Page 1 of 11 12345678910 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 20 of 216

Thread: Grand Campaign Graphics Overhaul - Historical City & Terrain Graphics / Historical Minimaps / Period Art Event Messages + Icons / Ancillary Graphics / Loading Screens (released) + Period Art Character Graphics (WIP) - Last Update: April 24th 2010

  1. #1
    jarnomiedema's Avatar Artifex ad Infinitum
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Amsterdam, The Netherlands
    Posts
    1,366

    Default Grand Campaign Graphics Overhaul - Historical City & Terrain Graphics / Historical Minimaps / Period Art Event Messages + Icons / Ancillary Graphics / Loading Screens (released) + Period Art Character Graphics (WIP) - Last Update: April 24th 2010


    Introduction The Grand Campaign Graphics Overhaul Mod Project. Sounds like a mouth full. Well, if that's what you thought, you're pretty much right. Because this is a mammoth of a project. Certainly enough to pretty much drive me crazy when I look at all the stuff that still needs to be done in order to fulfill my 'grand idea'..

    This mod (or for the moment this 'work-in-project') almost didn't see the light of day. I started working on it a long time ago, balked at the sheer amount of things that would have to be changed, dropped it, picked it up again, decided never to play Empire anymore after the umpteenth crash, only to be dragged in again by a good friend of mine who recently discovered DarthMod, and so on and so forth. In the end, I picked up this pet project again, made some changes to my original work and am now all set to show you something I'm extremely proud of..

    Please bear with me, because I've got some explaining to do..

    Overview Back when I was first playing Empire one of my main turn offs were the campaign graphics. The cities looked like toy buildings, the generals, admirals, civil servants, gentlemen and rakes all looked alike, the event graphics and loading screens were in a style that didn't really suit me, the ancillary graphics seemed very unwhelming and so on and so forth..

    Usually, whenever I start making a mod, I do it for my own enjoyment first and that of others second. Sorry guys, but I usually don't share my mods with anyone until long after I decided 'now it's time to see if anyone ELSE might be interested'. That's what happened with the United Provinces Retexture Project and that's what happened with the Period Art Event Graphics. It's also what happened with this mod..

    Anyhoo, the main idea behind this mod is to correct the problems I listed in the first paragraph: I've reworked the look of the cities, I've changed the look of the ancillaries, the loading screens are now high quality, highly detailed period art and I'm hard at work at integrating as many historical portraits into the main game as I possibly can..

    Recap This mod will be based around the following 'minimods':
    • Period Art Loading Screens
    • Period Art Event Graphics (already released)
    • Realistic Looking Cities, Towns and Farms
    • Historical Minimaps
    • Period Art Ancillary Graphics
    • Period Art Civil Servants & Agents Graphics

    All with the intention of turning Empire: Total War into a more epic game, with the historical grandeur and pomp it rightly deserves.

    Assistance Please? One of the main reasons for me to start this thread is to ask for your help. The Campaign Graphics, the Ancillaries and the Loading Screens are all set and done. I will not change them unless a truly spectacular piece of art comes along that I somehow missed..

    There area where I'm going to need a lot of help is the historical character area. Every single General, Admiral, Rake, Gentleman, King, Queen and Civil Servant will have its picture replaced by a detailed, historically accurate portrait, preferably from the mid to late 18th century (as in 'whigs' and 'hoop skirts').

    While I've found a great deal of art, I'm certain that with the help of the Total War community, I can integrate a lot more into the game than I could on my own.

    For more details, go to post nr. 4

    Furthermore, before I forget to say it, please don't hesitate to post your comments, suggestions, criticism, etc. Feedback is absolutely critical for the progress of this mod!

    Updates In the posts below I'm going to elaborate on each individual section of this mod. These posts will be updated as soon as new work is integrated into the mod. Keep an eye out for new screenshots and discussions!
    Last edited by jarnomiedema; April 24, 2010 at 11:56 AM. Reason: Added historical minimaps to the list.



