Toning down the visuals? (please devs)

[AlphaCent]

It's funny that i don't really mind the game mechanics. I like the smaller squad. The new base design. Removal of some of the tedious micromanagement stuff.

But i admit i just can digest the visual style and art of the game. Could be worse tough ( i.e. XCOM).

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-E7NLNlfXFK..._ko/s400/1.jpg

http://www.cheatcc.com/imagesps3/xco...unknown_00.jpg

http://i.usatoday.net/communitymanag...comx-large.jpg


Firstly. The weapon fire style is just to much glitzy. There's too much of everything. I trully reminds me more of a epilepsy party than anything else.
Please tone down the visuals.

Secondly. The UI is way to imposing. It look as if it was part of the player rather than just a help. The lines are way too thick there's too much of it. Seriously, at times i can be hard to visually differentiate between what is the UI and what is part of the firefight.
IMO the UI should be as slender as possible and minimalistic in design.
Now it feels cluttered.

Thirdly. I despise the clique animations of aliens and the sounds are also quite face palming. Please remove them or town them down.

As Solomon already said, the target audience are somewhat older players, so why invest in a design that is fit for 13 y.o.? Really, i have no clue why this decision was made.
The mutons for instance are nowhere close to the slender original version. Their armor reminds me of japanese manga, which is silly as hell.

To be honest from the videos i saw, i felt no immersion, just a random fest of weird color pallets, over the top action sequences and alien taunts.

Oh and i've watched the movie GI joe and i kinda liked it, but the action sequences weren't as popmpous as transformers for instance.


So please i beg of you, do something about the visuals. Make them more vigorous but slender at the same time. Again, mass effect comes to mind or crisis. Both of these games have clique action scenes but at no time they feel silly. Xcom EU on the other hand looks quite silly.


P.S. Except the base, leave that as it is because it's awesome.

P.S. #2 The ThinMan is a joke IMO. It looks silly, it's logically silly (infiltrator? what is he going to infiltrate, a freak show?).

P.S. #3 GI joe along with Batman: beginning ported the comic book style to the film way better than Xcom EU does. So if anything use them as inspiration.
I really don't mean to trash you, because the game might be quite good, but i hate your artist and visual designer. Hire me, i'll work free of charge!

[Gen_Pho]

I like the look and feel. I'm also keeping in mind that the UI is not the end product, especially for PC which is what I'll be using. I say keep your artists and visual designers because they have done a really good job updating our beloved X-Com! (maybe my positive post will cancel out A's post. Positive aura dude... )

[AlphaCent]

Oh and another thing that missing in X:EU. Satisfying death animations.

Ok sure, because of the ESRB rating maybe mauling the human player into pieces might not work. But still if you can remedy that with toning down the blood and add more pieces and derby flying off, or painful death animations that don't involve that much blood, audio here helps too.

As for the aliens...i see no restraints here.

On of the most satisfying moment in the originals was when you blew to a pulp that annoying sniper killing all your men. After watching the trailer i saw none of that. Weapons have little effect on the enemies and don't look appealing at all.
The sniper rifle reminds me more of a rocket launcher than a deadly, powerful and precise distance weapon.

I really don't understand developers when they invest a lot into something that actually pans out worse.

I laughed when Solomon and the developers talked about how much they spent on making the Skyranger when all they did is end up with a silly block of metal that suppose to fly.
So yeah, please hire me...i'll cost you less and give you better results.

[AlphaCent]

I like the look and feel. I'm also keeping in mind that the UI is not the end product, especially for PC which is what I'll be using. I say keep your artists and visual designers because they have done a really good job updating our beloved X-Com! (maybe my positive post will cancel out A's post. Positive aura dude... )

What they did is not update, they made it silly and over complex.

I tend to know what i'm talking about since i also design stuff in my free time and it received great praise. But i do admit i don't cater to 12 y.o. But people with class.

Xcom EU is not classy in any way, trust me on that. The original was more classy. Even Apocalypse was classier in it's own right than X:EU is.

The Xcom EU art looks very uninspired and bland.

The base for instance looks classy and has a feel for it, but the battle scape is just bland as bland can get.

[Gen_Pho]

What they did is not update, they made it silly and over complex.

I tend to know what i'm talking about since i also design stuff in my free time and it received great praise. But i do admit i don't cater to 12 y.o. But people with class.

Xcom EU is not classy in any way, trust me on that. The original was more classy. Even Apocalypse was classier in it's own right than X:EU is.

The Xcom EU art looks very uninspired and bland.

The base for instance looks classy and has a feel for it, but the battle scape is just bland as bland can get.

