New Alpha Graphics Mod

[damezzi]

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[damezzi]

That`s it! You`ll notice I have chosen rounded shapes for escarpments, dug in symbol, etc, in order not to denounce the hex pattern when with hex outline off. Shapes integrate better with terrain features and look more organic. 

[Menschenfresser]

Ef-ing beautifimous! How many beers do you want for it?

[Maxx_slith]

Fabulous! I'm really looking forward to the release.

[Abnormalmind]

How very delightful! The eye candy factor: 10

Superb!!!

Thanks,
-Patrick

[larryfulkerson]

Whoa.....two thumbs up dude.  Does this mod work with the version of TOAW we're using now or is it a mod for the new patch release that's coming *any day now* ?

[ralphtricky]

ORIGINAL: larryfulkerson

Whoa.....two thumbs up dude.  Does this mod work with the version of TOAW we're using now or is it a mod for the new patch release that's coming *any day now* ?

The upcoming patch. It relies on being able to set the Alpha ('transparency') of individual pixels. Look closely at the fortification symbols and you'll be able to see the detail underneath them, he also used this for the numbers on the counters to make them cleaner. The same thing can be applied to clouds and other features and is awesome.

The unbelievable thing is that Damezzi wrote the entire thing without a working copy of the program and with only a couple of minor tweaks after I got it working. He's amazing.

The patch is getting closer (at least I sure hope so!) I will never again start a patch without a clear list of changes I plan to make, a timeline and the same discipline I use at work.

Ralph

[Bulldog1]

Would enjoy seeing a winter pick, if available. Very Nice![&o] 

[Lipa]

AWESOME!!! Thumbs up, way up!!! Can't wait for this one!

[Da_Huge_D]

Cking Impressive. That all i can say.

[Santayana_slith]

Amazing work, indeed!

Ralph, can we expect a beta-patch in the near future while you iron out the final version?

[vsadek]

This looks absolutely fantastic! You are a real artist.

[jmlima]

It looks good. But where exactely is that fabled patch?... [8|]

[nicdain]

That's amazing! Awesome work!
I especially like the look of the counters shown in posts 1,3,10 and 13
The terrain features are fantastic, too.
Keep it up!

[cantona2]

Must say that I still an eye on this game from afar and those graphics look great. Will have to attempt at third comeback when Ralph is done with his work.

[golden delicious]

Incredible. I have steered well clear of every graphics mod to date but this is something else.

[ColinWright]

Bah humbug. Taste aside, to me the hills look inverted -- that is to say, as if they're dug into the surface rather than rising out of it. Then too, the escarpment looks a bit too regular -- for a while I thought it must be your notation for fortifications. I can't say I care for the peaks -- better the current tile.

And finally, don't like the major rivers. Not that it isn't impressive overall -- but these are the shortcomings I perceive.

[ralphtricky]

ORIGINAL: ColinWright

Bah humbug. Taste aside, to me the hills look inverted -- that is to say, as if they're dug into the surface rather than rising out of it. Then too, the escarpment looks a bit too regular -- for a while I thought it must be your notation for fortifications. I can't say I care for the peaks -- better the current tile.

And finally, don't like the major rivers. Not that it isn't impressive overall -- but these are the shortcomings I perceive.

Colin,
Luckily, there's nothing to stop you from mixing the graphics and using the old Hills, Escarpments, Rivers and the new graphics for the rest or whatever combination you want.

Ralph

[eastwindrain]

Wonderful work squire's I salute you.

[damezzi]

Thank you all for the compliments!   Colin, it’s really an impossible thing to adapt a mod to everyone’s taste. Every person will be able to pick a terrain feature he would rather see represented differently. If there is any element which seems to bother most people, I’ll try to find a solution, but I can’t please everyone, so I need to use my own criteria. There is always the possibility of modification of this mod by others, also.
I have had, once or twice, the same impression on hills as you had. This is a normal optical illusion when we use slightly beveled surfaces, but most of the time our brains will settle with what we know is the right perception. I now experience difficulty reproducing the impression of dug in hills and I think that, after a while, most people that experienced that way of perceiving it will too. Increasing the relief made things look very convoluted, at least for my taste. I think that the original Toaw hills look to bumpy.
Escarpments are one of the most difficult tiles to produce in Toaw, since they must follow the hex side they are associated with. Being difficult to create an organic looking tile with that constraint, I opted for a symbolic one.     Bulldog,  post 17 is frozen terrain. It’s less perceptible in this picture than it is in game, since all tiles are frozen and so there is no adjacent contrasting hexes. I opted for a striped pattern for frozen, so that it can be easily distinguished from snowy. And I really like the aspect of paper texture it creates. Original snowy tiles in Toaw were too obstructive and if I decided simply for two levels of transparency, it would be difficult to distinguish frozen from snowy when only one was present like in post 17. I’m posting some extra winter images.