Full Games List
Featured Games
New Games
Reviews
Images
Blogs
Game Updates
Images Feedback Summary
Game Design Highlights
Tutorials
Articles
Scripts
Utilities / Plugins
Resources
Engines
Engine Bulletins
What is Makerscore?
Past Events
Achievements
Forums
Post History
Chat
New to RMN?
Full Store List
RMN Music Pack (free)
Add Review
Subscribe
Nominate
Submit Media
RSS
RTP (Ready to Proceed)
Red_Nova- 12/29/2015 08:48 PM
- 9837 views
Well this was a bit of a miscalculation. I was hoping to make this announcement a big surprise, but then I had to go and ask for feedback and help in the screenshot thread. Since it's pretty obvious now, I might as well make it official: that super secret super cool addition I mentioned at the end of the last blog is that I'm gonna be making custom tiles for Prayer of the Faithless.
Why did I decide to do this? Well, I think it's the same reason why my mapping is rather bland: the RTP just isn't inspiring to me. Sure, you can create interesting maps with RTP, but it all strikes me as generic and impersonal. If I wanted to tell the story of this game visually and take better advantage of the medium, moving on is the only solution. Now that I can create what I want to, I've found all sorts of ways to tell the story and build the world of PotF without resorting to dialogue.
Here are a few examples, still WIPs, but it should give you an idea of what I'm talking about:
Here's Asala, just outside of the castle gates. The statues have been replaced with the knowledge and power statues because that's the creed of the Asalan Knights: as knowledge is just as powerful a weapon as any blade.
Commandant Vanessa office, seen in the intro. Now, her sword is attached to the wall instead of stuck in the ground. Also, the carpet and banner have been removed; She is a practical person and does not have patience for ostentatious displays.
This is the first room of the Brecellian Darkwood, which looks sliiightly different now. I removed the tree canopy in favor of just using trees, and the trees are a better size now than they were before! No wonky perspective issues! There's no hidden meaning behind this one, though. I just like this better than the canopy layer.
So yay! The game's getting a new tileset! ... Can you all at least pretend to be surprised? For me? Please?
But wait, there's more! The new visuals aren't limited to the tilesets! Thanks the hard work of a certain unity, the battles are getting an overhaul as well!
So check it out. Custom enemies AND a cool new battleback!
Just like Mia gets a new windowskin color, she gets her own battleback as well! No, this isn't an actual fight in Mia's story. This is just a sample.
You have unity to thank for the battle visuals. She made the battlebacks as well as offered to draw the enemies! I think she did a fantastic job on these, Thanks so much, unity!!
So here's the big question: How far will these new assets set me back? Well, the good news is that it won't be THAT bad. At the time this blog has gone live, I'm done with tiles for Asala, the Brecellian Darkwood, and some of the buildings of Honelleth, which accounts for about 50% of the tiles I need to include in the prologue. Originally, I just wanted to remake the RTP tilesets, but then I realized that there's really no need for that. The entire reason why I'm doing this is to break away from the RTP and be able to tell the story of PotF with imagery as well as with dialogue, and simply tracing the RTP tiles defeats the entire purpose of making custom stuff.
I'm currently on winter break from school, and I plan to take this time to finish the new assets for the prologue. I start school on January 11th, and I aim to have the new prologue out by then. As the available demo is still the RTP version, I'm keep the official screenshots as they are until the new assets are ready. In fact, I'm on the fence about just pulling the demo since it's about to become incredibly outdated. If you want to pick it up, now's the time to do it before I decide to take it down.
So that's where we stand as of now. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to off into hiding because I know that second paragraph is going to cause Liberty to hunt me down and murder me.
Why did I decide to do this? Well, I think it's the same reason why my mapping is rather bland: the RTP just isn't inspiring to me. Sure, you can create interesting maps with RTP, but it all strikes me as generic and impersonal. If I wanted to tell the story of this game visually and take better advantage of the medium, moving on is the only solution. Now that I can create what I want to, I've found all sorts of ways to tell the story and build the world of PotF without resorting to dialogue.
