===[TASK]=== WONDER: Britons: Stonehenge and White Horse

[Lion.Kanzen]

And finally some Druid Temples in Ireland

http://www.ancientdigger.com/2009/08/monday-ground-up-celtic-druid-folklore.html

The druids were especially connected with the oak and the mistletoe that grew on its branches. The word druid is derived from the same root as the word for oak, daur, and it is often suggested that druid means “oak wise” or “oak dweller.” The ancient Celts viewed the oak as the axis mundi, the tree of life at the center of the world. From ancient times, the fruit of the oak provided sustenance for human and animal alike; the acorn was the food of the sacred deer and the boar.

http://www.netplaces.com/celtic-wisdom/the-tree-of-life/nine-sacred-woods.htm

Edited September 1, 2013 by Lion.Kanzen

[Lion.Kanzen]

And finally the Nemeton is the name of Sacred Grove

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nemeton

Main article: Nemeton

The Celts used sacred groves, called nemeton in Gaulish, for performing rituals, based on Celtic mythology. The deity involved was usually Nemetona - a Celtic goddess. Druids oversaw such rituals. Existence of such groves have been found in Germany, Switzerland, Czech Republic and Hungary in Central Europe, in many sites of ancient Gaul in France, as well as England and Northern Ireland. Sacred groves had been plentiful up until the 1st century BC, when the Romans attacked and conquered Gaul. One of the most well known nemeton sites is that in the Nevet forest near Locronan in Brittany, France. Gournay-sur-Aronde (Gournay-on-Aronde), a village in the Oise department of France, also houses the remains of a nemeton.[7][8]

Nemetons were often fenced off by enclosures, as indicated by the German term Viereckschanze - meaning a quadrangular space surrounded by a ditch enclosed by wooden palisades.

Many of these groves, like the sacred grove at Didyma, Turkey are thought to be nemetons, sacred groves protected by druids based on Celtic Mythology. In fact, according to Strabo, the central shrine at Galatia was called Drunemeton.[9] Some of these were also sacred groves in Greek times (as in the case of Didyma), but were based on a different or slightly changed mythology.

[Mythos_Ruler]

And finally the Nemeton is the name of Sacred Grove

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nemeton

Main article: Nemeton

The Celts used sacred groves, called nemeton in Gaulish, for performing rituals, based on Celtic mythology. The deity involved was usually Nemetona - a Celtic goddess. Druids oversaw such rituals. Existence of such groves have been found in Germany, Switzerland, Czech Republic and Hungary in Central Europe, in many sites of ancient Gaul in France, as well as England and Northern Ireland. Sacred groves had been plentiful up until the 1st century BC, when the Romans attacked and conquered Gaul. One of the most well known nemeton sites is that in the Nevet forest near Locronan in Brittany, France. Gournay-sur-Aronde (Gournay-on-Aronde), a village in the Oise department of France, also houses the remains of a nemeton.[7][8]

Nemetons were often fenced off by enclosures, as indicated by the German term Viereckschanze - meaning a quadrangular space surrounded by a ditch enclosed by wooden palisades.

Many of these groves, like the sacred grove at Didyma, Turkey are thought to be nemetons, sacred groves protected by druids based on Celtic Mythology. In fact, according to Strabo, the central shrine at Galatia was called Drunemeton.[9] Some of these were also sacred groves in Greek times (as in the case of Didyma), but were based on a different or slightly changed mythology.

Great find! We can make a large Nemeton for the Gauls and use the White Horse for the Britons. Keep Stonehenge for the editor, or maybe a capturable map-object that gives the capturing player a bonus.

[Lion.Kanzen]

Yeah I'm excited with idea, but we are not first in use this building , and the first to use as Marvel.

In Aoeo are a Sacred Grove, and in Rome total war too or in a mod of that serie.

this from Aoeo

Edited September 1, 2013 by Lion.Kanzen

[Ludo38]

Unless someone is already working on it, I'm about to make the Uffington White Horse on Blender.

I see the wonder like that : a hill with the horse at the top, slightly oriented on a side of the hill, so that we don't see it equally from every directions.

What 0AD grass texture can be used ? I have my own stock of grass texture but if the horse's hill must connect seamlessly to the rest of the map, it's going to need the map's main texture.

EDIT : my Stonehenge model has just been baked by Enrique. He's going to make the normal and specular map for it soon, and it will be commited. Soon coming to a map near you !

Here is how it looks for now, without the normal and spec maps :

[Mythos_Ruler]

Stonehenge will look great with normal mapping and specular.

About the White Horse, maybe just try something relatively flat, but with dirt ridges around the edge of the horse? Dunno. Might need to experiment.

