Curse

Mordakai · Jan 22, 2008, 06:05 PM // 18:05

What's with all the hate on WoW graphics?

No, it's not realistic. Yes, it's cartoony...

but you know what the upside of that is? Persistant worlds with no lag. WoW may not look cutting edge, but the art design side is solid, the animations are nice, and once you've swam in a lake or climbed up a mountain to see the persistent world below you, the graphics become less of an issue.

I read a Vivendi powerpoint presentation, and they actually listed the cartoony graphics of WoW as a plus: Unlike EQ, it will age well. Blizzard was smart to pick that style of art, IMO.

Numa Pompilius · Jan 22, 2008, 09:53 PM // 21:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gattocheese

Aion currently uses the Crytec engine

In those screenshots? Frankly I find that hard to believe - check the short view distance with fog, one of the biggest selling-points of the Cry engine was that it was very good at downsampling detail and so could have very long view distances. Why use that engine if you're not going to use its biggest claim to fame?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mordakai

What's with all the hate on WoW graphics?

No, it's not realistic. Yes, it's cartoony...

It's low-polygon with tiny textures stretched to hell and back, with omnidirectional lighting. It's graphics which would have been state of the art about ten years ago.

Quote:

but you know what the upside of that is? Persistant worlds with no lag.

That's a truth with considerable modification - the graphics have nothing to do with lag, and there is lag in WoW.

WoW has the very simple & retro graphics it has because it was designed to run on ten year old computers. They didn't want to miss a single sell because the customer had too weak hardware. So they reduced model complexity, downsampled the graphics, picked the simplest lighting mode, and reduced memory requirements.

This is not to say that WoW would have looked realistic if it hadn't been for the marketing departments desire to sell to people with weak hardware, but it would have been a lot more detailed.
If you want to see what WoW should have looked, how it was intended to look if polygon count and texture size was no issue, look at the concept art.

As I pointed out in another place: WoW looks retro, like a game from the turn of the century, but it's actually a newer game than Half Life 2, and contemporary to Guild Wars.

(As an aside, I'm surprised that I've not seen anyone comment on the fact that there is now dynamic lighting in Guild Wars. I didn't think the engine could handle it, but in the Domain of Anguish there are luminescent shards one can pick up, and they cast dynamic lighting. Hopefully GW2 will have fully dynamic lighting - that would certainly make spell effects a lot cooler!)

Mordakai · Jan 22, 2008, 09:58 PM // 21:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by Numa Pompilius

If you want to see what WoW should have looked, how it was intended to look if polygon count and texture size was no issue, look at the concept art.

Point taken, but are you sure that's WoW concept art?

Looks more Warhammer to me. (The details on the Dwarf especially).

Lonesamurai · Jan 22, 2008, 10:27 PM // 22:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mordakai

Point taken, but are you sure that's WoW concept art?

Looks more Warhammer to me. (The details on the Dwarf especially).

Your right, thats Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning concept art... you can tell from the icon in the bottom left corner

Bryant Again · Jan 22, 2008, 10:27 PM // 22:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mordakai

Point taken, but are you sure that's WoW concept art?

Looks more Warhammer to me. (The details on the Dwarf especially).

Lmao, that is most definantly an Ork and Dwarf from the Warhammer universe. Wrong concept art, boyo.

Anyways, sure the graphics are old. But so is Starcraft, and that's still one of the most popular games online.

I'll add that Lich King is lookin' pretty cool, though...

Nevin · Jan 22, 2008, 10:34 PM // 22:34

GW2 = Dx10 compatible
Aion = Dx9

Bryant Again · Jan 22, 2008, 10:34 PM // 22:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nevin

GW2 = Dx10 compatible
Aion = Dx9

ACK for real? Well, it is the old FarCry engine, I guess...But still.

aapo · Jan 22, 2008, 11:23 PM // 23:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cacheelma

No matter how exciting & fun & new & beautiful it seems to be, it will also come with massive grindfest like most other games of its kind. And I'm not talking about Western kind of quest-driven grinds in WoW and co. here.

- Whenever something is advertised with "stunning graphics and detail", you can be sure the gameplay, AI, quest structure etc. is piss-poor. Yeah yeah, revolutionary graphics and advancing video card technologies to validate the purchase of new hardware. I don't want to buy graphics engine, I want to buy a game. You know those old times when people sat home with their friends and played games like Mario Kart, or LAN parties with 6-year-old Counter-Strike, because it's just plain kickass game?

Croco Clouds · Jan 22, 2008, 11:25 PM // 23:25

If Aion has no monthly fee then I might consider it instead of gw2...

Lonesamurai · Jan 22, 2008, 11:32 PM // 23:32

Quote:

Originally Posted by Croco Clouds

If Aion has no monthly fee then I might consider it instead of gw2...

It does, £8/$15 a month

Silly Warrior · Jan 22, 2008, 11:37 PM // 23:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mordakai

What's with all the hate on WoW graphics?

