To the person comparing WoW endgame to Aion.... You can't actually say anything tangible until the Korean release. The max level for OBT was 30. And most mmos are more 'magical' or imaginative then WoW. Blizzard is only good at one thing: make things work smoothly. They have no concept of what an original idea is.
Was this directed towards me? I never compared Aion's endgame to WoW's, moreless anything remotely close to criticizing it. It's a given that endgame wasn't accessible during OBT... you make it sound as if I thought otherwise. What I did say was I'm concerned about Aion's leveling up process and HOPE the Abyss turns out to be a fantastic finish line through the grueling ordeal.
And by all means, if making things 'work smoothly' generates 11 million subscribers and crowns itself as the king of p2p MMO, I sure hope Aion follows Blizzard's approach. Who needs creativity? amirite??!? (sarcasm)
The whole thing about originality and whatnot is getting old! It's like with Apple and their immensely popular keyboard design on their macbooks. Innovative? Not really, the design was actually first introduced by Sony's x505 notebooks in 2004, but the dumazzez didn't see the potential and scrapped the design. Can't relate? Think Blizzard = Apple. Just like how Apple had the vision to see greatness in the design (and thus applying it to their macbooks), so did Blizzard in copying the things that worked in other MMOs while dropping/tweaking the things that didn't. Result? WoW is now a benchmark for many emerging titles and it actually became the standard.
So what does this all translate to? I want Aion to be successful as much as anyone else here... but in order for it to be successful, I'm also hoping NC did something to emulate WoW. I mean really, unless you're a total fanboy, you can't deny that WoW pulled off SOMETHING good to become what it is today. There's a lesson to be had for other MMOs, and so far, WAR and AoC miserably failed. I just wish NC did learn a thing or two from Blizz's success and applied it to Aion.
I would compare WoW to Microsoft than to mac.
WoW didnt take the best things from MMOGS; sorry they just to took the easyiest and blandest features that most mmogs had and ran with it.
Marketing is the reason for WoWs sucess. Blizzard had a big following before WoW and there games always sold big. When WoW was announced everyone knew it was going to hit big. Its what blizzard games do.
If WoW was made by a different company with a different IP but exactly the same it would have the same subs as most mmorpgs out.
To me blizzard has always retarded any genre they touch.
Diablo ( loved the 1st one hated the rest) gave birth to the hack/slash era. I remeber one rpg that was in developemnt that was copying Fallout, but it went under as diablo clones flooded the market. In the past years companys have finaly started to focus on the RP part of that genre. But with Diablo 3 im sure that will all go down hill
Warcraft/starcraft (loved warcraft 1and 2 couldnt stand starcraft) Quick and easy fun but nothing compared to the more complex RTSs out. Warcraft 3 was even more dumb downed.
Blizard always attracts the masses only because they dumb everything down for the masses.
Anyway back on subject how was the world? Was it big and spaced out or was it cramped and themeparkish.
Sorry to break it to you but none of Blizzard's pre-WoW games even came close to the record numbers it has reached today. I admit though, Blizzard did have a big following when the game was first launched, however, that alone does not explain the exponential growth it has gained among new audiences to the genre. Hell, I log on and see school teachers, police officers, and even parents immersed in the game with no prior gaming background.
To say that following and marketing is the only factor that produces a successful title is an understatement. Take WAR for example... it's following was incredible and it was the best selling game of 2008 prior to WotLK xpac. Not to mention Mythic had successful titles in the past as well(DAoC anyone?). What the hell happened? WAR turned out to be completely unpolished, boring, and felt like a pvp grind... I never really felt immersed in WAR's lore or gameplay. Games must have quality for it to succeed, and yes, it does depend on a variety of factors (including marketing).
I would also like to briefly argue your point about the game being 'dumbed' down. What Blizzard ultimately succeeded in was to be able to gather hardcore and casual gamers alike. You can't be casual and achieve 2200 arena rating, raid Black Temple, or gather those precious materials to forge Stormherald... likewise, the game was also able to accomodate casual players that logged on to do Kara, a couple BGs, or even arenas (albeit their ratings would be sub-1200s.) All in all, Blizz did a fantastic job crossing over a wide spectrum of players. If any game forced me to dedicate 10 hrs a day just to stay competitive, you can count me out.
