Crystal Tower ... meh or wow?

Darkstorne

Turelus wrote: »

Darkstorne wrote: »

Turelus wrote: »

I'd rather see it in some kind of crystal material, I wonder if there was a technical reason why it wasn't done that way.

Turelus Yep, I brought this up with a big Skyrim mod team I work with, and there was a lot of speculation that the engine simply can't handle all the alpha transparency and reflections that glass/crystal architecture would require. Pretty much every window in this game has zero transparency and is just a solid block of colour, so the idea of creating entire cities and super-structures out of a material the engine can't cope with... yeah.

That does of course beg the question of why they decided to attempt Summerset at all, but I guess they realized most of their playerbase already doesn't care about how poorly implemented locations like Valenwood and Mournhold are, so they could get away with it assuming most players know nothing about the lore. So long as Bethesda Game Studios ignore all of ESO's visual direction when they get around to these provinces, I can live with it. This game will just always feel like fan fiction.

Couldn't they just make it a purple texture with some other colours. I mean we have soul gem models etc which could work on a bigger scale. Although maybe that just ended up looking too ugly.

Pretty sure it would look hideous

Their art team are phenomenal and produce AMAZING work. I buy the physical CEs exclusively for the art books. If there was a way to make glass towers look good, these guys would have found a way. And I'm sure they wouldn't have ignored this key piece of lore without good reason. The fact they're refusing to address this concern even seems to suggest they feel kinda bad about it, which is a shame, because I'd love to hear them go into the details of "why", and not deflect with talk about "transcription errors" in the in-game books. It would be great if @ZOS_GinaBruno could float this idea by the art team so we could get some insight into how they work, and how they make these decisions, but I don't know how open they want to be about it all. It would be incredibly interesting though

I agree with others that 100% glass/crystal clearly wouldn't work, mostly for privacy reasons But glass spires and features, the parts of the city that make up the skyline and are visible at distance or upon arriving at the docks (towering over the rest of the city), reflecting sunlight and emanating their own like inner starlight... that would be my interpretation if tech and hardware weren't a limitation:

Okiir

The design of the Crystal Tower might actually be what I'm most satisfied with from the Summerset announcement. It looks ancient and "alien". At least it doesn't look like ZOS just copied it from Cinderella.

The_Lex

It looked like a tampon or a dil** to me.

Dracane

I hate to say it, but the crystal tower has similarities to my vibrator.
Anyway, I did not expect something as vivid as the first picture. Crystal tower actually looks very strange and unique, in a good way. It's one of the things I'm not dissapointed about so far.

WhiteCoatSyndrome

JD2013 wrote: »

http://en.uesp.net/wiki/File:AR-quest-Crystal_Tower.jpg

This look like glass or crystal to you?

That they can't improve on a design made in 1994 is not exactly a good sign.

emilyhyoyeon

Maybe the textures up close will look more crystalish

Waffennacht

It's supposed to be more grand than any other structures. Even the White Gold Tower isn't as pretty.

Oh well

Cinbri

It look impressive, especially in compare, where Red Tower is just big volcano, Snow tower just huge snowy mountain. Their Stones that hide inside is what making them so special.

Waffennacht

Cinbri wrote: »

It look impressive, especially in compare, where Red Tower is just big volcano, Snow tower just huge snowy mountain. Their Stones is what making them so special.

Well red mountain is literally (or was) the heart of Lork

The walking tree had the per-chance seed

White Gold is made (can't remember exactly) but it's in tune with Nirn - making it practically invincible

Dunno about the snow mountain

Crystal is supposed to be more awe-inspiring than any other structure

Edit: auto correct strikes again

Cinbri

Waffennacht wrote: »

Cinbri wrote: »

It look impressive, especially in compare, where Red Tower is just big volcano, Snow tower just huge snowy mountain. Their Stones is what making them so special.

Well red mountain is literally (or was) the heart of Work

The walking tree had the per-chance seed

White Gold is made (can't remember exactly) but it's in tune with Nirn - making it practically invincible

Dunno about the snow mountain

Crystal is supposed to be more awe-inspiring than any other structure

Seems during main plot we will figure out why daedric alliance is so interested in its stone. Oblivion, consuming tower, looked very impressive on cgi. Looked like mephala/nocturnal version of Planemeld.

grizzledcroc

The physical towers were all suppost to have been made like the Adamatine one so they cant differ extremely, and like everyone's pointed it was never really described as being crystal only by name.

Jade1986

red_emu wrote: »

So as hyped as I am for Summerset (and taking all my 8 Altmers back home) I couldn't stop cringing when I seen the Crystal Tower in both trailers. It looks awful. Like big, giant concrete .... cucumber!

We were expecting this:


But instead we got this!:



What's up with that? I can accept the concrete block, medieval cities as it's been speculated before that the visitors to Alinor might have been exaggerating a little with the glass houses and insect wing architecture, but come on. Something as epic as The Crystal Tower should have been done properly! It's meant to be on par with the White Gold Tower and Direnni Tower. This dreadful looking industrial chimney is not what Altmer would be proud of

I actually thought it looked awesome.

Vehlir

Kajuratus wrote: »

Agreed. I feel that Alinor being exaggerated is still stupid though, because how can anyone justify human traders mistaking what we saw in the trailer for a glass city? Do you go up to a church or cathedral with stainless glass windows and think to yourself "yep, thats a glass building there"?

Hey! I was told this restaurant was made out of Crystal & Glass! Those damn exaggerating merchants!

Valkysas154

Seems like we need to make a photoshop contest with that tower

Tho the topic will prob be closed fast

LadyLavina

Carbonised wrote: »

basically

Sicardus

The shape itself looks like a type of glass crystal...and we haven't even got to see the details up close...these architectural freak outs are a little bit premature.

