Some questions about tile graphics

[NON]

I've been thinking about how I would implement graphics for my game, and I'm stuck on one issue.

The common way of doing creature graphics seems to be to have one image per monster, drawn so they face the viewer directly.
Like this:


And I guess that works in a game with mostly melee combat. But would it look ok with firearms? Wouldn't it look like they were shooting from their backs when firing up on the screen?

I could possibly draw characters top-down, then maybe SDL can rotate the image, or I can add rotated images myself. But I want walls from an angled perspetive, which wouldn't make sense if characters are top-down.

[Krice]

Wouldn't it look like they were shooting from their backs when firing up on the screen?

No. The "perspective" rules are wrong anyway, so this is a non-issue. Don't try to think tile based graphics as anything related to realistic, that way it will be much easier.

[kipar]

But I want walls from an angled perspetive, which wouldn't make sense if characters are top-down.

Maybe you mean isometric, not perspective? Then of course all tiles should be isometric too, such as there:
http://rltiles.sourceforge.net/dc-3d.html

[NON]

But I want walls from an angled perspetive, which wouldn't make sense if characters are top-down.

Maybe you mean isometric, not perspective?

No I did not mean isometric, only tilted. I don't like the rotation in isometric, because it's not obvious to me which way I go when I press up.

[Darren Grey]

No. The "perspective" rules are wrong anyway, so this is a non-issue. Don't try to think tile based graphics as anything related to realistic, that way it will be much easier.

Agreed.  You can never have perfect facing, so don't waste your effort trying.  Players don't care about such realism anyway.  Stick to a consistent style and you'll be fine.

[NON]

No. The "perspective" rules are wrong anyway, so this is a non-issue. Don't try to think tile based graphics as anything related to realistic, that way it will be much easier.

Agreed.  You can never have perfect facing, so don't waste your effort trying.  Players don't care about such realism anyway.  Stick to a consistent style and you'll be fine.

These are just the responses I hoped for. 

[Vanguard]

Readability and aesthetics are much more important than realism in this case.  I wouldn't worry about it if I were you.

[Psiweapon]

Don't worry about that.

Just make sure the tiles are cool enough. Or better yet, AWESOME.

[Z]

I don't understand why the situation is different for firearms. In both cases when attacking upwards it seems like attacking from the back, doesn't it?

But yes, just like on ancient Egyptian papyruses, tiles are not supposed to be a photograph-like perspective, their purpose is just to show what is where, don't care about facing unless it is important in the gameplay. (Since the ancient Egyptian way of drawing stuff was invented thousands of years before perspective, it is actually more natural for humans, isn't it?)

Of course all our opinions are from Roguelike fans. By asking general public you could possibly get an opinion that anything else than FPP sucks.

[NON]

I don't understand why the situation is different for firearms. In both cases when attacking upwards it seems like attacking from the back, doesn't it?

The difference to me is that with firearms, you actually see the image of a projectile coming out of someone's back.

But I have now been told a sufficient number of times not to worry! 

Also here is a good point against top-down rotating graphics from R.G.R.D:

>> Either you have facing or need to implement it for top-down view with
>> rotation to avoid creating false feature or else things are going to
>> look silly at best.

> You mean that if I have rotating graphics, it implies that there is
> underlying game mechanics related to facing (when actually it's purely
> graphical)?

In most graphical turn based games facing serves some purpose. You may
get emails asking whether armor protects equally from front and from
behind, why stabbing someone in the back does not deal extra damage or
asking if evasion changes depending on how you face incoming fire.

Of course all our opinions are from Roguelike fans. By asking general public you could possibly get an opinion that anything else than FPP sucks.

Preferably with bloom effects all over it. 

[Psiweapon]

... And that zapped wands, arrows, crossbow bolts, daggers and breath weapons have been shooting out of everyone's back since before the deluge.

Well not in my case since I've been only playing RLs for two years or so, hahaha