There are obviously people that dislike Blizzard and find every way to bash their games... but plz don't go into denial. Give out proper respects when it's warranted.
Starcraft sold alot of boxes so did WC3 and diablos. All of em hit big in there genre.
WAR never hit that big on the hype meter. And DAoC wasnt the big hit of its day. Plus Mythic didnt start WAR they picked it up as the last company left it. Only fanbois thought it would get a huge following.
WoW isnt hardcore. The early days of EQ had hardcore pve, Nothing in WoW is hard.
WoW = Disney land
While yes Disney land might have brought some adults and children together. I still wouldnt call it great entertainment.
I dont owe WoW anything It didnt help me or the genre. Didnt bring anything new, and dumb down whatever they could steal from everyone else. All they did was bring more money to the market. Which as you can tell didnt help devs with there creativity. Just made them more greedy.
What the fuck? WAR never hit big in the hype meter? Are you kidding?!? WAR had the highest PC game sales before the WotLK release in 2008... the hype meter and followings were off the chart! Prior to the release day itself, Mythic shipped out 1.5 million copies of the game with the highest pre-order records for any newly launched mmorpg. Even with the hype they failed to deliver. The fact that SC, WC, and the Diablo series were hit games is irrelevant... as I mentioned earlier, WoW's success was in gathering a whole NEW playerbase to reach its 11 million subscribers.
WoW = Disneyland? I'm assuming you're one of those terribles that did nothing but run around Shattrah. Yes, the game definitely can be easymode, but only if you choose to. As I mentioned earlier, the game also caters to hardcore players. Try to hit 2k+ in arena ratings and be one of the top 1% in the bracket. PVE? It takes months for guilds with countless wipes to clear dungeons... I believe most guilds didn't even complete Naxx before BC expac came out.
No, you don't owe anything, and I don't expect you to. However, there are things in life you accept, wheather you like it or not. Blizzard created a very popular game, and NO, it was not entirely fanbased and marketing that made it successful. ACCEPT IT.
I was worried after reading posts about OBT players opting out of the game once it hits retail... however, news is that over 90% of the beta testers are now in the retail. There are still 500-1000 people in queue to login.
PC rooms are also reporting Aion as the #1 played game played as of November 26.
Furthermore, what's more encouraging is that overall games in PC room centers have experienced a drop in usage, with WoW taking a -1.26% decrease after Aion's launch. If Aion proves to be a very good altenative to WoW players, and if the trend continues, I'll definitely be playing it when Aion is released in NA.
However, take this news with a grain of salt... most WoW players in Korea are playing in residentials, not PC rooms. Still, good news regardless.
I found myself doing a simple quest, minding my own busness when all of a sudden a group of 6 elyos pop through a rift near me. Complete madness commenced because there was nothing but soloers in the area, We got are asses kicked until we where able to get a group made to take them on. I would say 20 soloers died in that incounter (I died twice) before we could crush them. So much for questing for that day Things like this has happen to me in OBT alot, either 1v1 or getting smoked by a well excuted group. There is so much more to offer because i don't know korean and i'm missing tons of info.
I have never had so much fun in an mmo as this game, but this is just me and it might not be your type of game. If its not I hope you find what your looking for.....because its all about finding a game that is fun to play for you. My chanter:
I really like the random factor of an invasion happening at anytime through rifts. It just adds a whole new atmosphere to the gaming aspect as you can't be too laid back while questing or grinding. It's spontaneous, chaotic fun, and that's just how I like it!
