Side-view Battle Style

[Calintz]

I don't know about you guys, but I'm strictly a side-view battle system kind of guy ...
That said, I was developing a template to use for side-view battle system charasets. I put this guy together as a result.

Spoiler: ShowHide

** What do you guys think??
** Do you approve of this style for a side-view battle system??

[Jackolas]

they look cool

[legacyblade]

I like the style except that the face lacks much detail. It'd be great in a game how it is, just the detail-less faces on something that large would be a pet peeve of mine.

[Calintz]

Well lack of detail is something that can improve. A little bit of work and voila!! I'll admit, I half-assed the face okay. Settle down, LMAO. Also, one thing I will admit though. My lack of ability to shade hair properly. I can't find any good tutorials on creating and shading hair patterns ...

It's my weakest area.

[G_G]

Its very awesome calintz

[Calintz]

Thank you G_G.

Update:
There is a slight update ...
I tried to add more detail to the face, along with some better outlining ...

** Basically, I was just wondering if you guys approve this style.
** Would you play a game with a side-view battle system featuring these battlers??

[Aqua]

I think it looks too chibi-esque...
(Lol like RMXP sprites aren't chibi... >.>)

It's mostly the head that's getting to me...
It's way too round D:
I think if it the head was better shaped, they'd be amaaaazing

[fugibo]

Kill the gloss, lose the Kingdom Hearts-sized feet and hands. Then it'll be awesome.

Right now, it's okay, but kinda blahish. Of course, if that's your artstyle, go for it. Just know that I'll think it's blahish, and you'll never get my praise. :V

[winkio]

Yeah, I agree that the head is pretty much the only problem.  I'd say thinner and the slightest bit smaller might be nice.  But it's up to you, as always.

[[Faint]]

Only problem I see is the head is to round and the hair is less shaded compared to the rest of the sprite like it has less detail. other then that it is pretty darn good.

[Calintz]

Alright ...
I really appreciate all the input.

I prefer the chibi style, because like you punned Aqua, RPGXP IS chibi-ish.
So, instead of reshaping the head, I added another eye and more detail to fill in the empty area. Now the head doesn't seem AS big as before. As for the Kingdom Hearts sized hands and feet ... they stay, sorry, along with the gloss.

** What about now??

[Aqua]

Okay, I like the new head waaay better

Even if it is chibi... he actually look likes he has a chin now

I think you should add a mouth, though.  I think that's what will make the head less bland.
Maybe also throw in just 1 more shade for the hair to give it a little more depth.

Dude... he has a major bulge in his pants... o.o

[Calintz]

LMFAO, well I'll try to diminish the bulge!! =D. -I love you-

On a side note, I'll also see what I can do about the hair, but it's my problem area. I might have to settle for what I got. My knowledge of spriting reached it's limits with the hair, but I'll try. As for a mouth. I was going to add one, but o during animations. Like, when he attacks, he'll scream. When he's hit, he'll grunt. Those will be times his mouth are visible.

[[Faint]]

having 2 eyes showing like that kind of takes away from the fact that he is "side view" he looks a bit more like his head is facing towards the screen. and I second the notion on the enlarged bulge.

[Aqua]

I noticed that too, with his head not facing the side, but it's not facing the front either.
I'll try to do it in this post...
       X <-- Hero

Y <-- Monster

So that'd be about the placement of where the Hero and Monster should be if the Hero is facing that way...
It's like 3/4 view!!!


I think you should make the mouth visible at all times.
Like maybe a determined frown when he's at rest, to show he's all wiled up for battle.
And maybe on another Hero, have her with a big grin, to show that she loves the thrill of fighting.
The mouth can add a lot of depth to a character's personality, so I'd suggest you add one to see how it looks

[[Faint]]

Indeed a mouth can add a lot of depth to the personality of a character sprite. I agree it would be a good idea to add it in and see how you like it.

[Calintz]

...Fine, Lol.
I'll add mouths.

@Aqua:
The 3/4 look is what I was going for, so good.

[[Faint]]

oh if you were going for the 3/4 look them yeah congrats you achieved that.

[Calintz]

Plus the mouth is up.
I am thinking of making a really small project to demonstrate the power of side-view battle systems. Lots of flashy things, Lol.

[[Faint]]

he is a little too happy to me lol

[Aqua]

Did he lose his eyebrows on the 3/4 view? XD
You don't need to change the mouth in my opinion.  Just add angry brows :x
I think if you add those correctly, then he'll look awesome.

