Rockman EXE 6 Promotional Stickers

I remember back in 2006 in the Capcom-held MMBN6 tournament at Comic-Con (I went), they distributed imported stickers and Megaman X pogs.  Since then I preserved a full sheet of the stickers.  Everybody got 2 sheets.  The main reason I preserved them is for the promotional artwork on it.  I think a few people have seen it from a previous scan.  But this scan is in slight higher quality.  My scanner can't be too good if this is the best it gets.

Here is the full sticker sheet, unedited and in great condition.


It has 7 stickers on it.  Both Gregar and Falzar Beasts, their emblems, Lan/Megaman from the boxart, and small game title icons.  I put the game sticker on the back of my game cart, and it fits well.

I've also attempted to cut out the two images.  It is a definite fact that this one is in better quality than the current version in the TREZ Gallery.  I'll upload it there soon as well.

And if for whatever reason, someone decides to extract the images themselves, clicking on the sticker sheet will bring up the high-quality version.  Just putting it out there.  Anyone can use this if they'd like.

my next school project

The next project I have in my graphics class couldn't have more perfect timing.  The objective is to create a custom character in Illustrator and write a story.  Who have I made that has a story?  WaveMan, of course.  I am currently adding on to my sketch.  I will finish the drawing so that he may have a full body rendition.  This also means that I will add a cutscene for WaveMan in the final episode.  See, it just keeps getting better and better.

Speaking of cutscenes, I was working on some of them.  I'm revealing the contest winner's Magnetman cutscene.  The style will be a little bit different this time.

In the meantime, I've finally talked Greiga Master into finishing the Sprite Importer (about time)  I'm REALLY hoping to start recording sometime this week or the next.  The program is going to be great. 

Rockman EXE Operate Shooting Star Colosseum Wallpaper

I'm sure you remember the hilarious picture that of the Rockman Colosseum that appeared a few days ago.  I thought it was so great that I had to make it into a wallpaper.  I remade everything so it could be made into a wallpaper.

It comes in all basic sizes.  Anyone can use it.

1600x1200


1280x960


1024x768


And because I'm such a nice person, I'm giving away the source too.  Game logo, PSD, SVG, and JPG included.
http://willhostforfood.com/access.php?fileid=91350

Second School Project

It's the second project.  Just like last year where I had to pick an illustration (I did the EXE Mettaur but redid it better in Inkscape), this time I chose Hatman EXE.

In case you don't know, Hatman is a character that appeared in the little-known Japanese cellphone game, Rockman EXE: Phantom of Network.  It was made around the time of BN4 (judging by the sprites)  RockmanPM has generously uploaded some recordings of the game's music.  You can check it out from the two links.

Rockman EXE: Phantom of Network Soundtrack Sample
Rockman EXE: Legend of Network Soundtrack Sample

But anyways, here is the final product, a high-quality picture of Hatman based off of the only image I could find of him.

I had to make this in Adobe Illustrator which is the only program they offer at school (obviously).  Having personally experienced both Inkscape and Illustrator, I will have to say that Inkscape is better.

But they have their pros and cons.  I think Illustrator is more potent.  It can probably create very impressive effects that I don't know how to use.  Its 3D tools are far better.  But Inkscape has the far superior pen tool.  The fact that the pen and arrow can do what Illustrator does in 4+ tools makes it better.  I like Inkscape's ability to pull on paths and the adjustments it can make.  Illustrator has a really hard time with that because there are 2 tools that do the same thing and they're not very responsive.  Then there's the gradient tool.  Illustrator's gradient tool is obsolete compared to Inkscape.  First off, the default gradient in Illustrator is black to white.  And that's it.  It's more of a hassle to manage the gradient because you kind of halve to redo all the colors you had.  Then to move it around, you have to type in rotation values and position values like some sort of machine.  Inkscape on the other hand, preserves the color used before to use on the gradient.  To move it around, just click the nodes and adjust it.  It's much simpler.  Oh, and it does alpha colors.

