Gen. Rommel
Wüstenfuchs
I have recently decided to pick up playing the Sengoku scenario, which has always been my favorite of the lot included in the conquest expansion. However, there have always been things I wanted to change in the initial scenario which brings me to my latest project.
First thing I basically wanted to change (or rather use instead) was the map. El Mency’s map of Japan is in my opinion greatly accurate and also reflects the terrain of Japan much better (e.g. the opting for greener terrain in El Mency’s map instead of the abundance of plains on the old map). Furthermore, the many mountain ranges present in Japan are represented better on this map and it also looks overall more attractive.
Most notably is the addition of Hokkaido, meaning it can be an optional “what if” place of settlement. I will add a civ to depict the small kingdom present there during the time period; however, it shall not play an important role in the overall game (much like the Celts in the Roman conquests scenario).
On the note of adding more civs, I’ve decided to add a considerable greater amount of civs to scenario that was initially done in the Sengoku scenario. My preference is to better represent the many small landmasses that each Daimyo was lord over. The old scenario made this aspect extremely unbalanced, leaving way too much room in the north for instance. Also, the starting cities of each Daimyo will be auto placed and much more accurately placed according to their historical (as well as modern) placement.
Seeing as I am unskilled in the art of creating leaderheads, I am/was confronted with the challenge of what to do with the new civs. Therefore, making new flag banner leaderheads like in the old Sengoku scenario is not an option. Although I do have the appropriate flag designs saved on my comp, I don’t possess the know-how. I have instead opted for a static image in the typical Japanese block printing style.
But I actually see this as an improvement over the old leaderheads. Generally, it was kind of hard to match the flags to a certain Daimyo in the game (especially in the beginning); even more so when the flag resembled that of another Daimyo (e.g. Date and Uesugi or Imagawa and Mogami). Additionally, it is much more interesting to have a face to refer to than some lifeless flag and the unique art style will add much more flavor to the scenario. This is similar to the ambient the leaderheads created in the “The Rise and Fall of the Mughals” scenario by Rambuchan and Luddi VII (which I would like to praise to the greatest extent; you guys set the bar high with this beauty!).
This also applies for lots of the techs. Though I will still keep a majority of the tech icons, I have decided that adding some icons with traditional Japanese art simply helps to set a certain mood and also delve the player further into the time period.
On the note of involving the player more, I will most likely compiling a soundtrack for this. Again in reference to “The Rise and Fall” scenario, the soundtrack set a distinct mood and was a contributing element to that scenarios great success. Since I liked that aspect so much, I will definitely be trying to add this as an optional download for those that would like it.
There are many more extras and additions to the Sengoku scenario I have in mind but these will all be presented a bit later. For now, I would like to introduce the actual reason for this thread (which was actually not meant to introduce the scenario yet, but oh well
).
I have gotten some of the leaderheads done already and need some opinions on two of them:
^This is the leaderhead for the Takeda Clan. I made three variations of him but am undecided on which would be best for the scenario. This is where you guys come in. Could you just tell me which one is your favorite to make my decision easier?
^Same thing as above but in this case, you only have two to choose from. Tell me which one fits best.
^The newest addition I’ve made. I felt the resource palette needed a complete revamp for this scenario. The new resources I’ve been able to finish so far are two variations of sushi (each in two sizes) and a rice ball. I feel the rice ball looks like crap but maybe you guys will like it (although my personal dissatisfaction will probably lead me to creating a different image after all but do voice your opinion nonetheless). Mainly, I need two opinions. First and most important is which version of sushi I should use. Which one looks more like sushi in your opinion because I don’t want anything not resembling the resource properly? The orange colored piece is salmon (sake) and the red one tuna nigiri (maguro). The white thing next to that is the rice ball. I added default resources as a size and overall look reference.
Oh and before someone jumps down my throat, I am completely aware that sushi didn’t originate until the Edo-Period. However, I personally feel this will be something that adds some needed flavor to the scenario and further immerse the player. I will sacrifice realism for playing purposes in this case (I swear its one of the few exceptions).
