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Phase I of Alpha Two testing will occur on weekends. Each weekend is scheduled to start on Fridays at 10 AM PT and end on Sundays at 10 PM PT. Find out more here.
Check out Alpha Two Announcements here to see the latest Alpha Two news and update notes.
Our quickest Alpha Two updates are in Discord. Testers with Alpha Two access can chat in Alpha Two channels by connecting your Discord and Intrepid accounts here.
Character Model Lighting and Zoom
Andi
Member, Alpha Two
I was wondering for a while what it was that makes AoC character models look... off. AoC itself looks pretty awesome, and the models aren't even that terrible (but surely not finished yet, either).
Is it the animations? The combat looks fine... but yes, idle animations and all movement needs work, but that's not it.
The zoom? Yes, you can zoom out pretty far, and I'm sure that has something to do with it, but it's not all there is to it, and the model scale (in relation to landmarks and buildings) seems fine.
Then it hit me: The game has no character lighting. I double-checked, and sure enough, AoC chars look like shadows zooming around. Let me show you what I mean with character lighting.
Maybe consider implementing a "torch" function like this that lights up nothing but the character itself, and rethink the distance you can zoom out -- currently, you can turn your char into an ant and see half the zone at max zoom-out.
Is it the animations? The combat looks fine... but yes, idle animations and all movement needs work, but that's not it.
The zoom? Yes, you can zoom out pretty far, and I'm sure that has something to do with it, but it's not all there is to it, and the model scale (in relation to landmarks and buildings) seems fine.
Then it hit me: The game has no character lighting. I double-checked, and sure enough, AoC chars look like shadows zooming around. Let me show you what I mean with character lighting.
Maybe consider implementing a "torch" function like this that lights up nothing but the character itself, and rethink the distance you can zoom out -- currently, you can turn your char into an ant and see half the zone at max zoom-out.
1
Comments
This is my personal feedback, shared to help the game thrive in its niche.
The screenshots are from DAoC, btw, to illustrate what I mean.
I think you might be right though. Not that I mind very much, I know graphics and polishing is now what the current testing is about. I am sure the characters will look as mesmerizing as the rest of the world as we near launch.
The screenshots were from DAoC
This is my personal feedback, shared to help the game thrive in its niche.
I wonder if they used the same engine, because from my memory bank (which is not trust worthy btw xd) that looks near identical to GW1!
DAOC=Dark age of Camelot.
This is my personal feedback, shared to help the game thrive in its niche.