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| Thread: New Heroes V Artwork! |  This thread is pages long: 1 2 3 · «PREV / NEXT» |
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waitingforhe...
Tavern Dweller
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posted May 26, 2004 07:55 PM |
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not looking good... i hope these pictures aren't what we will be getting in the game.
HoMM4 was like minesweeper with nice musics.. but HoMM3 was the best, a real jewel for me, with very nice looking graphics and all.
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gerdash
Responsible
Famous Hero
from the Animated Peace
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posted May 27, 2004 01:14 AM |
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Quote:
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Strange. It appeared to me that homm4 was more cartoonish than homm3.
About this pics. They are acceptable (as far as I can visualize them as finished products), but I only hope the colors won't be that strong.
I must disagree with you Svarog. Heroes 4 artwork was moved towards realism.
i would argue against you both. well, it took me some time to figure out what the homm4 style was, because of the medieval style landscape and imho extremely nice medieval style nightmares, etc, and my subjectiveness.
imho homm4 does have a dominating style and that is.. what should it be called.. somewhat glamourish maybe? clearly, it is a modern art style, but the aim of the artists was clearly not photo-realism.
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Like strange plastic toys.
well, i think i am also somewhere in that direction when trying to figure out the homm4 style. the confusing thing for me atm is: you could make cartoons with many art styles, including the homm4 style. so what do you mean by cartoonish style?
if homm5 artwork was cartoonish style, wouldn't the heads have to be abnormally big to make the creatures look more childish (e.g. like smurfs)? but what is big is the hands and feet and the heads are abnormally small. what style is that? tough guy wannabe style?
this may again be because of my personal subjectiveness, but when i first saw homm i felt the humble look of the creatures refreshing (compared to most other computer games).
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And that bothered me, because the creatures in the earlier Heroes games (especially in 1 & 2) reminded me of the orthodox fresco paintings. Heroes 3 departed from that style, and Heroes 4 lost it completely.
the tough guy wannabe style reduces my optimism much more than any loss of medieval style (which would be perfect imho, though).
i hope they will put the footman in tights, even if they stick with cartoonish style. but i see heavy boots on the concept art, and
heavy boots + tough guy wannabe style
is not
tights + humble style
so, i don't think it's wise to agree with those who base their optimism on expected differences between concept art and finished product.
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DonGio
Promising
Famous Hero
of Clear Water Mountain Clan
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posted May 27, 2004 11:00 PM |
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imho homm4 does have a dominating style and that is.. what should it be called.. somewhat glamourish maybe?
How about gaudy?
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Like strange plastic toys.
Yes. That's it.
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if homm5 artwork was cartoonish style, wouldn't the heads have to be abnormally big to make the creatures look more childish (e.g. like smurfs)? but what is big is the hands and feet and the heads are abnormally small. what style is that? tough guy wannabe style?
I disagree. Not all cartoon characters have big heads. Although not very normal, some modern cartoons and comics have people with small heads (or at least not inflated ones). Or is there a very strict distinction between comics, cartoons and manga(?) that I'm not aware of?
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this may again be because of my personal subjectiveness, but when i first saw homm i felt the humble look of the creatures refreshing.
Yes. This echoes my thoughts nicely, excepting that my first HOMM game was HOMMII.
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so, i don't think it's wise to agree with those who base their optimism on expected differences between concept art and finished product.
Agreed again. I think the concept art looks really awful. We went through much of this when waiting for HOMMIV too, and many people, myself included, were reluctant to be too negative to preliminary sketches and concept art and it would all look so different and much better once we saw it in the game.
Well, the way I see it, this is when we have a say. I'd think it's not too late to change the style/hire new artists/whatever necessary at this point in the process. If we say "it'll look much better once rendered" and "you can't really tell anything from concept art" and act complacent, Ubisoft will have no incentive to do something about this.
And I think we need to speak up now. These art sketches are not right for HOMMV at all, in my opinion. They should really try to go somewhere else graphically.
I mean, what's up with the broadness of everything. It's almost like when you're watching a program that is aired in 4:3, and you stretch it to fit your 16:9 widescreen tv. The arms, the legs, the torso, even the sword are mcuh to "fat". The sword looks more like a weird racket of some sort than a longsword (or yes, even a broadsword).
So this is my appeal to you: If you, like me, think the artwork we've seen so far is not what you'd want in HOMMV at all, don't hesitate or let the concept art get the benefit of the doubt. Speak now, or forever hold your peace.
Dixi
DonGio
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There are 10 types of people: Those who read binary, and those who don't.
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EmperorSly
Known Hero
Destroyer of Liver
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posted May 28, 2004 05:15 PM |
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NO to Heroes of Disney & Co!
Oh my, what is going to be the target group of this game? Kids?
Though theres definitely many kids out there, I doubt that many of them like turn-based strategy games. An average kid is impatient, action-minded, and the most strategic thing he would agree with is real-time frantic clicking of warcraft. That too only with cheat codes. Of course there are a few thinking kids, but too few to be a market, and I bet those dont like Disney comics also.
Yet the concept art shows Ubi clearly goes after the kids.
