Tech Icon Makers Challenge, April 2006

[Quinzy]

vote, just not for yourself. and i think that not voting for yourself is obvious in any poll..

 

[William GBTW]

So we vote...but not for ourself and if we think ours is best we don't vote! Spacer does have a point though.

 

[Roman Legion]

I wonder who is going to win, I just hope I get votes. right now im probbably going to vote for spacer's, since it was my request. and it look's great. Good Job Spacer!!!!

 

[William GBTW]

I'm not saying who I'll vote...I just hope I get votes.

 

[Spacer One]

glad you like it...but dont feel obligated to vote for me...I only entered to broaden the playing field...

 

[Roman Legion]

Spacer at this point who are you and Will going to vote for?

 

[William GBTW]

Right now probably Alpine Farming or Boat Building...maybe advanced recon.

 

[Roman Legion]

ok, like I said Im probably voting for Archimedes Screw. and did you seen my stargate tech icon's thread?

 

[William GBTW]

yes. I saw it while you were reserving. Good!

 

[Roman Legion]

I dont even know if I reserved enough space, I mean it's alot of tech, from a stargate dictionary.

 

[Spacer One]

The Naquaduh Generator would be better if you got a full pic, not a pic of a model(all one color)...sweet Icon tho...

As far as who Im voting for...Boat Building tops my list so far...I think...but that is subject to change on a whim...

 

[Roman Legion]

well, if you try to find a pic of the generator, that one was the best by far.

 

[Spacer One]

I know...there arent any "good" pics of it..

 

[Roman Legion]

yeah, this one is the best, one of all.

 

[Rambuchan]

Because -

(a) The Civilopedia isn't just there to give workaday historical descriptions but to add interest, at least in my opinion. It ought to form an organic whole, with the different entries all being written from the same point of view and for the same purpose. Just cutting and pasting soulless paragraphs from the Internet seems to defeat the whole purpose of it. You might as well give page references to the Encyclopaedia Britannica.

(b) Wikipedia is utterly unreliable.

(c) The Civilopedia is the one part of a mod that anyone can do. You don't have to have any graphical skill, programming knowledge, or ability to comprehend the arcane workings of the Editor. So when people don't put any effort into the easiest part of the mod, it makes me rather suspicious of what the rest of it must be like!

Just my view, anyway. Personally I'm always disappointed when otherwise great mods have patchy or uninteresting pedias, but perhaps other people aren't so bothered by this.

Well I agree with all this whole heartedly. Civilopedia's are something that I find very interesting in a scenario --- I play scenarios to learn more about those periods, conflicts, kingdoms and so on --- and I'm always disappointed when folk have done half the job on them, not only for the reasons Plotinus mentions.

I have to confess that I have nicked pieces of text from my bookshelf and the net for pedia entries. If you're going to town on them in such a way, sometimes you just don't have the time to get it all done for a version's release. BUT I always add a personal flourish, to help bind the entry to the overall feel of the game.




With this all said, I'm one of those who hasn't been exposed to many of the technicalities required to contribute fully to the modding altar. I'm just not technically minded. But I aim to do what I can and I've been meaning to start throwing out some of the icons I've been making up. I spend a long time reading up on all kinds of art history to choose my icons. So I opt for paintings done by famous artists whose works are emblematic of the period in question. Or some other relevant cultural artefact. Here is one classic example of that process for this month's competition:

Ottoman Firearms



Please let me know if I need to do anything else for the comp entry. I've never done one of these before. And Luddi deserves some credit for this too. I did it with him originally. But I think it may be useful for other people's mods, hence me choosing this to enter.

 

[Rambuchan]

Props to the Icon by Darque. Someone after my own heart!!

 

[William GBTW]

I added it.

 

[Rambuchan]

Thanks!

Personally, on second reflection, I reckon there should be some distinction made here. For example, Darque and I are showing quite different skills to those displayed by say Ares. Perhaps keep posting entries but have two votes. a) Created (ie. artistic skills) b) Sourced (ie. researcher and / or art historian skills). I don't want to fracture the comp. just want to be fair. And it shouldn't stop us from having loads of entries!

 

[William GBTW]

I know you mean have two votes and have the optons like:
Tech Icon 1-Artistic
Tech Icon 1-Research
*
If so I would win the research cuase of my great pedia.

 

[Spacer One]

If there are 2 catagories, we should be able to enter both...I already do 2 Icons(usually)...1 that is basic and "fits the firaxis style" like the one I entered...and an "Artistic" alt version(check the Zip of my icon)...

I already had mixed feelings on which to enter, and having 2 catagories would solve my dilema...