More small edits that will make your game look so much better
I expect no one to be a fully fledged artist, but even if you are not, there are many things you can do to make your maps look better. The edits we discuss here are all based on default RPG Maker MZ tiles but work the same way for other engines and styles.So, what if we want to make a simple village map like this…
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/D5L86E37tsIswyknWRCzY5dyL4tr_VY_Qg1IgX1vnB7VC37WyR4cattp9VY7rI2kOMlsgz8Uu6xUUzzDM7etE-4v-Pb-y18scDW5UVo7uG1qhmw0PnE7SWP4-mD6AEaTCwr4X48U0eqcMgG54DHVLg
… look better with just a few tiny edits?
Door frames
Let’s face it: the doors always kinda stick out, inside or outside, they are the perfect size for a character, but not for a default 2 tile high wall and somehow they feel a little like stickers that were glued on the wall.
With a door frame you can not only make the door area higher than just that one tile, but also bind it more into the whole construction.
So for our example doors, we have a close look at the walls they are used on:
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/bHvXNzZqpcJ91PC8j0Vk3TPwQUIYF8WpScFXimf43LQdapj2CZeOihDmbbbPDsDWELOdwOvGtmRrNfIf3gbt37gw7T7aA8bb1gbjS-gdwuNZLmnG1tnVtrsTGmI8djUSBZ_FLv7RXmDN_3ZK-ZGeeg
Both walls already have a framing element, one in the form of wooden beams and the other in form of bricks:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/wkcFD8sS5QKfbIYF71aHLjKkjaMJYzD3VtAT0i1c6xkAECfgFk6hgQiQWl14jugVRZNXOa2-vtr67QKDW6vzGP0LpHoFNS8tmXpEmqfusMsh8IYgNJgMwPYX3P040ESnECjJGGAqPDv5Uh1gDDtnWg
Now we can simply copy and paste these structures on a seaparate layer around the door frame to, well, frame it:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/ofNjnyjqsf4_7jCFhV1Wcl2lMA3UXVSZiQm-dtK6CiOMM676CrqpU5f5OfC2UD_LHeHdJAeyhJ3G2NbKjimYOWVEBCgRYIPE-z7BnAUGmJjnlam995_FOEYua7qcSBrEIBsvb_5toV_defSg0Neu4A
And here is how the layer looks without the base:
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/mGqAVUr_FvA32jMo2xRO6-SrMUHtoBUeu8qHUkDQmvF73iTV9_eZkhjqqiV0EKM9Uy64RgL_kCPxqvnRcaCRyHIQ22By_79hhfS8oYlUikv8Ahei2e2IF4JAkC8ETJOHT1dQsTVJlDxUG6Oa4I-g5Q
As you can see, we can reuse the shadow from the left beam to have our frame cast a shadow.
For rounded doors things are more complicated, so this will just be a short addition for those interested, just know that you need to be more invested to pull this off!
If we try our rectangle frames, we can see that they don’t really fit anymore:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/PNnB-xICCFiO4vdw_M2O45aOMxRIf3rGVTjVKGnufrz0vEUjY2s43fUFlmBsH5zYzmT_Togpb0wlQs0KAAevGD1A9TaayJv2WAVoHYwcAVwNCSrcfvUIAU30GxN_lACi8t7WKIgqovQ7mhml96-W6Q
We can still use them until the round part starts, and this is the part you usually have to draw from scratch or heavily edit, that pink bow up there:
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/bgQdRHf47XquIlR-ygvlkv4I4ePx1wliPpjizXEdRESIVUV1XsQb5MVCCfeLjeWUyZOFQQz3SrmsxgyQzzgl1PyGyJmzyoM8tmE3Tnj-RXaTThapKg-C06L6oq3vNiKuRG8uSCgTjtge_JrXOxyKDA
You can use your frame materials as reference to color that area in, but how it is shaded is massively depending on the material you have:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/DjUVjviIjE82iOuOEJKOtHBiNH7_sxamezLg5owC6_WbwLteFi-QueUJOoejeM0DJSQ1Q4oqtK1gQFeo9XR_5PTE0geteITeIOqNW_RXJu-tT-JeAMR2s9oFeoq-cCQbk0tU3d8QsXGpeVcPeL0gJw
You can use a shortcut and have a massive top that is just rounded at the bottom and therefore easier to shade or you can even go further and draw in more details as on the right…
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/H4S7qAZgdbbmkHs8pK0M89dOI6SSUIVji6kGO7Zxn0mny6QphkR5MQOJd_6p6-Lx0U5DkzQrtCmTozbpQXVJtBwdtsp8CcqrZNySxL7zUDfBMTiBIudUZR_ctihL_EFndJkNEkgCnetoWrdZd-5OUw
… but for now, let’s go further and have a look at our example map!
