Many people have been asking for a low graphics mod lately. Is this what you are looking for?

Units:
http://img154.imageshack.us/img154/3764/screenshot096hb9.jpg

http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/4272/screenshot097bd8.jpg

Pine trees:
http://img167.imageshack.us/img167/4813/screenshot098ks5.jpg

Normal trees:
http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/2317/screenshot099ae7.jpg

I could make one like this with Very simple units and terrain graphics. No effects and animations.
However this will require a lot of boring work so I'd like to have some discussion before I start doing anything. For example is the unit square ok? What to do with trees, flags or teamcolor? And so on...
Later on I would probably need somebody with XML knowledge to solve specific problems and then testers with "slow" PC's.
So tell me what you think.

Wow, I love those unit squares! They would be great for mods which are missing artwork.

My computer is fine though, so thats the only thing I would want this for.

I was about to point you to another project, only to find that the original developer was also you :P

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=162610

I was planning on using this for Civcraft as interim for unit graphics since the unit graphics aren't complete yet.

I like the idea of using the "pieces" for units, but I would think that forests, cities and other plot improvements (which, in numbers, seem to cause the largest performance hit for my lower-end system) could be done using this completely-flat system.

I'd like to use heads and no animations. :)

I like the idea of pieces in some instances.

I would rather go for readability as the priority. The "square-heads" are great, but what about the info about the underlying terrain, improvements, etc.

(1) I thought about dividing each square of land into smaller areas with info about this square, like maybe:

Terrain type | Terrain feature | Resource
Improvement | (Rail-)Road | Worked square icon
Unit type | Unit "info" * | ????

*by Unit "info" I mean, health and such.

(2) On the other hand, the terrain (the unit icons are a really good idea) could be rendered using worse models (with don't have to be flat, they just could be simplier, more "boxy") and using the old textures.
(3) I also read, that there is some algorithm in the scripts to lay out the trees, if we could alter it, to put only one or two per square, we may be better off at the very beginning.

@TheKiller

1. I could make the unit square smaller so the terrain and improvements would be visible but not resource. Anyway resources are hardly visible in vanilla civ so I always have to press ctrl-R to see them.
As to making health info etc.. this would require changes in XML and I can't do it. I think there is a mod which does this but only in bottom view.

2. Simpler units - this would take more work but it can be done. Vanilla units are about 600-1000 triangles, I think I could get them 2 or 3 times smaller. They would look uglier and will lost all animations though.

3. I heard that trees eat a lot of performance but I'm not sure. You need to run a few tests in WB and tell me which parts of graphics are problematic.

Considering how large the tree dds file is I imagine they are a resource hog, unless that has nothing to do with performance.

Great idea I might play cIV again if I could get it to work lagg free on my 256 RAM and Intel graphics card. The unit idea is good also make sure that windmills an' stuff don't turn I think that slows it alot.

I second the notion of stopping the windmills and other animations that seem to occur even though I have that option turned off. Circling planes is another example.

So what are you guys in favour of - simpler units or square units? In other words should this mod run on a little slower computer or PII 400 MHz (my 3rd machine ;) ).
BTW any way there will be no animations.

So what are you guys in favour of - simpler units or square units? In other words should this mod run on a little slower computer or PII 400 MHz (my 3rd machine ;) )

I would be for the square "board game piece" units, although realistically, I would go for the one that is easiest to be able to install into a mod (aka, replace just the models, not game code. I'm not sure how you're going about doing the flat pictures, if they're plot textures or what).

I'm not sure how you're going about doing the flat pictures
I have created a square in 3ds Max and export it to civ as unit. For different units I only have to change texture and export it again. So it's really easy but time consuming.
In a few days I will release beta for testing with simple terrain and ancient units.

I have created a square in 3ds Max and export it to civ as unit. For different units I only have to change texture and export it again. So it's really easy but time consuming.
In a few days I will release beta for testing with simple terrain and ancient units.

I was hoping to use it on non-civ units, so maybe I can save you some effort :P

Is there any way you could put the model file and other files that are used and a brief explanation on how to change the texture? Then someone can make their own if they have custom art.

Is there any way you could put the model file and other files that are used and a brief explanation on how to change the texture?
Once the unit will be there it will have a separate texture file so if you'd like to change it you'll only have to substite that file with your own.

Simple 2d representations of units ala previous civ games would be just dandy. There's nothing to say they can't be attractive, just because they aren't in 3d!

Personally though, number one priority should be doing something about trees (more specifically jungle), as this is what causes teh real performance hit on my machine. Again, little 2d graphics would be a godsend.

I added a beta ver of the mod. So far it only changes pine trees. They have about 10x less triangles and no animation. See the first post.

Is this still being worked on? I'd love to be able to play a smooth game on my sub-spec Mac :D

Flat tiles look good to me, as long as one gets information about the underlying terrain as well.

I'd be more than happy to help with testing :D

I'm not developing it atm because I'm pretty busy right now and besides there was no feedback.
So far I only made low-res pine forrests. I tried the same with normal forrests but they looked ugly :(
I could make flat tiles smaller so you can see terrain below.

this is great for me. i have a terrible comp. i personally dont like the flat units, but i fully support downgrading the terrain since its all black for me anyways. ill try this out later probably.

edit: where do i install the file(s)?

this is great for me. i have a terrible comp. i personally dont like the flat units, but i fully support downgrading the terrain since its all black for me anyways. ill try this out later probably.

edit: where do i install the file(s)?

Put the new file folder in the "mods" folder, then you can load it from the "Advanced" game menu.

Edit:
Making the squares small enough would be good for showing the terrain. As suggested, maybe the best solution regarding non-pine trees is to simply reduce the number of trees per square (say by half or two thirds)?

