TRIPARTITE PACK for AoD (new graphics and audio)

[Titan79]

I was wondering if it is possible to change vanilla diplomatic map-mode colours?

What I don't find satisfactory is the shades of green colour for my core provinces, my allies and neutral countries. At least making neutral countries have a different colour then green would make for a much easier map reading. Bigger difference btween core provinces and allied countries would also help. Can remain green but with bigger difference between the two.

Possible?

Edit: Shore bombardment icon and leadership bonus icon in the battle progress screen could see some improvements.

You've put up two very good issues here.

As for the shades of green in the diplomatic mapmode, I totally agree and I've thought many times to mod this, although I'm afraid this one can't be changed so "easily" as other graphical elements, e.g. as the other map colors themselves.
When modding the terrain map mode colors I took this page as a reference. It's just a matter of patience/trial and error; no graphics experience needed whatsoever. The real problem is to find a good contrast in the diplomatic mapmode without at the same time skewing the other mapmodes. You could do some tests yourself and see if you can make it. That would be super appreciated by many of us, I suspect!

Re: the icons in the battle screen, he he... that's another thing I'm wanting to improve since a long time, but I keep refraining from starting it as I know that, after having made one, I'd most probably have to mod them all. However, I can take a look at those two for now and see if I can find a better solution for them.

 

[Hister]

colorscales.csv has only different colour codes in it. It does not specify for which map-mode nor country that is used for. Link you provided does not have any reference to diplomatic map-mode although it says:

colorscales.csv allows you to change the colours shown on the map -- the political map, the terrain map, any map.

All in all I have no clue what would I need to do in colorscales.csv file. Seems like if I swap Green;;; for light grey;;; this would affect the whole range of Green colours. So this file is of no use to me. In which file do you get entries for terrain map mode, political, diplomatic, etc.?

 

[Titan79]

colorscales.csv has only different colour codes in it. It does not specify for which map-mode nor country that is used for. Link you provided does not have any reference to diplomatic map-mode although it says:

- colorscales.csv allows you to change the colours shown on the map -- the political map, the terrain map, any map.

All in all I have no clue what would I need to do in colorscales.csv file. Seems like if I swap Green;;; for light grey;;; this would affect the whole range of Green colours. So this file is of no use to me. In which file do you get entries for terrain map mode, political, diplomatic, etc.?

Now this is exactly the gist of the matter... there is no file where you get entries for terrain, political, etc. map modes, as they are all treated the same way by the game, i.e. if for example you make USSR's red darker, then that colour will look darker even in the other map modes.

This is what I wanted to say in my former post ("The real problem is to find a good contrast in the diplomatic mapmode without at the same time skewing the other mapmodes"). It's the same problem I've faced when I've changed urban colour from yellow to blueish: as the colour values are the same for every map mode, I had to swap yellow and blueish in colorscales.csv to avoid France being yellow as a result of my modification.

Might seem a bit complicated but it's easier done than said, in this case - it's mainly a matter of fiddling around with those RGB values, loading each time the game and seeing what in practice has happened in the various map modes. Trial and error, and patience - the more, the better. Also, I had no idea either about the "rules" of this when I first started to mod the map colours, and that link is the only source of info I've ever gathered on the matter. Experiencing it "on the field", then, let me go a bit further...

 

[Hister]

Aha, I see! Omph, sounds either like a lot of work or a lot of luck is needed to strike it right.

Not in the mood to do it now. Sorry.

 

[Titan79]

Aha, I see! Omph, sounds either like a lot of work or a lot of luck is needed to strike it right.

A combination of the two, sure, but the lack of the first parameter proportionally affects the lack of the second... fortuna audaces iuvat (although in this case it would be more correct to say fortuna laborantes iuvat).

Nothing comes for free in this cruel world, unfortunately... apart from the Tripartite Pack, that is.

Not in the mood to do it now. Sorry.

There's always room for improvement, but I'm already rather content with the current map colours setup - so no worries.

Edit:

Could you please point me to the two files from the battle progress screen you wanted me to take a look at (i.e. tell me how are they called)? Thanks!

 

[Hister]

Sure when I get home from job - should be up at 18.00.

Edit: Sorry for the delay. I've attached the two requested icons. At least you can improve the naval bombardment which is too dark and not quickly see-able. The leader_bonus would be OK but for me personaly it distracts me when I see a picture of one random person there. Maybe make the same icon as for the commander skill?

