Earendel
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Feeling Blue
🕑 Added 2024-04-15 23:17:47 +0000 UTCThe last month has been a really sad and difficult time for me. I don’t want to go into details, it’s just to say that I didn’t get as much done this last month as usual.
On to what I did get done: Blue terrain experiments.
Rich blue environments can be difficult, especially if it’s supposed to be semi-realistic or at least plausible. A saturated blue terrain can look very cartoonish. It’s especially difficult to make it look right in Factorio, which leans towards orange tones.
Desaturating it helps but that should be more of a last resort because it can start to look cold and sad if the vibrance is removed.
Mixing in layers of other vegetation colours is an easy fix, but it also masks underlying problems if you start that way.
Ideally the blue terrain would look good even if it’s all blue. That’s the real test. If the terrain can look good even when it’s in the most bare, single-hue, uncluttered form, then you know that you’ve got a solid foundation of assets.
That’s one of the reasons you see me focus on very restricted colour palettes so much. It’s one of the most revealing test cases.
Another reason is that restricted colour palettes can give a very pure and iconic look to a terrain. This is nice a lot of the time, but shouldn’t be done all the time.
If you add too many colours you can end up with the rainbow terrain effect, which can look nice on occasion (like tundra vegetation), but then it’s harder to make distinct from other rainbow terrain.
In contrast, if you start with a blue base terrain, you can still get a wide range of different looking terrains by adding different secondary colours.
As a general rule, I find it best to start with a very restricted palette, get it working well enough with that restriction, and then gradually add move variation until you get the right look for the area.
In this example, I’ve gone for primarily purplish blue terrain, with more cyan as the vegetation gets drier.
This image is also a nice example of new decoratives from different methods:
The first and easiest is the old land coral decorative from earlier versions of Factorio. They look a bit like tiny leafless trees. In the original they were green, but here they are cyan and are half the size.
The second is a plant that ended up looking a little bit like blue kale with light grey edges (mostly on the right side of the images). These were designed very intentionally with a specific shape and texture in mind, something to contrast with the other shapes that will usually be in these sorts of regions.
The third is the decorative with circular shapes of cyan with brown cracks between them, mainly on the edge of the dried river bed. This one came into being because I was drawing the base layer for some cracked earth, and thought it would look interesting if there was some lichen or slime mould that colonised each plate of earth. It ended up like some sort of “crustose” lichen, which wasn't originally planned, but that’s just how it goes sometimes, nature got there first.
There are other new decoratives in the picture too, but I wanted to focus on these 3 because they illustrate 3 very different ways of getting to new decoratives: Remixing existing stuff. Designing with clear intent. And last but not least, designing by exploration and discovery.
Comments
andrej schorno
for sure, factorio SE help me with my ptsd in many ways
PonSquared
Ear, my F:SA Bro, all is well. Take the time you need. I am so happy with your work that you are the only person I still fund on Patron. Of course I want to get the next update, but I am willing to pay for waiting for it, and happy to do so. I understand that you stress about your customers getting value for their money they are investing in you. Its only natural to feel that way as an honest person trying to do the right thing. I am completely confident that as a group, we all understand that this takes time and we will continue to support you. Look at what you have done so far! You launched the de-facto Factorio post vanilla experience (A hill I am willing to die on), your mod is so good that it got you hired by the company that makes Factorio. and now not only are you the company spokesperson but also their next expansion is YOUR mod. Its just mindboggling, your trajectory. So yeah, no problem with waiting for the next update be it soon of far away but goodness its looks to be something truly mind-blowing when it comes out! If you are worried about your patrons, don't be. We're here for you. If you still worry, then drop a landscape image or a cool bit of art from the next update every week or so with a one sentence explanation or just a title. You don't need to do much to keep your fans foaming at the mouth. And let me tell you F:SA Bro, the map terrain image you just posted looks like it comes from a different game and boy, let me tell you, that is a FANTASTIC COMPLIMENT! Argh, cant wait to play v07!! ⚙️⚙️⚙️🌍⚙️⚙️⚙️⚙️💖🌿💖⚙️⚙️⚙️⚙️🌎⚙️⚙️⚙️
Mark Krueger
Sorry for your difficult times. Your art has helped me when I needed an escape from my own difficulties. You are greatly appreciated. Hope things improve and your days brighten.
Matthew Piziak
Hope you have brighter times ahead, Earendel!
Locane
Hey, I'm sorry to hear about your tough times. I had similar things going on myself, so you're not alone, and I totally understand and empathize with not wanting to talk about it. I hope things improve for you soon 👍
Edmund Horner
My first thought was this is nice enough to use as my desktop background. Reminds me of a William Morris wallpaper with the well-balanced colours.
Peter Kagstrom
Glad you're here! Sad to hear it's been tough for you, and hope you feel the invisible support through the wire... We appreciate all you do and the art you add
