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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.
That adds to the theme really well oddrheia. Could you change the color a bit? A more Orange/Yellowish hue would really help it stand out and in the larger city setting would be super cool.
@crystlshake
I like that Tower. Great use of that Object. If the flame was on the Particle pick list, you can tweak it for Color/Tint if you haven't already been in there.
Very nice work on the tower. I would perhaps reduce the size of the orange window/door about 10-15% as they're quite large compared to the depth of the building behind the door. What I mean is, if I opened that door I'd be faced with a wall almost in front of me.
@oddrheia I've changed my mind. If you want to design a full tileset for the golem king faction, I would gladly include it in the expandedfactions mod.
The Living_Stone House. Thought? Additions? Ideas? Trying to stay somewhat thematic.
Okay, couple sets ready for comment and criticism, and by all that's holy, I'm going to figure out how to post pictures here, instead of links.
Angel's Arcane Laboratory:
Angels Beacon:
Angels Study (I'm not happy with this, I could use advice)
Please give comments (and if someone could point out how to get the image size reductions done for the forum, I'd appreciate it).
Winni
John_Hughes I'd remove that tiny window above the main building, otherwise all good.
Winnihym when you upload to imageshack you can select to automatically resize the images.
The study needs a building, otherwise everything is perfect.
Okay, will do. How do I get you the files?
Also, I may need to violate the 35 component limit for the library; as an upgrade to the study, I'm already close to the limit on the study (the paving tiles take up a lot of slots). That okay?
No, it's not. That's the building that players build the most in any game. It is ok to drastically change the appearance of the building when you go from study to library.
Mail files to outelf@gmail.com
Heavenfall: You got it! Or err... will, eventually . Will take a bit of time, but I'd love to do the full set. Walls first though, might as well get the most frustrating thing out of the way. Also, mind I try out your crystals from elementium churners mod to splice up some more advanced buildings? Not saying I'll need to, but if they mesh well.
John: house is great. I do like how you fit things together, and the use of rock and plants. Pure white elements bother me a little though. Might look better in game, so don't let that comment to discourage you!
As for the visual effect on the master archives, I'll give it a second (okay, more like 27th) pass after I put together the wallsets. My main concern with changing it from subtle white to more distinct color like red or orange is that, like heavenfall said, that building is the one both ai and player will build the most. And having a bright effect repeat itself so many times may draw attention to it too much. Current color doesn't have that issue in game (I stacked 10+ of the in a city to test the look). Second concern is, after a quick look at available colors at the cauldron, the red makes lightning look less 'shiny' and lot less like 'lightening' .
Winnihym: I agree, the study needs some kind of a building... currently it makes a good garden, but nothing to indicate some kind of research is going on in there . Also, be careful with placing objects right on top of the tile border. I'd leave a small bit of space free... It's not nesseseraly a problem, but if you have two tiles built in similar fashion and placed near each other, there'll be no 'sidewalk' between the buildings in game.
Use them any way you want to, let me know if you need more.
I'm aiming for a sunday release of the first 8 unique units for expandedfactions. If you have anything you'd like to get included in that release, be sure to send it in. After that, it will probably be a week or more before the next release.
Howdy, lurker from the peanut gallery. Just wanted to say what a great job ya'll are doing making these tiles, will improve immersion on EF hugely for me at least. I submit the following feedback on your coolness:
@oddrheia: Dude, the insane geometry golem king is fantastic!
@ john_hughes: I like the upper green window on the LS house, but agree with heavenfall it looks a little off. Have you considered making it larger and playing with the angles to make it look like a skylight on the main "hall" of the house, leaving the 2 offshoot "bedrooms" and everything else the same? They are Kingdom after all, why not like open plan sunny spaces?
@Winnihym: for you Angles study might I suggest elevating your current cross / water bowl to make it the top of the building, so that it becomes the "roof" with some support pillars? You could removed the grass ground cover to free up objects, and modify the trees size and number to keep with other Elf buildings. Selecting the right trees / effects could contribute to your Pandora theme?
