[C4:AC][Art and Graphics] Detail on the Map, such as Wonders.

[Blake]

You've probably noticed that in Civ4 individual buildings and wonders can appear on the main map. Which for us raises some interesting question...

1) This is cool, do we want to use it?

2) Is there *any* concept art for what individual SMAC facilities or secret projects actually look like?

3) What facilities would you most like to be able to see from the main map? (I presume there are way too many Civ4 buildings for them all to be shown on the main map, but I may be wrong)

[wgabrie]

Well there are hints in the Project Movies and Icons. Yet some of the Projects aren't even physical. How does one represent the Weather Paradigm or the Pholus Mutagen?

[Senethro]

Or the Ascetic Virtues

The answer is no until we have some modelers anyway.

[binTravkin]

I think we'll have to ave some graphics there anyway as the cIV engine will try and seek for it.

Let it be some default graphic early on, which does not differ from the terrain around much.
Later, when we have more important graphics things done, we can turn our attention on it and develop some cool SP minipics.
Sure, noone can make Ascetic Virtues visible, but if you put a tiny sitting buddhist monk there, I thing folks will get your point. And if you ask why it has to be there, in that exact city, because it's concept after all not a building, think like this - every concept has its origin and origin can be traced on map.

Both Weather Paradigm and Pholus Mutagen can be physical if you think of them as of some research programme not a ready, standalone object.
For example - the Weather Institute (for WP), which would be some cool building with clouds around it's peak and all other sorts of weather bound things around it, e.g. river running past it etc.
Pholus Mutagen on this same perspective might be thought of something like the Terrano-Chironic Genetical Mutation Research Center (everyone imagine a magnificent building complex now! ).

All these concepts can be worked out using symbols or processes related (developing) to them for public recognition.

[Blake]

I assume that not all Civ4 buildings and possibly even wonders are shown on the map.

One thing for sure. The SPACE ELEVATOR must be visible on the map .

I have a pretty good idea for representing facilities, could start with the Civ4 modern age buildings and reskin them a little, slapping the facility icon on the side/top of the building. Facility icon = instant recognition! W00t!

Just for fun the facilities I think I'd like to see:
Perimeter Defense, Tachyeon Defense.
Naval Yard, Aerospace Complex, maybe Command Center.
Punishment Sphere! *giggles and cackles* (omg i wonder if it could be animated so if zoom in really close you could see drones getting zapped through the translucent surface that'd be so omgcool and the scream from the defeated faction leader movie could be played sparodically to remind you that yes, you an evil tyrant!! "You can hear them in there; you can see them. It is a thing of terrible beauty", um, do I digress?).
Recycling tanks.
Research Hospital.

And some other NIMBY* facilities.

*Not in my backyard. The recreational and research facilities would presumably be nestled away in the core of the base. The bigger industrial, military and unpleasent facilities would be on the outskirts and thus visible.

edit: I usually think of The Ascetic Virtues as a Stylized Temple or something, made of simple surfaces and sparsely decorated. Built as a spire of sorts.

[GeoModder]

Well, in that case the Hive must be an easy faction to depict, since it's all supposed to be underground... more then a few antennae or peaks it shouldn't be.

In case a generic 'wonder' depiction is used, I suppose the pyramids can easily be reskinned to show that this or that base has constructed a Secret Project.

[Chaos Theory]

The bulk of the Hive may live underground, but the tops of buildings can penetrate the surface, and yield some eye candy.

By the way, SMAC/X does support two instances of this: the HQ facility is visible as a small attachment to its base, and perimeter/tachyon defenses are of course visible.

[Darsnan]

Re: [C4:AC] Detail on the Map, such as Wonders.

Originally posted by Blake
You've probably noticed that in Civ4 individual buildings and wonders can appear on the main map. Which for us raises some interesting question...

1) This is cool, do we want to use it?

Good idea Blake!

I'd say the heavy industry base facilities such as the Robotic Assembly Plant and the Quantum Converters. Also, if there is something available to represent the Flechette Defense Systems then I think that'd be pretty cool!

D

[Illuminatus]

Good idea, but I don't think that this should be a priority for us. Perhaps in a 1.2 version?

[Blake]

Well it's mostly a matter of using placeholder art. There will be some modern looking Civ buildings which we can do a quick hack reskin job, slapping on the facility icon and calling it a reserach hospital or whatever.

[GeoModder]

't Might even be possible to have a sort of 'ages' in the mod. If a trigger can be programmed that the construction of the Hab Complex shows a larger central building in the colony...

[Blake]

Originally posted by GeoModder
Well, in that case the Hive must be an easy faction to depict, since it's all supposed to be underground... more then a few antennae or peaks it shouldn't be.

Well we know the Hive live underground, it would stand to reason that the recreational and research facilities would be buried too. But the heavy industrial and military facilities would probably be built on the surface. Possibly Hive bases should have a somewhat smaller core, like be built as a security complex for all the lifts and ramps and stuff. And it stands to reason that the hive under-ground access tunnels would be heavily armored, surfacing inside a reinforced bunker. They want to live underground, not get buried alive by artillery .

[Addled Platypus]

I vote no

lets keep it traditional smac