Page 1 of 3

Tiles that could use improvement

PostPosted: Wednesday, 7th November 2012, 11:02
by ontoclasm
I've seen a number of people wondering which tiles to work on, so I ran through the monster tiles and picked out the ones I think could most use attention. This isn't exhaustive, obviously -- if it's not on this list, it's just because I think the existing tile is fine, not because a new one wouldn't be welcome. For more stuff that might need changing, check out the wiki.

I'll expand the list to include floors and so on eventually.

Feel free to suggest additions for the list (but make sure to check how it looks in trunk - quite a few tiles have changed already) or ask me any questions you might have!

e: updated as of 1/4/2015

Need a completely new tile:
Bennu (use the phoenix tile -- a mediocre tile used for the wrong monster)
Shard shrikes
Spriggan riders (they ride wasps now)
Tiamat (she doesn't wear armour anymore, just a cloak)

Need major improvements:
Holy swine
Small abominations
Nergalle (Hot pink sorcerer)
Giants (They all have weird noodle arms; minotaurs included in here)
Azure Jelly, Dissolution
Alligator and baby
Large abominations
Black bears (invisible)

Less critical:
Basilisk
(Hell) Hog
Other bears
Worms
Hound, wolf
Warg
Quokkas & porcupines
Both wasps
Iguana

Iron imp, shadow imp (Still use the old, "cute" imp body)
Ufetubus
Efreet

Golden, iron, pearl, and bone dragons
Wyvern

Plants

Angel, daeva, profane servitor
Cherub
Ophan

Ball lightning (It's a reference to something I think?)
Elementals and golems (Possible exception: air elemental)
Insubstantial wisp

Spriggan air mage (note: they fly)

Tentacles of all stripes (this would be a lot of work)

Derived skeletons and zombies
Crawling corpse & macabre mass
Curse skull
Death cob
Drowned soul
Shadow wraiths & eidolons
Flying skull
Ghoul
Unborn (not a deep dwarf any more; it's just a weird lich)
Vampire mage & knight

"Guardian eye" (one of the machines in Tukima's wizlab)

Azrael
Joseph
Jorgrun (hard to see)
Geryon
Harold
Mara
Maud
Norris
Sojobo (easy to mistake for a normal tengu)
Vashnia (hard to see)
Xtahua

Basically all the monsters in /vault/

Re: Tiles that could use improvement

PostPosted: Wednesday, 7th November 2012, 11:08
by Galefury

Re: Tiles that could use improvement

PostPosted: Wednesday, 7th November 2012, 16:16
by Bloax
Hm, that kraken looks great, except for that mouth.

suddenly
Image Image

Edit: And how's this jelly? (Green doesn't seem as threatening as red, and even though it's deadly in the early game - so is everything.)
Image

I should probably make it cut off less badly, but width is the big problem.

Re: Tiles that could use improvement

PostPosted: Wednesday, 7th November 2012, 17:07
by Jabberwocky
I think the current Wiglaf tile is nice. It conveys the stupid looking hat part of his discription well. Any replacement tile should have a hat which is at least as silly looking as his current one.

Re: Tiles that could use improvement

PostPosted: Wednesday, 7th November 2012, 17:38
by jwb
ontoclasm wrote:Crocodile (Bizarrely tiny)


It is a lot less dangerous than an alligator though, which I'm not sure makes all that much sense. Maybe rename it "caiman" in the same go.

ontoclasm wrote:Unseen horror (Iconic, like the tmons)


I rather like the current one. It's a good thing IMO that it doesn't look all that scary when not invisible - after all, it isn't.

Re: Tiles that could use improvement

PostPosted: Wednesday, 7th November 2012, 18:10
by ontoclasm
The jelly should probably stay red so as not to confuse people, but that looks great for a shape. You're right that the bottom's kinda sharply cut off, though.

I don't mean that Wiglaf or the UH should be redesigned, just redrawn - the current UH is a blinding shade of hot pink, and consists of a perfectly spherical body and tiny, janky-looking tentacles, while Wiglaf is pillow shaded and wears his glorious hat two pixels to the left of his head. They just need to be reshaped and given better shading, basically; that's the case for several things on the second list (but feel free to redesign them if you want).
ImageImage

Re: Tiles that could use improvement

PostPosted: Wednesday, 7th November 2012, 22:00
by Bloax
Image
Well if that isn't much better already.

