23 replies to this topic

[link3505]

CastChaos

The happiness is over there!

Jonathan

Oh No!He's been vampired!

Linkus Mastii

Welcome home!

Radien

Old area, new look. Maybe if Serenia hides behind a bush, no one will notice her...

skateboarder11



sorry for starting it so late. completley forgot about it

[NineLives]

I've always wanted to know what Jonathan's been up to.
Good job on those... custom tiles! or maybe ripped...

[Sephiroth]

CastChaos

The happiness is over there!

The tileset looks to be decendant.. pretty good screen you got here, but I just don't like the transition from snow to non-snow being in the middle of the screen. o.o

Jonathan

Oh No!He's been vampired!

[u]*votes*
I like the overall design of not only the tiles, but the screen itself. but there is just one thing that urks me.. the white outlike around the bats?

Linkus Mastii

Welcome home!

looks like a rerun shot. Looks like all that has changed was the colors of the stone ruins.

Radien

Old area, new look. Maybe if Serenia hides behind a bush, no one will notice her...

If I could vote for two, this would get the second one. The overall design of the screen is solid and there aren't any problems I see with the tiles.. just one thing.. o.O I never recall the mountains being covered by the forest schrubbery.

skateboarder11


Not to be rude or anything, but the colors are just a little too bright. Definate plus however on the graphics.

sorry for starting it so late. completley forgot about it

[Radien]

If I could vote for two, this would get the second one. The overall design of the screen is solid and there aren't any problems I see with the tiles.. just one thing.. o.O I never recall the mountains being covered by the forest schrubbery.

That's because OoT didn't have enough polygons to have REAL forest surrounding the forest village. In 2D we have no such worries, so I'm free to make it look a little more interesting. I mean, why not? Having "mountains" in a forest is weird. I'd rather have small ridges covered in foliage. That's what I see when I take hikes here in Oregon. (shrug)

Or are you talking about the brush on the left? If it's really got you wondering, it is that way because you can walk under it.

[Jonathan]

I've always wanted to know what Jonathan's been up to.
Good job on those... custom tiles! or maybe ripped...

even i wonder that sometimes,and the tiles are alittle bit mixed ripped and custom
and Rose let me use her carpets.

Sephiroth ya didnt have to quote the whole thing.

but there is just one thing that urks me.. the white outlike around the bats?

whats peoples problems of white outlined bats,they glow what else should they look like?must i say there not ordinary bats to have you accept them?!
are you bat racist?!
i dont see anyone complaining about 50ft tall giant robot monkey dinosaurs or huge floating eyeballs,those are freakish destorted aboninations,if we got those why cant you understand bats that glow ominously?!
*weeps for the glowing bats because they are unaccepted members of society



yeah,there "Vampire Bats"so they can glow if they want to,i dont care

Edited by Jonathan, 15 May 2006 - 06:07 AM.

[CastChaos]

Jonathan: Very pretty. I like the castlevanian mood.
Linkus Mastii: You wanted to win twice with the same picture? .......
Radien: Ordinary, but very LttP-ish, so good.
Skateboarder11: This is just a simple screen... >_< The only good is the Kirby character.

Null'd.

[skateboarder11]

CastChaos: Decent design, horrid transition. =\
Jonathan: You've got graphics down here. =o
Linkus Mastii: Re-entry. It's good, but I'd not enter the same shot twice...
Radien: Nice hedges and grass...
skateboarder11:

One thing that bugs me is how people complain about my palettes. WHY are they too bright? WHAT needs to be toned down? Until I'm told this information, I'm sticking with Newfirst's palette. (In fact, I have tried a different palette. It was a bit dark for my liking.)

I also think that people just don't like anything even remotely based off Newfirst. It's a quite versatile set, if you know how to beautify it... I'm one of the few that's got that down... A couple, less active questmakers such as blckscab and Chris Miller, also have greatly improved Newfirst.

And finally, I don't see what's so simple about it... It's an overworld screen, and areas like those are MEANT to be somewhat open. (Not as open as QtT, mind you. o_o) Had I shown a dungeon shot, nothing interesting at all would be in the shot - I suck at dungeon detail. At least with OWs, I'm able to detail them well.

I'm in no way complaining about my lack of votes - I'm just stating my opinion on things. And I've got a headache, and running on three hours of sleep... So, I guess I'll shut up now o.o

Sorry if I'm seeming... well, rude or anything. =\ I really need to stop posting when I'm tired...

[Radien]

One thing that bugs me is how people complain about my palettes. WHY are they too bright? WHAT needs to be toned down? Until I'm told this information, I'm sticking with Newfirst's palette. (In fact, I have tried a different palette. It was a bit dark for my liking.)

Perhaps people's vocabulary for palettes is a little bit limited. They say the first thing that pops into their heads. Perhaps I can help a little.

There are a few things which cause people to say "that's too bright" when they look at Newfirst palettes. I'm going to use Paintshop/Photoshop terms to describe them.


Number 1: High contrast.

Every palette has gradients. A gradient is a series of colors of about the same hue: for instance, a series of greens, from dark to light. Now, if your lightest green is lime green, and your darkest green is almost black, you have high contrast. This is hard on the eyes.

