Screenshots not quite right somehow

[Officer_Longarm]

So, as I was perusing the screenshot gallery, something nagged me about the visual quality. Are these true shots of the game? They seem, I dunno, a little flat. Is it a stylistic choice or is something missing?

[Tharxa]

I believe that's the artist direction they are taking the game, more the cel shaded route, an homage to comic books. I think it looks interesting, though it is different.

[Adar_ICT]

So, as I was perusing the screenshot gallery, something nagged me about the visual quality. Are these true shots of the game? They seem, I dunno, a little flat. Is it a stylistic choice or is something missing?

It appears to be the style that was chosen. I wouldn't call it flat myself. I've never been a big fan of cel shading, but like I said in another thread, I am much more interested in the actual animation. Screenshots don't always do games justice.

[Tsarmina]

Anyone remember the game SEED? (died after release) The graphics were very similar- I liked it.

[Bzrk]

I love cellshading, but it has to done right though. Cryptic's going into the right direction imo.

[Genosaurer]

Cel shading is great when it's done well and gives a game a unique visual style (Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and Team Fortress 2 are good examples), but if it's not done just right it tends to look pretty bad.

Of course, the game's not coming out until 2009, so even if the initial screenshots look a bit rough they still have plenty of time to get it right.

[mrguy08]

I like the look, it's very stylized and feels more authentically comic book. Now we need POW! and KER-ZAT! to flash up whenever we attack.

[Cyjack]

They look about right for a game thats more than a year away from being released.

I dig the toon shading angle though. Hopefully this will help keep it playable on a wide variety of machines, as well.

[TheMime]

I'm waiting to see game animation before I offer any opinions on the style, but I have a feeling I'm going to like it. It does have a more "drawn" look, which is appropriate for a super-hero setting.

[Dr.Killjoy]

Hola, I'm uber new here but I rather enjoy the cel shaded route. I think it's a great way to pay homage to the comics.

[Harkonis]

I like the look, it's very stylized and feels more authentically comic book. Now we need POW! and KER-ZAT! to flash up whenever we attack.


Agreed on both points :)

I really like the look, it's like a more 'serious' comic book brought to life.

[TK514]

I think the problem I have with the screenshots they've shown is isn't the cel shading, which I believe to be appropriate to the genre, but rather that the characters seem to be washed out. There is too much white in the characters, regardless of what color they actually are, as compared to the environments.

[TheOverbob]

As long as they don't go the Crackdown route of super-detailed bump+specular mapped characters and backgrounds with cell-shading added afterwards, it should be ok. It just looks really stoopid when there's this nice, hi-res, hi-poly model with full highlighting and reflections and then it has this giant black outline. It was such a disconcerting look, like the art-style is changing while you are playing.

If you are going cell-shaded then go all the way. TF2 or Wind-waker style. Or even look at the Naruto game for the 360 (boring to play, but it had a wonderful art-style).

[Derella]

I'm loving the look as it is right now. It's something new to the MMO space, and it looks amazing.

[Ex_Machina]

Another voice here in support of the cell shading style. It just gives the right comic book feeling in my opinion. :cool:

[smogzy]

I guess at this stage they are renders not screen caps? Cell shading, if done right, looks great. It will give it a unique look for a MMORPG

Anyway a "cartoony look" to this game fits into the genre just great imo.

[Officer_Longarm]

Yeah, I was wondering if they were renders. I agree with the "washed out" comment, and the thick black lines are a bit disconcerting. I'm ambivalent about cell-shading, as Wind Waker is my only game experience with that style. Graphics that allow for smooth gameplay across a wide range of hardware is definitely a plus. I upgraded my rig last year for CoH, but it'll likely be considered mid-grade by the time CO comes out.

[Bystander]

I'm waiting to see game animation before I offer any opinions on the style, but I have a feeling I'm going to like it. It does have a more "drawn" look, which is appropriate for a super-hero setting.

Same here. I definitely want to see some animations before I make any 'final' decisions on the art style. But so far at least, I am really liking the cel-shading, it really does fit the genre well in my opinion.

