15 replies to this topic

[GreyGriffin]

With the Clans on the way, it's time for everyone's favorite game.

Nitpicking the art!

Without further ado, let's begin.



Starting out strong with the profile. Looks a little taller than I expected, but hey. Overall shape is good, no really egregious sins in its silhouette.



Overall I really like the leg structure on the new 'mech. It's missing the piston, sure, but the knee joint has a really interesting contour, and it keeps the giant disk joints. Circles in MWO! If I had to nit pick something, it'd be that the forward toe looks way stubby. I had to do a double take to make sure I wasn't looking at a Rob Liefeld pose and the kit fox wasn't mooning me.



I generally like the arms. I like the new lines on the Autocannon, although I do kind of miss its low-slung look. The contours of the armor are also pretty true to form, although beveled rectangles are well in the art team's wheelhouse. (Aside, what is with lasers suddenly being giant square boxes lately? It fits with the omnimech motif of interchangeable parts, but it does make the Battlemaster's Triple Nipple Beams™ look a bit weird. But I digress.)

Something to note is that they've retained its asymmetrical arms, notice the pauldron on the right arm versus the massive disk joint on the left arm. The left arm also has a scissor joint at the elbow, which is a nice touch of color.



Whaaaaaat?

What happened? It was all going so well until we were staring it in the face. What is going on with that cockpit? Where's the Kit Fox's trademark shaded canopy? Where's its big facelight? What is that acneous bulge on its forehead?

It's got the shoulder vents. It's got the great chin, plus the cheek intakes. It;s got a great overall shape, but oh my god that canopy is awful. It looks like it was taped on because the devs couldn't figure out how to get a good view out of the glass with the slot windshield. Which, fine, but... does it have to stick out like that? Can't it be, I dunno, recessed a bit? Positioned more towards the cockpit's original, natural position rather than riding on the forehead?

I am disappoint.

Overall, I really like the Kit Fox, but it's like one of those cartoons where a curtain slowly raises in front of a pretty girl, until the last foot is whipped away to reveal Elmer Fudd. With a neckbeard. It's like, you want to take it home, but you'll need a paper bag.

Now, the Kit Fox is quite close to my heart (if you can't tell from the sig), so I definitely hope it gets a bit of a facelift before it goes live.

Please tell me what you think.

[GalaxyBluestar]

You don't like the cockpit change but are you happy that yet more mechs are getting torso twist rearrangements they shouldn't have? {nova's profile got really screwed up for this.} not for the first time though mech commander did this too.


the only artwork detail i think is off/wrong is squared arms on the timber wolf and that the more curved bulges akin to clan mechs are only available on the pack deal mechs. other than that amazing adaptions for mwo, the kitfox looks just fine.

Edited by GalaxyBluestar, 26 February 2014 - 12:38 AM.

[Lorcan Lladd]

Personally as someone who never touched the Uller/Kit Fox I like the new design. That said I admit the shaded canopy is dope and very unique. I kind of want it. Alex or a fellow design team member probably decided it was a tad outdated, however.
Maybe we'll eventually get the option to install alternate cockpits like that alongside other custom geometry? I clearly remember the developers giving the matter some consideration but that was over a year ago.

[TELEFORCE]

I enjoyed your art review. The cockpit placement has been inconsistent between artists throughout BattleTech literature. Some believed that the cockpit is that huge spotlight (like in MWO and in MW4), while others have interpreted it as being that slot below the spotlight, as you mentioned.

I like Alex's interpretation. I think all of his Clan omnimech redesigns are pretty nice.

[SgtMagor]

I like the updated designs to the clan mechs. but the only mech I really wanted was the Summoner.

would have like to have seen a different set of Clan mechs including the Summoner

1-Kodiak
2-Stooping Hawk
3-Executioner
4-Hellbringer(cant have Warhammer give us this)
5-Supernova
6-Kingfisher
7-Shadowcat(would have been my #1 medium choice)
8-Ebon Jaguar(the real Zombie mech)

[MeiSooHaityu]

I think this interpretation of the Kitfox is FAR better than previous renditions.

Most of it looks pretty close to the original, but the cockpit looks far better IMO.

We knew the torso twist was coming, and they pulled it off nicely.

Overall, a great improvement.

[Malcolm Vordermark]

I'm not really bothered by the change, still looks like a Kit Fox to me. Its possible this change was made so players would not target something they think is the cockpit but really is not. You and I may have realized it wasn't but people will complain about a lot of things.

[DONTOR]

I personally love that ballistic arm, why would you ever want your direct fire weapon low slung, brushing the ground and having shots obscured. Makes more tactical sense this way. Cockpit could go either way for me but I do like the new one aswell as the old one.

[Bishop Steiner]

GalaxyBluestar, on 26 February 2014 - 12:35 AM, said:

You don't like the cockpit change but are you happy that yet more mechs are getting torso twist rearrangements they shouldn't have? {nova's profile got really screwed up for this.} not for the first time though mech commander did this too.


the only artwork detail i think is off/wrong is squared arms on the timber wolf and that the more curved bulges akin to clan mechs are only available on the pack deal mechs. other than that amazing adaptions for mwo, the kitfox looks just fine.

