ReStaff July - August 2014

[Caz]

At last, the moment we were all waiting for is back again this August!
As always we'd love to thank all of our amazing contributors
this month who make ReStaff what it is. These guys really
are a breath of joy to the community!

Per usual:
Information about Commercial usage can be found here.
If you want to be a Guest Contributor, go here!

We are always open to guest contributions and would love to
see your work if you want to contribute, so please don't be
shy! You can shoot me or Archeia a PM with any questions
regarding becoming a Guest!

Without further ado, we'd like to present our thanks for
your continued support.

Download Here

 

[Scythuz]

Awesome job on the video Caz and well done to the other contributors.  I'm very sorry I couldn't join you this time!

 

[Deleted]

Yaaaay! Restaff! Well done to all contributors.

Pity I couldn't participate this time, but next time I will

 

[Caz]

It's okay Scyfu, you always contribute so much, no one would blame you for sitting time out for other stuff~

 

[Matseb2611]

Good job, everyone! Sorry I couldn't join you in this one. Will try to contribute next time.

 

[Scythuz]

Good job, everyone! Sorry I couldn't join you in this one. Will try to contribute next time.

We'll make an epic comeback of some kind next time haha

 

[Alkorri]

This is the most talented community ever! Can't wait to go through this Restaff

 

[Sharm]

I would like to point out that Eric was made on the same base as my previous Restaff release of Ralph. Since I went through all the trouble of drawing the entirety of the clothing instead of just what is visible when it's all put together this means you can mix and match!

 

[Scythuz]

Since I wasn't able to contribute this time I figured I'd try and make up for it by leaving some feedback

 

 

Graphics:

 

 


Arkecia - Well, I saw all these as they were being made and my thoughts remain the same.  

I love the carpets but wish the pillows matched with the rtp more.  They will probably fit in okay with the ds/ds+ style though.

 

Avery - You can never have enough tree, plant life, ground tile variants!  Awesome work.

 

Caitlin - These are great modern/semi-futuristic, we need more of these I reckon.

 

Caz - Another one where  I got to see it being made.  I love how festive they all are!  I think burgerman-san might be qualified as as a hotdog salesman too.

 

Chaos Avian -  I'd had enough of spiders recently, then this battler came along and made me forgive them again.  Awesome work!

 

Leilaheliday - Windowskins! Awesome, definitely want to see more of these!

 

Ocean - I find it awesome that you made beach stuff, matches your name haha.  Nice job Oshun.

 

Palladinthug - Great job on these tiles man, I'm a particularly big fan of the ground detail tiles "naturemoldlichen" they'll be pretty useful!

 

Sharm - Spikes on/spikes off, Eric's looking cool!



 

 

Music - In order of track numbers lowest to highest (Warning, I'll be slightly harsher on you guys, it's all to help you improve of course!):

 

 


Johnny R - This track sounds pretty nifty for a modern or sci-fi tune of some kind.  Possibly for a cutscene, though it'd be great for a town or overworld theme as it's pretty versatile.  Just one minor criticism though, the track clips very very slightly so next time you might want to normalise to -0.1db.

 

Also you might want to consider having it take slightly less time to build up, it makes the track a little bit too long the way you've done it and it feels unneccessary, try bringing the changes/variations in slightly earlier in the future.

 

McTricky -

 

Motion of Mystery - For this one my only critique would be that it doesn't loop properly, could you perhaps fix this for next time?

 

Trust in the Sword - This is the track I really liked, once again could you try and make sure it loops properly next time?  

Also I feel the time signature change could have been handled a little smoother.

 

One extra point man, do you think maybe nows a good time to veer away from Kingdom Hearts Battle Themes, 

or even just battle themes as a whole and maybe try something new?

 

Desperate Measurez -

 

Fireside Tales - I really like the sound of the string instruments on this one.  Not much to critique as it sounds great.

 

Illusory Realm - This ones perfect for temple ruins or an ancient castle or something.

 

Journey's Reflection - I like your use of the boy choir solo patch here.

