New visitors should scroll to the end of this post, and read the quote containing the original message.
Guidelines
Current Tilers/modders/contributors/gentlemen/gentlewomen:
ArcElement2002WinnihymcptcaseycrystlshakeJohn_Hugheskronik83oddrheia
- First and foremost, the goal here is to provide the player with a graphically different image that should be "pleasant" (in the sense that it adds to immersion, not the other way around). If you feel that you can't do something that looks good with the guidelines, then you shouldn't do it. What I'm trying to say here is that the most important thing is that we end up with tiles that look good. Quality is extremely important, and it is a requirement (as are the other guidelines). Every tile will be up for discussion in this thread (post images), and I would appreciate it if everyone helped comment with positive criticism on each others tiles.
- Every tile requires two versions - one "under construction", and one in its completed stage. The "under construction" version of each tile should be significantly different from the finished version (you should immediately be able to tell that it is under construction). The "under construction" version does not have as high a quality requirement as the finished version. It is assumed that if you complete a "finished" tile, you will do the "under construction" tile as well.
- Color schemes will be rigidly followed. See each race below for the exact colours used for the buildings. Stay away from models that clash with these colours - you'll have to check for yourself, but a few models have colours that can't be changed. For example, if you're building a black city with the Living Stone, then white pillars are out of the question. Set the colours in the workshop, and you will see what models can and can't change.
- Keep in mind that most of these buildings are "repeatable", that is, the player will place several identical buildings right next to each other. Please try your hardest to minimize the negative impact this has on the visual experience. For example, placing a bright red flag in the top right corner will look extremely poor when the player places 10 next to each other. Broadly speaking, stay away from overly distinguishable models that clash with the color of the faction. With that said, this is obviously a very "gray" area and I only ask that you try your best to accomplish this.
- Also be careful to not divert too much from the previously established tiles of the faction. Remember, we are only doing a handful of the 50+ buildings each faction has available. It is important that the new design looks like it COULD have been made in that city. For example, if I am designing a new study in an elf town, I should be using trees and wooden buildings. With this said, again, the goal here is to create something that is visually distinguishable from the standard designs. I know I'm being very vague here, but be aware that you can go "too far" in either direction. This guideline will be mostly up to every tiler to discuss with each other.
- In addition, - Only one pedestrian may be placed on each tile (three may be used for 'under construction' versions) - Only one effect may be used, and it should be a detail in the tile, and should never "draw the eye" of the viewer - Ground decals may only be used if they are a significant part of the building. For example, see the elf school. If you want to add a new decal, that is doable. Stay away from general cobblestone usage and such, it looks very bad. - No design may contain more than 35 objects. Use them wisely. In particular, try to avoid "useless crap", which is stuff the player won't ever see (models hidden under other models, models too small to see without zooming in as close as possible). - All tiles should be 1x1 for the first stage of this expansion (no exception - make sure you select 1x1 in the workshop and stay within the YELLOW square) - Try to create designs that use as much as possible of the space in the tile, up to the edge. Avoid "inorganic" walls on the tile. - Make sure that you are using the correct environment for the tile. Environments are listed under each faction, and you change it in the Options in the workshop. This is because environments do change the colour on some models. - Scale: Look at other buildings of the same faction.
- The actual buildings in a tile must use the setting below for height placement - fixed height (see screenshot). This is so that the building parts do not go out of sync due to tiny environment changes. Fences, trees, rocks and such things should NOT have fixed height (unless they are the building).
- Each tile must be sent WITH THE SHADOWS. For the elf community project I had to re-save every tile without shadows and it was a total pain in the ass. Shadows are placed in the /tiles/shadows/ folder.
- DO NOT CHANGE THE FILENAME OF A TILE WITHOUT TELLING ME. IF YOU CHANGE THE FILE NAME TO SOMETHING OTHER THAN WHAT YOU SAVED IT AS, IT WILL NOT FUNCTION.
- Naming policy - please name your tiles close to something like EF_UU_factionhere_buildinghere and add _build to end if its the "under construction" version. For example, for the angels' study that is under construction, I would name the file EF_UU_angels_Study_build
- If there are any extra models that you feel are needed to complete a certain design, let me know. We can add more to the game, but it takes time to do so.
