THis thread is where i am going to compile any buildings i make, whether they get used or not, i really dont care;) because i have fun making them.

High Elves:
Click Here (http://img146.imageshack.us/my.php?image=highelfbuildingsab6.png) for a Screen Shot.

Wood Elves:

Click Here (http://img132.imageshack.us/my.php?image=woodelfpalacexy1.png) for a screen shot

reserved;)

reserved also

ill take this one too

They look nice P_L. Maybe later tonight I can look into unwrapping them.

They look awesome PL. However I suggest simplyfying the rock of the lighthouse. Much can be done by skinning it.;) Please give info on the polycount here!

Damn, i think the server is down:sad: oh well...

I have finished making my white tower, here (http://img152.imageshack.us/my.php?image=thewhitetowernv9.png) is a screen shot

I have also made an alternative harbour art for the High Elves as well, here (http://img97.imageshack.us/my.php?image=highelfharbournb0.png).

Wow, they look super P_L.

Great Stuff :goodjob:

I hope you expanded the bottom parts of those ;)

your buildings look very very nice, but i fear you will have to reduce polycount if we want to have em ingame...

what kind of polycount are you thinking of?

I just read this in a book yesterday, but if you hit "7" it should activate a poly counter. I still haven't tried it though. 1000 polys (or less) for units normally is the goal, but I have no idea about buildings, improvements, and resources. The less the better I guess.

I have completed a Wood Elf palace and 5 different woodelf houses, there is a screenshot of the palace in the first post, and also of some images that i would like the final skinned wood elf buildings to look like (hint hint Duke). however, for some reason i cant upload the files to the forum :confused: can anyone else upload?

Uploading isn't possible since we have the database. Kind of sucks for files you don't want the Public to see, but oh well. Use filegone for now.

I will just upload them to a separate thread outside of the forum then. i dont mind if other people use them. it would be good, because then maybe i can get someone to skin them for me ;)

You must learn to skin Psychic_Luke...Use the Force.

Oops, wrong mod. :)

:lol:
i had a try at skinning, but i didnt enjoy it as much as model making (plus it looked crap;) ) but i suppose i should try again shouldnt i...

I don't enjoy it at P_L, but I've found that my model making has improved through an understanding of how to make skinning easier. Plus, you can go easy on poly count through a good skin/texture.

:lol:
i had a try at skinning, but i didnt enjoy it as much as model making (plus it looked crap;) ) but i suppose i should try again shouldnt i...
Doesn't have to be perfect P.L. just all the separate parts of the model should be recognizeable that makes reskinning them easier then.;)

Now, im still really new to all this and im still trying to suss out what the best way to do this is. i think it is best to do each part of the building as a separate piece (like keeping the roof, walls, and other features as separate shapes) is that the best way to do it? because at first, with the High Elf palace, i only used 6 cylinders for the whole thing, but now i think i might have to do everything again to make all of the pieces separate:sad: unless someone knows a way to 'cut' polys in half to separate them.

PS i have made a Dark Elf Palace, but i dont like it. i will post a screeny tomorrow so you can have your say. But please, anyone, comment, constuctive criticism always helps:)

No that won't do P.L. Having seperate pieces and skins for each building will make skinning it a real pain. No way around learning uv-mapping correctly I fear.

OK, so leaving each building as one block is the best way is it? ill have a shot at a skinning tutorial some time this week (when i have time;) )

For buildings and "simple" objects I use one UVmap. I've been using two for some of my models recently.

The Duke's tutorial (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=171934) is actually the best place to start.

awsome, thanks woodelf. I was having trouble understanding the other tutorial i had found (oh, and thanks Duke:D)

Ok, now i am very close to finishing my first building:D and i hope to post it within the week. it was planned to be a building for the woodelves, perhaps a "war hall" or something, maybe giving an EXP bonus to eternal guard and wardancers, an perhpas 1 extra culture to the city.
I have also made an archery hall, and a magic guild for the woodelves.

I still need to know what kind of polycout you think is reasonable for buildings, or i will just continue makeing them as i am. OK?:D

Here is a list of buildings i have modled so far:


Woodelves:
6 houses
1 war hall
1 archery hall
1 magic guild
1 palace

High Elves:
5 houses
1 light house
1 harbour
1 palace

Darkelves
1 palace (too many polys)

Wonders:
White Tower
Attempted oak of Ages, but can figure out how to do low poly leaves:( ideas anyone?

once i have done all of the wood and high elves buildings, i will do the orcs and gobbos.

Nice list PL!
Low poly leaves are alredy in game(incense) no need to worry about that you can just do the tree without the leaves and we put them later on in the nif viewer.;)

For poly count of buildings you could import a Civ4 Vanilla building nif into max and see what they consider a low count. Most of mine are real low now since I'm using textures for detail.

For poly count of buildings you could import a Civ4 Vanilla building nif into max and see what they consider a low count. Most of mine are real low now since I'm using textures for detail.

Attaboy!

I still need to know what kind of polycout you think is reasonable for buildings, or i will just continue makeing them as i am. OK?

