Update: 35 - IGA's Got A Brand New Background (New Shaders!)

3/3 looks really good
but the only thing that put me off is the black linings around the characters, those are the only place that put me off
The rest though....
DAMN!!!!
that is the really beautiful
I'm in my deep brainstorming now....

IGA actually commented on that in Ask IGA #7 which we got today. He's very excited to explore dynamic camera angles and experimenting with the background depth, so that dead-on, totally 2D look is actually off the table. Its not what he wants for the game.

Which is why I prefer Character 3 / Background 1. Choosing between them is killing me, both have very strong points. Overall I prefer background 1 because it is generally darker and the lightning makes more sense. In background 3 I have no idea why the tunnel leading into the area is so well lit, as is the wall of the floor (I don't know how to describe it... you know, the wall running along the very bottom of the image). Also we have the chandellier... IMO it feels like the candles aren't shining nearly enough light onto that polished metal (that is, very reflective) chandelier in shader 3. It's a bit better in shader 1, though still not ideal. I guess what I'd love to see is background shader 1, just with a bit more contrast.

But hey, 3/3 is going to win by a landslide, so who cares.

edit: also very glad to see the crystal curse looks much better throughout all shaders. Looks much less like a tattoo this time, and hopefully it will get even better in the future.

screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/158787

Here's a thing someone put up to help those who don't see a difference in backgrounds.

ok, i reordered them when i saved so im flipping between close mid and far as opposed to character/shader, and did a lot of flipping between them

character 3
close to mid i absolutely love char 3, the illustrated look is beautiful and the different splotches of color on her ribbons and dress give it a very watercolored look, the hair is i love the streaks of color that make up the black and how the harshness of the shading give it depth though i miss the unique crayony effect of the original shader 3 hair, i like the glow that her curse has and the levels of shading are really well done, the issues i have though is i think the gauntlet/boots need a little tweaking still, i cant tell if theyre blackened metal or leather, partly because the leather on her mantle has the same texture to it (as well as her dress in the closeup) and partly because it takes on this odd blueness farther away that i think makes it pop out a little too much, perhaps a midrange between the black of char 1 and the blue of char 3 or even a brown or black tarnished silver (which would also play into themes of purity, fallen innocence, and lost time) would alleviate this and give it more of a metallic vibe without it disappearing into the background or becoming super shiny and new, also the ruffles ^_^, i love the ruffles around her torso and elbow, i think the ones on her wrist need a little bit of work close up so they dont look chunky, i think giving her a 3rd tier of ruffley goodness that is much closer to her forearm and giving the interior of that 3rd ring a much darker shadow would alleviate the thickness the 2nd ring has and give her sleeve a better illusion of being poofy, but its a really good start ^_^, and i do love the blueness of her bloomers since it makes them a part of her character without calling too much attention to them or hiding them like its something youre not supposed to see, if you decide not to go with char 3 for the gameplay, i highly recommend using it for the character portraits during cutscenes, its beautiful work, only issue i have with the far view on this shader is i think the whole char takes on a little too much shininess and it makes her stand out from the world a bit too much, this may disappear when shes in motion or with slightly different lighting so im curious to see what this looks like with a bit of tweaking

character 1
for char 1 i really like the fabric texture and the way it blends in with background 1 and 3 and takes the lighting of the area well, shes not too shiny or dark and she stands out without looking like a sticker on the screen, and she blends with the world best on background 3, the lighting in that gives this shader the best contrast and pop to all her colors, close up i have to be honest, the black part of the dress reminds me of an early 90s fur texture, but i think that would disappear entirely if the repeats on the texture were increased so it didnt look so stretched and mottled even though its a total nonissue in the far shot, the blue portions however i really like, i wanna run my fingers along it and the ruffles are great here too, i think the same suggestion i had for char 3 ruffles apply here too, a 3rd set of sleeve ruffles close to the arm inside the sleeve with a much darker inside ring would make the ruffles there look less chunky, the issue however is nonexistent in the far shot for either shader and there the sleeve is belled very nicely and creates the illusion of poofyness, the bloomers here i think need a tiny bit of color along the outlines since here they look like a black splotch and you lose the bow completely, the 'realism' of the shader is done very well, i think with the addition of bumpmapping for her hair and skin to give it a bit of extra depth and detail this has a lot of potential to be really pretty during closeups and midshots

as for which id choose id have to go with char 3, with a little tweaking to the shininess she takes on in the far shot and a little bit of extra colorwork to help differentiate the black cloth (looks great), black leather (perhaps a bit of darker colored stippling?), and black metal (streaks/cracks of grey/silver to give it that heavily tarnished silver look?) without pulling it away from the illustrated look

really liking the new tails her mantle has, ill be looking forward to it wreaking havok with the physics engine and flopping all about or suddenly becoming 50 feet long ^3^, im really digging her stance, its a good mixture of cute feminine and readiness, like she could whip a sword out of thin air and be ready to fight instantly,  and the jogging animation looks like its coming along nicely, cant wait to see all this in motion \^_^/

Holy. Crap. This completely blew my mind...every time I think the model looks as good as it can they bring it to a whole new level. This is incredible in so many ways. Definitely character 3, but I kind of wish you could see the outlines a bit more from further away. Kind of kills the purpose if they aren't visible. I don't want to see thick outlines though, that'd kill it. Just enough.

The background is harder to pick...I like the colors on number 3 and the shininess to it, but it really takes away the shadows/darkness. It looks less natural, maybe if they found a way to mix them that would help. Either way model 3 looks so much more vibrant and alive than 1. The art style is really shaping up and I can only see small changes from here.

I love the combination of character 3 background 1 for close ups. You get a nice amount of detail and Miriam looks fabulous. Though I like character 1 background 3 for the zoomed out perspective, which I assume will be the distance the camera will be for most of the gameplay, because character 3 zoomed out looks like there's too much detail for the screen to properly display but the background here looks incredible. The level of detail shown and contrast of colors looks great compared to background 1 which feels more simplistic.

I had to vote 3 / 3 though because I see this one proving the most beneficial to the game world and having the most potential for Miriam, and perhaps other characters. I would love to see a hybrid of 1 and 3 for Miriam though. Keep the coloring, ideally, but with less emphasis on the hand drawn look to balance out her level of detail when zoomed out.

I just hope they blend character 3 into background 3 a bit better. Right now she looks a little like she's just plopped right into a different world due to her cel shaded look.

Holy crap, the 3rd shader and the background looks AMAZING! What an improvement over the early screens! I think it's indisputable: IGA still has dat magic touch 8)