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  • GRAPHICS (ver2.0): Hosted by evil conquerer

    <h2>Summary so far</h2>

    These ideas are in no particular order.

    <hr>

    EnochF: The map should have different styles depending on the age it's in. For example, it could be a papyrus scroll during the rennaisance, a map with a compass arrow and fancy European script during the rennaisance, and a viewscreen in the future (JT).
    Potential problems/caveats: May make map hard to read.

    Ecce Homo: Animate the water tiles.
    Problems: May make it hard to customise the map tiles
    Suggested fix: Have an animated format for the default that is replacable with a common 2D (.pcx?) format for customization.

    Many people: Bring back the throne room!. But make it customizable according to which civilization you have (for example, the Japanese have samurai armor hanging on the wall, the Europeans have knight armor, etc.) Some people also support the palace instead of the throne room, or something completely different.
    Problems: May make it hard to customize civlizations.
    Potential solutions: In the civlization's text file, have an option to say which kind of throne room is used.

    JT: Show wonders in the map grid somewhere within the city's radius.
    Problems: May make it hard to see what's in that square.
    Solutions: Make the wonder show up under units and special resources(?), make wonder invisible with terrain viewing key (T in SMAC and Civ II).

    Many people: Either make the units 2D (unacceptable in a modern game, IMNSHO) or have an alternative 2D format to customize the units with. In SMAC, for example, a historical MOD pack is impossible because there is no way to modify the unit pix ("those chariots look pretty silly with particle impactors" ).
    Suggested fix: Provide an alternate 2D graphics file (.pcx?) to provide for the customization of units.

    Many people: City architecture should be cilivization-specific.
    Implementation: Provide a setting in the civilization's text file to determine the architecture style. This could be the same setting that determines the throne room and unit(?) styles.

    Many people: The graphics should not slow down the game too much or require ultra-fast machines in order to run acceptably. For example, the animation for founding a new city in Civ's I and II (something unfortunately missing in SMAC) would just be a pain if there wasn't a way to skip it. The high-res graphics in SMAC ran unacceptably slow on my machine (PII-300 w/ 64 MB, in case you're wondering), but the low-res units looked just fine and ran much better.
    Solution: Make the graphics as good as you can without slowing down the game.

    evil conquerer: If the units are modular (as in SMAC), the different sections of the unit should be clearly visible. I didn't have this problem, but some people complained that the different weapons and special abilites were hard to tell apart.
    Possible solution: Weapons and special abilities may have to be exaggerated slightly on the map screen.

    EnochF: If terraforming can be done from inside the city, there should be an icon that indicates work in progress on that square.
    Potential problem: Might obscure the resources in that square.

    Debate: Should the units be 2D or 3D?
    2D isometric: Would make the units easier to edit. Would also make the units move faster (exception: CTP ).
    True 3D: Anything less would be unacceptable for a new game. The units would simply look better. An alternate 2D format for editing could be made available relatively easily.

    Debate: Should the world be 3D too?
    2D isometric map, flat terrain (a la Civ2): Would be easier to edit, would be faster to draw on the screen.
    2D isometric map, 3D terrain with altitude (a la SMAC): Altitude is an important concept that the game must have. It looks cool, too.
    Would be hard to edit, sometimes obscures units behind a mountain.
    True 3D map: Two words. Awesome graphics.
    May be hard to get a good sense of proportion or distance. May make terrain really hard to edit. Note: I don't mean a 3D spherical map (that's not my department). I'm just talking about how the map looks.

    Icedan: Check out <a href="http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Keep/3402/Civ.htm">http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Keep/3402/Civ.htm</a> for a quick sketch of what the 3D graphics could look like.
    Potential problem: No sense of distance at all.
    Solution: I dunno, maybe some kind of gridline system.

    Trachmyr: A style of graphics similar to Lords of the Realm II.

    Rusty Nail: If fog of war is on, don't make it too hard to see the terrain through the fog of war. For units and terrain, clarity is very important.

    evil conquerer: Bring back the city view! It gives the user a sense of satisfaction, even if it is completely useless.

    Eggman: Change the monocolor shield to a flag with a symbol on it. For example, the British would have a union jack, etc.
    Potential problem: Customization would be hard.
    Solution: Leave a space in the faction file for a customizable flag.

    Andy B: Make cities look different based on their position on the globe (ex. glacier cities have little igloos, etc.)
    Potential problem: May conflict with the idea to have unique cities for different civilizations.
    Solution: Pick one, Firaxis . If you can combine the two, that would be awesome.

    Fugi the Great: If the graphics are unbearably slow (i.e. CTP) then have a key to speed up the animation of units when they're on a long GOTO, by skipping frames, substituting a 2D unit graphic, or by something else. Make sure you can still see where the unit is going, though.

    Kris Huysmans: All these civilization-specific graphics will take forever to edit (custom flags, custom units, custom cities, etc.)
    Solution (evil conquerer): The user can, in the civilization's .txt file, either specify which type of graphics to use (i.e. oriental, middle-eastern, european, etc.) or include a 2D graphics file in a common format (.pcx, .gif, etc.) that has all the custom graphics for that civ in it.