Sorry, you just reminded me that I totally forgot to answer that same question in my tutorial thread. I did what woodelf suggested and imported some vanilla Civ4 buildings into Max and I'd say the average building is between 200 and 300 polys. Wonders seem to be more like 500 to 600 polys, with one or two even as high as 800.

:lol:

An Attaboy! :dance:

Oh bugger. 200 - 600 polys, thats really low. im going to have to rework everything.

Can you do a texturing tutorial neener? that way i think i could get my polycount down too.

by the way, im banned from useing 3ds max for a week :sad: because i was doing that instead of homework:(.

Oh bugger. 200 - 600 polys, thats really low. im going to have to rework everything.

Can you do a texturing tutorial neener? that way i think i could get my polycount down too.

by the way, im banned from useing 3ds max for a week :sad: because i was doing that instead of homework:(.

Haha! Classic.

Hmmm. I can try do a very basic tutorial, but as I said, it's much much harder than the modelling. Unlike the stuff I already did, where I just explained the tools, painting/drawing stuff is, like, 90% experience. Hell, I totally suck at it compared to the real modellers. I can show you what most of the tools in Photoshop do, but it would be really difficult to teach you how to just paint stuff.

A better idea is probably to show me what you've got so far, and I'll offer advice on how to lower the polycount. If your models are anything like woodelf's, I could shave hundreds of polys off them :lol:

Hey! You can't give me an Attaboy and then impune my work in the same thread! :p

I attaboy'd your comment about lowering polycounts!!

Besides, your previous models were before you had my tutorials. Now that you know how to subdivide polygons I'm expecting you to model that crypt I linked to. :) And that's not a joke!

I missed that link...or forgot about it. :p

WOOHOO!! i finally have finished my first building!! :lol::D

it is ment to be a Woodelf War Hall (alternate barracks for woodelves?) but could be used as anything i guess. the only reason i managed to get the skin on is because my mum was out, and i managed to apply the texture i had been working on for ages :D

Here is a screen shot (http://img243.imageshack.us/my.php?image=woodelfbarracksbp1.png):D :

it has 756 polygons, so i dont expect it to be used yet. i plan on re doing it with lower polygons, but reusing the textures.

so what do you guys think?

@ neener: THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! youre tutorials are sooo helpful, even i a thechnological idiot can now use MAX a little :D :worship:

That looks super P_L. :goodjob:

If you loaded the model up at some point either neener, Duke, or I could look at to see where you could shave some polys.

That looks super P_L. :goodjob:

If you loaded the model up at some point either neener, Duke, or I could look at to see where you could shave some polys.

Yep yep. Definitely a good idea.

Looks cool though, Llama. Nice job :)

Very cool building I think we can start diverse cityart soon:)

now that i have sussed out how to do this thing properly, (i was experementing a bit;) ) im going to do the Woodelf City art properly, and try and reduce the polycount etc for them and then skin them. im in the process of the palace (which i changed to have less polys, i think it look better too:D)
i think i will give high elves and dark elves a go next. then lizards, maybe i will work in civilisation age... sorry, im thinking aloud:)

Ok, i have been on overtime this weekend (well, for me anyway, im slow with 3DsMax still;) ) and i have completed alot of my Woodelf City art buildings, and a couple of Palace variations, to see which one people like more, and also the Oak of Ages. so here is the link to Down load:

http://forums.civfanatics.com/uploads/71834/Woodelf_City_Art_0.1.zip

P.S. could someone PLEASE DL this and try to put them into Civ to see if they work??? and then post a screen shot? if not can someone tell me how and i will give it a go.

P.P.S. how many different buildings will we need to make a totally unique city art? so far a have 11 diferent kinds, is that enough? (some arn't skinned yet)

Once you get them posted I'll put them into the game P_L, or at least a few of them.

thanks a bunch Woodelf :), click here to DL them:

http://forums.civfanatics.com/uploads/71834/Woodelf_City_Art_0.1.zip

Are there any dds files at all P_L?

They look gorgeous, but I don't want to export them as a nif without a material attached. Sadly I don't have the time right now for a rough unwrap or skin job. I'll put one in game as is and see how it looks.

Works fine P_L :D, just needs some finishing.

http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/4210/pl0000bf0.th.jpg (http://img216.imageshack.us/my.php?image=pl0000bf0.jpg)

Swapped your house 5 for the obelisk at 0.6 scale. Very Elven. My daughter said it reminded her of LotR.

Awsome!!:D thanks Woodelf! do you want me to make the skins as a dds? i didnt know i needed to. just tell me what sizes and all those details and i will do them ASAP.

Yeah, unwrap them, save as a bmp with the Texporter plugin, GIMP or PS them, save as dds, and then attach as a material. The sizes take care of themselves and details are up to you and your texturing.

umm, sorry, i understand up until attach as a material. do you mean apply the dds texture to the building or what?

Sorry. Yeah, hit M, and go through the Duke's tutorial about attaching the dds to your model. From there you export it as a nif and that dds and model are joined, so to speak.

Sorry again :blush: what do i do with the Alpha channel? do i leave it white?

