Side doors in RMXP maps ?!, RMXP mapping issue Options

[Jens of Zanicuud]

Hi everyone,
I've a mapping issue and don't know how to solve it.
I'm working on a hospital map and need to put some doors at both sides of a corridor:
 screen.PNG ( 79.05K ) Number of downloads: 27

and on different rooms' walls:
 screen2.PNG ( 96.51K ) Number of downloads: 18

As you can see, the result is kinda crappy. The blue rectangles can't resemble what I call a door.

Have you any ideas on what I can do to improve the side doors design?
Thanks in advance,

Jens

[Thallion]

What i would do would be just to put an inset in the wall and use that as a door.

[TheCableGuy]

Actually, I think that's probably the right idea.

But what I'd do is trying to "sink" the door into the Wall slightly so it doesn't look like it's jetting out into the wall.



Also, adding something on the ground to "Mark" doors and pathways also help to create the illusion you're going for. Hospitals generally have colored lines painted on the Floors to indicate which direction they're going. You could also add 'tiles' in front of the side doors and those "Pressure Pads" in front of main doors.

Also, I'd try to find flooring tiles that look more "Vinyl" too. Something "egg-shell" white with yellow or blue Speckles...

This post has been edited by TheCableGuy: Aug 27 2012, 05:58 PM

[Jens of Zanicuud]

What i would do would be just to put an inset in the wall and use that as a door.

I've tried it too, before deciding for that solution. The result was even crappier, with that tileset...

Actually, I think that's probably the right idea.

But what I'd do is trying to "sink" the door into the Wall slightly so it doesn't look like it's jetting out into the wall.



Also, adding something on the ground to "Mark" doors and pathways also help to create the illusion you're going for. Hospitals generally have colored lines painted on the Floors to indicate which direction they're going. You could also add 'tiles' in front of the side doors and those "Pressure Pads" in front of main doors.

Also, I'd try to find flooring tiles that look more "Vinyl" too. Something "egg-shell" white with yellow or blue Speckles...

Thanks, yours is a good idea, but let me explain the problem a little more. This is a problem I had with every tileset I worked on, and usually I solved it by removing side doors. This time I can't.
I don't like the effect "door seen from above - character seen from the side".
It looks... strange.
Anyway, thanks, I'll try doing what you suggested.

With "pressure pads", you're referring to those red push bars which are installed on safety doors?

Jens

[TheCableGuy]

Thanks, yours is a good idea, but let me explain the problem a little more. This is a problem I had with every tileset I worked on, and usually I solved it by removing side doors. This time I can't.
I don't like the effect "door seen from above - character seen from the side".
It looks... strange.
Anyway, thanks, I'll try doing what you suggested.

With "pressure pads", you're referring to those red push bars which are installed on safety doors?

Jens

Right. It occurred to me that that might of been an issue you were having as well...

Actually, it's one I've had myself that I've never quite fixed to my liking either. The Closest I came up with is first make your wall thinner, which I think I see you've done (this means planning out your floor-plan ahead of time and pretty much having a separate wall tile for every orientation you plan to use) and then using the Visible "Gap", usually positioned slightly at eye-level to your character (determined by where you feel like your character should be viewing the door and how tall your character is compared with the door ) and with a little bit of the "Inner wall" showing in the gap. Next, I would put something on the floor marking the bottom of the door (a Mat or Lines around the Perimeter of the wall Usually) to indicate where the door actually is (and where the Teleport Event is).

This is a rough idea of it:


You could also think of a Side door walking into a dark cave from outside. Think about how the Light streaming in showing that there's a gap in the wall without actually showing the gap itself.. but, instead of Light in this case, the floor could also collapse inward indicated by how you choose to draw your floors...

I can't tell you to change your tileset much without removing your clearly dark and gritty atmosphere but I'd go for different flooring and walls (but I also go for a Clean and Cheery look personally so I'll refrain from commenting.)

Edit: Actually, I was refering to the Mats like outside a Supermarket that you can step on and the doors would open. Come to think of it, not many hospitals use them. I've only seen them in a Maternity ward once.

This post has been edited by TheCableGuy: Aug 28 2012, 12:22 AM

[Jens of Zanicuud]

That advice was pretty good, indeed. I'll try modifying the tileset.
The picture you posted looks just better than my previous idea, so I'll definitely try that.

Thanks for the help,

Jens

P.S. as regards the dark look of my maps... well, I can't make them clean and cheery, since the hospital is an abandoned one (I have to add some cracks on the floor too) and the whole game tone is really dark...

[Vexus]

Could always do something like this:



Taken from my hospital.

[Jens of Zanicuud]

Okay, this is what I managed to do...

 screen3.PNG ( 100.94K ) Number of downloads: 31


I just hope this is better than before... if you have any other suggestions, please reply

Thanks again (or in advance, it's up to you) @ Vexus, TheCableGuy and Thallion,

Jens

[Vexus]

Looks better but I would try to use a wall that is 2 tiles tall not 3 or maybe one that fits with the door as the current one doesn't fit. (Side doors are brown, front one is white.)

Also I don't know if you noticed but the green indicator you use in your game goes over the door, you might want to fix that.

This post has been edited by Vexus: Aug 28 2012, 08:38 AM

[Jens of Zanicuud]

Looks better but I would try to use a wall that is 2 tiles tall not 3 or maybe one that fits with the door as the current one doesn't fit. (Side doors are brown, front one is white.)

Also I don't know if you noticed but the green indicator you use in your game goes over the door, you might want to fix that.

As for the green indicator, that is a minor issue ATM, thanks for the hint, anyway.
I'll try recolouring the doors, even if I'm not satisfied yet...
Maybe I'll try out your idea and reduce walls' height.

Thanks,

Jens