SCAReStaff October 2015

Awwww this seemed like a lot of fun beating up on Dalph guy. 

Next time we can beat him up I wanna join!

 

Ok, so I'm really late to this. But why just defeat the threat? Why not WIPE IT FROM EXISTENCE?!? Ha!! HAAAAH HA HA HA HA!!!

I'll go in alphabetical order so everyone can find what I have to say...like an index!

Spoiler

Avery: The pumpkin house is siiiiick. I love the textures on it. The Halloween-themed icons are also very detailed and can be used for a wide variety of purposes. I especially enjoy the four versions of the hockey mask. JASON VOORHEES FOR LIFE!!
Banquo: I like your characters. I like their style. I do feel, however, that your doorways' outer edges are very thick. Perhaps too thick...Oh, but your open treasure chest sprite is quite tempting for any adventurer, even if it is only meant to be a tile. Good stuff.

Candacis: These tiles are lovely. And these props...I'm especially fond of the couches with sheets on them. Plenty of things to make a most creepy indoor environment!

Caz: The Ralph bust is pretty to look at. The horror tileset has both clean, unblemished and wrecked versions of each sprite.Perfect to amp up the spooks!

Chaos Avian: These battlers are great! I love the way Gloomwoods look. Even their name sounds cool. The expressions on the Jack-O-Battlers are on-point, and I like the colors and textures used for each. Great work.

Clydous: This track--oh wait. This one is mine! And I've nothing nice to say about my own work! But more on that later...

DesperateMeasurez: I'll give brief commentary on each of the 5 tracks:

Bad Dreams: I do enjoy the dissonance in this one. And while it isn't front and center (as you mentioned), it's still nice to add to a dream sequence. Sound effects are cool.

The House in the Middle of Nowhere: A pleasant spooky music box-ish tune that, again, makes good on the sound effects. That low-band string section does this piece justice.

Inside the Tomb: I have a history of spending time in tombs and am pleased with the sounds offered in this track. The percussion in this is simple but effective and enjoyable.

Spellbound: I'm not sure what this might be used for. It doesn't sound bad...I simply can't think of a use for it. Maybe a dank "cellar dungeon?" I AM listening on headphones, so yes...I can hear how the piano pans from left to right on those notes. Cool effect.

Quirkasaurus: Whoever didn't like this track was a fool. Not afraid to say that. It's so whimsical and...dare I say it...quirky! Easily the most enjoyable of your 5 entries.

Hiddenone: I adore the skeleton horses. They remind me of Star Tropics for some reason...not sure why. But they're great! One of your Dullahans comes in a color similar to the kinds of Dullahans I'm used to seeing. Quite a coincidence!

ksjp17: Seriously...I don't even know where to begin here. There's so much! From the animations, to the Alien Humanoid (who looks pretty epic, btw), to the sound effects...even an emotion from Eric? Ahh, but I see this is the result of much hard work from multiple people. And so to Kes, Shaz, matseb, and Avery, I say good job. It all looks polished and pleasing to the eyes...and ears!

Ms Littlefish: These sound effects are so crisp. The apple-munching one is awesome...and I laugh every time I hear the Egg one. Makes me think you actually egged someone's front door and recorded it. Foley ftw!

Nanokan: The art slime is cool. The slime battlers also look like something I'd like to use. Your world map buildings look so detailed...and wicked! I will say, though, that your tiles look a little off...when I saw the example maps you made with them...I dunno. The edges of each land mass look odd when put next to the slime oceans. I'm not entirely sure how you could fix them, either...maybe make them a little less blocky? Unsure...unsure...

Palladinthug: Coke! And Hot Pockets! Glorious! And what seems to be a trcik-or-treater? A dragon kid? I don't know what it is...but I like it!

PandaMaru: Holy moley! Those pumpkin cottages are the bees knees! They're like something out of a Disney movie! Awesome work. No, really. Awesome work.

Skeezixs1: These pictures are awesome. The first two are perfect for any kind of horror game. Everything afterwards is more artsy...and stunningly gorgeous. Excellent job on those acrylic paintings.

Slimmmeiske2: A comical take on a few heroes. I suppose they're all ready for the Halloween festivities to begin!

Super121830: Chests! Chests, everywhere! I like these recolors. The last three bottom right ones are devoid of color and look as though they belong in a spooky dungeon. Perfect!

