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Graphics in mmorpg's should take a turn.
DragenSoul
Member Posts: 86
To me it seems that MMO's are trying to take more of a "Realistic Look" for MMO's. It does not look right in my opinion. I think there trying to keep up with consoles graphic capability, But thats not good for PC gamers. A good percent of PC holders can handle extreme graphics, Most cant.
Most people who want MMO's to look like eye candy say "I should not be held back because some people cant afford a new computer".
Real looking graphics on computer's makes things look plastic. WoW(Yea I'm gonna use WoW
)Knows how to make the user feel the ambiance of the world. Here's a WoW screen shot and a Vanguard.
There both a random google search.
With eye candy graphics, You have to sacrafice alot of ambiance and style. Nintendo did the right thing, They took a step back and said "Hey, People dont play games mainly for graphics. They wanna have fun!!!" so they can put out some fun games and still have a nice style.
Personally I feel older looking graphics have a nice look to them.
Edit: If you could look at super ultra realistic water, Or normal looking water with fish swiming around and leafs floating by. and maybe some underwater rocks and plants. Which would you choose.
Older(Neocron)
Newer(Hellgate)
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Comments
I agree with you. I could honestly never understand the charm of trying to make graphics so darn photo realistic. I mean, after all, we're playing a FANTASY game, or heck even a Sci Fi game! It doesn't HAVE to be photo realistic and the whole plastic look just kinda kills it for me, it makes it look like my character is a manequin. WoW I believe did it right. But I would like to see in the futre more MMO's using cell shaded characters and environment. although I doubt it will happen since it can take a big chunk of computer power.
I 100% agree. The more realistic the graphics become the more restricted we are as to what we can do in the game, it seems.
I'd much rather see future games that are packed with tons of fun content and have a more "fanatasy" look about their art.
To me, when gaming, ambiance is everything.
In my opinion, LoTRO got it right. The perfect blend of really jaw dropping graphics (not photo realistic but very well done) and the ability to expand on the content of the game at a blazing rate. i feel a lot of ambiance in LoTRO.
I do understand what you are saying but disagree completely. I lose immersion big time if my toon looks like something created by crayola. WoW is a perfect example, I do not like the art design there. Granted, for the sytle it is very well done, just not my cup of tea. I can't wait for the day when I'm playing a game and it looks like some of the game trailers we see today.
Cartoons are easy, it's reality thats difficult to pull off. If your rig can't run the game then perhaps it's time for an upgrade.
Oh and, If stuff did look like trailer.....I cant even think of the words to say how I would feel...My mind would be like.
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I don't consider Vanguard's graphics to be done in the photo-realistic style. I consider it to be done in the crap style that the no-talent artists at SOE are limited to. The only difference I see between Vanguard and Wow graphically is how badly the artists in Vanguard used specular maps. Its like they just took a flat white 4096 texture and used that. When you look at the diffuse maps, there is no real difference in how they were done considering the lack of details and dirt in the textures. Its the details and dirt that makes something look photo-realistic.
I think it's all down to personal taste - what you like and what you don't like. When playing WoW, I've never had a moment that's made me go "WOAH!", nothing that's made me take a step back to get another look at.
Countless times when playing Vanguard, I've done a double take and gone back to check something out. From the sunsets or sunrises or the fantasy elements like old magical ruins.
I've never played LOTRO, but the art style is very appealing to me. I prefer the realistic art style over the cartoon type.
The swaying trees and grass and day cycle really help you get immersed.
Edit: Just a quick note to the guy above me, the artists who made the game were from Sigil and not SOE. SOE hate much?
Agree...
I don't mind the graphics being stylized a bit but I want them to be less cartoony and more realistic. Well, let's put it this way, I prefer the graphics of Lineage 2, Guild Wars, What I've seen in Aion, etc.
I don't like the Art design of WoW (though the graphics are fine for the style the game is supposed to be) or EQ 2 (look like clay, bland world), or even Lord of the Rings (could have stepped those up a notch in my opinion, the world is beautiful but the characters seem a bit plastic to me).
So I don't know, I think I prefer slightly stylized graphics but with a bent to less cartoony.
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Vangaurd needs to look at WurmOnlines rendering engine. seriously a game that's both indy AND java lets you see 8-10KM into the distance on a below average MMOers computer.
I find it amazing that by 2020 first world countries will be competing to get immigrants.
Yep, keeping a computer remotely up to date is a vicious cycle. I plan on one new part a year and it gets me in the general area. Just got a 32" HD TV for a monitor, about this time last year was a 8800 GTS 640MB SC video card.....my processor can be purchased for $60 now and my memory was the cheapest I could find at the time. So I am far from sporting the latest and greatest rig. I guess it's just stuff I actually enjoy spending money on.
Hmmm......my work truck is a 95 Dodge with 240,000 miles on it......maybe my priorities are a little off.
Oh and, If stuff did look like trailer.....I cant even think of the words to say how I would feel...My mind would be like.
I'm disappointed we arn't there yet......been waiting since I first pushed that "Space Invaders" cartridge into my Atari 2600.
disagree. I'm sorry but there is NO harm in making a game have better graphics. all you have to do is put it on low settings and your away - you have the old sytle graphics you are asking for. as long as the people making the game add low settings that is.
My blog:
Oh and, If stuff did look like trailer.....I cant even think of the words to say how I would feel...My mind would be like.
this makes me larf.one end of the spectrum your complaining decent rigs cost to much so can't play mmo's. then at the other its "don't bring mmo's to console" or "xbox360z r gay".
the solution if you can't afford a high end rig is buy a xbox 360. end of your running issues. cheap. and mmorpgies are coming to them, eventually.
