Documentation for graphics modding

[Vic]

For modding the portraits and vidcom screens here are some small notes:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... sp=sharing

02-feb-21: Added a Stratagem overview as well so you know which .png file points to which stratagem.

best wishes,
Vic

[Pymous]

Thanks Vic, this is great

[Vic]

And thanks for your great efforts! the Stratagem mod looks positively amazing!

[COOLGUY67]

Will there be documentation added for texture mods in the future?

[Nsf665]

well good I just found out about this documentation [8|][:D]

[AIRY]

It seems like the forum doesn't let people who haven't posted on the forums at least 10 times share links or upload images. That might make it tricky to share graphics mods.

[ernieschwitz]

ORIGINAL: AIRY

It seems like the forum doesn't let people who haven't posted on the forums at least 10 times share links or upload images. That might make it tricky to share graphics mods.

That is to protect against spammers and bots. Getting to 10 posts is surprisingly easy too.

[AIRY]

It wouldn't be too hard to get 10 posts and wait a week it just feels kinda absurd to make posts for the point of getting around the post requirement.

[Cladboy2]

Really useful stuff, I intend to try have a go at creating an asset pack for character portraits.

[Cladboy2]

Will this be updated for the assets added in the Oceania dlc?

[Topdecker]

Am I mistaken, or are the intro images (prior to the game even starting) not handled by the same mechanism as all of the files listed in the spreadsheet? (se1.jpg...se6.jpg are the names of the 6 files.)

Thanks!

[Pymous]

Hi Vic,
Could you update the document with new New Vidcom information?
(arachnids + dangers vidcom events)

Thanks!

[Daza99]

Would be handy if the documentation mentions which folder these images reside in.

Which folder has the Vidcom images? I tried to have a look manually but cannot find them. Thanks.

[mroyer]

I put the following together a while ago:


Shadow Empire Graphics Directory


TOP-LEVEL FOLDERS
Folder Summary

shadow/ Standard-resolution game-specific art assets including terrain, units, UI, portraits, factions, and map features (~2,200+ files across 64 subfolders).

shadowBIG/ High-resolution variants of the shadow/ terrain, map, and combat assets (subset of ~44 entries covering resolution-dependent graphics).

shadowSMALL/ Low-resolution variants of the shadow/ terrain, map, and combat assets (subset of ~46 entries).

shadowmodgraphics/ Mod-override graphics at standard resolution, including custom UI reskins, border styles, and height rendering tweaks.

shadowmodgraphicsBIG/ High-resolution mod-override graphics for borders and terrain heights.

shadowmodgraphicsSMALL/ Low-resolution mod-override graphics for borders and terrain heights.

systemgraphics/ Base engine UI framework at standard resolution: buttons, hex overlays, fog/shroud masks, attack icons, borders, and panel artwork (~113 loose files + 10 subfolders).

systemgraphicsBIG/ High-resolution variants of the system UI graphics (reduced subset of resolution-dependent assets).

systemgraphicsSMALL/ Low-resolution variants of the system UI graphics (reduced subset of resolution-dependent assets).

test/ Development/testing assets including prototype card artwork and sample terrain graphics.

testBIG/ A single high-resolution test perk map icon.

testSMALL/ A single low-resolution test perk map icon.



shadow/ SUBFOLDERS
Subfolder Summary

shadow/airassets/ Contains a single numbered aircraft asset image.

shadow/airSmallGfx/ Small icon graphics for air units, airbases, and flak (anti-air).

shadow/airTrooptypes/ Aircraft troop type illustrations including light/medium/heavy aircraft, helicopters, thopters, and flak units.

shadow/alien1_Textures/ A single grass texture for alien planet type 1.

shadow/alien2_Textures/ A single grass texture for alien planet type 2.

shadow/alien3_Textures/ A single grass texture for alien planet type 3.

shadow/assets/ ~91 numerically-named unit or structure asset images referenced by game ID, plus a freefolk graphic.

shadow/canyon/ Six canyon terrain hex tile variations for map rendering.

shadow/card/ ~296 card artwork images including numbered cards and themed card backs/frames (artifact, diplomatic, economic, faction, fate, etc.).

shadow/cloud/ Cloud overlay graphics in normal and snow variants for map weather/atmosphere rendering.

shadow/complex1/ Main UI and content graphics: vidcom character portraits (JPG), UI elements, plus subdirectories for formations, help screenshots, model illustrations, and tech tree images.

shadow/cracked_Textures/ Boulder textures for cracked terrain surfaces.

shadow/critters/ Creature/alien animal graphics organized by size class (medium, big, huge) with base sprites and layer overlays for procedural generation.

shadow/escarpment/ Six escarpment terrain hex tile variations for cliff/ridge rendering.

shadow/fields/ Agricultural field terrain overlays in normal and snow-covered variants.

shadow/ForestedHills/ Forested hill terrain graphics with Normal/ and Snow/ subdirectories containing tile art and transparency masks.

shadow/Forests/ Forest terrain graphics with Normal/ and Snow/ subdirectories containing tile art and masks.

