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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.
Obviously it's up to you.
I think if you want an awe-inspiring building that works, but then it needs to be more awe-inspiring.
How about a Chalet type building, that is set into the rock face, set high up on a mountain and uses your pillar structures as the supports to keep it there, (using way more snow rock) type theme.
P.S. I knew the House broke the "Rule" but I liked it enough to embellish it a bit. Should look great with the Single fall.
Yup, back to the drawing board with the scenic view. Funny thing, same happened with the elven one. Looks like my first tries at that improvement are destined for tiles' repository, lol.
Something different then.
One of the unique domination related improvements is Zaleth's Treasury. Much like the other empire domination related techs it's a tribute building (this time around a tribute to Curgen's treasurer, so I'd like to keep a shrine-like quality to it. (and other domination related techs. Isildur's bounty is another one I completed so far).
I think I may make the treasure bowl a little bigger, though.
And one more: Tower of Sorcery (also unique arcane improvement, but not domination tech related)
I'd like to try and keep arcane improvements spiral themed. Might manage, might not .
The first thing I thought of was "arcane". Love the writing on the ground.
@oddrheia: I really like the treasury, I would make the center crystal bigger but that is just me. Are you planning on coloring or adding an effect to the tower of Sorcery? I like the thematic idea of having the unique / rare buildings be the ones that add color to the GK cities, like having the center crystal be dark blue for sorcery tower, golden orange like on treasury, the living green for Isildur, etc.
Does the cool writing on the ground rotate around the building? [e digicons]ur:[/e]
@winnihym: I think the single effect water fall house is awesome and the right call for that tile. May I humbly suggest, with approval from Heavenfall of course, that you could use the nifty two tier waterfall effect in a bonus special resource tile? I was thinking having a modified version of that tower as the centerpiece of a full on 2 x 2 for the Refugee Camp (tents etc spread around it.) would be very Angle-y. And I am pretty sure Refugee camp does not require a tech, so would be relatively painless to integrate. Just a thought.
As I said, using one waterfall only is the right decision.
M. Agrippa: Yeah, treasury is getting a little tweak with a very slight size increase of the bowl that crystals and gold sparkle is in, so the crytals themselves are getting a little bigger as a result.
Not planning on adding more effects to the tower of sorcery. The circle on the ground and tiny sparkles on top of the crystal are a custom effect I played around with, so I'd avoid more. I've not decided if I'll make the writing roate in the end or not, I've two versions, one where it very slowly rotates and one where it doesn't. I currently prefer the version where it stayes still, so what I may do is get rid of the effect entierly and convert that writing into a decal instead.
And nope, not planning on adding more colored crystals to tower of sorcery. While your idea of having unique buildings add color is cool, there are too many of them, and coloring them all would be too much, I think. I like the monotonic white, to be honest. I'm already a little uneasy about using too many of the colored crystals, hehe. The current plan is to add green crystals to emerald palace, and possibly some kind of color to order of draginol and temple of telenanth (both are domination tech discoveries). Isildar's bounty got blue water as a centerpiece and bit of green plants around, so even more green crystals is a little overkill with it.
That's my take on it, anyway . When I first made my crystal retextures, I played around with replacing plain white ones with colored on quite a few buildings and in the end decided against it.
HF, angel house and hovel should be in your inbox?
Also, first pass on Angel Workshop, please make suggestions!
Skip the arcs. or turn them upside down to make a system of pillars instead. You did the arc thing on the study/library, and using it on the workshop is just not distinct enough.
Yeah I got the tiles by the way, forgot to update the main post.
Hey, Winn I think you should also look into object scales compared to few other buildings in cpelf tileset. I know I go on and on and on about that, but I think it's important to consistent look as whole.
Offhand, the current arches (and it would apply to them being flipped to make pillars) look thicker and possibly higher than, say, anything inthe fortress tile (most advanced defence related improvement), nevermind the shorter trade-centers, bazaars, barracks, guilds, construction yard, etc. All I'm saying is, with current look the improvement would dwarf a lot of advanced buildings, especially when repeated a few times.
It's just a general impression, and I could be wrong, of course. What you might want to do to make a better judgement, is hook your buildings up to the testbuilding.xml from the very first post in this thread and start up a game as elves and then build a few of your buildings to see how they look in game.
Edit: I got a new set of arcane symbol digital brushes. Dear god, I feel like a kid at the candy store. Never was a big fan of decals, but making transparent ones with stragegically placed glowing (gaussian blur overlay) or pure white color sole arcane symbols or acane circles looks SO good. I'll try not to get too carried away and use only a few where appropriate and zipping up the rest as a eLib resource.
