[Gobias]

The only thing I am not sure about, is the green color. For me it's a little bit too blue.

I have been pretty careful about matching the texture colors to photos I've taken in the region but I do agree perhaps a little bit of correction could be made to get even closer.  I'll run a quick test this weekend with a small reduction in blue-ishness and see how it looks.

It's a tricky color to get right because in full sun it's SOOOO bright green up there in the Alps that if you match exactly to the photos taken it almost looks surreal in the game.  So I've tried to find the right balance between getting the colors to match accurately but not being too extreme in the game.  The pic below I took last September in Lauterbrunnen is a good example.  Stunningly bright green grass.  The other factor is that a lot of models, esp trees, start to look too dark against the brighter grass.  So I think I've found a pretty good balance that works but I'll see about taking the blue down a tiny bit and see what happens.  Changing the base textures I think went a long way to helping blend in with the rest of the game objects.

Meanwhile if anyone out there feels like BATing up a nice Swiss Chalet?     

[Gobias]

Just wanted to post a quick update.  Last few details are taking a little longer than expected but in the end what I'm doing today should give the player a little more flexibility.  I'm also fine-tuning a few things.

- Readme is done
- Maxis-Night properties are complete
- Made an optional "No Snow" INI for users who want to have only rocky terrain at high-alt
- Made an optional "No Glacier" INI if you simply don't want to use that texture
- Made a Hi and Low altitude plugin since I'm modelling the Hi (true-to-region) using Nichter's Bernese Oberland map (STEX) which is a lot more mountainous than most maps users will probably play with.  The low-altitude plugin will bring the 32 rows of texture distribution down considerably so that the rocky/snowy textures will still display on less mountainous maps of that's what you're using.
- Also slightly reduced the brightness on the water textures a little bit to match to the region.  I know I'm getting picky here but might as well do it before release.

Also to the Girafe:  I dialed down the "blue" on the textures by a small amount and I agree it's a good improvement.  I don't have an in-game image to show but the final product will include the adjustment.  Now I'll go back and make the same adjustments to the base-texture replacements.

After I adjust the base textures I've just got one more pass on a texture that's bugging me, then to write the installer.  Might push me into next weekend... we'll see how it goes.

[Girafe]

Wait for testing this new terrain mod 

[JayStimson]

I like the grass color the way it is although it needs a bit of texture. You could try muting the color a bit and see if you like the color better.
The work with the snow however looks great. Looking forward to seeing more.

[Gobias]

I feel like Lt. Columbo here... "one more thing"... but I truly am extremely close to being done.  Still have a few small details to experiment with and it'll be ready to go but believe me the last week or so I've spent perfecting little things will really pay dividends.  I don't like giving ETAs but I've got a 5 day weekend starting today so should, barring disaster, be enough time to have it up for the scrutineers by the end of this coming Sunday.  Plus it's stunningly hot outside and I'm not much feeling like going outdoors.

JayStimson:  no need to worry, the color adjustment is very very slight and, yes, I do think it was a good change, not just doing it per the request of others if it isn't merited.  But I'm perfectly happy taking suggestions from the community and trying them out.  In this case the end-game here is to get as close as possible to real-world region color palette.  Regarding your suggestion of more detail in the grass... a few things to say about that.  I also tested upping the grass detail and made a few improvements in this regard.  However ultimately my textures have round-about the same level of detail in them as the Appalachian.  The difference is the tiling factor where the Appalachian (using a .04) basically zooms in on it's textures twice as close as my mod (using a .09).  The effect of this, in my opinion, can create an over-abundance of detail especially in grass which can look "messy" if I over-do it.  I try and balance realism (where you would see very little detail in further zooms hovering thousands of feet over the ground) with a good look for the game and IMO the best way to do that is to create detailed textures but ease back on the tiling factor so that it really looks like you're viewpoint is far enough above the terrain.

Epicblunder:  Yes, by all means more Alpine maps could never be a bad thing!  I'd also recommend the Bernese Oberland map on the STEX (nichter85's) which is the map I'm using to customize the details of this mod.  When using the "Authentic" settings on my mod (equivalent to high-altitude plugin) the snow cap and rock levels should match the real terrain very closely.  It's also a great map to play on with level areas for city building, two large lakes (Thun and Brienz) and a very impressive array of mountains to bring out the details of the mod.

Ok - so back to work for me. 

Cheers,
Daniel

[Gobias]

Oh and a quick region-view teaser...  the lovely Jungfrau, Monch and Eiger before the valleys of Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen.

[whatevermind]

Wow, getting caught up, and you've done a lot while I've been away, so some of my comments have already been addressed, but anyway.

I agree about the option of the shadows effect - some will mind the tearing, some won't - but I agree the dramatic lighting is something that some will really appreciate.  If this option works as a standalone file (ie with other terrain mods) even better (though I wouldn't worry if it doesn't).

The snow melts on one side of the valley but not the other.  And in some areas, steeper valleys, it's hard to get rid of it altogether and it lingers in depressions in the terrain.  Because the game doesn't know it's snow - it's just moisture.

