Gigantus

Gigantus
Administrator
Badges/Roles:	Administrator, Artifex, Citizen
Patron:	Nicholas Rush
Patron of:	none

History

The Birth

Mighty Gigantus Joined TWC on August 29, 2006. No one knows what dragged Gigantus here but when he joined Mother TWC knew that she has found her lost child that will now guide his TWC brothers out of the modding darkness & make her proud.

The Struggle

Gig's involvement with computers is at least as old as that great movie and hasn't diminished since. From his first Amiga 64 over that chunky 8086 he has been fascinated by the capabilities of those calculators. And then he met RTW!. The child in him was enthralled with this strategy game. The more you get, the more you want - After enthusiastically beating back the unwashed heathen on his favorite bridge near Masilia he decided that he wanted more. And RTR gave it to him, the game experience and that nagging desire to see what makes this thing tick.

Not that he actually managed to get something working on his own, but he found about 172 ways how not to mod. While he was still lost in that first modding jungle along came M2TW. And there was light in his modding darkness! his first steps dabbling with the map were met with varying success, but the fora helped. Soon he joined up with the mod leader of PRO DEO ET REGE and helped him make his map. Then he continued and worked on various mods like Last Kingdom (Oranmentum), Rise of Empires, Ferrum Aeternum etc.

In between these mods he started the releasing of "Creating a World", a series of tutorials for modding noobs this was the turning point of his modding career.

Rise to Fame

There is no actual event that can be called upon as a reason for his fame as there are many. One could conclude that due to his caring, dedication, and effort to make the TW community a better place, at his own expense, one small step at a time is the primary reason. He can be called the king of the Mod Workshop, helping new modders and old modders alike to solve their problems, always concluding with his trademark gesture "One is glad to be of service ". If you're wondering... "So what? The workshop doesn't create mods for me to play, those posts aren't showing shiny models and textures for my drooling pleasure. What gives?"

What gives is that all modders get their start and get their help from the culture that is encouraged by the workshop. Without the tutorials to reference and the community to appeal to when you run up against a nasty CTD, many modders would be stuck, frustrated with their problem and without a body to turn to. And the central pillar of this culture in the M2 Workshop is Gigantus. Those posts aren't work being put into a mod that is going to get him recognition or acclaim. They're entirely selfless acts to help facilitate the work of other modders, so that they may succeed in their projects and produce the works which we can then enjoy.

He reached cloud no. 9 when he received an Opifex medal (On Dec 24, 2009) as a token of appreciation for all the work he has done for the community in a plethora of ways, some tangible, and many intangible.

Present Endeavors

Gigantus is an Administrator and faithfully executes the responsibilities thereof. Following his "Creating a World" series he continues to aid new modders through the forums. He is also known to help new modders via private messages although this is not recommended unless for very specific inquires.

Modding Contributions

So you really wanna know? Of course you do. He has served the modding community by many means whether by the means of modding tutorials or working for various development teams.

Modding Tutorials

• Creating a World - Basic mapping from Scratch
• Creating a World - Mod Install for Steam
• Creating a World - Adding a new Faction
• Creating a World - Character Portraits, Creation and Use
• Creating a World - Adding detailed Regions
• Creating a World - Working with the Demis online Mapper
• Creating a World - Functional Grape Shot
• Creating a World - Replacing Strat Models
• Creating a World - Height Map with 3Dem
• Creating a World - Using the Install Creator
• Creating a World - Registry Entries for the Launcher
• Creating a World - Named Forts
• Creating a World - Killing Characters multiple Ways
• Creating a World - Importing Units from another Mod
• Creating a World - Faction Limits for Agents
• Creating a World - Unit Sprite Generating
• Creating a World - LOD reduction without texture loss
• Creating a World - Converting Install Disk to Steam
• Preserving a World - Basic modelling with Autodesk
• Creating a World - Disasters and the add_event command

