mine cart spritework

[homunculus]

It looks like a place to stand on, though it's a bit thick for that. Then again, I'm used to steel...

actually i meant this thing:

minecart1.png (9.62 KiB) Viewed 4986 times

[dipseydoodle]

Dipseydoodle made one in Alarantalara's mine track thread and its pretty decent.

http://forums.wesnoth.org/viewtopic.php ... ks#p425654

Really? That thing... It was anything but decent. Thanks for the promotion.

[Reepurr]

actually i meant this thing:

One of those lever see-saw thingies that you pump up and down to inexplicably make the minecart go faster.
(Or a crowbar)

[StDrake]

more likely a brake

[homunculus]

thanks for the guesses.
i was afraid it might look like some kind of mining tool, like some weird shaped mining pick.
it is supposed to be a lever.
the trouble was that i knew it was supposed to be a lever, that's why i thought i should better ask others.

what it does exactly, i do not know.
it might be a brake, but i think it is more likely that the brake lever would be on the side, but this one unfastens the other side of the container which opens like this.

[Mountain_King]

it was meant to sit on the rails, therefore i felt like i had to make some compromises.
1) the perspective is terrain perspective.

I misplaced it on the terrain pic, hence the problem.

[timberwolf16739]

Homunculus -- can you post the downloads for your cart? I'm sure I can find a home for it.

[homunculus]

ok, done.
reduced colors and did some minor corrections (if it is worse than before, tell me).
as for the wood color that i wanted to make more similar to the wood color of the rails--i ended up with almost the same as i started out with (lol).

minecart.png (2.1 KiB) Viewed 4749 times

is there any intention to have some ore inside?
team-colored ore?
or color-shifted ore?
or palette-swithced ore?
or special ore for each case?
i could try to do the wml for palette switch or something if needed.

[Bob_The_Mighty]

I would like to use this sprite in a campaign if I may. I think that the minecart, more than any other unit, really needs a north-facing version - so it aligns on the vertical tracks.

[boru]

My only criticism of this mine cart (and maybe I'm way off beam here since no one else mentioned it): it looks like it was built yesterday and never carted anything. It's so clean. I can imagine it being an elven mining cart. I'm sure elves clean out all their mining carts each night with ammonia and fairy dust, but a dwarven mining cart ought to look blackened and ancient. Just my two cents.

[Dixie]

I personnally think you should put more space between the wheels, the left one especially should be moved left. The cart doesn't look really stable as it is.

[homunculus]

My only criticism of this mine cart (and maybe I'm way off beam here since no one else mentioned it): it looks like it was built yesterday and never carted anything. It's so clean. I can imagine it being an elven mining cart. I'm sure elves clean out all their mining carts each night with ammonia and fairy dust, but a dwarven mining cart ought to look blackened and ancient. Just my two cents.

yeah, and even more so, as far as i looked at references of carts being used in real mines, the mines are extremely dusty, so it would just be a good shade of light gray all over.
mixed some contrasting colors in the hopes of creating something dirty while avoiding the "gray glowing fog effect" in the shadow parts.
i don't know if i did it well, but it seems like the new wood colors are progress.

I personnally think you should put more space between the wheels, the left one especially should be moved left. The cart doesn't look really stable as it is.

the problem here is (as i understand it) that when the mine cart reaches the destination the miner would need to pull the lever to unfasten the back wall of the cart and then pull the cart over with a ton of ore in it.
so, if the cart is too stable and there is no seesaw like platform to help with emptying the cart, i would think the miner might strain his back.
but on the other hand, most people are unfamiliar with the sophisticated science of mine carts (i must admit i have not quite got all of their functionality myself), and therefore it might make sense to draw the cart not to the real world reference but to the expectations of people (which would mean the cart would need to look more stable).
the question is about real functionality vs people's expectations.
maybe someone who knows what he/she/it is doing can help me out with the decision here (i would prefer if there was only one version available in the end).

as a first compromise i made the cart shorter and i think it is better as it looks more cartoony now.

minecart2.png (2.34 KiB) Viewed 4645 times

(huh, they are even making windows that open two ways these days)

[Reepurr]

I don't think there should be dust on the sides of the cart. On the top, yes, because dust is falling onto it, and on the front, yes, because it's riding into the dust, but not on the sides.

[artisticdude]

So the sides should be shiny clean while the rest is filthy?

The entire cart would get dirty from the dust in the mine, the ore that spills over the sides during the loading/movement of the cart, and through just regular use in a dirty environment.

[homunculus]

I don't think there should be dust on the sides of the cart. On the top, yes, because dust is falling onto it, and on the front, yes, because it's riding into the dust, but not on the sides.

hmm... what... lol?
maybe you mean that the sides are too blue?
i thought saturated color would avoid gray glow in shadows.
i must have got the impression when i tried to adjust some other things with brightness-contrast, because contrast also saturates if this function is used.
but now that i think of it, it doesn't seem to make much rational sense.
i think it must be possible with a good relation of highlight and depth of shadow with more gray shadows, or more like i should be looking for good balance.

so, could it be that you meant to say that the sides are too blue but didn't want to put it bluntly (like i usually do, and i appreciate the clarity) and ended up saying something that in our minds translated into 'the cart travels like a rocket and no dust can possibly gather at its polished sides'?