Civ4 graphics need some work

[Chronus9]

*sigh*
This is pretty much the same ratio as in C2 and C3. If you look at the normal zoom shots, the units look normal sized.

I also agree with Kuci.

The huge, unrealistic, unit size issue sure comes up a lot . . . I fail to see why people would rather hunt and search for units amongst the buildings all for the sake of realism.

[Adm.Naismith]

Originally posted by Chronus9
The huge, unrealistic, unit size issue sure comes up a lot . . . I fail to see why people would rather hunt and search for units amongst the buildings all for the sake of realism.

Not for the sake of realism, but to help with a better game "suspension of disbelief", game immersion, pleasure of whole visual map effect...

The use of the game map as *the* world landscape force the developers to cut some angle, but there are plenty of way to manage "units hidden by landscape, trees, buildings, etc." problem. I played game where the hidding objects become half transparent to let you see units thru, i.e.

Differentiate units size at the zoom level can be a working answer, but we'll judge it *playing* the game, if you don't mind.

In the meantime we'll rant a little here and there...

[akulla]

I guess maybe it will change with different zoom levels, doesnt matter that much I will play it anyway.

[Aro]

Maybe you can solve the problem if units and scenarios were in different layers. I suppose you could make the zoom acts different in each one... In this way, you could have a better adjusted scale.

[Dis]

the unit size doesn't bother me too much. Though it would be nice to have an option to disable the unit view, to be able to view the terrain by itself.

[Dracon II]

I think the unit size issue is popping up because civ 4 has moved into a 3d format. It was okay in Civ 2 and 3 because the graphics made no pretensions to realism in any way.

I think that with 3d graphics we get a perspectival realism... which perhaps makes us more sensitive wrt proportional realism.

I don't think I explained myself very well. In previous Civ it was understood that graphics were more symbolic than anything. But for some reason with these 3d graphics... that symbolism that worked fine in previous games seems a bit silly.

[Adm.Naismith]

Originally posted by Dracon II
In previous Civ it was understood that graphics were more symbolic than anything. But for some reason with these 3d graphics... that symbolism that worked fine in previous games seems a bit silly.

It's all in our brain. We feel ok to watch 2D symbol because our brain doesn't related image to reality, in the same way some animals can't react to a 2d photo of a predator, IIRC.

If you put things in a kind of 3D perspective (my PC screen is still flat, of course), our brain start to compute distance and try to match object on the same view plane. Seeing so relevant difference in proportion put our brain in "unbelieve what you see" mode and refuse input from our eyes as defective. Hence we start ranting at Firaxis, because it make us to feel sick.

Or at least it seems to me this could be a good explanation for a Wikipedia entry