2D art Vs 3D art

[sairtar]

I was flipping through the code yesterday and found that every unit has the option of being displayed as 2d art rather than having that 3d mess that sometimes looks great and at other times looks awful.  Example, talking to lord whats his name and hes moving around like crazy and his horse is making a little more movement and the background looks like junk.  The question is, is that better than a 2D illustrated portrait?  Will it make things to Eastern if you see portraits of companions bickering with one another?  etc?

[MitchyMatt]

I was flipping through the code yesterday and found that every unit has the option of being displayed as 2d art rather than having that 3d mess that sometimes looks great and at other times looks awful.  Example, talking to lord whats his name and hes moving around like crazy and his horse is making a little more movement and the background looks like junk.  The question is, is that better than a 2D illustrated portrait?  Will it make things to Eastern if you see portraits of companions bickering with one another?  etc?

Well I rather hate talking to a picture of just a lord. I clearly find that the moveable 3D lord is much more 'realistic' to talk too. I would find it in favor of keeping a 3D moveable lord than the 2D art I find in other mods. Make a poll and see what everyone says. Im sure that will give you some input in what people want in a quick fashion.

[Shadow-Seeker]

Well can you give us a picture or an example of what it looks like?

[sairtar]

Two very valid points, one because honestly... it does add a nice quality to see the lord, and two because im not sure what it would look like.  In the event that it was a picture, I would consider adding perhaps a lore related quotes, or stats if it were a unit, or something in a non intrusive way that can be readily added to a portrait for instance.  Portraits are about mood, and movement is about realism. 

Culturally I think western europeaners (including the US in that) prefer realism.

[MitchyMatt]

Another factor: I heard there wasn't going to be much if any voice acting in this game. Unless they are specifically carried over into this mod. If there aren't going to be voices for such said bandits or adventurers like we see in the current PoP version. Then they are less important to see as they will just stand there silently as the dialogue does the talking.

[sairtar]

I am currently exploring all possible options, its going to come down to what gives pop 4 the most unique feel, and with the most emphasis on lore and characters.

This game is for all of you, not for me.

[HUtH]

So instead of loading an area with a people(centered of one) it'd be only some picture? I very like that idea, it's like from different older games, when there was only portraits "talking". But these pictures should look nice, otherwise even ugly 3D is better, because of that "real" feel. And imho all should be made in the same style... The easiest would be some heavily edited screenshots from game I suppose... in different positions, angle etc. but with some nice background, lighting, etc.
And may I ask if the "window" with person can be scalable?

I heard there wasn't going to be much if any voice acting in this game.

No? I could do something if needed

[DrSane]

Having a 2d picture would work really well with a voiceover like those done in age of empires 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFIbyRtLHvg

Conversly if there are no voice overs stick with the 3d animation, cause a mute picture is very depressing. Personally though i would say include the voiceovers and sound effects and background noise in the pubs and in the cities because, while people might say they dont notice, riding around in a ghost town is awfull, this game has lots of people and locations, one of the great things about POP is that the world actually seems alive, which is something you will need to replicate in POP 4.

If u want voice overs and pictures to experiment with, i can do both.

[ms_ts_2007]

One ideea would be to have two categories of encounters, regular encounters and special encounters.

Regular encounters would be agains looters, bandits, deserters, etc. I know this was sugested, but I would have these encounters be presented in 2d art ( a picture that coresponds to the type of soldiers envolved) and also, narrated in third person, not as a dialogue, something akin to "On this day, your army stumbled across yet another group of ragged man that seem dangerous enough to warrant your attention", do you want to...."

Or even a more radical ideea, have a certain "advisor" 2d or 3d picture, that would talk to you before these engagements. It always seemed weird and unimersive that i get to talk to a certain bandit leader face to face before battle. Instead, a scout or an aide or an advisor should come and inform me "Your Majesty, we encountered a group of armed men that seem to be deserters. How do you want us to proceed ?"

Direct talk should be reserved for lords and kings, it would make these encounters special, and fighting them would be akin to a promotion.

[Pravenstern]

Is it difficult to make a on/off switch that would allow the player to choose between those two in-game?

[Rical]

Ah the Sadness I would face if you made 2D..... Of course 3D 

[sairtar]

One ideea would be to have two categories of encounters, regular encounters and special encounters.

Regular encounters would be agains looters, bandits, deserters, etc. I know this was sugested, but I would have these encounters be presented in 2d art ( a picture that coresponds to the type of soldiers envolved) and also, narrated in third person, not as a dialogue, something akin to "On this day, your army stumbled across yet another group of ragged man that seem dangerous enough to warrant your attention", do you want to...."

Or even a more radical ideea, have a certain "advisor" 2d or 3d picture, that would talk to you before these engagements. It always seemed weird and unimersive that i get to talk to a certain bandit leader face to face before battle. Instead, a scout or an aide or an advisor should come and inform me "Your Majesty, we encountered a group of armed men that seem to be deserters. How do you want us to proceed ?"

Direct talk should be reserved for lords and kings, it would make these encounters special, and fighting them would be akin to a promotion.

I like where this is going, does anyone else have thoughts on this topic... does having a 3d picture of ugly bandit with random facial features wearing cotton shirt of +1 manliness really seal the deal, or would a 2d scene of bandits in a tree line be better for mood?

[Rical]

One ideea would be to have two categories of encounters, regular encounters and special encounters.

Regular encounters would be agains looters, bandits, deserters, etc. I know this was sugested, but I would have these encounters be presented in 2d art ( a picture that coresponds to the type of soldiers envolved) and also, narrated in third person, not as a dialogue, something akin to "On this day, your army stumbled across yet another group of ragged man that seem dangerous enough to warrant your attention", do you want to...."

Or even a more radical ideea, have a certain "advisor" 2d or 3d picture, that would talk to you before these engagements. It always seemed weird and unimersive that i get to talk to a certain bandit leader face to face before battle. Instead, a scout or an aide or an advisor should come and inform me "Your Majesty, we encountered a group of armed men that seem to be deserters. How do you want us to proceed ?"

Direct talk should be reserved for lords and kings, it would make these encounters special, and fighting them would be akin to a promotion.

I like where this is going, does anyone else have thoughts on this topic... does having a 3d picture of ugly bandit with random facial features wearing cotton shirt of +1 manliness really seal the deal, or would a 2d scene of bandits in a tree line be better for mood?

I agree with this.. Only lower-level bandits though

[Shadow-Seeker]

One ideea would be to have two categories of encounters, regular encounters and special encounters.

Regular encounters would be agains looters, bandits, deserters, etc. I know this was sugested, but I would have these encounters be presented in 2d art ( a picture that coresponds to the type of soldiers envolved) and also, narrated in third person, not as a dialogue, something akin to "On this day, your army stumbled across yet another group of ragged man that seem dangerous enough to warrant your attention", do you want to...."

Or even a more radical ideea, have a certain "advisor" 2d or 3d picture, that would talk to you before these engagements. It always seemed weird and unimersive that i get to talk to a certain bandit leader face to face before battle. Instead, a scout or an aide or an advisor should come and inform me "Your Majesty, we encountered a group of armed men that seem to be deserters. How do you want us to proceed ?"

Direct talk should be reserved for lords and kings, it would make these encounters special, and fighting them would be akin to a promotion.

I like where this is going, does anyone else have thoughts on this topic... does having a 3d picture of ugly bandit with random facial features wearing cotton shirt of +1 manliness really seal the deal, or would a 2d scene of bandits in a tree line be better for mood?

I agree with this.. Only lower-level bandits though

Minor factions maybe, but all lower-level bandits maybe a 2d drawing.

[ms_ts_2007]

A picture is worth a thousand words,,, and I will get more later, complete with narration.

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