These new areas look really great! I actually find the squareness of the tiles quite charming personally, and I love the addition of terrain heights, which really deepens each map. I don't mind that you can only see a small amount of the map at once, but when the chunks are so small you can cross them in seconds, it does make the scale of the game feel slightly off to me. Like you're walking on an overworld map between levels like this super mario one [LINK] instead of actually being inside an area?
I think a possible solution to that is making the chunk slightly larger to take up more of the screen space in zoom-out mode, but still with the fixed camera/chunk-switching that you have, and maybe in zoom-in mode the chunk would fill the screen to the edges, possibly with camera tracking and chunks loading in automatically? That way you can make both people who like the limited/fixed perspective and people who want typical RPG camera tracking happy? I'm not sure if that's too much work/feasible from a programming standpoint or even something you'd consider investing the time into, but I think it could be a good move that allows you to share your artistic vision while providing another option.
2
Tobias 1104~4Y
Interestingly, I've been wondering whether to also add something like the Mario world map for getting between areas!
Today I've been playing around with this a bit more, and I've increased the size of the chunks a little bit. The size that they currently are when 'zoomed in' fills the screen on a screen with a standard resolution: [LINK]
I am interested in the idea of even bigger chunks with a panning camera when zoomed in, but a fixed one when zoomed out, so I might try playing around with that at some point!
2
JohnnyBoi45~4Y
I for one would love a mario style world map - it would feel like a charming 3d-ish successor to Mardek's world map, and I think would also be necessary in this tile-based style to differentiate zones.
I had another thought about the chunks, though again this has more to do with technical limitations. What if you had a settings option to render more chunks at once - perhaps up to a 3x3 grid? It could also be turned off automatically for the dreamrealm to preserve your art style. Or perhaps the grid can be covered with fog? I'm just spitballing here, because I don't want to try and compromise your vision, and I actually really like the diorama style, but I do find the look of "island floating in the void" somewhat distracting and would probably play with whatever camera angle minimized the space around the chunks best, or at least appeared as a more connected worldspace. Overall though I am really liking these visuals, and all the dots of this game are starting to connect really well!
Edit: I just saw your latest tweet with the connect chunks and I gotta say, I'm here for that. I would definitely appreciate that as an option.
1
Tobias 1104~4Y
At this point, it's more about finding something that's feasible for me to make without taking too long, so I'm not too attached to the whole artistic vision thing! It's just a bonus that I quite like the dioramas aesthetic, since keeping those would spare me a lot of work.
It's definitely possible to show multiple chunks like in that gif, and there's no slowdown since they're still being hidden off-screen, but what about the space where there are no chunks in that gif? I'd either have to make filler areas you can't explore, or fill them with some kind of procedurally-generated background of some kind. I think I'll give some though to what that background could possibly be, since I do appreciate the value of having the world feel huge and immersive.
Another possibility is just building the entire world out of connected chunks, like in those Zelda games. There'd be no separate World Map at all, and you'd be able to run freely between different areas. Perhaps you'd be able to summon up a 2D 'pirate-like' map reminiscent of the original for fast travel between locations you've visited? This is something I'm considering... but it might be even more work than anything else! Planning all those connecting areas, making sure they don't just feel like tedious filler...
1
JohnnyBoi45~4Y
I guess the question this brings up for me is what was your initial intention to establish boundaries in where the player could move. Were certain chunks "dead ends" where just nothing else would load? Or were there going to be chunks that clearly had barriers to moving further, aka trees/mountains/water/angry mob? I do think if it were the former, that could be very immersion breaking and I'd personally want to avoid that. However, the other option would necessitate "filler chunks" outside the barrier points, though I can't imagine you'd need more than one in any direction due to the camera angles. This does put it back into a similar realm as Mardek's camera and maps, but I'd say it would look very good. Alternatively, a "default" tile covered in a thick fog that extends slightly onto the boundary tiles might work and be easier than filler tiles, while being very clear that those areas are a no-go.
I think a possible solution to that is making the chunk slightly larger to take up more of the screen space in zoom-out mode, but still with the fixed camera/chunk-switching that you have, and maybe in zoom-in mode the chunk would fill the screen to the edges, possibly with camera tracking and chunks loading in automatically? That way you can make both people who like the limited/fixed perspective and people who want typical RPG camera tracking happy? I'm not sure if that's too much work/feasible from a programming standpoint or even something you'd consider investing the time into, but I think it could be a good move that allows you to share your artistic vision while providing another option.
Today I've been playing around with this a bit more, and I've increased the size of the chunks a little bit. The size that they currently are when 'zoomed in' fills the screen on a screen with a standard resolution: [LINK]
I am interested in the idea of even bigger chunks with a panning camera when zoomed in, but a fixed one when zoomed out, so I might try playing around with that at some point!
I had another thought about the chunks, though again this has more to do with technical limitations. What if you had a settings option to render more chunks at once - perhaps up to a 3x3 grid? It could also be turned off automatically for the dreamrealm to preserve your art style. Or perhaps the grid can be covered with fog? I'm just spitballing here, because I don't want to try and compromise your vision, and I actually really like the diorama style, but I do find the look of "island floating in the void" somewhat distracting and would probably play with whatever camera angle minimized the space around the chunks best, or at least appeared as a more connected worldspace. Overall though I am really liking these visuals, and all the dots of this game are starting to connect really well!
Edit: I just saw your latest tweet with the connect chunks and I gotta say, I'm here for that. I would definitely appreciate that as an option.
It's definitely possible to show multiple chunks like in that gif, and there's no slowdown since they're still being hidden off-screen, but what about the space where there are no chunks in that gif? I'd either have to make filler areas you can't explore, or fill them with some kind of procedurally-generated background of some kind. I think I'll give some though to what that background could possibly be, since I do appreciate the value of having the world feel huge and immersive.
Another possibility is just building the entire world out of connected chunks, like in those Zelda games. There'd be no separate World Map at all, and you'd be able to run freely between different areas. Perhaps you'd be able to summon up a 2D 'pirate-like' map reminiscent of the original for fast travel between locations you've visited? This is something I'm considering... but it might be even more work than anything else! Planning all those connecting areas, making sure they don't just feel like tedious filler...