Jagged Alliance Mercs Changes

[LoboNocturno]

I want us to discuss here about the mercs changes from previous games, as we can see there are lots of odd changes.

 

Want to starts here with my 2 favorite mercs Fidel & Ivan.

 

Fidel in Jagged Alliance 1 seems like a darker skinned guy then in following Jagged Alliance 2 he is very similar to the previous Fidel (may a notch darker in JA2) but in Jagged Alliance 3 now he seems like a white skinned guy suddenly which is pretty confusing us.

 

Then Ivan, in Jagged Alliance 1 he resembles more like a white typical Russian (also his body seems big, muscular somehow if we look at his body model in JA1), then in Jagged Alliance 2 Ivan seems more Asiatic like a Kirghiz Soviet guy with normal body (remember Ivan dont hat the muscular body in Jagged Alliance 2 like a Grizzly, Bull or Steroid), then again back in Jagged Alliance 3, Ivan seems like very similar like the Ivan from Jagged Alliance 1 with bigger body (as you can see Ivan has a dumbbell icon in his perks which may show his power, remember Ivan is 1 of the best crate openers in JA1)

 

But why all this drastic changes ? If Team JA3 could respond to this, we would be more then happy.

[alfius]

It isn't a big deal IMHO. JA Rage made from those ones bunch of caricatures, that was sad. Now disturbing thing is about Vicki for example - she looks like a freaking rasta, obviously not like an experiensed merc. 
Be more colorblinde, man)

[LoboNocturno]

17 minutes ago, alfius said:

It isn't a big deal IMHO. JA Rage made from those ones bunch of caricatures, that was sad. Now disturbing thing is about Vicki for example - she looks like a freaking rasta, obviously not like an experiensed merc. 
Be more colorblinde, man)

Was talking about the main games only, yea Jagged Alliance Rage was another story. Jagged Alliance Rage also takes place somewhere around mid 2010s as i know where all the mercs are older and weaker. I liked the Rage version of Fidel & Ivan though, especially Fidel was on spot, Ivan a huge blondie (his alcohol problems was epic in the game 😁) but they quotes was not bad at all imo, Ivan has 1 quote in Rage where he tells how his cousin Igor dead and all.

 

Vicki been a rasta nothing wrong with that, she is a Jamaican (had possibly rasta ever since Jagged Alliance 1 & 2 but they could not display it on the portrait but yea she is a lil too colourful in Jagged Alliance 3 but so are many other mercs, thats why we call it cartoony).

 

Also the beard of Fidel in Jagged Alliance 3 is way too much imo, though Fidel has Arab background so he is probably a pretty hairish guy.

[Taurean]

I think i get the criticism but i think they look alright enough. Won't need to put another 200 hours into redesigning that.

[Bloodcat]

23 hours ago, anon474 said:

I don't think it's a big deal or a priority, most mercs look excellent like steroid reaper hitman. Ivan looks fine in the latest progress videos, so maybe they changed him from the trailer.

Reaper is in the game?

I didnt spotted him so far.

[Kordanor]

On 3/27/2023 at 3:42 PM, Bloodcat said:

Reaper is in the game?

I didnt spotted him so far.

Reaper can be seen in the background in the Interview with Ian.

I somewhat agree on these two characters, but I think same is also true for many others. It's a bit of a reinterpretation I guess.
Mostly it's like characters are either looking "too clean" or "too rough". Like Ivan seems like he became a Gopnik as was stated before.

Ice looks even more innocent and like a young greenhorn in the portait, though he is pretty much a veteran.
Blood is the opposite and looks like he has seen Rambo a few times too much.
Wolf looks a bit like Elvis, very "clean", not like a Lumberjack.
Same with Nails. He looked like a Hobo or a very rough biker in JA/JA2. In Ja3 he looks more like a student which goes biking in his time off.

[LoboNocturno]

@Kordanor Do you really think that Ivan looks like a gopnik, penner ? Guess you mean his Jagged Alliance Rage appearance where he wants every 2 hours a bottle of alcohol, it was so funny though, Ivan had some cool quotes in Rage. His JA3 look is pretty cool imo but just doesnt suit to the tropical climate, a lil more modern outfit wouldt be bad either. His face and physical look is ok imo.

 

Wolf looks spot on imo, he has the best battlefield outfit from all mercs with Fauda so far from what i have seen, cant wait to see Grizzly`s outfit (must be a good 1) and surely cant wait to see Shadow (he must be looking really epic on his green camouflage).

