[Just Curiousity] Why are there are only reskinned LH and Units?

[Rod]

Hello,

at first, I do not want to disrespect anybody or anybody's work with this question, it is pure curiousity. I highly appreciate all the efforts that You people put into all the modding activities.

I just noticed that reskininng of any of the LHs and the Units is hell a lot of work. I also remember there are fantastic creators of new LHs and Units in the CIV III - community.

So I just wondered why there are no new LHs and Units in CIV IV so far.

Besides there were also a lots of Conversions in CIV III and as I understood CIV IV is using the Gamebryo-Engine like many other games before. So is it not theoretically possible to convert existing graphical animations from other games into CIV IV ? ( I mean this is all strictly private and nothing is used commercially, so there are no real legal issues)

See, I am no computer animation specialist and I also do not know anything else about computer graphical design .. so I am just curious, because as I know there are really good designers within us.

thank you for any answer.

best regards
Rudi

 

[Kael]

There is really 3 changes:

1. Reskinning existing models.
2. Modifying existing models.
3. Making new models.

Of these I think the community has just about mastered the first and is int he process of picking up the 2nd thanks to the trailblazing of folks like White Rabbit, C.Roland and SeZereth.

The 3rd is the most timeconsuming and difficult process. Mostly because at this point the animations are not easily converted from other programs. I am amazed at what the artists here are doing day by day and I have no doubt we will be there soon but I suspect that it is so much more efficient to modify an existing model rather than create a new one that it all works out.

And to be honest there isn't much difference in the finished prduct. You can hardly recognize the starting model in White Rabbits werewolf or SeZerth's troll.

I know C.Roland created an elf that is either based on or from the model in Morrowind. So maybe the import from another game has already occured, you will have to hear from him on the specifics.

 

[Ploeperpengel]

Not a model yet unfortunatly just a couple of attachable meshes but good ones

 

[J_Period]

Also, there are a lot of new tanks, space ships, and planes...they are easier to do b/c no new animations, plus sharik's Trebuchethttp://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=163985 which is really the first fully animated, completly new unit.

No one seems to be able to get leaderheads right (and no one seems to want to~units are more fun )

 

[snafusmith]

We can most definitely make comepletely new models for units and animate them (just look at my sig). However, we've only had that ability for about a month now, so that's why there isn't as much as there was for civ3.

Also, there's no way to convert civ3 units directly into civ4. The files and method for making units is completely different between the 2 games. Civ3 used .flc files which were basically one file contating the 8 basic views a unit would face through that particular animation in a storyboard type layout. Civ4 uses a compression of basic model and animation info separate from eachother with a skin applied to the model. There's no practical way to convert between the 2.

I haven't tried making any leaderheads, but I'm fairly sure that it is possible to reskin them. Some part of my mind tells me we might have the ability to make new static ones, but I'm really not sure. I'm just a unit guy, after all.

Hope this helps some. If you want more units, definitely check out the unit thread, more and more are showing up daily.

 

[Ploeperpengel]

Also, there are a lot of new tanks, space ships, and planes...they are easier to do b/c no new animations, plus sharik's Trebuchethttp://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=163985 which is really the first fully animated, completly new unit.

Yes and I like it a lot better than that from the expansion. Looks like Firaxis should rework that expansion from the bottom up. This forum already surpassed their efforts. My opinion at least.

 

[Grohan]

I am wondering if it's possible to convert models/skins from non-gamebryo games? In example there are tons of units in RoN for what would be very useful in Civ.