Natural Diversity

[taniu]

@ Bartender.I like these herbs though I do not know about modeling[img]<fileStore.core_Emoticons>/emoticons/biggrin.png[/img]/emoticons/biggrin@2x.png 2x" title=":D" width="20" />

[Bartender]

Thanks for the kind words!




It's time for another sneak peek:




[img]<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2017_03/Herbiversity3.png.29f664d37d47b6e4bae3407ab643d8ac.png[/img]



This time I've been working on some annual herbs (which will die in winter), which are a thistle and a papaver (poppy). Next to that I've started working on some new meshes for the onions, of which this is the one I'm most happy with. The original onions are extremely unrealistic (onions do not just lie in bundles on the forest floor!), so I'm hoping to improve on that.




Some other notes:




<a contenteditable="false" data-ipshover="" data-ipshover-target="<___base_url___>/index.php?/profile/2413-elemental/&do=hovercard" data-mentionid="2413" href="<___base_url___>/index.php?/profile/2413-elemental/">@elemental</a> please forget what I said before about the non-compatibility with Cold Realism; the visuals-only version of Natural Diversity will actually be compatible with Cold Realism.




As for the full version of the mod, I still intend to make plants and shrooms die or survive winter based on what would happen in real life. This means that in winter, all Mushrooms will die, half of the Herbs will die, and half of the Roots will die. Onions and Blueberries will not be affected. It turns out that making perennial plants die only under extreme winter conditions as I originally intended would be very difficult to balance, so I'm putting that plan on hold until I have done some more research on spawn rates and the like.




I'm also looking at some other ways of improving the realism of the game though nothing concrete enough that I can share yet. Suggestions are welcome though!




 

[Necora]

<a contenteditable="false" data-ipshover="" data-ipshover-target="<___base_url___>/index.php?/profile/11115-bartender/&do=hovercard" data-mentionid="11115" href="<___base_url___>/index.php?/profile/11115-bartender/">@Bartender</a> how will you be going about replacing these models? Are you replacing only the naturalresourcemushroom.rsc etc., or are you editing the naturalresourcetree.rsc file?




Just wondering because for one of my mods I want to add a few Maritimes specific wild resources, but as they are new resources the only way to do it is to edit the naturalresourcetree.rsc template file, but don't want it to become incompatible with this mod because I think they will look awesome together.

[elemental]

It sounds like your full version will be much better than the lite version plus cold realism.

[Bartender]

<a contenteditable="false" data-ipshover="" data-ipshover-target="<___base_url___>/index.php?/profile/5518-necora/&do=hovercard" data-mentionid="5518" href="<___base_url___>/index.php?/profile/5518-necora/">@Necora</a> For the visuals-only version I won't change anything to the naturaltreeresource.rsc, but for the full version I will have to add some new natural resource templates to the 'SpawnDescription spawn' part. Unfortunately that's the only way I can make the distinction between perennial and annual plants. Perhaps when we're both done we can see if it's possible to make them compatible in some way?




<a contenteditable="false" data-ipshover="" data-ipshover-target="<___base_url___>/index.php?/profile/2413-elemental/&do=hovercard" data-mentionid="2413" href="<___base_url___>/index.php?/profile/2413-elemental/">@elemental</a> Thanks! That's what I'm aiming for ;).

[Necora]

<a contenteditable="false" data-ipshover="" data-ipshover-target="<___base_url___>/index.php?/profile/11115-bartender/&do=hovercard" data-mentionid="11115" href="<___base_url___>/index.php?/profile/11115-bartender/">@Bartender</a> Oh I'm sure we can, not a problem. It is a shame that the only way to add new resources is by editing the tree file. I've tried not to, but I want some wild animals on the map and there is no other way. Unfortunately, this means it is not compatible with other wild resource mods such as the cool wild flora and wild bees at WOB but there is nothing that can be done.

[despo20]

On 27/3/2017 at 5:52 PM, Bartender said:




I'm also looking at some other ways of improving the realism of the game though nothing concrete enough that I can share yet. Suggestions are welcome though!

