A demonstration of tilelayers and their strengths

[xXziroXx]

Hi there!

I spent the majority of today putting together a tileset composed out of graphics that had either been released as free-for-use on the forums or been used on Maloria in the past. That was the easy part though, making most of the tileset transparent, giving all the shadows 50% transparency and generally fiddling around with it was annoying parts.

In any case, once the tileset was ready, I set out to make an example level with it. I really wanted to get back into making levels again, I think it's been around 5 years since I last gave it a serious attempt. I also wanted to show the community why they should give layers and Gonstruct (unofficial level editor with layer support) way more attention, because right now barely anyone uses either of it.

The result?



I ended up using a total of 6 layers for it.

Layer 0: Basic grass and background for the stream.
Layer 1: Stone path, cliffs and the water covered chest.
Layer 2: Trees, bushes, grass variations, graves, mushrooms, flowers and swamp.
Layer 3: The fence, the cathedral and the bridge.
Layer 4: The sign. I had to have it show above the cathedral. I could've put it on Layer 5, but I found it more organized to leave that for the leafy parts.
Layer 5: Leafy stuff.



Credit goes too Dusty, for the huge amount of graphics he's released to the community. You're making Graal better as a whole just by being around! Sage, for making some great additions that fits very nicely with Dusty's stuff. Graal would be a better place if you would just be more committed to your work. And finally, Aeko, for the leafy stuff. Hopefully you won't mind me using it, haven't had the chance to ask you in private yet though.

I attached the tileset I made. No, you may not use it on your server without the consent of me, Sage and Aeko. Yes, all three of us. You may however use it freely for personal use.



I'd love to hear your thoughts on the level as a whole. Could I have done anything better?

As closing words, I'd like to say this: Stefan, imagine how awesome this level would be to play on, if a tilelayer could be drawn above players/npcs. I'd be able to walk under the leafy edges, create fish npcs that swim below the water, and much more. Pretty please make it happen?