Asset: TESTBUILDING mod: http://www.mediafire.com/?ci39h3iu0l3l2ad
This is just a 1x1 building that can be built by any faction, and increases prestige by 50 and population by 300 in the city it is built. It is included so that you can test your tiles' appearances in a city. If you wish to test your tile with a city, open this file and replace the following lines
<TileDesign>F_Hovel_02</TileDesign> <ConstructionTileDesign>F_Hovel_Build_02</ConstructionTileDesign>
so that the tags contain the name you saved your tile as.
Uncolored means the task has not been assigned
Orange means the task has been assigned, and you should preferably choose something else to contribute with
Green means the task has been completed (and the files have reached me)
Note: You don't need my permission to start working on a tile. This is just so that if you want to take your time working on something, you can reserve that task so noone can steal it from under your feet.
These colourcodes describe how you get the right colours in the builder's forge - left from right means top to bottom in-game. For example, the drota have the <BuildingRoofColor>230,150,15</BuildingRoofColor> and this would equal this screenshot:
For citycores, the limit is 100 objects and 4 pedestrians, 2 effects
Each race requires at least 5 different cores,
core1 represents the beginning stages of building. It is what the player sees for the first 8-9 turns before he hits the cap in the city at level 1core2 represents the city after its beginning stages - what the user sees at the cap of level 1, and level 2 citiescore3 represents the "average town", you'll likely see a decent form of wall around this, it is used for level 3 citiescore4 is the stage between "average town" and superfortresscore5 is the last stage, the superfortress. This building should be quite large in height, so that it sticks out from the other city buildings.
Angels (environment:grassland)White temple-like buildings in a lush forest. Not swampy. Avoid specific religious symbols. <BuildingPrimaryColor>200,200,200</BuildingPrimaryColor> <BuildingSecondaryColor>200,200,200</BuildingSecondaryColor> <BuildingRoofColor>200,200,200</BuildingRoofColor>Study (Winnihym)Library (Winnihym)Arcane Lab (Winnihym)Hut (Winnihym)House (Winnihym)Beacon of Hope (Winnihym)Workshop (Winnihym)citycore1 (Winnihym)citycore2 (Winnihym)citycore3 (Winnihym)citycore4 (Winnihym)citycore5 (Winnihym)Living Stone (environment: dead)A race of living stone, they would be suited best to live in rock formations that resemble kingdom buildings. Avoid lava-pits and such. <BuildingPrimaryColor>50,50,50</BuildingPrimaryColor> <BuildingSecondaryColor>25,25,25</BuildingSecondaryColor> <BuildingRoofColor>100,100,100</BuildingRoofColor>Study (John_Hughes)Library (John_Hughes)Arcane Lab (John_Hughes)Hut (John_Hughes)House (John_Hughes)Beacon of Hope (John_Hughes)Workshop (John_Hughes) citycore1 (John_Hughes) citycore2 (John_Hughes) citycore3 citycore4 citycore5Death legion (environment: dead)Demons with slaves worshipping them. Avoid large demon statues as they will stand out when the building is repated (as ornaments they are ok, and as monument large demons are ok). Buildings should aspire to be "poor" and "twisted". <BuildingPrimaryColor>0,0,0</BuildingPrimaryColor> <BuildingSecondaryColor>0,0,0</BuildingSecondaryColor> <BuildingRoofColor>0,0,0</BuildingRoofColor>Tower of Dominion (crystlshake)Monument (crystlshake)Hovel (crystlshake)House (crystlshake) Archivist (crystlshake)Master Archivist (crystlshake)Loreshop (crystlshake)Laborpit (crystlshake) citycore1 citycore2 citycore3 citycore4 citycore5Drota (environment: desert)Desert-living hunters. <BuildingPrimaryColor>140,120,100</BuildingPrimaryColor> <BuildingSecondaryColor>80,60,40</BuildingSecondaryColor> <BuildingRoofColor>230,150,15</BuildingRoofColor>Tower of Dominion (kronik83)Monument (kronik83)Hovel (ArcElement2002)House (ArcElement2002)Archivist (kronik83)Master Archivist (kronik83)Loreshop (kronik83)Laborpit (kronik83) citycore1 (kronik83) citycore2 (kronik83) citycore3 (kronik83) citycore4 (kronik83) citycore5 (kronik83)Goblins (environment: dead)As much as I hate to admit, I didn't have a clear line of thought for these bastards. They're smart, evil and backstabbing. Think DnD, not warhammer. Their buildings should appear as "make-shift", and certainly never look like they were designed. But they also do not live in rubble, although rubble surrounds their buildings. <BuildingPrimaryColor>140,120,100</BuildingPrimaryColor> <BuildingSecondaryColor>80,60,40</BuildingSecondaryColor> <BuildingRoofColor>230,150,15</BuildingRoofColor>Tower of Dominion (cptcasey)Monument (cptcasey) Hovel (cptcasey)House (cptcasey) Archivist (cptcasey)Master Archivist (cptcasey)Loreshop (cptcasey)Laborpit (cptcasey) citycore1 (cptcasey) citycore2 (cptcasey) citycore3 (cptcasey) citycore4 (cptcasey) citycore5(cptcasey)Golem king (environment: winter)As golems most likely built these buildings, they should be "flawless" in design (the opposite of goblins). No pyramids. Be careful not to place plants or trees, unless they get coloured white by the winter environment. Do not place snow, unless you are placing a larger pile of snow (in that case, use stones, or white flower stacks). <BuildingPrimaryColor>200,200,200</BuildingPrimaryColor> <BuildingSecondaryColor>200,200,200</BuildingSecondaryColor> <BuildingRoofColor>200,200,200</BuildingRoofColor>Tower of Dominion (oddrheia)Monument (oddrheia)Hovel (oddrheia)House (oddrheia) Archivist (oddrheia)Master Archivist (oddrheia)Loreshop (oddrheia)Laborpit (oddrheia) citycore1 (oddrheia) citycore2 (oddrheia) citycore3 (oddrheia) citycore4 (oddrheia) citycore5 (oddrheia)Lost Souls (environment: dead)What buildings do ghosts live in? Heh. Alright, these are members of an old traitor-kingdom that is now following the logic of the empires. Run-down kingdom buildings that now look empire would be awesome - but they should not be ruins (doesn't make sense, why "build" ruins?). <BuildingPrimaryColor>100,100,100</BuildingPrimaryColor> <BuildingSecondaryColor>100,100,100</BuildingSecondaryColor> <BuildingRoofColor>100,100,100</BuildingRoofColor>Tower of Dominion (ArcElement2002)Monument (ArcElement2002)Hovel (ArcElement2002)House (ArcElement2002)Archivist (ArcElement2002)Master Archivist (ArcElement2002)Loreshop (ArcElement2002)Laborpit (ArcElement2002) citycore1 (ArcElement2002) citycore2 (ArcElement2002) citycore3 (ArcElement2002) citycore4 (ArcElement2002) citycore5 (ArcElement2002)
original post:
Decided on creating a separate thread instead of using the ExpandedFactions thread, so noone misses this.
tiler - a person who creates building designs in the in-game workshop
I'm looking for a few dedicated tilers to join me with working on the ExpandedFactions mod. I want the factions to become more diverse in how their buildings look, but I don't have time to do it myself. The ExpandedFactions mod is currently entering its second phase with the aim of adding unique units to each faction (which will be my main project).
Our first goal will be to create new designs for all the "basic" buildings for each faction (study+library, arcane lab, hut+house, beacon of hope, workshop). The tiles for the Elves have already been completed in the Elves community project.
Second goal will be to create new designs for all the cityhubs for each faction.
Third goal will be to create new wallsets for each faction, starting with the default wall and moving upwards.
I'm not looking for people who only want to do one or two tiles for this one (it's not a community project). I'm also not looking for people who don't enjoy modding, or think this would be something fun worthy of their time. There will be strict guidelines, and the demands on quality will be high. On the other hand, the timelimit will be very open - the project will be on-going until completed.
If you would like to help out, send me a private message and/or post here.
Bundled up the Tower of Dominion, Hovel, House, Archivest and Loreshop and sent them on their way. Just need to double check the master archivest build tile and test for that one to be done.
