Culture (Unit + Quarter) Speculation Thread

[Jcturmer]

Thr Umayyad remained as the caliphate of Cordoba in Spain.

 

[Jkchart]

In one of the feature videos a city goes from Goths to mesoamerican architecture, the thing is, it doesn't really look Zapotec If that was the case I'd expect them to use Monte Alban or Mitla as reference, and it looks much more Aztec. I'd argue that there's a very likely chance the Aztecs are actually Mexica, which is you know, what they called themselves, and It's not such an underground fact given that Mexico's name actually comes from them, for the average Joe, Mexica might be easier to grasp than Umayyad for Arabia for example.

If the rumors that the Zapotecs are in the game are true, I suspect they could be the Medieval mesoamerican culture.

The Umayyads lasted until the middle of the 11th century, although in Iberia. Perhaps this leaves room for an Abbasid faction as well, since both did exist contemporaneously for several hundred years.

 

[ehecatzin]

Thr Umayyad remained as the caliphate of Cordoba in Spain.

I was wondering while making my list about hwo awesome would it be to have Al-Andalus as a culture, hopefully they went with Umayyads to cover this area as well.

If the rumors that the Zapotecs are in the game are true, I suspect they could be the Medieval mesoamerican culture.

The Umayyads lasted until the middle of the 11th century, although in Iberia. Perhaps this leaves room for an Abbasid faction as well, since both did exist contemporaneously for several hundred years.

The Zapotec thing is rather, tempting, first, remember the Zapotecs are so long lived they were contemporaries to Classical Mayans, and just like them have had a number of falls and golden ages.

in what we would call medieval (after the fall of Teotihuacan) they were displaced from their original homeland by the Mixtecs and later had a second golden age on the Tehuantepec Isthmus.

To me, the best place for the Zapotecs is classical to showcase a Monte Alban city center. If you should add a medieval meso from that area, honestly Mixtecs would also be a good fit.

 

[Alexander's Hetaroi]

It's curious Amplitude decided to go with the Umayyad over the Abbasid Caliphate, as the Islamic Golden Age begun during the Abbasid's reign. Perhaps we'll be seeing a military or expansion-focused Arabia instead of a science one?

Greece is scientific but has an emblematic quarter based around presumably aesthete/culture so I wouldn't be surprised to see a madrasah quarter with possibly an expansionist trait.

If the rumors that the Zapotecs are in the game are true, I suspect they could be the Medieval mesoamerican culture.

If it wasn't for the fact that the Zapotecs were mentioned I would be 100% sure the Aztecs are the one for the Medieval culture.

 

[BuchiTaton]

Argh, I may have argued for not predicting everything at once, but step by step. however, my step of one was too short as well. Should have included Aztecs and Byzantines alongside the Arab Prediction... I can only see two scenarios then:

1 Aztecs and Ummayads
2 Arabs/Abbasids and Aztecs as Early Modern

Because we really need both of those cultures in the original 60.

Both are likely options.

What I wonder the most is why Persians and Celts would have "broad" names but Arabs would be Ummayads?
China make more sense to have dynastic names because we can see them as relevant on every era. But Persians that have a longer history of empires than Arabs did not got a dynastic name.

If "the devil is on the details" than means that devs want more than one arab culture, but not more celtic and persian ones?
Still Iran could be an option for a second persian culture (early modern, industrial or contemporary?). But what kind of second arabian culture could we get, contemporary merchant oil-rich Arabia, or would we get a militarist Irak?

They might put both Aztecs and Spain in the Early Modern era. Not sure if the Inca will make it to the vanilla game. What other A-B Civs beside the Aztecs or Arabs/Abbasids fit in the first spot for Medieval? How about Anglo-Saxon England?

Maybe we got
3 Medieval Ummayads, early modern Aztecs and the "A" culture are Anglo-Saxon!?
So this way there are place for contemporary Arabia, Zapotec for longer mesoamerican line and more English/British versions? I mean you can get EU, adjectives and demonym for medieval, colonial and ww1-ww2

 

[Elhoim]

I'm pretty sure the skipped-on culture here is the Aztecs, and that Arabia will be represented with the Umayyad Caliphate, which is supported by the fact that this image features the name in its URL.

Amazing catch!

 

[ehecatzin]

If it wasn't for the fact that the Zapotecs were mentioned I would be 100% sure the Aztecs are the one for the Medieval culture.

Man don't give me hope,

Just to be clear, a Zapotec culture on medieval is entirely posible within the timeline, and if they had a meso tree with: Olmec, Maya, Zapotec and Aztec in the opening rooster it would make me the happiest, if only because in mainstream media mesoamerica is always boiled down to Aztecs and Mayans, and sometimes not even that (looking at you civ)

 

[j51]

What does everyone think the Umayyad trait will be? At first my mind jumped to expansionist, but now I'm thinking builders.

 

[Siptah]

What does everyone think the Umayyad trait will be? At first my mind jumped to expansionist, but now I'm thinking builders.

Expansionist or Aesthete seems most fitting in my opinion. But you could argue for most traits easily.

 

[ehecatzin]

What does everyone think the Umayyad trait will be? At first my mind jumped to expansionist, but now I'm thinking builders.