 

Peace on the Water - Very glad you made something like this, I'd appreciate more variety like this more often from you man.  Whilst dark orchestral pieces are nice... it's something me, you and Quigon can all pull off in our sleep.  So it's good to hear a nice little piece like this from time to time.  Sounds like you'd use it for a village theme.

 

Radiant Times - I'd suggest working on your drum kit skills for this one.  The individual drums sound a little too dry to me and the hi-hat open hit/pedal press (can't quite tell sorry!) sounds a little odd to my ears.  I reckon replacing that part with a ride cymbal would do the trick.

 

Triumphant Celebrations - Did I just finish watching Star Wars or is Rufus Shinra at it again.  I think this one might be my favourite one out of yours, it sounds so optimistic.  Only problem here is it doesn't quite loop perfectly.

 

Unmatched Treachery - Not a fan of the choirs used here to be frank.  The rest of the track is pretty solid though.



 

 

Overall I think you all did an awesome job!

 

 

 

 

[GrandmaDeb]

GRAPHICS!


Arkecia - Nice Tribal Carpet! Thanks!


Avery - Way to "branch out!" I love more trees! And the short cliff is a great idea.


Caitlin - A plug and lightswitch! It is amazing what modern things no one has thought of making yet! Great!


Caz - I love the burger man - and your tiles have a pleasant, comfortable feel.


Chaos - no comfortable feel to your battlers! Get out the RAID!!!


Leila - I am a windowskin lover - I can't believe you got words to work in those indicators! Amazing!


Ocean - true to your name, your beach pieces are super. I love the pineapple, but I bet the anchor will get plenty of use!


Palladinthug - I love the pillars - great color choice, and the world always needs more fungus amongus. I enjoy those stalactite/stalagmites by Chihuahua Poison (or whatever mangle Google did to the person's name.) Being able to use them even more - and with a watery map as well - is a plus!


Sharm - There yu go stylin' with Eric... lol that's what artists do! Thanks for sharing with us!


MUSIKS!


I cannot listen to the musiks right now cuz Raith is sitting here playing League of Legends, but I will and I will get back to you!


Thanks for all the tunes!

 

[DesperateMeasurez]

Spoiler

Desperate Measurez -
Fireside Tales - I really like the sound of the string instruments on this one.  Not much to critique as it sounds great.

Illusory Realm - This ones perfect for temple ruins or an ancient castle or something.

Journey's Reflection - I like your use of the boy choir solo patch here.

Peace on the Water - Very glad you made something like this, I'd appreciate more variety like this more often from you man.  Whilst dark orchestral pieces are nice... it's something me, you and Quigon can all pull off in our sleep.  So it's good to hear a nice little piece like this from time to time.  Sounds like you'd use it for a village theme.

Radiant Times - I'd suggest working on your drum kit skills for this one.  The individual drums sound a little too dry to me and the hi-hat open hit/pedal press (can't quite tell sorry!) sounds a little odd to my ears.  I reckon replacing that part with a ride cymbal would do the trick.

Triumphant Celebrations - Did I just finish watching Star Wars or is Rufus Shinra at it again.  I think this one might be my favourite one out of yours, it sounds so optimistic.  Only problem here is it doesn't quite loop perfectly.

Unmatched Treachery - Not a fan of the choirs used here to be frank.  The rest of the track is pretty solid though.

 

Thanks for taking the time to give all the feedback, man! For Journey's Reflection, that's my elven girl you called a boy!!! She is sooo insulted now. She's going to use her magic against you and there's no place you can hide! I totally wouldn't want to be in your shoes now... Nothing is scarier than an insulted elven chick. Don't ask me how I know this.

 

For Radiant Times I purposely used a really dry, light kick and snare to keep things a bit airy given the nature of the piece. I didn't want it to sound too impactful or rockish and I was afraid more reverb would have killed my target mood. However, I had not even thought of trying a ride cymbal in place of the hi-hat. That is a really good idea and may have worked out quite nicely. Thanks for the suggestion!