Oh I didn't realize you were so qualified. My bad.

The visuals are the least quantifiable part of the game and subject to different taste. Sorry, you can't be right or wrong on this. But by all means keep talking about class.

[AlphaCent]

Oh I didn't realize you were so qualified. My bad.

The visuals are the least quantifiable part of the game and subject to different taste. Sorry, you can't be right or wrong on this. But by all means keep talking about class.

I think you should dig deeper in reference to that pic you linked.


http://www.gameinformer.com/resized-....cyberdisc.jpg

vs

http://www.google.si/imgres?q=cyberd...25&tx=90&ty=66


really, there's not much competition between these two.


Oh and i'm certainly more qualified than you to judge what is classy and what is not.



P.S. http://www.gameinformer.com/cfs-file...2D00_610x0.jpg

I'd really detest spending so many hours on something that will remind me of something that escaped out of Michael Bay's closet.

[b15h09]

I can pee farther than you can. /thread

[Codex]

Okay guys, lets tone this down and try not to make sweeping statements about how one person's opinion is supposedly any more valid than another's. I'd really like it if there wasn't any flamebait on this forum.

[Inkidu]

I have no problem with the visuals. I think they're awesome. Really though satisfying kill animations? You're serious? You mean thos satisfying kill animations where the alien looks at the camera and falls over? Honestly, we haven't really seen a good shot of a kill yet, they've been pretty discretionary in their kills, because you don't want to over-mortify your trailer.

[b15h09]

I'm not a big fan of the visuals. I mean, I can get on board with an action figure styling, but I wish it was a bit more articulate GI Joe, and a bit less whatever action figure they're thinking. As it is, the soldiers are pretty pinheaded. You could fit their head in their boot like 5 times over. Looks silly to me, but, that's just personal opinion.

[AlphaCent]

My logic is simple.

Xcom EU reminds me more of Transformers than it does BSG of SG.

And everyone who demonstrated that they comprehend the world beyond guns and tit*, hammered Transformers for the pile of artistic **** it is.

See? The connection is not that hard to make.


If the Gollop brothers wanted to make the original aliens to have blinking lights and weird unexplainable appendages then they'd draw it! But they did not.

It's weird why did they took such weird styles for both upcomming Xcom games.

Re-imagining is fine by my standards. Hell, i'd proposed since the start that X-Com doesn't need just a facelift but an extensive re-haul. I didn't care about sectoids, didn't care if the muton has a pink face, or plasma rifles.
However stylistically they completely deviated from the feel of the original.

But IMO there's still time to make satisfactory changes without redesigning the complete repertoire.

[Inkidu]

My logic is simple.

Xcom EU reminds me more of Transformers than it does BSG of SG.

And everyone who demonstrated that they comprehend the world beyond guns and tit*, hammered Transformers for the pile of artistic **** it is.

See? The connection is not that hard to make.


If the Gollop brothers wanted to make the original aliens to have blinking lights and weird unexplainable appendages then they'd draw it! But they did not.

It's weird why did they took such weird styles for both upcomming Xcom games.

Re-imagining is fine by my standards. Hell, i'd proposed since the start that X-Com doesn't need just a facelift but an extensive re-haul. I didn't care about sectoids, didn't care if the muton has a pink face, or plasma rifles.
However stylistically they completely deviated from the feel of the original.

But IMO there's still time to make satisfactory changes without redesigning the complete repertoire.

Yeah... it wasn't as if you know in 94 they had things like extreme graphical limitations. That didn't influence the graphics of the aliens at all. They worked with what they had. I like the new mutons. The other ones are laughable. They wear a neon-green unitard for God's sake. These guys look like actual alien shock troops. Sectoids look cool too. I often found once you saw an alien in UFO Defense that the scary was gone. I remember people telling me about Chrysidis and I was so scared of them, until I saw one. Their fear effect comes from the fact that they are 100% lethal and can run really far.

I think your making an analogy from the 80s Tranformers cartoons to the Bay movies, and I don't buy it. It's more like an update from 80s TMNT back to the actual Mirage comics in my opinion. It's more serious, but not realistically so. Your troops are identifiable, not quite-realistic and play really nicely on the left side of the uncanny valley.

[AlphaCent]

Speaking of GI joe

http://s3.media.squarespace.com/prod...2009/05/07.jpg

Silly as this movie is it at least keeps a level head approach at conveying the sci-fi elements to the viewer.

That's what Xcom EU should be. Taking something fantastical and grounding it in reality. That's exactly what the original did.


I'm really, really disappointed at the visuals of Xcom EU.