    Bubba: Make the graphics like AoE.

    <hr>

    If I missed anybody's please tell me and I'll gladly put it in. If you disagree with any of the suggested fixes or anything on the list, please feel free to post here with your suggestion.

    Credits:
    JT
    Ecce Homo
    Pythagoras
    Fugi the Great
    meowser
    Mo
    evil conquerer
    Shining1
    Trachmyr
    EnochF
    Icedan
    E
    Atahualpa
    longchamp
    don Don
    Andy B
    Depp
    Eggman
    Darkstarr
    LordStone1
    Doo1284
    Kris Huysmans
    Bubba
    ------------
    evil conquerer
    alphac@flashmail.com
    Co-webmaster of The Arrival
    http://ac.strategy-gaming.com
    "War is the last refuge of the incompetent."
    Salvor Hardin, "Foundation" by Isaac Asimov

    -----BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK-----
    Version: 3.12
    GAT/CS/M/TW d- s:-- a---- C++++ UL&gt;++++ P+&gt;++ L&gt;+++ E W+++&gt;$ N+ o? K- w+ O---- M-- V? PS+ PE Y+ PGP- t++&gt;+++ 5 X- R tv-- b+++&gt;++++ DI+ D G&gt;++ e--&gt;++++ h! !r y?
    ------END GEEK CODE BLOCK------

    Wondering what the heck that was? Check out http://www.geekcode.com/.

  • #2
    I found the idea to include extra graphics for scenario and mod builders a great idea.

    I have also some sugestions for extra graphics for civ3:

    animals : tanks replaced by elephants, airplanes by birts, battleships by whales, ...

    WW2 : because WW2 scenarios are very popular

    Cartoon : Micky Mouse, Astrix, Donalt Duck, ...

    Starwars : for the hardcore fans of starwars


    Maybe you could make it so that you can choice a mod pack when you start a game.
    Of course should the extra graphics be free to use and change for scenario and mod building without copy rights.

    Comment


    • #3
      Good idea!

      I think that the thing that kept Mods from being a big thing for civ is that they were hard to use, and change from one to the next.

      If a Mod organiser was included with the game, it would be a joy!

      Plus, it would be nice to make a few Mods available on the disk, as not all gameplayers have access to the internet..

      Comment


      • #4
        -=*MOVING THREAD UP*=-
        I've been on these boards for a long time and I still don't know what to think when it comes to you -- FrantzX, December 21, 2001

        "Yin": Your friendly, neighborhood negative cosmic force.

        Comment


        • #5
          Suggestions:

          The city view:
          Make the city view like civ1:

          First primitive huts, later flats and how bigger the city how more houses. also: rivers, coast line, wonders, city improvements, moving cars and walking people like in sc3000. Maybe you could set these graphics in editable graphic files so that scenario and mod builders can change them. And for a walking person animation you need only 3 pictures(editable of course) per type of person and for a car only one per type car. There should be a option for the scenario builders to set city animations off.

          About the head above the city screen
          where you can set specialists:

          In the cold regions: white heads
          In the warm regions : black heads
          In warm regions with much rain : Yelow heads
          This will gives you more the idea that you are really in a Chine or Iceland and this are only a few graphics to change and in scenarios should there be a option to set this off.

          Comment


          • #6
            Yes, though Civ2's City View looked better than Civ1's. Civ1's Idea was better than Civ2's

            So mixing them together, would end with great results.

            Comment


            • #7
              Well, where did everybody go?
              ------------
              evil conquerer
              alphac@flashmail.com
              Co-webmaster of The Arrival
              http://ac.strategy-gaming.com
              "War is the last refuge of the incompetent."
              Salvor Hardin, "Foundation" by Isaac Asimov

              -----BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK-----
              Version: 3.12
              GAT/CS/M/TW d- s:-- a---- C++++ UL&gt;++++ P+&gt;++ L&gt;+++ E W+++&gt;$ N+ o? K- w+ O---- M-- V? PS+ PE Y+ PGP- t++&gt;+++ 5 X- R tv-- b+++&gt;++++ DI+ D G&gt;++ e--&gt;++++ h! !r y?
              ------END GEEK CODE BLOCK------

              Wondering what the heck that was? Check out http://www.geekcode.com/.

              Comment


              • #8
                Sorry, but I'm out of ideas. OK, let me think...

                I think that when you play the Bloodlust option, units should die with huge piles of blood. Fatalities like Mortal Kombat would be nice.

                Um...

                Seriously, all I want for graphics is that they be serviceable. I don't need animated units, death scenes or 3D graphics. Just as long as I can figure out units and terrain by SIGHT (no fifteen shades of red or identical hulls), the info charts are easy to read, the units don't take 5 minutes to move from square to square and the mod makers can edit the graphics without requiring a PhD in computer design, I will be happy.