Those are just the bigger issues.  If you're learning and new to this sort of thing, Inkscape is easier because it can do simple effects, better.  But in the end, I think both programs are just as good.  They sort of fill in each other's gaps.  I'd like to know how to do more powerful effects in Illustrator.  But it's kind of a lost cause because I don't even have Illustrator on my computer.  It would be too slow to run.  That's another issue.  Inkscape is faster.

Map Importing stump

So I was able to make the maps AND I found a neat program that generates Tile sets and all that good stuff. Problem is, the game isn't taking the new maps so well. Here are some screenshots of the tedious process.  Nothing is final.

 It's very buggy at the moment.  I'm hoping to cover up the bad spots with flat sprites.  It might work.  Most of the map looks okay (with the exception to the palette)  I hope to figure it out soon and that the sprite importer is finished.  Only then can I FINALLY begin, even if it's 3 months too late.

Megaman Sprite Vector

Upon request, I have vectorized Megaman's battle sprite. This is simply one of the ugliest things I've done. Sprites are very low-res and lack detail.

Here is the final product.


As you can see, many shapes are either poorly defined or excessively round.
See, the thing about sprites is that they're not real. They always lack details from the original but we still perceive them as what they are. Compare the real illustrations with the sprite concepts and the differences are notable.

Here is an animation comparing the differences in battle sprites. That's what I mean.


And here is a smaller version of the vector drawing, but larger than the sprite.

Progress is being made!

Finally some good news for a change. Ironic how a change for the worst brings out the best. I've finally finished creating the custom maps I need. Now it's just a matter of putting it in the game. Designing was a lot harder than I originally thought. I'm not revealing any of the more important maps. I will gives these clues. There will be 3 final area maps. About the same number as most of the BN games.

This is the only map I'm willing to reveal. It's called ACDC Hills.


It doesn't look like much and it isn't. The map will only make an appearance for one scene and at the ending. I believe that there has always been something north of ACDC Town. And following the concept from the unused 3D model of the town, there is definitely some greens out there. I can't make hills so this will have to do. Neat, huh?

I hope to start recording by next week. It all depends on Greiga Master.

My Inkscape tutorial; made public

Earlier, I had linked to my first Inkscape tutorial which is at TREZ. You can still view it (if you are at least registered) but now I've made it into a picture tutorial. Using the Firefox plug-in Screengrab!, I was able to take a picture of the whole guide at once. After some cropping, it became fit for uploading.

Click the thumbnail below to see the guide.


The guide covers how to achieve simple cel-shading effects in Inkscape. This week, I also made a video guide, or rather, an accelerated version of the process. You can watch the video right here, too.



__
Now regarding TNC - the project is near cancellation. Recently I was informed that the map editor was canceled. But this isn't as bad as it sounds. Greiga Master is my last hope to get anything done. He had a crazy idea about converting a map picture into the map parts the game uses. This could work, though not as conveniently. But just as long as it works. I need about 5 custom maps. Maybe more if I get more ideas. Please be patient for the final episode will be epic!

Just sad...

I'm still upset over all this.  I just can't believe my project would hit a stump like this.  I'd really like to finish or even just get started but I can't.  All this holding back won't change the quality of the last episode.  In fact, it could make it even better.  I only have MP3s as inspiration now.  Please be patient everyone.

In the meantime, I'm still using Inkscape.  It's the only thing I can do right now.


And if for some strange reason you want a sprite version, there is a reduced-color version, too.

Project status?

Here is an update on the current situation.  I don't know how the map editor is going.  As far as I know, it doesn't even exist.  The sprite-making program should have been done a month ago but Greiga Master is being terribly uncooperative with it.  At this rate, nothing will happen.  I'm relying on unresponsive programmers and it's the last time I'm making that mistake.

Windows 7 icons

I was distracted by a link on GameFAQs.  It was on how to make Windows XP look like Windows 7 visually.  My computer is too slow to run the OS but the theme is at least there.  It's called "SevenVG".  It had the icon pack and I exported all the images from them and icons.
Download Icon Pack