Hyrulean Kings: Age of Chaos Dev Diary #24 - Enter the Domain
Well wishes during this Paschal season to everyone! This month's development diary will be continuing with Codeman's dissection of the assets that have been generously donated by our affiliated Hyrule: Total War and Hyrule Conquest Mods. We are in dire need of aid in taking these 3D models and converting them to the Crusader Kings 3 engine using programs such as Blender. So, without delaying any further, we will turn it over to Codeman once more--this time looking at two specific groups of the aquatic Zora race:
Be sure to stop by our Discord server to discuss this and other diaries and teasers:~https://discord.gg/8xjFf7BkGn~
WHAT'S UP WITH THE ZORA?
Back in the old days, each new title meant a major redesign of the Zora and their culture, and inconsistent appearances from game to game. In practice, that means trying to represent the Zora of every game simultaneously would be impossible or unsatisfying. A more logical choice (and one which works perfectly in a game like Crusader Kings) is splitting the Zora into various ethnicities and nations, each roughly representing one game; something already done in Hyrule: Total War or the newer Echoes of Wisdom.
In this chapter of the diary, we will showcase two of such Zora nations, showcase their assets, and tell you how you, the reader, can help us bring them into the game.
HIGH AND GRACEFUL
The High Zora, or Domain Zora (we've not decided on a finalized name) represent the Zora as seen in The Ocarina of Time and The Wind Waker, manta heads and all. Tall, blue-skinned, and black-eyed, they were at one point 'the' image of the Zora when the N64 games were still in public consciousness.
They didn't have much of a physical culture at all in the original game, and in fact wore no clothes at all with the exception of their King. For our Crusader Kings mod, we are pulling from Hyrule: Total War and Hyrule Conquest, which introduced many designs for clothing and armor to convincingly turn them into a culture which could rival the Hylians themselves.
Please note that all of their clothes, and assets in general represent an early prototype, and are subject to be reworked and changed in the integration process.
CITIES AND ARTIFACTS
In Ocarina of Time, the Zora were cavemen in the most literal sense, living in a cavernous expanse flowing from Jabu's reservoir. Per their Hyrule Conquest incarnation, we're repurposing assets and design elements from the Water Temple to give them halls more appropriate for a prideful, civilized people.
We're also not forgetting about some legendary relics to fill those royal halls, nor to sit on their owners' heads. Besides the obvious pieces like the Zora Sapphire, you'll be able to claim the Crown of de Bon (worn by the King in Ocarina of Time), or the robes and crown of Sage Laruto from The Wind Waker.
ZOLA HORDES
You know them, you love or hate them. In Echoes of Wisdom, they are called River Zora, though it may not be a perfectly accurate title since many also live outside the rivers. In Phantom Hourglass and Spirit Tracks, their warriors are called Geozards, and in older titles they were simply 'the' Zora. With exaggerated proportions and monstrous features, adapting them into a Crusader Kings format may be a bit difficult, but we'll be tackling bigger fish, so in the end it ought to work out.
RIVER RAIDERS
Being the more "barbaric" Zora that ambush Link in old 2D titles, our River Zora will benefit from the mechanics of vanilla Norsemen and Practiced Pirates, and be able to sail up rivers to raid settlements deep within the mainland. This plays well with our borrowed Hyrule Conquest assets, which have a very feral and tribal look to them. They also have an affinity with the Parella thanks to their unique religion, Reverence of Bellum, the dark god of the ocean. Together, they perpetuate the return of this dark deity into the world.
HOW CAN I HELP?
Currently, we have a HUGE treasure trove of high-quality models from Hyrule: Total War and Hyrule Conquest to use as assets in the game. However, we are in desperate need of 3D artists to help us carve up, polish, retexture and port those assets into Crusader Kings III. If you have experience with 3D art and are interested in helping the mod, or know someone else who does, we offer an invitation to join the team. With just a few people to actively help comb through the models, we could have the project done in a much shorter time.
And so we conclude our monthly diary, but not the Zora. We will return to the Zora in May, with two other cultures to populate Hyrule. And in June, we will instead take a look at the Gerudo Desert and our plans for its many tribes.
CONCLUSION
A shout out to Codeman once again for this deep dive into these two different kinds of River Zora! Again, if there is anyone who is interested in helping out with any part of the 3D modeling process (carving up, resizing, retexturing, and converting to CK3 compatible files)--or know someone who might be interested--please do reach out to our team!
Thank you all for dropping by to check out what our project has in store! We are looking forward to hearing your feedback on the mod! If you like our mod, be sure to join our Discord server in the link above, or via the following link to our Crusader Kings 3 forum thread, for more information and community discussion: https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/threads/mod-hyrulean-kings-age-of-chaos.1651030/
If you would like to support our work on this project, and be featured in the game as a custom Adventurer character of your own design, then we would greatly appreciate anything you are willing to offer over on our modding guild’s Patreon page: www.patreon.com/ddraiginteractiveguild
Thank you for your support!