237 replies to this topic

[DragonDePlatino]

I didn't realize that was what you intended to do. I already edited the tiles on my file, so I would have to grab them from a clean Koten quest file. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

 

Eh, it doesn't really matter. Most people don't notice little details like that anyways.

[Koh]

Well I DOOO~  Otherwise, it looks like the characters are constantly changing which hand they hold the weapon in, lol.  It especially doesn't work on designs that have symbols that can only face one direction, like letters.

[DragonDePlatino]

Well I DOOO~  Otherwise, it looks like the characters are constantly changing which hand they hold the weapon in, lol.  It especially doesn't work on designs that have symbols that can only face one direction, like letters.

OK then. Since you apparently notice stuff like this, name a game you have played that has asymmetric sprites for facing different directions.

Edited by DragonDePlatino, 10 February 2015 - 08:51 PM.

[DragonDePlatino]

A-whelp, since nobody's give me any more complaints about Koten v1.1, I've gone ahead and submitted v1.11 to the database. Here's the update list for this one...

 

Koten v1.11

• Fixed shading of west/east dungeon doorways.
• Realigned rings in active subscreen.
• Updated screenshots on download page.

In other news, I've decided not to go forward with Koten Advanced. This is not due to a lack of time or motivation, but with how Koten Advanced was turning out. My goal in creating Koten Advanced was to create an easy-to-use tileset suitable for ZC's small screens, while sticking to NES restrictions. I drew quite a few tiles, but over time I realized I was essentially replicating the same combo setup as EZGBZ/Firebird. Both of those tilesets are very easy to use, have nice compact cliffs and look great. So in the end, I decided working on Koten Advanced would not be worth my time, as I would eventually arrive at a product similar to existing tilsets.

 

But with that being said, the graphics I drew for Koten Advanced haven't disappeared. I have handed them off to Binx/Lineas, who is currently working on an RPG-esque tileset in the style of Koten. I have the greatest of optimism that him and his team will find a good use for those tiles.

Edited by DragonDePlatino, 11 February 2015 - 04:55 PM.

[Demonlink]

In other news, I've decided not to go forward with Koten Advanced.

...

 

No, I totally get what you mean by this, and technically... I agree with you. Still, this doesn't take the fact away that it would have been a cool retro addition to PZC  

 

As always, your hard work and contributions are well received and appreciated. Great luck with all of your projects man

[DragonDePlatino]

Ah, but don't feel bad, Demonlink! Even though Koten Advanced is dead and gone, I've been thinking of attempting another tileset once I've finished up one of my other projects (A Don't Starve character and Dwarf Fortress graphics set). Here's the idea I have in mind...

 

You know how many older tilesets like Pure used Link to the Past graphics as a base, and then filled in the holes with BS and recolored GBC graphics? What if someone made a graphics set that was entirely in the style of a Link to the Past? Everything, including the enemies, ZC items and scenery would be customly sprited in the Link to the Past style using the same palettes and proportions.

 

Now, I know what you're thinking..."But what about DoR: Hybrid?" Well, this theoretical tileset would be much different than your tileset. Take a look at the difference between DoR Hybrid and a Link to the Past screenshot:

 

 

Notice how in DoR: Hybrid, you have a mixture of LttP, Seiken Densetsu 3 and Minish Cap graphics. Everything has tons of detail and shading to it, and I think it looks gorgeous. But in the process of having detailed graphics like this, you have moved away from the simplicity that older games had. Notice how in LttP, there are very few colors for each graphic, the shading is very simple and the ground is just a flat color. This level of simplicity is pretty much absent from most modern graphics sets, and this theoretical tileset could fill in that niche without the restrictions of, say, an NES or GBC tileset.

 

So what do you think? Would people be interested in a simpler tileset like this which stays faithful to the simplicity of LttP?

Edited by DragonDePlatino, 11 February 2015 - 08:28 PM.

[Moonbread]

That sounds really interesting!  I really do think it would work for people who want to make something early SNES style, without requiring the clunkiness that is the current ALttP tileset... Which might be me in a particular mood sometimes, heheh.

 

I will miss Koten Advanced though, it looked pretty splendid.

[Demonlink]

I've always loved to see simple and clean designs with simple and clean structures. So, I'm actually interested to what you proposed. Sounds really nice and this would stay true to its core, where absolutely everything blends in quite nicely! 

 

So, sign me up to support this idea!

[KingPridenia]

Say, what would you recommend for good lava tiles for use in Koten? I was looking at a couple of games but can't seem to find any nice lava tiles that would go well with it. I don't want it to be out of place or anything.

[DragonDePlatino]

Hmmm...have you tried looking into Startropics? I remember Chapter 3 having some lava dungeons.

Edited by DragonDePlatino, 15 February 2015 - 11:02 PM.

[KingPridenia]

Hmmm...have you tried looking into Startropics? I remember Chapter 3 having some lava dungeons.

 

I forgot all about that. Thank you! Do you think I should animate it slightly or at the very least make the skull bob up and down in it?

[DragonDePlatino]

Allow me to repeat my mantra of game design:

What requires more effort?

Edited by DragonDePlatino, 15 February 2015 - 11:12 PM.

[KingPridenia]

For now, I'll keep it unanimated. Anyway, here's an example using those tiles you recommended. I do realize that I should make the dungeon a bit more orangish colored, but this was just a single screen sample that I deleted immediately after getting a screenshot of it. So you think it goes okay?

 

[DragonDePlatino]

Well, what I'm getting at when I say "What requires more effort?" is that given two design choices, you should always default to the one that's harder to do. Animating the lava is more difficult than leaving it static, so you should stick to that choice.

But nevertheless, I think the lava tiles blend with Koten quite well. The only other suggestion I could offer is that you should add a little more depth to the lava by adding a row of lava walls to the top of the pit, like in Startropics.

Edited by DragonDePlatino, 16 February 2015 - 04:25 PM.

[Anthus]

Nice update. It looks pretty solid as usual. I didn't really notice the anti-aliasing until someone pointed it out, and then I saw the redesigns. As you know, I am currently using this set, and am really enjoying its ease of use. Until I got into it, I was finding it really hard to believe it was actually still as simple to use as the default set.

 

My only real critique is a minor one, and one of preference, not an actual flaw with the tileset. I don't like the perfectly rounded water borders. I also think there should be animated shallow-to-deep water tiles as well. Like I said, these are minor, and fairly easy to fix.

 

Great work as usual DDP, and I'm looking forward to seeing how others use this magic tileset.

 

As a thought, I was thinking of importing some of FireBird's dungeon wall sets, since, as far as I can tell, they use the true color ramp NES structure. I already imported the classic looking mountains from FB, and it looks really nice in Koten's palettes. I guess this is something the user could do, if they really needed more dungeon sets. The ones included are quite nice as well.