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| Thread: Homm Visual Aspects |  This thread is pages long: 1 2 3 4 5 · «PREV |
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frostymuaddib
Promising
Supreme Hero
育碧是白痴
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posted October 12, 2015 08:51 PM |
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You said it better than me Pawek  I was thinking about object scale.
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mike80d
Famous Hero
Map Maker
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posted October 12, 2015 09:46 PM |
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Thank you for sharing that link Pawek! I had never seen the Alpha-Homm5 townscreens...while it's a bit cartoonish for my taste, I really like the swaying trees, birds flying by, and perspective.
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einomida
Known Hero
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posted October 12, 2015 10:10 PM |
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Edited by einomida at 22:18, 12 Oct 2015.
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Alrighty...
ART
Don't mind/Agree
For your first point, I think consistency has merit in a continuous evolving world (in contrast to NWC Heroes games, where the binding plotline was more of a backdrop to each game's separate story). It is rather a matter of execution. Of course, no matter how well done, many people would like more diverse lineups from game to game and it is a matter of opinion. Subfactions are a great example of how things can get more interesting. I was really hyped about the Wolf Haven when I first saw it. For one it showed a different aspect of the faction. And two, it moved back to the down-to-earth knight style of H2 - a welcome change from the divine design of H5 and onward.
Another, more ballsy move, would be replacing a faction with a new one. Sanctuary, in my opinion, was the best thing to come out of H6 and omitting Academy and/or Sylvan for it was well worth it.
There are more options when dealing with a more "static" world. For example:
Focus the perspective so that one game only tells a part of the story (naturally, it would still need to be a complete one) so that you're not pressured to cram every aspect of the lore into a small timeframe. This way you don't need to shoehorn and repeat factions.
Put greater emphasis on a single strong storyline so that you can make larger jumps on the timeline, which allows for mixing and matching.
Relegate a faction to an NPC. Inferno is supposed to be the big bad guy? Make it so by eliminating it from the playable factions lineup-> make it OP-> let it be 1v5.
About your second point in that section, completely agree. Creature designs are completely overdone. As bland as they are, the regular Sentinels are one of my favorite units in H6, because they are an all around very well designed in terms of purpose, role and aesthetics. Why ruin it by making them wear ceremonial garb in battle?
INTERFACE
Different points here.
1. Hero screen - completely agreed. Not much to add. A separate tab/button for skills and we're good.
2. Hiring screen - disagree.
Actually, I'd agree with you, but I'd say you're being biased here, because there is only a single significant difference between H6 and H3 and that is tabs vs overview. Artwork - subjective; full screen vs windowed - I don't see any practical difference. Now, a complete overview lets you compare units better (which in fact would actually serve more purpose in the 3 tier unit system), but honestly I find it to be a rather minor advantage.
3. Map UI - don't mind. One thing I am missing in H6 is a simple town list. Scrolling them one-by-one is tedious and to me rather confusing. Otherwise I prefer the newer overlay style UI, because it makes the screen less heavy and gives the map more breathing room.
ADVENTURE MAP
This is a point I find myself struggling with the most. I feel nostalgic every time I think back to H2. That also makes me cautious as I might be biased. Then I look at H6 and think it is actually pretty nice looking. Overall, though, I think I have to go for...
Agreed
My favorite adventure map so far has been H4. The symbolistic, zoomed out style has so far proven to be better than the realistic approach in H5 & 6. As you said, the emptier feeling is the most important thing here. I haven't seen much of H7, but so far the adventure map might be the one thing the games really improved on. I'd actually like to see more "life" on the map as in large cities and even minor human settlements
BATTLEFIELD
Don't mind/disagree
Again, I agree with your reasoning. H3 screens are clear-cut and to the point. Moreover, they emphasize the creatures over background, giving a better sense of a large scale battle. However, I find myself enjoying the newer approach more simply because I always saw hero battles rather as smaller skirmishes. So giving the creatures a smaller scale in comparison to the background is valid. Yes you can argue that the backgrounds should be less cluttered and I agree, they could use some work and in terms of practicality, a static, no depth battle screen is always better. However, I find the current iteration to be more alive and dynamic.
TOWN SCREENS
Disagree
This is the part where I probably disagree the most. I never understood people's obsession with H3 town screens. I always thought H2 did it really well, but looking back, they aren't so great either. The point I see is that newer townscreens are not functional and overall too homogenic in design. I think it is totally fine. In fact, I'd say having townscreens act as a secondary UI is completely pointless if you already have a designated interface for all the needed functions. I am alright with them serving only an aesthetic purpose. Indeed my favorite town screens are in H5. H6 kinda wanted to go back and stayed somewhere inbetween and was hit and miss (Necro, for example, is pretty poor, but I haven't played the game enough yet to give an overall verdict). If the H7 ones Google is giving me are real then I think these are one of the best ones yet. I think unifying the building designs is the way to go in achieving a consistency within a faction. Of course Fifty Shades of Purple isn't the best example, but it is a matter of overdoing it with SHINY, rather than using an unified architectual style. I never felt the need to instantly distinguish between buildings, while a similar style served to make the overall feel more realistic and plausible.
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Maurice
Hero of Order
Part of the furniture
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posted October 12, 2015 11:27 PM |
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Pawek_13 said:
Quote:
ADVENTURE MAP REPRESENTATION
frostymuaddib said:
But, imo, even the adventure map looked better. (in Heroes V alpha - my additional note)
Maybe it didn't look better (graphics were clunky to say at least)  but the scale of the objects was better. Everything was big and map didn't feel empty (what is especially the case in Heroes VII ) In the aspect of scale, I think Heroes VII devs took a wrong path. It seems that they focused too much on decreasing the size of map objects in comparison with hero's size, while in Heroes V's case everything (heroes, mines, towns, etc.) was disproportionately big in comparison with decorations (look at the trees, there are so tiny!)
Seriously? Aren't you confusing two Heroes titles here? H5 is notorious for having huge trees and other obstacles that are hiding resources and artifacts from sight. And especially in dense forested maps, visibility could be a real issue.
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Pawek_13
Supreme Hero
Maths, maths everywhere!
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posted October 13, 2015 12:01 AM |
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Edited by Pawek_13 at 00:04, 13 Oct 2015.
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Maurice said:
Seriously? Aren't you confusing two Heroes titles here? H5 is notorious for having huge trees and other obstacles that are hiding resources and artifacts from sight. And especially in dense forested maps, visibility could be a real issue.
Oops, I meant Heroes V alpha. Time to correct some things.
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PandaTar
Responsible
Legendary Hero
Celestial Heavens Mascot
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posted October 13, 2015 10:46 AM |
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This is the Emerald Dragon. This installment happened to displease me in almost all ways when it comes to visuals.
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"Okay. Look. We both said a lot of things that you're going to regret. But I think we can put our differences behind us. For science. You monster."
GlaDOS – Portal 2
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