The saddest thing about the visuals they're using is that it destroys the scare factor. Which is the single KEY element of X-com!

It's fine that they buffed up the muton, but why did they used the gorilla style is unknown to me. The muton isn't there to brag about how tough it is. It's not an animal, it's a cold blooded killing machine that without flinching mows down your squad.
The muton should much more resemble Gort in charachter than some gorilla.

http://cache.io9.com/assets/images/8...tdtess.flv.jpg

To me that's way more scary than some monkey...monkeying about.

Yeah... it wasn't as if you know in 94 they had things like extreme graphical limitations. That didn't influence the graphics of the aliens at all. They worked with what they had. I like the new mutons. The other ones are laughable. They wear a neon-green unitard for God's sake. These guys look like actual alien shock troops. Sectoids look cool too. I often found once you saw an alien in UFO Defense that the scary was gone. I remember people telling me about Chrysidis and I was so scared of them, until I saw one. Their fear effect comes from the fact that they are 100% lethal and can run really far.

I think your making an analogy from the 80s Tranformers cartoons to the Bay movies, and I don't buy it. It's more like an update from 80s TMNT back to the actual Mirage comics in my opinion. It's more serious, but not realistically so. Your troops are identifiable, not quite-realistic and play really nicely on the left side of the uncanny valley.

Drawing additional appendages to a sprite is not such a big deal even for the technology back then. Instead they consciously went for a slick look. And i wanted a variation of that, not a gorilla dressed up by some japanese geek.

The ThinMan is an appalling transgression. The Uncanny valley just got flooded by the Silly river.

Oh and please don't tell me that you like the flashing, over the top firefights. It takes away all the subtlety of being a small SWAT-like squad.

I know they wanted to do more action and i agree with them, but taking inspiration from Michael Bay is not the way. Especially not, since they ADMITTED catering to an older audience.

Really, i don't understand?

[Inkidu]

Drawing additional appendages to a sprite is not such a big deal even for the technology back then. Instead they consciously went for a slick look. And i wanted a variation of that, not a gorilla dressed up by some japanese geek.

The ThinMan is an appalling transgression. The Uncanny valley just got flooded by the Silly river.

It's amazing that you pick the one monster that's supposed to transgress against the uncanny valley. You're not supposed to like him, he's supposed to do that.

[AlphaCent]

It's amazing that you pick the one monster that's supposed to transgress against the uncanny valley. You're not supposed to like him, he's supposed to do that.

I'm not supposed to like him, because he's evil, deadly, annoying.

But i don't like him because he's wearing a suit and reminds me of a steam-punk figurine which is just idiotic to incorporate in an X-Com game.
I really don't understand the logic behind the ThinMan.

[ShredZ]

I think it looks sweet, and apparently they are catering to me. I'll admit the UI does look like it needs work for sure. The artwork of anything is completely suggestive and I would prefer you not call out to the devs in the title like your opinion represents everyone - with a thread like this it should really be a poll: "how many people like the artwork"

Then if the majority agrees it looks bad you could appeal to the devs.

Also it's way too late, the game is basically done and it's just game balancing / packaging / shipping / me buying / installing / saying goodbye to my family

[Inkidu]

I'm not supposed to like him, because he's evil, deadly, annoying.

But i don't like him because he's wearing a suit and reminds me of a steam-punk figurine which is just idiotic to incorporate in an X-Com game.
I really don't understand the logic behind the ThinMan.

Yeah, steampunk wasn't even in my top twenty things the Thin Man Reminds Me of List.

I mean how can the developers win if a not-quite-right G-man wannabe reminds you of steampunk figurine? The dots are just so obviously connectable.

[DP1982SK]

I can digest the Thin Man - there is a lore background for him "Aliens are among us".

[AlphaCent]

I can digest the Thin Man - there is a lore background for him "Aliens are among us".

Yeah i heard that one. But even figuratively the ThinMan make a poor job conveying that note.

[Spleenslitta]

The art is on the right track in my opinion. I like the gritty feel of the combat enviroments.
It looks the way it's supposed to look. Keep in mind that in the trailers when they show the geoscape the date shows as 2015(or was it 2012?).

In any case i don't want a battlefield with bright neon lights all over the place or something else that's over the top because people want it to have a sci fi style.
If a gritty combat enviroment seems completly bland to AlphaCent because it's filled with brown,gray and other everyday colors then that's because it was done right.

I don't get Alphacent's transformers comparison at all. As a matter of fact i find it highly contradicting when he put up the G.I Joe link and said that it's the way it's supposed to look.
http://s3.media.squarespace.com/prod...2009/05/07.jpg
The guys wearing that metal armor look like they stepped out of a transformers movie rather than the XCOM:EU soldiers in this game.

