Better graphic, doh!!!
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warpstorm
Yumbo? Yumbo!
Why? Because when they do Civ4 in 3d (my prediction) only those modders who are comfortable with 3D Studio Max will be able to mod it.
I'm guessing that Civ4 will use Gamebryo for its 3D graphics. It's not terribly hard to import graphics into its formats if you've got the plugins for Maya and 3D Studio. (Read this as nearly impossible if you don't).
I'm guessing that Civ4 will use Gamebryo for its 3D graphics. It's not terribly hard to import graphics into its formats if you've got the plugins for Maya and 3D Studio. (Read this as nearly impossible if you don't).
warpstorm
Yumbo? Yumbo!
Soren's speech at the Game Developers Conference leads me to believe that they are doing Civ4 in 3D. (The view graphs are on the net) That and their hiring a 3D graphics programmer for Civ4. I know that they are using Gamebryo for their future projects including Pirates! I assume that they are planning on it for Civ4.
On the upside, he's considering using Python for AI scripting.
On the upside, he's considering using Python for AI scripting.
warpstorm
Yumbo? Yumbo!
The map most definitely is not 3D in Civ3. I've reworked the artwork for every tile and looked through the source code and there is no 3D anywhere in it. Did the artists use 3D packages to render to 2D tiles and animations? Yes, they did. But it is a 2D engine.
Jon Shafer
Civilization 5 Designer
Gah... 
Beloyar
Demigod
I definitely agree with the people who want to see graphics improvements.
I've noted before that the aerial view of the cities is deplorable. I think Firaxis developers are well aware of that. They just don't consider it much of a priority. I don't think their artists and designers are familiar with modeling cities.
One should look at cities that have retained their cultural identity through time to find inspiration for modeling city view in Civ 4.
Look at Florence in Italy, Rothenburg in Germany, Carcassonne in France, Rostov the Great in Russia, and you can get the idea how Medieval cities looked.
Also, gotta keep empty roads filled with houses on both sides.
Another thing is Palace View. They are mostly pretty monsterous looking. But the European Gothic palace bothers me especially
- a concoction of parts from Gothic cathedrals meshed into a fake palace immitation. You want to see how Gothic palaces looked? Just look at the palaces of Florence, Venice, and Siena in Italy, for example. Keep it real.
Furthermore, why are there no Rennaissance- and Romantic-style palaces, like the great Versailles, the Schoenbrunn, and the Hermitage?
A lot of changes need to happen, which don't really involve a lot of work, just some research.
I've noted before that the aerial view of the cities is deplorable. I think Firaxis developers are well aware of that. They just don't consider it much of a priority. I don't think their artists and designers are familiar with modeling cities.
One should look at cities that have retained their cultural identity through time to find inspiration for modeling city view in Civ 4.
Look at Florence in Italy, Rothenburg in Germany, Carcassonne in France, Rostov the Great in Russia, and you can get the idea how Medieval cities looked.
Also, gotta keep empty roads filled with houses on both sides.
Another thing is Palace View. They are mostly pretty monsterous looking. But the European Gothic palace bothers me especially
- a concoction of parts from Gothic cathedrals meshed into a fake palace immitation. You want to see how Gothic palaces looked? Just look at the palaces of Florence, Venice, and Siena in Italy, for example. Keep it real.Furthermore, why are there no Rennaissance- and Romantic-style palaces, like the great Versailles, the Schoenbrunn, and the Hermitage?
A lot of changes need to happen, which don't really involve a lot of work, just some research.
Look I think the graphics are fine. Instead of making the graphics look fancier, how about making them look unique. By this I mean make units from America look different from units from China. Maybe make an american frigate be a 2 masted sailing ship, and one from china look more like a Junk, with triangle sails. Make each culture look unique, but still have the same stats. During the American Revolution Both sides had musketmen, ours wore blue coats, british wore red coats. Something like that I think would make the game 'look' better.
croxis
Chat room op
I am fairly sure that they are using a 3D engine for Civ IV. It will be more difficult for modders, however many modders are using 3D software to render images to place into civ 3.
sir_schwick
Archbishop of Towels
Smart game developers definitely aim at the mod community and community in general. Consider the mother of all modding communities: Half-Life. People still buy Half-Life, a game that does not look so good now. More people probably play HL mods than anything else online. Valve is working with the community to have mods ready to play with HL2 when it comes out. In fact I think they are realeasing a version of Counter-Strike that uses the HL2 engine.
Also, there are many companies that do not concentrate on flash over substance. Total War is a good example of this. I have not played RTW yet, but all the others only looked okay for the day, but had great gameplay. The graphics were representative and allowed me to play better.
Overall, I favor the simple graphical style of the civ series. It left a lot for the imagination to think about battles, movements, and cities. The city view needs to be modified, and some suburban sprawl would be attractive, but that is about it.
Also, there are many companies that do not concentrate on flash over substance. Total War is a good example of this. I have not played RTW yet, but all the others only looked okay for the day, but had great gameplay. The graphics were representative and allowed me to play better.
Overall, I favor the simple graphical style of the civ series. It left a lot for the imagination to think about battles, movements, and cities. The city view needs to be modified, and some suburban sprawl would be attractive, but that is about it.
Blackbird_SR-71
Spying from 85,000 ft
actually wouldn't it be easier to actually mod in Civ4 because all we need is a plug-in to export the file format of our models and animations so we don't have to go through rendering all the views and all that junk. i think it would actually be easier.
warpstorm
Yumbo? Yumbo!
Yes, Blackbird, it will be easier if you are already doing your mods in 3D.
sir_schwick
Archbishop of Towels
cdtgist said:
Darn straight. Personally I would like each civ to have all units be unique in name and look, and stats can still match up. Imagine facing Blackwatches versus Minutemen.
I agree with many of the later messages and I, in fact, feel rather certain that they will make C4 both 3D and include culture specific graphics for units etc. The conquests in C3 already pointed to this direction (culture specific units for Japan and others) and I think the people who are planning this game know that they will have to go the whole way for C4.
In fact, in one of my old posts I wondered if the 'map' for Civ4 would actually be a globe that you could turn and roll in a 3D view and zoom in and out (as you like) to move your units. I doubt computers are powerful enough for that in time for C4, but that's probably the direction we are heading...
In fact, in one of my old posts I wondered if the 'map' for Civ4 would actually be a globe that you could turn and roll in a 3D view and zoom in and out (as you like) to move your units. I doubt computers are powerful enough for that in time for C4, but that's probably the direction we are heading...
Davidizer13
Mega Warlord!
It's already too hard to make your own Civ3 graphics units, why make it harder? I liked cdtigst's idea, but I'm guessing he's part of the brilliant people at cdgroup.com who made the Balancer mod. I like DyP better, but Balancer's good too. He'll probably know a lot about modding. I liked the 3D terrain idea, and you could have features and stuff similar to several games, where you can rotate and go into the canyon and see troops on the mountains. Like Command and Conquer. That's the game I was looking for.
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