Will the planets ever look close to the kickstarter stuff?

Heres the pic :


So I was just wandering if the planet generation is going to be anything like this? Because just lately it feels like its been moving away from this stuff. I want the cliffs and mountains and impassible terrains.

Also, what is the sixth planet down? Is it a cross between a metal and earth type of planet?
I would love to see more crossovers between planets in terms of type.

I know beta is a testing period, I know things take time to make I just wanted to raise this question as to me the planet generation is getting simplified in terms of visuals. Yes there have been some visual improvements but just effects.

Let's hope It'll look look like this, but I want alien planets, too

Me too! Alien worlds with weird and different colors and clouds. And hybrid planet types that mix the normal types.

I don't think they have time for making it look more like the art or kickstarter video. They have allot of other troubles on there mind, and were kinda pushing for a delayed release, because from my perspective there never gonne finish this in time.

Yes, I think a delay would be very good for a fuller and more polished product indeed. But wasn't these prototype pics the general idea on what they would look like?

The desert biome pic is very detailed and the game currently is no where near that look..

Looks like the mountain biome to me.

Remember also that the pictures which aren't concept art are renders using very expensive non-real-time lighting techniques, which is why they look so good. Most of the assets in the game are the same, they just don't have the benefit of shiny PP.

Bottom pic could also be gas giant

Honestly, at this point I would just be happy with it looking like the original kickstarter video. The planets are quite bland to look at, at the moment. Both lighting and color wise. The video gives everything this great colorful cartoon-ish feel, that I really like.

I also think they should push the release back. Getting the game more polished and better looking will drastically improve sales.

I think there is an unrealistic expectation that the concept art in a game is the defining art and anything less is absolutely sub par. No this is not true. Outside of planetary annihilation, most games concept art looks nothing like the original or has some deep semblance of the game being developed. Its meant as a guide for the actual engine developers and artists to mold the game into something realistic, not the set point.

I know a few forum posters are getting a little dissapointed that the units are not deep in chasms or small compared to mountains, but you have to be realistic in what the game is trying to achieve and the resources you can utilize to make everything seem plausible. The focus is planets but the true focus is annihilating whole planets and solar systems. Fighting in a small canyon on one section of a large planet doesn't truely bring the game to scale IMO.

Regardless, if you disagree, you have to show me a concept art that a game had then show me the final product and tell me you were not pleased with the end result. These planets are still early in beta and things are improved daily.

I'm sure uber is working as hard as they can to deliver awesome, in one way or another.

Have you played with hdr on? Because that makes the planets look pretty epic lightning wise.
of course its slow right now and needs some optimization, but it makes the game look A LOT better.

It's not about the lighting, it's about the variation in terrain that affects your tactical decision.
In in Forged Alliance, Fields of Isis is very plain, but cliffs that block almost every shot except artillery and tac missiles. The map forces your tactical decision. This is very different from the rolling fields and wide open oceans you find on Seton's, which also changes your play style.
That's the "look" of terrain people are referring to.

Remember how the units would weave around in the paths between trees?
And how promising flow-field looked?
It was like Bruce Lee said, "be like water". The units seemed to be like water and just flow around stuff.
Do you think the lack of terrain height/obstruction and "scale" is a result of pathfinding not working out according to plan?



I think the swirlies look great.
And the metal planet is pretty spot on (for a first pass).
I really think it's just scale right now. Planet size, unit ranges, and vertical height of terrain.

That is concept art. It's subject to change.

They are constantly working to improve the terrain, procedural generation, and the graphics still need lots of improvements as well.

Things will look better as time goes on, but there is no guarantee that it will look like the concept art.

p.s.

I'm still hoping to see more greeblies seen here:

I agree with cul everything is flat and there is no strategic use for the terrain as was promised

Yes I have. It's a small improvement but it needs a lot more. I don't think HDR is the right effect to control the planets darkside. The main issue is there is too much ambient light in general. The ambient light of the universe needs to be decreased, and the 'light' value of the sun should be increased. That COMBINED with HDR (as a more subtle effect) would be better imo.

Also the environment looks desaturated color wise, and HDR doesn't really help this either. (when compared to the kickstarted video)

Well I'm not talking about the terrain, I'm talking about the lighting. Yes, the planet needs improvements terrain wise, but they also need better lighting and coloration. And this is part of the reason why the game doesn't look like the video or the concepts.

the raised lava lands and the desert biome mesas being a lot more widespread would go a long way to making the game look more finished

i'm not sure how practical the swirly land-edges will be unless bots/tanks can splash through shallow water

I think it's been acknowledged that lava planets are currently bugged.

However, a lot of stability stuff has to be worked on first before they can spice up the planets... When people have trouble loading MOONS, you know there's work to be done.

Most noticable are the way lava planets are shaped now compared to the concept art. I hope to see the ground slightly elevated from the lava pools. Assets in the alpha did this slightly, but assets were small unlike the oceans of (brighter!) lava we have now.

Then what looks like a rainforest and earth biome. The forest density is far less ingame than it is in the concept art. I know that the engine currently is already pushing a lot of assets on the screen, but I am hoping it'll be optimised to the point where we can see an increase in density.

Some other defining features in some of the other biomes are

• Ice formations in the water.
• Rocks in earth and mountain biomes.
• Much larger assets covering a large part of the planet in the desert biome.
• Pathways/Figures made of sand/rock in the earth biome.

Now I'm pretty convinced of the look of the metal planet, it looks pretty much like the concept art and is already a very convincing artificial planet.

The things I am certainly hoping for are, a larger diversity of assets that scale depending on the size of the planet and a scale reduction of about 50% of pretty much each unit and building. It would be nice to include graphical effects like volcanoes spewing out lava sometimes(which could hurt), water actually producing some waves/ripples, lava producing explosions and bubbles of lava.