[Freeciv-Dev] Re: Getting rid of Isotrident

[Daniel L Speyer <dspeyer@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Fri, 17 May 2002, Thanasis Kinias wrote:

> scripsit Raahul Kumar:
>  
> > :). You already knew that. I have to confess, the only reason I want a poll 
> > is
> > that I'm certain of the result. I doubt anyone shares Raimar/Mike's taste in
> > graphics. New users like eyecandy. 
> 
> If you're interested in not turning people away with the graphics, I
> think two things are important:
> 
> 1) Accuracy -- having a BTR-style armoured personnel carrier for `alpine
> troops' (hires) or a SAM system for `howitzer' (cevo) will immediately
> disturb someone who knows what alpine troops or howitzers are in Real
> Life (tm).
> 

Well, I've tried to do this, especially with Lexxy, but some things are
just difficult.  Mechanized Infantry, for example, looks just like Armor
in the real world (tm).  (Yes, I actually used google image search to find
this out).  

As for the cevo SAMwitzer, I figured I had to use a c-evo sprite, and they
don't seem to have real howitzers.  Missles and shells aren't that
different.

BTW: what are Alpine Troops?  Do they use skies?  If so, why do they get
movement bonuses in jungles?

> 2) Not looking `cheap' or cartoony.  A very stylized look is good for
> clarity's sake, and may be preferable from a usability standpoint.
> However, if people don't get past the first impression, the usability is
> wasted.  In this respect, the terrain and the Explorer and Settler icons
> are most critical.
> 

Hmm, maybe I should give cevo the engels settlers then, they wouldn't look
very out-of-place and what we have now is hideous (IMO).

I would agree that cartoony cheesiness is bad (I take my gaming
seriously!) and personally, I don't like cevo very much.  I would say,
though, that the first impression lasts longer than the first move.  The
early cities (small and medium, european and classical) are important, as
are warriors, phalanx, archers, horsemen and chariots.

--Daniel Speyer
If you *don't* consider sharing information to be morally equivalent to 
kidnapping and murder on the high seas, you probably shouldn't use the
phrase "software piracy."


> > I've just learned that apparently most of the Freeciv users don't EVER
> > download a new tileset. I'm disillusioned. 
> [snip]
> > I thought our users were smart, and capable of solving their own
> > problems. I don't refer to the users on windows/MacOS/Amiga of course.
> > Only our unix users.
>  
> Do they know how?  Seriously, if you got Freeciv because Mandrake or Red
> Hat installed it by default, and you don't know that you can install
> things without an RPM, are you going to get new tilesets?  Are you even
> going to know it's possible?
> 
> The other possibility is that some people just aren't that interested in
> the graphics.  You may have a situation where the people who have the
> technical ability and motivation to locate and install new tilesets just
> don't care about the icons, and the people who are mostly interested in
> `eye-candy' don't know how.  It's something to consider.
> 
> -- 
> Thanasis Kinias
> Web Developer, Information Technology
> Graduate Student, Department of History
> Arizona State University
> Tempe, Arizona, U.S.A.
> 
> Ash nazg durbatulūk, ash nazg gimbatul,
> Ash nazg thrakatulūk agh burzum-ishi krimpatul
> 
> 
>