Developer Diary | Art of the Ages

Hi! I’m Robert Hutson, with the C Prompt art team behind Millennia. Welcome to our first dev diary focused on the Art of Millennia.

As stated in previous entries, Millennia is a huge game. There are hundreds of military or strategic unit types, and even more buildings, abilities, and resources that span the multitude of possible ages across the game’s possible timelines. Today we’ll look at some of the types of art from the first few ages that players are most likely to discover.

Defining the Age

Every age has a visual foundation defined by landscape paintings, which give a quick snapshot of what to expect from each age. These captivating images were painted by the artist, Erik Ehoff. They really are the cornerstone for the art of each age.

Technologies

Unlocking technologies available within each age is a way of accessing unique features and units. There are several different techs per age, each pulling from ideas of what technology would be available during an age that may contribute to shaping a nation. We represent each Technology with a painting to give a visual feel for what to expect from it.

Units

Millennia brings an astounding number of units that can move around the map and participate in diplomacy, combat, or other strategies. While access to all the different units comes from a variety of different features throughout the game, many are accessed directly from the Ages or Techs of an Age. Units were modeled to be representative of the mechanics or attributes they enable. They also share an aesthetic from whatever age they originate in. Each Unit is represented in multiple ways: its 3D Model, its Portrait and its Unit Icon. Units of a similar type share an Icon to help players know what to expect.

Improvements & Resource Art

Nations are largely shaped by the structures and resources within them. Whether they support defenses, the production of goods, trade management, or something else… There are hundreds of unique buildings, resources, and types of improvements unlocked throughout Millennia. Many buildings change appearance over time as ages progress, while others can be updated by choice if a new age offers an upgrade. Similarly, some resources become newly available as time goes on. Like the games’ units, buildings and other resources are represented by a variety of 3d models, portraits, and icons.

Age World Art

Lastly, the world itself also reflects changes across the different ages as previewed below.

I hope this brief look into some of the art pillars for early ages gives a little insight into what you can expect when Millennia releases next week!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1268590/Millennia/