I’ve been working on how the villages look. The older towns did their job, but too many of their buildings were plain rectangular boxes with brown walls and matching thatched roofs. From a distance, whole streets looked much the same.
Here’s a harbour town with the latest changes:
For comparison, this is an older village screenshot from the Media page. These are different generated towns, but the difference in the buildings is easy to see.
The generator now has more ways to shape a house. Buildings can have a lower wing at the side or back, a round turret, clipped corners, or upper floors that project over a porch. Round cottages appear among the larger houses too. The available space determines which shapes will fit, so the same design won’t work on every plot.
I’ve also expanded the wall finishes and roof choices. Painted plaster and boards add lighter colours, timber framing breaks up broad walls, and contrasting stonework gives corners more definition. Thatch is still common, but there’s more red tile, slate and other roof colours mixed in.
There’s still work to do, but I’m much happier with how these towns look. Individual houses are easier to pick out, and walking through a village gives you more to look at than another stretch of brown walls.
Both new screenshots are also in the Media gallery.