[Mapping]The Art of Shadows, A guide to the usefulness of shadows in VX Options

[zbdarkflame]

The Art of Shadows
by Z.B.Darkflame

Introduction

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I like looking at other peoples map. I really do. I like seeing their unique styles, and how they use the tiles to overcome some of the mapping challenges of VX. I like seeing the different environments, and what people can do with just a little tint or fog. What I don't like seeing though is the lack of shadows. VX created the autoshadow for a reason, and unless you use an autoshadow killer you should use it to its fullest potential. Proper shadows really can help make the difference from a great map to a truly excellent map. They add depth to the game by making the game more believable. Shadows are a very important part of mapping, and should never be ignored or forgotten.

This guide is designed for people who already understand the basics of mapping, so absolute new users, this probably isn't for you. Also, this is not a guide on how to map houses or such. If you want something like that, go to one of the other excellent mapping tutorials. This is only about shadows in VX. Now that I've got all that done, lets get to the tutorial itself.

The Autoshadow

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When VX came out, the use of autotiles was something that was greatly advertised. Along with these auto tiles came the advent of the autoshadow, something that has been despised by some VX users for reasons of which I'm not entirely sure. I started with VX, so I started with the autoshadow, and I really liked it. Unfortunately, the autoshadows have some major drawbacks that require a mappers attention. This shot helps to illustrate some of those shortcomings.



There are five mapping errors in this map. I'll go on listing them, and from there I'll start to make specific examples. So here are my errors.

1)To the right of the green roofed house, there are no shadows. Sometimes certain floor tiles will not have an autoshadow cast on them.
2)The house thing in the upper left corner, even though there is a major height difference in the roofs, there is no shadow cast upon the lower roof.
3)The lower left tower thing, the second level ought to cast a shadow on the lower level. Unfortunately autoshadows only appear on some floor tiles.
4)The Inside walls, where left wall and back wall meet is the home of the next mistake. The shadows ought to be on the wall too.
5)Same concept as #4. Where the middle wall intersects with the back wall, there is no shadow cast on the wall or the closet. There should be shadows on both.

Now that we have identified some of the shortcomings of the autoshadow, let us look at specific examples and see how we can fix these problems.

A House from the Outside

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We all have like to make towns and houses. They are fun to make, and you can really become creative with the shapes of houses. But sometimes this creativity can create instances where the autoshadows just aren't enough. Here's an example of a house which needs some extra shading before being called complete. (Like I said earlier, I'm not here to teach how to map, so none of the maps are going to look very good)



Firstly, lets deal with putting shadows on walls. In general, when a ground shadow abruptly ends at a wall, it needs continuation. Go to page B in the tilesets and select the impassable left facing shadow (Both the RTP and Mack have two sets of shadows one set for walking on, and another for not walking on). Go to where the shadows end, and place the tile shadows until you reach the source of the shadow. (Look at the picture if you can't figure out what I'm talking about.)

Secondly, lets get shadows on that roof. You see how the mid-section is only one story high compared to the 2 story high wings. Well, that two story left wing is bound to cast a shadow on the lower roof, so lets put on on it. Use the same shadow from above an put it on the roof.

Lastly, you may notice that there are some windows where shadows ought to go. To solve this problem, make an event and for a graphic use the shadow. Set the even to same as character for good measure, and place the shadows over the windows. Now the house is done and looks a lot like the one below.

Inside the House

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The insides of a house are just as, or even more, important as the outsides, and the same amount of time spent of shadows from the outside needs to be used with the inside. Inside scenes can be a bit trickier because there are often more corners, and more things blocking shadows. Also, there are some things that you just shouldn't put shadows on, but I'll get to that in a second. First off, here is our inside. Can you spot the mistakes?



So first off, let us get shadows on the walls. This usually happens whenever walls intersect. Place the shadow up to the roof, and if an object is in the way, than just use an event. Also, when a square object, such as the bookshelf or the bed cover autoshadows on the floor, then place shadows on those objects as well.

