Avernum 3: Ruined World - Released

Well, render backgrounds were taken in the past because they don't use up much processing power on the players end, while still providing great 3d-like graphics.
With more recent games it's more of a nostalgic thing.
But it's not like it's very effective to do them. You'd need to design everything in 3D anyways. Just that you then convert your scene into a picture and bake this picture into your game instead of the 3D environment, creating extra work on the way.

So it's pretty much the option which causes the most work. It might look pretty if done right but I can't imagine he got the resources for this extremely time intensive way.

I have no idea of his sales figures on iOS but that method is likely the only way to preserve iOS and go 3D. It would require a large Kick Starter. But I'm pretty darn sure it isn't going to happen. How about licensing the Infinity Engine from Boomdog? He'd have zoom that way. It an idea. Imagine the response if he did a Kick Starter pitch saying he was going to license the Infinity Engine. He could literally raise $1M+. I doubt he wants to run at that scale but who knows.

Originally Posted by Kordanor
Well, render backgrounds were taken in the past because they don't use up much processing power on the players end, while still providing great 3d-like graphics.
With more recent games it's more of a nostalgic thing.
But it's not like it's very effective to do them. You'd need to design everything in 3D anyways. Just that you then convert your scene into a picture and bake this picture into your game instead of the 3D environment, creating extra work on the way.

So it's pretty much the option which causes the most work. It might look pretty if done right but I can't imagine he got the resources for this extremely time intensive way.

It's nostalgia even though I first played Baldur's Gate in 2014/15?

I would love to see him license the Infinity Engine but I doubt that would happen. I'd just like to see a new, unique engine that doesn't look like Pillars. All of those types of RPGs now are starting to look the same, with that slightly cartoony style. I hope he goes a different route.

Even upgrading his current look is a much better option, IMO. If he takes the style he does now and really enhanced it, it would work great while also remaining unique to what he does.

Originally Posted by Fluent
If he takes the style he does now and really enhanced it, it would work great while also remaining unique to what he does.

For me, absolutely. I really enjoy his games and the basic graphics and engine don't bother me at all. An enhanced version of what he does rather than an overhaul would be fine.

I agree with @Kordanor that the Infinity style of true isometric 2D is the most demanding for the the dev. It's a great way to get beautiful graphics onto low-power machines, but it's the toughest option from the development end.

The problem with 2D is that to make it look significantly better than what he already has, you really have to put a lot of effort into it. When I talk about the 3D route, I'm not talking about turning it into Skyrim. I'm thinking of a pretty basic tile-based setup, similar to what he already has. I think he could achieve a pretty decent result even just using store-bought assets.

Originally Posted by Ripper
I agree with @Kordanor that the Infinity style of true isometric 2D is the most demanding for the the dev. It's a great way to get beautiful graphics onto low-power machines, but it's the toughest option from the development end.

The problem with 2D is that to make it look significantly better than what he already has, you really have to put a lot of effort into it. When I talk about the 3D route, I'm not talking about turning it into Skyrim. I'm thinking of a pretty basic tile-based setup, similar to what he already has. I think he could achieve a pretty decent result even just using store-bought assets.

I dunno, the low-budget 3D tends to look cheap to me. When I say enhance what he already does, I'm talking about if he takes the 2D stuff and increases the detail by a lot, so that the resolution and art assets themselves are much crisper and more detailed, with zoom options and designed for high res screens. I have no idea what that would take to get done, but it could be a beautiful "pseudo-Infinity Engine" style look if it were pulled off.

Either way, it doesn't matter all that much to me. I like Jeff's games regardless and will most likely play the new engine stuff no matter what it looks like. Unless maybe it looks like Atari level graphics. I have to draw the line somewhere.