Civ specific Dawn of Man

[DC123456789]

Burgundy:

"It is the year 843 AD. After your defeat at the hands of your brothers, you have signed the treaty of Verdun, accepting that the inheritance of Charlemagne's great empire will be split into three, with you taking the middle portion. Your exposed position - wedged between the powerful French and German kingdoms - will require great diplomatic skill, but your knights shall be the envy of all of Europe!"

Germany:

"It is the year 856 AD. The great Frankish inheritance has irrevocably been split into three, with the eastern portion going to you. As the Byzantine Empress Irene rejected Charlemagne's marriage proposal, you should instead build a Holy Roman Empire for yourself!"

Kiev:

"It is the year 880 AD. After the mighty walls of Constantinople foiled your brazen attack in 866, you have decided to settle down with some of your fellow Varangians. This rich land you have just set foot on seems perfect.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The local Slavic[/B] people accept you as their leader, while your fellow Swedes establish themselves as the local elite. Life is good, the land is fertile, you and your descendants will surely lead your new nation, the Kievan Rus, into glory.[NEWLINE]If only you weren't having those dreams about savage hordes rising in the east..."

 

[AbsintheRed]

Thanks!
Made some additional changes for Kiev

"It is the year 880 AD. After the mighty walls of Constantinople foiled your brazen attack in 866, you have decided to settle down with some of your loyal Varangians. This rich land you have just set foot on seems perfect.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]The local Slavic people accept you as their leader, while your fellow Swedes, the feared Viking warriors establish themselves as the local elite. Life is good, the land is fertile, you and your descendants will surely lead your new nation, the Kievan Rus, into glory.[NEWLINE]If only you weren't having those dreams about savage hordes rising in the east..."

 

[gilgames]

Maybe my english skill is not enough but i can't understand the german dom text. I mean the second sentence.

 

[DC123456789]

Bulgaria:

"Many years ago, your father had finally managed to unite the warring Bulgar clans and form the powerful state of Great Bulgaria north of the Black Sea. Following his death, however, pushed by the Khazar hordes, you and your brothers had to divide the Bulgarians once more and leave your old home, migrating in different directions.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It is now the year 680 AD. After years of travel across the steppe braving snow and heat, across mountains and through swamps, you and your followers have finally reached the northern borders of the Eastern Roman Empire. Tired of traveling with no home, you gather your people for one last push, to cross the Danube river and to challenge the mighty Empire itself; to claim this lustful land as yours forever."

Hungary:

"It is the year 895 AD. While your glorious armies warred with the Byzantines and Bulgarians, the traitorous Pechenegs attacked your families and the remaining tribes in the homeland, Etelköz. Without defences they had to flee, and you know you cannot lead them back to their previous home.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]After taking your nation further to the west you finally reach the Carpathian Basin, which is everything your people have ever needed: wealthy, fertile, and most importantly, easily defendable. Immediately falling in love with it, you claim these lands as yours forever.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]One thing is clear to you though: all the previous empires and civilizations that once held these lands have faded away throughout the centuries. You will have to accept some of the more developed Western European ways if you are to establish a long-living and successful nation in the middle of Europe."

Scotland:

"It is the year 960 AD. While you are the sole ruler over some loyal subjects, most Scottish men still remember the shadows of the past. Your goal is to unite all the tribes and clans of Scotland and establish the "last free kingdom".[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]You can choose to pass the old walls of Hadrian or stay behind it, but it would be wise to gather some mighty allies on the Continent. Whatever path you choose, it is clear to you: your nation is destined to survive the storms of centuries to come, and be bright forever. Make the Highlanders proud and show the world: Scotland, be foe or ally, solid as a rock!"

Genoa:

"It is the year 1016 AD. Together with the Pisans, you have just defeated the Muslim pirates, assuring Christian dominance of Sardinia and blocking Muslim expansion. The need for security forces the republic you serve to assert an ever greater responsibility: the protection of the whole Italian peninsula.[NEWLINE]This is your chance to build a magnificent merchant republic! With enough resources, even the fabled cities of the eastern Mediterranean will lay at your hands."

England:

"It is the year 1066 AD. The battlefield of Hastings lays quiet. Harold Godwinson is dead, but not before he took care of the Norwegians for you. Though Scotland may be the source of trouble sometimes, the rich estates of England will fund the defense of your ancestral possessions back in France. No longer William the Bastard, henceforth you will be known as William the Conqueror!"

 

[AbsintheRed]

Cool, will be up with my next commit.
OP also updated with the latest changes.

