Necessary upgrades before launch

[Remi1987]

On 5/25/2023 at 2:27 AM, Solaris_Wave said:

Unfortunately, this is what Magic now reminds me of:

With this as personal soundtrack:

 

[Claypl]

I'm digging the art style of game. It could be bit more gritty but I will enjoy regardless. Sure there are some misses here and there (poor Magic :/) but otherwise it is very decent effort. Certainly not an easy task when you are trying to make unique characters in already narrow pool of options. Defiantly you cant make everyone soldier'esk type if you are going for that uniqueness.

Send Magic Mike to liposuction clinic or steroids enhanced transformations to match that 99 agility and we are good.

Heck he can still be humming little bit Monica in my life and I will be just fine!

Edited June 7, 2023 by Claypl

[DonBilbo]

Just make him a little bit more like Denzel with flatcap as some had posted on another thread. 

[WILDFIRE]

Overall the game is more like Wasteland 3 and not like the classic Jagged Alliance titles. This is not necessarily completely a bad thing but I guess the old JA2 vibe is completely gone.

 

I don't know why it is so hard for the devs to create a game that captures the dark and gritty tone of JA2 but with modern graphics. Also realistic animated portraits should be a must have for a modern Jagged Alliance. But I guess budget wise that was not possible.

 

Some cartoony character designs feel completely off when you look at the mercs or NPCs and here you can see the Wasteland 3 influence. Crazy, funny colorful characters but this not really the essence of Jagged Alliance when the mature serious dark atmosphere is missing.

[Stuurminator]

33 minutes ago, WILDFIRE said:

Overall the game is more like Wasteland 3 and not like the classic Jagged Alliance titles. This is not necessarily completely a bad thing but I guess the old JA2 vibe is completely gone.

I don't know why it is so hard for the devs to create a game that captures the dark and gritty tone of JA2 but with modern graphics. Also realistic animated portraits should be a must have for a modern Jagged Alliance. But I guess budget wise that was not possible.

Some cartoony character designs feel completely off when you look at the mercs or NPCs and here you can see the Wasteland 3 influence. Crazy, funny colorful characters but this not really the essence of Jagged Alliance when the mature serious dark atmosphere is missing.

It's weird how there's this "dark and gritty" JA2 floating around that I've never played. The JA2 I played was full of smartasses and lunatics with goofy accents battling soldiers dressed in Christmas colours in order to depose a cartoon villain of queen.

How do I access this "dark and gritty" mode? Is it an option in 1.13's INI settings? God knows most of them are designed to suck all the fun out of the game.

[WILDFIRE]

@Stuurminator: Sure JA2 also had its funny characters, mercs and villains but in between it was grounded and had a more realistic dark vibe. For me I took the overall conflict, mercs and world serious even if there were funny comments. Many NPCs had an authentic background and you could see how the people suffered from the war.

 

You should also remember the enemies that cried out for pain when they got hit, how the bodies hit realistically the ground. There were also serious comments by the mercs when they saw enemies, when they got angry or when they were dying. The mix between serious and funny was just perfect.

[Tuckus]

The dark gritty realism in JA2 was in the setting, from the bombing and devastating losses in Omerta to Angel’s sister's forced prostitution, to Dynamo’s imprisonment and the conscription we learn about in Alma 

 

Ira’s and Dmitri’s little sector overviews could get a little dark at times

[Lunokhod]

@Stuurminator For example. Lets talk about JA3 enemies. Look at the left guy, he is pretty scary guy, good design. Reminds me Prodigy clip "Voodoo People". Great enemy, no questions. But the other guys, especially guy in tribal mask - its too much, its silly. Thats what me and other guys talking about. A bit more realistic and dark.

[Luthghasgo]

Still think the models for the Legion mooks are worse off for their lack of Escalating Threat/Color Coordination like Deidranna's troops had in JA2.  Wonder how hard it'll be to do some palette swapping once mod tools come out.

Also, I'm sorry I have to disagree with you @Lunokhod but I love that design for the Sniper cuz he looks like the lead singer for Swede Rock Band Ghost.