The muton looks nothing less than PERFECT. Inkidu made a good point when he mentioned the neon green unitards.
They just look plain....well....perverted in this day and age in my own opinion.

Who would you find more intimidating?-
-A gorilla with a savage temper clad in thick bodyarmor with a big hightech gun that he knows how to use?
-Or a man dressed in a black unitard and a strange light glowing in one eye(Gort that AlphaCent suggested)?
http://cache.io9.com/assets/images/8...tdtess.flv.jpg
I think the answer couldn't be more obvious. With all due respect for your right to have your own opinion AlphaCent...you're waaay off the mark.



The thin man isn't exactly my favorite alien either, but i find that i can grow to acknowledge that one.
He looks like an accountant or a lawyer, but that's the part that makes me feel like he should be feared-

-He is the accountant who sat out in the park yesterday while sipping a beer and reading the newspaper.
Who knew that he kept a powerfull plasma pistol and a couple of fancy grenades capable of reducing people to ashes under those clothes all along.
That's creepy.


The sectoids look just right too. Except perhaps for the fact that they don't have any mouths or other disturbing way of getting sustance that's visible.

The old cyberdisc looks like two plates glued togheter and the new one looks classy. It's true that the hair when it's unfolded looks silly (taken directly from Full Metal Panic's Venom for sure)
http://www.google.no/imgres?imgurl=h...9QEwAA&dur=587

[Freeman.Alex]

I'll weigh in on this in defense of the art direction:

This title is showing off some real talent in terms of the models and animations, and also the weapons and munitions animations, and sounds. Suppressive fire makes contact with object materials, shatters out windows, and feedback is given when an enemy is hit by projectiles, etc. I love the bounding animations when those larger aliens start running (forget their names). Very traditional animation, very skilled team no doubt. Visual and tactile feedback is really important to draw the player in, and so far it seems to be implemented nicely.

Being a turn based game, we get to enjoy the subtle nuances of the graphics because we will have time to notice those things. Anyone notice the way soldiers reload the pump shotgun? Case in point, this is above par graphics work without a doubt. I agree that the shot in the forest seems to be lacking organic finesse and attention to detail, and really it could be that the shading and lighting isn't implemented the way it will be in the release build. The elements in that particular forest scene look to separate from each other (the antithesis of organic structure), and that throws the viewer off. But, keep in mind those are all basically Alpha screen shots of the game. Hopefully some love will be spent on improving the organic scenes.

As for the color palette, it reminds me of the colorful early 90s, and the art scheme of the card game entitled "Illuminati New World Order" from the same time period. Basic primitive color palettes, slightly muted, almost intone a sense of naivete of a public who is at this point still ignorant of what's really going on around them. It keeps that nostalgic feel of uneasiness in a new technological world where the thin veil of bright colors of everyday life can't cover up the sinister undercurrent of what's really about to hit the fan. It's juxtaposition, and Firaxis is nailing it so far. Totally digging the "miniatures" concept the art director/lead spoke about. I would like to see some of the textures "aged" a bit. Things are looking a tad too "clean" and untouched, but this really is a non-issue. Art direction isn't something talked about in depth by developers in games (and reviewers) for some reason, but I think it sets the psychological tone of the entire game experience and should be focused on more.

[ste-V]

I very much like the new art design!
especially the idea of having very high contrast between dark and illuminated spots. give the whole thing a bit of a psychadelic touch. also, i think that the woods-screen doesnt do it much justice but we'll have a 360° view, so maybe the grass is a bit greener (more bleak) on the other side? the time setting seems to be dusk, which is very well handles from the toning of the ground i think. imagine the whole thing at night!!!
speaking of which: as most object will be destructable, I assume that light sources could be blasted too? I can imagine my sniper hitting a light post instead of a squishy object, in order to conceal the soldier hiding under that (former) light source? lights out, good night!

[Gen_Pho]

I'll weigh in on this in defense of the art direction:

This title is showing off some real talent in terms of the models and animations, and also the weapons and munitions animations, and sounds. Suppressive fire makes contact with object materials, shatters out windows, and feedback is given when an enemy is hit by projectiles, etc. I love the bounding animations when those larger aliens start running (forget their names). Very traditional animation, very skilled team no doubt. Visual and tactile feedback is really important to draw the player in, and so far it seems to be implemented nicely.

