RFC Europe -Art and Flags Thread

[3Miro]

6MB are the smaller heads, some leaderheads require up to 20 - 25MB extra. Many people are already complaining about the graphical demand that leaderheads are creating, i.e. people can play regular BtS, but cannot even start our mod.

There is another issue. We have to consider the effect that we will have on gameplay. Right now, every leader's personality is somewhat adjusted to match the civ's goals (UHV), however, if we have different leaders then: we can keep the leaders from a given civ with the same personality or we can give them different personalities and then make the game even harder to balance.

I am not against adding more leaderheads, we should just keep those issues in mind.

 

[embryodead]

6MB are the smaller heads, some leaderheads require up to 20 - 25MB extra. Many people are already complaining about the graphical demand that leaderheads are creating, i.e. people can play regular BtS, but cannot even start our mod.

I can offer to downsize the big LHs, e.g. I've cut Istvan LH from 21 MB to 9 MB without any quality loss. This is the case with many LHs, they are distributed with unused or redundant files, or normal maps saved in wrong format etc. EDIT: The effect on memory load will be smaller, but it's 4-5 MB less still.

Additionally, maybe distribute the final mod with static leaderhead option? That makes the game so much faster / less crashy regardless of the number of LHs.

 

[3Miro]

I can offer to downsize the big LHs, e.g. I've cut Istvan LH from 21 MB to 9 MB without any quality loss. This is the case with many LHs, they are distributed with unused or redundant files, or normal maps saved in wrong format etc. EDIT: The effect on memory load will be smaller, but it's 4-5 MB less still.

Additionally, maybe distribute the final mod with static leaderhead option? That makes the game so much faster / less crashy regardless of the number of LHs.

Last Alpha has a version within the .zip that replaces the custom leaderheads with standard ones from BtS. We can have something along those lines (i.e. RFCEurope - Light).

 

[jessiecat]

As an aside, I'm working on a Walrus resource - watch this space

There is a walrus resource in the pack below. It is from Civ3 and isn't animated but maybe we can use it anyway.

 

[3Miro]

There is a walrus resource in the pack below. It is from Civ3 and isn't animated but maybe we can use it anyway.

AFIK Civ III and Civ IV graphics are not in any way compatible.

 

[sedna17]

I can offer to downsize the big LHs, e.g. I've cut Istvan LH from 21 MB to 9 MB without any quality loss. This is the case with many LHs, they are distributed with unused or redundant files, or normal maps saved in wrong format etc. EDIT: The effect on memory load will be smaller, but it's 4-5 MB less still.

Additionally, maybe distribute the final mod with static leaderhead option? That makes the game so much faster / less crashy regardless of the number of LHs.

Hey embryodead,

Just in case it wasn't clear, it would be awesome if you could go through the big LHs and make them more efficient as you describe above for Istvan.

 

[Flying Pig]

AFIK Civ III and Civ IV graphics are not in any way compatible.

I've heard that as well. I've currently hit a wall after cutting the elephants ears and legs off.

 

[st.lucifer]

I've heard that as well. I've currently hit a wall after cutting the elephants ears and legs off.

Could you do a more simplistic tusk, rather than having to do a walrus from scratch? This way, we could use the tusk graphic for both walrus and elephant ivory. We don't have elephant units, so the distinction for the game is unimportant.

 

[3Miro]

Could you do a more simplistic tusk, rather than having to do a walrus from scratch? This way, we could use the tusk graphic for both walrus and elephant ivory. We don't have elephant units, so the distinction for the game is unimportant.

Civ III is a 2D game, i.e. all the pictures are just like pictures taken with a camera. Civ IV is a 3D game, meaning that all the graphics is actually has volume (in virtual world). Looking at an elephant from an angle changes the way the elephant looks (i.e. looking from behind you see the butt, looking from the front you see the front you see the trunk). 3D graphics is something like a: take a real tusk, then wrap it with paper, then copy the "texture" of the tusk onto the paper, then approximate the tusk with a number of simple 2d figures (usually triangles, but other polygons are also used). The "paper" + the geometry makes up the tusk.

Basically, creating 3D models is very hard and while I know some theory behind it, I don't know how to do it.

 

[st.lucifer]

Civ III is a 2D game, i.e. all the pictures are just like pictures taken with a camera. Civ IV is a 3D game, meaning that all the graphics is actually has volume (in virtual world). Looking at an elephant from an angle changes the way the elephant looks (i.e. looking from behind you see the butt, looking from the front you see the front you see the trunk). 3D graphics is something like a: take a real tusk, then wrap it with paper, then copy the "texture" of the tusk onto the paper, then approximate the tusk with a number of simple 2d figures (usually triangles, but other polygons are also used). The "paper" + the geometry makes up the tusk.

Basically, creating 3D models is very hard and while I know some theory behind it, I don't know how to do it.

Right, I know that it's more complicated. I figured something geometric like an elephant or walrus tusk would be a lot easier to create than a walrus, though. That was the basis for the suggestion.

 

[embryodead]

Hey embryodead,

Just in case it wasn't clear, it would be awesome if you could go through the big LHs and make them more efficient as you describe above for Istvan.

Alright, I've cut the current LHs from 105 to 51* MB and did some minor fixes, like Gustuvus' pink eyebrows and Yaroslav's missing alpha for hair & fur. I don't know how SVN will handle this, but this should replace the whole Leaderheads folder, since a lot of files have been deleted, not just updated.

Link on rapidshare: http://rapidshare.com/files/288611430/RFCE-leaderheads.zip.html
EDIT: Oops, I don't want to re-upload the file with my slow uplink, so when you get it, please delete the whole Yaroslav/copy folder, it's a backup of Yaroslav I forgot to delete. *Updated the final folder size to reflect that.

 

[3Miro]

so if I get this right, you have not posted anything in the svn and I am supposed to do this.

 

[sedna17]

so if I get this right, you have not posted anything in the svn and I am supposed to do this.

I just put these into the SVN. I am now done with my changes.

I summarized the commit log into the readme if you want to use that as a mostly-complete "Changes" list.

 

[embryodead]

so if I get this right, you have not posted anything in the svn and I am supposed to do this.

Sorrrry, I didn't have SVN write access.

 

[3Miro]

I just put these into the SVN. I am now done with my changes.

I summarized the commit log into the readme if you want to use that as a mostly-complete "Changes" list.

Seems like someone beat me to it, all the leaderheads have been updated in the svn.

 

[micbic]

@embryodead: Congrats at half-cutting the current LH size!
@everyone: Another revised LH list at post 135 (on a sidenote: How can I make hyperlinks?)

 

[Cethegus]

@embryodead: Congrats at half-cutting the current LH size!
@everyone: Another revised LH list at post 135 (on a sidenote: How can I make hyperlinks?)

Go to Advanced Posting, press the Globe button with the Staple icon and enter your address there. From that point on you can write anything in the field and still have it posted, like this.

 

[micbic]

I think I've got it. Thanks!

 

[RobinHat]

Can someone please explain to me what Christian VI is doing on the list...?

 

[merijn_v1]

Can someone please explain to me what Christian VI is doing on the list...?

What list?