Graphics

[Silvador]

Placeholder doesn't necessarily mean what it currently is will not be the final result. A placeholder is just that, a temp object for occupying the place while a decision is pending. There's nothing that says what is currently a placeholder can't be made the official thing. Frankly, I like the style. It's not a common style and is kinda cute.

Some may be disappointed that it's not gunna change, but I'm quite thankful. If it really bothers people that much, maybe they can get together, find an artist, and make a graphical mod.

[ReZpawner]

The graphics are deliberately abstracted. This helps story generation because it allows your brain to create the images instead of trying to make the game do it. Your brain can imagine much better than any software system.

That, and I'd much rather put more effort into simulating interesting events rather than making more detailed pixels to express the simple events we already have. Lots of games have detailed graphics; almost no games have detailed simulation.

So yeah, the current graphics are final.

You could mod them to be more detailed if you wished, but I think you'd just be walking into a trap and making the game (paradoxically) less engaging.

Summed up perfectly. The man knows his stuff.

[Negocromn]

as half the thread has said so far, realistically better graphics would require compromises to be made, and I think improved graphics are worth those compromises, so I think its good they stay the way they are

and tbh, I don't have any problems with the graphics as they are right now anyway

[MarcTheMerc]

I played Prison Architect before Rimworld and to be honest the simillarities are what attracted me to the game in the first place.
Now i notice the differences like Prison Architect has more of a 'blue printy' look to it. whereas rimworld seems more... Gritty in a way, like it's graphics have more substance in a way.

[mumblemumble]

The bit on minimalist graphics for more content is very true.  Granted, I'm glad its not asci graphics,  but if tynan went into full animations for everything,  and physically represented injuries,  we probably,  content wise,  would be backwards an update,  maybe 2. Object damage overlay is nice,  but I'd much rather keep the sliding around pawns,  and possibly add z levels,  than have animations for everything.

[JonoRig]

When i saw the original Pre-Alpha on Kickstarter, the graphics as well as concept and design really drew me in. I was part of the community saying we loved the way the game looks, that whilst it can (and has) take on its own unique flavour of the PA style abstractions... it shouldnt do more than it is.

Its simple, but its far from ugly, and games with this kind of art tend to last much longer, look less dated in years to come, than those that go for pseudo-realistic graphics

[b0rsuk]

RImworld graphics DO have that symbolic feel to them. It's the same reason I prefer Ultima IV graphics to Ultima V (ancient RPG games). The games are tile-based, but IV displays individual characters, and big objects like walls, doors, pools of water, chests, monsters etc. Ultima V tries to be as literal as the low resolution permits, which means you suddenly see torches on walls, specific kinds of food on table, bushes and other cosmetic stuff. I have a hypothesis that true symbolic graphics don't bother me, because they don't try to appeal to my sense of aesthetics. Detailed, literal graphics set off my sense of aesthetics, and I'm hard to please in that area.

For the record I LIKE graphics of most roguelike games, but Dwarf Fortress turns me off. Not because it's hard to understand or learn, but because it's messy. Roguelikes usually have good visual clarity once you learn the symbols, DF is terrible at that. And I get the same vibe as in Ultima V - DF tries to be very literal, and pack as many symbols as possible.

[1st Lt. Spartan714]

The graphics are deliberately abstracted. This helps story generation because it allows your brain to create the images instead of trying to make the game do it. Your brain can imagine much better than any software system.

That, and I'd much rather put more effort into simulating interesting events rather than making more detailed pixels to express the simple events we already have. Lots of games have detailed graphics; almost no games have detailed simulation.

So yeah, the current graphics are final.

You could mod them to be more detailed if you wished, but I think you'd just be walking into a trap and making the game (paradoxically) less engaging.

Wow, that's really disappointing. When I bought the game, the idea was that these were placeholders. Specifically because of the following description on Kickstarter:

"It looks a lot like Prison Architect. What's up with that?

Blame my (Tynan's) lack of art skill - especially with characters. I made the character art you see in the trailer as a stopgap, and borrowed the Prison Architect style because I'm not a good enough artist to develop a new one. They were never intended to be final. With this Kickstarter, we'll be able to get a real artist who can sit down and develop an original style for RimWorld."

