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PDX Chakerathe
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Hello, and welcome back to the last Developer Diary for Arms Against Tyranny!
I’m CreamGene, HOI4’s 2D artist and since I am here, you guessed it, it's time to talk about art!
I once again get an opportunity to talk about what happens on the Art Front during a HOI4 production and I’m excited to share with you some of the things that have been in the works. Both challenging tasks as well as funny ones, of course.
I know I usually showcase the how-to when I do loading screens when I get these opportunities, but I think you can find the two latest descriptions from earlier Dev Diarys to be adequate if you need to know the “how-to-think”. But I’ll show some small step-by-step just because I can.
Loading screen
It started with our Game Designer Bradley, or as you know him as well, Corax, who already had a vision for what he wanted. He wanted two different ones. One of the Finnish Winter War, with Finnish soldiers watching Soviet troops, make their way through the frozen marshlands. And one with the sinking of the Blücher. And I got to choose which one to do.
Of course, I chose explosions because I hate myself that's pretty cool. I drew explosions before, but never like this so I thought it could be a nice challenge… if I could pull it off.
I was provided with reference images of the ship and the place as well as a video clip of the event from the movie The King's Choice. Even if it’s a reenacting of the sinking of Blücher it still is a pretty cool scene to draw inspiration from.
So let's speedrun this demonstration!
3D elements put together! Renders made by our 3D artist @Slurpen_Paradox (because if I can avoid hard surfaces, I will).
Here, the paint-over progress has started. …… trust the process.
After a loop of feedback and paint-overs, it finally starts to look like something more interesting than just a dark blob where it started. Just some more tweaking and adding texture as well as some action and it’ll be done.
And here we are! I hope you’ll enjoy the new loading screen for Arms Against Tyranny!
Here is also the winter-themed one (tho I can’t take credit for it) made for AAT.
[Art made by @the_real_timor]
The Joint Focus Tree We also wanted to do something new for a Joint Focus Tree when the discussion of a joint Nordics was a must. So now the idea phase starts. How different should it look? How much of different shapes will still make you think “Focus Tree”? Will it look good together as a tree? How do we best portray the different ideologies for each outcome?
So now some thumbnailing of ideas happens as well as the thought “Is just the naming bar enough to change?” The answer is ‘no’. Of course, we wanted to go full out when we had this new idea.
So when we realize that we want to make the actual focus icons mirror the ideologies we have a new question “What would a joint focus tree even look like? What would have to change to make it stand out?”
So I started to make up the shape language for what each ideology would feel like.
It ended with a bunch of experiments that you saw @carloPDX showcase in the Joint Focus icon Dev Diary
Yeah… I didn't feel anything out of these.
We landed on these types of shapes in the end!
The communist one is in line with sharp angles, red and gold, and feeling very industry.
The democratic one with its very simplistic design and a retake on the metallic swan.
And the monarchist one, in Sweden at least, we call the moose the “King of the Forest” so we thought it would be fitting to have a King represent all the Nordics with pompous decoration and gold details.
A small selection of the communist branch icons;
A small selection of the democratic branch icons;
A small selection of the monarchist branch icons;
Portraits And now I think it's important to show off some of the fancy portraits that have been added for the Nordics!
The amount of art that needs to be done for each DLC varies but something that stays true, and heavy is Portraits and Focuses. These are easy to outsource in bulk and to offload the strain of getting all the art done for each DLC on time, we send these types of art tasks to an outsourcing studio.
We occasionally have to pick up these types of tasks as well in-house but that’s usually when Content Designers realize they need a leader for a last-minute polish task and a path they forgot would do with an actual portrait of the historic person instead of a generic one. Safe to say, it's impossible to plan for every leader there will be for their specific country. I know I wouldn't be able to think of everything beforehand, and that's why I can’t stress enough that to get a successful art-filled launch, communication is key.
So, here is a small selection of historical figures we would like to showcase beforehand!
Focus icons With the same principle as the portraits for HOI, these are easier to outsource in bulk, and therefore the majority of them, tho far from all, are done through outsourcing.
We usually try to make as much as we can in-house for these but we need to prioritize our workload to fit our schedule the best we can.
We always estimate all our tasks beforehand so whatever we know we can’t manage in-house will be shipped to outsourcing.
And once again, a small selection of some of the nicest looking Focuses for AAT.
3D art Even if I am not in charge of the 3D art (in fact that's entirely @Slurpen_Paradox’s domain) I will of course show off some of the models that have been made for this DLC
First of all, let’s enjoy some high-definition renders showing some of the models up close:
These guys have dressed up for today's fashion show!
A mix of old and “new” (maybe new is too strong of a word here).
You need to be ready to fight against air and land attacks.
Okay, maybe that’s enough land vehicles for one Dev Diary.
In other news, here are some planes!
..more planes!