I for one applaud the addition of waists. It does take away from some visual diversity, but also keeps those mechs from being DOA playwise. The Nova and Summoner are my favorite Omnis, period, with the Kitfox my fave Light of the Era.

I am going to hold out to see the in game model, as the modelers have often improved features I disliked in the concept art, like the arms of the Jagermech, or the Orion in general that when from soft and chubby to metal bad boy in their hands.

I generally agree with the critique of the KitFox, (several times some of my fave chassis have been hit that way, like how boring the ShadowHawks head is, or hideous the Wolverine ended up). I think the concept art for the Nova is great, and my biggest worry is the Summoner, which went from a tall, gangly "Lurch" like mech noted for it's height, to a squat toad with way ovelog arm barrels and instead of a compact canopy, a great big bubble trying to vie with my Griffin. "The huge Thor, which stands at least a meter taller than most other 'Mechs, appears most often in a configuration remarkable for its lack of lasers"
original art


Concept art


my revised Summoner model


Makes the KitFox complaint seem minor, IMO. If they fix it, I will buy the package right this second. But if the Summoner looks like that? Pass.

DONTOR, on 26 February 2014 - 08:10 AM, said:

I personally love that ballistic arm, why would you ever want your direct fire weapon low slung, brushing the ground and having shots obscured. Makes more tactical sense this way. Cockpit could go either way for me but I do like the new one aswell as the old one.

well, let's remember these mechs have shoulder and elbow joints for a reason.....oh wait, apparently they don't have a reason..... (Like lifting the aim point higher?)

[Alcom Isst]

If the Kit Fox kept its original cockpit shape, the resulting MWO cockpit would look absurd being very deep, wide, and about as tall as other cockpits. The original looks better, but it's not very translatable into MWO.

GalaxyBluestar, on 26 February 2014 - 12:35 AM, said:

OI!

Edited by Alcom Isst, 26 February 2014 - 08:17 AM.

[GreyGriffin]

Whoa, it does look like the old girl's taken a few shots to the chin. Or gotten in a fender bender and ordered 3rd party parts from a website. I'll definitely have to go over the olive art more carefully in my next analysis.

[GreyGriffin]

GalaxyBluestar, on 26 February 2014 - 12:35 AM, said:

You don't like the cockpit change but are you happy that yet more mechs are getting torso twist rearrangements they shouldn't have? {nova's profile got really screwed up for this.} not for the first time though mech commander did this too.

Torso twist is pretty much a necessity. Any game where a 'mech didn't have torso twist made that 'mech pretty worthless. Look at quads on tabletop. Redesigning a 'mech to have hips is fine, although with some adjustment to movement gaits you could use your legs to twist the torso. But I don't trust the modeling team that much.

Also, I can't see your photo.

DONTOR, on 26 February 2014 - 08:10 AM, said:

I personally love that ballistic arm, why would you ever want your direct fire weapon low slung, brushing the ground and having shots obscured. Makes more tactical sense this way. Cockpit could go either way for me but I do like the new one aswell as the old one.

The old one was distinctive. A lot of the first wave Clan 'mechs had some really unique arrangements of their equipment, like the Summoner's strange dangly autocannon, or the Storm Crow's tiny hands.

But that cockpit is still about as attractive as a pus spewing blister.

[Helmer]

I generally like the new art work ,however I haven't gone into nearly the in depth scrutinization you have.


The Adder was the only one I was slightly underwhelmed with. It seems like the central cockpit area should be slightly bigger , filling the "hood" more. It's a minor rant in an otherwise beautiful lineup.




Cheers.

[GalaxyBluestar]

Alcom Isst, on 26 February 2014 - 08:15 AM, said:

If the Kit Fox kept its original cockpit shape, the resulting MWO cockpit would look absurd being very deep, wide, and about as tall as other cockpits. The original looks better, but it's not very translatable into MWO.


OI!

Spoiler

not my account mate it's all i could find of that particular art from the net. seems to be working now though.

Bishop Steiner, on 26 February 2014 - 08:13 AM, said:

fair enoughs

i understand making light mechs usable but a medium with jumpjets standard didn't need that treatment, just once could we have a new piloting experience? and 50% taller spoilt the artwork, it looks ungainly now compared to the little pocket rocket it once was, totally usable in MW3 enjoyed it alot. in MWO it just won't be like piloting a nova, more like stormcrow 2.

[ResidentCrow]

Yeah, the Kit fox has been my favourite mech from before I even played the games, but I was pretty dissapointed they went with this cockpit, the inset cockpit a la cicada is way cooler. Other than that though I am liking the designs for the clan mechs.

[Escef]

GreyGriffin, on 25 February 2014 - 11:33 PM, said:

(Aside, what is with lasers suddenly being giant square boxes lately? It fits with the omnimech motif of interchangeable parts, but it does make the Battlemaster's Triple Nipple Beams™ look a bit weird. But I digress.)

Please tell me what you think.

I think you need to go back to anatomy 101 to learn where nipples are. Or at least take your shirt off and check a mirror... Unless you have some kind of weird anatomical anomaly that puts your nipples above your collar bones...