The overall look of vanilla banished

[Chon Waen]

I have read many times that one of the things folks like about the game is the "worn and dirty" look of many of the buildings in this period game.

Some of this has bugged me for a long time, and it wasn't till today that I could put a definitive finger on it.
Its also why I really like RedKetchup's clean looking medieval building mod.

Yes, medieval buildings do look old and worn.... now.
They were brand new when they were built!!!

[kee]

That reminds me of one of my real life pet peeves: People have this odd notion that the more you go back in time, the better people were at building. What utter nonsense. What you see of old buildings today are the ones still standing after years and years of 'evolutionary' pressure. Only a very few make it to today, the rest were badly built and fell over, were obsolete and levelled or were torched and converted to cash. No way does those few remaining tell of an overall better building culture.

[Chon Waen]

Very true, I wasn't so much bothered by the "roof sag" on the vanilla buildings' as much as the simple fact that a house you build with wood chopped last week is all grey!
Wasn't it sod houses that were most common back then? Never mind termites, just slow water damage means you have to rebuild often.

And isn't that why most large cities have at least small areas of "undercity"?
Building atop the ruins of buildings?

[rkelly17]

Very true, I wasn't so much bothered by the "roof sag" on the vanilla buildings' as much as the simple fact that a house you build with wood chopped last week is all grey!
Wasn't it sod houses that were most common back then? Never mind termites, just slow water damage means you have to rebuild often.

The sagged roof on the barn has always bothered me a bit. No self-respecting farmer would let the barn roof sag like that! The original wood houses should probably be log cabins rather than milled lumber.

As to sod: That depended on where you were and what building materials were readily available. My grandmother was born in a sod house on the prairie in North Dakota, USA, where there were very few trees that were suitable for construction. Sod houses were quite common on the American and Canadian prairies, though people built wood houses as soon as they could afford them. On the other hand, where I live now in the Region of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, the original white settlers had to clear major amounts of timber in order to farm, so they built everything from logs or lumber. This was common throughout Northeastern North America, which looks a lot like the Banished setting. In Spanish California the Franciscans built their missions out of adobe bricks because adobe clay soil was common. If there were more rocks than trees or grass, such as in a mountainous desert, you might see rock or stone houses. You might also see (I think particularly in Scandinavia) log houses with sod roofs. People built with what was handy and cheap. There used to be a house in the Simi Valley in So. Cal. that was made from wine bottles. Don't know whether it is still there or not.

[A Nonny Moose]

Actually, I am surprised when I think about it, that the original settlers are not living in teepees.  The most common building materials for shelters is the skins of the animals that were hunted for meat.  Being able to erect actual buildings is quite surprising.

[Paeng]

Sometimes you guys are so earnest and serious...   


But hey, we are talking about 17th century thatched buildings, making do with what was easily had out there in the wild...

[A Nonny Moose]

I didn't really think much about the time frame.  I was thinking some early middle ages time frame and not quite so far along toward the renaissance.  If you are in North America, I suppose you might be somewhere along the St. Lawrence, speaking 16th century French and dealing with the Iroquois.  On the other hand, you could be among the Huron confederation around the Great Lakes, or worse at New Amsterdam and the first nations in that area.  Then you get ostracized, and there don't appear to be any natives about to help you.  Hmmm.  Lean to's, hide shelters, piles of rubble?  Thatch?  Pine poles for roof trees?  Life may very well be short, dark and ugly.

[rkelly17]

Sometimes you guys are so earnest and serious...   

What? @Paeng, you talk like Banished is just a game. 

[A Nonny Moose]

Sometimes you guys are so earnest and serious...   

What? @Paeng, you talk like Banished is just a game. 

Game? ... Game?  ...  I thought is was an exercise in problem solving.  Nothing quite as good for keeping the little grey cells functioning on all cylinders.

[Paeng]

What? @Paeng, you talk like Banished is just a game. 

LOL... yeah, well above all I'm a passionate player and have my own film running in my head...
so it may just happen that some Orks stomp through my forests...



or suddenly a train passes by...



or I run smack into a pool...



or other weird stuff like that...

I just wanna have fun, and I don't mind giving some license... make that a lot of license 

Personally, being a visual animal, I care a lot more about details in the models, I'd give an arm for a really juicy texture and awesome props scattered around, much more than worrying whether I'm a year late or early or why they have sugar cane in that climate, or whatever else may be "wrong"... when stuff like that starts sneaking up on me I just shout "This Is Sparta!"... (ummm... make that Banished), and move on...






NEW: 100 Million STEX DL: An Interview with Paeng

[A Nonny Moose]

@Paeng:  Hey, guy, do I sense some kind of pool/pond features coming down the pike?

[Paeng]

do I sense some kind of pool/pond features coming

Well, right now the modkit poses loads of restrictions that seemingly can't be overcome... stuff involving surface water is particularly resistant   
We need patience to see what other 'secrets' can be unlocked... or hope that Luke will soon finish his porting job and then throws some code love our way... 

[rkelly17]

do I sense some kind of pool/pond features coming

Well, right now the modkit poses loads of restrictions that seemingly can't be overcome... stuff involving surface water is particularly resistant   
We need patience to see what other 'secrets' can be unlocked... or hope that Luke will soon finish his porting job and then throws some code love our way... 

Come on, @Paeng, we all know you want those water textures!