ya pretty good, Procipinee's magic seems to add alot to hers (maybe it's the shinyness of it?, made me think off adding glowing glyphs or something to them all, like their banner or something)

Those look much better then WOM.

That is pretty nice.

I think the "good guys" (including neutral guys) look perfectly acceptable like that. Though the "bad guys" need to man-up more. They just don't fill me with tension or dread. Perhaps this could be addressed by manipulating their surrounding environment (much like the first portrait's "study" environment adds much to the feel of the character).

Wow. It looks much nicer now then what was shown in your other thread.

I didn't expect this big of a difference from WoM even considering that it was a debug/minimal quality build but I'm very glad to be proven wrong.

What this poster said was spot on. I suppose we think that sovereigns and NPC champions (being one of the most powerful creatures in the game potentially), should look the part as well. Perhaps another way to inspire more awe and dread into "evil" character types is to allow for modifications to the basic look of the character based on the traits. 

For example, death magic type characters could have progressively more dark runes and scars covering the body the more proficient they are in that path (which could be accomplished with a texture overlay maybe). Their eyes could also glow redder with an unearthly hatred and bloodlust. Their portrait background also gets progressively more desolate signifying their palpably destructive influence on everything around them.

In fact, modifications like these could be applied for all relevant traits and not just death magic to lend even more uniqueness and mystique and flavor among the NPCs and sovereigns...

(PS. Just throwing out yet another cheap idea for the devs to consider if they choose to take it one step further.)

Nice pics. And I agree that some background for Relias should make it even better. What would be appropriate? He's an adventurer, but trees and mountains are already taken.

As an adventurer, the occasional swooping dragon would be part of his day to day life, a pub would also work.

It may not seem like much, but having a background with some detail really helps set the mood. I remember seeing these for the first time, 

 I had no idea who these characters were, still don't really, but they gave a hint of the character, like the other portraits do, especially the one Procipinee has. It's my favorite.

It's odd, but the 'good guys' definitely look larger than life, and the 'bad guys' not so much.  A lot of that is the dynamic posing and filing up the portrait with their faces instead of pulling back further like the portraits for the empire leaders; I'm guessing the empire leaders just haven't received as much love, yet.

Also, +1 for the HOMM2 (the best HOMM by far) hero portraits!

I like it - the elemental artwork is really starting to grow on me.  Keep the cool info coming!  Your fans love it. 

They're winning me back.

Granted, it's all theory still, and I still know I'll miss fantasy races, flying units and all, but it's starting to look as if everything else they're putting into FE might actually be truly enough for an unexpanded/unmodded game. And, seeing how skeptic and critic I've been over the past year, I believe it's saying a lot.

Flavor text, art, sounds and all those little additions are *critical* to a game's success. Sure, they cannot replace missing gameplay, but without these little touches, no matter how good the mechanics are, players would never be able to develop that special "intimacy" that lets a game be remembered.

Here's hoping that everything will turn out just fine. Maybe with all Stardock has learnt from this, they'll really be able to create a worthy MoM successor. And if that happens, know that I'll expect to get even an Alpha Centauri's one!!!