[C3C] WIP: New Terrain Pack Based on 0.A.D Graphics

[nick0515]

Thanks for the comments everyone.

BM: I did quite like the first one too but in-game, on an actual map, it was quite hard to tell the difference between coast and sea. If I still have the files I can release them in case anyone wants to use them.

Vojvoda: Glad you plan to use it. I quite like that the hills I have now blend in with the grassland, but also I have been thinking of adding some rocky/dirt features to them. Re-barb villages, they are actually goodyhuts - Goldfool's civ 4 goodyhuts specifically.

I have made a template for the wCSO.pcx file which I might upload too. It's not perfect but it does the job. My different water tiles don't blend into each other they just have a curvy border between them because that's a lot easier than blending them.

 

[Kyriakos]

Looks great!

Some thing to change a bit imo is the trees not having so abruptly cut shades to the west

 

[Blue Monkey]

Please upload the variant files if you have them.

And templates are always welcome - we need all the help we can get figuring out ways to mod more effectively.

 

[nick0515]

Thanks, Kyriakos! Will see if I can add in a bit of shading to the west. I did rather cut it off didn't I which looks a little bit wrong.

 

[nick0515]

As promised, here are the files mentioned. The first version of my water tiles, plus the raw coast file that can be used with the other land terrain files to replace the coasts areas. I've also attached the template I made for creating the wCSO.pcx file.

 

[Vuldacon]

Looking Good Nick0515
Some suggestions are to work on eliminating lines of demarcation for added terrain such as Hills and Forests.
The Forests would look better without the Brown distinct lines at the base and the Hills would blend better without the Lighter Yellow/Green surrounding them.
Yes, it is a chore putting Terrains together so all blend well without appearing as pasted on.

For example...One way to accomplish Blending is to make a copy of your Grassland with many tiles put together then change it to 16 million colors. Make templates of the Hills and Forest tiles. Copy each Hill and Forest and paste over your Grassland Image. You can then Blend as you want then using your Templates, paste them over your adjusted Hills and Forests, copy and paste the adjusted Hills and Forests back onto the Original Files. Note, that you will need to change the Original Files to 16 million colors before pasting the New adjusted images on them. Then make new Palettes. Naturally, you would keep a back up copy of Original Files.

As a quick example to see what I am suggesting see this .png

 

[nick0515]

Thanks Vuldacon!

Your example image does look much better. I will work on both aspects as you mention. To create the hills I just took my grassland template converted to 256 palette and then pasted on the standard hills then pasted them back on the original file which was set to RGB and then converted that to 256 colours. This made them match better than the starndard hills but as you say they still don't blend that well. I'll need to find out how to set 16 million colours in GIMP.

I'm reducing the size of the forests by about 20% and I will also remove the brown base shadowy area re your example.

 

[Vuldacon]

nick0515... It is the outer edges that are affecting the Hills. You will need to adjust those edges against your Terrain to correct them.
You could have the Hills go to a more tan or other shade but it is the Blending at the edges that is important... Same for all terrain if you do not want lines of demarcation.
Keep at it because this terrain is looking very good.
In the end, of course you please yourself. My suggestions are simply my point of view and I happen to see some details that, IF I was doing the work, I would spend more time on.

Plenty of room for more Terrain Packs and I am happy to see you working on creating one.

 

[Blue Monkey]

To create the hills I just took my grassland template converted to 256 palette and then pasted on the standard hills then pasted them back on the original file which was set to RGB and then converted that to 256 colours. This made them match better than the starndard hills but as you say they still don't blend that well. I'll need to find out how to set 16 million colours in GIMP.

One thing I've tried in GIMP is free-selecting the area where (to follow your example) the hills and grassland meet. Then using "pick" and/or "spread" from the filters/noise/ menu. This mixes the pixels without introducing more colors. I'd still do it in RGB mode. Sometimes I've scaled the image up to 200%, done the free-selection then pick/spread, then reduced the image back to normal size. This seems to make the blending more subtle without introducing as much undesirable blurriness as some other ways of doing the blending.

It's not a perfect solution, but it's worth experimenting with.

 

[nick0515]

Thanks again Vuldacon and BM.

BM, I'm keen to try that method. In the past I have attempted blending mostly painstakingly pixel by pixel and it takes forever.

 

[Blue Monkey]

In the past I have attempted blending mostly painstakingly pixel by pixel and it takes forever.

Been there, done that. Using one of the tools that scatters pixels really helps. Still may need some clean up but it's still much faster. As part of the cleanup sometimes I'll select particular colors of pixels within the mixed region and replace them with the "invisible" color. That lets the underlying terrain peek through at more or less random spots.

