Game & Map Screenshots 11

[Frostorm]

@Raith Damn, I should've gone with that method instead of rendering my game at 960x540 and fullscreening it to 1920x1080. Arrg I've already done so much of my UI with my current setup, it would be so much work to redo it. It'd be like starting a new project...

 

[Ace of Spades]

It's Screenshot Saturday, everyone post your pics, let's see 'em! I hope you're all having a good weekend.

It looks better in motion, if you got a second to watch the video. I'm open to feedback and suggestions, swing by the thread and let me know what you think. Take care!

 

[Frostorm]

@Ace of Spades Very nice logo for your game. I like how the southwest portion of the compass is cut out so that it hugs the text.

 

[Kupotepo]

@Ace of Spades Hail to the great overlord, Cthulhu. Sound like a great game. I have to play it.

 

[cthulhusquid]

I made some modifications to my Port map for The Wastes. Ignore the offset doors...

 

[Sharm]

Isn't the retaining wall too tall by about *counts* 4 tiles? According to those pipes it should be about the same height as the ship, shouldn't it?

 

[RoseReveries]

I've been playing with some new tiles I bought, but I'm not sure on the lighting for the map. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to improve? Right now the shadows just kind of make it feel dark in my opinion.

 

[Raith]

@RoseReveries shading on the tiled map can be hard, especially if you use texture-rich tiles. However, it can be very easy, too, depending to the circumstance.

To shade properly, firstly you must answer this question:

Where your light source is positioned?

For RTP style tile users they must know that default RM MV tiles light come from southwest, hence the shadow in the northwest. Lazy person like me like to use global light, in which light source came from the top, hence the shadow is directly below the objects without west-east skewness.

In your case, the light come from the west side (based on the small objects), therefore the shadow must be on right. This is already inconsistent with the building shadows which light source come from the south. My suggestion is choose one between west or south light source.

Again, keep the light position consistent and you're basically good to go.

If you shade, you'll notice the tempation to use gradient shadow. The rule is only use gradient in non-flat object. The case in your map, please look at the alley and the roofs. My suggestion is remove the gradient and apply a flat shadow with only a pixel of blur. Please try and compare it!

The other characteristic is shadow length. Contrary to popular opinion, in tile-based map, shadow length often follows the time setting rather than the object height or light source - thanks to the limitation of the tile size. It means that shadow tend to be longer in the afternoon and shortest in the morning or in the middle of day. If you feel your map is darker, it is probably because of this. My suggestion is keep the shadow short based on what time setting in the current map. Please try and compare it!

Give it practices, and you'll be a Shadow Master in no time!

 

[cthulhusquid]

Isn't the retaining wall too tall by about *counts* 4 tiles? According to those pipes it should be about the same height as the ship, shouldn't it?

Crap, I never noticed that. It's supposed to be very tall since the bay was deep, but most of the water has evaporated. I'll have to think of a better way to get on the ship.

 

[Sharm]

@cthulhusquid Wouldn't it be easier to move it all up a little and just add a bit more water at the bottom? I don't know, but it seems like a wall that tall would be a bit boring to navigate inside a game, due to it being so large. It doesn't take too much to give an impression of depth when you can't see the whole map.

@RoseReveries I agree with Raith. The shadows on top of the roofs are the main culprit for making it look dark. Since there's a shadow on there, either something is blocking the sunlight or the light source is below the roofs. Even though it's bright and colorful the shadowed roofs make a brain think it's night time, so it looks dark. If you follow Raith's suggestions and it still looks a bit dark to you, you could try adding a little bit of color to the shadows, something cool to suggest a warm light source. A little hue shifting adds a lot of dynamics to an image.

 

[ganges]

Here's a test play video of my game.[RPGMMV]

 

[Frostorm]

@ganges Very smooth animation you got there!

 

[Joy]

Using an older map to test some animation for water edges and falling water in parallax, still tweaking the back parallax and transparency of the water's edge, but how is this looking?

 

[cabfe]

@Joy I suppose it's in the queue but don't forget to animate the ripples on the water too.

 

[Lycanimuss]

@Joy I really liked the atmosphere of your map, working with water is not easy sometimes, I just missed the ripples in the water, but I liked the way you did the animation, when the map is complete post here to see the final result, well done!


I haven't posted anything here in a while, but I'm working on my project these times, and I did some work in parallax, I really appreciate the feedback!


(Click Images to Zoom)

Thanks!

 

[cabfe]

@Lycanimuss This is very dark. I'm sure this is intended, but there's a fine line between atmospheric dark and obscure.

 

[Kes]

@Lycanimuss I agree with cabfe's point about the darkness. In the second one it makes the highlit items look extremely odd. I cannot work out why they are so bright, but the surface on which they are sitting remains as obscure as everything else. Either they are lit from elsewhere, or they are themselves emitting light, and either way, the areas immediately around them would be lighter as well.
I think when working out levels of darkness, you also have to take into account that not everyone will have a top end monitor. On a less good screen those maps will be even dimmer.

 

[siriusleenott]

Hey! This is my first post on this forum after lurking around for a while, but since I am currently JUST doing maps whilst I try and plan my games plot, I thought I'd show one here.

This one is for a game that is currently on hold, and the map is obviously not done. It's based on Greece, and those lined trees are meant to be vineyards! (Also sorry for the weird quality - apparently my screenshot on my computer doesn't like pixelart?)

Looking for any and all feedback, since this is the way I've kinda zeroed in on making maps, and not sure if there's a better way.

Spoiler: Massive map inside

 

[Morganis]

Hello all,
I have been working on a game for a while now and thought I would maybe start posting some maps here and there for some feedback and opinions. This is the city of Astonia. It needs lighting and some other small touches but for the most part, it is done. Thank you all kindly and all feedback is welcome.

 

[Raith]

@siriusleenott that was a really big map! Not everyone have the patience to do such large map, you know. Apart of the question of why you keep a significant amount of vines unaligned, I guess the only feedback I can give is, after putting some events, I hope your map don't have significant dead space. It's kinda sad to see players nowadays rushing away beautiful big maps thanks to dead space, so I hope you already have a plan on how you will utilize the map.

@aston00 What is the building on the top north? Castle outer wall? Or the castle itself? Is it the castle front side, or other side? If that building is the castle/castle wall front side, you probably want to read this: the layout trope of medieval town with castle is usually "the king goes back to the castle without a hassle" - you put a clear, almost straight path from town gate towards castle wall gate. The only thing that will block that path is usually an aesthetically significant fountain. The logic behind that trope is, when a battalion of troops guarding a royal family march from inside the castle, they must be able to keep a straight line. I guess relocating the big building in the center will do the trick.

Btw @aston00, your map reminds me to a game called Knights of Honor. Try to search the in-game screenshot, it probably help you gives inspiration!