Any interest in a softer shadow mod?

[Issue8]

NEW DEC 13 Version 2 available


https://www.dropbox.com/s/bx9m5wg3fnlbu ... 2.zip?dl=0



I was wondering is there is any interest for a 'soft-shadow' graphic mod?

I understand most people play zoomed-out, but perhaps it would be nice if there was a different style of the graphics when zoomed-in.

This game uses tiles, with seams and overlapping shadows, but the softer shadows bend better, I think. More importantly, I think it makes the game looks more like a minature battle set diorama.

[22sec]

I’m interested.

[exsonic01]

That looks cool!

[alexandreagrg]

+1

[CCIP-subsim]

Looks great! I would use that for sure [:)]

[Issue8]

Ok. I am testing it now and I think it looks better, so I'll make it. It may take a couple of weeks because of my work schedule, but I will post updates here as it comes along. I've got the forests done already. There needs to be a slight blue tint to the shadows and a few tweaks

[CCIP-subsim]

I should also say, one of the things that I like is the slightly darker, less "constrasty" look overall that it gives - I have a hunch that this will make the map easier to read, especially in terms of picking out units and icons.

[Issue8]

I think in general, it makes the game much more polished looking.
The issue really is the tiles. It is almost impossible to make a tiled game look anything like Close Combat, for example, because tiles repeat and there are seams. Also shadows bleed over and cause strange artifacts.

I think the winter looks much better.

[Issue8]

And in this example, the heavy buildings still have the hard shadow, and it actually makes them look flater

[CCIP-subsim]

I agree, it's a very natural look, especially when you see the difference side by side!

And yeah, the tiled terrain is almost always inevitable - but I'd say it's a worthy tradeoff for much larger maps!
One thing that jumps out with the tiles is the "urban ground" layer, beause you can very clearly see the boundaries and the square shape. I wonder if it would help either making those cells 'seamless', or else changing that to a more irregular set of shapes.

[Issue8]

Here is a summer pic with slight blue shadows

Also, I am testing with some chromatic abberation.
I think perhaps I am over-doing that effect?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromatic_aberration

And yes indeed, tile systems allow for extremely large maps. Also, full disclosure, I made the terrain (and most of the vehicle) graphics, so any complaints/suggestions you can direct them at me.

[Issue8]

This may get finished sooner than I thought. I think the desert stuff is all I have left. Right now I am testing it with a summer game. I love the way the game feels with the soft edges. It is purely cosmetic, but I like the effect. The time is early morning in the pic here, so the lighting is a little dark. The more I can make it feel like a miniatures set the better, IMO

[CCIP-subsim]

Looks great, I'm excited for this! [:)]
It's a neat little optical illusion - it creates a really nice sense of depth, sort of like a soft-focus photo.

[Phoenix100]

Agreed. It's nice. Since you're on cosmetics, can you add some cosmetic fences and walls around buildings and along field edges please?

[Issue8]

Updated link in first post

[22sec]

ORIGINAL: Issue8

Ok here is a link to what I have. Perhaps it should be improved in some ways, and you guys can let me know what you think.

Please backup your building and terrain folders so you can revert back to the default stuff.

I think if you follow this link and click the 'download' button in the upper right you can access it.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/gsn82qq920wnr ... d.zip?dl=0

I like it Sam. Did the forest terrain change too?

[CCIP-subsim]

Looks great!
Just two minor things I noticed - it looks like all the Heavy buildings for the standard climates changed colour (to match the lighter Desert versions), which is fine except the sprite doesn't quite match its darker zoomed-out version.
Also, I hate to bring it up, but the leafless trees and the vehicles now really stick out with their shadows - not sure if it's practical to do anything about them too.

Really liking it though! The overall change to that more subdued, slightly darker colour is something that I really think looks very good.

[exsonic01]

I tested in snowfield and grass field + town, it looks great. Very fresh miniature ground feeling, feels like someone will bring Flames of War models or Warhammer 40k models.

[Issue8]

Hey guys, thanks for the feedback! I am working on it and for now this is just what I wanted to share, and of course it can be improved.

Regarding fences/walls: yes I agree that would help, but first I need to think of a good way to do it.

The leafless tree shadows are a bit sharp, so maybe there is a quick fix to that.
I gave myself a 2 week budget to do this, so there is plenty of time to improve this. Sometime this weekend (before Dec 17th) I will update the download.



Another complaint from Veitikka is the building heights are harder to tell now, like what is taller, so I increased the shadow lengths slightly for the taller 1x2 buildings.

[Phoenix100]

Looking great. Is the present download updated to include the fixes you've just made to tree shadows and building shadow lengths?