Thanks for the shout-out regarding the sprites; I had fun making these, it'd be great to see them in use!
I am obviously in 100% support of this happening, I think that NeoLemmix is a very capable Lemmings engine and offers some exciting new features which enhance and re-imagine the classic game of Lemmings. When I switch from SuperLemmini to NeoLemmix there's always the feeling that whilst the engine itself is more capable, the graphics just...aren't as pleasing, which is a shame because some users have created
excellent custom content.
However, as I've mentioned in numerous other posts, there are things which make NeoLemmix way better (continued support, framestepping, in-game skill previews, in-game clear physics, the list goes on...) hence the reason I'd fully encourage a visual uplift.
To address your questions, and speaking as someone who knows
very little absolutely nothing about developing and maintaining software, but who knows a lot about art, music, enjoying a good game of Lemmings and making things look pretty:
- Should graphic sets remain required to provide low-res copies of graphics, or should it be acceptable to provide only high-res ones (and NL downscales these for players using low-res mode)? Or perhaps, should it be required for terrain (due to terrain directly impacting physics) but optional for everything else? (My thought: Downscaling is fine, as long as it's a custom-implemented algorithm and not reliant on the graphic library's downscaling algorithm.)
I would suggest that this is down to the user/creator - if they want their content to be played by as many people as possible, they should provide both high and low-res graphics. Not only would this be simpler from an engine point of view (I can imagine), but it would give the creator full control over how their content will look to the end-user.
- If a user is playing in high-res mode and encounters a level that some / all components of don't have high-res versions, should NL fall back to low-res, or try to upscale the low-res pieces? (My thought: Upscale.)
I agree with IchoTolot that upscaling might look a bit odd... I think it might be simpler to make it so that if a user chooses high-res mode, they only have access to content that has high-res graphics created for it (and vice versa). This would encourage creators to provide custom graphics in both resolutions in order to reach maximum people.
- If a user is playing in high-res mode and specifically custom lemming sprites that are in use don't have high-res versions, what's preferable as a fallback: upscaling of the equivalent low-res sprites, or use of the default high-res sprites? (My thought: Again, upscale.)
Again, I would keep each mode exclusive so that content from one mode won't work in the other unless there is an equivalent graphic.
In addition to all of the above points, I would say that the priority should always be to keep things as simple as possible for everyone concerned. If it would be easier to simply upscale/downscale graphics in either scenario, then - of course, go with this option!
- Is it important for the editor to support high-res mode? This would be a lot of work to implement. (My thought: No. Editor is fine to remain low-res.)
Would this mean that the Editor couldn't be used to create hi-res content? Or would it work similar to creating a .lvl level in 1.43 and then saving it as a .ini - the Editor automatically chooses the correct equivalent graphics for the resolution? If the latter, this is absolutely fine as a way of getting levels made.
Just out of interest - if NeoLemmix Editors in the past have been more than capable of handling multiple formats and resolutions, why the shift towards restricting the format? I can imagine it's to keep things simpler...
Let me know if there's anything I can do to help with any of this. I'm currently working on:
- Hi-res Xmas sprites (these are nearly done, I'll send a pack over soon)
- Hi-res NeoLemmix-exclusive elements (buttons, pickup discs, splitters... if anyone has a list of these that'd be helpful in compiling them)
- Hi-res panel/buttons (these will have the chunky cartooniness of the Windows ones but the more crisp, familiar style of the DOS/Amiga ones - see my current low-res custom panel for an idea of what I'm aiming for. I'll create "clicked" versions of these as well in case you want the option to have tactile buttons). It would be good to back-and-forth these with someone to get a final version that everyone's happy with.
All best,
-WillLem