I'm talking to the faithful, so I expect to get flamed, but...

With all the talk about Civ4's great graphics, I don't understand why some of the leaderheads are so cartoonish. (e.g. Exagerated features..nose, lips, etc.). My wife took one look at a leaderhead and asked "why are you playing a kids game?" (She's used to seeing the leader heads in Gal Civ2)

I think it all started with Simcity 3000. I remember that the advisors looked real goofy.

I don't understand why they didn't try to make the leaderheads more realistic (as much as a drawing can be).

Thoughts? Flames?

I don't think you will need to be scared for flame geezer. :D

I do agree with you with to some extent, but I rather like the "cartoonish" graphics. I admit that some are a bit too childish, the new De Gaulle and Charlemagne for instance, but others as Justinian and Sitting Bull are rather good.

Yeah, it's all a matter of taste. I personally think the leaderheads currently have a perfect balance between dull realism and goofy cartooniness. I usually like cartoonish designs, but feel they're more appropriate to simpler games. I can understand why people might not be keen on Civ 4's slightly cartoonish edge, but it's perfect for me. It's a shame that the leaderhead graphics are (I presume) inherently quite tough to mod - presumably you'd need to be pretty good at 3d graphic design, and I imagine it'd be very time-consuming.

I personally think the leaderheads currently have a perfect balance between dull realism and goofy cartooniness.

I agree. It's part of the Civ tradition to include some silly stuff. The Civ2 High Council is a classic :D

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-566532149554261314

i think they are less cartoony and more realistic than they were in Civ3. although i do miss seeing lincoln with a coconut hat, and the iroquois leader in a tux.

I loved the cocnut hat :)

At the sam time I would prefer more serious art sensiblities as well, but these are fine.

SALADIN'S AND CATHERINES FINGERS ARE TOO LONG!!! Look when he scratches his beard and when she slaps you.
And yes, the advisors look mutated.

Haha... the advisors in Civ2 are classic!

Those were the days eh, I bet there wasnt nearly as much argument about the HRE and Poland...

I agree. It's part of the Civ tradition to include some silly stuff. The Civ2 High Council is a classic :D

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-566532149554261314

I never played Civ 2 so are you serious this was in the game. Its so silly and riddiculous

i do miss seeing lincoln with a coconut hat, and the iroquois leader in a tux.

the iroquois fight in blazers though:D


(The Outsiders Ref);)

I never played Civ 2 so are you serious this was in the game. Its so silly and riddiculous

They were in Civ2 and, boy, that video brings back memories! :D

I really enjoyed the advisors in Civ 2, and was disappointed that live actors weren't used in Civ 3... I was looking forward to hearing new lines and getting new laughs.

As for the complaint about some of the leader heads in Civ 4, I tend to agree with it. I appreciate realistic looking depictions of leaders and was disappointed with some of the creative touches.

I'm in total agreement. I do not like Civ IV's leaderheads. I prefer Civ III's which struck a nice balance between realism and absurdity (as certain leaders looked in different ages).

Civ IV seems to be trying to appeal to a younger audience. I like my Civ games serious with just the occasional touch of humor, not humor and childishness throughout.

Civ IV seems to be trying to appeal to a younger audience. I like my Civ games serious with just the occasional touch of humor, not humor and childishness throughout.

Says the "Resident Disembodied Face" :lol:

Civ IV seems to be trying to appeal to a younger audience.

unforunately, it didn't work as well as they thought, because Civ gone from an E rating to an E 10+ rating. :)

you know ive been thinking about this a bit, and i think you guys are crazy. the CivIV portraits to me hardly look cartoony at all. i mean, look at napolean, it looks like napolean. look at Mao Zetung, or Roosevelt, or Victoria. they aren't photo-realistic, but they look pretty authentic to me. they are only the slightest bit on the cartoony side. some more than others. Catherine and Ghandi are pretty cartoony i guess.

but really the more i keep looking at them the more i like them. they're so detailed and wonderfully animated, with so many little details thrown in. Louis XIV's wierd french wave, Asoka meditating, Stalin saluting, i love Hatshepsut's smile, Augustus's breastplate looks amazing.

anyway, to me these are the best leader heads ive ever seen. i could not have hoped for anything better.

Firaxis is just trying to avoid the Uncanny Valley tis all.

maybe in Civ5 or Civ6 they'll be rich enough to hire real actors and make rediculously realistic movies for the leaderheads. :)

I think the art directions between Civ IV and Civ Revolution is interesting. E.g. Civ 4 has more cartoony leaders but more realistic units while the leaders in Revolution look more realistic but the units are pretty cartoony. I don't know which I like better >.<

I'm talking to the faithful, so I expect to get flamed, but...

With all the talk about Civ4's great graphics, I don't understand why some of the leaderheads are so cartoonish. (e.g. Exagerated features..nose, lips, etc.). My wife took one look at a leaderhead and asked "why are you playing a kids game?" (She's used to seeing the leader heads in Gal Civ2)

I think it all started with Simcity 3000. I remember that the advisors looked real goofy.

I don't understand why they didn't try to make the leaderheads more realistic (as much as a drawing can be).

Thoughts? Flames?

Well for one thing I agree with you totally in fact I would rather have static real pictures of leaders. I'm not sure why they did so when the majority of people who buy are pretty educated and mature instead of kids. Civ III was better than this but not perfect. The units are also cartoonish.:rolleyes::p

Gahaha Elvis as Culture advisor! MicroProse has a better sense of humor than Firaxis.

I think the art directions between Civ IV and Civ Revolution is interesting. E.g. Civ 4 has more cartoony leaders but more realistic units while the leaders in Revolution look more realistic but the units are pretty cartoony. I don't know which I like better >.<

If this is an example of how Civ Rev leaders are more "realistic", I can`t quite agree... :shake:

Cleopatra (http://www.civfanatics.com/gallery/files/1/Cleopatra_001.jpg)

Napoleon (http://kotaku.com/photogallery/civrevscreens/2095068)

I think the leaderheads look quite good - on their poles.

"If this is an example of how Civ Rev leaders are more "realistic", I can`t quite agree... "

ugh... thats terrible

Um, is Napolean's hand normally that low? :shifty:

I miss Civ 2's council, and personally, I like the fact that the game doesn't take itself seriously. Civ needs a sense of humor, and I wish BtS had reintroduced the advisors along with the old spaceship construction component from previous iterations.

If this is an example of how Civ Rev leaders are more "realistic", I can`t quite agree... :shake:

Cleopatra (http://www.civfanatics.com/gallery/files/1/Cleopatra_001.jpg)

Napoleon (http://kotaku.com/photogallery/civrevscreens/2095068)

Cleo bothers me. She actually looks....y'know, Egyptian., when she was most certainly 100% pure-bred Macedonian.

Personally, I like the leaderheads as is. Some are better than others(Gandhi looks like a mutant) but overall, they're pretty good(I enjoy the sometimes over-the-top expressions. Because, everyone just staring at you in stone-faced silence would be realistic...and horribly boring. Firaxis doesn't take themselves seriously enough for photo-realism anyhow...

I liked the way the leaderheads looked different in each era in Civ3, I was disappointed to see this gone in Civ4. The units seem cartoonier too, some of them anyway (the Archer in particular).

And the Civ2 advisors rocked. Especially the Elvis one.

Isn't Napolean's hand supposed to be, um, HIGHER? :vomit: He must be looking at Cleopatra.