On the new graphics

[SpaceRocket]

I have not downloaded the newest update of COLOBOT: Gold Edition yet, but I looked at the graphics in the video, and to me, they just look too strange and cartoony.

Are you going to make these new graphics optional? That way, people like me could download new versions and make it look like the original but without missing out on new content.

[tomangelo]

Preview was recorded using new graphics engines, but still the default engine is old one. Newer engines will be default in the future, but they will got some more improvements before adding them as default.

[RaptorParkowsky]

What do you mean it looks cartoony? I'm asking, because there's a lot of ways to make some things to look and feel cartoony:

- Objects in Code Battle levels have bright colors because the teams must have any bright differences. Objects in Missions, Exercises, etc. have their standard, "planet-related" colors.

- In most of the shots in the trailer we were forced to disable dirt textures because of some issues related with new graphic engines (OpenGL 2.1 and OpenGL 3.3). OpenGL 1.4 graphic engine is still default and supports no shaders that are still experimental. In OpenGL 1.4 you can still enable new shadow mapping though.

- Shadow mapping, especially the self-shadowing (available when you enable "Quality dynamic shadows" in Options/Graphics menu) are also at experimental stage, so you can always enable old shadows on the ground without any shadow mapping.

- New UI textures were designed to look like the old ones, but in higher resolutions. Of course, there's still some differences between the old ones (especially the pre-rendered textures), but I'll be working on that later and they should look good for 0.1.7 release I hope.

But well, if you are asking for old "pixelated" UI textures, then I must say that in the future it will be hard or even almost impossible to keep originals as low-definition option. Especially after UI engine refactoring.

Personally, for me Colobot or other EPSITEC games (especially BuzzingCars, CeeBots, Blupimania 2) was always a little cartoonish games. Dirt, dark, but still cartoony. And we are going to continue and expand this EPSITEC's design in Colobot: Gold Edition.

[krzys_h]

- In most of the shots in the trailer we were forced to disable dirt textures because of some issues related with new graphic engines (OpenGL 2.1 and OpenGL 3.3). OpenGL 1.4 graphic engine is still default and supports no shaders that are still experimental. In OpenGL 1.4 you can still enable new shadow mapping though.

This is not true. Current shadow mapping implementation doesn't support dirt textures at all, because of CDevice class design. This will be fixed in the future release. For now, you need to decide whether you prefer to have shadow mapping enabled or working dirt texture.
The trailer itself is recorded in OpenGL 1.X engine, others are still highly experimental and you can't turn them on through the game UI.

[tomangelo]

The trailer itself is recorded in OpenGL 1.X engine,

Really? Huh, I thought that it was on 3.3 :|