    Under the patronage of his Estonian Eminence Trax

  2. #2
    jarnomiedema's Avatar Artifex ad Infinitum
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Amsterdam, The Netherlands
    Posts
    1,366

    Default Re: Grand Campaign Graphics Overhaul - Realistic City/Farm Graphics, Period Art Loading Screens / Ancillary Graphics (released) and Period Art Character Graphics (WIP)


    Overview While I greatly admire the work the game's original artist did on the loading screens and Historical Event Messages, I feel they're greatly lacking in detail and scale. So I thought, why settle for what the game is shipped with and why not try and make some truly spectacular stuff myself? Take a look at the screenshots below and let me know what you think!

    Loading Screens The Loading Screens are, from top to bottom:
    • "The Warship 'Brielle' on the Maas before Rotterdam" by Ludolf Bakhuysen
    • "Marshal Villars leads the French charge at the Battle of Denain" by Jean Alaux
    • "The Battle of Texel" by Willem van de Velde the Younger
    • "The Death of General Wolfe" by Benjamin West
    • "View of the 'Herengracht' ('Gentleman's Canal')" by Hendrik Keun
    • "The Fall of Fortress Kolberg to Russian Troops" by Alexander Kotsebu
    • "The Battle of Trafalgar" by William Clarkson Stanfield
    • "The Battle of Scheveningen" by Willem van de Velde the Elder
    • "Declaration of Independence" by John Trumbull

    Furthermore, these loading screens are completely full screen, with no black bars and resizing anywhere. If I were to post those versions here, there would be nine 1920x1200 pixels images filling up your screen. In order to save bandwith and allow for easy viewing, I've resized the previews to 800x500 each.

    Loading Screens - Artwork
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

















    In-Game Example
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 



    Overview One of the things in Empire that I always felt could use a bit of 'touching up' are the event messages that pop up at the start of every new turn. That's where this mod comes in.

    I think the artist that was hired by the Creative Assembly to make these graphics did a great job, but obviously it's impossible to compete with the actual masters of the late 17th, the entire 18th and the early 19th century.

    To give Empire: Total War that proper historic feel, I decided to go out and find artwork that was actually from the period itself or as close to it as possible, and integrate it into the game.

    In-Game Screenshots
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 








    All Event Messages
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 




    Period Art Event Icons This minimod is a seperate download from the Event Graphics Mod, but since it fits this category best, I might as well place it here. This minimod does something very simple: it retextures the icons that pop up whenever there's an important message on your screen when you're on the campaign map or on the battlefield.

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 


    From left to right, they are:
    • Army announcement
    • Building captured by friendly forces
    • Building captured by enemy forces
    • Death of a friendly general / admiral
    • Death of an enemy general / admiral
    • Reinforcements en route
    • Reinforcements delayed
    • Friendly forces route
    • Enemy forces route
    • Construction announcement
    • Character announcement (I couldn't resist)
    • New King / Queen / Heir announcement
    • Disaster announcement
    • Character Death announcement
    • Mission / Demands
    • Financial announcement
    • Naval announcement
    • News
    • Prestige announcement
    • Rebellion
    • Technological advance

    Credits For their artwork suggestions, I would like to thank the following members of TWCenter:

    - StalinCore
    - TitanVoyager
    - Yoram777

    Also, since most of the work here was done by actual painters, I can barely take the credit for this mod. All I did was find their paintings and integrate them into a mod. Obviously no infringement was intended.
    Last edited by jarnomiedema; April 24, 2010 at 10:47 AM. Reason: Added download links



    Under the patronage of his Estonian Eminence Trax

  3. #3
    jarnomiedema's Avatar Artifex ad Infinitum
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Amsterdam, The Netherlands
    Posts
    1,366

    Default Re: Grand Campaign Graphics Overhaul - Realistic City/Farm Graphics, Period Art Loading Screens / Ancillary Graphics (released) and Period Art Character Graphics (WIP)


    Overview I decided to change the game's city and terrain graphics because I recently got to see how Napoleon: Total War looks and was amazed by what seemed like such a stark contrast with Empire's campaign map. Instead of the toy buildings, the look of Napoleon is one that immensely resonated with me. The campaign map itself was also darker and more alive, instead of the bright green of Empire's campaign map.