A full white alpha channel would make the whole thing opaque. If that's what you want, then yes. If you're messing with transparency, then you paint the parts you want transparent black.

awsome, thanks neener:)

Well, i have finished as many Woodelf buildings as i can.
heres the link to Dl the files:

http://forums.civfanatics.com/downloads.php?do=file&id=2765

i tried to put them into the game, but i still cant figure that out :sad: i think all of them have .dds textures applied to them instead of just BMP textures. i hope they work:)

@ woodelf, would you be able to put some ingame againto see if they work, and if not could you, or anyone else direct me to a good tutorial on how to? ta:p

I'm rushing home after work to watch Celtic vs ManU, but if I have time I'll put them into the game. Are they max models or nifs?

And if I get time I'll try to write up a guide to adding buildings or I'll zip up my Test mod and you can look at the few added folders and 1 XML file that gets editted.

Awsome! thanks, that tut would be very handy:p

they're only max modles, because i couldnt figure out how to make them into nifs:sad:

Do you have the Civ4 plug-ins? If so when you go to file and open up the drop down menu there is an export option. Open that and scroll down the extentions possible until you find .nif, .kf. It might Gamebryo or something close. I'm sure there's a tutorial on that somewhere.

I didn't have time last night to even open max or Civ. Maybe tonight...

I'm rushing home after work to watch Celtic vs ManU

I didn't know you were a footy fan! Hopefully you're not a Scum fan though!

I didn't know you were a footy fan! Hopefully you're not a Scum fan though!

I just started watching CL during the last year and a half so I'm not a fan of any one team yet. What's a Scum fan though? I'm guessing ManU...

I just started watching CL during the last year and a half so I'm not a fan of any one team yet. What's a Scum fan though? I'm guessing ManU...

Hehe, yes. In England they're commonly called Scum because they're so widely hated, especially by Leeds United fans like myself. But to be honest I'm just happy when anyone Stateside gets into football, regardless of the team.

But anyway, enough derailing of P_L's thread!

I'm going to start rooting for Celtic since I'm a huge fan of that area. I may as well pick someone. :)

P_L will survive. :p

Well, i have finished as many Woodelf buildings as i can.
heres the link to Dl the files:

http://forums.civfanatics.com/downloads.php?do=file&id=2765

i tried to put them into the game, but i still cant figure that out :sad: i think all of them have .dds textures applied to them instead of just BMP textures. i hope they work:)

@ woodelf, would you be able to put some ingame againto see if they work, and if not could you, or anyone else direct me to a good tutorial on how to? ta:p

PL, I saw your post asking for Chalid help on setting up models. I fear he isn't on as much as he used to be anymore (:( ) but if you have problems setting up buildings in the citylsystem PM me and I may be able to help.

Oh please keep the talk here in place. Since the Lsystem is quite complicated I could draw some useful info from it as well.

Oh please keep the talk here in place. Since the Lsystem is quite complicated I could draw some useful info from it as well.

Thats cool, but PM me and let me know there is an update here if there is something I can help with. I dont always check here very frequently.

Ok, awsome, thanks Kael! i will PM you now... so whay am i talking to you here... *runs off to PM Kael*

A request to write a how to may be to general. Is there anything more specifc you need to know? How far have you gotten? What are you stuck at?

Well, im not sure what is involved in putting a building into the game. is it as simple as putting a Civ flag in? or is it more like putting units into it?

It's as easy as putting units in in fact it's quite the same until you come to the CLsystem. (How to simply add a building should be plenty of info in the forum it's just the Lsystem that is a bit tricky).
You basically use these files:
CIV4ArtDefines_Building.xml
example:
<BuildingArtInfo>
<Type>ART_DEF_BUILDING_ACADEMY</Type>
<bAnimated>0</bAnimated>
<fScale>0.9</fScale>
<fInterfaceScale>1.5</fInterfaceScale>
<NIF>Art/Structures/Buildings/Academy/Academy.nif</NIF>
<KFM/>
<Button>,Art/Interface/Buttons/Buildings/Academy.dds,Art/Interface/Buttons/Buildings_Atlas.dds,7,11</Button>
</BuildingArtInfo>

CIV4BuildingClassInfos.xml

<BuildingClassInfo>
<Type>BUILDINGCLASS_ACADEMY</Type>
<Description>TXT_KEY_BUILDING_ACADEMY</Description>
<iMaxGlobalInstances>-1</iMaxGlobalInstances>
<iMaxTeamInstances>-1</iMaxTeamInstances>
<iMaxPlayerInstances>-1</iMaxPlayerInstances>
<iExtraPlayerInstances>0</iExtraPlayerInstances>
<bNoLimit>0</bNoLimit>
<bMonument>0</bMonument>
<DefaultBuilding>BUILDING_ACADEMY</DefaultBuilding>
<VictoryThresholds/>
</BuildingClassInfo>