Case In Point.

 

[ArulcoFan]

8 hours ago, Lunokhod said:

@Stuurminator For example. Lets talk about JA3 enemies. Look at the left guy, he is pretty scary guy, good design. Reminds me Prodigy clip "Voodoo People". Great enemy, no questions. But the other guys, especially guy in tribal mask - its too much, its silly. Thats what me and other guys talking about. A bit more realistic and dark.

Its all OTT they intentionally said that enemies looked "too clean".

The enemies looked perfect this is stupid. You can also add minor features without turning them into festival costumes. They look like theyve spent the last 4 hours in a make up chair.

[ShadowMagic]

17 hours ago, WILDFIRE said:

Overall the game is more like Wasteland 3 and not like the classic Jagged Alliance titles. This is not necessarily completely a bad thing but I guess the old JA2 vibe is completely gone.

 

I don't know why it is so hard for the devs to create a game that captures the dark and gritty tone of JA2 but with modern graphics. Also realistic animated portraits should be a must have for a modern Jagged Alliance. But I guess budget wise that was not possible.

 

Some cartoony character designs feel completely off when you look at the mercs or NPCs and here you can see the Wasteland 3 influence. Crazy, funny colorful characters but this not really the essence of Jagged Alliance when the mature serious dark atmosphere is missing.

 

Just look at my other post in a different thread.
I too feel they completely misfired when it comes down to character portraying and modelling enemies. 

We went from a serious mercenary business (Ja/JA2) to a costumed bal on Monkey Island (Tropico Alliance 3). I can't understand Ian would ever approve this.

Once again I'd dare to say it was a budgetary thing; instead of putting effort in upgrading the classic characters, they picked an existing game from the shelve and sort of tried to get as close as possible.

[Solaris_Wave]

Haemimont still haven't said anything in terms of better trained enemies. Maybe that is one thing they are keeping tight-lipped about. Maybe the face painted enemies are just the standard militia. By the time you start making serious dents in the enemy's overall control of Grand Chien, you will start to see better dressed enemies, indicating their equipment and training level.

I am still hoping we get to see enemy mercs or PMCs that have been hired to eliminate your own mercs.

I wouldn't want to see the enemy militia just disappear because that wouldn't make sense. What I would prefer to see is them being assisted/assisting better equipped enemies. They could still make attacks on your sectors because they would be the most numerous but if enemy intelligence knows your mercs are in a particular sector, or there is a primary target, that is when the stronger enemies move in.

[Stuurminator]

On 6/12/2023 at 12:44 PM, Lunokhod said:

@Stuurminator For example. Lets talk about JA3 enemies. Look at the left guy, he is pretty scary guy, good design. Reminds me Prodigy clip "Voodoo People". Great enemy, no questions. But the other guys, especially guy in tribal mask - its too much, its silly. Thats what me and other guys talking about. A bit more realistic and dark.

Maybe I lack subtlety (actually, scratch that "maybe"), but this isn't too much for me, assuming the enemies are appropriating Grand Chien's tribal history for effect. Your employer says the Legion are poorly trained bullies, so it would make sense for them to use extreme outfits in order to look more intimidating.

[Solaris_Wave]

So far, I don't think I have seen too much about the history of Grand Chien. We know that the government has been overthrown but how easy was it to do so? What was the prosperity of the nation beforehand? What was the original government's military like? How well equipped were they, how large was the force?

I am trying to get an idea as to how easy it was for the President to be overthrown and how easy it was for the government's defences to be overwhelmed. It isn't like a standard coup where the military organisation remains the same but then there are loyalists and rebels within. You've got what appears to be a completely new force that has taken over. There must have been a lot of unhappy people in Grand Chien beforehand, for this militia to gain such numbers.

Edited June 13, 2023 by Solaris_Wave

[Xeth Nyrrow]

44 minutes ago, Stuurminator said:

Maybe I lack subtlety (actually, scratch that "maybe"), but this isn't too much for me, assuming the enemies are appropriating Grand Chien's tribal history for effect. Your employer says the Legion are poorly trained bullies, so it would make sense for them to use extreme outfits in order to look more intimidating.

