I've done the first draft of the priory church now, and decided this is as large as I ever want to go with a single symbol. I'm not sure if I will make a set of parts for the cathedral. I think it might be a bit too much fiddling around reassembling it each time on a map.
Note that there are no performance advantage to split a symbol into multiple parts, the only reason to do that is to let users have flexibility in their use. Loading two images will actually take more resources than loading a single large one.
How big is the largest existing PF building symbol - roughly to the closest thousand pixels? (I don't necessarily know because I don't have all the software yet)
I actually had a slightly different problem a couple of hours ago. I couldn't export this at the full resolution size of 40 pixels per foot because I didn't have enough memory. At least - that's the error message I got. I am inclined to believe it as well, since I only ever have 1.5 GB available, even when CC3 is the only thing I have open, and the size I first attempted to export was 13320 x 5120 (333 x 128 feet). This is only the priory church, not the cathedral.
That was the other reason I did this one at 20 pixels per foot.
On a more positive note, because I've done most of the work in CC3 itself (including the map file), as soon as I get a better PC I should theoretically be able to export it at the larger size - if the larger size is acceptable to everyone
The largest symbol that I made was for a symbol challenge run by John Casaky (sp) using CC2. It is a locomotive round house, full 360 with a 90' turn table in the center. I think it is somewhere around 500' across. Railroad stuff is all large.
Yep - its fairly big, Scott. This is the lead roofing texture I made for the job, when it became apparent that most churches in this country are roofed in dirty great big panels of the stuff. Makes you wonder, really, how contaminated the ground water is around these buildings after hundreds of years of just being there.
Remy - that makes me feel much better about the priory now. I might have a go at exporting it in two halves so that I can actually present the full resolution.
pvernon - Wow! That's every bit as big as Salisbury Cathedral! Unfortunately, since I already have an artificial size limit imposed on me by my 1.5GB PC (not much over 10k in either direction), the largest I can export in one go is about 250 feet, which is only half the cathedral at best.
Tons of the stuff in every town in the UK. It wasn't always so. The really old churches have tile or even stone slab rooftops. I'm not sure whether the oldest parts of Christchurch are tile or stone. It was built in 1094 on the site of an even older Saxon church.
I thought of this thread today when I climbed the local church tower and looked down on the roofs below. See attached picture. Although most of the roofing material is post medieval, the core of many of these buildings is medieval or Tudor. For me I think the main point is - what a jumble. Nearly every one is different, heights angles, colours, alignment, materials, dormers and gables. And even where they are similar materials they weather very differently depending on exposure to sunlight, prevailing wind and rain etc. Sadly I couldn't spot any "cocks comb" medieval ridge tiles, which were typical embellishments for high status roofs. I suppose the bottom line is when mapping your pre-modern town or city your roofs should be as varied as possible.
I think the trouble with making sets of buildings is that if you add too much in the way of weathering (those white stains for instance where the lime has washed out of cheap cement, or lichen - most rooftops are orange with it around where I live) you make the buildings individually so recognisable that it is hard not to notice its repetition in other places on the map.
Maybe one answer to this problem for people who want photorealism is to make additional transparent symbols that you can use to add staining and plant growth to random rooftops across the map. Its certainly already something I have been thinking about for a while
If people want photo-realism, let them take pics and paste them into their maps (and let them eat cake too)
Seriously, your work is tons better than most people could ever dream of doing (I hate roofs, they are a nightmare!!) so what ever you come up with is wonderful.
What I would like to see are a variety of roof styled bitmaps that could be part of the community here, As it is, not having all the annuals due to being on a fixed income, the roof tile selection is so .. .. limited. As long as they don't look toooo repetitive with obvious joint lines I would be happy.
google translate seems to do a decent job of converting Chinese Glyphs to English
http://www.chinabaike.com/article/sort0525/sort0542/2007/20070731156692.html
I'm right on the verge of going to bed, Jerry, so I will have a closer look at those tomorrow again. In the meantime I can say that I have already done most of the roof shapes shown in the image you uploaded
Here are a few that I've found whilst musing on roof shapes.
I get days when I can create 10 buildings in a single day from scratch, and others where I just seem to get distracted at every turn and seem to have a need to play.
When that happens I can suddenly start a mini map in the middle of a rather serious and sterile sheet of prototype buildings - just like I did here with this torii I was working on (that's the flat thing to the left of the mini map)
Loopysue asked:Does anyone else have this problem?
Sadly (tragically?), yes. When I have time to use CC3+ I end up "doodling" and tinkering and making things of no relation or consequence to my game instead of actually mapping. Hence, only a handful of maps over the past 20 years or so.
On a side note, congratulations, Loopysue, for a well-deserved art credit in the Dioramas 3 Essentials guide. Brava!
I often start a new unrelated map when I am working on something big - like my current city at present. I have just started a castle, and a dungeon. I then flit from one to another - and of course, get confundilated in the process. (confused, confounded and confuddled!).
I think it stops a sense of boredom or chore attitude. And that is quite damning when trying to finish the main project, so I see these 'sideline projects' as being very helpful to the main project.
I think I tend to do it more if I get stuck and can't figure something out. I usually find that when I've had a little playtime the solution to the original problem seems really obvious.
In this case I was struggling with the roof shading of the torii, which has a roof design that slopes down either side of the ridge, but also tips upwards at either end.