I think your mod will already a great improvement in the realism of the game!




 




One thing that I would like have in game is a lavender bush, and I know that you could model it in a magnificent way!




It can be used like a natural resource and like an ornament, but it can be wonderful as a crop! Lavender fields like in Provence [img]<fileStore.core_Emoticons>/emoticons/wub.png[/img]/emoticons/wub@2x.png 2x" title=":x" width="20" />







 




Maybe it's not exactly an improvement of realism, but it would be nice [img]<fileStore.core_Emoticons>/emoticons/smile.png[/img]/emoticons/smile@2x.png 2x" title=":)" width="20" />



 




EDIT: Provided that there isn't already a mod like that and I don't know it [img]<fileStore.core_Emoticons>/emoticons/biggrin.png[/img]/emoticons/biggrin@2x.png 2x" title=":D" width="20" />



 

[Bartender]

<a contenteditable="false" data-ipshover="" data-ipshover-target="<___base_url___>/index.php?/profile/12323-despo20/&do=hovercard" data-mentionid="12323" href="<___base_url___>/index.php?/profile/12323-despo20/">@despo20</a> I have concidered lavender at some point, but decided against it as it is not a plant that would grow naturally in a northern forest such as the one in banished. Because of this I wouldn't include one in Natural Diversity, but I like the idea of having them available as a crop. I'll see what I can do if I find the time somewhere ;).

[despo20]

28 minutes ago, Bartender said:




but I like the idea of having them available as a crop. I'll see what I can do if I find the time somewhere ;).

It would be great! [img]<fileStore.core_Emoticons>/emoticons/smile.png[/img]/emoticons/smile@2x.png 2x" title=":)" width="20" />



Obviously Natural Diversity remains the priority [img]<fileStore.core_Emoticons>/emoticons/58462f70003fe_EmojisApplebyKawaiiDarkToxic553.png[/img]

[Bartender]

There's a great many other things that have priority over modding in general I'm afraid [img]<fileStore.core_Emoticons>/emoticons/wink.png[/img]/emoticons/wink@2x.png 2x" title=";)" width="20" />, though I have been spending a conciderable amount of my free time on this.




Concidering Natural Diversity, I have made big progress on something that has been on my mind for quite a while:




One issue I had with vanilla Banished is that it has only one habitat type: forest. Many of my new herb meshes are actually meadow plants, that need lots of sunlight and would not be found in a forest at all. What's more is that some of the resources, namely roots and onions, tend to grow in meadows rather than in forests as well. In conclusion, I wanted to add meadows to the natural world of Banished. Today, in some kind of freak accident of messing around with the code (I still don't quite know how and why it works, but it does), I have managed to do exactly that.




<a class="ipsAttachLink ipsAttachLink_image" href="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2017_03/Grasslands2.png.86afbe3c5623d8d0c5c0b1021f89ec93.png" data-fileid="1885">[img]<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2017_03/Grasslands2.thumb.png.c752f952052bcbad801ead58cd776caf.png[/img]</a>




I'm still fiddling with the spawnrates, but the idea is that the world will have patches of meadows, forest and intermediate zones. meadows will then spawn herbs (meadow meshes), onions and roots, while the forest will spawn herbs (forest meshes), mushrooms and blueberries.




Other than an increase in diversity of the landscape, this also gives some opportunities for interesting game mechanics. For gathering huts, which resources they can gather depends on wether there is forest or meadow in their influence zone. For herbalists, which areas are best for them to gather herbs in will depend on the season, as annual herbs grow only in meadows (in summer the meadows will give higher yield, in winter the forest will give more).




Lastly, the grasses that populate the meadows give me the chance to solve another tiny thing that annoyed me in vanilla Banished: many of the basic buildings have thatched roofs, but thatch as a resource does not exist. When harvested, these new grasses will give the 'thatch' material, which is used for construction of all buildings with thatched roofs.