Frogboy Frogboy

Elemental: Updated screenshots

▼

Elemental: Updated screenshots

from JoeUser Forums

As we reach the end of June we’re racing ahead towards trying to get an alpha out sometime in July along with the beta at PAX.

Here are some screenshots of where things are (some old, some new):

Note: Shadowing isn’t in yet so these are not representative of what the final game (or even the beta) will look like.

Elemental_1244234779

Cities exist on the map itself. Clicking anywhere on the city will bring up the city menu.

 

Elemental_1244581844

Players can zoom in and out as they see fit.  Players design roads ala Simcity but they are built automatically by workers (similar to Civ IV).

Elemental_1244144182 

Players can zoom in very close to cities. Eventually you’ll be able to see your population at work. It’s purely cosmetic but it’ll cool to watch your cities grow and thrive.

 

Battle_lightning_Wide

The tactical battles are very different than what we’ve seen before in these types of games.  The best way I can describe the battles is that they’re tactical with XCom being a major inspiration but designed to be relatively short.  Depending on how well they turn out, we may make the tactical battles an optional mini-game that people can play online if they just want to play a simple arena-style strategy game.

 

Battle_Close_Up
Players will be able to zoom in and watch the battles very close up.  This screenshot is of an internal technology demo so it’s designed to show you what our goal is.

 

We’ve been hesitant to show too many screenshots until the shadowing is in.  Those of you familiar with this stuff know how weak modern games look if you turn off the shadows.  We’ve been working on a shadowing system that scales really well but still looks good.

Also this week we’ve been developing a new type of font system that is compatible with DirectX 9 (we’re not using DirectX 10 or 11 and won’t be until Windows XP is very legacy).  Ironically, DirectX 11 has a pretty decent font system but few cards support it.  But the font system we’re doing will let us have really cool alpha blended fonts on a variety of textured backgrounds.  If you look at most PC games, they either have few fonts or have them on a black background. But we want players to (optionally) be able to read a lot of information on the world they’re creating. Each game will play very differently.

The beta version should be ready in around 60 days. Hard to believe that we’re finally getting close after all this time.  Players who pre-order it will get access to the betas and qualify to have access to the alpha version.

More to come.

192,887 views 103 replies
Reply #51 from Elemental Forums Top

I have to agree with Frogboy (of course, I'm on the other side of the fence too)

the screenshots and videos you've given us so far don't seem to have lighting and shadows that complete.  I've been staring at the screenshots in the "media" section for months wondering when they'd be replaced with a not alpha build.

 

BoogieBac:  you realize that if Frogboy doesn't make a Dev journal entry showing them off, all we do is star at pictures like this:

 

if you're looking only on this site.

And if you are looking anywhere else, the screenshots inclued this:

 

Boogiebac, if your stressing about shading, do you want this to be the last image running through our minds? 

This is from GDC.   This is the last major look into Elemental's progress.  Compare your screenshots to the last major collection of images next time you say "it looks bad"

Reply #52 from Elemental Forums Top

Yeah, there is really a lot of improvement in the graphics in the last few months.

 

It's fun watching how the game evolves. It makes you feel involved and shortens the time till the beta. So keep the screenshots (and the twitter updates) flowing. :D

Galactic Civilizations IV
Reply #53 from Elemental Forums Top

Great update!  The artistic styling looks great even at this early stage.  To me, the bluish discs at bottom do not fit into the rest of the gfx.  I don't much care if I can zoom to see my population at work.  Probably I check out that once and say cool, and this is it.  Gameplay (& its innovation) is way more important once the graphics reaches an acceptable level.

The tactical combat screen tells quite a bit.  (I’ve not played XCOM, some one can enlighten me.)  It seems like the combat is very HOMMish, a left-to-right fight, while the use of initiatives determine which unit can take action in sequence.  The combat area is tiny (compared to AOWSM), & unit movement points are little (4 squares max for the foot soldier).  This is very traditional; instead I will like to see TC be more AOWSMish that city wall will have an obstacle effect to combat.  This does not seem to be the case for EWOM as the battlefield is too small to accommodate 4 sided walls.  (However, I will be happy if there is only 1 sided city wall too)

Looking at the discs, somehow I cannot see the archer & catapult there.  Does that means they have such a low initiative that is not even shown here yet?  The disc with the pigeon seems to be the Sovereign.

