New Art, Terrain, Icon Posts

Nick Papp · Post by **Nick Papp** » Wed May 10, 2000 8:34 am

Hello to all,

While everyone is enjoying the new game, I wondered if there are any comments on the new art, graphics, terrain and icons.

Please post any thoughts here.

Thanks!

Nick Papp
Director, Art & Graphics

andyaff · Post by **andyaff** » Wed May 10, 2000 1:39 pm

The graphics look OK,but a question,in the manual it says the resolutions are 640*480 to 800*600.How do you switch between these two settings ingame?

Alby · Post by **Alby** » Wed May 10, 2000 3:24 pm

Originally posted by Nick Papp:
Hello to all,

While everyone is enjoying the new game, I wondered if there are any comments on the new art, graphics, terrain and icons.

Please post any thoughts here.

Thanks!

I love them, would like one more click on the zoom in feature tho!

Nick Papp
Director, Art & Graphics

Paul Vebber · Post by **Paul Vebber** » Wed May 10, 2000 4:31 pm

A word was left out...its only 800x 600

PR^Spanjab · Post by **PR^Spanjab** » Wed May 10, 2000 5:47 pm

The terrain looks great! All the new icons and other graphics are fine and do just the job they need to.

The only criticism I have is so trivial I wasn't gonna mention it! The first time I saw a smoking destroyed vehicle I wasn't too sure it was dead. I guess I am too used to the 2 frames of fire/smoke animation and having it motionless threw me. How trivial is that?

Mark_Ezra · Post by **Mark_Ezra** » Wed May 10, 2000 5:49 pm

The graphics are a great improvement over the original. All of the choices in textures. Cobblestone streets, walls, gullies...water to wade in...Super job, fellas

Supervisor · Post by **Supervisor** » Thu May 11, 2000 8:03 am

Nick,
You have done a wonderful job. The terrain features are great. The new buildings are phenmoenal. I ahve 2 queastions regarding the buildings. There are a couple tthat have round circles and u or n shapes in the multihex residential, I beleive. What are these supposed to be?

------------------
Grenadier
SPWAW Beta Team

Nick Papp · Post by **Nick Papp** » Thu May 11, 2000 6:19 pm

Hi guys,

Thanks for all the posts, I'll try to answer them all as I can.

Paul picked up the 640X480 issue - this was a misprint in the game guide. Only one setting - 800X600.

Alby - The four zoom setting in SP3 and SP:WAW is a bit decieving. To add another level of zoom like in SP1 or SP2 would likely have been a MAJOR code rewrite for Mike Wood. To much effort, too little return. I can GUARANTEE you however the four
zooms that we used are the EXACT same pixel size as was use in the stock terrain in SP1/2. The difference now is that your looking through 800X600 eyes, and not 640X480.

PR^Spanjab & Seth - Glad you both commented on the smoke issue. I have not had time to go back and see the problem, but will. It is VERY likely a minor art glitch, which I can correct in an interim art patch, or certainly with the next .exe patch. Thanks!!

Mark_Ezra: Thanks for the kind words!! Lot's of work, but nice to see this all finally in the game. Check out the new multi-hex buildings, these are some of the real gems in the new art.

Grenadier: Hey man, nice to see a familiar face on the message board!! Okay...knew this would throw people. The horseshoe-shaped image in the "1" multi-hex option is actually a replica of an Okinawaian tomb.
Georges Ostermann, who did up SO MANY of th enew buildings, found a picture of it an drew us one. Did not know what Pacific-rim graveyards looked like, so you go tht tomb. And actually these are very large structures - Georges picture has a Sherman M4 hiding in the opening of one!! Now you know.

Thaks again guys for all the posts, keep 'em commng.

Regards,

Nick Papp

Mac_MatrixForum · Post by **Mac_MatrixForum** » Thu May 11, 2000 6:36 pm

All the new stuff like the new buildings and such look really great but is it some limit on the part of the code or why haven't you added more trees and grass hexes and such? Of course you just might have been doing those fancy new units and such

Well, if you want to retain the looks of the original series, works well. If you have time, please do some more of those. Great game even if you don't and thanks for all the new graphics.

