IMPORTANT: Omniframe Mk II

[Maven]

Here's my few cents:

1. In terms of looking sheer badass the second one takes the win outright. It looks like a high-tech powered suit of armor built to go toe to toe with beasts that can rip your face out. Mk II over Mk I any day

2.However, I'm not sure if it will go with the setting. That seems like an awful lot of resources to be spent on something that is built in numbers and is highly expendable. Mk I looks flimsy enough to be something built in large numbers but functional enough to put up a resistance. Also gives a feeling of vulnerability going up against them beasts. Cant be spending all mined resources building high tech suits of armor that may not survive even one battle. Not much of a big deal, considering creative freedom and whatnot, but nonetheless.

3. Continuing from the above these seem like something that would be better off being power suits instead of massive mechs, perhaps a scaled down version, but that might be cutting far too close to Anthem.

4. The Mk I with a few modifications to the overall design might be a better option instead of a complete redesign. Retain the flimsiness, change the limb design.

5. Biggest concern to me with the Mk II are two-fold: time and cost impact. Time taken to re-build the omniframe with concept art for all three variants and cost of doing so + how much it eats into the current available bank. Also this will require updates to all instances of these being promoted, including the website (nothing major, but just putting it out there)

All said and done, I love the new design, looks proper sci-fi and techy, but I'd rather settle for a tweaked version of Mk I, or something in between the two variants.

 

[Dracomon]

._.

Edit: My one little hang-up with the Mk I is that the finished product looked like it skipped leg day.

 

[Darker7]

I'm no expert but they might look different because of the lighting and the stiff reference pose of the model. The art has less "glossy" lighting and a more dynamic pose.

Look at the arms. The model's arms are about two times as thick relatively speaking. Also the shoulder pads are about 3 times bigger than the artwork's. Furthermore everything has more edges instead of curves and is more disjointed :Ü™

 

[Terricon4]

Ya, the model doesn't have the smoother curving subforms and other parts of the artwork. The arms don't gradually have that curve in their mesh. The legs don't curve and flow as much, and the little metal parts that poke out under the two cylinders at the shoulders area just looks flat like a sawed off I beam rather than the angled slant form of the art. That's not just a matter of different perspective, there are very much different proportions and shapes going on between the two.

 

[ObsoleteVodka]

I insist the only noticeable issue with Mk. I are the legs, i think they were intended to be what i'd call "ninja-samurai inspired" legs, like in these examples:

But somehow that idea was lost in translation from 2D to 3D.

 

[CoolHandle]

The Mk 2 looks a little generic, IMO. Mk 2 looks more practical, but I prefer the style of the anime-ish design of the Mk 1 better. I do think the 4-arm design is neat (I assume the smaller arms are where the pilot's arms go to control the beefy robot arms). Mk 2 would be fine as a medium or heavy mek if the rest of the artwork is going towards a more "realistic" or utilitarian design, but the Mk 1 would be awesome as a light/recon mek. Reinforce the spine of the Mk 1 a bit and give the legs a final, backwards joint (like a raptor leg) to make it look faster on the ground and/or like it was ready to leap into the air at any moment and I think it would be great.

 

[Tensatsu]

If I really have to choose, then I have to go with Mk II. It fixes my to 2 small gripes with Mk I, which were the tiny spine connecting upper/lower part and the 'chicken' style tiny foot parts on legs. Also overall Mk II looks more suited for war. Thou I would like maybe a bit beefier shoulders and the Mk I style engines behind back/shoulders.

 

[Fooni]

MK I, but modify. However i am satisfied even if the result is MKII and Forward.

 

[Hwabyung]

I prefer the current model way more than the second.

I've been thinking of buying a wii u just to play xenoblade x for the sweet mechs

 

[spiralofhope]

It would have been easier to compare if the images were side-by side, if there were more pictures, and if they were facing the same way.

Old:
- I prefer the spine design, because it gives a really good feel for it being a suit and not a mech. I like the physical suggestion of frailty and the emphasis on high-tech shielding. We're humans, we're smart, not tough. (Actually we're tough as nails, but not in the elevated scales comparing us to this enemy)

New:
- I prefer the feet, although something about it makes me want to ask for retractable heels or some sort of stabilizer. I don't know, it just feels boring and perhaps less functional than it could be. I have an off feeling about them and think there ought to be detail as important as the hands or boosters.
- Is that a second pair of armored arms, or is that a pilot? If that's a pilot, then I don't like it. I really liked the idea of having the pilot be visible, because it really shows they're a human in there, and lets us show off our cool pilot suits. As this is important for microtransaction sales, I hope this is an important consideration.
- I prefer these hands
- I do not like the overall feel of it, it feels too male. I think it's the closedness of the shoulders or the hunch. I think overall there should be more vulnerability shown. We use shields, dexterity and guns, not armor and fists.
- I prefer the thigh design, but it's hard to compare.
- I prefer this omission of the thin little hydraulics and wheels in the arm. Those didn't feel right to me. Yes, they're unique, but the designs we currently have in the real-world make more sense to me. We have the same leverage concerns even in a high-tech fiction.
- What's with the toenails?
- I like the design of the forearms. Even though I have the above concerns with armor, I actually like the concept of forearm-plating. We react in certain ways when attacked, and even though it's style (we have shields), something feels "safer" (and therefore better looking) about a suit that has a plate there. Not a shield, mind you, but a plate even if it's a slight style change or a different color.

Overall there are issues in both to me and I'm not happy with either.

 

[Anarchyburger99]

Be original without blind eyes
to everyone else’s originality. Make an Epic Game.@joesolo @Grummz @here Keep up the great work.

 

[BuffetRaider]

I really like both - the original look slike more of a scout frame to me. Lightly armored, but with better mobility and more suited to long-ranged support loadouts like snipers and artillery.
The MkII looks like a great frontliner - heavy armor and more hardpoints for weaponry or defensive utility.

 

[q4TEKS]

Mk1 feet.. MEH, it looks so wrong even not practical. Keep Mk1 but modify its feet to look like something similar to Mk2 ones. Mk1: i like the head with stylistic antenna and the arms with hands, last one looks more robot specialised i think its better to have more unique hands than human-like ones which looks nearly the same in other games.

 

[Magus]

I think having two pairs of arms is actually a really good idea in that the operator can still maintain some levels of fine dexterity without having to leave the safety of their omniframe.

Really though, I like MK2 just because it has more realistic armor and doesn't leave the operator's entire body exposed like MKI... Though I wish the face was more covered.

 

[McDuff Man]

im gonna vote neither as i like the idea proposed earlier that the MK1 should be the light mech where as the mkII should be the heavy/medium. but ultimately it's your decision whether or not to change direction...
im gonna post a few mech designs for inspiration since you're thinking about starting over from scratch-

Spoiler

Following is from Heavy Gear.

Battletech/Mechwarrior
Always loved the look of the Warhammer and Awesome's cockpits:

 

[Despair]

The original one is my favorite....but you may modify it by any means^^

 

[Ajaran]

I tend to like both. So, why not both? Each could have its own merits and strengths along with weaknesses. The MkII looks like it is much more for heavy brawling type combat where the MKI seems like it would be more agile. At any rate just my view.

 

[ANI7CHKA]

I liked the mkII

 

[0V3RKILL]

one thing I gotta say maybe I like the mkII more cause it looks more like a heavy or heavier? Ive always liked the looks of heavies in firefall especially the arsenal. Maybe that's why I prefer the mkII. the original looks more like an assault. But, what do I know?

 

[Arimil]

I like the new one although I'd like an option for an enclosed pilot version.