Reply #54 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting Frogboy, reply 23
The team is crying about the screenshots because they think they look bad. 

"The lighting and shadows aren't even in yet!!! Don't show these!"

But I think it's worth showing these because people will want to see how the engine progresses through development.
No one is trying to see Gold screens so why so scared? Informed people knows they are pre-alpha screens so no worries. And uninformed people... no matter what you do, there is no way you can win with them.:P

The screens look good. And we know that you keep improving the graphics so don't be so shy!!! It's a future fact that for launch we will have epicly gorgeus graphics to drool all over. Meanwhile it's really nice to see the evolution of these as they grow and mature.

(aka moar!!!\o/ )

Reply #55 from Elemental Forums Top

BoogieBac: you realize that if Frogboy doesn't make a Dev journal entry showing them off, all we do is star at pictures like this...

I know...really I was just kiddingaround about Brad posting screenshots of the game. You'd just be suprised how much time and effort can be sucked up by 'graphics coding'. For alot of our developersmay never look 'good enough', but that's why we continue to work on the game post release, isn't it  :)

We bring this quote up alot, but I feel it's very applicable here, 'You never finish making a video game, you just stop working on it.' You could develop a game for 10 years and probably never be quite pleased with it...which I promise won't happen with Elemental ;)

Reply #56 from Elemental Forums Top

At least not until the sequel, Elemental:Forever :|

Reply #57 from Stardock Forums Top

I ate your sequel.  And your cat.

Anyway, I know nothing about Elemental.  The screenshots and this post made me curious, so I'll have to look up more later.  :)

Right now...it's 11AM!  Time to sleep.

Reply #58 from Elemental Forums Top

Elemental:Forever
:dur: oooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Reply #59 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting Scoutdog, reply 8

Elemental:Forever oooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!


 

Heh. Just to make sure, you do know I am referring to the God of Vaporware, Duke Nukem:Forever, right? :sun:

Reply #60 from Elemental Forums Top

Heh. Just to make sure, you do know I am referring to the God of Vaporware, Duke Nukem:Forever, right?

Never heard of it. But then again, I only got serious about this sort of thing a year and a half ago, so a lot of stuff was before my time.

Reply #61 from Elemental Forums Top

For a peek at the time and effort it takes to make a cloth map icon (time-lapse) check out the Elemental twitter: http://twitter.com/TeamElemental

My wife is an artist, and I know it takes a LOT of work, but had not realized really the details until seeing this. Cool stuff!

Keep the twitters coming - one of the main reasons I use it on my BB! |-)

Reply #62 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting ThreeKings, reply 11
For a peek at the time and effort it takes to make a cloth map icon (time-lapse) check out the Elemental twitter: http://twitter.com/TeamElemental

Really nice stuff. I could just watch these for hours. Maybe I should play them plack slower... ;)

Reply #63 from Elemental Forums Top

For a peek at the time and effort it takes to make a cloth map icon (time-lapse) check out the Elemental twitter: http://twitter.com/TeamElemental

Hey!>:( It's my job to keep people updated of the Twitter updates: https://forums.elementalgame.com/357077 If other people start doing it, I won't get karma anymore;P   And what else am I supposed to do in my (rather plentiful) free time? (other than wait for the alpha:drool: )

Reply #64 from Elemental Forums Top

Well, you could start rasising money to get me a new version of Photoshop and one of those pen tablets so that I could put my friend Grant's drawing skills to good use and finally make some halfway-decent race logos for my Metroid mod, but other than that...... by the way, I had a REALLY wierd Elemental-related dream last night:

The alpha got released and I was in it, except the graphics looked like MoM graphics, and it was in real-time 8O ..... so I decided to storm this castle place, whic on the outside was just a square brown cube but on the inside looked exactly like my high school, except that everything was a shade of yellow, and all of the students were wearing identical hooded sweaters :maybe: ....... and I only had one knight, who I could control like in an FPS...... and he always got killed by my health teacher..... and then I woke up.

Go figure.

Reply #65 from Elemental Forums Top

Well, you could start rasising money to get me a new version of Photoshop and one of those pen tablets so that I could put my friend Grant's drawing skills to good use and finally make some halfway-decent race logos for my Metroid mod, but other than that......

Why not get Gimp: http://www.gimp.org/ It does everything Photoshop does, but for free. Other than that, all I can offer is karma for making a Metroid modk1 Metroid FTW!

