Balance wrote:They're not bad looking, although the detail is a bit lacking. They almost look like they're made of Lego, to be honest.
Main things I'd suggest tweaking would be:
The rotors ont he VTOL are really bad looking.
Gun barrels are really thick looking.
Do the mechs have snowshoe-feet for a reason?
Is the tank supposed to have big open bits?
Mechs are lacking in any visible 'way it works' which is fine, but could be a way to add detail. Do your mechs use hydraulics, 'synthetic muscles', fair dust, etc. to articulate joints?
Nice start, though. Have you posted up a quick-start of your rules for review?
Thank you for the feedback. Most of the photos are from the very first test prints, so some of it has already changed, but yes, the art style I've been going for is kind of "blocky" so it does have a sort of Lego vibe, although it's not intentional. It's a fair point about the designs lacking detail, as all the test prints were just that, a "test" to see how much detail would show up. Luckily, more than I expected, so I've been going through the 3D designs and adding lots of extra details based on what I know will show up.
I will see if I can re-build the rotors so that they are more detailed and realistic. They are really basic right now.
Most of the gun barrels are about 1/8", but I can go as thin as 1/16" without structural problems. I'm actually in the process of re-designing every special weapon (the interchangeable ones) in the game because they were some of the first designs I made, and I knew I could improve them a lot. The same goes for the Light Mech. I'm just not happy with that 3D model, so it will be re-built from scratch to look more interesting.
The "snowshoe" feet are indeed there for a reason. The miniatures are being designed to not require a base, so the large feet make them stand nice and stable. That is another part of the design I am not happy with myself. I've been toying with completely different feet shapes that still allow the model to stand firmly in place without looking so awkward. Although, on the spider bots and spidermech, they look perfectly fine because they have a least 4 points of contact so they don't need feet at all. They stand perfectly on their pointy legs, like a robotic table. xD
Yes, the tanks are designed with "gaps" in the model, which drastically reduces the cost of printing them. It looks a bit strange when viewing them in a 3D modelling program, but on the tabletop it is actually hard to tell that they aren't that solid. The mechs will get more details, or in the case of the Light Mech, get redone completely. The technology in the game is mostly based on real drones, robotics, and AI advancements that we are seeing today, but with decades of additional refinement. The units are all un-manned robots, with the Command Mech providing a direct link to a human commander off-site, either on that planet, or in orbit from a spacestation above it. Through this link, the commander can direct the battle, and override the AI programming of their forces wherever needed to improve the odds of winning. If that Command Mech is disabled/destroyed, the link is severed, and the human commander who was controlling the Command Mech can potentially suffer brain damage.
Anyway, I will be releasing info on the Wargame 2080 website at least once a week, including more background information, details about the factions, and previews of new unit designs.
