Napoleon Blurred

[spelk]

I've just done a test on the 3Dground100.bmp file, from Campaign 1814, to see if I could tidy it up somewhat.

I think one of the problems with the graphics is that the background is grainy and a lot of the tiny unit details just seem to "mash into" it, and make my old man's eyes bleed.

I loaded the file into Photoshop and have applied a simple Blur filter to it (well just the terrain hexes).

Original	Blurred

For eye comfort, I think it makes a huge difference - the unit's stand out a lot more from the background.

Opinions?

[besilarius]

Spelk, that is really much better.  My eyes aren't so good anymore, so this is a noticeable improvement.
As the gaming community from the dawn of Avalon Hill and Spi ages, a new hot topic may be coloration.
As people's eyes age, my eye doctor tells me that it is normal to develop a yellow tinge on the surface of the eye.
This means that images, especially yellow images, are seen very differently.  In some cases, the yellow in an image may not be recognized at all.

[spelk]

Its' funny how theres no more detail to the very pixellated unit images, but the blurred terrain background, seems to make the unit images a lot more clearer and their details come to the forefront.

I don't fancy having to adjust all Tillersoft's stuff for the eye yellowing of old age though ;)

I'm a diabetic, so I'm worried what's in store for my eyes in the long run anyway... whether I'll be able to see at all is always a question in the front of my mind.

[Rayfer]

The positive change is strikingly apparent....it begs the question; why doesn't HPS/Tiller use this to enhance all their products, new and old?

[LongBlade]

Yup. No one minds if Tiller's games don't have the latest graphics to melt a video card, but they do need to enter the 21st Century so as not to produce games that are so hard on the eyes.

[spelk]

Anyone who wants the blurred terrain file can get it here:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/j2m3urcaob3d5qc/A82y2jUM2z/3DGround100x.bmp

Just put it in the Map folder, rename the original, and then knock the 'x' off the file name. The blurring and saving process has made the file about 4Mb as opposed to the original 1.5Mb, dunno whether this will impact on performance, or whether the file could be jiggied back down to a smaller footprint.

[Nefaro]

The units stand out so much better!

I'd say the reason I don't play those old ones much is because it's such a pain in the ass to locate all those tiny little units blended in with the background.  The colored bases are only marginally helpful.

Although that blur may be a bit much for my taste.

[Bison]

I didn't think you were getting Campaign 1814.

[spelk]

I didn't think you were getting Campaign 1814.

I decided instead of bleating about the graphics, I would buy it and see what could be done about it. More fool me, no doubt.

With the blur on, I can tolerate it.. although I bought Leipzig a while back - so I've gone back to that to start Napoleonic's gently.

[Grim.Reaper]

Anyone who wants the blurred terrain file can get it here:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/j2m3urcaob3d5qc/A82y2jUM2z/3DGround100x.bmp

Just put it in the Map folder, rename the original, and then knock the 'x' off the file name. The blurring and saving process has made the file about 4Mb as opposed to the original 1.5Mb, dunno whether this will impact on performance, or whether the file could be jiggied back down to a smaller footprint.

Does this only work with the Napoleon game or all of the HPS games like the Civil War series?

[spelk]

Does this only work with the Napoleon game or all of the HPS games like the Civil War series?

I can only vouch for it working with Campaign Leipzig and Campaign 1814. You could try it on the HPS Napoleonic games, just not sure whether they use the same format/coloured terrain levels. I think the further away from the JTS Nap games you get, ie. ACW, the less likely it is to work, but you could try it.

[spelk]

I've checked John Tillers Battleground Napoleonic Wars game, and the map for Waterloo is a 33Mb giant BMP file, no terrain tiles, just a single hex map all in one go.. not sure blurring that would look very good to be honest. Similar setup for Battleground American Civil War too.

The unit icons look to be even smaller than the JTS ones.

Interestingly enough, the 3DMud100.bmp, from the Map directory for Panzer Campaigns: Kharkov '43 (and Normandy '44) looks to be a very similar to the 3Dground100.bmp employed in Leipzig and 1814, so I'll wager the blurring effect would work on the 3d terrain for PzC games also!

[spelk]

Here's the Battleground Napoleon series in 800x600

[Toonces]

Spelk,
I don't play that game, but those new tiles you did look very good.

[Nefaro]

I've been trying to get my hands on the BG visual mods posted here http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=2340452&mpage=1&key=&#3103118  but the old wargamer d/l is gone and whomever created them (or has them) hasn't been around.

Damn those red 'X's!