Water wheel looks like directly taken out of "Donald Duck in Treasure Hunt" or sth like that.
Yet worse is the case with humans. "Big feet, small head" style of the footman (as well as archer) is exactly the way small kids see grown-ups. Because kids look from close to ground, feet are nearby and seem big, while head is faraway and thus small.
Alternatively they just want to convey the idea that warriors are to use their limbs, not head. So in the course of evolution, head as unnecessary organ degenerates into the size of a fist, and vice versa. Strategy, my donkey...
Also, don't expect the art to become better in final version. In fact it will become even much worse. When you convert a Disney character into a 3D model, it wont become cool. It will still be a Disney character, only looking very blocky from close up and indistinguishable from far away. Sth like Warcraft III. Sth that should be banned.
They should bring back the graphic genius of Heroes II. It managed to take tasteful medievial monastery woodcuts and bring them to life. Forget 3D, forget Disney, bring back Art!
On the positive side, the angel looks really sexy and the archer has a nice wicked grin.
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Dajek
Known Hero
Psychedelic Knight
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posted May 31, 2004 03:27 PM |
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I'm no kid (ok ok, I am. I'm 17), but I really enjoy the current scetches of Homm5! I REALLY hope the real game will look somethign like that. For me the best HoMM was 2, but 3 was also darn good. The plastic computerish design of Homm 4 drew out all the fantasy aura from the game so I got bored of it really soon. I don't usually play computer games anymore, so I want HoMM 5 to be really good, worth playing for me 
Just my 2 cents. Ho!
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Svarog
Honorable
Supreme Hero
statue-loving necrophiliac
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posted June 01, 2004 01:57 AM |
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Childish
I can see so many of you have the adult-kid complex. You say that anime art is childish. That would mean that the same goes for comic art, manga style, even some trends of modern art!
I mean, as I previously said, not that I like that cartoony style, but it's not childish or meant for little kids, as some of you said. The children that prefer cartoons to real-life are under the age of 10. And I'm sure you'll agree that the kids of this age are not likely to play heroes, and the developers are not aiming at this target group for heroes5. Today, on the contrary, what "kids" prefer is real-life art and lots of action (that, i agree). Mindless countersrike shooting or mechanical real-time strategy clicking spree.
I think there are 2 kinds of heroes fans. Those who enjoy the chess-like gameplay and those who enjoy the world of fantasy and imagination. Usually both, but mostly the second. Does that mean that these people are childish, because they like a good fairytale. And in fact it is an experience very similar to the fairytale story-telling when we were only 5 or 6 year old. It envokes the same feeling in our brains.
I thought that at least here people wouldn't have complexes about being grown up and "acting" like that.
Even more, I have the imression that most adults that play heroes absolutely love heroes2.
To sum up, cartoon style is not childish, though you may choose whether to like it or not. I mean, I catch myself sometimes saying "cartoon style is childish" as a way to discredit it even more, but in fact it's not and this argument shouldn't be part of a serious discussion.
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The meek shall inherit the earth, but NOT its mineral rights.
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gerdash
Responsible
Famous Hero
from the Animated Peace
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posted June 01, 2004 10:36 AM |
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svarog:
exactly.
it's a matter of taste, but i would add complaints about level of detail and water colors to the list.
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what i really don't like is the small heads and large feet.
btw i also don't like the people who have those proportions in rl, and those who wish they had.
what i would prefer is the style that at least somewhat resembles the style used by those who made the mythology:
http://dragons.monstrous.com/Pictures/Dragon_Type_02.jpg
ok, the armor type is earlier than medieval, but art style is very much like homm2 imho.
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Svarog
Honorable
Supreme Hero
statue-loving necrophiliac
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posted June 01, 2004 01:32 PM |
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That's a very impressive art style. I'd really like if homm5 was like that. (though homm3 creature style still remains my number one  ) However, I'm afraid it's difficult to implement this medieval art style in 3D graphics, without losing much of the original identity. But I'm not an expert on computer graphics, so i might be wrong.
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The meek shall inherit the earth, but NOT its mineral rights.
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gerdash
Responsible
Famous Hero
from the Animated Peace
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posted June 01, 2004 03:33 PM |
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yes, it's probably difficult to reproduce this style exactly in 3d, but theoretically it should be possible. maybe it would need a new or modified 3d engine, lol.
i don't think this style needs to be reproduced exactly (no idea why they insist so much on 3d, though).
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homm4 titan was already quite close if the muscles had had a little bit more knotty curves at some places (like around the knees here) or maybe the homm4 titan would have needed just a little more contrast.
the helm of the homm4 titan was totally unsuitable imho, i'd not like to talk about it. but imho the rest of the titan was nice except it looked like all same pink to me -- the shadows should have been sharper imho.
so, maybe if we took homm4 titan (with a different helm), and tweaked the textures a little bit to add more relief at some places, we would get creature graphics that resembles this style to a considerable extent.