    So, I went to work, and in the screenshots below you can see the result! While it might not be quite as festive and certainly a lot more uniform than the original Empire, I personally quite like it; it keeps the outrageous colours to a minimum and fits like a charm as far as I'm concerned..

    In-Game Comparison Screenshots Note about the screenshots: the top half of each screenshot is what Empire's campaign map looks like with my mod installed, whereas the bottom half is what the original game looks like.
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 








    Overview Another one of my pet peeves when it came to Empire:TW were the minimaps. This was a game set in the 18th century, when knowledge of the world around us was limited, but the minimaps reflect a satelite accurate world? This seemed odd to me, so I decided to try my hand at restructuring the minimaps to historical maps.

    The new minimaps are based on actual historical maps, from the late 17th to the mid 18th century. I've also tried to add a little bit of diversity to the German, Italian and Indian states to reflect their broken up nature.

    This pack also comes with minimaps for the "Road to Independence" episodes (except the first one) and a special minimap for the "Warpath" campaign.

    In-Game Screenshots - Campaign Selection
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 



    In-Game Screenshots - Diplomacy Menu and Tax Screens
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 







    In-Game Screenshots - Travel Destinations & Minimap Details
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 



    Last edited by jarnomiedema; April 24, 2010 at 11:24 AM. Reason: Added Historical Minimaps Section



    Under the patronage of his Estonian Eminence Trax

  4. #4
    jarnomiedema's Avatar Artifex ad Infinitum
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Amsterdam, The Netherlands
    Posts
    1,366

    Default Re: Grand Campaign Graphics Overhaul - Realistic City/Farm Graphics, Period Art Loading Screens / Ancillary Graphics (released) and Period Art Character Graphics (WIP)


    Overview This section of the mod aims to rework the ancillary graphics. So far, they've all been changed by using historical paintings that seem to convey the feeling of what the ancillary file is named after.

    Below is a preview. From left to right, top down, they are as follows:
    • Army Officer
    • Bedouin
    • Bishop
    • Black Servant
    • Clerk Type Servant
    • Comedy Transvestite
    • Craftsman
    • Florid Nobleman
    • Gorgeous Floozy
    • Grizzly Adams
    • Hussar Officer
    • Inbred Relative
    • Indian in Turban
    • Inventor
    • Loony
    • Masked Figure
    • Matronly Woman
    • Naval Officer
    • North American Indian
    • Professional Servant
    • Ratfaced Servant
    • Scottish Thug (this one has since been changed to something else)
    • Sergeant
    • Thuggish Servant
    • Turk with Turban
    • Turk with Turban - No Beard (well, this one has one)
    • Wealthy Merchant (this one has also been changed since the preview was made)
    • Youth

    Preview
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

    In-Game Screenshots
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 













    Overview The other sections were tricky and at times difficult to figure out, but this one is going to be the most difficult, the most tricky and the most time consuming out of all of them. Why, you ask?

    Here are the number of characters in game:
    • 300 Admirals, young and old; so in effect 600 characters
    • 300 Generals, young and old; so in effect 600 characters
    • 100 Kings, young and old; so in effect 200 characters
    • 100 Queens, young and old; so in effect 200 characters
    • 300 Ministers, young and old; so in effect 600 characters
    • 300 Missionaries (all religions total), young and old; so in effect 600 characters
    • 50 Rakes, young and old; so in effect 100 characters


    That leaves us with the sum total of 1450 characters, or 2900 characters if you count young and old as seperate characters. That's a whole lot of work and I've only just gotten started!

    First things first; I've already decided off the bat that the whole 'young and old' system is out. So it'll just be a total of 1450 characters. For that, I'm going to need a lot of artwork. I've already compiled quite a database of useful artwork myself, but that still leaves me with a huge gap..

    So that's where you guys come in!

    I need your help! If you guys are interested in helping me, here are a few things you should know about what kind of portraits are useful and what kind are not..

    Here's a preview of some of the work I've done so far on the Admirals:
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 


    As you can see, they're very diffirent individuals, but they all have something in common: they're high quality, full colour portraits of historical people and they all fit the established size and relative shape of the existing files and in-game portraits.

