Post War Mod(s)

[The Person]

OK, thanks.


Here is a little overview of how far we have come. First the units:

1st row: Engineer, RoboEngineer, Rifleman, Machine Gunner, Tank, Fighter, Bomber, Musketeers[0], Fanatics[0]

2nd row: Lone Wolf[W], Stealth Bomber, Stealth Fighter, Heavy Tank, Paratroopers, Helicopter, Ironclad, Cruiser, Battleship

3rd row: Transport, Knights[0], Submarine, Aircraft Carrier, Cargo Ship, Artillery, Howitzer, Laser Infantry, Mechanized Infantry

4th row: Drill, Militia[F], Prism Tank[F], Prism Soldier[F], Black Bomber[F], Pizza Shield[F], Scout Wolf[W], Hunter Wolf[W], Scent Marking Wolf[W]

5th row: VTOL Aircraft[W], Republican Militia, Republican Infantry, Condor Interceptor, Mobile Infantry, Gunboat, Specialist Escort, Republican Marines, Nanobomb (no graphic yet)

6th row: ChronoBomb[P], Nanodeconstructor (no graphic yet), Diplomat[0], Spy, Caravan, Freight[0], Explorer[0], Towelite Settlers[T], Wolf Settlers[T], PlutoCon[P]

7th row: (empty), Plutonian Transport[P], Plutonian Crossbow[P], Chronoscepter Man[P], PlutoPlane[P], Plutonian Carrier[P], (empty), (empty), (empty)

8th row: All empty

9th row: All empty except last slot (Barb leader)

[0]Not used
[F]Franch unique unit
Specialist unique unit
[P]Plutonian unique unit
[T]Towelite unique unit
[W]Wolf unique unit

==========================================================

I'm also posting the cities.bmp file to show what city styles we have and what we don't:

We also need a graphic for the "teleporter" between the surface and the underground.

I suggest we also have new graphics for fortification, fortresses and airbases.

 

[Broken_Erika]

i'll get right on graphics work,
i suggest that you have some 50-60ish jet aircraft in the mix, just to fill in the gap between the propeller aircraft and stealth aircraft,

 

[The Person]

While you're at it, could you please look out for new icons and such? A scenario is not just the units.

I'll start thinking about the improvements. I'm thinking about giving each faction some wonders from the start, some faction-specific wonders and "common" wonders. I'd like the unique wonders to add up to the factions' strengths. Also their unique wonders should depict how the factions progressed.

 

[Joeb WK]

Heres all the squid units i posses for the towlites.

 

[Joeb WK]

Some fortifications and air bases.

 

[The Person]

Do you have more? I don't really like those. They are too bright for my liking. I like the traditional Civ2 look more (look at the original graphics files for Civ2 (not toT, they are universally disliked) to see what I mean).

But I don't claim any veto rights, so if other people like it, I'll add them. But try to find some graphics that fit more into the classic Civ2 style. There's a wealth of graphics out there, and we haven't even touched the surface.

The only thing I'm worried about when it comes to graphics is that we're only using "borrowed" graphics. We should give credit to those who drew the graphics in the first place. I don't want a lot of angry emails from the people who drew the graphics. We should at least thank them for their graphics (we probably should contact them first to see if it's alright with the artists before we release the scenario).

 

[Chukchi Husky]

(not toT, they are universally disliked)

I like them...

 

[The Person]

Yes, there are always those who like what nobody else likes. (How many times haven't I've been teased for playing Civ2 and TTD?) Maybe saying "universally" was a little too general, but believe me, you're the first one I've met who likes the ToT graphics. Personally I think they're way too dark, and they don't fit very well with the graphics of the earlier versions.

 

[Broken_Erika]

Updated units file, Joeb Wan Kenobi has seemed to taken care of the fortresses and airbases,
edit: see below for new units file,

 

[The Person]

You did two blunders. First, ToT doesn't use the shields of earlier versions, so any unit with a shield overlay will look a little odd. It's easy to fix, though.
Secondly, the Chronoscepter Man is facing left. I've said more than once that all ToT units should face right. Luckily this is easy to fix as well.
Otherwise the units look good. Nice to see that I'm not the only one caring about more than my own faction.

Now that I've had my say, I'd like to know what units file we should use.

BTW, I'm still looking for more alternatives to the fortified, fortress and airfield graphics. There also is no "teleporter" graphic. That graphic should look like a tunnel entrance of some kind.

 

[Chukchi Husky]

I like the new units...