Being a turn based game, we get to enjoy the subtle nuances of the graphics because we will have time to notice those things. Anyone notice the way soldiers reload the pump shotgun? Case in point, this is above par graphics work without a doubt. I agree that the shot in the forest seems to be lacking organic finesse and attention to detail, and really it could be that the shading and lighting isn't implemented the way it will be in the release build. The elements in that particular forest scene look to separate from each other (the antithesis of organic structure), and that throws the viewer off. But, keep in mind those are all basically Alpha screen shots of the game. Hopefully some love will be spent on improving the organic scenes.

As for the color palette, it reminds me of the colorful early 90s, and the art scheme of the card game entitled "Illuminati New World Order" from the same time period. Basic primitive color palettes, slightly muted, almost intone a sense of naivete of a public who is at this point still ignorant of what's really going on around them. It keeps that nostalgic feel of uneasiness in a new technological world where the thin veil of bright colors of everyday life can't cover up the sinister undercurrent of what's really about to hit the fan. It's juxtaposition, and Firaxis is nailing it so far. Totally digging the "miniatures" concept the art director/lead spoke about. I would like to see some of the textures "aged" a bit. Things are looking a tad too "clean" and untouched, but this really is a non-issue. Art direction isn't something talked about in depth by developers in games (and reviewers) for some reason, but I think it sets the psychological tone of the entire game experience and should be focused on more.

I agree with this sentiment. Throw a little dust or mud on the thing and you have a visually awesome turn based game on your hands.

[Alucardex]

Steam-punk:
"You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."

Anyway this discussion is kinda pointless for two reasons:

1) Art is ALWAYS something you can debate about, but I think most people here on the forum think the art is perfectly fine and fits the game.

2) We have like 5-6 months till release. Do you really think they will completely redo the graphics of the whole game at this point? And change some alien designs?

As I've said in other threads before I like the slightly cartoonish artstyle. It fits the old alien designs MUCH better then a more realistic or "gritty" style would.

Day one buy for meXD

[ste-V]

Throw a little dust or mud on the thing

I'm thinking MANHUNT (1) => CCTV camera-style...freaked the crap out of me; every time! combined with rain = killer!!!

[Spleenslitta]

I agree with Freeman.Alex too. If the art direction need something then it's more gritty and worndown look to it all.
But because there is no more time i suspect that cannot be done.

Alucardex hit the reality of the situation right in the guts- Almost everybody in this forum like the art style.
The game is so far in development that it's impossible to change things now.
The only thing they can do at this point is adding more stuff to the game rather than altering the whole thing.

Maybe they could add a few pieces of equipment, a few maps and an additional alien or two but not much else.
Right now they are probably just ripping apart the bugs one by one and making some final preparations before release.

[AlphaCent]

It seems you guys are just not getting it. Let me reiterate.

- Art style: The original was slender, minimalistic in nature and somewhat realistic. Aliens were pretty straight forward but effective. The human power armor for instance was very slick and utilitarian.
Xcom EU is a complete opposite of it. It is undeniable.
And i'm not saying that i want an exact port. But i want something in the spirit of the original. Which is what Xcom EU is about!

-Death animations: Despite the limitations of the original they were very visceral and brutal. Fluid oozing out, painful shreak. The new animations feature some decals and that's that. The muton that got hit by a rocket just rolled over like "ouc, i'm dead".
Really guys if you cannot see this you're blind.

-Firefight pace and action sequences: Again, in the original most of the time it was about SWAT-ing around and killing the individual that got the balls to face the team. But at times all hell broke loose. TFTD was especially brutal in this regard. The ship terror missions once you got to the kitchen department. Grenades flying, people dying.
With this new Xcom combat is just nonstop action. Bullets flying in ridiculous amounts. Even shotgun shots make trails as it seems.
There's just too much of everything on screen. The plasma rifle instead ob being that one shot one kill weapon now resembles a mediocre machine gun.
In the original when you saw that bullet flying at you, you knew you're done for. I didn't find they conveyed this lethality in the new game.
The sniper rifle annoys me quite immensely. The point of the sniper rifle is to be a distant invisible one shot one kill weapon and not leave a trail like it's a laser.
Really, it's quite a huge deviation from the minimalistic style of the original.

-Aliens: The ThinMan has to go. He is utterly silly and has no sound logic behind him. Just no. The original never had this sort of enemy or even close to it.
Is Gort scarier than a dumb gorilla? Hell yeah! With Gort you never know what the hell he's thinking. He might be a whimp but on the other hand he might just butcher all your team with ruthless precision.
What's that saying "the dog that barks doesn't bite". With the new mutons is obvious you just need to take a rocket to his head and be done with it. As far as i can see the team tried to give all the aliens character but failed to realize that having almost no character at all is one way to have character.
All the aliens seen so far have a very similar overly pronounced character. I'm not saying to cut it all out but make some variety.

-Color palette: The new Xcom conveys the old one you say? You must be joking. The old one had very bright and contrasty colors, giving the game a sort of happyvile character but at the same time having aliens butchering the unsuspecting civilians.
Light contrast? What...the video seems to me a monotone picture with barely any shadows.

This guys has a good lightning contrast

http://bi.gazeta.pl/im/7/7361/z73619...my-Unknown.jpg


This on the other hand no contrast

http://storage.siliconera.com/wordpr...nown_thumb.jpg

again no contrast

http://beefjack.com/files/2012/01/XC...enshots-21.jpg

The dark is not dark enough, everything is just lit. No dark corners, nothing. Monotone as hell.

This

http://media1.gameinformer.com/image...0watermark.jpg

ok, this looks better, but still there's much more to be desired in context of terrain variation and organic design.



Really guys, i trully believe you don't know what you're talking because i just gave you proof.


Ok i agree that different people have different taste. But my position is based on the design of the originals, yours as it seems it's not. And again, i'm not saying it must be exactly as the original, but what they did now feels really bland. I just can't see myself getting so immersed in the environment. The original had lush scenes, this one looks so monotone.


And ok again. I agree that it might be a tad late to make any drastic changes, so here's a compromise i'd be happy with:

-Remove the ThinMan and never, ever consider it as a viable option.
-Make weapon fire less pompous
-Make alien death animations more gory
-Make the UI more slender and differentiated form the rest of the game. This is the style i'd like to see the UI
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_SmyLnengkY...battlezone.gif

it's clearly a different layer. As it is now, you can't even tell if the guys has an active force-field around him or is that just the UI telling you something.

These are simple remedies and the rationale behind it is that are more in tune with the spirit of the original.

Surly you must now understand from where i'm coming. If you want Xcom EU to be in the spirit of the original than my suggestions are indisputable.

[Freeman.Alex]

As far as sci-fi horror/suspense/foreboding goes, I don't think I've seen it better executed than in the movies "Alien" and "Aliens".

For some reason, when I think "XCOM", I automatically think the art aesthetic, weapon, armor, and similar hi-tech technology, light and shadow should be similar to the "Alien" movies. The marines in those movies bare a striking resemblance to the ones in current and past XCOM games. * Insert Hudson's lines here *

[Inkidu]

I don't like any of those ideas AlphaCent. So who should they pander to, because I'm thinking me. I like me. I get along very well with me. Yeah, they should totally do what I want.

[AlphaCent]

Aliens had awesome art. I especially like Cameron's attention to detail and utilitarian nature.


The new Xcom guys have poor resemblance to those in aliens. The originals much better. The new ones just look like your typical figurine.

As for everything else Xcom EU doesn't even come close to Aliens. Not the guns, not anything. Smart gun. When i hear in Xcom EU a sound as awesome as that i'l personally come here and apologize.
Even the technologically limited original had a very distinct blaster sound. I mean, they could easily addes the typical "shhhh....booom". But no, the blaster launcer sounds like a sophisticated weapon with a very distinct sound. And that's comming from 1994.
Really...either modern game developers are incompetent, lazy or not willing to spend that extra buck for something unique. Oh an this is not an insult to the dev team mind you, but more of a general rant of the industry.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlRd9M4mH8o

Watch this and tell me if the sounds are not absolutely amazing for a 1994 game.

Listen to the new one. To me it just sound like a low pitched sound of something out of halo.
The muton in the trailer also sounds quite khm...muted and not too distinct. Ok the sectoids are better, but still.

I can't tell about the mechanics but Xcom EU has a lot to be desired in terms of immersion and art style.

I also don't know about the music in-game, but if the music is like in this clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uHHmTSDCvA

I'll be rather disappointed. Yeah it is DeusEx-ish, but no scare factor. Absolutely none. Just some random electronic ambiental/action music.

[DazzD]

I was going to jump in on the side of the art direction but I can see I am WAY to late The first few screen shots I saw, I didn’t think much of. It looked too bright and colourful, not the xcom dark and gloomy. Now there have been a few more recent shots I am happy with the way they are going. It looks like there will be darker night fights with rain and places you don’t want to be. I guess at the end of the day you can not please everyone... So you make it to keep as many people happy as possible. I think they have done that pretty well.

