When I first stepped into Lut Gholein, I was in awe. It was unlike any other place I knew growing up in the countryside.
I still blame the Jewel City for my strange choice of an oriental studies major the first time I studied at university, even though there were obviously other factors that contributed to that decision.
But even as a kid, something about the city always left me wanting more.
Its streets were broad — but empty. Its grandeur hinted at — but unseen.

It may not surprise you if I tell you Lut Gholein was always my favourite city in the game.
Or that this is the most extensive level design overhaul I've done for the project so far. Of course, this is but the first iteration of it, and many Lut Gholein assets still remain to be finished and perfected.

When planning my enhancements, I thought: what if the Jewel City actually felt like an ancient, priceless jewel?

Not just in name, but in its every structure, every defensive measure, every wary glance of the townspeople.
A jewel that has seen better days, some of its many facets still perfectly polished — with others scratched or chipped.

Those kind of thoughts are the best fuel for my inner archaeologist.

A Lesson In History?

I wanted Lut Gholein to feel authentic, in the way great cities always do.
To root it even deeper in real-world inspiration, but preserve the dark, fantastical storytelling of Sanctuary.

It was a perfect opportunity to make use of my oriental studies background and (very limited) knowledge of architecture.
I could lecture you about Moorish and Almohad architecture, how the striped arches of Jerhyn's palace are similar to those of Córdoba's Great Mosque.
Or how the adobe walls are reminiscent of Sudano-Sahelian style, and unrelated to the well-known greedy software company.
But you're not here for a lecture. We're on an adventure together. I'm an adventurer, just like Indiana Jones! Part-time 

So, keeping my architectural inspirations in mind, I started planning a redesign of Lut Gholein. And then, I found something.

Unearthing Lost Pieces Of The Past

While digging through the game's internal files, as I often do, I stumbled upon something:
Unused assets — an unfinished set of striped white-and-red walls clearly meant for Lord Jerhyn's palace.

I just couldn't pass up reintroducing these beautiful walls.

It confirmed a suspicion I'd always had:
The palace was originally a grander structure, an idea perhaps scrapped due to the small display resolutions of the time, already stretched to the limit by the main palace building itself.
A palace with its own fortified perimeter, a smaller walled compound inside the larger city — just like some of the historic castles/kasbahs across North Africa, Iberia and the Middle East.
I loved the idea.

My further excavations uncovered an ancient render tucked away deep in the archives of Game Developer Magazine — a forgotten glimpse of Lut Gholein’s original streets, from before the palace walls were cut.
The render shows the palace in an elevated position, towering above the market.
I also found a layout concept which features palace walls, although without a visible gate. These findings, combined with the unused assets, became my guide.

 

In the render, the palace walls appear larger than the unused assets actually are.

I completed the palace walls and recreated the missing gate asset based on Blizzard North’s design language, and nestled the palace on a cliff.
For the first time, Jerhyn's palace now stands as it was meant to:
A castle within a castle, an ancient Vizjerei seat of power.

Though I'd like to plant a nicer garden in there, too — perhaps I will at some point in the future. The work is by no means complete.

No Stone Unturned

It is said Lut Gholein was built upon the ruins of a mighty fortress city of the Vizjerei mage clan — but the town walls in-game were adobe, contrasting with the palace's architecture.
That didn’t sit right.

Then I looked at the stone city gates. They stood out — the last surviving remnants of the ancient days, perhaps?

My inner archaeologist thought that the city may have been surrounded by thicker defensive stone walls in the past, but they were partially destroyed.
The populace, then, filled the breaches with their more recent adobe walls.

So I decided to rebuild the city’s outer defenses with stone, giving weight to its reputation as a fortress.

• Thick bastions protect some of the corners.
• Slim, towering keeps dot the walls and guard the harbour, their domes shimmering in the heat.
• Archers’ slits allow defenders to rain arrows upon enemies.
• Outer adobe walls are still in use, wherever the old stone walls no longer stand. They are also used in other places within the city.

I used the city garrison as the base from which I crafted my stone creations, to ensure that the new structures blend well into the environment.

Lut Gholein is now a proud bulwark against the desert — and whatever nightmares stir beneath it.
One that has once fallen, and may fall yet again.

The Men Of Griez

Lut Gholein's story, as told by its inhabitants, always hinted at a city under martial law:
Greiz’s mercenaries are said to have the town on lockdown, hired to keep the peace while Jerhyn’s own troops battle horrors underground.

But in the original game, the city streets were eerily empty, with no sign of military presence.

I wanted to fix that.

Hidden deep in the old files, I found another useful relic: walk animations of the desert mercenaries different from the default combat stance.
I brought them back.

And now you’ll find Greiz’s men patrolling the streets — a quiet, constant reminder that Lut Gholein is only one step away from siege and collapse.

Their presence gives the city a tension it always deserved.

About The Merchants

As the walls and streets changed, so too did the people:

• The sage Drognan now plies his trade in the market square, where his collection of ancient texts and artifacts attracted the interest of Cain.
• Fara still casually tosses her smith hammer into the air every now and then — whenever she is not busy in her new forge.
• Greiz commands his sentries from the heart of the city.
• The Desert Rain and its innkeeper Elzix, may not be situated where you remember. The inn is closer to the tavern.
• Meshif's ship is docked slightly closer to the market.
• Jerhyn now always chills in his palace garden, perhaps admiring a cactus or feeding a stray cat. You'll have no trouble reaching him anymore.
• The guards (and sneaky invisible walls) will no longer stop you from entering the palace, should you want to walk in uninvited. Like they could stop a hero of your calibre!

What about the homes of the townsfolk?
There are two neighbourhoods with distinct architecture.
The poorer lower city is to the south of the palace, the only tall building there being a caravansary, where travellers and their camels stop to rest. The small mudbrick houses expand into the docks.
The upper city, separated from the lower city by the palace and the market, consists of tall, densely layered buildings that will serve as additional lines of defence, should the outer walls be breached by attackers.

Don't panic though. You won't have to run around all these neighbourhoods just to get back to the market when your character dies.
You'll wake up next to Fara's forge.

All of this isn't just about prettier visuals or more convenient navigation.
It's about restoring a feeling that was always meant to be there — one lost to time, hardware limitations, or rushed schedules. Or at least my vision of what it could have been.

Lut Gholein awaits: a living, dying city — one step from ruin, one step from hope. An ancient jewel of many facets, now slightly more polished than before.

The caravan is prepared.

@Mike

 

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