 

Agree with the rest though, Ice looks extremely young like Michael Jackson somehow lol 😅,  Blood`s red bandana didnt suited him imo, it made him look like a typical B or even C action figure from the 80s and early 90s movies. So is Streoid (Duke copycat).

 

Yeap Nails also looks a lil odd in JA3, like he looks 10 years younger and softened as in JA2 he looks like a Hells Angel member.

[LoboNocturno]

Oooh just seeing the new dev diary and finally seen Grizzly`s outfit, very simple but at least a ready to battle look. Looks to me a lil 1 of the soldiers from Alpha & Bravo Team in Resident Evil 1.

[Kordanor]

3 hours ago, LoboNocturno said:

@Kordanor Do you really think that Ivan looks like a gopnik, penner ? Guess you mean his Jagged Alliance Rage appearance where he wants every 2 hours a bottle of alcohol, it was so funny though, Ivan had some cool quotes in Rage. His JA3 look is pretty cool imo but just doesnt suit to the tropical climate, a lil more modern outfit wouldt be bad either. His face and physical look is ok imo.

Was mostly referring to his presentation in the portrait and trailer. There is some truth in the other thread, that Ivan is modelled after Arnold Schwarzenegger in Red Heat. He makes the impression there, but now he looks more sunburnt and unshaved. Also lost a bit of the contours of the Arnold Face.

[TMROG]

amazing...but plese dont forgot building a main character as jagged alliancce 2 had.. plese

[Bloodcat]

I just hope, that there will be modding options.

It would be good to make some changes, if some mercs are way off.

 

The small picture in DevDiarie 4 of Fox raises some doubts, looks goofy rather than sexy.

 

 

[LoboNocturno]

On 3/29/2023 at 3:11 AM, TMROG said:

amazing...but plese dont forgot building a main character as jagged alliancce 2 had.. plese

I.M.P. will be in JA3.

[WILDFIRE]

I hope my man shadow gets a serious look and outfit with his classic face paint. Just like in JA2. I am afraid he gets a cartoony and happy treatment. The design of Wolf is the right direction.

 

In the current dev diary Fox portrait looks like she is on a happy holiday trip and not on a serious mission. Most mercs should be serious and not cartoony. Sure there are exceptions and there is sometimes humor but overall the JA world is still gritty and tough.

[Solaris_Wave]

I didn't see much of Fox but I could see rose coloured sunglasses. Were they heart shaped as well? It wasn't a clear enough image.

[Wigen]

9 minutes ago, Solaris_Wave said:

I didn't see much of Fox but I could see rose coloured sunglasses. Were they heart shaped as well? It wasn't a clear enough image.

No, I don't think so, imo. But the screenshot is a bit low quality, so it's hard to tell what shape they really are.

[LoboNocturno]

2 hours ago, WILDFIRE said:

I hope my man shadow gets a serious look and outfit with his classic face paint. Just like in JA2. I am afraid he gets a cartoony and happy treatment. The design of Wolf is the right direction.

 

In the current dev diary Fox portrait looks like she is on a happy holiday trip and not on a serious mission. Most mercs should be serious and not cartoony. Sure there are exceptions and there is sometimes humor but overall the JA world is still gritty and tough.

%100 agreed, most of the mercs should have more a serious look overall, there should be a few funny characters as well as you said "exceptions". 

Its a must for Shadow to be in his green military outfit, covered with heavy camouflage on his face. 

 

I will try to open a topic about it, where we can discuss about what kind of characters, mercs you would like to see in Jagged Alliance so we can see & share each others opinions and may later on in DLCs, patch or part there will be similar mercs, cause if they really add some mercs that we the fans also want, am sure they will try something.

Only if i could be 1 of the character creators (designers) omg i would make such mercs that would boost up the entire Jagged Alliance community globally overall much more.

[WILDFIRE]

@LoboNocturno: Yes the balance must be right. Overall you must take the mercs serious. It should not be a goofy game for kids. Its just an first impression for sure and I dont want to be too harsh but some characters like Fox, Deedee or Livewire look a little bit out of place with their outfits. When too many characters get too quirky you can not take the world or mission serious anymore.

 

Rainbow Six Siege is an good example. The first years the operators were mostly grounded and realistic but later you had all kind of colorful goofy characters with crazy abilities. But its just too much. So I hope the devs find the right balance here. Some quirky characters are ok but mostly they should be serious soldiers.

