# rimlike — art / tileset strategy

> Companion to [`memory.md`](../memory.md). This file is the **art strategy**: owned tilesets (now substantial), aesthetic anchor, gaps, license notes, autotile gotchas.

## Aesthetic anchor

**Primary: ElvGames "Ultimate Farming RPG" bundle (Humble) — cute-farming-RPG palette.**

The aesthetic shifted on 2026-05-10 when the bundle was found. Previously locked as "vibrant medieval-fantasy" via Ventilatore + planned Mana Seed; now the spine is ElvGames' bright, cheerful, Stardew-adjacent farming-RPG style. Project tone: **"Going Medieval × Stardew × Rimworld" — cozier than Rimworld, deeper than Stardew, mobile-first.**

Ventilatore Fantasy Tileset Bundle (already owned) stays as a **secondary** layer for biome variety, decorative props, and medieval-flavor accents. Mana Seed series is **dropped** from the buy plan entirely (the bundle covers what we'd planned to purchase).

## Owned art foundation

### Primary — ElvGames "Ultimate Farming RPG" Humble Bundle

Local path: `/mnt/d/godot/assets/humble set new/`. Three tiers, ~70 packs, ~2.8 GB. All 16×16 pixel art (matches our locked spec). License: commercial use OK with credit ("ElvGames"), no NFT/crypto, no resale of pack itself, modification permitted.

**MVP-essential packs (the working art set):**

| Need | Pack | Tier |
|---|---|---|
| Default biome (forest) | Forest Tileset 4 Seasons | T3 |
| Alt biome (open ground) | Farm Game Grasslands 4 Seasons | T1 |
| Mining + caves + ores + crystals + minerals | Mines Tileset 16x16 | T3 |
| Crops with growth stages (16+ crops) | Crops with Stages 01 / 02 / 03 | T2/T3 |
| Pawn sprites (15 characters with anim) | Farming Characters Pack | T1 |
| Animals / livestock (chicken, cow, duck, goat, pig) | Animal Sprites Pixelart | T2 |
| Item icons | Item Icons 16x16 | T2 |
| Workbench / decoration | House Interior Tileset | T3 |
| House exteriors (2 seasons) | Houses Tileset 2 Seasons | T3 |
| Castle / fortress / keep | Fortress Tileset 2 Seasons | T3 |
| Defensive structures (sandbags, towers) | Pixel Tower Defense 1 | T2 |
| Music — cozy ambient | Cozy Melodies Pack 1, Retro Farming Music 1 | T1 |
| SFX — combat / crafting / mining / monsters / UI / sword | Multiple SFX packs | T3 |

**Bonus / post-MVP packs:**

| Use | Pack |
|---|---|
| Monster variety (15 species) for v2 threat events | EvoMonster Pack 01–15 |
| RPG-style enemies for combat polish | Turn-Based RPG Monsters Pack 7–16 |
| Modular building components | Modular Pixel Houses Pack 01–05 |
| Alt aesthetic option | Retro Kingdom Explorer 16x16 series (Castle/Forest/Graveyard/Grotto/Plains/Town) |
| Additional biomes | Mountains 2 Seasons / Marketplace / Village / Frozen Caves / Magma Caves / Dark Castle |
| Effects / spells | Magic and Spells SFX 5/6 |

### Secondary — Ventilatore Fantasy Tileset Complete Bundle

Owner: us. Bundle URL: <https://itch.io/s/117124/the-fantasy-tileset-complete-bundle>. Six packs, 16×16, vibrant medieval-fantasy.

**Use as:** decorative flourish — animated water, encampment props, medieval fences, foliage variety, bridges. Where ElvGames' farming-RPG palette feels too cute, slot in a Ventilatore prop.

**Skip:** prefab houses (wrong paradigm), most exterior buildings (ElvGames covers them).

## Pack file structure

ElvGames packs are consistently structured:

```
<Pack Name>/
├── Characters/        # NPC sprite variants per pack
├── Item Icons/        # category-relevant icons
├── Objects/           # decorative / interactive objects
├── Tilesets/          # main tilesheet PNGs
├── RPG Maker/         # RPG-Maker import format (ignore)
├── License.txt
├── Read Me.txt
├── *.unitypackage     # Unity import (ignore)
└── *.yymps            # GameMaker import (ignore)
```

For Godot: import the **Tilesets/`*.png`** directly as TileSet sources. Objects + Item Icons are individual sprite assets.

