Style and Parallaxing Process?

[Nyapurgisnacht 152]

I finally put together the sort of chipset style I've been aiming for! (turns out I just needed to look into XP tiles, heh)

 

Now I'm just trying to get better at parallaxing and mapping in general, and adjust the style in the rest of the game. Thought I'd share my process and get some thoughts from y'all before I go diving in? Anything helps!

 

I'm making a sort of slum area.

 

0 - Here's the first iteration of this map, made with tiles in the editor. It's the same size as the newer versions, but it wasn't at all what I was going for and I was just getting frustrated:

 

 

 

 

 

1 - Switched over and redid everything outside the editor. This part took the longest time.

 

 

 

 

 

2

 

 

 

 

 

3 - Was thinking I might be done around here at first (HAHAHA ;-;)

 

 

 

 

 

4 - This is where I really started to think about the environment this map is in: An oceanside, and a worn but still lived-in slum. In this image I was just trying to get the 'oceanside' lighting down before putting in the smaller decorations. It still looks a bit flat though.

 

 

 

 

 

5 More light sources, more shadows

 

 

 

 

 

6 - And here's what I have so far, it looks a tiny bit different at the different times of day in-game from tints, the mist is on its own overlay so it'll drift along the map. The in-game tint takes care of saturating out the yellows in this map during the Night, for the most part.

 

 

 

 

 

 

7 - Toying with slightly more dramatic effects here, but I dunno about it really, is 6 better than this one?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tiles and objects used here are by Highlander4 and Celianna. (water by me though! xp)

 

 

 

P.S.

In-game screenshots using map #6. At the moment I'm trying to get the overlay pieces (the trees, the lanterns) to match here how they look in photoshop, it's surprisingly tricky o.o; The tint sort of dulls everything...

 

 

 

Ugly night-vision overlay is ugly, and shall be replaced xD But I think this gives an idea of what it looks like in-game, anyway.

 

 

Edited September 29, 2015 by Nyapurgisnacht

[Tsarmina 2,612]

Wow, it's lovely! The first thing that comes to mind about the greenish lighting, though, is underwater (like a lake maybe) rather than next to the water. However, in-game I'm sure this won't be much of a problem, especially if you provide a nice transition between maps to provide for the change in lighting.  

 

About your question with the #7, I think that lighting makes it look a bit horror-esque D: So I would probably leave it as #6. 

[Nyapurgisnacht 152]

Wah, thanks Tsar ^^ I'll keep that about the transition in mind! Don't wanna go jarring peoples' eyeballs.

 

You know how they say the sky turns green before a big storm? I think I sort of got that in my head when I started doing the lighting and it just kept layering on xp But it's for the best it isn't quite so vibrant in-game~

But now I have an idea of how to make an underwater scene! >;D

Edited September 30, 2015 by Nyapurgisnacht

[Tharis 212]

This looks good over all however the one tree that stands over the house near the middle left side of the map as a very odd shadow. The shadow looks like its directly under the tree or where the tree would be as if the ground under it was flat... however there is a house there that's roof actually eclipses the branches this gives it a very 2D feel. What you could do is take the very top of the shadow of that tree and put it over the top of the house at about a 1.25 magnification and stretch the part of the shadow that will connect to the ground to fit with where the ground is flat at no magnification and then cut the rest of the shadow that would appear on the house off this will help to give the correct spacing with the building and the tree.

[Nyapurgisnacht 152]

 

Something like this, if I understood at all?