[Environmental/Challenge] Elegance

Very impressive visuals! I love custom content, and these are very nicely done. I'll really look forward to playing this.

I'm really liking this.   Welcome to the community!  I'm only 6 or so months here myself.

Great color choices.  I usually don't like strait blue and red screens, but you've pulled it off I think with the industrial feel.

I have the "instant gratification" problem at times as well, or at least I find myself doing levels for praise, which is not a very healthy thing to do, me thinks.

As for the small house issue in any knytt story, I've always thought that the houses are in the far background so that Juni has to walk up to them, hence why they are "bigger inside then outside."  Perspective!

The possibly most ugly trees I've ever seen. Better give it another shot or remove them. They do nothing to the environment anyway.

But overall it's fine looking. Will be looking forward to this level. 

Really? I specifically noted liking the trees and how they grow in odd locations. They're the best part imo.

Eh, they're OK. I certainly wouldn't say they're the best part - there's room for improvement, maybe less symmetry - but they're not terribly ugly either.

Very impressive visuals! I love custom content, and these are very nicely done. I'll really look forward to playing this.

Thanks!

I'm really liking this.   Welcome to the community!

Great color choices.  I usually don't like strait blue and red screens, but you've pulled it off I think with the industrial feel.

I have the "instant gratification" problem at times as well, or at least I find myself doing levels for praise, which is not a very healthy thing to do, me thinks.

As for the small house issue in any knytt story, I've always thought that the houses are in the far background so that Juni has to walk up to them, hence why they are "bigger inside then outside."  Perspective!

Many thanks as well, including that perspective idea. I hadn't thought of that myself.

The possibly most ugly trees I've ever seen. Better give it another shot or remove them. They do nothing to the environment anyway.

I knew someone would eventually have a problem with the trees. I spent a lot of time just getting them to the state in that screenshot, and by that time, I was satisfied enough to stop working on them. But you're right. I'll work on them, though I won't exactly modify them to a great extent as others seem fine with them.

Well, this has been a nice deal of public response, especially from level-makers like egomassive and Salmoneous. I've attached another screenshot, as a result. This time, I tried taking a rather different approach to the village concept. The tileset has tons of pieces in order to really maximize customization of buildings.

I should mention that some of the screenshots I've posted are not actual shots from the game. I haven't actually started the level, but I have several "test" levels in which I'm constructing many rooms to test. But I will guarantee that a lot of the screenshots so far -will- make it into the game.

This one, in particular, features one of the places where you can get a radio.

EDIT: Quick update, since there's no response. The Elegance tileset is also pretty much complete. I just have a few more tiles to sort out. Because I always have an influx of ideas, there may even end up being an Elegance II. But I must know - what is wrong with my trees? I tried working on them but they're not coming out well. I'm just not sure what part needs fixing.

I like the new screen shot.  Great houses... except the extreme blue which makes them look plastic and fake.  Actually, it is the pure black, pure yellow, and and pure green all in one tile that does it, The blue kind of has a nice effect against the mellower blue.  However, adding gray or orange to the blue, or maybe some white to the yellow and green, will mellow the plastic effect to a richer realism.  I'd at least make the dark blue stripes grayer to help them set into space rather than pop out at the screen. 

As for your early trees, they look half dead dude.  Especially the big gap at the top right that kind of looks like a birds mouth.  They need to be MUCH fuller and robust; healthier.  You may need to double the tile width to get them adequately lively.

I like the houses but they really don't work with that tileset. The prefered solution would be to make your own tileset to match the houses since most people are bored of that particular default tileset by now.

As for the trees, to me they look too symmetrical and not natural enough. Their shape is very uninteresting and just not that aesthetically pleasing. I would describe them as "adequate" as opposed to "pretty".

Ah, this forum is difficult to please! I can't seem to do anything right.

I like the new screen shot.  Great houses... except the extreme blue which makes them look plastic and fake.  Actually, it is the pure black, pure yellow, and and pure green all in one tile that does it, The blue kind of has a nice effect against the mellower blue.  However, adding gray or orange to the blue, or maybe some white to the yellow and green, will mellow the plastic effect to a richer realism.  I'd at least make the dark blue stripes grayer to help them set into space rather than pop out at the screen.  

As for your early trees, they look half dead dude.  Especially the big gap at the top right that kind of looks like a birds mouth.  They need to be MUCH fuller and robust; healthier.  You may need to double the tile width to get them adequately lively.

I did make a different set of houses earlier, which I scrapped due to several issues, including unoriginality (it was basically a recolor of Nifflas' house from The Cave and the Disabled Machine. See attached screenshot). The colors, perhaps, work better with this tileset? But then what Feline Monstrosity said sort of negates that - that is, the part where he mentions the tileset being boring.

I like the houses but they really don't work with that tileset. The prefered solution would be to make your own tileset to match the houses since most people are bored of that particular default tileset by now.

As for the trees, to me they look too symmetrical and not natural enough. Their shape is very uninteresting and just not that aesthetically pleasing. I would describe them as "adequate" as opposed to "pretty".

Oh dear. Another tileset? That'll be the fifth one! But I suppose I can attempt it. In this case, more custom content is better.

