The Classic Maya

[Traianus]

Sorry this took so long and still I have had no flash of brilliance for the Yajaw Maan. I'll keep playing around with it, though.

 

[The Last Conformist]

Pretty enough picture, but you must've misunderstood/creatively reinterpreted my request - I asked for that Aztec glyph/symbol they used on documents to symbolize a defeated city. I'll see if I go with this or my spear-and-fire pic for the Total War tech.

If you're stuck on the Yajaw Maan, I'd suggest you devote your creative juices to the altar for a while - after the zoomorph, it should be a breeze, I imagine - while I go looking for something that might be inspirational wrt to the Yajaw Maan. OK?

 

[The Last Conformist]

Here's a painting (based on a relief at Tikal) of Jasaw Chan K'awiil, the king who captured the Yajaw Maan. Maybe it's useful and/or inspirational to you:



It's a cool picture, at any rate.

 

[Traianus]

Now that is a cool picture!
I'm working on something now.

 

[The Last Conformist]

@Trai: Any progress?

 

[Traianus]

Hi TLC. I started work on the altar and hope to finish it this evening at home.

 

[The Last Conformist]

Sounds good. I currently working at fixing up various little graphics glitches and oddities, as well as making a new wondersplash for the B'aah Sajal Residence.

 

[The Last Conformist]

Can't believe I didn't touch the specialist before today. The Civil Engineer and the Policeman are gone, and the Scientist and Tax Collector are renamed to Loremaster and Tribute Collector.

 

[Traianus]

Sorry I haven't been mush use with the Yajaw wonder. I did get this altar graphic done. Hope it helps.

 

[The Last Conformist]

That altar will do wonderfully.

Re: the Yajaw Maan, I suppose I'll have to bite it, and come up with something else to carry the same effect. Thanks for your efforts.

 

[Traianus]

Very welcome, you are! Always honoured to have something I put together included in a great mod!

 

[The Last Conformist]

Rambuchan dug up a sceptre depicting K'awiil for me; I suppose I could use it as a stand in graphic.

That implemented, and a few final tweaks, and I should be launching a final beta towards the weekend. If nobody finds any too bad bugs or omissions in that, I'll then release 1.0. a week or two after that.

 

[The Last Conformist]

v0.9 is out!​

This should be the final beta - it's designed to ferret out any remaining bugs.

Changes from the last version are mostly fleshing out - all artwork, 'pedia entries, etc, should be in place now. If anything seems missing or wrong, let me know! Actual gameplace changes are minor; some late techs (notably Prophecy) have been made more expensive, some improvements (notably Grannaries) have been made cheaper, and a few more goody huts have been added (giving a bit more reward for scouting out the northern Yucatán).

Also, after Ram chased me around with a macuahuitl a bit, I went and tidied up the credits. Every single piece of custom artwork should be properly credited now (except for the music, which I just took as Swoggy supplied it, and attributed it to him - I don't believe he actually composed it!).

If no big bugs are found, v1.0 should be out soon.

 

[Rambuchan]

Congrats

I'm going to inspect this version for sure.

 

[The Last Conformist]

Devastation around Palenque wrought by a violent Toltec invasion:


This is why you should keep a wary eye to the west. Those Toltecs hit hard, very hard.

 

[Rambuchan]

So who do you want play tested? I've got some time in the evenings this week for ya. Please mention any areas which you want specifics opinions and feedback on.

 

[The Last Conformist]

Something that's supposed to be possible, but which I've not done in my own playtests, nor heard of anyone doing is achieving a cultural victory as one of the "minor" powers - Toniná, Copán or Caracol. It's not a victory condition that suits my playing style, so I've really only attempted it once, and failed badly.

So, if you feel like it, start up a game and see if its doable.

(Winning a cultural victory as Tikal is not very hard, but with these guys its quicker to just conquer the world.)

 

[Rambuchan]

I need to get used to Cultural Victories more anyway, so that can be done with any of those three. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[The Last Conformist]

Good. Best luck!

*****​

It was suggested to me that the many strange words and names in this scenario may be intimidating. I thought I'd see if I can to some extent alleviate this by giving some info and hints.

First, the names of many cities are Spanish - examples include Dos Pilas, Altar de Sacrificios, and Tres Islas - and should naturally be pronounced accordingly. There are also many names that are spanicized Mayan - eg. Tikal, Motul de San José - that also should be pronounced as Spanish. These are modern names, usually unconnected with the Classic names of the places in question, altho "Motul" in Motul de San José probably derives from Mutal, the ancient name of the Tikal kingdom.

Actual Classic Mayan words include many city names, all the ruler names (except, obviously, "Spearthrower Owl"), the names of some units, and various words scattered in the 'Pedia and script. The orthographies used for Mayan languages are based on Spanish, you'll get a decent enough pronunciation if you pronounce as Spanish while observing the following points;

* 'h' is audible,
* 'x' sounds like English sh in "ship",
* 'w' as in English
* doubled vowels are held longer than single ones.

Apostrophes mark glottalization of the preceeding consonant, or, if no consonant preceedes, a glottal stop. If the words "glottal" and "glottalized" mean nothing to you, I suggest you just ignore this point.

The tree Mayan unit-names - Sajal, Ajaw, and Yajaw K'ak' - are, as explained in the respective 'pedia entries, all titles from the Classic Maya nobility, and mean, respectively, "nobleman", "lord", and "lord of fire", the last being a rather florid designation for a top military commander; we might loosely translate it as "general". The idea, of course, is that the units are military contingents led by such distinguished personages, not that individual aristocrats are running around conquering cities single-handedly!

 

[Rambuchan]

Something that's supposed to be possible, but which I've not done in my own playtests, nor heard of anyone doing is achieving a cultural victory as one of the "minor" powers - Toniná, Copán or Caracol.

Just posting to let you know you've got a sick sense of humour. I loaded up and have gotten a fair few turns into a Tonina game and I really don't see how I'm ever going to achieve a Cultural Victory. Like I say, sick sense of humour.


EDIT: Some notes,

~ You've got a problem with the language and grammar in the opening info screen (first screen to open on the scen loading). Happy to discuss reshaping it with you, your other write up is great.

~ It's still quite apparent that many of the familiar epic game wonders (small and great) are simply reclothed and renamed, yet with the same functions. It would be more involving and convincingly different if you customised them a bit more. Doesn't mean the game isn't enjoyable, I've had a few cool games with previous versions of this scen.

~ I'm never gonna win this cultural victory.

~ Have you thought about a trade victory of sorts? Would that be appropriate?

~ The interface art on the diplomacy is !!!AMAZING!!!

~ Like I said, I'm set to lose this one.

~ The subtle growth in stats values works well but is a little dull for my liking. Perhaps some more funky units with funky abilities would liven it up for fussy gits like me.

~ I love the pedia art. Some great pieces in there and quite exquisite artwork most often. Good on you. There are a few civ gamey style icons, which I personally don't favour even if they are appropriate.