44 replies to this topic

[grimzod]

Is it me or are all the mechs lookign liek they came off the SAME assembly line. These things were supposed to have come from different manufacturers many worlds apart and yet they have very similar design features. Unusual. Can the artist/team be encouraged to do somethign out fo the box or are we stuck with next to same clones for each mech? Its getting tiresome and i haven't even played yet.

Edited by grimzod, 19 July 2012 - 07:41 AM.

[Thorn Hallis]

Well, the TRO-artists never did, so why should FD do so?

[grimzod]

Thorn Hallis, on 19 July 2012 - 07:43 AM, said:

Well, the TRO-artists never did, so why should FD do so?

I fail to see how you encapsulate all the TROs and say they ALL looked alike so its okay? Do you mean on a single TRO basis all within looked alike? Thats not even true for all TROs.

Edited by grimzod, 19 July 2012 - 07:45 AM.

[Gallowglas]

Are we looking at the same mechs? I don't think they look the same at all. Certainly no more than they did in the tabletop or in previous PC/console installments.

[Bishop Steiner]

there is some commonality there, true.

It's one reason I tend to prefer a different artist for each realm. or house or whatnot, because we all tend to have a "default" style we fall in to.

I would note though, that even with differing manufacturers, we are talking about military and industrial machines here, where function trumps form, not cars where style wins out. If you look at most military vehicles, while not identical, they tend to have strong basic similarities, due to the specific demands placed on their class of vehicle. Same goes for Tractors, Excavators, Dump Trucks and such. So one should expect a strong utilitarian theme overall, which is going to have a lot of basic duplication.

And Alex has (mostly) been outstanding. I don't quite get the tiny toes he seems to favor (related to Rex Ryan maybe?), but who am I to complain?

[Dunkelskorpion]

Well, I agree with Bishop.
And at least there is a difference. I guess we can quite easy see which Mech is cominng toward us to get demolished. ^^

[DarthMolen]

... And then there was the spider http://mwomercs.com/...emech-15-spider

[Suprentus]

Is it me or are all modern planes lookign liek they came off the SAME assembly line. These things were supposed to have come from different manufacturers many countries apart and yet they have very similar design features, like wings, engines, and fuselages. Unusual. Can the aerospace manufacturers be encouraged to do somethign out fo the box or are we stuck with next to same clones for each plane? Its getting tiresome and i haven't even flown yet.

Edited by Suprentus, 19 July 2012 - 07:56 AM.

[Buso Senshi Zelazny]

I think all of the mechs look amazing. The advancments in graphic displays in the last 10 years are allowing the artists to put way more detail in than we have ever dreamed of. However, all those details can be 'blurred' over when you just glance at them casually, while missing the things that really differentiate them. In previous games, with much lower graphic fidelity, artists had to make more drastic and blocky features so that you could tell them apart visually at range. But if you still feel like they all look the same, then be thankful for all of the customization in colors, paint schems, skins and insignia that the devs are promising, and then no two mechs will look the same at all.

[Nevinrral]

I actually appreciate the similarities between mechs. Regardless of the fact they came from different planets and cultures, they are the cutting edge of technology at the time and they are all based in the same manufacturing principles. There are limits to the changes the manufacturers can and are willing to make.

Also cost effectiveness is a factor here. You think everyone is making proprietary upper arm actuators ?. Hell no they are mass produced in space china !.

[bpphantom]

Right now in the videos and the picture releases we're seeing the same paint-job on everything. That's the only way I can see that they're too similar. That will change once custom paint-jobs or even just difference ones come in. I love how the outer shell changes based on what's mounted where (or maybe those are just different variants I've seen in the videos).

[FactorlanP]

I think that simply changing the color palette used would go a long way to making the different mechs feel as if they were manufactured by different factories many worlds away from each other.

[buckaroo]

They definitely have a Michael Bay Transformer's vibe to them, but I rather like it.

[Undercover Brother]

All battlemechs stem from the very first mech in 2439, the MSK-6S Mackie (http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Mackie)... Roughly humanoid in appearance, its technological advances were copied and disseminated throughout the Inner Sphere. Since then, every major large equipment manufacterer has created at least one mech design.

[tyrone dunkirk]

grimzod, on 19 July 2012 - 07:41 AM, said:

Is it me or are all the mechs lookign liek they came off the SAME assembly line. These things were supposed to have come from different manufacturers many worlds apart and yet they have very similar design features. Unusual. Can the artist/team be encouraged to do somethign out fo the box or are we stuck with next to same clones for each mech? Its getting tiresome and i haven't even played yet.

Mayhaps it's because there is one artist producing them all?
And they are all made using the same armor types and components within the game universe?
Troll?
They all look badass, and I can't wait for more

Edited by tyrone dunkirk, 19 July 2012 - 08:00 AM.

[ObsidianFox]

I think the reason being is because IS mechs all have a humanoid-like appearance, whereas Clan mechs look pretty diverse/unique in design

[Gabopentin]

Since most of the original designs would have been handled by the Star League design engineers then some similarity between the various Mechs would happen. For example a light Mechs leg joints would only need to be made larger and stronger. The base design would stay the same. Especially since so much information has been lost (Lostech). There are very few, if any, new designs until the arrival of the Clans in 3050. Even then the base designers would have been Star League design engineers, so even with Clan Mechs, similarities would occur.

[Backblast]

THIS is what I call "looking the same"

and no, the mech designs do not look the same to me.

[Tronchaser]

Suprentus, on 19 July 2012 - 07:55 AM, said:

Is it me or are all modern planes lookign liek they came off the SAME assembly line. These things were supposed to have come from different manufacturers many countries apart and yet they have very similar design features, like wings, engines, and fuselages. Unusual. Can the aerospace manufacturers be encouraged to do somethign out fo the box or are we stuck with next to same clones for each plane? Its getting tiresome and i haven't even flown yet.

lol, only like this because other coutries STEAL the design. In this game, the mechs are similar because they are done by the same art department.

/shrug

[Marcello GK]

Atlas, Jenner, Hunchback, Catapult ... for me they all look different.
But fur sure they have things in common - because successful things will always be copied during time.
Look at all kind of cars. A Toyota doesn't look like a BMW - but they have a lot of things in common in assembly line.