As for the death animations, the only one I have seen in a video was the Muton charging through a wall at the gas station and smashing a soldier on the other side. I saw that and thought it was pretty dam cool. As for soldiers/aliens getting smashed and having half their stomachs falling out that one might be down to the rating they are trying to get. Yes, it would be cool to see the detail but then they might be selling to a +18 audience and halving their sales over night.

[obi-one-kaboozi]

So far the visuals have grown on me and to be honest, I love them. Much better than any of the previous releases and I played them all. In fact, the original is my favorite game of all time. I am an old timer but I do like the new visuals. I'm hoping for the same or even deeper game play and so far the only things that worry me, but I will wait and see is the lack of inventory and I did like multiple bases, but otherwise I'm loving what I see.

To each their own, but I might add your preference is no more, or less valid than anyone else and has nothing to do with "class". Cheers and hope we all enjoy the game and hopefully see new interest in this wonderful IP and Genre.

[AlphaCent]

I don't like any of those ideas AlphaCent. So who should they pander to, because I'm thinking me. I like me. I get along very well with me. Yeah, they should totally do what I want.

You make it hard not to insult you. But who should they pander to?

Somewhat older players (17+) that enjoy a TB game without bullets and guns covering all the screen and like the original spirit.

I'm not making any drastic proposals, i'm just imagining what a modern aproach to the original would look like and the ThinMan is an utter fail.
Sorry, that cannot be disputed.

[AlphaCent]

Oh and the original are not dark an gloomy. They are bright and gloomy.

If not anything at least make the dark in the new game look like proper dark.

[IrishSamurai]

It seems you guys are just not getting it. Let me reiterate.

I got it. I got it from the first of your numerous posts. You hate what the artists have done, you say you can do better, and that Firaxis should scrap everything at the last minute and hire you for your artistic genius. I got three words for ya...

Ain't. Gonna. Happen.

Your cause was lost before you even started this thread, and i for one am not interested in beating a dead horse...or Muton as the case may be. Let this thread die already.

[Freeman.Alex]

"Utilitarian" is a great way to describe Cameron's vision of "Aliens" (the 2nd film in the Alien film series). I definitely plan on modding XCOM EU and adding some Alien inspired units and gear, as well as an attempt to get some sort of faction system working. I've already got design documents up for synthetic humans, new weapon models, and textures. Especially the marine armor from the second film, along with the combat helmets. Helmets are a must, and I'm shocked not to have seen any in the new game yet.

Further analysis of the art is going to have to wait until we get more footage of this game. The number of screenshots is actually quite scarce considering how soon this game is coming out. Then again some companies just roll that way.

[Inkidu]

You make it hard not to insult you. But who should they pander to?

Somewhat older players (17+) that enjoy a TB game without bullets and guns covering all the screen and like the original spirit.

I'm not making any drastic proposals, i'm just imagining what a modern aproach to the original would look like and the ThinMan is an utter fail.
Sorry, that cannot be disputed.

You can't insult me, I've been insulted by professionals. I think you missed the point. You're one person with differing opinions and you expect the developers to scrap years, years of art because you have some five-month-to-release artistic differences? We're all fans here. I'm a huge fan, does it matter how long anyone actually plays? I've seen the art of the original, I like the art direction of this one. What makes your opinion more valid than mine, and what on Earth makes it more valuable than the actual art director of the project?

It sure as hell can be disputed. I like the thin man. It plays to modern urban legend and deep roots in a lot of UFO lore dating back to the fifties. He's a creepy not-quite-right alien that can jump high, spit acid, and explodes on death. What's not to like. It's not utter fail and stop asserting your opinion of art like its some kind of stone-cold fact.

[Nosmirc]

- Art style: The original was slender, minimalistic in nature and somewhat realistic. Aliens were pretty straight forward but effective. The human power armor for instance was very slick and utilitarian.
Xcom EU is a complete opposite of it. It is undeniable.
And i'm not saying that i want an exact port. But i want something in the spirit of the original. Which is what Xcom EU is about!

You say it's undeniable, but frankly...I think it's doing a great job capturing the feel from what we've been shown.

-Death animations: Despite the limitations of the original they were very visceral and brutal. Fluid oozing out, painful shreak. The new animations feature some decals and that's that. The muton that got hit by a rocket just rolled over like "ouc, i'm dead".
Really guys if you cannot see this you're blind.

They also were exactly the same every time, even if you stunned something. Aliens were hit with high explosives all the time in the originals and effectively 'rolled over' as you put it. Personally, I have no specific issues with the animations. And no, I don't think I'm being blind about it at all.

