absinthia

i think wooden tiles could be used for any early "monumental" or civic building. wooden tructures would most likely be sealed with tar, hence the often dark tone.

due to the multitude of gods in the pantheon and the decentralized nature of Norse settlements, pagan religion was a personal matter. for everyday worship a Horg, a simple stone altar, could be used for offerings of butter, ale and such. at solstices communal offerings and ritualistic feasting could be performed at Hov`s, most likely maintained by local chieftains. at such events a wagon or sledge, symbolically carrying the sun, might be central. the supposed great temple at Uppsala might be a (late) exception in this matter. stave churches might give an impression of the style in which temples were constructed. the earliest ones could verry well be refurbished hov`s. as for funerals an oblong stonesetting, symbolising a boat, could be erected. possibly even with a boat burried inside. though i believe this custom were mainly practised in the late bronze/early iron age. later great burial mounds (tumulus) would be erected by prominent families in areas of the landscape where it would be easily noticeable.

re-posting here what i once did at TWCenter for an Anglo-Saxon (England) M2TW faction. i realize it is not directly transferable to 0AD. but hopefully it contain some interesting pieces that can be utilized. the information contained within relate mainly to the late Anglo-Saxon period in England, ca. 8th-11th centuries. firstly some info on anglo-saxons, cut from Regia Anglorum`s resource for re-enactors. anglo-saxon male clothing: an Anglo-Saxon roster i proposed for a defunct M2TW mod: the fyrd has been split into the 3 peasant classes, mainly intended for a defensive garrison script. also, i noticed that the M2TW roster linked here in #14 is based on my own textures, at least they were not totally wasted. Sticks or short axe(pri) Theow - Coarse undyed tunic, waist tie. OPTIONAL: Trousers, hose, leg wrappings, shoes, hood, cloak. militia/fyrd: Gebur: tier 1 javelin(pri) - spear(sec) Gebur - Wool or linen tunic, hose, belt. OPTIONAL: Shoes, cloak, undertunic, hood, leg bindings, trousers, braies, comb, strike-a-light, games or dice, Pewter cloak pins, pouch. tier 2 javelin(pri) - spear(sec) Kotsetla - Wool or linen tunic, hose and braies, shoes, cloak, belt. OPTIONAL: Undertunic, hood, leg bindings, trousers, comb, strike-a-light, games or dice, Pewter or bronze cloak pins or brooches, pouch. Kotsetla: tier 1 short axe(pri) - seax(sec) Gebur - Wool or linen tunic, hose, belt. OPTIONAL: Shoes, cloak, undertunic, hood, leg bindings, trousers, braies, comb, strike-a-light, games or dice, Pewter cloak pins, pouch. tier 2 short axe(pri) - seax(sec) Kotsetla - Wool or linen tunic, hose and braies, shoes, cloak, belt. OPTIONAL: Undertunic, hood, leg bindings, trousers, comb, strike-a-light, games or dice, Pewter or bronze cloak pins or brooches, pouch. Geneat: tier 1 spear(pri) - seax(sec) Kotsetla - Wool or linen tunic, hose and braies, shoes, cloak, belt. OPTIONAL: Undertunic, hood, leg bindings, trousers, comb, strike-a-light, games or dice, Pewter or bronze cloak pins or brooches, pouch. tier 2 spear(pri) - sword(sec) Geneat - Simply decorated wool or linen tunic, undertunic, hose and braies or trousers, belt, shoes, cloak, leg bindings. OPTIONAL: Hood, comb, strike-a-light, games or dice, cloak pins or brooches as above, pouch, etc. wealthy peasants/lower nobles: Ceorl: tier 1 sword(pri) - large round shield - helmet Geneat - Simply decorated wool or linen tunic, undertunic, hose and braies or trousers, belt, shoes, cloak, leg bindings. OPTIONAL: Hood, comb, strike-a-light, games or dice, cloak pins or brooches as above, pouch, etc. tier 2 sword(pri) - large round shield - helmet - maile hauberk Ceorl - Richly decorated wool or linen tunic, undertunic, hose and braies or trousers, shoes, cloak, leg bindings, some silver jewellery as above. OPTIONAL: comb, strike-a-light, pouch, etc. nobles/thegns: Thegn/Geoguþ (youth): spear(pri) - sword(sec) - large round shield - helmet - maile hauberk Thegn - Richly decorated wool or linen tunic, undertunic, hose and braies or trousers, shoes, cloak, leg bindings, some silver jewellery as above. OPTIONAL: comb, strike-a-light, pouch, etc. Eorls Thegn/Duguþ (proven warrior): long axe(pri) - sword(sec) - large round shield - helmet/w noseguard - maile aventail - padded gambeson - maile hauberk Eorls Thegn - Good, richly decorated wool or linen tunic, fine linen undertunic, hose and braies or trousers, shoes, belt, cloak, leg bindings, gold or silver jewellery, as above. OPTIONAL: comb, strike-a-light, coins, games, reliquary, pouch, etc. cavalry: Kings Thegns: spear(pri) - sword(sec) - large round shield - helmet/w noseguard/cheek guard - maile aventail - padded gambeson - maile hauberk Kings Thegns - Good, richly decorated wool or linen tunic, fine linen undertunic, hose and braies or trousers, shoes, belt, cloak, leg bindings, gold or silver jewellery, as above. OPTIONAL: comb, strike-a-light, coins, games, reliquary, pouch, etc. Hearþweru or Hirþ(body guard): sword(pri) - large round shield - helmet/w noseguard/cheek guard - maile aventail - padded gambeson - maile hauberk Kings Thegns - Good, richly decorated wool or linen tunic, fine linen undertunic, hose and braies or trousers, shoes, belt, cloak, leg bindings, gold or silver jewellery, as above. OPTIONAL: comb, strike-a-light, coins, games, reliquary, pouch, etc. captain: Eolderman/Gesiþ: sword(pri) - large round shield - helmet/w spectacles/cheek guard - maile aventail - padded gambeson - maile hauberk Eorl/Eolderman - Good, richly decorated wool or linen robe, fine linen undertunic, hose and braies or trousers, shoes, belt, cloak, leg bindings, gold or silver jewellery, as above. OPTIONAL: comb, strike-a-light, coins, games, reliquary, pouch, etc. generals: Atheling/Æþeling: sword(pri) - large round shield - helmet/w spectacles/cheek guard - maile aventail - padded gambeson - maile hauberk Athelings - Good, richly decorated wool or linen robe, fine linen undertunic, hose and braies or trousers, shoes, belt, cloak, leg bindings, gold or silver jewellery, as above. OPTIONAL: comb, strike-a-light, coins, games, reliquary, pouch, etc. Notice the lack of archer units, as far as i understand the Anglo-Saxons did not use archers much. it would also seem that the Anglo-Saxons relied on infantry rather than cavalry, even as late as Hastings the Huscarls rode to the battle and dismounted to fight. my impression is, simply put, that England got archery through the welsh and cavalry through the Normans. this because the warriors were mainly farmers and landowners, not hunters skilled with bow or nobles who could afford a horse.

