Hello everyone! My name is Vladislav, I am a technical artist at SuperCity, and today I will tell you how our team of 3D artists and I updated the way our citizens look!
Why we decided to make this update
We can’t imagine our game world without citizens. They set the mood, contribute a unique style, and evoke feelings in our players. For many players, they have even become truly family! But much time has elapsed since their debut, and issues have started to emerge:
– Many citizens have become visually outdated and were no longer fitting in with the game’s general aesthetic
– There was a clear need for improvement in the proportions and detailing of the citizens
– In certain spots, the graphics’ color palette and textures felt overly simplistic, out of character with the high quality of the game as a whole
A massive overhaul was required since, after all, the citizens should not be inferior in beauty to the buildings around them!
How the work on the update went
The process required careful preparation and turned out to be more complex than we initially expected. We divided the work into several key stages:
Analysis and improvement
First, we carefully studied all the citizens walking around the city to understand which aspects needed improvement. Then we completely reworked the models of residents in 3D, paying attention to every detail, from proportions to clothes and accessories.
We set out to do more than simply refresh the aesthetic; we wanted the citizens to look more real and integrated into the game environment. Even though we greatly improved their quality, we made an effort to maintain the familiarity of the previous looks.
Redesign and search for new forms
Rather than merely “repaint” the characters, we set out to give them more personality, refine their outlines, and level up their motion.
Our modifications are detailed below:
– More intricate faces
– Enhanced detailing on clothing and accessories
– A more realistic and up-to-date look for the citizens through the optimization of their proportions
Uploading and checking
Upon reviewing the models’ first test update, we identified several issues:
– Some citizens lost their individuality due to the more unified style
– The new proportions looked strange in motion
– The animation needed some work to make the citizens’ movements look natural
As a result, we had to revisit the changes in order to iron out the details. The outcome was great! The citizens were more natural and immersive, and we loved how they worked with the game!
So, what came out of it?
Now the citizens look:
More modern: we kept their signature style, but made it more up-to-date.
More detailed: clothing, accessories, and faces are now more intricately rendered.
Livelier: the citizens’ expressions have been enhanced through the use of better animations.
Further plans
So far, our efforts have been focused on City Centre citizens, but we intend to expand our reach in the near future!
The upcoming plans:
– Updating citizens in other locations
– Updating citizens that appear in the city after the construction of certain buildings (for example, a police officer after the completion of the police station)
– Updating the stages of construction of various buildings (coming soon)
It has been a long time coming, but we are finally able to deploy this upgrade! Your city will now take on an even more vibrant and picturesque appearance!
