Matrix Games Forums

New version Terrain Mod v3.0 here:
https://www.matrixgames.com/forums/view ... 3&t=389032


Version v2.4 will remain available for those who prefer it:


Download: Terrain Mod (v2.4)






Download Instructions

(a) Click the link above. It will bring you to a dropbox download page.
(b) Click the [download] button to the upper left of the dropbox download page.
(c) Save the zip file at your preferred location.
(d) Unpack the zip file contents to your Shadow Empire folder, typically C:\Matrix Games\Shadow Empire\Shadow Empire\GraphicsAlt

Note: if it is your first time unpacking a mod, GraphicsAlt won't exist. It is created when you unpack.




Here is a significant upgrade to the Terrain Mod. The main changes are:


Terrain Mod v2.4
(1) Fixed the weird dead-end hook on some dirt roads
(2) Made more minor touch-up fixes of road hex joins
(3) Escarpment updates (e.g., less saturated coloration)
(4) Rounded off star-like look of forest/woods/jungle when clumped in 7-hex groups
Note: this version is combined with DasTactics icons in a separate DasTactic-Mroyer mod (v1.0)

Terrain Mod v2.3
(1) Added missing dirt-road imagery that was accidentally left out of v2.2

Terrain Mod v2.2
(1) Fixed cloud forest overflow to adjacent hexes - they were too translucent
(2) Improved snow forest, full hexes were whiter than partial hexes
(3) Fixed some hex-to-hex road joins that were slightly off
(4) Rails crossing roads are more visible
(5) Improvements to escarpments to be more like the canyon imagery

Terrain Mod v2.1
(1) Updated escarpments

Terrain Mod v2.0
(1) Completely revamped canyon imagery
(2) Made low-mountain imagery less blurry
(3) Sharpened forest imagery
(4) Folded in the transportation line mod (i.e., roads and rails)
(5) Improved savanna with sparse 'tree' images similar to forest



Here are some comparisons of original game graphics vs. this Terrain Mod v2.0:


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Escarpments

Terrain Mod v2.2


Orig




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General terrain on a siwa world showing mountains, forest, jungles, savanne

Terrain Mod v2.0


Orig



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Some canyons on a dry world

Terrain Mod v2.0


Orig



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Another general terrain showing tundra on a siwa world

Terrain Mod v2.0


Orig






-Mark R.

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Thanks!

Thanks. Badly needed.

Yes, very nice.

Beautiful work!

looks great

Thanks everyone, for the kind works.

I'll be updating this soon. Main upgrades are
(1) Completely revamped canyon imagery
(2) Low-mountain imagery less blurry
(3) Generally sharpened forest imagery
(4) Included my transportation line mod (i.e., roads and rails) together with this mod.
(5) Improved savanna with sparse 'tree' images similar to forest

Putting final touches at the moment.
-Mark R.

Terrain Mod v2.0 updated.
Link in opening post.
-Mark R.

Thank you! I really liked the v1.0 and the 2.0 looks even better

Thanks Clux. I liked most of the original terrain that came with the game quite a bit, but some of the original terrain type imagery was just too difficult to discern from each other so I hoped to make things clearer at a glance.

Finally, I got the full-resolution images for comparison to show in the opening post.

-Mark R.

Gorgeous !! Thank you for this great mod !

Posted a mild update to escarpments in the opening post (v2.1).

Getting smoother escarpment joins has proved tricky - I believe the engine selects the wrong image for the hex adjacent to the escarpment hex. So, I've done about as best I can, although I might revisit it again someday.

-Mark R.

Thanks for this! Will use it in my next game. Happy that this is now possible with the alt-function. Looking forward to all the mods [:)]!

Thanks for this mod!

Thanks a lot. I like it so much.

This should be used as vanilla.

Thanks everyone.

I'm working on a next-version that will include improved escarpments (more like the canyon imagery), sharper winter forests, and fixed a few other minor issues like some slightly misaligned road joins.

-Mark R.

Coming soon, new escarpments.
I cannot get rid of the sharp transition at the hex edge - I think it's something coded directly into the game engine so this may be as good as I can get.
-Mark R.

Really nice mod, could easily be default official ingame rendering.