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A mysterious civilization inhabits the jungles of 0 AD...

They're not quite done yet, but they're close. Sorry, I can't help but tease haha

I'm reviving this thread to continue the discussion. Here is the above refered IRC discussion (Dead links) : 23:55 < _0ADFan> lol code that 23:56 < _0ADFan> ships pass under bridges 23:56 < _0ADFan> you know..even in real life ;-) 23:56 < franklin> Maybe a length limit... Or weight limit... 23:56 < _0ADFan> at least we will get archers on walls..that's something 23:56 < _0ADFan> in alpha 17 23:57 < franklin> You can already garrison them in towers 23:57 < _0ADFan> but not on walls like in stzronghold 23:57 < _0ADFan> will come in 17 23:57 < _0ADFan> eager to see it...yiüiie 23:58 < scythetwirler> leper: Did the design committe consider bridges yet? 23:58 < franklin> How about stone bridges carrying more weight than wooden ones? 23:58 < _0ADFan> would make sense as well franklin 23:58 < _0ADFan> logical 23:59 <@leper> Would make pathfinding even more fun 23:59 <@leper> (also you need to find a nice way to implement it) In order to make map mapping and gameplay more interesting, I thought of two implementations of bridges. 1. Hack the current system of gates for bridges at least draw bridges Theory: Just like gates change obstruction, bridge change the water moving restriction. It would then make an area passable on a simple click just like for gates. for full bridges though. Bridges should have a higher weight than the rest of the paths, because they are more annoying to cross, especially if we aim to have formations. (In this case they should be disbanded when on the bridge) Advantages: Performance savvy compared to other solutions. Less coding required Issues: Not really aesthetically pleasing (you cannot have arched bridges for instance) Bridge height depends on water height unless a origin hack is used. 2. Use prop points to define the path. Theory: units would be using the prop points in the Collada (*.dae) file in order to make a custom path following the points. Path would be cached to avoid to recompute the arc again and again. Depending on a given size in the template, the game would make a fake and invisible terrain in stead of the bridge. Advantages: Visually more pleasing. Arched bridges Different heights possible Not related to terrain around Issues: Performance costly compared to other solutions. More coding required More use of interpolation functions. Common Issue: Both bridges should have a height offset not to have the bridge collide with the water and units collide with the mesh. Xml coul Xml file could look like this : <Obstruction> <Obstructions> <Right width="11" depth="8" x="13" z="0"/> <Left width="11" depth="8" x="-13" z="0"/> <Pathway heightOffset="15" width="15" depth="8" x="0" z="0"/> </Obstructions> </Obstruction> Variants: Draw Bridges If you want to make bridge passable for boats It would require an active query to check whether the approaching unit is a boat or a unit, which might it really slow performance wise. Also the case when both units happen to get on the bridge that could get messy To solve this, maybe don't make it automatic like gates. Bridge will switch with the same button than for gates. Today's discussion <Vladislav> Stan`: yep, but AFAIK current pathfinder doesn't support few passable layers on the same (x, z), so another solutions looks like a hack .:Stan`:. Vladislav, I'm pretty sure we could get the same result that on the first screenshot .:Stan`:. which is the theoreticall terrain <Vladislav> Stan`: the bridge demo map already implements this "bridge" .:Vladislav:. But for ships it's not passable .:Stan`:. Vladislav, but as terrain, not as a buildable mesh <Vladislav> Stan`: yep, so for us it would be good to have sanderd17 patch about terrain modificators .:Stan`:. Vladislav, I don't really understand what it does? Does it create a fake heightmap ? <Vladislav> Stan`: It could change visible height of map, or only collision height, or both, at least it should be there I think .:Stan`:. Vladislav, Ah yeah indeed in that case. And if you can do that interactively, you can make draw bridges .:Stan`:. which imo .:Stan`:. should be the only ones allowing ships to cross them .:Vladislav:. If we will a bridge logic to pathfinder then it will be slower in common case, because more conditions aren't good for caches .:Vladislav:. *have .:Vladislav:. *add .:Vladislav:. Or I could suggest to use 2 different maps, for ships, and for ground units .:Vladislav:. then it will be possible .:Vladislav:. fast and easy enough to implement .:Stan`:. Vladislav, Would make sense as wll .:Stan`:. having uncrossable areas unless you make a bridge would change gameplay a lot .:Vladislav:. Yep .:Stan`:. I guess the best thing would be this .:Stan`:. map makeers put foundations .:Stan`:. on random areas of the map .:Stan`:. (not random) .:Stan`:. and then players can only build bridges there .:Stan`:. thoses bridges should be neutral .:Stan`:. and for now... indestructibles

