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Ducktopia
Easily your best background to date. I disagree with those that moan about the rainbow. I think it's quite a nice touch in fact, but as someone mentioned earlier, the duck busts/statues do slide around way too much. Of course, it can work in your favour as you can easily make a case for the background being a physics defying place where the whacky ducks reside! Kudos for the lovely water animation.
JulianCave
Rather unassuming at first glace, but works pretty well in game play. Pretty good atmosphere and you did a great job on the rock pillars. Waterfall animation is on the choppy side, while the centerpiece of the background is also the cause of the biggest mark down. It just looks rather flat and lifeless. Would probably have worked better if you had the normal Julian looped in a powerup animation with auras and such. All in all, lacks the X factor, making it fall short of being the best in your inventory of backgrounds.
Crystal Cave
A bit like a weaker version of JulianCave, but this, presumably, being your first effort is very promising. Animation is always a plus, despite it being on the simplistic side. How about glowing crystals next time? Yet the most glaring problem is the parallax scrolling. It seems like either you're a bit confused with the DC parts of parallax scrolling or you added it for the sake of adding it i.e. screaming to everyone that the BG has scrolling. To me anyway. Nevertheless, I need to stress that your competition is very strong.
Sunset at Marina
Lacking in many areas compared to the competition which others have already pointed out, but experience is obviously a major factor here and I think you would benefit a lot already just from this competition alone. Keep them coming.
Scientist's Lair
The 30 layer limit is a bugger, isn't it? I run into it all the time. I could see so much potential in this neat little background. Competition theme aside, this background could have been so much more because just the theme itself is quite refreshing in the first place, if with more animations like the skeleton dangling and the pumpkin breathing / speaking and the monkeys in some action... I'm sure everyone had the same thoughts anyway and more. But let's focus on what could be done rather than possibilities that only exist in theory (unless Azriel gets a major speedboost with HQ). As a lot have pointed out, the ground has major perspective flaws, but also unpon closer inspection, there are inconsistent dark pixels on the fence and the bookshelves. Might be nitpicking here, but it does detract from the overall enjoyability of the gamplay.
Troll's Awakening
The hand certainly better than the screenshot in gameplay that adds a lot to an otherwise plain background, but it could still be a bit more fluid (I would think an arc like motion from the ground would be cooler). For now, it looks like a relatively boring quarry. Rocks looks slightly too reflective for my tastes, but the ground is... well, you know the story. So for now, it looks more like a WIP with some good ideas that needs polishing in the execution.
Toad Stool
Talk about expectations... when I saw YinYin and chishio were collaborating, I just thought it would be something that would blow my brains out. The screenshot elicited a "wth" response from me. Then again, YinYin is always about greatness in perfection and subtlety, so I didn't bother looking at the individual sprites at all, just installed and prayed. Prayers were answered, in some fashion. Idea is definitely novel, and when the boss kicks in it's like "whoas" with chishio stamped all over it, though I'm almost sure it was YinYin's idea about the frayed spraying wings. Yet I still felt... hollow because of the stock photos just because of chishio's name has been slapped on it. At the end of the day, it's still a refreshing BG that breaks the paradigms of the theme while still being relavent and perhaps more importantly, FUN & BOSS.
Acherontic
Uhm... wow? Okay, wow X10 The right hand part of the background seriously reminded be of the following pic:
Definitely at least a step above everything you have done so far. The glowing building, the dangling skeleton all adds greatly to the atmosphere. Colourtones are more than correct and that broken bridge is just pure shizzle. I haven't looked at the data, so I have no idea how you did it. Whatever you've got up there is quite simply the best background for LF2 I have come across. Had I not read Apoc and YinYin's comment before hand, the cardboard paper effect wouldn't have been so apparent to me. Even if I'm aware of it, it still didn't detract me from enjoying it immensely.
