6 ms·

Freeciv WebGL 3D Development Status Update

111 points by roschdal 10y ago

roschdal 10y ago
Hi! What do you think of the new version of Freeciv WebGL 3D? I'm always interested in feedback to improve the game. Thanks!
- partycoder 10y ago
  - Unit portraits could have a rasterized version of the 3d unit. - Could try other font faces, there are many now available (e.g: webfonts) that could improve the UX.
- scrollaway 10y ago
  It's impressive work certainly, the graphics clearly need work though. Add a skybox and some lighting effects and it'll already look a ton better. Trees and buildings are the next offender. Good luck.
- halflings 10y ago
  You should try to get some UX designers involved with the game's UI and controls. It's very confusing, nothing works like you'd expect from a Civilization-like game (left click to select a unit, right click to move? nope). Also, the camera kind of got into "drunk mode" (slowly pivoting and rotating in arbitrary directions). It should be fixed at a constant angle, with the possibility to translate the camera with arrow keys (like in Sid Meier's Civilization).
- fixmycode 10y ago
  lots of the comments here are in the "make a free version of Sid Meier's Civilization" fashion. I'd say you should look at your game and tell us what makes it different and unique aside from being Open Source. First off, an Open Source game shouldn't look bad. I know it's a work of love and not a AAA game, but aspects of the game art can perfectly be improved, I'm a supporter of the less is more trend, and I love games that can deliver even when they use colors and shadows instead of cheap textures.
- appleflaxen 10y ago
  I think this is an awesome project. Please don't let the constructive feedback from others make you feel discouraged on unappreciated. This is fantastic!
Camillo 10y ago
Is it even useful for gameplay to have a low-angle perspective as shown in the screenshot? It seems more useful to have the usual Civ perspective, mostly from the top, and isometric.
- mrec 10y ago
  I don't see the need for 3D at all. Civ is "naturally" a 2D game; the shift to 3D added nothing and IMO removed a lot. I racked up hundreds of hours in Civ 2; I'm not sure I bothered to finish more than one game in Civ 3, or even one in any of its successors. The key graphical challenge a Civ-type game faces is conveying a lot of information quickly and clearly. 2D bitmaps are ideal for that, because sprites, tiles etc can be optimised for legibility and distinctiveness, and the fact that things are always seen from the same angle makes them consistent. All of those benefits are lost in 3D.
  - suby 10y ago
    Civilization III was 2D as well. I agree with you though, there was something lost in the transition to 3D. Performance reasons alone is compelling argument to stick with 2D (turn wait times in Civ 5 were ridiculous). Not to mention that it's easier to create 2D art, so any mods that people created were of higher quality. There were some pretty good terrain packs for Civ 3 (for instance, http://www.civfanatics.net/downloads/civ3/modpack/Womoks_Greener_sm.jpg http://www.civfanatics.net/downloads/civ3/modpack/Womoks_Gre...)
    - foota 10y ago
      I think the civ5 wait times were more about AI than graphics.
__s 10y ago
Aside, passwords don't seem secure: https://github.com/freeciv/freeciv-web/blob/develop/freeciv-web/src/main/java/org/freeciv/servlet/LoginUser.java#L44 https://github.com/freeciv/freeciv-web/blob/develop/freeciv-... https://github.com/freeciv/freeciv-web/blob/6c86bceeb4f79b2afc641e7ce994c594d8facfb2/freeciv-web/src/main/java/org/freeciv/servlet/NewPBEMUser.java#L71 https://github.com/freeciv/freeciv-web/blob/6c86bceeb4f79b2a... https://github.com/freeciv/freeciv-web/blob/fd99d083e496d58ad98eb84f9e5dc1f1260503b3/freeciv-web/src/main/webapp/javascript/pregame.js#L971 https://github.com/freeciv/freeciv-web/blob/fd99d083e496d58a... Last link showing that passwords are only MD5 hashed
- koolba 10y ago
  When is this code from?! I haven't seen someone use the Java servlet API "raw" (outside of examples) in nearly 20 years.
- roschdal 10y ago
  I have switched to hashing with SHA-512 now. Thanks!
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]

