More cities (City Designer 3)

[Gandwarf]

This is my third and fourth map. It's a small village called Verena, located in one of the most northern regions in my world. Only about five hundred souls call it a home and its economy is primarily based on the forest located nearby. The village sells lumber, meat and furs to cities to the south. There's no inns, just some sawmills, small workshops, storage facilities and houses. The forest also hosts some small lumber camps.

The local lord occupies a stone keep - or more like a fortified mansion - in the middle of the settlement. Ten soldiers are employed, mostly to scare away groups of bandits traveling outside The Valley. A wooden stockade surrounds the village and there are several watchtowers.

I made the background of the image grey as the village is covered in snow most of the year. Not too happy with this map right now, that's why I did two versions (only the last shown here). There will probably be more versions... any hints or tips certainly welcome.

[Ascension]

I like this layout very much...I get so tired of seeing cities with buildings all crammed right up next to each other with shared walls and such. We need more simple villages like this as this one is well thought out and well laid out. Looks exactly like what I imagine a small fortified village to look like. Well done.

[Gandwarf]

This is my fifth map. It's a town called Noorderpoort (in English something like "Northgate"), located at a crossroads. About two thousand people live in the town and the surrounding lands. Because of the roads it gets its fair share of travelers, meaning there's some shops, inns, brothels and other entertainment, and there's rich farmland to the south. With most of the forests cut down Noorderpoort was one of the first cities to plant its own forest to sustain lumber needs and for trade. With lumber prices rising thieves are now trying to sneak in at night to get lumber and firewood. Anyone caught is of course dealt with rather harshly.

The town is surrounded by an earthen wall or dike (now covered in grass) and there's two stone towers. The Alliance has a garrison here of fifty soldiers and their superior officer is even in charge of the city now that a local magistrate has been assasinated (by a wizard the rumor goes and it's not the first magistrate to die, so the position has become somewhat unpopular).

I am actually quite pleased with the way this map turned out.

Now for my next city I might redo Meerzicht. Or maybe map another town.
I would like to do Noordhaven, a settlement sitting between Verena and Noorderpoort, but that town is located on a hill... and I have no idea how to properly do hills in City Designer. Tips are welcome