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1 November 2026Development3 min read

Rebuilding San d’Oria, one section at a time

San d’Oria is being rebuilt from a blank map, one section at a time, on new HD+ textures. Eight of the city’s nineteen sections are now in place and approved, across both halves of the city.

A two-by-two grid of dusk views in Southern San d’Oria: a paved plaza with striped market tents before the Auction House, a striped tent on a lawn beneath the city walls, a timber-framed stable with a stone well, and a stone gatehouse with stairs down to a lawn.
Four lit renders from the San d’Oria development map, 1 November 2026: the north gate plaza, an Auction House plaza stall, the chocobo stables court and the West Gate street.

Why rebuild the city

Instead of converting the whole city in one pass and fixing it afterwards, I now build it on a fresh development map, one section at a time. Each section goes through the same checklist before it counts:

  • every building piece placed where the original city puts it;
  • new HD+ textures on every surface;
  • no overlaps and no gaps at the seams with its neighbours;
  • the backs and roofs the original never needed to show, closed from every angle you can see them;
  • lit renders;
  • my own fly-through in the editor.

Only after all of that is a section approved.

The tooling grew along with it. One launch now builds the map, where it used to take four, so a six-section rebuild takes about nine minutes instead of about thirty-three. Hole checks now run on the graphics card. I can also watch a build happen live in the editor.

What is in place so far

Southern San d’Oria: 6 of 11 sections

  • the Auction House plaza
  • the north gate plaza
  • the chocobo stables court
  • the West Gate street
  • the East Gate street
  • the west upper quarter

Northern San d’Oria: 2 of 8 sections

  • the fountain plaza in front of the château, with the tunnel that links it to the southern half
  • the Cathedral quarter

Every texture family in these sections has been redone in HD+ and approved: the stone walls, the gates, the stalls and awnings, and the small props. The lighting has a lower sun and a brighter sky fill, so the stone reads at dusk instead of falling into black. The two outer gates have their arched openings. Every building back and roof that can be seen from the street has been closed.

What the image shows

Four lit renders taken straight from the development map as it stands today, not touched up:

  • top left: the north gate plaza, looking toward the Auction House, with striped stalls on either side;
  • top right: a market stall on the Auction House plaza, with the city wall and towers behind;
  • bottom left: the chocobo stables court, with the timbered stables, the well and the cobbled yard against the city wall;
  • bottom right: the West Gate street, with the gatehouse stairs and lawn.

What else is in the development build

Alongside the city work, the development build now has fishing, with the tackle shop, /fish and the arrow-gauge fight. The Hume male is playable with his own motions. There are more townspeople and quests, crafting has its full kneel and effects, and the busiest plaza view runs with smoother frames. An HD+ character pilot has also been approved: an Elvaan in Bronze armour and an Orcish Fodder, smoothed on top of their original rigs. Rolling that out to everyone else comes later.

What comes next

The next two sections, one in each half of the city, are being built now. After them come the rest of the south and the north. When all nineteen sections are in, I will play the whole city through myself and write the full San d’Oria update.

This is still a development build of one region. There is no public download, testing signup or release date to announce.