After playing the Beta i would have to say that this is by Far the Best MMO i have played to date, now i know ppl are goona dis my post because i am a Fanboy (yes i will admit it) but i have played every successfull MMO to dat including atleast 85% of there Beta's. The OBT for me was flawless i Ran everything on Max settings with a FPS of an average 50fps in the main City (crowded) and 50-70 in the Mainland. (now also bare in mind i am in Australia and am pulling these figures)
The Game is an absolute Jem and is nothing like L2 so no need to fear here for all those ppl saying it is gonna be a Grind, the only part i found a grind was that i had to hit everything to make sure i was collecting the right drops for Quest or was killing the same mob, but this was because i dony understand the slightest bit of Korean lol. I am seriuosly thinking of getting a time Card to Continue my Journey as i was just absolutely stunned as to what they have done with this game.
This game i do not think it will appeal to the WoW crowd but i could be Wrong, you dont need a super PC to run max settings which i might add looks absolutely stunning and the Gameplay surpasses any other MMO yet IMO, if this game was to be classed as a clone i would have to Say that it would be an EQ clone but let me Assure you this is not a Clone.
I know a lot of ppl say that the Wings are not Revolutionary to Aion but i can also Gaurantee you that they have by Far Done this better than any other game out there and the Detail of the Wings is just inspiring to say the least
If i were to give this game at it's OB state a Rating, i would have to say 9/10 and if it releases in NA/EU like it was in the Korean beta than this game will even Surpass LoTRO's amazing launch, the game to me in it's OB state was as near to Perfect as you can get.
The Visuals, The AMbience, The Music, the Whole World that is Aion IMO is the Best i have encountered in an MMO and again this is IMO you may very well feel different but i urge every 1 to atleast try this game when it releases, it may turn out to be nothing new for you but i can Guarantee that you wont find too many Faults with it if any. I know this game is not going to be for every 1 but if some 1 tells me that this game was a pice of Crap Clone that is cookie cutter yada yada yada then i know that they are full of it, because even if you dont like the game i can bet that you will admit that they have done a fantastic job with this game.
I would upload some Videos to show you all how this game truly is but i am having trouble getting the files small enough without losing Quality to do so but as soon as i can figure this out i will post the Links.
Gonna put up some screens for now tho so Enjoy.
[
Or alternatively you can check out this little Screen shot Vid i made
After playing the Beta i would have to say that this is by Far the Best MMO i have played to date, now i know ppl are goona dis my post because i am a Fanboy (yes i will admit it) but i have played every successfull MMO to dat including atleast 85% of there Beta's. The OBT for me was flawless i Ran everything on Max settings with a FPS of an average 50fps in the main City (crowded) and 50-70 in the Mainland. (now also bare in mind i am in Australia and am pulling these figures) The Game is an absolute Jem and is nothing like L2 so no need to fear here for all those ppl saying it is gonna be a Grind, the only part i found a grind was that i had to hit everything to make sure i was collecting the right drops for Quest or was killing the same mob, but this was because i dony understand the slightest bit of Korean lol. I am seriuosly thinking of getting a time Card to Continue my Journey as i was just absolutely stunned as to what they have done with this game. This game i do not think it will appeal to the WoW crowd but i could be Wrong, you dont need a super PC to run max settings which i might add looks absolutely stunning and the Gameplay surpasses any other MMO yet IMO, if this game was to be classed as a clone i would have to Say that it would be an EQ clone but let me Assure you this is not a Clone. I know a lot of ppl say that the Wings are not Revolutionary to Aion but i can also Gaurantee you that they have by Far Done this better than any other game out there and the Detail of the Wings is just inspiring to say the least If i were to give this game at it's OB state a Rating, i would have to say 9/10 and if it releases in NA/EU like it was in the Korean beta than this game will even Surpass LoTRO's amazing launch, the game to me in it's OB state was as near to Perfect as you can get. The Visuals, The AMbience, The Music, the Whole World that is Aion IMO is the Best i have encountered in an MMO and again this is IMO you may very well feel different but i urge every 1 to atleast try this game when it releases, it may turn out to be nothing new for you but i can Guarantee that you wont find too many Faults with it if any. I know this game is not going to be for every 1 but if some 1 tells me that this game was a pice of Crap Clone that is cookie cutter yada yada yada then i know that they are full of it, because even if you dont like the game i can bet that you will admit that they have done a fantastic job with this game. I would upload some Videos to show you all how this game truly is but i am having trouble getting the files small enough without losing Quality to do so but as soon as i can figure this out i will post the Links. Gonna put up some screens for now tho so Enjoy. Or alternatively you can check out this little Screen shot Vid i made s102.photobucket.com/albums/m93/charlizd/
Why I'm not surprised at all? There are still some companies capable of doing things in the right way.
