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I agree with Snarky! My dream is to see some Grimshaw paintings in real life.

Also, it's no secret that I'm totally trying to ape his style/atmosphere for some of the backgrounds in Lamplight City

Lamplight City mentioned on Rock Paper Shotgun.

Conversing with Jonah Solomon, professional tailor and owner of a butt-beard.

Episode 100 is finally here!

Thanks to all who submitted questions, and sorry to Yitcomics whose questions I didn't see in time!

I gave a brief interview about the game on TechRaptor.

Hello,

I've just started working on a project which is running at 1600x1200, and when loading backgrounds into the editor, it looks like this:


As you can see, it's at the lowest possible zoom. Is there any way to change AGS's resolution so more of the background displays? It's kind of annoying not to be able to see more of the background at any given time.

Now I'd really like to see a HD game from you in the future, you certainly have the skills for it (as long as you don't use 4x upscaled characters )

Nah don't worry, I think high res sprites will be my learning goal for the next game.

There are plenty of object interactions. Objects in the environment are part of the background, I've avoided the "high res GK1 effect" where they are sprites which stick out against the backgrounds. As an example of what it looks like, here's an animation I tweeted a while back of characters opening a door to enter/exit a room. (It's a bit sped up compared to how it is in-game, but you get the idea)

Here's another from the same room taking a plant off a hook and then taking the hook.

And here is the original 960x473 background for you:

Yeah, I'm really leaning towards keeping it as it is, and am aware that AGS devs would notice it more than anyone else.

The reason I didn't mention redoing the sprites to fit the higher res is because I currently have 745 sprites I would have to redo. At this point, that's just not worth it (especially because even if I do it, I'm sure there will be plenty of people who complain the game is still "low-res")

It doesn't seem to be as noticeable in-game, as the few people so far who have tested haven't mentioned anything about it, so we'll just see what happens I guess! In the end, people don't play low res pixel adventures for the graphics, right?

This is something that has come up in my GiP thread.

For Lamplight City, I'm painting backgrounds at 960x600 and scaling them down to 640x400. Sprites are being done for 320x200 resolution and scaled up to 640x400 using nearest neighbor. Some people have pointed out that this is jarring and that it makes the sprites stand out from the backgrounds. I personally can't see it as much of an issue, but I've been looking at it so long that I've probably gotten used to it. As an experiment, I tried scaling the backgrounds down to 320x200 with the same settings in order to match the sprites, and honestly, I find the loss of detail and blurriness that causes to be unacceptable.

Here is the comparison:
640x400 scaled background

320x200 scaled background


I really don't think the sprites stand out any more against the 320x200 background than they do against the 640x400 one. I also feel like more people will complain about blurry backgrounds than they will about pixellated sprites, but that might just be me.

Thoughts are appreciated!

Looks fantastic, Francisco. I'll be keeping an eye on it. Working with Dave/Wadjet Eye for this one as well, or is it a solo joint?

I'm pretty sure Dave is interested in publishing, but for now it's solo.

Actually I'm wondering if you scale them characters in AGS to 200% or in PS before. The prerendered highreslowres or the total scaling control?
What bothers me more is the ratio of only 2:3 nightscenes to dayscenes in lamplight city (...in the screenshots).
Just out of interest... how does Miles' partner speak to him from beyond the grave?

I scale them up after drawing them in Photoshop. As far as the ratio of night to day, currently I've only done the art for the prologue, first case, and some of the second, so there's still a lot more to do (so don't worry, there will be a lot more lamplight in Lamplight City )

His dead partner serves as the game's narrator.

Chicky: So far, yeah, it's all me.

No, the character sprites are how they appear in game. The compromise here is that there is no in-game scaling. But they're all lovingly rotoscoped, so I'm hoping that will let people overlook the resolution mismatch.

Thanks for all the feedback so far!

[The Gateway to Vespuccia, the City of Air and Light, Lamplight City]

The Gateway to Vespuccia, the City of Air and Light, Lamplight City—the thriving port city of New Bretagne is a beacon of progress and industrial advancement in the New World. Yet beneath the promises of a shining 19th-century future, the city rests upon foundations of poverty, class struggle, and crime.

For police detective turned private investigator Miles Fordham, Lamplight City's shadowy corners are just part of the territory. But with his former partner constantly speaking to him from beyond the grave, his grip on sanity is slowly loosening. Can Miles find justice for his clients and track down his partner's killer before his entire world comes apart?

Lamplight City is a detective adventure set in an alternate steampunk-ish "Victorian" past.

Features:
- Five cases to solve, each with multiple potential suspects, false leads, and lasting consequences.
- Single click interface and no inventory (gather clues in your casebook)
- An entire fictional city with four boroughs to explore, each with their own unique flavor.
- A whopping 640x400 resolution!
- Heavily inspired by the works of Edgar Allan Poe and Charles Dickens.

Estimated Release: 2018

Brought to you by:


Screenshots


Navigate the filth and squalor of Cholmondeley, AKA "The Chum."


Investigate the homes of the fabulously wealthy residents of Lyon.


Explore the borough of Gascogne, inspired by New Orleans's French Quarter.


Search for clues in Worcester, the working class part of town.


Interrogate suspects and witnesses in a closeup view.


The dead hold just as many secrets as the living.


The residents of Lamplight City make their voices heard.

Steam Store page

Mark Benis, the game's composer, has released a preview album of music from the game's prologue. You can pay what you want now, and receive the full album free when it and the game are released next year!


Track Listing:
1. Lamplight City
2. Partners for Life
3. The Slums of Cholmondeley
4. The Stakeout

Check it out on Mark's Bandcamp page!

First one looks better, mainly because the second one is inconsistent. It looks jarring to have the black outlines only on the edges of the wall logs and not anything else. If you're going to do that, I suggest making all the outlines black.

Great! Thanks so much for this, the new features are extremely helpful.

I like the first background a lot more. The second one does fit the character, but it looks like it went through a Photoshop filter which makes the shading on things like the wall and the posters look strange.

I'd actually be curious to see a mix of both, that is to say, keep the coloring and shading from the first, but make all the outlines black as they are in the second one.

The walk isn't that bad, really.

I have pledged!

Though I sadly won't be able to make it this year, I wish you all the best and am eager to see the conference continue to grow.

1st. Grok
2nd. jwalt
3rd. DBoyWheeler