So after watching/listening to Spacetroll's second sit-down, and particularly his comments on unit evolution - I had a slight moment of madness, well an idea to be more precise.



To date, a lot have commented/complained about the lack of visual representation of armour etc etc. The problem is Amplitude, as Spacetroll elaborated, does not have the resources (money or time) to implement different variations of armour (theres a ton) for each and every unit. However he was open to the idea of 'evolutions' that could be researched etc.



Well I kind of had an idea the melds the demand, and the idea together. Bare with me this may be longwinded, so apologies in advance...



The Basic Logistics



Currently each major faction has four units, so if we times that by the number of major factions (8), then we have a grand sum of 32. That plus the Gaurans, Hurnas, Silics, Ceraten, Delvers, Urces, Erycis, Kazanji, Sisters of Mercy, Haunts, Ice Wargs, Bos, Eyeless Ones, and Jotus - comes to a total figure of 46 units.



Now - on top of that - there exists three tiers of eight different armour sets (Iron, Adamantian, Palladian, Titanium, Glassteel, Hyperium, Mithrite, and Dust) that includes body armour, leg bracers, helmets, and accessories - about roughly 110 assets - so times that by 46, you end up with a figure of 5060 individual 3D assets. Quite obviously its not do-able. Which brings me to my idea/compromise...



The Three Stages of Evolution



So we have 46 Units, 8 Armour Sets, and 3 Tiers - how could we possibly see unit progression... well what I propose is a three stage evolution as such - but the progression is linked to the tier of the armour the unit has equip (the highest tier, for any accessory). Currently each of the basic models would represent the first stage of progression.



So each unit would have two upgraded versions, to represent when it progresses on to tier 2 and tier 3 armour.



To reduce the work load, and for clarification: this would not mean visual differences between the different types of armour, but instead the three different tiers (if I'm hopefully correct).



So the Ecyris Vinesnake for example, would look rather plain and armour less when equip with tier 1 armour but on progression to tier two, it's body would be covered in a reinforced metal appendage, upon equipping tier three this armour would evolve to look even more bad-ass. So regardless of the armour type (metal, or item) the look would be the same...



The Eight Shades of Blood, Dust and all things Shiny



So technically this would mean the creation of 92 upgraded/edited versions of the in-game 3D models (more if it extends to heroes). But the demand is certainly there.



But my idea doesn't end here, basically we have eight armour sets. Each with a corresponding colour property, Adamantian (a pale orange), Palladian (a blood red), Hyperium (a dark purple), Iron (a dark grey), Titanium (a dark blue), Glassteel (a yellow), Mithrite (a green) and Dust (a combination of dark orange and black). So while the visual model may not change to represent the armour - what if - the reflective sheen/colour of the armour reflected the type of armour equip. So my Vinesnake, when equip with tier 2 Iron armour, the visual armour would be the same as when equipped with tier two dust armour, but the visual coloration of the armour would either be a metallic grey, or a metallic orange/black (think copper meets obsidian). I hope that makes sense?



So hopefully what we would end up with is a nice compromise that covers all bases - progression and the different armour types.



Thanks for reading - thoughts and comments welcome



Edit: Probably should be moved to G2G thread - my mistake

Complete work could be done over time. Start with a basic "iron armour" then progressively increase variation every month or so until it's finished. Yes there's a lot of assets, but that's never stopped people before.

AAA titles such as the Witcher, Diablo, World of Warcraft, Elder Scrolls, are all dealing with humanoid 3D models. Endless Legend has a very very diverse roster.



I think evolutions with armour tints, would be the best possible compromise for a indie games company that cannot viably compete yet, with AAA companies such as Blizzard etc. The resources aren't there, perhaps if EL is a huge commercial success (which it deserves to be) then maybe 5060 assets would be possible, but it would be a bad business decision, for such a cosmetic feature. The time and resources needed wouldn't cover to cost IMO.



I personally see this as the best possible solution to the demand for armour/visual progression

I like the progressive armor/weapon appearance changes idea.

You can imagine, for example, the Necrodrone of the Necrophages developing larger wings or spiky carapace with progressively advanced armor (and different colors depending on the special resources being used)



The Telsem Warlock from the Ardent Mages getting more tattoos, glowing eyes and piercings.. etc.



Hopefully, with good profits (which this game totally deserves) they might make a super add-on or expansion with improvements like these



btw, I do hope this thread get moved to the G2G section cuz the topic deserves a serious discussion for the post-release.

It got moved. Thanks KrimsonVagus. It does deserve serious discussion, after all its one of the most talked about topics on the EL forum

I like this idea Most of us will be glad to see this. But amplifying unit design and bringing customization are very time consuming Creating 92 upgraded/edited versions of the in-game 3D models is a tough job.



I hope more people take a look at this suggestion and share their thoughts.

I personally would love to see something like this implemented at some point post-release. Spacetroll seems open to the idea of evolutions, so hopefully he and the rest of the devs will take note of my slight hybrid of an idea to kind of cover all bases. I think it could be a really viable option

This would be great but I talked about it with SpaceTroll (creative dev) and he told me that it wasnt planned before a while sadly...



I support your just cause Drewwest !