And all because Buddhists believe demons travel in straight lines and are confused and delayed or put off by curves...
Please feel free to say what you think about these pagodas. They are made from stacks of symbols with quite heavy glows and fuzzy drop shadows.
The modular argument (keeping them as sets of five symbols) is that its more handy to have separate symbols, but I could also make full pagodas in a single symbol and have far more control over the shading. However, doing it that way would mean the shadow would be a bit blocky.
I have considered doing a very fuzzy shadow symbol to go with a ready made pagoda that can be placed according to the sun, but that wouldn't be very satisfactory if you like sharp shadows.
Lovely, but I'm not getting the up-turned corner, or perhaps these don't have them? I think the top ornament would be better as a globe than a square if I'm being picky... The shading is working quite well though, I think. Nice job on a difficult subject.
The corners are upturned (or meant to be). I had to tone them down quite a lot, since they were looking particularly black on the corner facing the sun where I have reversed the shading to make the roof in that part face the other way, but I can adjust them again. I'll also have a look at the top decoration.
Real images of pagodas from above are actually quite boring things to look at. The levels below the top one are usually not all that visible.
The swastika, by the way, is the standard symbol for a Buddhist temple in Japan, and is not intended as an insult to anyone. They've been using it for hundreds of years.
Comments
And the ratio between VH:HI:LO:VL are 50:20:5:1
How big is the largest existing PF building symbol - roughly to the closest thousand pixels? (I don't necessarily know because I don't have all the software yet)
I actually had a slightly different problem a couple of hours ago. I couldn't export this at the full resolution size of 40 pixels per foot because I didn't have enough memory. At least - that's the error message I got. I am inclined to believe it as well, since I only ever have 1.5 GB available, even when CC3 is the only thing I have open, and the size I first attempted to export was 13320 x 5120 (333 x 128 feet). This is only the priory church, not the cathedral.
That was the other reason I did this one at 20 pixels per foot.
Remy - that makes me feel much better about the priory now. I might have a go at exporting it in two halves so that I can actually present the full resolution.
pvernon - Wow! That's every bit as big as Salisbury Cathedral! Unfortunately, since I already have an artificial size limit imposed on me by my 1.5GB PC (not much over 10k in either direction), the largest I can export in one go is about 250 feet, which is only half the cathedral at best.
Thank you, Andrew
I think the trouble with making sets of buildings is that if you add too much in the way of weathering (those white stains for instance where the lime has washed out of cheap cement, or lichen - most rooftops are orange with it around where I live) you make the buildings individually so recognisable that it is hard not to notice its repetition in other places on the map.
Maybe one answer to this problem for people who want photorealism is to make additional transparent symbols that you can use to add staining and plant growth to random rooftops across the map. Its certainly already something I have been thinking about for a while
Seriously, your work is tons better than most people could ever dream of doing (I hate roofs, they are a nightmare!!) so what ever you come up with is wonderful.
What I would like to see are a variety of roof styled bitmaps that could be part of the community here, As it is, not having all the annuals due to being on a fixed income, the roof tile selection is so .. .. limited. As long as they don't look toooo repetitive with obvious joint lines I would be happy.
http://www.chinabaike.com/article/sort0525/sort0542/2007/20070731156692.html
Pic is what drew me to the site.
https://www.google.co.uk/search?tbm=isch&q=chinese+temple+drawing&imgdii=cED0ov6wqqTR9M:;cED0ov6wqqTR9M:;lloz0U7efgiUXM:&imgrc=cED0ov6wqqTR9M:&cad=h#imgrc=cED0ov6wqqTR9M:
I'm right on the verge of going to bed, Jerry, so I will have a closer look at those tomorrow again. In the meantime I can say that I have already done most of the roof shapes shown in the image you uploaded
Here are a few that I've found whilst musing on roof shapes.
When that happens I can suddenly start a mini map in the middle of a rather serious and sterile sheet of prototype buildings - just like I did here with this torii I was working on (that's the flat thing to the left of the mini map)
Does anyone else have this problem?
On a side note, congratulations, Loopysue, for a well-deserved art credit in the Dioramas 3 Essentials guide. Brava!
Cheers,
~Dogtag
I think its down to having a bit of an unruly imagination.
And thank you! *blushes deeply*
In this case I was struggling with the roof shading of the torii, which has a roof design that slopes down either side of the ridge, but also tips upwards at either end.
And all because Buddhists believe demons travel in straight lines and are confused and delayed or put off by curves...
The modular argument (keeping them as sets of five symbols) is that its more handy to have separate symbols, but I could also make full pagodas in a single symbol and have far more control over the shading. However, doing it that way would mean the shadow would be a bit blocky.
I have considered doing a very fuzzy shadow symbol to go with a ready made pagoda that can be placed according to the sun, but that wouldn't be very satisfactory if you like sharp shadows.
The corners are upturned (or meant to be). I had to tone them down quite a lot, since they were looking particularly black on the corner facing the sun where I have reversed the shading to make the roof in that part face the other way, but I can adjust them again. I'll also have a look at the top decoration.
Real images of pagodas from above are actually quite boring things to look at. The levels below the top one are usually not all that visible.
The swastika, by the way, is the standard symbol for a Buddhist temple in Japan, and is not intended as an insult to anyone. They've been using it for hundreds of years.