SE5 screenshots ugly?

[Fyron]

Forget about the money; time is the relevant factor. Fancy graphics engines require programming time to make. Gameplay features require programming time to make. There is a limited amount of man-hours available. More time put into fancy graphics engines means less time for gameplay features. The textures and sounds and even models can be made by non-programmers, but it takes a hell of a lot of time to design and program a smooth 3d engine; orders of magnitude more than a 2d engine. Where the company is willing to invest time is the issue. Some can devote enough to both parts, some (eg: most console developers) devote too much to graphics and not enough to gameplay, and some probably devote too much to gameplay and not enough to graphics.

And as you said Graeme, you can't just keep throwing more programmers at the task and get increased productivity. While you can certainly benefit from more if you only have 1 or 2 (1 person doesn't have to make the entire game engine and graphics engine), productivity comes with an inverted parabolic curve.

[Raapys]

Of course, but there's the fact that tons of developers buy someone else's engine and do minimal work on it themselves so it fits their game. Anyway, it still comes down to a question about money/resources, because the more money you have, "the more time you have", as you don't need to rush out the game to cover your expenses.

[Dizzy]

Well, if they need more money, I'm sure they could have arranged 'pre-orders'... but havent seen that call. I guess they are content with the progress they are making... Are they making progress?

[Graeme Dice]

Imperator Fyron said:
The textures and sounds and even models can be made by non-programmers, but it takes a hell of a lot of time to design and program a smooth 3d engine; orders of magnitude more than a 2d engine.

And yet, if you actually talk to developers they will tell you that it's easier to make a 3D game than a 2D one. The art is that much simpler to generate, and nobody needs to develop a 3D engine from scratch.

And as you said Graeme, you can't just keep throwing more programmers at the task and get increased productivity. While you can certainly benefit from more if you only have 1 or 2 (1 person doesn't have to make the entire game engine and graphics engine), productivity comes with an inverted parabolic curve.

While it's true that you can't put an unlimited number of people on a project, the actual design of the game requires creativity, while things like the graphic engine generally only require competency. That means that you reach the point of diminishing returns far faster.

I see people complaining that developers sacrifice gameplay for graphics, which completely misses the point. If a game doesn't have good gameplay, then blame the lead designer, not the graphics, because spending less time on the graphics won't change anything if your designer can't make a fun game in the first place.