27 replies to this topic

[Jared]

Wow, lots of screens this week!
Thanks for the great responses guys!

Vargen - Ahh! My eyes! To me, the sunset doesn't really didn't well with the toonish sprites used for the girl and Link.

MarioBrosCom - I liked it. But if you changed the overall color to purple, it would fit MUCH better.

Cremeens - Nothing wrong here, as we discussed before

TC - A little too repetitive. try some other tiles next time.

Skateboarder - I love it. Very ALttP-ish.

ZL - Too similar to the last screen you made. I like it, but I didn't like it the best.

BL - Very nice! Looks like a screen right out of ALttP.

JB - Love it. very Wind Waker-ish, which I loved!


Cremeens won my vote. It deserves it in my opinion. Great job, cremeens!

[Bayta]

Null'd of course, being in it, but I'll go ahead and comment on everybody's screens.

Lynker: Pretty good for a GB beach shot! You seem to have misused a few of the graphics though; the water in particular. There really ought to be some sort of border between the sand and water. Since (I assume) this is a beach, you should use the beach wave graphics instead of regular water. And the other kind of water you use by the waterfall seems very out-of-place. Over all though, you did a good job here. 7/10

Vargen: You're probably going to hate me for this, because I'm sure it took a while to rip in that background, but I don't think it works very well here. What I mean is that the realistic nature of the background, which looks like it was a photograph, clashes with the more cartoonish, 16-bit style of the DoR tile set. Other than that, the screen itself is pretty good. I would make the mountains curve a bit more, and maybe add a little more ground-detail. I can see you put quite a bit of effort into this though, considering the background, and it shows. 7/10

MarioBrosCom: I'll never understand why people make their forest-y stuff such odd colors. If it's something like a dream, or a dark world, okay. But simply cursed? I dunno, man. The screen design definitely makes up for the palette though. This looks like a screen I'd seriously want to play in, and that's really what counts the most in my book. 8/10

Cremeens: I dunno. It's not a bad screen by any means, but it doesn't look particularly exciting either. It doesn't particularly jump out at me. I'm not saying you should change it, because as a regular screen, it's pretty good. I think you could have chosen a more interesting screen to share, though. I guess I shouldn't complain though, the caption certainly doesn't lie; it is indeed rather peaceful-looking. 7/10

Taco Chopper: Another good GB screen. The amount of detail on the ground is fantastic, I have to say. That sign looks very out-of-place though; seems too colorful. I think all the mountains should be a little more curvy, though the OoA mountain graphics are very flat and boring-looking by default, so I dunno. 8/10

Skateboarder: Again, with the oddly colored trees. As a whole though, I think you've done the best one really can with the Pure tile set. There's nothing out of place, and it just sort of works nicely. Maybe the mountains going from the left side to the top of the screen could be a little more curvy. 7/10

ZeeLiam: I think this should be counted as cheating since you keep entering these amazing GB winter shots. :V Seriously, good work here. Basically, everything I said about your previous GB winter shot that I commented on applies here. Save maybe for that the middle of the screen seems somewhat empty. A single tree would make all the difference. 9/10

Beta Link: best shot ever 10/10

Jmmyb: Very good for a beach shot! The amount of detail on the ground is excellent, and I'm loving how well the BS mountain graphics fit with modern ZC standards. I'm also very curious as to all the button icons in the subscreen; do those actually do anything yet? 9/10


On the subject of my own shot: Well, yeah, I wasn't sure if the floor tiles would work well, due to perspective issues. Problem is, maybe I'm just not looking well enough, there don't seem to be too many options for dungeon floor decoration, save for maybe the LttP skeletons, which get old and boring rather quickly. If anyone could give me advice in that area, that'd be fantastic.

Edited by Beta Link, 10 January 2011 - 05:21 PM.