Ready to fight against tyranny!
Here are some in-game screenshots showing some of the models in action (using some fun camera angles of course!):
They see me rollin’!
Danish militia models in fighting stance!
These guys are deadly in snowy conditions!
Norway has some ships to defend its coast!
Things are heating up!
Thank you @Slurpen for the 3D renders!
Let's be real, you’ve been waiting, you’ve been scrolling, you’ve been sighing through this DD. Go ahead. Don't be shy. Scroll down some more.
Finally! I would like to present the achievements of Arms Against Tyranny!
Achievements
Sápmi, United by the fire
As Sami, own and control every Sami core.
Norway Jose
As Norway, own and control every Mexican core.
Pinot Noirway
As Norway, own and control the state of Burgogne.
Cheese your fighter
As Norway, with Peder Jarlsberg as coutnry leader, own Telemark, Glouchestershire, Normandy, Lombardia and Holland.
Med Plutonium 2…
As Denmark, nuke Sweden.
Everything is Awesome
As Denmark, get Maximum Welfare Spending after January 1st 1941 without being puppeted or capitulating
The Danelaw
As Denmark, conquer England.
Vinland
As Iceland, conquer Newfoundland.
Brexit
As communist Iceland, make Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland rise up against the United Kingdom.
Two Arms Against Tyranny
As Finland, capitulate the Soviet Union while having a 2 country faction with another Nordic.
Uralic Brothers United!
As Finland, have Hungary, Estonia, Sapmi, Karelia, Mari El, Udmurtia, Komi, Ostyak-Vogulia, Yamalia, and Nenetsia as subjects.
Lone Wolf
As Finland, form Greater Finland and own every core and claim without having ever joined a faction.
No One Crosses the Finnish Line
As Finland, survive until 1944 without losing control of a single core ever.
Danzig Queen
As Sweden, own Danzig.
Caramelldansen
As Sweden, puppet Japan.
The return of the King
As the exiled King of Gotland, retake mainland Sweden.
Satisfactory
Have at least one MIO per category at level 10+.
Cod Wars
As Iceland, capitulate the UK.
The Magic School Bus
With the Per Albin Bus, drive to Cape Town
We all hope that you’ll enjoy the up-and-coming DLC, Arms against Tyranny, and along the way have fun and feel challenged with the new content and achievements we have added, as well as enjoy the latest models and art!
CreamGene
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2183930/Expansion__Hearts_of_Iron_IV_Arms_Against_Tyranny/
I’m CreamGene, HOI4’s 2D artist and since I am here, you guessed it, it's time to talk about art!
I once again get an opportunity to talk about what happens on the Art Front during a HOI4 production and I’m excited to share with you some of the things that have been in the works. Both challenging tasks as well as funny ones, of course.
I know I usually showcase the how-to when I do loading screens when I get these opportunities, but I think you can find the two latest descriptions from earlier Dev Diarys to be adequate if you need to know the “how-to-think”. But I’ll show some small step-by-step just because I can.
Loading screen
It started with our Game Designer Bradley, or as you know him as well, Corax, who already had a vision for what he wanted. He wanted two different ones. One of the Finnish Winter War, with Finnish soldiers watching Soviet troops, make their way through the frozen marshlands. And one with the sinking of the Blücher. And I got to choose which one to do.
Of course, I chose explosions because I hate myself that's pretty cool. I drew explosions before, but never like this so I thought it could be a nice challenge… if I could pull it off.
I was provided with reference images of the ship and the place as well as a video clip of the event from the movie The King's Choice. Even if it’s a reenacting of the sinking of Blücher it still is a pretty cool scene to draw inspiration from.
So let's speedrun this demonstration!
3D elements put together! Renders made by our 3D artist @Slurpen_Paradox (because if I can avoid hard surfaces, I will).
Here, the paint-over progress has started. …… trust the process.
After a loop of feedback and paint-overs, it finally starts to look like something more interesting than just a dark blob where it started. Just some more tweaking and adding texture as well as some action and it’ll be done.
And here we are! I hope you’ll enjoy the new loading screen for Arms Against Tyranny!
Here is also the winter-themed one (tho I can’t take credit for it) made for AAT.
[Art made by @the_real_timor]
The Joint Focus Tree We also wanted to do something new for a Joint Focus Tree when the discussion of a joint Nordics was a must. So now the idea phase starts. How different should it look? How much of different shapes will still make you think “Focus Tree”? Will it look good together as a tree? How do we best portray the different ideologies for each outcome?
So now some thumbnailing of ideas happens as well as the thought “Is just the naming bar enough to change?” The answer is ‘no’. Of course, we wanted to go full out when we had this new idea.
So when we realize that we want to make the actual focus icons mirror the ideologies we have a new question “What would a joint focus tree even look like? What would have to change to make it stand out?”
