Topic: Empire "Re-Roofing" Project

I finally came around to install the new weaponsmithy and armoury in the game. Using just Firefox, I was not able too get files that are "modified" and not new. It's always the menu.png and the conf file. Strange! Does ist pay too install bazaar for me?
But back on topic:

Fine stuff!
But there is a placing problem. with the armoury:

I am not sure it can be amended with adjusting the hotspot.
Of course, a size=big statement would help, but that would create another balancing issue, and the Empire is the last tribe that needs another disadvantage IMO (cetero censeo... )

Here is another thing: Can't help it, ...our new armoury in the idle state looks a bit like the local graveyard, with all those crosses standing there.:)
I case you would want to consider this "bunny effect" of my own thinking, the solution could be fairly easy. Just let the "idle state" be fully equipped, not "empty". Would make sense anyhow, if our wise armoursmith kept some stock of his products ready to use, right?

The problem of the wares jumping into existence made me think a bit. There is no real solution for it - even blending them in seems not perfect.
I don't know whether you have a master plan of your own ready in some drawer, about working animations in general, Chuck. Do you plan to animate an armoursmith later, that would hang his stuff onto the various crosses in a credible fashion? I imagine this to be quite difficult.
If I was to outline a ruleset for working animations, I would probably try to avoid anything that appears to happen from thin air.
Ideally, I would like to see a weaponsmith at an anvil, sweating and hammering away, then put his (at that stage yet undefined) piece and place it onto one of your crosses (where it becomes recognizable, where a carrier comes to fetch it. (It still wouldn't hurt to have one or two other static, fully rigged crosses standing near).
I hope SirVer reads this sooner or later. We need his advice how the [ware currently produced] can be inserted into an animation. Or maybe you don't?

What else? Smeltworks!
In case you are working on the form for the cast: Remember, there was a problem with the display of missing wares inside production sites' windows. They are greyscale and without a mouse-over you cannot tell if it's gold or iron. So we went for a different shape for iron. Alexia showed some preference for the slab type of an "ingot" while she was in charge. (Can't find that lengthly discussion now) Anyhow, that last version was this:
I have it installed and it's not bad. Make up your mind about it. If this decision is to stand, your form might need to get a different shape and size. Or else revert it and go on with an ingot shape.

Okay, hope I have not forgotten anything important. Ah, .. if you should come to some building where it seems that designing your own looks easier than revamping, you may consider building something like an atrium house .. which was the preferred type (as ths S2 developpers knew obviously )

Still working on the swamp. Got an idea, finally, and I hope I have something to show you this evening... (keep your fingers crossed!)

Being no programmer, I apologize for all my suggestions that imply undue workload and for other misjudgements due to lack of expertise or relevant skills.
I am on Win32, have no means to compile, and rely on prefabricated distributions (Thanks to Tino).

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Astuur wrote: I don't know whether you have a master plan of your own ready in some drawer, about working animations in general, Chuck.

I've always WANTED to incorporate the resident worker into the production sites' working animation. (see the farms and the barbarian fernery, as well as the atlantean shipyard) That desire has not changed with the empire re-roofing project. Because worker animation is a far more complex pursuit compared to "inanimate objects, I prefer to get majority acceptance of the building design and other details before tackling that animation. Minor changes in the placement of particular elements can have far-ranging impact on animations and renderings that may have previously been completed.

If I was to outline a ruleset for working animations, I would probably try to avoid anything that appears to happen from thin air.

Don't worry. It's just smoke and mirrors. I agree that inanimate things should not move of their own accord. However, if we didn't have the 3d models of the workers to draw from, I would probably argue otherwise.

I hope SirVer reads this sooner or later. We need his advice how the [ware currently produced] can be inserted into an animation. Or maybe you don't?

I don't feel a need to coordinate the working animation with the delivery of the wares, nor do I think we need to pace the work to the production cycle. I think it is sufficient just to indicate "something is being done" when the building is in the working sequence at the image scale we are using for the game engine. It isn't necessary to use a microscope to build something that will only be seen through a telescope.

What else? Smeltworks!

In case you are working on the form for the cast: Remember, there was a problem with the display of missing wares inside production sites' windows. They are greyscale and without a mouse-over you cannot tell if it's gold or iron. So we went for a different shape for iron. Alexia showed some preference for the slab type of an "ingot" while she was in charge. (Can't find that lengthly discussion now) Anyhow, that last version was this:

I have it installed and it's not bad. Make up your mind about it. If this decision is to stand, your form might need to get a different shape and size. Or else revert it and go on with an ingot shape.

We'll use the slab for the actual iron ware, but I'm not going to change the form at the smelting_works. (See my "telescope" comment above.)

Ah, .. if you should come to some building where it seems that designing your own looks easier than revamping, you may consider building something like an atrium house .. which was the preferred type (as ths S2 developpers knew obviously face-smile.png )

For those who may not have seen S2 or know what an "atrium house" is, here is an prototypical example:
Wealthy Roman aristocrats and craft halls used architecture similar to this which incorporated a central atrium (hence the hole in the roof). Beneath that hole was a courtyard and a pool (impluvium) to catch rainwater channeled from the roof. Often, shops were incorporated into the front of the building and one or two more walled courts toward the rear.

Thanks again for the great input. Keep it coming, all of you!

I see little people.

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Nasenbaer wrote:

Astuur wrote: ..advice how the [ware currently produced] can be inserted into an animation...

this should not be a problem. Create a new animation section like [produce_apple_pie] and fill in all needed entries. afterwards replace the "show_animation idle" command (I do not know the real call name for show_animation at the moment, as I am not in front of a widelands machine, but hopefully you find out, what I am talking about ) with "show_animation produce_apple_pie" in the work section that produces apple pie .

Peter, you are absolutely right, of course! It is handled just like the forester planting trees or the mason hacking out stones. I guess my mind is still on hiatus. Looks like I have some "apple pies" to bake.

Cheers

I see little people.

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I have come to the realization that I have strayed from my main objective, i.e. re-roofing. At this rate, attempting to make each building all that it can be with full animation, it could take a lifetime (or at least seem like it.) So I am putting animation and other remodeling for the empire buildings on hold until we complete putting the new roof material on the buildings in question. This shouldn't take too long. When that is accomplished, I'll revisit the animation and other issues.

I see little people.

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New roofs for empire brewery, burner, donkeyfarm, farm, forester, inn, mill and tavern and added PlayerColor to windmill have been pushed to the development trunk with rev #5954.

I see little people.

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