 

Haha, I wish my celebration piece were as catchy as one of those two themes! That's terrible it doesn't loop right. Dang, I've listened to these things in Audacity and XM Play a billion times and I never caught it. Does it pop or click or something? It must have slipped right by me. Now I've messed up everyone's download... That's not cool. If anyone is interested in using that piece, I will have to get on an updated version to correct this right away! Deepest apologies for that everyone!

 

Thanks for pointing all that out Scythuz! I appreciate the time you took and the different perspective to be certain!

 

[Arkecia]

It felt great to participate this time! I agree with you Scythuz with the pillow as it's kind of a pixel/painted hybrid; I've gotten much better and non-pixel related art though, so I'm thinking of adding more little fun items in the future.

I'll keep my own thoughts about this month's ReStaff in two separate spoilers:

Graphics:

Spoiler

Avery:

I haven't used XP or XP style graphics yet, but I love it when I can see tiles made in this style. I especially love the ground and tree leaf variation. Even better that it looks like a tree under all that flora.

Caitlin:

No such thing as too many modern style tiles, and actual light switches and outlets? Awesome!

If I used these everyone would have an apple fetish when it came to time.

Caz:

In a project I'm working on using the DS+ tiles, there's a fast food place, and the character would fit in perfectly. To be honest with the actual DS+ tiles, it makes little sense why there isn't already fast food worker sprites. Your brick wall designs are mesmerizing, and a city plaza could use more outdoor markets.

Chaos Avian:

I don't think I want to live on a planet with giant femme spiders, but I'd love to play the role of someone stuck fighting them. The designs is really unique and I'd love to see more in this style.

Leilaheliday:

I love simple (as in no stretched out transparent BG design) windowskins, and yours are absolutely fantastic! I'm thinking of switching out my current window for one of these; I'm always partial to blue.

Ocean:

Thanks, now I feel like eating some pineapple. Very useful for populating a beach floor with cool pixels, and very well done. Not enough beach decor imo, so this is great.

palladinthug:

I love the fountain! There's not many cool choices for man-made ones, and if I ever make an RTP styled game, I'll finally have cool stuff to throw into my cave dungeons. I can tell the stalactites took a lot of work and look forward to seeing them in a game!

Sharm:

This portrait and Ralph's from a previous one have me all excited for a character back in the same style. Eric's never looked so pixelicious!

Music:

Spoiler

DesperateMeasurez:

First off I like how you added how you imagined each track, it really drives the point home if the song titles weren't description enough. I love the feeling all of your string instruments invoke; my favorite track is a cross between Fireside Tales, (something I'd use for bonding moments) Journey's Reflection, (not your normal reflection, but the moment that ultimately grows the player character(s)) and Peace On The Water (Either a town theme as there aren't many good ones, or a camping montage o_o)

JohnnyR:

I know you said it's a BGM for an Eastern style location like a desert or oasis town, but I'm getting a much bigger vibe for either an overall overworld theme or eastern inspired sci-fi city something like a more utopian Tantooine. Most of the song would indeed fit any type of sci-fi town however. I love the buildup throughout.

McTricky:

I always love checking out your battle music, and this is no different here. With the way Motion of Mystery is tempoed it could even be an intense dungeon song. Trust In The Sword is my personal favorite though; I can't get enough of the melody played at parts like 0:16-0:32 seconds in.

Also I want to thank Caz for taking the time to make a little video to showcase everything!

 

[Scythuz]

 

Thanks for taking the time to give all the feedback, man! For Journey's Reflection, that's my elven girl you called a boy!!! She is sooo insulted now. She's going to use her magic against you and there's no place you can hide! I totally wouldn't want to be in your shoes now... Nothing is scarier than an insulted elven chick. Don't ask me how I know this.

 

For Radiant Times I purposely used a really dry, light kick and snare to keep things a bit airy given the nature of the piece. I didn't want it to sound too impactful or rockish and I was afraid more reverb would have killed my target mood. However, I had not even thought of trying a ride cymbal in place of the hi-hat. That is a really good idea and may have worked out quite nicely. Thanks for the suggestion!

