The little skirmish I had with the esteemed Count over my Aftermath 2 graphics got me thinking. Just how important are graphics to a plug? If someone came out with a plug that had an awesome storyline, and a long fun set of missions, but used the original Ares graphics and the "placeholder" graphics hidden in Hera, would you think that the plug wasn't very good because it had no new sprites?

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GR Name: Patrick Cavanaugh
The Next Big Thing:
(url="http://"http://www.AmbrosiaSW.com/webboard/Forum13/HTML/000216.html")Wrath Of The Fallen(/url)
Ares TC

I couldn't really care less about what the graphics look like (within reason), original Ares ones or not.

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So long as they aren't just a bunch of scrbbly lines or something (unless scribbly lines had something to do with the plot) I really wouldn't care about "bad" graphics.

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"Thou shalt not be a loser."
(url="http://"http://www.MSPlugDevelopment.n3.net")www.MSPlugDevelopment.n3.net(/url)
Reviews are appreciated.

Patrick, I'm a perpetually nice person, so you took no offense.

Yes, I think that graphics are super important in a plug, but not as important as the way you use them. If you have a plug that uses super-graphics but the same kind of Ares gameplay (i.e. all your beam do 30 damage) then they don't count much.

Make gameplay new and interesting, and use new graphics. The 2 together can probably get a plug decently good without much plot. I might say though, that if you get a person who can do the graphics etc... really well, he will certainly take care to make the storyline good.

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"War? I'd better go and get the washing in!"

Personally, I consider the graphics an important part of a plug-in. The fact is, graphics are the outward face of any plug-in, and should be at least servicable. What is servicable? Well, nothing too fancy. ATMOS style graphics are what I really crave, but anything of about the level I produce ((url="http://"http://www.axisnet.f2s.com/pyrrhus/index.htm")example(/url)) are good enough for me.

That said, the plot has to be decent as well. No plot = no plug. And the gameplay must also be engaging. Overall, I like all aspects of a plug to be good. Which is why I don't rate any, as I'm a natural critic.

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Sundered Angel ,
The One and Only
Ares Webboard Moderator, and all-around Nice Guy

Well, I don't think graphics are incredibly important, but I can't model l33t 3D graphics like someone who.....actually knows how. I can't even draw. I can't even write. ( and no I'm not going to explain. )

However, the graphics in hera can only go so far. There are a lot of things I'm going to need for my net plug, such as ships for each race that only come in one race. Such as the cantharian gateship. Also, adding new concepts to the gameplay would usually require new sprites. Which is why I'm so glad to have Patrick's help.

If you had a shrunk ishiman cruiser to be some sort of a heavy fighter, I doubt too many people would care. But if you use a placeholder transport to make a large heavy rocket, then I'd laugh my head off.

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I usually only come here past dawn when I've been up all night, so please don't bother me about a signature.

It's pretty simple in my opinion:
If you get a "great" storyline, and "great" gameplay, you've succeeded in making a "good" plugin. However, past that, nothing short of the graphics will make it better.
A "great" plugin also needs good graphics. However, graphics don't mean anything until you've got the storyline to support it (which is why Sarg is doing the M:Inv storyline, I wouldn't want to waste my graphics ;))

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What others can travel so far into so many universes yet remain so deeply rooted in their own?
(url="http://"http://marathon.invasion.tripod.com")M:Inv(/url) and the (url="http://"http://pub61.ezboard.com/bmarathoninvasion")M:Inv Webboards(/url)

Personally, I find that the quality of a plug equals KGP((S+10)/2)* where K is a constant (not yet determined), G is the quality of the graphics, P is the quality of the gameplay, and S is the quality of the story.

Basically, as long as you have SOMETHING good, your plug will turn out good. It can have no story if you do decent graphics/gameplay (witness various arcade games), and a decent plot and gameplay can excuse some low-end graphics (witness old console RPGs), and a really nice story can lift a rather uninspiring game to a nice pitch.

Basically, if you do good on one element and the others are sorta at least there, you can do OK.

Having them all is MUCH better, though. Which is why I'm glad M:Inv is a group effort, as I'm not so sure about my gameplay skilz yet (it seems many other TCs or plugs with new races run into gameplay problems)...

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Formerly-Rampant Human-Coded AI

Hmm... let me try that out.

Graphics = 80
Play = 50
Storyline = (50+10=60/2=30)
Times all of them together...
8050=4000
400030=120000

Any questions?

Quote

Originally posted by Fleet Admiral Darkk:
*Personally, I find that the quality of a plug equals KGP((S+10)/2) where K is a constant (not yet determined), G is the quality of the graphics, P is the quality of the gameplay, and S is the quality of the story.
**

Hmmmm... someone likes superfluous constants...

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Sundered Angel ,
The One and Only
Ares Webboard Moderator, and all-around Nice Guy

Well, K hasn't been determined yet!
It might well be one(1), but I wouldn't know.
I'm just the theoretician! Besides, it'll depend on what units you use!

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Formerly-Rampant Human-Coded AI

Hmm.. allow me gentlemen.

G = Graphics
S = Storyline
X = Sounds
L = Levels (programming)

G/100+S/100+X/100+L/100 = R
R/4 = Quality of plugin out of a possible 100

For example: Earth Quest (on the add-ons).

G = 90
S = 60
X = 70
L = 50

Add them up.

270/4=67.5

EQR = 67.5/100 (Funnily enough, it's actually rated this at the moment!)