    In order to understand what type of images I can use and what type I can't, here's a list of requirement for suitability:
    • The image needs to be relatively high quality; anything that's blocky or small is useless.
    • The image has to be full colour, so no pencil drawings of any kind.
    • The colours don't necessarily have to match the preview above. Even if you think the colours look odd, faded or a bit too yellow / blue / green / red, don't hesitate to link to it. Those problems can easily be resolved with Photoshop.
    • Each 'large' character file is 204x272 pixels. That means the image needs to be at least this size, but the best thing is to make sure that I can shrink the image down to that size and am still left with a head and a body to make it fit the pattern above


    Also, if you post your images here, please make sure they're between spoiler tags (as I've done in my own posts as well) to prevent the thread from clogging up and looking ragtag. For those of you who don't know where the spoiler button is: it's the large exclamation mark. Make sure you select your image URL and then press that button to make sure it dissappears.

    Websites and useful URLs are also highly appreciated!

    Lastly, all help and assistance will be rewarded with +rep and in case the images are used, I will personally make sure that your name is listed in the credits as a contributor. Thanks in advance for your help!


    Overview Dissatisfied with the battle UI pips (the icons for your units), the pips for the status of lower classes in the Campaign Map and the ship icons and overview pictures, I took the liberty of porting these items from Napoleon: Total War (N:TW) to Empire: Total War (E:TW).

    The ship icons in Napoleon look a great deal better than those in Empire. Since Empire has been getting a bit of a rough treatment as of late, why not try and incorporate some minor (and less important) features from Napoleon into Empire.

    Disclaimer Many parts of this minimod are the original work of artists of the Creative Assembly. I take no credit for their work that I haven't modified. For complete transparency, here's a list of included items in this minimod that I have or haven't changed from the N:TW originals:

    • The battle UI pips are unchanged from those in N:TW.
    • The ship icons are unchanged from those in N:TW, with the exception of three ship icons and overview pics for ships that were not included in N:TW. Those are my own work. The alpha versions of the overview pics (those files are used to put the coloured flags on the ship info field) modified files from Empire, combined with those from Napoleon.
    • The Lower Classes status pips have been adapted to fit the style of Empire (a golden ring instead of a silver one) and they've been incorporated next to Empire's original higher classes status pips.

    Ship Icons & Info Pics Screenshots
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 







    Campaign Map & Battle UI Pips Screenshots
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 


    Last edited by jarnomiedema; April 24, 2010 at 12:11 PM. Reason: Added NTW to ETW mod



    Under the patronage of his Estonian Eminence Trax

  5. #5
    jarnomiedema's Avatar Artifex ad Infinitum
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Amsterdam, The Netherlands
    Posts
    1,366

    Default Re: Grand Campaign Graphics Overhaul - Realistic City/Farm Graphics, Period Art Loading Screens / Ancillary Graphics (released) and Period Art Character Graphics (WIP)

    Download Links

    Overview This section is where you'll find all the download links for this project. Seeing how the Period Art Character graphics section is still a Work-In-Progress, you can consider this mod (for now) as a bit of a beta version.

    This is the 0.1 version of the mod if you will. As more and more character graphics are added, I will keep updating the mod. For clarity's sake, I'll add the latest date and version number in the descriptions below and the title of the first post as well, so you can see immediately if this mod has been updated. To keep completely up to date, I can recommend you subscribe to this thread and/or the WIP thread. Subscribing can be done by going to "Thread Tools" (in the top right corner of the first post) and selecting "Subscribe to this thread".

    I've uploaded the mod in two different ways: you can download the complete package, which includes everything shown above (with the exception of the character graphics) or you can download the mods individually, if you like one particular part, but don't really care for another. That way, everybody can be happy..

    Compatibility This mod (and these submods) are compatible with Empire: Total War v.1.6 and all major mods, unless they replace any of the parts of the game that these mods replace. You cannot for instance have two different loading screen mods at the same time.

    Installation These mods are all packed as .rar files. You will need a program like WinRAR to extract it.

    Once you've extracted the file(s), you can place them in your Steam\steamapps\common\empire total war\data folder.

