How will the developers/artists of Intrepid show the true potential of AoC's art/graphic style?

MybroViajero

These two videos made me think a lot about the development update of the nodes, since they touch points that make you think if it will be enough to have the UE5 technology or on the contrary that UE5 technology will be a double-edged sword.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_WIhy4jbr8&t=0s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boUS8QGxEng


Within the highlights of these 2 videos I could highlight these topics to touch on:

1.- What will be the real artistic potential of AoC to engage its players.
2.- What are Intrepid willing to sacrifice for the realism that UE5 can offer.
3.- What will be the best use of AoC's artistic style in which content? In RP ? In PvP ? In PvE? In exploration ? Where will it be used to its fullest potential? Will some content be affected in some way or another by the art style that AoC will have? (e.g. visibility). https://youtube.com/clip/Ugkx7IwWvt05ePQp2LM6SDe9Sc49HLKecqJK?si=BqP8clC3yG1e00xN
4.-Will the future AoC art style be important enough to make future players feel that they are really playing AoC?
5.- What feelings will AoC's art style provoke in players?



I trust that the developers/artists of Intrepid will make us feel that we are in the world of AoC and not in the world of UE5.

Dygz

This was a concern for Ashes before the Village Update/Nodes video.

Rhythmz

I don't think this is the answer you and especially Intrepid would want but,maybe they can't differentiate? We will probably just be in the world of UE5,as you put it. All of these games pretty much look the same but they also look pretty good. I'd have to imagine their respective developers know that and I haven't seen any solution so far.

TheDarkSorcerer

I'm just confused how this conversation was created on Sept 5th of this year. These questions would be valid 4-5 years ago. But the base for the artistic look and style of this game has already been set, and they've showed the style and art direction of this game in many of the recent dev showcases with a very clear direction they're heading in. So i'm not sure how to answer these questions for you...

RocketFarmer

I don't think this is a stylized game in the artsy-fartsy way (as the artists like to call it). Or perhaps most folks just think the art is more generic and models real world elements (opinions). Just like they haven't invested in voice actors, which fills out the auditory canvas.

Looking at the mounts, however, I can't really see how much more they can stylize that. Ribbons and tattoos on bunnies? Do they already have that option?

Also pretty sure they are holding off on showing us the good stuff and all of this is still pre-Alpha 2. Like say, Tulnar. That may be where they set themselves apart from the other MMOs, maybe.

Stylized is also subjective. Technically an RPGMMO with stick figures and all of the cool systems in place would be "stylized". Be careful what you ask for.

Personally, coming from old school, I'll take stuff that just works over stuff that looks good. Not the Todd Howard version of "just works", mind you, although folks are still playing Skyrim to this day (albeit more to do with the lack of good games coming out recently). I am more of an art looks good enough to not be a distraction kind of player. Combat animations and feel hold a higher priority for me. And game performance.

But I guess it's mainly the PCs and NPCs people are claiming are too generic. Right? BTW, from the same folks who in the same breath are celebrating the character creator and the vistas in game, which to me suggests they may just be complaining to complain - and probably because the game hasn't released yet.

Kilion

There is always something confusing about these types of questions for me and I will try to keep it as short as possible

1.- What will be the real artistic potential of AoC to engage its players.
2.- What are Intrepid willing to sacrifice for the realism that UE5 can offer.
4.-Will the future AoC art style be important enough to make future players feel that they are really playing AoC?

This ususally comes down to people reducing "artistic value" to visuals, which probably anyone having read a good book or who heard a song that stirred you up inside will know couldn't be further from the truth. To me personally the beauty is in the way Ashes aspires to tell it's stories (through the story arc system), the way the regions will feel deeply immersive through designing the regions to feel natural and sound design (reference to these streams: biome design &sound design)

The insistance on that not creating a new unique graphic stlye would make the game "lacking" to me can't hold up at all. Maybe its because I enjoyed books more than most or because I'm used to basically no graphics from playing TTRPGs, but a "realistic" visual style (as much as that is even possible in a fantasy setting, right Final Fantasy?) in my opinion is far superior and more enjoyable than trying to make one up just because.

The focus on engaging play mechanics, sound design, crafting the landscapes as immersive as possible and having distinguishable race architecture - as well as the music we have yet to hear more of - in my opinion is already of high artistic value. Why any of that is dismissed because the visuals aren't "unique" honestly is beyond me.

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3.- What will be the best use of AoC's artistic style in which content? In RP ? In PvP ? In PvE? In exploration ? Where will it be used to its fullest potential? Will some content be affected in some way or another by the art style that AoC will have? (e.g. visibility). https://youtube.com/clip/Ugkx7IwWvt05ePQp2LM6SDe9Sc49HLKecqJK?si=BqP8clC3yG1e00xN


I honestly don't get the question, so I'll leave that to someone brighter than me.

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5.- What feelings will AoC's art style provoke in players?

That'll probably depend on the content we are currently engaged in. But I'd love to hear some examples of what other games visual art is doing for the player feelings.

MybroViajero

I mean, I particularly like the direction that AoC is taking is its art and everything related, I understand that it is a LONG process where little by little it will see what things to improve and what not, what things really need to be polished and what not, because objectively speaking Intrepid artists can not please everyone, the art of AoC will be the Art of AoC, I understand that perfectly.

However the central theme that was touched in those 2 videos , THE STYLE , is something that caught my attention because particularly , in my way of seeing video games , when something is so realistic sometimes can lose essence / style and the UE5 what it provides is a lot of technology to make things more realistic.

Don't get me wrong , it's not that I don't like UE5 , not at all , I love that Intrepid has the latest in technology to keep improving , but it also scares me a little to think that UE5 will turn AoC is the world of UE5 and not the world of AoC , it scares me a little to think that the art style of AoC depends so much on UE5 and that really the true style of AoC will be overshadowed by what UE5 can provide.

I don't know if I'm over exaggerating but I'm trying not to be so white knight to have an opinion that can help more, I hope I'm not misunderstood as I really like the direction AoC development is going but I also want to have a more constructive opinion so to speak.