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[imnumberfour]

Two levels of a mockup:



15 colours. The GUI and character sprite changes per level to match the ambience. :3

[Oskuro]

And another mockup, with more attention to the lighting system. Actually, this mockup has brought forth what will probably be a big problem in the final implementation: The mixing of different light intensities... Not to mention colored lighting (not pictured).

Native resoltion is 320x200. This image is 3x larger.

This is also the premiere of the Possesed Soldier / Former Human monster... With its stylish green hair!

I'm not sure if I should go for the outline-less style I've used on the Zombie, or keep the outlines I'm using on the DoomGuys (I was thinking to keep a colored version of the outline always visible so players can see where they are when obscured by walls)

Also, first tileset I've made ever. Acceptable, but needs improvement. And color.

Oh, and I'm going yo chop off the character's arms, after all, the hands will be integrated in the weapon sprite, which will be dynamically switched around. Also, I hate how that zombie's gun looks.

Cheers! 

[Lazycow]

this mockup has brought forth what will probably be a big problem in the final implementation: The mixing of different light intensities... Not to mention colored lighting (not pictured).

I like the contrast of the light near the main character. Much better than all these gradients you see on other 2D games that use light effects. What about only using one light source (the pocketlamp)? and the other blocks are a bit dark. (but not black)

[Oskuro]

My idea is to have both ambient light and directional lights.

When under ambient light, sprites get shaded uniformly (except glow areas), and they cast a circular shadow just below. The zombies on the far right and far left are both under ambient light, as well as the red Doomie. The one on the left is at full light (0% darkness), while the one on the right is at 80% darkness.

The point of ambient light is to have areas that are not fully dark, and to save on lighting calculations by ignoring directional lighting when a character is just under said conditions.

Directional light, on the other hand, causes "hit" characters to use their directional lighting mask (as pictured), as well as shadow projection and the "light beams".

Note that the room at the bottom (where the Red Doomie is) has a different light level (50%), I also want light to spill directionally from rooms with greater light intensity into adjacent rooms, mostly because I like the idea of doors opening and projecting light as they do so (The passage to the south area is projecting up into the wall, just besides the Blue Doomie, thet's why the Zombie in the middle is lit directionally).

Mixing light intensities shouldn't be a problem, I'll just add the light values in the light mask before applying it.

The compromise I'll have to make, though, is when deciding the light level of characters moving from one light area to the next. I'm thinking about averaging the light/darkness level of all the lights affecting the character, and applying said average value to the sprite.

For example, if the Green Doomie steps down and stands in between the full bright flashlight beam and the 50% light beam from the south room, the darkness mask shadow and light values would be the average of both (75%). I could even go as far as to calculate how much of the character is in each light, but since the detection of directional light will be a hitscan check, I'll keep that simple. Also, being hit by two light beams would activate two lightmaps at once.


I'm really liking how the mockups are helping me plan all these technical details in advance.

[SolarLune]

Two levels of a mockup:

15 colours. The GUI and character sprite changes per level to match the ambience. :3

The left one's great. The right one's a bit awkward color-wise. I think a darker blue would be nice.

[Oskuro]

@imnumberfour:

I have the opposite opinion to SolarLune, I think the right image has a better contrast between the player sprite and the background, while on the left image they (player and creatures) don't pop out that much and kind of blend with the background.

I guess it all depends on the style you're aiming for (high/low contrast). A hint of an outline could help make the characters on the left image pop out (Again, if you want that).

[SolarLune]

Looking again at it, I agree with Oskuro. There's not enough contrast on the left image, while the right's fine technically the way it is. I still like the colors on the left one, though. I think he's right - adding an outline would help things out.

[Oskuro]

Opinions on the Gang? I've gone for an outline-less style, unlike the first Doomies.

Not sure if the Commando should sport a goatee, though.

[xix]

I think a lot of that color is unnecessary. It highlights the plane while taking up too much space and colors on your palette. Check the guy on the left's shoes. It looks like you want to have light and dark, but it looks like you have light, medium light, medium dark, and dark. You could do all that with two colors. The metal face and hands (and maybe the hair?) could use three colors because they're high contrast within each area.

Watch out for the kind of outlining you're doing in the hair, too. Break up the outlines and it'll look fuller.

Oh, and cast shadows from one body part to another. You did it for the eyes casting shadows on the face, just do the rest.

[Oskuro]

Oh boy, how my art sucks at conveying stuff.

First off, the palette is not definitive, it does need to be homogenized and corrected. I aimed at three color intensities, but when drawing the sprites realized I needed a darker outline color in sections, as well as a brighter hotspot color for certain materials. I need to take pure colors and tone them down a bit.


Now... The faces are not metal... They are zombies, so they are cadaver-white. 

The eyes do not cast shadows, they have just black outlines under the eyes (on account of beeing creepy dead people), much in the vein of a Tim Burton character.

As for the outlining, yeah, I'm working on it. All this is my first attempt at spriting, so it's a learning experience.

Thanks for the advice!


Also....

Originally I made the sprites from memory, trying to match the color patterns (although the red tends to be blood... I thought the commando had a goatee, but he just has poor oral hygiene). Now seeing them side by side... I like mine better 

I kinda prefer going from memory and then later checking the reference, it leads to more interesting interpretations.

[DustyDrake]

They do look like robots due to those two lines on their faces below their eyes.

[peous]

and the gray color

[Oskuro]

Noooooooooooo! I don't want to make them zombie-green! 

[DustyDrake]

blue then?
or make them a pale skin tone with the glowy eyes.

[Oskuro]

Yeah, I'll probably pink them up a bit. The eyes do glow, though, as seen in the mockups a bit further up, Corpsies always have their eyes under full bright.

Guess that them blowing up in squishy red gibblets will help make them not feel so robotic too.