[Avaro]

On the subject of my own shot: Well, yeah, I wasn't sure if the floor tiles would work well, due to perspective issues. Problem is, maybe I'm just not looking well enough, there don't seem to be too many options for dungeon floor decoration, save for maybe the LttP skeletons, which get old and boring rather quickly. If anyone could give me advice in that area, that'd be fantastic.

I think those walkable overworld stones would fit there. The skeletons.. hm.. maybe one every second room. Not too much of them. I voted your screen, because I like it the most and I really want to play there! That is my style of dungeons. And I also like that subscreen the most! We've got many shots this week! I wish I had submitted something

[Tree]

[quote name='Beta Link' date='Jan 10 2011, 04:40 PM' post='681347']

Cremeens: I dunno. It's not a bad screen by any means, but it doesn't look particularly exciting either. It doesn't particularly jump out at me. I'm not saying you should change it, because as a regular screen, it's pretty good. I think you could have chosen a more interesting screen to share, though. I guess I shouldn't complain though, the caption certainly doesn't lie; it is indeed rather peaceful-looking. 7/10

Yeah, I should have noticed that before posting this one. Next time I enter I'll put my best screen I can make instead of just a little screen that is rather good, but a bit boring. Thanks for to feedback. It helps me out with my quest getting good comments.

[Adem]

Oh. My. Word. Win. So much win.

Lynker: A fairly appealing shot, but having those trees on the left side perfectly aligned all the way down sort of irks me. Also, the use of different water tiles in the GB set isn't really necessary. Pick one and stick with it. Also, ground detail is great, but don't use it so much that it looks cluttered (in reference to the grass). Other than that, not bad! Keep up the good work.

Vargen: I found the sunset stunning. However, I think as far as screen design goes, it might be better if you moved the edge of the mountain (on the left side) up a two or three tiles (as well as movin' the trees around a tad), so that the mountain doesn't look like it was built to frame the sunset...if that makes any sense. A pleasant shot, nonetheless.

MarioBrosCom: Aarrruuugh. This is amazing. I love the palette, and the screen design itself is also quite pleasing. I don't really have anything negative to say about this.

cremeens1000: A very nice river shot. No complaints, other than the water tiles above the waterfall, but I know from experience that can't be helped. Nice job! You've definitely come a long way.

Taco Chopper: Lovin' it. I'm a sucker for GB in general, but this rocks. I find the row of trees to be a tad unnatural, but it's more of an observation than a complaint in this case. Great job!

skateboarder11: A nice screen all around, but not incredibly eye catching, in my opinion. It could just be that I'm not a fan of the tileset, which is not your fault. I do love the overall layout of the shot, however.

ZeeLiam: Another fantastic GB screenshot. No real complaints, here. Nice job!

Beta Link: It looks like it'd be a fun screen to play, but I don't care too much for the design. It seems like no matter what you do, you don't have a whole lot of choice as to where you're going, which is always something I've found annoying. Other than that, it's not a bad screen. I love the subscreen, by the way. On a slightly unrelated note, I can't wait to play this...

jimmyb: I love the shot, and it's a splendid use of the tileset, but the perspectives of the mountain and the brick wall-esque thing under the house differ a little, which bothers me. Other than that, no complaints. Great execution!

*deep breath* Okay. All done. Awesome haul this week, guys. I'm exuberant! It took a ridiculous amount of consideration, but I went with MarioBrosCom. Taco Chopper and ZeeLiam were also very impressive screens, but hey...You can't fight eeny-meeny-miney-mo. ;-)

[Linkus]

What, Linkus is writing a review? He must've gone nuts! Lots of shots to review, but let's do this!

Lynker: A maze to get to the entrance of a dungeon...Reminds me of Pothole Field when you get the Slime Key. Problem is, and it's not necessarily your fault, I prefer that tree canopies be treated like solid combos and used sparingly and more for hidden pathways - The GB Zeldas treated canopies as solid and personally I think it should be treated the same way whenever you make a GB-style game.

