Static, Era-specific Leaderheads

rongo

Chieftain
Joined
Jul 24, 2009
Messages
26
Location
Gateshead, UK
Hey,

I would like to start a project to change the static leaderheads to era-specific.

I've read (or at least tried to) most of the info thats here on leaderheads and it looks like leaderheads are already going through a lot of changes, so I could only hope to get enough attention, to get some advice and support on this matter

1. I need a hint from the dev's on the best input quality - I've noticed some of the LH DDS's have only one 512*512px layer, while others have 7 layers degrading to 8*8px.

2. In the case of the era specific LH, would it be better to have all the graphics in one file, as layers or to split it to file per era?

3. Any ideas to unify the naming system for the images/layers to make implementation easier? Would something like PRE- CLA- MED- REN- MOD- FUT prefix/suffix be enough?

4. Everyone feel free to contribute - just let me know (PM), so that I'll start listing for LH already being made/done, to reduce doubles. Due to the nature of the project, if you would like to contribute tampered work of others - include sources, as they will be listed under your name.

5. After all that forum reading and sniffing around C2C folder contents, I lost all confidence in that I could, get the hang of the overwhelming amounts of data and code it into the mod. What will happen is I will treat this project as a modders resource, until someone smarter then me shows up to use the graphics and claim most of the fame ;) .

Expect first samples soon.

What do you think about it?
 
Progress information/To Do list

For people interested in submitting graphics to the project
Spoiler :
PM me if you would like to add something
NAME
Alexander - none
Ashurbanipal - request to author sent
Asoka - request to author sent
Atotoztli - none
Attila - request to author sent
Augstus Caesar - none
Bismark - none
Boudica - request to author sent
Brennus - none
Cetherine - none
Charlemange - none
Chruchill - none
Cunhambebe - none
Curtin - none
Cyrus - none
Darius I - none
De Gaulle - none
Deganawida - none
Dido - none
Dom Pedro II - request to author sent
Elizabeth II - in progress (rongo)
Frederick - none
Gandhi - none
Gilgamesh - none
Hammurabi - none
Hannibal - none
Hatshepsut - none
Heke - none
Hgenghis Khan - none
Hiram - none
Huyana Capac - none
Isabella - request to author sent
Jean - none
Joao II - none
Julius Caesar - none
Justinian II - none
King - none
Kublai Khan - none
Leonidas I - none
Lincoln - none
Little Crow - none
Logan - none
Louis XIV - none
Mac Donald - none
Mansa Musa - request to author sent
Mao Zedong - none
Mehmed II - none
Menelik II - request to author sent
Menzies - none
Mongkut - none
Montezuma - none
Napoleon - none
Ostenaco - none
Pacal II - none
Pearson - none
Pericles - none
Peter - request to author sent
Quin Shi Huang - request to author sent
Ragnar - none
Ramesses II - request to author sent
Ramkhamhaeng - none
Roosvelt - none
Saladin - none
Selassie I - none
Shaka - none
Shakushain - none
Sitting Bull - request to author sent
Sleepy Eye - none
Smoke Jaguar - none
Stalin - none
Suleiman - none
Suppiluliuma - none
Suryavarman II - none
Tokugawa - none
Trudeau - none
Victoria - none
Wang Kon - none
Washington - none
Wellem van Oranje - none
Yagan - none
Yunupingu - none
Zara Yaqob - request to author sent
 
I think when I got a pm from you I didn't understand the nature of the project you're suggesting as much as I think I might now.

Are you suggesting that we make the art file references to the leaderheads change with the era as the era goes along?

That would take a little dll work. But the good news is... not much.

The naming would be an organizational matter for our benefit but the art references would need to simply be referred to by new tags in the leaderheadinfos.xml file. I can make those tags and guide the art reference call in the leader programming so that it checks the era and calls the correct art by the era. I'll have to make sure a game is in progress though and if not have it call the 'default' art so that if the leader is referenced in the pedia outside of a game we'd be fine. So I'll have to figure out how to program an isgameinprogress check... I'm a little unclear on how to go about that properly. If I'm guessing correctly, any call to a getEra will probably return the last era the gamestate was known to be in. Again... not quite sure yet. Could just return a null if its not in a current game. (That would make it easier actually.)

But otherwise, once the programming is setup, the xml tags will be an easy matter to instruct on how to utilize so that 'by era' the leader calls to the correct art reference.