Here are a few examples, still WIPs, but it should give you an idea of what I'm talking about:
Here's Asala, just outside of the castle gates. The statues have been replaced with the knowledge and power statues because that's the creed of the Asalan Knights: as knowledge is just as powerful a weapon as any blade.
Commandant Vanessa office, seen in the intro. Now, her sword is attached to the wall instead of stuck in the ground. Also, the carpet and banner have been removed; She is a practical person and does not have patience for ostentatious displays.
This is the first room of the Brecellian Darkwood, which looks sliiightly different now. I removed the tree canopy in favor of just using trees, and the trees are a better size now than they were before! No wonky perspective issues! There's no hidden meaning behind this one, though. I just like this better than the canopy layer.
So yay! The game's getting a new tileset! ... Can you all at least pretend to be surprised? For me? Please?
But wait, there's more! The new visuals aren't limited to the tilesets! Thanks the hard work of a certain unity, the battles are getting an overhaul as well!
So check it out. Custom enemies AND a cool new battleback!
Just like Mia gets a new windowskin color, she gets her own battleback as well! No, this isn't an actual fight in Mia's story. This is just a sample.
You have unity to thank for the battle visuals. She made the battlebacks as well as offered to draw the enemies! I think she did a fantastic job on these, Thanks so much, unity!!
So here's the big question: How far will these new assets set me back? Well, the good news is that it won't be THAT bad. At the time this blog has gone live, I'm done with tiles for Asala, the Brecellian Darkwood, and some of the buildings of Honelleth, which accounts for about 50% of the tiles I need to include in the prologue. Originally, I just wanted to remake the RTP tilesets, but then I realized that there's really no need for that. The entire reason why I'm doing this is to break away from the RTP and be able to tell the story of PotF with imagery as well as with dialogue, and simply tracing the RTP tiles defeats the entire purpose of making custom stuff.
I'm currently on winter break from school, and I plan to take this time to finish the new assets for the prologue. I start school on January 11th, and I aim to have the new prologue out by then. As the available demo is still the RTP version, I'm keep the official screenshots as they are until the new assets are ready. In fact, I'm on the fence about just pulling the demo since it's about to become incredibly outdated. If you want to pick it up, now's the time to do it before I decide to take it down.
So that's where we stand as of now. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to off into hiding because I know that second paragraph is going to cause Liberty to hunt me down and murder me.
Posts 
View playlists
CloseWow, this is a huge surprise and completely unexpected!
Seriously though, all of this is looking fantastic (at least to my untrained eyes), and I'm really excited to see what the end result is going to turn out like. The only things so far that I would criticise is that all of the trees on these screenshots look exactly the same, and that some objects seem to have much more strongly defined outlines than others. Still, I think your work is great, especially since I've also never been too fond of the VX style RTP myself. (I'm also very jealous.)
Huge props to both you and unity! Keep up the good work!
Seriously though, all of this is looking fantastic (at least to my untrained eyes), and I'm really excited to see what the end result is going to turn out like. The only things so far that I would criticise is that all of the trees on these screenshots look exactly the same, and that some objects seem to have much more strongly defined outlines than others. Still, I think your work is great, especially since I've also never been too fond of the VX style RTP myself. (I'm also very jealous.)
Huge props to both you and unity! Keep up the good work!
Red_Nova
Sir Redd of Novus: He who made Prayer of the Faithless that one time, and that was pretty dang rad! :D
9192
I know, right!? What a completely out-of-the-blue announcement!!
Thanks NeverSilent! I'm glad you're pumped about this. Regarding the trees, they are exactly the same. I originally had two other trees, but the wonderful people in the screenshot thread showed me how to make better ones. You're seeing the first result. I'm gonna make some more trees soon. Also, good eye on the borders. I'll fix those!
Thanks NeverSilent! I'm glad you're pumped about this. Regarding the trees, they are exactly the same. I originally had two other trees, but the wonderful people in the screenshot thread showed me how to make better ones. You're seeing the first result. I'm gonna make some more trees soon. Also, good eye on the borders. I'll fix those!
