Does Anyone Else Prefer Civ 3's Graphics Too?

[padillah]

Not being familliar with graphics myself, does anyone know what a graphic mod would take in CIV?

What would you do the models in? What format do you save them in? Are there disrections for this anywhere?

Is "lack of knowlege" the reson nobody's done this?

Tom P.

[vondrack]

As much as I played with the standard Civ3 graphics, Warpstorm's watercolor mod was/is an impressive work of art. Watercolor may not be my/your preferred style of graphics, but it added a very special touch and was extremely polished.

[Randolph]

Originally posted by vondrack
As much as I played with the standard Civ3 graphics, Warpstorm's watercolor mod was/is an impressive work of art. Watercolor may not be my/your preferred style of graphics, but it added a very special touch and was extremely polished.

Yup, his advertising of it got to be a bit much, but the terrain itself was a great example how attractive graphics can be the result of artistic talent, rather then purely technical ability. Civ4’s graphics aren’t ugly, and in a lot of ways they’re creative and cute, but you can tell that much more effort went into the technical, rather then artistic, aspects.

I don’t blame Fraxis for this, it’s the result of what game reviews and [a large portion of] game purchasers want. The game just wouldn’t sell on the mass market level if it didn’t have the fancy graphics

[Will9]

One of the resons I liked watercolor better is that Bonus Grasslands had a small hill with some trees on it instead of a small dot. Unfortunatly you can't see that in the picture.

[Kuciwalker]

In response to the OP: No, god no.

[Max]

Well, you can like the style of Watercolor terrain or not, but you have to admit that the difference compared to standard terrain is clearly visible. Blue marble is no doubt great work but the difference is a bit light for me.

I wonder if it is possible in CIV4 to have such a 'visible' terrain mod (not necessarily with watercolor style!)

[alms66]

Originally posted by Max
Well, you can like the style of Watercolor terrain or not, but you have to admit that the difference compared to standard terrain is clearly visible. Blue marble is no doubt great work but the difference is a bit light for me.

I wonder if it is possible in CIV4 to have such a 'visible' terrain mod (not necessarily with watercolor style!)

From an artistic perspective, it's great, but it's just not great for a game where you need things to be clear. As someone said, it's too blurry. It is a vast departure from standard though, and I see your point about Blue Marble.

It's certainly possible to change the terrain to be very different from standard. All you have to do is edit the textures. Install Blue Marble into an empty folder and you'll see what textures need editing.

[padillah]

But what app do we use to edit the textures? And what do we use to model them so we can see if the changes are good?

Is there a guide to graphic modifications?

Tom P.

[alms66]

Originally posted by padillah
But what app do we use to edit the textures? And what do we use to model them so we can see if the changes are good?

Is there a guide to graphic modifications?

Tom P.

I haven't varified, but the textures should be some sort of picture file (.tga, .png, etc.). Modelling is something different entirely. That's changing the underlying 3d structure - the wireframe, whereas textures just change the "skin" of the model, the visible part that you need to change to alter the look of the terrain. I think there's a plugin for 3d Studio Max to alter the models, but again, I'm not sure about that.

[ElConejo]

Originally posted by Gibsie Even though they're a few years older! You'll also be amazed to find that Starcraft: Brood War's opening sequence is better than Warlords, even though it's even older!)

Um... no.

Look I loved Brood War, and I was very VERY skeptical about Civ going 3D but I will say these two things, 1) I am pleased with how the 3D switch has helped in more ways than one, the biggest thing I like is that it adds so much more flavor and character to the game, unlike the dry Civ3 lands I used for ages. and then theres 2) Brood War's opening was impressive, and I think still is, but I prefer Civ4's up and down the street, for one thing it uses more than 16 colors. Like I said, I love them both, but Civ4 FTW.

[KeldorKatarn]

How about this one:

[Nikolai]

Yuck. What is that, 8 bit colours?

[Jerh9e1k5]

I can't see myself playing with those textures, I think it'd drive me insane. lol

[KeldorKatarn]

Textures? 8bit? You guys do know how to tell Civ4 textures from a civ3 terrain mod, right?

[Will9]

We know that that is civ3. 3 levels of ocean, resoures on montains, the look of the resourse icon, rubber, marshes, and no forests or on hills.