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[balrogkernel]

Hi hope all is well.  When Dwarf Fortress is released to steam I'll plan to play in ASCII mode because the graphical ramps are too confusing.  On the steam page the first image after the video, the fort from a zoomed out perspective looks like green ascending steps. It also looks like sheer cliffs with a black roof which I think is the intended image.  And if I look at it another way, it's black pit with a black floor with steep walls around it.  Not sure if it's just my eyes seeing 3 different interpretations at once.

The most recent update post from the front page appears to be inquiring with the community for feedback.   The first image ramps1 is quite promising, I like the curve that's being made on the right side and we can clearly follow it up for slopes.  The corridor to reach though ramps however looks steep, unclear if you can climb up the sheerer looking north side corners because of the arc of that curve drawing a small smiley face.  The brightness of the corridor makes it appear slightly more elevated than the right side.   

The second image ramps2 looks more defined, I don't see the pit anymore though I do see the ascending green steps with a platform in the center.  I understand that's not the intended image, though I see both the steps and the ended sheer faces.  The 2x2 with the grey stone and grass bottom on the center left is much clearer than the platform looking thing in the center. 

Maybe it's just a question of practice and getting used to the images, because I've been playing ASCII consistently for... Well since Dwarf Fortress has started.  The clarity of ▲ ▼ is a significant benefit.  It may be easier just to keep these representations, as functionally it appears that ▲ ▼ ramps are all that a player needs to understand when building.  In the interest of making this more visually pleasing, it may be possible to represent ▲ ▼ with curves and straight paths at the end.  Not sure how to place an image though I'll try to describe it - have a curve that takes up the corner of a square.  It curves toward the center and the path flows down with two straight lines.  The narrowing of the curve indicates an up or a down ramp.  I understand that this is still a bit abstract, though some abstraction may be beneficial just to promote consistency with icons.  Thank you for your time and consideration.

[Uthimienure]

The artists are actively discussing things in this thread: http://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=173474.0
You're more likely to get feedback there, I think.

[Ziusudra]

Those are only the very first images of the very beginnings of the graphics work. There is a long way to go and to assume that these are how finished product will look is ridiculous. And to be so dramatic as to say you won't use the graphics without seeing it finished is more so.

Meanwhile, many people think the ▲ ▼ are too confusing.

On discord, Mayday had this to say about the blackness:

[Shonai_Dweller]

This isn't a suggestion. ASCII is confirmed to be not going away anywhere. And modded graphical tilesets are still going to be a thing so you'll have a choice of many different versions. What is it you're requesting to be in the game? If it's just an opinion, move the thread to general discussion.

[bloop_bleep]

If you look at this thread (in the later pages), you'll see that the artists have greatly improved the ramp graphics. Graphics work for the Steam version is not near being finalized or even finished. The demo video was a very limited preview of what is being worked on currently.