[Quest]

Yeah, I was wondering if they were renders. I agree with the "washed out" comment, and the thick black lines are a bit disconcerting. I'm ambivalent about cell-shading, as Wind Waker is my only game experience with that style. Graphics that allow for smooth gameplay across a wide range of hardware is definitely a plus. I upgraded my rig last year for CoH, but it'll likely be considered mid-grade by the time CO comes out.

I disagree, i think the black lines fit perfectly with the comic book feel, as do the "next" and "previous" buttons along with their fonts. These are most definatly renders though, if you look the quality of the background changes from screenshot to screenshot, but thats to be expected for a game so far away.

[Alamias]

I'll admit, cell shading has never really caught on with me. It doesn't mean I haven't played games with it before (X-Men Legends...etc) but I never really liked the style.

So far, the screenshots I have seen I haven't hated yet, so that is a good sign.

[Stormsun]

Personally I detest the art in most cell shaded games (Wind Waker still makes me mad), the renders look pretty good though, and if they continue in this vein I think I'll be a fan. My main problem is that I don't like the blocky, animated Lego appearance of most cell-shaded games, as though the design team had gone cell-shading to avoid having to put in any effort on the animations.

I'm also likely going to be extremely put off if I smack a guy in the head and a big orange "BOFFO!" pops up...

[Rune]

I love cell shading, but I'll agree it hasn't always been used properly in the past. It's a perfect fit stylistically with this game.

[Greyhawke]

Personally, I was hoping this was the art style they chose. Its very distinctive and gives the feel that you are in a comic. I like it so far. Obviously I will have a better idea when we see actual in-game video, but til then I am happy.

[HeroGojira]

They seem, I dunno, a little flat. Is it a stylistic choice or is something missing?

I agree, but I think that's because I'm not seeing any shadows cast by objects either. They are screenshots of a game 1 year or more from release, I'm sure tweaks and more depth can be added.

[mmadaveb]

It's looking good so far! Can't wait to see it in action.

[Rhyder]

I think the graphics for this game is prety cool IMO, like some people said it does give the idea of the Superhero comics :)

[RandomCitizenX]

Cell shading is the correct way to go with this game without a doubt. It sets the right tone for the super hero awesomeness that is sure to come.

[Doughboy]

I don't mind the visual look. I understand what they're going for. Still, I can't really say if I like it or not until I see it in gameplay movies.

[Klitch]

I don't mind the visual look. I understand what they're going for. Still, I can't really say if I like it or not until I see it in gameplay movies.

Agreed

(10 character limit)

[Firestrike]

I'm also likely going to be extremely put off if I smack a guy in the head and a big orange "BOFFO!" pops up...
Agreed. That's appropriate for some games, like Freedom Force (at least I think that was in there for something...), but it would be too corny in a game like this.

I really like look they're going for. I have to agree with several people here that it really seems comic booky, but at the same time it looks like it will be very detailed too. I loved the cell shading in Wind Waker and Team Fortress 2 looks (and moves) great, so I have high hopes for what they pull off.

[Ephezius]

The visual style is perfect for a comic-inspired game... I'd prefer it over a more realistic feel.

I was reading the GI mag, by the way, and the devs said it's a bit different from traditional cel-shading because it has intereior textures and bump maps for more detail... they called it "Comic Shading"

Love it!

[Kitty-Eater]

I like it, one of the things provoking my interest in Champions.

[SuperMario]

Not only is cel shading very much in line for a comic book based game, but WoW has proven that a distinct style is more appealing and weathers time better than realistic feel.

[Raindog]

I hope the cell shading look gives them a little more wiggle room when scaling to different system specs. I love CoH, but it always ran sluggish on my box for (IMO) a low graphical payoff. I have other games that look better and play smoother. Hopefully cellshading can be used to cheat a little and give us a stylish and good looking presentation without kicking the crap out of our video cards.

[Crindon]

Im kinda ify about the cel-shaded direction.. but ill still give it a try..

[TerraDraconis]

I initially thought those where artists drawings or renderings. After thinking about it I realized that they deliberately went for a more cartoony look. I think that is deliberate and is likely to be a very good decision by them in the long run.