Olympia
When I first saw the screenshot of Olypia, I wet myself. I like to pour water on my trousers because I'm weird like that. Let's get two things out of the way first. This is a great background. The second being expectations were not met. The good being the sprites are breathtaking. It's better than reading Greek mythologies. To me at least, it's that cool. The clouds, the mountain arrangements all seem meticulously planned. Well, if they aren't, then it just proves that talent is prevalent in you, Apoc. The auroral flares coupled with the sky is almost heavenly. Yet... the final execution still lacks that ultimate blow that I expected to come bowling me over. Obviously I'm referring to the dynamic effects. Of course, it seems like I'm shifting all the blame on MH, but DC-wise there's nothing wrong with it all as it's more about... the finishing touch. Zeus's lightning is probably flawless, but I definitely have an issue with the fires from Hades. I mean the bright orange fire just doesn't go well with the overall colour theme of the background and the statue, nor would I associate with the hellish fire from the realms of the underworld. A more purple or blue vairent would have made more sense, at least to me. Then there's poseidon... He's the God of the seas, not some... slime. It was just comical to see this slime wriggle around like worms. Definitely pales in contrast to Zeus. Perhaps I'm asking for a lot, as I recognise a lot of effort and top notch artwork here, but when you have something this good and know that it could have been better, I just can't shut up.
Afterthoughts:
As some of you may have noticed, I have disappeared longer than empirefantasy's claim of one week. Yes, I have been busy with life. You know, Booze, sex and drugs moving around, girlfriends, and academic problems. But I did spend a lot of time and experience a lot of frustration in this competition too, mainly hampered by the layer limit, which lead to no parallax scrolling in the end and only managing to sync up all the animations at the very last minute and BP's sharp talons threateningly close round my neck, I couldn't check through the background as thoroughly as possible (Those wanting a readme must have been disappointed too). But it's definitely been a pleasure to compete with you guys. The bar has been set so high it's absolutely crazy even though I tried all the methods to up my own game. I showed the entries of the competition to my old pal mugen22 whom I used to make BGs with under the banner of M&M productions and he just said "We're getting old, my friend."
@YinYin
Yes, I do reuse some of the former material during my mixing and matching, but I think I my image processing technique is different enough so that while bits and pieces may look a bit familiar, but at the same time, it's been improved significantly compared to my low resolution renditions a few years ago.
Easily your best background to date. I disagree with those that moan about the rainbow. I think it's quite a nice touch in fact, but as someone mentioned earlier, the duck busts/statues do slide around way too much. Of course, it can work in your favour as you can easily make a case for the background being a physics defying place where the whacky ducks reside! Kudos for the lovely water animation.
JulianCave
Rather unassuming at first glace, but works pretty well in game play. Pretty good atmosphere and you did a great job on the rock pillars. Waterfall animation is on the choppy side, while the centerpiece of the background is also the cause of the biggest mark down. It just looks rather flat and lifeless. Would probably have worked better if you had the normal Julian looped in a powerup animation with auras and such. All in all, lacks the X factor, making it fall short of being the best in your inventory of backgrounds.
Crystal Cave
A bit like a weaker version of JulianCave, but this, presumably, being your first effort is very promising. Animation is always a plus, despite it being on the simplistic side. How about glowing crystals next time? Yet the most glaring problem is the parallax scrolling. It seems like either you're a bit confused with the DC parts of parallax scrolling or you added it for the sake of adding it i.e. screaming to everyone that the BG has scrolling. To me anyway. Nevertheless, I need to stress that your competition is very strong.
Sunset at Marina
Lacking in many areas compared to the competition which others have already pointed out, but experience is obviously a major factor here and I think you would benefit a lot already just from this competition alone. Keep them coming.
Scientist's Lair
The 30 layer limit is a bugger, isn't it? I run into it all the time. I could see so much potential in this neat little background. Competition theme aside, this background could have been so much more because just the theme itself is quite refreshing in the first place, if with more animations like the skeleton dangling and the pumpkin breathing / speaking and the monkeys in some action... I'm sure everyone had the same thoughts anyway and more. But let's focus on what could be done rather than possibilities that only exist in theory (unless Azriel gets a major speedboost with HQ). As a lot have pointed out, the ground has major perspective flaws, but also unpon closer inspection, there are inconsistent dark pixels on the fence and the bookshelves. Might be nitpicking here, but it does detract from the overall enjoyability of the gamplay.
