guys around on our team are always up to help teach people and help them improve their work when and where possible.

 

So if you have some experience and want to help, but fear not being too "pro enough" in your thinking, don't worry. You don't need to be some super awesome pro who has been 3d modeling out of the womb or something. We all have to start somewhere. As long as you have the heart and drive to stick to it and serious in wanting to help and grow your skills in the process with a group of mentally unstable idiots—let us know!

 

 

MEDIA

In-Game:
 

Spoiler

 

 

 

Misc: (equipment and assets in various stages of completion)
 

Spoiler

 

 

 

SUPPORTED MODS

Requires CBA!

 

LICENSE AGREEMENT

 

Project True Viking Mod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Using the Project True Viking Mod on monetized servers is strictly forbidden. Bohemia Interactive's approval of your monetization scheme does not grant you rights to waive this clause of our EULA!

We expressly prohibit the distribution of any content of this package by itself, or as part of another distribution, using the Steam Workshop by anyone other than official members of the PTV Development Team.

CHANGELOG
 

Spoiler

 

Alpha Release (v.1.0)

Initial Release Includes:
• Revision Viper P4 Helmets (OD Green, Tan, Woodland & Desert Camos, and scrim variants).
• NFM Thor Plate Carrier System (OD Green, Tan, Woodland camo).
• 1st iteration of our own custom made uniform (UBACS & Trousers) in Woodland & Desert camo patterns.
• Various weaponry and optic systems (*subject to change in the future).
• Small selection of basic setup groups to help get you started in the Eden Editor.

 

SPECIAL NOTE: We really wanted to get something finally released to the community. So we also had to reach back and bring in some things we had completed back in ASTFOR as sort of placeholders due to time and low man-power. What this means is after the Alpha Release, you may notice some weapons or other things disappear from the mod in the future. Don't panic! This is according to our plans and to be expected due to swapping out old ASTFOR gear that is no longer applicable to this new project and planned assets.

 

 

DOWNLOADS

 

SOCIAL MEDIA

FACEBOOK

[GEORGE FLOROS GR 4206]

Thank you very much yokhanan and team and congratulations for the release !

It looks good from the pics !

[R0adki11 3945]

Its been a long time coming, but its great to see this mod come to fruition and get the release it deserves. I look forward to all the additions you guys will add given time.

[Brave Sir Charge 122]

Congrats guys! Perseverance pays!

[kerozen 186]

Nice Work!

 

Found a little bug with the MG3.

 

Everything works fine it happens when you reload and it goes away after 3 shots. It seems to happen with all the different belts.

 

 

 

[roberthammer 582]

40 minutes ago, kerozen said:

Nice Work!

Found a little bug with the MG3.

Everything works fine it happens when you reload and it goes away after 3 shots. It seems to happen with all the different belts

 

Known issue , this should be only on 250 round belts 

[kerozen 186]

1 hour ago, roberthammer said:

 

Known issue , this should be only on 250 round belts 

 

Sorry for the wrong info

[PTV-Jobo 820]

Not at all. One of those things where no matter how hard you try prior to release, someone always manages to slip right through--haha.  Thanks for the report!

[Merazim 4]

Looking at the stats of some guns like the K-M/90 and the CBJ-MS PDW they seem a bit too accurate. I'd recommend scaling down the accuracy of the K-M/90 to something like 3.0 MOA (the carbine is currently more accurate than the full-barrel rifle) and the CBJ-MS PDW to 7.0 MOA like the 9mm version. Overall, I'm amazed how a mod of this quality managed to pass by me.

[suds420 179]

I've been following this project since you first announced it all those years ago and it's great to see it finally come to fruition. Congrats on the first release.

[wsxcgy 1960]

grats on the release guys! was really bummed when the original astfor was shut down, really glad to see you guys back at it!

[Private Evans 498]

3 hours ago, wsxcgy said:

grats on the release guys! was really bummed when the original astfor was shut down, really glad to see you guys back at it!

 

Yeah 🙂

[PTV-Jobo 820]

Thanks everyone for the feedback, and more importantly....all the love. It was really a bump-filled journey, but was one well worth it. I couldn't let things just go. Had to reevaluate and give it one last try and this time--learning from my own failures. Not just for myself, but more importantly for the guys who worked so hard over the years and to you guys, the community, who cheered us on through good and bad. You all deserved to see this release far more than I do. And I am happy to know so far it's well received (well aside from the Workshop commenters having a mental breakdown over skin-tone apparently, lol). May not be jam packed full of things, but I think while it lacks somewhat in other areas of content, what makes up for it is the heart put into what we do have.