Are there any aspects other than feedback that a Mac user could contribute with? I have no idea what modding-software is available for me :p

The problem with trees is that as soon as I modify them they loose information about underlying terrain. This means that they always stay at the same level regardless if it's plain or mountain. It's not such a big deal but if you know why let me know.

Are there any aspects other than feedback that a Mac user could contribute with?
Sure there are. I have an OK computer so I have no means of testing. Could you run a few tests in World Builder and tell me what's slowing the machine the most.

Will do! I'll see if I can spare some time next week :)

I got bored, sue me...

Okay. All work done on a Mac Powerbook G4, 1.33 GHz, 768 MB DDR SDRAM, OSX 10.3.9. Civ4 Mac v1.61

(first time using WB, w00t!)

Starting off by testing landscape types, everything seems to work fine using a duel-sized map, maybe slightly less fluid when covered in mountains. Don't think this needs tinkering.

All grassland + jungle seems fine...

All grasslands + trees = HUGE PERFORMANCE HIT, just as suspected. You've already created low-poly pine trees, I suspect low-poly snow-covered pine trees aren't a big leap? And I'm thinking that if low-poly "normal" trees look like ass, how about using the pine template, but change the colours to match the default? As in lighter shades of green, some brown/yellow thrown in...?

Nuclear waste = no good, dare I suggest the return of Civ2's death's head? :D

Rivers = slight hit, removing their "running" animation should help

Resources seem to be okay for the most part, but of course it couldn't hurt to reduce the number of polys on horses, sheep and the like (or maybe use small tiles here as well, like with the units?)

Will look at landscape improvements some other time (although I believe they represent the biggest resource drain in the late game, together with the cities and units). Suggested priority list thus far:

1. Units (turned into tiles)
2. Trees (low poly models, using your current pines as template)
3. Landscape improvements
4. Sprawling cities
5. Resources (could either be tiled, or low-poly'd)
6. Rivers
7. Nuclear Waste (Death's Head tiles!)
8. Mountains (low-poly'd)

@Darth Kettch - Thanks for the work. The pine trees I made are with and without snow. I hope I can finish normal trees and tiled units by tomorrow. After that I will do jungle and then resources. Somebody mentioned that windmills take a lot of resources. I don't think I can do anything about mountains because they are generated differently and I don't know how.

ok, so i tried this out and it worked great. i look forward to more changes. if/when you modify units, could u offer a separate mod with only terrain and improvement alterations? ill probably try it anyways, but i dont think i would be as into the game without units.

good work man, keep it up.

Terrain is probably the least taxing factor, so I don't think it's anything to worry about :)
Looking very much forward to trying out a new beta mod!

Regarding the units, maybe it could be possible (down the road) to create tiles more akin to the civ2 sprites? Problem being that they'd only look good from a single (default) angle, with the perspective being skewed otherwise. This is possibly a task anyone with an image editing program could do :D (knowing what modifications need to be made for the tile-model to look okay at an angle)

Edit:
Hm... Looking at the pics in the OP again, it doesn't seem like the perspective matters much. Could it be possible to put sprite units on a transparent tile? Thus getting non-square units and at the same time show underlying terrain (still thinking civ2 terms :p).

I finally managed to create normal trees that I'm more or less satisfied with. I added it to 1st post.

@zooropa86 - no problem, I'll make separate downloads.
@Darth_Kettch - when you move units they change direction so they must be made all-round or flat.

Well, can't blame a guy for hoping ;) Downloading new mod now! :)

Edit:

Izza good! Loaded a standard map for the very first time, and while I couldn't scroll completely without lag (after revealing the map at turn 1), I noticed no performance problems after filling an all-grass standard map with the new trees :)

Development shut down? :(

Does anyone know what I need to do to make the trees conform to the height of hills.

Presently when I place any forest on hills, the trees are sunk into the hills because they are being placed at the same level as flat terrain :(

What do I need to adjust to get the trees to look like they are on top of the hills?

Hey,

I'd like to try this mod, but it crashes when I try to run it under Warlords v2.13.

Would it be hard to make it work for that version ?

Thanks,

Jeff

This is a fantastic idea! Although I'd support replacing the "face-squares" into something more iconic, with the full body visible, along with the weapon. Just like Civ 1-3.

Hey,

I'd like to try this mod, but it crashes when I try to run it under Warlords v2.13.

Would it be hard to make it work for that version ?

Thanks,

Jeff

I got it to work under BtS v3.13 (with the unofficial patch) by copying the delivered "CIV4FeatureInfos.xml" from BtS into the mods spot where the "CIV4FeatureInfos.xml" from the mod zip was put.

First, I think these "cookie-cutter" trees are great! I don't play Civ4 for the photo-realistic terrain, and in the late game on huge maps with 18 civs I keep running out of video memory (makes the last 100 turns or so not very playable, but before that it's fine).

A wee bit of a problem. When you go into the city screen, at first you get a nearly isometric view of the city, and so you can see the trees okay, but then it very quickly (less than 1.5 seconds on my machine) goes to a full overhead view of the city, and the trees disappear. This is because they are basically an infinitely thin "X" or "+" when viewed from the top, and the edges have no thickness from above. See the screenshots:

Start of city screen displaying (trees are barely visible, because it's still an isometric view briefly):
http://forums.civfanatics.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=173241&stc=1&d=1207277853

City screen final display (trees are gone, because it's an overhead view):
http://forums.civfanatics.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=173242&stc=1&d=1207277853

If the trees were slanted (perhaps away from the south/normal viewer direction) by 10 deg or 15 deg, they would probably still look fine both in and out of the city no matter what any the viewer zoomed into, and also in the city screen. Could this be done ?

Thanks! This is the sort of thing I was requesting in:
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=171898&page=22

Jeff