20 replies to this topic

[Neppy]

Nolornbon

It was a dangerous journey, but Link managed to reach one of the Slime Dungeon's entrances. He trembles at the sight of the door that leads to the massive labyrinth far below, but knows that he must go inside to claim for himself a sword. Luckily, he won't be in here for very long... this time.

Jared

Another boring screen...

Cukeman

Link explores the ruins of the Desert Island Gardens at sunset.

William

Liam's here with his first real beach shot.

skateboarder11

ZX Spectrum experimentation.

Rambly

my screenshot is good because its caption has a japanese emoticon!! (*・ω・)ﾉ

[Adem]

I voted for Cukeman. Skyward Sword, anybody? I'll try to post reviews when I have the chance.

Edited by Adem, 18 December 2011 - 08:25 PM.

[Orithan]

Very interesting round this week.

Reviews:

Nolornbon: Interesting... I like the idea of slime "lava" and is fairly well designed, but the screen is wholly designed around a dungeon entrance, which I find rather uninteresting as there is nothing to do other than enter/exit the dungon here. I would also have liked to see a custom subscreen. Good, but not SotW-worthy. Seal 1 for design, no seal for functionality, Seal 3 for concept and no seal for other asethics. 2/4 seals: Aluminum seal of approval.

Jared: The typical DoR screen. It suffers from the same problems as Nolornbon's but it is also generic. Give Link other things to do, even things like cutting bushes for instance, than just enter/exit the house will help with the functionality of the screen. Okay, but that isn't really SotW-worthy. Frankly, I placed my vote here. No seal for design, no seal for functionality, no seal for concept and no seal for other asethics. 0/4 seals: No seal of approval. Just the average DoR screen.

Cukeman: Another dungeon entrance. This one has a major design flaw - the ground is cut-off at the horizon without any mountain behind it. Well designed otherwise. The sunset is a nice touch, and it has some function other than a dungeon entrance. And, yeah, include a subscreen next time. No seal for design, seal 2 for functionality, seal 3 for concept and no seal for other asethics. 2/4 seals: Aluminum seal of approval.

William: The third GB shot this round. This is not actually bad here, I can't pick out any flaws, but this is standard GB cannon. I would also like to see a subscreen. No seal for design, seal 2 for functionality, no seal for concept and no seal for other asethics. 1/4 seals: Wooden seal of approval.

Skateborder11: Woah, this is trippy! However, it sticks out badly designed. I like the concept you are going for here, but this is just a walk-through screen. A custom subscreen would be nice. No seal for design, no seal for functionality, seal 3 for concept and seal 4 for other asethics. 2/4 seals: Aluminum seal of approval.

Rambly: Well done for the BS tileset, I can't see any flaws nor it is a standard screen, but it doesn't really sitck out to me that much. Seal 1 for design, seal 2 for functionality, seal 3 for concept and no seal for other asethics. 3/4 seals: Iron seal of approval.

Please note that my rating system is entirley obective of what I vote for, as someone with no seal of approval can get my vote and not someone with the Titanium seal of approval (all four seals). What I vote for is what I consider to be my favorite, and not nessarly the best.

[Jared]

Thanks, Orin. I will add bushes. And it's actually a shop. I forgot to put a sign. Thanks for the vote, though.

Edited by Jared, 18 December 2011 - 09:50 PM.

[Cukeman]

Nolornbon
An interesting screen to be sure. I'm not sure if the statues should have that border around them or not.
It makes them look inset instead of on top, but maybe that's how they are supposed to be.
The NPC in the muck has all my curiosity though.

Jared
A terrific sense of elevation in this shot, and the house looks nice as well. The bushes and
grass look a little off since the lightest color is on the bluish side, while the next color is
a yellow-green. Also the upper left corner looks a little unresolved. Very nice though.

William
That dungeon entrance is a very extravagant tile in my opinion, and setting in in that position
seems to diminish its usual importance.

skateboarder11
What exactly is the ZX Spectrum?

Rambly
I really like this environment, the damp cavern with pools of water, and very nice floor tiles.
The only thing that bugs me is the keese being out of bounds, so to speak.

I nulled since I entered.

@Orin XD
This is not Subscreen of the Week. I did not like the default subscreen that came with this tileset,
and custom subscreens take me longer than a week to create, so it's really a moot point.

