Ummm... it's an alpha build.  There's plenty of time for improving art, and it's been mentioned none of the shots include lighting effects or polish.  Besides, fans will also be able to submit their own work, so even if SD's isn't good (doubtful after seeing some new shots) fans will be able to mod in their own.

I think it's comments like this that make developers hesitant to even want to show off the game before it's in beta.  I wouldn't blame them, especially if people aren't understanding that it's a work-in-progress.

I actually have to second this. I hope that when all the buildings are put into the game they will be consistently scaled.

That said I love this new artwork. It looks absolutely amazing. Although I have to ask... what is that missile silo-looking thing? Does anybody else think it looks like the UEO nuke silos from Supreme Commander?

Edit: One more think: it looks like the roof on the L-shaped building to the left is floating above the rest of the building..?

I was just expressing my "brutally honest" opinion in the same style as you. That is, no lies, just what i tought when i read your post. So IF i was insulting, you were too. That's the problem with honesty. I have already said what i think about art/praphics in other threads, no need to repeat myself, you can search them. And i won't bother defending it because, really, it's a matter of opinion and a lost battle with no winers. If you prefer to "insult" the work done (let's forget for now the alpha phase of the game...) classifying it as "1st of April" joke, that's up to you. Maybe if you had stated why you didn't like it exactly (like other people has done) instead of chosing a bashing style, my first reaction would have been different.

I'm not going to try to change your mind and you won't be able to change mine so let's say that you don't like it for considering it mediocre and that i'm fine with it and hoping for some improvement.

I think the style looks great.  Some elements are missing, and others look a long way from finished, but I can't complain about the style.

Now thats more like it!

Alright kids the game is over a year away so ya these are just the graphics now and not even in beta or the final product so its a good start... thats all that needs to be said. Have a cooled one on me... and lets start a bar fight!

This game will look great. The fact that stardock will make sure thast their game works great on all kids of different machines is also way cool.

As for the pics I love them. Can't wait to see everything together.

As for some who want to complain about the graphics up to know remember that probably most games that look way cool now looked way bad when they were in their alpha build. PATIENCE!

All Hail the Frog

First of all... as far as I know, this isn't even alpha... pre-alpha if not pre-pre-alpha. One thing I like that seems to be showing is how different some of the styles are in different zoom levels... Way out it is like a LOTR map, a bit more in and it looks more realistic, while still retaining the fantasy feel of the design. I really like the way these are designed, since in many strategy games zooming out looks more like a satellite image than anything else (if you are allowed to zoom out at all), making finding what you are looking for much more difficult. This seems to be a very nice blend of 'OOHH PRETTIES!' at a level where it can be enjoyed and 'YAY! I CAN FIND WHAT IM LOOKING FOR!' in a way that it can be appreciated.

It appears that way... although by the looks of it, it is a two story building. The height seems to be about the same as the top of the two story portion of the building with the fence. I would guess there are large pillars in the center of the 2nd floor... something like so:

|-----------------------------------|
|        X           X           X        |         from top down, with X being pillar locations
|               |----------------------|
|               |
|       X      |
|               |
|------------|

and like this from the side:
 /---------------------------------------\
/_____________________________\
         I               I               I
|-----------------------------------------|        with I being pillars
|                                                   |
|                                                   |
|                                                   |
|_____________________________|

And if I were to guess... It is a market square, the fenced building is a place to train cavalry, the big one is a keep, and the little one... kinda a bad angle to guess, would have to see 3d version

Nice,

I think the stretch for realistic graphics has done a lot of damage to gaming over the years, often reducing the visual element to the role of passive mimic. It is inspiring to see that art is at the forefront of your thinking for elemental, as that elusive x-factor 'timelessness,' is more often a derivative of symbol than of scale.

Looks great! I look forward to seeing this unfurl.

I quite like both of the pictures that Yotix linked to above.  The first one is simple, but I quite like the style, and the second is a just a character concept, so it's showing equipment and character more then exactly what the character will look like in game.

Also, for the first picture, they have mentioned several times that shadows and perhaps other elements will still be added to the look.

Yay! Surely this is a good sign

Lots of games try to be realistic but to be honest none of our computer hardware is capable of rendering graphics realistic enough to fool our eyes just yet. If you aim for a goal then you can achieve a high degree of graphical realism but if you reach too far then you end up with three things. Brown, Bloom and Boring.

And then there is always 'uncanny valley' as it is called... When something looks very realistic but not quite enough to fool your brain, it tends to conciously or subconciously unsettle people and kinda make em feel there is some sort of creepyness about the image...

Hehe.. although if any company were to make a real looking world and make it run well it would be Stardock... SoaSE is proof enough of that

Question then- what would a better graphics card get you over those Pixelshader 2 cards?

I'm still doing my laptop shopping (Yes, I know a desktop would be better, but I need to be able to port this to work to play at work)  Just trying to get a nice laptop that will handle this like butter, not overheat, and not cost over $1500.  Hard to find though.

Stylized art is always something I approve of if it's done well.  Character in art is more important then polygons.

Planned from the start