Better Graphics

[junk2drive]

Question for you graphics and programming guys, how did the Close Combat team change the next version to 32 bit graphics?

My hope is that you can use a graphics program to batch change the bmps and rewrite a few lines of code in the exe.

Failing an answer maybe Jason can chat with Erik or someone with Matrix about how difficult it was to do.

[digiartst]

ORIGINAL: Jason Petho

ORIGINAL: digiartst

Like what?

Using the Unit Viewer from your install ( Programs (Program Files) --> John Tiller's Campaign Series --> Unit Viewer ... or something like that) to scan through the various platoons...

...anything that makes you cringe when you see it [:)]

Jason Petho

OK Jason I am new to the board but an old man to art. So I will just say good effort to keep the game going, I think some of the treatments to the units have taken away alot of detail, when I did the camo on any of my mods I kept insuring the only thing that would change was no camo to camo. I find alot of the artwork blury with very little detail. I like what you guys were trying to do, to pick up the torch so to speak. The thing that really worries me, is some of the tint changing that was done to visually set one type of the same tank apart from the other, some of the tanks and especially the infantry have had most of their detail completely mushed out.
I feel I have not earned my stripes with you guys yet. So I am going to finish my German fuel truck Opel design. just to get back into things, then when you see I am the real Art deal, we can email in private away from the boards and see what I think needs to be reworked and made in 3d for ultimate detail.
Again for just pixel pushing you guys have done a great job.

James Gorman
Digiartst
Jager56

[junk2drive]

Don't forget that the units were easier to see on a 640x480 screen than now.

[digiartst]

ORIGINAL: junk2drive

Don't forget that the units were easier to see on a 640x480 screen than now.

So are you saying the resolution has changed? photoshop is photoshop. This was very small artwork in its time but photoshop shows the resolution you have. I have all my old disks from the original I will look to see if the resolution changed from original to now.

Thanks for the heads up

Jager56

[junk2drive]

I'm saying that my desktop is 1440x900 and old games look real small compared to what I remember on my old CRT in the 90s. Of course my bifocals may have something to do with it too...

[digiartst]

ORIGINAL: junk2drive

I'm saying that my desktop is 1440x900 and old games look real small compared to what I remember on my old CRT in the 90s. Of course my bifocals may have something to do with it too...

Yep your right there, sometimes I go into compatbility mode and dial in the old resolution, to play some games. I ment no ffence I was just saying visuaaly some of the mod images are lacking detail, it very hard to pixel push to get that kind of detail. At first TS tried to pixel push to make the units I wound up making in 3d to give the same unit detail, so if you guys were just pixel pushing then, you did some amazing work. When I make units for this I will be making them in 3d first. So the model will give natural detail.


Jager56

[Warhorse]

Yep, no 3D here, James!! Sorry, I only did what I could do with limited time and resources. Some vehicles I couldn't find decent pics of, so did what I could. I always wished I could get a good camera and models to do just that, as a 1/285th modeller, I painted LOTS of vehicles, still have 'em, painted numbers on the turrets and everything, but a camera and tripod, I have not!!

Mike

[junk2drive]

Wire clothes hanger, cell phone with camera, duct tape, simple... [:D]

[Warhorse]

Heh, heh!! Would be very cool to have all the models to do this with, I must say, much easier than by hand, takes hours....
Mike

[digiartst]

ORIGINAL: Warhorse

Yep, no 3D here, James!! Sorry, I only did what I could do with limited time and resources. Some vehicles I couldn't find decent pics of, so did what I could. I always wished I could get a good camera and models to do just that, as a 1/285th modeller, I painted LOTS of vehicles, still have 'em, painted numbers on the turrets and everything, but a camera and tripod, I have not!!

Mike

If you guys are serious and the game can take a newer resolution, or 32 bit , I have the setup , camera, tripod, turntable lights.. etc, to photograph GHQ miniatures just like TS did. I also have 2 friends that have a lot of the units so I could run tests on them, but what would be a standard resolution you would want the unit to be? the present units are approx 88x88 (give or take depending on unit)indexed color, so are we talking 200x200/32 bit. TS made a deal with GHQ hence if you notice in the old TS manuals they advertised GHQ in the back. Maybe Matrix could swing the same deal for needed units I could not get my hands on.That would still leave terrain but most Terrain could be made in any kind of game toolkit these days, like NWN2 tool kit then reworked in Photoshop.
The German fuel truck is 85% done, it should have been done earlier but I kept building a lot of detail in it you probably would never see, because I work in 3d product development now and everything has to be precise.

So hopefully I will publish some pictures of it tonight, after I get my homework duty done with my kids.

Guys for the tools you had to work with you did a great job, the question is can this game support modern graphics, and would that make it sell more? because that would be a lot of work.

James

Jager56
Digiartst

[TAIL_GUNNER]

If you guys are serious and the game can take a newer resolution, or 32 bit...

I doubt it can handle 32-bit, but I know it can handle 24-bit.

[digiartst]

ORIGINAL: TAIL_GUNNER

If you guys are serious and the game can take a newer resolution, or 32 bit...

