How do you like the look of character models in the game now?

JuliusBorisov

This is how my character and Imoen look pre-beta:



This is how they look in the beta:



Even without such options as "Sprite Outlines" and "Highlight Selected sprites" new character models look ... different.

More cartoonish, less BG-ish, and overall less ... slim. Do you like it?

AlexT

bengoshi said:

Even without such options as "Sprite Outlines" and "Highlight Selected sprites" new character models look ... different.

Just a reminder, at the moment, you need to restart the game in order for Sprite Outlines to be properly disabled.

You won't see the effect instantly after changing the setting, you need to turn off the game entirely and then start it again.

JuliusBorisov

@AlexT And here comes another thing. How can I save these settings? Because when I close the game, open it and load the save, the settings that I turned off before closing the game are now again shown as being turned on.

procco

I'm personally not a fan of the sprite outlines. Thankfully that is an optional feature that can be turned off. The outlines definitely make the characters more blob-like.
Having said that, is it just my imagination or are the original sprites looking sharper and more defined in 2.0? I'll have to do a before and after comparison.

00zim00

@bengoshi i read elsewhere on a different issue that they had to delete the bg config file in between the patches otherwise it config wouldn't save your settings when you exited the game. Have you tried doing that to see if it fixes it?

And yeah i agree they do look off if that is in fact how they look with both "Sprite Outlines" and "Highlight Selected sprites" off.

bleusteel

I like the outlines. I play zoomed out and sometimes it's hard to see my characters against certain backgrounds depending on the character's colors. The outlines make them stand out.

Kilivitz

AlexT said:

bengoshi said:

Even without such options as "Sprite Outlines" and "Highlight Selected sprites" new character models look ... different.

Just a reminder, at the moment, you need to restart the game in order for Sprite Outlines to be properly disabled.

You won't see the effect instantly after changing the setting, you need to turn off the game entirely and then start it again.

I found out that in the BG:EE beta you only have to reload a game.

MonkeyLungs

I like the outlines. That said, I'm glad they are an option for those that don't.

Kamigoroshi

I have the impression that mobile and tablet users with tiny displays have likely the most use for this. And, that the larger the display (read monitor) is, the more un-immersive this feature becomes as a whole. Not my cup of tea, sadly.

Messi

I think the models look significantly better with the new outlines. *thumbs up*

Jarrakul

It's my impression that the second screenshot in the OP is with the outlines on? I can't say I love them (especially at that zoom level), but I'll probably just turn them off, so whatever.

Dee

With them turned off, the sprites should look the same as they did before.

XKal

I will definitely turn the sprite outlines off when I play. As long as they then look the same as pre-2.0, (As @dee says they will), I'm fine.

antimatter3009

My initial impression when seeing them in game for the first time was super negative, but I forced myself to leave them on and see. As I played a couple hours, I got used to them and now I kinda like them. It's a bit of a jarring change in the BG art style, and does look more cartooney, but I'm kind of liking the look now. We'll see if that remains. I'm very glad they're toggle-able.

Functionally, though, it's really nice to have some separation between the foreground and background. Much easier on the eyes when you're trying to scan a very zoomed out screen to click on something. I may keep them on just for that no matter how my opinion on the look evolves.

rorikon

Actually if I could have them only display when zoomed out a fair bit, I'd probably use them. When zoomed in it makes everything look like a cartoony indie game designed for a tablet, but from a distance they're actually somewhat functional.

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Tresset

bengoshi said:

AlexT And here comes another thing. How can I save these settings? Because when I close the game, open it and load the save, the settings that I turned off before closing the game are now again shown as being turned on.

@bengoshi You could try editing the relevant file on your computer. The question is would that be the .ini or the .lua?

SirBatince

It does appear like everything is smoother and less pixelly. And I don't even use the outline option.

Is it rendered on-the-run or were BAMs manually enhanced one by one?

I guess it's a nice thing. No point in complaining against a deliberate upgrade.

Although I can see the BAM seams on some creatures now...

