I'm back to make a VERY SPECIAL ROM, and I need your guidance!

[GameplayLoop]

Marshawn coming in hot!!

 

 

Edited August 7, 2023 by Yak

[SBlueman]

I wish I knew how to edit those intros....I end up with the stock intro each year. I stink at the graphics end of things. 

[GameplayLoop]

15 hours ago, SBlueman said:

I wish I knew how to edit those intros....I end up with the stock intro each year. I stink at the graphics end of things. 

It took a while the first time I edited them. And even after not having done so for a decade, it all came back to me pretty quickly, thankfully. True story: I spent 3 days editing the Lawrence Taylor diving cut scene in 2012, and only after the fact did I realize you don’t even really see it pass by. LOL.
 

I’m mostly using the edits I made in 2012. Marshawn here is a briskly edited Chris Johnson from my original Tennessee Titans edit. I just copied the sprite changes, made some additional edits using TileLayer Pro, and then changed the hex colors a bit.

Edited August 7, 2023 by Yak

[GameplayLoop]

I just spent a ludicrous amount of time making minor tweaks to the Marshawn cut scene. I changed out the image above.

 

One tweak I couldn't pull off was getting the bright green color as an accent in the image. Too many keys areas of the character palette share colors, unfortunately. The neon green really gave it a pop, too.

 

Edited August 7, 2023 by Yak

[GameplayLoop]

Oh, sh—don’t call it a comeback 3️⃣ — 2️⃣8️⃣

 

Edited August 10, 2023 by Yak

[GameplayLoop]

Also, for the record, I have no idea why I wrote NWE vs N.E.. For some reason last night, I was utterly convinced OG TSB had given NE an incorrect acronym, but I never bothered to check it. Oh well! I’ll fix that.

Edited August 8, 2023 by Yak

[GameplayLoop]

@keithisgood Heads-up: I totally ganked your intro Lombardi graphic. It’s just too good to pass up on it (really great job on it), and it’s specifically perfect for the ROM I’m making. I will of course credit you in the ROM endgame credits. Also, the way you handled the palette on the Leaders page instance of this graphic is 🤌

 

Edited August 11, 2023 by Yak

[bruddog]

6 hours ago, Yak said:

Also, for the record, I have no idea why I wrote NWE vs N.E.. For some reason last night, I was utterly convinced OG TSB had given NE an incorrect acronym, but I never bothered to check it. Oh well! I’ll fix that.

Is there really a correct acronym? Different stat sites tend to abbreviate team cities/teams slightly differently.

[GameplayLoop]

50 minutes ago, bruddog said:

Is there really a correct acronym? Different stat sites tend to abbreviate team cities/teams slightly differently.

In this case, I would use however TSB originally formatted the acronym. Consistency is king, in my world; there’s also the design responsibility I feel to the source material.

[GameplayLoop]

Oh god... I totally forgot... You gotta be kidding me with this small helmet bullshit. 🙃

Edited August 11, 2023 by Yak

[GameplayLoop]

Hot of the presses! New Titans Small Helmet 🤛

 

[jstout]

20 hours ago, Yak said:

Hot of the presses! New Titans Small Helmet 🤛

 

Very nice and highly detailed for a small helmet. I can recall all the planning required to match all the teams colors, making logos, and still trying to keep enough detail to look nice.

[SBlueman]

On 8/10/2023 at 8:41 PM, Yak said:

Hot of the presses! New Titans Small Helmet 🤛

 

Wow, I actually edited the Titans logo for the next update too:

 

 

Almost the same, the helmet on my base rom didn't have the rear pad or a stripe. I went with a grey circle around the logo to make the T in the logo stand out more. I felt it was a bit on the big side but the logo not having the circle around it just didn't feel right to this Titans fan. 

[GameplayLoop]

  

11 hours ago, jstout said:

Very nice and highly detailed for a small helmet. I can recall all the planning required to match all the teams colors, making logos, and still trying to keep enough detail to look nice.

Thanks, @jstout; I was pumped to see it come together. I can only image how many memories you've got digging deep into this stuff. You've done so much good work, and helped a ton of folks make their own roms. I've been literally reading and re-reading your posts from 2004-2007 for the past two weeks. 😆

I'm keeping this rom that I'm editing now as close to the classic TSB experience as possible, with very slight tweaks. Your 4/3 hack is the only 'gameplay' hack that I'm going to try to install for this otherwise classic experience rom. Even though I remember it being mainly a hack in appearance only (which is perfect), it's enough of a visual change to the on-field game to make things feel fresh, and further personalize teams.

 

I need to look over your documentation again for installing it. I'm pretty sure the last time I used it in a rom, you had actually installed it for me, LOL... You may find yourself on the receiving end of a @tag, my guy. 😅

Edited August 12, 2023 by Yak

[GameplayLoop]

7 hours ago, SBlueman said:

Wow, I actually edited the Titans logo for the next update too:

 

 

Almost the same, the helmet on my base rom didn't have the rear pad or a stripe. I went with a grey circle around the logo to make the T in the logo stand out more. I felt it was a bit on the big side but the logo not having the circle around it just didn't feel right to this Titans fan. 

 

That's hilarious, @SBlueman. And nice job! I totally agree about the circle making the logo feel a little bigger in scale--but I also agree that it's a necessary design element to represent. I repurposed a few of the surrounding tiles to spread out among some of the other small helmets. I've actually made several tweaks to other small helmets, as well, mostly minor stuff. This Titans redo is probably the biggest change.

