Poll: Kickstarter for art revamp for AI War? (Tip: Vote no)

[LaughingThesaurus]

I voted no, if for no other reason than the fact that I am so used to the old ship shapes already. I think maybe some ships could use a bit of an overhaul, keeping the same style of the game. But, it's really not that often that I zoom in and really admire things in AI War. I can't really do that in a combat situation or anything. It's usually if I'm thinking of what to do next or something.
The biggest real problem I have out of the reasons you listed, though, is the idea that it'll really hurt future expansions. The overhaul in itself leaves me a bit intrigued but I'd rather the game not suffer in its actual strengths. I've spent 90+ hours playing AI War. I've maybe spent a few of those hours looking at the ship graphics.

[Vyndicu]

I skip over most of what was said in here.

I am not opposite to a graphic overhaul. It has give some video game franchise a new leash on life (debatable in some cases) in the past.

I would like to suggest that if you do "AI war 2" don't make it PURE graphic upgrade only. Do something like vengeance expansion bundled together with the graphic overhaul.

I think this has the benefit of avoiding the pitfall "I am not going to buy it just for graphic upgrades" and at the same time it will just feel like another regular expansion like the last four. What do you think Keith?

[Coppermantis]

I'm opposed to an AI War 2, simply because a) It would divide the fanbase to some extent, b) It would make Arcen either have to abandon AI War 1 or work far too hard on two titles, and c) lead to potential PR fallout unless you did something like AVWW2, but in which case you would be operating at a massive loss.

As for the graphics update itself, I'm not opposed to that, but I'm not really supportive of it either. I think that most of the AI War sprites look just fine, and you rarely see more than the icons anyway. It'd be a waste of time and money, in my opinion, to spend a lot making new artwork when all anyone ever looks at is the super-zoomed-out big picture of battles.

[KingIsaacLinksr]

Its pretty much been said but I'll say it anyway: definitely a no. While AI War is certainly not the prettiest game on the market, I really don't think overhauling the art will get you much return for your investment. I think the art style is fine personally, it could be better, but I've seen much worse. Another look at the UI might be worth your time but rebuilding every single ship in the game and adding to the cost of future expansions doesn't sound like a winning scenario. Especially since I think moving that time and money to future expansions or other games would probably work out better.

Not to mention that people may react badly to you doing a Kickstarter and you avoided doing that AVWW1/2 for that exact reason. Maybe in the future when KS has settled down, you could have a better shot but I don't think that the atmosphere surrounding KS is ideal for such an idea right now.

[mlwhitt]

I voted for it but I am really okay either way.  I see the point a lot of the folks are making that are not for it.  Personally I have a few hundred dollars in Kickstarted games spent without any return yet outside the money I spent for FTL.  While I don't fear that they will all be delivered it is starting to get to the point I am getting a bit too much tied up on Kickstarter.  I imagine there are quite a few people in the same boat as me.  That said I personally trust Arcen and would back most likely any project put forth.     

However like others have said the game is great as it is graphics wise and I rather like the idea of continued focus towards gameplay vs. art.    Either way though I support you guys.

[zoutzakje]

I seriously think some of sort of kickstarter (or whatever way to raise money from fans for new products) idea for a new expansion would be better. I heard you guys were planning another AI war expansion for October. Why not start a kickstarter project after? Let it run for 6-12 months and use the money for the next expansion. The more money you raise, the bigger the expansion gets. I know I'd pay for it.

[Billick]

The thing about Kickstarter is that it's for big ideas that people are passionate about.  It doesn't sound like this is even something you particularly want to do.  If you're going to do a Kickstarter it should be for some crazy idea that you really want to do (a la Valley Without Wind).  I would probably buy an AI War with updated graphics though.

[Cinth]

I'd rather your time and energy go into making the game better

And I was going to write up what I usually see during any given play but I think a SS is worth all those many words.
An art revamp would mostly be wasted on me.

[Vinraith]

As others have said, I seldom even see the art. I doubt this would bring in any significant new players (this isn't a game anyone is going to buy for eye candy, even with the sprites redrawn) and the cons are fairly catastrophic.

[LaughingThesaurus]

There was something that Starbound developers did that I actually like. It was kind of like kickstarter, but it's just preorders for the game. You pay as much as you want extra, but you only really have to pay for the preorder to get the game. Any extra you pay goes towards extra content for the game. It was basically kickstarter, but only with stretch goals. So, maybe that's an idea. I dunno, it's not really your guy's style.

[Coppermantis]

-stuff-

But imagine that in HD!



Well, if you imagine anything other than a single frame lingering for eternity, then you need to step back inside the box for a bit, but still, HD!1!!!!1!

[KingIsaacLinksr]

-stuff-

But imagine that in HD!



Well, if you imagine anything other than a single frame lingering for eternity, then you need to step back inside the box for a bit, but still, HD!1!!!!1!

AI War: Fleet HD Command: The Reckoning Part 5.

[Arc-3N-4B]

In regards to an art revamp, I absolutely love some of the new graphics, Guardians in particular.

I would like to see the rest be remade in a similar style, but I think that the current style suits the game quite nicely.

That, and it'd be ungodly expensive, and I'd be unable to contribute anyways, so I don't think it to be necessary in the slightest.

[doctorfrog]

Voted no. I love good graphics, and I love good gameplay, guess which I love more?

Both myself and the rest of this forum already form a minority of gamers, but for myself, I actually really like AI War's graphics. I think it looks pretty darn good.

It took me a while to really like the look of the game. But it also took a while for me to like the gameplay, and the music. The first thing that grabbed hold of me was the concept. Graphics definitely game second to that.

I'm not sure what would be in store for a HUD redo. Can we have more details on that? I actually like the look of the HUD as it is, but I think it can be more informative, rather than prettier. I have a mod on a far far backburner to eventually edit the graphical assets so that meaningful targeting brackets show on different enemies based on their value or threat. That way, the game is just easier to scan. That's the sort of improvement I'd be interested in seeing: AI War is hard to approach, take some real work to parse. If it looked better, that'd be great. If it looked better and also communicated with me better, that'd be super great!

In other words, better looking ship models, as other posters here have said, are not as important as improving the connection between the player and the game. A UI specialist would be more valuable here than a sketch artist.

[onyhow]

I think the money are better used to improve gameplay...though HUD improvement is actually good idea...