One quick warning, some objects that you may place on the floor do not completely cover the autoshadow. DO NOT place event shadows over these objects. The reason is that because the object doesn't cover all the of original shadow, a second shadow over it will make the original shadow really dark, and it looks really out of place. It's best to just ignore the want to place a shadow in these cases.

So, now that the inside is all done, lets give it a look.

Holes, Walls, and Shadows for Bridges

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Holes: This mostly has to deal with Mack's tiles. When you use the hole autotiles from Mack's tiles, and they touch a wall, they leave a a small ground edge. The best solution here is to just put some shadows over the hole and you are all right. Here's a picture to demonstrate what I'm talking about. (A nice picture too)



Walls: Here I'm mostly talking about cliffs and castle walls. This is especially true when you have a multi-leveled tower/cliff/ thingy. Make sure to put the proper shadows on the walls, using what you've already learned first. When you have something that is multi-leveled ask yourself where the autoshadow effect would usually be, and put shadows there. Here, use this shot to help illustrate just what I'm talking about. (Another nice shot from in-game)



Bridges: You should also place shadows with bridges. Why, well bridges are gonna cast a shadow too, and it helps to make the bridge appear like it is actually above the water instead of at water level. I do not suggest this though with some of the Mack bridges since some of them are not solid bridges. Just a quick idea. Here's a map with bridges.

Conclusion

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I'll conclude this tutorial by saying that everything I've just said is personal belief. This tutorial is meant to teach others another type of mapping, something they may not have ever thought about. There will be people who disagree with what I have said here, and I greatly respect them. This is just one of many styles of mapping open up to people. I only hope that my little tutorial can inspire other mappers to learn about the shadow, experiment with it, and develop their own style of the shadow. Thank you for reading, and I hope that you have found this useful.

[Sparrowsmith]

Very useful I'm gonna have to backtrace all my game's maps now

[Robocroakie]

Wow, this is something I never noticed.

Thanks for pointing it out

[Fearoftheunknown]

This is helpful....must make shadows now....


Fearoftheunknown, is inspired

[GlengroveG]

This is a sweet tutorial! I'm gonna be going over all my maps with a fine-toothed comb now!

Lurk in the shadows...

[shadwblitz]

Wow, this is really a nice way of adding that "realistic touch" that most new people often forget about.

Good job. :>

[BlueEagle7]

Not sure if I agree with you with internal walls having shadows. When you are outdoors, the light source is the sun shining from the sky from one direction. However when you are indoors (unless there is no roof) the light is not direct (except for sunlight streaming through a window).

Instead sunlight is indirect, so shadows will be less distinct (more fuzzy) and coming from the direction of the window/opening not from above. That's why its not necessary to put wall shadows indoors, it makes you feel as though there is no roof.

Also, external wall shadows, technically should be thicker, the higher the wall, so I don't have a problem with no shadows on the lower tier of a roof, because the shadow should be thinner anyway.

You don't have to worry about it when you only have one height of wall, its when you have shadows being cast over different levels.

I suppose unless you want super-realism, (which is impossible anyway) you just have to be consistent with where you do or don't put shadows, and make it your style.

So if you have wall shadows on the grass, then if the water is on the same level, you need shadows there too.

[xmuffin]

Wow cool finally i got to see some mapping tutorial stuff made with vx, good work.

[Freedom]

Nice idea on pointing out the problems and disadvantages of VX when it comes to the shadows made by the buildings and other inanimate objects in the Tilesets... Anyways you really know how to place the shadows but sometimes to much overshadowing is a problem to the eye... So sometimes we need to think about how to apply shadows... Well this is a very nice mapping tutorial and I like your mapping... Good Job...

Peace Out, Freedom

And sorry for the Necropost... Just really want to point this great problem in autoshadowing in vx and the great powers of manually doing the shadow effect....

[Locke]

Nice tutorial really helpful

Now to make some maps and look for some strange shadows

[2dgamestudio]

I would like to say as some one who is still getting use to mapping this is a very nice tutorial.