It’s been almost 4 years to the day that I posted the last Real Theme.

For newer readers, a Real Theme post shows a real place or idea that could make a fantastic location or idea for a map or mod. I sued to post them more often but for some reason I stopped.
EDIT: I have just noticed that most of the images in those posts no longer work. I will try to correct that soon.

Anyway, I heard about the mine today and immediately cam home to create this post. I hope you are inspired by it!

If ever there were a place that would be perfect for a spooky FPS game, then this HAS to be it. It’s been in operation for over 700 years. There are tunnels, caverns, chapels, a spa, bedrooms and special tours. The whole place looks fantastic and if I ever go to Poland, I’ll do my best to visit.

Here is the Wikipedia page and the Official Homepage.

Anyway, enough reading. Check out the images.

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I’ve had a lot of hard drive failures over the years and lost plenty of stored images. I became jaded to their loss but I recently came across a few photographs that I think are mildly inspirational for mappers and I have decided to create this post to act as a holder for all the individual images I find that I like.

Obviously, each one may not astound you and they don’t deserve their own post but as the collection grows it may become useful. Please feel free to send me your images and I will add them if I like them.

I will not be sorting them in any way, they are posted in the order I find them. Enjoy.

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These images are not as spectacular as some of the others in the Real Themes category, but with a similar style to the first level of 99 Bolts: Chasing Winona (POC), I think it could make a great start to a mod.

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Hashima Island is one among 505 uninhabited islands in the Nagasaki Prefecture about 15 kilometers from Nagasaki itself. The island was populated from 1887 to 1974 as a coal mining facility. The island’s most notable features are the abandoned concrete buildings and the sea wall surrounding it.

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Up until now all the real themes posts have been about man-made things; tunnels dams etc. This one is both natural and beautiful. It’s an underground “river” in Mexico. I say “river” because it’s different layers of fresh and salty water and hydrogen sulphide.

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Somebody sent me these images, saying they were from Moscow.

I don’t know if that’s true or not but they look pretty interesting. I especially like Image 9, the stairway.

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If ever a real place was crying out to be made into a mod, then this is it: Oil Rocks (Neft Dashlari).

It’s a city built on the Caspian Sea and was built to extract oil just after the end of the Second World War.

There are so many possibilities for this city for the developer, that I am surprised something like it has never been seen.

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I found these images of the dam on some website and then starting searching for more.

The whole project is incredible and would make a perfect location for a game.

There are so many various locations that could be included, underwater sections, open air vistas, engine rooms etc etc. Anyway, enough effusing, here are the images and links.

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