Mostly satisfied with the game mechanics. Agree that we need more (than zero) technically skilled visionaries compatible to the developers and players pov. The pace of the game seems slow already as one needs to reach city phase, build a fortress and construct a ram and destroy the enemy civic centers in order to win (which was possible with citizen soldiers in a17 and possible with champions in a18-a20). If we deincentivize early attacks, the game would become extremely boring to competitive players. Singleplayer games target casual players who might play less games but expect longer ones. So this is mostly influenced by the aggressiveness of the bot. There are plans to allow setting the behavior of the bot #2550. It could become defensive by default. Also if there is a singleplayer campaign, none of this will apply anymore.

This map is already playable, 1 vs 2. Athens vs Persians. It's a normal size map, tried no to add to much eyecandy stuff. There is still something left, as the background, some advices and additions on units and buildings, making some walls untargetable, plus more stuff. Units can walk on 'walls' (But those are just elevated terrain with walls in both sides, but they work!). As soon as i finished the entire 'agenda' of the map i will make the respective post. Units on 'walls' For now, if someone wants to give any advice, opinion, wants to play it or erase it, just leave a comment. Im not good at balancing The map As for the name of the map, i gladly receive suggestions. Siege.zip

Can someone ever finish learning c++ ? WoodenBridge.7z

I've created some new maps for a22 to further improve selection and variety. These may need some minor fixing up, I'm still unskilled at map-making. You can find my maps here. There is also a ticket for this. Screenshots are provided for each map. African Plains African Wetseason Ambush-Frontier Artic Summer Artic Tundra Carthaginian Coast Danube Extinct Volcano India Polar Sea Ravines Strips Two Rulers(scenario)

This game is sending me mixed messages. The relaxing music and all the mechanics based around researching tech and advancing through the ages makes me believe that I should be taking a slow, cautious and strategic approach to play. However, the AI is incredibly aggressive, they seem to be completely uninterested in anything but destroying me as soon as possible! I don't think this behaviour makes much sense given the mechanics of the game, and the reality of war being a risky business; war is something that should be avoided until it can be avoided no longer! We have a map with limited resources, so it is a matter of time before we are actively competing for those resources, and in such a situation it's inevitable that conflicts will arise. Then it is down to the diplomacy and military might of the civilisations to settle territory disputes and secure peace for a time, until the cycle repeats itself and eventually one side is wiped off the map. There is no sense or need to rush this. Even if an enemy saw that they were militarily supreme, they wouldn't just go and destroy everyone else (unless they were causing them real problems), they'd demand tribute, and use their power to secure territory by threats, diplomacy and minor skirmishes. I want to see enemy AI launching attacks to take over strategic points and resources, not just to kill all my people. I want to see their forces line up near my borders and issue demands on the threat of sacking my cities. Any tips on what I can do to make the game play more like this, the way I would like it to be?

Apparently, C++ was an option, I just wasn't aware that it was a thing until I had already finished all of my programming classes and ended up pursuing a more generic Computer Information Systems degree instead of Game Simulation and Programming. Already knowing C# and Java is definitely helping a lot.

@imperium: Not Aztecs but a predecessor of them (Zapotecs?)

From experience, the Petra AI tries to destroy your army WHILE building another base on another strategic location. From your suggestion, I think you want something with the attributes of a turn-based strategy setup: make war only on strategic points and only if those points are being contested, and then saddle back once those points are won/lost. The only tip I could give is that you make maps with an attack-defend setup. Very linear.

I find it difficult to consider Citizen Soldiers being used purely as Trash Units. The definition works to some extent, but AoE's trash units can't pay themselves back nor be used to establish a strong defensive base. But if I just grant the purpose "fending off attacks to give enough time to produce stronger units", I think it's too early to say since the game isn't yet optimized to support huge population caps. I think it's possible though.

They only need give same architecture to new civs, model/mod few units, done, expend advertising by youtubers like Zero Empires and top players(3000 $) and balancing some, get the new civs OP, I read a lot about this. they can do this every year.

This guide is conceptual and visual about mesoamericans cultures, this in order don't make mistakes like others RTS representing the culture of the ancient of the land where I'm ( Honduras in my case).

