Dvalin's Flag Pack

Version: 1.0

Includes custom flag textures, interface buttons, and border colors for all Beyond the Sword nations--all made by hand from scratch and manipulated using various graphic sources across the internet.

http://img381.imageshack.us/img381/3185/bannersmb4.jpg
http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/8686/dvromeie0.jpg
http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/2652/dvrussiatr0.jpg

The buttons show what each flag looks like below. Underneath is a grid of all the custom colors, each square is matched with the button in the corresponding position. There may be bugs or errors present, but very little. Feedback is most welcome :)

About the design choices: Since national flags were a late invention and the game covers a vast period of time, all flag designs were chosen for historical significance, variety, diversity, and aesthetics. Too many blue flags or red flags was not desirable so I aimed for a certain balance. I wanted to create a variety somewhere in between the default symbolic-iconic flags and real historical vexillology and symbolism.

About the color choices: With dozens of civs in BtS it was a meticulous process isolating a unique color and shade for each one. I think though I have differentiated them well.

All flags and colors are subject to change in future version based on feedback. If you would like to make a request for a custom flag you feel would better suit your purposes in Civ IV feel free to ask, and I will make it for you along with color. An expansion pack with extra alternative flags will be released at some point in the future.

Instructions: Extract and overwrite to your My Documents\My Games\beyond the sword\ folder. It is advised that you backup any previous flag/button/color modifications/files if you wish to restore them for any reason.

Button Preview
http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/9720/dvalinbuttonsqj6.jpg
Poland at the bottom right is a placeholder. :)

Color Preview
http://img510.imageshack.us/img510/10/dvalincolorste4.jpg
Note: Colors can vary depending on monitor, only 18 civs per map so like-colors is a minor problem, and it seems there is more difference in-game than seen above.

DOWNLOAD! (http://www.fileden.com/files/2008/7/9/1994761/Dvalin_Flags_10.zip)

Thanks to asioasioasio for making the Civ4 Flag Button Maker template
Special thanks to Bad Ronald for pioneering custom flags, buttons, and colors.

Flag specific notes

America: The flag chosen is the one used up until the end of the civil war. While it is true that flag law indicates vertical US flags are to be inverted with the canton on the left, I decided it was less disorienting to look at by turning it 90 degrees like the others. It's just a game anyway.
Aztec: I found this symbol on a website claiming it to be the flag of Mexico at some point before the colonial period or just before independence. I doubt the accuracy of this claim but I felt it was a terrific symbol to use for the Aztecs, with appropriate colors and symbolism from Aztec mythology.
Babylon: The flag of consists of a blue field and a gold lion taken from the walls of the Ishtar Gate of Babylon.
Carthage: I did not want to use the same old Tanit symbol so after a tiresome amount of searching I found a symbol used at some point by the Carthaginians on flags, shields, and coins: The horse and the palm tree.
Celtia: I considered using a triskelion or a sun cross for the Celts, but I love horses and I felt this was fitting for the civ.
China: Red and yellow fit well for China's flag colors, but rather than go with any specific historical design I felt the characters for China (Zhong Guo) would work well.
Egypt: The blue field symbolizes the Nile river, the the green bars represent the fertility and agricultural power that comes from the Nile, the gold Ankh symbolizes life and the authority/glory of the Pharaoh.
Greece: The coat of arms of Greece with minor modifications on a blue field. The laurel hearkens back to Ancient Greece (see Alexander's head)
Native America: I created an American Indian chief's headdress symbol on a earth/clay-brown field.
Ottoman Empire: I chose one of the naval flags of the Ottomans for its aesthetic value and its variation from the modern Turkish flag.
Rome: The SPQR in laurels has been done, so I wanted to find something else suitable for a Roman emblem on the flag. The common golden Roman eagle within a wreath on a red field.
Sumer: A colorful Star of Ishtar on an indigo field, the prized royal color discovered by ancient civilizations.
Vikings: The Nordic cross based on Iceland's flag with black instead of blue.

these are pretty good, but why are some flags sideways?

U.S / Korea / Russia ?

Seems like you worked hard on these but the sad truth is that people in this forum don't credit for using some else flags.

these are pretty good, but why are some flags sideways?

U.S / Korea / Russia ?

The flags in Civ 4 hang vertically, I did not want any stretching or distortion. The Korean flag was modified to present the same placement of symbolism as viewed horizontally, like the order of the characters around the yin-yang.

