We Need a New Banner!

[oldskool]

I actually kind of prefer the original banner to these new ones. Not saying these are not cool, they are - but I like the old one better. Maybe I just got used to it, I dunno.

[jerbar120]

i wish i can help

[The Coop]

Another new one...






I'd also like you guys' opinion. I came up with a new background, and wanted to know what you think, especially Joe and Melf. I think it matches the board set up better, and it would be easy to put it in with the previous logo animations...

[Joe Redifer]

It would still have the sudden change of color at the bottom OH WAIT I SEE. I'm cool with it. I like it better than the gradient. I like the Sega logo better as well.

[sheath]

Provided we want to use mine in the lineup (I think it would be weird blended with Coop's animated ones) there are several ways to deal with the problem of some people's screens being too small. Is it possible to make the menu background solid instead of transparent? That would solve the problem for most folks. Alternately, if I move the objects and backgrounds to the bottom of the image it should be just tall enough that nothing goes under the Welcome menu. If we can move the image as is to be flush with the bottom of the header it will also not overlap with the banner.

[The Coop]

And with Joe's (and heopfully Melf's) blessing, I call these first ten done...












I'll post the template I made for them later tonight.



Edit: Oops. Had to reupload a couple of them. NOW they're done.

[Crackdown]

They are fricking superb!!!!!!!!!!

[Joe Redifer]

Those look awesome! Upload them and let me know where they are, Melf!

[Melf]

Done and done!

[InternalPrimate]

Sweet, I can't wait to see these badboys in action.

EDIT: Better

[shinobimusashi]

Well done fellas!

[The Coop]

Two more for the pile...






And now, the template. These are all saved at the logo's 76x370, so all you need to do is copy/paste them together, and everything should be lined up (it helps if you do a "Copy Merged" instead of just "Copy", and use "Paste in Place" instead of just "Paste"... if you're using Image Ready that is...).














... and here's what it should look like if you have everything lined up correctly...






For those who want to give making one a try, be sure to take your time. There's no need to hurry, so don't rush through it. It's easy to miss something if you try and get it out the door too fast (a layer left on by mistake, a spot where the sprite shifts a pixel accidentally for one frame, etc.), and then you'd have to do fixes, reuploads and all that. So let's make Joe and Melf's lives easier by only needing them to upload these things once.

For some things to keep in mind...

- 256KB is the maximum file size allowed.
- Always keep the bright top line of pixels and the darker bottom line of pixels on top of what you're doing. It looks a lot nicer, and it keeps everything contained.
- If you have characters running around and interacting with the "SEGA-16" logo, keep their feet on the same line with the bottom of the logo. It looks nicer than having them walking below it or above it (which looks sloppy).
- Don't have anything cut off by the right side, only the left side. If something keeps going to the right, have it vanish behind the darker green triangle.
- Gifs can only have 256 colors. Until you get good at doing some manual color optimization, try and keep your efforts simpler with fewer characters and such in the banner (the main areas where color loss will show up is in the gradients for the "SEGA-16" logo and the dark green triangle).
- The bigger the object you move, the faster the file size will climb. So having moving backgrounds, or making the logo move can really add up fast in terms of KB.
- Most animations I've come across for things like walking tend to work well when you keep the feet placed like you would with a real person walking (aka no glide walking like a lot of older games do). Some don't (like the walking for MJ in the Moonwalker banner) and you have to adjust them or go with the glide walk. But most of the time, a "real" walk will work fine.
- When something goes up or comes down, how far it moves will change. Going up, unless it's screaming by at high speed, it'll being to move fewer pixels until it reaches a peak, then it'll begin to descend. When something falls, it picks up speed, and so moves via greater amounts of space (pixels) with each frame. How much of course will depend on how fast you want it to look like it's going up or down. As an experiment, take something and toss it up in the air, or drop it. See how it behaves. That'll help give a visual to what I'm talking about.
- Objects tend to bounce when they hit something, whether the object is a person or an inanimate one. So if something falls, unless it splatters, it's going to come back up into the air at least once (and then the rise and fall bit from the previous paragraph comes into play).
- You can have a background to use, as long as the "SEGA-16" is still in place.
- There are plenty of places for sprite sheets, like Spriter's Resource, SDB (Sprite Database), The Shyguy Kingdom, and others, so be sure to look around before you rip them yourself from an EMU (like I had to with the raptor).

This last bit is very important. Make sure the letters and the triangle are in the exact spots where they are in the finished logos that've been done. It's a common visual thread that helps bond all the banners. It's one thing if characters interact with it and cause some of it to move briefly, but don't put it somewhere else just because you feel like it. Working with where the letters are is way to go about it.

And of course, if you're having problems, I'll try and help if I can... and I still have dibs on Opa-Opa



And finally, Joe? Melf? Many, many thanks for giving this a try, and letting me participate

[Melf]

Dude, thank YOU for the awesome banners. That Ristar one is aces.

I keep refreshing the page to see them, lol.

[djshok]

They look great! It would be cool if we got a Spider-Man one or maybe even X-Men.

[QuickSciFi]

Awesome banners.