Any idea why it looks like a plastic toy? I suspect it is the fur texture being part of the model that causes that effect. It appears like the simplified fur representation often seen in toys, whereas a living creature would have full 3d fur. Here is a modified pic to add evidence to my point. With that said, an effect like this will add performance cost and may not be worth adding when units usually appear small on the screen.
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I think it looks so ‘‘plastic’’ because it’s a 3d model straight from the modeling tool ‘‘optimised’’ for this vr like presentation.
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Lightning ingame makes difference. You can try too google some screenshots from game with lightning turned off and on. Model alone is just part of the final look. Game does lot more then just shows model from modelling software.
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Because it’s a game model in the real world.
It’s not an ultra high fidelity Hollywood model made for a movie that takes weeks to render a single scene on a highend computer.
The model is optimised to look good in the game with the games shading, not with shading that tries to mimic real life.
Thats why it looks like a toy.
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I think it looks a 1000 times better than the old Cerberus. (and I originally wanted Cerberus as a myth unit and not a titan but this model/style satisfies me very much)
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I’m aware of how the appearance is impacted by the model, shading / materials, and lighting. What I mean is terms like cartoon or plastic toy is too vague to give the devs anything to work with. Something more descriptive like too shiny, surface appears too hard, etc is better. In the case of Cerberus, it seems like the complaints are purely for the AR preview rather than how it will appear in-game.
I love Retold’s style, it’s just like my younger brain remembers it, and that’s to me always a good sign they remained loyal to the original game.
I love that there is snow/weather effects, and that it feels there’s an ambience and personality to those scenes, AoE4 looks so bland in contrast. Heck, water has reflections! AoE4 is collecting dust and I’ve been off this forum for a while, but this feels like the game it’s going to get me back into AoE.
Microsoft definitely should have kept developing the Bang! engine.
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I think it looks great. They used the AoE 3 de engine so graphics are similar to that game which is good. Both games ran on the same engine originally BANG I believe just AoM was on the older version.
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Yup. In fact, Bang! was born with the original Age of Mythology. It was the very first 3D AoE game.
I’m amazed at the fact that devs have been able to keep Bang! running. Imagine something from the early 00’s still working today on Windows 11 machines, with DX12 (or DX11 but who’s counting) and vastly different GPUs than what was around back then. Not even EA’s SAGE survived that long.
On top of that, Bang! was able to translate AoE1 and AoE2 mechanics and feel into 3D almost perfectly. One of the reasons why AoE4 feels so foreign to me is precisely that Essence feels forced. It’s like a CoH mod that mimics AoE’s mechanics. A very good mod, but still in uncanny valley.
To give you a sense of how far back the year 2000 is, this is what the average PC looked like back then:
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While CoH is close with Essence (2006), I reckon it depends on what you count as “the same engine”. Firaxis’ Civilisation is famous for incrementing its engine over time, and never really starting again with its codebase. There are probably aspects of it, in some form, that date back to the 90s.
You also have to consider the iterative nature of the (successive) Unreal engines - while commercially distributed and obviously benefitting from the entirety of Epic as a business behind it, it’s still something that had its humble roots in Unreal (the game, even if UT is what put Epic’s name on the map).
All that said, still very excited for Retold. I’m not normally great with remasters of old games because at times the clunkiness shines through (whether it be visual or mechanical - and the heightmaps in III: DE and even what little we’ve seen of Retold are an example of that for me), but man, AoM was great fun. Heavily into mythology (generally) as a kid, borrowed my brother’s disc of AoM to play it (this was pretty contentious at the time 
).
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AoM had everything going against it and it has a special place in my hearth for sticking to its guns. First 3D AoE, first use of civ variants (demi-gods), first AoE with real asymmetric civs, first AoE with god powers. I truly respect that risk taking and commitment and it shows the love and trust devs had for the game. No wonder it became a cult classic. It was all-or-nothing which is something you don’t see nowadays. Games now are risk-averse, therefore bland and soulless.
I’ve talked plenty of times before about spectacle and how it’s sorely needed in RTS games. You never get tired of nukes dropping in Civ or SupCom, or Gandalf using his powers in BfME or a Cyclops throwing a soldier in AoM. Even the voice acks are memorable in AoM. “Prostagma” is a meme in itself.
I would be dead worried if this was AoM 2 and being as underwhelmed as I was with AoE4, but a “definitive edition”… oh man, shut up and take my money.
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Definitely, the hoplite and colossus models are the best achieved so far. As for the toxotes, their arrows look too long; It becomes annoying that current designs deem players unable enough to recognize an archer-type unit. On the other hand, the Nemean lion does not look that different from a normal lion, some bronze (metallic) skin and fur effects would look excellent on it; It would be faithful to the original version. About norse units, although I am not a fan of horns, the fact that both the huskarl and the ax thrower wear them seems overwhelming to me. Finally, the new carnivorous plant type Argus seems like a strange change to me, I liked the old pulpy, elongated-headed look better.
Other than nemean lion, even the petsuchos (the laser beam crocodile) looks underwhelming, it is way too small in Retold, it looks like a normal sized crocodile, the OG petsuchos was much better for now.
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I’m extremely satisfied with the graphics in the screenshots.
Art style is true to original. Building proportion look good. Developers please don’t waste time altering these two again at this point.