 

[Vuldacon]

Been there, done that. Using one of the tools that scatters pixels really helps. Still may need some clean up but it's still much faster. As part of the cleanup sometimes I'll select particular colors of pixels within the mixed region and replace them with the "invisible" color. That lets the underlying terrain peek through at more or less random spots.

I agree... Generally, two or three combined procedures work well. Best to avoid blurring as that will also stand out.
Many times, just when we believe everything is Great, we find one or more terrain tiles that require additional adjustments. This is because the Game colors show a little differently than what we see in any Graphics Editor.
In the end, looking at the terrain in game, screen shots and manual adjustments provide better final results.

 

[Theov]

Looks great!
Love the sand - forest not so much to be honest.

 

[nick0515]

Thanks, Theov! The sand is my favourite part of the terrain so far too. I'm working on the forests although they won't change that much.

 

[nick0515]

After years of not modding, I'm feeling very motivated and I'm going to start work on this terrain again. In all likelihood I won't completely finish it but hopefully I can get it more usable.

 

[nick0515]

Looking Good Nick0515
Some suggestions are to work on eliminating lines of demarcation for added terrain such as Hills and Forests.
The Forests would look better without the Brown distinct lines at the base and the Hills would blend better without the Lighter Yellow/Green surrounding them.
Yes, it is a chore putting Terrains together so all blend well without appearing as pasted on.

For example...One way to accomplish Blending is to make a copy of your Grassland with many tiles put together then change it to 16 million colors. Make templates of the Hills and Forest tiles. Copy each Hill and Forest and paste over your Grassland Image. You can then Blend as you want then using your Templates, paste them over your adjusted Hills and Forests, copy and paste the adjusted Hills and Forests back onto the Original Files. Note, that you will need to change the Original Files to 16 million colors before pasting the New adjusted images on them. Then make new Palettes. Naturally, you would keep a back up copy of Original Files.

As a quick example to see what I am suggesting see this .png

First attempt to make changes as @Vuldacon suggested many moons ago.

Have gone for a brownish-greenish look at the edge of the forest without as much shadow. My reasoning was that grass doesn't grow in a thick forest does it? So wanted it to look more like earth or leaf cover than grass at the edge of the forest. Vuldacon's suggestions probably look better though so may try that instead.

Vuldacons suggestions:

My attempt at improvement:

This is also my first attempt at jungle. Thoughts?

 

[nick0515]

Also, in the standard editor I'm getting a weird issue where rivers show up as a black square on the map or are invisible. If I try to place new rivers they are invisible. I'm so rusty at modding I have no idea why this is. It could also be because I'm running the editor through Wine on Linux though. This didn't happen to me in the past though.

 

[Vuldacon]

nick0515... I understand your reason to try a brown/green earth like color at the edge of the Forests. That would be OK if blended more into the Grassland. As Blue Monkey posted, you can try placing scattered pixels of transparent color to allow the Base Grass color to show through to help blend what you want as it goes to Grassland to avoid a distinct stripe.

It can be helpful to look at Jungles to gain a better idea of what you want to show. Type Jungle Aerial View in your browser and click on Images.

The Jungle you have seems a bit too repetitious concerning the dark spots and general size of the trees.
Not all Jungles are Tropical and have to have Palm Trees and some do have more of the same trees but generally Jungles, like Forests, have differences in tree sizes, color shades and highlights. Also the over all appearance of Jungles have differences in highlighted areas and densities. Some trees stand out more than others... basically, you will have better results without causing a pattern.

The general "Feel" and appearance of what you create is of course your prerogative and in the end it is best to please yourself

I will add that although it is Not absolute, it is generally best to apply the same Contrast, Brightness and Color Density to each Terrain File so all basically goes together for an over all consistency.

Not sure what is causing your Rivers to show as a black square or not at all but it seems that it could be missing terrain files or palette problems concerning transparency. Make sure you have all Terrain files in the Game folder you are using and check the Palette for your Rivers to make sure it has the transparent colors set correctly on the palette. As you mentioned, it could also be how you are running the Editor. Have you looked at the Terrain in Game or just in the Editor?

 

[nick0515]

Thanks Vuldacon, helpful as ever! Will consider your advice.

Re the rivers, I tested them in game and they show up fine, so probably just how I'm using the editor. The rivers are just the default rivers I think. Will make sure the pallet is okay though.

 

[Vuldacon]

nick0515... If the Rivers are OK in Game it is probably just an editor situation.

Good to see you working on your Terrain... take your time and play around with it. You will have Fun and certainly be Excited as you develop it all and see the Great Results of your creation in Game.
Of course, with the Great Results you will be "Bitten by the Graphics Bug" and forced to continue working with graphics