I'm (slowly) in the process of updating EECH Central to add a lot more explanations of how to work with the modding tools. There's a lot of knowledge floating around out there, but there's not enough at EECH Central yet and I know Firebird, dfang, Banita, etc. don't want to be pestered by newcomers like me forever. WinkNGrin

However, I'd also like to put up a short, general guide for art content--particularly for people who are new to creating game art. 10 years in the PC & console game industry taught me a few things that might be helpful to the newer folks. Please consider and feel free to disagree. I only want to post something if it actually helps and encourages people to contribute:.

Quote:
1. Start with real-world references (photo/video) when you make new game art.

Include them when you make forum posts with your art. That way we focus on adding realism to the game instead of something pretty but not realistic. (It's a sim after all).

2. Try to keep poly counts and texture sizes close to the original game unless you have a great reason not to.

It's very easy to bring a game engine to its knees with art changes that:

a) Introduce a lot of new polys or texture size
b) ...But are only noticeable in the game if you're looking at close-up screenshots!

Eventually we stop being able to make improvements because we've "run out of" FPS! Yes, that's bad. And no, you're not immune to it because you have newer hardware.

#1 is easy to do. #2 is much harder without experience (e.g. the terrain changes were a good violation of #2). I am available to send art files to if you want suggestions for how to make them more efficient. But good mods have gone wrong violating these principles. Falcon--great as it is--has had many problems with #2. (And, yes, I've already violated #1 and will fix that. scuse_me)

Anyway, let me know if you think it's helpful guidance.
-Olds