Update #77 "Crafting Shards and Squashing Bugs"

hyugakojiro Right.  The art direction took a turn as soon as IGA took control of the project.  In that video, he implied that it was his first time seeing it, and that's not the direction he went in.  And I'm pretty sure IGA knows how to make a Castlevania game.

To be clear, I think the current art direction looks fine.  It's not perfect, and I've indicated as such before, but if the latest update is an indication, it's still improving as they refine the lighting and textures.  To further clarify, I'd say that both the screenshot posted in the previous page as well as the video you posted would have been worse than what we have currently, as while the lighting is pretty on point in both cases, the backgrounds themselves are basic and lackluster.  

I've said before that if they could take what they have now, abstract some of the textures to be more in line with the character shaders(which they've done to an extent in the update) and get the lighting to reflect the initial concept art, it would pretty much be on track.  It's hard to form a full opinion on the changes made based on a couple of screenshots from a single room, but the lighting does seem to be improving, and the current update is, in my opinion, the best the game has looked since the project began. 

Either way, Inti had a hand in the way the game looked for the initial E3 demo(though I think they left the project shortly thereafter), so trying to blame their departure for whatever it is you don't like(unless what you don't like is the new lighting update) is a bit off the mark.

I know its just the resolution of the tiny picture, but the the way it makes Miriam and Johannes look like faceless sprites has a nice retro look to it...

Brent, yes the camera-facing bricks that frame the stage are rendered quite differently compared to the quality of the assets in the 2016 demo. From 2017-2018 there was a cut in quality (textures and/or polygon count?) but the assets were still aiming for a look that incorporated a sense of realism even if it wasn't executed as well. These new assets are simpler in both design and shading. There's no longer an attempt to blend realism and art in my opinion. Instead it has a more cartoon-ish 3D look to it that would feel more at home in a game like Crash Bandicoot.

This is very unfortunate considering how well these types of assets looked back in 2016. And its not just the rocks in the foreground. Look at the columns/pillars in the foreground and in the mid-section of the room, and the stacked stones that make up the arches connecting the columns, the same applies to those assets. Just because the 2017-2018 look didn't incorporate a sense of realism as well as the 2016 version did doesn't mean it should be abandoned altogether.

In addition the new look, based on what's been shown so far, is too generous with the application of strong colors. Yes strong colors are an important part of any CV game but this look is much too generous and uniform in its application of bold colors throughout the stage and especially moving from the foreground to the background. In the current build there is also a more conservative application of shadows to contrast these colors when compared to the 2016 version for a room this size.

My recommendation to Way Forward would be to look at both the art direction of the concept art and concept execution up to the game's demo in 2016 for inspiration on improving the visuals of the game. We are lucky to have a team as talented as them working on this project that in my opinion is just as capable as Inti Creates on delivering the look that was originally showcased.

It would be much appreciated if the team at 505 Games would forward this feedback to the development team. Thanks.

Arsenical






Agree with you to some extent. There's only so much you can infer from one area but it's worth noting that the art direction was still consistent with all the content released up until then and the historical look and feel of CV as a whole. We also have this video where IGA plays a segment of the castle in the Oct 2016 build (starting at 1:17). A short and nostalgic video introducing the castle itself.



Did a lot of reading and catching up on this project the last few weeks and while I do recall this being suggested by members of this board as a plausible explanation for the graphical downgrade I never read this being confirmed or stated by members of the official team. I highly doubt that this is the case though, since the team could have dispelled backers' concerns when they first encountered the issue and they wouldn't have had to bring Way Forward on board to change the game's graphics.



The gameplay showcased in the demo is great, no doubt about it. I'm a bit skeptical about the sub-quests but that's a minor concern in the grand scheme of things. I have every confidence that the actual game mechanics will at least be on par and likely better than the Igavanias of the past. Nothing I've seen so far makes me doubt that.



Agreed. My hope is that the visuals will be both consistent for the game as a whole and that the graphics will be consistent with the visual legacy and art direction of IGA's past games and the CV titles preceding him.



I think we ought to strike while the iron is hot and while they're still in the process of editing the game's visuals. Being backers of the project gives us that right imo.



That's absolutely true. However I do feel that from the outset this game was designed to look a certain way and was marketed as such and therefore the team ought to do it's best to deliver on these terms to the best of their ability. Worth noting that said ability just got a major boost with Way Forward on board so I'm still very much optimistic about what can still be achieved. If you have a preference let it be known now or forever rest in silence (or at least until the next Kickstarter).



Sorry about the triggering, but that's just what came to mind after deliberating on the newest screens. This is one of those things that's hard to unsee once you've seen it. If you go back and compare the newest screenshots to SotN, Aria, or the DS games it's quite striking to say the least. If Crash Bandicoot had an alchemy lab in one of his games it could look just like this one. I do think the room looks better now than it did in 2018 all things considered but it does so by borrowing assets from what I consider to be another game. This is why to me the room looks both better and worse at the same time.

Spent some time during lunch today sniffing around 505 Games' website and I think I found some screenshots intended for next month's update:













I feel like the new look is beginning to grow on me already...

Can we save the troll posts for their own topics? They can be quite funny when posted as an actual joke thread, but here it just feels like you're trying to crap on the community.

I don't believe this is real, those last 3 pictures look too high quality for Bloodstained.

Ya, lighting is still bizarre and the background is waxy. Nice to have a release window though, and I still think the menus look great.

Edit: Also Mana's art looks amazing!