@oddrheia: I really like the GK fort / Castle; my only feedback would be to shrink the spires & remove their buttress on the fort. Having them be equivalent hieght makes it kind of difficult to tell the difference from the screen caps. Shrinking the height / number of levels on the outside ring of spires + removing the buttresses would make it extremely apparent when moving between "little" & "big" defensive brothers.
master archivest build tile
first pass at the monument - not decided on the fire color- may go with a red to match the faction flag and need to check sizing, also the base seems kind of barren and im not sure what i want to put there (was originaly going to go more of a fist but the rock formations work out for making devils horns which is neat)
It's weekend!
M. Agrippa:
Shrinking spires on the fort (both inner and outer ones) was a good call. It made the fort better proportioned, thanks! I didn't remove the buttresses so, they are kinda one object with the outer pillar thing. Treid replacing them with the same spire as the inner circle and didn't like the result. Building just lost its shape to my eye.
Crystlshake,
Scary looking monument there! Pleasant purple, though . And don't feel like you absolutely need to fill all space on the ground. It may look a little barren in the editor, but once in game, surrounded by other more cluttered tiles it may look just fine. My arcane lab is actually very, very simular structure-wise. It has a thin, stem-like base supporting a thicker construction, and spikes protruding from the ground from 4 corners on the ground. It looks good in the city either repeated, or on its own.
Your call though, as always!
Another food-related improvement, Skath Pit. 1 per city, lvl 3.
Crystals/well/tree/cart with crystals and blue flowers are parts of surrounding wallset, not the tile itself.
May do another pass at the snowy dark decal later. The darned skath also looked white in the editor, but turned dark in Golemking test game .
Amazing monument crystlshake. Love the little wagon with a crystal in the wallset. That's what I meant when I said that's what you need to create an organic feel.
Yeah . Been working on the walls past couple of hours, exterminating the pines and adding more sections with little things here and there. I actually opened them up with intention to start the tutorial on constructing them, but ended up working on those again, lol. Basic is done, I'm almost happy with advanced, but castle walls are proving more problematic. Oh wells, I'll get them.

monument build first pass
laborpit first pass
crystlshake I sent you an e-mail but I think you missed it. I was wondering if it's ok that I alter the size of the pedestrians in the tiles you sent? They're slightly too large, compared to other tiles.
sure go ahead,
edit:
Im not entirely satisfied with my labor pit- could be the crane or the log spikes but it doesn't seem to give the slave impression I was hoping for
Crystlshake, leave it alone for a day or two... helps sometimes, I've reworked quite a few buildings that way.
And, I I think I have finally, finally, finally found the walls progression that I both like (looks good) and that has acceptably light count of objects. Lost count how many times I redone the final wall. Had a really pretty version with crystal stars that had more than 30 object per section... ocbviously scrapped that monster, but darn did it look good
Anyway, this is what I'm stopping at. Those are clutter-less, just to demonstrate basic progression. Also, basic fence uses no towers, 'picket' has same towers as city core 3 (height and scale-wise), and 'castle' got its corner replaced with a temple base and a tower from city core 5. They appear whenever the wall curves, so it creates a sence of the city becoming more fortified.
What I am really happy about, is that castle wall doesn't take the focus from the city since it isn't as thick as the usual kingdom/empire walls. I'll post some various city shots later... it looks nice, take my word for it . With fort/castle structures in place, and hovel->shanty->shanty+slum progression it really looks like the city grows and becomes more sophisticated with the upgrades.
---
I'd also like some advice/ideas... at some point I'm going to have to make the darn wheat farm. Empire windmill blades look way, way, waaaaay too dark for it. Kingdom windmill blades are sorta okay, but still got too much wood on it for my liking.I tried shrinking and animating pillars and white wood beams in place, but they just end up looking silly and obviously not a windmill material.
Should I keep trying to make a windmill? Or try to come up with some contraption like for the labor pit? Try anything else?
you might be able to use something like the fallen tent circle thing, water wheel or a series of rotating discs for a gear chain as a windmill is primarily used for pumping water for irrigation and water mill for grain grinding.
I don't think there's a specific need for a windmill anywhere. Use your imagination, judging by your other tiles that's something you're great at.
Okay, the latest (and I hope the last) round of edits on angel house and hovel
Angel Hovel:
Angel House:
Angel_Hovel_Build (also house build)
Please give me any suggestions by tonight (Sunday night); I want to get these to HF soon.
Winni
Winnihym, I like them
I'd put a doorway or a window (whichever looks better) near the base of the hut, though, and make the house roof less flat.