[Ludo38]

For the Horse, yes, I have ideas to experiment, it's going to be rather fun.

[Lion.Kanzen]

Is possible open an other topic for Sacred Grove or Nemeton. I can do suggest visual for Ludo concept. And may another for The Gathe of All nations. Is new Persian building.

[LordGood]

Wow Ludo that Stonehenge looks incredible! Well done!

[Ludo38]

Wow Ludo that Stonehenge looks incredible! Well done!

Thank you my friend !

I couldn't resist to point you to this very funny song about Stonehenge :

[idanwin]

I like this song.

[plumo]

We could make a king size burial mound for the Gauls (although many other cultures buried their dead also in mounds). Some details like fall over menhirs could add some flavour.

[Lion.Kanzen]

I don't agree. If many cultures do thst, what do that as Gaulish Marvel?, sounds more adequately for a faction like Sarmatians or Skythians.

[plumo]

True, the Scyhians were famous for their burial mounds. The problem is that a wonder should date from the time period in my opinion (second half of the first millenium BC).

Random thought: a wonder shouldn't be this big, imposing building with no bonuses whatsoever. Age of Empires III: the Asian Dynasties did things differently. A wonder (to age up in this case) can have bonuses (like a trickle of resources) or can be a defensive structure. A Crannog, a hill fort, the Uffington Horse, a Nemeton... Different possibilities. Adding active/passive bonuses to wonders also makes them even more important to defend.

[Lion.Kanzen]

I agree with have different wonder like Oshron propose, for example Greeks have a lot of Marvels, Romans have few, Egypt have few, India may be have more, Persian have a lot. (Many of them for Conquest) a very like choose a Marvel, choose a God and Choose a government o dynasty

One for each Alpha, Evan you can bring IV phase where the colony converts into a Independient State like Syracuse. But that is off topic XD.

[Ludo38]

Now here comes the White Horse!

This is a first draft. I already have ideas to make it better, especially to give some lower relief to the horse itself, making it look a little sunk into the hill.

For now, I am using a basic repeated texture, but when the hill and the horse will be shaped right, I will build a UV skin to give more character to the wonder and improve the transition between grass and white gravel.

Critics, comments and Blender advices are much welcome.

[Lion.Kanzen]

Great work than you, so much nostalgia in egypt Learning Campaing.

Edited September 10, 2013 by Lion.Kanzen

[Mythos_Ruler]

Looks cool. I feel like it should be more "3D," basically set into the ground,like it was carved out of the ground (which it was).

[LordGood]

I love plumo's idea of a defensive practical wonder, possibly multiple to choose from.

Perhaps the Carthaginian Bursa could be some massive elevated fortress that can train all kinds of units, or a large brythonic hill fort with huge earthworks

and that looks awesome Ludo, it looks like you're really getting comfortable with blender!

Edited September 10, 2013 by LordGood

[Ludo38]

Looks cool. I feel like it should be more "3D," basically set into the ground,like it was carved out of the ground (which it was).

Yes, that's what I want to reach next. I think I know how to do it rather easily.

and that looks awesome Ludo, it looks like you're really getting comfortable with blender!

Thank you. Yeah, I'm finally feeling at ease with it. That said, building slightly more complex structures and dealing with tricky texturing still needs to be done. Soon.

[Lion.Kanzen]

I agree with Multiple Wonder with multiple effects, or single. Persisn have a Hellenistic Wonder. the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus. The tomb of Cyrus, the hanging Gardens(Babylonian ) but that can be discussed in other topic.

I want see proposal for the other Gauls Wonder I tried to do one about Nemeton.

[Ludo38]

The Horse is now digged into the ground. Next, I'll have the texture to fade from the white to the green and I will characterize the shape of that hill a little more.

Can someone give me a link to the ground textures of the Celt maps ? I'd like to look at them closely to create a hill texture that fits on it correctly.

[Enrique]

Can someone give me a link to the ground textures of the Celt maps ?

I'm affraid there's no such thing as celt ground textures...

Keep in mind that Celts are going to be able to build it even on maps that are not celtic, so there will be always more likely that the hill texture is not going to match the actual ground texture (specially if the textures vary like grassy patches etc) so you might want to look for another solution.

I guess there are two options: one is covering the hill where it intersects with the ground with "grass" props to hide the harsh transition (now that we can make props fit the height of the terrain) or making some kind of structural perimeter, like bricks or masonry, or even rocks.

Is up to you, just my 2 cents

[Nolanjoker]

think in persian map, and in a island,

[Lion.Kanzen]

In desert can be weird. :/ thank you Nolan