Finishing - Disguise's Tileset Resource

Final Extras

Well, you’ve finally finished a tileset with everything ready for making levels, but sooner or later you’re going to have to upload it on Jazz2Online and unfortunately it’s not as easy as just putting the tileset in a zip file and pressing the upload button. There are some often overlooked important things you need to do to make sure the person who is downloading the tileset will think the most of it. This little section will give you a few pointers on how to boost the liking of your tileset so that people can either rate it higher or have a better change in actually using it for a level.

Beta Testing

I’ve said this quite a few times and I’m going to say it again. Beta testing is VERY IMPORTANT! Nobody’s perfect, we all make mistakes and beta testers are extremely good at spotting those mistakes. At this point you don’t need any more pointers on how to improve your drawing, but instead let the beta testers look for missing tiles or bugs in the mask. There is nothing as disappointing as wanting to use a tileset and realising it doesn’t have the tiles you need.
The tiles that are forgotten the most are event tiles or some connecting tiles in corners or between different sub-themes. Double check these to make 100% sure you have all the different combinations of connecting tiles in your tileset. Masking bugs are normally jaggy edges in the mask you could get stuck in, some pieces that might be better masked or unmasked and some tiles that you might have forgotten to mask at all. Never be too quick to upload your tileset.
This is your last opportunity to do some beta testing, use it wisely!

Example Level

Every tileset needs an example level of some sort. It doesn’t have to be a masterpiece of design and eye candy, but tileset example levels are a bit different. You have to try use as many different tiles in the example level possible. The sole purpose of the example level is to show people who download the tileset what your tileset is capable of doing and what the purpose of all the tiles are. Tilesets without an example level will get a lower rating than they deserve, guaranteed.
There is no way a reviewer can look at a tileset image and imagine what kind of level you can make with it, you need to show them what the tileset is capable of doing and the example level does this the best. Another thing I’ve found is that while making example levels it’s really to spot any missing tiles. I’ve found missing tiles in about 75% of my tilesets while making example levels; it’s a really good way to beta test your tileset.

Music

Music sets the overall mood for your tileset. You don’t only want a good song; you want a good song that also fits with the theme of your tileset. This can be really important; any music you include with a new tileset is automatically the default song for anyone who wants to make a level with the tileset. File size is also a concern with music included with tilesets because the tileset itself can be large as well. It can be really annoying waiting for a large download to finish when the only actual thing you’re downloading is an oversized music file.
You can easily find music to use with your tileset; there are tons of websites that host mod files. Here are a few I use just in case you don’t know any:
www.modplug.com
www.modarchive.com
www.back2roots.org
www.chiptune.com
I would personally recommend chiptune.com to anyone who has a problem with file size. The songs are hilarious too, a nice change from the usual mods sometimes.

That’s all there is to this section. If you make sure there are no bugs, include a decent example level and a good music file with your tileset then you pat yourself on the back for a good upload to Jazz2Online. This section is too small for a short list so I won’t include one. It is also the end of my tutorials section. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did typing it! Yeah right, like 31,057 words is fun typing out, but if these tutorials learned you something new then it was worth it, good luck with your future tilesets!

-=Tutorials=-
[Part 6: Compiling the Tileset|Part 7: Final Extras]

	Final Extras
	Well, you’ve finally finished a tileset with everything ready for making levels, but sooner or later you’re going to have to upload it on Jazz2Online and unfortunately it’s not as easy as just putting the tileset in a zip file and pressing the upload button. There are some often overlooked important things you need to do to make sure the person who is downloading the tileset will think the most of it. This little section will give you a few pointers on how to boost the liking of your tileset so that people can either rate it higher or have a better change in actually using it for a level.

	Example Level
	Every tileset needs an example level of some sort. It doesn’t have to be a masterpiece of design and eye candy, but tileset example levels are a bit different. You have to try use as many different tiles in the example level possible. The sole purpose of the example level is to show people who download the tileset what your tileset is capable of doing and what the purpose of all the tiles are. Tilesets without an example level will get a lower rating than they deserve, guaranteed. There is no way a reviewer can look at a tileset image and imagine what kind of level you can make with it, you need to show them what the tileset is capable of doing and the example level does this the best. Another thing I’ve found is that while making example levels it’s really to spot any missing tiles. I’ve found missing tiles in about 75% of my tilesets while making example levels; it’s a really good way to beta test your tileset.

	Music
	Music sets the overall mood for your tileset. You don’t only want a good song; you want a good song that also fits with the theme of your tileset. This can be really important; any music you include with a new tileset is automatically the default song for anyone who wants to make a level with the tileset. File size is also a concern with music included with tilesets because the tileset itself can be large as well. It can be really annoying waiting for a large download to finish when the only actual thing you’re downloading is an oversized music file. You can easily find music to use with your tileset; there are tons of websites that host mod files. Here are a few I use just in case you don’t know any: www.modplug.com www.modarchive.com www.back2roots.org www.chiptune.com I would personally recommend chiptune.com to anyone who has a problem with file size. The songs are hilarious too, a nice change from the usual mods sometimes.