Art Style Poll - Are you turned off or excited?

blitzkrieg1980 · May 16, 2016

I created this thoroughly unscientific poll because I am curious as to the opinions of Civfanatics members about the graphics we have been shown in the Screenshots. From all the Disqus threads, Reddit threads, article comments, and plenty of users here on Civfanatics, I would deduce that most people are not excited about the new art style that has been shown to us in Civ6. But I'd like to get a better idea on the community's thoughts because complaints are more likely to be commented on than positive reactions.

This poll is valid as of 5/16/2016 with the release of the 3 screenshots from the first press release:

Spoiler :

blitzkrieg1980 · May 16, 2016

Zyntax said:
Cant see any poll

Sorry, I was still creating it. The forum seems to create the thread even though the poll was under construction

It's up now.

I went with "I'm not totally turned off but not impressed". At first I thought it was total crap but after looking at the analysis thread and zooming in more, I'm just meh about it. I hope they tone down the colors, add some more grit/textures, and the UI is a classy looking "Age of Exploration" and not like Dora-the-Explorer.

blackcatatonic · May 16, 2016

Not turned off but unimpressed.

Is it what I hoped Civ VI would look like? No. Can I live with it if the game itself is good? Yes.

If they've moved away from the CiV leader environments and restored the cartoonish caricature appearance of Civ leaders from previous iterations, that will be a huge turn-off for me.

moopoo · May 16, 2016

I'm excited for it:

1) It's different from the last civ. Civ5's beautiful painting artstyle was great, I loved it, but that was civ5 and this is civ6. Talk about steps backwards if you want, but I am glad it is distinct from what came before.

2) 3D models. It's most noticeable on the forest tiles, where Civ5's trees are a texture and civ6's are individual trees sticking up. Hooray for technology and progress.

3) Readability. One thing I have noticed is that the screenshots are very clear and readable. Buildings, resources, units and terrain are all distinct while layered upon each other. This was an issue for me in Civ5 where i would sometimes (especially late game) struggle to find resources and overlapping unit markers amongst all the beautiful artwork. From what's been said so far, Civ6's mechanics and entities will be more represented on the map than ever before, so it is important that we get a clear look at what is going on.

Lexicus · May 16, 2016

Don't like it, but it ain't make-or-break.

moopoo said:
2) 3D models. It's most noticeable on the forest tiles, where Civ5's trees are a texture and civ6's are individual trees sticking up. Hooray for technology and progress.

Boy, have I got a game for you. It's called Civ IV, it has 3D tree models and everything.

Xen · May 16, 2016

It feels like a return to civ3, which is super nostalgic for me as it was my gate way into the civ franchise.

But I'll also probably replace it all with the first good realistic graphics overall to come out. (Lets hope some of those skyrim graphics modders play civ. *fingers crossed*)

darko82 · May 16, 2016

Looks better than Civ 4. It looks good enough. Pretty nice, in fact.

Matthew. · May 16, 2016

Voted middle option.

The terrain is extremely lacking. There is no texture, it is just plain green tiles with ridiculous looking trees and mountains.

That said, the tile improvements look pretty good. I think the color coding is overkill (personal pet peeve of mine is devs treating their audience as morons... we don't need brightly colored pink buildings to know it is a culture building).

Other than the swordsmen, I think so far the units look pretty good as well. I'm excited for the customized units per region.

I also think overall it is a bit too bright for my taste as well.

Luckily for me, there is still hope. Adding some texture to the terrain and adjusting the color scheme are relatively minor changes as opposed to say creating completely new models. It is only a question of whether or not it will be done. Don't take that as typical entitled gamer attitude, they are going to do what they want, I'm just saying my vote could potentially change on this subject with some minor tweaks.

TheMeInTeam · May 16, 2016

It's hard to reconcile so few people picking the last option in a strategy game

.

darko82 · May 16, 2016

TheMeInTeam said:
It's hard to reconcile so few people picking the last option in a strategy game .

