Sadly, it would have looked much the same, as the deadlines were the problems back then, not the artists. I will say, unequivocally, that ESD looks as good as it does because we were given the time to do it.
A lot of people forget that STO was made in a year and a half. :P
I seem to recall a Cryptic employee saying that one of their character leads didn't care for "space pajamas" and wanted to take the look of the game in a Mass Effect direction.
I remember that guy, forget his name, but I didn't like him.
And in general, I think it comes down to humoring a talented employee or manager to keep things moving along (arguing would slow things down more) or simply not having the time or options available to do what everybody generally agrees would be best (but "best" takes time they may not have and so the debate becomes about what's "good enough").
At a certain point, I think ir probably goes something like this:
"Okay. We've discussed the uniform art direction at three meetings today and four last week. There are some reservfations about this style. They look cool but are they Trek?."
"People would laugh if they looked like space pajamas. This is a game. They need the extra detail or gamers will reject it."
"Well, if you get a chance, try to get some variants on my desk that have a more traditional look but we can't hold any longer on that decision so move ahead with what you've got and we'll add to it if the players demand it. What you have is a start and it does look cool."
I really wish that we could have had someone else talented at that time. :P
I like Mass Effects aesthetic, but it's very much the antithesis of Star Trek. You don't really change something like that on a whim. I think that's one reason why Perpetuals STO was so disliked. Personally, I like that STO is headed away from all that early stuff. ESD looks like something out of the TOS movies, the Odyssey uniforms are much better continuation of the Uniform line while still looking original.
I just wish this stuff could have happened two years ago.
Comments
A lot of people forget that STO was made in a year and a half. :P
Orly?
I remember that guy, forget his name, but I didn't like him.
I really wish that we could have had someone else talented at that time. :P
I like Mass Effects aesthetic, but it's very much the antithesis of Star Trek. You don't really change something like that on a whim. I think that's one reason why Perpetuals STO was so disliked. Personally, I like that STO is headed away from all that early stuff. ESD looks like something out of the TOS movies, the Odyssey uniforms are much better continuation of the Uniform line while still looking original.
I just wish this stuff could have happened two years ago.