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Mech aesthetics


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#1 FullDread

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Posted October 06 2011 - 09:39 PM

What do you think of the mechs aesthetically?
IMO they look hideous. Huge bloated torsos and wiry appendages remind me of chimpanzees. Although its sounds like the "junky" look fits more with story line than polished facets or organic curves.

On the other hand the environment looks fantastic, so does the immersion. I'm just a bit disappointed that I'll be piloting a fugly ape rather than a sexy beast.

#2 Provi

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Posted October 07 2011 - 09:36 AM

What mechs do you think look best?

#3 The_Silencer

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Posted October 07 2011 - 10:17 AM

In my opinion the mechs we've seen in the gameplay footage look great. Although this is going to be a matter of tastes once more.

Can't wait to have a look at the heavy mech's design! :D

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#4 Guru_Zeb

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Posted October 08 2011 - 03:03 AM

The 'mechs' certainly don't look like they came from another franchise which is a good thing IMHO. Most mech/mecha look absurd IMO overly anthropomorphic 'man in medieval armour' look, the 'mechs' in Hawken are a stylistic breath of fresh air when stacked against the kind of thing Gundam, Steel Battalion, etc Even Mech Warrior is littered with stupid looking war machines that make no sense.
The designs are somewhat unusual looking, IRC the design aesthetic is insectoid and loosely based on the work of some Japanese manga artist.

As has alraedy been requested i'd ask you to define 'sexy beast' as if your talking about anything that looks remotely gundam-ish or anything with anthropomorphic arms i strongly disagree.
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#5 The_Silencer

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Posted October 08 2011 - 09:19 AM

Whatever.. but not this, please:

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#6 k0rN_b4LL

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Posted October 08 2011 - 10:23 AM

Posted ImagePosted Image

yuk

#7 Crow

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Posted October 08 2011 - 11:33 AM

Guru Zeb said:

The 'mechs' certainly don't look like they came from another franchise which is a good thing IMHO. Most mech/mecha look absurd IMO overly anthropomorphic 'man in medieval armour' look, the 'mechs' in Hawken are a stylistic breath of fresh air when stacked against the kind of thing Gundam, Steel Battalion, etc Even Mech Warrior is littered with stupid looking war machines that make no sense.
The designs are somewhat unusual looking, IRC the design aesthetic is insectoid and loosely based on the work of some Japanese manga artist.

As has alraedy been requested i'd ask you to define 'sexy beast' as if your talking about anything that looks remotely gundam-ish or anything with anthropomorphic arms i strongly disagree.
So what kind of mechs/mechas DO you like?

#8 Guru_Zeb

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Posted October 08 2011 - 12:37 PM

AzureCrow said:

Guru Zeb said:

The 'mechs' certainly don't look like they came from another franchise which is a good thing IMHO. Most mech/mecha look absurd IMO overly anthropomorphic 'man in medieval armour' look, the 'mechs' in Hawken are a stylistic breath of fresh air when stacked against the kind of thing Gundam, Steel Battalion, etc Even Mech Warrior is littered with stupid looking war machines that make no sense.
The designs are somewhat unusual looking, IRC the design aesthetic is insectoid and loosely based on the work of some Japanese manga artist.

As has alraedy been requested i'd ask you to define 'sexy beast' as if your talking about anything that looks remotely gundam-ish or anything with anthropomorphic arms i strongly disagree.
So what kind of mechs/mechas DO you like?

Mechs that look like someone designed an actual fighting vehicle rather than something that would appeal to the visual sensibilities of a 12 year old.
No anthropomorphic arms they make very little sense in the context of walking tank, and would be extremely vulnerable to attacks.
No silly helmeted 'heads' though sensor pods are acceptable.
No silly vibro hyperblades that are longer than the 'mech' is tall.
No inane decorative flanges and spars for the same reason, no one with sense designs tanks and fighter planes with aesthetics of a 1950's chevy  :roll:  

Most of the mechs in Starsiege and Chrome hounds score the highest points for design in my world, followed by the more sensible designs in mechwarrior like the Thor, Madcat, and Bushwacker,etc.

Hope this answers your lill query.

ps what do you like  :lol:
It is by tea alone I set my mind in motion.
It is by the juice of the Brew,
that thoughts acquire speed,
the teeth acquire stains,
the stains become a warning.
It is by tea alone I set my mind in motion.

#9 Catgut

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Posted October 08 2011 - 07:15 PM

Given that mechs a few meters tall are inherently unrealistic, we should be looking at engineering and military plausibility rather than sheer realism. And in this respect, I think Chromehounds is one of the worst offenders, with lots of spindly load-bearing joints that could be taken out with a simple TOW.

Personally my nomination for most 'realistic' mecha would be Heavy Gear- because in that franchise, the anthropomorphism is a result of the fact that the mecha are small enough to blur the line between vehicle and power armor, and so are designed to operate like somewhat bigger infantry rather than walking tanks. A close contender would be the walkers from Battlefield 2142, which are very blocky, squat, armless machines that essentially amount to light tanks with legs.