Thalzon: An interesting array of battlers. I'll say the haunt one is pretty friggin' spooky. The textures on the skeleton and spider are legit. I like them both, though I would have liked to have seen what the spider looked like outside of the same shroud the skeleton was wearing.

Valkyriet: Such cute little Geishas! No, really. They're just adorable. I like the colors for all of them. And they're cute. Did I mention that yet? Why, yes. Yes, I did.

And now, for everyone who offered some constructive criticism on my work...

 ​

​

Spoiler

Thank you!

Seriously, this kind of stuff helps me (and artists in general) so much more than a compliment...although I'm fully aware that sometimes, that is impossible, seeing as how not everyone is an artist (like, I have no way of offering really HIGH QUALITY cc to visual artists...as I'm not much of a visual artist, myself. Take what I say with a grain of salt.).

Anyways...

Yes, I was aware of the distortion involved in certain areas of the track...and I did some form of mastering for it, but I now realize it wasn't enough. So I'll be working on a version that is less muddy and more crisp for anyone interested. Again, thanks so much for pointing such out! =D

 

@Clydous Palladinthug's dragon-kid is Iggy The mascot of the Indie Game Making Contest.

 

I am so bummed out I didn't notice this thread until now.

 

The event is over, but there's still an opportunity to rub some salt in the wound I mean, get some prizes!

We'll be looking out for the best feedbackers and giving out some badges (and possibly some prizes..) to those who did really well!

 

Firstly, I am sorry if I don't give everyone feedback. I only give feedback that caught my attention more than the others. 

DesperateMeasurez: Your song really great, as everyone said. It was feels like I am playing an horror game

hiddenone: Your skeleton horse, it reminds me of Thestral from harry potter rather than a horse, really.

Super121830: Thank you very much for recolored chests. BTW, the white one (the most right) reminds me of chests from Tomba.

Nanokan: Cool tilesets for overworld map. A floating castle, big dark city with towers, burning forest. Oh, it deliver the right vibe for something dark.

Paladinthug: It is IGMC mascot, isn't it?

 

@Vampire Vox: Ahhh...so THAT'S what it is! Good to know!

So...as promised, I did my best in remixing and remastering Terror Wave. I'm not sure where it should go, so I decided to just put it into my dropbox and allow anyone who wants the updated version to download it. Should I have sent it to one of the staff? So they could update the full release? I'm not sure! Please let me know, and if so, I'll toss it into a .zip file.

In any case, here it is: Terror Wave

Happy trails~!

 

I'll be doing a review on the music for now, because it's the only thing I CAN review for now...-.-

TIME TO THROW SALT AT DALPH!!! NO MORE STEALING FROM ME!!!! STEALING (And basically being evil) IS MY JOB!!!!! SPINNING SALT HAILSTORM OF PAIN!!!!!!!

Spoiler

DesperateMeasurez: You never cease to amaze, do you? Once again, you provide fantastic fantastic music for everyone! Thank you for the wonderful music! :3Clydous: Hey, Clydous! I heard your update to "Terror Wave" and it is a great improvement from the old one. (Which still was awesome, mind you. This makes this one-like-head-exploding-from-sheer-awesomeness.)

Ms Littlefish: I know this isn't music, but it's audio, so it counts. So I saw your stuff, and I must say that you've got some interesting stuff here! Thanks for these great SFX! (To tell you the truth, I've been looking for an apple consumption for a while, now...Thanks!) 

Man...I really enjoy kicking people while they're down, don't I? Meh! I'm evil! I shouldn't care! I'll be baaacccckkkkk......with more niceness and salt.............mehehehe..........................

 

Plot twist: Dalph is a Pain Elemental. Pain feeds him!

 

@UltimateFiremaster: I don't think Clydous and Scythuz are the same people.  :

 

Dang...thanks. That was...bad...I was thinking "Scythuz" for some reason. I don't remember why, though.

Note to self: I'm an idiot.

 

It's just a simple mix-up. It was probably in your excitement to deal some hurt to the evil overlord. 

P.S. If you're an idiot, then I'm a bigger idiot than you. ^ ^

 

Mehehehe...

MOVING ON!!!

You handled my evil power? Alright then...MORE EVILNESS/NICENESS!!!!!!!!!!! MEHEHEHEHEHE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LOLLY POPS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Spoiler

Avery: Well, well, well! What do we have here? It looks like I've stumbled upon some more of Avery's magnificent icons! I like all the bloody icons (Really morbid sounding, I know...), especially the hammer (I like hammers and scythes. Nothing unusual...). And the pumpkins were well designed and just plain awesome. I owe you my thanks!

