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by jedikv 3444 days ago
>There are no visual cues in the design - characters and scenery share the same palette, important elements (like payloads, turrets, etc) don't stand out.

All key characters/items have a unique silhouette which makes it easy to pick out at a glance

>(no indication of where the playload will go).

There's a giant colorful line on the ground that denotes the path the payload will take

Not saying you have to like the game (It seems like it's not for you).
1 comments
LindenRyuujin 3444 days ago
Silhouettes are a good start, but take these two images as an example:

http://gameplaying.info/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/overwatch... From this image I have no idea who is on what side in this battle. The sniper blends into her spot as she is a similar colour scheme to the metal work. Where will the car move next if it is being escorted? There is so much going on it takes a lot of knowledge to understand what is happening.

http://i.imgur.com/l3pCIgk.jpg Here on the other hand it is obvious what team everyone is part of. All character pop out as they are very different to the background (colour and shape wise). The track shows where the payload is going and where it will roll back.

TF2 has great visual clarity, it gives you information clearly without having to explain it to you. Obviously for many the lack of visual clarity in Overwatch is not a problem - which is fine, but Blizzard made a choice which is not without cost.

As for the a payload line, it definitely wasn't there in beta, it's possible they've added one, but this video from a few weeks ago suggests they have not. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CiAitNchwYM

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batmanthehorse 3444 days ago
That's either an old screenshot or they've disabled some features. The stock game has a red outline around all enemy characters and red names over their heads: https://vice-images.vice.com/images/content-images/2016/09/0...
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LindenRyuujin 3444 days ago
The outline certainly helps with team identification. I don't play Overwatch so it is certainly possible things have improved a lot, but from the video I linked before I think it still looks very noisy to my eye.
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alanfalcon 3444 days ago
That's funny - I play Overwatch and never have played TF2 and I can tell at a glance what's happening in the first image and have trouble distinguishing much of anything in the second (the path of the pyload is at least clear).
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