• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EDT 02:47
CEST 08:47
KST 15:47
  • Home
  • Forum
  • Calendar
  • Streams
  • Liquipedia
  • Features
  • Store
  • EPT
  • TL+
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Smash
  • Heroes
  • Counter-Strike
  • Overwatch
  • Liquibet
  • Fantasy StarCraft
  • TLPD
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Blogs
Forum Sidebar
Events/Features
News
Featured News
Team Liquid Map Contest #22: Results and Winners7Code S Season 2 (2026): RO4 and Finals Preview12TL.net Map Contest #22 - Voting & Ladder Map Selection7Code S Season 2 (2026) - RO8 Preview7[ASL21] Finals Preview: Two Legacies21
Community News
Weekly Cups (June 8-14): Clem and Solar double, PTR tested0RSL: S6 Finals played at BlizzCon 202611Douyu Cup 2026: $20,000 Legends Event (June 26-28)10[BSL22] Non-Korean Championship from 13 to 28 June4Weekly Cups (May 25-31): Clem doubles, 2v2 circuit heads toward finale0
StarCraft 2
General
Daily SC2 Player Grid - feedback wanted StarCraft II 5.0.16 PTR Patch Notes may 26th TL Poll: How do you feel about the 5.0.16 PTR balance changes? Code S Season 2 (2026) - RO8 Preview Updates to The Core/Core Lite for v5.0.16?
Tourneys
Master Swan Open (Global Bronze-Master 2) GSL CK #4 20-21th June Crank Gathers Season 4: BW vs SC2 Team League Douyu Cup 2026: $20,000 Legends Event (June 26-28) Maestros of The Game 2 announcement and schedule !
Strategy
[G] Having the right mentality to improve
Custom Maps
Work In Progress Melee Maps [D]RTS in all its shapes and glory <3
External Content
Mutation # 530 One For All The PondCast: SC2 News & Results Mutation # 529 Opportunities Unleashed Mutation # 528 Infection Detected
Brood War
General
BW General Discussion vespene.gg — BW replays in browser Where is EffOrt? BGH Auto Balance -> http://bghmmr.eu/ Quality of life changes in BW that you will like ?
Tourneys
[Megathread] Daily Proleagues [ASL21] Grand Finals [BSL22] Grand Finals - Sunday 21:00 CEST Escore Tournament StarCraft Season 2
Strategy
Simple Questions, Simple Answers Relatively freeroll strategies Creating a full chart of Zerg builds Why doesn't anyone use restoration?
Other Games
General Games
Stormgate/Frost Giant Megathread ZeroSpace Megathread Nintendo Switch Thread Beyond All Reason Total War: Warhammer 40K
Dota 2
Looking for a Dota Mentor Official 'what is Dota anymore' discussion
League of Legends
Heroes of the Storm
Simple Questions, Simple Answers Heroes of the Storm 2.0
Hearthstone
Deck construction bug
TL Mafia
Vanilla Mini Mafia
Community
General
US Politics Mega-thread The Games Industry And ATVI UK Politics Mega-thread Russo-Ukrainian War Thread [H]Internet/Gaming Cafe Tips and Tricks
Fan Clubs
The HerO Fan Club! The herO Fan Club!
Media & Entertainment
Movie Discussion! [Req][Books] Good Fantasy/SciFi books [TV/BOOK] *SPOILERS* Game of Thrones Discussion [Manga] One Piece
Sports
2024 - 2026 Football Thread TeamLiquid Health and Fitness Initiative For 2023 Formula 1 Discussion Cricket [SPORT] NBA General Discussion
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
Computer Build, Upgrade & Buying Resource Thread Facing Challenges in Mobile App Development
TL Community
The Automated Ban List
Blogs
Does Workplace Frustration D…
TrAiDoS
An Exploration of th…
waywardstrategy
I'm an arrogant trash talke…
FlaShFTW
Gauntlet SC2: A Retrospectiv…
Ctone23
Why RTS gamers make better f…
gosubay
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 12049 users

