[turbo]

Hey everyone! As we work to get things ready in the last couple of weeks before version 1.03 goes out, John has authorized me to seek feedback from the player community.

The item in question is the New Detroit landing pad. The graphics in PGG suffer a big challenge: we are increasing the resolution 8 or more times over the originals. So, what was a fuzzy indeterminate blob of 4 pixels in the original is now a recognizable...something...the size of a desktop icon. So, in some cases we have to decide what those previously-unrecognizable things are, or should be. And sometimes we just have to guess.

So to that end, I show you the work in progress that is the New Detroit Landing pad background. They are all at 800x600 for easy comparison. First, here is the original landing pad for reference:
http://www.willadsenfamily.org/us/don/t ... /lporg.jpg

In trying to reproduce this, I went for a "Blade Runner" feel since that was the big movie when the game came out, when America thought Japan was going to take over (economically) and the original game's New Detroit setting felt very much like that movie. So, I used Japanese kanji (they don't translate to anything I hope) for the signs. I recreated the building textures (diffuse, bump, specular, and light maps) from scratch using the originals as reference images. I also tried to reproduce the different-colored lights that shine on different buildings.

Having explained that, here is the new background (someone else is doing the landing pad itself):
http://www.willadsenfamily.org/us/don/t ... and7-2.png
The building in the center rear isn't quite right -- no matter how I tried moving and tilting it, I could not find an angle where the roof matched the original while keeping the sides parallel to the other buildings. Since it is the only visible roof I gave it a simple texture to be more interesting.

Finally, here is a version of the background showing [i]approximately[/i] how the landing pad will fit over the background:
http://www.willadsenfamily.org/us/don/t ... 2_mask.png

Please provide your feedback. Do the Japanese-style signs seem appropriate? Should some of them be in English? How does the lighting look? The textures? If the player community is happy with what they see, I can finish this up by animating the signs and lights, then producing the final images at 1280x1024 resolution. If not, your feedback will help us make version 1.03 better.

Turbo

[Kenner]

I like what you have overall, although I think the building on the right looks a little "washed out" and bright compared to the original. Also, I think some of what was on the buildings in the original was dirt and grime, and your updated version seems a little too "clean" to be in keeping with how I always envisioned New Detroit - as a rundown, down on its luck trading port where some of the less savory characters in the galaxy hang out. Your version looks like the city fathers actually take pride in their community. You mentioned the "Blade Runner" feel. Maybe you could work that sense of run-down dreariness a little more into the image?

I'm okay with the Japanese characters. I think they're just as valid an interpretation as any other that you could have chosen. Lighting seems fine to me, but I'm by no means an expert in that area, so I'm probably not a great person for feedback on that.

[Draken Stark]

It looks awesome for what you have. Obviously there needs to be rain and cars. Could you show us or let us know if there's any work on that?

About the Japanese text... I've been to japan and there is a mixture of english and japanese. Most advertisments would have either english or japanese in big text and have the other similar to a subtitle as a translation. What you have there is great; though I cannot read japanese it's aesthetically pleasing. It probably wouldn't be a bad idea to include some english if you could figure out what to write.

[turbo]

Thanks for the feedback.

The texture on the building will be solved this weekend. John took my diffuse texture and made some cool improvements. So, we'll both use the same improved texture for a consistent look and I think you'll like the colors better.

The aircars, rain, and landing pad are all layers above what I am showing you. They will be in the final scene you see in the game, and as I understand it are already done. It's my background that is slowing us down.

English signs are no problem and bilingual makes good sense, just like a modern airport or city that hopes for visitors from many places. I'm no advertising expert, but I know something about heraldy in which modern business logos have their roots. So, here are some prototype signs in English for possible businesses, named after places in the Gemini sector:
http://www.willadsenfamily.org/us/don/t ... signs2.GIF

Obviously, colors can be changed. These signs are going to be a tiny detail in the final render, so the designs are not that subtle in full size. The first one has no logo, just a 'stencil' font reminscent of classic shipping containers. The second is a takeoff on the BlueTooth logo (the rune that looks like a 'P' is actually for the 'W' sound, but most people don't know that). The third uses a forest scene reminiscent of the name Sherwood, where the river and road spell out the initials. The fourth is a simple monogram design. Comments, please.

[John]

I agree on the dirty/dusty look. It is hard to achieve. Good textures are still a big challenge.

Rain and Cars are done. You already see them in the 1.03 beta. The background is also in high res so you won't see any difference resolution wise later We are just not happy with the look and some details. Therefore we are working on an improved version right now... ah and of course the light animations are still missing.

[Gunther]

For me it looks quite good.