## Gaps still uncovered

Even with the bundle, these need authoring or sourcing:

1. **Autotile-ready buildable wall sets** — UNKNOWN. The bundle's house and fortress sheets need an autotile audit (count corners / T-junctions / cap pieces). If insufficient, options are:
   - Custom-author terrain bits onto bundle wall tiles (~half-day per material)
   - Source a dedicated construction tileset (Mana Seed Iconic Homestead remains available as fallback at $19.99)
2. **Designation overlays** — blueprint ghosts, chop-this-tree marks, mine-this marks. ~4–8 tiles, custom (~2 hrs).
3. **Indoor tint shader** — a subtle blue-grey overlay on Layer 0/1 tiles when Roof flag set. Not asset, just shader work.
4. **Lighting shader** — for visual lighting at night (we locked this in mood/lighting). Not asset.
5. **Cleaning visualization** — dirty-tile decals. Some bundle packs (Mines? grass spring etc.) may have grunge tiles we can repurpose.
6. **Wolf sprite** — bundle's Animal Sprites pack does NOT include wolves. Options:
   - Reskin a different animal (a darker dog?)
   - Pick a suitable wild creature from EvoMonster Pack series
   - Custom wolf sprite (a few hours of pixel art) or external pack
7. **Cremation pyre furniture** — may be in House Interior or Marketplace; otherwise custom.
8. **Grave marker tile** — likely needs custom or graveyard-themed pack (Retro Graveyard 16×16 in Tier 3 *might* have it).

## Audit list (action items before any release build)

- [ ] Autotile coverage of `Houses Tileset 2 Seasons/FG_Houses.png` — count corner/T-junction/cap pieces for player-built walls.
- [ ] Autotile coverage of `Fortress Tileset 2 Seasons/FG_Fortress.png` (alt material).
- [ ] Aesthetic harmony test: open one tile from ElvGames Forest 4 Seasons + one from Ventilatore + render in same scene. Is the palette cohesive enough to mix? Decides whether Ventilatore stays as accent or gets shelved.
- [ ] Wolf sprite source — confirm what's available from EvoMonster / Turn-Based Monster packs; if none, plan a custom.
- [ ] Confirm Retro Graveyard 16×16 has grave-marker tile we can use.
- [ ] License attribution credits document — list every pack we use, credit string for game credits screen.

## Tileset prep (the gotcha)

ElvGames packs are RPG-style — designed primarily for RPG Maker / GameMaker hand-painted maps, not tile-by-tile colony construction. Same caveat as Mana Seed: walls and floors may not have full 47-tile autotile coverage. Plan for ~half-day per buildable material to author Godot terrain bits onto the existing tiles.

Designation overlays still custom. Estimated 4–8 tiles, ~2 hours of pixel art.

## License notes

**ElvGames terms (most packs in the bundle):**

> You can: use in personal or commercial projects. Edit/modify to fit your game. Credits to ElvGames.
> You cannot: use in NFT/crypto projects. Sell this asset pack (even modified). Claim it as your own.

Source: `License.txt` in each pack. Full terms: <https://elv-games.itch.io/terms>

**Some packs may be by other authors** (e.g. Retro Kingdom Explorer series). License for each is in the pack's own `License.txt`. **Audit and honor each.**

**Ventilatore terms:** confirmed commercial-friendly during prior owner-of-bundle research; verify before any commercial release build.

**Credits screen requirement:** maintain a list of pack names + creator names; display in game's credits UI.

## What was dropped from the plan

- **Mana Seed series purchases** — Smithing Gear, Crops #1, Iconic Homestead. Bundle's coverage replaces them. Free Mana Seed forest packs and Character Base remain optional fallbacks if Bundle palettes mismatch a specific need.
- **Gold Rush / Pixel Farm RPG / LimeZu / Cute Fantasy / Mars Colony** — all dropped from active consideration; bundle covers their roles.

## Comprehensive survey (kept for reference)

Earlier-session survey of itch.io / OpenGameArt candidates (now superseded). Maintained so future sessions don't redo the search.

- **Mana Seed by Seliel the Shaper** ([itch profile](https://seliel-the-shaper.itch.io/)) — only tileset family explicitly authored for tile-by-tile player construction. Free seasonal forest + Farmer Base remain optional fallbacks.
- **[Iconic Homestead](https://seliel-the-shaper.itch.io/iconic-homestead)** ($19.99) — fallback if bundle's wall autotile coverage is insufficient. Stone/wood/plaster wall variants explicitly construction-authored.
- **[Modern Interiors / Exteriors](https://limezu.itch.io/moderninteriors)** by LimeZu — modern aesthetic, wrong direction.
- **[Cute Fantasy RPG](https://kenmi-art.itch.io/cute-fantasy-rpg)** by Kenmi — Stardew-adjacent (similar to bundle's tone, could supplement).
- **[Base Building Tileset](https://elihaun.itch.io/base-building-tileset)** by Eli Haun — Rimworld-genre match but small.
- **[Colony Sim Assets](https://opengameart.org/content/colony-sim-assets)** by Buch — CC0 fallback.

## Reading list (TBD)

- ElvGames license fine-print on each pack used.
- Godot 4 docs: TileMap, TileSet terrains, AStarGrid2D.
- Rimworld design talks (Tynan Sylvester) — storyteller / drama / interest curve.

## What lives elsewhere

- **Game design / mechanics** — see [`design.md`](./design.md).
- **Engine architecture and TileMap layer plan** — see [`architecture.md`](./architecture.md).
- **Touch UI** — see [`ui.md`](./ui.md).
- **Pillars and vertical slice** — see [`memory.md`](../memory.md).