Edit: Perhaps a bit overkill, oh well:
Image Edit: Better eye: Image

EditEdit: Cutesy version: Image

Re: Tiles that could use improvement

PostPosted: Wednesday, 7th November 2012, 23:11
by varsovie
My god! Can you give him this eye pls?

Re: Tiles that could use improvement

PostPosted: Wednesday, 7th November 2012, 23:20
by Bloax
Image
Edit:

Well this ought to clarify it a bit: Image/Image
Also have a fancier Erolcha tile: Image/Image

Also, holy toe could just be "Holy toes". Because personally I find the row of toes hilarious.

Re: Tiles that could use improvement

PostPosted: Thursday, 8th November 2012, 12:27
by Galefury
I think it's funny that the unseen horror is pink. Should stay funny IMO. I agree that the current tile is pretty ugly.

The jelly looks fine.

I don't like the ogres. Slightly less ugly Erolcha and vegetables-for-hands ogre mages? No thanks. Also note that Erolcha is actually weaker than an ogre mage.

Re: Tiles that could use improvement

PostPosted: Thursday, 8th November 2012, 14:30
by Bloax
Galefury wrote:Vegetables-for-hands ogre mages?

That's not hard to fix.

Re: Tiles that could use improvement

PostPosted: Thursday, 8th November 2012, 15:12
by Kate
Blessed toes and spirits don't ever spawn (and are reasonably likely to get removed, I think), so bear that in mind before putting a bunch of work into tiles for them. :P

I'm not sure what "guardian eye" refers to, Tukima's wizlab just has "strange machines" (that cast blink other).

Re: Tiles that could use improvement

PostPosted: Thursday, 8th November 2012, 16:22
by ontoclasm
The tiles are called "guardian-eye"; I vaguely remember them being in Tukima's but frankly don't remember:
Image

Perhaps they also fail to exist?

Re: Tiles that could use improvement

PostPosted: Thursday, 8th November 2012, 17:21
by Kate
Looks like those are indeed the tiles that the strange machines use, no idea what the name difference is about.

Re: Tiles that could use improvement

PostPosted: Friday, 9th November 2012, 09:33
by ontoclasm
Probably ill-advised to be spriting at 3 am while watching Stargate, but here's a possible lorocyproca:
Image

Re: Tiles that could use improvement

PostPosted: Friday, 9th November 2012, 13:01
by roctavian
I have a set of tiles for various J enemies partially completed -- my abusive work schedule and lack of internet keeps the progress slow, but I'm using a tasteful amount of semi-transparency and trying to differentiate different Js by shape more.

I do like that new Invisible Horror; personally I think that the Jelly should fill in a 32x32 space a bit more, but I do think it is nice looking.

I have a giant amoeba completed, a death jelly mostly completed, and some good ideas for Dissolution.

Re: Tiles that could use improvement

PostPosted: Friday, 9th November 2012, 13:06
by Galefury
Resolve to dissolve!

Also: We come from slime, we turn to slime.

<3 Dissolution

Re: Tiles that could use improvement

PostPosted: Friday, 9th November 2012, 15:33
by Bloax
roctavian wrote:I think that the Jelly should fill in a 32x32 space a bit more

Well, it is practically harmless past D:7, so I made it small to portray that.
Also have a less grasshands ogre mage: Image

Re: Tiles that could use improvement

PostPosted: Friday, 9th November 2012, 22:03
by ontoclasm
I think that'd still blend in with normal ogres a bit too much; the tattoos are pretty subtle and the jazz hands are gonna vanish into a busy background. Maybe something more dramatic? Erolcha is looking great, looks like she's been dieting
Image

The UH looks much better, but what's up with the lower tentacle? It looks like he's carrying a hammer around :D

You guys rock, by the way. Keep up the good work. Looking forward to seeing Dissolution, he's basically the best unique.

Re: Tiles that could use improvement

PostPosted: Saturday, 10th November 2012, 17:09
by Bloax
ontoclasm wrote:Looking forward to seeing Dissolution, he's basically the best unique.

If you listen closely to the entrance of the dungeon, you might hear the dying out sound of a voice as it traveled through the dungeon.
And if you listen even more carefully, you might make out that it says "I hate that."

