23 replies to this topic

[Percy Veer]

When I first came to MWO (and I was a huge Battletech fan between 1986-1990.I bought all the house books and read them too) I thought...how ugly when I saw this game, but I'm okay with the devs, because obviously, I'm chatting away here, so that in itself is proof.

Back to topic.

Isn't the future supposed to be more stream-lined, and no, don't argue regressive technology, for I find that argument clunky, like the mechs themselves.

Well, some mechs are meant to be clunky, such as the Rifleman and the Wathammer, but the Marauder was, at the time, very sophisticated looking.

I think the locust and the raven are too clunky, so is awesome.

Zeus, Atlas and firestarter look right.

Now, I am not going to throw/be nasty/undermine PGI, for I'm glad the game is here, and in my time I have paid about £80 to them, but I'm cool with that.

Yes, there are hitboxes to take into account...



But...shouldn't we have a more graceful looking game when smashing the crud out of each other (for relaxation..I guess)

http://www.sarna.net...Spider1.jpg.png

What I'm saying is, I played Warhammer 40k on release, and I loved the old style dreadnoughts, but the modern day dreadnoughts look like boxes.

Old

https://jodrell.file...05/img_3922.jpg

New

http://img10.deviant...klostsoul86.jpg

(Yes the new looks better in many ways, because it's more modern. Yet take the abstract concept not the eye-sees-and-knows best. The new is a box...a freakinng box...on legs...a box.)


Didn't the U.S.A. used to love curvy sports cars, and now they look like bricks on wheels! (Don't belive me, go look at the changes in car styles with grand theft auto). Honestly, I wouldn't want to be seen dead in a modern day "safe brick" U.S.A. car.

Don't get me wrong, I know USA can drag...



Anyway...yes, PGI is redesigning a lot of mechs, but let's, as a, "ahem" I use this word lightly....ask for mechs that are pretty as well as functional.

https://s-media-cach...8bd58cbc901.jpg

Edited by Azmaril, 17 August 2015 - 09:12 AM.

[Rhaythe]

Most Inner Sphere mechs are hundreds of years old. Many were passed along as family heirlooms from one generation to another.

Think about how ugly your dad's car was when you were a teenager.

[Tristan Winter]

You have identified a certain style or, rather, a set of visual characteristics as 'pretty', and decided that other styles are ugly or clunky. That's fair enough, but you are aware that Alex Iglesias' mech designs are one of the most significant contributions to MWO's success, right? Simply put, most MWO fans find them beautiful.

If you're asking whether all sci-fi designs should look organic, sleek and sexy, then I would say that this is a rather passé trend in Hollywood. Around the time the first Transformer movie hit the big screen, there was a shift towards more complex, mechanical and "clunky" designs.

As much as I love the current aesthetic for MWO, I do think that they're missing a certain bit of continuity from the original, ugly Battletech designs. The original BT designs had a sort of retro look that you could trace back to 60's and 70's sci-fi. There's very little left of that, except for small details like the arms on the Hellbringer Prime.

I would have liked to see someone try to modernize the really clean and angular designs of the original mechs, developing some of that Tron-style that was popular in the 80's. But I guess it wouldn't have been as popular.

[Percy Veer]

Rhaythe, on 17 August 2015 - 09:08 AM, said:

Most Inner Sphere mechs are hundreds of years old. Many were passed along as family heirlooms from one generation to another.

Think about how ugly your dad's car was when you were a teenager.

I, with all respect, disagree.

1) Mechs in fights get obliterated and get replaced.

2) Did we forget writing, spoons, forks, knives...heck, I even know this...



3) Aesthetics is very cultral and subliminal. Sometimes to win, you only have to impress.

I do however, apprecitate your words sir.

[Rhaythe]

Tristan Winter, on 17 August 2015 - 09:15 AM, said:

If you're asking whether all sci-fi designs should look organic, sleek and sexy, then I would say that this is a rather passé trend in Hollywood. Around the time the first Transformer movie hit the big screen, there was a shift towards more complex, mechanical and "clunky" designs.

