Quoting: officerniceNever understood why they implemented it in a co-op game... Was hoping to see it come to Linux soon to get some fresh co-op with the lads.

One guess, and IMO the one that makes most sense:
They somehow implemented the cosmetics and character level stuff in the client instead of the servers.
Which is what they do to keep people playing -> earns them money.
Of course, all of that should be happening on their servers, not the client. But who knows.
Again, if true, hinting at a not-stellarly-competent software team (or a very small one crunched too hard by management)...

Because if this was really only about not cheating in the sense of wall-hack, hp, whatever during a mission - who cares? It's co-op! You can kick/ban people!
If it's really about this, yeah, I don't get it, either.

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Quoting: KetilIt's one thing to say that the art style doesn't appeal to you, and another to claim the people in the team didn't feel safe giving their opinions on where it was going.

This tells me you have never been working in the (modern) entertainment industry.
Quite frankly, it's a circlejerk and often times even very incestuous (not in a literal sense, more like nepotism combined with hiring by appearances).
People who do not tow the line of whatever someone higher-up is pushing are quickly out of a job.

I've been working somewhat close to the industry now and again over the years - not directly in it, but, you know, close enough to have people from various companies telling you things, especially things they won't bring up to their superiors.

Is it possible that the entire team was totally behind that style from the get-go, despite the very foreseeable reaction (love/hate) it would garner from fans of the series?
Yeah, it's possible.
But so is my theory, if you read again, you'll see I said "I can 100% imagine" (because I've seen and heard it happen many times over), not "this is definitely how it happened".

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Quoting: GuestI feel obliged to go off-topic and say that it might not be the coders, it might be management pushing for continual rabbits out of hats instead. I've seen that so very much that it's actually the more likely scenario. The coders themselves have probably performed miracles to get anything running at all under such conditions.

Usually, I'd agree.
But with Fatshark you really have to look at the history.
They have been taking forever to make even simple changes (you know, reminds me of CA a little) in their previous games.

There's also the fact that lots of other devs have exactly the same thing working just fine now.
Only Fatshark and their custom engine can't do it right ... ???

Of course, it is entirely possible that they don't have the manpower in the software-side that they'd need and they are just crunching the few coders they do have.
And those then don't have the time to look into Linux properly - we've all done it, it takes a week or two to get acclimated development-wise if you come from the crutch-driven world of Windows.

In the end, though, even bad coders are a management fault for not detecting that, so you're definitely right in that sense, no matter the actual issue at hand here.

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Well, it honestly wouldn't make much sense for them to focus on this.
I don't see much of a continued life for Vermintide I or II once Darktide is out. At least for quite a while.

I still hope that they can get it done for Darktide, but I won't be holding my breath.
Hard to say what the issue is, but Fatshark have proven time and time again that their coders might not be the very best.

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Quoting: stylonDon't know what was said specifically so I'm not defending anyone but surely he must have expected the change in style to be controversial?

I think this is the problem.
Some people move only within their very limited bubbles, especially in the games industry. And those bubbles then have extremely limited diversity (of opinion).
I can 100% imagine someone like Gilbert being mostly surrounded with yes-men and even if someone didn't like that art style, they most likely shut up about it as to not interrupt the positivity.

And then being shocked that actually his bubble didn't represent the real world accurately.

It's still blown out of proportion, though.
I won't play the game due to hating that art style, as will a lot of others I imagine. It simply was not a good choice and they will lose customers over it.
But the game will likely do well, regardless - it's a Monkey Island, after all.

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Ahhh, yes.

1. Release long awaited game with very divisive X.
2. People complain about X (and some few take it too far and make it personal).
3. Shut down all commenting because "everyone's so negative!" (which really isn't the case).
4. Refuse further engagement, because only positivity is desired but that obviously cannot be enforced.

Classic.

If people want to see what the fuzz is all about (right now, the website is down):
https://web.archive.org/web/20220629185751/https://grumpygamer.com/rtmi_trailer [External Link]
I assume that that one already had the worst comments removed, but I'm not sure. At least I'm not seeing more than a handful there that feel like they needs removal.

Seriously, some people nowadays are not able to take criticism anymore, unless it is padded in cotton and coated with honey.
When did they become so fragile? Or maybe they always were, but social media / internet has made it easier to be confronted with unfiltered opinions.

If you expect everyone around you to be diplomatic, maybe go into politics.
Cause "normal" people sure aren't holding back online and will occasionally get irrational.

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Seems fishy.

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Quoting: flesk("truly odd art style" is also just opinion)

No, it is not.
Here's the definition of the word odd:
different to what is usual or expected; strange.

I'd say that is objectively true here.
Unless, of course, you can show me the dozens or hundreds of games in that genre utilizing that cubism look that would make it appear less "unusual or unexpected".

Quoting: fleskI don't think it's possible to make a sequel to a 30 year old franchise without dividing your fanbase though

That's certainly true.
But the question is where you draw that division line.
For stuff like a verb menu, I'd say you wouldn't even lose 5% - the vast majority of modern "classic" point & click adventure games don't have that, either. It was always a matter of game limitation, in contrast to a deliberate art style.
But this? Very clearly from relevant comments and even like/dislike ratios on official videos, the division line is much closer to 50% than 5%. Because of its oddness. That's not some vocal minority.
With roughly a 1/3 division of "I like the art style", "I don't like the art style, but looking forward to the game anyway" and "I don't like the art style (no or negative comment on purchase plans)".
That you even have so many comments of the 2nd category proves that the art style was not a good choice - if you define good by "the target audience likes it".

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Quoting: fleskI think nostalgia is the primary reason why everyone's being so critical of this new style.

Ehrm, no.
I would see the same art style just as critical in any other game.
The reason it's so bad has very little to do with the game it is used for. It's just not a good choice of art style for anything, really.
And the reason you see so much backlash is because a lot of people actually care about Monkey Island. If it wasn't so, the game would with 90% certainty just silently die.
I don't think "divide your fanbase with a truly odd art style" is a great idea, no way how you look at it.

Quoting: fleskWhat is the spirit of MI1 and MI2 though? If it's the exact art style of the originals, then neither Curse, Escape nor Tales are true to their spirit; all having distinctly different art styles. And, if you ask me, not even MI1 and MI2 share the same art style, as MI2 has a more "painterly" style, although they look similar by today's standards.

All of them utilized a comic-book-like art style, with 1 and 2 being a bit more on the "realistic" or "painted" look, 3 going full-on comic and 4 also trying to go for comic, albeit with little success due to being early age 3D.
Same style that the vast majority of point & click games from that era used, really.

Whatever this is, is nowhere near comic book.
It's a lot closer to a pop-up book for kids meets tumblr paired with cubism. Guybrush has rectangles for ears and LeChuck's face is a triangle, ffs!

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Dear lord, that art style is honestly horrible.
Everything looks wrong and abstract and cheap.
And it's the worst kind of "everything is flat" abstraction.

Usually, a new Monkey Island game would be a certain purchase for me, but I have to be able to at least look at it without disgust.
And I thought Monkey Island 4 looked bad... I mean, yeah it did, but at least it was that usual "early 3D looks like shit, deal with it" kind of bad.

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