[Eolirin]

So the GI article talked about how they've made modifications to the typical cellshading techniques? Because it did look rather different compared to most cellshaded methods I've seen before. And for once, the backgrounds don't seem to clash too much with the character models, something that's typically been a serious issue with cellshaded games. The backgrounds often have signficantly more depth to them than the character models, and the disconnect is rather jarring in a lot of cases.

And I really don't think that those screenshots have to be renders, although they could be... but if they're really releasing Spring 2009, they've got to have the engine at least functional by now. Nothing in those shots seems well outside of the range of what we can do with graphics right now either, so I see no reason to assume they're not in engine. Lighting also does seem to be working, although it may not be applying to everything, but there definitely are shadows in some shots. I also don't expect them to have final artwork on everything, even if the engine is fully functional, so the difference of quality between shots isn't too surprising.

[Holiday]

I'm surprised by the amount of negativity people have with the cel-shading. I love cel-shaded graphics, ever since I played VIewtiful Joe for the first time. From what I've seen in the screenshots, it gives the characters a charismatic flare.

[AlpineViper]

The cel shading doesnt look quite right to me at the moment. However, given we're a long way from release I'm not exactly screaming "DOOOOOOOOOMMM" here. Anyone else notice though how the cave walls and buildings look OH SO VERY similar in design to the CoH buildings and cave walls?

Oh and I'm no expert, but I don't believe that TF2 is actually cel shaded at all. I believe the term they used was "phong shading". However I really understood very little of the extended art direction video I watched on it so feel free to correct me.

[cruise]

I've always missed not having cel-shading in CoH and I'm glad to see it this time round. The special f/x look nicer too, from what I can see - I can't wait until the first in-game movies...

[Tendeep]

Anyone remember the game SEED? (died after release) The graphics were very similar- I liked it.

This reminded me of Eternal Sonata for some reason :p

[Zizi]

This reminded me of Eternal Sonata for some reason :p

I do remember Seed, and this is similar, but what it REALLY reminds me of is Crackdown for the 360-- Cell shading with that neat outline shader, but with really nice, detailed textures instead of flat cell-like texturing. It's an interesting hybrid, and just perfect for Champions, IMO.

[Nimrod]

i love it my self im happy with it ..

[Razreshat]

It actually makes me a bit nervous. I'm not liking it that much. However, like has been said above, I really need to see some actual game play footage to be able to tell.

One nitpick, though. People keep saying its appropriate for a game based on comic books. However, this game is base on a PnP roleplaying game, not comics. City of Heroes is probably more appropriately deemed as based on Comics.

I would be a bit more comfortable with the art direction if they were moving forward from the artistic style of CoH, but there is a long time to see what they do before release.

[nakoda]

one thing to keep in mind as well is that regardless of wether Cryptic made CoH, this isn't just going ot be CoH 2. this is a genre, and Cryptic is showing that like with the fantasy genre, the industry can support multiple titles within a perticular genre.

What they've done is put themselves in to a position, though, where many more casual viewers are going ot see this as CoH2.

Thusly, the art direction will need to be different from CoH in order to distinctly tell the two apart. Cell Shading is a great way to do so. I like the cell shading concept, but have a few concerns that were already mentioned above.

• Currently, without much shadow work the images do look flat and slightly washed out. not enough contrast.
• The backgrounds look exactly like CoH backgrounds. Hopefully these get altered enough to feel fresh and not feel like CoH 2. Perhaps they used those styles of backgrounds just as filler and have something in mind for future screenies/vids.
• The Particle Effects on the bloack shadow villain guy look like a dark miasma player from CoH just cell shaded. Again, bordering too heavily on ebing a CoH 2 look a like.

aside from those few points of contention, i like the style the cell shading offers, and given enough development it can be a unique experience that will blow away our expectations.

[Lightslinger]

I've loved cel shaded games since Jet Set Radio way back in the day on the Dreamcast :)

I can't wait to see this game in action!

[Stormsun]

Actually, if it looks as good as TF2 I'm going to be quite happy. Have to disagree with nakoda though, I think the black-goop hold in the screen shots looks badass. It's similar to the miasma power but looks a lot more like something the Venom symbiont would cough up on someone, and I'm fine with that. There's only so many ways you can draw 'black stuff that holds you in place' so some crossover is to be expected.