[Luthghasgo]

On 4/1/2023 at 8:00 AM, Solaris_Wave said:

I didn't see much of Fox but I could see rose coloured sunglasses. Were they heart shaped as well? It wasn't a clear enough image.

There was a higher-quality render on the stream.

They're round, Lara Croft-style.  Not a bad choice imo, fits Fox's character nicely.  It's little details and considerations like this that make me eager to see what the rest of their designs look like.

Edited April 2, 2023 by Luthghasgo
Grammar.

[WILDFIRE]

Hmm I still do not know what to think about the design of Fox. Maybe it is too early to judge. But with the sunglasses and her smile it looks like a holiday photo. The same applies to the outfit of Hitman. It does not look bad but they do not look like they fight on a battlefield.

[Solaris_Wave]

I think Fox looks okay, myself. She was always supposed to be a merc who was beauty and brawn. She always had the choker round her neck and her sunglasses go quite well with that. Because they are round, they look stylish. I am glad that they aren't heart shaped after all. She's in a warzone, not a nightclub in Ibiza.

Hitman looks like a wealthy professional in some ways but in other ways, has clothes that make him look like he is on a cruise ship and talking about golf and the best way to enjoy eating lobster.

Livewire looks okay in terms of hair style and glasses. Her outfit does suggest tech geek and someone who remains back at base in a specialist support role. I'm not sure it fits any front line combat situation though. That said, maybe she would look less imposing to the civilians of Grand Chien as she isn't wearing lots of tactical gear.

DeeDee looks fine except for the glasses. They could do with being a different colour or frame to match her clothes a bit better. Otherwise, she looks as if she knows less about setting up C4 and using an Uzi, and more about comic books.

Edited April 2, 2023 by Solaris_Wave

[WILDFIRE]

Yes Deedee really looks like a comic book nerd and also the GTA guy with the gold chain is a little bit out of place but maybe in context of the story it all makes sense. Right now we dont know.

 

I can only say that I prefer a more realistic look not some kind of Far Cry character design. Sure JA2 also had crazy characters but somehow they felt more grounded.

[Hendrix]

Nothing wrong with having a FEW in different ways silly characters for a comic relief, But the overall tone of the game should be serious.

The mercs from AIM in JA2 were on the serious side. From the original AIM roster I can not remember even 1 merc that was there simply to be a funny character. Many of them had some quirk etc but nothing over the top.

As for the mercs from M.E.R.C, well they were definitely more on the colourful side, but they were usable.

But if you look back on the merc roster from JA1 and JA:DG most of the really silly mercs were dropped (and sadly Snake aswell 😭).

[LoboNocturno]

@WILDFIRE Hahah the GTA guy, it made me really laugh 😄, Bastien yea but he is a NPC or not ? He doesnt look that bad but his chain is too much (exaggerated), they could give him a smaller chain with a shark tooth as example would suit much better imo.

 

To be very honest like it or not but Jagged Alliance 3 will be without a doubt a lil cartoony similar like Jagged Alliance Rage. I can see it coming from very far already, even the enemy types doesnt look like realistic African rebels but like they are going to a traditional folklore or village ceremony (way too colourful face painting, it gives us almost carnival or halloween vybes). Real African rebels looks way different, most times in various military outfits, masked faces with scarfs or balaclavas to hide their identity. IMO if they could do the common enemies with balaclava or scarf it would make even more sense instead to show all the time their faces like clones you feel me? 

 

 

So far from the mercs outfits, i really like Fidel, Wolf, Grizzly and from the new comers Fauda is really well made but the rest is not my taste.

 

 

 

[Luthghasgo]

The current crop of goons look more like a tribal militia than a regimented military force.  Interestingly, the mooks shown in the Announcement trailer look a lot more like they belong to an army; combat fatigues, red shemaghs, scarves, sunglasses etc.

Makes me wonder if this is their take on the Yellow-, Red-, Black- shirt division of old; but with uniforms instead of shirts. 

[LoboNocturno]

1 hour ago, Luthghasgo said:

The current crop of goons look more like a tribal militia than a regimented military force.  Interestingly, the mooks shown in the Announcement trailer look a lot more like they belong to an army; combat fatigues, red shemaghs, scarves, sunglasses etc.

Makes me wonder if this is their take on the Yellow-, Red-, Black- shirt division of old; but with uniforms instead of shirts. 

Oh yes almost forgot lol its been almost 2 years, yes in the very first trailer they looking much better like realistic rebels. They must look exactly like this also in the game.