CIV4BuildingInfos.xml

<BuildingInfo>
<BuildingClass>BUILDINGCLASS_ACADEMY</BuildingClass>
<Type>BUILDING_ACADEMY</Type>
<SpecialBuildingType>NONE</SpecialBuildingType>
<Description>TXT_KEY_BUILDING_ACADEMY</Description>
<Civilopedia>TXT_KEY_BUILDING_ACADEMY_PEDIA</Civilopedia>
<Strategy>TXT_KEY_BUILDING_ACADEMY_STRATEGY</Strategy>
<Advisor>ADVISOR_SCIENCE</Advisor>
<ArtDefineTag>ART_DEF_BUILDING_ACADEMY</ArtDefineTag>
<MovieDefineTag>NONE</MovieDefineTag>
<HolyCity>NONE</HolyCity>
<ReligionType>NONE</ReligionType>
<StateReligion>NONE</StateReligion>
<PrereqReligion>NONE</PrereqReligion>
<GlobalReligionCommerce>NONE</GlobalReligionCommerce>
<VictoryPrereq>NONE</VictoryPrereq>
<FreeStartEra>NONE</FreeStartEra>
<MaxStartEra>NONE</MaxStartEra>
<ObsoleteTech>NONE</ObsoleteTech>
<PrereqTech>NONE</PrereqTech>
<TechTypes/>
<Bonus>NONE</Bonus>
<PrereqBonuses/>
<ProductionTraits/>
<HappinessTraits/>
<PowerBonus>NONE</PowerBonus>
<FreeBonus>NONE</FreeBonus>
<iNumFreeBonuses>0</iNumFreeBonuses>
<FreeBuilding>NONE</FreeBuilding>
<FreePromotion>NONE</FreePromotion>
<CivicOption>NONE</CivicOption>
<GreatPeopleUnitClass>NONE</GreatPeopleUnitClass>
<iGreatPeopleRateChange>0</iGreatPeopleRateChange>
<iHurryAngerModifier>0</iHurryAngerModifier>
<bBorderObstacle>0</bBorderObstacle>
<bTeamShare>0</bTeamShare>
<bWater>0</bWater>
<bRiver>0</bRiver>
<bPower>0</bPower>
<bDirtyPower>0</bDirtyPower>
<bAreaCleanPower>0</bAreaCleanPower>
<bDiploVote>0</bDiploVote>
<bForceTeamVoteEligible>0</bForceTeamVoteEligible>
<bCapital>0</bCapital>
<bGovernmentCenter>0</bGovernmentCenter>
<bGoldenAge>0</bGoldenAge>
<bMapCentering>0</bMapCentering>
<bNoUnhappiness>0</bNoUnhappiness>
<bNoUnhealthyPopulation>0</bNoUnhealthyPopulation>
<bBuildingOnlyHealthy>0</bBuildingOnlyHealthy>
<bNeverCapture>0</bNeverCapture>
<bNukeImmune>0</bNukeImmune>
<bPrereqReligion>0</bPrereqReligion>
<bCenterInCity>0</bCenterInCity>
<iAIWeight>0</iAIWeight>
<iCost>-1</iCost>
<iHurryCostModifier>0</iHurryCostModifier>
<iMinAreaSize>-1</iMinAreaSize>
<iConquestProb>100</iConquestProb>
<iCitiesPrereq>0</iCitiesPrereq>
<iTeamsPrereq>0</iTeamsPrereq>
<iLevelPrereq>0</iLevelPrereq>
<iMinLatitude>0</iMinLatitude>
<iMaxLatitude>90</iMaxLatitude>
<iGreatPeopleRateModifier>0</iGreatPeopleRateModifier>
<iGreatGeneralRateModifier>0</iGreatGeneralRateModifier>
<iDomesticGreatGeneralRateModifier>0</iDomesticGreatGeneralRateModifier>
<iGlobalGreatPeopleRateModifier>0</iGlobalGreatPeopleRateModifier>
<iAnarchyModifier>0</iAnarchyModifier>
<iGlobalHurryModifier>0</iGlobalHurryModifier>
<iExperience>0</iExperience>
<iGlobalExperience>0</iGlobalExperience>
<iFoodKept>0</iFoodKept>
<iAirlift>0</iAirlift>
<iAirModifier>0</iAirModifier>
<iNukeModifier>0</iNukeModifier>
<iNukeExplosionRand>0</iNukeExplosionRand>
<iFreeSpecialist>0</iFreeSpecialist>
<iAreaFreeSpecialist>0</iAreaFreeSpecialist>
<iGlobalFreeSpecialist>0</iGlobalFreeSpecialist>
<iMaintenanceModifier>0</iMaintenanceModifier>
<iWarWearinessModifier>0</iWarWearinessModifier>
<iGlobalWarWearinessModifier>0</iGlobalWarWearinessModifier>
<iHealRateChange>0</iHealRateChange>
<iHealth>0</iHealth>
<iAreaHealth>0</iAreaHealth>
<iGlobalHealth>0</iGlobalHealth>
<iHappiness>0</iHappiness>
<iAreaHappiness>0</iAreaHappiness>
<iGlobalHappiness>0</iGlobalHappiness>
<iStateReligionHappiness>0</iStateReligionHappiness>
<iWorkerSpeedModifier>0</iWorkerSpeedModifier>
<iMilitaryProductionModifier>0</iMilitaryProductionModifier>
<iSpaceProductionModifier>0</iSpaceProductionModifier>
<iGlobalSpaceProductionModifier>0</iGlobalSpaceProductionModifier>
<iTradeRoutes>0</iTradeRoutes>
<iCoastalTradeRoutes>0</iCoastalTradeRoutes>
<iGlobalTradeRoutes>0</iGlobalTradeRoutes>
<iTradeRouteModifier>0</iTradeRouteModifier>
<iGlobalPopulationChange>0</iGlobalPopulationChange>
<iFreeTechs>0</iFreeTechs>
<iDefense>0</iDefense>
<iBombardDefense>0</iBombardDefense>
<iAllCityDefense>0</iAllCityDefense>
<iAsset>6</iAsset>
<iPower>0</iPower>
<fVisibilityPriority>1.0</fVisibilityPriority>
<SeaPlotYieldChanges/>
<GlobalSeaPlotYieldChanges/>
<YieldChanges/>
<CommerceChanges/>
<ObsoleteSafeCommerceChanges>
<iCommerce>0</iCommerce>
<iCommerce>0</iCommerce>
<iCommerce>4</iCommerce>
</ObsoleteSafeCommerceChanges>
<CommerceChangeDoubleTimes/>
<CommerceModifiers>
<iCommerce>0</iCommerce>
<iCommerce>50</iCommerce>
</CommerceModifiers>
<GlobalCommerceModifiers/>
<SpecialistExtraCommerces/>
<StateReligionCommerces/>
<CommerceHappinesses/>
<ReligionChanges/>
<SpecialistCounts/>
<FreeSpecialistCounts/>
<CommerceFlexibles/>
<CommerceChangeOriginalOwners>
<bCommerceChangeOriginalOwner>0</bCommerceChangeOriginalOwner>
<bCommerceChangeOriginalOwner>0</bCommerceChangeOriginalOwner>
<bCommerceChangeOriginalOwner>1</bCommerceChangeOriginalOwner>
</CommerceChangeOriginalOwners>
<ConstructSound>AS2D_BUILD_LIBRARY</ConstructSound>
<BonusHealthChanges/>
<BonusHappinessChanges/>
<BonusProductionModifiers/>
<UnitCombatFreeExperiences/>
<DomainFreeExperiences/>
<DomainProductionModifiers/>
<BuildingHappinessChanges/>
<PrereqBuildingClasses/>
<BuildingClassNeededs/>
<SpecialistYieldChanges/>
<BonusYieldModifiers/>
<Flavors>
<Flavor>
<FlavorType>FLAVOR_SCIENCE</FlavorType>
<iFlavor>10</iFlavor>
</Flavor>
</Flavors>
<HotKey/>
<bAltDown>0</bAltDown>
<bShiftDown>0</bShiftDown>
<bCtrlDown>0</bCtrlDown>
<iHotKeyPriority>0</iHotKeyPriority>
</BuildingInfo>