This is how I see it too. The outfits being made so apparently non professional soldier in nature are to convey that they are indeed NOT professional soldiers.

Also I think many people would be fine it it was just blue dots vs red dots and anything outside of that they would call too elaborate or over the top.

[Lunokhod]

3 minutes ago, Xeth Nyrrow said:

I think many people would be fine it it was just blue dots vs red dots

Oh, please, its 2023. Sometimes i feel that u guys hate JA. Its not only combat, but combat is important too. JA must be like awesome adventure. That sort of game. Like another reality, i just want to come to that reality, that story and world and be there... and forget about everything, forget about my real life. Thats why everything must be perfect!!!

[D13]

I'm undecided about the face paint and masks of enemies. It depends on how well it fits in with the story line.

Maybe the low-level fighters are descendants of native tribes of Grand Chien, and now they're collaborating with the professionals not for diamonds, but to reclaim their ancestors' land. Then it would make sense that they put on tribal war paint and masks.

On this image, similar masks are on display, so I'm optimistic they really are part of the local culture.

[LoboNocturno]

What do you guys think about the more equipped enemies ?

[Lunokhod]

11 minutes ago, LoboNocturno said:

What do you guys think about the more equipped enemies ?

Looks fine, but they start to use some white-glow filter. Not sure about it. Its fine in OAK(computer interface), but not sure about game. I already fell in love with this vibrant sectors of beta. Want them back. 😢

[ShadowMagic]

1 hour ago, LoboNocturno said:

What do you guys think about the more equipped enemies ?

Horrible. What the hell with those kiddy face masks?

Did they have COVID back 2000 or what?

That bottom enemy looks like a bee hive keeper man, seriously what genius at Haemimont came up with THAT?

[D13]

This is also interesting. I guess it's a "patrol hyena" but with the head posture and the jacket it looks a bit like a werewolf 🙂

[Solaris_Wave]

I have to make a protest here. People are complaining about the look of the militia with their face paint, saying they look cartoony. Then, when we get to see a screenshot of more professional looking enemies, I am then seeing complaints about them.

Is it possible for Haemimont to do right in people's eyes? I personally am okay with the enemy militia's appearance to a certain degree. I was also hoping to see more serious looking enemy soldiers as your mercs make progress. I have now seen that and am pretty happy with their appearance (although their camo colour and various ethnicities suggest people not used to being in Grand Chien).

I don't have a problem with the 'face mask' at all. In fact, it looks like a shemagh, which are very popular with multiple nation's militaries, whatever they are.

[LoboNocturno]

15 hours ago, ShadowMagic said:

Horrible. What the hell with those kiddy face masks?

Did they have COVID back 2000 or what?

That bottom enemy looks like a bee hive keeper man, seriously what genius at Haemimont came up with THAT?

Guess you didnt followed JA3 Beta gameplay & videos on YouTube carefully.

There is a outbreak in Grand Chien (in the final minute of the video) : 

 

 

@Solaris_Wave Imo the enemies in uniform doesnt look bad at all when we look to the portraits but lets see how they will look in full figure.

Quadruble Capony ? This is how those enemy types will be called ? Seems like they are hired foreign mercs, from what am seeing they have gray camo uniforms, more suitable for urban areas eeeh?

Edited June 15, 2023 by LoboNocturno

[ShadowMagic]

1 minute ago, LoboNocturno said:

There is a outbreak in Grand Chien

I know. Then why only 1 dude in that squad dressed up like a bee keeper with his niqab?
The rest of them are immune? Doesn't make sense to me.
 

[ShadowMagic]

Since this forum only lets you edit messages for a very short time (*sigh*)

I stand by my opinion it's too much of a masquerade ball. With many things they simply exaggerated here. Things that make or break a game in my personal believes.

You don't have to agree of course that's fine. 😉
We'll see how sales will go but I doubt this game will make an impact from what I have seen so far. I think they took a wrong path when it comes down to portraying the characters and the general art style that was chosen.