Demigod Visual Differentiation

One thing I find missing from DG is that no matter what build you go there are no changes to the look of the DG. When you grab Ashkandor or any artifact you still look exactly the same. When you spend skill points there is no appearance change.

Basically some sort of differentiation is needed for the current and future DG's to give an idea as to what they are building, mainly because we cannot view what they are building. This at least will give some ability to react to the builds of other characters if you need to.

As with everything there is one exception to the rule and that is Rook whose Towers on top of him change depending on weaponry, but that is very minor and in his case obligatory. A bit more differentiation would go a long way to improving the depth of the game.

3,485 views 18 replies
Reply #1 Top

So you want to give away information that is supposed to be hidden, IE your purchases, what skills you have, etc. just for aesthetic appeal? No thank you.


What I do think could work are high favor cost items that allow you to unlock alternate costumes for the Demigods. That kind of stuff works for a lot of games; people who want aesthetic stuff can grind for it, and people who like the game don't have to bother with it.

Reply #2 Top

Shhh, that must be a feature.

 

Incidentally I'm playing TQ atm (yup, it's more addictive 3 years after its release than DG is today :( ) and I just love how you can spot skeleton with a unique weapon in a mob. On the other hand, there's no variation for the main character in TQ either.

Reply #3 Top

Good idea would be nice to see that in this game.

Would also look cool if different armor was shown

 BTW you missed torch hes changes too based on frost or fire :grin: minor tho

Reply #4 Top

I don't think this is necessary at all. If anything, it would cause all future Demigods and items to be that much harder to create. The cost of doing this doesn't justify the rewards. All we need is some UI overlay to display a Demigod's inventory.

Reply #5 Top

I think not knowing what someone has adds a level of strategy to the game. It allows for more bluffing, such as when you are totally oom but at full health. Countering a person requires you to watch them closely to decide their equipment and skill choices. You look just as threatening as anyone else, and can thus keep going in your lane. That being said, it'd be interesting if at least Artifacts showed up on your character, but think about it. How would QoT hold one? And would hers be the same size as Rook's? Rook's All Father's Ring would be too large for other characters to use as a belt. The scaling (model) differences, questions in usage (how would you use 3 gloves?), and graphical strain are simply too much for this to go through, in my opinion.

Reply #6 Top

to some degree TB and Queen of Thorns have a little of this due to their mode changing.

 

 

-Gabe

Reply #7 Top

That wouldn't improve the depth at all. It would be nice and certainly be a bit better, but thatd take so much time, money and effort that I'd rather see go to other things. And your not the first too have thought of this several posts like this popped up in beta.

Reply #8 Top

I second this, its not that hard to make slight changes to character models (like make them shiny or have slight red glow or something) depends a lot on how the character models are set up. I remember back in the day in diablo 2 how you could tell uniques on the ground cuz they looked different..

Reply #9 Top

Quoting bug, reply 2

Incidentally I'm playing TQ atm
End of bug's quote

Either I am a total n00b or that game is not popular enough to reference it simply as "TQ," because I have zero guess as to what that might be.

Oh wait. After googling for "TQ + GAME" I found something called Titan Quest. Is that what you are talking about?

EDIT: Practicing the art of being less of an internet dick.

Reply #10 Top

i dont think visual changes are necessary, i would like to view items of the enemy though

Reply #12 Top

Quoting warzone, reply 8
I second this, its not that hard to make slight changes to character models (like make them shiny or have slight red glow or something) depends a lot on how the character models are set up. I remember back in the day in diablo 2 how you could tell uniques on the ground cuz they looked different..
End of warzone's quote

Those alterations would be much easier yes, as long as they do not require any change to the character models themselves, but are just an additional effect. Quite like how Warcraft 3 heroes with orb effects have a swirling orb around their weapons. I'd rather still be able to see the equipment set carried by the Demigod.

Reply #13 Top

Actually in DotA there are a lot of extra effects dependant on the specific hero and item combo. Not all items need to cause a change, (why would TB change his staff for a sword when getting Askandor..). Plus altering models and having addon items is actually relatively simple and light work (the hard part is the items usage and damage and they are already there). Also if you look to DotA as a comparison you could see the targets inventory when they were selected and also if they were OOM or not. I'm not saying you should see the skills chosen (though in DotA you could too), or even Mana, but Items that are suited to a character should give a visual change, probably more for the artifacts and favour items than any of the normal ones (except maybe godplate!).

Reply #14 Top

Yes it would definitely help if effects like life drain or mana drain is shown. Still, in light of the available issues at the moment, cosmetic changes would have to wait.

Reply #15 Top

Quoting Kaerar, reply 13
Actually in DotA there are a lot of extra effects dependant on the specific hero and item combo. Not all items need to cause a change, (why would TB change his staff for a sword when getting Askandor..). Plus altering models and having addon items is actually relatively simple and light work (the hard part is the items usage and damage and they are already there). Also if you look to DotA as a comparison you could see the targets inventory when they were selected and also if they were OOM or not. I'm not saying you should see the skills chosen (though in DotA you could too), or even Mana, but Items that are suited to a character should give a visual change, probably more for the artifacts and favour items than any of the normal ones (except maybe godplate!).
End of Kaerar's quote

You can't see an enemy's skills in DotA unless they use them, or it's a passive buff. There are simply few enough skills and builds that you can generally guess at what anyone has at any given time.

I remain of the opinion that it is best to keep mana and items hidden, and force people to make intelligent evaluations of an enemy's potential on their own.

Reply #16 Top

I have to admit that in my opinion not knowing is part of it's charm, all the bluff and so is quite appealing.

But why just not let the choice to the Host

 

Show players inventory On/Off

 

End of the Story.

Now on the aesthetic effects, i m totally in, even just differentiation between sedna level 5 and sedna level 10 would be a wonder,

but you know that right now we're doing the job of the marketing section for the christmas sells don't you ?

 

--

D

Reply #17 Top

Some of the passive buffs in the game already do have a visual effect. Some, no many.

 

Erebus' Vampiric Aura is an obvious one...

Sedna has a few. Divine Wind places some wisps around her, Inner Grace makes her look "pasty" and shaded out with white, and Magnificent Presence makes little white pulses come off of her.

I beleive Rook's hands and hammer begin to glow with a bloom/gold glow aura thingy when you start addding points into God Strength.

I think Oak's axe has a similar effect the more he's charged with Soul Power.

I don't believe Beasts' passives add anything, nor anyone else's that I know of.

Reply #18 Top

The only change I would like to see are UI changes and the ability to see your teammates (not your enemies) mana.

 

That way I don't have to get annoyed when Oak who doesn't ever use allied chat #2000 doesn't shield me while I'm fleeing [and has proven he has shield] because I will know he is out of mana.