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Perhaps the issue with the Terran buildings isn't really the way that the metal appears at this point, but there just seem to be too many "big" parts to the buildings. They might look less tonka-truckish if they had more smaller complex parts (but not too many that it got very busy looking).
Anyone agree?
The Star Port paint over is done!
Lemmie know what you guys think.
@ Nicol, happy now? I paid a little more attention to lighting direction, although thats mostly because I found the image interesting without destroying a "proper" lighting model. :D
Quote for truth!Quote:
Originally Posted by Rezildur
Okay, quit it. Seriously. SC2 itself is beginning to look bad. =[
I prefer the middle Starport. The roundness of the observation deck/bridge reflects the landing pad, softening the effect of all the harsh angles.
Clothes for its body? It has a shell of a body with psi energy engulfing it, which is what it is supposed to look like.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rizhall
It looks like bulky armor rather than a shell of a former body, imo. The original Archon had a naked Protoss body, which gave this simple yet majestic look to it, imo.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hav0x
I'm not too angry with the archon armor since there are other things id rather have changed first. I sort of imagined the archon's raw psionic energy forging new armor for itself as it merges. At least its justifiable somewhat in my mind. Somethings I can never justify... like the Terran starport, the engineering bay and the OM NOM NOM supply depos.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rizhall
The armor gives the Archon too much of a corporeal, grounded appearance, while the floating hands lend it a cartoony appearance. The original Archon was little more than a shadow within a swirling cloud of energy, which I prefer. Simply letting the Archon's feet fade into nothingness in that sphere was just subtle enough to make it appear ghostly.
On the other hand... Twilight Archon's portrait is too badass for words. Even if that's not the way I'd do it...
Pulled the words right out of my head. I couldn't word myself correctly, but you pretty much nailed it on the head.Quote:
Originally Posted by Visions of Khas
I wouldn't mind it so much if the armor didn't jut out so much.
The Dark Archon had an armory body too, but it didn't stick out so obviously like the current SC2 Archon.
http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/st..._SC1_Game1.png
Both Archons from SC1 had the same armored body. It was just engulfed in the gaint ball of psi. There is only so much they could convey with that old graphics engine. They had something like 16 colors to use for each unit.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rizhall
SC2 unit designs shouldn't be limited by a 12 year old graphics engine.
This is what Archons looked like back then. They just weren't able to translate it into the engine properly.
http://ui25.gamespot.com/1720/darkhigh_2.jpg
Here is the new SC2 concept for an Archon. They are very very similar.
http://us.media.blizzard.com/starcra...ss26-hires.jpg
The only thing that sold the original Archon's attack was that there was a giant overlaid ball of energy involved. It didn't exactly move its arms threateningly or anything. It just sort of said, "here are my hands!" and death just happens to leap forward.Quote:
I'm not digging the dinky handshake attack
Personally, I always liked the idea of the Archon's aura dimming when it attacked, as though the attack was drawing from the Archon's "substance".
Quote:
Originally Posted by Nicol Bolas
I hadn't noticed that... is this in sc1 or sc2? It sounds pretty bad ass though :P
Maybe I should pay more attention or something :D
btw, is the lighting on the star port satisfactory? :D (not being sarcastic, just wondering what u think of it.)
It's in neither. I just thought it would make sense.Quote:
I hadn't noticed that... is this in sc1 or sc2? It sounds pretty bad ass though
Ah, I misunderstood. I haven't seen the new archon in full detail from sc2 yet and I haven't seen the original from sc1 in awhile either. When I read your post it seem like it was already in a game somewhere. I like that idea too. It does make a lot of sense and I'm sure it would look cool too.Quote:
Originally Posted by Nicol Bolas
I think if blizz gave some parts of the archon's armor the same "cloak" effect as the dark templar's it would look much better.
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/e...ightArchon.jpg <-- imagine these shoulder blades
+
http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/e...rkTemplar2.jpg <-- were cloaked like this
Imagine if the armor parts kind of shined like the dark templar's but the hands and head remained the same. It would look as if part of the archon's armor is made of glass or purely of shields and no metal.
(photos from dragoonx's thread)
The current Archon reminds me somewhat of Kel'thuzad from WarCraft -- floating there in Egyptian regalia, no legs, flowing gown. Far too much substance in that unit. Though I just now noticed it has arms now, which are completely blackened out. I wonder what the whole figure might look, given that treatment? Certainly closer to the original iteration.
If didn't have to. I felt that was part of the charm. It didn't have to direct it's hands to attack. They only spread their arms apart to harness the energy, and then did the rest of the work with their minds.Quote:
Originally Posted by Nicol Bolas
The Archon model seems okay to me right now, though as SaharaDrac pointed out in a replay commentary I watched yesterday, it feels like they ought to be a bit bigger, and their attack should be thicker and more powerful looking.
In SC1, their attack was a "psionic shockwave" which was almost as wide as the unit itself. Now they kind of shoot out rather thin arcs of electricity. In SC1, they also used both hands for their attack instead of just one, which made the attack seem more forceful.
I might be ok with the model, but I think the model (and the voice) need to really express that the Archon is literally a mass of energy only held in check by the joined minds of the two templar that comprise it. I also don't think the unit and its strength ever really inspired the fear and awe it should, but that's another issue.
The attack does need to be more inspiring, though. I think I recall seeing a very early video of the SC2 Archon that had an interesting idea; the animation of the energy hasn't ever really been impressive, but one effect I saw, whether intended or not, sparked me as interesting. When the Archon attacked, it extended its hand, and the energy arced from it to its target. As it did this, it's hand seemed to shake almost uncontrollably, as though it could just barely control the power it was releasing.
(actually, it's present on the video on Blizzard's site, if you watch carefully:http://www.starcraft2.com/features/p...ightarchon.xml)
I'd like to see a combination of that, and a large increase in the visual attack effect.
I also like don's idea of making it visually more ethereal; less substantial, by making it similar, visually, to the cloak effect.
http://sclegacy.com/forums/attachmen...5&d=1267559064
wow... this is great...
btw:invisibility armor sucks...