For some time, I play with following idea:
to use four rotations for four various faces of one factory
Once four rotations are allowed, this option is relatively stupidly used for four rotations of the same factory - but creation of four rotations is (and some factories proved it, for example new electronics factory for pak128 (http://sourceforge.net/p/simutrans/code/HEAD/tree/pak128/factories/src/electronics_source.png)) not so easy as it would seem, in case of using of pixelart (or combining of vector editors with GIMP or so) instead Blender, SketchUp or so.
Against it, my idea would lead to diversity of factories - and make game a bit more interesting.
Of course, this my idea is very usable only for few types of factories, where it would the best results, for example fish ponds or mines. And of course, I know that area area covered by factory must be the same - but still ...
Your idea is not bad but not necessary to achieve diversity in industries'graphics (or anything else). Several industries can be used for the same purpose (for instance, there are three different coal mines in pak128), therefore one can bring diversity by creating several different industries. Moreover, using your idea would lead to an inconsistency when rotating the map, the industries would completely change face, eventually becoming hard to recognize.
I think that four-rotations capabilities must be used only to make four orientations on the same building, even with only small details changing, and nothing else.
One more problem : most industries spawn in the middle of lands, there is nothing to make them take different rotations, so mostly one face of industries would be seen, and the three others very rarely.
Quote from: gauthier on October 14, 2014, 08:26:34 PM
Moreover, using your idea would lead to an inconsistency when rotating the map, the industries would completely change face, eventually becoming hard to recognize.
Oh no ... I am fool ... I forgot on rotation of map.
No fool - it was a good thought, only dashed by reality quickly. :)
Quote from: Isaac.Eiland-Hall on October 16, 2014, 11:33:02 AM
No fool - it was a good thought, only dashed by reality quickly. :)
I have not rotated map for very long time ...
May be that since sliced view was added.
And before I used it only few times.
Quote from: gauthier on October 14, 2014, 08:26:34 PM
Your idea is not bad but not necessary to achieve diversity in industries'graphics (or anything else). Several industries can be used for the same purpose (for instance, there are three different coal mines in pak128),
I don´t know current situation in pak128 ...
I know that pak128 had one open coal mine and one shaft coal mine - and they appeared in different age (and if I am not wrong, both stayed in game for ever after).
But else factories had (or have) only one piece for some ages - and even if there is overlap between end of one - and beginning of another ...
So, some time passed and it is possible to test the first building that has four faces for four rotations - even if I used Gauthier's advice to don't do that faces of building fully different.
Recently I made department store for pak96.comic that uses this model. If you would pay attention to faces of that building, you would see that basic shape is the same - but windows' lighting at night and decoration upon door does not correspond to rotation of building.
(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-ZoTgOX26Btc/VH2TNVM6Q_I/AAAAAAAAC1A/Ur1VJAz36bk/w1032-h516-no/DepartmentStore_96-uncut_v3.png)
You forgot to rotate the street lamps.
Sent using recycled electrons.
Sorry, but I think for this kind of building, four rotation just does not make a whole lot of sense, since all the rotations look very similar, and you actually have to look twice to see that there are four, not just two. To me there are three main reasons why you would create a four-faced building. One is to rotate your buildings with map rotation, to make the map rotation feel a bit more natural. The second is to always have the entrance face the street. The third applys to city buildings: More diversion.
None of these apply to your building. Map rotation won't feel more natural for one or a few rotating buildings since most of them don't rotate in pak96.comic. Your building has no significant entrance, and two if you look closer, so it does not really matter where the street is. And I don't think you'll see many of this building on one screen, so they don't need to diversify much.
That's not to say you should not use four faces at all, but I think it should be used on buildings which are less square-ish. I'll show with a building of my own:
(http://i39.servimg.com/u/f39/18/49/73/70/tow_co10.gif)
Townhalls are especially affected, since they always come with their own street in front of them. while it's quite easy to see all four rotations are the same building, they all look quite different as well. This is the result of using a rectangle, not a square, and not rotating it at the center, but a bit offset (because of the little plaza in front of it). I think it does a good job on showing how rotations can be utilized, no matter how good the style is in the end. Maybe that's just my opinion and others think differently, though.
An easier way is to use only two rotations, where one is the mirror image of the other. With that, you only need to change the shading, so it's far less tedious, yet quite rewarding in comparison to no rotation at all.
EDIT:
Quote from: Vladki on December 15, 2014, 04:21:05 PM
You forgot to rotate the street lamps.
There is a streetlamp on each corner, so even with rotation they end up at the same position. And the streetlamps themselves have a 90° symmetry as well. So even with rotation, they stay exactly the same.
Quote from: Leartin on December 15, 2014, 04:55:28 PM
... but I think it should be used on buildings which are less square-ish. I'll show with a building of my own:
(http://i39.servimg.com/u/f39/18/49/73/70/tow_co10.gif)
Leartin,
I beg your pardon but it is difference between rotated building like this ?townhall where face of each rotation
only corresponds to direction of rotation - and building where each rotation has else face.
My department store is not the best example of four faced building. You may realize that each face would be created by different building (even if with the same covered area). And that is what Gauthier and Isaac talked about - that it would cause some problems.
So sorry, looking at the first two of your stores made me think you tried to rotate it, since those two actually matched up as a rotation, especially since the stairs actually are rotated.
Still I'm not sure it makes much sense, honestly. They are very similar, so much so that players might not even realize they are different at all. It's true that completely changing the look might confuse players, though. Actual rotation would be the perfect solution to that problem, giving diversity while keeping the building the same, but maybe you are better at thinking outside the box than I am and find a better solution.
Quote from: Leartin on December 15, 2014, 04:55:28 PM
EDIT:There is a streetlamp on each corner, so even with rotation they end up at the same position. And the streetlamps themselves have a 90° symmetry as well. So even with rotation, they stay exactly the same.
AH, now I see it. First time checked on phone and didnt see all the details...
Quote from: Leartin on December 15, 2014, 07:18:09 PM
Still I'm not sure it makes much sense, honestly. They are very similar, so much so that players might not even realize they are different at all.
Yes. They are similar - but they are not the same. This department store is only test for future.
Quote
Actual rotation would be the perfect solution to that problem, giving diversity while keeping the building the same, but maybe you are better at thinking outside the box than I am and find a better solution.
Classic full rotation is not problem. I use it for station extensions, of course.