Messages

[Hammerite]

Avoid Filters, textures and other such Photoshop-esque bloat*.

I would like to ammend this to:

"Avoid filers and other such Photoshop-esque bloat until you can use them properly."

I use a few different filters and "bloat" in my BGs and it works perfectly!  1000 times better than trying to do it by hand!

The key is knowing when and how to use them.  At least, that's my thoughts.

Hammerite - your BG is a good example of using them incorrectly

The reason is two fold:
1) there's no scaling of the textures (aside from the two sections) and
2) the castle doesn't contain the detail of the grass it sits on

The combination of this makes the image feel flat and unfinished.  You seem to have a sense of scaling though, as the stuff further away is smaller, you just need to do a little bit more!

Keep at it though!  Practice makes perfect and the Critics Lounge is here for you!

[Jannar]

Why is the sky blue?

This is due to a phenomena called "Rayleigh Scattering".

Basically, as the light moves through the atmosphere, the shorter wavelength (blue light) is absorbed by the gas molecules in the atmosphere.  The longer wavelengths (such as red, orange, and yellow) pass through.  The blue light is "scattered" through the atmosphere, thus the sky appears blue.

Anyway ... back on topic!

Jannar - Welcome back!  There was a multi-page thread about gMail awhile back, which may explain the lack of responses in here.  That, and most people already have gmail addresses

I already have a gMail address and, as such, do not need another, but thanks for the offer!

As for the help you require, I'd suggest posting in the ACR thread!  You're bound to get a better response in there.  That is, if it's AGS related, of course

[ProgZ]

Great entries so far!

ProgZ - I don't ever want to hear you say you can't do BGs, that's a wonderful entry!

I agree that progzmax' entry is great, but it doesnt follow the set rules. There is no threat there, and by saying that the threat would be in the game, anything would be allowed to do.

I can see all kinds of threats in ProgZ's entry:
1) the 'beast' hiding in plain site
2) the dangerous spike (stalactite) hanging from the cave's ceiling
3) the mysterious blue lights
4) the bats hanging from above

rharpe - an excellent use of 16 colors.  Doesn't really convey a "cave of terror" feeling, but it's scary enough!

More, more, more!!

I saw this awhile ago ... WAY too funny!  I was rollin' on the floor laughing.

Revan - Please include another screenshot.  Title screens do not count (as per the forum rules).  I'll give you a few hours to update or I will lock the thread!

The first picture is good, I don't think the perspective will be an issue.

However, the second ...

I can think of two problems you might have:
- unless the character scales up and down cleanly, it could be a problem with such a detailed background
- unless you have diagonal views of the character walking it might look odd walking sideways on that steep of a perspective

The backgrounds themselves are excellent, I just would worry a bit about the second's usability.

[I'll]

I don't like how you style links to have the normal cursor though - leave that stuff alone on my browser, please.

I have updated it now, but just for your browser

Awesome site, Darth! I know I'll find it useful!

Yes, and so will Buloght!!

I concur.  I used to print pictures of his face and shoot them with my PB gun, but now I'll have to say that he's pretty kickass.

I'm not really sure how to reply to this ... thanks?

To everybody else who likes, I'm glad!  We'll be adding fonts on a regular basis (we want to eventually get over 2000).  And don't worry aobut bandwidth!  Download to your heart's content!

[Voting:]

Voting:
Voting will take place on the 1st and 2nd of February.

Please give one vote in each of the following categories:

Best Idea - The underlying idea to the background. Doesn't neccesserily have to coincide perfectly with the theme of the week, just strike you as interesting/amusing/inspiring; a place you'd really enjoy visiting within a game.

Best Design - The style of the picture, architectural, landscape design, best mood, most evocative etc.

Best Functionality - How well it would work when adding sprites, including appropriate walking distances, good angle for character sprites, clever walkway solutions, easily understood exits etc.

Best Technique - How well the ideas are executed in form of rendering.

Woohoo!!!  Thanks for the votes!  It was a good competition this time!  I'll start the next one asap!

I think it's Fate ... personally.

[X Times]

The one suggestion that I would make would be to somehow rearrange the indexed Flash previews so that they didn't take up so much vertical page space. I'd do this by moving the "Downloaded: X Times" text to the top right under the download button, but not in a place that would get in the way of the preview text. I'd just like these to be a bit smaller so I could have more previews per page. (to clarify: I'm talking about the indexed previews, not the front page featured previews, which can take up all the space they want)

Man I tried sooooo many layouts!  I'll take this under advisement!  Thanks.

Also, is there a reason that your links aren't Firefox "Open in new tab" compliant? I don't know much about that, scripting-wise, but it always annoys me. I surf almost exclusively with my middle mouse button now...

Hmmm ... I thought they were compliant!  I'll take a look, thanks!

EDIT: Was your disclaimer written by the twinDesign Department of Redundancy Department?

That was written by our "get it done quickly and throw it in there"

I did found a typo on the first page:
'If you're looking for profressional fonts'

profressional?

That's my newest addition to the English language ... it's professional, yet fresh at the same time.  I'm glad you noticed   Thanks for finding it!

To everybody else, thanks for the kind words!  I'm glad you like it!

** Sigh **

Why not send a PM to him (as the Forum Rules suggest) rather than bumping the thread?

DC - how about an update?  Now that this thread has been dug-up.

Let's see ... September, October, November, December, January .... only 5 months old.  Why not bump it with a pointless post rather than read the forum rules and following them.

flocking - don't post in here again without reading the rules.

blackthorn - I'm gonna lock this.  If/when you want to update, PM me and I'll unlock it.

Hello AGSers!

I wasn't gonna post in here about this, but then it hit me that some of you might find it useful.

So I present my latest project ...

(click the image for the link!)

It's a "free online font community!" where you can download fonts.  BUT I decided to take it one step further!  You can actually type in the font of your choice to preview it on the site!!  Personally I think it's just cool as hell (my twin brother made the flash).

Anyway, I just thought I'd share!

I figured some people might want a free font site for finding fonts for their games, websites, etc.  I know there's a bunch out there, but ... well ... I tried something different (at least, it's something I've not seen before!)

There's only about 600 or so fonts on there now ... but we're adding more and more on a regular basis!

I'd appreciate it you guys could take a peek, and let me know what you think!  Layout, ease of use, etc.

Thanks!

For those who missed the link above:

http://www.twin-fonts.com

[Death_is_upon_us]

Good lord in heaven ... the world has lost the ability to read.

Death_is_upon_us - don't post in here again until you've read the forum rules.

I'm locking this.

GG, let me know when you want me to re-open it.

[Best Idea]

Best Idea - Zooty
He created a back story to "set the scene" ... worked for me!

Best Design - cpage
While some of the 3D backgrounds look nice, the "hand crafted" feel of this one grabbed my attention more!

Best Functionality - cpage
of all the entries, this one's layout most felt like an AG background.

Best Technique - Krysis
the style of this one stood out to me the most!

It's funny that Saw and Paycheck have both been mentioned.

Because when watching both these movies I thought of how easy they could be made into adventure games.

I didn't find anything wrong with the image.  I feel it could use a little more shading.


- shaded the walls and counter
- added a "lip" to the counter
- altered the ceiling's color

Also, as was mentioned (and acknowledged) a window would make a great addition to the scene.

Do not do this again.

Read the rules.

[search the forums]

JESUS!!  50 spam/crap messages get deleted and here comes the rain again!!!!

Maverick ... search the forums.  There are 20 threads (some sticky) about how to post images.  Have you even tried the Help Link (next to search up top)?