My blog:
I think we've just about reached the end of the road in the pursuit of "more realistic" graphics. Especially in fantasy games. Beyond a certain point I don't think people would like it. Even if you took a game's graphics past the uncanny valley and into true photo realism, and even if everyones computers could handle it, I think it would backfire. I don't think most people would be happy with it. Of course I could be wrong.
But I think that we are pretty close to the point where it will stop being a question of higher quality graphics and it will mostly just come down to preferences in artistic style. Even with WoW today I don't think the problem some people have with the graphics is so much a quality issue as it is a stylistic issue. They went for a whimsical disneyesque look that some people didn't like. But with the same general quality of graphics they could have gone for a more serious dark fantasy look and I bet that most of the people who hate WoW's graphics would have loved it and some of the people who love it now would hate it.
Oh and, If stuff did look like trailer.....I cant even think of the words to say how I would feel...My mind would be like.
this makes me larf.
one end of the spectrum your complaining decent rigs cost to much so can't play mmo's. then at the other its "don't bring mmo's to console" or "xbox360z r gay".
the solution if you can't afford a high end rig is buy a xbox 360. end of your running issues. cheap. and mmorpgies are coming to them, eventually.
Many people, like myself, can't justify the spending of a $300 console JUST so I can play MMO's, and the older you get, the more you'll understand this. I completely agree that the graphics in MMO's should be made so they can run on the majority of rigs that people have. We can't all afford the ridiculous price tag of $1500-$3000 for an alienware rig, and we can't justify wasting (yes, I said wasting) money on a console that I will hardly play except for an MMO. Luckily I don't have to worry about this because I've been able to play just about every MMO in my rig with no problem. But I do fear that in the future I'll have to spend money on a new rig and I don't know if I'll be able to afford it by then.
If my fireball passes threw a tree that tree should burst into flames and burn to the ground.....
Better graphics ftw.....
If you cant afford a porsche dont go to the car show..
If it's realistic vs. cartoony, I'll take reastic. It just feels more immersive to me. However, I don't believe that we need great graphics in MMO's. I'd really rather see them take a few steps back in the graphics department and use the extra time/money on developing a much deeper, more complex game with better game play.
edit: forgot to add that WOW is a good example of dated, but sylized graphics. However, I really can't stand the style, it's just WAY too cartoony and "blocky"...
I choose to keep up with technology instead.
The graphics can be great and fun at the same time you know? why don't take use of
the great technology we're offered..
I agree. I liked WoWs graphic and thought they were really good. They were clean, nice and not so pixelated. Some other games I've tried did their best to try to be realistic and nice looking and (with the exception of EVE) all of them just looked pixelated and stupid. I think it has become too much focus on the graphics, the devs should understand that what keeps players playing is the gameplay.
I think WoW's graphics are quite good, and I am generally not a fan of cartoon graphics. The reason they are good is because they have very good animations, so when you see them in action you suspend disbelieve of the unrealistic cartoony look. By comparison, some games had very nice graphics, but poor animations, so when you see them in action they are not believable (e.g. EQ2).
I think people forget that animation quality is very important, and as a result one should not compare screenshots of games in order to compare how they look. One should instead see them in action.
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agree'd and disagreed.
Good point, but it all depends on what game it is. I mean, if you play Oblivion in WoW's graphics , your gonna say, " Wow, this is shit."
So by the end of the day, you need to think about what art direction you are going for and what type of style you want/need.
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I agree to a certain extent. The way I see it, it has a lot to do with the genre of the game; I'll use EVE and some fantasy game.
EVE has some amazing graphics, especially with the latest update, tranquility? Anyway, without the "modern" looking graphics, that game would lose a lot of its appeal.
But with (INSERT FANTASY TITLE), the modern graphics look takes away from the "fantasy" aspect of the game. Take WOW and VG for example, I haven't played any of the titles but WoW seems to encompass a fantasy game mainly because of the, forgive me for saying, cartoon-ish style; I'd be more inclined to believe that a player did have magic, than to see a VG player cast a spell. Which is sortta worrying me when I think of AoC, but not enough to cause any doubt.
But thats just my opinion; everyone has a preference.
I think the plastic effect is part of what's called the "uncanny valley." Once we get to a certain point, rendered human beings look completely strange to us. You have to have pretty much photo-realistic visuals to get past the uncanny valley, which is why a lot of the devs use stylized art so they never fall into it in the first place. The human eye is keen on spotting oddities in a picture of a human being. Ever noticed how, even if the Orcs, Trolls, and (to a lesser extent) Elves all look good, the humans always seem a bit off? Like something's just not right. That's the uncanny valley.
i absolutly dont like the look of wow
and i can not ( and do not want to ) force myself to play something that looks like that
do i need super realistic photo like art in a mmorpg ?
hell no
i take old daoc´s graphic every day before my eyes start bleeding cause i look to long at "next gen" carton art crap
Anyone who saw Finals Fantasy: Spirit Within, knows what this is about. Graphics were superb, but they looked just....off, because they were trying too hard to be realistic without being actually photo-realistic.
So I take somewhat cartoonish graphics and not optimized to the egde graphics any day. Just feels better.
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The only reason why WoW's graphic was acceptable to me were animations, in combat characters looked good, not like in many other games, slow and plastic. There is no other reason I could prefer cartoonish graphic over realistic. A good example is EVE - smooth, realistic graphics and you don't even need a very good video card (Of course if you want premium graphics, aka DX10, you need a superior system), I'm playing EVE smoothly on my laptop with 128mb integrated Intel video card.
I'm not against graphics requiring better pc's, I like to play a game with decent graphic. In this world you have to pay for everything - for video game graphic too.
Like someone previously said - If you can't afford a porsche, don't go to carshow (I guess something like that, but you get the idea).