some Eyecandy...

I think the sky texture would be a good idea.

This is not somthing I would rather see than ships or raising bridges but it would be nice

[beaujob]

All this talk of extra features has made me think... it'd be nice if the buttons for Pontifex were in MFC instead of yucky flat OGL bitmaps?  You could then ameliorate a lot of the problems with the input catcher and talking to windows since MFC does all that for you.  Plus, having drop down menus and scrollbars and stuff is really very spiff.

[pasqualz]

Better graphics will attract more people. Improve the graphics and the world will beat a path to your door!

[Calastigro]

Entroper,

What about tha fact that members of the steel section can break without the whole thing breaking?  You wouldn't be able to see that!  it would make making a clean bridge harder for no reason!  BLARG!

Improving the graphics could only add to the game, after all it wouldn't affect the gameplay in any way. On the other hand, I'm not in any rush to see them. I'd much rather have the team working on other stuff first...like that mirror function...

[Entroper]

Well, if any of the segments break, then draw the segments that survived instead of drawing the simpler solid beam.  That would also make broken links very easy to spot, just look for where your bridge stops looking pretty.  http://www.pontifex2.com/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'>

But since we're on the subject, I'm sort of confused as to why the bridges are constructed the way they are anyway.  In BB, the links that you drew were the links of the bridge.  In Pontifex, it replaces each of your links with beams made up of tons of individual links.  This can actually have problematic effects, since when you want to build an arch, the square segments tend to mess up your slope and make the bridge more prone to breaking.  Why not fix that problem while saving a ton on physics calcs as well by just using solid beams?  I don't think anyone's PC would be a problem then.

[falkon2]

Its too late in the development cycle to implement a change *THAT* big. I like the new system anyway =P
There's a thread in General Discussion about the multi-link vs single bar debate.

Since this thread is about eye-candy:

Kudos go to DWN for his amazing mappack textures. Pontifex somehow looks more vibrant with that new grass texture. Perhaps CL could revamp the maps to use the texture set in the next release?

[Lordi]

I know the game is not primarily designed to look awesome and I enjoyed bridge builder very much even with it looking more like an app than a game, but I allways pity the people in the train for the weather:
as far as you can see the sky is a deep grey without features. Please include a (as simple as you like) texture for the sky or at least change it's colour to something more friendly :-)

[pasqualz]

I agree! a simple sky texture would be nice.

[Phonyboy]

I agree too. A nice blue sky with maybe some clouds would make the whole scenery much more enjoyable.