111 points by roschdal 10y ago

Hi! What do you think of the new version of Freeciv WebGL 3D? I'm always interested in feedback to improve the game. Thanks!

partycoder 10y ago
- Unit portraits could have a rasterized version of the 3d unit. - Could try other font faces, there are many now available (e.g: webfonts) that could improve the UX.
scrollaway 10y ago
It's impressive work certainly, the graphics clearly need work though. Add a skybox and some lighting effects and it'll already look a ton better. Trees and buildings are the next offender. Good luck.
halflings 10y ago
You should try to get some UX designers involved with the game's UI and controls. It's very confusing, nothing works like you'd expect from a Civilization-like game (left click to select a unit, right click to move? nope). Also, the camera kind of got into "drunk mode" (slowly pivoting and rotating in arbitrary directions). It should be fixed at a constant angle, with the possibility to translate the camera with arrow keys (like in Sid Meier's Civilization).
fixmycode 10y ago
lots of the comments here are in the "make a free version of Sid Meier's Civilization" fashion. I'd say you should look at your game and tell us what makes it different and unique aside from being Open Source. First off, an Open Source game shouldn't look bad. I know it's a work of love and not a AAA game, but aspects of the game art can perfectly be improved, I'm a supporter of the less is more trend, and I love games that can deliver even when they use colors and shadows instead of cheap textures.
appleflaxen 10y ago
I think this is an awesome project. Please don't let the constructive feedback from others make you feel discouraged on unappreciated. This is fantastic!

Camillo 10y ago

Is it even useful for gameplay to have a low-angle perspective as shown in the screenshot? It seems more useful to have the usual Civ perspective, mostly from the top, and isometric.

mrec 10y ago
I don't see the need for 3D at all. Civ is "naturally" a 2D game; the shift to 3D added nothing and IMO removed a lot. I racked up hundreds of hours in Civ 2; I'm not sure I bothered to finish more than one game in Civ 3, or even one in any of its successors. The key graphical challenge a Civ-type game faces is conveying a lot of information quickly and clearly. 2D bitmaps are ideal for that, because sprites, tiles etc can be optimised for legibility and distinctiveness, and the fact that things are always seen from the same angle makes them consistent. All of those benefits are lost in 3D.
- suby 10y ago
  Civilization III was 2D as well. I agree with you though, there was something lost in the transition to 3D. Performance reasons alone is compelling argument to stick with 2D (turn wait times in Civ 5 were ridiculous). Not to mention that it's easier to create 2D art, so any mods that people created were of higher quality. There were some pretty good terrain packs for Civ 3 (for instance, http://www.civfanatics.net/downloads/civ3/modpack/Womoks_Greener_sm.jpg http://www.civfanatics.net/downloads/civ3/modpack/Womoks_Gre...)
  - foota 10y ago
    I think the civ5 wait times were more about AI than graphics.

__s 10y ago

Aside, passwords don't seem secure: https://github.com/freeciv/freeciv-web/blob/develop/freeciv-web/src/main/java/org/freeciv/servlet/LoginUser.java#L44 https://github.com/freeciv/freeciv-web/blob/develop/freeciv-... https://github.com/freeciv/freeciv-web/blob/6c86bceeb4f79b2afc641e7ce994c594d8facfb2/freeciv-web/src/main/java/org/freeciv/servlet/NewPBEMUser.java#L71 https://github.com/freeciv/freeciv-web/blob/6c86bceeb4f79b2a... https://github.com/freeciv/freeciv-web/blob/fd99d083e496d58ad98eb84f9e5dc1f1260503b3/freeciv-web/src/main/webapp/javascript/pregame.js#L971 https://github.com/freeciv/freeciv-web/blob/fd99d083e496d58a... Last link showing that passwords are only MD5 hashed

koolba 10y ago
When is this code from?! I haven't seen someone use the Java servlet API "raw" (outside of examples) in nearly 20 years.
roschdal 10y ago
I have switched to hashing with SHA-512 now. Thanks!

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]