GR#216 - Wheat Field - Scenery, Gameart

[jahasaja]

I was waiting for somebody to point out the historical inaccuracy and then I get 3 in a row. 

Now I kind of like the yellow. I hope there is some kind of yellow crop in the middle ages that was planted like this. 

Mathis:

"Ehhhh I say - why get all technical. Just do what looks cool and fits into the environment."

If I am hearing you correctly you think I can keep it as it is?

The Windmills are animated as are the trees and the front grass, I will try to do some wind coding so they move in unison with wind gusts.

[Mathias]

Yes.
I'm sure you're better off focusing on more important things anyway. Don't get too caught up in polish when your game is still rough.

A comment on the windmills, though - windmills grind, right? Inside the structure, there's a turning, grinding mechanism powered by wind.
What are your windmills doing, since stationed out in the middle of a crop/field? Besides decorating the background of course . . .

[jahasaja]

Well i want to answer you with your own quote. " why get all technical" . But as we all can see in this thread: I did not think it through: first it was wheat then it was hay and now i do not even know what it is.. but I like the current style and the wind gust idea is working quite good.

However, They should be in the open i guess to catch as much wind as possible. And i guess there is a road between the elevated areas of the crops that we cannot see.

[Fizzick]

If you're going for britain, a heavily farmed area like this would be in the north where there are lots of sheep. I recommend adding crisscrossing stone walls as a further detail.
http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2012/8/7/1344337886962/Yorkshire-010.jpg
Take a reference of beautiful Yorkshire. 

[Mathias]

Well i want to answer you with your own quote. " why get all technical" .

Your call. It's your project.
In my opinion, whether you want your background fields to be hay or actual harvest crops doesn't matter. Either makes sense.
But - tiny windmills the size of saplings which don't serve any apparent purpose other than background ambience, located in the middle of crop rows, situated in a medieval scene, is . . . a little too much for me.
Maybe they're housing wind turbines, storing up wind-power generated electricity, in order to serve as battery backups for the local village power grid when there's a black-out.
Plot twist: the character you control is actually a contestant in a deadly game show where the goal is to make it to the end and collect a million dollars. The year is really 2014.

[jahasaja]

I hope I did not sound rude mathias  I very much value your opinion.

I am not sure what you mean though. Windmills have been around since  the antiquity. at that time they did not produce electricty but  instead was used for milling grain which it is why it is quite common to see them out on the fields. That is also why i thought it was appropriate to know which crop was on the field.(http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_wind_power)

[rikfuzz]

I think his concern is that they're too small to be windmills, and shouldn't be right in the middle of the field, but beyond its border.  I don't know much about windmills or agricultural history, so I could be wrong, but it certainly looks too small and weirdly positioned to me. 

[Mathias]

rikfuzz is right.



Hehe nah, it's all good.
Keep in mind, these are all just opinions. Everyone thinks a bit differently.
What's most important is what you think. You're the one making this project happen. We're just spectators.

. . .
I am not sure what you mean though.
. . .

Right - windmills are very old. They look great. I highly approve of your choice to use them.
But what I'm saying is - the way you're using them seems odd.
I don't think they would be located in the middle of a crop. Cargo wagons and such would need to come and go from each mill. Right now, it just looks like the workers, wagons, mules, etc needed to process the grain would wreck the crops, since I don't see any roads or evidence of any sort of production equipment anywhere nearby. It's approaching dream logic . . . ya know, like something surreal. That's all.
Maybe I'm overanalyzing. You decide.

___


Buuuuuut this thread is supposed to about "Wheat fields (need help with texture)" so, on-topic:
Your bg fields are interesting.
Awfully hilly, though. It appears that there are large rolling ridges of earth, high crests and deep troughs. Rather bizarre topography. BUT, it has character and it's catchy looking.
I recall your issues with perspective, working on the log cabin building in a different thread. I'm afraid you're exhibiting the same loose grip on perspective drawing here again.

Refer to Fizzick's Yorkshire shot. I think it's perfect:

Look at them green fields! So nice . . .

Question is - what degree of realism are you targeting? Is this super real, gritty, true-to-life artwork, or does it make some cartoonish exceptions?

You'll never please everyone.

Do what you think works the best.

[jahasaja]

I set out on a quest to please everybody. However, after 3 different versions I came to terms with the fact that I cannot make stone walls even if my life depended on it.

instead I just moved the wind mills further away in order to make the perspective look better.

Anyway, except for an animated bird and clouds (I hate clouds) I think I am done with this level now. (and I feel slightly defeated by the power of stone walls)