Scythian Wonder: Royal Kurgan

[nifa]

On 22/01/2026 at 6:33 PM, Genava55 said:

 

I think you have enough variation

Thanks for the refs. So I guess I should get rid of the entrance and give the hill a more conical shape?

[Genava55]

55 minutes ago, nifa said:

Thanks for the refs. So I guess I should get rid of the entrance and give the hill a more conical shape?

I think yes it would be better. You can make a ditch around the kurgan with a small pallisade and there add an entrance, with the statues. 

[nifa]

8 hours ago, Genava55 said:

I think yes it would be better. You can make a ditch around the kurgan with a small pallisade and there add an entrance, with the statues. 

[real_tabasco_sauce]

Love it!!

[wowgetoffyourcellphone]

Looks great, except I think the grass texture was better on the original. 

[nifa]

wip

On 09/11/2025 at 6:36 PM, Genava55 said:

The burial chamber was decorated and we can imagine they used similar decoration outside when they performed ceremony celebrating their ancestor:

 

@Genava55 Do you by chance have further references for that wagon in this picture?

[Genava55]

2 hours ago, nifa said:

Do you by chance have further references for that wagon in this picture?

 

[nifa]

2 hours ago, Genava55 said:

 

wip

[wowgetoffyourcellphone]

On 24/01/2026 at 5:57 PM, nifa said:

kk, let's use this. 

[nifa]

14 hours ago, wowgetoffyourcellphone said:

kk, let's use this.

That's just a mockup so far. With the other texture it doesn't look so bad either.

[ittihat_ve_terakki]

On 9/11/2025 at 12:35 AM, nifa said:

 

 

Hello. Kurgan stelae have recently caught my attention as well. They seem like remnants of a much older, shared cultural tradition. We see very similar examples across a vast geography, from Central Asia to Western Europe. I recall that there are many examples found in Ukraine and its surroundings. Using these in a wonder is definitely a great idea. I should say that I really like this original design and the overall concept. It conveys the organic, human-made nature of the period very well. It’s not perfect and that’s a strength. It’s rich in texture and detail. The variation in the curvature of the ground, the torches, the scattered rocks. All of these make it much better than the new model.

On 25/1/2026 at 1:57 AM, nifa said:

The new model feels quite lifeless and frankly, boring. There’s no sense of a sacred space, no visual grandeur. Just a hill. It’s also important to keep in mind that these grassy mounds form over time as monuments, graves, or structures like amphitheaters are gradually covered by soil and vegetation when they are abandoned. That doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be a hill, on the contrary, it adds a sense of depth. The issue is that it shouldn’t be "just a hill".

A similar situation can be seen at Göbekli Tepe (Potbelly Hill in Turkish). It was discovered as a hill because the structures there were either naturally or deliberately buried (For Göbekli Tepe, there are also theories that the structures may have been deliberately covered either as people left the area or to protect them from the threat of war. However, they were not buried while they were in active use.) 

So representing this as just a hill while the civilization is still active may not make much sense. For this reason, the latest example is not only visually underwhelming but also historically less grounded.

In the end, this is a game, not a documentary. So the priority should be strengthening the visual impact and overall atmosphere without making major historical mistakes. That’s why drawing from diverse references or adding creative elements shouldn’t be a problem. After all, our knowledge of thousands of years ago is limited and without imagination we wouldn’t get very far.

Well done.

 

Edited 9 hours ago by ittihat_ve_terakki

[wowgetoffyourcellphone]

I'd honestly like to have both styles in the game. The more exciting one as a Scythian wonder and the "boring" one as a map object. 

[Genava55]

6 hours ago, wowgetoffyourcellphone said:

I'd honestly like to have both styles in the game. The more exciting one as a Scythian wonder and the "boring" one as a map object. 

The first one doesn't seem to be based on real-world examples from the Scythian period. But in your mod, you can do whatever you want. Do you have any suggestions for improving the second one?