POWER's Submission to the DECA Art Contest

#21

it seems I am the bearer of the unpopular opinion again, and even with the same tired complaint.

if this was just for the heck of it and you just felt like it that would be fine, but if the intent is to get deca’s attention and get stuff in the game then this matters:

fencer sprite is too big :stuck_out_tongue:

seriously though, this is how the game sprites are stored:

how can you get that to fit? the extra attack frames are actually fine, I believe it would take some fussing with getting things playing right but totally doable. oversized sprite? not so much.
of course, I seriously doubt you of all people cares even remotely about this, and since you’ve probably submitted it anyway you can’t fix it, but w/e ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

if the only thing you care about is making something that looks nice then you’ve won the competition tho.

oh yeah, one other thing:

am I really the only one who can’t tell what this is supposed to be doing here? it just looks odd.
other than that one animation that skin is the best one I’ve seen for the art contest

#22

There is a precedent for sprites greater than 16 pixels in width. Look at Davy Jones, for example:

I’m aware of the spartan issue and will be working on a fix.

#23

Totally amazed by this set for the contest, it makes me wanna work extra hard on mine.
Keep the awesome work.

#24

I’m aware of that, I’ve used it multiple times. but that only extends to the right of the sprite, and only for the second attack frame. if you forced the fencer into that spot it would look something like this:

taking another shot at it, this time only adjusting his position when the blade “pushed” him over, looks like this:

once again, only using second attack frames.

the problem isn’t that he takes up too much space on his own, it’s that he’s trying to extend himself in both directions. the space needed to stand still while attacking needs to accommodate the blade in both directions:

and that, is 40 pixels.

Dragon Tamer 16x16 redrawn V4- BB
#25

Surely I’m not the only one who dislikes the wave effect from the blade dancing around?
It looks cool, but only makes sense if it’s something like a fire sword.

#26

Those are smear frames, and while Realm isn’t known for it, I can assure you the fencer would look strange without it.

@Xaklor: Does the game absolutely need to keep its sprites glued to one spot? If he were to make it into the game, would it not be feasible to adjust his position horizontally so that it appears he is standing in one place? I say this out of a position of genuine ignorance, because I know bugger all about code, and certainly not anything about the code of this game.

#27

I see what you mean and that there is no animation of this size currently in Realm, but I still feel that implementation should be a non-issue. As you said, it would be possible to make the entire fencer in 40 pixels: though there is no sprite that wide (that I know of) right now, we have seen that attack animations of different sizes over 16x16 can still be easily handled (further proof would be crazy private server sprites with sizes like 64x64 that are still easily handled with the existing RotMG engine). What, then, is preventing the 40-pixel approach? If you argue that it’s too big for Realm, keep in mind that no visible part of any single frame is too wide, so it is completely in line with the Realm aesthetic.

Thus, the sprite is both aesthetically fitting and perfectly implementable. The only reason against the sprite is that there is nothing that has exactly this setting and implementation, which is too rigid of a viewpoint for my taste and discourages pushing the boundaries of design in the game.

I have updated the Spartan:

#28

when you actually fence and this is totally inaccurate

triggered

#29

I believe the disagreement stems not from terms of possible/impossible, but from opposing non-objective philosophies.

possible?: absolutely, technically there isn’t a single thing that can’t be added to realm. not even 3D monsters are technically impossible.

non-issue?: possibly, I would say it is. it depends on what the people actually building rotmg are willing to put up with and how far they’re willing to expand the game’s aesthetic.

I said something about another similar constraint-breaking concept someone pitched my way once, I said something like "there’s limits to how much special accommodation you can give something before it just becomes more hassle than what you’re getting out of it."
I would additionally add that working outside of those constraints lessens the importance of them, and makes having them in the first place obsolete.

well, why don’t we go further then that then? if there’s no reason not to have the 16x16 constraint, then what’s wrong with 40x32? 45x33? 57x49? what I find a bit odd is that you simultaneously are defending a 40x16 sprite, while calling a 64x64 pserver sprite crazy.

all that really matters is where you’re willing to draw the line between what’s so abnormal it should be discarded and what’s just a bit over the top and is simply broadening your horizons. to me it seems that your line is just further away from where mine is, and I doubt it’s going to budge. I mostly just wanted to throw in some non ass-kissery feedback for you, since I also don’t believe in exclusive positive feedback being healthy.

and my taste just says that some boundaries don’t need to be pushed in some directions. ignoring that and pushing in all directions at once dilutes the essence from where you started, and eventually changes that original starting point to something new, which I believe defeats the point of having such a starting point.

the supreme example of those who disagree with that ideal is all those pservers who do things so far beyond the original rotmg it just looks bizarre. not saying you’re trying to go that far, just saying that those viewpoints are too similar for my taste

I seriously doubt it, I’m guessing the game says something like:

display sprite (x,y) distance from enemy location

or something like that, all you would have to do is adjust that for every bloody frame. some people would be willing to do that, I would not. I don’t believe deca would be either, but they are more then welcome to disprove me.

#31

i want that skin.

#32

I can totally see where you’re coming from: just to clarify, my interpretation of rotmg’s boundaries is that the visible portion of any attacking frame of a single sprite is not to exceed 32x16, which this sprite satisfies. (To me, the size of the spritesheet hidden from the end user is inconsequential and is only a shortcut to have an easier implementation in-game).

I think we can agree to disagree, then.

#33

All that would have to be done is placing each attack frame as a different set of animations, with the still, walking, and attack 1 animations being the same, and the attack 2 animation being different. It wouldn’t be difficult to do this at all.

#34

Ohh, i could see some problems with the hitbox shifting around. If they do choose your boss, I hope it would not do that!

#35

Whether or not the Fencer could be implemented, it is still very well-constructed. If it can’t, then too bad so sad, but it is easier to scale back something successful into modesty than to polish something mediocre.

But Xaklor does have the right frame of mind; poking holes is much more productive than blind praise.

I think I might’ve brought this up before in the Discord channel, but I think it’s worth reiterating here. The Fencer’s proportions are very irregular from anything in Realm. Typically, arms and legs are single pixel twigs, unless if they are covered in armor or exceptionally bulky.

Meanwhile, the extremely baggy clothes seem to dictate the physical proportions of the fencer, rather than the other way around. This to the point where he needs to duck down just to hold the sword above him, always keep his other arm tucked behind his back, and seems to be the reason behind him not having a head at all.

Tl;dr the need to make his clothes baggy makes him physically larger than he needs to be, so that he’s pushed up against the boundaries. Whether or not that is to its detriment is up to you, dear reader.

Is still good tho bb

#36

Besides, this is a bullet hell game where swords shoot lasers to kill.
How is silly swinging supposed to represent a bullet pattern?
This isn’t a Jrpg.

#37

This is correct. The swordsman himself would be horribly uncentered if these frames were put into the game itself, and if he were stabilized, the overall sprite would exceed RotMG’s art limits. @Xaklor is also correct in saying that although it’s technically not “impossible,” it would require a lot of effort and tampering with the fundamentals of the game, neither of which are worth it for such a niche circumstance. As it stands, there is no way this sprite would or could be put into the game the way you’re asking for.

#38

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