Since I suppose you need MULTIPLE installments of a series comparing weekly progress of a game...here's week #2 of 'Best GalCiv2 Week Ever'!

The last few months we've been busy getting a playable version for Brad that could be taken on a "Media Preview Blitz" at the end of January.  Since that has date has come and passed (with relative success, judging by the previews generated), we've re-focused on our next milestone: The March Beta. 

Jake and I have made it our goal to create all the available components (weapons, engines, and anything that can be added to a hull in Ship Design mode) by the end of February.  If you count all the phases (Lasers Mark I-IV, for example, is a 4 phase weapon), we have Approximately 90 items to design, model, texture, test and get into the game.  Luckily we had several of these done for the 'Media Tour' build, so its actually more like 70 items, but it's still a daunting task that gives me nightmares...but I'm always up for a challenge!

#5 - The black sheep of the 'Phasor' class of weaponry, the 'Disruptors Mark I-IV' come out on the bottom of the list this week.  This isn't to say that they don't have their redeeming qualities, but out of all the weapons I've done so far, I find these the weakest in design (though the horns are kinda cool - they look very....'Disruptive').

#4 - Now, when I designed the Lasers I took a different approach... Hardy Har Har Har,  I'm a moron    No folks, these are actually the hands I'm working on the for Arcean Alien Model.  I won't lie - I'm fairly inexperienced in 3D Modeling, so I won't say these are great. That aside, however, I'm fairly proud of them - they're decent alien hands that are perfect  for the 2 second you'll probably see them in some random cut scene  

I also like his nails...they're very well groomed for an alien (not to stereotype aliens or anything).

#3 - Here are the actual 'Phasors' of the 'Phasor' class of weapons.  Brad likes to mess with us by making a few weapons that have over 4 phases.  This particular brand of weapon has 8 phases...so designing it to use only 1 texture map, stay under the polygon limit, yet still look unique in each iteration was a fun challenge.  I actually think that last one is EXACTLY at the poly limit, but still, they turned out pretty cool.
 

#2 - Here's the Laser weapons from the Phasor class.  It actually looks a lot cooler in the game...these are just the icons that will be displayed in the game's list boxes.  On this one I figured how to get some nice chips and rust into the texture that look good no matter what colors are used.  It's funny how much a little grunge can make texture look 100% cooler.

And now, for the #1 GalCiv2 image from this week...

- and -

#1 - WHAT?! A TIE?!

Is this possible?!

The top image is the 3 phases of the Plasma Weapon.  This is my favorite thus far, which is ironic, since I thought it was pretty ghastly before getting textured.  I guess it really drives how the fact that textures can make-or-break a low-poly model.  The only problem I have with it at the moment is that, when placed on a ship, the 3rd phase kinda looks like a big blow-dryer...but I don't care, it's still 'tops' in my book! 

The bottom image is actually from the new Planet Details screen that I've been working on with PaulK (well, 'HE'S' been working on...I think I've made 3 graphics for it). 

The current problem that nobody can seem to fix is how odd the improvement icons look on top of the map.  If you have a realistic 'Galactic Bank' image on tile of a realistic 'Planet Surface' image, it's going to end up looking like a Bank that's 10 miles high and the size of Australia. However, we've thrown around other ideas (more graphical icons, overhead versions that look like sprawling cities) but nothing else seems to work...dispite the weirdness of a Bank that looks like it escapes the atmosphere, it still conveys the information the best.

What we've decided is to take the little image of the surface type (Prairie, Desert, Mountians) that sits below the map, and if you build an improvement on it, overlay a more realistic picture of how that improvement could look in that climate.  Now, the image here is just a bunch of shipyards in a field of grass, but it took practically no time to whip up, and still gets the idea across (and even looks kinda cool). I think that once the improvements are designed, it should be pretty easy to make a cool little landscape version of how a district devoted to that Improvement would look.
 

Well, that's is for this week.  Oh, and I promise I'll try to make this a more frequent thing