ID:157192
 
Ok, so I am completley confused about isometric icons. I do not understand how they show up compared to other icons, and how you would do something such as using flat icons for a title screen, or maybe even being in an isometric outside enviornment but then walking into a building and havig everything being flat, so I ask byond coders, what attempts have you made at doing something suh as his, and did it actually work?

I was thinking maybe you could have multiple maps and specify one beig isometric and one not, but would a mob be ablr to be located to an entire new map?

As for the isometric people, can I use a mob made for non-isometric gameplay and just add diagnol states which were isometric? I am sort of confused as far as that goes. Do the corners of all isometric icons get cut off? If so, can you change this default proccess, or would I just use a larger icon file and fit a say, 32 by 32 mob inside of the diamond?
To display objects using the top-down perspective, set their layer to TOP_DOWN_LAYER or EFFECTS_LAYER.

You can use a non-isometric icon on an isometric map, but it will look like crap because, you know, it's the wrong perspective.
In response to Garthor
So, what about density with a topdown layer... will that be all weird and a pain considering you will still be using isometric tiles when say, entering a building which you want to be topdown?

edit--I dont think you exactly got what I tried to say, I'll draw it out on Paint shortly, aswell as I will draw a picture of how I think isometric icons need to be set up.

ps-If somebody has an example of a finished mob(just a simple otline would be great) with every direction facing, I would love to see it because I am a bit confused angle and proportion wise about it.
In response to Darkjohn66
The isometric perspective is solely a graphical effect. It has no impact on movement, density, etc.
In response to Garthor
It is a visual affect, true, but the visual affect of things such as your mb will stay in an isometric mode correct? Well, if you wanted objects to be dense and top down, the visual affect of isometric would cause you to have to set up density in a very akward way(pic examples on the way)
In response to Darkjohn66
No, you wouldn't, because it's a purely visual effect.

How about you actually spend a few minutes TRYING this instead of second-guessing me?
In response to Darkjohn66
Density and all that still works without modification. If you want to take advantage of pixel_z for things like height, that's where the weird density overwriting stuff comes into play. But it's not so weird as long as you tackle it with a consistent system.
In response to Garthor
Garthor wrote:
To display objects using the top-down perspective, set their layer to TOP_DOWN_LAYER or EFFECTS_LAYER.

Just to clarify, EFFECTS_LAYER does not force a topdown perspective; only TOPDOWN_LAYER does that. EFFECTS_LAYER merely forces the icon to appear above the normal map so it won't be obstructed, making it good for name labels and such.

Lummox JR
Darkjohn66 wrote:
Ok, so I am completley confused about isometric icons. I do not understand how they show up compared to other icons, and how you would do something such as using flat icons for a title screen, or maybe even being in an isometric outside enviornment but then walking into a building and havig everything being flat, so I ask byond coders, what attempts have you made at doing something suh as his, and did it actually work?

I'm not sure what you mean about not understanding how isometric icons show up compared to others, but I'll try to explain the overview in brief. An isometric map is diamond-shaped, but internally is still the same to work with as any regular topdown map. Think of a topdown map being turned 45° clockwise and then tilted down 30° so you're looking at it from an angle--that's isometric perspective. In terms of how things show up relative to each other, "nearer" tiles are drawn above "farther" tiles regardless of layer, and screen objects and anything using TOPDOWN_LAYER will appear in a topdown configuration above the regular map.

To get the effect of a topdown view inside of buildings--although for consistency's sake I think this is a waste of time and you should stick with isometric there--you would need a separate map for the building interiors. You'd first have to comment out the world/map_format=ISOMETRIC_MAP line so you'd be able to work with topdown in the map editor, then on your topdown map you'd have to make sure that every icon was not only using the topdown format visually, but that they had TOPDOWN_LAYER added to every layer. This is a little easier to do if you're not using a static map and instead are using something like SwapMaps. Bear in mind you'd also want to change your mob's icon to the topdown format because it would look out of place otherwise.

TOPDOWN_LAYER is also useful for title screens, although I think you're just as well off making the whole thing a HUD for simplicity.

I was thinking maybe you could have multiple maps and specify one beig isometric and one not, but would a mob be ablr to be located to an entire new map?

Yes, because multiple maps load as separate z levels. However you would need to change the icon. Again I think this won't be a very appealing visual effect and you're better off sticking with isometric for consistency.

As for the isometric people, can I use a mob made for non-isometric gameplay and just add diagnol states which were isometric?

You can do anything you want visually, but it'd probably look like crap if you didn't pay special attention to the perspective. I sense you're confused about how isometric icons should be made, so I highly recommend looking up tutorials on isometric pixel art.

I am sort of confused as far as that goes. Do the corners of all isometric icons get cut off?

No; the icons are arranged in a diamond pattern but the corners aren't cut off. However they can be obstructed by other icons, so for example a solid square icon would look completely terrible in an isometric world.

If so, can you change this default proccess, or would I just use a larger icon file and fit a say, 32 by 32 mob inside of the diamond?

The latter would be my recommendation, except you need to remember the mob will look like it's drawn from the wrong perspective. Mob icons in a game like Dragon Quest for instance are drawn in such a way as to look partially top-down, but distorted so you can see facial features prominently. This will look pretty lousy in isometric, which favors a more realistic perspective.

Lummox JR
In response to Lummox JR
Ok everybody, thanks for the info! Ive been out a lot on an ipod so sorry aboutnever getting those pictures up. (aswell as my poor spelling...)Also, I searches hard, and could not find an isometric demo on creating people for byond in the Art Society, and only a poor quality one on the web.