 

Haha, I wish my celebration piece were as catchy as one of those two themes! That's terrible it doesn't loop right. Dang, I've listened to these things in Audacity and XM Play a billion times and I never caught it. Does it pop or click or something? It must have slipped right by me. Now I've messed up everyone's download... That's not cool. If anyone is interested in using that piece, I will have to get on an updated version to correct this right away! Deepest apologies for that everyone!

 

Thanks for pointing all that out Scythuz! I appreciate the time you took and the different perspective to be certain!

Going through this point by point in order...

It sounded so much like the boy choir patch in regular eastwest symphonic choirs that I was convinced it was that haha.  I have used it recently too!

Personally I think using the reverb in a light way might have actually enhanced the sense of air, you don't have to go crazy with it after all ^.^

Yeah for the celebration theme it wasn't a click or a pop but more a noticeable delay/period of silence.  Great that you're willing to fix it though

No problem, hope it was of help, I was a bit hesitant of posting so proper criticism for the music section but maybe it's not such a bad thing!

 

[DesperateMeasurez]

Haha. It's okay. I was able to calm her down anyway. I fixed her some Chamomile Tea. All is well and there won't be any magical horses comprised of water and elven magic to get you.

Heck yes I'm willing to fix it! I don't want to pawn off a second rate produce on everyone!

Nah, man. Don't be hesitant. I'm always glad to hear another perspective and input. You know as well as I do how much we listen to our own music while working on it. After awhile you can get a bit numb to things and get tunnel vision on what sounds good and what doesn't. So I'm always open to criticism and different views. Thanks again!

 

[Dalph]

Took me a while to write all this papyrus, I'm totally insane...

GRAPHICS:

Spoiler

Arkecia:

I saw your carpets time ago and I like the colour variations and the details that you put on the outlines of them, they totally fit with the RTP. I'm with Scythuz about the pillows though...these are meant to be used with the DS\DS+ packs. The tribal carpet is very nice, I like it a lot.

If you will do more variations of the RTP materials in future, I'm sure that everyone will appreciate it (me too). Good job.

Avery:
Gorgeous tiles in Xp style. One of the few things that I like about Xp are the tiles, I don't do parallax but these can be very useful in ACE after converting them. It would be interesting to see some cave\volcano\snow tiles for the next Restaff.

Caitlin:
Modern\Sci-fi stuff, I really like the switches and the appliances (especially the fridge), these are super-useful. I would like to see a hob and a washing machine too in future (if you want). Good job.

Caz:
Caz's tiles in DS+ style are always beautiful and a pleasure to our eyes. The burgerman looks cool, I like the cart, the attention to details on the hat and the clothes of the guy...everything looks great. I would like to see some Halloween\Beach\Amusement Park DS tiles from you in future. Good job Cazpock.

Chaos Avian:
Very nice work bro, I especially like the darker one and the colour scheme that you used. Well I think that we finally have enough awesome battlers to make a whole game now. Thanks a lot for your work. If you want you can make a Wendigo or a Salamander for the next Restaff, I would like to see these battlers in your artstyle.

leilaheliday:
I like them all but the Crystal Skin is one of the best windowskins I've ever seen (and I'm not joking), seriously it looks really amazing ingame. I think I'm gonna replace the current one of my game with this one, very high quality work.

Ocean:

Beachstuff! Great work man, these are very useful. I especially like the anchor and how you made realistic the metal of it! For some "unexplainable" reason I would like to see more Food stuff from you (but I'm sure you already made everything, ahahah).