So I started to make up the shape language for what each ideology would feel like.
It ended with a bunch of experiments that you saw @carloPDX showcase in the Joint Focus icon Dev Diary
Yeah… I didn't feel anything out of these.
We landed on these types of shapes in the end!
The communist one is in line with sharp angles, red and gold, and feeling very industry.
The democratic one with its very simplistic design and a retake on the metallic swan.
And the monarchist one, in Sweden at least, we call the moose the “King of the Forest” so we thought it would be fitting to have a King represent all the Nordics with pompous decoration and gold details.
A small selection of the communist branch icons;
A small selection of the democratic branch icons;
A small selection of the monarchist branch icons;
Portraits And now I think it's important to show off some of the fancy portraits that have been added for the Nordics!
The amount of art that needs to be done for each DLC varies but something that stays true, and heavy is Portraits and Focuses. These are easy to outsource in bulk and to offload the strain of getting all the art done for each DLC on time, we send these types of art tasks to an outsourcing studio.
We occasionally have to pick up these types of tasks as well in-house but that’s usually when Content Designers realize they need a leader for a last-minute polish task and a path they forgot would do with an actual portrait of the historic person instead of a generic one. Safe to say, it's impossible to plan for every leader there will be for their specific country. I know I wouldn't be able to think of everything beforehand, and that's why I can’t stress enough that to get a successful art-filled launch, communication is key.
So, here is a small selection of historical figures we would like to showcase beforehand!
Focus icons With the same principle as the portraits for HOI, these are easier to outsource in bulk, and therefore the majority of them, tho far from all, are done through outsourcing.
We usually try to make as much as we can in-house for these but we need to prioritize our workload to fit our schedule the best we can.
We always estimate all our tasks beforehand so whatever we know we can’t manage in-house will be shipped to outsourcing.
And once again, a small selection of some of the nicest looking Focuses for AAT.
3D art Even if I am not in charge of the 3D art (in fact that's entirely @Slurpen_Paradox’s domain) I will of course show off some of the models that have been made for this DLC
First of all, let’s enjoy some high-definition renders showing some of the models up close:
These guys have dressed up for today's fashion show!
A mix of old and “new” (maybe new is too strong of a word here).
You need to be ready to fight against air and land attacks.
Okay, maybe that’s enough land vehicles for one Dev Diary.
In other news, here are some planes!
..more planes!
Ready to fight against tyranny!
Here are some in-game screenshots showing some of the models in action (using some fun camera angles of course!):
They see me rollin’!
Danish militia models in fighting stance!
These guys are deadly in snowy conditions!
Norway has some ships to defend its coast!
Things are heating up!
Thank you @Slurpen for the 3D renders!
Let's be real, you’ve been waiting, you’ve been scrolling, you’ve been sighing through this DD. Go ahead. Don't be shy. Scroll down some more.
Finally! I would like to present the achievements of Arms Against Tyranny!
Achievements
Sápmi, United by the fire
As Sami, own and control every Sami core.
Norway Jose
As Norway, own and control every Mexican core.
Pinot Noirway
As Norway, own and control the state of Burgogne.
Cheese your fighter
As Norway, with Peder Jarlsberg as coutnry leader, own Telemark, Glouchestershire, Normandy, Lombardia and Holland.
Med Plutonium 2…
As Denmark, nuke Sweden.
Everything is Awesome
As Denmark, get Maximum Welfare Spending after January 1st 1941 without being puppeted or capitulating
The Danelaw
As Denmark, conquer England.
Vinland
As Iceland, conquer Newfoundland.
Brexit
As communist Iceland, make Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland rise up against the United Kingdom.
Two Arms Against Tyranny
As Finland, capitulate the Soviet Union while having a 2 country faction with another Nordic.
Uralic Brothers United!
As Finland, have Hungary, Estonia, Sapmi, Karelia, Mari El, Udmurtia, Komi, Ostyak-Vogulia, Yamalia, and Nenetsia as subjects.
Lone Wolf
As Finland, form Greater Finland and own every core and claim without having ever joined a faction.
No One Crosses the Finnish Line
As Finland, survive until 1944 without losing control of a single core ever.
Danzig Queen
As Sweden, own Danzig.
Caramelldansen
As Sweden, puppet Japan.
The return of the King
As the exiled King of Gotland, retake mainland Sweden.
Satisfactory
Have at least one MIO per category at level 10+.
Cod Wars
As Iceland, capitulate the UK.
The Magic School Bus
With the Per Albin Bus, drive to Cape Town
We all hope that you’ll enjoy the up-and-coming DLC, Arms against Tyranny, and along the way have fun and feel challenged with the new content and achievements we have added, as well as enjoy the latest models and art!
CreamGene
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2183930/Expansion__Hearts_of_Iron_IV_Arms_Against_Tyranny/