------------------
Markku "Mac" Rontu

"Understanding is a three-edged sword,
your side, their side and the truth."
- Sheridan in B5

3rd Recon · Post by **3rd Recon** » Thu May 11, 2000 6:47 pm

Hello, I was going to ask for a cemetary, but I found one in the editor under large buildings. It looks grest but I have a new idea.
1: make the cemetary on the orchard palet. just playing around, I put craters in the cemetary with the editor and I had a large fire burning. I did'nt seem realistic.
2: can you darken dirt, it looks the same color as the sand stone or vis versa.

the new terrain is really cool I spent two hours in the editor just fooling around to see all the things I could make. I like the tomb for asia. Just like the ones I saw when I was staioned in Okinawa.

3:If given the chance, could you release a text file with a description of each building next to its picture. Not sure what some of these things are.
thanks for the great work
3rd Recon

Nick Papp · Post by **Nick Papp** » Thu May 11, 2000 7:02 pm

Originally posted by Mac:
All the new stuff like the new buildings and such look really great but is it some limit on the part of the code or why haven't you added more trees and grass hexes and such?

We could have, but...until you have tried to assemble a new terrain file set, you have know idea how much work is involved on just the art side! You'd have still been waiting for this game by Christmas!!

Of course you just might have been doing those fancy new units and such Well, if you want to retain the looks of the original series, works well.

We added what we could, given the time avaialbe, and Mike Wood's programing schedule. There were MANY other things on the "wishlist", but Mike would have had to completely rebuild the graphics engine - which would have been a multi-month proposition in itself.

If you have time, please do some more of those. Great game even if you don't and thanks for all the new graphics.

Well, I hope and plan for the former, not the latter. Keep checking in for any follow-on patches.

Regards,

Nick

Nick Papp · Post by **Nick Papp** » Thu May 11, 2000 7:09 pm

Originally posted by 3rd Recon:
Hello, I was going to ask for a cemetary, but I found one in the editor under large buildings. It looks grest but I have a new idea.
1: make the cemetary on the orchard palet. just playing around, I put craters in the cemetary with the editor and I had a large fire burning. I did'nt seem realistic.

Probably should not have been in the multi-hex kit to start with, but hated to pass this one up. The terrain benefits of the building set are there, but the program sees this as a "building", therefore the crates and burning images. It was a tradeoff, but, we'll see if there is a different way to do this.

2: can you darken dirt, it looks the same color as the sand stone or vis versa.

Well...They actually draw from the same terrain tileset. We probably would have been better off to call both "dirt" but, too many other things to attend to. I can darken one, but you will see both darkened. I'll probably do a follow on for a real "Sandtone" set you can use.

the new terrain is really cool I spent two hours in the editor just fooling around to see all the things I could make. I like the tomb for asia. Just like the ones I saw when I was staioned in Okinawa.

Thanks...a testamonial dear freinds!! <VBG>

3:If given the chance, could you release a text file with a description of each building next to its picture. Not sure what some of these things are.
thanks for the great work
3rd Recon

I'll see what I can do, will probably realease a global Terrain Map down the road
as well.

Regards,

Nick

Ziggy · Post by **Ziggy** » Thu May 11, 2000 7:57 pm

I think the art work is great. It looks like you had no problem getting some of the old graphics from WW2 to work in WaW as well- like the UK gliders and stuff.

Ziggy

Supervisor · Post by **Supervisor** » Thu May 11, 2000 7:57 pm

Grenadier: Hey man, nice to see a familiar face on the message board!! Okay...knew this would throw people. The horseshoe-shaped image in the "1" multi-hex option is actually a replica of an Okinawaian tomb.
Georges Ostermann, who did up SO MANY of th enew buildings, found a picture of it an drew us one. Did not know what Pacific-rim graveyards looked like, so you go tht tomb. And actually these are very large structures - Georges picture has a Sherman M4 hiding in the opening of one!! Now you know.

Great, Then I have Okinawan graves in the Oder Valley.<LOL> What about the round circles next to a barn? Too small for coralls.

------------------
Grenadier
SPWAW Beta Team

3rd Recon · Post by **3rd Recon** » Thu May 11, 2000 7:58 pm

Thanks Nick

You guys are on top of things as always.
3rd Recon

Seth · Post by **Seth** » Sat May 20, 2000 6:49 pm

Everything looks much nicer! I do agree that having animated smoke/fire would be better for the atmosphere.