[REQUEST] GFX for mod : Subsurface

[Arch666Angel]

Btw that is the diablo 2 Level the ground textures reminded me of: Halls of pain

[y.petremann]

please test if this could work for you as elevator - surface-version


this could also break down into the surface and subsurface-variant of transport-belts. if the center-block or control-block always the same.

ok, this looks amazing !

I have one question and a few changes to ask you though,

How wide did you plan for this entity to be ?
if it is planned to be 7 tiles wide, then the belts are not large enough (they could be, It would just require some kind of compressor gfx to be added to that one

now the changes I wouls like :

• make the player elevator a closed one (I know the open one will probably still look better, but I'm thinking about making the player elevator part a vehicle (to handle the transportation to the other levels better, and to, maybe, make the elevator go through several layers))
• make the transport belts parts covered (there is no clean way to make items on ground move and get hidden so making the belts hidden would help make it not look weird to have items just disapearing on the midle of the belt)
• maybe, make the background a separate picture, hat way, I can make it into a decorative entity which then can be set to always be under the player !

so please, see what you think can be done, and if you think it will look good,
I'm always open to suggestions,

and really, thank you for your work !

I'm also interested of graphics part of this mod.

Firstly i would like to point out the lack of integration with factorio I've seen in most of your graphic while one the other hand they are really good.

Here the points I've thought about it :

The elevator is really good and to go with Stanfear idea I would advice you to add higher scaffoldings.

The opposite machine can be seen as a transformer, for me put some coloured wires (copper green and red) that goes a bit randomly and something to connect to them.

[StanFear]

I just updated the main post, saying what has been done, and adding some extra information !

[GproKaru]

I started some work on the staircase. Just thought I'd check with you if you'd like an industrialized steel staircase instead. I know you requested a stone one but design wise It might take up a lot of space and obstruct the view of the nearby area.
Here's a WIP picture of the design so far. Let my know if you'd like to use this design. If you still feel inclined towards a stone staircase, I could make a second set so the players have a choice between the two.

The current layout in this picture is to be used as a 3x3, but visually it's a 2x3 which would be vertically centered on the entity.


*update*
Almost done with it, just deciding on what sort of finishing touches to add to it. I also added a little light feature to it so if you wanted to send power down the staircase like your item elevator, you can make it light up to indicate that power is flowing through it.

[StanFear]

I started some work on the staircase. Just thought I'd check with you if you'd like an industrialized steel staircase instead. I know you requested a stone one but design wise It might take up a lot of space and obstruct the view of the nearby area.
Here's a WIP picture of the design so far. Let my know if you'd like to use this design. If you still feel inclined towards a stone staircase, I could make a second set so the players have a choice between the two.

The current layout in this picture is to be used as a 3x3, but visually it's a 2x3 which would be vertically centered on the entity.


*update*
Almost done with it, just deciding on what sort of finishing touches to add to it. I also added a little light feature to it so if you wanted to send power down the staircase like your item elevator, you can make it light up to indicate that power is flowing through it.

well, this is nice,
I originally wanted it made out of stone so that players would be able to build one from the ressources you can find underground (which is only stone) (plus this would add a new use for stone)

do you think you could make it fade way in darkness the further it goes up ? and maybe don't leave the last platform (to make it clearer that it leads somewhere) ?

also, I wonder how it looks if the direction is up (actually, I wonder about it for all directions), could you show ?
I fear the 2x3 might not look really good in all directions ...


also, I won't need the light to indicate if there is power, as I think I'll add power_poles connections to the ground at some point

[GproKaru]

well, this is nice,
I originally wanted it made out of stone so that players would be able to build one from the ressources you can find underground (which is only stone) (plus this would add a new use for stone)

do you think you could make it fade way in darkness the further it goes up ? and maybe don't leave the last platform (to make it clearer that it leads somewhere) ?

also, I wonder how it looks if the direction is up (actually, I wonder about it for all directions), could you show ?
I fear the 2x3 might not look really good in all directions ...


also, I won't need the light to indicate if there is power, as I think I'll add power_poles connections to the ground at some point

Makes sense. Although I was hoping at some point that it would be possible to find resources like iron, copper and coal underground.

Also, I sort of like the idea of having to bring the power to either the item elevator, stairs or other access points to the underground. It sort of feels like it has that natural factorio logistical limitation where you have to work around the limitations of the entity designs. It's just my opinion on it but I feel like having something like that could take away some of the interesting design challenges from this mod.

As for the directions on these stairs, I've only done the one direction so far but the design will work for each other direction since the entity itself will be 3x3, just when facing west/east it's 3x2 and north/south it's 2x3. Also the idea of the plate at the top is that is the actual plate on the ground above, so when you're above ground, you'll see that plate, the light and the stairs going down. I might do up the above ground sprite sometime tomorrow to give you an idea on how this works.

