There's nothing there yet. Nothing. Not even shit. Not even shit worth talking about. Nothing. Just not a thing.

What were we talking about again?

Actually, don't need a comparison anymore. Shvillers version of Overlay is 1:1 what you'd get in other compositing apps.

So you guys could throw the old one out and use the new code - I don't really see how the old effect could help in any way, it's really unpredictable.

Just tried it, I think Shvillers effect is spot on. I'm terribly tired right now and need a nap, I'll confirm it later on with another comparison. Need to get some sleep first though

PS: You guys are awesome This board so fucking rocks!

Hey guys,

I just encountered a problem yesterday - the blending modes / effects in Construct don't seem to match up with the blending modes in other compositing / image editing apps, like Photoshop, After Effects, Fusion, Shake, etc. - that's a problem, since most of the art in games is being done in those apps and not being able to use the same blending would result in either having to bake things down to a simple image (which would mean that you couldn't take the elements and use them for parallax scrolling, which would suck big time), or you get some freakishly weird results.

The way I build up paintings, textures and stuff is to start simple, keeping simple elements in layers and then blend them together, so that I get my final result. So, let's take a look at a concrete example:

<img src="http://www.thomasmahler.com/files/construct/images/scythsTreasure_01.jpg">

This image is still very simple. Basically, I have a brownish background, a light source that emulates the sun, a couple of trees and tree-backdrops with varying opacity values and inbetween those trees, I have some mist layers that are basically just white fog with an overlay blending mode.

So, let's look at the image in it's bare essence and let's look at the difference between Photoshops and Constructs Blending Modes:

1) Up to this point, things are still very simple: In Construct, I set the light to be a little weaker and the tree backdrops opacity is a bit lower, but it's still very much the same thing:

<img src="http://www.thomasmahler.com/files/construct/images/comparison_01.jpg">

Now comes the kicker:

2) I quickly painted a layer of mist / fog, set it to 65% opacity and the blending mode to overlay (used the exact same settings in both apps):

<img src="http://www.thomasmahler.com/files/construct/images/comparison_02.jpg">

I mostly use Overlay and Soft Light for lighting effects in a compositing app and it's SUPER useful. I have no idea how the overlay effect in Construct works, it's never given me anything but very weird results. All the blending modes work the exact same way in every compositing app out there, so it's fucking weird that Construct gives me completely different results. I tried both applying it as an effect and applying the mode to a whole layer, but it seems to be based on the same algorithm, since the results are exactly the same.

3) Here's the fog layer in solitude, normal and 100% opacity. It's just a simple color wash, as you see:

<img src="http://www.thomasmahler.com/files/construct/images/comparison_03.jpg">

Now, if the blending modes don't work properly in Construct, creating good graphics in it will be really hard, since you concept stuff in an image editing app like Photoshop anyway. I could make it static (but that'd suck big time, since it'd ruin the effect) or always try to figure out how to set-up the image twice, would would basically double development time and costs in terms of art - which would also suck BIG TIME.

I'm pretty sure that blending mode stuff must be online somewhere, since it works the same in every singe image editing app out there. Having all of them work like in your application is _vital_ in order to get proper art into Construct.

There are some differences in style between these two screenshots, Thomas, but can't comment much because I don't know much about the theme.

I like the style though and I wonder how that looks in motion.

Yeah, there's a _big_ difference in style between the two shots. I want Swallows Nest to feel very colorful, impressionistic, whereas most of the other areas are pretty dark and moody. It's still not really working though, yeah.

Anyone remember A Link to the Past? I still remember playing that as a kid and walking around in the forest for the first time ever - it was full of mist at first and then, after you got the Master Sword, the mist lifted, revealing fresh, strong greens. That was so freaking beautiful - I absolutely loved just walking around down there. It was the most abstract impression of nature, but it worked wonderfully just through the strong colors and the music.

And then, later in the game, you saw the forest from the top of the mountains - I loved that stuff. I'd love to get some of those feelings into this game.

I think it always looks better in motion, thanks to the parallax layers and the animation (although there isn't really any animation for stuff like grass, etc., yet, dunno how to loop the freaking paint effects) - I'll try to use tons of layers, each with it's different set of scrolling attributes and overlay effects, so you get that multiplane camera effect.

Cool stuff, guys

I've also got another one:

<img src="http://www.thomasmahler.com/files/construct/images/scythsTreasure_01.jpg">

(Now you see why I asked whether the previous shot looks weird to anyone - the rest of the art direction is way more 'realistic'.)

<img src="http://www.thomasmahler.com/files/construct/images/swallowsnest_02.jpg">

RMB the image and click on 'View Image' to see the whole thing.

Does that look weird to anyone?

Most of the scenery of what I'm putting together is rather sad and depressing - and this is the only place that's actually gonna be the opposite. The background is defined through broad brushstrokes instead of geometry or whatever to give it an impressionistic, idyllic feeling.

With parallax scrolling and motion blur this actually looks rather neat, I think. But I just wanted to know what other people are thinking.

That'd be the perfect place to put all the 'Hidden Features' stuff.

Construct is quite complex and over time it'll get more and more complex thanks to new features, etc. - learning something new here and there just by opening up the app is a nice thing. And yeah, there should be a checkbox to hide it forever, but this would definitely be a nice feature, especially for those that don't check the forums regularly.

I didn't say time, I said hassle. Do you really want to have to deal 100+ layouts in your game?

I think for a lot of big games, that'll be the obvious choice. I mean, you could create an event that'd load in an ini file that in turn would load in all the graphics, but does that really matter?

I'm currently only prototyping, but already have like 15 layouts done - I'm pretty sure I'll have to deal with 100 layouts sooner or later. Especially since each layout is coupled with its own timelines and events.

You're totally missing out on the awesomness that is the chat, dude!

But I've got it all recorded for you:

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Yeah, that's a good idea!

Yep, it has rather high system requirements due to being a Flash game. Often my controls jam. Why does Flash have to be used for such an awesome game?!

I'm wondering about this as well. Games like that would be perfect for the iPhone or the PC.