Kupu's thread

[SmilingDemon]

Huuh ??? .. an Activator or button connected to nothing is basically that .. right ??

 

[Sven_The_Slayer]

Hey kupu, what about some kind of decorative switch and/or button block that doesn't have functionality but can be used to improve various builds?

Consoles are supposed to get the ability to be used with logic as far as I am aware, why wouldn't this button as well? I do like the idea of something that could be put on a wall instead of in a wall to control logic.

 

[YamiHikari]

Consoles are supposed to get the ability to be used with logic as far as I am aware, why wouldn't this button as well? I do like the idea of something that could be put on a wall instead of in a wall to control logic.

Well, what I'm talking about is an entirely non-functional button. It would be just like current decorative consoles. I just want some kind of generic switchboard or other mechanical/technical looking block to add to all the other ones.

 

[kupu]

kupu, has there been any work on an updated HUD? There's huge room for improvement over what we have now. I've made improvements myself but there is only so much you can do without modifying code accessible only by Schema.

Yes.

Consoles are supposed to get the ability to be used with logic as far as I am aware, why wouldn't this button as well? I do like the idea of something that could be put on a wall instead of in a wall to control logic.

Yes, this is something that Saber would really like to implement. The ability to activate models.

Well, what I'm talking about is an entirely non-functional button. It would be just like current decorative consoles. I just want some kind of generic switchboard or other mechanical/technical looking block to add to all the other ones.

Yes, i understand. I'd like something similar too, as mentioned above i think 3D objects would be best used for this and allow more interesting designs, especially considering it's a more immersive addition.
The logic blocks themselves and their function will always remain somewhat uniform with each other and slightly unique compared to other blocks to put emphasis on the "set". I don't think we should duplicate their effects on other blocks with a reskin.

 

[Valiant70]

The logic blocks themselves and their function will always remain somewhat uniform with each other and slightly unique compared to other blocks to put emphasis on the "set". I don't think we should duplicate their effects on other blocks with a reskin.

Inputs/controls kind of deserve re-skins for immersion. Other than that, yeah keep the set motif.

 

[Sven_The_Slayer]

Inputs/controls kind of deserve re-skins for immersion. Other than that, yeah keep the set motif.

I agree here, I would love if user input logic blocks looked like they belong on the ship in relation to all decorative blocks. Of course consoles interacting with logic would help a lot but having control panels in walls would be beneficial aesthetically.

 

[Scypio]

I think i do not need to explain.

 

[kupu]

View attachment 49058
I think i do not need to explain.

Yup.
Similar things happens across loads of blocks. Weapons and rail block types are the worst offenders.
Also colour inconsistencies across the entire texture pack. Mis-matched screen and light colours, detail density and "wear and tear" scratch marks are of wildly varying sizes. Specular highlights were far too harsh on some, non existent on others. Normal map angles were off in some places, looking at odds to the drawn in bevels. Button and small flashing lights on were all of different shades and sizes rather than being uniform, bevels and "plating" followed no rough size guide, making things look inconsistent from block to block. Colours and lighting between models and blocks were also at odds to each other.

Don't worry, i see all these mistakes too and when time allows, try my best to fix what i'm able.
To fix all of this, almost every single block has needed the texture to be rebuilt to facilitate such changes in a non-destructive manner, so that's what i've done.

Most of these things have now been addressed. The first portion of the rework is aimed to go live with the weapons update.

 

[JinM]

The first portion of the rework is aimed to go live with the weapons update.

Yay.

 

[kiddan]

kupu These new Weapon Update blocks are looking crisp! Do you have a changelog of what texture changes you've done for this portion of the rework?

 

[kupu]

Hey kiddan , Thanks!
I didn't keep detailed changelog because almost every non-organic block was altered. If only very slightly, most blocks would of been broken down and rebuilt to ensure they met a new standard. (A few are still missing their final specular map details, but these will get added in very soon.) I think the only blocks that haven't been completed are some of the recently deprecated blocks, terrain, sprites (capsules etc).

Not sure if the following is any use to the question, but consider it a visual changelog. It's basically what i described in the previous post.

- Rebuilt the basic texture with newly made templates / size guides for shapes. ie; no bevel is over X pixels or under Y pixels wide. Rounded corners used X radius.
- Follow a specific colour palette for metals / plastics / lights / decals. (almost paint by numbers for this part).

