Magic Circle against Alignment

[cosmic ray]

Could we please please get rid of the huge eyesore of a visual effect that this spell has? Or at least tone it down a lot?

[Valefort]

Uhm, no.

[cosmic ray]

Is there a reason you could give, please?

[Valefort]

Yep, I did that VFX on purpose and I like it, the more VFX the better.

[Nyeleni]

Valefort is only so snarky because it isn't the first time he has been asked to tone it down .

[aaron22]

well. you are telling him his baby is ugly. not nice at all

[cosmic ray]

I don't think I was impolite in stating my opinion that it is extremely ugly. Since BGtSCC has disabled the other Obsidian-made flashy visuals (thank Cyric!), I thought this one might be a sneaky survivor.

[Valefort]

Well, what would you like instead (a permanent one) ? Make a fitting VFX and I'll put it in (if I think it's not ugly myself).

[Theodore01]

An unobtrusive circle, that does not flash each time a party member enters/leaves its area.

[Vermilion]

An unobtrusive circle, that does not flash each time a party member enters/leaves its area.

But... but... if it's just a circle, how will we know that it's a magic circle?!

[cosmic ray]

My suggestion was simply to get rid of the effect without replacing it with something else like what was done with the battletide effect, which looked even worse imo, since that brings the biggest benefit with the least amount of work.

Another alternative would be to tone down the effect to just a thin white circle marking the edge of the AoE.

Either way, I do not have the skills to make these things.

I just made a suggestion, though. If everyone else likes the giant glaring white circle, by all means, don't make everyone unhappy just to please me.

At the very least, if getting rid of that garish effect is out of the question, could it be made visible only by the party? Right now everyone can see these things even if they are not in the party and, therefore, the relevance of the visual as a guide on where to place your character is nonexistant.

Also, for the sake of those who might not know what this is about, I took a screenshot:

Hidden: show

[Valefort]

Yeah, I have really a hard time seeing this as ugly, and i definitely want a VFX instead of nothing.

[Theodore01]

The problem is, when partymembers or summons leave or enter that circle or multiple players have it active - then it is flashing all the time and it becomes very straining for my eyes.


(Try summon a firre and fight some monsters - he uses the spell.)

[cosmic ray]

Out of context, it's not ugly per se, but when it's part of a spell that is centered on your character and is visible to not only you and your party but to everyone else around you, this glaring white circle becomes a real eyesore, in my opinion.

It's the same with some of the original spell effects made by Obsidian. They are very obtrusive, as Theodore put it.

I'm not trying to offend you personally, Valefort. I appreciate what you and the others do around here but, when something looks bad, it merits criticism just the same as when something looks good.

Edit: imo this visual effect would look VERY GOOD if used for things like circles of power, etc, just not for a continuous spell effect.

[Valefort]

But things like improved mage armor or shadow shield are visible to everyone as well and this circle is a visual representation of what the spell is. Before it was completely invisible after the initial cast, which in my book is terrible.

I'm not offended however I sit in the camp of "more shiny VFX everywhere", be certain that I'd gladly bring back the "obtrusive" effects made by Obsidian : I find them awesome. That said I know I'm in the minority and don't particularly want to force my preferences on everything, so I'll settle for a few shiny spells, like magic circle against alignment.

That said I'll try to make it not flash all the time.