I understand your confusion, but it's not actually a perspective error. Have you ever seen a slope which
blocks your view of the horizon? http://image.shutter...sky-2941980.jpg
That's what I've done here. And in all honesty, if someone was 100% consistent with the GB perspective
you would never get to see the sky - except in the occasional side-view areas.

Edited by Cukeman, 19 December 2011 - 03:05 PM.

[Scootaloo]

Skateborder11: Woah, this is trippy! However, it sticks out badly designed. I like the concept you are going for here, but this is just a walk-through screen. A custom subscreen would be nice. No seal for design, no seal for functionality, seal 3 for concept and seal 4 for other asethics. 2/4 seals: Aluminum seal of approval.

Yes, because everyone HAS TO USE 2.5 or it's off to the brig.

I voted for Rambly because dammit I'm a sucker for good BS design. Plus his player sprite is sexy *runs*

[nicklegends]

I chose William. The design isn't perfect, but it... it just works for me.

[William]

@Cukeman: That's actually not a dungeon entrance for my quest, it's the "Seaside Shack". It's just a shop full of beach-related items.

[skateboarder11]

Since Cukeman asked, and I get the feeling most people might not be aware either...

The ZX Spectrum is a home computer, popular in the 1980s across Europe. It had a 16 (well, 15) color palette, and each 8x8 tile could use only two colors. (This explains a bit of issues in the colors of some of the tiles - for example, the green 8x8 used in the trees doesn't cover the whole leaf, and even hits the tree a bit.) There exist clones of the Spectrum that allow usage of up to 64 colors, but these aren't exactly the original system. The reason everything seems so monotone is that, in this case, black is one of the two colors I tend to opt to use (it's that or we'll get something that looks like chunky vomit... seriously, check out some Spectrum games - it can be a neat effect when done right, but sadly, so many games did not use it well.), so I only have one color remaining to use. The water is an exception, here - away from the edges, the tiles are purely water, so I'm able to use blue and a second color - in this case, cyan, to preserve the appearance of the original NES water as closely as possible. (The edges are stuck with black, however.)

As for the lack of subscreen... I stick to 1.92 beta 184 for now, so I don't even have the option available to me. Once 2.5 hits its final release, I'll begin using it for development. I'm not quite sure what Orin meant by a "walk-through" screen, either...

As for the actual SotW entries... I placed my vote for Rambly's. Usually I wouldn't vote, having entered myself... but this one was incredibly eye-catching - he's got a knack for palettes, and a shot that uses the BS tileset well is always welcome!

[Orithan]

As for the lack of subscreen... I stick to 1.92 beta 184 for now, so I don't even have the option available to me. Once 2.5 hits its final release, I'll begin using it for development. I'm not quite sure what Orin meant by a "walk-through" screen, either...

What I define as "walk-through" is a screen with very little to do but walk through it. If there is no or very little in the way of enemies/interaction, then I would call it "walk-through" Two armoses don't count for much interaction FYI.

As in the comments about custom subscreens not doable w/o 2.5, I would like to see even a slightly modified subscreen. Heck, even changing the tiles they used would count as custom, espically under Quest->Graphics->Map Styles (up until 2.5, it was the only way to customise the subscreen). Ti;dr: I would like to see something other than the default subscreen for the tileset you use.

[Sheik]

I voted for Ramby. I don't like the black in the bottom left (like, not at all) but other than that it is the best cave screen ever made. I love how it has grass in it. Also there's a girl with pink hair owning some Stalfos.

[Shane]

As in the comments about custom subscreens not doable w/o 2.5, I would like to see even a slightly modified subscreen.

Wouldn't that be a modified subscreen and not a custom subscreen?

Hm nice screenshots this week, I haven't picked yet, but I may end up voting for Rambly.

[MariaBeta]

I am voting to Cukeman because I like Gameboy color style.

[Inocudom]

In all the quests I have played, I have grown weary of seeing the same types of dungeon entrances over and over. Why are caves and stairs so popular as dungeon entrances in quests? Secret combos could allow me to make that screen of mine look like nothing but a patch of dirt with trees and rocks at first. But when a switch is activated elsewhere in the Slime Gardens, those secret combos could bring forth that mighty and imposing dungeon entrance you see. Dungeon entrances should be interesting and unique. The building in Cukeman's shot combines the elements of two entrance types that are used very frequently, but the combination of the two types makes something that is unique and interesting.

[Aslion]

I voted for Rambly. I like the Japanese emoticon.
Everybody's is pretty good this week.