I did a few more experiments on the idea of being able to fade the edges of the mountains and discovered that if you do that they can suffer seriously bad Transparency Acne. Things not working right is only to be expected, really, when what I'm doing isn't something the program was designed to be able to do.
So the transparent files idea is a 'no go', really.
Tackling this new style from both ends at once, I spent the day looking at the textures I had - adjusting the colour scheme, and so on.
And how better to test them than make a map with them.
I know I started one of these a long while back, but I can't seem to find it, so this is a new version. I've added a couple of HW settlement symbols for scale.
I'm happy with the colours overall, and with the textures in all but 4 of them. The volcanic desert, red and white desert, and the grass texture all need some serious sorting out even though they are the right colour now (I think)
Here are a few more detailed and labelled screen shots of the various land, grass, desert and lava fills.
These are intended for a top view overland style, so they will look a bit different to the normal isometric view fills.
There are no symbols as yet. I just had to do this before I really got cracking on the mountains - to match the base colours with a set of already existing textures. (Get the textures right first.) Ice and snow textures to follow...
I like all these, though the lava one looks a little cracked to me - but I guess it is, only after it has cooled down and loses its red colour. I really love the red desert, with its 'ripples'. once more, you are proving to be a mighty.... MOUSE!!
I based the red desert colour on the Australian deserts - a lot of which seem to be more red than yellow to me!
Those lava fills still need a bit more work, and you are right that Lava 01 is intended to be half way to rock already, but now you have put a name to it ("cracked") I think I know what needs to be done
Meanwhile the ice and snow are pretty much a disaster zone - each fill is ok on its own, but because they are all so white I'm getting various interesting transparency acne issues. Its quite pretty really, but not what we want.
Well, when I get this right (and I'm having a really bad time with the frozen lands at the moment) maybe an alternative Australia with lots of volcanoes would be interesting?
Ok, I've managed to get the three frozen textures to play nicely with each other. I think, though, that they generally lack contrast. They had plenty to start with, but it washed out while I was adjusting them. So they need a bit more work.
Quenten - They're darker and bluer, but its only very subtle - about 5 points on the 256 colour scale. The others were beginning to give me snow blindness looking at the screen - too bright for comfort.
Remy - That's what I was after - something to break up the Antarctic-sized frozen wastes. Large areas of each of them do look quite different though. I might tweak them just a very tiny bit further apart, but not so far as to make them too different to each other to use in a general icy waste mix.
Jay - Thank you
EDIT: Quenten - misread you there. Yes, those two are pretty similar. The difference is more obvious if you put a hard line between them like this. Maybe, though, the Ice pack could do with being a tad darker.
I sucked some of the colour out of the Ice pack. I think they should be different enough now, but if not I can always tweak them before I'm finished. And there is a long way to go!
While I could blame the haziness on reducing everything down to a relatively small scale, there are a couple of textures that need to be made a bit sharper.
Perhaps if the areas of ice in the pack ice were made significantly smaller than those in the glacier ice, it would help differentiation. Still not sure of the benefit of using 2 different fills when they still look so similar. I think the shading is about right (perhaps the pack ice 'sea'bpondaries could be darker) but the texture or size if ice 'particles too much the same. In real close up there is a difference, but too subtle at a zoom out look (and not zoomed out too much either) Sorry to be a nark
I'm thinking that maybe the two ice fills have almost gone a bit too dark now, and that the darkest should really be the glacier, since the only reason glaciers look really bright is because of the snow lying on top of them. The ice itself is quite transparent (unless its carrying a load of sediment and a dirty black-brown-grey), and in great depths it does look that curious aqua-green colour in photos... but I have a whole load of other stuff to do before I go back to them again
The pine are too 'cellular' and way too blue. The deciduous ones are somehow too contrasty and yellow, but they are just something to work from for now.
Comments
So the transparent files idea is a 'no go', really.
Still working on a solution...
And how better to test them than make a map with them.
I know I started one of these a long while back, but I can't seem to find it, so this is a new version. I've added a couple of HW settlement symbols for scale.
I'm happy with the colours overall, and with the textures in all but 4 of them. The volcanic desert, red and white desert, and the grass texture all need some serious sorting out even though they are the right colour now (I think)
I kinda like it. It would work for some types of overland maps.
Hmmm...
I will label the next version with the names of the textures. Maybe you can tell me which ones look bad
These are intended for a top view overland style, so they will look a bit different to the normal isometric view fills.
There are no symbols as yet. I just had to do this before I really got cracking on the mountains - to match the base colours with a set of already existing textures. (Get the textures right first.) Ice and snow textures to follow...
I based the red desert colour on the Australian deserts - a lot of which seem to be more red than yellow to me!
Those lava fills still need a bit more work, and you are right that Lava 01 is intended to be half way to rock already, but now you have put a name to it ("cracked") I think I know what needs to be done
Meanwhile the ice and snow are pretty much a disaster zone - each fill is ok on its own, but because they are all so white I'm getting various interesting transparency acne issues. Its quite pretty really, but not what we want.
I may be some time!
I'll leave that up to you
Remy - That's what I was after - something to break up the Antarctic-sized frozen wastes. Large areas of each of them do look quite different though. I might tweak them just a very tiny bit further apart, but not so far as to make them too different to each other to use in a general icy waste mix.
Jay - Thank you
EDIT: Quenten - misread you there. Yes, those two are pretty similar. The difference is more obvious if you put a hard line between them like this. Maybe, though, the Ice pack could do with being a tad darker.
The ice looks just like I have seen it in documentaries about the polar ice.
Thanks Jim
Sorry to be a nark
I'm thinking that maybe the two ice fills have almost gone a bit too dark now, and that the darkest should really be the glacier, since the only reason glaciers look really bright is because of the snow lying on top of them. The ice itself is quite transparent (unless its carrying a load of sediment and a dirty black-brown-grey), and in great depths it does look that curious aqua-green colour in photos... but I have a whole load of other stuff to do before I go back to them again
The pine are too 'cellular' and way too blue. The deciduous ones are somehow too contrasty and yellow, but they are just something to work from for now.