yes, simply a (covered) hole in the roof to let the smoke out. the fireplace it self just a pit in the centre of the longhouse. here from the reconstructed longhouse in Lofoten: i suppose chimneys and masonry in general did not appear until medieval times, and then mainly in larger urban centers. the earliest town-like center in Norway were Landa. the Stavanger Cathedral is one of oldest stone building in Norway, supposedly erected sometime between 1100-1150. the entrance used to be a square tower, of which only the base remains, torn down after a fire in 1272. some historians suggest that it was originally a fortified tower, though this is somewhat speculative. if so it would be a truly unique feature. charred remains dated to 800`s and 1000`s, as well as skeletal remains from 1000`s, suggest the tower belonged to an earlier church possibly built of wood. yet, the sagas tell of Einar Kongsmåg, a taxcollector, seeking refuge in the tower 1205 and four of his men being killed there. the assailants threatened to set fire to the tower suggesting the tower was not considered a sacral part of the church...

i am using IBM Thinkpad X31 from 2003 and the hardware does not propperly suport shaders and such. so when i launched 0AD it was mostly black, i removed it as it used up to much HDD-space. i plan to buy a used gaming PC sometime on the new-year, but being out of work it is not top priority. i have both SATA and IDE drives with my moding files on them, buying adapters would likely cost me as much as a used PC. as for skills i am quite adept with Photoshop. i have made skins for several Medieval II TW rosters. 3D modeling i only ventured into to be able to map and properly fit textures on models. though i have made a range of helmets, weapons and other simple 3D stuff. i only learned to use Milkshape, which is super simple. when i tried with G-Max (free 3D-Max clone) i realized that i learned nothing. as i understand advanced 3D software let you put shadows, tints and such effects. i never did, i allways made textures fully in Photoshop. i would find it easier to teach creating textures if i made one and then explained what i did, how and why. but i suppose i could try to answer questions or comment on ones being made. also i made some PSD templates for TW moddingteams, maile and different styles of scale armour etc. they are also locked away on external HDD, but i might possibly find someone to upload them somewhere. lastly, one comment on Norse buildings. houses with tiled roofs use wooden tiles and they did not use chimneys.