Have a look at those files and see how they link.
All lines that should concern you are in bold, the rest you can probably ignore for now;)

The tricky part Kael offered help for is this one:
CIV4CityLSystem.xml

<!-- LEAF 2x1 BUILDINGS -->
<ArtRef Name="building:BUILDING_ACADEMY">
<Attribute Class="Rotation">0,180</Attribute>
<Scale>2.0</Scale>
</ArtRef>

For now you could simply replace existing buildings with your new added ones in that file if they match in size but this won't lead to perfect results so learning more about it is obligatory on long term.

That's way more than I do to simply get a screenshot. ;)

Ok, cool, so its all XML work then? thats good, i can handle XML:)
I assume you have to make the modle into a .nif file. thats whats confusing me most now. do you just need to save it as a .nif from MAX or do you need a special program?
i also assume you need the textures to be in .dds format. (which is annoying, because all the detail in my textures is lost when i convert it to .dds.:sad: )

Grrrrr i just typed all this out before then dleated it :mad:
try again:

I figured that i might as well start designing new buildings, so i have concocted 11 possible new buldings for the early game to make it a bit less boring:

Watch Tower:
Required Tech: Masonry
Effect: +15% defence

Archery Range:
Required Tech: Archery
Effect: +2 EXP for 'archer' type units

Training Grounds:
Required Tech: ???
Effect: +2 EXP for 'melle' type units

Stables:
Required Tech: Animal Husbandry
Effect: +2 EXP for 'mounted' type units

Tracker's Guild:
Required Tech: Hunting
Effect: +2 EXP for 'recon' type units

Tanners:
Required Tech: Hunting
Effect: + 1 gold, -1 health

Ourfitters:
Required Tech: ???
Effect: + 1 gold and/ or decreased production time for units, if one of the following resources are availiable: Sheep, Cattle, Game, Fur, Silk.

Courier's Post:
Required Tech: The Wheel
Effect: + 1 trade route

Herbalist:
Required Tech: ???
Effect: +1 health

Town Square:
Required Tech: ???
Effect: + 10% gold, +1 Culture

Council Hall:
Required Tech: ???
Effect: + 1 Science

What do ya think?

I think a good portion can be borrowed from FfH if you want and I see at least one that I made for this mod.

I'll run down the list P_L with what I know, which is limited anymore....

Watchtower - I made a Guard tower that C Roland reskinned, might be good enough.

