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The VOID
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 Drawing the curtains: New Color Scheme!
We have discussed improving or changing our color scheme in the past, but not much has ever happened.
That is now history!
Instead of adding colors to the old system, we now have a new color system! That's right! A completely new system. No doctoring and tinkering with the old scheme anymore.
While the new system is loosely based on the inpsiration provided by our experience with the old system, it adds many new and usefull features and adds color science to the relations of different shades. This system is the result of long work, consulting almost a dozen professional digital and traditional artists, many of them with years (some of them decades) of experience!
The new system has many advantages over the old one.
1. It is a mathematical system, which means all colors in a shade family are calculated with a fixed formula, based on the HSL-system, instead of the unprecise RGB-system. No color is random anymore. Both HSL and RGB codes for each color will be provided soon.
2. The main colors are based on color harmonics tables, which means they put less strain on the eyes.
3. The new palette is more printer friendly, using up to 20% less ink, especially color ink! It also works better on color laserprinters.
4. The new palette also offers increased contrast and a much more even distribution of used colors. Everyone who wants to check for himself can use Photoshop to check the levels distribution in old files with that in the new scheme.
5. The new system does not need any special shading tables, because it includes a shading mastertable! I will explain how this table works later. Important is, that ANY hullcolor, within reasonable precision, can be shaded using the new color scheme!
6. New specified shades allow distinction between inner and outer hull walls and add important colors to draw plants, wood or leather.
Other features include:
More realism, lending some color relations from real-world architectural diagrams.
Less warmth, increasing the technical appearance of deckplans.
A more metallic look for technical systems, increasing visual credibility.
Completely optional simple and complex shading choices. Decide for yourself, or depending on the purpose, wether you want to use simple two-color shading, or complex five-color shading! The main shades are already optimized to enable both in equal quality for all main deckplan elements without necessity of using any additional shades from the hull shading table.
Oh, I almost forgot another (minor) advantage: We will no longer be pestered by a well known ex-user with "you stole blablabla pixels/colors" whining.
We don't need to plagiarise anyone, nor would we want that. Instead, we can do better!
Now to the scheme itself:
Old and new system side by side:
The new and old systems in isometric 3D:
 
The minitable without the big mastertable, ideal for detail work:
Just in case you are worried: Updating old deckplans takes less than a few minutes.
--- "The sand people are easily startled, but they will soon be back, and in greater numbers." — Obi-Wan Kenobi
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10/16/2006, 9:13 am
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kenposan
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Re: Drawing the curtains: New Color Scheme!
Great work, Void, I love the new scheme. The colors are more subdued. Easier on the eyes and more visually pleasing, at least to me.
With that said, I have to wonder if all this is overkill. Do we really need to differentiate between inner and outer hull and intersections? I can't see them (intersections) unless I magnify the image. Or is this meant for red/yellow scale to show greater detail?
As a side note, what ship is that, Void?
--- The Universe speaks in many languages, but only one voice.
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10/16/2006, 11:21 am
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The VOID
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Re: Drawing the curtains: New Color Scheme!
quote:
kenposan wrote:
Great work, Void, I love the new scheme. The colors are more subdued. Easier on the eyes and more visually pleasing, at least to me.
As it was for 10 out of 12 test candidates. 
quote:
kenposan wrote:
With that said, I have to wonder if all this is overkill. Do we really need to differentiate between inner and outer hull and intersections? I can't see them (intersections) unless I magnify the image. Or is this meant for red/yellow scale to show greater detail?
Intersection colors are important, when doing detailstuff. Yes, you only SEE them when you magnify, but that is not the point of using them. The point of using them is beeing able to take things apart again. If I make a deckplan, I know what is below and what is above. Others don't. The intersection colors allow everyone to see, even if they have to zoom in. It makes modding much easier.
quote:
kenposan wrote:
As a side note, what ship is that, Void?
The old/new example ship? That is the new Star's Edge Diner. The 3D ISO cut is no ship in particular, but only an example to show some concepts and visualize structural elements.
--- "The sand people are easily startled, but they will soon be back, and in greater numbers." — Obi-Wan Kenobi
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10/16/2006, 11:37 am
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kenposan
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Re: Drawing the curtains: New Color Scheme!
Now for the big question. What is the easiest way to convert an old image to the new palette. The eraser tool in Paint would take forever on any reasonably sized ship.
I figure I could 'replace color' using photoshop elements if I knew how to determine the RBG value from the palette. (pssst, hey you, how do I find out the RBG value of a particular color in the palette?) Or if there is an easier way...
And I'm still confused about the intersection thing. I would think any modder is going to just replace what they want, regardless. But that's me not being an engineer or designer. Just a hack.
--- The Universe speaks in many languages, but only one voice.
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10/16/2006, 12:22 pm
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The VOID
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Re: Drawing the curtains: New Color Scheme!
Conversion in Photoshop: Take the minipalette and put it in a new layer over your deckplan. Select the deckplan as work layer. Use the color picker to grab the color you want from the palette. Then use the paint bucket and uncheck the contiguous checkbox. Now you just have to klick on one single pixel of the old color and all pixels of the same color throughout the picture will be changed. Be sure that paint bucket has its tolerance set to 0-2. Do that for every color and you are done. Goes really fast.
Using this technique, this took me 1 minute and 26 seconds:
The techstuff shading could use some additional work, but that would be bonus, since the old palette didn't even offer those options.
--- "The sand people are easily startled, but they will soon be back, and in greater numbers." — Obi-Wan Kenobi
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10/16/2006, 12:30 pm
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kenposan
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Re: Drawing the curtains: New Color Scheme!
Sweet, thanks!
--- The Universe speaks in many languages, but only one voice.
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10/16/2006, 1:22 pm
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Lucas P
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Re: Drawing the curtains: New Color Scheme!
Awesome Work Void!!
We should start recolouring up all the existing gallery ships in this new colour scheme, for consistency.
Although, I do have to say that the bluescale bar is a little light. Perhaps it should be the same colour scheme as the access hatches, doors, panels, etc....a darker blue anyway....or are we now going to try to arrive at a concensus regarding the colours of the metric scales that were started back in May?
regards,
Lucas
--- Only 2 things are infinite; The Universe, and human stupidity and I'm not sure about the former. - Albert Einstein
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10/16/2006, 1:29 pm
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The VOID
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Re: Drawing the curtains: New Color Scheme!
For myself, I am using a black/white scale bar anyway. So I don't care which color the scale bars are. Should be determined, however.
--- "The sand people are easily startled, but they will soon be back, and in greater numbers." — Obi-Wan Kenobi
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10/16/2006, 1:59 pm
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PhoenixM
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Re: Drawing the curtains: New Color Scheme!
Oh guys, I'm getting color issues. My computer changes them when working from BPM in to GIF. Any advice?
---
Phoenix...
"I'm not saying there should be capital punishment for stupidity,
but maybe we should just remove all the safety lables and let nature take it's course"
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10/16/2006, 4:47 pm
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kenposan
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Re: Drawing the curtains: New Color Scheme!
quote:
PhoenixM wrote:
Oh guys, I'm getting color issues. My computer changes them when working from BPM in to GIF. Any advice?
Just say no to GIFs.
PNG works for me
PNG works for me
PNG works for me.
Seriously though, I have had no problems using Paint to convert from bmp to png. Distorts all over the place if I use gif.
--- The Universe speaks in many languages, but only one voice.
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10/16/2006, 5:16 pm
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