The CUBE

[ender516]

ORBS! An excellent synonym. Short, and almost entirely lacking in sexual connotation.

[paulk]

ORBS! An excellent synonym. Short, and almost entirely lacking in sexual connotation.

almost? man, you have some dirty fantasy, lol!

[natty dread]

Orbs sounds good to me. It's kinda futuristic, and like ender says, it cannot be confused with an euphemism for testicles...

[RedBaron0]

But can be confused with other roundish objects....

Can't wait to see it!

[natty dread]

Ok, before I continue with this, I need some opinions...

IMO the perspective looks better now, the only thing that bothers me is the uniform orbs. Properly, the ones in the front should be slightly larger than the ones in the back... should I make it so?

Here's what I have currently (without legend and all that stuff):

Click image to enlarge.

[gimil]

I still have the same issue with this map I always had. I don't get it. It seems to be making an incredible simple shape incredibly difficult. That said natty_dread's image is instantly easier to navigate compared to the old one so I may keep my eye on the development of this one, and see if it can spark my interest.

The key to making this map work natty_dread is to make the shape as easily navigable to the average player as possible. If you can make it easy on the eyes and the brain you will get further than the last map makers to attempt this.

I wish you luck.

[natty dread]

Thanks gimil, I'll try to follow your advice. Any opinion about the orbs? (see last post)

[gimil]

Thanks gimil, I'll try to follow your advice. Any opinion about the orbs? (see last post)

Alternate sizes for the ones that are closer to the foreground might be a good place to start. However I am not sold on them in general. They just don't sit the way they should, you know what I mean?

[natty dread]

It's probably due to the reduced opacity, eh? That was really just an experiment...

[gimil]

It's probably due to the reduced opacity, eh? That was really just an experiment...

In that case, experiment away until you find something that you like!

[paulk]

That gimil don't like this map is no surprise... he's been against it since the beginning and almost succeeded in killing it.

Anyway, about the orbs. try without opacity and try to reduce them in size as they get into the background.
If you can make the map a PNG against a transparent background I can work with the legend and earth background.
I really liked the colors you had on the previous version, they harmonized perfectly with the dark side of the earth.
And I have to say that I don't like the milky shades you have on the layers, nor the large numbers on the side.

[gimil]

That gimil don't like this map is no surprise... he's been against it since the beginning and almost succeeded in killing it.

I wouldn't take it personally, my opinion is just that, mine.

[natty dread]

Oh damn. Just when I thought this colour scheme would work better with a spacey background... But you're the boss.

Do you like the general look of the orbs though? I was kinda aiming at making them look a bit like silver and gold...

And transparent background - can do, I always use PNG anyway

[gimil]

I put my finger on what is wrong with the orbs. Some of them should have 'bars' that appear in front of them however all the bars are seen through the orbs transparency, Does that make sense?

[natty dread]

I put my finger on what is wrong with the orbs. Some of them should have 'bars' that appear in front of them however all the bars are seen through the orbs transparency, Does that make sense?

That's a good point, when it comes to 3d perspective. Although, I wonder how it would affect the legibility of the army numbers...?

[paulk]

I think what is sought for is kind of the same 3D effect with the bars as in

Click image to enlarge.

Do you see it?

[natty dread]

Yep, I think I see what you mean.

[gimil]

Yep, I think I see what you mean.

For the 3D effect I think the orbs need to be more like this:

[natty dread]

Ok here's the next version.

Click image to enlarge.

Here's the same with transparent bg:

Click image to enlarge.

[gimil]

Excellent mate, taking steps in the right direction!

[natty dread]

Somehow the perspective still seems a bit skewed. I can't quite put my finger on it... 2 possible things come in mind:

a) maybe the 3rd layer of orbs (2nd smallest) should be moved forward just a bit?

b) perhaps the first (largest) orbs are just a bit too large?

[paulk]

the orb in the front is a good size to start from, but the others need to be bigger. you have to consider that you should aim to fit 888 even in the smaller map version.

Can you give me this one again as a transparent PNG, with 3d orbs changing size with the perspective and rods sticking out, but without the 1-4 layer shadows, thanks?

Click image to enlarge.

[natty dread]

the orb in the front is a good size to start from, but the others need to be bigger. you have to consider that you should aim to fit 888 even in the smaller map version.

Yeah, I agree...

Can you give me this one again as a transparent PNG, with 3d orbs changing size with the perspective and rods sticking out, but without the 1-4 layer shadows, thanks?

IMO the layer shadows improve the legibility of the map. Why do you want to get rid of them?

[gimil]

Somehow the perspective still seems a bit skewed. I can't quite put my finger on it... 2 possible things come in mind:

a) maybe the 3rd layer of orbs (2nd smallest) should be moved forward just a bit?

b) perhaps the first (largest) orbs are just a bit too large?

I think the two rows of orbs in the middle are to similar in size while the front and back seen to be noticeable bigger/smaller.

[paulk]

like?

Click image to enlarge.