Eye-Candy Tips

From AgeofWiki

Introduction

'Eye-Candy' is probably the second most important aspect of a scenario (the most important being gameplay). Not only does it help prevent a player's boredom, it is actually the most fun part of making a scenario. However, few are expert in the skill of 'Eye-Candying' and many maps are dangerously low on the good stuff. But you have also got to bear in mind that if you overload on 'Eye-Candy', many computers may not be able to handle it and the game will crash. It may also prove too much of a distraction from the main gameplay, so a quick word of advice - use more on the less exciting areas and less on the more exciting areas, if that makes sense. This evens it out to be a very enjoyable experience for the player.

Using 'Eye-Candy'

You will, obviously, be putting small bits of scenery in as you build the map but nothing breathtaking; You should only be starting to think about using large amounts of 'Eye-Candy' when you feel that everything technical is working (e.g. triggers are complete and bug-less, units are all in place etc.). And as I've said earlier, remember to put the major bits of 'Eye-Candy' in on the more boring bits, otherwise if you have lots of triggers happening among with endless hordes of trees and rocks and grass and useless junk that you just put in for the hell of it, not only will some PCs crash, it will feel cluttered and claustrophobic. Not good for promoting your scenario. It is recommended you don't use excessive eyecandy in multiplayer scenarios, as it causes lag. Also when it is rushed or clotted it does not look good.

When you do forests you could try putting things under the trees like little spots of grass and bushes or the occasional "rotting log". I like to make 2 big cities and the have wars with them, so of course the cities need somewhere to get resources from so i usually have a little farming area which has paddocks for cows, goats, and pigs. Instead of just having the plain old wooden fence by itself, i put clumps of grass, flowers and small bushes and some parts of the base. You can do this with any building to make it look like it has been there for ages, not just plonked in there a few minutes ago.

Environmental Info - Starting the Practicals

The easy way is obvious - paint snowy terrain for a winter wonderland, a mass on sand for a desert plain, a muddy floor for a forest. However, if you try that, does that look anywhere near as good as it could? I'm not going to even wait for the answer. Now, lets follow the forest example. I'm imagining the woods near where I live. I'm sure you could imagine it too if I told you what they were like...

But no - this tutorial is about getting the player to believe the environment, so I'm going to get you to make it yourself (with a little help from yours truly, of course.

To be continued...