Knights

[DiM]

bring back the little soldiers

[koontz1973]

bring back the little soldiers

Really?

OK then. Will put them back in.

[koontz1973]

Here you go then DiM. Little knights back on the ramparts.
[bigimg]http://img812.imageshack.us/img812/7725/nkl.png[/bigimg]

[DiM]

good. but place them like you used to. one army in the top half and another in the bottom half. just like the troops on the board will be placed.
and don't forget to add depth and shadowing to the walls to really make them higher than the grass.

[koontz1973]

good. but place them like you used to. one army in the top half and another in the bottom half. just like the troops on the board will be placed.
and don't forget to add depth and shadowing to the walls to really make them higher than the grass.

So you would rather see the red at the top and green at the bottom?
I took the shadow of the wall as it became the border only. But if you want it back, back it can go.
Will get them done first thing. Thanks DiM.

Anything else as I will do it in the morning now?

[DiM]

good. but place them like you used to. one army in the top half and another in the bottom half. just like the troops on the board will be placed.
and don't forget to add depth and shadowing to the walls to really make them higher than the grass.

So you would rather see the red at the top and green at the bottom?
I took the shadow of the wall as it became the border only. But if you want it back, back it can go.
Will get them done first thing. Thanks DiM.

Anything else as I will do it in the morning now?

it's not just about the shadow of the wall. it also has to have volume and depth.
the grass is the lowest point. then the walkway on the walls is at a higher point and then the little ramparts (i think) are the highest point.
so the ramparts drop a shadow on the walkway and the whole wall drops a shadow on the grass.

you have the layered file so you could do this better. i just did the ramparts in bulk as i did not have time to do it individually.

your image which looks flat ..................................... my image with more bevel and depth.
.....

[Victor Sullivan]

I like the smaller map However, I sort of miss the old title. The one you have now seems rather lackluster, along with the textured background. And I feel the lines that designate the bonuses seem, for lack of a better word, out-of-place. I wonder if you could remedy many of these things by bringing the shield concept back and incorporating it into the new title and using them to mark the bonus squares? And for the background, maybe try a more grassy-looking texture? Also, I'd like to see the chess board without all of the black outlines. I think it may look better that way.

Just some thoughts. Not sure what all has been discussed.

-Sully

[isaiah40]

bring back the little knights

Fixed!

[koontz1973]

Added the knights as DiM wished. Sorted the pathway out. Used the title shields as the bonus areas. Looks OK Sully, the grass as you call it is a manured lawn and looks OK. The title stays as is now. No room to use the old title in the space given but it fit the old style when it was a mid 90's computer game. Now that the stone board is in play, it does fit the overall look better. It may not be to every ones liking but I like it as is.
Large.
[bigimg]http://img40.imageshack.us/img40/7725/nkl.png[/bigimg]
Small.
[bigimg]http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/350/nks.png[/bigimg]

[natty dread]

Texture Man to the rescue!

[bigimg]http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/2513/knightx.png[/bigimg]

Anyway, I did a quick something for your grass. What I did was create a layer which I masked on the grass only. On this layer I first used render > plasma, then desaturate > luminosity. Then I applied some HSV noise with values 2, 3, 10, 29 from top to bottom, repeated it a few times, and then set the layer on soft light 50%. Tadah, quickly done, and gives some neat variation to the grass pattern.

[koontz1973]

I did that and did not like it, which is why I went for the flat manicured look. But if people want it then I can turn those layers back on. I just believed that if a nobel/king could afford a large stone chess set, then he could afford a decent lawn.

[koontz1973]

Back on.
Large.
[bigimg]http://img718.imageshack.us/img718/7725/nkl.png[/bigimg]
Small.
[bigimg]http://img838.imageshack.us/img838/350/nks.png[/bigimg]

[Victor Sullivan]

good. but place them like you used to. one army in the top half and another in the bottom half. just like the troops on the board will be placed.
and don't forget to add depth and shadowing to the walls to really make them higher than the grass.

So you would rather see the red at the top and green at the bottom?
I took the shadow of the wall as it became the border only. But if you want it back, back it can go.
Will get them done first thing. Thanks DiM.

Anything else as I will do it in the morning now?

it's not just about the shadow of the wall. it also has to have volume and depth.
the grass is the lowest point. then the walkway on the walls is at a higher point and then the little ramparts (i think) are the highest point.
so the ramparts drop a shadow on the walkway and the whole wall drops a shadow on the grass.

you have the layered file so you could do this better. i just did the ramparts in bulk as i did not have time to do it individually.

your image which looks flat ..................................... my image with more bevel and depth.
.....

QFT

-Sully

[koontz1973]

Not sure what QFT means Sully but those have been removed for a couple of versions.
Added some noise to the shields.
White glow around the legend shields.
Placed the mini knights into better positions.
Here is what I hope to be the last one before the mods get there say.
Added the 888s to these ones for you gimil.
[bigimg]http://img593.imageshack.us/img593/7725/nkl.png[/bigimg]

[natty dread]

Why did you remove the ramparts?

[koontz1973]

When looking at the image, I asked myself, why would a garden have stone pillars around the inside of the path. The wall on the outside I could understand as gardens used to be walled of but the pillars/stone stumps suggested to me that a roof was needed. I made a break in the outside wall for the entrance but was unsure if it looked better. In the end, I left the outside wall as a whole (a small wall can be climbed over) but can find some sort of gate to fit in.

[natty dread]

When looking at the image, I asked myself, why would a garden have stone pillars around the inside of the path.

Why would a garden have a giant chessboard?

[zimmah]

QFT = Quoted for Truth. it's usued to bring back a discussion about a post that may otherwise been looked over, agreeing with the quoted post.

[koontz1973]

When looking at the image, I asked myself, why would a garden have stone pillars around the inside of the path.

Why would a garden have a giant chessboard?

To play chess in off course.

[koontz1973]

Thanks zimmah, had not missed it. Been discussed.

[Victor Sullivan]

Thanks zimmah, had not missed it. Been discussed.

You want to go with your flatter version?

-Sully

[natty dread]

When looking at the image, I asked myself, why would a garden have stone pillars around the inside of the path.

Why would a garden have a giant chessboard?

To play chess in off course.

Right, maybe I'm not making my point very clear...

Why would a garden have a stone wall with a bunch of knights hanging out on it? What gardens do have is flowers or vegetables and old ladies in flowery dresses tending on them... To me, what you have is more like a castle yard, and it would make perfect sense to have ramparts on the wall. Maybe it doesn't make that much sense to have the ramparts on the inside, but I think it's an acceptable break from reality if it looks better that way.

[koontz1973]

Thanks zimmah, had not missed it. Been discussed.

You want to go with your flatter version?

-Sully

If you look at what DiM was asking, they had been taken out, so it is a moot point, but read the next post.

[koontz1973]

When looking at the image, I asked myself, why would a garden have stone pillars around the inside of the path.

Why would a garden have a giant chessboard?

To play chess in off course.

Right, maybe I'm not making my point very clear...

Why would a garden have a stone wall with a bunch of knights hanging out on it? What gardens do have is flowers or vegetables and old ladies in flowery dresses tending on them... To me, what you have is more like a castle yard, and it would make perfect sense to have ramparts on the wall. Maybe it doesn't make that much sense to have the ramparts on the inside, but I think it's an acceptable break from reality if it looks better that way.

I see what you mean. Will bung them back in.

[koontz1973]

Added some height. Just worked on the big for the moment.
[bigimg]http://img820.imageshack.us/img820/9178/nklw.png[/bigimg]