About individual models, it is too early to assess. Most of them look good. Nemean lion probably looks better after its upgrade, so the non upgraded version was toned down. Pestuchos can’t be properly assessed in that screenshot. Because only myth units are nearby, and all myth have been made grander compared to human units. Will need to see gameplay footage or more screenshots with less zoom to say for sure about models.
Overall the graphics are better than expected. I am more concerned about gameplay with all the changes, ui and new or revamped units from EE… How it all plays out. Need those to be perfect.
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Another thing to be concerned tho, is the collapse animations of units or building upon destruction. Just take a look at AoE3DE for instance, sunk ships just get sucked vertically into the water, buildings are the same into the ground. Whilst in og AoE3 or AoM graphic and vfx are very realistic, like almost built based on physics laws.
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This is something I recognised immediately and talked about plenty of times now: according to the few screenshots we have some myth units look really big (which is in my opinion a good thing!) and some look „small“ e.g.
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pestsuchus seems to look similar big as an ordinary crocodile
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basically all myth units based on a horse body look as „big“ as a horse. E.g. centaur, Valkyrie
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for the fictional scorpionman they tried - it seems - to make the scorpion body fitting to the humanoid part instead the other way round and make the scorpion bigger and the humanoid part bigger (and at best more mutated, since it’s a “out of head creature” anyway reference could have been:
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about the nemean lion I personally like that he has a brown mane now and looks more like a giant „normal“ lion makes him I think more “lore-realistic?” (still waiting for that hydra change in that regard!^^) about the bronze shine/glimmer I can see that and why this important for some ppl and i really like that idea too. Maybe some effects will be added later who knows.
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about the Argus I honestly REALLY don’t understand how ppl liked the old model more. It looked hella goofy and for me personally not interesting enough especially for a myth unit. Now it looks maybe some would say more alien but I like the look way more. Looks way more interesting/exotic and menacing now.
But I will never understand personally why we get certain units like scorpionman and Argus etc OVER other myth units, like why Heracles labour stymphalion bird is in atleantean and not Greek… why Lampades is Hekate‘s myth unit even Lore wise Empusa fits a 100 times better… why trolls are relative „weak“ archer units instead of imposing menacing destruction tools…
i wish all Herakles labour creatures would be specifically in the greek civ. and age wise in the order of how Herakles encountered them/how strong they were. (Nemean Lion, Cretan Bull, Stymphalion Bird, Cerberus…) and that troll is a heroic age unit strong against buildings instead or similar to the mountain giant (and i like the mountain giant but a bit troll would give more variety instead of 3 giants and I think frost and fire are too important - or at least make it a similar classical age beast of a unit like cyclops is for the greek)
I also wish that instead of a (even really damn cool) fantasy scorpionman we would get a more accurate creature like e.g. ammit which looks like a crocodile-chimera. (but maybe too strong for an ordinary myth unit?) But one man can only dream.All in all i am totally fine if the myth units chosen i just pointed out my opinion regarding that topic.
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Atlanteans are part of Greek Mythology. Stymphalion Birds were left out of Greeks maybe because AoM Vanilla was not supposed to have heroic age flying myth units and they are not as interesting as Chimera, Colossus and Medusa.
Scorpion Man’s design is amazing. Really similar to what we had and still badass.
I hated the new Nemean Lion, not gonna lie lol.
Argus, Gaia (Titan Unit) and Norse Unit are the best improvements.
Minotaur looks nice. but I think would be better with the whole face being darker.
About Norse: I get your point, but I think people are used and love the three gigants, I would not change that.
but why wasn’t it supposed to have a heroic age flying myth unit? do you have any insider information regarding this cause it seems like it. also why are you talking about heroic age and then give myth age creatures as examples. if we are myth age now and you want to compare the myth age units, then i would bring up cerberus which (of course not now obviously but in my opinion still) should have been a myth age monster and yes i think cerberus as a unit would have been as interesting as our vanilla 3 myth age creatures. BUT i understand its role would have been too similar to chimera i guess… but I like the titan design much so I am personally fine with it.
also hoped I hoped we would get a 4th minor god per age and a 4th major god it seems. a bit unfortunate but maybe thats more AoM2 content than AoMRetold who knows. - unless you have more insider informations/reasons why not.
you hated the lion? i mean i personally like both but was always suprised why nemean lion is a heroic age and not classical age myth unit since its the first labour of herakles as far as i remember but beside i am fine with both design decissions personally. he looks just now like a proper lion like i think he is described in the books and less kinda “artifical/complete metallic” (no better word to describe atm) as the old one.
thanks for agreeing with argus. and yes minotaur looks finally how i personally hoped he would look like. one of my current favourites personally.
i understand your argument regaring norse giants very much. but thanks for understand where i was coming from.
About Heroic Age Flying Units: balance issue on Vanilla. Mythic Age is at a point when players had “enough” time to prepare for flying raids. Someone from Metaplays once wrote a huge discussion about this and other “problems” that came with The Titans and EE. Not saying I agree with them on everything, just mentioning.
When you say that I can’t compare different age units, it’s because you didn’t get the point that was:
Stym Birds are flying units and they prob did not want them (flying MUs) to be available too son. So, the logic is that they could just be available on Mythic, when we have access to Colossus, Medusa or Chimera.
Nemean Lion is just a matter of “taste”. Personally hated the design, looks like a generic lion plastic toy. But I get that’s personal and people can like it.
I think there is no way to satisfy your desire for everything making “sense” about MUs.
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