Trading posts without spaghetti ALPHA

Hi guys!

Trading posts are ugly as hell in my eyes, and I'm curious why somebody who isn't a complete paintshop/gimp noob like I am has ever done something about the ugly paths below them.

Here's a screenshot of my TP version in combination with Poncratias "TP-redesigned" mod. Note that the wooden look of the tents is his work, I only removed the paths under them.



Tell me what you think! Does this look better, should I create a mod out of it?

Well it looks better than vanilla, so I think you accomplished what you set out to achieve!

I had not seen the other mod prior to this post.

I agree - they are an improvement!

Looks great! You should definitely make a mod out of this.

Great!
I've always looked for a formal gr2 files editing of the four TP versions... but since the 3d models themselves aren't presently "modifiable" we have to resort to indirect solutions such as what you just made. To me, making these in a similar design such as the Farms (one or two "tents") would be a must.

I think the original artist's intent was to create a sense of suburban sprawl, one massive city. It didn't really work out, but I do like having lots of buildings everywhere - so long as they're not the bright original colors.

In particular, it looked fantastic when I was testing out city-adjacency bonuses for TPs, which encouraged placing them close to cities with farms further away. It looked incredibly realistic. It's sorta a shame that didn't work out for AI reasons.

Actually, funny thing is that Jon Shafer said they removed road spam because they thought it looked ugly, but then they released the game with TP spam where TPs have like 5 billion roads in them....is that stupid or what? =/

Plus the fact roads themselves have been broken since at least release, and probably long before.

Ok, here are the files. Just unzip and drop them in this folder:

C:\Program Files\Steam\SteamApps\common\sid meier's civilization v\resource\DX9

It works the same way as for Poncratias mod, which I strongly recommend to use in addition (otherwise you'll still have pink tents instead of wooden buildings).

Uninstalling should be very simple, the folder should normally not contain DDS files, if you didn't do graphics mods yourself. Deleting all DDS files and leaving the FPK archives in place should turn your game back to vanilla.

This is an ALPHA version. It worked for me in my last 2-3 games, but I give no guarantee - Use on your own risk! Feedback appreciated. Feel free to use this files in your own mod, just give me credit.

I'll create a proper thread if I have more time, probably this weekend.



Known issues/ToDo:

- Spaghetti roads still appear on modern TPs and on ancient TPs if pillaged. This can easily be fixed, but I need some time to do it. Will come soon.

- I think about adding a bit of the farm texture, so these "villages" would be surrounded by 2 or 3 small fields, hopefully making them look better and giving the landscape a more organic look. This is a bit more complicated for someone with no GIMP skills at all, so it may take longer or prove to not work properly.