Here goes some library tiles

[Vinik]

When I work with a palette with considerable contrast between value levels (such as gameboy or gbc-like palettes), I often find it hard to texture floors without having the texture look too pronounced. If anyone has some experience with this, how do you handle it?
Comments and Critique appreciated

In this case I am using a palette with 4 gb-like values (but various hues) ending in a dark purple + black for extra contrast on outlines and detail on collision objects and walls, but any texture on floors feel to much, even with just the second value next to the one of the flat color. Should I leave it flat?

[eishiya]

It looks fine, but whether it reads well really depends on your sprites, which you haven't included here.

If it is a problem once the sprites are there, then options include
- Breaking your general rule of hue-shifting for shadows and using *any* available slightly darker colour, such as one of the browns.
- Dithering (only a good idea if this is for a static scene or if it'll always be at 1x and never zoomed in)
- Implied shadows, e.g. showing edges between floor tiles only in the shadow, or having highlights on floor tiles only in the light.

[Vinik]

Oh, thanks eishiya! I am not a fan of dithering, but suggestions 1 and 3 sound like a plan.

By the "not doing hue shifting" I take that if there is only value contrast (instead of value AND hue contrast) any texturing should stand out a little less, that makes sense. As for the selective detail depending on shadows, that's a great idea. For other sets I was simply going up or down a step in the values depending on shadows, as here for example:


But having less information in larger unshaded areas sounds like a solution. In examples above, you can see the repetition make the textures tiresome. The second take works better I think, because the pattern is larger and not aligned with the props, but I cant make a game with a single floor pattern and that's the only one I am satisfied with so far lol

[eishiya]

FWIW in your OP, the shadow contrast doesn't seem high enough to be a worry unless your sprites have poor contrast. Even 1bit B&W art, as high-contrast as it gets, can get away with having shadows on the floor, if the sprites are designed well.

And aye, I think avoiding texturing the whole floor is a good idea in general. Some games have their cake and eat it too by having small patches of detail in otherwise solid floors.

[Chonky Pixel]

Yes, there have been some great examples of creating texture without texture in these boards. Here's a small, simple one.

https://pixelation.org/index.php?topic=34799.0

Look at the edit on the door.

Probably all you'd need is a suggestion of detail around the edges of the area, then some patches of detail here and there to sell it. So maybe 2-3 tiles with slightly different bits of detail to be sparingly distributed.

You're right, having detail over the full extent of things like floors isn't great. It can feel really claustrophobic and oppressive.

[Chonky Pixel]

5 minute edit to give you an idea of what I mean.

[Chonky Pixel]

Odd things I noticed:

 - The books and stools are shadowless, or the shadows are different in behaviour to the bookcases. The books look like they're floating and the stools look like they're in a different space.
 - The stool near the top seems to have a double shadow. Is that necessary?
 - The way the bookshelf shadows go straight downwards makes me sometimes read them as grey pedestals that the bookcases are sitting on. (Especially at the extremes of left and right.) I have no idea how to fix that! Or even if it's a problem for anyone other than me. I guess you could angle the shadows to the left or right, or try softening their edges.

[eishiya]

Seconding Chonky Pixel's feedback about the shadows. Overall the shadows being on all three visible sides of the room and going straight down make them feel almost like reflections rather than shadows. If the light is coming from the north side, the side walls wouldn't cast shadows. I think angling the shadows would be the best solution. It would also make things look more dynamic since you'd have fewer vertical lines and tangents everywhere.

[Vinik]

@Chonky and @eishiya: thank you for pointing towards how wrong the shadows are, and sorry to the late reply, I was out of town these days! I was never trying to be too accurate with the shadow direction, but you are right. The idea was that I had a hard light casting shadows coming from the north and a softer/reflected front light illuminating the faces of objects, with equal falloff on either slanted faces of diagonal walls. However I'll need to check reference, I was under the impression that a north light would make the slanted walls cast shadows in this situation. Thanks again for pointing that!

Edit: uh, looking again, if I were to consider a single light source for this, it would be coming from the south and more from above, to give those highlights, so the shadows would actually be behind the objects and not visible at all 

@Chonky Pixel, yes that kind of subtle texture around the shades areas and randomly splashed as texture on the main surface is indeed what I plan after eishiya suggestion. However, I find it rather difficult to choose where to texture and where to leave it blank to achieve an organic look. To me it seems to be like a particular kind of skill that lack, and I mentioned in a previous thread that it feels like "Zen gardening" to me, and I am awfully bad with it :/

Sorry for not posting updates right now, I have something soon, and thank you very much for all the attention and critique

Edit: tried my best to use all input mentioned here. I tested generating shadows with a north facing light and the slanted ones did cast shadows, but I think my shadows were too long. I also switched the grey for another one in the palette which is a bit more greenish to simulate getting some diffuse light from the walls. I hope the books shelves look more caved in and the books more 3d. I tried some natural/random detail placement, too much?

[Vinik]

Dithered shadows, yes or no?