Anybody who has been viewing the images I have sporadically been updating will have seen a few of the buildings I've been working on.
Aedes Divi Vespasiani
I started the week out with the construction of the Aedes Divi Vespasiani; Temple of Vespasian (And Titus). The previous version was half-drawn, but I decided to box it up so it appeared as it does below. Turned out much faster, easier and less an eye-sore - I'm tempted to correct the orientation of all the other buildings, at this point, for their future detailing...
Recently however whilst research the Aedes Concordiae, it turns out that Aedes Divi Vespasiani wasn't built during 200BCE! Argh! So, I've had to bin the below. Or at least, sideline it in case I have a use for it as another building - let not go to waste!
Umbilicus Urbis Romae
"Bathroom?" - Njordy.
Far from it. In fact, the doors were only opened three times a year, during certain festivities. At such times, official transactions were deemed a No-no action.
Why? Well, Umbilicus Urbis Romae means "The Navel of Rome." All distances that are measured are measured from Rome, and this is the building they are measured for. The building itself houses a pit, a pit said to be a tunnel leading to the Underworld.
Ergo when the doors are opened during the festivities, evil spirits are said to escape.
I look forward to having certain days programmed into the game, with maybe some sort of Bad Luck being induced upon transactions being made during these times!
Aedes Concordiae
Aedes Concordiae is, according to archaelogical history, a temple. However there is evidence that it may have been a quaint Altar during 200BCE. Ergo the construction below - I'm quite happy with the actual altar I've drawn! The brickwork-appearance of the roof will need some sort of fix up, however.
By the time I had kicked out these latest piece, I realised how grey the Forum Romanum is going to look, which is a sad thought indeed. I'll likely find something in the near future to sparkle the place up, if not just recolour a few of the buildings - only slightly - but hopefully enough to make it more eye-catching.
At the moment, I am currently recolouring the Aedes Vestae, because the previous palette that it uses is *horrible*! I think I'll be redoing the Regia too, for the same reason.
I've been thinking of Player Housing lately, and how they can have a personal "touch" to it.
Player Housing is basically Housing that players can buy and own, live in, use for storage, and so forth.
If I can find a capable programmer, I'd love to get in some furnishing that players can move around. It seems such a little thing, but it really can make a difference. What type of altar do I want? To what deity? What chair, table, bed? Carpets? Curtains? Statues? So forth.
Customizable housing as far as change the exterior appearance of the house however, is something I do not want to get into - that can get *really* messy. I think simply having a large selection of housing will suffice - it's not as if the world will be too small, anyway!
"Oh yes, I own land in Southern Italy's countryside, Rome, Gascogne, The Alps..."
Speaking of which, land. Wouldn't it be cool if you could buy a lot of land, and then choose from an assortment of houses which to build? Once you have travelled to China, for example, you unlock chinese-style housing. You then return to Italy and build it on your land.
Other players have then also "experenced" that style of housing and can unlock it! I can see this getting silly, though. On the same stretch of road, you might see Indian huts, Arabian flat-top clay housing, African mudhuts, Scandinavian longhouses and so forth. We'll see.
Fan Q&A
I said I'd be answering any Questions people have in this update, but I actually received none. Nethertheless, I'll keep copy-pasting this section in future Dev Updates, in the case that somebody does send in a Question!