But for the same reason that a realistic mech shouldn't have arms, a realistic mech shouldn't have legs either. Inevitably the conclusion is that a tank can do everything a Chromehounds or Battletech-sized mech can do, and do it better. The mechs in Hawken look fine for what they're supposed to be- stylized, bulky, industrial-looking giant robots that eschew hard realism in favor of cool. Stylistically they remind me of the ape-like suits from the third Matrix movie, and the mechs from Avatar. The 'squat orangutan' look makes them look less humanoid while still distinctly mecha.

#10 FullDread

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Posted October 08 2011 - 09:01 PM

Guru Zeb said:

The 'mechs' certainly don't look like they came from another franchise which is a good thing IMHO. Most mech/mecha look absurd IMO overly anthropomorphic 'man in medieval armour' look, the 'mechs' in Hawken are a stylistic breath of fresh air when stacked against the kind of thing Gundam, Steel Battalion, etc Even Mech Warrior is littered with stupid looking war machines that make no sense.
The designs are somewhat unusual looking, IRC the design aesthetic is insectoid and loosely based on the work of some Japanese manga artist.

As has alraedy been requested i'd ask you to define 'sexy beast' as if your talking about anything that looks remotely gundam-ish or anything with anthropomorphic arms i strongly disagree.

You seems you are using the logic that if something is different, it must also be good or attractive, and thats fine. If that 's not the logic you are using perhaps you could explain what is attractive about them.

Not a fan of the gundam style mechs at all myself, some of the mechwarrior mechs would be more appealing if they weren't so ridiculously HUGE. Do metal gear rex and, metal gear ray.
Quite liked the blitz and vanguard from metal rage. that game never came out in the states but played on the Taiwan server because the video looked mean. also i was interested in how they would implement that quick sliding across the ground that they did. Worked out quite nicely.

I think mechs don't need to look humanoid but they do need to have a degree of life to them. Potatoes with jetpacks and wires sticking out just don't do it for me.

#11 Varaka

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Posted October 08 2011 - 09:22 PM

I'll add more to the conversation later but for now I have to say I quite like the designs of the mechs.
(/^▽^)/

#12 FullDread

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Posted October 09 2011 - 12:52 AM

You will either like the aesthetic or not its completely subjective so lets not start debating who's "right" and "wrong".

I do realise that hawken is also super great and awesome so most of you will like the mechs.

BUT WHY?

#13 Deunan_Knute

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Posted October 10 2011 - 12:28 AM

You know the second I saw them, they gave me this feeling of being in a really advanced cgi anime film. I love and sort of love the designs. They have a realistic look to them and the detail looks slick. Personally I would tone down a little bit of the "bulk" or "boxy" parts of them and make them a little bit more modern and streamlined while still keeping the overall design the same. There designs and the maps kinda make me feel like were looking into an event on some advanced world and society that happened a long time ago in relation to time on earth, even though there technology is far more advanced.
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#14 Guru_Zeb

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Posted October 10 2011 - 01:43 AM

FullDread said:

I do realise that hawken is also super great and awesome

Nice one m8 BONUS SCORE for the dry sarcasm  :D
I concur  :D
It is by tea alone I set my mind in motion.
It is by the juice of the Brew,
that thoughts acquire speed,
the teeth acquire stains,
the stains become a warning.
It is by tea alone I set my mind in motion.

#15 WeirdBall

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Posted October 10 2011 - 10:51 AM

I actually like the way the mechs look, the big ones are a little too boxy but otherwise i like it. Keep in mind that the more streamlined and pretty they look, the less authentic the game will be... which isnt great.

it would be interesting to see mechs who take the shape of other animals besides humans
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#16 FullDread

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Posted October 11 2011 - 12:26 AM

Weirdball said:

Keep in mind that the more streamlined and pretty they look, the less authentic the game will be...

Authentic? I'm sorry, what? :shock:

Anyway I've been watching the videos a lot and I'm staring to like the look of some of the mechs somewhat. I think they are growing on me.

#17 SixEcho

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Posted October 11 2011 - 11:57 AM

You guys also have to take perspective on the size of these mechs. They are more of the Lost Planet type then anything else, I believe the devs described light mechs are around the size of a mini van and heavies would be around that of a large truck. Not the towering monstrosities you guys may be thinking.

#18 Catgut

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Posted October 12 2011 - 10:32 AM

Given that we can't see the pilots, and the cockpits are fairly small relative to the overall vehicle, I don't think minivan or truck size is accurate. My guess would be at 4-6m tall, which is still pretty sizable.

#19 KellAset

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Posted October 13 2011 - 08:49 AM

I rather don't like very much how hawken mechs look so far, they look too alien like and those are maybe a bit too smooth for my taste  :(  . Personally I just prefer smth more boxy like Front Mission/Mechwarrior style mechs, would be great if devs would add more different mech models to choose from at some point so that most ppl could find something they would like to play with among them.

#20 NoamFer

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Posted October 13 2011 - 09:55 AM

I honestly think that the mechs looks AWESOME.

I'm very glad they didn't make them human looking mechs, because to me it just looks ridicilous and childish. I like the realistic look they have, I also love chicken legs, and wish mech games used them more. They fit better in the fast paced gameplay of Hawken, and look very slick and agile, which I really love.

As far as I'm concerned, one of the mech types hasn't been released yet. So there is still room for possibility. I hope they give him chicken legs.
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