>>> Map blog no. 1 <<<
Map Blog 2
Since the last blog France, Iberia, Italy and Iceland have all been finished but maybe more importantly we have perfected our work on the map and speeded it up. Currently the HRE is being worked upon. Textures have been updated as well and our research mechanics have been also improved to comply with our aims.
Today, as requested in the poll, France and as a bonus Iceland will be shown to you as they have emerged from our fine-tuning process introduced in the first blog.
I am stressing this again: all images shown are WIP and may differ in final version of the mod. Also several features of the map have not been implemented yet such as resources, PSFs or historically correct armies etc.
France
Vanilla look
As mentioned in the previous blog the map has been entirely generated based on satellite data. That involved heightmap, ground types, climates, rivers etc. Fine tuning process then finishes such generated area to comply with historical data, gameplay and desired visual aspects. This is how France looked after being generated:
Northern France is our first stop in today's blog. Notice the cliffs on many of the coasts which will prove to be of exceptional strategic value. You may also notice the strange names of certain settlements. That is because they are named as they were in 1080 (in Breton and Medieval French) and we are currently implementing scripts to rename the settlements under certain conditions (faction ownership and dates). What is not very clearly visible on the screenshot is the farmland pattern used in France. In fact the farming areas were located solely around big rivers, and in between the rivers the land was often close to wilderness and rarely cultivated, and our map is representing that.
Summer
Winter
Southern France is quite different from northern and I believe the screenshot clearly shows that. For one, around the coast the Mediterranean climate area starts giving a different look to the land. Roads are placed in maybe unexpected locations; this is due to the fact that this is where the major roads actually were in Middle Ages. You may be wondering what the strange desert-like area in Aquitaine is. That area was for a long time subject to extensive sand drifts from the coast and quoting the contemporary source:
The area has been largely forested since the 19th century to protect it from these sand drifts.Crossing the moor was dreaded by pilgrims going to Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle; they reported that they could find no bread, no meat, no fountains. It was a flat ground of marshes.... with practically no paths, the pilgrims were often up to the knees in the invading sea sand.
Overall farming in France might seem not to be very extensive and you are right. Of course the land was very rich, but the population of France in the past lived not only through farming but equally through fishing and hunting. In winter you can see the historical roads more clearly:
Summer
Winter
Iceland
Yes we are including this island in the very north west of our map. The real world look of Iceland is very distinct and we were trying our best to make it so in game as well. There are several large permanent glaciers over the Iceland as well as the black land as a result of ash from numerous volcanoes all over Iceland (many also included). The only really inhabitable area was in the south-west but there have also been Nordic settlements in the north and few on the south-eastern coast. Those will be represented via PSFs.
Original after the map has been generated (vanilla textures)
After fine-tuning and with new textures in summer...
Notice the black areas around the biggest glacier and very inhospitable lands in central Iceland with little to no vegetation.
...and in winter
New settlement models are from the minor mod: New Cities Strat Models, v 1.0 by Agart.
Thank you all for your attention and I hope you enjoyed this blog. Please vote on the subject of the next one!
Credits:
Mapping and the Blog: Resurrection, Coppernickers II
New Textures: Sumskilz
Research: SpaceEd, Brennas, Hross, Alkidas
Strat Map Models: Agart