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Topic: Barbarian Seafaring Graphics

Nasenbaer
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Posted at: 2012-01-16, 17:13

What do you think of this approach? I'd like to hear all of YOUR ideas and comments.

We need a "like" button!

Looks already very nice. The only problem I see is the size of the oars - when moving, the oars would be used by some oarsmen, wouldn't they? If yes, the oarsmen sitting at the oars should be in "normal people size"... if this leads to problems, I would vote for decreasing the number of oars - and so oarsmen, so the oarsmen can be bigger or alternatively pushing the oars near to the ship hull to only let the sail to the work (no oarsmen shown). ... anyway I would prefare to have oarsmen face-smile.png

Edited: 2012-01-16, 17:15

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Venatrix
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Posted at: 2012-01-16, 18:15

I have to agree with Nasenbaer. There are definitely too many oars. And it would be nice to see some oarsmen in the animation if possible. face-smile.png


Two is the oddest prime.

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chuckw
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Posted at: 2012-01-17, 05:15

Nasenbaer wrote The only problem I see is the size of the oars - when moving, the oars would be used by some oarsmen, wouldn't they? If yes, the oarsmen sitting at the oars should be in "normal people size"... if this leads to problems, I would vote for decreasing the number of oars - and so oarsmen, so the oarsmen can be bigger or alternatively pushing the oars near to the ship hull to only let the sail to the work (no oarsmen shown). ... anyway I would prefare to have oarsmen.

To put oarsmen in the ship is certainly an option, but we run into a problem of scale again that we have with the buildings (i.e. the size of the oarsmen compared to the ship).
The ship as it currently stands is fairly faithful in its dimensions to the details in the drawing. This includes the dimensions of the oars and the number of rowers. If we put oarsmen in at the same scale as the ship, the oarsmen will be microscopic in the game. If we reduce the number of oars and make the oarsmen larger, then the ship will appear to be smaller than its real dimensions.

Example: if we enlarge the oarsmen to improve their visibility by a factor of 3, then the ship will appear to be 1/3 its intended dimensions. This 18 meter ship turns into a 6 meter rowboat. (Okay, it's a BIG rowboat, but you get my meaning.) face-smile.png

If by "normal people size", you mean the same size as the workers in the game, the impact would be even greater.

It is my intent to make the graphics for these initial barbarian and empire ships approximately the same size as the existing Atlantean ship.

I'll experiment with adding oarsmen and adjusting the number of oars and let you help me decide which is best for the game. I know that some folks get nervous when they see things happening as if by magic. A ship with an invisible crew would probably fall into that category. face-smile-big.png

Any way we go about it, there is going to have to be a compromise between realism and cuteness. I'll post some options here when I get them ready.

Thanks for your comments. Keep 'em coming.

Edited: 2012-01-17, 05:19

I see little people.

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chuckw
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Posted at: 2012-02-10, 21:13

Well, after far too long away, here is a new draft in color of the barbarian ship at the approximate size it will be in the game:
rowers compared to orig

What do you think? Enough oars? How about the size of the rowers? I warned you they would be tiny, and even these are larger than a realistic scale. Like I said, compromises. face-smile.png The sail will be in Player Color, probably striped with white.

Animating the oars will be a challenge for me, but I like challenges. face-wink.png

I want to hear your thoughts.


I see little people.

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Nasenbaer
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Posted at: 2012-02-10, 23:27

Looks very nice so far! :) But isn't it just half of the size of the atlantean ships? E.g. if you take a look at this screenshot - the ships are quite big - bigger than normal houses - and i like it very much :). So is the smaller size of this model intended? I would really like to see it in the size of the atlantean ship face-smile.png

Cheers Peter


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chuckw
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Posted at: 2012-02-10, 23:39

Nasenbaer wrote: Looks very nice so far! But isn't it just half of the size of the atlantean ships? E.g. if you take a look at this screenshot - the ships are quite big - bigger than normal houses - and i like it very much . So is the smaller size of this model intended?

No, it is not intentional but the result of a quick render to get something for you to look at. face-smile.png

I would really like to see it in the size of the atlantean ship

I'll post a comparison of the Atlantean and Barbarian ships to give a better idea of the INTENDED size. face-wink.png


I see little people.

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chuckw
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Posted at: 2012-02-10, 23:58

Okay, here is a comparison of the game size versions of the Atlantean and proposed Barbarian ships:
barb atl

Remember this is just a draft of the barbarian ship. Colors, textures and other details are subject to (and probably will) change. face-wink.png

So, now what do you think?


I see little people.

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Astuur
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Posted at: 2012-02-11, 09:14

Chuck first model was in fact quite accurate.
Compare it with this repilica from the Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum (RGZM) at Mainz.

But there is no way to escape the size problem and the compromize now found looks very good to me.

I'd like to suggest to show the sail bulging and reefed a bit like show on the upper border of this picture.
I simply looks better face-smile.png
Also, we may want to steer away from the orange wood color in favour of some darker wood.

The vikings used oak wood for ships, which was burnt to harden it in a fire and then sealed with pine pitch.
Germanics may have done likewise.


Being no programmer, I apologize for all my suggestions that imply undue workload and for other misjudgements due to lack of expertise or relevant skills.
I am on Win32, have no means to compile, and rely on prefabricated distributions (Thanks to Tino).

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chuckw
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Posted at: 2012-02-11, 14:18

Astuur wrote: Chuck first model was in fact quite accurate.
Compare it with this repilica from the Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum (RGZM) at Mainz.

I try for as much authenticity as I can achieve, given the sizes with which we are working. face-smile.png In fact I like the style of the oars in your photo better than those in the drawing I am referencing. Expect a change there.

But there is no way to escape the size problem and the compromize now found looks very good to me.

Thanks.

I'd like to suggest to show the sail bulging and reefed a bit like show on the upper border of this picture. I simply looks better

The flat plane for a sail is my version of a place-holder. I plan to treat it much as I did the Atlantean ship's. I like your suggestion of partially reefing the sail. That would be logical if the crew were at the oars.

Also, we may want to steer away from the orange wood color in favour of some darker wood.

Definitely. But the orange color prompted you for a comment now, didn't it? face-wink.png

The vikings used oak wood for ships, which was burnt to harden it in a fire and then sealed with pine pitch. Germanics may have done likewise.

Looks like another opportunity to put some blackwood wares to use.

Thanks for the comments and ideas. Keep 'em coming!

I also want some ideas for the look of the shipyard and port buildings for these barbarians. How do YOU all imagine them?


I see little people.

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Nasenbaer
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Posted at: 2012-02-12, 10:09

chuckw wrote: I also want some ideas for the look of the shipyard and port buildings for these barbarians. How do YOU all imagine them?

for shipyard: what about a small hut in the size of the lumberjack's ones with attached roofed storage space? it is easier ti keep the small hut warm, than a big building and as the guy is working outside anyways... the stored wood on the other hand should be dry, so it can better glue with the resin used to make the ship water proved.

concerning the port: a small fortress with some storage space outside for wares that will be loaded to the ship?

just my 2ç of ideas cheers peter


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