Proposal: landscape images for planet environments
Proposal: landscape images for planet environments
Those are just mockups: the landscapes are made with an old and great (but dead) open source project named Picogen (http://picogen.org/index.html)
The only purpose is to have some kind of fancy visuals (not to much photo-realistic to blend well into UI) that add some immersive feeling (exoplanet surfaces).
The only purpose is to have some kind of fancy visuals (not to much photo-realistic to blend well into UI) that add some immersive feeling (exoplanet surfaces).
Last edited by Ouaz on Thu Aug 27, 2015 7:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.
I release every updated file under the CC-BY-SA 3.0 license.
Re: Proposal: landscape images for planet environments
Part of me likes the idea. Part of me thinks it's extra graphics to load and render and we've got enough problem with that as it is.
On the other hand if it's not animated it would make the option to turn planets off more playable.
On the other hand if it's not animated it would make the option to turn planets off more playable.
Mat Bowles
Any code or patches in anything posted here is released under the CC and GPL licences in use for the FO project.
Any code or patches in anything posted here is released under the CC and GPL licences in use for the FO project.
- Geoff the Medio
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Re: Proposal: landscape images for planet environments
There used to be some much-larger planet background images
https://github.com/freeorion/freeorion/ ... planets_bg
Problem is, there's no way yet implemented to get them into the pedia articles as suggested.
https://github.com/freeorion/freeorion/ ... planets_bg
Problem is, there's no way yet implemented to get them into the pedia articles as suggested.
- The Silent One
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Re: Proposal: landscape images for planet environments
I do like the look of the landscape images in the pedia articles, but I would rather not show them on the sidepanel [except if rendered planets are turned of]. What should create immersion on the sidepanel are the rendered planet graphics, which I feel they currently don't do so well for some reasons:
- they look somewhat greyish, they could use more contrast (illustration below)
- they do not (yet?) show signs of population (like growing cities / city lights on the dark side / satellites, space stations, animations like moving planes or something of that sort)
So I think we should see how we can make our planets prettier / more immersive.
- they look somewhat greyish, they could use more contrast (illustration below)
- they do not (yet?) show signs of population (like growing cities / city lights on the dark side / satellites, space stations, animations like moving planes or something of that sort)
So I think we should see how we can make our planets prettier / more immersive.
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Re: Proposal: landscape images for planet environments
Hm, I definitely like the idea. Provided we do a decent couple of images per planet type, getting the same image of a desert for each desert planet doesn't help immersion IMO.
Putting them in the sidepanel is debatable, but for the pedia this is certainly a good idea.
Silent Ones sugestions for the rendered planet graphics also sound good.
Putting them in the sidepanel is debatable, but for the pedia this is certainly a good idea.
Silent Ones sugestions for the rendered planet graphics also sound good.
Re: Proposal: landscape images for planet environments
It's currently possible to set an overlay texture over the rotating planets. Some specials actually use it:The Silent One wrote:- they do not (yet?) show signs of population (like growing cities / city lights on the dark side / satellites, space stations, animations like moving planes or something of that sort)
Code: Select all
SetTexture name = "planets/overlays/ruins.png"
I second this. But as long as their standard isn't super high, i'm sure we will reach a fair number of images in the long run with the help of artists that seem to pop up from time to time.Vezzra wrote:Hm, I definitely like the idea. Provided we do a decent couple of images per planet type, getting the same image of a desert for each desert planet doesn't help immersion IMO.
Space is scarce in the sidepanel, we might want to use the space for something else in the future.Vezzra wrote:Putting them in the sidepanel is debatable, but for the pedia this is certainly a good idea.
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Re: Proposal: landscape images for planet environments
The pedia landscape PNGs are all compressed with the same size (350x70px to fit well in the pedia panel default size) and weight: 72ko.MatGB wrote:Part of me likes the idea. Part of me thinks it's extra graphics to load and render and we've got enough problem with that as it is. On the other hand if it's not animated it would make the option to turn planets off more playable.
Wow, nice work. But that's exactly what I want to avoid: too much rich and realistic landscapes. My goal was to get "simple" landscapes, almost like icons, with a 90's tactical game style. :p And this little tool Picogen is perfect for that.Geoff the Medio wrote:There used to be some much-larger planet background images
https://github.com/freeorion/freeorion/ ... planets_bg
Aww, BAD news. Do I continue to produce the other landscapes or there is no point?Problem is, there's no way yet implemented to get them into the pedia articles as suggested.
The Silent One wrote:I do like the look of the landscape images in the pedia articles, but I would rather not show them on the sidepanel [except if rendered planets are turned off].