 

[DC123456789]

Some more:

"Your small county of Portugal has just decided to break its familial ties with the Kingdom of León and declare its independence, creating the Kingdom of Portugal. It is 1139 AD, and you, Afonso Henriques, are the king of this newly formed kingdom.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It is time to strengthen your position by advancing to the south and continuing the Reconquista, but you should also prepare for your ultimate goal: to expand beyond the Iberian Peninsula. Your position makes it ideal to claim the riches of North Africa and the Atlantic islands - and who knows, maybe even much further lands than those."

"For the last few hundred years, Sweden has in some ways been the least developed of the Scandinavian nations. Though several rulers at Uppsala have claimed kingship over Sweden, few have had any power outside Uppland. Christianisation has been slow as well, with pagan beliefs still important in much of the country and southern Sweden the target of a crusade less than a century ago.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]It is now the year 1210 AD, and this year things are to change. Eric the Survivor has managed to destroy his rivals in a bloody civil war and become the first ever Swedish King to be crowned by the Church. The separatists are rapidly losing power and the people of Uppland are about to lose their ancient privileges. The stage is set for the consolidation of Sweden."

"It is the year %s1_year. The Northern Crusades have been raging since 1193 and the Livonian Brothers of the Sword are making slow progress in Livonia. Konrad I of Masovia, a Polish Duke, has now invited the Teutonic Order to conquer and Christianise the pagan Prussian tribes. The Teutonic Order has experience from defending both the Holy Land and the borderlands of Hungary, and is able to call on the finest knights of Europe. A speedy subjugation of Prussia might not only decide the war in the Crusaders' favor, but provide the foundations of an empire."

"It is the year 1236 AD. Strange invaders - calling themselves Teutonic Knights and worshiping a man on a cross - have disturbed the tranquility of the land. However, they are not invincible. You, Mindaugas, have shown that they bleed and die, just like other men.[NEWLINE]It is high time to drive them out, as the ancient religion of your ancestors is surely also the best for you. Make them proud!"

"It is the year 1282 AD. In the last few decades your dynasty, the Habsburgs, have been quickly gaining strength through its estates in the Holy Roman Empire. Now King of the Romans and having just acquired the rich Duchy of Austria, you are much more powerful than you had ever dreamt of. Still, your ambitions are forcing you to climb much higher, and who knows where you will end?[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]Leave the waging of wars to others! But you, happy Austria, marry; for the realms which Mars awards to others, Venus transfers to you. Navigate carefully through the intricate diplomacy of central Europe, and your dynasty will still stand proudly many hundreds of years from now! "

"It is the year 1356 CE. Allah has truly shown his favour towards you. Firstly, the Black Death decimated the Byzantines in the cities, but largely spared the countryside of the Turks. Secondly, the earthquake in 1354 leveled all the walls of Gallipoli, leaving the strategic fortress ripe for conquest. The way to Europe is open, and you only need to reach out and grasp it![NEWLINE]If you play your cards right, your Ottoman Empire will surely be unstoppable!"

"It is the year 1581 AD. The Low Countries have been under foreign rule - German, Burgundian, Austrian, and now Spanish - rule for a long time. This is your chance, though! The Act of Abjuration was signed on July 22nd of this year, absolving the provinces of the Union of Utrecht of their oath of allegiance to Philip II of Spain and finally declaring the independence of your beloved Dutch nation. While it will be many years before our independence is finally accepted, this will be the start of an empire that will become one of the wealthiest civilizations in the world!"

 

[AbsintheRed]

"and southern Sweden the target of a crusade less than a century ago."
I get the idea behind leaving out the was, as it is actually "with southern Sweden the target of a crusade less than a century ago.", but it still sounds very strange to me this way
southern Sweden being the target? would that be wrong?

EDIT: simply went with 2 sentences instead
"Christianisation has been slow as well. Southern Sweden was the target of a crusade less than a century ago and pagan beliefs are still important in much of the country."

 

[DC123456789]

That would work as well, I just think that it sounds and flows better this way without the "being".

 

[AbsintheRed]

OP updated with all the latest versions.
Everyone feel free to point out further mistakes, or suggest additional improvements.

 

[AbsintheRed]

While the DoM texts for the 500AD scenario are in a pretty good shape, we should have some different ones for the 1200AD scenario.
Obviously only for civs which would start before that date otherwise.

 

[AbsintheRed]

Soooo, no interest in this?
Should we just have the normal DoM text for everyone in the 1200AD scenario too?
Even for civs spawning much before that?