    Since all these files are mod .packs, you will need to add them to your game by using Mod Manager 1.5 (download links here) in order to make them work. If you prefer, you can also add the mod .pack files to your user.empire_script.txt file manually.

    Complete Campaign Graphics Overhaul Download This is the all-in-one file, which contains all of the currently finished parts of the mod. This is v.2.; there will be updates in the future to include the progress on the Period Art Character Graphics.

    Download links

    Period Art Loading Screens Download This is just the Period Art Loading Screens mod. This mod is finished and will not receive any more updates unless there are unforeseen problems with it.

    Download Links

    Period Art Event Graphics This is just the Period Art Event Graphics mod. This mod is finished and will not receive any more updates unless there are unforeseen problems with it.

    Download Links

    Period Art Event Icons This is just the Period Art Event Icons mod. This mod is finished and will not receive any more updates unless there are unforeseen problems with it.

    Download Links

    Realistic City Graphics Download This is just the Realistic City Graphics mod. This mod is finished and will not receive any more updates unless there are unforeseen problems with it.

    Download Links

    Historical Minimaps Download This is just the Historical Minimap mod. This mod is finished and will not receive any more updates unless there are unforeseen problems with it.

    Download Links

    Period Art Ancillary Graphics Download This is just the Period Art Ancillary Graphics mod. This mod is finished and will not receive any more updates unless there are unforeseen problems with it.

    Download Links

    Period Art Character Graphics Download This mod is still a work-in-progress.

    The preview (V1.1) was released on April 13th 2010 and included character graphics for all kings and a few replacements for starter generals. This preview is a seperate download (it is not included in the full version of the campaign graphics file).

    Download Links

    Napoleon to Empire Ships Icons mod This is just the Napoleon to Empire Ship Icons mod. This mod is finished and will not receive any more updates unless there are unforeseen problems with it.

    Download Links

    Napoleon to Empire Pips mod This is just the Napoleon to Empire Campaign Map / Battle pips mod. This mod is finished and will not receive any more updates unless there are unforeseen problems with it.

    Download Links
    Last edited by jarnomiedema; April 24, 2010 at 11:45 AM. Reason: Added updated download links (april 24th)



    Under the patronage of his Estonian Eminence Trax

  6. #6
    ToonTotalWar's Avatar Indefinitely Banned
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    Newcastle upon Tyne
    Posts
    1,733

    Default Re: Grand Campaign Graphics Overhaul - Realistic City/Farm Graphics, Period Art Loading Screens / Ancillary Graphics (released) and Period Art Character Graphics (WIP)

    Nice mate!!! +Rep

  7. #7
    Demokritos's Avatar Domesticus
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    Up North
    Posts
    2,288

    Default Re: Grand Campaign Graphics Overhaul - Realistic City/Farm Graphics, Period Art Loading Screens / Ancillary Graphics (released) and Period Art Character Graphics (WIP)

    Really nice move, J! I like the portraits of the Admirals especially. Keep the good work up, please
    GNOTHI SEAUTON (Know Thyself) - precept inscribed in the forecourt of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, Greece
    MEDEN AGAN (Nothing To Excess) - another precept inscribed in the aforementioned place

  8. #8

    Default Re: Grand Campaign Graphics Overhaul - Realistic City/Farm Graphics, Period Art Loading Screens / Ancillary Graphics (released) and Period Art Character Graphics (WIP)

    nice!
    many thanks,
    hc

  9. #9

    Default Re: Grand Campaign Graphics Overhaul - Realistic City/Farm Graphics, Period Art Loading Screens / Ancillary Graphics (released) and Period Art Character Graphics (WIP)

    Gorgeous.
    All my downloads need for uncompressing them:

    7-Zip 9.10 beta Windows 32-bit

  10. #10

    Icon14 Re: Grand Campaign Graphics Overhaul - Realistic City/Farm Graphics, Period Art Loading Screens / Ancillary Graphics (released) and Period Art Character Graphics (WIP)

    Have you thought about collaborating with Tuca on Period Portraits Mod 0.4 and may be combining your efforts? For now I will install his mod and yours. Splendid work. +1 Rep.
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 


    Last edited by F@32; March 28, 2010 at 08:43 AM.