 

And with that said--we've no plans on stopping!  🙂

[EO 11225]

1 hour ago, yokhanan said:

Workshop commenters...

 

...they are quite possibly the only downside to using Steam as the main source for community content, call me old fashioned but I still believe the best source of feedback and ideas is still here on the official forum boards.

 

I'd also like to take this opportunity to congratulate the entire team for realising a dream that once seemed so out of reach. 

[SpookySplash 5]

Really digging this so far guys, and I'm very excited to see where it goes.

[j0nes 194]

Thank you everyone for the overwhelming support this early in the project, and we hope to continue inspiring the same support as we more forward!

From the vehicle department Im pleased to be able to release a small WIP of an upcoming asset.
 

Spoiler

This is a capture of the completed mid-poly model. Not optimized for in-game use, but with enough detailing to split into the low-poly and high-poly models needed to bring you the same high fidelity assets that you've now no doubt come to expect! While work on both the high and low poly iterations have progressed substantially, they aren't quite ready for debut.

The military designation for this vehicle is yet to be determined, so for now it will remain nameless. However, we are planning on having several variants, each with unique offerings to gameplay and lore. More details on these will be released as their corresponding modules are completed, but with recent improvements to multiple aspects of Arma 3, it should allow groups and individuals of multiple play-styles to make the most of this family of vehicles.

[sabre 244]

Congrats mate, happy to see this out. 

[PTV-Jobo 820]

35 minutes ago, sabre said:

Congrats mate, happy to see this out. 

 

Cheers mate! As you know it's been quite a......journey, lol. But glad I was insane enough to keep going. Finally made it to that finish line I never thought I'd see in a million years. Woohoo!  😄

[opteryx 1562]

Cool stuff! You guys really need a Discord though.

[Folkward 50]

Thanks for your kind words. A Discord Channel is on it´s way and will be very soon available to the public.

[CrazyCorky 463]

Welcome back! Looking damn good!

[PTV-Jobo 820]

4 hours ago, CrazyCorky said:

Welcome back! Looking damn good!

Thanks a bunch! 🙂 We're super happy the community is enjoying it thus far. I'm sure as time goes on and we continue, you'll have plenty more to enjoy.

 

10 hours ago, opteryx said:

Cool stuff! You guys really need a Discord though.

 Hah, yeah it's definitely at the top of the list. Currently we have the ol' Facebook page and will be working on our own website as well (to also add a bit more immersion into the lore and "believability" of Askeland, etc) and whatnot. But even so, Discord just offers such a better solution on giving the community a place to interact with us, bounce ideas off of, etc. real time compared to these other places and methods. Plus you don't have to be hassled trying to monitor a dozen different sites/pages/etc. So yeah, top of the ol' list. 😉

[EO 11225]

42 minutes ago, yokhanan said:

But even so, Discord just offers such a better solution on giving the community a place to interact with us, bounce ideas off of, etc. real time compared to these other places and methods. Plus you don't have to be hassled trying to monitor a dozen different sites/pages/etc. So yeah, top of the ol' list. 😉

 

Seems to be the way these days, but not everyone is a fan of Discord, here's hoping you guys still keep us forum dwellers regularly posted. 🤞

[PTV-Jobo 820]

 

4 hours ago, EO said:

 

Seems to be the way these days, but not everyone is a fan of Discord, here's hoping you guys still keep us forum dwellers regularly posted. 🤞

 

I hear ya. It's one of those things that has it's pro's and has it's con's. But I'll definitely keep the updates and interactions going over here as well for sure, haha. To be honest I wouldn't mind just focusing on just here and Discord. Had to put a community manager in place as well for the Workshop. Was starting to give me a tumor, lol. But as per previous discussions about that place--it's to be expected, sadly. Just a shame Steam won't improve the whole moderation.

 

 

 

------------------//Totally Unrelated Discussion Time//------------------------------

While I am here typing responses, there is something that has been weighing heavy on my mind as of late, unrelated to Discord but related to the Workshop and such. I wasn't sure if I was going to address it or not, but feel as project lead for PTV, maybe it's something to bring the community into our decisions for the future of development of this project. I'm sure some of us around here lately have noticed a lot of good people feel the need to sort of close up shop--either indefinitely or for unknown amount of time nor guarantee of future releases. Mostly due to unfortunate self-entitled little jackass kids on the Workshop and such ripping assets, etc. This is definitely sad to see in both cases and something that brought the team together during our vacation to discuss a few times now, and think maybe I should address it not so much overall, but how it affects Project True Viking and its future here specifically.