Archery Range - the one in FfH is nice. I made a CandyLand one. :p

Training Grounds - not sure, but there are similar buildings out there.

Stables - again in FfH

Tracker's Guild - No idea how to make this look like that, but to my knowledge it isn't made yet.

Tanners - My Trading post is close to that I think. You could steal my hides or the one from the Camp improvement (like I did) and add a building.

As I'm sick of typing (:)) I'll just say that the rest most likely have a building that could be used, but a new graphic would work.

The actual list of buildings is good and most are very needed IMO.

I go with:
Tanners
Archery Range
Stables(also in Warlords)
Elder Council(Chronicles-TECH_WRITING)

The rest is good to think about but I don't have much time now. But i.e. no Guild in ancient era-if you find another name that fits a building for better reconunits would be ok though.

yeh, it would be easyer to borrow buildings from FFH, but i enjoy modling, so im going to make new ones anyway:p
we can decide which modles to use later;)

@ ploe: do you only want those 4? i think we need way more than 4 to make the ancient ea interesting, at least 8.

@PL
I need to know now if you're going to do the xml or concentrate on models. To be true I'd prefer you do modeling and provide me with the nifs asap. The woodelfhouses look great it's just that I need the skins and the models as nifs to make any use of them.:p
Or have you already started?

well i have started, the woodelf houses are in nifs and i just keep forgetting to upload them. i will do that now:)
my 3DS Max free trial has run out though so there wont be any more modles untill i can get my hands on the real thing or find a crack (i cant find any that will work, (either that or i am doing it wrong:sad: )

Ploe, please make a list of buildings you want, and, if you can, find some example to work from. although that dosnt matter. i have a good imagination:)

So where did you upload them? The database is still maxfiles without textures!

:mad::mad::mad: GRRRR! Why-wont-you-upload!?!?!

argg!i have been trying all morning to get these damned building to upload, it took 2 hours the first time for it to finish 'uploading' and then it decided i "didnt select a file"...sod... this is what has been happening all week ploe:sad: im really sorry. I even tried to use filegone, but that didnt work either. then i thought, "hey, maybe the files corrupt..." so i deleated it then repacked it.

Im trying to upload it as a zip file, i also tried 7-zip, but to no avail:(

Im currently trying to see if it will go via email, but i doubt it.

I will try again now, but dont be surprised if its not there but next easter...



OOOH! wait! the nifs just attatched to the email! im gonna send them to you now ploe, i hope its what you need. Nifs and textures right? cross fingers...


EDIT: im also sending you the Woodelf nifs, textures and modles, as well as the highelf ones, via Yousendit.com. i just discovered it, so i hope i works:p it should be done in 1 and a half hours.

Thx received the first. I know it will be a pain but please try to send me ddsversions as well. I want to see what I can do about the details.

Oak of ages is missing oakof ages texture.dds and building floor.dds

I didn't receive anything from yousendit!

Btw why not burn everything on CD and upload all the nifs in all different versions from an internetcafe or public internet access? Might save you a lot of time;)
As alternative you also can just send the texture as jpg + plus nifs that support the dds. Maybe detail gets lost just because you are doing something wrong with the compression to dds or use the wrong program. I experienced something similar with dxtbmp many times.

Ok, cool. have you tried the ones without dds's yet? do they work? i put them all in seperately and they worked fine on mine so i see no need for dds versions, but, i will do it anyway.

Im using DXTBmp to make the dds files. i open the photoshop texture with DXTBmp, then save it as a .dds texture as DDS DXT1 (no alpha)
could you suggest a different dds making program that dosnt kill details?

Dont worry about the Oak of ages one. im going to redo that modle anywho, its too much like the other buildings and i want it more unique :p

Hmmm, i think yousendit didnt work because my comp may have gone into hybernate mode while i was having lunch, it must have done that before it was sent. :sad:
ill just email everything to you as separate files then. sorry about that.

(I also dont have any access to a nearby intenet cafe, so thats not much help, iv kept my eye out but haven seen any.)

Hm ok maybe better sending small files then. You can also send them as single buildings. Ok about dds. Currently your textures take more than 1.25 MB of memory each a dds compressed to dxt1 (with alpha if you want transperancy like for leaves!) would take much less-something like 9-33 KB and it can be altered with a paintprogram while your niftextures won't open by anything I have. It would be better though if I or anyone can work on them.
Dxtbmp can be a real texturekiller! With photoshopplugins you should be able to save your texture as dds right out of photoshop, were you can also deselect the creation of mipmaps which make gfx blurry at greater distance.

Hmmm, ok, well tht explains the ridiculously large files. i was wondering about that.
how do you save as a dds from photoshop? where can you get the plugin?

thats on nvidea site. Just google dds plugins for photoshop.

