Why I keep looking at the screenshot I made six months ago and they look *better* than what it is now in the game? As the time passes the game becomes uglier, more graphic errors, more glitches between the various clothes, more polygons compenetration, more errors in the animations.
The animations. In Beta 2 We had more different animations. For example my dwarf had a different animation while performing a style when moving. He left the axe with one hand and the axe was going to hit from below with an oscillating, slower movement. This animation isn’t anymore in the game, not even replaced with a new one. Same for the falling animation, we had TWO different animations, one for a small damage, one for a high damage, both discareded completely from the game. Everything was in synch during combat! The combat was fun because everything was completely smooth, with proper animations reacting to your movements and the actions of the enemy. My character now performs all the animations out of synch. Out of synch with the splash damage, out of synch with the sound etc… Animations like block, dodge and parry are now not only out of synch but also less smooth and not integrated with the flow of the combat making the action even more chaotic and messy. Other animations like when sitting are now ridiculous if compared with the game six months ago.
Look at the screenshot. On the left you have the game six months ago, on the right you have the game now.
In the first image, look at the posture. Six month ago the posture was dignified, beautiful. The head looks high and far away, the shoulders are high. The arms more open with the hands more relaxed. The proportion between the forearm and the rest of the arm give a lot more dynamism to the old model. Same, and in particular, for the legs. The legs are more open, more stable. This allowed also to not melt the legs with tabards and other clothes (non in the screenshot), now the legs are more chubby and less dynamic. If you look attentively from the waistline to the feet you’ll notice how the first model looks way better and even the textures were better placed (look the shoulders for example).
Look now below at the other two images. The first glitch is about the moustaches. Six months ago they were perfect. Now they melt with the left shoulder. The second glitch is about the feet and legs. Look at the position of the old model, again more dynamic, definite and stable. With the foot behind at 90 degree compared with the first. The legs were also more slim and better modeled and not blocky and rigid as they are now (and if you look at the waistline of the new model you notice a whole mess of polygons with absolutely no sense). Same for the arms. Third glitch, the back. Look at the back of the old model. Perfect, smooth, linear, following the profile. Look at the damn back of the new model. It seems broken in various point, all blocky with no sense. It’s absolutely impossible to understand the position and if you look the character from behind you’ll also see the polygons melting in various points.
Now. I’d expect a game becoming better as the development goes on, instead even the graphic quality is decreasing progressively. Not only they removed various animations but we have more and more errors and glitches. With the animations now more ugly and out of synch.
What the sense of this? Why even work on the graphic if the result is worst than before? In this case I’d gladly accept a rollback of six months, because the game was far better than how it is now. Not only the raw graphic quality is worse, but even the animations are involved, making the combat more chaotic than what it is already.
The game, six months ago, was more polished, smooth and precise. At least if we consider the graphic and the animation system. I really wonder if there were changes inside the team because this decrease of quality is unexplainable.
Look at the screenshot and make your own opinion. Mines are written here.