Not sure whether anyone else has had this problem with the AUR package(s), and this is probably a package maintainer issue (or my local ability to apply AUR repo's properly is lacking, obviously) but I thought this might be interesting for folks who might run into this issue. I installed the AUR package and it seemed to not copy all the information/files from the package build/source directory to /usr/share/0ad-git/data/ where the program expects it to be. I had to do this manually (cp -rv ./data /usr/share/0ad-git/data) and now the game works smoothly. If this is irrelevant information for some reason, I apologise.

I'd name it Thermopylae simply for the factions. The problem is that I don't even know what the true historical map of Thermopylae looked like. Edit: scratch that. I actually meant Marathon. X-P

They can be, as long as someone is willing to make a faction out of them.

The Aztecs should be in Millennium AD

Map: Mainland Players: fatherbushido vs kudriy Romans vs Iberians on small map. Citizen soldiers fight, swordmen, ... how will it ends ? 2016-12-21_0004.7z

You must've been playing the Ptolemies, since they're the only faction that gets most of their Phase I buildings for free. Did you know that you can rotate the camera angles using the Q and E buttons? Maybe that would help you click your rally point near your Civic Center without having its Bounding Box in the way. Edit: Use the R button to go back to the default camera view.

I'm thinking of adding champion clubmen like the mauryans have for a siege option, considering many mesoamerican civs didnt lay siege, or else give them rams, or both, why not. I like the idea of a "champion priest" but it may be easier to future proof for the next alphas if we just call the battle priest a champion swordsman/spearman that's trainable out of the temple. The ball court can be used to train champions or perhaps... overwhelm with elite citizen soldiers?

Well, the Khmers could be a full fledged civilization, as well as the burmese (Pagan Kingdom), and indonesian (Sriwijaya, and Majapahit), the Cham is indeed good choice for the Indochina region...but as I said, I'm sure someone will be interested one day, plus if it's not in the main game, it can be done in mods, like the chinese hans...

HEROES: AZTECS: Nezahualcoyotl: Means fast coyote, He succeeded his father to the throne and His land was conquered by the Tepanecs of Azcapotzalco, later with a single military force he recovered Texcoco, and started whats known as the Texcoco golden age where he made a group of wise philosophers, artists, etc. and improved economy and culture grew exponetially. He is mainly known for some of his poems. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nezahualcoyotl Moctezuma II: His name means "he who is angry in a noble manner" while in his reign the aztec kingdom reached its mayor size by warfare covering almost all Mezoamerica, He was the one that received the Spainiards, at first he thought they were gods then the Spainiards made an aliance with the civilizations under aztec control to cause revolts, so Moctezuma invited them to his palace and gave them gifts but then he realized their intentions and told them to leave, not many time after that the Spainiards attacked and killed many aztecs; His death has 2 theories he was betrayed or he was killed by Spanish soldiers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moctezuma_II Tenoch: Founder of Mexico, He was a priest and the ruler of the aztecs, In the prophecy it said that he needed tho find an eagle standing in a nopal eating a snake, so in their 200year long migration they found many enemies. When they were close to the Mexican valley they found themselves agianst the Tepanecs of Azcapotzalco he fought them and won easily, then he found himself in the territory of the culhues were the king knew them he knew they were agrressive and dangerous so he gave them a small part of his territory which was the harshest but they managed to survived, later on he gave them his daughter the culhua princess so Tenoch sacrificed her, skinned her, used her as a cape, and made pozole (previously mentioned) with the rest. Then after 200 years just as he was getting expelled by the culhues he found the sign of the prophecy in the Texcoco lake, So he founded his city Tenichtitlán there and later they became the greatest empire of Mezoamerica. He was later "divinized" because of his amazing achievements, they consideered him as a god. Source: History classes, http://afrarodriguez.blogspot.mx/2014/01/tenoch-fundador-de-mexico-tenochtitlan.html.

I found another problem with Mesoamerican civs. The lack of animals; What animals are we going to put in the corrals? , so I started looking up and found this: They had 4 main sources of protein (meat): 1.- Ducks ( But only on a special season of the year ) 2.- Xoloescuincle ( Hairless dog endemic from Mexico eaten by the royalty ) 3.- Humans ( A typical Mexican dish called pozole today uses pig meat, but in those times it used human Aztecs were savages.) 4.- Guajolote or Huajolote ( Mexican version of turkey ) So I think the best option is the Guajolote because Ducks were irregular, Dogs (Xoloesquincle) would look cruel and were only eaten by the royalty, and Humans, well you get the point. Guajolotes are easy to draw, usually eaten, and appropiate here are some images to get the reference:

