Very interesting palette. The clean and simple colors work really well!
I like these ones a lot! Love the colours for some reason, too, that pale red...
Thats an amazing compliment coming from someone as talented as yourself, thank you.
Thats sounds like excellent advice I will certainly act on. I'm going to try to make each look more distinct. For the challenge we couldnt modify the base too much, but for a game you're 100% right they need to convey their role properly. And hopefully I can clean up the incosistencies while i'm at it.
I like these tremendously!
However, if you plan to use them in a game, I would caution that they are not all very distinct at a glance, nor do most of them communicate role or value to a newcommer, so in a strategy game with any haste or scope, you will rely on the player training himself to recognize and respond to such idiosyncracies. Most casuals would soon become overwhelmed, while prideful mid- or hard-core gamers would be frustrated that their skills from other games would not easily translate to yours.
You should also be aware that your shading and coloring methods are not very consistent, even though the palette may be. While hardly anyone counts pixels, though little inconsistencies in the assets can subconsciously add up to a game that feels "sketchy", "sloppy", or "unfinished", despite the overall art direction being quite good.
I think this is the first step towards something great. With editing and refinement, they could make beautiful, functional units. And they are perfect for the challenge IMO.
There are really well done. I hope that you do do something with them.