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[DanFessler]

Derek, I just realized something... Are you drawing the images at different pixel resolutions?

[Derek]

Why do you ask?

[DanFessler]

I wasn't onto something or anything like that.  But if you are... why?  It seems like the tiles are blurrier than the UI elements, and the tile edging overlays are a bit sharper than the tiles they surround.  Why not paint them all at the same resolution?

[ANtY]

Maybe he wanted tiles to be more blurred (so they won't be as noticeable as player)

[Armageddon]

It does look a bit weird, and there are seams between the tiles. I'm sure you'll fix those though.

[astrospoon]

I wasn't onto something or anything like that.  But if you are... why?  It seems like the tiles are blurrier than the UI elements, and the tile edging overlays are a bit sharper than the tiles they surround.  Why not paint them all at the same resolution?

Dan, Derek paints all of the art either at or above the resolution it will display in the game. In general, the art is then saved in the texture at the size it will be displayed. Specifically,  all the floor tiles are saved at the same resolution they display at (64x64 pixels). We aren't upscaling the in-game graphics at all with the exception of things like the title screen graphics and such for memory reasons.

The slight blur is from sampling them with a linear filter to prevent objects from shimmering as they move between pixels. (Also, because we do scale objects in the world up and down occasionally - like the rubble in that screen for instance.) This is something I have looked at in the past, and the current implementation was the best option I had found.

However, your post made me think about this more, and I had a bit of an epiphany. I may have figured out a way I can avoid this, and sample exact pixels all the time, making the game look sharper. I'm going to post a more in depth follow up with pictures once I explore the issue a little bit more, but things are looking promising.



(Try to ignore the color differences - the level lighting makes them vary slightly.)

[Derek]

Why do you ask?

BTW, sorry if this seemed defensive - I had written something about upscaling, too, but Andy told me it was incorrect, so I deleted it. I really appreciate any comments/questions about the art.

It does look a bit weird, and there are seams between the tiles. I'm sure you'll fix those though.

Yeah, still trying to get all the seams and white cruft out of the game. Lots of Photoshop stroking involved.

Please, if you have any more feedback about the art, let us know! Not in this thread, but feel free to PM.

[DanFessler]

I wasn't onto something or anything like that.  But if you are... why?  It seems like the tiles are blurrier than the UI elements, and the tile edging overlays are a bit sharper than the tiles they surround.  Why not paint them all at the same resolution?

Dan, Derek paints all of the art either at or above the resolution it will display in the game. In general, the art is then saved in the texture at the size it will be displayed. Specifically,  all the floor tiles are saved at the same resolution they display at (64x64 pixels). We aren't upscaling the in-game graphics at all with the exception of things like the title screen graphics and such for memory reasons.

The slight blur is from sampling them with a linear filter to prevent objects from shimmering as they move between pixels. (Also, because we do scale objects in the world up and down occasionally - like the rubble in that screen for instance.) This is something I have looked at in the past, and the current implementation was the best option I had found.

However, your post made me think about this more, and I had a bit of an epiphany. I may have figured out a way I can avoid this, and sample exact pixels all the time, making the game look sharper. I'm going to post a more in depth follow up with pictures once I explore the issue a little bit more, but things are looking promising.



(Try to ignore the color differences - the level lighting makes them vary slightly.)

Ah totally makes sense, Andy.  Typically I solve this by having all my draw methods convert positions from floats to integers before drawing so I don't have to use filtering.  It can get a bit tricky making sure that the world and the sprites are rounding to the same whole integer at the same time, otherwise you get a weird jitter effect, but if you can, everything looks much sharper/better.  Basically I'm anal-retentive with my pixels.  It's a serious sickness.

[happymonster]

Yes, I do the same as Dan. It works well, especially for pixel art.

[st33d]

Typically I solve this by having all my draw methods convert positions from floats to integers before drawing so I don't have to use filtering.

I would second this if the art style fitted it. But it doesn't. If a subpixel solution is possible then it may be better than these smooth edged objects resolving to units that the player can't even see.

[DanFessler]

I really don't see how drawing images on whole-pixels has any effect on the art style.  But in any case, I trust Andy knows where he's going with these recent tests of his.

[Gabriel Verdon]

Seriously, who the fuck cares about pixel resolution in a game with high-res art?

[Zaphos]

Probably people with good eye sight and people who have said they care in this thread ...

[Gabriel Verdon]

Are you going to throw your controller down in disgust while playing a perfectly good game because the hud art is slightly more detailed than the ground tiles? It's irrelevant.

[Armageddon]

Are you going to throw your controller down in disgust while playing a perfectly good game because the hud art is slightly more detailed than the ground tiles? It's irrelevant.

It's just immersion breaking. Now back to the thread people.