Malkasphia wrote:Having worked on a lot of project teams designing web site stuff, I know the pain that must come from many of your clientele being surprised ( in a slightly negative way) to your new art assets. I am talking about the new assembling machine and the new factorio logo designs that were shot down a while ago.
The new assembling machine "clock-work" and mechanical gear look does not do factorio justice unfortunately, unlike the old art asset with the inserter arms moving about on the inside of the machine ( it is my 2nd favorite animation in the game ( my 1st being the way biters move as a fluid horde/herd), the old assembler machine art).
I must agree with everyone else's post here. Factorio needs a peppering of green and red LED lights on nearly everything or...just a whole new electrical factory look. This is just how we ( most posters so far) see the game as this very scavenger/low-tech turning high tech approach to the game.
It would also be cool to know what albert is hoping to go for with the art assets in the game, although i personally do hope that this does not come with an audacity or arrogance that turns albert off for listening to critique
...its tough working hard on something new and taking the lumps from people who do not do albert's job day in and day out.
Much love for your game!
Mal
Hi Malkasphia, BurnHard and Factorians in general,
I'm Albert, the graphic guy, you can can call me graphic Albert, if you like ; )
I do agree with your opinions about the difference in between levels of technology. It would be great to have clearly differences in shapes and elements in all the machines in general, not only assembling machines.
The jump from steam power to nuclear power through electric power, or laser and so on.. It is a very important matter and something big to work on.
The point is that by now our main goal concerning graphics is to erase all these aesthetical gaps we have, as soon as possible in order to release the factorio-trailer-v.2. and having a good looking and aesthetically balanced game.
So what we did with the new assembling machines is a reasonable solution for erasing those gaps in a fast way. I take it as 3x1 offer, who don't buy it when running out of money?
Someone said in the forums that what he likes the most is the old direction, but i must say that there's no such "old direction", at the very beginning, everything was chaos, like a normal cosmos. Factorio was plenty different sprites, styles, concepts, colour palettes etc... making it look like an amateurish interactive power point.
What you see now is the first direction, and I must confess that is so complex, and also under development.
Many things you see in the game are just sketches, tests, primitive ideas that are there just because we need them for a proper playing, and they are taking the time to mature properly.
That is the case with the assembling machines, in my opinion. I've learnt a lot about what this machine requires (and many others too) just by publishing them and seeing how it works integrated and reading your opinions.
As kovarex wrote once in the FFF#10 (
http://www.factorio.com/blog/post/fff-10 )
Factorio is like a jam session. It is a critical trial and error matter.
Like the code. You write it, you find a bug, after you find the way to kill it, and then, you just kill it, and maybe it re-appears after future changes.
So the same happens with graphics.
Sometimes at the first attempt you have it, like the roboport, but many others are specially complex, because they are touching so many other sensitive fields.
About other points concerning graphics I also agree. So the only I can say is that we're on it, and don't take every change as a definitive thing, that's why there's so many releases and updates, and also the forums are so alive, because by reading your feedback we learn how to improve everything.
I do really appreciate your consideration about our work, sometimes it is like an oasis in the middle of the desert (sometimes like a hell
), and you can believe that we're here working hard every single day. In order to have the best Factorio ever.
@Malkasphia-> I also love how the biters moves, it is my favorite thing in the game, sometimes, I create a map in peaceful mode just to stay there with them and see how they moves in the environment : ) (during hours XD)
I would have a bunch of biters in adoption at my place for sure if it would be possible.
But the thing is that we need to fix some graphical problems from the past first - that means re-skinning assembling machines (now done), inserters, transport belts.