  11. #11
    TheJian's Avatar Miles
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Detroit Michigan
    Posts
    351

    Default Re: Grand Campaign Graphics Overhaul - Realistic City/Farm Graphics, Period Art Loading Screens / Ancillary Graphics (released) and Period Art Character Graphics (WIP)

    The Realistic City Graphics mod, is very good will try some of the others.
    Boys want quantity, while men seek quality.
    Mere external facts cannot serve as a ground of reasoning.
    What we are able to learn is greatly dependent upon what we already know. Different people with different amounts of information will UNDERSTAND different.
    "That until you understand white supremacy everything else will confuse you" ~Neely Fuller~
    There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all argument, and which cannot fail to keep a man in ever lasting ignorance. This principle is contempt prior to examination.
    They came before Columbus - Dr Ivan Van Sertima

  12. #12

    Default Re: Grand Campaign Graphics Overhaul - Realistic City/Farm Graphics, Period Art Loading Screens / Ancillary Graphics (released) and Period Art Character Graphics (WIP)

    Holy crap man, this is impressive. Love the loading screens. It's all awesome really !

  13. #13

    Default Re: Grand Campaign Graphics Overhaul - Realistic City/Farm Graphics, Period Art Loading Screens / Ancillary Graphics (released) and Period Art Character Graphics (WIP)

    Loving new farms on campaign map.

  14. #14
    Hilarion's Avatar Vicarius
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    United States
    Posts
    2,727

    Default Re: Grand Campaign Graphics Overhaul - Realistic City/Farm Graphics, Period Art Loading Screens / Ancillary Graphics (released) and Period Art Character Graphics (WIP)

    Incredible work! Even purely aesthetic improvements such as this make the game so much more enjoyable and immersive. As suggested above, you might consider collaborating with Tuca for period portraits. If not, then I'll surely help you as you helped me with my mod .

    For now I have one minor suggestion. Your event graphic for "Rebellion" is the painting of the Battle of Denain during the War of the Spanish Succession (and you use the same for a loading screen). You could use this instead, an equally powerful and more relevant work which features the Battle of Culloden during the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745 (by David Morier):

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 


    In any case, cheers and +rep my friend!

  15. #15
    TheJian's Avatar Miles
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Detroit Michigan
    Posts
    351

    Default Re: Grand Campaign Graphics Overhaul - Realistic City/Farm Graphics, Period Art Loading Screens / Ancillary Graphics (released) and Period Art Character Graphics (WIP)

    Yea Tuca period portraits are nice I use them, but they R only of the West.
    Boys want quantity, while men seek quality.
    Mere external facts cannot serve as a ground of reasoning.
    What we are able to learn is greatly dependent upon what we already know. Different people with different amounts of information will UNDERSTAND different.
    "That until you understand white supremacy everything else will confuse you" ~Neely Fuller~
    There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all argument, and which cannot fail to keep a man in ever lasting ignorance. This principle is contempt prior to examination.
    They came before Columbus - Dr Ivan Van Sertima

  16. #16
    Johan217's Avatar Campidoctor
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    Gent, Belgium
    Posts
    1,965

    Default Re: Grand Campaign Graphics Overhaul - Realistic City/Farm Graphics, Period Art Loading Screens / Ancillary Graphics (released) and Period Art Character Graphics (WIP)

    Whoa, I'd given up on ETW and now this comes along! VERY nice work indeed.
    Rock 'n' roll is the only religion that will never let you down

  17. #17
    jarnomiedema's Avatar Artifex ad Infinitum
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Amsterdam, The Netherlands
    Posts
    1,366

    Default Re: Grand Campaign Graphics Overhaul - Realistic City/Farm Graphics, Period Art Loading Screens / Ancillary Graphics (released) and Period Art Character Graphics (WIP)

    Replies Thanks for the encouraging comments everyone! They're much appreciated!

    @ Demokritos: Haven't given up yet and I plan to see it through to the end!