shadow/fredhill/ Hill terrain sprite sheets in four variants: default, big, grass-covered, and snow-covered.

shadow/fredmountain/ Mountain terrain sprite sheets in four variants: default, big, grass-covered, and snow-covered.

shadow/fredwoodhill/ Wooded hill terrain sprite sheets in normal and snow variants.

shadow/glacier/ Glacier terrain graphics with a main tile and variant.

shadow/hexperks/ ~26 hex feature/perk icons representing special tile features or bonuses on the map.

shadow/interface/ Core game UI elements (~111 files): unit/zone info panels, popups, profile frames, arrows, resource icons, and status indicators, plus items/ and suits/ subdirectories.

shadow/jungle/ Jungle terrain overlays in normal and snow variants with transparency versions.

shadow/LakeFrozenInterior/ 77 frozen lake shoreline and interior tile pieces for rendering frozen lake edges on the hex map.

shadow/LakeInterior/ 77 lake shoreline and interior tile pieces for rendering lake edges and interiors.

shadow/landscape_pictures/ A single landscape reference or background image.

shadow/landscape_sideways/ Side-view landscape illustrations with ~11 subdirectories for different sky/terrain themes (alien, farm, lava, water, etc.).

shadow/LavaLakeInterior/ 77 lava lake shoreline and interior tile pieces for volcanic terrain rendering.

shadow/Lavarivers/ Lava river graphics in four widths (small, medium, mediumbig, big).

shadow/LavaWater/ 64 lava ocean/water tile pieces for rendering lava coastlines and interiors.

shadow/locs/ ~25 location/settlement graphics including cities, towns, mines, domes, agricultural sites, and construction.

shadow/mapicons/ ~62 map overlay icons for resources, locations, archaeology, perks, free folk, landing zones, population, and radiation.

shadow/nato/ ~21 NATO-style military unit symbols for infantry, armor, artillery, and organizational levels.

shadow/navyassets/ ~30 naval unit assets including ship graphics, navy backgrounds, maritime card imagery, and naval icons.

shadow/newgfx/ Updated/replacement graphics organized into 8 subdirectories: card, navyassets, portraits, se_corporate, se_crime, se_cult, se_linked, and vidcom.

shadow/people_icons/ Four color-coded people/population icons (blue, green, red, yellow).

shadow/portraits/ ~112 character portrait generation components: face, eyes, nose, mouth, hair layers organized by group, plus uniform sprites for various factions.

shadow/random/ ~58 miscellaneous UI and background graphics (clouds, terrain illustrations, planet images, tabs, thermometers), plus history/ and planets/ subdirectories.

shadow/recon/ A single striped reconnaissance overlay graphic for fog-of-war or recon patterns.

shadow/regime_banners/ Four regime banner templates for procedural banner generation.

shadow/regime_flags/ 32 regime flag templates with mixed patterns for procedural flag generation.

shadow/regime_roundels/ Four regime roundel (circular emblem) templates.

shadow/regime_symbols/ 31 regime symbol templates for procedural emblem generation.

shadow/rivers/ River graphics in four widths, each with normal and frozen variants.

shadow/ruins/ Ruined city terrain overlays in normal and snow variants with transparency versions.

shadow/rusty_Textures/ Rusty/weathered boulder textures for degraded terrain surfaces.

shadow/savanne/ Savannah terrain overlays in normal and snow variants.

shadow/se_corporate/ Corporate faction graphics: ~14 event/action images, faction portrait, profile, and card artwork.

shadow/se_crime/ Crime faction graphics: ~17 event/action images, faction portrait, profile, card artwork, and unit feat icons.

shadow/se_cult/ Cult faction graphics: ~22 event/action images, faction portrait, profile, card artwork, and unit feat icons.

shadow/se_linked/ A single linked/cross-faction graphic image.

shadow/sftypes/ Sci-fi unit type illustrations organized into ~20 subdirectories by category (AFV, animals, culture variants, enviro, militia, towed, vehicle).

shadow/siluets/ Unit silhouette/shadow graphics for vehicles and infantry with ~11 culture/suit variant subdirectories.

shadow/smallgfx/ ~21 small UI combat/stat icons (ammo, fuel, attack types, hit points, transport, upkeep, charisma).

shadow/swamp/ A single swamp terrain overlay graphic.

shadow/Textures/ ~27 base terrain textures for the hex map (grass, forest, snow, mud, tundra, swamp, ruins, planet-specific variants).

shadow/TexturesSprites/ ~30 terrain feature sprites for volcanoes, craters, and boulder/rough terrain overlays.

shadow/Transitions/ Two alpha mask images used for blending between adjacent terrain textures on the hex map.

shadow/Trooptypes/ ~21 troop type illustrations for ground units (infantry, tanks, walkers, APCs, artillery, trucks, etc.).

shadow/unitfeats/ ~46 unit feature/ability icons representing special capabilities or status effects for military units.

shadow/vicroads/ ~36 road and rail infrastructure graphics in multiple types (dirt, concrete, rail) with directional variants.

shadow/Water/ ~66 ocean/sea water tile pieces for rendering coastlines and open water, plus frozen sea tiles.