People are used to focusing their eyes: if the image is mostly made of dark colors, OR if it's mostly made of light colors, the pupils will contract or expand to fit. But if there are too many extreme lights AND extreme darks together, the eyes can't adjust to both. That's what happens here, because Newfirst's palette is VERY high contrast.


Number 2: High Saturation.

"Contrast" is for comparing colors with eachother. "Saturation" is for comparing the RGB values within each individual color. The greater the difference between the Red, Green, and Blue values, the higher the saturation. Here's an example:

Red: 63
Green:0
Blue: 63

This color has VERY high saturation. It contains as much red and blue as ZQuest allows, but no green at all. This is very unbalanced, because you won't see this color in nature. In nature, colors are almost always mixed. Bright colors often look nice to us, because they are easy for the eye to interpret, but something in the human brain shouts "NOT NATURAL" after too much exposure to high saturation.

The way I usually solve this is to to take the highest (or the two highest) values and subtract a set number. Then I add that number to the lowest value, dividing the leftovers between two values where necessary. For instance, if red is your highest color value, do this: subtract 2 points from Red, then add 1 point to Blue and 1 point to Green. Repeat this until it's easier on the eyes. It's a great way to "tone down" palettes in ZQuest. You just have to know how far to go -- stop before the colors suddenly become "dull."

Incidentally, solid blacks are also rare in nature. In DoR I've been experimenting by changing most of the blacks in the palette to very dark browns, purples, blues, etc. This is what graphic designers do in most video games today. Rarely are outlines drawn in solid black. In fact, Minish Cap does away with dark outlines almost completely.




.....That's about all I think you need to know to answer your question. I'm afraid I tend to get impatient with people who don't know how to handle palettes, just because I've picked up most of this just by messing around in Paintshop. I've only ever really taken one art class, briefly in college, and in that class we mostly drew in black and white. You really never know what you can come up with until you start screwing around and looking at everything. Messing with palettes is fun because they're harder to mess up, if you change them bit-by-bit.

I also think that people just don't like anything even remotely based off Newfirst. It's a quite versatile set, if you know how to beautify it... I'm one of the few that's got that down... A couple, less active questmakers such as blckscab and Chris Miller, also have greatly improved Newfirst.

For the record, I've always disliked Newfirst. Particularly its palette. Right from the first time I saw it.

Don't get me wrong: you've done great things with it. I even kinda like your last tileset. But I think it's been good in spite of the original tileset, rather than because of it. It is better because it is so different from the original.

[Sharon Daniel]

Null'd. I'm not to crazy about any of the shots this week .

[Sephiroth]

even i wonder that sometimes,and the tiles are alittle bit mixed ripped and custom
and Rose let me use her carpets.

Sephiroth ya didnt have to quote the whole thing.

whats peoples problems of white outlined bats,they glow what else should they look like?must i say there not ordinary bats to have you accept them?!
are you bat racist?!
i dont see anyone complaining about 50ft tall giant robot monkey dinosaurs or huge floating eyeballs,those are freakish destorted aboninations,if we got those why cant you understand bats that glow ominously?!
*weeps for the glowing bats because they are unaccepted members of society

yeah,there "Vampire Bats"so they can glow if they want to,i dont care

Well Jonathan, I didn't know it was a glowing bat. o.o Sheesh, maybe I should have just asked for a little bit more information.

[Rocksfan13]

Johnathan: Anything about vampires is cool.

[Pol's Voice]

Johnathan: Anything about vampires is cool.

...unless it's called Blade:Trinity.

I also voted for Jonathon. Is that from an actual quest you're working on or just a shot?

[Linkus]

Oh---

Extemely sorry for you guys who have already voted, but that's the wrong shot. Until Gashin gets the right shot in(or puts it in next SotW), This is what I meant to send in:

[Nathaniel]

The answer is Jonathan.

CastChaos, Radien, and skateboarder11: You three have some good shots with a good amount of detail, but no cigar.

Linkus Mastii: Have I seen this before, or did I see something similar with some slight changes? It still looks very good to me, and like the other, is very unique and tells thousands of words.

Jonathan: This is simply an amazing looking masterpiece! I just love everything about the detail, all the way down to the light that enters the room. I not only see the room, but can feel it as well. Excellent job!

[CastChaos]

Really? Linkus Mastii's shot is the wrong shot? That's interesting. The "real" shot is very good and I like the colors, but not so special.
So now my ranking follows as...
1.Jonathan (by far)
2.CastChaos (yeah, maybe I'm sick, but that's my opinion)
3.Radien (better than the "good-but-nothing-special)
4.Linkus Mastii (with the second provided screen)
5.Skateboarder11 (Nothing is bad, just the others better. Again, I can be wrong.)

A side note: Simple screenshots of the game (like at Radien, Skateboarder11 and me) almost never win, rather those whiches have incredible amount of custom tiles and the whole concept is new, like Jonathans. But I am fairly new at SotW, since I didn't start to come here to vote as soon as I became member.