I posted screenshots showing two examples of the in-game flags. If anyone would like custom flags, colors, or buttons I am more than happy to make them for you, from a specific source or from scratch.

these are very nice!! superb!! :goodjob:

2 notes,
1) You should use the bright Orange for the Netherlands, as it's the Royal colour. (and only country to do so)

2) If you want to use a Nordic cross based it on the Kalmar flag or Danish flag (as the viking leader en most of the cities are West-Vikings. But it's odd to use a Nordic cross at all. Vikings weren't christians, and providing with a christian symbol is odd

2 notes,
1) You should use the bright Orange for the Netherlands, as it's the Royal colour. (and only country to do so)

2) If you want to use a Nordic cross based it on the Kalmar flag or Danish flag (as the viking leader en most of the cities are West-Vikings. But it's odd to use a Nordic cross at all. Vikings weren't christians, and providing with a christian symbol is odd

1. I'll switch Carthage and Netherlands colors

2. My thinking was the Vikings represent Scandinavia, and as with all the other flags they only represent a certain time period so there must be compromises, when I release the extra alternative flags there will be a more Viking-like flag (main problem with it was it resembled the barbarian flag but I will have to fix that)

A good site for this is: http://flagspot.net/flags/

You can spend hours and hours on this site, plus they have a lot of flags going back to many of the periods covered.

What I like, is they have an entire section of fictional flags by book, film and the like. I really like the page (http://flagspot.net/flags/fic-nazi.html) that shows all the variants of Nazi flags. (I kicked myself for not catching that 'RoboCop' OCP corp was a Nazi variant flag.

Oh, one 'gripe' about the Viking flag. While Iceland is very Norse, in some respects to show more of a Viking feel, you might want to do the same flag but with the X cross variant of Scotland as the "Saint Andrew's Cross" was in earlier times called "Odin's Cross" since some sagas had Odin crucified on a an X cross made form the branches of the World Tree Yggdrasil as opposed to being hung by his ankle for the nine day period on Yggdrasil.

Plus, what is the flag right next to the American flag? It looks like a variant of the Saudi Flag with a Islamic crescent and a bit of the Haiditha?

Great result :goodjob:. I will include them in my mod.

Oh, one 'gripe' about the Viking flag. While Iceland is very Norse, in some respects to show more of a Viking feel, you might want to do the same flag but with the X cross variant of Scotland as the "Saint Andrew's Cross" was in earlier times called "Odin's Cross" since some sagas had Odin crucified on a an X cross made form the branches of the World Tree Yggdrasil as opposed to being hung by his ankle for the nine day period on Yggdrasil.

Plus, what is the flag right next to the American flag? It looks like a variant of the Saudi Flag with a Islamic crescent and a bit of the Haiditha?

I'll try that with the Viking flag, thanks. The green flag is from the Arab League flag with a yellow crescent to distinguish it more from the Ottoman flag that has a white crescent.

Thanks all for the comments and suggestions :)

Much like the Romans, the Vikings-too fell under the sway of Christianity, and the culture as a whole became quite Christian in the end... so it's not correct to say Vikings were never Christian.

Much like the Romans, the Vikings-too fell under the sway of Christianity, and the culture as a whole became quite Christian in the end... so it's not correct to say Vikings were never Christian.

Good point, that was my thinking too in a way, the Vikings are basically the Nordic nations and I felt that a Nordic cross was appropriate.

Very nice buttons. :goodjob:

One thing: why not align the stripes in the buttons the way they should be like America horizontal, France vertical, Netherlands horizontal etc.

Very nice buttons. :goodjob:

One thing: why not align the stripes in the buttons the way they should be like America horizontal, France vertical, Netherlands horizontal etc.

Thanks! :) Why should they be turned though the flag model hangs vertically so to look right they need to be turned 90 degrees. If I left them horizontal they would get cut off and stretched, they wouldn't look right. Only the arms and symbols are horizontal.

Thanks! :) Why should they be turned though the flag model hangs vertically so to look right they need to be turned 90 degrees. If I left them horizontal they would get cut off and stretched, they wouldn't look right. Only the arms and symbols are horizontal.

The flagmodels are ok. I only meant to turn the flags in the buttons so they are the way they should be.

The flagmodels are ok. I only meant to turn the flags in the buttons so they are the way they should be.

Oh I see :crazyeye:, I will try to do that for 1.1

Nice flag sets, some are really good combinations. I was wondering if you could maybe make an alternative flag for spain. I would like to see the burgundy cross as a flag for them. Would that be possible, maybe as a choice for people? I included a picture of the flag.

Very, very beautiful :thumbsup:

If you want to be truly orginal :p, us this Raven banner (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raven_banner) for the vikings, possibly superimposed on a nordic cross flag:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Hrafnsmerki.png

Now, the question of coloring of a nordic flag... obviously I am biased. The Danish flag was the first of nordic design, but Vikings are not meant to be purely Danish. I would suggest using the proposal for flag of Iceland (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nordic_Cross_flag), scroll down a bit to see it, and if possible fill the four cantons with red, leaving a white border before the thinner blue lines.

Maybe you could use the red Nordic Cross and the yellow background of the Kalmar Union.

This is the former naval jack of the Netherlands (also in my avatar). Could be used in stead of the tricolor.

http://flagspot.net/images/n/nl-jack.gif