It was quite uplifting to see it work across all blocks. Block consistency is something i've wanted to fix for a long time. ^^
This is the "clean" result, before any dirt or damage is added.

- Add in / scale up block identifiers, making sure blocks in a set are like one another. Docking blocks received the most changes here to make it obvious they were part of a set with specific purpose. Green = docking / Red = turret / Yellow = Rail function, and so on.
- Ensure all tiling is correct in multiple orientations. (docking and rails were practically rebuilt from scratch for this part).
- Make sure normal maps for cylinders and block frames are correct by re-baking from 3D.
- Generate new specular maps from the accurate normal maps.
- Create purpose made detail / damage / material textures. ie; plastic scratch, metal scratch, anisotropic metal, galvanised sheet, grease spots etc. I think there were only around 8 overlays used in the end... a massive reduction from the previous mess of random photo plates and custom brushes. This was one of the major reasons i looked forward to replacing them. Consistency across blocks improves massively from this change alone. There is a time and place for uniquely weathered blocks, and a voxel game where you commonly see hundreds together... is probably not it. Ha.

(again, a paint by numbers approach - certain colours and materials always get the same detail texture)

A lot of this is obvious stuff... it has previously happened on some blocks, but not others depending on how old they were. Over perhaps a 2(?!) year period we slowly added in blocks that were being textured differently as i learned new things or simply changed my mind on how things should look. For consistency sake, everything was stripped and rebuilt to conform to one another.

 

[Nauvran]

Kupuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu
can we have a spare thruster block (the vents) for detailing. Integrity makes it impossible to use thrusters anymore.

 

[therimmer96]

Kupuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu
can we have a spare thruster block (the vents) for detailing. Integrity makes it impossible to use thrusters anymore.

Also, the really sexy jump drive and inhibitor textures are no longer usable, and that makes me really sad.
[doublepost=1532096169,1532096107][/doublepost]Never mind, I just spotted them with the new name

Thanks Kupu!

 

[Ithirahad]

Why are the green cascade and force-field textures in the texture files, but not in the game?

 

[kupu]

Why are the green cascade and force-field textures in the texture files, but not in the game?

They will go in when i'm next able.

 

[kupu]

Kupuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu
can we have a spare thruster block (the vents) for detailing. Integrity makes it impossible to use thrusters anymore.

Sorry, missed this one.

Probably not...
Believe me, i love that players use all blocks in decorating ships. It pains me when we deprecate blocks or mechanics change and ship visuals either have to change or are no longer viable. However we can't reasonably keep providing a deco' version / clones of blocks from older versions for this purpose. It's not sustainable in times of change, probably not in general tbh.

I'd rather tally up what people are missing after bigger updates then try come up with purpose built alternatives that won't go missing 3 updates later.
"Green" decorative blocks were missing. Some green options will be added soon.
"Piping / wires" are often requested, and the recent removal of some weapons again reduces some blocks people used for such purpose.

 

[kikaha]

Red decorative blocks are missing too i feel.

 

[Nauvran]

Sorry, missed this one.

Probably not...
Believe me, i love that players use all blocks in decorating ships. It pains me when we deprecate blocks or mechanics change and ship visuals either have to change or are no longer viable. However we can't reasonably keep providing a deco' version / clones of blocks from older versions for this purpose. It's not sustainable in times of change, probably not in general tbh.

I'd rather tally up what people are missing after bigger updates then try come up with purpose built alternatives that won't go missing 3 updates later.
"Green" decorative blocks were missing. Some green options will be added soon.
"Piping / wires" are often requested, and the recent removal of some weapons again reduces some blocks people used for such purpose.

But thrusters are the only blocks with any form of went looking textures, the fans dont work well in space :u

 

[kiddan]

Maybe it would be possible for some type of existing computer face to look like a vent?

 

[DeepspaceMechanic]

kupu - Just a minor texture bug report, plus a simple suggestion:

The red cascades seem to have flipped (the animation switched the direction of propagation) after the last round of texture updates. The blue ones didn't, only the red ones, and consistently. Sometimes players use it to indicate eg. the flow of fuel from a tank to an engine, but there could be many other uses where this change messes with the pre-established aesthetic.

And the suggestion (or more of a question) would be about the orientation options of the restyled decorative pipes: there doesn't seem to be a possibility to orient them vertically. I see that different orientations on that particular block are problematic, since its faces are symmetrical only one way, but I was wondering whether they could be made to have the standard 6-way orientation options like the weapon modules?