Same here, there's no room for the landscape icons in the sidepanel. It was just to give an idea. In fact, I was thinking of a tooltip displayed the icon when you point the planet environment (but I don't know if it's possible).Vezzra wrote:Putting them in the sidepanel is debatable.
I planned to make three images per planet environment (corresponding to the three texture files per planet environment). But in the end, it would be only different in shape and lighting. Like you say, there isn't a lot of way to represent a desert! (sand and sun!)Provided we do a decent couple of images per planet type, getting the same image of a desert for each desert planet doesn't help immersion IMO.
Last edited by Ouaz on Thu Aug 27, 2015 6:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.
I release every updated file under the CC-BY-SA 3.0 license.
Re: Proposal: landscape images for planet environments
*cough*The Sahara isn't the only desert in the worldOuaz wrote: Like you say, there isn't a lot of way to represent a desert! (sand and sun!)
Mars is either a Desert or Tundra world, arguably Hoth was a desert world as well as an ice world, plenty of deserts don't have much sand. Although they do have a fair bit of sun. It would be important if we're having multiple pics to get across the idea that a desert world is a dry world with low or no precipitation, not necessarily a hot sandy world.NASA wrote:The East Antarctic ice is typified by vast flat areas of polar desert, where it is too cold for much snow to fall, frigid winds blow continuously, and the landscape is nearly featureless.
Mat Bowles
Any code or patches in anything posted here is released under the CC and GPL licences in use for the FO project.
Any code or patches in anything posted here is released under the CC and GPL licences in use for the FO project.
Re: Proposal: landscape images for planet environments
Oops, my mistake, I should have said: sand, ice and sun (or not for some period in the poles). :pMatGB wrote:*cough*The Sahara isn't the only desert in the worldOuaz wrote: Like you say, there isn't a lot of way to represent a desert! (sand and sun!)
The East Antarctic ice is typified by vast flat areas of polar desert, where it is too cold for much snow to fall, frigid winds blow continuously, and the landscape is nearly featureless.
Moreover, there a desert planet texture which shows large area of ice (desert01.png). ^^
I release every updated file under the CC-BY-SA 3.0 license.
Re: Proposal: landscape images for planet environments
But tundra areas also have very low precipitation... I have to admit, I'm not very clear on what distinguishes tundra from a very cold desert, and in terms of planet types, I think that cold deserts are too much like tundra planets to really fall under the category of desert. If I saw a "cold desert" planet, I would probably think "why isn't this classified as tundra?".MatGB wrote:It would be important if we're having multiple pics to get across the idea that a desert world is a dry world with low or no precipitation, not necessarily a hot sandy world.
Warning: Antarans in dimensional portal are closer than they appear.
Re: Proposal: landscape images for planet environments
Because it's at the colder end of the desert range and close to the warmer end of the tundra range? If it's a circle with each leading into the rest there have to be some deserts that are near tundra and some that are closer to 'terran', just as there are some terran worlds that're closer to Thalassa than Earth, etc.Bigjoe5 wrote: But tundra areas also have very low precipitation... I have to admit, I'm not very clear on what distinguishes tundra from a very cold desert, and in terms of planet types, I think that cold deserts are too much like tundra planets to really fall under the category of desert. If I saw a "cold desert" planet, I would probably think "why isn't this classified as tundra?".
It needs to make sense both in a terminological sense and a gameplay sense, it has to gradate in some way, and it makes zero sense, at all, for a really hot desert environment to be closest to a very cold tundra environment, but if there are cold deserts that's close to tundras, as there are on Earth, then that works and makes more sense. To me, at least.
I didn't invent this schema afterall, I'm merely trying to make sense of it, if there are better explanations out there happy to hear it, at some point we need a clear write up of all this in game and I suspect it'll be me writing it
Mat Bowles
Any code or patches in anything posted here is released under the CC and GPL licences in use for the FO project.
Any code or patches in anything posted here is released under the CC and GPL licences in use for the FO project.
Re: Proposal: landscape images for planet environments
I finished the first set of planet landscapes. Fun to create, although Picogen is not very versatile when it comes to sky rendering and global lighting. I'm not very satisfied by Swamp and Barren though. (sorry for the file size)
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- The Silent One
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Re: Proposal: landscape images for planet environments
I like these a lot, my only nitpick is that the height of the horizon differs between the images.
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Re: Proposal: landscape images for planet environments
Since the player won't see them next to each other in game, i don't think that's important. Quantity and differentiation are the most important points to make this feature a success imho.The Silent One wrote:my only nitpick is that the height of the horizon differs between the images.
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Re: Proposal: landscape images for planet environments
I quite like the minimalistic, iconesque style of these.
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