-Firefight pace and action sequences: Again, in the original most of the time it was about SWAT-ing around and killing the individual that got the balls to face the team.<snip> With this new Xcom combat is just nonstop action. Bullets flying in ridiculous amounts. Even shotgun shots make trails as it seems.

It feels like nonstop action because of the editing of the videos. I very much doubt that will be the pace we'll be playing at. They've even mentioned features that would require large areas and slow points in the game to operate correctly (audio cues).

The clips we've seen have been scripted to showcase the gameplay as much as possible.

There's just too much of everything on screen. The plasma rifle instead ob being that one shot one kill weapon now resembles a mediocre machine gun.
In the original when you saw that bullet flying at you, you knew you're done for. I didn't find they conveyed this lethality in the new game.
The sniper rifle annoys me quite immensely. The point of the sniper rifle is to be a distant invisible one shot one kill weapon and not leave a trail like it's a laser.
Really, it's quite a huge deviation from the minimalistic style of the original.

We've seen the plasma hit...what...once in all the videos they've shown? In a demo designed to promote the game. They've already demostrated the lethality of the game with the berserker. In short, we have little to gauge the power of the alien weapons so far. And X-Com soldiers have been known to eat plasma to the face and take no damage at all, and that was without armor sometimes. Between demo magic and lack of information on the power of the alien weapons, we can't realistically draw conclusions on their damage output.

As for leaving a trail, how is it a deviation from the original? EVERY bullet had trails back then.

-Aliens: The ThinMan has to go. He is utterly silly and has no sound logic behind him. Just no. The original never had this sort of enemy or even close to it.
Is Gort scarier than a dumb gorilla?<snip>
All the aliens seen so far have a very similar overly pronounced character. I'm not saying to cut it all out but make some variety.

How is he silly? They're clearly expanding the rogue gallery, and the Thinman is their take on the fake myth of Slenderman. I can totally see them showing up on missions involving infiltrations. For all we know, their limbs could be malliable, and if they choose so, could take on proper perportions of a human, and switching to their lengthened limbs for the purpose of combat. In a way, they sortof remind me of the Observers from Fringe. I like the concept behind them, and can't wait to see them in action.

The Muton and Sectoid both have great modernizations IMO. I really can't see the original Muton working out that well in a modern game. They were goofy looking before, honestly.

And the Cyberdisc, IMO, is just awesome. They've taken the original concept, and made it way more interesting then it was before. You're right in a sense. They can't compare. The new version is just so much more interesting and presents interesting tactical situations. They've gone from a four square sized floating plasma cannon into a defensive mobile platform that can bring out massive firepower at the cost of durablity (I'm expecting it will just tear through cover like paper). Do you flee for new cover before you die, or do you focus everything you got to take it down before it fires?

-Color palette: The new Xcom conveys the old one you say? You must be joking. The old one had very bright and contrasty colors, giving the game a sort of happyvile character but at the same time having aliens butchering the unsuspecting civilians.
Light contrast? What...the video seems to me a monotone picture with barely any shadows.

This is a subjective thing. EU isn't as colorful as the original, but I'm ok with that. To me, their art direction feels...fitting for an alien invasion setting.

Surly you must now understand from where i'm coming. If you want Xcom EU to be in the spirit of the original than my suggestions are indisputable.

I disagree. I think most, if not all of your suggestions are disputable. And I am someone who played the original extensively.

[DazzD]

I have to agree with Nosmirc on the new unit types. I am really looking forwards to them. Not only do they fit in with the whole xcom story but they look awesome! The thin man is perfect for the role of alien infiltration into the human way of life, it fits well and I like the whole concept. They spew acid if they get close enough to attack! That is perfect xcom to me, that sense of urgency to kill them before something really bad happens. I think plenty of thought has gone into the new unit types and I for one want them there, more the better.

[AlphaCent]

Oh. Ok i give up.

Seems that the screenshot of fighting a suit wearing alien in the deep forest didn't face palm anybody. The sniper rifle resembling a laser. The night having a pink neon hue without actually having any shadows or darkness. The cyberdisc having dreads like some jamaican guy. Plasma rifles feeling more like a potato machinegun than actually a formidable weapon. Mutons acting like pro wrestlers.

Fine, just fine. Too bad i can't get James Cameron to comment, i'd be pretty interested what he had to say. And after seeing his work i kinda suspect what his reaction would be. Avatar is a silly movie but his attention to technical detail shows...it's the first thing i noticed actually.

Everyone is entitled to his opinion but i doubt you have anything to back it up.


P.S. Really...if seeing a suit wearing alien in the middle of the forest didn't trigger your WTF reflex. Don't bother on joining any design competition. You'll fail before even signing in.