Hehe, loving these new tilesets!
I know the screenshots are works in progress, so you may already be addressing this parts, but I noticed a couple of things:
If you look at "A," the shading on the ground stops before the door. If you create some custom tiles like this, it would look smoother:
As for B, I'd recommend removing the Autoshadow here. (I generally dislike Autoshadow anywhere, but I think it's incorrect to have it here).
Hope that's helpful and not too nit-picky ^_^
I know the screenshots are works in progress, so you may already be addressing this parts, but I noticed a couple of things:
If you look at "A," the shading on the ground stops before the door. If you create some custom tiles like this, it would look smoother:
As for B, I'd recommend removing the Autoshadow here. (I generally dislike Autoshadow anywhere, but I think it's incorrect to have it here).
Hope that's helpful and not too nit-picky ^_^
Red_Nova
Sir Redd of Novus: He who made Prayer of the Faithless that one time, and that was pretty dang rad! :D
9192
Thanks for the feedback! I'll get to work on the shading issue. And I think I'll just remove autoshadows entirely. If the trees are any indication, I'll just put shadows on the tiles themselves.
And no, it's not nitpicky at all. I'm glad to get any kind of feedback!
And no, it's not nitpicky at all. I'm glad to get any kind of feedback!
Hooray! :DDDD
If you need a script to get rid of autotiles you could try
http://rpgmaker.net/scripts/325/
If you need a script to get rid of autotiles you could try
http://rpgmaker.net/scripts/325/
Red_Nova
Sir Redd of Novus: He who made Prayer of the Faithless that one time, and that was pretty dang rad! :D
9192
Perfect. Thanks!
Malandy
357
Hmm... The monsters' art styles don't match the background or the protags.
But, they do match each other, and monsters are monsters, so why should they match with anything but themselves?
But, they do match each other, and monsters are monsters, so why should they match with anything but themselves?
Hmmm, yeah, as much as I tried to match Red's style, I think I failed with regards to line-weight. I may try to redraw those. I think I can do better.
Amazing work, dude.
Because you are right, RTP games feel the same or at least just share way too much with each other and it kinda blurs. Like, if you have ever watched old tv shows likw Robin Hood or Laramie, actors get reused for different parts and roles and when you're watching that tv show binge style you really notice that one actor has been like 10 different people.
RTP games are no different, so it's awesome to see you expanding and being the master of your craft at your own pace in time.
^if that doesn't make sense then I'm sorryy but it's the truth in all your magnificent glory you son of RMN.
Because you are right, RTP games feel the same or at least just share way too much with each other and it kinda blurs. Like, if you have ever watched old tv shows likw Robin Hood or Laramie, actors get reused for different parts and roles and when you're watching that tv show binge style you really notice that one actor has been like 10 different people.
RTP games are no different, so it's awesome to see you expanding and being the master of your craft at your own pace in time.
^if that doesn't make sense then I'm sorryy but it's the truth in all your magnificent glory you son of RMN.
kumada
3917
Whoah. That's a lot of extra work to add to a one-man team, but the finished product looks good for it. I'll be happy to play this whenever it's ready.
Red_Nova
Sir Redd of Novus: He who made Prayer of the Faithless that one time, and that was pretty dang rad! :D
9192
author=Malandy
Hmm... The monsters' art styles don't match the background or the protags.
But, they do match each other, and monsters are monsters, so why should they match with anything but themselves?
I don't see an issue, to be honest. In fact, I think they match the style of the heroes better than the RTP enemies did. As for the backgrounds, well... they're not supposed to match. The enemies shouldn't blend into the background because the point is for them to stick out visually. Can you elaborate on how they don't match? Maybe you see something we don't.
author=InfectionFiles
Amazing work, dude.
Because you are right, RTP games feel the same or at least just share way too much with each other and it kinda blurs. Like, if you have ever watched old tv shows likw Robin Hood or Laramie, actors get reused for different parts and roles and when you're watching that tv show binge style you really notice that one actor has been like 10 different people.
