Battle Suit (2)

Concept artwork for models and maps.
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Ishq
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Re: Battle Suit Concept

Post by Ishq »

I think a happy medium between the XoL Major and the Heavy Ops would be nice. Velo can elaborate further when he see's this.

PhilZero
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Re: Battle Suit Concept

Post by PhilZero »

kharnov wrote:

Good point regarding the visors. Think you could do a quick lineup of potential helmet designs?

yep, can do.

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velociostrich
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Re: Battle Suit Concept

Post by velociostrich »

PhilZero wrote:

I feel like visors have been done to death this generation and want to try something else that differentiates it from other designs out there - although it can be changed if nobody likes it.

Differentiating ourselves from other games is a good thing! To be honest, I had not myself thought of having lenses or anything like that, but that makes a lot of sense: if you're building a suit, why use the naked human eye when you can use a camera that can theoretically see any wavelength or could have capabilities such as zoom? (potentially new gameplay, anyone?)

PhilZero wrote:

Regarding the armour size, I can certainly bulk it up a bit more; I'd like to wait for velociostrich to chime in first as I was going for something inbetween my XoL Major and Heavy Ops designs as he specified.

Right, so the size issue. I am of the opinion that the size that you have now is adequate (e.g., certainly nobody ever seemed to complain about Crysis' Nanosuit being too wimpy despite its capabilities), however, there seems to be some concern that it's not bulky enough because in-game, it can sustain repeated charges from a tyrant (which is the largest alien class and absolutely massive). If necessary, we can put this to a vote, though I would prefer that not be necessary: I would like to hear other devs weigh in on this with their own opinions, so in the meantime, you could do like kharnov said and work on potential helmet designs (other than what you've drawn already), or create another heavier looking iteration (whichever you please).

Also, as for the "suit should be beefier because it can sustain repeated charges" argument:

  • As I said before, there have been a number of suit designs that players haven't expressed disdain over (at least, not that I know of or in any significant numbers) that were capable of sustaining similarly absurdly high damage: the Master Chief's armor from Halo, the Nanosuit from Crysis (which was admittedly beefed up in later releases), the suit from Marathon, the H.E.V. suit from Half-Life, Samus Aran's suit from Metroid (Prime), etc.

  • I think it makes sense that the Tyrant doesn't outright kill a battlesuit-equipped marine in Unvanquished purely because of momentum (i.e., mass times velocity): if a suit could theoretically stop a bullet moving at very high velocity (or worse, which I think the suit design phil has come up with so far certainly could by appearance), it should theoretically be able to stop a very large mass moving relatively very slowly. From a story perspective, we could say that the 'rant's claws/pincers/whatever can easily penetrate flesh but not armor plate.

  • One example of a "heavier" looking suit was this: however, I would argue that said suit would be less protective and is only "bulky" looking because of its inherit bagginess and because of the number of holsters, packs, and the like attached. (Sidenote: I do not think that this style does at all fit Unvanquished in its current form; the image is just an idea of how "bulky" might appear).

That said, I would not like to see this thread devolve into squabbling over either side, and any argument for either side should be made purely with regard to suspension of disbelief (i.e., would the current concept cause you to be surprised by the suit's ability to take damage in such a way that you would find absurd) and not with regard to any story material written to this point, as that can be changed as necessary. If we can't seem to reach a consensus quickly, it'll have to go to a vote. I would like to see a consensus reached in the next few days if possible.

Also, @kharnov (or whomever), could you direct people to this thread on #unvanquished-dev?

Phew. Sorry for the wall of text, but I would prefer that our concept be something that (most of) everyone can agree so there is no movement later to replace it purely for conceptual/design reasons. (Replacing assets due to technical quality is another matter, although I do not think that will be an issue.)

PhilZero
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Re: Battle Suit Concept

Post by PhilZero »

Ok chaps, here's a more bulked up version with added ammo clips and some little details here and there.

This is probably as bulky as this suit will get without imparing movement, as you can see the arms of the occupant are already splayed right out like a body-builders.

I'm of the opinion that big mechanical suits, although more heavily armoured and better shielding from bullets and other projectiles, seem a lot more delicate and easily broken when up against melee attacks.

But like Velo says, conversations like this can go back and forth for a long long time and really can be successfully argued either way.

What it ultimately comes down to is:

  • Does it look cool?

  • Is it believable?

  • Does it fit with the universe?

Thanks for all feedback so far, I definitely think it looks cooler with the added bulk.

Image

previous version for comparison:
Image

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janev
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Re: Battle Suit Concept

Post by janev »

This works for me and the helmet looks bad ass.

If you are worried about it being able to hold up to a tyrant change you could visually reinforce the area around the chest with a sort of uncrushable ring structure. Maybe a beefy unbroken ring of metal that goes around the unit at chest level. Actually you could even give him an uncrushable "sports bra".

PhilZero
Concept Artist
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Re: Battle Suit Concept

Post by PhilZero »

Helmets! Helmets for everyone!
Thoughts, feedback etc.

Image

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kharnov
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Re: Battle Suit Concept

Post by kharnov »

Hm. I like the first one the most, out of those four. Anyone else?

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Ishq
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Re: Battle Suit Concept

Post by Ishq »

That new battlesuit size is perfect. As for the helmets, I think the shape of the first one is the best, but something about the eye/camera placement bugs me. I feel like they are too far apart.

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janev
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Re: Battle Suit Concept

Post by janev »

I like the one that's already on the battlesuit. The "beak" appeals to me.

Other then that they all look like workable options.
#1 looks alien, kind of like a rant
#2 looks like you could fit a lot of optics in there
#3 looks bad ass, like a big headed human about to head-butt someone
#4 looks like a shark

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kharnov
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Re: Battle Suit Concept

Post by kharnov »

@Ishq: I don't think the cameras should be too close to each other, or else you don't get the full field of view. As a compromise, perhaps there can be multiple sets of camera "eyes" on the helmet? Take a look at this:

Image

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