Do you think Starcraft 2 is a bit too cartoony? - Page 2

Forum Index > SC2 General
Post a Reply
Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 Next All
bmml
Profile Joined December 2009
United Kingdom962 Posts
August 24 2010 11:11 GMT
#21
I don't have an issue with the graphics at all but the sounds leave a LOT to be desired, they are far worse than their BW counterparts.
Na_Dann_Ma_GoGo
Profile Joined March 2010
Germany2959 Posts
August 24 2010 11:18 GMT
#22
Can you show us some of those bad sound examples or are you just being too used to broodwar to accept the new sounds? I really don't see what bw did so much better.
WrathBringerReturns said: No no no. Sarcasm is detected in the voice. When this forum is riddled with stupidity, you think I can tell every post apart? Fair enough it was intended sarcastically, was it obvious? Of course not.
mamelouk
Profile Joined April 2010
France135 Posts
August 24 2010 11:20 GMT
#23
can you explain which sound in SC2 is better than in SCBW ?
...Uniden
Ota Solgryn
Profile Blog Joined January 2008
Denmark2011 Posts
August 24 2010 11:24 GMT
#24
Design wise I really like it, especially on ultra with one BIG BUT.
Zerg's (Kerrigan) announcer voice is almost like it was a joke. Omg.
ihasaKAROT: "Wish people would stop wasting their lives on finding flaws in others"
Na_Dann_Ma_GoGo
Profile Joined March 2010
Germany2959 Posts
August 24 2010 11:25 GMT
#25
Oh so you wanna play that game? Okay, I give you an example and then it's you turn.

Zergling attack sounds or attack sounds in general are much, much superior in SC2. Your turn.
WrathBringerReturns said: No no no. Sarcasm is detected in the voice. When this forum is riddled with stupidity, you think I can tell every post apart? Fair enough it was intended sarcastically, was it obvious? Of course not.
Lwerewolf
Profile Joined August 2010
Bulgaria78 Posts
August 24 2010 11:29 GMT
#26
It does look a bit cartoon-y to me but I think it's mostly because of the shapes/proportions/animations and less so due to textures (although at some places I do think they add up to that) - just look at the hydra for example. That's for in-game though - cinematics-wise things are a bit... different, actually (what class are those cine battlecruisers anyways ^_^). As for the overall sound - well... SC1 please. T_T
Mitosis
Profile Joined June 2010
United States24 Posts
August 24 2010 11:30 GMT
#27
On August 24 2010 20:24 Ota Solgryn wrote:
Design wise I really like it, especially on ultra with one BIG BUT.
Zerg's (Kerrigan) announcer voice is almost like it was a joke. Omg.


Zerg announcer is supposed to be a Queen, I'm pretty sure, not Kerrigan. Just like Terran is a generic Adjutant and Protoss is a generic Executor.

I play on everything high, and the game looks great to me. The proportions of the Terran buildings have always seemed a little bit "bubbly" to me, a little rounded and bloated, but that's as cartoony as it gets imo. I love all of the distinct death animations, especially acid. Burning makes me sad but that's probably because I main zerg and so usually only see that when hellions or colossus are roasting my zerglings.

As far as sounds, they almost all sound good except for stalkers and hydralisks. Both just sound like little pinpricks compared to the actual damage being done. Marines and Marauders have a satisfying thud to their attacks, Mutalisks sound a little weak except in large numbers but it perfectly matches the unit anyway, and I giggle when Ultralisks get slicing.
Orange Goblin
Profile Joined May 2010
218 Posts
August 24 2010 11:33 GMT
#28
I completely agree with OP, but it seems we're stuck with this, since Blizzard has basically unified their art design after going 3D. It started off with making things clunky and cartoony because of performance needs, but now it seems they've all but forgotten how to actually make art that doesn't look at least somewhat kid friendly.

That said, SC2 isn't that bad, it's just not as gritty and gloomy as the original.

Bagi
Profile Joined August 2010
Germany6799 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-08-24 11:37:41
August 24 2010 11:36 GMT
#29
I think SC:BW was way more cartoony, I always thought units like dragoons and reavers were extremely goofy. Also cant forget the cutesy muta portrait sticking its tongue out. The outdated blocky graphics also reinforce this feel.

I was even a bit surprised at how sinister zerg felt in SC2. Hydras and ultras look like total beasts now.
Ota Solgryn
Profile Blog Joined January 2008
Denmark2011 Posts
August 24 2010 11:41 GMT
#30
On August 24 2010 20:36 Bagi wrote:
I think SC:BW was way more cartoony, I always thought units like dragoons and reavers were extremely goofy. Also cant forget the cutesy muta portrait sticking its tongue out. The outdated blocky graphics also reinforce this feel.

I was even a bit surprised at how sinister zerg felt in SC2. Hydras and ultras look like total beasts now.

ihasaKAROT: "Wish people would stop wasting their lives on finding flaws in others"
Telcontar
Profile Joined May 2010
United Kingdom16710 Posts
August 24 2010 11:53 GMT
#31
forget about graphics settings, the art design itself does seem a little warcrafty. i guess blizzard thought all future games should look like its flagship game.
Et Eärello Endorenna utúlien. Sinome maruvan ar Hildinyar tenn' Ambar-metta.
GreatestThreat
Profile Joined May 2010
United States631 Posts
August 24 2010 12:00 GMT
#32
I have to back up the people who say the sounds were overall better in BW... check my signature for example.
"I'm ethereal! My children are legion, serial! They stick to my skin like beloved cysts... I TEAR AWAY WITH MY NAILS AND TEETH AND FISTS!"
Ocedic
Profile Joined April 2010
United States1808 Posts
August 24 2010 12:08 GMT
#33
I agree that the voices in SC2 don't hold a candle to the BW units, but for the most part I'm impartial. Overall I'm very disappointed with the Protoss voices and character design. They just aren't memorable at all. I see Protoss as one big homogeneous entity.

