PhoenicianGold
Emperor
- Joined
- Jan 30, 2018
- Messages
- 1,828
It's not a decision by Firaxis - there is a structure called "The Observatory" at Chichen Itza on account of its shape and presence on a raised platform, and probably fulfilled that role. It's an archaeological label, certainly, but then most of the names we know the cities and rulers by - even those that are in Mayan languages - are not the original names of the settlements the Maya would have used (for instance, Tikal is not the name the Mayans used, while Caracol - a comparably-sized but less well-preserved city now in Belize - is a Spanish name used because a lot of snail shells were found at the site), while the leader names we're familiar with are English translations.
The use of the observatory as a generic Mayan structure is similar to the use of the Colosseum or the Hermitage in past Civ games - the real structure is unique rather than a typical feature of Mayan settlements, and making it generic is simply a game decision.
Yeah it's another Minas Gerais problem.
I was hoping for the saacbe as a unique road, so I'm a tad put out by that decision.