Flag Mod V0.01

[Unwise]

Downloaded the patch, and was struck by how easy it would be to replace the somewhat anonymous flags that the game provides with somewhat more descriptive Versions.

I poked around a bit, experimented with writing the name of the race on the flags, and decided that it just didn't look good.

This Mod is my first attempt at replacing a few of the races' banners. I did Ermor, Pangaea and Abysia... simply because those were easy enough to come up with on the fly.

I plan to do the others whenever I get around to it. Comments and most especially constructive criticism would be welcomed: are they too small, too large, too wacky?

The Ermor flag is just about the right size. I like it quite a bit better than the normal Ermorian flag (I don't particularly like big purple or blue or red blotches with ugly pleats in it on the map).

The Abyssian flag needs to be toned down or made a little less 'vibrant' or the edges more blendable.

The Pangaea flag is too big and by big I mean tall. It doesn't fit in the Messages field very well. It's kind of vibrant (like the Abyssian) I think it would be better a little toned down.

Note: I looked at them singularly and having an empire of about 15 provinces on each to try to see if it created eye strain. Only problem I really had are with what I noted above. I played on Aran and The Desert Eye. As I like that visual flavor of map more than say, The Sundering. I'm of the same opinion when looking at it on "World War" too.

[Arryn]

Good-looking art! I'm eagerly awaiting other nations ...

One thing I might suggest, though I don't know if the majority of players feel the same way. Is some sort of standard or contrast background for the image. Like a Shield for a Coat of Arms, or a Standard, or something similar.

Put all your images on the back of shields, or on waving standards, mostly for the contrast against the background.

[Unwise]

Putting some symbols on shields would be easy enough. The downside to that is a loss of "useful area". The flags are 32 pixels wide by 64 high, and of course the 32 width is the real limiting factor.

The Ermor skull just barely fits and retains some semblance of "skulldom". If you figure a shield or banner has to have three or four pixels on a side as "border", then you end up with about 26 or so pixels to play around with. You can do a lot with that, but you have to get a bit more stylized.

On the bright side, it means that the creation of the banners goes much more quickly.

[Gandalf Parker]

Having played with bit-editing it might help to realize that the text doesnt really have to be clear. Just a few pixels in the right places will give the impression of the letters. Enough to be recognizeable if someone knows the names he is looking for anyway.

This is a difficult thing to actually edit but you can get close by shrinking text and seeing that it is still understandable even if it would be really ugly in a zoomed-in view. Trying different fonts and sizing can help.

[Saber Cherry]

I think:

I like Abysia.
Ermor is OK, but I prefer a flag.
I don't like Pangaea much, and it is too big.
Overall it gives a different feel than playing with flags - "wacky", as you put it.

Either embossing all the images on shields or adding them to flags would be nice. For Pangaea, a larger flag than the normal one, draped with ivy, would be interesting... at least for Carrion Woods. For Ermor, the skull you made mounted on their flag would look good. I don't know... something about JUST a skull rather than a skull on a flag or a skull on a shield makes it seem more "gamey" and less like a strategic map of warring nations.

[Unwise]

OK, I went with a different tack this time. Try:

Version 0.02

This Version has a white shield with a vaguely appropriate (I hope) symbol. I think this looks decent, but rather than a symbol on a common white shield, the shield color (and shape) should be varied to give it more instant recognition. I suspect that the white shields will tend to blur together after a while.

True gaming geeks will recognize the majority of the symbols as old Warhammer 40K symbols. Ironically, I used a 40K font I created 12 years back. Oh, the great wheel turns...

Ah yes, much better. You might want to choose a base color for each race for their shield, so there isn't any confusion based on static colors (what you are looking at in big maps).

I like the shields much better than the flags.

Edit:

Few notes

Heh, Arco is Texas!

Pythium's seems a little blocky. It's a good symbol for them IMO (as they have some of the best 'channelers').

Marginon symbol is the Eye of Isis? Maybe you could switch this with Arco (as I believe Arco is lumped into the macedonia area). Is there a Frenchish, or perhaps Inquisitorial symbol you have floating around somewhere? Guillotine, Crossiant?

Pangaea Steers or Queers?! Is it some sort of dragon head? Or a bull? If the round part on the end is the ring, maybe if you colored it different it would be easier to tell.

R'lyeh. I don't know what that is. I'm sure all the Lovecraft zealots would like to know Perhaps a suggestion of would be either something cosmic or something tentacley.

Mictlan. Mictlan is fairly straightforward in it's comparison (South American people, Aztec, etc). Most of them worshipped the sun, perhaps if something to do with the sun, bloody would be appropriate.


My personal Favorites in V 0.2 are Abysia and C'tis.

Note: I'm trying to be constructive here, if you don't feel that way, I apologize I really am trying.

[ January 13, 2004, 04:13: Message edited by: Zen ]

[Unwise]

No offense taken, I appreciate the comments.

For background, I am fairly new to the game and am still trying to figure out what race is based on what. Since I whipped v2 out in just a few hours it's more of a tech demo than anything else - I chose symbols based on what I had available and what the race's basic description said. Suggestions on icons to use or corrections to my assumptions on themes are appreciated.

I agree that varying the shield colors (and shapes!) would go a long way to improving them. I'll post an update in a few days based on folk's comments.

If I don't get sucked into another game...