Troll's Awakening
The hand certainly better than the screenshot in gameplay that adds a lot to an otherwise plain background, but it could still be a bit more fluid (I would think an arc like motion from the ground would be cooler). For now, it looks like a relatively boring quarry. Rocks looks slightly too reflective for my tastes, but the ground is... well, you know the story. So for now, it looks more like a WIP with some good ideas that needs polishing in the execution.
Toad Stool
Talk about expectations... when I saw YinYin and chishio were collaborating, I just thought it would be something that would blow my brains out. The screenshot elicited a "wth" response from me. Then again, YinYin is always about greatness in perfection and subtlety, so I didn't bother looking at the individual sprites at all, just installed and prayed. Prayers were answered, in some fashion. Idea is definitely novel, and when the boss kicks in it's like "whoas" with chishio stamped all over it, though I'm almost sure it was YinYin's idea about the frayed spraying wings. Yet I still felt... hollow because of the stock photos just because of chishio's name has been slapped on it. At the end of the day, it's still a refreshing BG that breaks the paradigms of the theme while still being relavent and perhaps more importantly, FUN & BOSS.
Acherontic
Uhm... wow? Okay, wow X10 The right hand part of the background seriously reminded be of the following pic:
Spoiler (Click to View)
![[Image: ijdQC.jpg]](http://i.imgur.com/ijdQC.jpg)
Olympia
When I first saw the screenshot of Olypia, I wet myself. I like to pour water on my trousers because I'm weird like that. Let's get two things out of the way first. This is a great background. The second being expectations were not met. The good being the sprites are breathtaking. It's better than reading Greek mythologies. To me at least, it's that cool. The clouds, the mountain arrangements all seem meticulously planned. Well, if they aren't, then it just proves that talent is prevalent in you, Apoc. The auroral flares coupled with the sky is almost heavenly. Yet... the final execution still lacks that ultimate blow that I expected to come bowling me over. Obviously I'm referring to the dynamic effects. Of course, it seems like I'm shifting all the blame on MH, but DC-wise there's nothing wrong with it all as it's more about... the finishing touch. Zeus's lightning is probably flawless, but I definitely have an issue with the fires from Hades. I mean the bright orange fire just doesn't go well with the overall colour theme of the background and the statue, nor would I associate with the hellish fire from the realms of the underworld. A more purple or blue vairent would have made more sense, at least to me. Then there's poseidon... He's the God of the seas, not some... slime. It was just comical to see this slime wriggle around like worms. Definitely pales in contrast to Zeus. Perhaps I'm asking for a lot, as I recognise a lot of effort and top notch artwork here, but when you have something this good and know that it could have been better, I just can't shut up.
Afterthoughts:
As some of you may have noticed, I have disappeared longer than empirefantasy's claim of one week. Yes, I have been busy with life. You know, Booze, sex and drugs moving around, girlfriends, and academic problems. But I did spend a lot of time and experience a lot of frustration in this competition too, mainly hampered by the layer limit, which lead to no parallax scrolling in the end and only managing to sync up all the animations at the very last minute and BP's sharp talons threateningly close round my neck, I couldn't check through the background as thoroughly as possible (Those wanting a readme must have been disappointed too). But it's definitely been a pleasure to compete with you guys. The bar has been set so high it's absolutely crazy even though I tried all the methods to up my own game. I showed the entries of the competition to my old pal mugen22 whom I used to make BGs with under the banner of M&M productions and he just said "We're getting old, my friend."
@YinYin
Yes, I do reuse some of the former material during my mixing and matching, but I think I my image processing technique is different enough so that while bits and pieces may look a bit familiar, but at the same time, it's been improved significantly compared to my low resolution renditions a few years ago.
you don't want to see this (Click to View)
the other by xFire
![[Image: random.php?pic=random]](http://www.lf-empire.de/images/lfe-banner/random.php?pic=random)
![[Image: black_sun_aeon_group.jpg]](http://www.mortemzine.net/img/recenze/black_sun_aeon_group.jpg)