Perhaps they should've added some female Protoss units, as Selendis is the only Protoss hero that stands out to me for obvious reasons.
clusen
Profile Joined May 2010
Germany8702 Posts
August 24 2010 12:09 GMT
#34
On August 24 2010 20:25 Na_Dann_Ma_GoGo wrote:
Oh so you wanna play that game? Okay, I give you an example and then it's you turn.

Zergling attack sounds or attack sounds in general are much, much superior in SC2. Your turn.

Imo the old sounds from Zerg were much better(especially the Hydra). The new ones try to be more realistic but lack power. Personally I don't care the slightest about realistic soundeffects in an unrealistic game.
SixSigma
Profile Joined August 2010
United States16 Posts
August 24 2010 12:18 GMT
#35
I really like the graphics. Of course it has to be a little cartoony, otherwise you wouldn't be able to even see a marine/hydra/zealot compared to a battlecruiser. It's also natural to lose some of that "grimy" feel when you go from sprite animation to 3d.

Sound wise the game is WAYYYYYYY better in quality (game sounds/sound effects) but I am very nostalgic for the old unit speech and music.
BeMannerDuPenner
Profile Blog Joined April 2004
Germany5638 Posts
August 24 2010 12:23 GMT
#36
voices sound are plain bad compared to bw1. they just lack the punch .


for style i think its fine. even tho i prefer the bit darker looks you have on some maps.
life of lively to live to life of full life thx to shield battery
Camlito
Profile Blog Joined July 2007
Australia4040 Posts
August 24 2010 12:25 GMT
#37
I wish i could run something on higher than average-medium .
sAviOr...
imbored89
Profile Joined March 2010
United States57 Posts
August 24 2010 12:48 GMT
#38
So you're sad blizzard made a new game instead of revamping the old one. That's too bad dude.
mutantmagnet
Profile Joined June 2009
United States3804 Posts
August 24 2010 12:52 GMT
#39
Yesterday I was just doing a comparison to the artwork to see how much of the art assets I would throw out if I was to do a Brood War refresh and I was surprised about how much I disagreed with the direction Blizzard 2.0 took and for certain reasons I question what the art team has been doing in this very long development process.

When you look at the attention to detail in BW over SC2 it is striking how much they added with sprites unlike these 3D models in max settings.

The best way to realize this is compare how closely the in game unit matched the unit portrait. The original models were closer to fully realizing what the unit portraits conveyed than SC2 units attempted to do again.


Another thing you'll notice is that the design direction was radically different. Original Terran and Protoss had had a very detailed metallic sheen they currently lack now. Both gained more curvaceous features that look badly in comparison to the angular flatter exterior of the original.

Zerg also gained curves but their problems lie more with color pallet and ostentatious artistic trimmings either in the form of a ridiculous number of extra spines and protruding bones or various parts getting fatter.

The only time the trimmings really worked was with the Hydralisk and the scourge.
The colors given to the zerg really washed out a lot more of their fleshy parts the more vibrant colors used in the original didn't.

Another problem with the art direction was the audio work used to give the units and buildings more depth are of an inferior quality to the original.

Unit animations were hit or miss but generally hit a little more often than missed. I really liked what they did with infestors and hydras for animations.

Building animations and unit portraits were the only two things I consistently was impressed with compared to the original and the building animations were a vast improvement over the original.

When I was done with my analysis I decided the art assets I would keep if I had the opportunity to throw out the rest were: Spire, Overlord, Hydralisk, mutalisk, Drone, evo chamber, ultra cavern, spawning
pool, extractor, scourge art for Zerg.
Dark Templar, Dragoon (if available), assimilator, cybernetics, beacon, forge, pylon, robotics, support bay, stargate, archives, scout art for Toss.
Battlecruiser, marine, SCV, Crucio tank, armory, barracks, bunker, refinery, command center, missile turret, supply depot, vulture, science vessel, firebat and medics art for Terran.
feather6
Profile Joined February 2010
48 Posts
August 24 2010 12:53 GMT
#40
On August 24 2010 21:18 SixSigma wrote:
I really like the graphics. Of course it has to be a little cartoony, otherwise you wouldn't be able to even see a marine/hydra/zealot compared to a battlecruiser. It's also natural to lose some of that "grimy" feel when you go from sprite animation to 3d.