 

Now when I first finally released this thing to you guys after, what?, 8'ish years of everyone doubting we'd even get here--including myself no less, lol--I saw suddenly people I felt very passionate about in supporting suddenly posting they were either leaving or not releasing because of these aforementioned self-entitled little jackasses who don't care about putting in any hard work to save their lives stealing/remixing/retexturing/re-releasing/etc. My first thought? "Holy crap John, your bad luck finally broke not just ASTFOR, but now the actual community after you finally release something!"

 

I was kind of caught off guard for sure. But got me thinking quite a lot. So I brought it up to my guys during what is suppose to still be us recovering from the shock of seeing ourselves finally release this project, lol, and kind of felt out everyone's view with the personal thought that "well, we made it technically. So if these guys have the same amount of incredible concern and fear, then I would have to let them decide if they want to continue or leave, if things are appearing to be this bad now". And they would be 100% in the right. I mean these guys are a teeny tiny team at the moment with very limited time who could easily just move on and make money with their skills and assets.

 

So you might be wondering what was everyone's decision? Well, it was astoundingly unanimous right out of the gate--we ain't going anywhere. We're here. We finally made it and have no plans on pulling back out now or in the future. Well unless I dropped dead, the world ended or Liam Neeson threatened me on the phone....

 

Look, from our point of view--even major game studios have issues with it just as much as smaller guys. A dev can find a way and brag everything is un-hackable, then after some time, a punk kid living in the basement sitting over a shit bucket while his mom makes him hot pockets somewhere finds a way. We've been around a long time. We've seen how ugly things can be, but that's not going to stop us. Evil will always do evil. Do we hide all of our hard work and destroy something we finally managed to get to succeed now suddenly? Yeah, no. Now with re-textures and whatnot, we know it's going to happen. Even when my heart fell apart and lost ASTFOR, I received tons of messages from people saying "Sorry about ASTFOR. But um, can my community have your assets we need them." So of course we know some people are completely and utterly stupid and that there's no magical Mormon underwear we can drape over our mod to protect it from rippers, rabid over-sexed escaped bears from the zoo or........Liam Neeson.

 

So in the end: Will we end up having to deal with some nightmares? More than likely. Will we shut down future releases from getting to the same community that supported and helped this dumb guy with a weird dream for the past 8 years? No.

 

This doesn't mean we look at what is going on as one big joke or something stupid like that. We do take this matter extremely serious and it kills us seeing it hit good people enough to cause them to feel they have no other choice but to leave or halt releases, etc. We do care about these things and we'll certainly look into ways to better protect our mod. But we also know there's some things that's going to happen no matter what and all we can  do is try to deal with it the best we can as it comes.

 

Take retexture people for example. Look, we look at it like this--if you are that hellbent on it to the extent you are making all of this effort to access files and do it anyways, at least ask us. Because at the end of the day, hell--if you are really good at it, why not join the team to begin with?! Put those skills to use and help us out providing better textures! Yes, we don't allow any retextures or anything right now and it won't change for some time. The reason being is pretty much--"let us actually get our sh* t done first at least". Right now it's just a super rough alpha with not even half the planned things in yet. We need help and we need time. When those things happen, then sure....we'll try helping the community out within reason.

 

At least that's my view of it, so take that with a giant grain of salt....or two...or four. Like I said, it's something that has been on my mind lately and kind of wanted to tackle, in case if anyone wonders where we stand as a team and how recent events in the Arma Community will affect our future development and/or releases of PTV. It's a ashame any time we see the need to have these types of discussions in our community. But even so, we here at Project True Viking will not let a bunch of spoiled, self-entitled jackasses on the Workshop rip our dream and success back out of our hands any time soon. The "Sons of Askr" will take spear or axe in hand and deal with whatever faces us in the future head-on the best to our abilities for as long as we can, no matter what.

 

TIL VALHALL.

Spoiler

(Sorry for the long-winded and boring speech, lol.)

Edited April 19, 2019 by yokhanan

[EO 11225]

Not long winded or boring at all, in fact it's pretty refreshing hearing your take on the current climate. Thanks man!