Friday 2010-09-03 Dev. update and Discussions

[David603]

First off, let me say I love the rest of the update, and I'm fully aware this is WIP.

However there are some problems here. The roads are much too wide, at least 2-3 times as wide as they should be, judging by the scale of the train. In general, trains dwarf crossings, not the other way round. Period roads in the countryside would be narrow, usually around 12-15 feet wide, designed so it is possible for two oncoming cars to pass each other with care. Try placing a car on one of the roads and having a look at the width. If it isn't possible to place at least 4 cars side by side on those roads, I will eat my metaphorical hat.

Hedges are also a problem, you clearly need a hedge type of vegetation that can be placed along the sides of the road, because achieving a satisfactory look with individual bushes is going to become prohibitively expensive in terms of numbers needed, and at the moment the hedges look like individual shrubs placed at intervals along the side of the road.

To end my comments on a positive note, the way the trees and landscape work together at a distance (on the hills in the background) is fantastic and bodes well for the way the SOW will look from altitude

[OldFrenchy]

Compared to what we have been used to, this is a quantum leap forward in appearance, despite being a WIP. Well done!
What would be nice would to see a lot of ground activity. Yes, yes- framerates. Oh well.

[Asheshouse]

David603 makes some valid comments. If its possible to have hedges or small tree lines along roads and railways it will significantly enhance the appearance of the landscape.

I notice that the railway is single track. Although many branch lines were single track the majority might be better represented by twin tracks. Also if this allowed trains to be routed in both directions that would be great. Are cuttings, embankments, tunnels and level bridges being modelled. In IL2 railways never look quite right with steep bridge approaches and extreme track gradients in hilly country. --- Ok, I know its not a railway sim, but it would be good if it was possible.

With roads if convoys are routed in two directions will they pass each other on the left, as is correct for England, and on the right in France?

Overall I am hugely impressed by what is being achieved. Looking forward to its release.

[philip.ed]

Originally Posted by Asheshouse

David603 makes some valid comments. If its possible to have hedges or small tree lines along roads and railways it will significantly enhance the appearance of the landscape.

I notice that the railway is single track. Although many branch lines were single track the majority might be better represented by twin tracks. Also if this allowed trains to be routed in both directions that would be great. Are cuttings, embankments, tunnels and level bridges being modelled. In IL2 railways never look quite right with steep bridge approaches and extreme track gradients in hilly country. --- Ok, I know its not a railway sim, but it would be good if it was possible.

With roads if convoys are routed in two directions will they pass each other on the left, as is correct for England, and on the right in France?

Overall I am hugely impressed by what is being achieved. Looking forward to its release.

+1

[ChrisDNT]

Ok, look at this...



... don't you see the differences ?


P.S: of course, I'm not speaking here of the über-ugly filtering of WOP, just of the geometry of the landscape and the implantation of the trees, fields, roads and rivers.

[Ekar]

Originally Posted by ChrisDNT

Ok, look at this...



... don't you see the differences ?


P.S: of course, I'm not speaking here of the über-ugly filtering of WOP, just of the geometry of the landscape and the implantation of the trees, fields, roads and rivers.

Yeah, WOP seems to have a much more natural/organic/diverse clumping arrangement of trees than SOW currently. This might be a low settings thing again, but I also think WOP still looks pretty good on low settings from memory.

SOW definitely has the better colour palette here. Most of the other WOP maps fare better in terms of the colours, but the English one is quite bad, imo. Of course, it all depends on the weather. Natural lighting is incredibly changeable.

[JtD]

Second time I can only say very nice pics!

[Dafunkfire]

Originally Posted by ChrisDNT

P.S: of course, I'm not speaking here of the über-ugly filtering of WOP, just of the geometry of the landscape and the implantation of the trees, fields, roads and rivers.

The atmosphere causes substantial filtering. It's not ugly, it's just the way it is. Light waves pass through a profusion of gas molecules and other terrestrial particles. Yeah, I understand WOP's excessive sepia hue doesn't agree with everyone. But you can't deny that it looks effective. It seems the mob's foremost qualm with the visuals is the terrain, and it is obvious that filtering occurs in reality much more so than what we have seen. I believe this would vastly improve the current visuals. And it seems that it would be simple to pull off. Also, it would mask low res textures. Good for FPS perhaps.

But what do I know.

[The Kraken]

Originally Posted by Dafunkfire

The atmosphere causes substantial filtering. It's not ugly, it's just the way it is. Light waves pass through a profusion of gas molecules and other terrestrial particles. Yeah, I understand WOP's excessive sepia hue doesn't agree with everyone. But you can't deny that it looks effective. It seems the mob's foremost qualm with the visuals is the terrain, and it is obvious that filtering occurs in reality much more so than what we have seen. I believe this would vastly improve the current visuals. And it seems that it would be simple to pull off. Also, it would mask low res textures. Good for FPS perhaps.

But what do I know.

WoP's use of sepia and other image filters doesn't have much to do with atmospheric filtering. All SoW screens we've seen have pretty much the same atmospheric conditions which are pretty clear and allow for extremely far view range, but that doesn't mean the game won't have different conditions modelled in the end.

Also you can't hide low res textures behind haze. Low resolution is an issue close to the camera, so you'd need a thick fog layer to hide that... so if you want high-res textures, ask for high-res textures - not a way to hide low-res ones

I agree that colour/filter and scene complexity issues aside, WoP does a lot of things very well when it comes to artwork. The ground textures are great and the whole scenery looks consistent; nothing looks out of place. I hope SoW's landscape moves a bit more in that direction while the team is working on it. Not that I can't live with what's being shown so far.

Great update again, thanks for taking the time to keep us in the loop.

[McHilt]

Originally Posted by Dafunkfire

The atmosphere causes substantial filtering. It's not ugly, it's just the way it is. Light waves pass through a profusion of gas molecules and other terrestrial particles. Yeah, I understand WOP's excessive sepia hue doesn't agree with everyone. But you can't deny that it looks effective. It seems the mob's foremost qualm with the visuals is the terrain, and it is obvious that filtering occurs in reality much more so than what we have seen. I believe this would vastly improve the current visuals. And it seems that it would be simple to pull off. Also, it would mask low res textures. Good for FPS perhaps.

But what do I know.

You know just as much as we all do Dafunkfire,
I agree with this post... WOP might have undersaturated landscape palets but it sure looks fantastic...