 

[Titan79]

No problem - thanks for providing the files, on the contrary!

Ok, here's the new Shore bombardment one: the powerful cannons of the Iowa now at full disposal of AoD (yet, humm... a bad omen for your Japan, maybe? ). I've made it a bit brighter than the starting, famous Iowa picture but the water still remains rather dark. Nonetheless, the volley bursts should make for a good contrast and make the icon overall rather visible at a glance. Should it still be too dark or too bright in your opinion, however, please tell me (I haven't had the chance to test it in game yet).



As for the second one, could you please tell me as well the name of the "commander skill" icon you have in mind? I'm not sure which one you're referring to, so I don't know what file to work upon.

 

[Hister]

Hey, thank you! I only just came home now since I left for work.

I can't save that naval bombardment icon in .bmp format. Never mind for the commander skill icon - I guess that commander bonus can have current icon with that dude. not that bad after all and there are other icons that would need your attention more desperately then that one.

 

[Titan79]

Hey, thank you! I only just came home now since I left for work.

I can't save that naval bombardment icon in .bmp format.

No problem, you're welcome.

As for the icon: hmm, strange... Have you tried clicking on it once, then clicking on it again after the new window opens? It asks you whether you want to "open" or "save" it, of course in its original file format, i.e. bmp. It works fine for me; what happens instead when you try to save it?

Never mind for the commander skill icon - I guess that commander bonus can have current icon with that dude. not that bad after all and there are other icons that would need your attention more desperately then that one.

Just tell me which ones .

 

[Hister]

Aha, I was able to save it in .BMP following your suggestion - prior I haven't opened it and saved it directly. Thank you.

Just tell me which ones.

Thank you for oyur availability! Will check it out and see what else needs improvements.

 

[Titan79]

Aha, I was able to save it in .BMP following your suggestion - prior I haven't opened it and saved it directly. Thank you.

Glad it worked! Please also tell me if the icon looks ok in game or can be further improved.

Thank you for your availability! Will check it out and see what else needs improvements.

No problem. I just can't turn a blind eye on a distress call like yours about icons which "desperately" need my attention... That would be cruel .

 

[Hister]

He he, looks like you are also a comedian on top of a talented 2d artist! ;D

 

[Titan79]

He he, looks like you are also a comedian on top of a talented 2d artist! ;D

Oh, thank you - however, I couldn't say which one of these two statements is more untrue .

 

[Hister]

There, there, don't be so modest all the time! You are great and we all know it!


This is how new naval bombardment icon looks like in action. I have to say unfurtunately and as you probably see that it's hard to tell what that icon is trying to convey:

 

[Titan79]

This is how new naval bombardment icon looks like in action. I have to say unfurtunately and as you probably see that it's hard to tell what that icon is trying to convey:
[screenshot]

Yep, I had the chance to finally see it too, in my game (*cough* early May 1940, by the way *cough*) and I drew the same conclusion. Not too clear/intuitive.

Well, with a bit of imagination however it is actually possible to figure out what that icon represents... Seriously, I thought that maybe I could simply restore the old one (wasn't that bad, IMHO) but only after having increased e.g. its contrast, for that seemed to me to be its biggest problem. What d'ya say? Might that work?

Also, please tell me which are the other icons you believe would benefit from a face-lift. I'm above all curious to see which are they, actually .


Edit:

Too late, I've already answered to myself re: the first question (i.e. the increased contrast) .

Here's how the original icon looks after a little fiddling. I've also done a different one based on the Iowa picture, this time however taking only a detail from the cannons and thus making it a bit more similar to vanilla AoD's one.

I still don't know which one is better and, moreover, if one of the two can be considered the "final" version of that icon. The main problem is that, being the file actually 22x22 pixels big, it's hard to put into it anything which would resemble its original appearance... it's simply too small. A bit of stylization, as in vanilla icons, is in this case preferable, I'd say.

But please judge yourself:

 

[Hister]

I know you are waiting for my input - had another hectic day (not in a negative sense but in a very "full kind' of way). I was at home exactly 1 hour, just enough to eat lunch after 11 hours at work and take a shower. In that 1 hour span I got 4 calls, the last one was telling me I was needed at the "village working action". So I'm back now, hardly able to have my eyes open.

