(( Advanced apologies for the long post, I didn't realise it had grown so much while writing! ))
I've been lurking in this thread for quite a while now. I've not contributed much (read-also: anything), though I checked out the source of the last version and fiddled with a few ideas and I've even been getting itchy to try my hand at some sprites though the last time I did anything similar was over a decade ago on the C64!
But very recently all this arguing has really sapped my motivation and even the enjoyment I got out of just following the thread as a whole. First with the heated discussion over the artistic style and now Deon's dwarven sprites. The annoying thing is that they're both worthwhile subjects to discuss, but there's so much heat and barely veiled anger mixed in with it all that it just becomes draining to read any of it.
I imagine that it's almost inevitable that when putting forward these sorts of critical opinions regarding someone's creative efforts that people's reactions will be -- at least in part -- hostile, especially when both sides of the argument sincerely believe their argument or that it's of significant importance. (I think some people have mentioned that they fear Deon's sprites would cause some people to be turned away from Stonesense, for example.)
Initially people generally seemed careful about how they put their thoughts into words, attempting to avoid causing any more disruption than their opinion would cause in and of itself. But as the thread rolls forward and the general dissatisfaction grows people seem more willing to throw caution to the wind, perhaps because they feel the thread has already decayed into an argument so there's no point in pulling the punches any more and I just find myself yearning for the time when every third or fourth post was someone posting their sprites and the posts in between were constructive pointers on how they could be improved or praise, instead of calling someone out for a perceived insult or clearing up who you were aiming some part of your post at, or any number of other comments which seem less and less aimed at stonesense but at the personalities involved with its creation and evolution. That's sad for two reasons, for one I get the impression that more and more energy is being diverted from contributing to the development in favour of contributing to the discussion (which at least half the time seems less about contributing to the discussion itself and more championing or defending someone's opinion or even their right to have one at all) and the second reason is, as I've said, the topics are worth discussion but now seem to be generating so much animosity that the worth of the discussions is costing more to the project in lost time and or interest than it could hope of returning by way of useful progress.
Several people have already tried to calm things and suggest we move forward (not necessarily away from these topics) but still things seem to be boiling over, I'm not sure that people have really calmed down from the first topic and perhaps some of the energy in the discussion regarding Deon's sprites is spill-over.
This is all my opinion of course and can be accepted or discarded as you see fit, for it is ultimately tied to my ability to perceive what's happening and understand it, and it goes without saying that I'm not omniscient. But if nothing else I would urge people to at least step back a little and return to the way these discussions began. That is to say that your points, even if I or anyone else were to disagree with them, are likely worth making and you certainly have the right to make them and contribute your opinions to the discussions taking place, but if we could try to be mindful of how we present those opinions, to return to being careful about how we word our thoughts to avoid creating any (more) disruption by how we say something rather than what we say, then I feel it would go a long way to bracing the thread (and perhaps even the project) from getting derailed and generally be much more constructive.
For the record I agree with the majority of the points raised in regards to Iconic vs Isometric art style, though I personally prefer the Isometric style and would use any rendered Isometric sprite set over alternatives where possible. This is a personal aesthetic choice born of the luxury that my choice doesn't impact the overall project; if there are rendered sprites available, I'll use them, if not I might create them myself!
With the same reasoning, I have little problem with Deon's sprites. I don't really feel the female elements need to be emphasised as much as they are, but as things stand they don't offend me, if they did then I'd simply alter the sprites to remove the offensive elements and keep the rest. Much in the same way that if Stonesense implemented a feature I didn't like or felt could be done better in another way, I'd simply change it on my local copy -- though in regards to changing the code I acknowledge not everyone has the knowledge or confidence (which is often more the problem, in my opinion) to make those changes, I certainly think the majority of people have the ability to change a sprite set. But I also acknowledge that there are some concerns that people will be turned off Stonesense all together if they are not given the option to use a different set to begin with, and if someone who feels this way would like to make a set of female sprites for inclusion to offer future users the option then it would seem to be the best solution to the issue.
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Topic: Stonesense - Old Official thread - Now locked (Read 1698808 times)