Ok, found it. but the dds thing says that the "image width and height must be a multiple of four" when i go to save it. but they need to be multiples of 2 for civ! What the!
Also, do you want mip maps or not?

dds files need to be multibles of 4 and no mipmaps needed. civ images are usually anything from 16x16 to 512x512 or even 1024x1024 also 256x128 or 64x128 are possible in example. For buildings a max of 256x256 should suffice.

ok, good. i checked all the dimentsions, and the ones i had trouble with were one or 2 numbers out of multiples of 2 so i fixed those.
all my textures are 512x512, because thats the recomended dimesions i read in one ofthe tutorials. i think it was Dukes or something. can remember.
these should be ready by tomorry afternoon. i have a History exam tomorrow at lunch which i have been studying for. then i have a maths exam on wdnesday and a biology and geography exam on thursday, so i wont get too much done this week. we'll see though :p

Ok, well thats the easy part done :p
---Woodelf and Highelf Modles are now complete
---All modles now use .dds files (that dont lose detail :D)
---no modles have mipmaps
---All nif files are complete.

Now for the hard part, the uploading:
---option 1: i can email you sepparate files, 4 file for each city art; Photoshop testures, dds textures, 3DS max modles, and nif files. this will be very time consuming.
---Option 2: i can try sending you only 2 big files, (1 for woodelves and 1 for high elves) this could work, if i babysit my computer while its uploading :)
---Option 3: i can try sending the lot all at once as one huge file. i dont think this will work however, but i can try :p

use option 1 this really is no problem just make sure not to forget anything;)

Ok im starting now. you might get half nowand half later though.:p

EDIT: im sending them all via Yousendit.com. its only going to take 20 Minutes though, so you should get them soon!:)

EDIT 2:
Ok ploe, the 3 important ones have sent. ill send the photoshop textures this afternoon.
incase you didnt get the emails here are the links for download. they are only up there for 7 days though so you might want to hurry.

THERE IS A LIMIT TO THE AMMOUNT OF TIME THESE CAN BE DOWNLOADED. IF YOU WANT TO DL THEM TOO, PLEASE WAIT FOR PLOE TO SAY HE HAS FIRST.

Chamaedrys, if you want to DL them too you can, just wait for ploe please:)

Here are the links;
-The nifs (http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=53901E863FB1BE35)
-The dds textures (http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=48A464BA4EB8B7EE)
-The Max modles (http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=30A9A7F74BB035E1)

EDIT 3:
Photoshop textures (http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=2A07B3455320A104)

I made a proper attempt at a Dwarf Hold for a palace, its turned out better than i expected, so i just thought id show off :D

here it is:
http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/859/dwarfholdscreenshotzt5.th.png (http://img223.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dwarfholdscreenshotzt5.png)

That's cool, I like it. You could SO shave off half the polygons, too :P The wings on their helmets don't need to be that smooth at all. The design is snazzy, though :)

Im glad you like it:)
yeh, i was thinking that too, but thats a project for another day i think:p

I was trying to find some kind of dwarven architecture whichi could adapt to make the basic houses, and do you think i can find any? No! bloody dwarves, having to build their citys underground... *walks off grumbling*

I was trying to find some kind of dwarven architecture whichi could adapt to make the basic houses, and do you think i can find any? No! bloody dwarves, having to build their citys underground... *walks off grumbling*

What about this:

The dwarfs don't get any city art! No normal house will show of in their city, but they get a free building "mine entrance" in every city. That mine entrance would mark the city on the map. Such a building would also give the opportunity to make the dwarfen economy more unique.

might be a little plain though. How about lots of small secondary mine entrances to go with it.

And some railroads exiting from them (mine exits) leading to slagheaps,
some low chimneys exuding fumes from the underground forges.
Large bellows or windmills or some other mechanical means of getting fresh air below.

It could resemble a 18th century mining town, save the advanced machinery.

Exception to this generic industrial look should obviously be civics buildings and the capitol.
So that only 'production' cities look awfully dreary and industrial. The more civilised cities could look more pretentious with big statues and fortress-like buildings

Hmmm, those all sound like good ideas. lets see what i can come up with. thanks guys:)

@ Chamaedrys: i think you can just go ahead and DL my city art if you like. im sure Ploe will be able to DL them again. and im pretty sure he got the emails :)

@P_L: I have downloaded your art and took a look at the woodelfs: many of your buildings have a size about 15 kb this is fine. But some have a size about 171 kb or more! :eek: The most wonders have only a quarter of that!! Some nif's are using another nif as texture:crazyeye:

*being confused*

EDIT: I just put the highelf palace in the nifviewer and make it use its dds directly. Maybe this works for the other models, too:D

btw: 512 x 512 is okay for a city set, but a bit much for single buildings. I think 256 x 256 is good for high-detailed buildings. Simple buildings ore objects can have 128 x 128 and some very simple ones even 64 x 64.

anyway: GOOD WORK!!!

Unfortuneately, it doesn't work for all the buildings:sad:

Are you talking about the modle nifs or the textures? because the biggest modle is 85Kb and the next biggest is 61, but those are the palaces. but the only one that has 171 Kb is the textures.

does it really matter if the textures are in nif format? they work dont they?

Would you suggest changing all the textures again? *sigh* i hope not, textures are my least favourite part of this. ill make sure to use smaller textures from now on though.

They work, but this makes it very big. Some of your texture nifs have a size of 1.3 MB, while the complete medieval European set has a size of only 277 KB (106kb nif + 171 kb dds) :crazyeye:

I'm pretty sure that it will work, it's just a question of size.