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/bDxA9y8WCAAopXKWxJONc11AWrDIzwoi9TzOjZ_1iqks0OBN_FyfeVH9l5VMsoBgZqlOVwrwcCJaYA2hQUbSkwZuvu-8_5j7Ki0s_gm9luCfyuhla7JJ86U2SSifqV-STQvMpxwdpbwWEnNu949dMw
Flora recolors
Drawing new flora is difficult and time intensive and it can be hard to make all the plants look like they form one biotop. But using the same few plants over and over can make a map look a little dull. This simple trick here is used by many people already and you can make it, too!
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/FGAY212-o303_TXVpxjGYir2HNC0WUwdIH1OfrqGa5Tpdsefv7G2C5tZtTuoK81eagFPwKgnSnsC-Ng8wkaz6FtA9v_EG50la0-t0iFc6o14Yz_oSJzMe-QrIJRgvoYio_eCzP5sWNObkiEOL7JeAQ
I love that MZ bushy tree and the lilac flower, but if we just use these, it looks a bit repetitive.
So we open Gimp and copy as many instances of our plants in there as we want to have as variation. I like to go with 2-3, to not have them take up too much space and since we have the base as well on the default sheets which already is another instance for that plant.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/xPBm4LjwitjxgXST8xeZNViVqVhsaoeeu3wLQPWwZsxEOyuUkEIWi4nKT5FGKFJFkVxaZMX3jX3V4Q2uDOvQZFLcKnWh9wBQGlhYgRoDnk1jaK5rRyvmnh_R_MoqKrXMIScaNKR_PsUpKyVXz1BRRw
Now we can use select by color to “grab” the area we want to alter, for example the leafy part of the tree:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/fZFDTqLnpzk6_YsfB6lXcmqd7G-vZQZfR_x9P9ahJvFaEb393RTJp8Gr-1wJKg5YpTX2LkDcpUgFUwMgC5Q0WaLfbRanuL67RmqGCWmXua_oZSudPRgic709I8DBukxrtkmjUG1Ex6KWhhSB8e5ypQ
But watch out, you might accidentally select parts that you don’t want to edit in this step, as here on the flowers. With the rectangle selection and “subtract from selection” we can get rid of those.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/mxRWIOqsIK9IeijZ3TnUiJN1xOoZoRO7UbbjdRONdqLlEIO1exIBfmO0NTn4OgydiiLsuPoqwu1vdtcoY6a-uRCHBcy1u9R2EQL1ZrIEPB0g_uPqr5nKcRCl1fRMSZbsKRdBd0MjVSi94jDJ2UR5Og
I personally like to copy that parts I want to alter on a second layer, as now we can use box select to pick each crown and then use the sliders on hue/saturation to alter the color just a little to make them look different:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/mDVD2x_l8BpuWGiilZEpx8Pg4p6vzG9hHSro6QcgDjSYYx6erik1Q1HhrYO6Rc5IhLFID6wCnwonA45lj4rkcvKMKAcx6Lq_w6ke1NPeggnUbdpxvtfjHXsSQBNvfvTJK52XG9DTojoAAEL5fxm_Kg
We then do the same for the flowers, here we might want to leave as they are and just alter the petals:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/QupAQpVdKMQtM6L2c67waDTp2MNl1Ru2s7UYV2Kz6o1yWoNXzBzZ_Ul9J3CaGBcfWi7DdviICBAMsckK6qD4OswtYhsEePzZFuC6CQbfv0picPavaoRQx-FKyYv_g9Hc2wxEDm-qI4CjE1FgnZJXJg
And there we go:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-0UNp8VqjlUsxZ01seOfhWLNkBG2JdRTu9yz4SXaanDQaeyagZpRz-B_Irs90WHFUPM-KCcN_d9QNL5hnSaTChn0D9f2vQhsO86YuO6W6iA1G1fkv__l7fl2qRnPvYWkboO_k0zbRleoED38q3X1og
Tip: Make color variations on plant leaves be subtle, they shall be visible but should not massively stand out. They are supposed to be a variation of a background piece to make it more interesting, not a centerpiece the player shall look at all the time.
The odd tile
Repeating patterns and seamlessly looping tiles are a key point when filling up a map, but it can also lead to a little bit of boredom.
Let’s take the roofs for example. Not all shingles are the same colors, but the pattern they are in repeats over and over.
