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[Sonoshee]

Hmm, I still feel like the water texture is a bit off the otherwise rather pixeled style of the game... Good to see rapid progression and development though, looking great!

Err I'm not comfy with that either, but I really need those 3D features so that things look naturally proportional.
If you don't mind, watch this vid from a 'prototype' I made last century and tell me how sea looks compared to Monokai's :



That looks completely out of place. It was achieved with some nasty parallax effect. That's why I'm trying to make things look natural despite sacrificing the pixel-art feel of the game.

[TheWing]

That's something closer to what I had in mind, though you could make the 'wavelines' be plain bright lines that'd swoosh past the same way the air dust does (ofc with parallax speeds and all) ?

[Sonoshee]

That'd add a neat effect actually, I'll remember it when I start working on the sea again.
The problem I'm finding with the sea so far is that whenever I add some new decorative texture to it it'll get ( automatically) duplicated across the whole sea, thus reducing performance by a noticeable amount. That is why the sea texture gets faded out as it gets towards the horizon; The smaller it is the weakest the impact it has on performance. And the game really needs to run smoothly otherwise it's completely unplayable.
That is curable if I divide the world into smaller scenes each loaded only when requested. I just haven't got engaged in making the game world seriously yet. Everything you see is still a placeholder ( notice that 10% progress on the thread )

[Sonoshee]

Which is better guys?



or


the first looks a bit serious, the second is cheerful and bright.
Which do you think suits the game best?

[Grog]

I like the second one, I'm a sucker for vibrant colours though.

[Bombini]

Second one!
If it fitts the tone of the game

[Sonoshee]

Thanks guys! some at tumblr said the second one as well. I ended up switching to it.

[BlackseaOdyssey]

Second one!

[Sonoshee]

Second one!

Thanks for the feedback , indeed I switched to that second palette recently.

[Sonoshee]

Added :
- Sync Mode

[Bombini]

Very cool!
Small detail: Do you want to add bubbles or something underwater?
Right now it does not feel like being in water.

[Sonoshee]

Exactly, underwater looks unrealistic, and yes I'll definitely add bubbles and some other effects.

[neko.works]

Looks really cool! Reminds me of Thunder Force on the SEGA Saturn. Following

[Sonoshee]

Thanks!! A bunch of shmups had influence on the game by the way, but I wouldn't compare my game to a good ol' shmup like Thunder Force, so sad we don't see such games being made as often.

[flashysquirrel]

I love the old school arcade style, the black and white effect after collision was nice also... The video looks a little confusing to me as how the gameplay works but i guess i would need to try it to understand better

[Sonoshee]

Yes indeed it is, gotta make more videos/gifs so that it's more obvious. Basically the Sync mode is a powerup for the aircraft, you enter it by destroying a number of enemies in a short period of time.

[Sonoshee]

Added :
- Clouds
- Arcadia island

[Jonsm]

Added :
- Clouds
- Arcadia island

This game looks awesome! I think the city doesn't quite match the style though. To me the general style seems to be broad, clean forms with bright colors, but the city has lots of one pixel details. I think you could still keep the same shape but maybe just suggest the forms of individual trees, windows, etc. instead of drawing each one.

[flashysquirrel]

i agree with Jonsm about the the fact it doesn't really match the style.
is this new city a reference to gunm by any chance ? :D

[Sonoshee]

This game looks awesome! I think the city doesn't quite match the style though. To me the general style seems to be broad, clean forms with bright colors, but the city has lots of one pixel details. I think you could still keep the same shape but maybe just suggest the forms of individual trees, windows, etc. instead of drawing each one.

Indeed, it's my first time trying to draw a green field with trees, I'll see what I can do to change the overall look of it.
As for the city, there wasn't much I could do since the resolution is low. I'll try experimenting a bit now and let you know if I make it look any more abstract.

is this new city a reference to gunm by any chance ? :D

Never heard of Gunm ( I suppose it's an anime?), the look of the island was arbitrary and I took the name from the city where the actions of Megaman Zero take place ( Neo-Arcadia)