Just a suggestion, but I think it would look a lot better and much closer to the original if the textures made more extensive use of pastel colors all around. Just some more bright greens and browns, with some bright sky blues, used sparingly could really make the paths pop out a lot more and make the level look closer to Chronicles' GHZ.
That tree makes me go unga bungaUpdate 16:
Today i want to show off a new asset for the level. I made a custom palm tree from scratch. For reference, please check the GHZ map from sonic chronicles in a post earlier in the thread.
For this asset, i kept Morphised's advice in mind: i used more shades of blue, green and brown.
View attachment 45460
Have a look at it in action. I added in my totem pole as well (apparently Zone Builder doesn't allow me using textures in a lump that reference other textures of said lump, so some parts have to be reworked):View attachment 45461
While they are set as linedef textures for now, i plan to make Things out of them.
I'm also experimenting with the colour scheme of my wall texture to incorporate the suggested 'pastel' look more, by using lighter browns etc more. That will be shown another time.
Thank you for reading!
(confused unga bunga)That tree makes me go unga bunga
Update 20
This week i've worked on updating the colour scheme of the rock structures. I tried to keep Morphised's suggestion in mind - more use of bright browns to make it closer to Chronicles. The following textures follow the more brownish & yellowish designs found at the bottom of the GHZ world map in the original game.
Firstly, i made a rock texture for use with pillar-like terrain:
This is the source reference:
View attachment 48939
Here is the texture looped once horizontally and once vertically:
View attachment 48967
In-game, it looks like this:
View attachment 48968
Secondly, i made an entire new rock complex. This was inspired by Sonic 1's rock tiles. Compared to my earlier classically orange and yellow rock designs, i think this new version will fit the Chronicles aesthetic much better:
My previous version:
View attachment 48970
The new version:
View attachment 48969
All shapes shown here can be made through patches.
An example of reference, taken from the GHZ map:
View attachment 48972
An example of in-game use:
View attachment 48971
I will continue to make textures inspired by the GHZ from chronicles throughout different media, including grass / rocks/ etc... There is still a lot i can sprite, so i want to gauge what you guys and gals think about this new art direction for the main rock textures. Do you think these new textures align better with Chronicles? Or do you think they should different in some way? All suggestions are welcome and appreciated.
Thank you for reading!
Update 22
With exams being over, i can post another update to the map. For this update, i want to put everything i currently have together. There are a lot of updates, some in small ways while others are pretty huge.
With the last few updates, i've come to the conclusion that i tried to make stuff graphically without considering the 'fun factor' of the level. What i've tried to do because of that, is put more effort in the mechanical aspect of the level. This is the current outlook of the map:
The map now has some disconnected sections created in previous updates and a giant new section. While they are fine to run through by themselves, they don't feel like a natural expansion to the chronicles part yet. I have to think more on how i want to make it connect well.
Here are some screenshots for some new section concepts. With these sections i'm trying to expand the world outside, but are not indicative of the final map.
1)Callback to the sonic chronicles trailers:
View attachment 53370
2)Possible Generations-esque ending station, needs more waterfalls:
View attachment 53371
3) More areas
View attachment 53372From L to R, top to bottom:
top:Unleashed esque temple, the cave area from chronicles, small bridge with some hills
bottom: waterfall pond expansion to a cave area, remade half-corkscrew over a river
While not everything i made is in the same map yet, it becomes clear to me that the map is filling up super fast with one-off gimmicks, concepts and scenery. To have a good level, i need to find a way to connect all my ideas better. So what i want to do going forward is keep building things mechanically and try to find a way to make it stick together. My art asset focus for level assets can then follow afterwards.
An example of mechanically putting things nicely is this example of loops referencing the chronicles trailers:
View attachment 53373
Keeping all the mechanical stuff in mind, i did make some new art developments. For the chao garden, i went ahead and made this:1) chao egg hatching animation
View attachment 53374
2)default chao walking sprites
View attachment 53375
NOTE: they are made with stylistic consistency with chao art from Cyron's Pets Addon, (which was reusable )
(Link: https://mb.srb2.org/threads/pets-personal-followers-community-update.28607/)
I added new limbs and edited the head+torso slightly to make the animation, so i will credit the authors and artists from the pets mod as well in the credits for the level.
More facial expresions and walking/running animations are being worked on.
Lastly, i heard back from Particle, who reviewed the first part of the level. He gave me some pointers to improve on with level flow and the like. Taking his feedback in mind, i'll try to work on that first part of the level to be in better quality. I'm eager to hear his feedback on the rest of the level in the future.
That is all for now. Development is kind of all over the place, which is normal in the last few months of development. And with so much to possibly expand upon before my promised December deadline, i will focus on some mechanical aspects to improve on level flow and level quality firstly to ensure a fun level will be playable by then.
Thank you for reading!
This looks so amazing!!! I'm so excited! Good luck on this!Update 22
With exams being over, i can post another update to the map. For this update, i want to put everything i currently have together. There are a lot of updates, some in small ways while others are pretty huge.
With the last few updates, i've come to the conclusion that i tried to make stuff graphically without considering the 'fun factor' of the level. What i've tried to do because of that, is put more effort in the mechanical aspect of the level. This is the current outlook of the map:
The map now has some disconnected sections created in previous updates and a giant new section. While they are fine to run through by themselves, they don't feel like a natural expansion to the chronicles part yet. I have to think more on how i want to make it connect well.
Here are some screenshots for some new section concepts. With these sections i'm trying to expand the world outside, but are not indicative of the final map.
1)Callback to the sonic chronicles trailers:
View attachment 53370
2)Possible Generations-esque ending station, needs more waterfalls:
View attachment 53371
3) More areas
View attachment 53372From L to R, top to bottom:
top:Unleashed esque temple, the cave area from chronicles, small bridge with some hills
bottom: waterfall pond expansion to a cave area, remade half-corkscrew over a river
While not everything i made is in the same map yet, it becomes clear to me that the map is filling up super fast with one-off gimmicks, concepts and scenery. To have a good level, i need to find a way to connect all my ideas better. So what i want to do going forward is keep building things mechanically and try to find a way to make it stick together. My art asset focus for level assets can then follow afterwards.
An example of mechanically putting things nicely is this example of loops referencing the chronicles trailers:
View attachment 53373
Keeping all the mechanical stuff in mind, i did make some new art developments. For the chao garden, i went ahead and made this:1) chao egg hatching animation
View attachment 53374
2)default chao walking sprites
View attachment 53375
NOTE: they are made with stylistic consistency with chao art from Cyron's Pets Addon, (which was reusable )
(Link: https://mb.srb2.org/threads/pets-personal-followers-community-update.28607/)
I added new limbs and edited the head+torso slightly to make the animation, so i will credit the authors and artists from the pets mod as well in the credits for the level.
More facial expresions and walking/running animations are being worked on.
Lastly, i heard back from Particle, who reviewed the first part of the level. He gave me some pointers to improve on with level flow and the like. Taking his feedback in mind, i'll try to work on that first part of the level to be in better quality. I'm eager to hear his feedback on the rest of the level in the future.
That is all for now. Development is kind of all over the place, which is normal in the last few months of development. And with so much to possibly expand upon before my promised December deadline, i will focus on some mechanical aspects to improve on level flow and level quality firstly to ensure a fun level will be playable by then.
Thank you for reading!