I got really interested in singleplayer isometric rpg after all the talking about it and i can actually program something like that i think because theres no networking.
I am thinking about art though because... well rpg needs a lot of art assets.. so thats one reason i want to have isometric because then I don't have to make super nice textures and models which you need in 3d.

I also dont want too modular character system though because i didnt learn that and even pros have hard time withj that and takes a lot of work for even them.
So i need avice how modular i should make it too.. it is really nice if you put on a new armor piece that your character puts it on on the mesh and texture too. but then again that will make art assets multiply by billion and also how dificult to do that modular system.

i dont want graphics too look really old like avadon graphics though.. but im not a good texturer..
I can make super simple texture only..
And if you have a city in rpg then i dont want citizens to look like clones... so it would need some kind of modular system so you can easily make a lot of citizens that look differently.

soo i want it to have a modern look..
that people wont mistake it and think it must be a 10 year old game.

I dont want ridiculous amount of art assets too.. i want to keep it as little as possible because i will make it most likely.. or i would prefer..

and like i said its nice if u can cchange ur looks too.. maybe have a few different textures and/or meshes for the main character for example.. and maybe even for other important characters.

please just give me advice what kind of art style and techincals i should do


i would like this game to feel a bit more alive..i
i will have some cutscenes most likely... a lot of them probably just still images that are moving zoming out and in etc with some smokey effects maybe and voiceover.
but would be cool with movie cutscenes too of the characters.

i will also have good animations to help with more dynamic and alive feeling to the game and lots of cool effects... shake screen etc.
that theres always something fun and exciting happening

You are probably going to have to reduce your expectations and work with a very limited character set because that's your limiting factor. There's no easy way to generate a lot of art (or anything), without significant effort. Your ability to create/buy assets determines how modular you will want to make your game, and the only person who can figure that out is you.

2D Isometric would not be the way to go for ease of artwork since that requires somewhat awkward rotation animations. The standard old-school Zelda/Pokemon cheated 3/4 top-down view would probably be the easiest to work with if you go 2D.

oh i didnt mean i was going to make 2d graphics.I
I just used wrong words.. i mean i think its easier to make a isometric game than a 1st or 3rd person view game... because doesnt need to be as detailed art or highpoly.

yeah im also worried about not being able to make bigger towns in the game unless i find a smart way to either generate npcs that look different enough or just something.. i dont know thats part reason i made the thrad

i guess making an rpg is kinda the same as a mmorpg when it comes to assets huh.
I will think about if I can think of anything that i find interesting with not so many npcs.
I also still have that "old" multiplater gdd.. i might finish that instead..

It is true that you can fudge a little bit on the graphics and detail if you go with a top down perspective. (You're confusing your terminology a bit, though; an isometric viewpoint is still a third-person viewpoint. It's not an over-the-shoulder view, like what people commonly call third-person, but it is third person.) But with a true isometric viewpoint (oblique, top-down angle, orthographic projection so no perspective projection is ever done) some assumptions can be made. For instance, you can assume that if the camera doesn't rotate then objects don't need any back-facing geometry, since that will never be seen. Also, if there is no zoom, then you can typically use lower-resolution textures for many smaller objects. No need to have a 1024x1024 texture for a character model that will only ever be viewed at 128x128 pixels in size. You can also use pre-rendered images mapped onto billboards or other impostor geometry, rather than actual models, in order to incorporate more visual detail than you may be able to achieve using 3D (although modern cards do allow a great deal of detail) while saving a lot of polygon budget. In fact, a realistic scenario in this case is to use all impostor geometry for the static elements of the scene, and use fully skinned, rigged and animated models only for the mobs and other animated objects. Such a system is described in this thread. Actual 3D geometry is only needed in order to populate the depth buffer with what you need to perform visibility determination, and not to give shape and form to the objects themselves, since there is no perspective projection. So crude, low-detail impostor geometry works just as well. You do want to use full 3D models for the mobs, though, since a module component system is an order of magnitude easier to implement in 3D than it is in 2D with sprite layering.

I have to agree with JTippets to be open to using 3D. In some cases it may be far easier to include in the game than 2D with little impact on performance.

The main thing I suggest is that there are many free, no cost or little cost, and open source 2D and 3D assets in the internet. Resizing them is almost inevitable for you; I mean very likely. It seems that you have the ability to resize things. Sometimes textures can be swapped in assets or modified much easier than perhaps you realize right now.

From what you wrote, glhf, it seems that you want a real quality looking game but I have to let you know that most games demand a lot of work with art assets to achieve that. The only exceptions I have noticed is the game maker who substitutes extensive art work with clever, novel attractions in art or the game play is the main attraction of the game.

How modular should you make the Role Playing Game? Here are the minimum standards, in my opinion, for an AAA game and you may include them in your game:

1) Be able to exchange stationary objects and characters with different ones, at least to some extent, such as in location, scene, situation, or stage of storyline selection. If this is too much at this time, then the ability to change cameras or camera angle is nice.
2) Weapon selection is a must in your case.
3) Defensive implements, such as shield or body armor ( depending on the game ) are typical.
4) Traits: Character's material, physical, or mental trait...People love to have at least one unique item for their character which distinguishes it from the other characters (added to weapon and defensive item), such as stamina, strength, leaping ability, speed, immunity, or other. Traits are usually programmable and can be made "modular".


I have over two years experience in making content for games and love to play them.

Hopefully this inspires and guides you.


Clinton

In terms of Arts and Modular Assets for Isometric games, take a quick look at Ragnarok Online sprite, or Tactics Ogre/Ogre Battle for example.

http://img73.exs.cx/img73/2987/Male_Knight.gif
http://img73.exs.cx/img73/7875/assassin_m_sheet.gif
http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p62/picsnsigs/gravheads1311sk0.png
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i15/Angevon/rosprites/weapons/BG/Assassin_Duals_F.png

What you really need are these:
1. Female Heads + Male Heads
2. Female Body + Male Body for each Class (Warrior, Wizard, Archer, etc.)
3. Weapons and Weapon Effects/Trail (This really depends... If only Warriors can wield Sword, it will be easier than if some other classes can use a Sword as well)

Hope this help ya ;)