You could also train champs from there because only the finest men played ball game, they would be much like naked fanatics

I have another idea : Mesoamerican civilizations played a game called juego de pelota (ball game) They used a ball (don't ask what it was made of) and they kicked not with their feet but with their hips. The point was to make the ball go through a small ring on a wall. There were 2 teams: in some civilizations the losers were sacrificed, in others like the Zapotecs the winner was sacrificed as a prize because they thought being sacrificed was the biggest honor. They had ball game stadiums, so I though you could make a building like the greek Theatron that florishes culture. The Zapotecs aztecs and mayans played it The 3rd and 2nd image is the zapotec one in Monte Albán

Time and location: 500 b.C.-1000 a.C. Origin: 3500 years ago State of Oaxaca Main cities: Monte Albán, Mitla (Inside Monte Albán, main religious center, built 2000 years ago, culture florished there. )

I have an idea for aztecs; Aztecs located in a lake (literally) because of an ancient prophecy, because the used to be nomads until they could find an eagle standing in a nopal (Mexican cactus) eating a snake, and 200 years later after migrating from their origin land Aztlán they found it in a small piece of land on top of the Texcoco lake. So they literally build their city on top of the lake, But how? They used an original technology called Chinampas these were pieces of land on top of the water. To build chinampas they used logs which they used Mecate ropes ( Made from another Mexican cactus) to tie them and filled them with stones, dirt and other materials, the product was a piece of land on top of the water and they made lots of them and they didn't need irrigation systems, there were small spaces between each chinampa were the aztecs used canoes to travel between them. They ended up making so many chinampas that they formed an entire city, that still remains today on top of the Texcoco lake, Tenochtitlán which many people don't know was the biggest city of its time ( Bigger then the Incas, Spanish, British, etc.). Today chinampas are still there and you can travel to see them in a medium boat called Trajinera in the Xochimilco, they are still used and many people live in them. They have resisted all that time. Another interesting fact is that the Texcoco lake covered most of the valley so today's Mexico city is most on top of chinampas ( Yeah the texcoco lake almost dissapeared.). So my idea is to add chinampas to the aztecs, since these were the most important technology for them.

I would really like to have that functionality, Lion. That would be really great for mods that tie up nicely with the main game.

we can create mods that can convert into officials DLC like these guys did.

The patterns are different from Mayans.

The name Zapotec is an exonym coming from Nahuatl tzapotēcah (singular tzapotēcatl), which means "inhabitants of the place of sapote". The Zapotec referred to themselves by some variant of the term Be'ena'a[pronunciation?], which means "The People" @LordGood here are some info... About you request before. Architecture ... One of the most important features of Zapotec architecture is the important role played by light in it. The shadows are almost the only decoration of the massive constructions, of clear horizontal tendency, apart from the boards in the form of C or E lying or elongated, with a simple remetimiento of cloths. In the stairs, the rafters are of wide width and they manage scapular boards, similar to the board on slope Teotihuacan. They also developed the concept of the hypostyle room with masonry or monolithic columns, with flat ceilings, as vestibule spaces. http://misteriosconxana.blogspot.com/2016/02/cultura-zapoteca.html

They look like similar to Mayans. "Zapotec culture" Commerce Governament Ceramic Legends and origins, (probably this represent their mythology)

There Zapotec buildings view from inside, so they painted as all Mesoamerican their buildings. This are possible patterns of this civilization.

QUICK REFERENCE The Zapotec civilization of Meso-America produced buildings that were similar to those of the Maya, Toltec, Aztec, and other groups, with a clear distinction between the substructure and superstructure. The religious centre of the Mixtec-Zapotec peoples in the valley of Oaxaca, Mexico, was the Palace of the Columns, Mitla (c.1000), with an impressive platform the walls of which were decorated with elaborate geometrical patterns. Cruickshank (ed.) (1996);Kubler (1984);Jane Turner (1984);

Teotihucan, Zapotec based their architecture in this city. But isn't the same style, is like compare Egypt to Nubians or Minoans.

"The word "Holcan" means "warrior." Maya warriors formed a separate class in their society. In battle they would often capture rather than kill enemy soldiers to provide slaves or human sacrifices. The Holcan used many different weapons including spears, slingshots, clubs, knives, and even bombs made of hornet's nests. In times of need Maya used a form of conscription to force farmers or others to become soldiers."

