098 teaser: ROADS - some overhaul + ideas for future

[AnthoniusII]

Hi Guys,
I occasionally come back to the idea of moding the road. In the TGC mod I've noticed a good naming for the intermediate level: Gravel roads.
So I've changed for 098 naming: Dirt Roads - Gravel Roads - Paved Roads. I think it's a better naming for the period.
At some point in the future I hope the TGC would allow use (some of) their assets so also the icon would be changed (they've already made that one).
As far as I know, in the Med2 engine we can have only three tiers of roads, so it will stay like this. The rest of the changes may be introduced in the future.
JoC

What assets? We have dirt roads from the start in all regions because people traveled for centuries...All factions can build paved roads exept Steppe ones. The only "unique" building is the pre-placed extra wide paved roads from Dyrachion to Constantinople as Via Egnatia and the main anatolikon road from Conntastinople ro Antiochea. Nottice that Tarsos and Antiochea belobg to Abbasids when TGC starts.

[Jurand of Cracow]

Just for the record navigable rivers will open a whole can of worms. Look at DAC and the Anduim problem.

That said a movement bonus from a fluvial infrastructure sounds really reasonable. Don't interpret it as the entire army sailing down river but rather the entire logistics and supply being optimized in the area due to the extensive usage of rivers for commercial and military shipping.

I don't think there's any plan to make the rivers navigable. Even a trait boosting movement (as it exists in HURB) is unlikely.
The rivers impact on fertility of farms and availability of an additional building: River Ports.

[Jurand of Cracow]

What assets? We have dirt roads from the start in all regions because people traveled for centuries...All factions can build paved roads exept Steppe ones. The only "unique" building is the pre-placed extra wide paved roads from Dyrachion to Constantinople as Via Egnatia and the main anatolikon road from Conntastinople ro Antiochea. Nottice that Tarsos and Antiochea belobg to Abbasids when TGC starts.

Hi AnthoniusII,
assets: I'd be very grateful if we could use 1 building icon: the one for gravel roads (normal road painted with blue)
I think I've got in mind a similar system that differs in some aspects: dirt roads available in all regions (all colours on the map), gravel roads in all regions but the steppes, deserts, dense woods, and swamps (white and green); paved roads in most of the regions (green).

[VINC.XXIII]

Hi Guys,
As far as I know, in the Med2 engine we can have only three tiers of roads, so it will stay like this. The rest of the changes may be introduced in the future.
JoC

Sad, I worked on ancient roads in my region, its a fascinating subject but I will spare you the details, to summarize we still had paved roads, which were kept being built, but due to political fracturation no project like building a coherent 200 km paved route could be decided. As such you could divide the levels in more than 5 and It would follow centralization of power(under king of France or an appanagist). The roads reaching a modern standard of coherence way out of MTW2 time-frame, ofc.

Meanwhile, during feudal times, kings, bishops, cities, lords, kinda compensated their frustrations with new and monumental brigdes


To name a few Albi(150 meters, quite early like circa 1000), Poissy(400 meters, Philippe Augustus-Louis IX reigns, fortified, destroyed...but you can jugde how wholesome it was from 19th century pictures, as such, many were built between 1000 and circa 1250 but were renovated all way through centuries til now), Avignon(XII-XIIIth centuries). The latter was covered by french CNRS, they made a 3D thing about it.

While this brigde was too narrow to allow chariots to go like on modern 4-ways brigdes, it still allowed to tax more efficiently the waterway traffic. From this you understand better why despite looking modest by modern standards, brigdes were important back then.

https://vimeo.com/174343310

The best conserved brigde in France, I think, XIVth century, near Cahors.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

[kostic]

Very interesting this video on the construction of a bridge in the Middle Ages. The Cahors bridge has a lot of fun !