Ideas for expansion on backgrounds, close and far.

[Triple J]

So the game's graphics can be pushed further after switching to Java, right?

I have an idea for taking advantage of the opportunity - and I don't know if anybody has ever thought of this, but how about some additional properties for Close Backgrounds and Far Backgrounds? Here's what I'm thinking:

1. The ability to use multiple Close Backgrounds at once and choose the layering between them.
2. Changing the scroll speed and size of specified Close Backgrounds.
3. Extending the height of all Close Backgrounds before their cutoff.
4. Changing the color properties of specified Close Backgrounds. Same for Far Backgrounds.

In addition to properties, I'd also like to suggest the following:

1. More Close Backgrounds containing trees.
2. Multiple variations of the Grass Plains and Grass Hills Close Backgrounds.
3. Being able to manipulate the appearance/structure of given Far Backgrounds. This I'm not sure what to give examples for, but I'm thinking of something similar to Adobe Photoshop's effects.
4. Using Tiles and Items as a Close Background.

[lulzaraptor]

We're getting close to defining the new map format so these are well timed suggestions. It looks like custom scripted backgrounds should be an option that we should investigate.