AoE 2 accuracy. The Mayans and Aztecs did not have developed Siege Warfare. That's not because they were technologically deficient (the Vikings didn't have much siege, either, nor did the Japanese). However, playing a civ with 0 Cavalry AND 0 Siege would be nightmarish. Age of Empires 3 actually features the Aztecs without any siege, but in that game, each unit has a separate attack versus buildings, and their Archers would have flaming arrows that sufficed for destroying buildings in that game. In this game, that would be all kinds of horrible. To contrast the Aztecs, the Maya miss Siege Onager but get Heavy Scorpion. Probably because their Eagles and Plumed Archers demolish archers already. They also do not get Siege Engineers, but their defenses are way better. That's a bit later. MONASTERY: no Redemption, no Illumination The Mayan Monks are pretty good, and for good reason. We don't know everything about their religion, but they are the forerunners of much Mesoamerican thought and philosophy. The Maya had lots of sacrificial rites, but often sacrificed food and drink and animals, only rarely humans. They participated in bloodletting. The Priests served a cultural function just like those in the New World, keeping records, teaching writing, maintaining the calendars, etc. So their Monks are strong, just not Aztec strong. DOCKS: no Cannon Galleon Another contrast to the Aztecs are their full Docks. They don't get gunpowder, but interestingly they get Demolition Ships. Actually, the Maya and Aztecs did not have much of a navy, at least not in the European sense. They definitely used the waterways to transport men and supplies, and there was canoe to canoe combat. They had trade routes along the ocean, but no massive galleys or anything like that. The strength of the Mayan Docks could be a nod towards the wild theories of the Maya taking to the seas and going around the Caribbean, spreading their influence there, as well as into the Southern United States and founding the Mississipi Culture and what not. So, uh, yeah. The Mayans are an economical juggernaut in gameplay, so of course they get most of the techs. I'm not sure if this is true or not, but according to Wikipedia, the Maya had lead merchants who would analyze the trade of materials going in and out of their cities, and set prices. The King of a city would also be involved in the trade. The Mayans apparently had a contracter system for mathematicians and engineers. It makes sense that the Mayans are a strong economic civ, and they were probably planned to be THE economic civ of the game, along with the Persians. ------- THAT DON'T FIT GOES HERE WONDER: Temple of Masks, Tikal, Guatemala Contrary to popular belief, the Mayan Wonder is NOT the Temple of the Great Jaguar AKA Temple I at Tikal. The Mayan Wonder much more closely resembles the Temple of the Masks, Temple II of Tikal. Temple I has 9 steps; Temple II has 3, just like the Mayan Wonder. LANGUAGE: Maya This is probably modern Mayan. The Mayan languages form their own language family. The languages of Mesoamerica are really interesting because most of them are unrelated to each other, at least on a macro scale. We can say for certain that Persian is distantly related to English, that Hindi is related to Russian, etc. but we can't say the same for the Mesoamerican ones. We know that the Aztec language is distantly related to various languages spoken in North America, such as the Comanche language or the Shoshone, as well as a few groups in Northern Mexico. The various Oto-Manguean languages of the Zapotecs, Mixtecs, and the Tlapatecs are distinct. source: https://www.reddit.com/r/aoe2/comments/qvfbd/aw_hell_nah_what_up_dawg_gameplay_vs_historicity/?st=iwnb5q8y&sh=da40ad1a

