[RELEASE] Golden Sun: The Balance Age

[Salanewt]

I think I like it! There doesn't seem to be any lighting and/or shading like what other robes have, but that may actually work with this as a cursed item.

[Caledor]

Probably, but i'd really like to add some shading. it'd help make in making it more with the other icons. The problem is i'm really not good with graphics

[Salanewt]

I've been procrastinating a lot today, but if you'd like I can try my hand at a couple item icons for you in a few hours or so (assuming Role hasn't already volunteered of course, but it looks like she tends to make more ability icons than items). Icons and certain other sprites generally don't take long for me to make, and I think that robe in particular would take even less time because most of the work has already been done on it.

[Caledor]

I've been procrastinating a lot today, but if you'd like I can try my hand at a couple item icons for you in a few hours or so (assuming Role hasn't already volunteered of course, but it looks like she tends to make more ability icons than items). Icons and certain other sprites generally don't take long for me to make, and I think that robe in particular would take even less time because most of the work has already been done on it.

I've already done some changes to mine and i'll upload it here right after dinner. Anyway if you want to try i certainly won't stop you :P any help is really appreciated ofc ;)

[Salanewt]

Cool! I'll wait for you to post yours before I try my hand at it.

[Caledor]

turns out it's really minor and it doesn't work out the way i expected so i don't think there's a point in uploading it. maybe it's the black border that's interfering with the shading, i don't know. i think i'll see your take on it before making further changes.

[Salanewt]

Okay. Have a meeting coming up, so I decided to take care of it beforehand (minus transparency and all of that; I'll let you deal with any of that yourself if you want). There are two versions, with the robe in the lower right being your original one. They are pretty much the same though, except one has a belt buckle and the other doesn't. That's a belt of some sort, right?

Oh, and the background of each is the standard 16x16, with the border adding another two pixels for LxW.

Let me know what you think!

[Caledor]

great! so it really was the black border, uh? i think i can manage from here. and yes, it was a belt.
Thanks a lot!

[Salanewt]

Happy to help! I'm mostly just excited to see some new icons going into a GS hack for a change (I know why others haven't had them, but still).

[Caledor]

Quick pool:
as you probably know, with magnet, arrow and reflect gone for the boon series, there is no more space left for new ability icons. This means that in order to add Tyrfing and Meltdown, something else has to leave (until someone manages to expand the pointer table).

ATM i think that the best options (those that hurt less) are 2:
- One or of the Samurai's buff psynergy series, since those are essentially duplicates of already existing psynergies.
- Baffle Card and Mist, which would be entirely replaced with Delude.

I'm inclined with starting from Baffle Card and Mist for Tyrfing and Meltdown, and save the samurai's for future icons (Punishment series?).

Your opinions?

[Salanewt]

Well, expanding the pointer list should be pretty easy to do I think; the only downside is the editor wouldn't display the [new or any?] icons. GS2's icon lists are pretty easy to find (I'll scan the document for their locations if you want), but I don't know if GS1's are recorded anywhere.

That could always be done at some other point though. For now, I would also vote for Baffle Card/Mist to be replaced.

[Caledor]

if by icon list you mean the pointer list no need to worry as i already have the values for both gs1 and gs2.

I also think expanding the list would be easy (maybe as easy as repointing the whole pointer list to somewhere else in the rom), i just have no clue on where the useful value(s) might be :P.

As for the compatibility loss with the editor, i don't really care if it means that i can add new icons freely. I'll just set the new icons from the hex editor :D

[Rolina]

Heh, like I said, shading and detail are the hardest things to do.  It's why I'm more comfortable making spells than items, particularly dark ones as we have few colors to work with for them.

[VardenSalad]

I have a question. Do Elder Wood and Estre Wood use the same icon?

[Caledor]

yes, they share the same icon.

[VardenSalad]

Gotcha.

[Caledor]

I fear that this is as far as my art skills go. I really like the upper half... what bogs me is the lack of shading/lighting on the lower half, but I'm at a loss for what to do. Opinions?

[Salanewt]

Hard to say. I made a few of the brown pixels beige instead and uploaded two different versions with the new highlights. #1 is rather subtle (perhaps too subtle), while #2 almost makes the brown trimming shiny looking; I think I prefer #2 in this case.

I'm still not 100% on the sleeves though. The lighter grey pixels look misplaced to me for some reason, but that could also just be a personal taste thing. I'll wait for you or someone else to weigh in on that before I suggest anymore changes.


1:

2:


Edit: I also have to say, I'm really starting to like this robe icon. I may have to make a slightly different version to include in my own hack someday... nice work!

[Caledor]

Your suggestions were spot on, Squirtle. Thanks a lot!

1- I finally gave up trying to lighten the dark grey (too much contrast with light grey) and started trying lightning the brown and darkening with black.
2- The sleeves. IMHO they look much better now.
3- Central black at the bottom. Single dot or 3? Images for comparison

 
 

[Salanewt]

Looking good! I think I like the three pixel look better, especially in the actual icon because they don't stand out quite as much as the single pixel in the other one.

Can't think of anything else that could be done to improve it either. Maybe someone else will, but I honestly think this latest one is the best for what you're trying to do with it.