Mechanized Assault & eXploration Reloaded

Subject: Re: Contribute unit art

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Redid the Air Transport:

Air Transport mesh made by Arthur Homa and edited and textured by me.

Subject: Re: Contribute unit art

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Fighter based on the concept art from the MAX manual.
As you can see it is quite different from the one in the game.

Is this straying too far from the original graphics?

Subject: Re: Contribute unit art

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I totally love it. Looks way more real.

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Subject: Re: Contribute unit art

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Gunboat:

Subject: Re: Contribute unit art

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New Fighter:

Subject: Re: Contribute unit art

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Haven't seen the latest two. Really awesome work !

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Subject: Re: Contribute unit art

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Been fiddling with an alternate design for the Air Transport/AWACS:

The original had a lot of odd design choices(zero aerodynamics, badly suited to carry multiple units, unable to land, no control surfaces etc.) that made it a lot less believable than the rest of the human aircraft.
I tried to stick close to the original look while making it more functional and suited for what it actually does in the game.

What do you think?

Subject: Re: Contribute unit art

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Khesm, your latest image looks as good as all the others. The upper central intake is a little weird, but that's my opinion.

Anyway, you are an accomplished designer. If you already made so many unit designs (and buildings?) I believe you could create easily the unit images (those PCX files that are used ingame, top down plus the 4 image PCX for animation). In the old MAX, when at full zoom, the game was superb, colouring, design, simplicity. The artwork now used in MAX-R I can only describe as sterile.

Here are some thoughts from the "new guy" (they might not all partain to this topic)
- this game is develloped so slowly because of a very small comunity. To enlarge this comunity, the game must look good (and it does not at this point, the starting screen for example is a "killer").
- also, the devs could make it a prooving ground for emerging artists: publish every artwork it's submitted in a online library (if compatible with the game of if accompanied with the files to make it so with the current code), so that users may choose to load the artworks they like instead of the standard set. Perhaps even the 3d schematics (blend and so on) if it's ok with the artists. This might get the game a new feel (modern designs differ from those from old MAX). The aim is a cumulative effect (prooving ground, better looking, greater comunity, active development).

- same for maps, avi's, interface and so on. I'll try to make some maps, as the 5 or 6 existing are from another age. I just need to build my blend skill. It might take some eons.

- a new artwork for maxr site, just to attract at a casual stroll (one can expect from 10 views, 3 to try the game and 1 to say "this is interesting"
- google adwords on "strategy game TBS" to attract fans of the genre (but only after some passable graphics are in place or you waste the potential)

- in a great enough community there should be a passable programmer able to build a Artificial Inteligence bot, published in the library I've mentionned above and available for further development from everyone.

Anyway, enough for now. I got 50 minutes to go to work!

Daniel

Subject: Re: Contribute unit art

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Beside thread-hijacking: a lot of your ideas are already going on under the hood. You'd like to enroll? Let me know.

@khesm: totally love it. It looks so like a real thing.

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Subject: Re: Contribute unit art

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@David
The upper intake is unconventional, but I wanted to keep some of the oddness of the original without it being too animalistic.

Creating the PCX files is pretty simple, I posted a sample of some aircraft in an earlier post:


I would like to make a new interface and sounds as well, but for now I'm working on the unit pictures.

Anyway, I'm glad you both like the new design, this is the latest iteration: