Terrain
Here the water has eroded some ancient volcanic hills, creating a sort of canyon-land.
About 2500 years ago, the Etruscans built their cities in this area, among the canyons: using them as natural defenses, carving roads to cross them and building aqueducts to manage the water.
The game's setting is real. We've chosen a 36 square km area around the village of Barbarano Romano, 50 Km north from Rome. Here the water has eroded some ancient volcanic hills, creating a sort of canyon-land. About 2500 years ago, the Etruscans built their cities in this area, using the canyons as natural defenses, carving roads to cross them and building aqueducts to manage the water.
This area nowadays is the archeological and natural park of Marturanum and is characterized by a very rich and complex geography, full of canyons, streams, and rocky cliffs.
2500 years ago, the ancient Etruscan city of Marthuna was located in the centre of this area (although there are clues but no definitive proof regarding the ancient city's name "Manthura").
After some gameplay tests, the territory was horizontally "compressed", to make distances more suitable for the game's pace, while still keeping the exact original shape.
Most of the existing Etruscan archaeological remains have been reconstructed in their exact original locations.
While the complex canyon system (where the archaeological sites are located) has been reconstructed with remarkable accuracy, I modified some parts of the natural and agricultural areas above, to make them more interesting for the player. Three lakes (one with an Etruscan dam modeled after remains found 50 km away), a marsh, various caves, and an incredible natural stone labyrinth have been created - all things that do not exist in that location.