Re: Tiles that could use improvement

PostPosted: Tuesday, 13th November 2012, 00:15
by Bloax
Image Image Image Image Image Image Image Image Image Image Image

Butterflies!

Butterflies everywhere!

Re: Tiles that could use improvement

PostPosted: Tuesday, 13th November 2012, 00:54
by Bloax
triple posts r bad kids mkay

Air mage:
Image Or without that air thingy: Image

For bonus points, it'd be wonderful if the character tile could be moved up by some two pixels or so, and with this above the bottom of the usual 32x32 box:
Image

What are you talking about Bloax:
Image Image Image

Render cloud on top of character tile, move the character tile up by two pixels.
???
Profit

Re: Tiles that could use improvement

PostPosted: Tuesday, 13th November 2012, 09:02
by Bloax
Holy quad-post!

How's this octopode edit?
Image Obligatory: Image Edit: Image

Edit: Image Image
Ice/Stone (Statue) octopodes, wee!

EditEdit: An edit of the new orb of fire (which is sexy as hellfire):
Image

Re: Tiles that could use improvement

PostPosted: Wednesday, 14th November 2012, 01:02
by Bloax
No comments at all?

And thus we're up to five posts in a row;
Image

Re: Tiles that could use improvement

PostPosted: Wednesday, 14th November 2012, 01:20
by ontoclasm
The octopodes and butterflies look great; I'm not so sure about the cloud. Maybe it's just my pixel art elitism showing?

What's the blue orb for?

Re: Tiles that could use improvement

PostPosted: Wednesday, 14th November 2012, 01:51
by Bloax
An Orb of Cold, because obviously stacking up on rF+++ is not enuff!

The cloud effect really is just a wacky thought I had that IMHO would make the game just that little bit sillier. (I mean riding on a cloud, oh come on.) :p

The reason that it isn't pixel artsy is because for one I'd have a nightmare doing partially translucent pixel art, another would be so that it blends in seamlessly.
..And for yet another reason, I have no idea how to draw clouds (the end result here is another miracle).

Re: Tiles that could use improvement

PostPosted: Wednesday, 14th November 2012, 03:17
by XuaXua
Zombie turtles are in. Now needed: skeletal turtles.

Re: Tiles that could use improvement

PostPosted: Wednesday, 14th November 2012, 03:41
by Jabberwocky
alligator snapping turtle skeletons and zombies that don't look like alligators?

Re: Tiles that could use improvement

PostPosted: Wednesday, 14th November 2012, 08:43
by Grimm
Let's observe thread discipline here please.

Re: Tiles that could use improvement

PostPosted: Sunday, 18th November 2012, 07:28
by Bloax
Thread discipline?
Image
DO YOU EVEN LIFT?

Re: Tiles that could use improvement

PostPosted: Monday, 19th November 2012, 03:10
by BlackSheep
The new fog ability needs a tile.

Re: Tiles that could use improvement

PostPosted: Monday, 19th November 2012, 11:49
by Galefury
Also, Blinkenlights.

Re: Tiles that could use improvement

PostPosted: Wednesday, 28th November 2012, 13:10
by Bloax
Holy damn if this wasn't hard, but here comes the crocodile:
Image Image

Re: Tiles that could use improvement

PostPosted: Saturday, 1st December 2012, 04:05
by XuaXua
Single gold piece could use some help with inept/ravenous mimic combos. Basically, the mimic tile-over makes the gp vanish entirely. Kind of odd if you were auto traveling.

Re: Tiles that could use improvement

PostPosted: Sunday, 2nd December 2012, 04:58
by some12fat2move
Bloax wrote:Holy damn if this wasn't hard, but here comes the crocodile

Best quote ever.

Re: Tiles that could use improvement

PostPosted: Friday, 7th December 2012, 19:21
by Bloax
Now that I suddenly decided to do this, have a DJ Alligator:
Image
Which is but a simple edit of the crocodile.

Re: Tiles that could use improvement

PostPosted: Sunday, 30th June 2013, 23:13
by Bloax
And so now I decided to bump this glorious thread with three monsters with some improved tiles:

Image Image
Bog bodies now look more swampy

Image Image
Plague shamblers are now more bulky and plague-ey?