Then it'd be a matter of figuring out which FPK to utilize for all that art! That much won't be a small thing so making this an optional download would be difficult being as we're reaching a 'number of fpks in use' limit here. So it may need to go into the core release and in doing so, we'd have to be fully aware of how much data it's going to mean for downloading the mod.

But it IS a pretty cool idea... and certainly does help to progress some future plans as well.
 
@rongo

I am confused, so ...

A. You want to have every existing leader have a different appearance for each era such as in civ3?

australian.jpg


OR

B. You want each leader to be categorized by a different era and then you switch leaders when you switch eras? Such as ...

Shaka (Prehistoric) -> Gilgamesh (Ancient) -> Julius Caesar (Classical) -> Saladin (Medieval) -> Isabella (Renaissance) -> Abraham Lincoln (Industrial) -> Stalin (Modern)

Both seem monumental tasks. A would take a lot of art and B would take a lot more leaders for each civ. Not to mention Trans-Human and Galactic Era leaders.
 
The naming would be an organizational matter for our benefit but the art references would need to simply be referred to by new tags in the leaderheadinfos.xml file. I can make those tags and guide the art reference call in the leader programming so that it checks the era and calls the correct art by the era. I'll have to make sure a game is in progress though and if not have it call the 'default' art so that if the leader is referenced in the pedia outside of a game we'd be fine. So I'll have to figure out how to program an isgameinprogress check... I'm a little unclear on how to go about that properly. If I'm guessing correctly, any call to a getEra will probably return the last era the gamestate was known to be in. Again... not quite sure yet. Could just return a null if its not in a current game. (That would make it easier actually.)

Perhaps adding an additional layer to the DDS file named fe. "_PEDIA" would help? (the mechanism that checks which era-specific DDS layer to call upon, would call the PEDIA layer when called via civpedia... just a wild guess).

OR maybe someone could tie the leaderheads graphics to a specific tech instead of era - just trying to make things easy and smooth? So instead of eras we go, IF XX Civ has got YY Tech:
NULL -> pedia entry
1. -> nomadic lifestyle (furs/naked)
2. -> personal adornment - skins/furs/bones/feathers
3. -> folk culture/caste system - ancient clothing
4. -> something near monarchy
5. -> vassalage/civil service
6. -> anatomy/humanism
7. -> nationalism/romanticism
7.b -> alternative timeline:(we could add a gauge to a tophat, and viola a steampunk in 5minutes)
8. -> modern art/consumerism
9. -> nanotechnology
9.b -> alternative timeline:(biopunk)
10. -> homo superior

In early project stages, (4,5, 6) and (7,8) would just sometimes change only a bit or none, and the alternative timeline graphics would be the same layers with changed names, to get the project go live sooner.

Then it'd be a matter of figuring out which FPK to utilize for all that art! That much won't be a small thing so making this an optional download would be difficult being as we're reaching a 'number of fpks in use' limit here. So it may need to go into the core release and in doing so, we'd have to be fully aware of how much data it's going to mean for downloading the mod.

One LH DDS is 3-4MB, if containing 10 layers, 512x512 resolution -> so it's about 270+ MB for the current 70ish LH count.
OR (another wild guess) we could possibly drop the data count, if it would be possible to use a leaderhead with transparency and a background that would be used in more than one leaderhead. It might save 50-70MB, regarding how many backgrounds would be required. This would also open a window for even more variety, as the second layer could ask for a different variable (era, culture, military size or traits).

@rongo

I am confused, so ...

A. You want to have every existing leader have a different appearance for each era such as in civ3?

OR

B. You want each leader to be categorized by a different era and then you switch leaders when you switch eras? Such as ...

Shaka (Prehistoric) -> Gilgamesh (Ancient) -> Julius Caesar (Classical) -> Saladin (Medieval) -> Isabella (Renaissance) -> Abraham Lincoln (Industrial) -> Stalin (Modern)
It's A - I'm even going to contacts some of the civ3 modders, if they would have anything against, if their LH's graphic would get a second life. Your B option kinda goes along the way, I was trying to tinker with a long time ago, but epically failed - election modmod (http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=329284 PS-just for reference, it's not worth looking at).

Current status:
I'm building up a database of LH's. Most of my free time next week I'll tag and contact authors of ready made graphics - mostly the Civ3, as they had it running quite well and it could cover circa half of the material needed, if everybody agreed. I know some of the graphics were not A+, but at least it would be a good boost at start.
 
Well... make the art and we'll find a way to include it as you're looking for is all I can say at the moment ;) I would NOT base any programming on a naming convention recognition feature - but of course that doesn't mean there shouldn't be some naming conventions to make things easier for us.
 
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