Mistakes by Apocalyto. https://vandenhoogenband.wordpress.com/2014/02/02/everything-wrong-with-mel-gibsons-apocalypto-an-archaeological-standpoint/ --------in AoE------ The Mayan and Aztec civilizations have one, huge difference from the other civs in the game; their lack of Cavalry (they also lack Gunpowder, but so do the British, so they're not unique). Horses were in the Americas for sometime, but in the very distant past about 8000 BC. They were probably hunted to extinction by the ancestors of the Native Americans. mistakes from AoE 2 expansion. The Mayan and Aztec Trade Cart has a funny sprite of a dude pulling a cart behind him. The Eagle Warrior was clearly developed as the equivalent of the Scout line, although the Eagle Warrior is actually an Aztec specific class of warriors, though the Mayans the developers made the Mayans very defense-oriented (they planned for the Maya to be defensive, but the Mayans end up being good at both) and sort of stereotyped them to the tree-hugger Native American, on purpose. This is great because it works with the eurocentric nature of the game AND it makes the two civs, who share lots of similarities, totally different. Many past archaeologists, having not found much evidence for Mayan warfare, assumed the Maya were super peaceful. As evidence of cities being burnt, old weapons, and mass bruial grounds came to light people realized the Maya did engage in war but this bonus is very, very good at playing to the stereotype. The Celts chop down trees quick, the British put up new Towns very quickly, the Teutons and Franks cut down forests and put up lots of Farms, etc. The Mayans are conservative and extract more from the environment. I'll explain the idea of a defensive, peaceful Maya civilization when I get to the tech tree. There isn't really much evidence for the Maya having used lots of Archers. Mesoamerican archery tech was pretty terrible compared to the rest of the world; they didn't have a big animal with strong bones like the West Asians did to make their Composite bows. They didn't have iron-tipped arrows because iron is hard to maintain in that part of the world. The Maya and Aztecs, however, did not lack for strong missile technology. Arguably, their missile tech was just as good as Bows or Crossbows or Cannons of the world. The Spanish dreaded the simple Atlatl The Atlatl was a shaft with a cup to hold the projectile, and the shaft would act as an extension of the arm, held by the hand. Imagine the centrigual force generated by a yo-yo or a nunchuk, now transfer that into a projectile. That's basically how the atlatl worked. The atlatl threw "darts," that were not quite small enough to be arrows, not quite long enough to be javelins. These darts would go straight through Spanish armor, and today's reconstructions can send darts flying over 93 mph (150 kmh). The upper range of a Longbow would be 136 miles per hour (about 219 kmh). That's fairly comparable speeds, especially at mid range, and with a cheaper production cost. I'm sure a Mayan or Aztec atlatl thrower could fire darts as fast as a Longbowman, if not faster. Maybe due to the atlatl, maybe not, but the Maya get a bonus to their decidedly defensive Archers as opposed to the offensive Infantry of the Aztecs. If the game were a bit more historical, the Maya would also be a melee infantry civ. BARRACKS: no Champion The Maya get a pretty good Barracks, lack of Champion notwithstanding. The Mayans would be, if historically accurate, more of a melee Infantry civilization. Now, the Maya get all of the relevant Blacksmith techs (they miss the Cavalry armor ones of course), and that isn't technically accurate. But that's for gameplay. The Maya and Aztec DID have iron, they just didn't use it because it easily rusted in the hot jungles of Mesoamerica. They were excellent metalworkers, and if they needed to, they could easily have made quality iron weapons. They used a few substitutes. In particular were their obsidian weapon. Obsidian is volcanic glass, and it's extremely sharp. It chips and loses it's edge pretty easily but while it's sharp, it's darn sharp. Obsidian is so sharp, it's currently used for surgery! The Maya and Aztecs would stick obsidian blades in wooden clubs and they would perform the same function as swords. The Jaguar Warrior visibly uses such a weapon, but that's for another day. TEAM BONUS: Walls cost -50% A real obvious defensive bonus. Although most of the Mayan cities do not have defensive walls that stand to this day, they existed; take a look at Tulum, which has walls, gates, and towers. The Maya were excellent stone workers, and so this bonus makes even more sense.

Differences between precolumbian civs. The Maya were the first Mesoamerican civilization, starting around 2600 B.C. They lasted the longest of all and are often viewed as the greatest Mesoamerican civilization. They built most of their great cities between A.D. 250 and A.D. 900. Although they were around first, the Maya only really rose to greatness in those later years after adopting much of their culture from the younger Olmec civilization. The Maya went on to leave behind a longer, more prosperous legacy, encompassing parts of Mexico, Guatamala, El Salvador, Belize, and Honduras. They were ruled by kings and priests and were not wiped out like some of the other cultures, but gradually dissipated. Their exact relationship with the Olmecs remains unclear. So the Olmecs were the first major Mesoamerican culture, despite being younger than the Mayans. The name “Olmec” was almost certainly not what they called themselves but is derived from Aztec writings. The Olmecs established themselves around 1400 B.C. and lasted about 1,000 years, occupying a reasonably large amount of land. They were good farmers, artists, mathematicians, and astronomers. They wrote in hieroglyphics, as did most of the cultures that followed them. They never built any major cities that we know of, but they did leave one pyramid behind before they gradually disappeared. Their most famous legacy is the mystery of the Olmec heads: 3-meter (9 ft) tall heads resembling African warriors made from stone found over 130 kilometers (80 mi) away. The Inca civilization can be traced back to about A.D. 1200. They lived in the mountains of Peru, far removed from the Olmecs, Maya, and Aztecs, and at the peak of their power, the civilization extended for 4,000 kilometers (2,500 mi) and included 16 million people. They were extremely advanced and had an army, laws, roads, bridges, tunnels, and a complicated irrigation system far ahead of its time. However, they never invented a system of writing, instead using knotted ropes for record-keeping. A civil war over the rightful heir to the throne meant that when the Spanish invaded, the Inca were easily defeated. The empire fell in 1533. The Aztecs founded their biggest city, Tenochtitlan, in A.D. 1325, meaning they were much younger than any of the other three. Tenochtitlan was built on an island in a Mexican lake called Lake Texcoco. They gradually conquered the rest of the area, until they fell in 1521 at the hands of Spanish invaders. Although they were not as advanced as the Inca, they did have a 365-day calendar and used hieroglyphics. Though the cultures are alike in many ways, such as their building of pyramids, human sacrifices, and use of hieroglyphics (bar the Inca), they are four distinct cultures that rose and fell at different times for different reasons. To quickly sum up, the Maya were first but learned a lot from the Olmecs, who started 1,200 years later. The Aztecs followed about 400 years after the Mayan civilization began to shrink. The Inca were from a completely different area and lasted less than 300 years before being wiped out, while still managing to become the most advanced in their short life.