Image Image Image Image Image Image
And a whole bunch of recolors of a (well not artistically I hope) uglier Ugly thing.

Re: Tiles that could use improvement

PostPosted: Monday, 1st July 2013, 18:48
by khalil
The new uglier thing looks great. I love the shading.

Re: Tiles that could use improvement

PostPosted: Monday, 1st July 2013, 19:40
by prozacelf
I kinda like the current cuddly roly-poly ugly things, but that new tile does look better....and, well, uglier. The bog body and shambled tiles look good too, although I imagined both as a bit more gaunt and a bit less hulked out. What do you use to make your tiles?

Re: Tiles that could use improvement

PostPosted: Monday, 1st July 2013, 20:35
by Bloax
I use trusty old Photoshop to make up a black shape with the pencil tool - and then shade it into looking like something with what usually is a hard 1px brush. (Though I do use bigger and softer circle brushes.)
And then I slap one or more gradient maps on it to colorize it. (Note how the ugly things all have either green or yellow eyes/mouth outlines in exactly the same shape.)

also reminder that the two others aren't all that dark:
Image
oh and thanks for the compliments

The plague shambler is bulky because I kind of imagined it would be, what with it exploding into gas and all that. (Though I have to say I was planning a more "bursting fatman" look, but then went with a hulkish look.)

Re: Tiles that could use improvement

PostPosted: Monday, 1st July 2013, 21:18
by XuaXua
I wish I could remember which monster(s) it was, but I think it was Spider / Snake or Shoals: the tile was not distinct enough from the background to be obvious enough. I think it's the darker spider, not the Wolf Spider.

Re: Tiles that could use improvement

PostPosted: Monday, 1st July 2013, 22:13
by Bloax
Are you thinking of the Image redback?

Also - some small orange brain tweaks: Image

Re: Tiles that could use improvement

PostPosted: Monday, 1st July 2013, 23:21
by XuaXua
Bloax wrote:Are you thinking of the Image redback?


Yes. It is not obvious enough. Either the background tiles should be adjusted (not sure if it's main dungeon or spider) or the redback should be made less blended.

Re: Tiles that could use improvement

PostPosted: Tuesday, 2nd July 2013, 00:26
by Bloax
Image
How's this then?

Re: Tiles that could use improvement

PostPosted: Tuesday, 2nd July 2013, 01:35
by XuaXua
I'd have to see it on the background because the spider itself was fine; probably just needed a hue adjustment or two.

Re: Tiles that could use improvement

PostPosted: Tuesday, 2nd July 2013, 03:39
by Bloax
Image
Well not that I changed the hue, but I made it brighter for some reason and made the back of it more redbacked.
Spoiler: show
Image

Not really sure how to demonstrate it better, unfortunately.

Re: Tiles that could use improvement

PostPosted: Tuesday, 2nd July 2013, 04:35
by ontoclasm
The brain, bog body, and plague shambler look great. Ugly things... I dunno, these are impressive, but the current ones are pretty awesome too. Maybe I'll use yours for Very Ugly Things.

I'm not so keen on the Redback. Redbacks are a real thing from Australia and have really distinctive markings. It's sort of a shame to make them just "a spider with red on it." Also, the existing one does a good job of looking big and hungry, while yours is a little hunched.

Re: Tiles that could use improvement

PostPosted: Tuesday, 2nd July 2013, 04:50
by Bloax
this is why you read into things before you do them

OH, I just realized that it could be used for the player spider form. even though it's kinda big for that but so is a wolf spider so heh
Imaged


And well, I guess the ugly things can be the very ugly things. It's just going to clash a bit since most of the tiles from that time look like they have quite restricted colors and a rather silly semi-comical style.
While I tend to have no restraints and a more grimdark style of things.

Re: Tiles that could use improvement

PostPosted: Wednesday, 3rd July 2013, 01:08
by XuaXua
Bloax wrote:Image
Well not that I changed the hue, but I made it brighter for some reason and made the back of it more redbacked.
Spoiler: show
Image

Not really sure how to demonstrate it better, unfortunately.


Demo it directly on the floors on which is primarily appears: dungeon standard and spider, whichever those are. Those are the ones where the original isn't as distinct. For some reason, I think it's the orange tile on the fifth row, where your version is least visible; if that's orc, then mea culpa.