Ahra Pahts weekly update #4

A community Age for Uru.

Moderator: Aloys

Ahra Pahts weekly update #4

Postby Aloys » Mon Nov 26, 2007 11:09 am

Version 0.8.8 is finally out of the door. And except for the bug with the nexus books linking panels(that I am working on fixing right now), and one with the light flares (that I can't fix right now), it is pretty much how I wanted it to be. Maps, direction signs, shell numbers plaques, 'shell reserved' signs, pretty much everything you might need to find your way around the city. This version was long to complete, lots of unforseen issues, but it's complete now. So, what's next?

Well there's still quite a lot to do, but as I get feedback I see one thing that is essential: being able to differentiate the 4 districts. In fact making the whole city less monotonous is essential. That means creating new textures for each district, creating new courtyards instead of all the identical ones (both the large and the small courtyards) but I don't have time for everything. So I think I will first create new textures (for the streets floors and the walls between the shells, probably some for the street sideways as well). That seems like the biggest priority. Beside that, I will complete the river railings to replace those ugly black placeholders. I have in fact already started creating them but couldn't get them done in time for this version.

Speaking of new stuff the latest PyPRP has a couple interesting new features, but right now it has a bug with footsteps region so I'd rather not use it. So, as soon as it is fixed I will use its new features to fix the light flares transparency bug, and add a slight fog to the city. I had been experimenting with fog in the past in Ahra, and obviously it really adds a lot; but unfortunately it masks the sky. The new plugin fixes that, and I can't wait to finally have a bit of mist in this city.

Also in this version I am extremely glad to have the first custom shell in place! Because this is what this Age is all about, without those shells it might be big and pretty but it's largely empty. I can't wait to see more shells ready so this city can come alive... :)

To try and help people work on their shell I have done a shell map. That may not be a lot but hopefully some people will find it useful. You can open it in any image editor, or print it and draw directly on it. A couple weeks ago while browsing the old GoAB board I stumbled on a shell map Paradox had done long ago that I had totally forgotten. I couldn't resist and expanded on the idea. So, with all due credit to his idea, here is my version of the map:

Image (1024*768)
- And here it is in its original size (1713*1285) Larger, better for printing.
- Also, in case some of you might want it here is the full PSD Photoshop file. (290 ko zip file) I've made it a very basic PSD so it can probably be opened with other image editors as well like Gimp or Paintshop Pro.

The grey lines are the limits where you can build (60 feet above the ground and as deep as you want underground. But I couldn't an infitie-sized vertical map so I had to cut it at 60 feet underground)

--

Finally there's something I don't do often but regarding the last version I'd like to request some feedback, about the maps and directions signs that were added. Are those enough to find one's way in the city? Are they easy to read and understand? Should there be more of them?
I spend a lot of time in the city so I'm not objective about those things. Any feedback on this would be really helpful. :)

(PS: this should have been posted yesterday but it was sunday, I got lazy and I forgot. So there will be two updates this week, which kinda defeats the purpose of a 'weekly update' but hey.. there are more serious issues.)
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Aloys
 
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Re: Ahra Pahts weekly update #4

Postby Robert The Rebuilder » Mon Nov 26, 2007 7:43 pm

The maps are great, Aloys! They really do help you figure out where you are in relation to the rest of the city. So, the more maps, the better! Especially needing one outside shell 111 :-)

I also like the numbers above the shells. It makes it seem more like a real city - they are addresses. Plus, when you see a "reserved" sign crop up across the way, it's like having new neighbors move in next door.

Keep up the great work, Aloys!
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