Palladinthug:

Great edit on PandaMaru's lion statue palladin, I like that fountain a lot! And the stalagtites are a must have, I'm sure everyone will need them for their games. The nature tiles are very nice too, they're clearly in RTP style and can fit for every game. Awesome job on the mushrooms, I really like how detailed they are...if you want some suggestions for the next restaff, I reccomend Dark Castle\Crypt tiles... :'D

Sharm:
We have Ralph and Eric now, I only need Ulrika and I can finally create something...you promised me an Ulrika, remember Sharm?
I like your artstyle, your pixel art portraits are new and refreshing, as much as I'm an RTP fan we need to see something different too sometimes. Nice work on his armor and the spikes, the two variants can be really useful. I never asked you this but: It's allowed to edit your Ralph's portrait? (you already know why, ahahah)

MUSIC:

Spoiler

DesperateMeasurez:Fireside Tales

It's a nice tavern\pub theme as you said but I believe that it can fit for a village too (possibly a primitive one with a night atmosphere).

It's very calm and relaxing, I like it.

Illusory Realm

I love this one, it's creepy, dark and kinda mysterious too (my things, ahah), it fits very well for a nightmare, a sad cutscene or even a flashback. I really like the harp in this track, it's very very nice.

Journey's Reflection

A sad theme, it's very deep and makes you think, definitely a must have for dramatic cutscenes of any sort, the female echoes that you can hear in it are beautiful. Very high quality work.

Peace On The Water

This track can fit mainly for a village (a fishing one as you say but a regular one too) or a tavern yes, it's calm, relaxing and lighthearted.

I can even see it fit as a main character theme for some reason. Nice one.

Radiant Times

A very flexible track, can be used for a lot of different things tbh...an introduction, or maybe a regular cutscene, a character theme, a overworld map theme or even a forest and\or a grass field. The possibilities are so many, I like how it makes me think about the start of long journey.

Triumphant Celebration

This is what the name suggests yes, a triumphant return after a battle, or maybe the celebration after the ending of a war...can be used also for a Castle theme or for a coronation. Brings joy and honor.

Unmatched Treachery

OMFG! You...

This is the track that I requested...Mordred's track! Thank you very much for making this one man, you're so awesome.

As I told you Mordred is actually my favourite character of the Arthurian Legends and this theme clearly fits him so damn well...it's amazing, dark, evil and my favourite of this release. I can really feel the treachery inside it, I freakin love it!

-
JohnnyR:

Somewhere in the Far East

It's a nice track, it can fit for a desert (or a village in a desert) or any other hot place but I agree with the others...it's very sci-fi sounding too and this makes it pretty versatile I think. Tracks adaptable for multiple settings are always useful.

-
McTricky:

Motion of Mystery

A great battle theme, it's deep and fits for a decisive 1vs1 boss battle if you ask me, I can clearly hear the sadness and the conflict inside it.

I like the echoes in the ending part of it, they make the track sound more epic.

Trust In The Sword

This one is one of my favourite among your tracks...it's basically perfect for regular battles and very heroic sounding, I like the echoes from 1:50. Great job.

-.

Suggestions for the next Restaff (composers):

DesperateMeasurez:

Again thank you very much for Unmatched Treachery, I appreciate it a lot man...I'm speechless here. You're the best.

Did you make Merlin's theme? This track would be a nice idea and very useful for any "good" mage character.

If we want to stay away from the Arthurian Legends for a while then I reccomend to do some Asian themes...like Chinese Mythology and similar tuff.

JohnnyR:

More sci-fi themes if you want, try to do a spaceship or a planet one.

McTricky:

Have you tried to do some sci-fi battle themes? If not I really would like to hear these ones from you.

Thanks to all the contribuitors for their awesome work and thanks to CAZ (my eternal rival) for setting up the Restaff!

You guys are awesome and we appreciate your work a lot.

I'll contribuite too, very soon...and with scripts! :'D

 

[Sharm]

Edits are actually encouraged, it's why I released it here instead of Members+. And don't worry, I haven't forgotten Ulrika. I was just halfway through making Eric when you asked, so I wanted to finish him first. I've started on her, but I haven't gotten far yet. Just a body and half finished face.

 

[McTricky]

McTricky -

 

Motion of Mystery - For this one my only critique would be that it doesn't loop properly, could you perhaps fix this for next time?

 

Trust in the Sword - This is the track I really liked, once again could you try and make sure it loops properly next time?  

Also I feel the time signature change could have been handled a little smoother.