    @ F@32: Actually, Tuca and Yoram777's Portrait Mod is what prompted me to make my own portrait mod really. Not to bash their hard work (and it really is hard work now that I've decided to spend some serious time on it, so a lot of respect to those guys), but I don't like the rectangles, the black and white portraits and the gigantic colour differences between the many images.. Also, from what I know, neither of these two members are still active on the TWCenter forums anymore..

    @ Viscount Bolingbroke: Thanks for the offer of help, VB! The loading screens are pretty much set in stone though, so I'm afraid I can't fit Culloden in there anymore, even though I do really like the sad story behind the battle. Also, even though that painting is pretty big, in order to make it into a loading screen, it has to be even larger..

    Just to give you an idea, here are the original sizes of paintings works I used (all taken off the internet):
    • "The Warship 'Brielle' on the Maas before Rotterdam" = 1926x1265 pixels
    • "Marshal Villars leads the French charge at the Battle of Denain" = 2545x2240 pixels
    • "The Battle of Texel" = 1280x792 pixels
    • "The Death of General Wolfe" = 3456x2304 pixels
    • "View of the 'Herengracht' ('Gentleman's Canal')" = 1239x939 pixels
    • "The Fall of Fortress Kolberg to Russian Troops" = 2206x1385 pixels
    • "The Battle of Trafalgar" = 5317x3048 pixels
    • "The Battle of Scheveningen" = 1280x784 pixels
    • "Declaration of Independence" = 3000x1970 pixels


    That is why my loading screens work so well; they can be used on any type of screen configuration, without the need to fear pixelation or loss of detail. It was tricky finding these high quality images, but they work best, that's for sure.

    Keep looking though! Always helps to have a second pair of eyes out there!

    @ TheJian: I'm afraid I'm going to have to let you down with regards to the period portraits as well: unfortunately there's very little quality artwork depicting Ottoman, Arabic and Indian leaders, so it's going to be extremely difficult to rework those graphics. I've found quite a few paintings of Native Americans though, so I think I'll make a first pass at those to see how they turn out.. For the other groups, I highly doubt I can make anything either. If however, you know of a place where I can find good art for the groups I mentioned.. It doesn't have to depict any of the actual leaders and it doesn't even have to be art from the period itself: as long as someone can help me find portraits of people from those regions, I'll be very happy!

    @ Johan217: Haha, don't give up yet.. There's still hope!

    Period Portrait Update Right, so you may be wondering what I've been up to lately.. Well, as a matter of fact, I've been going through the portrait files, trying to replace all the Western-European faction leaders and generals that are in-game when you start a Grand Campaign!

    It was a bit tricky, and I haven't replaced the graphics for any of the generals of the minor nations (Portugal, the smaller German states, Denmark, Italian states, etc.), but the majority of the work is done. Each major faction now has a unique faction leader graphic (which I'll show off at a later date) and each major faction now has unique (and, where possible, historically accurate) graphics for their generals as well. The only two factions that had no portrait art for generals online were Spain and the Netherlands (the latter of which I'm a little shocked by personally, since our museums seem to be putting their collections online in huge volumes lately).

    In any case, I've tried to make the portraits as historically accurate as possible. If I couldn't find any good graphics, I tried to find a replacement 'sitter', who looked somewhat similar to the original individual, or the cultural group that the nation belonged to. For instance, it was very difficult finding good art for the three Polish generals you start out with, but with a little help from Wikipedia, they've been replaced with one actual historical portrait and two portraits of Polish noblemen from the period, so it's still 'within the historical spirit' if you will.

    Feel free to take a look at these screenshots and let me know what you think!

    NOTE: While I was testing to see how the graphics had turned out, I noticed that my original artwork for Philippe de Vaudreuil (French general and governor of New France) had been replaced by the artwork that I made for the 'older' Leopold von Anhalt-Dessau. Turns out these two characters share the same art, so one of the two had to go.. Vaudreuil's portrait wasn't that good, so I prefer it the way it is now, although it's not ideal to say the least.. So, for those of you interested, you can see what "Der Alte Dessauer" will look like when he's 'older' if you compare the French and Prussian overview screens with one another..
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 















    Under the patronage of his Estonian Eminence Trax

  18. #18
    Hilarion's Avatar Vicarius
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    United States
    Posts
    2,727