The gamplay is what will make people care less about this style of graphics, which is nice, by the way.

Eagle Pursuit · May 16, 2016

It exists for the purpose of reducing visual clutter and making it easy to read the map with 12 types of districts with visible buildings, terrain types, improvements, resources, and units with other units inside them. It would be too confusing in a more realistic appearance.

It's not impressive, but I appreciate the reason for it.

Lexicus · May 16, 2016

I care about the art style simply because I'm going to be expected to look at it for hours on end. Clearly, though, actual gameplay is far more important than graphics, unless the graphics give me epilepsy or something.

salty mud · May 16, 2016

I don't like it but it's not a deal breaker if the game itself is up to scratch. I just hope the art style isn't indicative of the direction they are taking the strategy - childlike and simplistic.

Xen · May 16, 2016

TheMeInTeam said:
It's hard to reconcile so few people picking the last option in a strategy game .

Even Europa Universalis ans HoI by Paradox got pretty- Civ should be expected to keep its graphics game strong by historical comparison between the studios.

Krajzen · May 16, 2016

Too cartoonish color palette and ugly mountains, but overall I prefer this style to civ5 one.

I like big military units because
a) You can embrace their visuals, not like small swarms of civ5 units
b) I think it will be better for performance

kaspergm · May 16, 2016

I chose "It's okay. Not overexcited but not disappointed" because the art-style itself doesn't bother me. The colours, however, are horrible - but that hopefully should be easy to tweak, either be the developers or through modding.

EDIT > Oh yes forgot to mention the trees. The trees are also horrible. The forest tiles desperately needs to be reworked.

Zaarin · May 16, 2016

I love it. The colors are a bit too saturated for my tastes, but the overall art style is beautiful. I've always been a fan of stylization over realism, and when I started a new game of Civ5 last night my first impression was how muddy and dull Civ5 looks by comparison. Don't get me wrong: I love Civ5 and this in no way affects my enjoyment of the game. However, Civ6 more vibrant stylized look is a welcome change, not less so for the "darker and edgier" trend that seems to be sweeping through all forms of media at the moment. (Dark is fine; dark for darkness' sake is getting a little trite, though.)

blackcatatonic · May 16, 2016

TheMeInTeam said:
It's hard to reconcile so few people picking the last option in a strategy game .

Except that fancy graphics are what we've come to expect from Civ after 4 and especially 5. Once the bar's been raised there's no lowering it without it feeling like we're getting an inferior product.

It reminds me of when I upgraded from an old-style 'square' monitor to a widescreen one a few years ago. I didn't feel the old one was too small, but having got used to the widescreen I can't use a PC with an old-style monitor without it feeling like a massive downgrade.

cpm4001 · May 16, 2016

I'm somewhere between "I'm not completely turned off but not exactly impressed" and "Flat-out crap", though I think I'm closer to the former option right now. The unit graphics I can handle (actually, they don't look too bad), and I can even handle the building design (though I'd prefer things a bit less outrightly cartoony), but the color palette and saturation...yeeeeeech.

Still, I'm not going to give up entirely until we know either a) if there are any plans to tweak the graphics (I know we won't get a complete overhaul, but...) or b) if the graphics are at least moddable to look decent. Of course, not preordering the game either...

TheMeInTeam · May 16, 2016

Xen said:
Even Europa Universalis ans HoI by Paradox got pretty- Civ should be expected to keep its graphics game strong by historical comparison between the studios.

EU got EA'd more than it got pretty. That's one route that would probably scare me off Civ VI, but Firaxis has never stooped that low as to remove features then sell upgrades to them in DLC.

Art Style Poll - Are you turned off or excited?

What is your reaction to the new art style we have been shown?

I'm excited! I like the new artstyle.

It's okay. Not overexcited but not disappointed.

I'm not completely turned off but not exactly impressed.

Ugly. Flat out crap. I hope they change it!

I don't really care about the art style.

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