Decals are less draining on resrouces than visual effects, aren't they?
Edit 2: found the in game symbols effect and converted to glowing decal:
Made another one .
I originally intended this to be hall of sorcery ( 1x1 one per city arcane improvement) but... I think it would make a better arcane lab. For one, it has a nice duality with archivists/master archvists. Two it looks a little better repeated, three, it has a bit smaller dimensions than current arcane lab, and I think the old one could be adapted into either a hall of sorcery or temple of telenanth with some additions.
Consider this: bunch of master archivists repeated on one side, and a bunch of those new improvements on the other: (I may need to bring two spiral towers a tiny bit closer together, perhaps)
Yeah, decals work just like skins as far as I know. They're not resource-intensive at all.
I really like the look it creates for arcane improvements. Very unique.
Wow everybody is turning out some really nice tiles! Especially Oddrheia. Here are some shots of what I've been working on. I'm pretty much done. I just want to make a few changes here and there. I'll send them in tomorrow. I'll start on the city centers this weekend. Also Heavenfall would it be alright if I took a stab at writing some background for the gobs?
Monument
Master Archivist
Loreshop
I'm glad you posted, I was fearing you'd gone missing [e digicons][/e] .
Yes, you may write the backstory for the goblins - but I may edit it. Goblins are - very greedy, highly intelligent. Their society lacks any form of laws, except that might is right. Their society has no form of morality.
The Goblin stuff looks good. The monument has solid visual impact that draws the eye to its awesomeness.
I like the decal thing with the Golem stuff too- a good way to get the magic script effect on a tile without impacting system performance (or having to edit a new effect). I agree that the new one looks better repeated. Moving the towers a little closer would make it look more like one building instead of two connected ones.
Ive got a new plan for the DL laborpit drawn up, and time permiting Ill try to cobble it together in the editer and get a pic for review (and test out the others ive got made up but unsubmitted).
Welcome back, cptcasey!
I reworked the old arcane lab into the hall of sorcery and moved the two spiral pieces clother together on the new lab.
So with this, there is two other arcane improvements left, and they are lvl 5, 1x1 (Emerald Palace and Temple of Telenanth ). There is also a lvl 3 mana related improvement, temple of souls, and 1 per game order of draginol that has something to do with shards.
So, sans the temple of souls and shard shrines, the arcane specialized and fortified city would currently look something like this in the early to mid game:
(freaking huge pine patches aren't part of -my- wall. It's the winter environment. I got like 1 or 2 on the inside wall and that's it. :/ )
Hey, folks, good advice! Okay, let's try this on for size. It violates the 1 sparkly per tile (there's a flame in each "forge"). The tile is much lower this time, but still keeps the "church" feel of white stone and architectural order that I've been going for. Comments?
Winnihym, would you put a Pedestrian on it for scale reference.Those are Anvils right?
Only comment that comes to mind right off.
If you can only ever see 2 flames when placed on the Map, without rotating the Map, forgo the 4 flames, shrink the center core and replace the Water piece into a smoking cauldron
Okay, JH, I'll repost. Yes, the anvils are scale appropriate. What do you mean by shrink the center core? You mean the pedestal, or the water piece? I was trying to go for a "no grass" view; you think it might be better with some grass between the forges?
alternatively you could use cook pots if they look ok color wise as they have an orange content. if you want the side forge things
edit:first pass at new labor pit (demon forge)
Niiice! Still trying to deconstruct what the heck you used to make that!
And while I'm still on the arcane theme, temple of souls (next to the tower of sorcery)
You're really getting the hang of this 3d stuff!
Just sent in the tiles and the shadows. If anything is out of wack I'll fix it up. Also, are the cores limited to one effect and one ped?
Everything looks great. Really like how you did it.
I'll add the cores to the first post in a minute.
Edit: Added cores, added you to the goblin cores cptcasey
100? Phew, I think I'm under the limit, hehe. Was afraid of that. I'll start sending you the tiles soon-ish. With the amount of back and forth tweaking I do to adjust the look as I add new stuff, I just thought I'd send you the spam mail of multiple versions.
Also, fixed up the ancient temple resource building. Less techno-wizardy (because particle cauldron hates me), more reparation and adapting it for golem use this time around.
It's same dimensions as a ruined model. Should look fine outside of the city walls too. Decal glow is visible on the snow too. I checked
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