0.3 Tech Category icons

Development of artwork, requests, suggestions, samples, or if you have artwork to offer. Primarily for the artists.
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Geoff the Medio
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#76 Post by Geoff the Medio »

Obiwan wrote:Image
The concept of "growth" might be more effectively conveyed by a tree that has some foliage on it... That one looks kind of... well... dead.

For growth, perhaps a sickle to represent farming, or a bit of double helix for genetics, or a Rod of Asclepius for medicine (though the latter is perhaps too human-centric... and perhaps even western-centric...?)

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#77 Post by Ablaze »

Sickles and double helixes are human centric too. Just about any simbol you use is going to be human centric, I think, unless you use a planet or a star or something like that.
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Geoff the Medio
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#78 Post by Geoff the Medio »

Ablaze wrote:Sickles and double helixes are human centric too. Just about any simbol you use is going to be human centric, I think, unless you use a planet or a star or something like that.
Sickles are a tool that could be used by alien races to harvest field-grown crops; their functionality determines their form, more so than a particular socity or species, aside from the necessity of physically being able to use it.

Double helixes are arguably carbon-based-life-centric, but it's not completely unreasonable to propose that there could be aliens with a similarly structured genetic code.

Conversely, the Rod of Asclepius is almost completely a product of western human culture. There's only very tenuous reasons to suggest that alien cultures would use the same symbol to represent the medical profession.

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Mystiqq
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#79 Post by Mystiqq »

Made a small test on some of my icons ive made so far, purely out of boredom...

Testing colors and whatnot...
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utilae
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#80 Post by utilae »

Nice coin Obiwan, I agree with Geoff, that the star should be in the middle.


Also I don't think we should use a sickle for growth, because it can be used as a weapon, and represents cutting plants, ie stopping growth.


The tree is good for growth, though I don't know about the arrow part. Maybe just a simple circle around the tree. And leaves would be good to have.

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#81 Post by Obiwan »

Tribute to HitchHikers Guide
The simpler edge while looking less realistic will show up better at lower resalutions. so i favor it
Whats realism anyway?


Image

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#82 Post by Obiwan »

Looking good Mystiqq, Love the red production one.

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#83 Post by Obiwan »

Could I get a Production icon in Illustrator format like before Mystiqq. It was very helpful when building 3D. Maybe I should wait for others comments but I really like it.

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#84 Post by pd »

go ahead, i like it very much too.

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Mystiqq
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#85 Post by Mystiqq »

Sure. Ill post it later today, thou it was experimental stage really...
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#86 Post by Obiwan »

Economics, text is alterable.
Phlanium Bobble Beads (spelling probably wrong) is one of the currancies in Hitcher Guide along with the Alterian Doller. What is our money called?

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Geoff the Medio
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#87 Post by Geoff the Medio »

Mystiqq wrote:Made a small test on some of my icons ive made so far, purely out of boredom...

Testing colors and whatnot...
The colours are great... sort of subdued and undersaturated, giving a nice SMAC-like feel.

I don't think that both construction and production should have bits of gears in them though... they're already kind of hard to tell apart, so we should have their icons be as distinct as possible. The construction should probably be a building, or maybe a crane or something relating to making buildings... Having a pickaxe in the production icon might also be good, as a big part of "production" is actually mining...

It might also be good to have the icons be more different in basic shape... most of them are basically round right now. Making construction a boxy building shape, without the gear at the bottom of the current (production?) icon, and making trade something less circular (like my suggested parallel arrows, as opposed to a roundish O-Star or coin outline) would probably help. This is a rather nitpicky minor point though... There might be a reason to want all the icons to be similarly shaped...?

And perhaps learning should blue a light blue colour, so that we can use green for growth? ... Or maybe not, as it doesn't match the resource icons... though I find those rather unintuitively coloured... ah well.

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#88 Post by Impaler »

I agree fully with that last post of yours Geoff, make Construction more square (how about a modification of the factory with one of the smokestakes being lowered into place by a crane). Using Green for Growth and Blue for Learning sounds nice as well. I think a Hexagonal molicule with prongs on each point would make a nice Growth Icon, its rather race nutral as most alien races are asumed to be carbon based. It will also provide a destinct shape. Also I sugjest we make Economics Orange in color.
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#89 Post by Mystiqq »

This is a rather nitpicky minor point though... There might be a reason to want all the icons to be similarly shaped...?
Not really...

This was the original "production icon". That one was more of test than anything else.
And perhaps learning should blue a light blue colour, so that we can use green for growth? ... Or maybe not, as it doesn't match the resource icons... though I find those rather unintuitively coloured... ah well.
The colors arent a problem, they are easily changed... Those colors i made were more or less random.
I agree fully with that last post of yours Geoff, make Construction more square (how about a modification of the factory with one of the smokestakes being lowered into place by a crane).
Why? If i do that, it looks too much like the "production icon"...
I think a Hexagonal molicule with prongs on each point would make a nice Growth Icon, its rather race nutral as most alien races are asumed to be carbon based. It will also provide a destinct shape. Also I sugjest we make Economics Orange in color.
Not sure what that means... the "hexagonal molicule with prongs" part.

The whole point of these icons is to make some sence about the UI and not about the "freeorion" universe. Im not seeing any problems of using human figures or even a micky mouse if it works for the UI/user. :)

Id like to see these icon stuff things in game, it would be easier to see if they work. I hope there will be some test version to try these out...
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Geoff the Medio
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#90 Post by Geoff the Medio »

Mystiqq wrote:
I agree fully with that last post of yours Geoff, make Construction more square (how about a modification of the factory with one of the smokestakes being lowered into place by a crane).
Why? If i do that, it looks too much like the "production icon"...
Make production is the gear and wrench, and make construction a building, be it factory or otherwise.
I think a Hexagonal molicule with prongs on each point would make a nice Growth Icon, its rather race nutral as most alien races are asumed to be carbon based. It will also provide a destinct shape. Also I sugjest we make Economics Orange in color.
Not sure what that means... the "hexagonal molicule with prongs" part.
Many organic molecules for 6-carbon ring structures.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glucose
The whole point of these icons is to make some sence about the UI and not about the "freeorion" universe. Im not seeing any problems of using human figures or even a micky mouse if it works for the UI/user. :)
Yes, UI clarity is paramount, but it'd be nice if we can do it without breaking immersion or annoying the player (if they're easily annoyed?) by having the UI be specific to a particular race, that the player may not be playing...
Id like to see these icon stuff things in game, it would be easier to see if they work. I hope there will be some test version to try these out...
I'll email tzlaine to see what's up. This has been a pretty slow month for programming.

Edit: it would also probably help if you made up a mockup showing exactly how and where to put the icons to replace or augment the text and buttons currently used to pick which category to show.

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