New screenshot analysis

from Elemental Forums

 

Ok, so we've got some new screenies. Whoopty-doo. Now lets see what scraps of information we (meaning I) can pry from the hungry maw of corporate secrecy!

  • P1:
  • I am assuming that this is the Earth Shard, and that it is at the edge of a dead landscape.
  • Nice to see the various terrein types here, but aside from the obvious (forst, plain, ocean) there's no real way to guess which is which.
  • Nice looking channeler guy there...... or is that the channeler? Whoever it is, the clothing options are becomeing more impressive.

P2:

  • Not sure if I like this stramlined UI.... or does it expand?
  • I am assuming that this is the same shard as before. If so, it's interesting how the look of the thing changes to show more "develoment".
  • More importantly, this proves that we can build cities on shards! Wonder if that's required to get the power, or just an option........
  • Wonder what all the different-colored circle parts mean........

  • Not much here, except for the units apparently moving around inside the city......

  • Again, little of note, just some odd-looking bars on top. Mana?

  • Good to see that the ide terrein is still in.
  • Is that a water shard, or something else?
  • Nice ruin. Wonder what it does?
  • The rest are old.
elemental
10,382 views 16 replies
Reply #1 from Elemental Forums Top

 -Well the most important thing I noticed was that in between the 3rd and 4th shot, it didn't seem that the "channeler" character changed size to be more selectable like a unit in civ would or whatever, but that could just be because of an early build... or is it?

- I do like that units seem to be moving around (or positioned outside building more rather cuz its a picture! :P ) inside the city!

- I like the shrines built around the crystals!

- I agree with the clothing options, it seems that the channelers are becoming more and more unique and wise-looking (the staff really pulls it off :thumbsup: )

- I wonder if the staff is all for looks, or maybe its an artifact??

Reply #2 from Elemental Forums Top

I like how the hedges have vanished in place of generic wooden fences.

 

I think one of the most enjoyable things to do is observe the change over time.   I mean, there is still a year of development on this, and I can't imagine that progress is going to do anything but speed up (in art anyway).   This is going to be a damn sexy game I believe.

WindowBlinds - Free yourself of the default settings, customize your desktop.
Reply #3 from Elemental Forums Top

Nice analysis. Those aren't the full size pictures BTW. Full size are 1280px × 960px.

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/elementalwarofmagic/images/0/2/?full_size=1

Click the "View full size" link to get them.

 

The Gamespot article is that goes with the pictures is quite short.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/blogs/preview-blog/909185203/27012019/spolight-on-elemental-war-of-magic-more.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=newsfeatures&tag=newsfeatures;title;1

 

Reply #4 from Elemental Forums Top

Eh... I don't like drawing so many conclusions from a few pics. I did notice 2 things.

1: Im likeing where the graphics are going!

2: Look at the back ground in the more level screens (the first is a good example). Its really nice, very "endless" looking.

Reply #5 from Elemental Forums Top

Quoting landisaurus, reply 2
I like how the hedges have vanished in place of generic wooden fences.

 

I think one of the most enjoyable things to do is observe the change over time.   I mean, there is still a year of development on this, and I can't imagine that progress is going to do anything but speed up (in art anyway).   This is going to be a damn sexy game I believe.
End of landisaurus's quote

I dont think I could ever possibly agree with you more. God I couldnt stand those hedges. The fences looks alot more natural and fluid (for lack of a better term). However, it's still possible those fences are just upgrades to hedges.

Reply #6 from Elemental Forums Top

However, it's still possible those fences are just upgrades to hedges.
End of quote

Or downgrades :P

Reply #7 from Elemental Forums Top

I have a contribution, though not in direct relation to the shots you're commenting on here, Scoutdog. 

 

In several of the screenshots we see a counter at the bottom that reads "Heros".  I may be mistaken, and I'll certainly keep looking, but in the sources I've checked so far, "heros" with no E seems only to apply to sandwiches.  "Heroes" with E seems to be the form of the word accepted by most dictionaries (4 that I've checked so far) for a person of enhanced ability or bravery.  Just wanted to mention this, as lots of publicity shots are going out, and there is at least a small portion of the TBS community who see things like that and cringe.  Maybe a dev is reading and it would be an easy fix to toss an E in there.

Reply #8 from Elemental Forums Top

I dont know why those old shots with the 'Heros' tally are being recycled with this latest media push...those are ancient and cringe worthy for SO many reasons ;)

Reply #9 from Elemental Forums Top

I'm not sure I've seen them in the latest batches.  Something I've been meaning to mention for a while, though, just in case it slipped through the cracks.  I figured since I laid down the money for the preorder I ought to start earning my keep. 

 

I take it that means we'll see plenty of 'E's in our Heroes from here on, then?  :D

 

Edit:  Just did a quick look at the IGN preview.  The first shot is a cloth map with a big fat "Heros" at the bottom...though if they'd just scoot that big IGN overlay over a bit, it would cover it up.

Reply #10 from Elemental Forums Top

I realize that speculation on such an ancient screenshot is probably moot, but it seems like hero(e)s will be fairly rare: the other numbers seem to indicate a fairly far-along game, but there are only three hero(e)s available.....

Reply #11 from Elemental Forums Top

I dont know why those old shots with the 'Heros' tally are being recycled with this latest media push...those are ancient and cringe worthy for SO many reasons
End of quote

Heros tally?   I've  seen many pictures being recycled, but  I'm unsure to what specifically is bieng refered here?

 

Reply #12 from Elemental Forums Top

I was wondering about the shield in the second and fourth images... I assume it's somehow related to the city we see in the image. With the info that family members of the channeler can be put in charge of cities, married off to get an alliance or improved relation with another channeler, I was wondering if the shield could be an indication for the leader off the city.

I think it would be nice if heroes / family members would get an automatically generated shield assigned to them that would give an indication to the relations of that hero / family member.

For example

  • Channeler 1 has a shield with a key as emblem.
  • Channeler 2 has a shield with a crown as emblem.
  • Daughter of channeler one is married to son of channeler two. So the daughter and son get a shield with both the crown and key emblem.

That way, if you've been playing the game for a bit, and know the emblems of the major opponents and you come to a new city, or meet another hero you can immediatly get a rough idea of the different allegiances by looking at the shield.

Reply #13 from Elemental Forums Top

I was wondering about the shield in the second and fourth images... I assume it's somehow related to the city we see in the image. With the info that family members of the channeler can be put in charge of cities, married off to get an alliance or improved relation with another channeler, I was wondering if the shield could be an indication for the leader off the city.
End of quote

nice observation. Have you ever played crusader kings? It could just be a crest of the royal family in that nation/city. That game always frustrated me though because there were always soo many people and kids you were in charge of (many of which had the same exact names? ;P ) So im hoping that in Elemental, we can feel closer to the families, and that each member is personal and unique enough so that we can remember them even when just their name is mentioned

Reply #14 from Stardock Forums Top

I like the cliff coastline in the background of the first pic.  That bit of diversity is nice.

Reply #15 from Elemental Forums Top

In images two and four, we can see top down views od two obvously different cities. These shots make it obvious that individual building graphics are in place for different structures that you create, which is wonderful. The orientation of them, however, makes me curious as to whether the placement is random or user driven. From the images, it could be either...

Reply #16 from Elemental Forums Top

I love the way the trees are dead, (I assume on purpose), around the shard, I HOPE SO MUCH, that this is the case with all shards, the the magic seeps out and tweaks the land scape around it.