Hyrule Prime
History: The crown and heart of the Kingdom of Hyrule, Hyrule Prime (or more commonly called Hyrule Castle Town by the commonfolk) is the center of the Royal Family and economy throughout the entire land. Built sometime around the age of Daphnes Nohansen Hyrule, Hyrule Prime quickly replaced Snowpeak as the Royal Family's home and training grounds for the Hylian armies. The city is very defensible and has survived several massive sieges throughout its history until it finally fell to an army of Gerudo led by then King Ganondorf.
Gameplay: While ladders can be used to scale the walls of Hyrule Prime from all sides, the only way into the castle's plaza is a straight and narrow path from the south. Armies will have to bottleneck into this area if they hope to take control of the crown. This makes Hyrule Prime a relatively straightforward place to invade and as such attacking the castle becomes more of an endurance match once armies are funneled into the central pathway.
Creator's Notes: Hyrule Prime was heavily based on the Twilight Princess version of Hyrule Castle which is to this day my favorite incarnation of the building, while parts of the city were influenced by the layout in Ocarina of Time. Naturally the version of this city in Hyrule Total War is much larger to accommodate hundreds of soldiers and the large scale battles that take place here.
Gor Goronon
History: Gor Goronon serves as the capital of the Goron Brotherhood and primary military base for army production. It is also houses the largest mine and food production centers making it the center of Goron economy. The city was actually once part of the Death Mountain Crater until a violent earthquake caused part of the city to collapse and slide down the mountain. The surviving Gorons simply began to rebuild the city where it settled and blessed Din for the rich minerals they found under the city.
Gameplay: There's only on way into the city and that is the heavily fortified south gate. Armies deployed to the north will have to climb rugged paths to navigate around to the south. Once at the gate the walls can be scaled by large ladders or the gate can be bashed open by rams. Inside the city are two main paths to the plaza at the rear. The western path winds through the city and is relatively straightforward, as is the less twisted past to the east.
Creator's Notes: Gor Goronon and many of the Goron cities were inspired by the psudeo industrial look of the Goron Mines from Twilight Princess, blended into the simple rock caves that appeared in Ocarina of Time. I wanted the city to have a very industrial feeling to it, but not too much to avoid a high tech vibe.
Domain Prime
History: The heart of Zora civilization, Domain Prime was built near the shores of the Jabun reservoir; the source of most water in Hyrule. Snow from Death Mountain melts and runs off into this lake during spring, from which the Zora purify and cleanse the water before it's released downstream. Crafted from Stone and Brick and hardened coralmold, Domain Prime is a heavily fortified position that has yet to fall to any invader. This is partially because of the aquatic nature of the city: soldiers find it difficult to wade through the water and in most cases cannot even take over the underwater portions. The Zora Royal Family such as King Farkos and Princess Ruto rules from the golden throne room adorned with sapphire stained glass.
Gameplay: The main pathway down the center to the palace allows free movement of large armies, but there are numerous sidecroppings for Zora Infiltrators to hide in and spring an attack from behind. The raised aqueducts are perfect vantage points for Sapphire Wardens (or other long ranged archers occupying the city), while the round structures out in front of the city provide a level sniping point for Zora Mages to make the most of their attack. Invading the city is a very straightforward affair: Cavalry are limited to the long pathway down the center of the city to the plaza while infantry can move along the various canals that deviate.
Creator's Notes: There are very few city references for the Zora, in most cases they simply live in caves so a large amount of creative freedom was taken to make their cities. Domain Prime was designed to be very bombastic and in-your-face: indulgence and excessiveness are everywhere in the gold and brass plated architecture of the city. Despite the fact that close ups reveal how spacious the city really is, I wanted the Zora capital to feel very claustrophobic. Perhaps the most important aspect and the reason the city feels so claustrophobic though is of course the water. Making a city suitable for a largely aquatic species while still being functional for land based armies was a nice challenge.
Deku Tree's Grove
History: The Deku Tree's Grove is a Kokiri city built around the resting place of the Great Deku Tree. It is relatively young compared to some of the more well known cities in Hyrule, likely because the Kokiri have only been around for several centuries. Within the grove the Great Deku Tree has been slowly transforming the Kokiri from their Hylian ancestry into a new being of plants. It is his hopes that they will transcend their more primal and animalistic nature in order to become one with the forest, and he sees to that goal by watching over the Kokiri at this location.
Gameplay: There are two bottlenecks into the city through stumps to the south and west. Armies are extremely vulnerable while passing through these short by narrow corridors. Infantry can scale the barriers to the north to make a dash at the plaza in the Deku Tree's Grove, but all cavalry and larger units are forced to head east and loop back around to the west to get to the plaza. Like the two narrow entrances, cavalry will have to pass through another pair on their way to the plaza.
Creator's Notes: The Deku Tree's Grove was intended to look very close to it's Ocarina of Time counterpart. It essentially is the same city, just on a larger scale to accommodate large groups of soldiers and the much larger population. Overall I wanted a very peaceful and quiet look to the city to capture the simplicity of the Kokiri.
Gohma Grand Hive
History: The Grand Hive was formed on the location where Sulkaris fell unto Hyrule from the Sacred Realm and first made contact with the Gohma. After she was destroyed by King Gustaf her conscienceness remained within the majority of the Gohma and in due time she dominated them all. The Grand Hive was grown and constructed to house the largest nursery of Gohma eggs and Queens to lay those eggs. It has stood looming over the Misery Mire and activity amongst it's countless inhabitants almost never ceases.
Gameplay: The Grand Hive is relatively easy to invade and can be attacked directly from the south, the northwest, and the northeast. While the open spaces leading to the plaza might seem like a poor defensive plan, this works into the Gohma's favor so that they can make the most of their huge soldier count. Small corridors and roads like most cities would essentially limit their number advantage.
Creator's Notes: The Grand Hive was designed to look organic, alive, and menacing. Avoiding other similar concepts such as Zerg and Tyranids was important to set the Gohma apart and avoid becoming another clone of similar hive races. The color scheme certainly was a major factor: instead of the all too common brown and flesh look the Gohma architecture is covered in thick dark green and teal exeoskeleton plating. Black and turquoise veins run along the covering of the structures while batches of eggs foretell the arrival of countless more newborn larva.
Nal Ordona
History: Nal Ordona was founded as a farming colony sometime shortly after the Kingdom of Hyrule was established by King Gustaf. For several thousand years the city remained autonomous and the Hylians took little interest other then sending emissaries to keep tabs. Near the reign of Princess Zelda I Nal Ordona and the entire Province was reincorporated into the Kingdom of Hyrule in order to bolster the Hylian's food supply and increase the border defense of the Ordonians. The city has been the capital of Ordona Province on and off over the centuries, and while the city has been torn down and rebuilt many times it has generally always been the same rustic farming city it was since its establishment.
Gameplay: The central marketplace is where invaders will have to hold their ground if they want to capture the city. There are two ways to attack Nal Ordona: from the north and south. Invading from the north will have you cover more distance to get the plaza, while attacking from the south will force you to cross the river at chokepoints. There are two bridges that cross the river for infantry to move across, but siege equipment and large creatures will have to wade slowly across the shallow areas of the river to get across.There are few chokepoints on the map, the only ones being the north and south entrance, the two bridges, and the marketplace itself. While this might seem like a drawback when you look at the neatly confined pathways of a Zuna city, this is intentional as it lets Ordona maneuver cavalry around invaders without them getting stuck in a bottleneck.
Creator's Notes: Since there are more then ten people living in Ordona Province this time around, the city had to be much larger than its official counterpart in Twilight Princess. At the same time I still wanted the locale to feel small and rustic. This was done by having the city spread out, with small clusters of houses rather then one large compact city. Despite the large area of ground that is covered, you'll rarely see many houses on screen at once because of placement and use of flora. Hopefully it gives Nal Ordona that "small farmer mudhole in the middle of nowhere" feeling while still giving the impression that a large population could exist there.
Airu
History: Airu started as little more then a few caves carved out by Zora colonists. When a group of Hylian colonists set up shacks alongside these caverns they decided to coexist with the Zora rather than fight for control. After a time both forces worked together to grow and carve the city out of coralmold into the harmonious paradise that it is today. When the Kingdom of Hyrule and the Zora Dominion declared the half breed members of Lanayru perverted abominations and cut off their ties, Airu was set to be the capital of the newly made Lanayru Province. Various Zora Kings and Queens have ruled from the giant mushroom shaped palace for several centuries.
Gameplay: There are two main gates into the city, both of them facing to the west. Three long walls guard the north, west, and southern reaches of the city, while a deep river renders the city impervious to attack from the east (though really long ranged artillery might be able to set up shop on the eastern bank of the river and bombard from there). Once in the city there are three ways to get to the plaza. All paths on the ground level lead to a watery bottleneck, while scaling the walls lead to two upper mesas that descend from the north and south into the plaza area. While there are plenty of land passages for footsoldiers on all three of these paths, cavalry and siege equipment can only pass through the ground level method and are forced to tread slowly across shallow water. This makes is somewhat hard to invade the city with cavalry once inside the walls and as such infantry shine most on this level when evenly split up on the three paths to the plaza.
Creator's Notes: Oh where to begin with this one? A lot of love went into making this city, it's probably my current favorite and I'm not sure how I can top it. While the cities of the Zora Dominion did not really take much in terms of canon influence, I tried to stick much closer to preexisting material for the Lanayru Zora. Color schemes and the general textures of everything were mostly influenced mostly by Lanayru Province from Twilight Princess, naturally. However some keen eyes will notice things from the Zora in Majora's Mask floating around this city as well. Overall I went for something that looks tranquil, calm, peaceful, and humble compared to the egocentric and bombastic architecture of the Zora Domnion.
Deku Prime
History: Deku Prime was the first official attempt of the Deku to build a city on record. Unlike many of their other attempts this one was successful and has been expanded upon over the centuries. Being the largest Deku base in the land of Hyrule it has likewise been the favored location for any Deku King's throne. The city and its palace have been constantly attacked by Kokiri, Lizalfos, and Monkeys in the Kokiri Forest and Faron over the centuries, though this mostly retaliation due in part to the hyper aggressive invasions of the Deku Scrubs, Despite almost always being under siege Deku Prime has shockingly never fallen into enemy hands and has been able to maintain a relatively stable look.
Gameplay: The city can be attacked from all sides, though troops cannot move into the city from the east because of mountains. The easiest path is from the west which unwavers in a straight line right to the Palace's plaza. The plaza can be attacked from the north and south as well, though troops will have to navigate around the outlying suburbs. All three of these paths require wading across shallow water and will slow down cavalry and siege equipment. Trebuchets and other siege weapons can easily lob projectiles into the plaza area by parking themselves on the mountains to the east, though it's usually time consuming to move them up there. As mentioned before there are also numerous secret passageways that can be taken by infantry and archers if you know where to right click. The most obvious passageways are the three elevated logs that span the palace. Troops can climb and walk along these logs to reach certain areas of the palace. It can be a gamble fighting on these walkways, they are so narrow that only one troop will be able to fight at a time on them. Two similar logs can be found outside of the Palace crossing the water and connecting it to the suburbs. There are other secret passages (and easter eggs in general) hiding in this settlement, but I'd not want to spoil them all so soon.
Creator's Notes: The Deku Palace was made to be similar enough to the Majora's Mask incarnation to be recognizable at first glance, but there are a lot of differences to accommodate the size of large armies. Because of the increased size I sort of went crazy with gardens. I also wanted to give the impression that there are lots of secret passageways all over the palace (which there actually are). It just seemed to fit the Scrubs well.
The garden behind the Palace is dedicated to Elizabeth Stiles. She does the voice of Norin in my other RTS game
Sigma. If was not for her this mod would probably not even exist.
Demise:
History: The fortress of Demise was carved out of a giant black stone in the Old Moblin Kingdom. Orchestrated by the demon of the same name and crafted by thousands of Moblin workers, the Fortress was undoubtedly the pinnacle of Moblin accomplishments. The fertile land around the black rock made it the economic center of the great Moblin Kingdom in ancient times. The Fortress eventually came under siege some five thousand years in the past. Ancient Hylians lead by Hylia toppled much of the city to the ground and scorched it for several months. The land was rendered infertile and the Moblin Kingdom fell apart. While the main tower has been reconstructed various times over the centuries, the fortress of Demise never really recovered from the genocide and has remained largely in ruins. The Moblins have instead preferred to set up primitive housing inside the ruins and make use of the chaotic rubble for defense.
Gameplay: The fortress of Demise can be invaded from all sides except the southwest. The northeast yields the path of least resistance for invaders and a well controlled battering ram can reach the gate there in short order. This area is probably the most easily dependable however; expect plenty of archers to be stationed on the walls flanking the gate. The northwest and southeast gates can likewise be invaded and battered down if a little more travel time is not a concern. Once inside the city there are three rather open routes to the center plaza. These routes can be easily flanked by defenders however. Moblins are likely to come charging from the gaps between tents and towers from both sides of your advancing forces. Overall the spacing of the interior of the city is designed to allow the Moblins to do what they do best: charging.
Creator Notes: I wanted the crown of the Moblins to look like a barren and scorched wasteland that appeared to have at one time been something far more glorious and awe inspiring. Since the Moblins collapsed into loosely organized barbarians after their homelands were burned to the ground I figured they would not bother to rebuild their ruined cities and instead set up more primitive tents and houses in the rubble. As such there's a clear distinction between the black stone of the ancient Moblin city designed by Demise and the primitive wooden tents that have been chaotically cluttered on the echo of the Moblin's past.
Ontheon
History: An ancient city built into the Gerudo Cliffs, Ontheon is almost as old as recorded history. It has long served as the throne of current Darknut Deities and the center of control for all military operations. It is unknown exactly how long the city took to build but there is no doubt centuries of engineering and construction were involved. Ontheon has never been successfully invaded by anyone, and very few non Darknuts have ever been inside the city. Not even the Fokka and Zuna, close allies of the Darknuts, are let inside except on rare occasions. Most of the city's activity takes place underground and in the cliffs that the settlement is built on, giving the surface an oddly desolate feeling. This was intentional of the Darknuts though; sandstorms frequently pass through the area from the north that would disrupt everyday life.
Gameplay: Ontheon is a massive fortress that requires serious time and dedication to invade. The city can be attacked by all types on units from the North, West, and South, while only infantry can climb the ramparts on the city's eastern cliff face. All of these entrances lead to the upper plateau, from which the only way to the plaza is along a spiral pathway that bottlenecks at the west of the city. While this pathway is not exactly narrow it will limit the number advantage most races have over the Darknuts. If Zuna Crossbowmen are in the ranks of a defending Darknut army there are seven balconies that they can station themselves on to unleash their firepower from extended distances. Ultimately siege weaponry and well micromanaged cavalry will shine most here when invading. Infantry are in for a long drawn out test of endurance as they face row upon row of Darknut armor on their way to the stained glass palace.
Creator Notes: Verticality and massiveness was something I went for here. Because the engine's camera likes to break on levels with extreme vertical inclines the level had to be carefully designed to avoid that issue becoming too annoying. While technically the Black Tower in Labrynna is much taller, Ontheon is the tallest settlement in the game that players must ascend to capture. Like Zunayus there are dozens of balconies that infantry can move upon here, though since the Darknuts are not that archer heavy they are designed to allow swift movement between key ares of the fortress.
Faron Prime
History: The construct of Faron Prime has had many owners in its short but active history. Originally built as the Eastern Palace by the Kingdom of Hyrule in an attempt to established a Province in the southern Kokiri Forest, it was later seized by Bandits that used the temple as a base of operations. When these bandits were slaughtered by the Deku Trees Faron Prime was left empty for several decades until the Lizalfos took up residence after their exodus from Death Mountain. Since then Faron Prime has been kept in rather good condition and has been renovated by the Lizalfos to suit their needs. The central complex serves as the throne to their expanding empire as well as a vast training complex and sacrificial altar.
Gameplay: Faron Prime is set up in an shrinking grid pattern. As the enemy nears the center of the city to capture the plaza there are increasingly more opportunities for the Lizalfos to use this pattern to flank invaders from multiple sides. Invaders can enter the city easily from the north and south and once in the city can move along the grid patterns as they work towards the plaza. Once the central palace has been reached armies can ascend from all directions to the plaza. While this may seem like the plaza defenders can be easily surrounded from all sides, a Lizalfos army will likely use the plaza as bait as they themselves double back on invaders and flank them from all sides.
Creator Notes: Faron Prime takes elements from many Zelda games to make something a bit different. At first I wanted to combine elements of the Eastern Palace from ALttP and the Forest Temple from Twilight Princess but instead opted for something a bit more fortress in nature that could support the shrinking grid pattern for optimal flanking potential.
Lynna City
History: Because of forged records and warped history, the origin of Lynna City is skewed. Many theories believe it was originally a colony established by the Ancient Hylians that fled their homeland from the Gohma sometime before the reign of King Gustaf. Regardless of its origin, Lynna City has long been the capital of the Labrynna Regime and the throne of their Kings and Queens for many centuries. Very few enemies in the land of Labrynna allowed the city to flourish and grow for many ages until the Regime began to strip mine the surrounding landscape. Now the once lush and lively settlement is slowly becoming an industrial factory, with the Black Tower being a looming symbol of the city's eventual fate.
Gameplay: With reinforced walls surrounding almost the entire city, the two gates at the southwest and southeast are the only locations that cavalry and siege weapons can enter the city from. Infantry can attempt to scale the walls on all sides with ladders but will have to march around the circumference to make their way to the palace's plaza. If invaders choose to enter through the gates they'll have to travel along paths that circle the Black Tower to another gate that guards the Palace. The wall that encircles the city and the rectangular walls that guard the palace allow the Labrynnians to make most of their devastating gunpowder and ranged attacks.
Creator Notes: Taking a twist on the 'Past and Present" theme of the city Oracle of Ages, I wanted Lynna City to have two potentially clashing visual styles of two eras. On one hand we have the medieval era palace and houses set up in the city, juxtaposed next to networks of pipes to signal the coming industrial age that Labrynna might enter into. Within the city walls there is vegetation maintained by the city, but peeking out of the walls will reveal evidence of strip mining that will eventually scar the land if it continues. And of course clashing with the rather cheery, peaceful, and uplifting colors of most of the city is the dark and ominous Black Tower. So here within Lynna we see the clash between Old and New, Preservation of Nature and the destruction of it, and Hope against Despair.
The Tarm Ruins
History: Virtually nothing is known of the Tarm Ruins located deep in Holodrum. Some sources believe the Wind Tribe originally built the city before they vanished into the sky. Others think the Fairies constructed the monuments after they arrived there. What is known is that sometime in the past a group of people known as the Tarminians worshipped the Fairies and the aspects of nature at the ruins before they too died out. Whatever the truth is behind these mystical ruins it will likely remain unknown and buried in time.
Gameplay: In terms of layout the Tarm Ruins are essentially a maze of pillars and walls surrounding the ruined entrances to a long forgotten world. There is not much high ground, but the layout and ability to unleash arrows (or in the case of Fairies pink blasts of burning doom) through the pillars of walls allows ranged units to wreak havoc on melee troopers who often have to navigate around large stretches of walls. Because of the fog native to the level, this setup will hopefully lead to a bunch of "where are those ranged attacks coming from?" situations, adding to the Fairies' aura of superior magic.
Creator Notes: Likely created by the mysterious and ancient Wind Tribe, the already mystical monument has been inherited by the even more enigmatic Fairies of Tarm. Coming from a lineage of arguably the two most magical races in Hyrule, that feeling of extreme mysticism was what I was going for here. Otherworldly fog, fallen structures, and an array of toppled pillars and walls all went to together to build up a mystery. What could the Tarm Ruins have been? What have the Fairies done to the place since they arrived? Is it some monument housing ancient and unseen powers? Is is simply a long abandoned department store that the Wind Tribe built? Who knows.
Ikana
History: Ikana predates the earliest settlements of the Hylians and Darknuts by many generations and it is perhaps the oldest city on record. It long served as the capital of the Ikanians and was once a fertile and lush establishment inside the canyon networks where it was built. Ikana served as a frequent battleground during the Ikana civil war as well, culminating into a fight between forces commanded by Igos against those of Captain Keeta. Ikana was plunged into Termina along with many other Ikanian cities shortly after the Ikana civil war escalated, likely due to offenses against the Goddesses of Hyrule and their association with Majora.
Gameplay: Ikana is a very fortified location: it's impervious to assault from the south and to a lesser degree the west and east. The city can be directly assaulted from the northern gate from which invaders can progress to the inner gate that leads to the plaza. Armies can move in from the west an east via small mountain pathways but will eventually end up outside the main gate to the city. Infantry can assault the small mountain top outpost to the east and can enter the city's inner plaza via that path. Artillery can also set up shop just outside this outpost to lob their firepower into most of the city. There are numerous balconies and walls from which defenders can mount archers on in this city, not to mention roads wide enough for Ikana to make the most of its chariots.
Creator Notes: Not really much to say about Ikana I suppose. I just wanted the city to looks like a dead and decaying wasteland like in Majora's Mask.
Palace of Twilight
History: Originally constructed as a lone castle from which the royal Twili would rule their people, this massive complex eventually came to house civilian populations and transformed into a city. For centuries the palace has stood as a bastion of civilization in the barren and unforgiving Realm of Twilight and armies are bred and trained within its halls at all times.
Gameplay: Attacking the Palace is actually rather straightforward; invading armies simply have to march up a moderate incline to reach the central plaza. This however lets the Twili make use of what they are best at: scaring their enemies off. A large ring surrounds the perimeter of the plaza, allowing scores of sorceress units to bombard anyone trying to capture the city from nearly all angles. Soldiers can also move unto the ring via the palace itself and then circle around to cut off enemies from behind and break their morale. Sol Cannons can also focus fire in the long corridor that leads to the courtyard, raining glowing fire down from the sky on an approaching army.
Creator Notes: While initially I wanted to keep that barren feeling that the original palace had, it was just too small for a game like this. Like several other settlements based largely off of existing canon, the Palace was simply scaled up in size and other buildings were added on. Even though civilians live here I wanted to give the impression that the Palace of Twilight was just that: a massive structure built into the terrain and not an array of buildings.
Zunayus
History: The massive pyramid of Zunayus was built by the Zuna some time in the distant past and is one of the most ancient settlements in Hyrule. While the pyramid itself has been constantly renovated every century and virtually none of the original structure is left, it looks exactly the same as it did thousands of years ago. The city is almost always bustling with activity: merchants of all kinds can be found along the ascents of the pyramid, particularly the infamous weapon crafters. The series of oasis' outside the pyramid make it an idea place in the Gerudo Desert to live as well. The city also has the myth attatched to it that it is inpenatrable and no enemy force has ever managed to breach the gates before being decimated by hundreds of Zuna Crossbowmen.
Gameplay: The city is completely immune to ladder attacks and can only be entered by the front gate. Upon entry invading forces must climb the road to the center of the pyramid's highest peak to take the plaza. Invaders will have to deal with countless archers perched on numerous balconies and ramparts as they ascend the Pyramid, making Zunayus one of the toughest if not the toughest and most grueling settlements to take by force.
Creator Notes: I attempted to make something with a lot of balconies and positions for archers to take position on. I was always disappointed in M2 when you'd see these lovely castles with lots of positions for archers to set up shop but they were off limits and only walls could be used. This probably will be one of if not the most defensible settlements in the game. This also was probably the most fun I had making a settlement thus far.
Aidaidorf
History: The Spirit Temple is an ancient monument built by the Gerudo to honor their dead Warlords. Women whole died in glorious battle were occasionally entombed there as well. After the male population died out the Spirit Temple was largely abandoned and few pilgrims enter the main foyer to pay their respects to the dead now days. The small city outside the temple serves as little more then an oasis for travelers between the Gerudo Desert and the Cliffs to the west where the Zuna and Darknuts reside.
Gameplay: As a largely interior level, infantry play a very heavy role. The passages inside the Spirit Temple are relatively wide for an indoor structure, so troops will only occasionally have to bottleneck into doorways. Archers can fire arrows from balconies on the second floor of them temple, while invaders will have to pick one of four passageways that lead to the plaza deep within the Temple's core.
Creator Notes: As the first interior level for the game, the Spirit Temple was a big experiment in figuring out what could and could not work for that idea. The look of the temple was of course inspired from it's Ocarina of Time counterpart. Many of the features from that game including the entry foyer and the giant goddess statue were kept. The layout and width of corridors were expanded upon however to accommodate large armies.
Settlements
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Originally Posted by Napoleon Complex
