HDR - I like the definition, the color seems richer.  You can see the lines which make up the main reason for your artistic choice.

       -  What I didn't like about HDR, the particle effects (I think thats what they are (part of the circle beneath the character)) you can see well in the others doesn't show up as well at all.

Soft 100 and soft 75.  What I like about soft 100 is that if you can visualize the trees in the distance seem to blld in better.  It is an effect I think you should consider, but try not to do it so much near the center of the camera.  I think what you have going on here is a very nice distance effect.  Just wondering if you can mix it up to get that real softness far away from the camera view and not the character view (unless that happens to be where the camera is).

R,

nacho

Soft: 75. Although it's difficult to tell without actually running the program. 

As an aside, do you guys ever take time off?

Of the three, I prefer soft 75, is there a soft 50 option?

I do notice the details change between the pictures (taken over different times) and perfectly identical frames would be a better comparison.

I like the feel of these images. From this far out the art style doesn't seem so "nerf" to me as some of the other images. It looks a little more serious and with the fog, kinda foreboding - good.

Regards,

Kul

The ground looks best in soft 75, but all the more complicated models look better with 'No HDR'. Take a look at the city to the right - with the soft lighting pictures, the city appears fuzzy and details are lost. With the No HDR picture it's sharp and crisp. Personally, I'd rather have the objects I'm going to be paying attention to looking nice rather than have a better overall picture when I'm not playing the game, so for that reason my vote is going to the 'No HDR' picture.

No HDR looks best to me in those screenshots.

Well all three look acceptable to me. If I was to choose a favourite, it'd be Soft 75.

However, what you might want to consider is programming a specalized lighting shader that is a little less realistic. Have it accentuate the colours around the edges of objects like trees and such. If done right I think it could give them a kind of cartoony "pop" and look really good. The terrain I'd light normally.

I prefer soft 75.

Soft 75!

I am for soft 75. However it would be wise to test the fallen land too. Would it be possible to arrange few enemy units to the picture too? I have found the friendly one after a minute of watching the pictures. It is not good. If the enemy units are as invisible as this one, it is actually prety bad.

Suggestion: NWN has a feature if you press the Tab button, all important objects on the screen start to glow. If you release the button, the scene is rendered normally.  It may be good if there is such feature in Elemental too. Press some hot-key and all army units and cities start to glow at*) the color of its faction. It may even even be useful if this option can be turned on/off.

(* Sorry,  I am not sure whether the preposition is right. But I hope the idea is clear.

The pics are strange since the trees on the hills are there on one pic but not the other...and the no HDR pic got graphic artifacts or something. So no HDR is gone....

But they do look really similar. I really like the top pic with its dark scene.

Heh, I really don't got the patience to compare pics like this.

i like soft 75 most of those three. 100 is really too blurry.

I think it is hard for me, like for many other posters here, to give a qualified answer. Most of the posts here have been very subjective -- which is not surprising, since most of us here are not specialists in computer art. I can only say which screenshot "appeals" to me slightly more than the others (75), but I think most of us need help in learning the details so as to give a qualified feedback.

Soft 75

I agree, it looks pretty gloomy on all three accounts.  I think it's more due to the dim, desaturated coloring of your textures more than the lighting that's at fault though.  A small shift towards green and marginal saturation boost to soft100 and I got this:

http://www.copernicanstudios.com/elemental_satshift.jpg

Much more appealing imho.