The contrasted vanilla icon seems good now, the other one is still too indistinguishable. Too small to be able to tell apart.

A bit of stylization, as in vanilla icons, is in this case preferable, I'd say.

You have my total backing for that! Maybe you can use that icon for naval stand ground you already made and paste a kaboom effect to it if there is enough room (but I doubt there is)?

I suppose the brightened vanilla icon will do. What happens if you draw a black line around it's guns to make even bigger contrast and add more bright fire at the guns' end?


BTW, up to this day I still don't know how to properly read battle modifiers that those icons represent. Which ones are for the attacker and which ones for the defender (looking at the above pic - I conducted naval bombardment with amphibious assault)? Are they all modifiers for my battle effectivenes?

 

[Titan79]

Take your time, don't worry. Nobody's chasing you. You don't have to be always on the spot anytime, anywhere, you know .

On icons:

You have my total backing for that! Maybe you can use that icon for naval stand ground you already made and paste a kaboom effect to it if there is enough room (but I doubt there is)?

Ah - ok, now I got it: I think you mean the "alternate" one, not the Bismarck naval stand ground, right? Uhmm, as you say, I didn't try yet but I doubt it would look very good and that it would be really worth the effort. Too small for reaching the desired effect, I'm afraid.

I suppose the brightened vanilla icon will do. What happens if you draw a black line around it's guns to make even bigger contrast and add more bright fire at the guns' end?

I've raised the contrast of the icon quite a lot and, after that, I've raised even a bit further the brightness of the explosion on the right part. What happened is this (see on bottom).

BTW, up to this day I still don't know how to properly read battle modifiers that those icons represent. Which ones are for the attacker and which ones for the defender (looking at the above pic - I conducted naval bombardment with amphibious assault)? Are they all modifiers for my battle effectivenes?

I have no clue! Seriously, I'm more or less at the same level of knowledge as you are re: naval battle modifiers.

Every time I want to investigate something I don't know, however, I hover my mouse pointer over it; the tooltip which then appears normally provides enough info. After it has told me what the icon represents, it's just a matter of hovering the pointer over one unit (ship) to see how those icons translate into actual game boni. The same applies for land and air combat, of course.

 

[Hister]

Take your time, don't worry. Nobody's chasing you. You don't have to be always on the spot anytime, anywhere, you know .

Thank you for your tip. Alas, I only wanted to inform you why I'm not answering asap/soon since I usually do.

Ah - ok, now I got it: I think you mean the "alternate" one, not the Bismarck naval stand ground, right? Uhmm, as you say, I didn't try yet but I doubt it would look very good and that it would be really worth the effort. Too small for reaching the desired effect, I'm afraid.

Yes and OK.

I've raised the contrast of the icon quite a lot and, after that, I've raised even a bit further the brightness of the explosion on the right part. What happened is this (see on bottom).

Thank you. Will be sticking to it.

I have no clue! Seriously, I'm more or less at the same level of knowledge as you are re: naval battle modifiers.

Every time I want to investigate something I don't know, however, I hover my mouse pointer over it; the tooltip which then appears normally provides enough info. After it has told me what the icon represents, it's just a matter of hovering the pointer over one unit (ship) to see how those icons translate into actual game boni. The same applies for land and air combat, of course.

Thank you! I have never hoovered over a single unit/ship to see what modifiers affect it - didn't know I would get any modifiers. Hush humh.

 

[Titan79]

Thank you. Will be sticking to it.

Ok, fine - however, if you've got other ideas re: that icon and feel it could look better, then please don't refrain to expose them. I'm not denying the possibility of making a better one; it's just that we'd need a good starting image. If you stumble upon one or more you think could fit, then please submit them to me and I'll see if I can convert them into a new shore bombardment icon (but please keep in mind that it will be resized to a tiny 22*22 or 24*24 at the most, so complex images would definitely not do).

Also: which are those other icons which need my attention?

Thank you! I have never hoovered over a single unit/ship to see what modifiers affect it - didn't know I would get any modifiers. Hush humh.

There's always something new to discover in this beautiful game... I still wonder how many things I still don't know about it myself (like the recent thread re: HQs shows)!

 

[Hister]

Crap. I've upploaded icons that need your attention for you and wrote a post that hasn't been posted - something went hairywire. Will do it again later I suppose.

Edit: First icons attached.