Just did a quick game of woodelves yesterday night. (I need sleep!) ;)
I have several small remarks, which fit here, but also in the elves dev-thread.

- need extra vanilla trees to replace city buildings, the cities are so barren.
(same for forest hamlets, they denude the forest too much)

- cities need forest defence terrain feature or not cut forest in first place.

- the (forest)hamlets may be a bit overpowered.
(It could be only this game, as I found myself in an extended forest/jungle, but I found that with BARTER and the correct techs, I ended up building hamlets everywhere I could, even to the exclusion of the few farms I could have built. conclusion: elves need extra forest improvements.)

-Elves need ability to gain bonus resources even when in a forest, without clearing it. (perhaps against a small penalty)


-offtopic: I found that hamlets appeared as fullfledged towns sometimes, when built, they still counted as new-built-hamlet. Myabe the game remembered how many turns a tile had been cultified before the hamlet was builkt?

Firsat of all. Have you been playing with or without the python/SDK?

Eh...what?

If you are refering to the folders that are stashed under assets, I am. :) Otherwise, I don't know what you mean. :sad:

*DL-ed warlords, DL-ed WL_WFB latest beta, looked at warlords vanilla for 5 minutes. Started up WFB to look at Woodelfs.* :)
Which is much more rewarding than playing with undead, that only gets special units in the third age, after the "all-out warfare with warriors and no money for tech" phase. :king:

I'm sorry. I mean first: Did you play in debug mode (howto is TGAs pythontutorial-just a few changes in the civini) and receive the bugs mentioned? If you applied the debugmode correctly your comp should be able to log errors and those logs we can use to hunt down bugs.

okay, I did not run debugging on.

Trying to figure out how now.
found TGA's tut-thread. scanned it.
searching for civilization4.ini file

Did some nice skaven icons by the way. :)
paste/
I have them converted to dds naturally. ;)

@ Ploe: did you DL my buildings yet?

@ Chamaedrys; how do you do textures for your city art? whats the most efficient way of doing everything? i need to know this stuff if i want to actually be of help instead of an annoying noob:p;)

Yes I downloaded and passed on the links for the dds textured versions to Chamy as well.

@ Ploe: did you DL my buildings yet?

@ Chamaedrys; how do you do textures for your city art? whats the most efficient way of doing everything? i need to know this stuff if i want to actually be of help instead of an annoying noob:p;)

Unfortunately, we're using different programms. My programme (Blender) drops the texture in a .tga file. I edit this file or load another tga and put the "faces" of my model on the places that I want.
The UV-map after I placed the faces:
http://forums.civfanatics.com/uploads/87027/tex13.JPG
Editing the tga with a photoshop-like programme:
http://forums.civfanatics.com/uploads/87027/tex15.JPG
Reloading the edited tga:
http://forums.civfanatics.com/uploads/87027/tex16.JPG

When it's done, I export the model as a nif and convert the tga to dds. Than I put nif and dds in the nifviewer and make the model use the dds instéad of the tga.

The result in the nif viewer:
http://forums.civfanatics.com/uploads/87027/tex17.JPG

btw: the 2 palaces, the tree city and a lot of the houses are very useful. ;-)

EDIT: I will use smaller screenies, next time:sad: .

An inspiration for Lizard men and Amazons:

http://forums.civfanatics.com/uploads/87027/lizards.JPG

I have found that pic on a game site.

Yes that looks cool and also check the new FFH version for models. They got some awesome ancient templeart there. Tommorrow I will have a detailed look at it and hopefully upload a new buildingartfolder by evening or nighttime as xmlplayground.
till tommorrow;)

Ok, well thats basically the same as what i do to my textures, except i skip the .tga part and go to a .bmp, then .dds.

in youre tutorial on putting city art into the game, you said something about all the buildings using the same texture. what do you mean there? how do you do that?

EDIT: thats quite a cool looking building. what game was it? i want to see if theres any more buildings that i could use :D

Ok, well thats basically the same as what i do to my textures, except i skip the .tga part and go to a .bmp, then .dds.

in youre tutorial on putting city art into the game, you said something about all the buildings using the same texture. what do you mean there? how do you do that?

That is a weird story: if you have one city set like the med_eu.nif and use several texture files, the game uses just one of them for all buildings of that set.
To do this you put the texture for all buildings in one big file (e.g. 512 x512) open your 3d programe, open your model, load the texture file and place the faces of the uv-map of where you want.

EDIT: thats quite a cool looking building. what game was it? i want to see if theres any more buildings that i could use :D

Sorry, I forgot it :blush:

EDIT: I have found two palace or fortress-like buildings at rise of nations:

http://www.microsoft.com/games/riseofnations/sst_057.asp
http://www.microsoft.com/games/riseofnations/sst_056.asp

The style of those buildings would be really nice for amazons-lizards I agree.

OK:) thanks chamaedrys. i understand now, sorry about being a pain. im going to have a play around today and see what i can do. Thanks :D

those aztec buildings are brilliant by the way. thanks, i might just start skinning my lizard buildings now:)