Update #68: ART!

[Gumbercules]

The concept art looks terrific! Once again, you're taking a well-worn concept (the hippie tree city) and updating it to feel fresher (vikings + weird mysterious black structures).

 

I have some criticisms of the in-game stuff, however. The drake skeleton looks way too fresh and intact, as if it were a prop that was dropped in at the last minute. It's likely that this is just because it hasn't received the 2D paintover yet, but it needs to feel like it was there for a while as part of the landscape.

 

The trolls are also really difficult to discern. Maybe it's just the way the screenshot came out, but they look like murky, shapeless masses. I thought the models from the GDC slides also appeared too drab and easy for the eye to slide off of, although not quite to this extent. It feels a bit patronizing to say this to experienced developers, but maybe incorporate more of Valve's advice for DOTA 2 character design in your creatures and NPCs and see if you can make them pop more without going too cartoonish: http://media.steampowered.com/apps/dota2/workshop/Dota2CharacterArtGuide.pdf

 

Will the big update and backer site be up next week, or do we have to wait 2+ weeks?

[Bloody Hypocrite]

 

While these updates are great, I was also expecting something a bit bigger from the 'Big Update'. 

Avellone mentioned a while back that the 'big update' will be coming with a gameplay video. As the portal's been put off a week, the video has been too, likely because the video will pull a lot of traffic in and it'd make sense to have some of that traffic convert to purchases.

 

Thanks Coffeetable. I completely missed that.  Again, I love what I'm seeing, I just want more!

[Karkarov]

Eh this was a nice update and all but the fact that the portal still isn't out is beginning to be become a little glaring.  Obsidian knows that if the portal isn't released in the next 2-3 weeks at this point it isn't getting released in 2013 because the same "holidays" reasoning is going to be applied again only this time it will put them out of action for the better part of two weeks instead of 3-4 days.

 

That out of the way... I hope the zoomed out area views were still in progress.  The closer view with the trolls looked really nice but the distant maps just seemed sort of lifeless.  There wasn't enough shading on the trees or grass and the scene just didn't seem "alive".

[Rivfader]

I love big tall trees, I hope we get to have some in this game, travelling into a thousand year old forest would be amazing

[Agremont]

Not the big update I was hoping for but I love art so it's cool. Also, I'm glad you're taking your time making sure stuff gets done right.

[Rostere]

I like the look of the trolls. Looks like proper trolls to me, maybe they could be just a wee bit bigger though?

[Lephys]

I'm sorry, but while the concept art looks lovely, the areas do not. The props (bones, camp, altar) look like they were placed on the grass mere minutes before and some of the foliage looks weird: the path is used enough that the grass doesn't grow on it, yet there's bushes on it, right over the wheel impressions. The campsite has a bush sticking out the middle, I wouldn't start a fire there. In the 2nd picture there's 3 of the exact same trees right next to each other in the lower left. Call me picky, but, look at the areas I get the "something's wrong, but not sure what" feel.

 

Those aren't "bushes" (except maybe at the campsite... maybe)... They're weeds. Poofy weeds. Notice how they don't actually grow out of the dirt/wheel-rut areas of the road/path, but instead from the little spots in between. Weeds/plants like that can shoot up to that height/size in a matter of about a week. Also notice how that path (in the first shot) kind of just ends, as though it was ONCE traveled heavily enough to have made a good dirt road there, but has now been mostly neglected for some time. Unless wagons were rolling over those plants every hour or something, they're going to just keep growing and spreading out atop the dirt road.

 

There are bushy plants like that that grow in the flowerbeds right outside my apartment, and they extend across half-or-more of the sidewalk running in front of them, even though they aren't growing out of the sidewalk. And, having grown up in the Boy Scouts, I can say I've been to many a campsite where weeds and plants have grown up INSIDE the circle-of-stones built around campfire sites to prevent the spread of fire. There's often a good foot-or-so of space between the stones and the actual burny stuff (when a fire IS going), so that stuff starts growing there very shortly after the campfire is dormant. Maybe you wouldn't want to start a fire there... until you very quickly-and-easily pull up or cut that little plant out of the way. But, nature is nature, man. What can I say...

 

Between that and the whole "that probably still needs to be finalized by the paintover stage," I don't see anything really being a silly design choice.

 

Oh, and, sorry, but I'm required to make this joke:

 

Major update? This was more like a Private First Class update!

 

I jest, of course. "Awwww" to the delay of the more major stuff, but, understandable. Thanks for the awesome artwork show, and I hope you all (the team) have a splendid Thanksgiving! ^_^

Edited November 27, 2013 by Lephys

[Solviulnir the Soulbinder]

Didn't expect this one :D

Concepts done by mrs Polina are excellent. I like how she blends different architectural styles together, the Twin Elms linework is beautiful.
One minor detail - you could add a bit more more colour variation in the grassy areas, maybe some decaying fallen trees, moss and flowers. Yeah, I know it's prealpha hehe.
Also: burnt bark
 

[Squib]

Not a big update, but its amazing work like this that keeps me coming back. Nearly everything in this project gives me the jitters - not just because I am a big fan of baldur's gate series and IWD. Really looking forward to another video, demo, etc! 

[Sheikh]

Trees are beautiful. Also I like the trolls, pretty unique. They need some lively animations to make them come alive though, because their hands are so small.

