State of the 5 cultures *again*

[Kyriakos]

Well, i would really want to leave the asian culture ancient era be the mauryan once, but probably an east asian is a better option there, particularly since the tibetan set will be the medieval (i have to rework it).

The ancient Japanese set is done, but i need to make the houses smaller to fit with the rest of the sets.



And although the almohad (reworked) will be the muslim medieval, i might make a different euro for the medieval era, along with reworking the portuguese one.

Still undecided on the native american ancient though.

 

[Jaguarkid140]

For the Native American ancient, maybe the buildings could be Pueblos.

 

[MPK]

For the Native American ancient, maybe the buildings could be Pueblos.

--- Well that covers 4 Tribes. I don't think you can pin this [ Nth American ] down to an individual look. It's like giving a single city look for Europe. You can't do it.

 

[Cyc]

Were the Native Americans still moving across the continent in the Ancient Age?

 

[Jaguarkid140]

The Native Americans were always in the "Ancient Age" in terms of warfare and technology. Unlike Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and the Colonial Powers, metalworking wasn't developed. Many tribes used similar tools and weapons that the rest of the world had during the Neolithic Era. Tribes in the Southwest, Northeast, and Great Plains were an exception; although they didn't develop gunpowder, tame horses, etc. They received the technology from the Europeans.

Also, MPK I understand the architectural diversity of the Native American tribes. Adobe Pueblos just seem the best as they were the most permanent. Adobe structures have existed throughout the world in all eras and they are continually built in the southwest today. In many mods, the European buildings are tudor-styled and it works just fine (despite the lack of representation for France, Russia, Etc.). If there is anything I find irritating it is the 5 culture limit. India's buildings bear more resemblance to the Middle Eastern and Greco-Roman buildings than the Asian ones. African buildings have a unique look as well, but they are in the Middle-eastern culture group.

 

[T-mun]

--- Well that covers 4 Tribes. I don't think you can pin this [ Nth American ] down to an individual look. It's like giving a single city look for Europe. You can't do it.

Speaking of this, is Tibet a good choice for Asia ?

 

[Quinzy]

The Native Americans were always in the "Ancient Age" in terms of warfare and technology. Unlike Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and the Colonial Powers, metalworking wasn't developed. Many tribes used similar tools and weapons that the rest of the world had during the Neolithic Era. Tribes in the Southwest, Northeast, and Great Plains were an exception; although they didn't develop gunpowder, tame horses, etc. They received the technology from the Europeans.

I've always had a bit of a problem with that mentality really. They did have metalworking. Goldworking was especially advanced; they developed empires, built monumental structures, etc. They made social advances and so forth, things represented in a European sense by technologies such as 'Feudalism' in the main game, and in the Americas by other social hierarchies and political systems. Weapons might not have advanced, but warfare and tactics did. Architectural styles changed between the many hundreds of years the Ancient age and Medieval age in the main game.

 

[Jaguarkid140]

I should've used better terms. They did metalwork, but smelting wasn't involved. A sourced quote in Wikipedia (not the most reliable source, I understand) states: To date "no one has found evidence that points to the use of melting, smelting and casting in prehistoric eastern North America."

Pre-Columbian architecture was impressive (even by today's standards) but the materials they used were always available and the technology they used was very obsolete at the time. If Meso-American civilizations were able to survive conquest and whatnot, they would've advanced greatly. Even some forms of architecture today are influenced by native American designs. Nomadic tribes in the far north, north-east, or great plains probably wouldn't have had the materials, technology, and geography to advance naturally unless they had managed to unify and conquer.

 

[Quinzy]

Perhaps in eastern North America, but the Inca had developed smelting.
I shouldn't imagine native housing like north-eastern longhouses much more or less advanced than rural European houses.
Plus what's the difference between them learning technologies from Europeans in the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries and the Europeans learning those technologies from other foreign powers before that? What I'm saying is gunpowder was widely used in Europe by the 1600s, and native tribes were using gunpowder weapons shortly after they were introduced.
Similarly, by the early moderns period, while many of these 'second age' technologies were discovered, life was by and large fairly similar to however it was hundreds of years before.
I have problems with teleology in all it's forms, civ itself having the added issue of Eurocentrism. As such I'm loathe to judge any non Western European civ on the stock standard civ technology tree.

 

[Ogedei_the_Mad]

Absolutely agree, Qunizy. Unfortunately Civ as it is remains very confined to a narrow view of things...which is why modding is all the more important.

Speaking of this, is Tibet a good choice for Asia ?

It would be a good choice for Mongolia, Nepal, Bhutan, and of course Tibet. Would seem extremely bizarre if used for Korea, Japan, Thailand, etc.

Normally, I'd use Chinese-style architecture to represent "Asia" though even that is pretty weird in many circumstances.

Classic problem of the hardcoded 5-cultures limit.