i was thinking perhaps the unit models/skins could be re-cycled. or at least parts of it like helms, weapons and parts of texture. but converting them from M2TW .mesh and rigging them to use in 0AD might be as tedious as making new ones. normaly i could offer to help, but at this point i am have a crappy laptop that is not even able to run 0AD propperly. and my original 3ds models and psd textures are trapped on a HD in a dead computer. if i can afford to replace it within the next few months i can get back to that if still needed. now, i am a history buff and a norseman, so i thought i just offer some information on norse military and concepts. the following might be a bit simplified and generalized, but should do for a computer game. Leidang/Ledung(leiðangr): the north germanic society were generally militarized, every free men were expected to carry arms. each year the men met at the musterfield and formed the Leidang. the Leidang were compulsively mustered and the king/jarl/chief/assembly decided wether to disband or campaign. this practice were traditional among most germanic people and even Charlemange`s armies were mustered in more or less this way. among the anglo-saxons of England this was called a Fyrd. the Norse Leidang were based on ship crews. Hundare/Hærad(hérað): a standard sized hip were manned by 24 oarsmen and one steerman. areas expected to supply 4 ships were called a Hundred(swe) or Hæred(nor). some regions could muster much more and so in sweden there are the example of Tiundaland and Attundaland. Skipsreite/Roslag(skipreiða): an area expected to build/maintain and man a ship were called a Skipsreite(nor) or Roslag(swe). Manngard/Hæfne(manngerð): the group that were expected to supply a man for the ship, roughly eqivalent to an anglo-saxon Hide. Steerman(styrimaðr): the captain of the Leidang ship were called a styrimaðr, he would likely have been a local chieftain or other notable figure of repute. Hird(hirð): the Hird were the sworn men of any Norse ruler. initially a warband (see Beowulf), but by 1200s developed into a actuall royal court with functions and positions beyond that of martial retinue. Hlid(hlið): originally interchangeable with Hird, but later to be understood as the army or host in general. Houscarl(húskarl): the retinue of any lesser lord or magnate farmer. professional fighters occuping parts of his lieges land, or gaining revenue there of, in turn for martial service. most likely 2nd, 3rd etc. sons of rich landowners, not entitled to inheritance of land. if the liege were a king the housecarl would be part of the Hird. Skutilsveinr: shieldman or tableman. the knight of the 13th century Hird. as the Skutilsveins, according to the Hirdskrå, were entitled to sit at the kings table. their title has been given the meaning of Tablemen, at least according to wikipedia. while in truth the first part of the title, skutil, derives from the latin scutum - shield. thus the literal translation is shieldmen. Kertilsveinr: candlemen. the squire of the 13th century Hird. Gestir: hired men, mercenaries or possibly spies(supposedly). auxlillaries to the 13th century Hird. Karl: common man. Sveinn/Drengr: young man, apprentice or farmhand. could possibly be understood as squire. Bogaman(bogamaður): archer. as opposed to other germanic peoples, like germans, franks and anglo-saxons, the norse did not consider archery a paupers tool. mather of fact it was considered a sport worthy even for kings. also the norse were accustomed to battles at sea, exchangeing missiles prior to boarding. a good archer could gain prominence of posterity, such as Einar Tambardskjelve. Veideman(veiðimaður): hunter. while hunting could be considered a noble pastime, having to relly on it for sustenance were not. those not owning land, and thus unable to support them selves by crops and livestock, were likely considered of low social status. Konung/Drott(drótt): King or at least noble ruler. kingship among the norse does not seem to be a "copyrighted" title. considering the multitude of kings that opposed Harald Fairhair`s unification of Norway, there were a self-styled king in every fjord. the norse even maintained the notion of seakings, in reality pirate captains with no particular land except their own farmstead, such as the legendary Half. Jarl: Duke. supposed to muster 60 man. replaced by Hertug in 13th century Hird. Herse(hersir): petty chieftain/officer. supposed to muster 20 men. replaced by Lendman in 13th century Hird. Rekkr/Rinkr: Warrior. Bonde(bōndi, būandi): landowning freeman farmer, litterally dweller. farmable land and livestock were the comon measure of wealth and social status among the norse, as well as other germanic people. the norse generaly practised primogeniture, where the eldest son inherited everything. this and the relative shortage of useable land goes a long way to explain the viking raids as a mean to gain prominence and riches. Viking(víkingr): pirates. viking was not a title or a people, it was an occupation. there are several theories on the term Viking. most notably that it derives from the area of Viken (Oslo fjord). another is that it was originally applied to those seafarers that traded on the *vic towns of England and Frisia. certainly finds of coins not minted by the Franks, but found from England, Frisia, Denmark and Sweden, suggest a trade emporium in this northern area. Atgeir: polearm, like a halleberd or glaive.

i have previously worked on a mod for Medieval II TW, called Wrath of the Norsemen. for this mod i made the whole Norse roster, as well as Carolingian Franks with added Saxon/Frisian mercs. i do not know if it is possible to re-use any of these for use in 0AD. if it is of interest, please have at it. some examples from prewievs: norse 1. norse 2. norse 3. frank 1. slavic 1. slavic 2.