These opinions are all baffling to me to be honest.
Will there be a patch to fix the graphics? The more I see, the more I find the goofy, cartoonish leaders to be indistinguishable in style from the ones in Civ VI. It makes me angry to look at them. And what's with the color palette in general? Every screenshot I see of cities is full of little blotches of weird day-glo and pastel colors that are most unaesthetic, especially in contrast to otherwise decent architecture. I want to support Sid and the rest of the team by buying Civ VII, but I'd like the option to get a version with decent graphics.
I don't understand why people are opposed to vibrant colours in these games like vibrant colours don't exist in real life.
For one, I am in love when a game displays people in a vibrant way. Showcasing colour, people, architecture, market sounds, nature, in comfortable and relaxing tones is a pretty cool innovation from games like Humankind.
However, I can't deny the equal appeal of the grimy, realistic, down-to-earth look and feeling of games like Civ5.
Not to say one is better than the other, I definitely want both, I think they can both fit in the same game depending on the circumstances.
In future versions, please put the graphic concept of "readability" on the ash heap of history where it belongs. It is not a style that can stand the test of time.
This is another baffling comment. Readability is very important to a game. Old and new games alike attach a lot to readability. I think people really underestimate how important this is.
It's made for newcomers foremost, it helps people to know what are hills and cliffs, what are farms and mines or lumberyards. Without some exaggerated visual distinction, players will get confused and generally speaking the game won't look as nice or play as easily in my opinion.
Considering Vermeer loved bright colors and vivid lighting, I highly doubt he'd like the muddy, drab palette of Civ5. But you are, of course, entitled to like ugly games.
I don't think Civ5 is ugly. At least not in terms of the argument you are making. I agree it's aged a bit badly but I think it's possible to have Civ5's art style but with modern graphics to make it look nice.
Vermeer loved light, not jarring color palettes. And he portrayed humans as humans, not crude caricatures.
All characters are 'caricaturised' to an extent. In gameplay and visuals, I actually think the characters should be more 'caricaturised' and less boring swaps. While Civ5 characters are exaggerated in playstyle and personality, the Civ6 characters are exaggerated in visuals alone... and that creates a large disconnect.
For me, I think it's okay that the characters don't look distinctly realistic, but if they also behave in linear boring predictable patterns, that becomes a major problem too. (TLDR: Either they look exaggerated AND act exaggerated or they look subdued and they act subdued)
Summary opinion: I think there is a sweet spot between Civ4/5/Millenia art styles and Civ6/Humankind art styles and actually Civ7 got it pretty spot on.
I'd like to see how it performs as a complete package before I make judgement though