Hmm, from the impressions of OP, it kind of sounds like daoc. Reactionaries, combos, rvr. I will most likely give the game a shot, but probably won't rush into it. I was never really excited about the game, but that could be a good thing. More of a chance to be pleasantly surprised and less of a chance to be disappointed, hehe.
You have to wonder if it’s the same people who were telling us that they saw no difference between the graphics of WoW and AoC that are now here. Aion is below AoC in the graphics stakes, but it looks firmly in second place. That makes it the second best MMO graphically out there.
I played both, so I think I can give further insight on this statement.
I agree with you, AoC graphics are the best I've ever seen in a MMO.
Textures: Aion uses high res textures for characters/gear and certain areas, but not as crisp as AoC's, AoC textures were just perfect.
Models: Aion models look natural to me, while AoC's felt a bit stiffy, specially women. Aion wins here imho.
Ambience models: Things like big buried statues and stuff like that miss a bit of anti aliasing in Aion, you can see the polygons in something that is meant to be perfectly rounded, thus why, here AoC would win.
Lighting: Aion has some of the best lighting effects I've ever seen, in both MMORPGs and single player games, the reflection on your character gear will make it so even not so high textures get that crisp feeling, like if it was carbon fiber and things like that, really well done, thus why screenshots don't do justice, you can't see something perfectly until you see it moving. My chanter's level 22 armor had like those grains of light all over my shoulder pads and they moved as I moved depending on the light position, this like that would get Aion this victory.
Enviroment lighting: Again, Aion wins here, some of the zones of the world aren't impressive, but others...trully are, getting inside a green forest and seeing all that illumination reflected in the objects, the people running, while in AoC, I remember that once you entered that lava volcano, I felt like the floor was orange, everything was orange, yet my char looked the same with minor lighting effects affecting the moving objects.
Polygons: While this could have been discussed in the "models" part of my personal analysis, I prefered to separate them. Cause there I talked about naturality, here I'll talk about technical stuff, AoC wins hands down here, AoC models are way more perfect in terms of polygons count. The smoothness of aoc's curves was something unseen in previous MMOs.
Art style: I'll really leave that for you.
Now, Aion's usage of lower res textures, lower ammount of polygons and less complex scenarios was really necessary in Aion, as people said, you get a high FPS count on beautiful scenarios, all of that thanks to the lighting and the distance usage, you see the mountains at the back and you see them with shadows like if it was filled with rocks, you get close, and you see its just a polygon painted over. Aion can afford to have no limits in battles while keeping it as beautiful as they can. A trully master work right there.
Comments
Was this directed towards me? I never compared Aion's endgame to WoW's, moreless anything remotely close to criticizing it. It's a given that endgame wasn't accessible during OBT... you make it sound as if I thought otherwise. What I did say was I'm concerned about Aion's leveling up process and HOPE the Abyss turns out to be a fantastic finish line through the grueling ordeal.
And by all means, if making things 'work smoothly' generates 11 million subscribers and crowns itself as the king of p2p MMO, I sure hope Aion follows Blizzard's approach. Who needs creativity? amirite??!? (sarcasm)
The whole thing about originality and whatnot is getting old! It's like with Apple and their immensely popular keyboard design on their macbooks. Innovative? Not really, the design was actually first introduced by Sony's x505 notebooks in 2004, but the dumazzez didn't see the potential and scrapped the design. Can't relate? Think Blizzard = Apple. Just like how Apple had the vision to see greatness in the design (and thus applying it to their macbooks), so did Blizzard in copying the things that worked in other MMOs while dropping/tweaking the things that didn't. Result? WoW is now a benchmark for many emerging titles and it actually became the standard.
So what does this all translate to? I want Aion to be successful as much as anyone else here... but in order for it to be successful, I'm also hoping NC did something to emulate WoW. I mean really, unless you're a total fanboy, you can't deny that WoW pulled off SOMETHING good to become what it is today. There's a lesson to be had for other MMOs, and so far, WAR and AoC miserably failed. I just wish NC did learn a thing or two from Blizz's success and applied it to Aion.
I would compare WoW to Microsoft than to mac.
WoW didnt take the best things from MMOGS; sorry they just to took the easyiest and blandest features that most mmogs had and ran with it.
Marketing is the reason for WoWs sucess. Blizzard had a big following before WoW and there games always sold big. When WoW was announced everyone knew it was going to hit big. Its what blizzard games do.
If WoW was made by a different company with a different IP but exactly the same it would have the same subs as most mmorpgs out.
To me blizzard has always retarded any genre they touch.
Diablo ( loved the 1st one hated the rest) gave birth to the hack/slash era. I remeber one rpg that was in developemnt that was copying Fallout, but it went under as diablo clones flooded the market. In the past years companys have finaly started to focus on the RP part of that genre. But with Diablo 3 im sure that will all go down hill
Warcraft/starcraft (loved warcraft 1and 2 couldnt stand starcraft) Quick and easy fun but nothing compared to the more complex RTSs out. Warcraft 3 was even more dumb downed.
Blizard always attracts the masses only because they dumb everything down for the masses.
Anyway back on subject how was the world? Was it big and spaced out or was it cramped and themeparkish.
Sorry to break it to you but none of Blizzard's pre-WoW games even came close to the record numbers it has reached today. I admit though, Blizzard did have a big following when the game was first launched, however, that alone does not explain the exponential growth it has gained among new audiences to the genre. Hell, I log on and see school teachers, police officers, and even parents immersed in the game with no prior gaming background.
To say that following and marketing is the only factor that produces a successful title is an understatement. Take WAR for example... it's following was incredible and it was the best selling game of 2008 prior to WotLK xpac. Not to mention Mythic had successful titles in the past as well(DAoC anyone?). What the hell happened? WAR turned out to be completely unpolished, boring, and felt like a pvp grind... I never really felt immersed in WAR's lore or gameplay. Games must have quality for it to succeed, and yes, it does depend on a variety of factors (including marketing).
I would also like to briefly argue your point about the game being 'dumbed' down. What Blizzard ultimately succeeded in was to be able to gather hardcore and casual gamers alike. You can't be casual and achieve 2200 arena rating, raid Black Temple, or gather those precious materials to forge Stormherald... likewise, the game was also able to accomodate casual players that logged on to do Kara, a couple BGs, or even arenas (albeit their ratings would be sub-1200s.) All in all, Blizz did a fantastic job crossing over a wide spectrum of players. If any game forced me to dedicate 10 hrs a day just to stay competitive, you can count me out.
There are obviously people that dislike Blizzard and find every way to bash their games... but plz don't go into denial. Give out proper respects when it's warranted.
Starcraft sold alot of boxes so did WC3 and diablos. All of em hit big in there genre.
WAR never hit that big on the hype meter. And DAoC wasnt the big hit of its day. Plus Mythic didnt start WAR they picked it up as the last company left it. Only fanbois thought it would get a huge following.
WoW isnt hardcore. The early days of EQ had hardcore pve, Nothing in WoW is hard.
WoW = Disney land
While yes Disney land might have brought some adults and children together. I still wouldnt call it great entertainment.
I dont owe WoW anything It didnt help me or the genre. Didnt bring anything new, and dumb down whatever they could steal from everyone else. All they did was bring more money to the market. Which as you can tell didnt help devs with there creativity. Just made them more greedy.
What the fuck? WAR never hit big in the hype meter? Are you kidding?!? WAR had the highest PC game sales before the WotLK release in 2008... the hype meter and followings were off the chart! Prior to the release day itself, