Settlements (possible but not probable for next patch)

**drak10687** · September 08, 2006, 05:16 PM

I've posted this up at SCC, so decided to share the info here too.

I am working on the settlement plans and the 3d buildings. I am the only one, so its going a bit slow, but i have got quite a bit work done. There is a possiblity that the european settlements will be included in the next patch. But that depends on how fast i can finish them, and on how soon DaVinci releases the next patch. In the mean while:

Here are some donjon level pics. I just played a battle against the ai and too screens. (note that i did not use any of DPs new skins or models which will be in the next patch.)

BTW, if you have any suggestions, they are allways welcome, espescially since there are no byzantine, muslim, or..... well basically, i have no problems with western european or russian buildings, but I am basically at 0% as far as models for all other cultures.

(WARNING, these are pretty high rez for those of you with slow connections)

After some direct hits, the wall starts to crumble:

Finaly it crumbles, and here they come!

Fear grasps hold of weak hearts. (ignore the wall hax by the militia)

But in the end it is my men that stand the test of courage and, ofcourse, i am victorious

have a good weekend

**The Black Reaper** · September 08, 2006, 05:19 PM

very nice .... hopefully you can get the next settlement phase done... with the fortified walls.....

**Ciaran S** · September 09, 2006, 06:00 AM

Wow, that´s amazing. I´m really looking forward to see actual medieval cities. Do you have some castle models as well?
Would you care to write a tutorial on city building at some time? That´s one area that´s covered only very sparsely.

**Crusader Invasion** · September 09, 2006, 10:51 AM

Originally Posted by Ciaran S

Wow, that´s amazing. I´m really looking forward to see actual medieval cities. Do you have some castle models as well?
Would you care to write a tutorial on city building at some time? That´s one area that´s covered only very sparsely.

Look in the back of those screens and you'll see some houses and a warlord's hold (castle).

**thoscme** · September 09, 2006, 08:21 AM

cool!
looking forward to the next patch

**drak10687** · September 09, 2006, 08:59 AM

well, i was thinking about writting a tuturial (because it took me a long time to figure everything out just from the two posts by adherbal and alpaca briefly explaining what needs to be done) however i also feel that RTW modding is comming to an end, and that it might be a waste of itme writting a tuturial now. Thought I might do it when i have some time, cuz I know how frustrating it can be when you arent sure of exactly what you are supposed to be doing.

**Ciaran S** · September 11, 2006, 06:53 AM

Originally Posted by drak10687

however i also feel that RTW modding is comming to an end, and that it might be a waste of itme writting a tuturial now.

I´d not say that, after all, there are a lot of mods - the Middle Earth - themed ones or Citadel come to my mind, for example - which now come to a phase of completion where "minor" aspects like cities might get a higher degree of attention. Not to mention that some of the vanilla cities could use a bit of rework (Greek large cities, anyone

).

**Grand Master of the Order** · September 11, 2006, 10:25 AM

What he meant was that with the release of M2TW the modding of RTW will slowly but surely go down to the same point as today's MTW modding. It's still there but of minor consideration.

**Crusader Invasion** · September 11, 2006, 04:09 PM

Originally Posted by Ciaran S

I´d not say that, after all, there are a lot of mods - the Middle Earth - themed ones or Citadel come to my mind, for example - which now come to a phase of completion where "minor" aspects like cities might get a higher degree of attention. Not to mention that some of the vanilla cities could use a bit of rework (Greek large cities, anyone

).

I think you might be able to port models to M2 so RTW modding will cease to exist because people could use their already finished work on a better graphics engine.

**drak10687** · September 11, 2006, 07:37 PM

there are actually some more buildings that i have in mind when i actually get around to this, so this isnt a full preview, but i just wanted to know if there were any comments/suggestions as far as this goes, plus its been in the dev forum for a very long time now and no one else has seen it.

btw, does anyone know anything about the descr_walls.txt? its been bugging the hell out of me!

RUSSIAN BUILDINGS PREVIEW

Russian villages consisted of wooden houses, a church, bathhouses, windmills, storage sheds, the arrangement of which would be affected by hills, woodlands, rivers, sun and prevailing winds. Setting the structures in lines, along the bank of a body of water or along the side of a road, was the most ancient type of layout.
Bathhouses could be typically built in a cluster, near water, while storage sheds and workshops would be often grouped at the edge of the village.
The farmland was divided into narrow strips. These lots were assigned and rotated among the households, usually based on the number of taxable people in each family. This allowed equitable distribution, but made farming less efficient. (Such method is essentially identical to that of medieval England.) The typical farmstead consisted of the house (izba), a barn, a hayshed, a garden and maybe a bath (bania). The outbuildings were arranged to form a yard (dvor), usually spaced apart (more typically in the southern part of Russia) to prevent the spread of fire, and were enclosed by a low fence.
The houses were constructed of logs and were not very variable in layout, but did have some distinguishing architectural features like the ridgepole of the roof (okhlupen'). Metal was very valuable. Nails and saws were seldom used. All parts of the building were cut and joined using a hand axe. (Archaeological excavations of Novgorod show how wood was used to pave streets, and make drains and gutters.)

The classic peasant house is known as an izba (izbushka when it little). The main room of the izba was defined by the large stove which made it the only heated room in the structure. Sometimes it was the home for several generations and could accommodate ten to twenty people.

In the North, stables, cattle-sheds, haylofts, and storage rooms were often found all under one roof with the living space in order to accommodate the harsh climate.
(* This model is almost an exact replica (as well as I can remember) of my grandparents house in the country which I would visit every summer (and where my mom used to live before she moved to the city) until I was eight, when I moved to the States. It exactly fits the discription of a northern izba. Only instead of animals, there was my dad’s moped in the shed, we had a portable electric stove and I remember there being a tv, but don’t remember that it ever workred *)

While Central Russia izbas more often had separate sheds for storage, livestock and extra living quarters, sometimes arranged in an L or U shape around the courtyard.

)

The Ukrainian (Southern Russian) peasant house (khata) was built of wood, stone or clay, with an earthen floor and thatched roof. The walls, usually covered with plaster and whitewash, were often painted with bright designs.

The living quarters of an izba were confined largely to one room the dominant feature of which was the large clay oven (pech') that occupied a corner to the left or right of the main door. The surrounding area, accommodating space for water, cooking, and dishes, was the women's side of the house. Sleeping platforms were fit next to, or on top of the oven. Low benches (lavki) were built along the other walls and used for seating, sleeping or storage. The icon corner, located diagonally across from the oven, was the spiritual focus of the home. Anyone entering the izba would bow to the icons before greeting the hosts or speaking. The icon corner was an important part of rituals involving matchmaking, marriage and mourning.
Most houses lacked chimneys so the stove filled the room with smoke which was cleared by opening the windows. Most baths were also not constructed with chimneys. There is good evidence to suggest this practice contributed to serious health problems.
(* Not hard to figure that one out! As a result: -2 hitpoint for all Russia units; character trait: likes a bath more than the average Russian, +10% risk of lung disease!*)

Windmills found in certain regions were constructed with a pole in their foundation, dug deep in the ground. A massive log frame, narrowing at the top, encircled the pole. The upper frame of the windmill was rotated with the help of a slanting log in order to catch the direction of the wind. With exception to the millstones, everything was made of wood.

“By the second half of the eighteenth century, when researchers started taking interest in them, the oldest izby still standing probably dated from the eighteenth century. Certainly the pedigree of extant log houses reaches much further back, but it’s not clear how much the details had changed since earlier eras. In any case, the izby that have come down to us follow basic principles of log construction long used in Russia for all kinds of buildings in town as well as village.” - IZBA: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE RUSSIAN PEASANT HOUSE, by Nancy Cooper Frank. Russian Life, Apr.-May 2002.

these are just "russian reskins" they are basically the western european models, except with logs

sources
- Traditional Russian Village Structureby Lisa Kies
- IZBA: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE RUSSIAN PEASANT HOUSE, by Nancy Cooper Frank. Russian Life, Apr.-May 2002. (http://www.ncooperfrank.com/work3.htm)
- Ukrainian Folk Architecture Museum. (http://www.galenfrysinger.com/ukraine_folk_museum.htm)
- Novgorod Wooden Architecture Museum (http://faculty.washington.edu/dwaugh.../novgwood.html)
- Rural Wooden Architecture of the Russian North. (http://www.avantart.com/russ/oct97/mkarelie.html) *)