Trade City Concept

All development of pixel art, maps and other graphics.


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Jaxad0127
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Trade City Concept

Post by Jaxad0127 »

I've made a mock up of a general design for Trade City and immediate area:
http://locke.suu.edu/~adams/mana/trade_city.png
Key:
* Blue: Water
* Orange: Cliffs
* Gray: Walls/etc
* Yellow: Main paths and the bazaar
This layout gives the city four distinct quarters. The lake at the top of the cliffs is an artificial reservoir, feeding both Trade City and the Farm Town (via a canal). The water comes from the mountains in the west, through the forest. The building at the top of the falls maintains the water level in the lake and bridges the water there. It could also house some soldiers that guard this water source for the city.
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Rotonen
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Post by Rotonen »

This has no ties to anything what so ever.

Please dig in a bit further and continue the brainstorming.
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Rotonen
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Post by Rotonen »

I for one feel that the cities in World of Warcraft are too small, it takes 15min to get your bearings and know what is where.

Please go wild with the city sizes.
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Crush
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Post by Crush »

The trade city is the thing we are currently conceptualizing. We can design newbievill when we are finished with this.
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Holy
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Post by Holy »

I can see you have though about this a little but you may want to add a bit more to your idea. Try to do these things:
- What exactly is going to be in the north, south, east, and west areas of the city?
- Describe the types of shops found in the city.
- Talk about the people living in the city and what the city is like.
- Where exactly should this city be located?
- What things would you need to make the city (tiles and objects and things, so that the artists can help you on them)?
- What should the main material of the structures be (clay, stone, etc...)?

And think about all other parts of your idea.
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Jaxad0127
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Post by Jaxad0127 »

Holy wrote:I can see you have though about this a little but you may want to add a bit more to your idea. Try to do these things:
- What exactly is going to be in the north, south, east, and west areas of the city?
- Describe the types of shops found in the city.
- Talk about the people living in the city and what the city is like.
- Where exactly should this city be located?
- What things would you need to make the city (tiles and objects and things, so that the artists can help you on them)?
- What should the main material of the structures be (clay, stone, etc...)?

And think about all other parts of your idea.
Most of that was decided before I posted this. Have a look at these threads and wiki pages:
http://wiki.themanaworld.org/index.php/Argaes
http://forums.themanaworld.org/viewtopic.php?t=3241
http://forums.themanaworld.org/viewtopic.php?t=3289
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Holy
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Post by Holy »

Oh, no I didn't. Sorry, my bad. :D
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Crush
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Post by Crush »

These are some points of interest we could have in the city:

Marketplace
A big place with some kind of attraction in the center (fountain? sculpture?). It is surrounded by NPC shops that sell quite common goods. Most of the NPCs here are merchants and not artisans. So most of the merchandise isn't produced in the city but bought from somewhere else.

Warrior Guild
Second educational institution for characters who want to become fighters. This is the place to learn about advanced fighting techniques after learning the basics from the tutorial NPCs in Noobville like the pros and cons of different weapon types or special attacks.

Magic Academy
Second educational institution for characters who want to learn more about magic after learning the basics of spellcasting from the NPCs in Noobville. The learning matter could be the elemental cycle or what kind of spells exist in the mana world, how to obtain them and how to use them.

Tavern
No community can exist without one.

City Hall
The place where the city council is having endless debates.

Harbor
The gate to the world. The ships here can bring you to any kingdom in the world.
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Post by Jaxad0127 »

Since it appears that there will be a temple for each element in various parts of the world, Trade City could have a single temple for all the elements, the Temple of the Four Elements. Since Argaes is newer than the rest of the world, this temple would be as well. It wouldn't be full of monsters like the others, but would be a place to praise the Gods and study them and their elements, much like the old temples were used for before the Gods were cast out.
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Dave
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Post by Dave »

Crush wrote:I think the farming town to the north would be the best starting location from the geographical point of view because it is possible to design the area so that the only way out of it leads through the trade city.
I guess that's not a horrible idea, but I don't think the farming town is any more suitable than the other surrounding locations. What is the reason that every character feels compelled to visit the farming village, instead of the fishing village or the beach resort? To me, it doesn't make much more sense than starting the game in a random spot in the desert, in your underpants. One of the reasons that I like the idea of using the trade city was because it seemed like a location that would attract newcomers, because of the opportunities and the port.

Here's an idea how we can use the city and the surrounding area for multiple starting locations.. let's say that after you create your character, you find yourself leaving a boat and are led swiftly to city hall, where you're informed that you need a pass to obtain free roam throughout the city. Because you can't afford to buy the pass, you have no choice but to work it off. The available jobs determine which starting area you're ushered to. If you choose "farmhand", it's obvious where they'll drop you off ;) .. there could be an array of comparably menial jobs to choose from, sending you to work in the fishing village, beach resort, woodland village, etc.. if you paid attention during your trip, you should be able to find your way back.

http://wiki.themanaworld.org/index.php/Trade_City
Back to the city's layout, at any rate.. I made an article on the wiki for the city, but I'm currently using it to record possible layout candidates. I made an entry of a blank foundation to start, based on the four-district idea.. but we should probably work on some others, especially if everyone hates it. :oops: Another idea for the overall size and location would be for trade city to move a bit to the north. Then we could have a smaller port town along the lake.

Two questions and then we can switch our attention toward businesses, services, etc..
1. Should we move the trade city a bit to the north and have a small port town along the lake?
2. Do we need to focus some discussion toward the topic of starting location?
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Crush
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Post by Crush »

Forked the whole discussion about the georgraphy of the surrounding area to http://forums.themanaworld.org/viewtopic.php?t=3542

(Conclusion of it: The trade city will not be the primary newbie introduction environment)
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