Banquo: Thanks, Banquo! You've provided us with excellent sprites. I like how they are in your own style, rather then the RTP style! Great job, my friend!

Candacis: We've got some great tiles here! The tilesets are legitimately creepy! Just how I like it!

Caz: I don't know what DS stands for, so this isn't going to be long. I like the portrait and tiles! Thanks! (Blood...fun to use...I'm morbid...Scary...)

Chaos Avian: These battlers are certainly...terrifying (In a good way)...they just creep me out...and I'm supposed to be evil. They are awesome, don't worry!

Hiddenone: Well now...I's beginning to feel like The Nightmare Before Christmas...Add antlers to those horses, and you've got it (Please don't). They are really good. I could use these! Thank you!

Ksjp17: The animations are really cool. These are something you will probably find in my next game. Very...ghostly...

Nanokan: The slime materials are awesome! Thank you!

Palladinthug: I don't know...how to react...nom nom nom! Despite being pixelated, they are still delicious!

PandaMaru: Pumpkin tilesets...these were the last thing I was expecting! They look really nice. They look...cozy! Thanks for making them!

Skeezixs1: I'll get started. The battlestart is good! Really good! And I like the blood back, too! The frame is a little plain IMO, but it still looks great. The openings look peaceful, which I am looking for in the game I'm working on! Thank you!

Slimmmeiske2: Out of all of these, this is the creepiest. Eric as a clown, and Elmer as a princess is just...scary...Lol...

Super121830: Chests! Chests! Chests! I'm having a chest overload! These treasure chests will come very handy in the future! Thanks!

Thalzon: Did I mention that you're style is my second favorite? These battlers certainly live up to and past my expectations of my second favorite. So much so that you are now number ONE!!! UNO!!! UNUS!!! 한!!! Blam!

Valkyriet: The geishas look great! You've got talent! Thank you!

Wait...what am I doing? Am I challenging Dalph as the resident villain?! I can't do that!!! Fine, then...I'll be...resident insane evil person!!! MEHEHEHEHEHE!!!!!!!!!!

 

Amazing!

 

PS: Why are you an idiot?

 

CAZ: ​

Amazing work so far, team! I already have a few great candidates lined up!​

The knighting will take place on November 1st, so get your feedback in before then to be in the running! ​

 

This took quite a lot of time to write. Thank you Caz and Dalph for the great event (I feel like it flew by). Big thank you to my fellow Restaffers and guest contributors who went all out.

As for my contribution: I'm glad many liked the dress choices of our heroes and that many of you saw the humour in it Thank you mlogan for that awesome video by the way! Made me feel very proud As for Elmer crossdressing, I just figured a pretty boy like him would make a pretty princess. Besides he is a thief, so dressing up to sneak into a palace seems like something he would do. (So I personally don't think he objected that much, PandaMaru ). I knew you would like officer, I mean sergeant Ulrika, Dalph.

I'm planning on doing a few more, so if anyone wants to see a certain RTP character (from Ace, VX, XP), feel free to let me know

Graphic:

