Your opinion on custom tiles?

[Flowerchild]

As the title states, what is your opinion on custom tiles? Some people replace nothing, I mean nothing, wheras others do a complete tileset revamp.
Personnally I don't care. As long as the tiles are good go well with each other I'm fine with either.

 

[DrFuji]

I think that inserting a series of new tiles (or even graphics in general) can be a very invigorating aspect of any hack. I mean, people who have been around for a while have probably seen the default tiles a dozen or so times and may become bored at seeing the same thing time and time again. As such, when a hack with new tiles or graphics is released, walking around in a world with brand new eye candy can be a great motivator of interest. Whether the creator is making minor alterations/ additions or literally changing every single tile within the game (e.g. Sienna and Light Platinum respectively) it helps to give the game a sense of individuality from the dozens of others that are out there. I am definitely in favour of people trying to make their hacks look as beautiful and unforgettable as possible, but whether they choose to do it through a few tile changes or a complete revamp is completely up to their discretion.

Even if the tiles are poorly inserted, the player can at least look back on it and say "that was the hack with terrible trees" rather than have it fade to the back of their memory :P

 

[cosmifox]

custom tiles are good but i wouldn't change the pokemon center or mart because that would make people confused

 

[Flowerchild]

custom tiles are good but i wouldn't change the pokemon center or mart because that would make people confused

Uh...what? Confused? It's not exactly hard to tell which building is the Pokémon Center. Just look for the building with the orange / red roof that says "PC" on it. Same for the Poké Mart.

 

[hinkage]

Personnally I don't care. As long as the tiles are good go well with each other I'm fine with either.

This. But if the palettes are awful, it can ruin the tiles, and maps in general.

 

[Steven.]

mhm...those are 2 differents hacking style. Personally I like to change tiles, because this makes my hack unique and personal. With this I don't want to say that the Nintendo's tiles are ugly and bad, but if everybody uses the same trees, the same colors, etc... then all hacks will seem the some ^^"

 

[shinyabsol1]

Personally, I'd rather play a hack with at least some custom tiles because I'm much more motivated to play one that looks interesting and new. As Dr. Fuji said above, it can be boring to see the same old tiles in hacks again and again. It's exciting to explore new landscapes that Nintendo's tiles can't offer!

Having said this, I have no problem with hacks that use only the default tiles. The hacker should do what they want with the graphics. Tiles aren't everything to a hack, after all.

 

[Speedster]

I agree with DrFuji also. It would get to boring to see nothing new. Did they really use the same tiles over and over again in all the DS games. No, new tiles were added each tile. Everything was new. Custom tiles = custom hack. A hack is more original when something new and original like tiles are added.

 

[Pingouin_7]

I tend to prefer hacks that use the tiles from the originals.
Simplicity at its best.

 

[Awkward Squirtle]

I prefer custom tiles, as long as they're high quality. There's a few hacks out there that have rather ugly custom tiles that I'm less likely to want to play; on the other hand, if a hack has good custom tiles, I'd choose it over one without them.

Especially if the tiles are actually custom-made for that hack, and not just a reuse of a public tileset. That tells me the hacker has put in a lot of effort, and the hack is worth playing.

 

[Ray Maverick]

I believe original tiles suggest a game/hack with the old, dull Pokemon formula: 8 gyms, league, etc.
And if the custom tiles are better than those of Nintendo, why not add them as well? There's no "simple" in a custom game. There are no rules in hacking, unless you want to make the said hack with the old formula, which by the way now got way too boring after all these generations.

 

[Pinta]

I think custom tiles look great, but I could never figure out how to replace tiles. :P

 

[AustinWolff]

Spoiler:

I believe original tiles suggest a game/hack with the old, dull Pokemon formula: 8 gyms, league, etc.
And if the custom tiles are better than those of Nintendo, why not add them as well? There's no "simple" in a custom game. There are no rules in hacking, unless you want to make the said hack with the old formula, which by the way now got way too boring after all these generations.

Thank You for pointing that out! I think it's good that fellow hackers should see this... even though I spoilered it

 

[MsAllyJacqui]

I love custom tiles if the person who made them have good colour coordination. If they aren't neon coloured, or just plain ugly then I'm happy.

 

[Truality]

Custom tiles-and well made ones at that-can be a nice bonus. But still, only a bonus to me. If someone can pull off a good hack using the original tiles for the most part (namely, Rijon Adventures), then I would feel no need to see new tiles in it.

 

[Squibbid]

It depends on the hack.

If I were to do something crazy like, say, an Atlantis-based hack, I'd want old underwater ruins, broken spires, mossy castles, etc. If it's just a plain old hack with nothing special as far as layouts and theme go, I'd just stick with the regular tiles.

 

[WillPowerPedro]

Everyone has a custom preference. It varies from style to palette to type of hack If I wanted a clay house, light colors, and your characters is poor or lives in a hot climate, I would go with WesleyFG's Marnian Region Project 3rd row, 4th house in the house section. Like I said above all in the style, palette, and type of hack.

 

[GoombaGeek]

As long as the new tiles are good.

When I played Ruby Destiny, my first opinion was basically "oh god this is a mess". I know people commend every finished hack because it's, well, finished, but some aspects of some of them can be pretty bad regardless. I can't sprite worth a darn but I still feel okay calling other sprites bad... this is getting awkward but anyway yeah the trees looked too tubular and the grass just looked too bile-green for its own good. I'd rather have them insert a few new tiles for new stuff (there aren't any snow tiles in Hoenn, are there?) but keep the rest the same.

And that's why I'd rather people be honest when talking about in-progress stuff - because it can still be fixed, so don't be shy!

That was an annoying post to write. Um.

 

[newmexico]

I don't understand all the animosity towards the original tiles. XD I think they're fine.

I think new tiles are nice, but I don't think they're the only thing that can make a good game. It also depends on what the creator aims to accomplish with his/her hack. For someone working alone (as opposed to on a team), maybe it's better to put more work into other aspects.

For me personally, I'm very new at hacking and my expertise is in writing, so my emphasis will be on the story. My hack is also somewhat sentimental in that it's based on my home state. (Guess which one? Haha.) So, my goal isn't so much to reinvent or "improve" on Nintendo but to reimagine my home through the Pokemon world's lens. For that, the original game tiles will, for the most part, satisfy my needs. I'm much more concerned about my fakemon than about my trees!

 

[The Zororoaster]

After playing several hacks the default tileset can get so BORING. A custom tileset can really add something new and fresh to a ROM hack, even if it is a simple change.