So, let’s take a snippet of the roof and look what we can do:
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/ZVYb2j42Qfct-6cjg7--YFns1qr-B7du2dbFCI2ImUIoZYddtxN7EIiuYMe6VYrnBHZ-XyNosyOKzFwttaraI7Mbl4WxDCLRmDHRnLAi9i59wd1kfyj1fQaEmTOrjkLUGTIppJ4bhFKF2ymzofF9-Q
Now we can add a layer on top and copy and paste some darker shingles into areas where lighter ones are and vice versa. Such tile could look like this:
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/A6WxCyLBrxRQpkaquJGTvyGZoyGAovq23VZSRR164F8yKhKRaskscM_N1ZV3fxX0nKRbYn2ELDOJa6TIviPhyAfI6uX0IQGFvUYhboN8vABNIeBKG-JiDzaGsjTsXPp9pckie2MBbtuqSMTHXzAhUg
and while the impact might not be massive, it already adds some nice variation while seamlessly fitting in:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/B7GUsBEg4SHlquvfR4v9D2QzcU_mfAJmH8DtBqN82bb_goIfDF8d21XiU6_uYF8G2QJgcQtHk8NrDTlwgVImwm-iVShCInHrFz2Pe90Yr6uH2tAyjic_HJy1R1fXGmOptb9OHGBeS-5c1oHx2BgwfQ
(left default, right with the added variation tile on top).
We can also go even further: shingles can move and go missing, or crack. Adding that to the autotile would be a little weird, as there would be dozens of odd shingles in a pattern on that roof, but making those small variation tiles allows us to add them as little highlights.
https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/z7gCwcKdco6UnvkycdyajTs-IsXA08ojH4zIvIyNgdnvXIuGVAgxRMVca10NcPyeT8rtf8wEMe8zfYOTrF-uufKrPecqIKB8E16TmbCWtiVTbLazifyQ5Es_ErV7VIPU2pLuLAL5Y32tRxjU1lzEXA
So for example, we can use the color of the line that divides those two shingles and draw a new line where the edge is chipped off. With another dark color we imply a gap and on the same stage, we can also expand the shingle that lies below the chipped one a tiny bit.
There are just very few pixels altered, but the difference is massive:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/7bG9QcOeysQ54j7APuPC_i3o9RCKaKlZ-eMVktqS5iALEF6wH9yV7rXsSxioZ--X0EelTnKB2DqUmrxWdYJ5ZoRuFdeFMcavFmUBNqSOME7hmSQHeJZKrs5D5RWv4kU-CHuIDIw1kwWIoTL3XLepSQ
on the right you can see how it is just a tiny variation in the pattern, while on the right it becomes an annoyance due to being on every tile.
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/NocSg9RcX00cZTpXzGQ2iTv7BiPi5BPRAco5h7IJCH0_6rEpfuYdHX-gMBnsTpRM6oCv4j6GUZH-Yi8U_QOGZmwpVm2oxOpm9lEOx4CwoS6MWBdS04LcsGP_bqTa1WazB9O1cUad9_mnkux-MPbnHQ
The same goes for tilted or moved tiles.
Tip: if your layer has just the tiles that are altered, you can place them on the position you want and not only on the specific tile you place it on:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/STLPB4V6rAIrtDMWwQwnlbTglKx8hB11fXxZD-17h85LqSQDaHiT5Jr3m8AkWGXxGkQOmxi010PX4n1GeSGlBhlj-hqi36w621HXZLmf5EOCuLRh9bo9yxT9Xw_h0eqGZcQYI1exix5sqU8MM8uGWg
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/NnsAiJJ7wD9dKJRCJnhpkUcUFXtVPJsHvOmETZybysTKJEXJ-3ic71OqV2Z0xc5AUknkz_1puo7gEU_ENpVDzcrvRWo5lO0bOJ_45T6lgplqvXJXN7Eq__B69PiiUKngQihG2LSNeY71eh7WCXe_pw
This does not only apply to shingles, a little variation can break up all your tiling textures like walls or cliffs as well!
And those are 3 more things you can do when you have a few minutes and want to up your game graphics no matter how skilled you are!
Remember that you can still de-shoebox the houses and make the window frames match the other wooden parts!
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/uA3MX0Y9_Ci2HpPJg9iIoDLSZ29Ti_FffJo5lWVwIWRb7NdUa5UDU5h4fI_ox6rkdDMhzPwI-JVOhb71v3NNi9EbxK8Axb4OM_fUe-oqPVilScI9-D5hcIoZRHyAvajdpNIzOow1iU9ZZoyq5f67fg
本贴来自国际rpgmaker官方论坛作者:Avery处,因国际论坛即将永久关站,为了存档多年珍贵资料,署名转载到本论坛存档,由于官方帖子为英文原帖，需要中文翻译请点击论坛顶部切换语言为中文就可以将帖子翻译成中文浏览,方便大家随时查看,原文地址：https://forums.rpgmakerweb.com/threads/more-small-edits-that-will-make-your-game-look-so-much-better.158482/
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