Guys.
Dont try to reinvent the wheel. You are using different art styles in the game. You advertise one and apply other in the game as seen below. Keep the one at the left (original), there is no need for the AOE Online style here, it is dead for a good reason…
I agree the less cartoony the better. It’s what has always separated aoe from warcraft imo
+1
I have to agree that I’m disappointed with the art on the main menu; the painterly style for the background itself works, but the figure looks so unnatural as to be like bad fan art.
I want this:
Tbh changing the background art in the menu should be an easy mod if mods are allowed 
As not to agree, the new one does not tell me anything, it seems between Mythology and AoeOnline. the classic is missing
Ensemble studios must work on this remake
Unfortunately this is to be expected with a re-release or remaster because the original artist may not be available.
This was an issue with Age of Mythology: Extended Edition too.
@rhrmn said:
Unfortunately this is to be expected with a re-release or remaster because the original artist may not be available.This was an issue with Age of Mythology: Extended Edition too.
Agree, but I don’t understand why it must carry that ‘‘cartoon revision’’. A new ‘‘serious’’ art can be made too.
@the_choson_one said:
@rhrmn said:
Unfortunately this is to be expected with a re-release or remaster because the original artist may not be available.This was an issue with Age of Mythology: Extended Edition too.
Agree, but I don’t understand why it must carry that ‘‘cartoon revision’’. A new ‘‘serious’’ art can be made too.
That’s not how artistry works. Every artist has their own unique style.
Personally, I think this is nit-picking. However, there are now 3 Pharaohs hahaha…the new one in the screenshot looks consistent with the in-game art style.
Back in the 90s you had very realistic art on boxes because the actual graphics in game were these pixelated little blocks of color…so the realistic art gave you an idea of the atmosphere of the game. I don’t think AoE should be too serious or realistic tho…it is, at its heart, a fun, happy, city building war game.
I am agree that the original is better than the newer one. Not it is ugly but it don’t match with the spirit of this game something authentic. But i say not all is bad in this picture maybe use the same color and texture of the original one, keep the shadows and contrast of the new one. And give it the deep stare of the roman of the orginal aoe. But this is my opinion and i think we can’t tell all what we think is bad because we always find someone with other point of view. But i repeat i have the same point of view of MarceloMoura10.
I miss the Rise of Rome menu, with its sunset temple and its magnificently soaring theme.
Can MS contact to the illustrator who create the original box art? Or maybe ask Relic for help. The current dev team obviously lack professional 2D artists.
@sonictimm said:
I want this:
+1 on this and opening post.
The main menu artwork is in my opinion too cartoony like AOE:O which really put alot of players off and this suggestion is bang on the money for how I feel it should look. Currently the main menu pharaoh looks like a smug, cartoon villan.
Whilst I think the graphics in the main are pitch perfect some ‘cartoonyness’ has seeped in elsewhere, I wasn’t 100% convinced by the blood animation and I didn’t really like the building destruction animations. It felt a bit like putting tnt around a building made of M&M’s.
@the_choson_one is completely correct, there is more serious artwork out there and it’s rather irrelevant artists having their own unique style as the artist should fit the project not the project having to change to fit the artists whims or style (though good artists should also be able to replicate styles) there is definitive artwork that looks more ‘serious’. See the announce trailer.
The problem I think comes with not having enough player feedback, a while back they posted this on Facebook:-
This was fan made art presumably of AOK but clearly looks nothing like AOE or AOK and comments from other Facebook users included the following ‘AOE:O is back’ ‘yeah not quite aoe’ ‘looks like stronghold crusader 2’ ‘looks more like mount and blade’ yet sugguested to me one of three things:-
Either that the team might be pulling in different directions as to what constitutes an appropriate AOE style. Unlikely, but we now have some examples of it seeping in which Is completely at odds with say the tone of the AOE4 announce trailer.
They might be oblivious of what the style is having never played the games. As this was on the community page which got everyone tuned in on mixer for what we assumed was DE play and turned out to be AOK (massive trolling) this could be likely.
They need to resolve this style issue and get wider feedback on it before Relic go off on a frolic of their own with AOE4 as there were quite a few RTS players who were not happy with the job or artistic style that they brought to Dawn of War 3 and the steam reviews suffered as a consequence.
I think the cartoonyness might be from tapping into comic con style geekery (hence the baying ‘wolololol’ at Gamescon) but they need to realise that for lots of players AOE is a strategic historical wargame that they intend to play fairly competitively (but not to the clicks per second build orderness of say Starcraft). Warcraft 4/Dora 3 can have the cartoonyness for their Fantasy setting but even in Fantasy settings lots of players want less cartoonyness (see the official blood and gore DLC for Warhammer: Total War).
They need to start engaging with the community really which doesn’t involve spraying out free T-shirts but does involve surveys and engaging here on the forums as we all want the game and series to be a success.
They didn’t even get the “wololo” pitch right, and it was annoying XD
Frankly, the stained glass menu isn’t a great option either–it doesn’t look exactly ancient so much as medieval.
@Kuoting said:
Can MS contact to the illustrator who create the original box art? Or maybe ask Relic for help. The current dev team obviously lack professional 2D artists.
Can be more expensive?
There isn’t stained glass in ancient times.
There lying to the people start get more fanart and more free publicity and hype.
That paint is a cringe, not bad to start in digital art, but the details…there aren’t details, looks made with an app to paint.(tabled app)