Spoiler

Avery: I sometimes feel redundant when saying this, but the icons are really awesome. I really like the moon variants. The witch hat is also amazing. I like the design a lot more than the RTP witch icons, so I think I’m going to switch those from now on. Those lantern pumpkins are love. You did a great job on making the whole pumpkin seem enlightened. The big pumpkin house is really nicely done and a great addition to Pandamaru’s pumpkin houses. I also feel you’ve improved a lot doing Ace RTP stuff, so great job
Banquo: I don’t have the POP! Set yet, so I can’t say too much about those contributions, except that’s it’s really nice you added several skintones. I am really loving the antique DS tiles though. It really makes me wish we had more of these. (Maybe something for future contributions?) I’m not too sure about the pirate tiles though. Don’t get me wrong they look nice, but they don’t seem to be DS styled? I don’t know if it’s because of a different colour scheme or because of the different way of shading (on the chest).
Candacis: The attic tilesheet is really well done. I really like the dolls you made. They’re both based on the RTP children right? We could make something really creepy out of those. A box animation like the chest animation you made would have been a nice add-on. Thanks for the sample btw
Caz: More DS stuff! Yay. DS portraits are quite limited in comparison to other, so Ralph’s addition to them is really nice. The tiles are a nice add-on for anyone looking for something creepy. I like that you added their normal look as well, so you can make your game go from normal creepy to horror.
Chaos Avian: Really love the cartoonesque battlers. Love all of them, especially the Jacks and Gloomwood. I also really love your colour schemes. Great job all around.
Hiddenone: Quite some scary sprites plus those lovely deers. Those are my favourite from your submission this time. The grazing behaviours are really great as well.
Ksjp17: Thanks for the demo and setting the animations up in the database. That's going to save people a lot of work. The animations look really good. My favourite one is Ground Fire, because at the very end it kind of forms a face.
Nanokan: Nice worldmap add-ons, but to be honest I'm not really seeing the slime part on most of them.
Palladinthug: Nice POP! Stuff. I find the smaller the object, the harder it is to draw it right and recognizable, but you did a very good job with these. Iggy is adorable by the way.
PandaMaru: Those amazing pumpkin houses <3 They’re all looking really good, but I do like the ones (4 and 7) with lots of decoration. Also a big thank you for including even more pumpkins in this very thread. I guess the only thing is missing is some pumpkin furniture for their indoor. (Perhaps an idea for next time? )
Skeezixs1: Ooh, game over screens and such. That’s not something we see very often. I do like the bases and the blood back one. The portraits/openings are really lovely as well. Kudos to your artist.
Super121830: Rainbow chests. Always handy to have. Side views/back views would have been nice as well though
Thalzon: Great battlers as always. The skeleton’s my favourite and that spider scares the hell out of me. (I do hope you’ll be using some of the concepts you’ve drawn later. There was some great stuff in there.)
Valkyriet: Amazing geishas (and shamisen)! I’d love to see a walking sprite of her. (I’m kinda curious, the credits mention GaiaOnline... was it your reference or?)

Music:

Spoiler

Clydous: That track gave me quite a lot of stress, well done, sir! I’m not too big on sci-fi, but sure many people will love this one.
DesperateMeasurez:
Quirkasaurus: Not what I was expecting with that name. (I was thinking along dinos and Amysaurus). It sure is a lovely quirky song, which is surprisingly difficult to find, so thanks for this! I was imagining a Trick-or-treat scene with this track.
Spellbound: I got a very sci-fi vibe from this track. It made me imagine being alone in a desolate futuristic space (That might be because I’m watching a LP of Soma).
The House in the Middle of Nowhere: Very creepy. This one actually is exactly what I imagined with a title like that. I like the music box tune.
Bad Dreams/Inside the Tomb: More scifi-y track (or at the very least that’s the vibe I’m getting). I do love the climax of Inside the Tomb and Bad Dreams is really creepy by the way.
Ms Littlefish: Woot SEs! I really love the consume and egg ones. They’re just perfect. I can’t seem to understand what Jackpot/One for you/Have a few are meant to represent though.

 

It's sad how I know what movie this gif is from...

 

Now the ReStaff is coming a bit short due to the contest... :/
There won't be new resources from my part for next month, but I'll look into writing more feedback the next days.

Edit: Here it is!

Noticed that I not only missed part 6, but also part 4.

Caz:

You are incredible at making DS tiles! These are great tiles - it's good to have more broken parts to create chaotic scenes. I'd like to see more like this in the future.

DesperateMeasurez:

-Bad Dreams: As a background sound it does what it's supposed to do and transfers the mood very well.

-Insinde the Tomb: Dunno, it's not my style. It sounds a bit chaotic and confuses me.

Ksjp17:

Very good animations! I'm repeating myself, but it's astonishing how many you created this time (including the ones from Member+). That made me just wonder how well these can be converted for MV or if you will continue on with MV-sized animations. Anyway, keep up the good work!

Slimmmeiske2:

Ulrika the policewoman is cleary the best. It suits her very well. I'm not sure though about Elmer - isn't he a guy? I heard there were some controversy about the gender of Ace characters before. Still, you did a good job there, same for Clown Eric.

For Gloria Superhero I'd rather pick a different hue for the cape and maybe the hair. It doesn't blend together well with the pants and the red.

Super121830:

Good job at making so many recolours. Very useful.

Valkyriet:

Super pretty! Excellent choice of colours - you are using some strong contrast here, but it looks still coherent. In a game they'd add A LOT to a scene, maybe together with some sound effects/track?