Please change the color palette, it is found wanting

Let me first be totally explicit: this is not about the game's "darkness" or "gritty" factor. Everything in the game appears to share the same colors, and when there is a ton of action going on, it is very difficult to determine what the hell is happening. This can be clearly seen when you are in a group of 4 people and you are clearing large groups of monsters. Everything just... meshes together. There is not enough color disparity to delineate the heroes from the rest of the world. You, and all the monsters, might as well be wearing camouflage.

My suggestion would be to adjust the hues and contrast of the heroes and monsters as to be distinct from the rest of the world. Make the heroes have higher contrast. Change the color of their armor. Make it more reflective. Something. All I see right now is a bunch of green, brown, and gray.

Real is brown.

"

TheRabbit303 wrote:

Real is brown.

You're actually going to compare this game to reality? Well, in that case, it is about as different from reality as you can get, color included. As a matter of fact, there are very few colors that are not readily found in nature, and I find it very strange that the colors that are found in nature seem to be completely absent from the game. So, when you tell me that "brown is real", as if the only color that exists in the real-world outside of your computer screen is brown, and that the only way to emulate reality in this game is by using that single color as to never break suspension of belief, I find that very poignant. To have your perception of reality so clouded actually makes my heart pity you, for whatever jaded you to such a degree must indeed be true evil. I feel genuinely sad that you live in such a world that lacks the beauty of colors.

Despite that, I think you've missed my point entirely: there is not enough disparity. You don't make the hero the exact same color as the monsters and the ground. Why? Because from an artistic stand-point, it makes absolutely zero sense and just looks bad. Make the heroes darker and the ground lighter. Make the ground darker and the heroes lighter. It doesn't matter how you do it. You must create contrast or there is just one big screen of the same color. Believe it or not, there is actually this bizarre thought process that is applied to artistic design to make the image more pleasing to the eye. Maybe you just don't have the eye for it and have difficulty understanding it. In that case, doubly saddened.

Wow, this thread degenerated quickly.

Anyway, I agree with you to a certain extent, some areas are pretty bland in their palette. Here is an example:


Also, sometimes the screen gets very busy and it's hard to tell what you're hitting. This is aggravated by the fact that your own minions and party members can be targeted, so in large fights I often find myself hammering away on a teammate without really being able to see what's going on.

That said, in some areas like the jungle environments it makes sense from both a design and a gameplay point of view that monsters should be camouflaged, and here I think it adds something to the game. There is a certain frantic feeling to it when you can't really tell where the enemy is coming from, other than they are coming from everywhere.

By the way, I think this belongs in the "Art, Areas and Effects Feedback" forum.

I agree that the players and summons need to be more distinguishable from the environment and NPCs.

very easy to notice this any time you are grouping. Difficult to interpret the action around you.

Single player not so much an issue. Some context for those who think it isn't a problem.

Excellent job 're'generating this thread after a certain someone's characteristic snark, everyone. Very happy about that, because I think this is a real issue worth discussing.

I play solo most of the time and even then I sometimes have trouble making certain mobs out. Put me in a party and I'm often trying to attack my team-mates because I can target them and they sort of look like any other occupant of Wraeclast sometimes. And in my experience, most occupants of Wraeclast want to kill me.

Note that my regular partner is a Marauder, and I find them the most bland of all the classes, visually.

I want to say that the cash shop's likely offering of dyes will go a LONG way in reducing this problem, but if we are to acknowledge that it's a gameplay issue, then I think that relying on a 'cosmetic' upgrade is not sufficient.

This might not be a case of palette so much as differentation between player-character and non-player-character, but entirely at a player level. Some sort of more 'obvious' indication would be nice.

Then again, I'm still slightly baffled why we can even target other players in a non-PvP environment if there are no direct buffs of others such as D2's holy bolt. What purpose does it serve?

Would amending this help with the problem?

Overall, though, I do agree. As much as I love the environment's grit and grime, the characters do fail to sufficiently stand out from it. Curiously enough, I found That Other Game suffered from the other extreme, which to me was a large part of why people referred to it as 'cartoony' -- anyone who's watched a cartoon will know that the difference between a static image and a portion of the frame that is about to be animated is quite distinct. For example, a wall might look painted nicely but those few bricks about to be broken are less detailed, more 'ready' to move. The less I notice this in an animation the more impressed I am by its artistry.

But right now, PoE is perhaps erring a little on the artistic side, palette-wise, and should embrace its animated nature more. This doesn't mean 'glittery' or 'shiny' -- it just means a clearer distinction between the background and foreground elements.

I agree with Xephyrius and Charan not just from an artistic standpoint but also from a colorblind view. Everything just looks the same.

Mudflats, Vaal, Church Dungeon, The Cave, Waterfall Caves and Fetid Pools - everything is brown.

Submerged Passage, Caverns of Woe & Anger and Fellshrine Ruins - everything is blue-grey.

I find it all to be quite strenuous on the eyes. Then add a few people to the party and it's complete chaos. All too often do I see a group of 4-6 people standing still after an intense battle with just 1 monster left attacking someone because no one can quite figure out where the hell that monster is amongst the players, their minions, and all the dead bodies. There definitely needs to be more distinction between players and npc's.

Experienced this really for the first time last night. I had played solo through normal and then decided to party up. We had five players and Often I felt like I was either carrying the team or doing nothing since my melee templar has to run up to attack, I often found the mob dead before my swing, or not even able to tell what the heck was going on. I just kept spamming and staring at my HP/Mana for pots.

I think some health bars on mobs might help this a little? the ability to mod "transparency" on health bars would be a must and coloring Mobs to red health bars and teammates to green or blue would REALLY help distinguish who is who.

This game is EPIC and should create that feel. Seeing the same color scheme over and over doesnt really make me get excited to explor new areas. Feeling like I am exploring another world, slaying uber powerful "bosses", committing mass genocide on huge waves and waves of unfriendlies is what this game is about and when the colors permit you from really exploring the different feelings, it creates an issue.

We dont play this game to play "real life" so I wouldnt worry about going a little overboard with "epic-ness". I am not an advocate of turning this game into something like "Avatar" but a bigger range of colors adds unique-ness to mobs and environments.