Question Camouflage options for all vehicles?

[Nodlied]

I'm also a fan of the urban camo, but that doesn't necessarily make it the right choice for the art direction of the game in, for example, snow environments. The lack of choice is an incredibly weak justification against tightening up the art style of the game and making it look more uniform. People complained about the lack of choice in AR for about a week before it stopped being an issue entirely, so I can full believe that choosing camos is something that players can live without. Our game also looks way better than before because of it.

Actually, I've been bothered by the fixed camouflage in AR ever since it was implemented. I just stopped complaining about it because nothing was being done about it. (That + I'm not in charge of the game and cannot force decisions unless it's testing/release readyness related.)

[Killing_You]

I'm in the same boat as Nodlied. I like being able to choose my camo options, whether I'm rocking the "classic" look or going against the grain to look cool. As an example, I prefer white Longbows simply because it looks cooler than the other camos, plus almost nobody buys them, so I can stand out visually (since I can't stat wise). Plus with some maps in the various games, picking different camo schemes would allow you to take advantage of different areas of the map.

[FRAYDO]

Research indicates that Snow Camo rushes are the most effective rushes. Guaranteed to win, every time.

[delta]

I saw a show called ice pilots. They are flying a plane delivering supplies to an army base in the arctic. The fucking army guys are stationed way up north near the north pole, its ice cold, white as white for miles, no tress no nothing, its just snow everywhere - and the fucking military guys are dressed in temperate camouflage? What the fuck, you idiots, its snowing out, everything is white! WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU GREEN!? *Shoots them all in the head*

Maybe cause you're in Canada, and you're never going to actually be invaded by anyone, so they just don't bother equipping your troops with arctic camo?

Edited February 18, 2016 by delta

[Raap]

 

I would argue that not allowing players to pick their camo, is compromising the art direction.

I'm interested to know your reasons behind that opinion.

 

 

Keep in mind I am not part of the current APB team so my opinion is my own.

 

Sometime after Beta launched, an effort began to improve various art assets. Different design methods were created, and the template for future designs started to become more firm near Gamma's launch. This overal design style has not changed since then, so to change it again now, would in my opinion be compromising the present art direction.

 

Hope that made sense, writing this post with a tired mind.

[GeneralCamo]

Actually that doesn't. The point here is to fit the camo to the map, not remove the camo entirely. The core art style would be maintained, it just would look better per-map.

[Ice]

Actually that doesn't. The point here is to fit the camo to the map, not remove the camo entirely. The core art style would be maintained, it just would look better per-map.

And what a lot of people are saying is that they shouldn't be forced into only using a specific camo on a given map, and want to retain the ability to choose. At most the "correct" camo could be "suggested" by making it the first one on the list, but the others should still be available. Edited February 19, 2016 by Ice

[GeneralCamo]

I personally don't see the point. When I look at the trailer, seeing white units on temperate maps and green units on snow maps looks absolutely appalling. This is literally the only game I have seen such opposition. When forced model changes were implemented in Rise of the Reds, I saw no-one complaining there.

[harvester]

Maps like Zama or Stormy Valley, people might wanna choose the Woodlands or the Urban camo. Or in Ridge War, some choose Woodlands, some people choose the snow camo. I say the camo choice stays.

[Raap]

Well, I said my piece. It's all just a matter of opinion, and mine is that the varied colour schemes is part of the art direction since developers stopped taking the game as serious between Beta and Gamma.

[Ice]

Maps like Zama or Stormy Valley, people might wanna choose the Woodlands or the Urban camo. Or in Ridge War, some choose Woodlands, some people choose the snow camo. I say the camo choice stays.

^ Agreed

[ganein14]

 

Maps like Zama or Stormy Valley, people might wanna choose the Woodlands or the Urban camo. Or in Ridge War, some choose Woodlands, some people choose the snow camo. I say the camo choice stays.

^ Agreed

 

Ditto, but I would like a camo preference for maps set up.

[Ice]

 

 

Maps like Zama or Stormy Valley, people might wanna choose the Woodlands or the Urban camo. Or in Ridge War, some choose Woodlands, some people choose the snow camo. I say the camo choice stays.

^ Agreed

Ditto, but I would like a camo preference for maps set up.

Do you mean having the camo list being ordered on each map based on suitability, but still having choices available? Because this already the case on several maps.

[ganein14]

 

 

 

Maps like Zama or Stormy Valley, people might wanna choose the Woodlands or the Urban camo. Or in Ridge War, some choose Woodlands, some people choose the snow camo. I say the camo choice stays.

^ Agreed

Ditto, but I would like a camo preference for maps set up.

Do you mean having the camo list being ordered on each map based on suitability, but still having choices available? Because this already the case on several maps.

 

I do, but I mean for maps where this isn't the case. Like in under, complex, or camos canyon.

[OWA]

 

 

I would argue that not allowing players to pick their camo, is compromising the art direction.

I'm interested to know your reasons behind that opinion.

 

Keep in mind I am not part of the current APB team so my opinion is my own.

 

Sometime after Beta launched, an effort began to improve various art assets. Different design methods were created, and the template for future designs started to become more firm near Gamma's launch. This overal design style has not changed since then, so to change it again now, would in my opinion be compromising the present art direction.

 

Hope that made sense, writing this post with a tired mind.