[Volourn]

How are the trolls unique? They look like a typical monster humanoid. And, I definitely don't get a 'troll' vibe from them. heh.

Edited November 27, 2013 by Volourn

[Zed]

Twin Elms look good. It will be very interesting to see how the society rolls there. I mean, it doesn't look very metropolitan, but will it function like one?

[Hormalakh]

Also: burnt bark

 

The woods are many years after their burning by the drakes. Burnt wood would have disappeared log ago. Your thoughts however inspired my own recollections of the petrified forest and the painted desert in Arizona and I'm sure the fine folks at obsidian might draw some inspiration from those locations.

[DCParry]

 

I'm curious about the architecture of the next big city, will there be tall buildings? is everything going to be camouflaged in nature?

Should I think of "Machu Picchu" or is it more like a viking homestead?

 

Really digging the Engwithan prop, If I could have armour or shields looking like there were made from that material, I think it would be really cool looking.

 

There will definitely be some larger structures. You are just seeing a small portion of one area.

 

It isn't really Machu Picchu or Viking... it is closer to Machu Picchu with Viking layered on top.

 

 

Why do I now want Viking Hang-glider guards to protect the village from all enemies?

[Lephys]

Why do I now want Viking Hang-glider guards to protect the village from all enemies?

 

They could call those guards "valkyries."

 

 

 

Also: burnt bark

The woods are many years after their burning by the drakes. Burnt wood would have disappeared log ago.

 

Yeah, I think the little "drakes burned this place" lore lesson was to explain the sparseness/shortness of all the flora in that area, to avoid any "Hey, that's not an accurate representation of a wilderness! Stuff would be grown up WAY farther than that!"

Edited November 27, 2013 by Lephys

[Jumble Murdersense]

Always keen for more art updates.

[Sensuki]

Was that shot of the trolls taken recently?

 

There seems to be a bit of a discrepancy between the way shadows are cast in that picture and in the recent shots of character models in Josh Sawyers GDC Presentation.

 

Here are the trolls

 

 

Here is the GDC Slide

 

 

In the GDC Slide, the character models appear to have way more grounded shadows than the Trolls, more akin to the IE games Blob shadows (which I liked). There was some response to fan feedback after the Update 61 screenshot resulting in tweaking to the way shadows are displayed (apparently).

 

Yet the shadows on the troll models appear to be drawn via the older method from the Update 49 Video / Update 61 screenshot.

[Lephys]

^ It looks to me like the main problem with the shadows, in that particular screenshot, is simply that they don't appear to affect the trolls' feet, thus, the feet appear to be above (in front of) the shadows, even when one troll is casting a shadow onto another troll.

 

Other than that, they're not bad, really. Although, I'm sure this isn't meant to be a "this is exactly how everything'll look finalized" shot, and I join in Sensuki's curiosity, now that he's asked that specific question.

[igorina]

Areas look a bit too photorealistic to me. Like google map. I like the concept art much more. I hope that final version will be more vivid

[ManifestedISO]

This game cannot come soon enough. 

[Zeckul]

Loving every single pixel of these screenshots. This looks sharp and gorgeous at native 1080p. Apart from some missing detail that others have mentioned already, everything looks quite realistic and believable, for a fantasy world, much like Baldur's Gate. The more I see of this game the more I think this will be a worthy successor to Baldur's Gate - that's the highest praise I could give any game.

 

Something needs to be done about the lighting so the monsters stand out a little more against the background - perhaps this is just due to the paintover job not being done, but perhaps some subtle rim shading or something could help bring the models out from the background. At the same time, a common complaint of hybrid 2d/3d games is that models stand out too much from the background; it'll be a difficult thing to balance I'm sure.

[Sensuki]

Going way back to Production 01 (Update 62) it was stated that creatures are taken to a blockout stage and then they move onto another one in order to get more creatures into the game earlier.

 

Wouldn't worry too much about the look of the Troll it will probably receive a polish pass from Dimitri/James during post-production, along with some animation work - I do agree though that stances & stuff need variation.

 

Remember that the usual length of post-production is 6 months - so that's 6 months+ worth of touching up models and stuff.

 

That said, I'll be very happy when I see a new tree model (not couting the burnt one).

Edited November 27, 2013 by Sensuki

[Tauron]

It is great, I just dont like trolls.  Dont get me wrong, those creatures look great designed, just not very much trollish to me. For that matter I didnt like Fearun Trolls either. Most games ruined them. I am more of traditionalist whn it comes to troll appereances. Like scandinavian folktales. I dont kow why designers are trying reinventing the wheel. Anyway. Areas are shaping out great,

[Gorth]

I'm sorry, but those monsters - while looking fearsome - don't honour the name troll - be it  the monster or internet versions. I find their trolldom lacking.

 

*mumbles something about expert opinion*

 

Maybe the missing red circles around them makes them seem to blend in with the background. The characters in the other screenshot has their blue circles, making them stand out from the background at a quick glance.

[Sensuki]

Oh yeah that Drake should only have two legs, four legged Dragon creatures wouldn't be able to fly, it would be physically impossible IIRC.

 

edit: oh that's right in D&D two legged Dragons are Wyverns.

Edited November 27, 2013 by Sensuki