[StanFear]

Also the idea of the plate at the top is that is the actual plate on the ground above, so when you're above ground, you'll see that plate, the light and the stairs going down. I might do up the above ground sprite sometime tomorrow to give you an idea on how this works.

Ok, well, in my mind, the surface above was way higher (something like at least two times that height ...) although it would then be weird to just dig by hand that height.
the height need to at least be the same as the highest factorio item... so having something that fades into darkness seems better

Also, I sort of like the idea of having to bring the power to either the item elevator, stairs or other access points to the underground. It sort of feels like it has that natural factorio logistical limitation where you have to work around the limitations of the entity designs. It's just my opinion on it but I feel like having something like that could take away some of the interesting design challenges from this mod.

hum ... what exactly would remove some challenge ?

inersurface poles ? I just see it a a convenience, having only the main elevator as a bridge for electricity would just be like having one place where all power is created...

[GproKaru]

Ok, well, in my mind, the surface above was way higher (something like at least two times that height ...) although it would then be weird to just dig by hand that height.
the height need to at least be the same as the highest factorio item... so having something that fades into darkness seems better

I guess if that's what you were going for. The only other issue is that I can't really think of a way to make it fade into darkness without it looking odd. having it fade to a dark shade of any kind would seem a bit visually odd, and the other option I can think of is fading to transparency, which would again, visually look a bit odd and confusing with overlapping areas.

hum ... what exactly would remove some challenge ?

inersurface poles ? I just see it a a convenience, having only the main elevator as a bridge for electricity would just be like having one place where all power is created...

You can still add inter-surface poles if you'd like. I wouldn't want to remove the option for someone else to have the added convenience of having them but I do like the way that factorio brings you features to make things convenient for you but the convenience still has it's own limitations, benefits and downsides.

[StanFear]

I guess if that's what you were going for. The only other issue is that I can't really think of a way to make it fade into darkness without it looking odd. having it fade to a dark shade of any kind would seem a bit visually odd, and the other option I can think of is fading to transparency, which would again, visually look a bit odd and confusing with overlapping areas.

what about doing both ? fading to darkness AND transparency ?

You can still add inter-surface poles if you'd like. I wouldn't want to remove the option for someone else to have the added convenience of having them but I do like the way that factorio brings you features to make things convenient for you but the convenience still has it's own limitations, benefits and downsides.

how would you do it then ?

[GproKaru]

Like I've said, the way your mod is handling the transition for power between layers is fine right now as it is.

And about the staircase darkness/transparency. I honestly think the best option visually is the way it currently is. Portraying such a transition in 2d game like this is pretty challenging to do right.
I made a very quick mock-up to show why doing either or both doesn't really look as well as the default image.

[StanFear]

Like I've said, the way your mod is handling the transition for power between layers is fine right now as it is.

And about the staircase darkness/transparency. I honestly think the best option visually is the way it currently is. Portraying such a transition in 2d game like this is pretty challenging to do right.
I made a very quick mock-up to show why doing either or both doesn't really look as well as the default image.

ok, well, let's settle for the simple with no transition then !

[GproKaru]

I did a quick mock up of the staircase base and top, just wanted to get your input on it.

[y.petremann]

I did a quick mock up of the staircase base and top, just wanted to get your input on it.

From my point of view, the graphics and concept are really good, they just feel too much like pixel art.

Also for your hole staircase, I think you should use a brownish background (wich could look like the floor)

[GproKaru]

From my point of view, the graphics and concept are really good, they just feel too much like pixel art.

Also for your hole staircase, I think you should use a brownish background (wich could look like the floor)

Yeah, there's not a lot that can be helped about my art style. I try to do as much as I can with it to get it to somewhat fit in but the contrast between pixel art and pre-rendered 3D sprites is a bit drastic in certain cases.

And as for the hole. I was originally going with brown but then I thought about it for when things go on and eventually I'm sure people might end up building heavily around the entry points. So I just left it a sort of blue-ish green tint to sort of represent the moisture in the air being illuminated instead.

[y.petremann]

From my point of view, the graphics and concept are really good, they just feel too much like pixel art.

Also for your hole staircase, I think you should use a brownish background (wich could look like the floor)

Yeah, there's not a lot that can be helped about my art style. I try to do as much as I can with it to get it to somewhat fit in but the contrast between pixel art and pre-rendered 3D sprites is a bit drastic in certain cases.

And as for the hole. I was originally going with brown but then I thought about it for when things go on and eventually I'm sure people might end up building heavily around the entry points. So I just left it a sort of blue-ish green tint to sort of represent the moisture in the air being illuminated instead.

About your art style, I would really be amazed to see a complete factorio texture overhaul using it, I have some scripts that permit to make texture packs and using them it's possible to remake almost all textures without modifing size and other values.