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imho what is more important in creating this style is some nuances of shape (like the shape of knees and shanks, if we are already talking about legs), and it is possible that the unique type of shading is less important (of course i wouldn't like the creature graphics to turn out bland or whatever, i.e. of course i would like to see some normal quality).
i don't think it is impossible to model a 3d shape so that it looks like this style with any reasonable modelling software. then i don't think it's impossible to use body positions and animations that suit the style. maybe it would be somewhat difficult in real-time 3d, but it surely is possible to do it as pre-rendered 3d.
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so, imho what is needed to create this style is some artists to take some time and think and some publishers to be made to believe in this style. time is money, as we know, so this last thing may indeed be impossible (if it doesn't pay off).
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Zealot
Hired Hero
The heroes 2 zealot
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posted June 02, 2004 11:09 AM |
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I just must say that these pictures are just sweet and that I really like this style over the realistic looking one. The game just gets more alive and mystic, as it was in heroes2, because you can't look up every detail.
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Daddy
Responsible
Supreme Hero
and why not.
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posted June 04, 2004 05:45 PM |
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Yea, that's right. The pic, Gerash linked for us, I smore like that that I want H5 to be
regards
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gerdash
Responsible
Famous Hero
from the Animated Peace
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posted June 04, 2004 07:03 PM |
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actually it was emperorsly who hit the point:Quote:
They should bring back the graphic genius of Heroes II. It managed to take tasteful medievial monastery woodcuts and bring them to life.
i was talking more about paintings before. but indeed the woodcuts and the like seem to be more characteristic of homm2. seem to be somewhat less sophisticated maybe, yet they have the style and atmosphere.
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Consis
Honorable
Legendary Hero
Of Ruby
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posted June 04, 2004 07:45 PM |
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Edited By: Consis on 4 Jun 2004
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I Have Seen This Particular Style Of Art Before
Quote:
This is continuing the trend of a move away from the NWC style of medieval and drawings based on paintings of the era to a more modern and lively feel not seen in Heroes games after and including Heroes III. There is one major qualm I have with this new style though. It separates itself to much from the classical and traditional works of NWC.
I agree.
I would also like to point out that I have seen this kind of artwork before. There was a game for the first playstation console system called "Tactics - Ogre Battle". Since that game the only continuation of its story, plot, and characters has been carried on through its latest release for the gameboy advance hand-held portable game console. The concept art of HeroesV is very reminiscent of the Tactics Ogre art.
Here is what the broad overmap(worldmap) looks like for the game(gameboy advance graphics):
The entire game is a highly contrived Chess-Board with many different playable boards all located in different regions of the world map. Each board has different types of terrain, monsters, magic influences, and background architecture for in-game story sequences and events. You'll see cottages and castles much like the cottage in this thread(with a waterwheel). Each monster/player character/npc stands(animated movement while standing in place) in their own respective tile awaiting commands by the user. Movement depends on an entire variety of influences like terrain, special abilities, magic, etc. The same applies to influences on attacks and defending:
That game art and the engine itself was based on its own concept art. Here is an example of its concept art:
As you can clearly see, there are many similarities between this style and the HeroesV concept art. I wonder if the artist for the two are the same.
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Roses Are Red And So Am I
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The-Filth
Very dead
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posted June 05, 2004 12:27 AM |
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Sorry man! But i don't see what is so similar.
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I Think. Therefore I'm Damned
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gerdash
Responsible
Famous Hero
from the Animated Peace
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posted June 05, 2004 10:41 AM |
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Svarog
Honorable
Supreme Hero
statue-loving necrophiliac
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posted June 05, 2004 03:26 PM |
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lol
That's it, gerdash. The art style of my dreams! Love it!
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The meek shall inherit the earth, but NOT its mineral rights.
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TheRealDeal
Promising
Supreme Hero
Foobum* of Justice!
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posted June 09, 2004 10:21 PM |
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Some dudes are just so negative..
Consis why are you always so negative? .. Try seeing everything from a lighter point of view.. If someone who has a bit of negative thoughts about the game, and they read you're threads they might blow of the game..
Cartoons arent so bad. Did you see the early movies, and ideas when they made Warcraft III? Everything looked so incredibly cool... When the game got out.. Cartoons EVERYWHERE... but that was okay, the game still rocked, so dont take that part so important. If you want a graphical adventure, play Final Fantasy. I hight reccomend it to.
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*We all know the that Foobum is the class of all that is Cake.
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Duckie
Tavern Dweller
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posted June 23, 2004 01:42 PM |
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Edited By: Duckie on 23 Jun 2004
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you have a point real deal, still I have serious doubts in these 3D views of the battleground.
don't think the 3D homm will work, would lose even more of it's style then it did in homm IV
yeah I'm negative, so sue me 
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TheRealDeal
Promising
Supreme Hero
Foobum* of Justice!
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posted June 23, 2004 02:18 PM |
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Nah.
But thats just the way it is, they make them like that so that they can redo them very fast if it is needed, or wanted.
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*We all know the that Foobum is the class of all that is Cake.
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Duckie
Tavern Dweller
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posted June 23, 2004 02:39 PM |
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Edited By: Duckie on 23 Jun 2004
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oh yeah, guys
I've searched around a bit on the net and have found quite alott of new pics
dome of them doesn't look all that bad
 
I might try and find some others and put them up aswell, just thought this might help abit
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