As the game draws close to beta, I believe it's a good idea to talk about the Unit/Building art before it's been finalized. As you know, Blizzard DO take our suggestions into account as seen by the updated Siege Tank and the Infestors.Post your constructive feedbacks on the arts and Jon will be sending in the suggestions for the next monthly report. Here is mine. Protoss: I actually like the Protoss back when they first revealed SC2. Protoss buildings/units are suppose to be shiny and sparkling. However, in the most recent update (ever since Blizzard decided to tone down the brightness of the game),Protoss have become a bit gritty. I believe the grit should be only for the Terrans and that the shiny and sparkling feel should keep intact for the Protoss. http://www.starcraftwire.net/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=1042&size=big&cat=501 This is the newest Protoss art that I don't like. Notice that the Protoss units are not very shiny and kind of dark. http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/6206/screencraft0803b.jpg Notice that in this screenshot, Protoss have the glamorous look to them? Every unit is very shiny and bright. The Nullifer in this screenshot looks a lot better then the 1st screenshot IMO. This is the what Protoss should like like. Now on to the Protoss Units. Stalkers - Even though it went through an update, I still believe the unit still needs some fine tuning. Like I said, make it more glamorous. Everything else for the Protoss seems pretty good. Those are my only complaints for Protoss. Terran: Hellion - This unit simply needs a remodel. I really hate it. It looks like a remote control car.I suggest to make it a hover unit like the Vultures because to be honest, the buggy feel makes it look very plain. Ghosts - Remodel. I suggest it by making it have a dark suit. Kind of like this artwork. http://images.wiki.wegame.com/i/icc8PQdd.jpg The white suit simply doesn't make the ghost feel like a stealthy unit. Everything else seems to be fine. Terran is a dark and gritty race and with the most recent engine update, Blizzard has nailed it. Zerg: Zerglings - The old zerglings actually looked a lot better then the new one. In case that you don't know what the new zergling looks like, take a look at Battle Report 2. Their body shape looks like slimy worms with legs hopping around. Change it back to it's original look where it has this more beastly look. Roaches - Remodel. Those big claws looks very lame in that the roaches doesn't even use it. Roaches doesn't really look like a unit that is suppose to heal very fast. Remodel it completely. Lurkers - These units looks like giant crabs. Blizzard did say they will fine tune it. As of now, we haven't seen the fine tuned Lurkers so I can't really comment on it. But based on the past screenshots, Lurkers needs some fine tuning or simply a remodel. Overall, Blizzard is doing a very good job with the Zerg by adding the slime factor into it. It really makes the race a lot more realistic.
Awesome sauce. Let's begin. Protoss. Personally, I really do like the look of the newer Protoss. It's hard to explain, really, but I just think it's a style that really suits them. The older Protoss did also have a suitable style, but there's just something about depicting them as flawless and shiny that doesn't seem to suit them as well as the current skins do. I guess right now they just look more relatable and real, I guess, though having said that, I'm really only judging all that by the look of the Immortals in that screenshot, and yes, everything else does seem pretty dull. On to specific units, I do actually have a bone to pick with most of the Protoss, though they're only small. Firstly, the Zealot, but more specifically, its psi blades. There just seems to be something completely unnecessary about ghost-like psi blades of the latest renders which seem to leave me wondering whether they're actually there or not. While obviously weightless, mass-less, frictionless, etc, etc, they used to have a really solid feel to them, which the latest versions simply do not have. Combined with how microscopic these effects are anyway, they just seem pointless. With the Dark Templar, they should just stick to one model. The poll they gave was, in fact, quite bias in assuring that a random model's spat out each time, as it was resulted in being a collection of several options, such as liking both equally, not caring which model is used, wanting both to be in the editor, etc, with the options for either the double scythe or psi blade being just that. I'd much rather have just the psi bladed Dark Templar, my least favourite of the two, spawn each time than have a random render spawn each time, especially in a game where the devs have focused on being able to make quick decisions, etc, etc, to such an extent that they took the physics-related deaths out of multiplayer. With the Archon, fantastic. That's all I can say. Absolutely stunning model. Stalker, I agree with Ych. A great design, but it still needs a fair bit of work, in my opinion. I'm not even sure if all the changes were for the best, either, as the new render is missing a lot of great features that the original had. Firstly, the legs, which were so much more intricate and better suited to the seemingly standard legs it has now. Secondly, it lacks a turret, or gun, or just something to actually fire from. There's a definite place where you think 'well it probably shoots from that', but it's not enough. The old Stalker also still needed to address this issue, while it still had the crystals, it still wasn't enough. Now obviously attaching something like the Immortal's guns or something is the wrong way to go about it, something like the Nullifier's 'eye' or something possibly being better suited, but, in my opinion, it's an issue that still needs to be addressed. Lastly, the arms. Something definitely needs to be done with them. With the original model, they suited well, being small enough to blend in, but now, they just stick out too much and too awkwardly. Overall, I'd probably even go as far to say that the original render is better than the new one, so perhaps just removing one of the 'shields' and enlarging the other would have been a better way to go about it if having a single shield was of such importance in the first place. With the Immortal, there's very little to criticise, but I must say that I do prefer the original block-cannons to the super soakers they've got now. It also strikes me as odd that they're striving to change the Stalker to look more like the original concept art, but are doing the opposite with the Immortal. Anyway, weapons aside, the Immortal does, and has always, looked fantastic. Nullifier. I really haven't got anything against the model, but seeing how it just kinda slunk or slid around in the first Battle Report was fairly disappointing. In my opinion it should hover a lot more, and possibly higher, and overall the animation needs to be improved, which I'm sure it is. It's just that when seeing move around and everything, it just looked comatose. With the Void Ray, my only criticism is to pick a colour scheme, either 'High' or 'Dark' and stick with it. The last we've seen it looks like a dull cross between the two. With the buildings, the Pylon does seem to bug me. In my opinion, I've always thought the 'ring' around the crystal was much higher up, being more around the centre, than it is here, where it's practically resting on the ground. The elongated constructs around it, the vertical ones, also seem like they're trying to be too much. I reckon that the Pylon's a really simple building, and if its rendering can just be nailed, it'll do wonders for the Protoss. Lastly, the Null Circuit. It replaces the Robotics Support Bay, it's got the Robotic Support Bay's upgrades and shares the exact same design as the Robotics Support Bay. What's wrong with calling it the Robotics Support Bay? That's all for now. I'll comment on Terran and Zerg later.
I understand your intentions are good, but could you find some words besides "glamourous" and "sparkling" to describe what you want the Protoss to be? They're warriors for god's sake, they aren't a race of David Bowies.
I think everyone's wise enough to understand the context and implications of what's been said. On top of that, no-one's said 'sparkling', and please refrain from advertising like that.
Uh...right. Also, what is it I'm "advertising"? The only thing being advertised in this thread is your complete lack of a sense of humor. I think the units look great. All of them. So I poked fun at his fruity choice of language. Relax a bit?
Sorry. Overlooked that, and you're right. As for the rest, I'm sorry, but your post contained very little content, focused greatly on a goofy image and contained two links to the site it's presumably from. Now that, to me, regardless of if you were simply poking fun or not, is either spam or an advertisement.
@ItzHexaGor Nice indepth post. You really made it clear on basically almost everything I wanted to state except that I didn't know how to describe it . I do agree that with the darker look, it makes the game look much more realistic which I believe, is Blizzards intention. Actually, Blizzard did a little fine tuning with the most recent Immortal cannons. Take a look and compare it to the one that I posted before. Personally, I think it looks great now. http://www.starcraftwire.net/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=1188&size=big&cat=501 @SaharaDrac I like your humor. But I think you know what my implication is based on those 2 screenshots I posted regarding the "sparking and glamorous effect." If you know any better/professional words to replace, "sparking/glamorous" please tell me. Otherwise, please stay on topic. This is suppose to be a discussion regarding the Art for SC2. If you want to contribute, post constructive criticisms/feedbacks. Saying things like, "I think all the units looks great!!!" without explaining why does not bring anything to the table and will not help us whatsoever.
I like the protoss to become more shiny, as Ych pointed out. I mean, it's a characteristic of the protoss to be some kind of holy and advanced race, and it also does make it look cool (or sexy, as SaharaDrac points out).
We've been needing this topic for a while so to quote ItzaHexGor I'll say "AWESOME SAUCE!!" I hope that the highly critical posters (in a good way) here can give lots of opinons on this and that Blizzard will actually read it. Good luck everyone! The quality of StarCraft has always been determined by the amount of those who can critique the game.
@ Ych. Yeah, I've seen that latest change for the Immortals, I'm still not a fan. In my opinion, the latest just look too toyish, like my old super-soaker turned on its side, and for whatever reason I just think that the first blocky cannons suited the Immortal really well. I'm not really even sure why I think that, as they actually look quite unrefined and as though they've just been stuck on with Clag glue, but I guess I just think that really simple design had something that the others have lacked. But anyway... Terran! While I had nothing against their original brightness, I'm very happy with the changes they've undergone over the past while. There's nothing much more to say about it really, other than it really does fit them extremely well and, similarly with the Protoss' changes I guess, makes it all more realistic and believable as a whole. On to the units, starting with the SCV. Since day one I've been a fan of the new SCV tools. The fusion cutter and two millimetre claw of the original SCV honestly just don't compare to the new drill and clamp, so it really shocked me that the reaction from fans about the removal of this unnoticeable tool was as strong as it was. Overall it's a really great render, and although it does sound stupid to pay attention to such units, I do think it's just as important as any other unit. With the SCV, I'm hoping to see a specific attack animation, too, instead of in StarCraft1, where they just seemed to harvest the opponent. With the Marine, a slight increase in size couldn't really go astray, though having said that, keeping them as they are really is a great way to show some perspective among the units. I'm a fan of the shields as well, and I know some people have commented on the yellow visors, but really, I don't see any problem with having them. As for the Marauder, it is currently one of my favourite renders in the game. My only quarrel with them would have to be their attack projectile's death animation, and yes, I'm aware that I'm nitpicking with a microscope here, which just doesn't seem to fit in with the raw mechanics of the unit. It's a big beefy mech-suit, with an amazing attack projectile... Which explodes into a bit of purple fuzz. Now obviously I'm not thinking of anything on the Siege Tank or Banshee's level, but something a bit more substantial than some purple fuzz in needed, in my opinion. As for the Ghost, I was a much bigger fan of its original render, with the current one looking more like a Space Marine than anything else. I do agree that a darker, stealthier suit, such as the one in the concept art, would also work really well. MULE. It seems to be very inefficiently designed, but it does, at least, look like they do have a basic understanding of how machinery is supposed to work, unlike, without mentioning any names, some franchises I could mention... Aliens... Hellion. I am actually a fan of the buggy design, again going along the lines of more practical designs, but I definitely think they could have done a lot better than the Warthog from Halo. While I still think the current design could work, I'd appreciate a make over, for one scaling it up, and for two, increasing the size of the flamer on the back. Seriously, it's about half the size of the StarCraft2 Firebat's flamer, but has twice the range. On top of that, from the few, by which I mean only, screenshot we got of the Firebat, we saw some extremely impressive fire, in terms of the graphics. Personally I'd like to see that same fire coming out of the Hellion. Simple as that. Siege Tank. Something about the Tank Mode just seems to bug me, like something's a bit too something about it for my liking, but that is simply overlooked when seeing it in Siege Mode. It's a stunning model that really plays on the fact that it becomes a piece of artillery, as opposed to becoming a tank with an artillery attachment. With the Banshee, I love the design, again playing at the practicality angle. I will say, though, that the animations are a bit dull, so I think it would be wise to have it banking and tilting more, both in flight, when turning, when firing, and all that. The Nighthawk is, in my opinion, a great model, although for an unmanned drone, I get the feeling it's almost too big. While this might be needed from a gameplay perspective, if it's not, I do think it could be shrunk. Again, obviously not SCV type small, but not larger than a full-sized and obviously manned Banshee. As I've always said, this wouldn't simply involve being scaled down, as it more often than not doesn't work, but actually redesign it to be smaller, which is obviously a big ask for a small gain, and unlikely to happen. With the Battlecruiser, my only quarrel is with the Defensive Matrix graphics. I trust it's better when animated, but from what we've seen it looks like a green Protoss shield. I think it'd be wiser to stick to the original design, which, while still having a Protoss feel to it, at least would have the link back to the original Terran. Unless a new design can be thought up of it, of course. Perhaps relabelling it to act like the Predator's intercept ability could work. As for the Thor, there are a couple of issues. Firstly, the design as a whole is looking a too reworked at the moment, and a fresh start might be in order. Anyway, we haven't really seen enough of the latest model to criticise it too much, so I'll stick to my usual concerns. Mainly, if it turns out that it's able to be massed, such as in some earlier videos we saw, then it needs to be downsized, and if it needs to be downsized, as I've said, it can't just be scaled down. In fact, we haven't seen it in so long discussing its design would be like saying the Carrier should replace the Tempest, so I reckon I'll stop there. On to buildings, there've been several comments about the Merc Compound not being appropriate for hardened criminals. I see it as a fair point, and would rather see the Merc Compound changed to fit Reapers than Reapers changed to fit the Merc Compound. For my ideas, just something like the Compound or Garrison would suit. Also, along with hearing about dangerous criminals being 'put on ice', in relation to Tychus, perhaps a cryogenics theme would suit. As for the addons, while the Tech Lab suits in every way imaginable, what with researching the technology, unlocking higher tier units, etc, I've never really felt that a nuclear reactor would allow for more units to be produced. It just doesn't seem to suit, in my opinion, a bit like the Merc Compound. Unfortunately, I haven't got any better ideas at the moment. Lastly, just the extras. While I adore the new construction animations of Terran buildings, the robotic arms that assist in construction only seem detrimental to the whole effect. Everything else looks fantastic, but when they start working, they appear poorly designed, out of place, sped up and like they're just damaging the building. Anyway, seeing as there's no room for my comments on Zerg now that I've managed to rant about almost every Terran unit in the game, I'll talk about them later.
How about "polished, gleaming, regal, sharp, proud, or streamlined"? I say I like the way all the units look because I do. This may come as a shock to a lot of you, but Starcraft 1's graphics and unit design aren't very good, and if not that, then extremely outdated. Picking over and scrutinizing every time they add a ridge to an Ultralisk's scythe, or put another headlight on the Hellion, is equally "non constructive" to any posts I make. If so many people didn't have rose-tinted nostaligia goggles grafted to their skulls, they would agree that the art team for SC2 is doing an absolutely brilliant job. No, that zealot no longer looks like how your brain conceived him when you were 10 and played Starcraft for the first time. That's because he was just some pixels, 11 years ago. Unfortunately, the technological limitations of the time forced a certain "leap of imagination" when admiring the graphics, thus everyone's perception of how the units and races "should" look is a little different. I don't think everyone who read "Lord of the Rings" had the exact world and character descriptions in their heads as Peter Jackson's masterpiece trilogy, but does your past imagining of a world make those movies any less brilliant, or Starcraft any less of a good game? So yes, I made a "non constructive" post. Why? Because in my opinion this is a non-constructive topic. There you have it. Starcraft is growing up, maybe it's time you did too. ...of course, that being said... It's not the community's fault, and it's not bad to have these kinds of discussions, I suppose. We all want more Starcraft 2 information. We're starving for it. And Blizzard, keeping with tradition, is not exactly forthcoming with the deluge of discussion topics. let me ask you, when the beta blissfully begins, and we're enjoying it ( I know im registered!), do you think threads like this will be a mainstay, or even appear at all? No, we will finally have things SLIGHTLY more important to discuss than how "spindly icky" you think a drones back legs should be. So, we're bored. Yes. So these types of discussions pop up, to tide us over. I've been a Mega-Pathetic Blizzard Fanboy (MPBF) for a very, VERY long time (I was rubbing my temples in frustration at this ridiculous kind of nitpicking back on pre-beta Diablo II forums, a decade ago, just like now..) and we tend to snap at each other, like starving dogs over a bone. So I don't like the topic. You do. Carry on. I guess you can chalk this post up to a mere scientific observation, on my part, of the habits and tendencies of ravenously loyal video game fanbases when clamoring for a long-anticipated game. Think of me as Dian Fossey, and yourselves as the Gorillas in the Mist. =p
First of all, you are again, totally way off topic. And those words that you described IMO, aren't much better then the ones I have used. I can nitpick at your words all day long but as you know, that will be extremely childish and totally off-topic so I will avoid that. Regarding this quote: This is your opinion. Do you know that Jon sends in a report to Blizzard every month? I asked him if this is a good topic to talk about since the art phrase is entering its final phrase. Blizzard DOES listen to us fan feedback as noted in their Siege Tank and Infestor changes. If you were around during the SC1 alpha days, you would have known that Blizzard had a totally outdated engine and people were complaining it to be WC in space. As you know, Blizzard updated a new engine for SC. First of all, I don't know what in your opinion, would be good to talk about. The balance for SC2? If it's balance, there is nothing we can talk about until we actually get our hands on beta. In conclusion, I understand where you are going. You don't think this is a good topic to talk about and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. To each of his own. However, your actions aren't acceptable because: 1. Off -topic 2. Spamming / Advertising If you think this is a non-constructive post, then don't post. Spamming/advertising and poking fun at other people's usage of word while telling others that this is a non-constructive post is not acceptable.
@atallofyou People, I think that to have different opinions is something great.. imagine if we just agreed to everything..! @Ych It's called mat coloring.. the second picture it's actually horible I think. And it's made with an older graphic's engine.. that shiny fake-gay-coloured boxes were ugly enough.. I think that blizzard is giving us what is best and ofcourse so beautifull I'll post more in a few minutes
First of: what is the deadline for posting here, and still getting uncluded in the report? Then I can still edit my post tomorrow. -phone again, sucks to type large posts- Terran: - The Defensive Matrix, it looks to high tech for the race. Maybe make it look more fragile, with cracks in it when it receives damage. This to show that it is unable to regenerate, making it look less like Protoss tech. Protoss: - The Pylons. The ring really needs to be in the centre, it looks terrible close to the ground. A suggestion: make it, erm, spin faster when more psi of the total capacity is used. A nice visual effect, and it gives the enemy some insight in the recources of the other player. - The Stalker: it really needs some point of origin where the beam comes from. - Another Stalkes suggestion: add some swirling energy around it. To simulate the Void energies constantly active around it for the Blink. It could be a visual upgrade, much like Zergling wings, Baneling rolling or the Marine Combat Shield. - The Immortal weapons system: the swinging when it walks looks very unstable. Really strange for a fixed position weapon that can only aim at ground targets, instead of turning upwards. Zerg: - The Ultralisk visual upgrade is strange. The flesh look on the scytes makes it look weak. Things like claws, horns and teeth are never covered with flesh. Also, it can barely eat if you look at the placement of the head. The scytes are in the way, so how the hell does that horn serve any purpose? - We have yet to see the new Brood Lord skin, but the current guardian skin is not that good. Sorry for the lack of explanation, but it just looks to unnatural, even for a Zerg. A biological race must have some things you can recognize, even while they are aliens. I will post more tomorrow or later today, and then edit it into this post. Not even half of the stuff is in here. -more building comments left- Typing this much on a mobile just kills my fingertips. XD
http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/6206/screencraft0803b.jpg If you look at the early image, EVERYTHING is neon and glowing. I think this makes it hard for us to judge the sheen of the yellow protoss plating on its own, because the context is so crazy. I think we need to combine the pseudo-glossy Yellow of this old screenshot with new, toned-down look of the current setup.
It's best to get all the postings by the end of the month. I haven't talked to Jon lately and he seems pretty busy. I will ask him about it as soon as possible. **EDIT** Just talked to Jon. Deadline for it is May 1st.
Hope this isn't too late. Didn't realise there was a deadline, nor that it was yesterday, for this. Anyway, posting regardless, and hopefully the time difference will result in me having posted this yesterday. But yeah. Firstly, the art overhaul. I won't spend too long on this, but need to get it out of the way so when I'm talking about specific units, I'll talk about their current models, and not the overhaul. In short, it's fantastic. Everything was improved so much it was simply staggering, the most notable example being the Hydralisk. From the day I'd first seen it, I'd absolutely hated the model, and was desperately hoping for a complete redesign. In my opinion the overall shape didn't work, the three scythes looked terrible, the arms were way too thin, the eyes were far to big not to mention glowing, and the teeth were so oversized it looked like they were better suited to a super deformed, cartoony Hydralisk plushie. However, after the overhaul, despite none of the features that I hated being fixed, except the headlight eyes, it looks absolutely fantastic. Amazing job, and well done. Onto specific units, first and foremost, the backbone of the Zerg army. In my opinion, the original design for the Larvae looked fantastic. It was a great change from the old, static Larvae of StarCraft1 and had a great unique design. I'm not sure why it was thought necessary to revert back to that original design, and although its animations look both wonderful as well as natural, the initial StarCraft2 design simply looked so much better in my opinion. Some people might say it's petty or pointless to pay this much attention to units like the Larvae, but if anything I reckon they're one of the most important. Not being a combat unit, yet alone a controllable unit, doesn't make it any less important than others. Roach. I don't know why the Roach has been copping so much slack. People seem to be bagging it for both its role as well as its model, but personally, both of them are near perfect. The model's fantastic, in my opinion, and, along with the Marauder, is one of my favourite designs so far. The retractable head and protective plates are stunning, too. Most people seem to have a problem with the blades, attack animation and projectile. With the blades, I don't see how they're a problem, as they add a lot to the model, and having them it no different to the Hydra having scythes in StarCraft1, and also gives the Roach room for a possible melee attack animation as well, though that does seem to be its current attack animation, which, along with the attack projectile, are the only things that really need to be changed. Long story short, they just don't suit. Does this make the Roach a terrible unit? Of course not, but in my opinion, these things definitely do need to be improved. I've never been a fan of the Ultralisk in StarCraft2, and was disappointed with the new direction it took. Essentially, it just looks completely unnatural. While, yes, this is a stupid thing to say when talking about aliens in a computer game, Zerg units, and Ground units especially, still need to look natural, the Larvae and Roach being great examples of this. In my opinion, it's got far too much plating, the head is simply dwarfed by its ridiculous headplate, the four scythes simply make it look overcrowded and gimmicky, and to seal the deal, it doesn't really seem to have joints. As I've heard someone said, and agree with completely, it looks like it was designed by someone with absolutely no understanding of anatomy, which is essential for realistic, believable aliens. Overall, still on the Ultralisk, it just seems like far too much was done to it, and has been overworked. Personally, I loved the original design and art, where, while the arms still didn't seem to have a place where they really fit in, it looked much more like an insect, the current one looking like a horrid combination of reptilian mammal. The Ultralisk design in StarCraft: Ghost, being the only design I genuinely liked in Ghost, had the look of a healthy middle-ground between insect and other, and even seemed to find an appropriate place to attach the scythes. And if the design wasn't enough, it animations are simple awkward, which is probably again actually a problem with the design. It looks far too rigid, seems to trot when moving holding its scythes deathly steady while doing so, and in its attack animation, among others, its scythes pass through each other. Surely all this is a fairly clear indication that it's got a very poor design. And what's even more annoying is the fans just saying 'wow its got four scythes and a spiky big headplate that's awesome!', keeping in mind that they are the same people who criticise the Banshee and Hellion for being impractical. Seriously, there's more to a model than the number of scythes it has, or how many spikes its headplate can fit. I've seen a recent design of the Ultralisk to, which basically seems to just be a new skin, and the only improvement is merely the quality of said skin. I'm hoping Blizzard will listen on this one, as while I've got nothing against it having four scythes or a headplate of such great size, the design simply doesn't look feasible, and that seems to have been demonstrated in the animations we've seen, keeping in mind that they wouldn't be the final animations. So in summation, the Ultralisk, in my opinion, definitely needs to be redesigned. It can be done a lot better, and it should be. Moving on, there's the Queen. Fantastic model, in my opinion. The only criticism I'd have would be the attack animation, and possible projectile as well. If it's going to be launching spines like it does, it really needs to look like it is. A style similar to the Hydralisk would suit best in my opinion, where it really projects the spines at its enemy, standing roughly still, roughly normal, poised or bracing itself, or whatever, and feeling a bit of 'recoil' from the effort of the attack, too. But those are just my thoughts. Long story short its attack animation needs to be modified. With the Overseer, the model's a bit of a disappointment, really. The Overlord looks absolutely fantastic. It's natural, and suits perfectly. So when it's evolved into an odd shaped and fairly indistinguishable design with an array of eyeballs, there's obviously a problem. In my opinion, the best way to go about it would be to have the Overseer as a larger, remodelled Overlord, and while people are immediately going to say 'well that's what it is', the fact remains that it's just trying to be too much more. From what we've been shown, the Infested Marine looks fantastic, so my only criticism is its walking animation. At the moment it looks like a tin soldier, and in numbers, look like a march or parade. However, there probably wouldn't really be anything wrong with keeping the animation just so long as there's a way of stopping them all walking identically like ranks of soldiers starting with their left foot forwards. Whether that would require them being given multiple walking animations or varying the speed or their current animations, in my opinion it needs to be done. On a related note, too, it might not be a bad idea to do this to other Zerg units as well, such as Zerglings and Banelings, especially with the Baneling's idle animation, just so that the Zerg don't just end up looking synchronised, because really, they shouldn't be. Onto buildings, in my opinion the Baneling Nest really looks like it needs to be changed. It really just looks like a strange blob on odd floating legs that've been covered in cobwebs. I'm eagerly awaiting StarCraft2 just to be able to pan around and get a close look at the Baneling Nest, purely because I really don't see how it works right now. Also, there's the Infestation Pit, where while it does definitely work in some regards, such as looking like it's really alive and reflecting on the Infester, in my opinion it just doesn't work as a building, especially in conjunction with all the others. Lastly, just a quick comment on the building of Zerg buildings, whatever it would be called. While I was really expecting some change from StarCraft1, these domes really do look spectacular. The creature moving around inside it is stunning, and the lighting is awesome. However as I said, I was really expecting a different approach in StarCraft2, such as something that really reflects the mutation, I guess I must've thought that in StarCraft1, it was really just a cop out, or just a simple way of showing the change. Overall, I'm not disappointed, as it does simply look stunning, but I'm not really blown away either, as it's still the same almost cop out as it was in StarCraft1. I think that's everything, though if I didn't get it in in time anyway, I guess it doesn't really matter, haha.
It does matter, it was quite an essay to read. But seriously, like I already said, and now you did as well: the Zerg looking natural, that is what the art team be focussing on at the moment. I simply cannot stress this enough. A purely biologic race shoud look like it can function in real life. A race based on robotics and sci-fi tech can get away with it: how does the crystal computer in a Warp Prism work? ... It is so advanced and powerfull that the workings are beyond human comprehension, njah njah! ... I can live with that. But when it comes to creatures the size of an Ultralisk, that can freaking burrow in 2 seconds, that no longer applies. Humans, in real life, are used to perform studies on animals. There is no way we could ever find a good explenation for these units breaking basic physics rules, so they look unnatural and fake. I say it needs an overhaul.
Must aggree about ultras burrowing. Looks very OFF. There couldn't be any rational explanation to that phenomenon. Why are they doing that anyway? to be kinda more zergish? or maybe more evolved/ new? strange. If the Blizz wanted them to be able to disguise themselves, to become invisible so to speak, than I hate to brake it for them, it's just impossible with the Creature that size. No matter how u slice it, there is just no way. Think they need to scrap this ability . There is little they can do to change it and still keep it ultra. Changing the look of it is enough. Also lings. Something weared is happening to those creatures. First they looked like flying insect that can't fly. And now - like you said it "Ych"- wormish, not ling-like at all. It's gotta be more...predator, hunter, indeed RAPTOR-like That's it RAPTOR. Just let them make it like that, and the end of story Now that i'm on the dino-roll...think all zerg need this more of a dinosaurs-look, with here and there some insect touches...like slime and tentacles and...zerg stuff will be much more realistic. TNX