They seem expansionistic to me.

 

[conorbebe]

I think it would be an incredible shame if our Arabia rep was not Scientist. To ignore the accomplishments of the Islamic Golden Age and go with an Expansionist Umayyad Caliphate just seems like a waste in my opinion.

 

[Siptah]

I think it would be an incredible shame if our Arabia rep was not Scientist. To ignore the accomplishments of the Islamic Golden Age and go with an Expansionist Umayyad Caliphate just seems like a waste in my opinion.

But for the Scientist trait, you would most probably go Abbasid. It‘s the obvious choice for scientist in medieval times, Far East aside. Yet, you cannot deny the rapid expansion of the caliphate - it’s a very firing trait as well for an early Arabia representation.

 

[need my speed]

It would be interesting to couple expanding to science or culture through an Emblematic Quarter or through a trait (like how Babylon combined food and science in a trait). For the first X turns of a city being founded, all its culture yield will double as a science yield? For every border expansion, or... That neighbourhood quarter? The city will receive a science bonus. And so on, there are many ideas to think of.

 

[Krajzen]

I think it would be an incredible shame if our Arabia rep was not Scientist. To ignore the accomplishments of the Islamic Golden Age and go with an Expansionist Umayyad Caliphate just seems like a waste in my opinion.

Especially as there is no real alternative for scientist civ in the currently predicted medieval setup. There is no medieval incarnation of India or China, no Italy, "Franks" instead of France, so the only remaining candidates for scientist focus would be... Medieval England? Don't get me wrong, it had great accomplishments in medieval ages but it still feels strange.

 

[mitsho]

I can see Mali as scientific (University of Sankore) and they can't really go merchant three times in a row for "Africa". I guess they can, but... England and Franks as scientific may work as well. Again, if you want you can argue nearly everything. It would certainly be surprising for Khmer to not be agrarian, but what makes them agrarian can make them scientific as well. And Ummayads can be scientific as well.

I'm not yet convinced about England being in, but I'd guess them being builders, Franks aesthetes and Mali (or the "Arabs") being scientific.

Sigh, the best way for sure would be to have an additional era between Classical and Medieval

 

[FinalDoomsday]

I'm not yet convinced about England being in, but I'd guess them being builders, Franks aesthetes and Mali (or the "Arabs") being scientific.

On the upper left there is some longbowmen with those rimmed helmets they are depicted with in artwork. Someone pointed this out to me a couple of days a go I missed them completly. The Castle on the hill I belive is Englands 'Town Centre'

Given none of that is 100% confirmation the longbowmen could be generic for all we know but it looks almost certain a medieval England. Builder does work given it seems to be a post-Norman England with all the furious Castle Building that happend in Wales. The longbowmen also fits into a defensive play style of building castles and massing ranged units.

 

[Krajzen]

I can see Mali as scientific (University of Sankore) and they can't really go merchant three times in a row for "Africa". I guess they can, but... England and Franks as scientific may work as well. Again, if you want you can argue nearly everything. It would certainly be surprising for Khmer to not be agrarian, but what makes them agrarian can make them scientific as well. And Ummayads can be scientific as well.

I'm not yet convinced about England being in, but I'd guess them being builders, Franks aesthetes and Mali (or the "Arabs") being scientific.

Sigh, the best way for sure would be to have an additional era between Classical and Medieval

Eh, I'd slightly wince at Mali being scientific. It's all hype how great that madrasa was (no, universities were European medieval invention, despite seemingly every corner of the world now having its "first university in history") but nobody can point as some great names or great scientific renaissance made by it. Mali and its scholars are tiny figures on the shoulders of enormous scientific power of medieval Islam in Andalus, Maghreb, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Greater Iran and Central Asia. So I'd be quite dissatisfied if Mali got scientific focus despite not really influencing global history of science in comparision with scientific behemoths of medieval age.
Medieval England with Oxford, Cambridge, Roger Bacon, Ockham etc had far more influence and documented output to deserve scientific focus, to be honest.

Furthermore, I'll say a controversial hot take: Sankore's intellectual output is blown out of proportion due to the unfortunate fact it is one of very few "proper" scientific institutions in the history of Subsaharan Africa.

 

[mitsho]

Sure, I'm in agreement with you there. I'm just saying that they could do this if they wanted to. Actually, thats true for everything, they can give the US Mickey Mouse as a Emblematic Unit, though that may be a bridge too far.

Simply put, they are not forced to make the Arabs scientists. They have other options.

@FinalDoomsday yes, I know about the Longbowmen. It doesn't 100% convince me though that we will get a medieval England. We will know soon anyways, as they should be next, right?

 

[FinalDoomsday]

fair enough just thought I'd bring it up but yes the mystery should be put to rest soon!

 

[Gwydden]

I could see the Umayyads being scientists and the Abbasids, if we ever get them, depicted as, say, a Merchant faction. Considering the importance of trade in the expansion of Islam and the geographically central location of the caliphate, eventually getting a Merchant Muslim faction feels reasonable. The Ayyubids/Mamelukes can then be the Militarist Muslim civ.