@cptcassey: I like what your doing with the goblins, so far your doing a really nice job keeping them distinct from the Drota. Any chance of getting little green pedestrians?
Wishing Friday to all.
Like this, maybe, Agrippa?
That is a way better looking Study version Winnihym. I would put the water pool in the top for color contrast.
Thanks all for the input.
@ M. Agrippa
Yes I tried a variety of angle and sizes. The domed shape makes placement difficult. Something to keep in mind for another tile though.
@ oddrheia
I will look into the white feature. I forgot the chimneys as it turns out Be back soon with the update and Build.
Actually, I like that, because then it can be adapted easily as a growth to the Library:
@ Winnihym: that is exactly what I was thinking, it and Lib look nice! I agree with John that the water pool should be put back in for the color contrast; it would also make an excellent home for an effect for the tile as a finishing touch. Maybe scale up the effect when moving Study > Lib?
@John_Hughes: No way to "flatten" the dome? I guess things like skylights are more of a villa feature anyways!
Yeah, it would be nice to have separate scaling on X, Y, and Z, so that things like flattening could occur. Put it on the list for Mr. Shafer to look at.
Great-looking library and study.
M. Agrippa: *waves* Thanks!
Winnihym: You've no idea how many times per tile building session I wish for separate scaling It would open up soooooo many options. I believe it was asked for multiple times in the thread for modding improvements, but it never hurts to bombard the devs with that request some more!
Study/Library looks very nice. And, from what I remember of the elven tileset (made a part of it, after all, lol) it will mesh great with it. Lots of arches there too.
Now, excuse highjacking the thread for a moment here... but could someone verify that I'm not missing tiles from the list, and have correct dimensions? I think that's all for empire... but I've not played as one since ages ago.
Empire TilesUNLIMITED1x1[No tech]Monument, lvl 2, prestige[No tech]Hovel, people[Imperium]Shanty, lvl 3, people (upgrades Hovel)[No tech]Archivists, tech[Imperium]Master Archivist, lvl 3, tech (upgrades Archisits) [No tech]Lore Shop, arcane [No tech]Labor Pit, materials
2x2[imperium]Slum, lvl 4, people
1 PER CITY1x1[Imperium] Barter House, lvl 4, guildar[Imperium]Granary, lvl 2, food[Imperium]Fungal Storehouse, lvl 3, food[Imperium]Skath Pit, lvl 3, food[Imperium]Smelter, lvl 3, metal[Imperium]Craft Shop, lvl 3, Materials[conquest]Garrison, lvl 2, traning[conquest]War Council, lvl 3, logistics[conquest]Warrior Temple, lvl 3, training[conquest]Siege Factory, lvl 3, sieges [conquest]Archery Range, lvl 3, archers[Sorcery]Hall of Sorcery, lvl 2, arcane [Sorcery]Temple of Souls, lvl 3, mana [Domination]Temple of Titans, lvl 5, influence [Domination]Temple of Knowledge, lvl 3, tech2x2[Imperium]Trade Center, lvl 4, guildar [Imperium]School, lvl 2, tech[Imperium]Academy, lvl 4, tech[Sorcery]Scion Temple, lvl 4, unit[conquest]Wooden Wall, defence, walls[conquest]Castle (upgrades wooden wall), defence, walls2x3[conquest]Harbor, lvl 31 PER FACTION1x1[No tech]Tower of Dominion, lvl 1, prestige[Domination]Isildar's Bounty,lvl 3, food[Domination]Zaleth's Treasury, lvl 4, guildar[Domination]Temple of Telenanth, lvl 5, arcane[Domination]Emerald Palace,lvl 5, arcane, mana [Domination]Temple of Avarice, lvl 5, tech[Imperium] Imperial Throne, lvl 4, maintenance, prestige[Sorcery]Tower of Sorcery, lvl 2, arcane2x2[Imperium]Imperial Mint, lvl 5, guildar[Imperium]Curgen's Exchange, lvl 5, guildar [Imperium]Sage Ministry, lvl 4, tech[Cooperation]Consular's Palace, lvl 3, unit, diplomacy 1 PER GAME1x1[Imperium]Statue of Kir-Tion lvl 2, prestige[Domination]Order of Draginol, lvl 5, extra shards??RESOURSES2x2[Domination]Lost Library[Sorcery]Arcane Temple[Sorcery]Air Shrine -> Greater Air Shrine[Sorcery]Earth Shrine -> Greater Earth Shrine[Sorcery]Fire Shrine -> Greater Fire Shrine[Sorcery]Water Shrine -> Greater Water Shrine[Sorcery]Crystal Mine[Imperium]Iron Mine [Imperium]Ventry Mine [Imperium]Gold mine[No tech]Farm [No tech]Stone Quarry [No tech]Clay Quarry [No tech]Marble Quarry [No tech]Timber Mill [No tech]Wheat farm [No tech]Apiary [No tech]Orchard [No tech]Scenic View [No tech]Oasis [Cooperation]Darlking Village [Cooperation]Umberdroths [Cooperation]Drota Citadel [Cooperation]Demon Gate Ogre Camp[No tech] KennelCITY HUBS2x2Core0 builtCore1 lvl 1Core2 lvl 2Core3 lvl 3Core4 lvl 4Core5 lvl 5WALLS2x2Basic Fence - basicPicket wall - upgrade 1 with wooden wallCastle wall - upgrade 2 with castle UNIQUE TO GOLEM2x2Capital0 builtCapital1 lvl 1Capital2 lvl 2Capital3 lvl 3Capital4 lvl 4Capital5 lvl 5Capital6 lvl 6 Capital7 lvl 7
Written Destiny, lvl 0 ?, unit
Does that sound right? Does empire really only have 2 'wonders' to build? I recall kingdoms having a bunch more...
And Heavenfall, I'll get you the written destiny tile before sunday. Anything to put off the torture of aligning wallsets
Hurr... that list really hurts my brains ^^
The slum is a 2x2 tile, and it's not an upgrade to house (house doesn't upgrade).
Kennel has no tech.
Ogre camps appear to have been taken out of the game.
Otherwise it looks complete.
Haha, well, my brain has declared me insane after compiling that list and taking a mental stock of objects to build with.
Updated with corrections. I figure... it'll take a month-ish, give or take a few days.
Cool.
You have until wednesday.
Well then!
I'm renaming the unique golem tile 'Heavenfall's demise'. And sending golems after ya. All that brainpower will be put to good use! Promise!
lore shop and take 2 on the tower (the large window is supposed to be a portal type thing like a stargate, the fountain pieces didn't look the greatest as a mirror), got the flame closer to the color i wanted as well, also added a door at the back side of the tower structure.
The base piece that the "window" tries to sit on/in is rounded. Due to limited piece choices that both start flat and are the right color, embedding the "window" so it looks good (Mr. Fussy here) is tough.
The House file(s) are on my other PC, forgot to Dropbox them (doh!) so I hope to get it out to HF before end of Sat. evening.
Is that Lore Shop skull attached to something unseen or is it a floater?
Love the loreshop shape!
Written Destiny resource (produces golems)
Would look better with couple more golems on 'spawning' platforms, but eh. Zoom out past medium distance and that sole one I have now goes 'poof' too.
And for size comparision with a shard:
I'm of half a mind to use lightening strike effect inside the crystal matrix sphere thing instead of a subtle blue glow I have now. But the particle cauldron and I are not friends The stupid beam goes up into the sky instead of being confined by the sphere. Either that, or using emitter instead of beam looks flat in this instance .
Heavenfall, does the tile fit the concept, or you'd prefer something else?
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