Loading Screens

[Xae]

Ok, I've done more tweaking on the template while testing it out in-game. This is an in-game shot of what it looks like now.



Instead of a paper fade, I added a box to hold the loading bar.

I have made one significant change. I've changed the template resolution from 1024 x 512 to 720p (1280 x 720). The result is an increase in size from 340kB to 900kB per screen with much better image quality. They can be resized back down without messing up the placement, in case we need to provide a smaller download.

One thing I'm yet to grasp is why the loading screens were in 2:1 aspect ratio in vanilla Oblivion, since widescreen is 16:9. The result is some dead space on either side of the image. Changing this does not seem to be an issue and I don't see why it should be but it's an easy fix if testing discovers something off.

In any case, I'm going to look into making the template a bit different for dungeons and make a general one that isn't area-specific. More to come.

[Ibsen's Ghost]

Originally posted by Deeza
You called, Sir?

Git yer ass workin' on those them there loading screens, yer scurvy dawg!

We should decide what best to write up here ASAP seeing as Xae's on the boil.

Nice work, Xae! :goodjob:

[Xae]

Ok, instead of picking screenshots randomly, let's structure this thing a bit, lest we end up with nothing but admittedly hilarious dingleberries-jokes. I suggest we first decide what the max amount of loading screens should be, a number that we won't go past. It'd make most sense if this were judged by file size.

Second, we need to decide how many of those screens should be general (i.e., BM-wide) and how many should be zone-specific. In order to do this, we need to decide which locations are interesting enough to warrant their own loading screens. Cities are a given, as well as each region, perhaps a dungeon or two, the rootworms of course, and so on. Ibsen, since you've done most of the work on landscaping, you should get first pick on what you want to show off. To save time, I'll go in-game and grab all the shots, possibly retaking any of your favourites in higher resolution so they can be used.

After that, it's time to come up with captions. Given the popularity of my... let's call them "facetious" captions, perhaps we need a vote on how many jokes we are to include. Since we're not using the standard Oblivion format, each loading screen only gets one caption, so it'd be fair to assume that each caption will be contextual.

I've no issue with putting together all the loading screens myself since it's not a huge task.

[alex2avs]

Nice work


May i suggest a long loading bar like this one :


it would look more integrated in the image.

Also , I think that a green shade would fit with the BM atmosphere .

[Xae]

Unfortunately, we're unable to change the loading bar without affecting every loading screen, not just the BM ones.

As for the green, it would clash with the parchment style that Oblivion's entire interface is based on.

[alex2avs]

(optional)

it could be done with OBSE .
there are some functions for modifying .xml files.