SE5 screenshots ugly?

[Nats]

Whereas I agree wholeheartedly about graphics v gameplay neither one is mutually exclusive of the other. I love Stars! for example and I like SE4 but I dont play them anymore due to the graphics (as well as other factors). GC2 looks the part and plays pretty well also. If I have to stare at a screen for hours/days/months on end I would prefer it to be attractive rather than unattractive. I wouldnt play a 2d game and why should I these days when computer power can handle far better graphics than they could years ago?

Apart form the fact that graphics have a hell of a lot to do with immersion in a game.

Nats

[Captain Kwok]

There are suprisingly large number of gamers that are really only interested in the strategic elements of the game and even put up a fuss when SE:V was moving to 3d models/star systems. I can't imagine how many e-mails MM gets complaining that the game is not 'spreadsheety' enough or is too 'spreadsheety'.

It might be of little comfort that SE:V's interface is completely moddable, including the fonts and UI elements... right now I can see how some people might not like the particular graphics style that was used.

And like I mentioned before, some hedging was done of course with the 3d models (planets, facilties, ships, terrain, etc) to keep game requirements and still allow for lots of on-screen elements at once.

Lastly, the static screenshots really make things look worse than they are - when things are moving around and exploding - it's a lot more fun.

[Artaud]

Raapys said:
Well, performance & gameplay > graphics is how I see it. If it was up to me the game would still be in 2D, to avoid spending resources on other things than gameplay. As such I'm glad they at least didn't choose to spend alot of resources on the new graphics.

I'm with you 100% on this.

[Q]

Artaud said:

I'm with you 100% on this.

I'm with you 110% on this.

[Dizzy]

Well, Raapys, haha, buy a new comp u cheapo!!! If SEV hangs on to its monetary challenged playerbase with their 5 year old comps, then SEV wont ever be commercially viable. Sorry, but all a review has to do is say it has Amiga style graphics and the death knell will sound.

You peeps need to embrace 3D. I mean, I know you think a 3D Strategy Game is an oxymoron, but you're wrong. This is something that absolutely HAS to be done. I dont need to explain wahy, if you have any brains at all you already know. STFU and go buy a new computer. SEV commercially cannot hold back in the 3D dept. so you cheap bastards dont have to upgrade like evryone else. OMG.

Im sure you few hundred fans out there that swear 2D graphics are all you need will buy Amiga graphic styled SEV gameplay, but fortunately for SEV, it doesnt need you and so I hope the graphics will be up to date so the game sells.

[Suicide Junkie]

Would SE4 be improved by being rendered in 3D? No. It is about the GAME not the graphics.
It is the gameplay that keeps us playing SE4, making mods and shipsets and buying more CDs for people we know. A lot of us have been here since the last millenium, it is that good.

SE4's graphics are great. They look nice, but more importantly, they are enough to let the gameplay shine through. And if you want them to look better, you can either mod them yourself or download the stuff other people have done.
Who could need for anything more?
We're not watching a movie, we're playing a 4x wargame!

3D graphics are nice and all, but they mean Diddly-Squat for the gameplay that we are all here for.
Maybe someday you will learn that lesson.

The saddest part is that the retail market is indeed that shallow. Only fluff matters to them. And like everything else it will be there and gone in a month or two.

Meanwhile, SE3 still makes money.

[Kamog]

I think the SEV screenshots look great, including the ground combat.

[Renegade 13]

Dizzy said:
[snip...]
I dont need to explain wahy, if you have any brains at all you already know. STFU and go buy a new computer. SEV commercially cannot hold back in the 3D dept. so you cheap bastards dont have to upgrade like evryone else. OMG.

Im sure you few hundred fans out there that swear 2D graphics are all you need will buy Amiga graphic styled SEV gameplay, but fortunately for SEV, it doesnt need you and so I hope the graphics will be up to date so the game sells.

If it's all the same to you, I'd rather you not tell people to "Shut the F*ck Up" and refrain from personal insults ie: "you cheap bastards".

And to be honest, the 4X genre isn't exactly one that has hordes of followers, so a few hundred fans are "needed"...

Lets say it retails for $50 US. $50 US x say 300 = $15,000...sounds like a lot of cash to me, and I bet it would to the developers here.

You're entitled to your opinion and to express it; but please refrain from insulting other members of this forum.

Thank you.

[Graeme Dice]

Raapys said:
If it was up to me the game would still be in 2D, to avoid spending resources on other things than gameplay.

I wish I knew where this fallacy first arose that a computer game cannot have both good graphics and good gameplayl; this incorrect belief that having one of them means that not enough time was spent on the other. It's got very little grounding in reality.

[Fyron]

It is based on much experience over the years with games being dumbed down or otherwise reduced in gameplay to make time for ever-fancier graphics. Surely it is possible to have both (and there do exist examples out there), but it tends to be less common...

Dizzy, please maintain the general level of civility of these forums. Thank you.