I think the classic version of LPC characters and Eliza's have different vibes and one may be more suitable than the other depending on the game. Thus, I'm a bit uncomfortable with the terms "LPC Certified" or even "LPC Revised" for naming a fork which implicitly mean that the classic version is inferior. I would prefer a more neutral name like "Eliza's LPC".
Personally, I plan to continue using classic LPC assets in my game as I find them more suitable and there are more assets available. And if I need to commission new assets it would be for this base. I think you are underestimating the artist time that would be required to reach the number of assets currently available for the classic base for Eliza's. There are a very small number of skilled pixel artists active in the LPC community and I think this time would be better spent working on new assets than adapting assets for a new base.
So as far as I'm concerned, it's +1 for an updated style guide that takes into account all the evolutions and new practices in the community but -1 for using Eliza's base as a reference.
Finally, I briefly looked at your draft and I have a maybe controversial suggestion: artists should submit spritesheets with only 3 directions (north, west and south) and the sprites for the east direction should either be automatically generated by a script from the sprites of the west direction or generated directly in games. There is a large number of little inconsistencies between west and east directions in the assets and it would be good to have a workflow that prevent them in the future.
Hi, the version alpha 5 of Vagabond is released on Steam and itch.io!
New major features: Desert and Jungle Ruins, Multiplayer with Steam, Reworked Combat, French Translation, Improved Lighting, Better Outside Worlds! You can read the release notes for more details.
Hi, the version alpha 4 of Vagabond is released on Steam and itch.io!
The two main features of this release are quests and new points of interests. You can read the release notes for more details.
Vagabond is part of the Steam Next Fest which starts today (1st of October) and ends the 7th. I will be streaming on Steam tomorrow at 10am PDT. Check the Steam event for the exact time in your timezone. ;)
Hi, the version alpha 3 of Vagabond is now available on itch.io! :)
This new version mainly adds two new craft shops (tailor shop and carpenter workshop), the ability to buy a house and to furnish them, and crops. You can have a look at this post for a tour of the new features.
I will use parameters like in cell_1.png in some biomes and parameters like in cell_2.png in others. :)
I can use parameters in between the ones used in cell_2.png and the ones used in cell_3.png. I think it improves a bit the aligned trees issue while keeping a high density.
Sorry for the very late response but I hadn't had the time to work on the forests since then.
The article you cited is quite old and many things has changed. :P Currently, I use noise textures to change the density of vegetation (see image 1 for the noise texture of trees). But as you noticed at each spot all the trees have the same probability (image 2).
Now, we can give different weights to each tree. For instance, in image 3, the original LPC tree is 20 times more frequent than any other tree.
Another parameter of the generator is how tightly the trees are packed. In image 4, they are slightly more packed and in image 5, it is as tightly packed as possible. I am a bit reluctant of packing trees too much because I don't think it matches well the gameplay of the game.
I think I will experiment more with forests with one dominant tree and a density like image 3 or 4. I would be happy to hear your thoughts on this.
Regarding slight recolors, I may work on that in the next version. I have already planned to support sub-palettes for objects in the next version to be able to change the color of wood and the upholstery of pieces of furniture. So recoloring the trunks and leaves should be easy.
@ElizaWy I never said the contrary, at least I don't mean to. Even when releasing on itch.io or any other platform without conforming to licenses you can get sued.
As a game creator, I don't think this would be very valuable. Personally, I think the people that complain about licensing are either a bit lazy or reluctant to credit properly the artists. Recently, I came across several projects that are using LPC assets on itch.io with no credits at all. But if you are organized it is not that hard to keep track of the assets used. Dealing with licenses and credits is not something that can be avoided by game creators. For instance, even Minecraft has pages for credits on its website.
In addition, if someone starts using LPC assets, he will use a lot of assets and have a lot of artists to credit so even if few artists have no piece of art in the final product, I don't think it makes a big difference and it credits the entire LPC community. Finally, I don't think the format (atlases, individual assets, etc.) is really important for game creators because more often than not, the images will be preprocessed/ingested before being used in a game.
From an artist perspective, I can see the value of keeping track of each asset separately. It will be easier to extract just a piece of art from a pack, rework it and release an updated version. It will also allow other creatrs/artists that are not using all the LPC assets to easily take just a piece of art and adapt it to their project.
I don't want to discourage you but it looks like a lot of work, that you will probably do alone and may not be useful to many people (I think you are the only active artist working on LPC tiles with Baŝto who works on sci-fi tiles, the others are more working on characters and equipments). So make sure you want to do it and that it will be useful to you to not lose your time! :)
Sorry for being a killjoy, just giving my opinion, but you can ignore me! :p
3 is also my new favorite.
Thank you for the feedback! :)
OK! There is also shading 3 that looks like the left of the knot of 1 but symmetric.
