Which WC games had the best visual style?

[Vinman]

Which WC games had the best visual style?

I was just curious about your opinions on which Wing Commander game had the best visual style.

The early Wing Commander games, as we all know, used brightly-colored bitmaps, bitmap art of characters and rounded ships.

Armada used a 3D engine and had a visual style that was an interesting mixture of the early and middle Wing Commander art styles.

Wing Commander III and IV used a high res (for the time) engine (I think it was an upgraded version of the engine used for Armada?) and had sharp, sleek, gray ships. Just about everything had sharp edges.

Prophecy and Secret Ops came out at a time when 3D engines could feature rounded shapes, and they made use of them. Ships remained gray, but restored a good deal of the roundness of the early Wing Commander visual style.

I'm not sure about the Arena visual style, as I haven't played it, so if anyone could fill me in, it would be appreciated.

My opinion is that the original art style was the best of the bunch, followed by Armada and Prophecy, which retained the - for lack of a better word - plumpness, or sense of size of the different craft from Wing Commander I and II. That Armada was able to pull of a polygon version of the Wraith in an early 3D engine is no small feat!

For the sense that there is a real, live universe out there, it's a toss up between the early Wing Commander games and Secret Ops. Here, too, the early Wing Commanders manage a victory, thanks in no small way to the vastness of Privateer.

In any event, I feel that something very special was lost in the transition from 320x200 to 640x480.

 

[Jason_Ryock]

I would have to say that I think Prophecy and WCIV really pulled it off the best.

I think those two have the most distinct styles from the other games that really help to set the tone....from WCIV's worst-refitted-ship-in-the-fleet to the sleek and new Prophecy carrier that's straight out of the shipyards.

 

[Mekt-Hakkikt]

I mostly agree with Vinman. I liked the coloured style of the early games and Armada and Arena. SOPS is good as well.

WC 3 and 4 looked mostly boring or depressing to me.

 

[gevatter Lars]

Designwise I like WC 1 and 3 the most, followed by some WC4 designs like the Banshee.
WC2 is kinda like a break designwise. Everything is very round with some exceptions like the Ferret or Rapier that has some sharper edges.
All other games have a more clear and sharp line in their designs.

Graphicwise I am still amazed by the WC1 graphics. Doing so much with so little is just amazing.
While WC3 and 4 where kinda depressing colorwise I thought that it was fitting the story more then a colorfull game would have.

 

[Dundradal]

This is too much like someone's else crappy threads.

Sorry Vinman.

 

[ZFGokuSSJ1]

Graphically, WC/WCII/Academy/Privateer (especially WC1 & 2) are some of the most beautiful games ever made.

 

[Vinman]

This is too much like someone's else crappy threads.

Sorry Vinman.

What do you mean?

 

[Dyret]

This is too much like someone's else crappy threads:

No it isn't. It's basically what WC you think was the prettiest(Armada and Prophecy for me), not an "OMG thiz neu stuff got env n speclar mapIng itz tEH Pwnz0r!!!1!" thread or "this game is soe unrealistic 'couse it doesn't have crazy ST stuff" thread.

 

[Dundradal]

Those aren't the threads I was talking about either.

WC2 is the one that has a soft spot for me.

 

[Falcon988]

Yep, gotta go with Dun... I think WC2 is the prettiest of the series. Always have. I love blowing ships up in that game just to see the fireball and debris. And I especially love it when capships go boom. It's just a very pretty game.

 

[Darkmage]

this poll is stupid, Privateer had a very different design style to wc1/2 the ships are much darker metallic, more realistic looking. Not the bright blues and greens of wc1 and 2, I prefer the Armada/Privateer/Super Wing Commander colour schemes. They're dark and moody, much more like you'd expect a space fighter over the shiny bright fisher price wc1/2 ships.

 

[Dyret]

Those aren't the threads I was talking about either.

Yeah, I guess I know which ones you were talking about. But I can live with it as long as it's not just for the sake of upping post count.

 

[Pedro]

What's interesting to look at is the jump between FMV and in game. WCIV it was noticable, whereas in WCIII they seemed to try to match the FMV to the game engine.

I think WC2 and WCP hold up the best, they are the most refined of their era, WC I and III/IV were pushing new boundaries and hence are overshadowed by their respective sequels.

I really like the style of the FMV sequences of WCIV/P and it is my goal to recreate that (especially Prophecys, brief as the CG may have been it was really was inspiring at the time).

 

[Vinman]

this poll is stupid, Privateer had a very different design style to wc1/2 the ships are much darker metallic, more realistic looking. Not the bright blues and greens of wc1 and 2, I prefer the Armada/Privateer/Super Wing Commander colour schemes. They're dark and moody, much more like you'd expect a space fighter over the shiny bright fisher price wc1/2 ships.

Looking back, Privateer does deserve to stand on its own.

 

[Dundradal]

I think WC2 and WCP hold up the best, they are the most refined of their era, WC I and III/IV were pushing new boundaries and hence are overshadowed by their respective sequels.

I would argue they all hold up fairly equally. We all have our favorites, but how many of us still think the original is the best and will always be so?

 

[Lorien]

I'm torn here. I loved the designs of the WC2 ships, especially the Sabre and Concordia, but I also loved Armada's weapon and shield effects.

 

[Dundradal]

I'm torn here. I loved the designs of the WC2 ships, especially the Sabre and Concordia, but I also loved Armada's weapon and shield effects.

The Armada shield effect is fantastic. I think it is the best overall, although the WCP capship shield effect is also nice, it still doesn't stand up to Armada's.

 

[Death]

While I do think Privateer should be its own entry, given how a lot of WC2 ships were also used in Privateer I can see where one might decide to group Privateer with WC1/2/Academy.

However, the non-military ships were, with one exception that I can think of, designs unique to Priv/RF (Drayman model is used in SWC), which is why I'm splitting them in the poll options.

(Not to mention that the poll forgot Privateer 2. )

 

[Jason_Ryock]

The Armada shield effect is fantastic. I think it is the best overall, although the WCP capship shield effect is also nice, it still doesn't stand up to Armada's.

I loved the scene in WCP, I think it was when the Alien Fleet was destroyed using the Plasma Gun, when the shockwave hits the bow of the Midway and you see that massive spiderweb effect in the video from the impact on the shields.

 

[Bandit LOAF]

While I do think Privateer should be its own entry, given how a lot of WC2 ships were also used in Privateer I can see where one might decide to group Privateer with WC1/2/Academy.

Three of them, all completely repainted ? I agree, Privateer is its own beast... it had the same engine as WC1 and 2, but the graphic design, color choice, etc. is all wildly different.

... and I actually don't think it works that well. The ships in Privateer, taken on their own, are *boring*. It's all grey grey grey grey and it predicts modern space games to an unfortunate level.

As for the original subject, I'll take Wing Commander I - it has a completely unique feel for both sides, much of which is a direct result of specific graphics choices (made with limited technologies.) The simple choice of that off-yellow-orange-durasteel color for the Kilrathi *made* the race well before their history and characters had been expanded upon.