Klivve Cussler
S.e.V.e.N.
Gentlemen's Agreement
155
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Posted - 2013.06.04 17:36:00 -
[1] - Quote
We don't really have a forum for this. I'll put it here for now and Devs/GMs can re-direct me.
I'd like to talk about the look of the maps. The system that is being built with moods and sockets is awesome, greatly expanding what would otherwise be a handful of maps. I do have some feedback, and would like to kick off a discussion.
Firstly, anything mentioned in the "Reflecting the Universe" talk that isn't in place yet, I'm going to assume is coming. Enough said.
Ground textures. The textures that are currently in place give a very hard feeling. Lots of bare rock, moss, lichen, and gravel. The softest looking textures at the moment are actually the desert textures, giving an impression of ankle-deep sand. I think some other soil types, giving the impression of softer soil types, would give an impression of a more temperate climate. Even without the corresponding trees, textures of pine needles or leaves give more of a living world effect. Plus, any place you can imply water is going to add to the immersion factor. Maybe some dew drops on the ground, or the impression of mud?
Vegetation. Currently, we have, I think, three plants. Short grass, tall grass, and a shrubbery. Obviously, trees etc are the end goal. There may be map budget limits that are the problem, or just modellers focused on Dropsuits instead of weeds. Again, I'm assuming that eventually we'll get more plants. In the mean time, can we get more plant textures? On Earth, we've got grasses just about every colour of the rainbow, from red to yellow, to green, to purple, and some variation of colour and texture from district to district goes a long way.
Particle effects. The dust storms used to hide the reduced draw distance in the early beta were very effective. I've noticed some other particles, but this could be a very powerful tool to bring life to the maps. It could create insects, pollen or seeds, fog, mist, blizzards, sand storms, dust storms, etc. It might even simulate rain. As long as the appropriate environmental sound is playing, you only have to imply rain in order to get the effect. Halo ODST proved that.
Skybox. In the long term, the planet's context could be told by a layered skybox, starting with the Eve nebula skybox (rotated for the appropriate planetary coordinates), washed out by a day/night filter, with small moons added dynamically, and finally occluded by a cloud layer. In the short term, can we have a night skybox with the Molden Heath nebula for PC battles?
This is just my feedback. I do have a question regarding vegetation. Can you stream new types of vegetation in, or is that a major update? |