I doubt it can handle 32-bit, but I know it can handle 24-bit.

I am just getting over a nasty virus, plus still having dad duty, but what I will try to get out either tonight or tomorrow night is a 24bit, 160x160 resolution of my truck and I will also try to put it on some 24 bit ground. I will also put out a indexed color 80x80 (or what ever truck size is in the original game). to show the visual difference. and we will go from there.

James

JAGER56

[junk2drive]

ORIGINAL: digiartst

ORIGINAL: Warhorse

Yep, no 3D here, James!! Sorry, I only did what I could do with limited time and resources. Some vehicles I couldn't find decent pics of, so did what I could. I always wished I could get a good camera and models to do just that, as a 1/285th modeller, I painted LOTS of vehicles, still have 'em, painted numbers on the turrets and everything, but a camera and tripod, I have not!!

Mike

If you guys are serious and the game can take a newer resolution, or 32 bit , I have the setup , camera, tripod, turntable lights.. etc, to photograph GHQ miniatures just like TS did. I also have 2 friends that have a lot of the units so I could run tests on them, but what would be a standard resolution you would want the unit to be? the present units are approx 88x88 (give or take depending on unit)indexed color, so are we talking 200x200/32 bit. TS made a deal with GHQ hence if you notice in the old TS manuals they advertised GHQ in the back. Maybe Matrix could swing the same deal for needed units I could not get my hands on.That would still leave terrain but most Terrain could be made in any kind of game toolkit these days, like NWN2 tool kit then reworked in Photoshop.
The German fuel truck is 85% done, it should have been done earlier but I kept building a lot of detail in it you probably would never see, because I work in 3d product development now and everything has to be precise.

So hopefully I will publish some pictures of it tonight, after I get my homework duty done with my kids.

Guys for the tools you had to work with you did a great job, the question is can this game support modern graphics, and would that make it sell more? because that would be a lot of work.

James

Jager56
Digiartst

Just to be clear, I was talking about desktop resolution size, not bmp resolution or bit. Looking at the Up##### files, there doesn't seem to be a standard size, but maybe a standard ratio. Warhorse would know better. Most games now have bmps of 512 or 1024 square. I don't know how these would get squeezed down into CS size. Might lose the detail.

I doubt that anything would get more games sold. New wars and time periods are the only hope for sales. Like they are doing with the Modern Wars series.

[junk2drive]

Had another thought, there is a poll in the forum for playing 3D or 2D. You should look at that too.

You may be an artist and want to create your own work but there are sights with free textures such as turbosquid and this one

http://opengameart.org/textures/all

They wouldn't be able to be used in a game for sale but for a free mod it wouldn't be a problem.

[digiartst]

You Know I will make something and post it frm time to time, if you guys use it then cool.

here is the opel fuel truck still wip 200x200








Here is the opel fuel truck 100x100 or CS resolution






I wanted to post these asap to show I am the real deal, someone that actually did art for the game.
I hate when somebody new is all wind and no sail so I wanted to get the truck posted asap, I have not checked the camera angle or done anything more to it but build it and throw a quick texture on it.


James

JAGER56

[junk2drive]

Very nice. There are times that I wish I could zoom in one more level and have the units look like the first picture.

You know that you will have to upgrade the rest of the Opel based units in the game now. [;)]

[Jason Petho]

ORIGINAL: digiartst



I wanted to post these asap to show I am the real deal, someone that actually did art for the game.
I hate when somebody new is all wind and no sail so I wanted to get the truck posted asap, I have not checked the camera angle or done anything more to it but build it and throw a quick texture on it.

Holy crap, that's gorgeous!!

Jason Petho

[digiartst]

ORIGINAL: junk2drive

Very nice. There are times that I wish I could zoom in one more level and have the units look like the first picture.

You know that you will have to upgrade the rest of the Opel based units in the game now. [;)]

Yes me to, the cool part to me and this is what I told TS was a lot of these vehicles do not exist any more. Unfortunately none of the vehicles I made for the game exist anymore they were on a syquist drive backup and a zip disk that my kids threw away as old disks to my horror years later. I do still have all the line drawings though.

Anyway I loved building the Romanian and Polish units because of the crazy equipment they put men into to fight.
I would be like "Really you want me to climb into this tin can and fight what????". I got to build all the obscure units, not the Tigers, they had GHQ for that but The Romanian Tcam for instance.

Some one made a comment earlier about Terrain , just get it off of Turbo squid. yes you can but the artists at TS gave us the illusion of the terrain being 3d this was achieved with light and shadow. a flat Terrain grabbed up at Turbo will not give that look. I will try to do some Terrain over the next weeks so you can see what I mean.


James

Jager56

[Jason Petho]

Outstanding, James.

If you create the 6 view vehicles, I am more than happy to create bit's for them and include them in future UPDATES, or even has temporary graphics patches until the UPDATEs are ready.

Hope you're well!
Jason Petho

[tide1530]

That is very nice. I would like to shoot it [:D]