Just debating points, but I would point more to the Matrix for redefining modern "gritty" sci-fi films. Star Wars and Blade Runner are actually credited for kickstarting the "future is dirty" theme, but I believe the Matrix helped make it what it is today.

[zagibu]

I like the rugged militarized look of inner sphere mechs. The clans are already too streamlined and "modern" for my tastes.

[Percy Veer]

Pleae allow me to re-impress...

I'm thinkig the overall looks are there, provided by PGI, of whome I have stated no ambivalence, and yes, I posted a very organic mech at the end of my original post.

However, I just want to see a sleeker modelling, not an overall mass change.

If my words mis-lead, I apologise.

[Rhaythe]

Azmaril, on 17 August 2015 - 09:17 AM, said:

I, with all respect, disagree.

1) Mechs in fights get obliterated and get replaced.

2) Did we forget writing, spoons, forks, knives...heck, I even know this...

3) Aesthetics is very cultral and subliminal. Sometimes to win, you only have to impress.

I do however, apprecitate your words sir.

Which point do you disagree with?

A Mechwarrior that lost his mech in combat was "dispossessed", and to that Mechwarrior, that was generally a tragic end to his military career. Mechs were not cheap, and the means to manufacture them was scarce for the longest time. It wasn't until after the clan invasion that the technology was rediscovered (reintroduced) and manufacturing really got into high gear.

If you're bypassing the lore-based reasons for the worn out Inner Sphere aesthetic, that's fine. I"m just trying to explain why some IS mechs look as they do. Though I think the Locust and Raven are both gorgeous redesigns, aesthetic is certainly personal, and you're entirely allowed to disagree.

[Percy Veer]

zagibu, on 17 August 2015 - 09:18 AM, said:

I like the rugged militarized look of inner sphere mechs. The clans are already too streamlined and "modern" for my tastes.

Ah, yes, I'm an original Battle-tech player, who even remembers when it was marketed as Battle-droids. I dropped out just before clans appeared.

I still hate all that clan crap, always have, always will.

Thus the clash is understood.

[Hit the Deck]

This?

[Tristan Winter]

Rhaythe, on 17 August 2015 - 09:17 AM, said:

Just debating points, but I would point more to the Matrix for redefining modern "gritty" sci-fi films. Star Wars and Blade Runner are actually credited for kickstarting the "future is dirty" theme, but I believe the Matrix helped make it what it is today.

Of course, there's no single linear line in all sci-fi. You'll find both smooth and organic styles, sleek and sexy stiles, futuristic and clunky styles, and retro and realistic styles in different movies and games going many years back. You could also credit the Alien movies for that sort of dirty and messy aesthetic, going back to 1979.

I don't feel like the Matrix had a unique role as far as 'dirty' goes. It was riding on a wave that was already there. Judge Dredd, Back to the Future, Total Recall, Ghost in the Shell, etc.

Aesthetically, I think the Transformers movies were a lot more ground-breaking. When you look at robot designs after 2007, you see so many similarities with those movies.

http://conceptrobots.blogspot.no/

[Percy Veer]

Rhaythe, on 17 August 2015 - 09:21 AM, said:

Which point do you disagree with?

A Mechwarrior that lost his mech in combat was "dispossessed", and to that Mechwarrior, that was generally a tragic end to his military career. Mechs were not cheap, and the means to manufacture them was scarce for the longest time. It wasn't until after the clan invasion that the technology was rediscovered (reintroduced) and manufacturing really got into high gear.

If you're bypassing the lore-based reasons for the worn out Inner Sphere aesthetic, that's fine. I"m just trying to explain why some IS mechs look as they do. Though I think the Locust and Raven are both gorgeous redesigns, aesthetic is certainly personal, and you're entirely allowed to disagree.

Sir, with all compassion, you have answered a question in your head, that I never asked, nor stated!