Sound wise the game is WAYYYYYYY better in quality (game sounds/sound effects) but I am very nostalgic for the old unit speech and music.


Thank god, someone who is honest with themselves.

I think the portraits look great in SC2. The hydralisk portrait in particular looks amazing. The only portrait I really dislike is the raven, since it's the back of someone's head! Boring! Someone told me it's supposed to be a remote operator.
Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 Next All
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
Next event in 3h 13m
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft: Brood War
Rain 3196
GuemChi 2662
Sea 2281
actioN 336
Leta 48
Backho 42
ZergMaN 37
Bale 22
NotJumperer 18
soO 11
[ Show more ]
Icarus 7
Mong 0
Dota 2
NeuroSwarm106
League of Legends
JimRising 647
Counter-Strike
m0e_tv981
Other Games
summit1g6761
PiGStarcraft724
WinterStarcraft599
C9.Mang0450
ceh9373
Liquid`RaSZi46
RuFF_SC228
Happy19
Trikslyr16
Organizations
Dota 2
PGL Dota 2 - Secondary Stream2693
Other Games
gamesdonequick581
StarCraft 2
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
[ Show 13 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• Berry_CruncH321
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• intothetv
• Kozan
• IndyKCrew
• LaughNgamezSOOP
• Migwel
• sooper7s
StarCraft: Brood War
• BSLYoutube
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
League of Legends
• Lourlo1338
• Stunt597
Upcoming Events
The PondCast
3h 13m
WardiTV Spring Champion…
4h 13m
MaxPax vs SHIN
ByuN vs herO
Solar vs Zoun
OSC
6h 13m
OSC
17h 13m
CranKy Ducklings
1d 3h
WardiTV Spring Champion…
1d 4h
Cure vs SKillous
WardiTV Spring Champion…
2 days
GSL
2 days
Maru vs ShoWTimE
Classic vs Reynor
herO vs Lambo
Solar vs Clem
BSL22 NKC (BSL vs China)
2 days
XuanXuan vs Jaystar
Mihu vs Messiah
eOnzErG vs Dewalt
Bonyth vs Jaystar
TerrOr vs Messiah
XuanXuan vs Mihu
eOnzErG vs Jaystar
Replay Cast
2 days
[ Show More ]
WardiTV Spring Champion…
3 days
GSL
3 days
Patches Events
3 days
BSL22 NKC (BSL vs China)
3 days
Dewalt vs Messiah
Bonyth vs Mihu
TerrOr vs XuanXuan
eOnzErG vs Messiah
Jaystar vs Mihu
Dewalt vs XuanXuan
Bonyth vs TerrOr
Replay Cast
3 days
WardiTV Weekly
4 days
Sparkling Tuna Cup
5 days
Douyu Cup 2020
6 days
Oliveira vs Trap
Jieshi vs XY
soO vs FanTaSy
TY vs Coffee
Liquipedia Results

Completed

Proleague 2026-06-16
uThermal 2v2 2026 Main Event
Heroes Pulsing #1

Ongoing

IPSL Spring 2026
KCM Race Survival 2026 Season 2
Acropolis #4
CSCL: Masked Kings S4
YSL S3
BSL 22 Non-Korean Championship
SCTL 2026 Spring
Maestros of the Game 2
WardiTV Spring 2026
Murky Cup 2026
Heroes Pulsing #2
IEM Cologne Major 2026
Stake Ranked Episode 2
CS Asia Championships 2026
Asian Champions League 2026
IEM Atlanta 2026
PGL Astana 2026
BLAST Rivals Spring 2026
IEM Rio 2026
PGL Bucharest 2026

Upcoming

CSL 2026 Summer (S21)
CSLAN 4
Blizzard Classic Cup 2026
Kung Fu Cup 2026 Grand Finals
RSL Revival: Season 6
CranK Gathers Season 4: BW vs SC2 Team League
HSC XXIX
Douyu Cup 2026
BCC 2026
Heroes Pulsing #3
BLAST Open Fall 2026
Esports World Cup 2026
BLAST Bounty Summer 2026
BLAST Bounty Summer Qual
Stake Ranked Episode 3
XSE Pro League 2026
TLPD

1. ByuN
2. TY
3. Dark
4. Solar
5. Stats
6. Nerchio
7. sOs
8. soO
9. INnoVation
10. Elazer
1. Rain
2. Flash
3. EffOrt
4. Last
5. Bisu
6. Soulkey
7. Mini
8. Sharp
Sidebar Settings...

Advertising | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use | Contact Us

Original banner artwork: Jim Warren
The contents of this webpage are copyright © 2026 TLnet. All Rights Reserved.