 

That's an interesting viewpoint, but it has little to nothing to do with the art direction because the artists didn't decide how they wanted the camouflage to be implemented. The ability to choose your camo in the game is arguably a decision that was made by the game designers and leads at the time with little to no foresight on how that would affect the look of the game. My counter argument is that being able to choose your camo isn't a topic of the art direction at all, but one of how the designers and leads have chosen to implement the art in a way that allows players to compromise the art direction when playing the game.

 

As for maps where more than one camo would be useful (i.e. Stormy Valley = forest + Urban) then yeah sure! If it fits then why not. My argument is against stuff like snow on forest and desert on snow combos.

[Ice]

 

 

 

 

Maps like Zama or Stormy Valley, people might wanna choose the Woodlands or the Urban camo. Or in Ridge War, some choose Woodlands, some people choose the snow camo. I say the camo choice stays.

^ Agreed

 

Ditto, but I would like a camo preference for maps set up.

 

Do you mean having the camo list being ordered on each map based on suitability, but still having choices available? Because this already the case on several maps.

 

I do, but I mean for maps where this isn't the case. Like in under, complex, or camos canyon.

 

Yeah, I agree that the camo choices would be best put in a specific order on a per-map basic, as long as the individual player retains the final choice in whether to use the 'primary' camo on that map, or choose one of the alternatives based on their own personal preferences and tactics; For example, using urban camo on their Heavy tank or desert camo on their Medium tank for the sake of RA nostalgia, or using forest camo on a diverse map if they plan on going through the forested area, and later using urban camo if they want to go through the village, etc. Edited February 19, 2016 by Ice

[Nodlied]

I personally don't see the point. When I look at the trailer, seeing white units on temperate maps and green units on snow maps looks absolutely appalling. This is literally the only game I have seen such opposition. When forced model changes were implemented in Rise of the Reds, I saw no-one complaining there.

How can you even compare the RotR situation to the APB one? The W3D Ren engine has the possiblities to choose between different models/camouflage build into its core. Being able to make a choice has been there since the beginning. ZH's SAGE doesn't have such a thing as camouflage choice other than the ''buildvariants:1,2,3,etc'' code in a unit.ini. The new snow camouflage in RotR for the PAK FA is even a map dependend .ini modification. As for forced model changes themselves, that's usually not a problem since most model updates are a massive improvement over the old ones. Those that are not always a massive improvement can actually cause some complaints. (Such as the Frogfoot being replaced.)

[Pushwall]

Yeah, I agree that the camo choices would be best put in a specific order on a per-map basic, as long as the individual player retains the final choice in whether to use the 'primary' camo on that map, or choose one of the alternatives based on their own personal preferences and tactics; For example, using urban camo on their Heavy tank or desert camo on their Medium tank for the sake of RA nostalgia, or using forest camo on a diverse map if they plan on going through the forested area, and later using urban camo if they want to go through the village, etc.

 

Not to mention desert camo on CI, Zama and Guard Duty due to all the expanses of bare/rocky ground on CI/Zama and the lighting on Guard Duty.

[Raap]

 

 

 

I would argue that not allowing players to pick their camo, is compromising the art direction.

I'm interested to know your reasons behind that opinion.

 

Keep in mind I am not part of the current APB team so my opinion is my own.

 

Sometime after Beta launched, an effort began to improve various art assets. Different design methods were created, and the template for future designs started to become more firm near Gamma's launch. This overal design style has not changed since then, so to change it again now, would in my opinion be compromising the present art direction.

 

Hope that made sense, writing this post with a tired mind.

 

That's an interesting viewpoint, but it has little to nothing to do with the art direction because the artists didn't decide how they wanted the camouflage to be implemented. The ability to choose your camo in the game is arguably a decision that was made by the game designers and leads at the time with little to no foresight on how that would affect the look of the game. My counter argument is that being able to choose your camo isn't a topic of the art direction at all, but one of how the designers and leads have chosen to implement the art in a way that allows players to compromise the art direction when playing the game.

 

As for maps where more than one camo would be useful (i.e. Stormy Valley = forest + Urban) then yeah sure! If it fits then why not. My argument is against stuff like snow on forest and desert on snow combos.

 

 

What is an art direction or game design choice ultimately matters little when APB never had, and never will have, a firm development structure. There is no design document or anything of that nature that declares anything about anything.

 

What we're left with is just what we think of something as it currently exists. I merely gave a brief backstory into how the current state of things originated, as an argument towards claiming that changing anything about the current game, might change what the game actually is... A game that doesn't take itself extremely seriously.

 

By making camos map specific, you make a step towards changing APB towards a game with a more serious tone. This is normally a design change and not an art direction change, but since the very subject covers art, is sort of would cover a grey area... If there was actually a design document, anyhow.

 

Did I stop making sense by now? Good, that means we can drop this subject and get back to the more important subject; Snow camo Technicians on Pipeline.

[OWA]

To be honest, I'd just be happy if highly contrasting camos were removed from relevant maps. I.E. Snow from Forest Maps, Forest from Snow Maps etc. My discontent stems from that footage of the Forest Medium Tanks on Under in the trailer to be honest.

[stevendu95]

and what about supply trucks camos?

[Ice]

and what about supply trucks camos?

IMO that would seem pretty redundant for such a humble vehicle as the supply truck and other similar units. At most they should maybe get a tan-painted variant for the desert, but anything more is kind of excessive.

Edited February 23, 2016 by Ice