We need a way to identify coasts capable of harbors from the cloth map

from Elemental Forums

please

5,104 views 4 replies
Reply #1 from Elemental Forums Top

Well, there is.

It's not pretty (quite literally) but it works.

 

Of course, I would prefer proper 2D "coast" graphics that would let me identify beach / cliff /  land-submerged borders at a glance.

Some kind of... line, I guess... that goes from the center of one coast square to the next.  Colour and shape of the line would signify the type of coast.

Right now the coastline (literally a thin black line) seems to be derived from the 3D graphics.  While these do work in 3D (because you see that they are cliffs) this line is simply not useful in 2D where the visible cliff graphic is... not there. As a result, many "cliff" tiles look like grassy plains on the 3D map because they are 95% "ground".

Reply #2 from Elemental Forums Top

Agree that we need to identify the coast in the cloth map, but t would be really cool not to be forced to play only on the cloth map.

In order to do that the terrain should be better identifiable, especially Woods: they should be better visible, while right now certain woods on the 3D map just look like grass.

Galactic Civilizations IV
Reply #3 from Elemental Forums Top

Identifying hills on the 3D map is very unlikely to ever work.  Their morphing terrain doesn't seem to use particular "hill squares".

But I could be wrong. That's something the 3D people should answer.   Ideally "someone" (who is bothered by this) would change those 3D tiles to a more uniform look so woods are recogniseable as woods and hills / mountains as such.

Why don't you? =P

Reply #4 from Elemental Forums Top

Would be nice indeed to see the cloth map show this info without relying on the Terrain viewer. Seems like all it would take would be some new tile art along the lines of the stuff for hills, deserts, and swamps.

Quoting Black-Knight, reply 2
... but t would be really cool not to be forced to play only on the cloth map. ...
End of Black-Knight's quote

Heh. I'd rather not have to suffer the baggage that the 3D views has brought to the game. Imagine how much attention the mechanics, UI, and AIs would have gotten if no money'd been spent bothering with the 3D layer of the game. Then we'd have Integrated Metaphysics that gave the magic system some distinctiveness instead of the Integrated Physics that offers only eye-candy value.