New game: Help in improoving GFX needed!

[TFM]

Hi there!
Sorry, can't post here any examples. But I would need an expert in GFX to improove MODE 1 GFX for a CPC game. I have PC pictures and converstions to the CPC, but they need to be polished. Can you do that? Contact me and you will compensated with a free boxed version of the game (or whatever I get from the software company).
Now, some words about the GFX: MODE 1, colors: 0, 26, 24, 11. Sizes: between 15 and 45 pixel in X, Y. Shape: Chicken in 3 animantion phases.

[MacDeath]

send me the source graphics or more details plz...
I will give it a try.

colors: 0, 26, 24, 11

Firmware number ?
So this is :
Black
Bright White
Bright Yellow
Sky Blue.

[TFM]

Right, you can see an example here:

huhn2.avi
(Goto 0:27)
I'll attach some samples here...
On the DSK, I already overworked "1-ALL.SCR", but files "2-ALL.SCR" and "3-ALL.SCR" would need an overworking too.
For comparison I will attach the original BMP files too, see RAR archive.
Let me know if you need additional informations.

[MacDeath]

OK, I have a look at the files you uploaded...

So I guess you would like to have all those frames in CPC Mode1 format...

what about the dimensions of each set of animation frames ?


there is this chiken in 3 frames for each "view"...
views are :
Face, 1/2 front, side, 1/2 back, back.

So there are 15 frames... must they all be done in various size or some view correspond to some size ?



Also what about the Mask technic ?

do you use a 1bit per pixel bitmap to mask, or sacrifice one colour so the sprite would be displayed in 3 colours+transparency ?


Having a 1bpp bitmap mask is heavier as it uses more RAM to store the datas, (don't know concerning CPU waste though) but enable the sprites to use more coloures (=more ditherings, more colours...)
I mean, such technik could enable to actually use the Black as a colour too...for the sprites... which is quite important concerning art and ditherings...

using one colour for mask is not a problem in mode0... and was often used in speccyports for games with masked sprites, as it enabled to have the exact same "weight" in data compaired to the speccy version (yet in 3 colours+transparency) as used in Head Over heels per example.

But for a Native CPC game, using real mode1 AND 1bpp bitmap mask can be a good way to have it better looking.
Because Mode1 has very few colours and "wasting" one on a mask is quite drastic.


So what dimensions do you want those sprites ? are they supposed to Zoom ?
If so, from what dimension to what dimension, and though how many scales ?

ok, I will ripp what you've done with winape and work on those on PC, then re-ripp into CPC...


Do you have a deadline ?
I mean, we have our election in France this weekEnd, i may not be able to perform this that fast.

Do you want a complete sprite sheet ?

[TFM]

OK, I have a look at the files you uploaded...
So I guess you would like to have all those frames in CPC Mode1 format...
what about the dimensions of each set of animation frames ?

Yes, MODE 1 and dimensions must be kept. The help I need is coloring the single chicken correctly.

there is this chiken in 3 frames for each "view"...
views are :
Face, 1/2 front, side, 1/2 back, back.
So there are 15 frames... must they all be done in various size or some view correspond to some size ?

The chickens have different sizes. And for every size they have four frames. However frame 2 is equal to frame 4 right now, but that can be changed if you like.
Depending on the size of the chicken you look at it from a different side, right.
What I need to be done it just to overwork the three files "1-ALL.SCR", "2-ALL.SCR" and "3-ALL.SCR".
Each of this files contain already the four frames at the right position on screen.

So I need you to recolor/overwork the chicken. Please don't change their size. And please only change their shape very little, because they have this different animation phases.

Also what about the Mask technic ?

do you use a 1bit per pixel bitmap to mask, or sacrifice one colour so the sprite would be displayed in 3 colours+transparency ?
Because Mode1 has very few colours and "wasting" one on a mask is quite drastic.

There is no masking here. The black background will not be drawn, that's a very primitive, but quick way of "masking".

The different GFX of the chicken will not overlap in game. So masking is not needed. And all four colors can be used.

So what dimensions do you want those sprites ?
ok, I will ripp what you've done with winape and work on those on PC, then re-ripp into CPC...

Do you have a deadline ?

The dimensions are already right. Please do not change them. :-)
Instead of ripping them you can use the PC files of the other folder and directly use them. Their dimensions (in pixel) are already right :-)

No deadline actually, but this year would be cool!

Let me attach the remaining sprites (see pictures "4-ALL.SCR" and "5-ALL.SCR"

[MacDeath]

Ok, I already did the first part of the job... putting this on a PC-friendly thing...

this picture is "safe for working" on it.