Very, very disappointing.

if you read the quote you might have noticed that that is from toady... the guy that made df not tynan the creator of rimworld

[Silvador]

if you read the quote you might have noticed that that is from toady... the guy that made df not tynan the creator of rimworld

Funny how it says "Quote from: Tynan on January 20, 2015, 04:46:21 PM"

[hoochy]

Dwarf Fortress would be the best selling game of all time if it had Prison Architect level graphics (core). You can say the only reason it has the gameplay it does is because it doesn't have to worry about gfx and you would be partially right.

Most of us here discussing this don't need The Witcher graphics to play a game, but most people need to know, easily, what they are looking at and I think Rimworld currently fails that test. I can say that at least for me. Obviously a lot here are attracted to the gfx Rimword has in some kinda retro way, which seems strange to me. I don't really need great graphics to play a game but if you want me to playtest a game you need to let me know easily what you are doing.

[skullywag]

The graphics being as they are also allow modders to be included a lot more than most other games.

[b0rsuk]

A complex resource management and planning game would be the best selling game of all time if it had Prison Architect level graphics (core).

I suppose it would sell more than Angry Birds, too ?

most people need to know, easily, what they are looking at and I think Rimworld currently fails that test. I can say that at least for me.

Specifics please. I think "I don't know what I'm looking at" is a red herring in Rimworld. When you start, you're seeing only very basic things - some animals, plants, and a couple of scattered items. Rifles, medicine, wood, are not hard to figure out by looking at them. Survival rations and steel are not obvious. Plants which are harvested for fruit could be more obvious. Steel, silver veins in mountains are not obvious, but I doubt you would recognize a silver vein if you saw it in real life. Water is a bigger problem, it would benefit from some kind of ripple effect.

When you start constructing stuff, then - unless your memory is weak - you have the benefit of choosing the construction type first, so you're learning the way it looks at the moment you're placing it. Really, Rimworld is not a typical roguelike game where you're travelling through a generated world, encountering doors, chests, strange monsters. Vast majority of creatures you encounter are humans. Manhunter packs are labeled. Cargo pods rarely contain something that isn't meat, so you're not having strange items, objects, buildings thrown at you!

[Toggle]

I don't see how you can't tell what you're looking at in Rimworld. It's pretty easy to tell if you've played, and saying you can't tell if you haven't would apply to many games.

[Silvador]

Dwarf Fortress would be the best selling game of all time if it had Prison Architect level graphics (core).

Might wanna take a look at Gnomoria. It is hands down the closest to Dwarf Fortress you'll get, without actually playing Dwarf Fortress, and aside from the 3D view, the graphics are no more complex than PA and Rimworld.

[Tatte]

The gfx will hold people back from playing this game. It held me back until I saw a video and could make any sense of what I was looking at. I didn't have that same problem with prison architect, its images are easier to determine what you are looking at. Rimworld is a lot more complex than Prison Architect and has "items" and "structures" which aren't immediately obvious from the graphics. You look at PA and realize its a prison, it even has text which gives you an idea of what each room is. I look at the "Shower" text and then these weird circle graphics that look nothing like showers and think "oh thats a shower, ok".



People will look at screenshots like this below and wonder what they are looking at, there are no great visual clues and aren't that many things which are obvious. The graphics look better than PA above, but it doesn't actually change the issue that if you don't mind "indie 2d graphics" you just don't know what most of it is you are looking at. Which is the problem, imo. They just need to concentrate on videos for the marketing, or maybe add a bit of text to the rooms (optional) for screenshots so people can understand it better. Some graphics tweaks would certainly help, for people who know the game we don't have a problem looking at the image below and knowing what everything is, but people who have never touched the game will have little idea and that will hurt conversions.



And an example which will probably help people here understand better. Look at dwarf fortress below, there are people who can look at this and it makes as much sense as the Rimworld graphics do to us. But you are wondering "what is that?" right? "What am I looking at exactly?" Does it make you want to play Dwarf Fortress? If you don't care about graphics then you would likely be playing Dwarf Fortress as it has probably the most options and "gameplay" of any game ever created.

Heaven forbid two games have the same art style! Who cares? I play games to have fun not to judge how it looks.