War. Although the Maya were once thought to have been peaceful (see below), current theories emphasize the role of inter-polity warfare as a factor in the development and perpetuation of Maya society. The goals and motives of warfare in Maya culture are not thoroughly understood, but scholars have developed models for Maya warfare based on several lines of evidence, including fortified defenses around structure complexes, artistic and epigraphic depictions of war, and the presence weapons such as obsidian blades and projectile points in the archaeological record. Warfare can also be identified from archaeological remains that suggest a rapid and drastic break in a fundamental pattern due to violence. It is thought that enemies would project missiles at long range, then as they advanced on each other, discipline probably declined, allowing individuals to attempt to personal feats of bravery [3] The main body of the population does not appear to have been active in most conflicts unless it involved the overthrow of a ruler. Aguateca is a Classic Maya site located in the south-western Petén department of Guatemala. Aguateca was a member of the Petexbatún States among which included such polities as Seibal, Itzan, Dos Pilas, Cancuén, Tamarindito, Punta de Chimino,and Nacimiento. The city was built on a 90 m. escarpment with defensive fortifications surrounding the city. Archaeological remains, along with epigraphy and iconography at the site reveal an expansion of power and military influence from Aguateca by the ruling dynasty during the 8th century, a period noted for endemic warfare in the region. During this time, 4 km. of defensive walls were hastily constructed concentrically around the site. Misconceptions The prevalent theory on the ancient Maya at the beginning of the 20th century held on to the notion that they had a predominantly peaceful society, idealizing the indigenous culture much like a noble savage. This view erroneously shifted as the result of poorly documented analysis of iconography and the content of Maya script. Maya warfare was a major theme in Apocalypto (2006), directed by Mel Gibson. The film depicts the attack on a small village by warriors from a larger polity for the purpose of capturing men to be sacrificed atop a pyramid during a solar eclipse. The warfare depicted in the film, like most other aspects of Late Postclassic Maya society, should not be taken as factual. Richard Hansen, who acted as the historical consultant for the film, has worked mostly on early Maya civilization, more than a millennium before the time period depicted in the film.[20]

Architecture. Mayans. The tradition of Maya architecture spans several thousands of years thorough the Mesoamerican. A region that extends approximately from central Mexico to Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica, within which pre-Columbian societies flourished before the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Maya were certainly aware of, and were often admirers of, the Mesoamerican cultures which had gone before them, especially the Olmec and at Teotihuacan, and so they took inspiration from this Mesoamerican heritage when developing their own unique architecture. The most recognizable as Maya buildings are the stepped pyramids from the Terminal Pre-classic period and beyond. Chichen Itza // Yucatan, Mexico Maya architects used readily available local materials, such as limestone at Palenque and Tikal, sandstone at Quiriguá, and volcanic tuff at Copan. Blocks were cut using stone tools only. Burnt-lime cement was used to create a form of concrete and was occasionally used as mortar, as was simple mud. Exterior surfaces were faced with stucco and decorated with high relief carvings or three-dimensional sculpture. Walls might also have fine veneers of ashlar slabs placed over a rubble core, a feature of buildings in the Puuc region. Walls in Maya buildings are usually straight and produce sharp angles but a notable idiosyncrasy is seen at Uxmal’s House of the Governor (10th century CE) which has outer walls which lean outwards as they rise (called negative batter). The whole exterior was then covered in stucco and painted in bright colours, especially red, yellow, green, and blue. Interior walls were often decorated with murals depicting battles, rulers, and religious scenes. Mansard roofs were typical and made in imitation of the sloped thatch roofing of the more modest wooden and wattle dwellings of the majority of the population. So the houses weren't of stone. Town Planning Maya sites display evidence of deliberate urban planning and monuments are often laid out on a radial pattern incorporating wide plazas. Topography usually determined where larger buildings were constructed – see, for example, Palenque where use was made of natural rock rises – but they could also be connected via elevated and stuccoed roadways (bajos) within a single sacred complex. Buildings themselves were oriented along, for example, a north-south axis, and were so positioned to take advantage of solar and other celestial events or sight lines. Buildings might also be sited to take advantage of natural panoramas or even mimic the view itself such as in the ballcourt at Copan. Copan Siteplan

