Visual Style Appreciation Tread

[PoofSol]

I really love the visuals style of the game. The modern lighting and shading/shadows with the beautiful pixel art are just pleasant to look at. Especially during fog or dusk/dawn.

And I hope it stays this way, instead of trying to go "ultra realistic graphics" down the line.

[Ludovsky]

Same. Though there is enough there I feel it's a conscious decision.
The art style very much has the feel of what I could call only "Lo-Fi HD" with it's use of lighting and advanced effect while keeping nonetheless extremely performance-friendly low-resolution texture.

The closest I can think of is something like Octopath Traveller's own "2DHD" art style where the game is actually a 3D jRPG but the environment uses simple-but-pleasing models that use textures straight out of the 16bits era of jRPG and 2D character sprites of the same era.

Valheim somehow managed to replicate the approach with a completely 3D game and roll with it so I suspect it'll be here to stay.

I mean... I don't think the game would even have been as successful in the first place had it even use more demanding textures and character models, which just add to the fact it feels like a truly conscious choice from the devs(and one which more thought about).

All in all, it's one of the game that keep reminding me of the nintendo console designer's quote about his philosophy of "lateral thinking with weathered technologies". Texture resolutions and character models like Valheim would be "outdated" on their own, but combined with the lighting engine of the game and with the world using their simplicity to generate environment with the density we see.... it results in a game that altogether became this unique and awesome deal.

I mean, I was playing No Man's Sky some time before starting this game and while I appreciate what NMS has become... there is a stark contrast between the kind of non-existent forest I could find in NMS when compared with the lush and DENSE and surprisingly immersive forest environment of Valheim.

But that's the thing. If Valheim had models as "advanced" than NMS, I fully believe it would never have been able to generate these dense forests in the first place.

[Langostinu]

I think the low-poly model design works perfectly in tandem with landscaping. Come to think of it, if the models were more "modern styled", every time you mined the ground or smoothed the terrain, the game would have to make up for it and try to generate smoother and more detailed sillhouettes in an instant... and that would be VERY demanding. Like very high-tier PC exclusive demanding
Also, bear in mind that every building part of the game has like... what, 2 to 3 models used for weathering. Working on all that would be a poor choice had they tried to do it in a more time-consuming style... so my guess is that they decided to make use of Unity's powerful shader engine and cut corners in the modelling and texturing department to make room for gameplay and visual design

In any case, it does remind me a lot of Ragnarok or World of Warcraft in style, and I'm pretty much enamored with it. I hope they never change it

[cdog]

JC Denton wants his face back

[Noob]

I actually love the graphics in this game. I wouldn't wish they were any different.

[DJZ]

I think this is a lot prettier than other survival games I've played like ARK, Conan, NMS.
I barely notice the low textures and the lighting and depth of field is gorgeous. And the way the world is generated feels so natural compared to the other games as well, the dense forests of the meadows and black forest, the little streams and ravines and ponds that break them up, the open rocky areas, jumping around the little islands in the swamp...oh and the music, I absolutely love the music, swamp seems a little on the quiet side but they accompany the biomes so well (and the boss music is so badass just wish the fights matched them better)
I've never really had another game make me stop and stare at the landscape so much besides NMS when I get an actually interesting planet :'D