I've spent some time looking at potential Babylon-themed backgrounds for the next release, and I think I have two preferred candidates to vote on.
1. The Tower of Babbel, Little Version, by Pieter Bruegel the Elder. Image: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipe...(Rotterdam)_-_Google_Art_Project_-_edited.jpg
2. Assyrian Palaces from the Monuments of Nineveh, by Sir Austen Henry Layard. Image: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/Artist’s_impression_of_Assyrian_palaces_from_The_Monuments_of_Nineveh_by_Sir_Austen_Henry_Layard,_1853.jpg
A couple notes on them:
Tower of Babbel: This is probably the second-best known of the famous paintings depicting the Tower of Babbel. The third-most-known is the Van Valckenborch one (link); the best is Bruegel's other version (link). As the other Bruegel version was on the Civilization III box art in most European countries (source), I'd prefer to go with the one linked.
Disadvantage: At 5:4 resolution, its aspect ratio is not ideal for most monitors today. We could crop a bit at the bottom but realistically are looking at 4:3 best-case.
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Assyrian Palaces: I really like the landscape on this one. At somewhere between 16:9 and 16:10, it's a near-perfect aspect ratio for most widescreen monitors today.
Disadvantage: Despite being second on the Civ III Babylonian city name list, Nineveh is an Assyrian city. Although there is speculation that it was the true home of the Hanging Gardens.
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Other submissions welcome, although given our hope to release Babylon soon, you may have a better chance of pre-planning a Carthage/Dutch/Egypt submission. The most notable expected candidate for which I failed to find a suitable public-domain image was the Hanging Gardens, so good Hanging Gardens submissions are the most likely to be added.
1. The Tower of Babbel, Little Version, by Pieter Bruegel the Elder. Image: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipe...(Rotterdam)_-_Google_Art_Project_-_edited.jpg
2. Assyrian Palaces from the Monuments of Nineveh, by Sir Austen Henry Layard. Image: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/Artist’s_impression_of_Assyrian_palaces_from_The_Monuments_of_Nineveh_by_Sir_Austen_Henry_Layard,_1853.jpg
A couple notes on them:
Tower of Babbel: This is probably the second-best known of the famous paintings depicting the Tower of Babbel. The third-most-known is the Van Valckenborch one (link); the best is Bruegel's other version (link). As the other Bruegel version was on the Civilization III box art in most European countries (source), I'd prefer to go with the one linked.
Disadvantage: At 5:4 resolution, its aspect ratio is not ideal for most monitors today. We could crop a bit at the bottom but realistically are looking at 4:3 best-case.
----
Assyrian Palaces: I really like the landscape on this one. At somewhere between 16:9 and 16:10, it's a near-perfect aspect ratio for most widescreen monitors today.
Disadvantage: Despite being second on the Civ III Babylonian city name list, Nineveh is an Assyrian city. Although there is speculation that it was the true home of the Hanging Gardens.
----
Other submissions welcome, although given our hope to release Babylon soon, you may have a better chance of pre-planning a Carthage/Dutch/Egypt submission. The most notable expected candidate for which I failed to find a suitable public-domain image was the Hanging Gardens, so good Hanging Gardens submissions are the most likely to be added.