[Calintz]

No, he didn't lose his eyebrows, but they are really hard to show, because his bangs cover them for the most part. With the new changes, the face became quite crowded. It's hard to fit detail in there. I'll see what I can do though.

@Faint:
I don't see the happiness ... =/

[Aqua]

His eyebrows should be clearly visible even with the bangs.
The eyebrows are extend past the eyes, so if you can see the eyes, you should be able to see the eyebrows.

[[Faint]]

It's looking pretty good now and sorry about the mistake, I just looked at it real quick from my laptop before I was heading out the door. On second glance I fail to see the happyness 

[Calintz]

@Aqua: ...argh... Lol.
@Faint: ...hurray!! =D.

Update:
Alright miss Aqua.
What about now??

[Aqua]

OMIGOSH I LOVE IT <3
Those small details really added to the emotions of the face.

[Calintz]

!! XD !!
We have a winner!!

I am going to whip up a quick enemy in this style after I finish creating the female charaset template for Remexos.
I'll stage the battle in 3 / 4 view as mentioned earlier.

Battle:
Hero:               
Enemy:      

[[Faint]]

Does he get shoes later in the game?  just being a smart ass lol looks great.

[Calintz]

Lol, SETTLE DOWN!!
He'll get shoes if he wins a couple battles. The bastard needs to pull his own weight for once!!

[[Faint]]

Lol, SETTLE DOWN!!
He'll get shoes if he wins a couple battles. The bastard needs to pull his own weight for once!!

lol

[Aqua]

Oh btw...
His bulge still looks kinda big... XD

[[Faint]]

He is packin some heat??

[Calintz]

LMFAO so!!??
Lol, I didn't fix it or add shoes, because he is just a test.

[[Faint]]

Yea I understand that. The sprites I am working on are kind of a test. Trying to get a hang on the whole larger sprite thing. Mainly just have to work on my shading 

[Calintz]

I agree. I like the basic shapes of your sprites. They are nice.

[[Faint]]

Why thank you! That means a great deal to me. I have been working hard to improve my spriting skills and I would like to think it is paying off.

[Calintz]

Well it isn't like I objected to anything else in your post =D.

[legacyblade]

Wow, the template is looking good now. I'd totally play a game that uses this template, and most side view battles bore me

[Calintz]

I appreciate that very much ...
I don't care for the shading of his hair though ...

Of course this template only pertains to Luke.
Each characters would have their own template to administer a separate pose.

Of course the style would remain.

[legacyblade]

Aye, his hair does feel a bit flat. But that hairdo is hard to do well on a sprite. I'm terrible with hair, so i can't really offer any advice other than trying to make it "more messy". While it doesn't fix the problem, having some dot shading using the 4th from lightest (I think it's the mid tone, but I'm not sure what you call it) in the 3rd from lightest section (the section you use as for the majority of each hair chunk), improves it a bit. You shade your hair a lot like cloth, you generally have the colors in smooth blocks using the other colors just to add the overall shape. With hair, you're supposed to be a bit more messy, and not have as uniformity in the shading. (I could be totally wrong, but that's what I tend to see in RTP hairdos)

And I was hoping you wouldn't just use a base pose set for each character. It's boring when games do that. Glad to hear that you're not

[Calintz]

Oh god no!!
That makes them VERY boring!!

You actually nailed my hair style lol. I do agree that that hair style is hard as hell too ...
I will take your advice and see what I can come up with, thank you LB.

[legacyblade]

(I zoomed in, that's how I saw what you were doing. Plus I generally end up doing the same thing )

And aye, it makes the system boring, but you do see it a lot, the single template for every battler. Glad you're not doing it

[Calintz]

Yeah you do ... (shame on the early final fantasies)

[legacyblade]

The early final fantasy games had to run on very few colors due to system limitations, so they're excused

[Calintz]

Lol, not just that ...
I excuse them, because their charsets were like freaking icons today, Lol. 24 x 24 or something, haha.

[legacyblade]

only 24x24? MAN that would have been hard. No wonder NES graphics look like crap

[Calintz]

LMAO no doubt!!

[RoseSkye]

Effectively using the Blizz-ABS? MAN that would have been hard. No wonder XAS graphics look like crap

*fixed

[Calintz]

LOL solid pun Rose.