Modding Resources

• Creating a World - Bare Geomod
• Creating a World - Gig's Map Collection
• Creating a World - High Resolution Screenshots
• Creating a World - Bare Kingdoms
• Creating a World - The Geomod Manual by gig
• Creating a World - Stone Forts on the Battle Map
• Formatted modeldb Files for all Campaigns - Kingdoms & Vanilla 1.5
• Creating a World - Editable Settlement Faction Symbols
• Creating a World - Accelerating Stratmap Animations via Script
• Creating a World - Fixing square Projectile Trails
• Creating a World - Changing hidden Keyboard Settings
• Creating a World - Converted battle, tooltips, shared and strat TXT Files
• Creating a World - Instant garrisons and their disbandment
• The mystery of the missing reinforcement portrait solved
• Creating a World - 29 Factions on selection display

Modding Tools

• Creating a World - Name Converter for data\text files
• Creating a World - Reduced City Textures
• Creating a World - Map Templates with Worldwind
• Creating a World - Adding a Culture
• Creating a World - Unpacking the Game
• Creating a World - The BinEditor

Mods

Gigantus has worked for various mods, the list is given below:

• Falcom Total War - Mapping
• PRO DEO ET REGE - Mapping, Coding, Scripting
• Regions & Provinces Mod - Coding, Scripting, Bug fixing
• 1648 - Thirty Years of War - Mapping, Coding, Scripting
• Africa: Total War - Mapping
• Dragolance: Total War-Takhisis Rising - Mapping
• East of Rome - Mapping
• Ferrum Aeternum - Mapping
• The Last Kingdom - Mapping
• Latinokratia: Rebuilding the Empire - Mapping
• Paeninsula Italica - Beta Tester
• Wrath of the Norsemen - Mapping
• Ornamentum - Coding, Scripting
• Invasio Barbarorum - Mapping
• Claimants, Heirs, and Conquerors - Mapping
• Shizoku no Sensō - Mapping
• Rise of Three Kingdoms - Team Leader
• The H.E.L.P. Project - Member
• Europa Barbarorum II - Scripting, Testing

Total War games owned

Box Art	Type
	Rome: Total War
	Rome: Total War Barbarian Invasion
	Medieval 2: Total War
	Medieval 2: Total War Kingdoms
	Empire: Total War

Ranks And Awards

Current Ranks held

Rank	Description
	Administers TWC and TWC forums, a job not meant for a faint-hearted person. Promoted officially on October 18, 2011.
	An Artifex is someone who earned their rank through modding a TW game. Rank Achieved on 16 Aug, 2008.
	Citizen is special rank is given as a reward by the CdeC to those members who make a significant contribution to the Forum.

Former Ranks held

Rank	Description
	Moderators form the body which performs the vast majority of day-to-day front-line site moderation.
Moderation Mentor	Mentors usually aid young moderators who are not familiar with their tasks and powers, they provide guidance and help to moderators whenever they require.

Awards Achieved

Award	Type	Reason
	Opifex	Awarded for exceptional modding or other TW-related contributions to the board. Medal received on Dec 24, 2009.
	Modding Award	Awarded for winning the 'Mentor (M2TW)' category in the 2009 Modder Awards. Award received on Feb 20, 2010.
	Modding Award	Awarded for winning the 'Favorite Mapper (M2TW)' category in the 2010 Modder Awards. Received on February 13, 2011.
	Site award	Awarded for winning the "Best Mentor" category in the 2011 Site Awards. Received on February 07, 2012.
	Modding Award	Awarded for winning the 'Tutor (M2TW)' category in the 2011 Modder Awards. Received on May 03, 2012.
	Site award	Awarded for winning the "Best Mentor" category in the 2012 Site Awards. Received on January 01, 2013.
	Modding Award	Awarded for winning the 'Tutor (M2TW)' category in the 2012 Modder Awards. Received on Jan 17, 2014.
	Modding Award	Awarded for winning the 'Most popular Modder (M2TW)' category in the 2013 Modder Awards. Received on May 06, 2015
	Moderator's Mace	Awarded for time served as a Moderator for more than three years. Received on May 15, 2013.
	Novus	Awarded on June 24, 2014 for exceptional contributions to the site in the capacity of a staff member.
	Asterix's Loincloth	Awarded on January 21, 2015 for demonstrating purity of mind and spirit on TWC, in the pursuit of humour and good times for all members.