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[PTTG??]

I found this resource for rougelike game designs; it is a large tileset in both Overhead and Isometric styles. My suggestion is that this be used as a resource if/when the presentation arc rolls around and we get global tileset support.

the website for th RLT (Rouge Like Tileset) project

For the uninitiated; There are long-term plans for every item in DF to have a tileset image, instead of just Units. This is long-long term, though. Not that it's LONG-long-long term, just long-long term.

[Surma]

Meh, dunno why they call it 3D when it's 2D from a Isometric perspective >.>

That being said, Isometric sprites do give the artist a lot more pixel space to play around in. Which reminds me, there was a topic sometime back in the past (which is hard to find thanks to the way the forum works  ) that had a picture of what DF could like like if it had Isometric support.. looked damned nice too.

*bounce* I can't wait to see what Toady will do for the Presentation arc!

[Neskiairti]

yeah Isometric is pretty awesome..

can make the game interesting.

[ May 24, 2008: Message edited by: Neskiairti ]

[MuonDecay]

quote:Originally posted by Surma:
<STRONG>Meh, dunno why they call it 3D when it's 2D from a Isometric perspective >.>
</STRONG>

Question of semantics, really, but I would imagine that the reason is:
Despite the components themselves being 2 dimensional, they are presented in a form which represents 3 dimensions to the user. Instead of looking at a corner of two walls and the floor tile next to them, and seeing the intersection of just the x and y axis, you see a representation of the intersection of the x,y, and z axes.

quote:<STRONG>That being said, Isometric sprites do give the artist a lot more pixel space to play around in. Which reminds me, there was a topic sometime back in the past (which is hard to find thanks to the way the forum works   ) that had a picture of what DF could like like if it had Isometric support.. looked damned nice too.

*bounce* I can't wait to see what Toady will do for the Presentation arc!</STRONG>

You might be thinking of an image you can find on Mike Mayday's website, which was also recently linked to in a little blurb on the main page of the 3 Panel Soul webcomic. (their recent DF comics are what reminded me to pick the game back up and start playing it, actually).

Is this the image you refer to?

[viskaslietuvai]

Holy Crap! That would look freakin' great! I know a lot of the purists would say "loses the whole soul of the thing, needs to be text only, how can you fit colossus on one tile yadda yadda yadda," But seriously, besides trying to fit the interface in the thing and trying to develop a way to differentiate between stone types gem types etc, and creating sprites for everything, it shouldn't be too difficult, just really time consuming. Hmm... definitely requires a cost-benefit analysis, but still, it looks fantastic.

[Derakon]

The other problem with nice graphics is the size of the viewportal. It's already pretty cramped, but if you made large sprites, then the problem'd be worse. Note that the image above is, by my count, 19x23 tiles.

[Mikademus]

Holy cow, that's nice! If DF looked like that, I'd never ever want to go back to a pure-ascii look! Purism be damned.

[Sevrun]

I gotta admit I'd prefer something like that.  I have a hard time seeing the tilesets available now, but that... that's easily visible for my blind ass.

[zagibu]

Hmm, what if you could show both at the same time? Or at least switch ingame, with the press of a button? As much as I like pretty graphics, I prefer the ASCII-output, to get a quick overview.

[Ixoran]

quote: For the uninitiated; There are long-term plans for every item in DF to have a tileset image, instead of just Units. This is long-long term, though. Not that it's LONG-long-long term, just long-long term.

The presentation arc is supposedly coming up next, and lo- and behold:

code:

-Core50, TILESET SUPPORT, (Future): Allow graphical tiles to be used for all game objects.
-Bloat368, GENDER-BASED PICTURES, (Future): You should be able to further specify which graphical tiles are used if you like.  

So it's not very far off if the info is accurate.

[dwarfed one]

Wow! Colourful rotten dwarf chunks, severed libs and heads! How fun it would be?

[Areyar]

aww! they are so cute!  
Especially the one with the rake on the opposite bank.  

Is it an image from a japanese RPG or something drawn up by a DF fan?

[Exponent]

I doubt inside scenes would work nearly as easily in an isometric view as outdoor scenes, though.  And a large amount of Dwarf Fortress is indoors.

[Sean Mirrsen]

Uh, the X-Com series? Specifically the third one with realtime combat and destructible environment? Isometric, fully detailed, many z-levels, easily viewable. Add 90-degree viewport rotation (which would be relatively easy) and you've got a bucket of awesome.

[Areyar]

X-com UFO defence : good, roofs would collapse and such if walls were blasted away. fire/smoke was nicely done too, no wind though.
Terror from the deep : more extensive environments but that lead only to bad gameplay.
x-com apocalypse : nice settings, no randomised outside environment, destructability was more restricted iirc. many factions and types of soldiers. stupid vehicles. many types of transport of troops, even public transportation. I didn't like the goopy aliens much.

recent iterations: non-destructible environment iirc (edit: I Do remenber blowing holes in walls though)
UFO-aftermath : apocalyptic atmosphere. landgrabbing and reclaiming old tech. annoying aliens and fungal biomass.

UFO-aftershock : reclaim the earth from the safety of an alien spaceship.  

UFO-afterlight : again landgrabbing for resources on mars this time, several factions of different powerlevels. Interesting resource management again. single base, more focus on non-combat personell and their skills.

UFO-extraterrestrials : remake of x-com, but on a human colony.
GUI and tactical options are not as smooth as of some earlier x-coms. (diagonal LOS is often blocked and no 'prone' possition for troopers for example)
A double edged sword is the simplified health model, soldiers are not killed but rather incapacitated and sent to the hospital. Not entirely sure how stunning works, but seems to do normal damage and tag the 'killed' subject as stunned.
Environment  is nicely done though, with futuristic equipment and exploding stuff.

edit: just noticed a GNU-licence x-com project: UFO-alien invasion downloading it now.

---
UFO-type terrain might work, but does not have that 'retro' feel that 8-bit grafics (like zelda etc) have, that I personally think is the style of DF:
funky retro, with a twist that rips your arm off.

That said, if the DF XYZ matrix is taken as template for seperate 'GUI-interpretor' software, wouldn't it be possible to have many GUI-styles?
(raw ASCII + ascii-tilesets, UFO-style isometric , 8-bit phantasy topdown view, wolfenstein 3D, etc.)
Improbable for a one-man developer, but with a strong enough modder-community these things can happen...with proper infrastructure and adequate support from said developer.

===
POV from selected dwarf would be a cool trick, esp if not paused.

[ June 03, 2008: Message edited by: Areyar ]