 

[Joeb WK]

Yer they are better although the bomber in the midle row and the monoplane in the seventh row could be better.

 

[The Person]

I like the Franch Black Bomber, so I'll let it stay. The common Fighter is a different matter, as Erika provided us with some early planes a while ago:

 

[Broken_Erika]

We should at least thank them for their graphics (we probably should contact them first to see if it's alright with the artists before we release the scenario).

As long as all the signatures are intact they should be okay, the only time that you'll run into problems is if you use units that the artist says are off-limits,
Here is the updated units file, including a new black bomber,

 

[Broken_Erika]

2 more monoplanes, decide which of the 3 you guys want,

 

[The Person]

As long as all the signatures are intact they should be okay, the only time that you'll run into problems is if you use units that the artist says are off-limits,
Here is the updated units file, including a new black bomber,

If that's the way it works we should be fine.

I never said that I wanted a new Black Bomber (I said that I liked it), but the new one doesn't look too bad. I'm going to have a hard time deciding between the two.

 

[Catfish]

While you're at it, could you please look out for new icons and such?

If you're interested, I've got quite a few Rise of Nations icons on my site (Miscellaneous Graphics section) – all 24-bit colour. I've found them very useful.

A scenario is not just the units.

What!? Is this true? Seriously though, I've never understood the total obsession with unit graphics that exists in the Civ2 community. You can't buy decent terrain around here. In my view terrain graphics are far more important than units simply for the fact that they occupy more of the screen.

Do you have more? I don't really like those. They are too bright for my liking.

I've attached some darker alternatives. The sandbags are mine. I don't know who made the original fortress icon – I just coloured it. The airbases, posted earlier, are by Curt Sibling - IMO they're the best ones going around at the moment.

If that's the way it works we should be fine.

In addition to retaining any signatures, I'd also list the sources (where known) in the scenario's documentation. This goes for all graphics, not just units. Not all authors use signatures, either. You should be safe providing the graphics haven't been lifted from previews of unreleased scenarios.

 

[The Person]

If you're interested, I've got quite a few Rise of Nations icons on my site (Miscellaneous Graphics section) – all 24-bit colour. I've found them very useful.

Yeah, they look good. But I have a few other icon collections we might use. It'll probably be a mix between a few sets.

What!? Is this true? Seriously though, I've never understood the total obsession with unit graphics that exists in the Civ2 community. You can't buy decent terrain around here. In my view terrain graphics are far more important than units simply for the fact that they occupy more of the screen.

That's right. When I made my "edit" mod for ToT this winter (you probably remember) I spent much time tweaking the terrain graphics to look good. I should post the terrainx.bmp's we're using now as well as the ones I've already posted.

I've attached some darker alternatives. The sandbags are mine. I don't know who made the original fortress icon – I just coloured it. The airbases, posted earlier, are by Curt Sibling - IMO they're the best ones going around at the moment.

Even when they are darkened I don't really like them. I guess it's just me not liking the style. I'm more into the "original" Civ2 graphics. But they look better than the light ones (oh, how I hate pastel colors!).

In addition to retaining any signatures, I'd also list the sources (where known) in the scenario's documentation. This goes for all graphics, not just units. Not all authors use signatures, either. You should be safe providing the graphics haven't been lifted from previews of unreleased scenarios.

Yeah, I'm also registered at a forum where they take the issue about the rights of the artist much more seriously than here. Here people just post graphics without telling who made them. It can also be hard to guess who drew the graphics from the siganture alone, especially for me who didn't get into the Civ2 community before October 2003 (when I registered here).

So please tell who made the graphics, as those who drew them deserve a honorable mention (at least).

 

[The Person]

I've made an early attempt at the improvements/wonders, and here's what I got so far:

Marketplace -> Shopping Center
Bank -> Stock Exchange
Stock Exchange -> Business Quarters
Airport -> Airport
Airbase (terrain improvement) -> Airbase
Barracks -> Training Camp
Library -> Local Radio Station (radio enlightens the people)
University -> Research Lab
Research Lab -> Supercomputer
Police Station -> Command Post
Colloseum -> Computer Game Shop
Leonardo's Workshop -> War Factory
Colossus -> Plutonian Air Traffic Hub
Marco Polo's Embassy -> Global Intelligence Agency (GIA)

All above improvements are available to all players. To clarify about when the improvements are introduced, I've updated the main tech tree (improvements are in italics).

 

[Broken_Erika]

i have a sig list but it still needs work,