While I can see this being annoying in game, it is very true to life.  Snow does indeed melt on one side and not the other, and sometimes lingers for months in sheltered areas.

I like the idea of doing the Maxis texture replacements - it's something that can really mess with the look of a terrain mod, and it looks like your solution takes care of this.

Love the pictures from your 6/24 post, looks like something out of National Geographic or a travel magazine, especially the last one..."here the lonely mountain antelope gazes out over the barren valley at sunset."  I too would be interested in seeing more of that (or similar) street mod if you become interested in developing that for release.  I don't currently use SAM, but something that just overrode the Maxis streets to spruce them up a little would catch my interest.

And, as it seems to already be decided, I definitely support you going for release and getting this beauty on the LEX.  Excellent work in developing a beautiful terrain mod and experimenting and pushing the boundaries of what we can do with this game.  Good job!

[Gobias]

Ugh.  See that's why I shouldn't predict ETAs... other life stuff caught up to me this weekend.  Still got about 80% done of what I intended but need one or two more sessions to finish.  Apologies for inching my way to the finish-line but I'd rather get it done right than rush the end.  Hoping to finish mid-week or worst case early next weekend.

[HappyDays]

Stop giving time tables. <_<

Now you'll get run over by llamas or something.

[noahclem]

Stop giving time tables. <_<

Now you'll get run over by llamas or something.

I agree (especially about the llamas). But seriously, there's no reason to trouble yourself over days, weeks, or even months for a creation certain to be enjoyed over a period of years. Tweaking is looking great and you're really doing something spectacular here.

[Gobias]

Hey folks - pleased to announce that the mod itself is done.  Spent this morning testing the optional plugins.  Just need to see about writing an installer and make a few quick changes to the readme I already put together to account for some adjustments I made in the last 2 weeks.  I've never written an NSIS installer before and this might get a little complicated since the mod has several optional components.  But we'll give it a go... sorry for the recent delays.  Some unexpected health issues in the family requiring attention the last few weeks.  I'd have preferred it to have been llamas.     But all will be well (or as well as it can be).  Still have a bit of that going on this weekend but will update as soon as the files are available.  Shouldn't be too long if the installer cooperates.

Cheers,
Daniel

[Gobias]

All done.  Started a LEX candidacy thread and link has been PM'd to the moderator.  That NSIS installer was a nasty bit of business as there were dozens of different combinations of install options to account for.  Gotta thank Lowkee on that one since he had a copy of an NSIS script file attached to one of his threads... served as a very useful guide once I dissected it.

[Girafe]

Looks promising, can't wait to test it

[vortext]

Hadn't checked in here for a while, the region shot looks spectacular. 

On a sidenote, is this the first in a series of terrain mods as stated in one of your earliest posts? Or are you done making terrain controllers? Either way, I'm looking forward to the Berner Oberland mod being available. 

[art128]

Fantastic work on your terrain mod. It's really looking great. I might even give it a try.

[Gobias]

On a sidenote, is this the first in a series of terrain mods as stated in one of your earliest posts? Or are you done making terrain controllers? Either way, I'm looking forward to the Berner Oberland mod being available. 

Still planning to continue with the series but of course I'll see what the reception is once this first mod hits the LEX.  If there's still interest in the others I'll likely continue but not sure which style would be up next.

I may take a little break to clean up a few other smaller cosmetic mods for release.  In particular I have a few sidewalk and retaining wall mods that are pretty simple enough and might be useful in European cities.  I might also do a series of water mods for different locales first.  And, who knows, maybe something with the street textures as has been requested?

But I'm quite certain I'll take a stab at more terrain; just not sure in what order.  When I do I'll likely try and get a lot of behind the scenes work done first with textures before announcing anything so that I don't hit too many roadblocks like I did at the tail-end of this recent stretch.

[Gobias]

So while I await critique on the Berner Oberland mod I thought I'd go ahead and do a little proof-of-concept on a new terrain.  Planning on doing something Highlands/Icelandic (both landscapes share similar palettes) and I think I'll focus in on Iceland being the target area there.

These are just temporary textures (using a few Swiss textures; just the least-zoom) but are re-graded to test the color palette and I quickly sketched up a new INI to blend in a little more rock and dirt than the Oberland.  Still not totally sure that this will be the next project but wanted to see how the test would look.  The result:

[Gobias]

Just to update on the status of the Berner Oberland mod.  It was finished mid-July but mods had some issues getting it on the private LEX; perhaps file size but not sure why.  I finally got around to splitting the file up today into separate texture packs and main mod so we'll see if that solves the problem.  Re-sent the split files to the mods today.

Sorry for the delay - August was unkind to me and time just flew right by.

[noahclem]

That's great to hear! You're really creating something fantastic here. The last picture is particularly beautiful, btw 

[art128]

Your terrain works really are amazing. You did an excellent job with this terrain mod so far. I wish you good luck with the next steps.