Like this, maybe? (I put the two objects that could make up the roof near the building itself for illustration purposes.)
Up to you, if you'd like it or not, however!
Crystlshake and heavenfall, thanks . I'll play around with windmill-less wheat farm a bit later. Don't feel up to making it as a next improvement yet, but I thought it would be good to brainstorm.
oddrheia! Just the person I want to see!
Got any suggestions as to how to add the waterfall folks have suggested for the house? The standard particle editor waterfall doesn't really scale appropriately to fit well; do you have some pointers on how to make a little waterfall, please?
Whatcha trying to do with the waterfall? Fountain like look with water going up, or cascading from the roof to the ground?
From roof to ground. There's an existing "waterfall4" particle effect, but it's too tall for it's width, and I haven't been able to really figure out the particle forget just yet. Any good pointers to a tutorial?
I've made the other change you suggested; much cleaner look, thanks!
Well... with the roof to ground this is the best I could do with the water falling into a small basin below, it looks better animated:
It's the single_waterfall_1 particle, scaled down and moved up (or down, don't remember ), haven't touched the partcile editor...
Grab the tile HERE and take a look. Feel free to use, tweak, edit, etc, etc to fit your style more.
Also, the only particle cauldron tutorial I am aware of is here: https://forums.elementalgame.com/393955
@oddrheia: to hop on the engineering horse for a moment, the original purpose of wind and water mills was to provide rotational force / energy to turn giant mill stones to grind the grain into actual food (thus the association). The need to turn the huge circular millstones is why the larger circles were built to harvest free energy from the environment to generate edible food.
Where would the Golem King get free energy?
@+ Winnihym: I really like where the angle hovel / house ended up. Maybe drop a cauldron or cook-fire or something with an effect to the roof of hovel and a glimmer in roof of house's water pool?
Nice job on the whole set so far.
I like them as well. Here is MY take on the House waterfall object.
Ooh, JH, that's very, very nice! I like it a lot. It violates the one sparkly per tile rule, though, and on a house, I think that's a bad idea, so I'm going to stick with rheia's one drop. But it's beautiful!
Only the workshop to go now!
A good decision, especially on the house.
As promised, in game wallsets screens. I'm including the fullblown screenshots, so be warned the images are quite large.
lvl 1 outpost with basic wall
lvl 3 city with golems' quivalent of picket wall + fort (probably needs a few more buildings to represent true lvl 3 city size, though)
lvl 4 city with castle walls+ caste
Farm, Orchard, Apiary and Scenic View in front of lvl 4 city (with second scenic view inside the city)
Please don't mind the ever invading pine trees... the vast majority of them aren't mine! They are part of the default winter environment . Also, apiary on the last screenshot seems to be missing 2 of my winter retextured apple trees. Going to have to figure out why.
Also, I am not even 1/3 done with the buildings, so cities are going to see more variety.
Note that most of the time resources like scenic views spawn outside of the city walls, but on a rare ocasion they spawn so near that they inevitably get integrated into the city itself. Just wanted to see if it looks allright.
On that note, I'm calling golem wallsets complete, unless someone absolutely hates them. I've lost count how many versions of picket and castle I've done at this point, and I think those are the best I can do without reeealy jacking up object count per wall section or using default kingdom/empire pieces, which I was trying to avoid.
And here's more detailed screenshot of the scenic view I've been working on in between of tweaking walls:
Couple of pines, and snowpiles with blue flowers aren't mine. Part of the default winter environment that spawn randomly, again . The whole thing came out a whole lot lighter on object than Empire default, which also makes me happy.
Shot from the editor for better look at geometry:
Hmm... I love the screenshots of the cities, but I'm not sure I understand the scenic view. How would this help produce diplomatic capital? I think the scenic view needs some sort of "normal" building (I always thought of it like a tourist attraction).
Anyone else got any suggestions?
Could get rid of the current structure and replace it with something on top of the stone hill, if that's preferable. I've no problem doing that .
What I was going for is a scenic location with a kind of awe-inspiering structure, eh... size-wise at least. Something like a temple. I kind of associate diplomatic capital with a faction being respected for something. Guess just a different understanding (or misunderstanding?) of what it represents in game.
There are many great features available to you once you register, including:
Sign in or Create Account
