[Freeciv-Dev] Tilesets

[Thanasis Kinias <tkinias@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

The tileset stuff has got me thinking.  It would be helpful if the unit
icons bore more than an arbitrary relationship to what the purport to
represent.  To that end, here is my understanding of how best to
represent the units:

Settlers:  The `covered wagon' has become canonical, IMO.

Engineers:  Some form of construction/earthmoving equipment (I like
isoengels for this).

Warriors:  Something which connotes `primitive', like furs and an axe.
Avoid `African'; we don't want racist overtones in associating black
skin with primitive.

Phalanx:  Greco-Roman dress, shield and long spear.

Archers:  Um, how about a bow? ;)

Legion:  Greco-Roman dress, shield and gladius (short sword).

Pikemen:  Renaissance dress and long spear (no shield).

Musketeers:  Either 18th c. British foot uniform (`redcoats') or
early 19th c. French line (Grande Armée).  Colored coat, white breeches,
musket, shako or bearskin.

Fanatics:  A mujahid is pretty iconic here -- Afghan-style turban,
bandoliers, RPG-7 or Kalashnikov.  `Arabian Nights' style is misleading,
because this is a modern unit.  An alternate would be Chetnik-style
(paramilitary appearance, no headgear, dark glasses).

Partisan:  Viet-Cong style black `pyjamas' with Kalashnikov.  WWII-era
partizany can't be easily distinguished from infantry.

Alpine Troops:  Modern infantry with Skis.

Riflemen:  Unadorned modern infantry.

Marines:  I would use a modern infantryman with an anchor in the
background.  Other images look too much like riflemen.

Paratroopers:  As marines, but with a parachute icon as background.  The
images of just parachutes coming down don't look right when the unit is
fighting on the ground (i.e., most of the time).

Mech Inf:  M113, BTR, or half-track -- easily recognized as an APC and
not confusable with a tank.

Horsemen:  Mongol/Turk/Plains Indian style.

Chariot:  Pretty obvious.  I like Lexxy's. 

Elephants:  Also obvious.  Again, Lexxy's is good.

Knights:  Armoured horseman with lance.

Crusaders:  As Knights but with a clearly-visible Cross.

Dragoons:  Napoleonic-era cavalry.  Basically, a Musketeer on horseback.
(The term `dragoon' actually refered originally to mounted infantry, so
a musket might be more appropriate than a sword.) 

Cavalry:  Either late 1800s American (Indian Wars) trooper or a modern
rifleman on horseback (like WWII Russian cavalry).

Armor:  Something WWII to Cold War era.  Not a WWI-style one, though.
My vote would be a T-34.  Reserve M1 Abrams style for modpacks with a
second-generation armour unit (like Civ:CTP's Heavy Armor).

Catapult:  Obvious.

Cannon:  An iconic cannon, something like a 18th/19th century 12pdr
smoothebore.

Artillery:  An early 20th century field piece, either something like a
French 1897-pattern 75mm gun or a WWII-era 105mm howitzer.

Howitzer:  What's key here is the mobility.  I would use, ideally, an
American M110 self-propelled 203mm howitzer.  It's clearly different
from the Artillery unit and the Armor unit then.

Fighter:  To maximize the distinction from Stealth Fighter, use
something like a Spitfire or Me 109.

Bomber:  Multiengine, subsonic -- either B-17, B-52, Bear, or similar.

Helicopter:  Cobra, Apache, or Hind.

Stealth Fighter:  F-22.  If not possible, F-117.

Stealth Bomber:  There's only one to choose:  B-2.

Trireme:  A three-decked galley.  The key distinction here is that it is
rowed, and not primarily a sailing ship.

Caravel/galleon/frigate:  I'm honestly not sure how to clearly
distinguish these.

Ironclad:  A monitor is probably the easiest to distinguish from
anything else.

Destroyer:  A WWI-vintage flush-decker.  A WWII-vintage ship with
enclosed gunhouses would look too much like a cruiser/BB I'm afraid.
Should be smallish.

Cruiser:  A turn-of-the-century armoured cruiser, with only two gun
turrets.

Aegis Cruiser:  A VLS-equipped Ticonderoga class.  At this scale, of
course, a VLS-equipped destroyer would be indistinguishable.

Battleship:  Either an Iowa or Nelson class (three triple turrets).  The
Nelsons have a very distinctive silhouette and so might be useful (all
three main turrets before the superstructure).

Submarine:  Obvious.  Something like a Victor or an LA boat, rather than
an old-style diesel boat, since it carries missiles.

Carrier:  Also obvious.  I'd go for something like an Essex.

Transport:  An LST makes sense.

Cruise Missile:  A Tomahawk.  Should be horizontal, as that's how it
flies (i.e., not ballistic).

Nuclear:  Should be vertical or diagonal (=ballistic).  The atom-symbol
overlay is good, too.

Diplomat:  The `herald' style of cevo/lexxy is good, IMHO.  I prefer it
to the `tophat' style.

Spy:  I like a girl in a little black dress.  I also think it would make
a good spy unit.

Caravan:  I prefer the pack-mule style to the camel style.

Freight:  The truck seems canonical now.

Explorer:  This one's tough.  None of the tilesets' explorers say
`explorer' to me.  This unit really needs to be appropriate to the
beginning of the game, as it's the first thing you see.

Barbarian Leader:  Something that says `leader' -- maybe standing up
straight with arms crossed.  The guy with sword and shield looks like a
warrior, not a leader.


I'd like to hear others' thoughts on these ideas.  I'm at this point
more concerned with what the icon should depict, rather than whether we
have a good image for it already available.

Regards,
-- 
Thanasis Kinias
Web Developer, Information Technology
Graduate Student, Department of History
Arizona State University
Tempe, Arizona, U.S.A.

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Ash nazg thrakatulûk agh burzum-ishi krimpatul