RTP games are no different, so it's awesome to see you expanding and being the master of your craft at your own pace in time.
^if that doesn't make sense then I'm sorryy but it's the truth in all your magnificent glory you son of RMN.
If my personal experience is any indication, a big part of that is less the RTP itself and more it's accessibility. Because it's so easy to put down some wall and floor tiles and call it a day, it's way too tempting to do just that and not bother learning how to make the most of the set. Heck, there's barely even any incentive to edit the tiles. But making things look good wasn't what I was good at, so the RTP just couldn't suit me anymore.
Besides, now that I've gone through the pain of creating tiles, I can totally understand why someone would want to stick with RTP! To put it mildly, this is tough!
author=unity
Hmmm, yeah, as much as I tried to match Red's style, I think I failed with regards to line-weight. I may try to redraw those. I think I can do better.
Well, only if you really think so. Like I said in PM, I like how they turned out, and I honestly feel they match what's going on well enough.
author=kumada
Whoah. That's a lot of extra work to add to a one-man team, but the finished product looks good for it. I'll be happy to play this whenever it's ready.
Thanks! Yeah, this whole month was spent learning the fundamentals of pixeling and finding a style that I could do without sacrificing all of my sanity. I'm certainly no Celianna, but I like to think this is enough to make PotF stand out more.
Malandy
357
author=Red_Novaauthor=MalandyI don't see an issue, to be honest. In fact, I think they match the style of the heroes better than the RTP enemies did. As for the backgrounds, well... they're not supposed to match. The enemies shouldn't blend into the background because the point is for them to stick out visually. Can you elaborate on how they don't match? Maybe you see something we don't.
Hmm... The monsters' art styles don't match the background or the protags.
But, they do match each other, and monsters are monsters, so why should they match with anything but themselves?
Well, what stuck on most to me, on that example, is that the snake's skin is all one shade, unlike Mia and the rest, who get shadows, like in their hair.
The bat seems smaller than the snake, and the shading thing applies to it too, but for that, it's mainly the flame aura which feels different/wrong 'cause I haven't seen auras in this game?
Also, the new monster eyes seem to glow more, a.k.a are brighter compared to the skin, when compared to Junsunia? Image for comparison below:
Also, I see what you mean, these pics have monsters that blend in more. ... I guess to me, if the monsters blend into the background well, they feel like part of the world more?
And your PC art fits the RPG Maker Style, to feel 'right', even if they don't blend into the battle background. Which they shouldn't? As they're not your enemies?
Red_Nova
Sir Redd of Novus: He who made Prayer of the Faithless that one time, and that was pretty dang rad! :D
9192
W-wow that is looking a lot better! Much more clean and neat!
I think varying the lineweight adds a lot more personality to the monsters. I'll do that for the other monsters and send them to you ^_^
NTC3
5625
Great to see this work done, especially for the battlebacks! I'm curious about your issues with carpet for Commander's quarters though; would she rather have visitors bring dirt into her room? (I guess I'm thinking more in terms of a doormat here, but still...)
Red_Nova
Sir Redd of Novus: He who made Prayer of the Faithless that one time, and that was pretty dang rad! :D
9192
It was a decorative carpet placed right in the middle of the room, so whatever dirt was tracked in would already have made a mess by the time visitors reach the carpet.
Good point, though. I'll stick a rug at the entrance.
Good point, though. I'll stick a rug at the entrance.
Malandy
357
author=unity
Snip
Does this look any better?
What's different, other than the eyeshine and lining? Is it darker, or brighter? ... I don't think you changed the shadowing?
Note: Placing brighter things inside darker things makes them seem brighter than they would otherwise.
Red_Nova
Sir Redd of Novus: He who made Prayer of the Faithless that one time, and that was pretty dang rad! :D
9192
The line weight has been dropped all around and some of the colors(particularly the eyes) have been altered to stick out more. The end result is the new version looks much smoother and cleaner than it did originally.
