Since Rus was allowed to build its own stone walls in the game (through season 2 update 17718), I was lightly disappointed to see that it’s peculiarity was restricted only to the gates and the towers, because the walls sections were the same as the Chinese civ (be aware that I am referring to both: wall textures and the shape of the marions on top of such walls)
After the Ottomans and Malians civs were announced, though, it came to my attention that every civ belonging to what we could call an “eastern” frame (excepting the Mongols, naturally) – i.e. Rus, Abbasid, Delhi, Chinese and the Ottomans – do have the exact same appearance to their walls (the exception being – what makes it even more disappointing because the work is already there – the gates and towers which are specific to each and every one of these civs), and that feels frustrating. I believe this is an offense against the civilizational specificity that the devs have expresively commited themselves to and which – along with many other things – makes the game so much more interesting and attractive than its predecessors, at least in regards to looks and aesthetics.
The two following images are of Rus walls in game (both from Gamescom trailer from 2021, first showing the walls in-game, that are still in the same situation; the second being a design the devs made and showed in the same trailer):
Notice that they designed themselves what could be a specific Rus wall and yet chose to follow with a generic “eastern” model.
If ever the devs read this and invest their work into redesigning such walls, I personally would like to sustain that Rus walls should be redesigned (and that includes gates and towers as well) to have red bricks as their composition, just like the following cases of the Novgorod Kremlin walls and (for a proper homogeneity) some of the Rus landmarks (Golden Gate, High Armory, Spasskaya Tower):
The following two images are of the Delhi Sultanate walls in-game; and of Delhi walls in real life that corroborate the looks that not only were most certainly the basis for what the gates and towers (and other structures in the background of the first image) look like, but also what the rest should similarly look like:
I will not discuss the Chinese walls, since they are fully coherent in and of themselves and because they are the basis for the rest of the “eastern” civs’ walls (I am aware though that there are other discussions in the forum outlining possible incoherences to real life); also, obviously, I won’t discuss Mongols, they don’t have walls at all (and I support that).
Here is an image of the Abassid Dynasty’s walls:
In this very specific case, it is a complicated matter, because I did see more than a single appearance to the walls of medieval Baghdad (both surviving and model reconstructions), including walls that have a similar appearance to this “eastern” look which already exists, so, as it is, it doesn’t seem to be controversial (but I still personally support a general change that would make walls, gates and towers all look the same way – in favor of the gates’ and walls’ appearance, naturally).
and last but not least, the following images show the walls of the new Ottomans civ that’s coming up (notice that even the towers have the same appearance as gate and towers, making it a starker discrepancy); and the surviving walls of Constantinople that seem to have been the basis for the gates’, walls’ and towers’ design for such Ottomans civ:
Please, forgive me for such a lengthy presentation, and please know that I am aware that this may apply to the controversial topic/discussion regarding the “it’s a game, doesn’t have to be so historically accurate” argument, but I do feel like and believe this is an issue of internal consistency and inherent to the game’s principles of making the civs unique (something that only makes the game more interesting, good looking and special, particularly when compared to its predecessor).
Anyway, thank you for your attention and feel free to make suggestions and opine on this discussion, any constructive argument is very welcome!
Sources: AoE4 trailers and Google Images