Vargen: Nice to see you again! Well, the sunset is pretty, but photorealism with the graphics that you've used tend to clash, and this is the case. If you can find a cartoonish sunset, it would work better here.

MarioBrosCom: I've got to say, that's a great subscreen, but it's not going to help determine my vote. You might have some extra space, but how you used the canopy tiles isn't necessarily realistic perspective-wise either; I consider that the canopy tiles are meant for the border of the forest map, areas that are maze-like and cover up passages, "sub-areas" that aren't seen in the main part of the forest, or are in large spots that are not reachable. Spreading the canopy shadow might give it a better forest feel too, since it's not meant to be open to sunlight.

cremeens1000: This is a very solid screen. Everything flows very well and doesn't try to confuse you - Read that sign, cross the bridge, or take one of the three (or four if you count the waterfall) paths that are available. It might not have anything going on, but it doesn't need to.

Taco_Chopper: It's an alright screen, but the center is very cramped. First thing to go is the removal of the statues - I don't you need that many to block off certain things. The stump at the center will get in the way, and it will only disrupt flow - get rid of it. That building also juts out just a bit too much, I'm certain this is just a thoroughfare screen but the space between the wall and the opposing cliff is too small - Move the building back or shorten the wall.

skateboarder11: It's a good screen design, but it feels a little dull. Personally, precipitation (especially that of Pure's and early designs) tends to obscure too much - it's best to avoid precipitation if catching the animation shows too easily.

ZeeLiam: Same as above with the weather, the snow, while very small, doesn't help. Another thing I must suggest is not using JPG, especially with winter shots because the quality is reduced due to the bleached graphics - I know the original palette isn't this pale. Use PNG, or if you have Imageshack, upload the BMP there and they will convert to PNG for free during upload. The screen itself is a little too open - There needs to be cluster of trees somewhere, and I don't know where except not in the middle. It may mean sacrificing one of your caves and cliffs though...

Beta Link: Angler's Tunnel - the room where the key falls into that hole! It's a good recreation, but as said the floor tiles aren't right. Maybe the floor itself isn't right, or the tiles you need have to appear very flat. I don't know what it is about it, but the flow just isn't right. Maybe it's the set of tiles you're using?

Jimmyb: I see you asked Sheik about that tileset, and I will have to admit that the palette is one of the nicest I've ever seen. However, this picture is rather crammed and the scale isn't right - How does a 1-tile-high wall support a wooden floor that starts from a two-tile high cliff? Also some aesthetics don't make sense - why are there skeletons on the beach? The clutter's just a bit odd.

----------------

crmeens1000 is my choice. No fancy scripts, palettes, or graphics are necessarily required to make a good screen design, and this is it. Yes, while there's no action, if you played the game you would immediately know where you are - By the bridge that's over the waterfall right beside that small hill. And I doubt there would be other places like this on the map.

[Geoffrey]

Hmm...all the shots were great. Went with Vargen, although not the best screen design, he obviously went to a lot of trouble ripping that simple beautiful background in.

Lynker was mediocre, too much crowding on the left side. Plus the shading on one of the trees looks...awkward. Keep at it though, it's definitely not bad.

MBC, I would totally use your get-rid-of-sub-screen script if the scrolling wasn't so awkward. Anyways, great screen. I like the colours.

Cremeens, I liked the old version better, it's a bit empty now. Still, probably would've voted for this if not for Vargen. So good job, Skippy.

Taco Chopper has good shape to his screen, but it's too crowded. Way too much detail. Plus those black/brown things are eating my brain.

Ah, Skateboarder, I've been longing to see a classic Pure screen. Don't really know why. It may not be the absolute best, but it's good.

Liam, your screen makes me feel nostalgic. I absolutely love it...I'm rethinking how I cast my vote... I think I've been inspired.

Beta Link, is he seriously, legit, lifting an oatsing pot? Still, this is screenshot of the week, not script of the week amd the shot is kind of...bland. But I do like your use of the water, combining those tiles like that.