 

One extra point man, do you think maybe nows a good time to veer away from Kingdom Hearts Battle Themes, 

or even just battle themes as a whole and maybe try something new?

That's strange, I'm pretty sure they looped fine when I tested them. I think one of them is ever so slightly clipped (it might be Motion of Mystery). I'll have a listen again, and then see about updating it.

Also, I actually did want to do something different this month, but since I was super busy this month, I only ever did end up composing "Trust in the Sword", and "Motion of Mystery" was made as a sort of video tutorial on YouTube. Admittedly, that one is very KH-sounding, but that was actually the idea. Next time, though, hopefully you should hear something different.

McTricky:

I always love checking out your battle music, and this is no different here. With the way Motion of Mystery is tempoed it could even be an intense dungeon song. Trust In The Sword is my personal favorite though; I can't get enough of the melody played at parts like 0:16-0:32 seconds in.

I like what I did with Trust In The Sword. In the original draft, the sections sounded really disjointed and the time-signature changes were pretty bad, until I changed all that. It flows smoother, and can work for both normal battle or boss battle.

McTricky:
Motion of Mystery

A great battle theme, it's deep and fits for a decisive 1vs1 boss battle if you ask me, I can clearly hear the sadness and the conflict inside it.

I like the echoes in the ending part of it, they make the track sound more epic.

Trust In The Sword

This one is one of my favourite among your tracks...it's basically perfect for regular battles and very heroic sounding, I like the echoes from 1:50. Great job.

-.

Suggestions for the next Restaff (composers):

McTricky:

Have you tried to do some sci-fi battle themes? If not I really would like to hear these ones from you.

The vocalist (the "echo" you refer to) is something I should use more often. I LOVE it! I never really used it much, because I found it difficult to control the volume (on its own it's SUPER LOUD on the high notes), but I manage to tame it for Motion of Mystery.

And yeah sci-fi/electronic is something I want to get more practice in so expect something in that area in the future~

 

[RobbieLA]

Another good release, nice work everyone! It still surprises me how well a community can come together both consistently and effectively enough to produce resources of this quality.

 

[Evan Finkel]

Brilliant release, here is my feedback, as well as few suggestions for next release.

 

Graphics


Arkecia

So excellent work on pillows, more carpets are always useful. Thank you very much for sharing!

 

Avery

No a XP user myself, but so flawless pixel art after all. Loving the trees there. Well job. I think you need some work on shadows, it does looks like it resized.

 

Caitlin

More modern stuff is always so flawless. I think you go a bit more further with shading, everything else looks so well! Thank you.

 

Caz

My god! I am blind! Adorable! Very flawless pixel art! I am a DS user myself, will use this in my next project! Thank you very much!

 

Chaos Avian

Well done battlers there, so great job! Thank you! I think it's so darker . . why not lighten it more?

 

leilaheliday

So adorable skins there! I am impressed, dear! Thank you very much! I think "OK" can be better in some skins instead of "Go!"

 

Ocean

Pixel art is my favorite, I am impressed with your shading job! Thank you! I think you do a more improvement with line work, despite they are cute!

 

Palladinthug

RTP related stuff is also very much useful after all, nice mushrooms you have! But I think you should pay a little more attenion on them with line work, it looks like it's in a super mario based game.

 

Sharm

Very well job! I am impressed! We need Ulrika and Dalph next, lol.

 

Suggestions

Sharm - Ulrika portrait seriously

Caz - Futuristic heroines please!



 

Music


DesperateMeasurez

Oh, my god! So much pieces there! Loving work! I was haunting for something smillar to them! Thank you so much!

 

JohhnyR

Why only single? But it's so flawless after all! Thank you!

 

McTricky

Trust in the sword? I am going to use this as a battle BGM! Thank you so much!

 

Suggestions

I am agree with Dalph, why not try something sci-fi or futuristic?

 

[EternalShadow]

I didn't notice this restaff until just now!

Generally, I like how the resources now are more generic than they used to be in the past. Makes usage a lot more versatile.