    Default Re: Grand Campaign Graphics Overhaul - Realistic City/Farm Graphics, Period Art Loading Screens / Ancillary Graphics (released) and Period Art Character Graphics (WIP)

    Twelve portraits, which may be used as ministers or generals (of course there's a good chance you already have a lot of these):

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

    Unknown
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 


    Marquis de Marigny

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 


    Robert Walpole
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 


    Viscount Bolingbroke
    (two images)
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 


    Marquis de Montcalm

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 


    Lord Chesterfield

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 


    Joseph II

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 



    Charles Fouquet
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 


    Jean-Jacques Duval d'Eprémesnil
    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 


    Duc d'Estrées

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 


    Philippe d'Orleans

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 



    I can change them to a specific size if need be.
    Last edited by Hilarion; March 29, 2010 at 05:08 PM.

  19. #19

    Default Re: Grand Campaign Graphics Overhaul - Realistic City/Farm Graphics, Period Art Loading Screens / Ancillary Graphics (released) and Period Art Character Graphics (WIP)

    Quote Originally Posted by jarnomiedema View Post
    Thanks for the encouraging comments everyone! They're much appreciated!

    @ F@32:
    Actually, Tuca and Yoram777's Portrait Mod is what prompted me to make my own portrait mod really. Not to bash their hard work (and it really is hard work now that I've decided to spend some serious time on it, so a lot of respect to those guys), but I don't like the rectangles, the black and white portraits and the gigantic colour differences between the many images.. Also, from what I know, neither of these two members are still active on the TWCenter forums anymore..
    I fully agree with you about rectangles and inconsistency of art work copies used. But I like it 100x more than plastic a-la Doom 3 model look used in vanilla ETW.

    Quote Originally Posted by Johan217 View Post
    Whoa, I'd given up on ETW and now this comes along! VERY nice work indeed.
    Johan, did you switch to NTW? I keep bringing in things like this mod on top of your baby TROM and even with shortcomings of vanilla ETW I prefer it to NTW.
    Last edited by F@32; March 29, 2010 at 06:40 PM.

  20. #20
    jarnomiedema's Avatar Artifex ad Infinitum
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Amsterdam, The Netherlands
    Posts
    1,366

    Default Re: Grand Campaign Graphics Overhaul - Realistic City/Farm Graphics, Period Art Loading Screens / Ancillary Graphics (released) and Period Art Character Graphics (WIP)

    Thanks for those portraits, VB! I've just used the Unknown sitter and Joseph II as non-historical kings and I intend to use some of those portraits you've provided in that particular role as well. Some very interesting characters among them for sure! (I intended to +rep you, but I need to spread it around a bit more). In any case, thanks a lot for those and you bet you'll be mentioned in the credits..

    For the moment, I have to show you all these; they are the historical leaders of the major nations (and their colonies) with which you can start a Grand Campaign:

    From top to bottom, they are:
    • Peter the Great of Russia
    • Karl XII of Sweden
    • August II of Poland-Lithuania
    • Friedrich I of Prussia
    • William III of Great Britain
    • Carlos II of Spain
    • Leopold I of Austria
    • Louis XIV of France
    • Willem van Oranje of the United Provinces
    • José Sarmiento y Valladares of New Spain
    • M. de Sauvolle of Louisiana
    • Francis Nicholson of the Thirteen Colonies


    The last two are the main generals for Spain and the United Provinces, that I had forgotten to post in my earlier post. They are:
    • Francisco Castillo Fajardo
    • Hendrick van Nassau-Ouwerkerk

    Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 




























    So yeah, I've now started working on the non-historical kings, which is a bit more of a tricky process. This involves judging whether or not a particular portrait has that 'regal' look and can be adapted into the style I've been using so far. At the moment, I think I can make it about halfway there without any problems, but that still leaves roughly fifty sitters that need to be replaced..

    Any help you guys can provide with that will be much appreciated! And, as you could see with Viscount Bolingbroke, I intend to +rep and mention you in the credits if you do!



    Under the patronage of his Estonian Eminence Trax

Page 1 of 11 12345678910 ... LastLast

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •