Elemental makes use of a brand new 3D engine developed specifically for PC strategy games. Its multithreaded design along with dynamic LOD (level of detail) allows for it to look great on a wide range of hardware.
To see and understand why Elemental can look good on low end hardware and yet benefit further from higher end hardware see for yourself how the dynamic LOD works:
Look very very closely here. This isn’t one 3D object. This is dozens of 3D objects. The engine determines how powerful your hardware is and based on that can choose to display objects based on that.
As more objects come into view, certain “less important” objects start to fade away:
Did something change?
Look closely. Did something change?
How about now?
As a result of the object-based system that Kumquat provides, the graphics look identical at a casual glance and yet, the polygon count is dramatically less in the third image.
And users with very low end hardware can simply play using the sprite based output (cloth map mode):
Because Kumquat is a PC-only graphics engine, it can make a different set of trade offs than the traditional cross-platform engine. Namely, it can assume players have a considerable amount of memory (1 gigabyte is the minimum total system memory to play a Kumquat based game – very little on a PC but twice what a current generation console has). Thus, a given game object can be made up of many sub-objects (which use more memory) but can be dynamically turned on or off based on 3D hardware instead of having to load up lower-quality 3D models.
Oh... Editor... Link
Impressive. That thing will take more time from me than the editor of neverwinter nights 1 and 2 ...
To be honest I really don't like most of the graphics so far, especially human units.
I was wondering how much of this is placeholder and how much is pretty much final.
P.S. I'm not talking about these screenshots up there, I'm referring to all new screenshots availbale today, even on IGN preview.
Somewhere Froggie postetd some pics of GalCiv a few months before it was released. Abysmal graphics.
Well, EWoM's gfx/art style is quite unique, that's a fact....it's not for "everyone". Some people surely won't like it. Personally I like the art style, however....gameplay > gfx. So, why do you care at all?
*looks for Hortz and his animations*
If we think way, way, way back, we can remember the animation discussion and the thought on how all the differing components that make up an object would be rendered seperately. I believe a horse, its armor, saddle and the like was the example provided at the time.
Assuming that line of thought/creativity has persisted, then the screen shots are indeed showing place holders and the individual characters will have way more fluidity once put into action.
It was about the Physics but I found the Video.
https://forums.elementalgame.com/334445
twitch twitch
I feel the same.
I guess good graphics isn't for everyone either? To me Graphics AND everything else = gameplay.
But I'll stop complaining until I have actually played the beta myself... Just a bit worried that this awesome game will look outdated already on release day.
Define "good" please.
gameplay <> gamevisuals?
Dang, such wit.
Take a look at the hair options we have in beta. That's a good example of what the graphics crowd is worried about.
The important thing to remember is that it's a beta. It will change, improve, etc.
(It seriously will, though.)
Cause I always care about how a good game looks, and, by the way, speaking about good gameplay you are just changing subject.
Personally I liked much more first "concept" screenshots.
they were smooth, clean and cool looking. Now the graphics look far worse, with a poor overall feeling and terrible human units (sovereigns, soldiers, etc are atrocious in the beta, not just for low polycount but for the very art style itself).
Heh...weird. I think that the gfx looks much better now, compared to those old screenies. You see...this is a matter of subjective opinion.
PS. I am not trying to change the subject at all. Gameplay > Graphics in my "book of magic".
Art style is rather unique and certainly not the clunky garish cartoony stuff of HoMMV and warcraft III. God I hated that. If Elemental had that I'd go on a one-man jihad and fly a building into a plane or whatever.
Please, stop trying to act like the old, experienced player who's taming the young and silly graphics whore.
It's quite funny to argue about something like...is this graphics good/bad/horrible? It's a matter of subjective opinion, that you like the gfx or not. I like it, you don't. End of story. Should the devs spend more time on changing the graphics because of some trivial stuff like this?...or they should add more features/tools to enhance the gameplay? I vote for gameplay enhancements personally, because I have no probs with the gfx....and you know what? If I would hate the gfx, I would still say that they should spend their precious development time on enhancing the gameplay. We are different I guess.
Personally at this point I don't care if the world is done in pastels. As long as it it gets us off this damn cloth map and gets us some sort of color/animation/graphics they can all look like smurfs.
Bah no Beta 2 today. Think my disapointment is obviously showing. I want to tear nto the engine and start seriously start adressing balance and spell/building/research mechanics.
If it's anything better than MoM's 320x200 graphics, it's acceptable for me. Gameplay first!
I think you'll find we don't give a ROUS's ass about graphics. I have been burned too many times by games with great graphics and nothing else.
We must forego the aesthetic and focus on all else.
I don't care if it's ASCII, I just want a good game!
Gameplay is ALL that matters, a game can have horrid graphics and still be extremely fun.
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