 

[TheMulattoMaker]

I haven't messed around with the 1200 scenario yet (although I will sooner or later) but I'd guess if you're gonna have the text appear at all it should be updated. Quick-and-dirty example for England:

"The 13th Century dawns over an England in turmoil. The Lion Heart lies dead, and the nobles are unimpressed with his brother John. The soldiers have mostly returned from the Third Crusade, dejected that they never even tried to attack Jerusalem. They face a growing threat from Scotland in the north, a strengthening France on the Continent, and dissension amongst their own barons.

You must lead your English people through the looming civil wars and emerge stronger than ever. You must soon marshal your forces against the French, as Normandy and Anjou depend on your protection.

...okay, I don't know how to end it. Something something British Empire. End quote.

(Please bear in mind with all that, I have an American understanding of history...)

Will the same leader eras be used for the 1200 scenario? (i.e., "HerptyDerp has risen to become leader of the Derpish Kingdom!", because the game reached Turn X, and that's the year Herpty shows up.) Because most/all of the current DoM quotes reference the leader who forged the nation at that particular time (William in 1066 for England and so on.) Would William still be the leader at the beginning of the 1200 scenario, or are you guys starting with Elizabeth? The reason I'm asking is it might not work very well to say something rousing about the leader at that particular time (especially since in this case we're talking about King John).

 

[gilgames]

I wouldn't invest too much effort into this, since you start the game with pressing "Continue" button without reading anything. At least as I do. Even after years of play, can not recall the French or Byz DoM texts....although I've read them several times....

 

[AbsintheRed]

Will the same leader eras be used for the 1200 scenario? (i.e., "HerptyDerp has risen to become leader of the Derpish Kingdom!", because the game reached Turn X, and that's the year Herpty shows up.) Because most/all of the current DoM quotes reference the leader who forged the nation at that particular time (William in 1066 for England and so on.) Would William still be the leader at the beginning of the 1200 scenario, or are you guys starting with Elizabeth? The reason I'm asking is it might not work very well to say something rousing about the leader at that particular time (especially since in this case we're talking about King John).

Probably the best solution would be to adress the player instead of the historic leader.
Simply: "You have risen as the new leader for the xyz Kingdom"

 

[AbsintheRed]

I wouldn't invest too much effort into this, since you start the game with pressing "Continue" button without reading anything. At least as I do. Even after years of play, can not recall the French or Byz DoM texts....although I've read them several times....

Khmm, shame on you
I'm pretty sure though, that you are the vast minority (is that a term an english? let's just say (1 - vast majority) to be sure ) on this. Fortunately.
These texts are pretty cool, and all these small things add much to the atmosphere

 

[gilgames]

I take all the shame and blame. Yes thats the term...and it really adds flavor to the game so go do it. i'l try to do something with the wiki instead. Any tips how to do it are welcome though...

 

[TheMulattoMaker]

Probably the best solution would be to adress the player instead of the historic leader.
Simply: "You have risen as the new leader for the xyz Kingdom"

Okay, that makes sense.

So each one would basically be a snapshot of how [Country] is doing in 1200, and maybe of hint of what's probably to come (especially as it relates to their UHV)? If that's the case, I could probably come up with rough drafts for a few of them, as long as Wikipedia's an acceptable source...

 

[AbsintheRed]

Okay, that makes sense.

So each one would basically be a snapshot of how [Country] is doing in 1200, and maybe of hint of what's probably to come (especially as it relates to their UHV)?

Yeah, that's exactly what I had in mind
At least for a first version for them, we can always improve them later on if someone has something better in mind for any of them.

If that's the case, I could probably come up with rough drafts for a few of them, as long as Wikipedia's an acceptable source.

Would be awesome if you started on them, huge thanks for it!

 

[TheMulattoMaker]

Question, then: It's my understanding that the 1200 scenario is basically autoplayed until 1200 in the same way that it autoplays for any civ except France and Byzantium, rather than a rigid map of "this is how Europe looked in 1200 AD" that starts the exact same way every time. If that's the case, some of the texts might be irrelevant or incorrect from the very start. For example, Burgundy's might be "blah blah, you've survived French onslaughts for centuries, blah blah pick a side in the Hundred Years' War, blah blah extend your empire up to the Low Countries, blah blah be a better France than France." But then when the autoplay ends, the player finds themselves having lost Dijon 100 years before and barely holding on to Marseille while a monster of a French army looms. Or... they're allied with England and Genoa, and France has just fallen into civil war and Burgundy's almost done with their UHVs right from the start.

So- roughly how reliable of a start will each country have? Or, how vague should the DoM text be?

 

[gilgames]

the 1200 scenario is fixed, will be always the same, and there is no burgundy btw. But we have to improve it to represent better the shape of Europe at that time.