New GK weapons' metal looks... off?

[KaelusVonSestiaf]

Hello! I know it’s kind of minor, but this is the thing that’s been bugging me the most about the newest DLC (which is awesome, btw, I love GK and the new weapons, tons. Incredibly fun to play).

The new weapons, in all of their illusions, don’t look… metallic enough. The textures and the shaders sort of make it seem like they’re a well-designed prop, more than a real weapon made of steel. I’m very bad with words, so I took a buncha pictures instead.

These are the three illusions in particular I’ll be comparing (the blacksmith version of the bretonnian longsword, and the 2 best bret longsword illusions from the emporium. The shield part of the sword and shield looks perfect already, and the sword is the same as the longsword anyway)

The steel doesn’t really look like a steel blade, more like a dull hunk of metal, or even just a larper prop sword.

Compare this to Kruber’s other weapons!

• Executioner’s sword:

• 1h sword:

• 2h sword

---

There’s a noticeable difference in the quality of the textures and the shaders, I feel? Every other weapon we got looks like proper, steel blades. Again, I know it’s kinda minor, but really, weapon illusions are the most important piece of cosmetic we have, in a way. Unlike hats and skins, we’ll constantly see these weapons in our hands, it’s the one cosmetic we’ll always bee looking at, throughout our hours of gameplay. They gotta look perf, no? Add to that that it’s premium cosmetics earned by paying extra money and it becomes even more necessary that they look real good.

What’s also weird is that this is an issue only with the weapons themselves. The metal bits of the shield look fine, I think, and the metal bits in Grail Knight’s armor look all proper metal and shiny-like. Take a look, specially the metal decorations around the neck/collarbone, and the forearms.

Grail Knight armor vs Grail Knight weapon

---

Bonus: a bunch of videos showing and comparing other weapons to the bretonnian weapons.
Mix of weapons at dusk

Weapon comparison 1

night time:
Bret longsword

Bret longsword torchlight

vs billhook

Billhook torchlight

vs bret longsword again

Longsword night time 2

Daytime:
Blacksmith exe vs blacksmith bret

Blacksmith executioner vs blacksmith bretonnian longsword

Pretty exe vs pretty bret

High tier exe vs high tier longsword

---

Or, am I crazy/dumb? Anyone else feel like there’s something off about them or is it just me?

[Suminagashi]

They really do look like plastic toys, especially the third one in your first image.

[Radina.Shevu]

It looks weird. The worst offender is the one with the Golden bits, which look like actual plastic. Nowhere near as nice as the golden bits on Handmaidens white golden, or FKs black golden armor.

[Incandescent]

the swords were made courtesy of Fisher Price Bretonnia

[derrame]

I like and use the first on, i dont like symbols or lights in my weapons
the armors and shields colors and symbols look awesome, relly good
specially the gryphon helm

[Perteks]

Not counting how thick that sword is its absurdal (even bigger minus is that it don’t have fuller at all in blacksmith version)

[Guymero]

dont know why my game looks little different… you using dx 11 or 12 ? …when dx 11 came around i always hated it because everything looked like plastic

[Zoli]

Yeah the specular map could be improved a bit.
Anyway I like its steel is of better quality.

[Jaffawer]

Kinda look like aluminium swords, or larp foam swords that were painted to look like metal.

[James]

I personally feel a lot of the old weapon illusions look too muddy/unclean though that might just be my visual settings.
But I do agree the new Blongsword looks a little fake or too toyish.

[Saryk]

I think it’s mostly the thickness of it. The main thing wrong with those foam RPG props they sell in game shops is the thickness, and GK’s swords don’t look very sharp. The texture is nice though, I think you might either not be loading the texture or running the game on a lower quality ?

[KaelusVonSestiaf]

@Saryk

The texture is nice though, I think you might either not be loading the texture or running the game on a lower quality ?

Compare those pics to these two pics of the executioner’s sword.

My graphics settings aren’t all maxed, but I didn’t touch any of them as I took these pictures. All the pictures I showed are on the same graphics settings, and there is a clear difference in texture and shader quality. (And specular map, according to @Zoli? I’m not a 3d modeller by any means, I’m not the best at the terminology )

[Sleezy]

@Saryk

The texture is nice though, I think you might either not be loading the texture or running the game on a lower quality ?

It’s hard to put a finger on because I don’t know about graphics really, but it seems like they are lower quality. Maybe it’s shading and not textures? Idk. Look at the pic of X Sword. It has such complex shading and looks genuinely used. The B sword has nicks and scratches, but they are all kinda the same color and it looks like it was a toy that was made to have nicks and scratches.

[Jaffawer]

I think the GK swords don’t reflect light correctly as a metal should. The reflected light is way more scattered than sharp

[Zoli]

@Sleezy

The B sword has nicks and scratches, but they are all kinda the same color and it looks like it was a toy that was made to have nicks and scratches.

Same color which means better quality steel perfectly fit for a knight.
The sword lacks the shimmer effect. It can be a wrong shader or specular map, it doesn’t matter for us.

[Sleezy]

@Zoli

Same color which means better quality steel perfectly fit for a knight.

Wouldn’t that just mean it’s either a softer metal or stainless?

But by color, I was really talking about the shading.

[Guymero]

To my eye it reflect like it should be it just look little different because “rusty” darker layer on middle and sharp edges are more bright… To my eye exe reflects way too much, there is not much different on darker areas and edges… But ye that last pic on long sword texture is kinda joke and lazy really looks like a toy

[Zoli]

@Sleezy

Wouldn’t that just mean it’s either a softer metal or stainless?

Are you kidding? Just go to the kitchen and check the color of some knives.
The surface of the exec swords, the dark spots mean they are of cheap, low quality steel, meant for common soldiers.

But by color, I was really talking about the shading.

I see no problem with shading, just checked in game. One can argue only about the edge, but it’s a result of using a too broad blade model. And that dark line in paralel with the edge seems a bit odd but I see only now, no big deal. Exec looks better in this part.

[Sleezy]

@Zoli

Are you kidding? Just go to the kitchen and check the color of some knives.

This is way off topic, but that was my exact point of reference. High end cutlery is usually made of high carbon steel which is more prone to rusting and/or discoloration. Cheaper knives are usually made of stainless steel that is less likely to rust or become discolored. X sword looks to be made of high carbon steel while b sword looks more like stainless steel or an even softer metal. Softer steel is less likely to break or chip, but will not get the same hard/sharp edge that high carbon steel will.

[Zoli]

It’s more polished than the exec, too. And the exec looks like to be neglected. A knightly sword could have been even mirror polished but people wouldn’t believe it’s possible in a medieval/renaissance setting.