EDIT: Nevermind, it seems I can't give karma:'(   so I'll give you some when it works

Reply #66 from Elemental Forums Top

Do you have GC2,TA? That's what the mod is for.... here is the main page: https://forums.galciv2.com/355228

I never could get used to the gimp UI.... I suppose if I had the inclination to learn it, I might make some headway.....

Reply #67 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting Scoutdog, reply 16
Do you have GC2,TA? That's what the mod is for.... here is the main page: https://forums.galciv2.com/355228

I never could get used to the gimp UI.... I suppose if I had the inclination to learn it, I might make some headway.....

I have the Ultimate Edition

Reply #68 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting Scoutdog, reply 16
I never could get used to the gimp UI.... I suppose if I had the inclination to learn it, I might make some headway.....

UI is the Achilles' heel of a lot of open source stuff -- the last time I tried to use Blender I came away wanting to put a fork in my eye.  Why they don't try to emulate the UIs of commercial packages that have spent many years and many dollars polishing their products, I'll never know.  Being different is not automatically better.

That's why I like Paintshop Pro -- it does about everything Photoshop does at 1/10 the price, and a few versions back it adopted a new UI that's virtually a clone of PS.  I actually liked the old one better, but making PS users instantly comfortable probably hasn't hurt their market share :)

Reply #69 from Demigod Forums Top

UI is the Achilles' heel of a lot of open source stuff -- the last time I tried to use Blender I came away wanting to put a fork in my eye. Why they don't try to emulate the UIs of commercial packages that have spent many years and many dollars polishing their products, I'll never know. Being different is not automatically better.

I have no idea for sure, but I'm going to guess that it's because the commercial ones copyright their UI, or at least parts of it, although who know?

Reply #70 from Stardock Forums Top

Gimp eh?  Most people would take Paint.NET anyday.

Reply #71 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting rls669, reply 18
Quoting Scoutdog, reply 16I never could get used to the gimp UI.... I suppose if I had the inclination to learn it, I might make some headway.....


UI is the Achilles' heel of a lot of open source stuff -- the last time I tried to use Blender I came away wanting to put a fork in my eye.  Why they don't try to emulate the UIs of commercial packages that have spent many years and many dollars polishing their products, I'll never know.  Being different is not automatically better.

That's why I like Paintshop Pro -- it does about everything Photoshop does at 1/10 the price, and a few versions back it adopted a new UI that's virtually a clone of PS.  I actually liked the old one better, but making PS users instantly comfortable probably hasn't hurt their market share

 

Blender's UI is SUPERIOR to Maya's.  

Reply #72 from Elemental Forums Top

Blender's UI is SUPERIOR to Maya's.

Then I'd HATE to see Maya's...... Anyway, Kyogre, I think ultimate would work...... directory structure might seem a little funky, but once you find the Twilight folder, you shouldn't have any problems.

Reply #74 from Demigod Forums Top

Quoting Frogboy, reply 23
The team is crying about the screenshots because they think they look bad. 

"The lighting and shadows aren't even in yet!!! Don't show these!"

Strange.

I told frogboy the same - the screenshots really look bad. And I got promptly trashed by froggy for this, got labeled as a troll and been told that "I don't care about your opinion".

Now he quotes his teammates saying the same I did, which might mean that they are trolls and he doesn't care about their opinion either.

You guys should really stop giving frogboy too much of that false praise or he'll completely lose his grasp of reality.

And please don't flame me just because I said something bad about froggy or elemental. It's about the screenshots. They are decent and a work in progress and even the own team says that all the good effects are missing. The screens are no way "awesome", "beautiful" or anything remotely deserving a "WOW".

Just for the sake of argument:

That is wow.

 

That is mediocre.

 

Doesn't say anything about the quality of the game (apart from one game performing quite less enjoyable on older PCs). No idea how much of a difference the shaders will make. The graphic style of one is realistic, the other one cartoonish (by choice, I heard). I actually don't mind a minimalist graphics approach as long as the resulting game is good.

But I can't understand that kind of orgasmic praise heaped on a couple of screenshots that are at best promising.

 

Reply #75 from Elemental Forums Top

But I can't understand that kind of orgasmic praise heaped on a couple of screenshots that are at best promising.

You get flamed because you do annoying things. We, however, understand that the screenshots are not finished. We are going to wait and see as opposed to getting all paranoid about the great frog conspiracy.