parallax The Lortrec Castle

[Skysagi 219]

Hello everyone! Well, I have three map screenshots to show you and I would like your feeback. I've been trying to improve them in every possible way, but perhaps you have some suggestions. Well, all these maps are from the same area: The Lortrec Catle. There are more maps in the area, but I would like to rework on them before posting.

These are the screenshots (Ignore the fact that one of them has a significantly visible transparent background part that I forgot to remove):

 

 

 

The Entrance

 

The Main Room

 

The Throne Room

 

 

 

I hope you like these maps!

[+ Lanakainea 22]

Needs decorations on the inside feels kinda empty. i like the throne room windows there are a bit off center maybe get them equal with the chairs by slightly moving them to the right. also maps seem overly large can shrink them down a bit

[lonequeso 1,921]

I really wish RPG Maker had a dynamic lighting system... The maps all look kinda flat. Part of that is because there's no light or shadow. You could of course add lighting on top to give some contrast and depth, and create a little ambience.  You could always use the shadow tool to shad some areas like the floor tiles blow the stairs in the second screen and each side of the center wall in the first. 

 

Aside from that:

 

• 1st screen. you used wall tiles and put the fence tiles on top. There's a tiling issue going on, but even if there wasn't, they don't look right. Use the floor tile instead, and you'll have a nice balcony. The roof and walls of the outer wall are exactly the same shade of gray. It makes it look very one dimensional.  Try making one of the other darker or more saturated to give it more depth. The walls also look way too thick. They look like they're twenty feet thick. Narrow them to just one or two tiles and it will not only look more realistic, they will seem to be higher. You have enough decoration to make it look visually interesting. If you have some guards and/or NPCs on the map it's just right.
• 2nd screen. I already mentioned adding some shadow tiles. Other than that, it has the same issue as the first. The floor and wall tiles are the same shade, making it look flat. I think if you used the same tile pattern as the 1st floor, but a different shade, it pop out  lot more. It's made the fence tiles pop out more as well. Maybe add a row of shadow tiles below those fence tiles, too. Other than that, I agree I looks a tad sparse. That can easily be fixed by adding several guards/NPCs if they're aren't any already. I do think the middle wall (the one with the stairs) could use another banner or two on each side. Maybe add a couple more pillars or statues on the sides of the 1st floor, too. There's a lot of empty space there. Personally, I like to add a little water in places like that.
• 3rd screen. That is alot of stiars.Like 20+ there meaning the top part is abotu 10 feet above the bottom. It feels excessively high, and all those stairs actually make it look more flat. Less stairs is probably a good idea. Another thing you can try is to narrow the stairs. Have only the carpeted area be the stair tiles and narrow it so it takes up 1/3 of the screen. Fill in the wood stair tiles with wall tiles instead.  It will give a better sense of height and depth. Add a row of shadow tiles to the floor tiles directly under it to push it even further. Finally, perhaps add a fence tiles to the top of the wall, creating a balcony. I like the reflection of the stained glass on the floor. To really flesh it out, it'd be cool if you had the rays of light coming form the window, stretching to the reflection on the floor. WIth the reduction in stairs, the height of the map will be a bit lower. I think that will make the super high walls truly look high. Normally, they'd be way too high, but cathedrals tend to have super high walls with huge stain glass windows so I think the wall height is perfect.

Whew! That was more than I expected to type. I'm trying to relax today. What are ya tryin' to do to me?    The main things to take from all that is to work on your perspective (I'm horrible with it, too, so I feel your pain), and giving the maps a bit more depth. Part of the latter will be solved by the former, but at the very least, a few shadow tiles will go along way. Otherwise, you can make a lightning map. I'd love to add my own lighting in my game, but it's one of many things I just don't really have time for. I could make an entire game solely out of all the features I want to include... Oh well, that's I get for going lone wolf queso on my game. I hope you find all that useful.

[Skysagi 219]

The Main Room has been updated.

 

 

 

 

 

snip

Please ignore the absence of characters, shadows or lighting effects in the map, as these screenshots are not ingame, but they are simply the parallax themselves. I will try doing something about the Entrance map afterwards. The Main Room itself has already been updated, and I don't intend to fill the Throne Room with decoration, since I don't believe that's super necessary - the map of the Throne Room was updated, but with minor details.

[Dezue 3]

I like the layouts overall, maybe you could make it more diverse by alternating the floor tiles a bit. Different patterns or borders and the like would help to make it feel more ornamental.
Stay funky
Dez