Skins/Texture layers on blocks

Short Form:

Block skins should be a dynamic composition of multiple layers - Material, Condition, Environment.

Long Form:

I will be using the SE skins as an example, since the idea was originally for SE, and we don't have block skins in SE2 yet.

Broadly speaking, the block skins in SE can be broken down in to four categories.

1. Material - Wood, Carbon Fibre, Concrete, "clean", etc
2. Condition - Wartorn, Rusty, Battered, etc
3. Environment - Dusty, Mossy, frozen, etc
4. Other - Neon, etc

The issue with the SE block skins however is that all of the Condition and Environment skins are really just modifications (a prebuilt layer you could say) of the default block skin (the material you could say).

My suggestions is that you canonize these layers.

Have the player select the base material, and then either (or both) have the player or game select the extra effects they want over the top of it.

For example:

Carbon Fibre - just the weave

Carbon Fibre + Battered - the weave, but strands are torn

Carbon Fibre + Wartorn + Frozen - the weave, but with bullet holes/damage, and ice/snow between the strands and built up in the holes

Not all combinations would make sense, for instance "Rusty wood (though you can rust stain wood).

The game could dynamically adjust your condition and environment layers based upon what the block has been through. Driving across a planets surface could make exposed blocks dirty/sandy, driving through water clean them off, being in high altitudes or cold areas apply frost layers. Taking damage apply a wartorn layer, and repairing the block a "patched" layer. General wear and tear (ie a runway being driven over) applying a battered condition.

Smart use of decals, extra displacement maps, and variable blending between layers (the block doesn't immediately become fully rusty or mossy), along with some minor game systems interaction could really add interest to a block skins system.

I am aware that this would add significant artist time, as instead of one "dusty", or "battered", there would need to be one for each "wood", or "concrete", but I think it would add considerably to both the artistic side of creation, and the organic storytelling of survival play.