I think the classic version of LPC characters and Eliza's have different vibes and one may be more suitable than the other depending on the game. Thus, I'm a bit uncomfortable with the terms "LPC Certified" or even "LPC Revised" for naming a fork which implicitly mean that the classic version is inferior. I would prefer a more neutral name like "Eliza's LPC".
Personally, I plan to continue using classic LPC assets in my game as I find them more suitable and there are more assets available. And if I need to commission new assets it would be for this base. I think you are underestimating the artist time that would be required to reach the number of assets currently available for the classic base for Eliza's. There are a very small number of skilled pixel artists active in the LPC community and I think this time would be better spent working on new assets than adapting assets for a new base.
So as far as I'm concerned, it's +1 for an updated style guide that takes into account all the evolutions and new practices in the community but -1 for using Eliza's base as a reference.
Finally, I briefly looked at your draft and I have a maybe controversial suggestion: artists should submit spritesheets with only 3 directions (north, west and south) and the sprites for the east direction should either be automatically generated by a script from the sprites of the west direction or generated directly in games. There is a large number of little inconsistencies between west and east directions in the assets and it would be good to have a workflow that prevent them in the future.
Hi, the version alpha 5 of Vagabond is released on Steam and itch.io!
New major features: Desert and Jungle Ruins, Multiplayer with Steam, Reworked Combat, French Translation, Improved Lighting, Better Outside Worlds! You can read the release notes for more details.
As usual, I am interested in any feedback!
Have a nice day!
Hi, the version alpha 4 of Vagabond is released on Steam and itch.io!
The two main features of this release are quests and new points of interests. You can read the release notes for more details.
Vagabond is part of the Steam Next Fest which starts today (1st of October) and ends the 7th. I will be streaming on Steam tomorrow at 10am PDT. Check the Steam event for the exact time in your timezone. ;)
As usual, I am interested in any feedback!
Have a nice day!
Hi, the version alpha 3 of Vagabond is now available on itch.io! :)
This new version mainly adds two new craft shops (tailor shop and carpenter workshop), the ability to buy a house and to furnish them, and crops. You can have a look at this post for a tour of the new features.
Here is the new trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FxMsO9BM69I
If you find the time to try the game, I am interested in your opinion and any feedback.
Have a nice day!
Thanks for the input!
I will use parameters like in cell_1.png in some biomes and parameters like in cell_2.png in others. :)
I can use parameters in between the ones used in cell_2.png and the ones used in cell_3.png. I think it improves a bit the aligned trees issue while keeping a high density.
Sorry for the very late response but I hadn't had the time to work on the forests since then.
The article you cited is quite old and many things has changed. :P Currently, I use noise textures to change the density of vegetation (see image 1 for the noise texture of trees). But as you noticed at each spot all the trees have the same probability (image 2).
Now, we can give different weights to each tree. For instance, in image 3, the original LPC tree is 20 times more frequent than any other tree.
Another parameter of the generator is how tightly the trees are packed. In image 4, they are slightly more packed and in image 5, it is as tightly packed as possible. I am a bit reluctant of packing trees too much because I don't think it matches well the gameplay of the game.
I think I will experiment more with forests with one dominant tree and a density like image 3 or 4. I would be happy to hear your thoughts on this.
Regarding slight recolors, I may work on that in the next version. I have already planned to support sub-palettes for objects in the next version to be able to change the color of wood and the upholstery of pieces of furniture. So recoloring the trunks and leaves should be easy.
@ElizaWy I never said the contrary, at least I don't mean to. Even when releasing on itch.io or any other platform without conforming to licenses you can get sued.
Hi!
As a game creator, I don't think this would be very valuable. Personally, I think the people that complain about licensing are either a bit lazy or reluctant to credit properly the artists. Recently, I came across several projects that are using LPC assets on itch.io with no credits at all. But if you are organized it is not that hard to keep track of the assets used. Dealing with licenses and credits is not something that can be avoided by game creators. For instance, even Minecraft has pages for credits on its website.
In addition, if someone starts using LPC assets, he will use a lot of assets and have a lot of artists to credit so even if few artists have no piece of art in the final product, I don't think it makes a big difference and it credits the entire LPC community. Finally, I don't think the format (atlases, individual assets, etc.) is really important for game creators because more often than not, the images will be preprocessed/ingested before being used in a game.
From an artist perspective, I can see the value of keeping track of each asset separately. It will be easier to extract just a piece of art from a pack, rework it and release an updated version. It will also allow other creatrs/artists that are not using all the LPC assets to easily take just a piece of art and adapt it to their project.
I don't want to discourage you but it looks like a lot of work, that you will probably do alone and may not be useful to many people (I think you are the only active artist working on LPC tiles with Baŝto who works on sci-fi tiles, the others are more working on characters and equipments). So make sure you want to do it and that it will be useful to you to not lose your time! :)
Sorry for being a killjoy, just giving my opinion, but you can ignore me! :p
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