Jimmy, reminds me of Wind Waker. I like it. I see your using PrinceMSC's pots, good choice. Also, I think Link is going to get caught...he's not very well hidden.

PS, all your shots are good, just some need improvement.

Edited by Molten Onyx, 10 January 2011 - 07:01 PM.

[MarioBrosCom]

MarioBrosCom: I've got to say, that's a great subscreen, but it's not going to help determine my vote. You might have some extra space, but how you used the canopy tiles isn't necessarily realistic perspective-wise either; I consider that the canopy tiles are meant for the border of the forest map, areas that are maze-like and cover up passages, "sub-areas" that aren't seen in the main part of the forest, or are in large spots that are not reachable. Spreading the canopy shadow might give it a better forest feel too, since it's not meant to be open to sunlight.

Yeah, I know the canopy looks sort of awkward. I tend to avoid letting it cover walkable parts of the screen, and limit it solely to areas covered by brush. I try to think of it as a clump of taller trees that grows in the brush, so the canopy should radiate out from the brush and the shadow should extend just a bit past the edge of the canopy.

Thanks to everyone else who commented on the palette (or rather my use of it -- it's from DoR). I'm clueless about colour theory, so your feedback will help immensely.

As far other shots go, Vargen's really caught my eye with his sunset. The ground should probably take up a little bit more of the screen -- I think replacing the third palm tree from the left with more ground would make the screen look vastly less cluttered.

Cremeen's shot is also very impressive. The flowers look a little out of place next to those grass clumps, however.

Beta Link's shot looks well-designed, except there's not enough room between the bottom of the screen and the water. If Link can walk to the lower right corner, there's an open corner there as well.

Jimmyb's shot has perspective issues, but it looks like it's hard to go wrong with that tileset. I can't help but see a black subscreen background that would look great when filled with Extra Tall Screens (lack of utility aside, the script is in beta and could use beta testers).

That just leaves the GB-styled shots. I don't feel especially qualified to judge them, though I thought ZeeLiam's shot looked pretty good. Lynker's and Taco Chopper's didn't catch my eye, but don't take that to mean they are bad shots.

[Rover]

Not really going to go through every single screen, but meh. I think Vargen's really stands out for some reason. It looks the prettiest. :3

[Bayta]

I think those walkable overworld stones would fit there. The skeletons.. hm.. maybe one every second room. Not too much of them. I voted your screen, because I like it the most and I really want to play there! That is my style of dungeons. And I also like that subscreen the most! We've got many shots this week! I wish I had submitted something

Alright, I'll try that out. Thanks.

It seems like no matter what you do, you don't have a whole lot of choice as to where you're going, which is always something I've found annoying.

I respectfully disagree. Not having much choice early on in a dungeon just makes getting to it later on more exciting to me, and makes the dungeon less overwhelming, over all. I can see how that might be annoying sometimes, though. Thanks for the compliments, as well.

Beta Link, is he seriously, legit, lifting an oatsing pot? Still, this is screenshot of the week, not script of the week amd the shot is kind of...bland. But I do like your use of the water, combining those tiles like that.

Yes, he is indeed actually lifting that pot. I do love scripting. And Zepinho,for making that script. But yeah, blandness. I gotta work on that.

Edited by Beta Link, 10 January 2011 - 10:36 PM.

[Nathaniel]

Late viewing by me this time. Lots of screens, and lots to consider.

Lynker - 6/10
Nothing great, but nothing bad either. It works, but isn't jaw dropping either.

Vargen - 5/10
From a design standpoint, there isn't much tangible stuff to look at. Most of the screen is sky. While I like distant horizons, I generally don't think it looks all that good when it also occupies much of the bottom half of the screen too. As for the ground and trees, I think it's decent.

