Eastern civ in development

[civ_king]

In Dao the downward tone is on the "a"

Trad. Simp. Pinyin English
龍 龙 lóng dragon; imperial; Long (a surname)
BTW for pronunciation reference http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinyin#Rules_given_in_terms_of_English_pronunciation

 

[A Golden Dragon]

Guys! we are trying to create a civ here, not find out how to pronounce a name

 

[Valkrionn]

If you go for the idea of a dragon keeping them alive, I still say one of Danalin's dragons would be best.

 

[arkham4269]

If you go for the idea of a dragon keeping them alive, I still say one of Danalin's dragons would be best.

Which ever is best. I'm not as up on the Erebus history and lore. I'm sure those of you who do know, will figure it out.

I don't want to harp on it like it's the only thing, but again, the whole "Our Empire goes back forever!" might give the Senshi a bit of flavor (even if they do end up Panderan! ) in that they might start off with something like a head start. Perhaps if there is a way to do it, 1 or 2 buildings could be made available early (even if the tech isn't there to fully exploit it). Say have some sort of special supply unit (or two) that shows up after the initial city is founded that allows a choice of certain buildings.

Another thought is, if possible, maybe they get a bit of an advanced start with a certain amount of set gold and can only improve their city (roads and the like) and add a building, but no techs. Maybe they also get a extra tech. However, Chinese & Tokugawa Shogunate civilization was also rather static. So maybe they need this because they may not be a very good tech developing Civ.

Plus, just a general question: Is there a way to have 'blind' research in Civ? I always thought that this was one of the best things in Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri since it was a good way to handicap the human player without having to nerf them in relation to the AI players.

I'm not sure how the AI goes after techs (I'm sure the Civ traits are involved) but I liked the SMAC way of sort of determining on a sliding scale what sort of techs you'd were hoping for. Sort of like selecting extra priests in a city so you'll get a Great Prophet but not always (by %) getting one.

Anyway, beyond the concept, it would seem that blind research would allow (if activated as a feature) could allow cultures like the Senshi to have the special Civ power of non-blind research, similar to how the alien races in SMAC:AC could pick what to research. A powerful advantage is used properly.

 

[civ_king]

sounds interesting

 

[Skitters]

rather than a dragon, what about a Guardian/Stone Lion?

Spoiler :

http://culture.afmag.net/chinese-mythical-animals.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_guardian_lions

would presumably mean some jazzing around with the lion unit (perhaps increase the size, changing the colour to stone)

 

[arkham4269]

rather than a dragon, what about a Guardian/Stone Lion?

That's a great idea! Plus it goes well with the probable artwork for the cities.

 

[Seon]

What about a giant stone dragon?

 

[civ_king]

an earth dragon using that element?

 

[Psychic_Llamas]

in warhammer the eastern civs (cathay = china, nippon = japan) are using Jade Dogs, mythylogical guardian statues made of pure jade that guard the temples. you could use something like this along with the stone lion statue that was posted above

 

[Skitters]

in warhammer the eastern civs (cathay = china, nippon = japan) are using Jade Dogs, mythylogical guardian statues made of pure jade that guard the temples. you could use something like this along with the stone lion statue that was posted above

They're possibly based on the same lore - in that wiki site it suggests that it's believed that when Stone/Guardian Lions were first made in China, the sculptors didn't actually know what a lion actually looked like so they have some features based on dogs.

The guardian lions were set at the front of palaces/temples and would be inlaid with jade/precious gems.

Would be good if graphically they appear as a pair, because apparently they always came as a male and female pair.


To stretch it further, would it be possible to have the lions appear in the graphic for the civs palace, and perhaps are "awakened" as part of a ritual? Which I guess would mean a second palace graphic for afterwards

 

[Seon]

In eastern lore, there are 4 guardians of the world which is the Phoenix, the White Tiger, the Dragon, and the giant-snake thing (what can I say? There are no reference point in the language...)

Also, in eastern fantasy lore, one can overload themself with chi to self-destruct or to wield enormous power but causing enormous injury afterword and possibly lose the ability to control chi.

 

[xienwolf]

I think the giant snake thing is often replaced with a turtle as well.

 

[arkham4269]

...and the giant-snake thing (what can I say? There are no reference point in the language...)

Jörmungandr?

 

[Seon]

I think the giant snake thing is often replaced with a turtle as well.

Yup, you are right

 

[Psychic_Llamas]

Jörmungandr?

thats nordic, were talking oriental herer

 

[civ_king]

Shamelessly stolen from wiki
"Bagua (eight trigrams)

Two diagrams known as bagua (or pa kua) loom large in feng shui, and both predate their mentions in the Yijing (or I Ching). The Lo (River) Chart (Luoshu, or Later Heaven Sequence) was developed first.[33] The Luoshu and the River Chart (Hetu, or Early Heaven Sequence) are linked to astronomical events of the sixth millennium BCE, and with the Turtle Calendar from the time of Yao.[34] The Turtle Calendar of Yao (found in the Yaodian section of the Shangshu or Book of Documents) dates to 2300 BCE, plus or minus 250 years.[35]

Sources indicate that time, in the form of astronomy and calendars, is at the heart of feng shui.

In Yaodian, the cardinal directions are determined by the marker-stars of the mega-constellations known as the Four Celestial Animals.

East: the Green Dragon (Spring equinox)—Niao (Bird), α Hydrae

South: the Red Phoenix (Summer solstice)—Huo (Fire), α Scorpionis

West: the White Tiger (Autumn equinox)—Xu (Emptiness, Void), α Aquarii, β Aquarii

North: the Dark Turtle (Winter solstice)—Mao (Hair), η Tauri (the Pleiades)"
those what you talkin bout? maybe those in a ring around a modified forbiddin palace?

 

[arkham4269]

thats nordic, were talking oriental herer

I was being sarcastic.

However, He is the World Serpent so many parts of Him can be considered Asian!

 

[Psychic_Llamas]

I was being sarcastic.

shoulda used the :sarcasmalert: smiley then

 

[arkham4269]

You know, for the 'thread' that sort of started this whole Modmod page, it's funny how it just sort of got quiet.

So to sort of start up the discussion again, here is my idea of what we have so far.

1.) A Asian flavored civ based more on a Tibetan/Nepal/Indian mystic theme loosely based on the FF Kahdi where they have some sort of 'kami shrine' that calls forth medium powered beings (elementals as a place holder for now) randomly based on which mana nodes they have at the time. However, unlike the Kahdi which has no mid-level units, this civ would have a limited amount to represent warrior-monks so popular in fiction like Kung Fu! or Lone Wolf & Cub.

2.) A Asian flavored civ based on a Chinese/Japanese theme with a focus on the martial. To make them less of a retread of vanilla Civ Japanese, there is a push to perhaps make them Panderan. (Sounds good to me) Right now, while I like them because I like the theme, other than being Pandas, there hasn't been much about them to make them unique. Right now they seem a mix of Bannor martialness and Scion arrogance of being a very old culture. Beyond certain UU like the ninja replacing Assassins and the like, we still don't have a 'hook' to make this a truly unique Civ.