First thing I basically wanted to change (or rather use instead) was the map. El Mency’s map of Japan is in my opinion greatly accurate and also reflects the terrain of Japan much better (e.g. the opting for greener terrain in El Mency’s map instead of the abundance of plains on the old map). Furthermore, the many mountain ranges present in Japan are represented better on this map and it also looks overall more attractive.
Most notably is the addition of Hokkaido, meaning it can be an optional “what if” place of settlement. I will add a civ to depict the small kingdom present there during the time period; however, it shall not play an important role in the overall game (much like the Celts in the Roman conquests scenario).
On the note of adding more civs, I’ve decided to add a considerable greater amount of civs to scenario that was initially done in the Sengoku scenario. My preference is to better represent the many small landmasses that each Daimyo was lord over. The old scenario made this aspect extremely unbalanced, leaving way too much room in the north for instance. Also, the starting cities of each Daimyo will be auto placed and much more accurately placed according to their historical (as well as modern) placement.
Seeing as I am unskilled in the art of creating leaderheads, I am/was confronted with the challenge of what to do with the new civs. Therefore, making new flag banner leaderheads like in the old Sengoku scenario is not an option. Although I do have the appropriate flag designs saved on my comp, I don’t possess the know-how. I have instead opted for a static image in the typical Japanese block printing style.
But I actually see this as an improvement over the old leaderheads. Generally, it was kind of hard to match the flags to a certain Daimyo in the game (especially in the beginning); even more so when the flag resembled that of another Daimyo (e.g. Date and Uesugi or Imagawa and Mogami). Additionally, it is much more interesting to have a face to refer to than some lifeless flag and the unique art style will add much more flavor to the scenario. This is similar to the ambient the leaderheads created in the “The Rise and Fall of the Mughals” scenario by Rambuchan and Luddi VII (which I would like to praise to the greatest extent; you guys set the bar high with this beauty!).
This also applies for lots of the techs. Though I will still keep a majority of the tech icons, I have decided that adding some icons with traditional Japanese art simply helps to set a certain mood and also delve the player further into the time period.
On the note of involving the player more, I will most likely compiling a soundtrack for this. Again in reference to “The Rise and Fall” scenario, the soundtrack set a distinct mood and was a contributing element to that scenarios great success. Since I liked that aspect so much, I will definitely be trying to add this as an optional download for those that would like it.
There are many more extras and additions to the Sengoku scenario I have in mind but these will all be presented a bit later. For now, I would like to introduce the actual reason for this thread (which was actually not meant to introduce the scenario yet, but oh well
).I have gotten some of the leaderheads done already and need some opinions on two of them:
^This is the leaderhead for the Takeda Clan. I made three variations of him but am undecided on which would be best for the scenario. This is where you guys come in. Could you just tell me which one is your favorite to make my decision easier?
^Same thing as above but in this case, you only have two to choose from. Tell me which one fits best.
^The newest addition I’ve made. I felt the resource palette needed a complete revamp for this scenario. The new resources I’ve been able to finish so far are two variations of sushi (each in two sizes) and a rice ball. I feel the rice ball looks like crap but maybe you guys will like it (although my personal dissatisfaction will probably lead me to creating a different image after all but do voice your opinion nonetheless). Mainly, I need two opinions. First and most important is which version of sushi I should use. Which one looks more like sushi in your opinion because I don’t want anything not resembling the resource properly? The orange colored piece is salmon (sake) and the red one tuna nigiri (maguro). The white thing next to that is the rice ball. I added default resources as a size and overall look reference.
Oh and before someone jumps down my throat, I am completely aware that sushi didn’t originate until the Edo-Period. However, I personally feel this will be something that adds some needed flavor to the scenario and further immerse the player. I will sacrifice realism for playing purposes in this case (I swear its one of the few exceptions).
)
