Topic: An update on Creature Editor Parts

[kmr]

For the benefit of those who are PowerPoint-challenged (OpenOffice will help with that), but also for the rest of us, I thought I might put up the one image that, next to the high-res Willosaur, struck me the deepest: cut from the one slide that showed a prototype of the creature editor, I give you -- functional parts!



Most of these were pretty easy to make out even in the blurry shots and the old video, but confirmed here we see for the first time that there is, indeed, a Sensory Organ catch-all category with an Antenna for an icon, and a general Mouth category as previously guessed at on SporeWiki. What is the triangular-ish one? Let the brainstorming commence!

Personally, though I have said it might be fins or flippers before, I must admit that it looks like it could be a natural weapons category, symbolized by a Spike. Your thoughts are asked for!

[smjjames]

the triangular one is to return to cursor mode, I think. but you're likely right.

also the alien hand symbol has to be manipulators and the bottom one might be tentacles.

[kmr]

the triangular one is to return to cursor mode, I think. but you're likely right.

also the alien hand symbol has to be manipulators and the bottom one might be tentacles.

Personally, I am actually of the opinion that the bottom icon is a category that was dropped, as it's nowhere to be seen in later shots of the creature editor. Much like wings were added later.

I am also doubtful of this "return to cursor" thing. For one thing, why put that smack in the middle of a list of functional parts? It makes no sense from a layouting point of view. It would get its own, individual position on-screen, and wouldn't be hidden away in a list where it's easy to miss.

[mrodgers]

the triangular one is to return to cursor mode, I think. but you're likely right.

also the alien hand symbol has to be manipulators and the bottom one might be tentacles.

I bet its a flipper or fin.  You wouldn't put a return to menu type button in the middle of a tool box.  It would be at the top or bottom to stay out of the way.

[Behumat]

I think they would put a return to cursor mode at the bottom. It might be a flipper, or some sort of abdomin.

[Petike]

If you see the whole picture, you can see than it is much simplier than the older one, I think this is for the technicians

[kmr]

If you see the whole picture, you can see than it is much simplier than the older one, I think this is for the technicians

It is simpler because this is the older one. This is probably long before any work went into designing an editor environment (as would be the case during an early alpha).

[smjjames]

yea, its much simpler and the order of them is different. plus in one of the screenshots of the editor, there is a button for baby, I dunno what that means.

[Behumat]

I figured that was the finished button, you know, hit that to make the baby when you're done messing with its evil-ution.

[smjjames]

well its an older concept art thing, so yea. we didnt see any such button on last years GDC vid.

[gec05]

More than likely we wont see this kind of GUI in the finished game. It's going to change, they always do.

[werechicken]

it looks like we can get hornsa and segmented legs though... a few people will be keen to know that

[kmr]

it looks like we can get hornsa and segmented legs though... a few people will be keen to know that

Those are not legs, they're antennae.

[werechicken]

even cooler

[MrFrenik]

the bottom tool icon looks like a tail