No, it's not realistic. Yes, it's cartoony...

but you know what the upside of that is? Persistant worlds with no lag. WoW may not look cutting edge, but the art design side is solid, the animations are nice, and once you've swam in a lake or climbed up a mountain to see the persistent world below you, the graphics become less of an issue.

I read a Vivendi powerpoint presentation, and they actually listed the cartoony graphics of WoW as a plus: Unlike EQ, it will age well. Blizzard was smart to pick that style of art, IMO.

Very true, I can totally see people playing WoW +10 years from now, just like everquest. Although everquest looks pretty bad now.

DarkWasp · Jan 23, 2008, 12:40 AM // 00:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mordakai

Unlike EQ, it will age well. Blizzard was smart to pick that style of art, IMO.

With GW, they keep updating the graphics. As it ages, they get better. It also has a very unique style. Take morrowind for example, i think its one of the best looking games out there. (If you ignore the characters) It's because Morrowind not only has towns built into roots and crap, but the graphics have a style seen nowhere else.

Nevin · Jan 23, 2008, 12:44 AM // 00:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mordakai

Point taken, but are you sure that's WoW concept art?

Looks more Warhammer to me. (The details on the Dwarf especially).

Definitely warhammer...

And when I said that Aion is Dx9 I didn't mean it was the old Farcry Engine Bryant. Keep in mind Crytek engine is Dx9 and Dx10, for example Crysis can run Dx9 and Dx10. They may just be using the Dx9 abilities of the Crytek engine, although I didn't even know Aion had the Crytek engine to begin with...

As for the graphics arguement. Artistic Style > Graphics. The same can even be held true for Crysis, the game looks incredibly real but not a creepy real, in example- Beowulf the movie. Where everyone looked coated in wax straight out of a museum.

Harrier's haste · Jan 23, 2008, 01:06 AM // 01:06

If Anet do that, it will be more Linage than GW.

Bryant Again · Jan 23, 2008, 01:08 AM // 01:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nevin

And when I said that Aion is Dx9 I didn't mean it was the old Farcry Engine Bryant. Keep in mind Crytek engine is Dx9 and Dx10, for example Crysis can run Dx9 and Dx10. They may just be using the Dx9 abilities of the Crytek engine, although I didn't even know Aion had the Crytek engine to begin with...

I think Kakumei mentioned earlier that it uses FarCry's engine, the older one, not the new CryTek one.

Malice Black · Jan 23, 2008, 01:18 AM // 01:18

Thinking about picking Aion up myself. I'd want to play before I buy though. I'm far too lazy to spend hours grinding.

Sca2pula · Jan 23, 2008, 01:42 AM // 01:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nevin

Definitely warhammer...

And when I said that Aion is Dx9 I didn't mean it was the old Farcry Engine Bryant. Keep in mind Crytek engine is Dx9 and Dx10, for example Crysis can run Dx9 and Dx10. They may just be using the Dx9 abilities of the Crytek engine, although I didn't even know Aion had the Crytek engine to begin with...

As for the graphics arguement. Artistic Style > Graphics. The same can even be held true for Crysis, the game looks incredibly real but not a creepy real, in example- Beowulf the movie. Where everyone looked coated in wax straight out of a museum.

The clear up any confusion:
Aion = cryENGINE 1 = DX 9 only
Crysis = cryENGINE 2 = DX 9 & 10

Numa Pompilius · Jan 23, 2008, 07:58 PM // 19:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bryant Again

Lmao, that is most definantly an Ork and Dwarf from the Warhammer universe. Wrong concept art, boyo.

BFD.
http://wowvault.ign.com/screenshots/full_res.php?ss=213
http://wowvault.ign.com/screenshots/full_res.php?ss=282
http://wowvault.ign.com/screenshots/...ge=2&subcat=29
...
Note the considerable amount of detail, conspicuously absent in the actual game.

Bryant Again · Jan 23, 2008, 08:52 PM // 20:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by Numa Pompilius

Note the considerable amount of detail, conspicuously absent in the actual game.

Because concept art = in-game graphics? Might as well complain about the boxart of Megaman.

That said, concept art and drawings will *always* be better than the in-game graphics. I really don't see what point you're attempting to make here.

Aera Lure · Jan 23, 2008, 10:17 PM // 22:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mordakai

I read a Vivendi powerpoint presentation, and they actually listed the cartoony graphics of WoW as a plus: Unlike EQ, it will age well. Blizzard was smart to pick that style of art, IMO.

I agree with that, actually. My problem with WoW graphics though is less the concept than the execution.

Its cartoony style is more of the sort one would see on Nickelodeon. I'd rather see an animation style that's a bit more refined, with colors a little less oversaturated and designs that are less goofy. WoW's look was originally what turned me away from it and I never gave it a second chance. Still wont.

Aion looks great. I'd want to test that combat system, specifically, as well as play some version of it to get a better sense of its scale and style before I made any choices. Something I would surely consider though.