Which tiles do you use?

[Magnate]

I don't use graphics tiles at all, but just wanted a quick poll of those who do. Buzzkill has kindly made a couple of new 32x32 tiles (for bucklers and mining gloves), and I'd like to assess the demand for updates to the 16x16 and 8x8 tilesets. (If there's nobody to make new 8x8 or 16x16 tiles, we can still introduce the new items, simply by re-using existing tiles.)

P.S. Only choose the fourth option if you NEVER use tiles. Even if you only use them very occasionally, it would still be good to know which ones you use. If you use more than one type, choose the type you use most often.

[will_asher]

I sometimes play with tiles and sometimes without, depending on what mood I'm in and what computer monitor I'm using. Whenever I play with tiles, I use the normal sized ones (8x8). I tried the 32x32 tiles once, but I can't see enough of the map at once for detection to do any good. It seems to me you'd need something like a 30 inch monitor.

[SilverD]

Actually, good topic. I was thinking maybe now that we have more colors, maybe it would be possible to look into giving some tval to text color variety and maybe variety to some ascii equipment symbols?

[ekolis]

Heh, looks like NOBODY here uses tiles so far! :P
Actually, Angband is pretty much the only roguelike that has a tiles option that I prefer in ASCII... maybe none of the tilesets are good enough to distinguish between different monsters all that well, or maybe with Angband I really need the "dungeon overview" that I can't get with the 32x32 tiles (I simply can't stand the smaller sets)... in Crawl, for instance, the tiles are readily distinguishable, very pleasant to look at (not tha David Gervais' tiles are BAD, they're just not AS good IMO), and the game doesn't have these ginormous vaults and monsters with insane LoS radius like Angband does where I'd need a strategic overview!

[Dz.]

I use old tiles, got used to play them on Amiga 15 years ago. I tried larger ones once or twice, but I was confused from the screen appearance so I stay with old tiles.

[RogerN]

I've tried using tiles with Vanilla, but quickly found them to be unplayable. I have a hard time distinguishing between the smaller tiles. I might use the 32x32 tiles if I had a larger monitor or if LOS range was smaller.

The problem is that monsters can see you from 20 tiles away in both directions. Therefore it's desirable to be able to see 40 tiles in both X and Y dimensions. With 32x32 tiles, that corresponds to 1280 pixels of data in the vertical dimension - my monitor just isn't that big.

It's hard for me to pay careful attention to the monster list window (even though I leave it on), so if a monster isn't visible on the main display I'm likely to be killed by it while it's still off-screen.

I do like the idea of tiles, though. For my own project I'll probably lower LOS range from 20 to 15 tiles to make the game more playable on laptops, etc...

[Magnate]

Actually, good topic. I was thinking maybe now that we have more colors, maybe it would be possible to look into giving some tval to text color variety and maybe variety to some ascii equipment symbols?

Yes, I had that idea too. I was thinking of springing it on d_m when he was distracted ...

[Speusippus]

How do I activate 32x32 tiles? All the tile options I can see give me small looking tiles that are hard to distinguish.

[buzzkill]

32x32 exclusively. If it doesn't support this tile set, I probably won't play it for long. Playing with tiles means never having to l)ook (unless you want to see what just nearly killed you from off-screen).

If anyone is unaware, you can scale down the 32x32 tile set to something smaller, like 24x24 (via ini editing or the cumbersome in game menu). I use 30x30 on my laptop, or I wouldn't be able to see the status indicators at the bottom of the screen.

[Malak Darkhunter]

I don't use tiles, but that's just because I feel like I can see more of what's around me, as far as looks go, I think the 16x16 tiles do a good job, but you can't tell what your facing, it's hard to see. The 32x32 tiles are easier to tell whats going, and look pretty nice, but you don't see as much of the dungeon around you. I think continous development on the 32x32 tiles are a good idea, It would be nice to see angband in a nice fleshed out graphical world someday.

[Zyphyr]

I've tried using tiles with Vanilla, but quickly found them to be unplayable. I have a hard time distinguishing between the smaller tiles. I might use the 32x32 tiles if I had a larger monitor or if LOS range was smaller.

This is exactly the situation for me.

[ramela]

There's something about tiles that just irks me. Whether it's *Angband or any other roguelike that I try (but for some reason never end up liking) ASCII always feels more comfortable.

Maybe I just like the way how ASCII is even more of a polar opposite to (and a break from) the nice HD graphics I get on my PS3 and PC.

ASCII forever.

[nobody]

i'm pretty passionate about the way i play, it's ascii and with a ton of console windows. most people can't take it, but i have everything i need at a glance and i feel totally in control. the colors seemed to get a little washed out when i saved it as a jpg though and also it seems to shrink it a bit too, in fact check this url for a better view http://i47.tinypic.com/2638x1y.jpg

[Hariolor]

[hijack]

on a related note that doesn't warrant its own thread:

any Mac users out there have suggestions for an ascii fontset that makes satisfying solid block walls? I've tweaked my default fontset like crazy to change the colors and characters used for things - but I am still a bit disappointed that my walls are hollow blocks rather than solid...

[/hijack]