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Dee

The smoothing you refer to is happening at run-time; it's not being done to the sprites themselves.

Some players like the smoother sprites. I happen to like them myself. But we also realize that not everyone is going to like the effect; hence the option to turn it off.

agris

@bengoshi the color palette of the character models looks different in the two pictures. It almost looks like the saturation was jacked up in the beta. Is anyone else seeing this? If @SirBatince is right and all the .bams have undergone some sort of automatic processing, we need to know so that we can confirm that the process didn't accidentally degrade the original art.

Flashburn

@SirBatince
I knew something was off. You can't fool me, Beamdog - not with poison stacking nor with BAM seams! Those seams are what I was seeing when I filed that bug report about a black line being visible on characters wielding quarterstaves.

00zim00

Silly question, does Imoen have stoneskin on in that image?

I noticed the AI kicks in when you start the game and she casts stone skin on herself automatically which looks similar if not the same.

Edit: Just noticed @pointfiveo asked the same question.

Madrict

Personally I really like the smoother sprites, I think it is a nice upgrade. I found the original sprites horribly pixelated, so this helps. Much appreciated feature

cmk24

Dee said:

The smoothing you refer to is happening at run-time; it's not being done to the sprites themselves.

Some players like the smoother sprites. I happen to like them myself. But we also realize that not everyone is going to like the effect; hence the option to turn it off.

Out of curiosity where is the option that does this? None of the in-game options talk about sprite smoothing, and I don't see anything in the Baldur.lua file.

XKal

cmk24 said:

Dee said:

The smoothing you refer to is happening at run-time; it's not being done to the sprites themselves.

Some players like the smoother sprites. I happen to like them myself. But we also realize that not everyone is going to like the effect; hence the option to turn it off.

Out of curiosity where is the option that does this? None of the in-game options talk about sprite smoothing, and I don't see anything in the Baldur.lua file.

@dee can correct me if I'm wrong (I'm still waiting on a steam key to try the beta), but I suspect it's tied to the outlines toggle, per her earlier comment:

Dee said:

With them turned off, the sprites should look the same as they did before.

Madrict

I have been playing around with the sprite outline setting and I must say, for me it is a huge improvement when it is turned on. The outline really helps the character sprites pop against the background and makes them easier to see. Less stress on the eyes. Definitely a big fan of the sprite outlines and smoothing

JuliusBorisov

00zim00 said:

Silly question, does Imoen have stoneskin on in that image?

I noticed the AI kicks in when you start the game and she casts stone skin on herself automatically which looks similar if not the same.

Edit: Just noticed @pointfiveo asked the same question.

Yes, I've made a bug report that every NPC start with "Advanced AI" by default, which in terms of Imoen means autocasting Stoneskin right at the end of a starting dialogue, without me even being able to influence it. I think this is not a good behavior. The report was changed from a "bug" to a "feature", though...

Tresset said:

bengoshi said:

AlexT And here comes another thing. How can I save these settings? Because when I close the game, open it and load the save, the settings that I turned off before closing the game are now again shown as being turned on.

@bengoshi You could try editing the relevant file on your computer. The question is would that be the .ini or the .lua?

We're trying to solve this bug now with the QA team based on the issue I've reported.

Ithual

I don't like the new look, though I admit that it does grow on you. I had to disable those hideous black outlines though... what an abomination. I booted up v2.0 for the first time and felt like something had smashed me in the face with a Warhammer +2!!

Durenas

bengoshi said:

Yes, I've made a bug report that every NPC start with "Advanced AI" by default, which in terms of Imoen means autocasting Stoneskin right at the end of a starting dialogue, without me even being able to influence it. I think this is not a good behavior. The report was changed from a "bug" to a "feature", though...

Perhaps an option to have AI turned off at the start of the game?

Sylvus_Moonbow

First time I saw the new outline on characters, I thought of Ultima 7. They also used a black outline to represent different effects on the individual character, and it would change to red, or green, etc., as a visual representation.

I will certainly try it, and experience it in-game, before deciding if I like the new addition or not.