SEASONS

Seasons impart an effect on the terrain, weather, and tree textures to add variety to the game's appearance.

If seasons are enabled, after an amount of time has passed (as specified at session creation), a new season shall begin, continuing through an infinite cycle of Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter.

Transition Effects

The transition effect is introduced by a sound. This will be accompanied by particle effects and associated sound effects to signal that the season change has begun.

Autumn => Winter: falling snow. Winter => Spring: falling rain. Spring => Summer: 'sun ray' light particles. Summer => Autumn: Blowing leaves and dust.

Transition Texture Swaps

Transition time takes one full minute.

Textures begin their changes based on elevation (example: snow melts first in the lowlands).

Texture swapping will occur when the camera is not watching. So as you scroll across the map, you will notice when you return, that some textures have been swapped. This is done to remove the need to create progressive 'steps' or fades in the textures.

The transition is evenly spread out over the 2 seasons: 30 seconds before, and 30 afterwards.

1. SEASON APPEARANCE

• Spring:
  • Textures: New greens, yet more dreary than Summer. More mud, and wet.
  • Weather: Particle rain (occurrence depending on climate).
  • Transitional Effect: Colour changes to Summer Textures over 1 minute "transistion" period at the end of Spring.

• Summer:
  • Textures: Floriferous. Deep saturated greens.
  • Weather: Particle rain (occurrence depending on climate).
  • Transitional Effect: Colour changes to Autumn Textures over 1 minute "transistion" period at the end of Summer.

• Autumn:
  • Textures: Golden. Orange. Red. Brown. Dry, arid, and dirty/dusty.
  • Weather: Particle rain (occurrence depending on climate). Leaves overlay blown past in breeze.
  • Transitional Effect: Colour changes to Winter Textures over 1 minute "transistion" period at the end of Autumn. If possible, leaves drop from branches of deciduous trees during fade-out fade-in period and become part of the "duff" at the base of starkly denuded trees during the Winter Season (disappearing into it).

• Winter:
  • Textures: Stark. Barren. Bluish tint, a 'cold' feel.
  • Weather: Snow and ice alpha transparency overlay terrain, and particle snow (occurrence depending on climate).
  • Transitional Effect: Colour changes to Spring Textures over 1 minute "transition" period at the end of Winter.

2. SEASON EFFECTS

Seasons are mainly a visual effect, with virtually no effect on gameplay (untill possibly Part II). There will be no interruption to resource gathering in Winter. Seasons and weather vary by biome, and a few map types are affected by the current season. See the different map types for details.

3. SEASON RAMIFICATIONS

Even in this truncated state, the Art Department will require a significant amount of effort to create the multiple texture types, and the Programming Department will need to write routines to create smooth transitions from season to season.

Textures will requre at least 3 versions for most vegetation. Structures will require a seperate 'snow prop' that will 'turn on' when Winter rolls around.

Snow textures will have progressive 'fades'. When the snow starts falling, the ground will be covered in 25% then 50% then 75% then 100% coverage. It starts at the greater elevations and then works its way to the cover the whole terrain. The melting process is another set of textures but runs in reverse.

Snow textures are alpha overlays that are placed above the terrain, as a 'decal'. It is a totally seperate terrain mesh, due to the limitations of texture layers.

Though it will not be easy, the Graphics Department is up to the task!