Only the building with the visible roof looks a little bit strange.
In the original picture there are only some shadows on the roof. But the roof itself is a rectangular. You can see a red light in a black shadowed area.
In your picture the building is some kind of "modern architecture". Therefore the roof is no rectangular any more.

I think behind the building with the visible roof are some more advertising light shows. Looks like the big ones you can see on buildings in big cities, especially Tokio.

The right building will mostly be covered by the landing pad. Nobody knows the light sources below the pad so for me it is ok to see it in a brighter light.

The whole planet is one big place of dirt. In the old game the rain looks more like fallout than normal rain. So clean buildings will not exist there for a longer time.

[Draken Stark]

Great job turbo. I like what I see. I'll have to look into the current detroit and look at it a bit.

EDIT: OK I looked at it and it's different... mainly the odd building where there's a shadow there's an indent and there's no text. I agree the background needs to be redone. What about the landing pad though... wouldn't that need tweaking too if the upper of the background is being pasted over, or is that including transparency?

EDIT 2: lol Sorry I just realized you had it in yours as well. I didn't mean for that to be offencive, just fyi.

[turbo]

Thanks for your thoughts. Below is what I call version 7-3, using John's improved diffuse texture. I also toned down the lighted windows on the far-background buildings, since they washed out the other colored light.

Regarding the building with visible roof, the dev team talked about its shape a lot. We studied the models and textures used to make the original game, which were released to the public last year. We could not be sure whether it was a different shape from the others (we only found one building shape in the original collection), or if the original-game renders created misleading lighting with visible triangels. So, your interpretation is as valid as mine. But in the end John approved using the unique cross-section that fit the visible shape of the original roof. If many of the players feel otherwise, it is an easy change to a rectangle.

For the signs, I used the bilingual suggestion. I still have to animate them to flicker on and off (each on its own schedule), but wanted to get the texture changes out for comment.
http://www.willadsenfamily.org/us/don/t ... and7-3.png

[Kenner]

Thanks for your thoughts. Below is what I call version 7-3, using John's improved diffuse texture. I also toned down the lighted windows on the far-background buildings, since they washed out the other colored light.

Regarding the building with visible roof, the dev team talked about its shape a lot. We studied the models and textures used to make the original game, which were released to the public last year. We could not be sure whether it was a different shape from the others (we only found one building shape in the original collection), or if the original-game renders created misleading lighting with visible triangels. So, your interpretation is as valid as mine. But in the end John approved using the unique cross-section that fit the visible shape of the original roof. If many of the players feel otherwise, it is an easy change to a rectangle.

For the signs, I used the bilingual suggestion. I still have to animate them to flicker on and off (each on its own schedule), but wanted to get the texture changes out for comment.
http://www.willadsenfamily.org/us/don/t ... and7-3.png

I like it. This version looks much more like the original, and it certainly has much more of a dirty gritty feel to it. Nice job, Turbo.

[Draken Stark]

I like the bilingual touch and the lighting looks drool worthy over the original, I think.
I can't read japanese so I can't tell if you're doing this already, but try using these for the japanese (rough hiragana traslation with hyphens between characters in the direct translation):

Newcastle Shipping Lines
ぬかせて　しぷいね （Nu-ka-se-te　Shi-pu-i-ne)

Pyrenees Trading
ぴれねせ　つらぢな　（Pi-re-ne-se　Tu-ra-di-ne)

Sherwood Imports
しぇるうで　いんぷろてす（She-ru-wu-de　In-pu-ro-te-su)

Capella Mining Co
かぺら　みにぐ　こ（Ca-pe-ra　Mi-ni-gu　Co)

I typed these up using the multilingual feature built into windows with what I know of the spoken language and romanji. I hope you could make use of them.

EDIT: Personally I'd never make a building like that concave, it's too tall to be structurally sound. Have that area protruding or just rectangular and it'd look great I think. In the original image, doesn't it look like all the red dots are lined up perfectly for a rectangle? Just my thoughts, though I'm sure I'm not the first.

EDIT2: Here's a quick, not-to-scale pic with a connect-the-dots type comparison: http://www.craftedvortex.com/hobbies/pr ... ooftop.png
I mainly want to point out how the windows line up in the original picture. Something is fishy there, and it really is hard to make out. All I did in that picture was zoom into the picture and then I drew the not-to-scale mockup.

EDIT 3: The Sherwood Imports logo has a nice idea, but maybe if you could make it a bit more showy perhaps? Rivers look easy on the eyes, yet it seems to lack definition. Make the letters/rivers wider maybe? I really approve of the traditional, straight forward, professional designs you've come up with.