Yes, totally understand the colour limitations issue.
Okay, well that new screenshot looks really good. My main issue was the green in the mountains. This new iteration, without the green, looks very stylish to me. This is the best version so far.
But again, that is just my opinion. In the end, you are the one who decides what you prefer. And there's only so much tinkering a person can do! In any case, as things stand, those mountains look really impressive to me.
A member registered Jan 05, 2025
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Well, thank you for your response! Don't worry too much about my "fake tan" comment. I have a tendency to be over-dramatic. The fact is I didn't notice anything until I placed both versions side-by-side.
I totally get what you're saying about the limited 16-colour palette. I think you're doing an incredible job with it. Really looks like a lot more than 16 colours.
Very interesting that Rastan is now made of hardware sprites. Presume that improves performance? I notice that you seem to be able to get 5-6 walking enemies on screen at once with no apparent slowdown. Very impressive!
Well thanks for posting those comparison screen shots. Here's how they strike me:
I definitely prefer the colouring of Rastan in 0.50. In the others he looks a little too saturated to me.
If I had to choose, I would prefer the muted highlight in the mountains in 0.53. The effect on the lizard folk is barely noticeable and they still look great.
But to be honest, I get that people were grumbling about the original look of the mountains, but I definitely prefer how they were coloured in these two screenshots below - with three shades of grey. The greys allow them to stay in the background and allow the more colourful elements to gain prominence in the foreground. For me, the green, whether it be bright or muted, doesn't quite seem to work in the mountains.
In saying that, I am trying to respect your style , sensibility and decisions - rather than impose my own.
But just to offer an alternative perspective: I would feel like exploring a way to get the mountains to fade further into the distance - for example by allowing the background colour to bleed through at the base - as if the mountains are rising out of a mist etc.
Unfortunately, I don't have time to demonstrate this myself - but here are some screenshots of distant mountains from other games that are more or less going in the direction of what I'm getting at. These examples are a little crude! But they do illustrate the idea of mountains fading far into the background.
This may not be of any use to you - and again, I understand that your colour palette is limited, and also that the "fading away" effect may not suit your style - or may not be desirable to you at all.
By the way, huge respect to you for being so receptive to feedback! The thing is, you have to take other people's opinions - including mine - with a big pinch of salt.
The most important thing is that you get to express your own style and, as I've said before, you owe us nothing - and it is a privilege to get to see your work.
Hi, I'd like to add some comments re: the visuals that I hope will be helpful.
Firstly, the work you've done is brilliant. My comments are purely PERSONAL opinions. They do NOT mean that I am right!
1. Background rock faces. I prefer your design to that of the arcade version. Why? Well, take a look below.
The arcade version on the left certainly has more colours, but the rows of textures get a little repetitive and is a little too cluttered.
Your version is more elegant: you just place a few details here and there that convincingly SUGGEST a rock face rather than spelling out every single detail. This is beautifully done.
Good art is about judging what to put in - but also what to leave out. Your solution here is perfect - and leaves room for our imagination to fill in the gaps.
The other great advantage of your version is that it does not distract from the foreground characters and allows them to stand out clearly.
And note how well your version creates a separation between foreground (dark area), background (grey rock face) and far background (sky). Lovely work. There's a sense of space here that is missing in the arcade graphics.
For the same reasons, although I like your new rock texture in the caves (below, left), I still think your original version (below, right) worked better. 
Your original rock face may not be as pretty, but it places the cave wall further into the background, giving the characters space to breathe and allowing the action to stand out clearly.
The new rock face is very dramatic and artfully drawn, but it brings the background almost into the foreground and starts to drown out the characters. I strongly feel that this is a case of Less is More.
2. The backgrounds in the second level. The castle interiors here are perfect - far better than the arcade version. There is nothing for me to add!
3: Scrolling. In my opinion, smooth scrolling is more important than attractive graphics.
In the Youtube videos of Amiga Rastan I've watched, the scrolling seems a little juddery. Is that just Youtube, or is it like that on Amiga hardware? Also: is it my imagination or does version 0.32 scroll smoother than version 0.33?
4. Lastly, I want to address the statues. They worked fine as part of the arcade design - and the parallax scrolling really helped with that.
However, the visual design of YOUR version of Rastan is quite different - and I feel your version works a lot better without the statues. Another case of Less is More and I think you got it right the first time.
Well, that's it. Again, these are just opinions and nit-picks, and you are the boss! The work you have done is outstanding and even if you go no further, the two levels you've done are more than enough for me. I never got past the second level of the arcade version anyway!