Texture Pack,

[jzimmerman4]

I agree that the core doesn\'t look very central. I think that it would be better if it were changed so something else.

 

[kupu]

Well.. I use Photoshop.

I usually paint them by hand at a larger resolution, 1024x1024 canvas size per tile, then scale them down and touch them up.

The way you\'re explaining the actions you want to carry out are slightly confusing :D But if i understand you rightly, PS is capable of those things with ease.

If you want to make textures, GIMP is fine. It\'s less about understanding the advanced features of a program, and more just digital painting.

 

[kupu]

I will have to post an official News article about dropping the title \"Realistic\" as people seem to use it in it\'s most literal form. :P

At the time of creating this pack, i was competing with pixel art. In style, not substance, the effect is a more photorealistic approach. Using recogniseable worldly materials and elements.

Besides, if you are really bothered by \"realism\"... small ceramic tiles cover space shuttles. :D

 

[kupu]

Yea, seperate textures for the Build blocks and Faction modules are on my to do list.
Like you said, it\'s not just a quick texture fix on the current sheet, we need to reassign some tiles / add more.



I understand the loading icon comparison. Limited to 4 frames of animation on such a small tile, my initial ideas had to be restricted a little and simplified to basic forms. Also we have to consider the uses of the block, it\'s not just a fighter ships core, but central to docking mechanics, the visuals need to tie in with this and be legible from a distance.

Thanks for the feedback, appreciated.



@jzmmerman4 ; feel free to PM me \"something else\".

 

[NeonSturm]

Limited to 4 frames of animation on such a small tile


Is it possible to combine different block sides and animations?

+1. I don\'t like the BB/core/FM animations. I like how amcs and missiles are designed.

• Animations just need to be limited (less overall-color changing) per block, or with transitions. (show the previous and next to 50% and opposite of animation cirlce 100 and 0%).

 

[jzimmerman4]

In that case I stand corrected. Totally forgot about that. And I guess when I said realistic I meant compared with other sci-fi. But now that you pointed that out I like it alot more though I still do think it would look really nice with out the border and it would go along nicely with the normal hull.

 

[ltmauve]

They look more like embosses in a single piece of material than seams between different pieces. Also, the level of contrast is very high, so it attracts a lot of attention, and detracts fom the shape. Not to mention working with it (say, counting blocks) is more difficult.

 

[jzimmerman4]

http://i.imgur.com/6fymeq4.jpg

 

[ltmauve]

First - The hanging light should be a light tube or an LED strip or something that looks in place on a spaceship. The dangling light doesn\'t make sense for a sci-fi setting. Maybe for a steampunk style ship they might make sense but on a sleek cruiser they don\'t make sense. Plus everyone uses them for antennas and those would look better smooth, without the bulb.

Second - Your decorative blocks. There are only 4 of them in vanilla, and only one of yours looks in place in front of a chair. And that one says NAV on it in big letters, so that\'s a hit to its versatility for RP purposes. The old blocks could all be put in front of a chair and it would make sense. But you can\'t sit in front of a power conduit or a server rack or a wiring panel or a plasma conduit and have it look right. And pipes don\'t look good when place by theirselves.

I\'d love to have server racks to put in my engineering room and conduits to run down a hallway or something, but I think it\'s better for RP purposes to have more computers than one that just says NAV. Since I suspect you are adding more decorative blocks, I\'d rather keep 1-4 as computer consoles and make the new ones the pipes and servers and fuse boxes.

 

[kupu]

I agree with most of your points, but our reasoning or priority is slightly different.

I was keen to add more diversity of deco blocks first, then build upon each type later on. Yea, i would love to add more computer screens. It would be awesome. However i didn\'t want to add 4 computer screens early on at the cost of pipes, servers etc. I tried to start with a broad selection with hopes of expanding it later on.

Pipes are designed to be run in lines :P

The hanging light? I see your point, however thats not really my shot to call.

I\'ve got a long list of decorative blocks i\'d like to make, some specific items, others more ambigous for RP purposes like you mentioned.

Hope that helps a little? I keep saying it... but most of these suggestions do have planned solutions. It\'s just a case of time. :D

 

[mrsinister]

Thank you for the link, looks interesting for sure. I have been playing around with some ideas for animated deco blocks and other blocks. Oh and to answer one question about what prog. we use.. I also use Photoshop. Though an older version , Photoshop CS3. That with some decent filters you can pretty much make anything look amazing. Though depending on what it is ,I hand draw some things then scan them and edit in Photoshop.

 

[kupu]

@Sinister; i haven\'t noticed any huge differences in the photoshop versions since CS* you\'re not missing out on anything! ha!
Do keep sharing your creations. I love looking at everyones custom blocks and doodles.



In other news, thanks to a rather persistent (and helpful) forum member, i\'ve updated the GUI for those of you still wanting it.

So thakyZ had kindly given me the required updated files for the image resource folder which just needed a small tidy up. Many thanks thakyZ, i\'m so pressed for time these days without that help i doubt i would of ever updated it.

Download link is here.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/taz6nccvuziga0p/image-resource.zip





Also, a new specially created 64px pack is in the works for those who like the new designs, but can\'t run at 256 pixels.

More info on the blog for those curious.

 

[mrsinister]

@Kupu yes as time permits I will share what I come up with. ,also ty for the gui. Yours is the best one around in my opinion. I was doing a H.R. Giger themed one, but lol ,when I seen yours ,I was like....yeah Kupu\'s is rockin. I hope to finish mine one day just to see how it looks in game, and naturally have you take a gander at it. Also is there a way in the block config to use more block segments? or is that somewhere burried in the code? I was going to do a fade to bright gradient on some interesting arc animation for a block, but I need a few more frames of animation.

 

[mrsinister]

hey I must say great job on the \" pixel \" texture pack, great stuff for minimalist users. .I have now added about 8 additional decorator blocks to the game... I am still tweaking them so they all interconnect properly ,and once I have that all hashed out ,I will have full interior designs available.

 

[mrsinister]

well here is the first of many tests...lol, I\'ve already redesigned them 3 times...and I am sure there are many more to come.

 

[kupu]

A nice selection of blocks. Looking good!
I particularly like the larger white panels. Nice shape for interiors.

 

[ltmauve]

Yeah, the large panels are nice. They could also have icons on them to add different purposes (medkit, radioactive, computer panel) and maybe a varient with a keypad, too.

 

[mrsinister]

hey thanks! ,I am still deciding if I want to keep those clean or not. Plus the ones with a top section ( the 3 above the white panels) I am thinking about adding a bottom part to the texture as well or something to bring whatever is below them into those one...lol, not really sure at this point. Also, I am prob going to add a few modular ceilings and floors as well.

 

[mrsinister]

actually I have a few tech screen panels planed as well. ,and ty for the suggestion.

 

[mrsinister]

heya,

Here are some more additions ,plus some re-tweakings...

you know kupu ,I really should make my own thread as not to take away from yours.