Make custom levels NOW :-)

[B-Boy]

I like your castles level. Only thing to remember for future levels (and this applys to me as well) is that you really need allot of sky room for launching your weapons up high, so that you can aim more.

You also have the pink lines problem. There are some posts earlier on on how to fix this. Other than that, great job! Very fun![/quote]

[(TSC)Bender]

The way i got rid of the pink lines was to remove the magneta and add black or white to cover those pink pixels Pain-staking but the Noogio level would anti-alias when i did what randall suggested

[Loopy]

its a school of teh ARTS: music dance drama drawing and singing....

ANYWAYS i made a rockymountain level in pocketartist...it looks ok but i cant draw for beans so dont expect a master piece..once i can get on my comp that can connect to my cass ill test it out and then email it to the web site[/b]

[NYIllustrator]

pocket artist would be hard to use, as its not vectopr based.

[(TSC)Bender]

I guess that makes him pretty good at drawing then I got a perfect idea for a level, but i want to find some music that fits with it. Plus i gotta draw it

[Michael Y]

I'm pretty good at composing... I'd be glad to give it a go if you tell me what you're looking for

[randall]

144K - I assume that is for both foreground and background (I hope). Using a few simple techniques (since I am a Graphic Designer) I was able to drop 20K - 50K using a few simple techniques. With no noticeable difference, in fact the levels ended up looking BETTER.

Just remember to stay away from:
Dithering
Gradients (unless they are VERY small)
Textured or Patterned fills
Photo-quality imagery

If your filesize starts getting a little large, check for unecessary excesses like those- don't bother eliminating objects since those are what make the terrain interesting.

This doesn't mean the other extreme (25K for both foreground and background) is any better.

I haven't explained the technique to eliminate the pink line, yet. It can be done in a few steps within a minute. But it really requires screenshots, so I can't go into details.

For now, the easy way would be to make the transparent areas grey, brown or some other neutral color BEFORE you alias or resize the image. Then after you alias or resize, return the transparent area to its proper color: 255,0,255 FF00FF or Magenta.

The neutrals works best, while black or white has a stark contrast to any color. Neutral by definition works well with most colors and makes the edges less noticeable.

[randall]

NYIllustrator has a certain point.

But for alot of people, using a PPC and stylus is much more natural and EASIER to use. Think about it: pen and paper is all it is.

A mouse is like drawing with a bar of soap, and you are not drawing directly into the surface. Your hand is over here ----> and your image is up there ^.

A touchpad is like... drawing with your finger. Again you are not drawing directly into the surface.

So his statement wasn't entirely true from a noobs point of view (or a hardcore sketch artist/painter)

However, for someone experienced with vector-based apps we know these images are based on OBJECTS. All shapes and lines are objects and they can be moved without interrupting the rest of the image. So for us, it is WAY easier to move an object, or GROUPS of objects.

In "la Mere de Vos", things like the barrel or anchor are grouped objects. If I don't like their placement, I can pick them up and move them 3 or 4 pixels, or slide them clear across the map. Without interruption of objects that are behind it, or in front. Drag/Drop... it doesn't get any simpler.

Color fills are simplified. Changing colors can be done at any time, without the tedious process of fixing aliased areas pixel by pixel. We can go from a solid flood fill to a gradient with a click of the mouse. A week later we can go back and change it back to solid flood fill, with a couple click or even fill it with a pattern. Or delete it all together.

So for for some of us, raster (bitmap) isn't an option, simply because it would take too long to accomplish anything.

Now for OTHER games, bitmap is the way to go. Like Strategic Assault, or Chopper Alley.

[NYIllustrator]

yeah exactly. Im not saying pocket artist is hard, in fact its one the most simple drawing programs. I am saying to make graphics like the original snails ones, you are much better using a vector based prog like Adobe illustrator. I use pocket artist for things like..sprites for wolfenstein, or just sketching and painting.

[benkenobi0]

I'm so happy, i made my own level with cactusesesesses, and falling snails instead of snow, and low grav, the drawing's kinda crude but what can I say, i'm 13, my only art class was in 1st-4th grade and i don't got the money to buy adobe illustrator...newayz, after trying to fix the pink stuff,i'll post it on the web, also, i have school tomorrow so i'll sit on making a quick website to post a screenshot 'til then.

BTW, Do you think traps are a good idea cuz i got a tumbleweed and if you shoot it and land ne where in it you get stuck, i think it adds more strategy to the game, but give me ur 3 bucks on this idea, thanx

[NYIllustrator]

no snails getting stuck is annoying, it happens enough on the regular levels. Also how the hell did you replace the snails with snow?

[BurningSheep]

[randall]

actually, you could make the Snails into snow. But snow has limited animations and would tend to get boring.

Please don't distribute your level with falling Snails. Please?

[BurningSheep]

[suchiaruzu]

Okay, the two castles level unfortunately doesnt work for me. Snails always exits after the level is loaded (ie: loadingscreen, music plays, waiting, exit).
Also I would like to know more about the following parameters:
"SnowBlt"
"Resistence"
Thanks in advance,
-Eike