Everyone seems rather divided on the trees. Maybe I should just throw them out? I don't know...

I know I should be doing what satisfies me and what I want to do as the creator of this work, and I know that it's impossible to please everyone, but I'm very much against releasing a level that everyone thinks is ugly.

Heh. I don't think everyone thinks your level is ugly. I think everyone thinks that it looks *extremely* promising, and when something starts out looking really promising, people tend to demand excellence. ;-)

I do agree with Feline Monstrosity that the houses don't work with the 'not desert' tileset. IMO it's two (or three?) things that are a problem here: Firstly, the colours of your tileset are very strong and pure, whereas Nifflas' tileset is kinda pastel and muted. Secondly, your tileset has a lot of minute detail, whereas Nifflas' is more stylised. Thirdly, you employ very strong contrasts in your tileset (both within the striped pattern of the walls, and between different elements of the houses, e.g. walls and windows), whereas Nifflas doesn't really work with contrast a lot in that tileset. A lot of your problems could probably be changed with some careful recolouring of your tileset.

Oh, another thing I just realised: part of the problem may actually be that you gave everything black outlines, whereas in Nifflas' tileset, only the solid ground has outlines. So, unless you explicitly want the houses to be climbable, you may want to rethink that?

I'd also like to weigh in on the trees issue: I really have no problem at all with your trees. They do look a bit straggly, and perhaps they're not the most thriving trees in the world - but, what with the somewhat muted greens of your tileset, I felt it perfectly okay for the trees to feel not... lush.

And yeah, ultimately you need to know what *you* like. Because you can't please everyone, ever, so YOU are the only truly reliable arbiter of what looks good, when it comes to your own work. ;-)

Yeah, I think most of us here are striving for excellence within our own work, and so deeply value the criticism of others, so we're just passing the buck on so to speak.

Your doing fine.  I'm personally not against the 'not desert' tileset because I'm relatively new and haven't seen it used 5000 times like many here.

I do concur with hmpf's color analysis.  She said it better than I did.

Hmpf is spot on about the colours. The rest of the screenshots you've posted are very pretty indeed, so don't let a little contructive criticism discourage you.

Ultimately it's your level and your choice, so do whatever you think feels/looks right. (And never try to be too ambitious. If another tileset is too much work then find an alternative. We've all seen far too many great levels go unfinished because of overambition).

Those screenshots are just friggin GENIUS!
The houses are goodsized, though, I generally prefer to have invisible shifts.
Your call, though.

After reading your responses, ladies and gentlemen, I have altered my goal. I will now rebel and strive to displease this forum as much as possible. My main course of action is to create the ugliest tilesets and the most grotesque KS level on the planet.

I have created another one, in fact! Don't worry, however. I have done everything I possible can to make it hideous enough to give you vivid nightmares. It even has the official seal of repulsiveness. I have placed it as an attachment!

No worries, I'm not done yet! I am even making another one as we speak. There will never be a larger repository of ugly custom content after this day. I promise you my full dedication in disgusting you for as long as possible.

Yours truly,
Z

loljk

Now to get serious.

Those screenshots are just friggin GENIUS!
The houses are goodsized, though, I generally prefer to have invisible shifts.
Your call, though.

Thanks. The shifts actually will be invisible. They were just purple glows in the screenshot to actually show that there will be interiors and that I have been working on them.

Hmpf's color analysis is perfect. Indeed, I will work on my houses and adjust the second color scheme I posted above. I'll also incorporate a very faded detailed pattern to negate the simplicity contrast with the tilesets. The windows - well, I'll keep the yellow. It won't clash as much with the faded blues/turquoises, but I'll orange to it for sure.

As for the trees - the original idea was for the landscape to be starting to grow. Consider it nature taking over a desolate area, if you will. Now that there is no longer a sentient presence, nature blooms out of control, and the tileset aims to simulate a sort of stunted growth. The flowers are very colourful - one might even say mutated. But the grass is very short, and the trees are "demented". They grew, but not in the right way. How come? Look at the colors - very neutral, no? They seem to hint at a sort of malnutrition/insufficient nutrition in the environment.

As for the screenshot I attached...

Yeah, call it bland, I guess. You've seen the same cliffs thousands of times, just without the pattern. But I like it. Probably no trees in this one. Just a lot of tall, wild grass and weird flowers you've never seen before. Indeed - this tileset will focus on flowers. Not just white. There will plenty of other colours.

The blocks follow the style of the Elegance tileset I first posted. I wanted to create a tileset as functional as possible. This one has an update - single diamond tiles (not in the screenshot, though). I will probably port this to other tilesets I have posted throughout. The patterns, of course, are brand new. I came up with them spontaneously at four in the morning, I think.

There are loads of more tile patterns, of course. I just haven't found a use for them - yet.

Am I being too ambitious? Probably. But again, this is not only a level project. It's a project to defeat my creativity issues. And I am convinced I will succeed.

Love the new screenshot, and your idea for the 'history' of the entire landscape, too. I have a big, big thing for green levels with nature themes, so your concept sounds great to me! Can't wait to play this...