The Competition & Teaser Thread

[Richie61]

It's the bmp map files for HPS/ Tiller games still use. You are limited to a really small bmp map/ pixel count for the counters. Dark colors & details are lost very easy or blend together. Plus it's only a 2D format.

[Liebchen]

It's the bmp map files for HPS/ Tiller games still use. You are limited to a really small bmp map/ pixel count for the counters. Dark colors & details are lost very easy or blend together. Plus it's only a 2D format.

Right. My point is that allowances should be made for the format's limitations, is all.

[Richie61]

Agree. Not sure who took that cool colored photo, but it would make a great
counter if his face wasn't all covered in dirt!

It's the bmp map files for HPS/ Tiller games still use. You are limited to a really small bmp map/ pixel count for the counters. Dark colors & details are lost very easy or blend together. Plus it's only a 2D format.

Right. My point is that allowances should be made for the format's limitations, is all.

[Aaron]

It all comes down to how much detail you lose when you shrink the orginal photo for use. Its gotten better over the years and David has taken it one step further but in the end some photos no matter how hard you try theres nothing to be done.

[ComradeP]

As long as the detail translates well to a unit icon, I think using a photograph as the inspiration for the icon makes it feel more authentic. There's nothing wrong with using a model, but it can feel too "clean" or "cosmetic", like the vehicle just left the factory.

A motorcyclist looking like a chimney sweeper aside from the area directly around his eyes (dust goggles) is quite realistic.

I also appreciate the time taken to create the OOB breakdowns.

I wonder what page we'll be on in this thread around release.

[Xaver]

Well, use images is a good thing but not allways, in this case when i see the bicycle i because my worst fear had fulfilled, NAZY ZOMBIES ARE COMING!!! well, this was the 2nd thing i think, after see a few days ago Captain America movie i think more on this



After this humorous intermediate, is hard use real images when you reduce their scale, the artwork is great and superb but not all images used are going to be ok for all, in my case is easy the bicycle guys, i can use regular infantry image, cut the bicycle icon and et voila!!! is a solution from Volcanoman art mods, where the unit icon diference between 2 units with same portrait.

Nice question ComradeP... but i fear the reply, something like "Soon™

[Strela]

Hi everyone,

It's like a perfect segue, my next teaser topic was to be how we did the soldier artwork. Richie 61 has done a good job of pre-empting me but only in a small way

Steve Trauth's Scenario Design Center has the first image posted on the 'how' we created the soldier & vehicle graphics posted this weekend.

You can see the creation of the German machine gunner at this link;

http://hist-sdc.com/mdc/series_pzb_graph...ique_I.php


There is also the example of the PzKw IIIn that was shown on this thread earlier here;

http://hist-sdc.com/mdc/series_pzb_graph...que_II.php


Below is an example of how we created the Soviet Airborne soldier.

The first step was to find an appropriate photo. This is harder than you think! The photo has to be from at least the waist up and preferably face toward the camera. The soldier can't be smiling and it's best if they have a weapon at hand or visible.

Once a photo is found it has to be cropped. This is easier with a colour photo as automated cropping uses different tints to determine areas. Unfortunately most photos from World War 2 are black and white and this makes the cropping process much more difficult. It usually means that it has to be manually cropped. This is the computer equivalent of using an extremely small pair of scissors to cut out a complex shape. The normal time it takes to crop an average figure is at least 30 minutes.

The next step is to 'colour' the image. Tiller Game's artist Joe Amoral, was sent the copped images and examples of the colours required for the various uniforms. Joe then coloured each image with a focus on getting the uniforms and skin tones right.

The next step was to prepare the coloured graphic for input into the game. The image is used in two places; in the Unit Graphics box and on the default counters. The coloured image is loaded into Photoshop and reduced in size. Photoshop has some of the best reduction algorithms but the image usually needs a little manual editing once resized. For the unit graphics the usual size is 75 pixels high. This may vary 10 pixels either way but the usual determinant of scale is the size of the head on the image. This is compared to images that have already been created for the game and the height adjusted until the heads are of similar scale.

Once the right size has been determined the graphic needs to be transferred to a 'colour background' that approximates the national unit box. When a picture is resized there is feathering around the outside of the image. Copying this onto the colour background converts the feathering into an approximation of the background it will be on and ultimately blends the edges. If this step is not done the image ends up with an unsightly halo. The last step of the process is to position the completed image onto a neutral background. Positioning is important here as it will determine how it appears in game. Put a vehicle too low and you will cut off track or sections of wheels etc.

The same process is done for the counters but the base size is 35 pixels. At this scale usually 'sharpening' is required to lift the contrast in the images due to the diminishing size.


Here is a flow from photo to counter for the aforementioned airborne soldier;



David

[Strela]

And feeling the pressure of having created Zombie Nazis....

Our Aufklarung (reconnaissance) soldier has been converted from a hardened east front veteran to a well washed, recently arrived replacement.

I'm guessing people will prefer the new look...



David

[Tide1]

splashed a little water on his face and he's fine good for another 40 miles

[Strela]

Hello All:

I am wondering about future content and relating this to the PzC series. Looking at those WW II PzC titles, how many PB titles could be derived from one PzC title. Could Kharkov '43 give rise to say 4 PB titles?

Gerry

Gerry,

How long is a piece of string?!

I believe there are a couple of factors. Would people view Kharkov '43 as a significant enough campaign that they would pay for multiple titles. Secondly, does the topic justify multiple titles? What do I mean? I designed PzC Kharkov '43 and know it well. There is a Soviet attack phase and a German counterattack phase, that alone could be a title each, but would the average consumer want to pay extra to get both titles.

The soon to be released PzB title has 60 scenarios. That would predicate that future titles have to hopefully have 50 scenarios. Does the average consumer want 100+ scenarios on a particular battle or would they prefer 50 representative scenarios of the whole battle?

I can tell you that there is a lot more scenarios that could have been done in the upcoming PzB title, but I doubt people would pay again to get them.

I'd be happy to be told I'm wrong!

Where I think it is valid is some of the mammoth battles such as the drive to Moscow. There is so much content & area fought over (even before you include the Russian counterattack) that this could be multiple titles, but again I doubt people would pay for more than say two titles, one on the German drive and one on the Soviet counteroffensive.

A battle like Stalingrad has possibilities. A game only focused on the city fighting and another focused on the battle outside the city could be very different subjects, but this kind of schism in a battle is rare.

I'd be interested to hear if people would consider multiple topics on a battle...?

David