There is no masking here. The black background will not be drawn, that's a very primitive, but quick way of "masking".

The different GFX of the chicken will not overlap in game. So masking is not needed. And all four colors can be used.

Good, then I can use the black for the chicken too...

That's the good point with starfield background... mask can be ignored (R-Type was an example of this)

[TFM]

Ah, you got all chickens together in one cage    Well done.

Please compare to the original pictures (BMP files), the coloring is different theree. The conversion process to the CPC introduced a lot of 'wrong' coloring. I tried to fix that for the first four (small) chicken pictures, which are in the first upmost line in your picture. However... I also tried with the second chicken set, but I made it just worse. So I discarded that.

Now your art and style is needed 

[TFM]

During the weekend I made some nice progress with the game. Now I just need the birds and some more coding. After that I will need some more time for polishing. However as soon as MacDeath will make his superior GFX a bunch of test players will be needed (And if I say soon, it means week, because I will have holildays soon ;-)
@MacDeath: Please keep me updated!

[MacDeath]

I started... but this is quite difficult.

IMO it need to change a bit the style...
pixels at low resolution and low colour can't be that "realistic".

need to go the "cartoonish way".

As you may see with the WIP, a few pixels can really give a different result (for the chicken faces) and as it is animation, it is quite hard to keep something that stay looking like frames of the same subject...


Now I understand why many speccy arcade port games went the cartoonish way (Midnight resistance per example)...
because resolution counts, but colours count too... colours are also some sort of resolution to express something.

while having no attributes, mode 1 also has quite a few colours, so if graphics are in low resolution 'like 16x16... ouch) it simply can't be as efficient as true colours...


Also Yellow is quite a bright colour, compaired to Orange per example, so the highlights in white may not work that well, nor the black shadows, but on the other hand, it would need to be verified on a proper CPC cathodic screen...

anyway, on my way.


Also hyper chicken...


So, concerning the body, it's not that much difficult, even the "easiest" part.

the problem lies in the helmet.

transparancy effect can't reasonably be achieved because of the too low resolution, so ditherings simply can't be effective.

I can chosse to simply try some "glassy mirror reflection" thing, but then we would not se the face... how to recognize those are chicken and not any bird ? (hell even drawing the face, it is not even easy to get a chicken face with such few pixels IMO...

a few pixels actually make a large difference between a chicken, an eagle or a parot or whatever...



I also now understand why Head Over heels was such an impressive job.

Anyway, Chicken is my national emblem, I shall not Fail !!!



But any suggestion are welcomed.


Post Edition : i removed the file so no more spoiler.

[TFM]

WoW! Quite impressive work up to now!!!

About the helmet: Well let's just define it as transparent. I mean it's background can be white or blue or black. The way you did it is quite wonderful.

Your original boxed game with very small serial number is save 

EDIT: @MacDeath: The next update... please send it to me via PM/email, so not too much of the surprise will taken away for the players.

[MacDeath]

Ok, i remove the picture...

and will use emails now...

anyway, cool to see it pleases you and seeing you are receptive in a positive way to such sort of design.

I am still trying various kind of stuffs...
getting those head the right way is quite hard so i will mostly try to get the bodies first... then do some various heads...

also I will try some palette swaps too.
Yellow chicken looks a bit too much "poussin" er... you know, those yellow newborn chicks that looks like the kiwi from newzealand story... which is cute, but too cut so the game would turn into a cuty massacre...


So perhaps white poultry could be great too.

Or blue "hyperchicken" variations... after all those are supposed to be chickens from space.


ok, let's get back to work.

[MacDeath]

Ok Herr Doktör... I sent you a sprite sheet.

[TFM]

Ok Herr Doktör... I sent you a sprite sheet.

Thanks a lot :-D Sheet not here now, but will arrive soon - hope.

Well, I wrote some generators. And they will convert your wonderful GFX into program code, which plots the Chicken on the screen.
That way the game will be very quick. And you can exchange the sprites in later stages.

So if you have some fancy ideas of special-chicken, that can be relized. Because it will be relatively easy to exchange sprites in the game (which is not usually the case if you convert GFX into code that draws the sprite).
That's also an idea for different levels :-)))

I'm really looking forward for the first sprites... BTW: What's the best program to convert them into CPC format again? GW 1.4 or CovImgCPC? I'll see soon :-)

[MacDeath]

Ok I sent it again, just in case...

[TFM]

Ok I sent it again, just in case...

Thanks' not I got em both, they went to the wrong folder first. I'm writing you an email now... just wait for the upload...(of a video).

Dear all: MacDeath made some exciting chickens. You can expect a nice game :-DDD