Jump to content

0 A.D. Alpha 25 Feature: Biomes, But Not As We Know It!


mysticjim
 Share

Recommended Posts

A big change in 0 A.D. Alpha 25 is the reworking of biomes. This is something that’s slightly slipped under the radar in the run up to the launch of the new Alpha, so here is a brief look at some of the changes you can expect to see.

Biomes are integral to 0 A.D. They are the visual and physical environment that each game is played within. We all have our favourites – or bogey biomes we dread getting in a random match. They’ve remained largely the same over that last few iterations of 0 A.D. – but Alpha 25 will see them undergo something of a shake-up.

What Technically Is A ‘Biome’ In The Context Of 0 A.D?

Biomes bring textures and natural objects, such as trees and animal species, together to simulate an environment you would find in the world.

Why Are Biomes Different In Alpha 25?

0 A.D. Forum member, modder and contributor, @wowgetoffyourcellphone, has been adding new texture assets to diversify and modify existing biomes in his 0 A.D. expansion mod, Delenda Est, for some time. He has been the driving force in getting these enhancements into the core game, along with assistance from fellow contributor, @maroder. The result of this work will be seen for the first time within Alpha 25.

What Will Be The Most Noticeable Differences?

New terrains and their biomes will be more coherently put together, as opposed to the more ad-hoc nature that they were added previously.

And the new terrains with be of a consistent 2k resolution, incorporating normal and specular maps. Previously, terrains were of varying resolutions and only a few had normal or spec maps.

Wow, These Biomes Look Awesome!

They sure do! And it’s worth highlighting that all of the new terrains come from sources licensed as Creative Commons CC0 – ‘No Rights Reserved,’ – to show how far CC0 assets have come and that you don’t have to purchase assets in order to make your game look good.

What About The New Names? Are These Whole New Environments Or Just The Old Ones Renamed?

Some (like temperate) are extensive redresses of old biomes, while others (like India and Nubia) are completely new. More new biomes should be in the works for the following alpha as well. Eventually all the old assets will be superseded by all-new ones.

arctic.png

1707116983_eurasiansteppe.png

india.png

sahara.png

  • Like 7
  • Thanks 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 13/06/2021 at 7:37 PM, mysticjim said:

A big change in 0 A.D. Alpha 25 is the reworking of biomes. This is something that’s slightly slipped under the radar in the run up to the launch of the new Alpha, so here is a brief look at some of the changes you can expect to see.

Biomes are integral to 0 A.D. They are the visual and physical environment that each game is played within. We all have our favourites – or bogey biomes we dread getting in a random match. They’ve remained largely the same over that last few iterations of 0 A.D. – but Alpha 25 will see them undergo something of a shake-up.

What Technically Is A ‘Biome’ In The Context Of 0 A.D?

Biomes bring textures and natural objects, such as trees and animal species, together to simulate an environment you would find in the world.

Why Are Biomes Different In Alpha 25?

0 A.D. Forum member, modder and contributor, @wowgetoffyourcellphone, has been adding new texture assets to diversify and modify existing biomes in his 0 A.D. expansion mod, Delenda Est, for some time. He has been the driving force in getting these enhancements into the core game, along with assistance from fellow contributor, @maroder. The result of this work will be seen for the first time within Alpha 25.

What Will Be The Most Noticeable Differences?

New terrains and their biomes will be more coherently put together, as opposed to the more ad-hoc nature that they were added previously.

And the new terrains with be of a consistent 2k resolution, incorporating normal and specular maps. Previously, terrains were of varying resolutions and only a few had normal or spec maps.

Wow, These Biomes Look Awesome!

They sure do! And it’s worth highlighting that all of the new terrains come from sources licensed as Creative Commons CC0 – ‘No Rights Reserved,’ – to show how far CC0 assets have come and that you don’t have to purchase assets in order to make your game look good.

What About The New Names? Are These Whole New Environments Or Just The Old Ones Renamed?

Some (like temperate) are extensive redresses of old biomes, while others (like India and Nubia) are completely new. More new biomes should be in the works for the following alpha as well. Eventually all the old assets will be superseded by all-new ones.

arctic.png

1707116983_eurasiansteppe.png

india.png

sahara.png

Thank you very much for posting this. It is very much appreciated.  @wowgetoffyourcellphoneWow!

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

First of all, all of the biomes are beautiful, so well done to all of the map makers and art department. However, I just need to point out the nub biomes:

1. Sudanian Savanna is nub, because of weird tree distribution. 

2. Nubia is nub as the name suggests, as you can't really tell the fruit trees from regular palm trees. Tree distribution is also a bit strange. 

All other biomes are fine for TG, but watch out for the very small bushes. 

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...