It’s time for another look at some behind-the-scenes pieces of the creation and design process. There’s no better time to show of Pack 9 than on the same day of the Mirandus-Themed Skin Pack 9 release!

Bonuses are Around the Corner

As announced in THIS POST, there will soon be reliable in-game bonuses for those who deploy Mirandus-themed skins in the game. The more different packs you deploy, the greater your cumulative speed bonus will be (up to 25%)!

This in-game utility for skins will go live shortly after Pack 10 of 10 is released. Remember, every Mirandus-Themed Skin Pack also comes with a 1/10 Dragon Voucher. Collect all 10 and a Mirandus Dragon Familiar will be yours!

A Look at Pack 9

Some of your towns are taking on an authentic Middle Ages fantasy look thanks to these skins. We’re all excited about Mirandus, and playing Town Star with Mirandus-themed skins is the perfect way to tide you over while you wait.

This pack contains some of the most beloved characters of Town Star, characters like Jimmy the Neighbor Delivery guy and the Trucker, characters whose positive attitudes and determination can inspire us all.

Winery

A couple different main styles were presented by the art team for the Winery building. Art Director Warren Marshall thought the second option above was a much better choice, mainly because the first option was too similar to the previous modern version of the building. One additional request was that more barrels were added to the outside of the building, so the barrels got bigger and more plentiful.

Winemaking is an ancient trade, going back far beyond the Middle Ages. One of the most interesting things about winemaking is how little has changed about it through many generations. A winemaker is called a Vintner, and our Mirandus-Themed Vintner has an extremely authentic style. Check out the initial inspiration board created by our art team for this character.

Most art from the period depicts vintners wearing flowing robes and almost always holding a glass of wine. There were a few details needing ironed out regarding things like sleeves, footwear and the monocle. A combination of features from 2 and 4 were eventually decided upon.

Water Facility

The cone-roof concept was more popular, but the blue roof gave it a more contemporary industrial feel. It was decided to use that style of roof, but entirely made of wood. Since the main player angle is from above, special attention must always be placed on the roofs of these buildings. Typically, 4 or 5 different roofs may be submitted and considered before the proper one is found for the desired look.

There can also be large, sudden changes, like with the Water Worker below. It is important for designers and artists to be flexible, always going for what works and not necessarily just settling for what’s already done.

Warren Marshall could tell that the there was something more to be done with the Water Worker’s tool: His handtruck. It took the inspiration of seeing the wrong tool to be able to easily spot the right one.

Trade Pier

The ship and pier were fairly simple to imagine for the Mirandus theme, but there were clearly several different directions that could have been taken for the Captain. The open-chest vest of top #1 was combined with the beard look, the book was made bigger and presto! There was the medieval Trade Pier Captain.

Trade Depot

It’s hard to tell whether it’s his winning smile, the bulging arm muscles resting on the open window, the big rig or his awesome trucker hat, but the Trade Depot Trucker is one Town Star character with swagger to spare.

Rumor has it that the idea for this truck driver was originally inspired by Kurt Russel’s Jack Burton character in an awesome eighties movie called Big Trouble in Little China. We can neither confirm nor deny that rumor. You be the judge. The first step was for the artists to take a look at cart drivers and merchants of the Middle Ages.

One they had an idea of what our driver would be wearing, it was time to prepare some options.

We were starting to get a good feel for the medieval Truck Driver, but there was still a major question to ask: What was his truck? The easy choice was the amazing load-bearing ox that has been used widely by farmers and merchants for many centuries.

This was a perfect fit, but to control a beast that strong, the medieval Truck Driver needed one more tool: A riding crop. All in all, this building and unit was one of the most fun to reimagine in a fantasy Mirandus style.

Neighbor Delivery

Recognize this guy? It’s your handy little buddy, Jimmy the Neighbor Delivery guy… and a goat. Thanks to the Tractor Farmer, we now know that if you need to get around fast using Mirandus-Themed Town Star skins, you ride a goat.

This first arrangement of Jimmy’s home base was a little too unbalanced and crowded. After a slight rearrange request, the final form of the medieval Neighbor Delivery appeared.

The final Jimmy chosen was the backpack satchel mullet version…

and here is Jimmy’s fearless steed, his companion and delivery vehicle: A goat. Like Jimmy always says, “Riding a goat beats walking!”

Week-to-Week Rule Changes

Be on the lookout for Town Star changes on a more regular basis as the team makes adjustments almost every week. For this week’s competition, it was decided (by popular community vote) in Discord that Jimmy would take a much needed vacation. For all you collaborators, that means solo play only. Neighbor Delivery will not be available.

On Thursday, look for a new vote in the #Town_Star_Announcements channel of the Discord community, making a new choice about next week’s rule-bending adventure.