Symbols for the geoscape

[BTAxis]

The 3D geoscape is such that you never really see any markers at a sufficiently reduced angle to really warrant stuff being elevated, though. It's okay for the pins, but aircraft can be directly on the surface.

[ghosta]

Uhm here a rendered image of the model. I thought about creating some squary/triangular pointers too. The pictures could easily be attached to the file I hope.
I just would need some help with the export again 

Maybe there can be done another model for a mission. The second one a highlighted one that gets active on mouseover.

[attachment deleted by admin]

[Josh]

That hits the nail on the head so to speak.

Some animation cues would be good also, like little triangles rotating around the pin when you select it, or flashing color, or blah blah blah... That's just glitz and glamour, not necessary at all.

If there are really important storyline icons, I would strongly suggest that an animated icon be used, as opposed to a static icon. So if you used static pins for normal stuff, for the storyline missions you'd use a waving flag, or a flashing exclamation point, or a blah blah blah... The human eye is very good at catching movement.

[ghosta]

Unfortunately I dont know how to make moving models... I would like to learn it, but I this might take some time 

Maybe we should make a list about the missions available + the colors and forms of the pins:
- Crashed UFO -> green circle
- Landed UFO -> blue circle
- Terror Site -> yellow triangle
- Aliens attacking a players base/offbase-installation -> purple triangle
- Alien-Base -> red square

[BTAxis]

- Alien-Base under construction?

Not necessary. No missions will be spawned for unfinished alien bases.

- Aliens attacking a player offbase-installation?

I think this could be the same as aliens attacking a base.

- Aliens bombing cities?

Not going to happen.

[ghosta]

Here some proposals for the forms

[attachment deleted by admin]

[ghosta]

Now with extra colours -->
Alienbase (with the scull)
Terrorsite
Crashed UFO
Landed UFO <-- Here I swapped the colors, but I am too lazy to upload the new image

Comments:

[attachment deleted by admin]

[ghosta]

Here you get the sourcefiles if you want...

Someone should export them again... or tell me what I am doing wrong

[attachment deleted by admin]

[bayo]

It's maybe not a good idea to use more than one model. Too many symboles will not help: we already can change the image and the color. And, as say Josh just a *little variation* ("triangles rotating around the pin") for some important mission can be nice.

[Kildor]

I prefer "terrormission.jpg" looking.

[Vio]

I'm with Bayo on the idea to keep things simple - or in this case, making a group of things have common features.
I. e. making all "alien missions" similar either in shape or in color, just like all Phalanx installations etc., in order to keep the globe tidy.

Since radar towers already have unique shapes, and the same is to expected for SAMs, I think groups with equal or similar colors but dfferent shapes are the way to go.

That would mean that all Phalanx installations would be white/blue, for example, but with different models. Crashed and landed UFOs could be round orange pins, with bases being square orange pins. And then, if you zoom in, there are the symbols to distinguish e.g. between crashed and landed.

Other colors should then only be given to special things, like a big red pin for a story-based alien attack.


EDIT:



Something like this for the aliens. Important missions would be the same pins in red and/or flashing.
Or using the exclamation mark, if we want to be blunt about it.

[Mattn]

please also share the meshes

[Vio]

I would, but I don't have any. I just edited Ghosta's pic.

That's why I added the flat "textures". I can give you those in other formats if you like.

[odie]

OOooo,

Just to let u all know that there is someone else here who have been following up to this point but keeping quiet.

The symbols proposed so far all looked very nice, simplistic enuf yet with variations and also with a touch of 'alieny'-look.

Look forward to see these being implemented.

Just being curious, will we be using this as 'action-available' flashing icons??

[Winter]

Something like this for the aliens. Important missions would be the same pins in red and/or flashing.
Or using the exclamation mark, if we want to be blunt about it.

I like the middle two icons, but the left two 'UFO' icons are too vague and confusing to be much good. I'm certainly up for an overhaul of the icons though.

Regards,
Winter