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[chex mix]

when they first showed pictures of Morrigan and Leliana did people react like they are about Isabela?

[Francis Lacuna]

nijnij wrote...

Now I was a bit surprised myself when I saw the new Flemeth.........
........... apart from the clothes, she didn't change that much. She just looks, well... more powerful (slightly younger).

Kicking that brat out of the house really did wonders for her don't ya think? Toss on a change of clothes, a long bath, a full nights rest and a touch of makeup....its like she were only a hundred years old again! (I really don't know how old she is)

Generally speaking, I don't mind changes in art direction (I don't think the armors should necessarily look the same for example since they were a bit too generic in DA:O IMO) as long as they're not utter retcons.

We've redone the armors across the board to fit with the new art style (no more women with linebacker wide shoulders!) so they won't be wearing the same models they wore in the first. But they would probably wear something similar and identifiable if their look was signature. Like how the templar armors are different stylistically, but still look like templar armor.

To address some of the concerns about returning characters though, upgrading the heads was a huge goal among us character artists. We didn't choose to improve everyones look just because of the art style, but because we revamped the head system entirely. We've redone textures completley to be less stretchy and more detailed and worked very hard to make these brand new face meshes animate spectacularly better than before. But we are aware of the attachment value of particular characters from DA:O and the need for consistency, so we're being very careful about re-introducing familiar faces. 

Minor characters who didn't get the same polish in the first one but became breakout stars in the second, (Isabela) get overhauls to give them the uniqueness and appeal that their characters deserved. So they now stand out among the rest.

For major characters who might return, they would remain the same structurally and cosmetically. Especially the humans, unless the the art director or design/writing deem it otherwise. We really want cameos to be recognized at a glance or familiar under scrutiny. That said, no matter how much we might try, due to the new head system and the art style, the lighting engine and camera work, they may not look 100% identical. Its unfortunate, but we hope they'll at least be recognizable. For the races that have been stylized, such as the dwarves and elves, the changes will be apparent but we hope to keep their cosmetic features the same (hair, eye color and tattoos)

We put a lot of effort into creating the star characters of DA:O, we love them as much as you all do. If they happen to get a makeover, it will get the same amount of care, love and attention to detail that went into them originally and we hope you'll agree with us that it was for the better.

Modifié par SonFrancisco, 30 octobre 2010 - 07:58 .

[Francis Lacuna]

Brockololly wrote...

Yeah, I'm just curious (and this isn't necessarily aimed at you) why if there were plans on bringing back certain characters, there wasn't some functionality built into the new head morph system to utilize some of the Origins faces, at least structurally speaking? I'd just hate to have some returning human character like an Alistair, Nathaniel Howe, or Morrigan show back up and only be able to recognize them based on their hair style or only after they open their mouth and you recognize the voice actor.............

Fortunately we have our methods of approximating one to the other and getting it close, should we need to. That's what i was referring to, in part, about not being 100% identical but still sharing the structural and cosmetic similarities and being recognizable. However, putting all the points about why they might look different aside, when dealing with two models of varying poly counts and vertex numbers its a little more challenging to make one look like the other at a microscopic level. The topology and flow of the DA:O mesh is not as optimized for animation as the DA2 ones and therefore may not accurately wrap cleanly along the same lines, curves and shapes of eachother, particularly when speaking. There will always be subtle differences. 

As far as Alistair and Nathaniel Howe or Morrigan and other key npcs are concerned, should they ever re-appear in Dragon Age with the new head system, you might double-take, but my hope is you'll be pleasantly relieved (maybe even a little excited!). 

Modifié par SonFrancisco, 30 octobre 2010 - 09:30 .