Enslaved

crystal meth tower

ak_pvp

IDK looks cool to me. Not specifically crystal, but maybe marble?

EvilCroc

I hope it is like gem geode. Boring stone on surface but full of amazing crystals inside.

red_emu

EvilCroc wrote: »

I hope it is like gem geode. Boring stone on surface but full of amazing crystals inside.

Inside will probably not be accessible. Entrance on the door to take you to the roof so you can enjoy beautiful Disneyland below and jump

Zalicius

red_emu wrote: »

So as hyped as I am for Summerset (and taking all my 8 Altmers back home) I couldn't stop cringing when I seen the Crystal Tower in both trailers. It looks awful. Like big, giant concrete .... cucumber!

We were expecting this:


But instead we got this!:



What's up with that? I can accept the concrete block, medieval cities as it's been speculated before that the visitors to Alinor might have been exaggerating a little with the glass houses and insect wing architecture, but come on. Something as epic as The Crystal Tower should have been done properly! It's meant to be on par with the White Gold Tower and Direnni Tower. This dreadful looking industrial chimney is not what Altmer would be proud of

It's too plain.

Thevampirenight

Are you sure that is even the tower it could be another structure you know.

red_emu

Thevampirenight wrote: »

Are you sure that is even the tower it could be another structure you know.

You might be right, maybe this is just a toy that fell out of Dibella's purse

Vehlir

red_emu wrote: »

EvilCroc wrote: »

I hope it is like gem geode. Boring stone on surface but full of amazing crystals inside.

Inside will probably not be accessible. Entrance on the door to take you to the roof so you can enjoy beautiful Disneyland below and jump

PTSD of Balmora's eight thousand inaccessible houses triggering hard right now.

Really hoping majority of the buildings aren't locked like with last chapter.

TelvanniWizard

myskyrim26 wrote: »

red_emu wrote: »

We were expecting this:

We? Who are these "we"? I didn't expect that. I'm happy with what I will get.

C´mon man. LORE

Dont_do_drugs

red_emu wrote: »

So as hyped as I am for Summerset (and taking all my 8 Altmers back home) I couldn't stop cringing when I seen the Crystal Tower in both trailers. It looks awful. Like big, giant concrete .... cucumber!

We were expecting this:


But instead we got this!:



What's up with that? I can accept the concrete block, medieval cities as it's been speculated before that the visitors to Alinor might have been exaggerating a little with the glass houses and insect wing architecture, but come on. Something as epic as The Crystal Tower should have been done properly! It's meant to be on par with the White Gold Tower and Direnni Tower. This dreadful looking industrial chimney is not what Altmer would be proud of

maybe an architect has been horny?

TelvanniWizard

Dont_do_drugs wrote: »

red_emu wrote: »

So as hyped as I am for Summerset (and taking all my 8 Altmers back home) I couldn't stop cringing when I seen the Crystal Tower in both trailers. It looks awful. Like big, giant concrete .... cucumber!

We were expecting this:


But instead we got this!:



What's up with that? I can accept the concrete block, medieval cities as it's been speculated before that the visitors to Alinor might have been exaggerating a little with the glass houses and insect wing architecture, but come on. Something as epic as The Crystal Tower should have been done properly! It's meant to be on par with the White Gold Tower and Direnni Tower. This dreadful looking industrial chimney is not what Altmer would be proud of

maybe an architect has been horny?

Or a female architect needed a toy?

Dont_do_drugs

TelvanniWizard wrote: »

Dont_do_drugs wrote: »

red_emu wrote: »

So as hyped as I am for Summerset (and taking all my 8 Altmers back home) I couldn't stop cringing when I seen the Crystal Tower in both trailers. It looks awful. Like big, giant concrete .... cucumber!

We were expecting this:


But instead we got this!:



What's up with that? I can accept the concrete block, medieval cities as it's been speculated before that the visitors to Alinor might have been exaggerating a little with the glass houses and insect wing architecture, but come on. Something as epic as The Crystal Tower should have been done properly! It's meant to be on par with the White Gold Tower and Direnni Tower. This dreadful looking industrial chimney is not what Altmer would be proud of

maybe an architect has been horny?

Or a female architect needed a toy?

must have been a huge architect then oO

btw. thinking of a crystal tower, i'd think of sailor moon and crystal tokio in the year 3000.

Shawn_PT

Glass doesn't have to be transparent. It can shimmer and reflect the light in a mirror or even prism like way, which is what the lore seems to describe. But as it's been said it would probably blow up the game engine which is why they went with a concrete cucumber instead. Besides it was probably not entirely made of glass, but being covered in a few panels might deliver that illusion just the same. I haven't looked closely at it but it seems like it doesnt even have any openings or windows so it must be dreadfully stuffy and dark inside.

As for insect wing architecture, we already have seen plenty of that. Look at the Ayleid dungeons and their wrought iron structures and archways. Those look very much like the patterns you see in insect wings. They could just reproduce those in smaller details around the city.

WhiteCoatSyndrome

Thevampirenight wrote: »

Are you sure that is even the tower it could be another structure you know.

Unfortunately it's labeled as such on the promo site. Scroll down to 'Explore Summerset' and click 'Crystal Tower' -> there is the pic.

grizzledcroc wrote: »

The physical towers were all suppost to have been made like the Adamatine one so they cant differ extremely, and like everyone's pointed it was never really described as being crystal only by name.

You realize that of the aforementioned towers, one is a volcano, one is a mountain and one is a number of walking trees right? And another is a giant robot? They can and do look different. White-Gold was explicitly a replica of Adamantia, but that was stated beforehand.