                OK, one more thing. If they INSIST on a units workshop, PLEASE have multiple designs for the same "hull". If there is a tank, I want the choice of 10 different tank icons that all look different. Thus, I can tell all my various models from each other without have to search for that information. MOO and MOO2 were able to do this, for example.

                Comment


                • #9
                  I aggree. For all I care CivIII can be a text only game. I personally never enjoyed most eye candy. My computer has only a 133 Pentium. I would like CivIII to be able to run reasonably smooth on this. So lots of animation should not be placed into the game or have the option to turn it off.

                  ------------------
                  "A human imprisons one of us? Intolerable!"
                  -Ulkesh
                  "Only dead fish follow the stream."

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Well, text only is pushing it. But anything like Civ2 would be just fine.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Against bogging down a fine STRATEGY game with a lot of eye candy. Some of the suggeations are ridiculous in terms of implementing. ie, vary cities & unit looks by area of globe; what if it's not earth!? Get real. A company & it's people only have so much time to invest, it's a game, not a movie. (same logic applies to throne room & videos).
                      Altho, the city view adds a nice 3D & realistic touch.

                      SPEAKING OF REALISTIC: Please, add the ability to TOGGLE OFF CITY NAMES!! That is the ONLY thing that prevents whatever world we happen to enjoy playing in from looking very close to what it would REALLY LOOK LIKE from a "Deity's" or spaceship view... & i would think it rather easy to implement & would in fact be 1 less thing a slower machine would have to keep up with.
                      "Hm-m-m, doubt me you will?"

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Age of Kings is taking 2 years, thats about the same length it takes to make a good movie. And you have to keep in mind that it IS Civ3 we are talking about here, not some Quake type game here. (don't get me wrong, I do love quake, but compared to Civ, its nothing!) If it takes 5 years to make the game then do it!(And if it does take 5 years, I'll expect it to be so damn good you'll never need to play another game again for a thousand years!!!)

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          KenThur: The ability to toggle off city names is already in SMAC. But I'll include it in the list lest Firaxis forgets...

                          What if it's not Earth? Then the cities can all look the same, or they'll look different depending on their location on the planet/star system/galaxy. It's not too much to ask to make the cities look different, considering how long the game is expected to take and the high quality that is demanded from modern computer games.

                          Why do you like the 3D city view? Aesthetic appeal, probably. In the same way, we like the customized cities, flags, and the throne room because of aesthetic appeal.

                          Of course having a lot of eye candy is bad, but there is a difference between good ideas and tacky ones that are impossible to implement. So far, IMHO, almost all of the ideas are ones that can reasonably be expected from Firaxis.
                          ------------
                          evil conquerer
                          alphac@flashmail.com
                          Co-webmaster of The Arrival
                          http://ac.strategy-gaming.com
                          "War is the last refuge of the incompetent."
                          Salvor Hardin, "Foundation" by Isaac Asimov

                          -----BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK-----
                          Version: 3.12
                          GAT/CS/M/TW d- s:-- a---- C++++ UL&gt;++++ P+&gt;++ L&gt;+++ E W+++&gt;$ N+ o? K- w+ O---- M-- V? PS+ PE Y+ PGP- t++&gt;+++ 5 X- R tv-- b+++&gt;++++ DI+ D G&gt;++ e--&gt;++++ h! !r y?
                          ------END GEEK CODE BLOCK------

                          Wondering what the heck that was? Check out http://www.geekcode.com/.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            This is just something cool little things I would like to see:

                            1. A thing sorta like when you take over a city in Lords of the Realm II. Just show armies marching in, that's it.
                            2. When your civ gets conquered totally show an execution type thing similar to the gillotuine (or however you spell it!) at the end except it be FOR YOU!
                            3. Have units move, not all fancy or anything, just walk. When they fight, Hmmmmm, kinda hard having a tank fight a warrior, ain't it?

                            That's all I can think of right now...

                            ------------------
                            Acctually I'm a genetically altered lab mouse plotting to take over the world!
                            The Brain: Weirdo who takes modern culture and stabs it in the eye
                            I am the Tofu, you are the Anti-Christ. Goob goob kajoob.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              -=BUMP=-
                              ------------
                              evil conquerer
                              alphac@flashmail.com
                              Co-webmaster of The Arrival
                              http://ac.strategy-gaming.com
                              "War is the last refuge of the incompetent."
                              Salvor Hardin, "Foundation" by Isaac Asimov

                              -----BEGIN GEEK CODE BLOCK-----
                              Version: 3.12
                              GAT/CS/M/TW d- s:-- a---- C++++ UL&gt;++++ P+&gt;++ L&gt;+++ E W+++&gt;$ N+ o? K- w+ O---- M-- V? PS+ PE Y+ PGP- t++&gt;+++ 5 X- R tv-- b+++&gt;++++ DI+ D G&gt;++ e--&gt;++++ h! !r y?
                              ------END GEEK CODE BLOCK------

                              Wondering what the heck that was? Check out http://www.geekcode.com/.

                              Comment

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