shadow/Woods/ Woodland terrain graphics with Normal/ and Snow/ subdirectories containing tile art and transparency masks.



systemgraphics/ SUBFOLDERS
Subfolder Summary

systemgraphics/border/ ~35 hex border overlays, map border graphics, and zone border tiles for territorial and map edge boundaries.

systemgraphics/cat1/ ~112 primary UI assets: action card icons, buttons, bars, tabs, radio buttons, combat art, resource icons, and "Sov" theme variants.

systemgraphics/cat3/ ~48 command/order button icons for gameplay actions (attack, block, disband, load, paradrop, production, research, diplomacy, etc.).

systemgraphics/cat4/ A single arrows spritesheet image for directional indicators.

systemgraphics/fog/ 65 fog-of-war hex tile masks covering all possible edge configurations for hexagonal tiles.

systemgraphics/Heights/ 9 terrain elevation rendering assets including shadow and line overlays for three height levels plus transitions.

systemgraphics/natocounters/ Empty placeholder directory reserved for NATO-style military counter graphics.

systemgraphics/nobridge/ 6 directional "no bridge" indicator graphics, one for each hex edge direction.

systemgraphics/se1/ ~101 core UI frame and panel artwork: sidebars, mainframe panels, combat status icons, unit/zone/regime frames, portrait frames, and structural elements.

systemgraphics/shrowd/ 65 shroud (undiscovered territory) hex tile masks covering all hex-edge configurations.



systemgraphicsBIG/ SUBFOLDERS
Subfolder Summary

systemgraphicsBIG/border/ ~29 high-resolution border graphics (same structure as standard, fewer legacy BMP files).

systemgraphicsBIG/cat1/ A single high-resolution explosion sprite.

systemgraphicsBIG/cat4/ High-resolution arrows spritesheet.

systemgraphicsBIG/fog/ 65 high-resolution fog-of-war hex tile masks.

systemgraphicsBIG/Heights/ 9 high-resolution terrain elevation assets.

systemgraphicsBIG/natocounters/ Empty placeholder directory.

systemgraphicsBIG/nobridge/ 6 high-resolution no-bridge directional indicators.

systemgraphicsBIG/se1/ 9 high-resolution combat status icons and combat block sprites (reduced subset of standard se1).

systemgraphicsBIG/shrowd/ 65 high-resolution shroud tile masks.



systemgraphicsSMALL/ SUBFOLDERS
Subfolder Summary

systemgraphicsSMALL/border/ ~23 low-resolution border graphics (PNG only).

systemgraphicsSMALL/cat1/ A single low-resolution explosion sprite.

systemgraphicsSMALL/cat4/ Low-resolution arrows spritesheet.

systemgraphicsSMALL/fog/ 65 low-resolution fog-of-war hex tile masks.

systemgraphicsSMALL/Heights/ 9 low-resolution terrain elevation assets.

systemgraphicsSMALL/natocounters/ Empty placeholder directory.

systemgraphicsSMALL/nobridge/ 6 low-resolution no-bridge directional indicators.

systemgraphicsSMALL/se1/ 9 low-resolution combat status icons and combat block sprites.

systemgraphicsSMALL/shrowd/ 65 low-resolution shroud tile masks.



shadowmodgraphics/ SUBFOLDERS
Subfolder Summary

shadowmodgraphics/border/ 18 mod-override border graphics with standard borders, zone borders, and unique LightZoneBorder variants.

shadowmodgraphics/cat1/ ~82 mod-override UI assets representing a significant UI reskin with unique button styles, scenario menu background, and digital topbar variant.

shadowmodgraphics/Heights/ 10 mod-override height assets including an extra heighthex.png elevation indicator not in base game.

shadowmodgraphics/Heights - Copy/ Backup copy of the standard 9-file Heights set preserved before mod modifications.

shadowmodgraphics/se1/ Empty placeholder directory for mod-override UI frame assets.



shadowmodgraphicsBIG/ SUBFOLDERS
Subfolder Summary

shadowmodgraphicsBIG/border/ 18 high-resolution mod-override border graphics with LightZoneBorder variants.

shadowmodgraphicsBIG/Heights/ 10 high-resolution mod-override height assets including heighthex.png.

shadowmodgraphicsBIG/Heights - Copy/ Backup copy of the standard 9-file Heights set at high resolution.



shadowmodgraphicsSMALL/ SUBFOLDERS
Subfolder Summary

shadowmodgraphicsSMALL/border/ 18 low-resolution mod-override border graphics with LightZoneBorder variants.

shadowmodgraphicsSMALL/Heights/ 10 low-resolution mod-override height assets including heighthex.png.



test/ SUBFOLDERS
Subfolder Summary

test/cards/ 4 prototype card artwork files (card images and frame templates) used for development testing.



ARCHITECTURE NOTE
The game uses a three-tier resolution system (SMALL / standard / BIG) where shadowmodgraphics* overrides systemgraphics*, and shadow* contains game-specific content. The BIG/SMALL variants only duplicate resolution-dependent assets rather than the full set.