MarioBrosCom - 8/10
My choice of vote for this week. Normally I would not approve of a pink forest, but you sold me on this one. While there isn't a lot of room for ground details here, I think they were done right, without being overdone. The choice of trees and other vegetation looks pretty consistent throughout the screen, as that is very important when it comes to appeal. The focal point of activity is also well placed. Also, I love the transparent subscreen portion.

cremeens1000 - 7/10
I think it's a nice screen, even for DoR's standards. Ground details are nice too, and placing the large trees a safe distance away from the central focus was a smart move. Only suggestion I would make is to have the dirt part of the ground touch both sides of the bridge, assuming you have the foot traffic that happens on both sides of it. After all, the chicken crossed the bridge to get to the other side. Also, it would have been nice to see some activity in the screen too, which likely would have added an extra point from me. Very good though.

Taco Chopper - 4/10
After what you did last week, I will always be questioning whether or not your screens are really jokes, despite what you might say. Sorry, but you can't blame me for putting on that radar. Assuming it wasn't a joke though: I'm not sure what that is in the upper center portion of the screen near the stumps. Is it supposed to be a fence? If so, it doesn't look right to me. Also, the tree stumps look very awkward where they are placed. Ground details are okay at best, but feel very crowded and overdone. It feels like you are trying to put too many details into the screen, and design integrity suffers as a result. Not good, but not too revolting either.

skateboarder11 - 6/10
It's not a bad screen, but from your caption, it seems like you are lacking ideas. The rain does effectively let you get away with putting a little less work into the ground details, as the rain tends to blur things. Trees are well placed and don't get in the way of things that they shouldn't. Despite a lot of good design elements in the screen, it could certainly be made more interesting.

ZeeLiam - 6/10
I certainly like the smaller snowflakes over the larger ones. Good choice. From a design standpoint, it looks like a very functional overworld screen, although ground details look just a tad bit awkward in places. Also, you left one corner open, which forces you to make three more of them. A simple cure would have been a slight extension to the east end of the south ledge, I think. The very walkable center clearly has a purpose to it here, though, and encourages the activity that you gave it.

Beta Link - 7/10
It's nice to see a dungeon screen among the many other overworld screens. I think this one is good. It's certainly very functional, and seems to have a simple puzzle-like design to it. I like the choice of blocks, as well as the colors. I'm not sure if the lower right corner if accessible, but if it is, it's open, and thus forces three more of the same. But no loss, due to my uncertainty of its use.

Jimmyb - 6/10
Looks decent in a lot of places. This type of sand though can easily look awkward when combined with certain individual tiles, thus they are a risk to work with. The sand does seem more graphically advanced than most of the rest of the screen, which in itself makes it look a bit awkward. Sometimes combining certain graphics does that, unfortunately. Also, I think the perspective of the house and deck seems a bit off with the rest of the screen, as the deck wall is angled differently when compared with the cliff walls. However, I like the design of the cliffs themselves and the ground at the upper end of the screen.

[Rambly]

Taco Chopper - 4/10
After what you did last week, I will always be questioning whether or not your screens are really jokes, despite what you might say. Sorry, but you can't blame me for putting on that radar.

Well, at least this week's screen has some detail and semblance of effort put into it. Last week's literally had a total of 5 different combos placed on it. I have my doubts that TC'd pull the same joke twice.

[Mitchfork]

Lynker - 1 vote = [2.22%]
Vargen - 5 votes = [11.11%]
MarioBrosCom - 14 votes = [31.11%]
cremeens1000 - 5 votes = [11.11%]
Taco Chopper - 5 votes = [11.11%]
skateboarder11 - 2 votes = [4.44%]
ZeeLiam - 2 votes = [4.44%]
Beta Link - 3 votes = [6.67%]
Jimmyb - 8 votes = [17.78%]
Total Votes: 45

MarioBrosCom

Cursed forests are all about perspective.

Congratulations to MarioBrosCom on winning one of the largest SotW's in our history!