 

Also, I think I prefer the way that you did the flame. I think I see another edit in my future to do some testing… 

Edited August 12, 2023 by Yak

[GameplayLoop]

I realized earlier tonight that I had to recreate the 2009-2011 retro Miami Dolphins logo for this rom. Similar to the Dolphins logo that’s in TSB, where the dolphin is curved downward and wearing a football helmet. 

 

I looked up the original game's design--because, honestly, I had forgotten what it looked like. It’s an even earlier RETRO retro version of the dolphins helmet logo. 

 

 

The one I needed to make has more cartoon characteristics. So tonight I worked on giving this retro logo an update. I'm digging it!

 

 

 

Also, here's the modern Dolphins small helmet:

 

 

Here's the team version I needed for my rom:

 

 

 

Edited August 13, 2023 by Yak

[GameplayLoop]

10 hours ago, SBlueman said:

Wow, I actually edited the Titans logo for the next update too:

 

 

Almost the same, the helmet on my base rom didn't have the rear pad or a stripe. I went with a grey circle around the logo to make the T in the logo stand out more. I felt it was a bit on the big side but the logo not having the circle around it just didn't feel right to this Titans fan. 

 

More Titans logo edits! 👍

 

 

Edited August 12, 2023 by Yak

[GameplayLoop]

Not very significant changes for the Patriots big helmet, but for posterity, I thought I would document them. Lots of the small changes will come down to preference, no doubt.

 

Previous Patriots big helmet:

 

 

The updated version:

 

 

 

Previous Patriots small helmet:

 

 

New Patriots small helmet. Although I like the total scale of the above helmet, I think the revised white border for the Flying Elvis is a valuable design punch up:

 

 

Edited August 13, 2023 by Yak

[GameplayLoop]

Again, not very different Bills big helmet, but posting for posterity.

 

Previous Bills:

 

 

Updated Bills logo. (Disregard the gray facemask.) Note the smoothed out spine, and the white line drawn from the front right foot to its mouth.

 

[GameplayLoop]

Previous Cincinnati small helmet:

 

 

New Cincinnati small helmet:

 

 

Previous Cincinnati big helmet:

 

 

New Cincinnati big helmet:

 

 

Edited August 13, 2023 by Yak

[GameplayLoop]

Previous Baltimore small helmet

 

 

New Baltimore small helmet

 

 

 

Previous Baltimore big helmet

 

 

New Baltimore big helmet

 

 

 

Edited August 13, 2023 by Yak

[GameplayLoop]

Quick anecdote.

 

I remember getting close to releasing the first draft of Tecmo Super Coach and realizing I hadn't spent much time changing helmet graphics. Most of my previous time working on that game had been spent making gameplay changes to the ROM, so I didn't give myself time to really consider the helmets. I especially didn't consider the helmets because, at that point, cxrom's 2007 32-team expansion wasn't too old. I definitely remember getting to the point of reviewing final releases of Tecmo Super Coach, and thinking to myself, "Oh, man. I should have left enough time/room for myself to take a pass at these helmets."

 

Thankfully, this current ROM design cycle has been almost exclusively focused on rosters, SIM stats, classic TSB gameplay, and leaving myself some time for graphic changes.

 

I'm so grateful that these helmets have been substantially updated over the years since 2007. I'm also very thankful for all of the folks who have worked on bettering these graphics over the years!

 

Edited August 13, 2023 by Yak

[GameplayLoop]

Previous Steelers small helmet:

 

 

New Steelers small helmet:

 

 

 

It's funny, because the OG Steelers big helmet logo is actually more at scale with my edited small helmet above than the OG small helmet.

 

Edited August 13, 2023 by Yak

[GameplayLoop]

I think it's interesting that most of us decided to go for all black helmets at some point rather than the stylized deep blue of the original Tecmo Super Bowl. I wonder what folks generally think about this change.

 

 

Edited August 13, 2023 by Yak

[GameplayLoop]

I posted a poll in a TSB group, and of 34 responses so far after really just having posted it, there's a small majority in favor of OG TSB's deep blue palette, which maybe is surprising to me. I'm guessing it can be expected that the end results of the poll will be similarly split, with one option having only a small lead.

 

My issue with the true black palette is that the shape of the bottom half of the helmet changes somewhat when there isn't a visible base color. I've made some subtle pixel edits to the highlight graphics of these helmets to introduce more edges to it, but there's only so much that can be done. 

 

Another issue I have with the true black palette is that it also typically comes with a facemask with black edges. IMO, that style of facemask only works on the helmets with full colors--like the Bengals, Saints, etc.. I think when that facemask style is paired with a true black helmet, there's a lot of detail lost in the helmet.

 

A benefit of using true black is that it makes other base helmet colors more unique and viable. Like the helmets that use the color 02 as a base instead of OG TSB using it as black.  In original TSB, I assume since 02 is used for black is why the Chargers and Rams are using wacky nonbrand colors. 

Ultimately, I think I'm landing on continuing to use true black helmets, but I think I'm going to make the stylistic change of using other colors for the facemask on the true black helmets so that not as much detail is lost. Here's an example below:

 

 

Edited August 13, 2023 by Yak