<!--quoteo(post=244241:date=Nov 12 2008, 03:13 AM:name=CyclopsCaveman)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (CyclopsCaveman @ Nov 12 2008, 03:13 AM) [/quote] How about removing a bit of the colour? [/quote] I think we should at least keep the patterns in there, it would help to make it look more random. Really it shouldn't look so bland as it does right now. [/quote] I think that it's the oranges & browns that are making it look bland. Orange & brown are kinda stock when it comes to opening levels in sonic games. Although it sounds like a horrible idea right now, yellows & greens are more tropical colors. I mean, when you hear the word "tropical" you tend to think of beaches, sand, palm trees & water more than grass & dare I say it, wood.
<!--quoteo(post=243897:date=Nov 11 2008, 09:51 AM:name=Phoebius)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Phoebius @ Nov 11 2008, 09:51 AM) to those used here; if only because they look a bit more natural than the harsh, rather metallic-looking oranges and yellows used. It just needs something less repetitive than the same tiles grouped together ad nauseum. Also, when I hear the word "tropical" I tend to think of something along the lines of Angel Island Zone. Yes, you had more palm trees than water, but the majority of the level was still little more than grass and wood.
Its still not quite right, the things on the right are supposed to look like a piller and I can't get the broken tiles to look the way I want. Decided it probably need a bit of colour, just not the bright yellows. That and I haven't even attempted to put shading on the angled tiles yet.
Well, I think it would be appropriate to change the palette of the background too -- the colors of the foreground and background seem to clash.
<!--quoteo(post=244868:date=Nov 13 2008, 06:20 PM:name=GameNerd Advance)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (GameNerd Advance @ Nov 13 2008, 06:20 PM) om nom nom nom New foreground art coupled with act 2 BG and a new palette for both.[/quote] Wow, it's looking really good, pretty similar to the one the first level of Sonic Nexus has though.
The only similarity is in environment, and such an environment is extremely common and expected for a first zone in a Sonic game. The graphics are entirely original, though, so there's no connection outside of that.
<!--quoteo(post=244908:date=Nov 13 2008, 02:13 PM:name=Polygon Jim)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Polygon Jim @ Nov 13 2008, 02:13 PM) [/quote] !!! But seriously it doesn't matter much if the levels look similar to each other. In a way, Emerald Hill looks similar to Green Hill.
<!--quoteo(post=244881:date=Nov 13 2008, 09:48 AM:name=muteKi)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (muteKi @ Nov 13 2008, 09:48 AM) better? Keep in mind I'm basically taking the easy way out and just throwing shit into a colour modifier.
<!--quoteo(post=244975:date=Nov 13 2008, 03:43 PM:name=GameNerd Advance)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (GameNerd Advance @ Nov 13 2008, 03:43 PM) better? Keep in mind I'm basically taking the easy way out and just throwing shit into a colour modifier. [/quote] Much better. I think this will work now.
Not that I want to repeat myself again, but I really don't like how this is looking... Also it should be noted that the act 2 BG isn't final. I've been meaning to fix it up to look less ugly..
Care to, you know, state what the problem is? I fail to see the problem in what is ultimately considered bringing out the detail in the blander areas of your work. Would you have preferred that we stuck with a dull, repetitive flat pattern ala Sonic CD or Mushroom Hill Zone? Please, explain.
While I like the color changes you did, in my opinion the new shape doesn't look good. The texture of it, to be more precise.
Well, as mentioned earlier, I think the indented parts could flow a bit better with the patterns that pop out of the ground. It looks awkward in that they're sort of sitting on nothing, which doesn't give the tiles a very good perspective. It's a simple fix, and it doesn't have to totally destroy the new direction the pattern has been taken in.
Okay, we get it, it looks like SCD/Nexus or whatever. If you don't like it, nobody's stopping you from trying to change it. I'm personally starting to like the way the stage is looking. Not to be rude or anything, but if you don't like people changing your work Rika, why not do a few touch-ups on it and experiment on something we can all agree on? Also, it might help if you were a little more specific in why you don't like how it's looking. :\
Well, you know all those countless GHZ art hacks that just add a little deatail to the checkard pattern and it ends up looking not so good? I feel like that's being done to my work. Some of the edits I could live with, but that new grass is something that I really don't like. I feel that more detail doesn't always make things look better. Just because you can have more colors and detail, doesn't always mean that you should. Maybe I shouldn't say anything because I don't have time right now to come up with something better that people can agree on, but as it is now it all looks kinda tacked together and the foreground is starting not to fit with the background so good. (I REALLY need to fix those big closer mountains...)
The grass doesn't look any less lush and tropical than it did in the tileset in the OP. Seriously, I'm not seeing the huge deal—it's more detailed but holds the same general pattern. The base of the work is there, it's just getting improved upon. But in this case, it does look better. The number of unique details in the background already puts this beyond Genesis capabilities, so if you're trying to pull the "It's retro!" card, it doesn't really apply anywhere near as much. Besides that, such a principle generally applies more to stuff like applying gradients to pixel art or something. Have you ever seen the pixel art on games like Super Tempo for the Sega Saturn? It looks absolutely amazing and is extremely detailed, lush and colorful. Mind you, I'm not suggesting we try and adopt that, but in comparison our pixel art is nowhere near as good as we have the capability to make it look—it's still very simple in nature, and doesn't use excessive amounts of colors and photoshop filters to try and prove a point. I think you're severely overexaggerating this whole situation. But, again, if you're willing to illustrate more appropriate improvements on the art by your standards, you're free to—it seems to articulate what you mean much better than your words are right now.