I'm asking for sleeker designs, that is all.

[MeiSooHaityu]

I don't think mechs need to look streamlined just because it is the future. Lots of military hardware changes over time and in some cases, gets more blocky and chunky with time.

A WWII Sherman Tank looks rather rounded. It has a domed turret and even the main body appears rounded in many examples. A much newer M1 Battle tank has very slanted flat surfaces with sharp corners. The M1 is newer, but isn't as rounded or sloped as the Sherman.

Sometimes vehicles of the same era are wildly different. Look at the US stealth aircraft of the late twentieth century. The B2 bomber is sleek and rounded as a flying wing yet the F117 Night Hawk is sharp, angular with all flat panels. Both stealth, both of a similar era, both radically different in design.

Basically I'd consider that mechs were created by different companies with different designers and manufactured under different budgets. They were often built in different eras as well.

To me, Variance in design language seems inevitable and very realistic.

[Percy Veer]

Hit the Deck, on 17 August 2015 - 09:29 AM, said:

This?

Now sir, you added no words, so I am at a loss. Is this a graceful battle-mech, or a clunky battle-mech.

They say a picture can say a thousand words, yet this picture to me is clunky in fluid motion.

I do not see clunky in a fluid motion when I play.

Thank you for posting.

[Percy Veer]

MeiSooHaityu, on 17 August 2015 - 09:33 AM, said:

I don't think mechs need to look streamlined just because it is the future. Lots of military hardware changes over time and in some cases, gets more blocky and chunky with time.

A WWII Sherman Tank looks rather rounded. It has a domed turret and even the main body appears rounded in many examples. A much newer M1 Battle tank has very slanted flat surfaces with sharp corners. The M1 is newer, but isn't as rounded or sloped as the Sherman.

Sometimes vehicles of the same era are wildly different. Look at the US stealth aircraft of the late twentieth century. The B2 bomber is sleek and rounded as a flying wing yet the F117 Night Hawk is sharp, angular with all flat panels. Both stealth, both of a similar era, both radically different in design.

Basically I'd consider that mechs were created by different companies with different designers and manufactured under different budgets. They were often built in different eras as well.

To me, Variance in design language seems inevitable and very realistic.

Sherman, Panther, Tiger...yes, I know where you are coming from...there is rotund vs full on flat-box.

https://en.wikipedia...i/Sloped_armour

By the way, for your elegant reply, please enjoy this too...

[LordNothing]

there needs to be more cbill colors. really getting tired of noob green on the battlefield. no matter how many colors i have i cant get rid of that ugly shade of green.

[CDLord HHGD]

Tristan Winter, on 17 August 2015 - 09:15 AM, said:

You have identified a certain style or, rather, a set of visual characteristics as 'pretty', and decided that other styles are ugly or clunky. That's fair enough, but you are aware that Alex Iglesias' mech designs are one of the most significant contributions to MWO's success, right? Simply put, most MWO fans find them beautiful.

I AM ONE OF THEM!! PLEASE NO GUNDAM IN MWO!

[MeiSooHaityu]

LordNothing, on 17 August 2015 - 10:56 AM, said:

there needs to be more cbill colors. really getting tired of noob green on the battlefield. no matter how many colors i have i cant get rid of that ugly shade of green.

Well, there is a few more C-Bill colors.

An ugly peach tan
An ugly muddy red
An ugly dingy purple

Really, the green is probably the best of the 4. I wish they would revisit those colors and make them a bit more desirable.

[zagibu]

There's a dull blue, too.

[Revis Volek]

I prefer the older look the IS mechs have, the BNC and Atlas all look old but still lethal....Alex has done amazing work making these mechs come back to life for me i for one happen to enjoy them all. RVN's look better in this game then they ever have IMO

I also am a fan of NO GUNDAMS in MWO, but to each his own. I just hope this game doesn't go that way...it was one of the things that got me here the looks and the fact Alex was doing the artwork.