Serapis is a good choice for the Ptolemies, but also don't discount the important of Isis with the Isis Cult. If you are going with cults, the Mithra Cult was a huge thing in the Roman Empire, especially among soldiers. The Isis Cult also had a pretty huge hey-day, but that's up to you I suppose. Rune Stones would be inapplicable to the Britons since they did not right with runes, and most rune-like monuments come from the Megalithic Era. For the Gauls, you could have wicker-men be a basis for that.

(a couple of screenshots I made to illustrate my posts in 0 A.D. VK group (VK is a Russian social network)) About twentieth minute of 2016-11-07_gauls_4v4_ambush match kindly shared by @elexis here: https://wildfiregames.com/forum/index.php?/topic/21337-a21-replays/&do=findComment&comment=321836 Hannibal_Barca's towers and grape foragers overlooking surroundings from a cliff in the middle, svnUran238cz' safe (for the time being) Iberian town on the left, Vercingetorix_' base extension on the right, ransacked elexis' base on top right, and finally on top middle is a line of Luzbell's archers who are going to meet Vercingetorix_' fanatics soon (wang_wei's green and fatherbushido's blue bases are visible on the minimap) Dueling Cliffs map. A21 announcement contains a more informative image of the map (better representing its entire layout), but this one demonstrates the mountains epicness in it's own way

The ShC2 physics engine is useless, it puts up a performance wall for lower end systems and that's about it. A custom animation would be needed for every single wall segment and variation, which would take a very long time.

Hey guys, Here is a teaser on another map I have been working on since a few time. Crete Island. This should be nice for 4 players. Here is Crete: And here is my ongoing map: As usual, I tried to do my best to respect the topography, with exact coast drawing, hills/mountain position, and even respecting the oceanographic topography. So players can start from Heraklio, Rethymno, Agios Nikolaos, and Chania. Obvioulsy, I need some more work on texturing and stuff. Actually, what I really have in mind is to set up a campaign on the island, based on the history of the Island. Here are the major points of the campaign I have in mind : Sparta, Athen, and Macedonians will start to fight on a first scenario (Crete1) - almost a squirmish mode with these 3 factions - it will correspond to the conquest of Crete Mynoian people by The Greek Roma attacks the Island and fight established factions (Crete 2) - a scenario with a map including fortified Athenians - it will correspond to the attack in 67 AD by Roma. Persians attacks the Island and fight established Romanians camps (Crete3) - a scenario with fortified Romanians structures, much more difficult to conquer than the previous scenario with an appropriate design - it will correspond to the conquest in 400 by the Byzantin empire (they were actualy a mix of tribes, slavs and vandals, but the closest faction available in the game is Persians/Achaemenid faction). So what is required to create a campaign ? Is a succession of scenarios ok ? What are the major problems with campaign and are some campaigns already planned ? Is my project possible and compatible with your objectives ? Looking forward your feedback, thanks!

Still improving the map. Some areas are now even more close to the reality (sitia, messara, chania, lassihti, etc..). I tried a few skirmishes modes, with 4 CC on the map for testing purposes. Despite the little room available at start, it is easy to build consequent cities (as usual, AI naturally put some new buildings and colonize places that are actually real cities on Crete, that's funny): It is possible to build quite big armies, and the landscapes allows also to set up surprise attack (eg. not only naval, but also along the south rocky coast, however, units will be naturally slowed down there). My tests were fun, I will now start to set up the three scenarios I did describe in the first post.