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[Rekov]

It might even be simpler to read. These are top down orthographic projections, which is what DF effectively is. I've used AO to darken the valleys and brighten the ridges.



The potential visual complication of unique tiles like the orange tile is that they add planes at new orientations relative to everything else. I think part of the confusion with the current set-up is that some of those planes look too similar, when the geometry suggests that they shouldn't.

[vettlingr]

Here is my proposal I posted on discord, I guess it is very similar to what Rekov suggest.

Just so you all can see it on here as well

[Manveru Taurënér]

Is it just me or is everyone taking the flat surface bit that was missing some shadow as a weird half-ramp (maybe that was intentional)? Feels like it'd be preferable to have the clefts still show as to be at ground level, or things are gonna get quite confusing when there's fluids involved (and also makes the whole thing harder to parse imo by adding another intermediary elevation level to the whole thing that isn't actually there).

[bloop_bleep]

I believe it's intended to be a "weird half-ramp", yes. The missing shadow is what's making it look flat.

So you're suggesting to deepen those four-triangle tiles so that the center point is at ground level, rather than half a z-level above? Seems pretty reasonable, but I think the only change will be that the shadows get a bit darker, since it's an orthographic bird's-eye view.

[CL3AR]

I like both Rekov's and Vettlingr's solutions. They look much cleaner since they both don't have those weird hard to read tiles.

[Manveru Taurënér]

Can't remember if it's been brought up, but any particular reason to not just simply have ramps be a half-tile thing (that is starting at the top and ending in the middle of the tile), so they'll look the same no matter what configuration they are in? Some level of detail lost true, and might look worse than I imagine, but probably the most accurate depiction possible.

[bloop_bleep]

Can't remember if it's been brought up, but any particular reason to not just simply have ramps be a half-tile thing (that is starting at the top and ending in the middle of the tile), so they'll look the same no matter what configuration they are in? Some level of detail lost true, and might look worse than I imagine, but probably the most accurate depiction possible.

That idea has been rejected, Mayday said, because that would make the multilevel view less appealing.

[Manveru Taurënér]

Can't remember if it's been brought up, but any particular reason to not just simply have ramps be a half-tile thing (that is starting at the top and ending in the middle of the tile), so they'll look the same no matter what configuration they are in? Some level of detail lost true, and might look worse than I imagine, but probably the most accurate depiction possible.

That idea has been rejected, Mayday said, because that would make the multilevel view less appealing.

Yeah, just remembered now after I posted it, dorp.

[MoltenIdol]

Animations are a big effort relative to the payout, but making sprites slide from one tile to another should be pretty simple, it only requires sprites to be displaced dynamically from the center of the tile, and the only big requirement for that is that they be able to overlap the edges of the tile which it seems is already in the cards for big creatures. Then, it needs to be set up different for each action that uses it, but unlike proper animations with frames, it doesn't need to be done differently for each creature and equipment has no effect on it. Of course, it's Toady working on it and not you guys, so I know you can't definitively say anything, but I would expect that he can do it pretty easily, and would be willing to. Aside from stuff that's already all but confirmed, I think this would have by far the biggest impact on the look of the game relative to work put in. In fact, I think the only things more impactful are having different dimensions on the text and map tileset, seeing the background tiles behind creatures and items, and having sprites accurately represent equipment, wounds, and distinctive characteristics, the latter of which is a huge effort from everyone involved. Even the multi-level view is, I think, slightly less of a big deal aesthetically. It just feels bigger since we've already become accustomed to it in TWBT. And it will, of course, be handy to new players who aren't accustomed to z-levels.

I agree, the payoff would be huge. I do think showing gear is more important though, and i think multiple z-levels are as well. But i reckon the kind of animations were talking about, shouldn't be to hard to manage, i would even go as far as calling it low-hanging fruit, considering the visual impact it would have on the game. But then again, I'm no coder, and have no idea how hard it would actually be to make. Hope it gets passed on.

But yeah, no matter how you slice it, the cat is too big

Its quite noticeable

Here is my proposal I posted on discord, I guess it is very similar to what Rekov suggest.

Just so you all can see it on here as well

Also, that's looking tight. Very simple pattern, easy to recognize. You have my sword.

PS: Is the discord something you can join, and what is the name if so?

[Ziusudra]

PS: Is the discord something you can join, and what is the name if so?

vettlingr was referring to the Kitfox Games discord, a link can be found on the wiki main page.

[Meph]

Would you say this is reasonably clear as a track roller? Bottom shows one on tracks with a gear assembly next to it.

I couldn't find any RL references to rollers. ^^

[Rose]

I feel like a gear in the center would be more visible.I'll try to make a mockup.

[EDIT]



Here we go.

[jecowa]

Rules for creating ramps:
1. Each of these points only moves along the z axis.
2. The center point always ends up exactly halfway between z-levels.
3. Move remaining points up or down to connect with their equivalents on neighboring tiles.

To demonstrate this, here is the little scene with the magenta and orange markings recreated by this method

Spoiler: demonstration (click to show/hide)

I'm not sure if this is an accurate representation. On the image below, the magenta tile goes down a full level, but the yellow tile only goes down a half level. I'm not a game mechanics expert, but I kind of thought objects on ramps counted as being on the bottom of the ramp, not halfway up.


Also, is there a way to make it apparent that ramps are not impassable? Consider this image showing the team of mining dwarves who had to walk through a ramp to mine this tunnel:

[Rose]

Here's another option for rollers.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

I think the first option is more likely though, especially with how they can be made longer, like a chain drive on a roller coaster.

[jecowa]

Would you say this is reasonably clear as a track roller? Bottom shows one on tracks with a gear assembly next to it.

I couldn't find any RL references to rollers. ^^

I think that's good. It fits well with the Curses tiles that represent them.

I think with the word "roller", it would be something like this:


These are rollers from a conveyor belt.