Current cartoon style graphics in PA.

I'm personally disappointed with the new cartoon style graphics. I've met few people on the forum and from outside of PA forum who share my attitude towards the graphics, that's way I decided to start this thread.

The graphics in PA don't resemble TA. The animations in PA are poor comparing to the ones in TA. In PA if a unit get's destroyed completly it just fades in the ash cloud and black ground is left beneath. In TA the unit would blast in to shards scattering all around. Rubble would remain on the place where it got obliterated not just black ground and feeling that the unit faded.
Not to mention that Cartoon style missiles and bombs look really bad as well.

It's an alpha. Graphics will improve. Cartoon style is likely to stay. I suspect rubble is coming, and shots are most certainly placeholders.

Also, bad poll. You need to add 'I don't give a damn, gameplay is what matters,' 'it's an alpha, why would I worry about graphics' and 'I already bought the game, I'm not a fan of the graphical style'.

Also, how is this only occurring to you now? Kickstarter trailer was cartoon style, devs have repeatedly stated PA would be more cartoony. This isn't new.

I agree that I prefer realistic looking graphics in a game like PA (with science fiction setting). Though I understand, that with the budget, its better to use this kind of look, and it is okay, and I will play PA.

While I am not against you or your opinion, some of what you say there seems a bit... surfacy? Can you elaborate on the animations being poorer?

A lot of what you said to do with the ash/smoke, parts of the units flying apart upon death, any perceivable lack there can be accounted by this game still being in Alpha. It is barely done. That is not limited to just one thing or another, the majority of the game is not done. This very likely includes graphically, it has been stated by the devs they haven't done much in the way of post processing, so expect more to come.

Basically, don't judge the game visually until it has been polished. If you don't like the cartoonish style that is fine, everyone has tastes. But right now they are still using a grinder to get the bugs out (Saturday patches, what is this?) and such things as debris maybe set implemented to be later (getting things to bounce around with nice physics will take time). If that requires you waiting till December when the public release is current planned, then that is totally understandable. I avoid pre-ordering things myself, but I have faith these guys are going to deliver.

Quick edit: I recall it being said by Jon Mavor in a past live stream that the cartoon style complements the scale of the game as far as resources go, as it allows them to have a much lower polygon count. Simplistically, rather than 1000 units with 1000 polygons each, we can pull off 4000 units with 250 polygons. That is simplifying it vastly, though. You are better off trying to ask someone more knowledgeable (say, Jon).

I'm a bit confused here. You saw the PA trailer on kickstarter. You knew for what visuals they're going for. Animations and stuff are not final. Did you kickstarter the game blind-foiled?

Before anybody judges the current graphics style, wait for the graphics engine and models to be ready and implemented. This isn't the case right now (see the live streams), things like post-processing are not done yet.

Also, the game will be highly modable. It will not take long for somebody to make a graphics mod to suit the needs for some people. And for me that is the most important, the ability for the community to mod like the graphics.

ta and supcom were better in this repart

I really like this Art Style, and as someone else said you backed the game I'm guessing you knew what it was going to be like.

I love the asphetics, as it is much more like TA but improved.

SupCom was so drab and ugly, even if the graphics were finer.

Imo everybody should take this into accout before making a thread about graphical desing of the game. I'm sure that there will be a lot of great mods to choose from!

I must admit that I personally like the way how the game is turning out to look while I disliked it a bit first after watching the kickstarter trailer.

There is some fragmentation on death. So far I've mainly noticed it on fab-bots that are currently building. When they're destroyed their arms fly off in different directions, propelled by the nanite streams.

You have forgotten: "I want the style from the concept trailer!" - Vote!

I like the style, but the gameplay is far more important anyway.

Enjoying the graphics, it's part of why I supported PA in the first place. I love TA and SC, but this is a different game. :geek:

I think you have to come back and play TA again to see its graphics and animations to compare with PA.

Pa is supposed to be based on TA.

That's what I did and trust me both graphics and animations are different. Ofcourse PA is still in alpha stage so the animations can change. The cartoon style graphics will not change thought. If it comes to budget that PA has cartoon style graphics rather than TA style then I will forgive Uber the change.

When it comes to moding I don't think anyone will make a mod that will have Realistic graphics since Uber Entertaiment is not able to do it with their current budget. That would also mean adding extra detail in to every unit, type of environment or flora.

You guys should think about modding too. SupCom and FA units were horrible to texture! It was so much work that many modders had to reuse parts of existing units. Texturing even one small units would take many, many hours, larger units several days.

In PA the developers went for an artstyle that is less detailed but still looks very nice (in my opinion). Realistically you can make textures for a PA unit in a couple of hours and it will blend right in. We might even get some automation in there which will save us from having to work on the alpha channel separately.

Last but not least: the effects are nowhere near final and there is absolutely no post-processing in the alpha yet. Especially the post-processing is a pretty big deal.

I showed a friend of mine the trailer from kickstarter so I could explain why I was so excited to play on the alpha and their response was the graphics looked cool. It's an alpha and I love the graphics add in all the gameplay concepts and polish and I'm thinking it'll look awesome in this format

I'm okay with the overall feel of the looks, I just want more detail in the units and explosions(different kinds of explosions too). Flying debris ala TA, would be nice too.

And since this is Alpha, hopefully it's just a matter of time.

I think extra detail should be added so it is a good cartoon. Such cartoons resemble concept art, I'm fine with that. Thought when zoomed in I don't want these trees to be minecraft style.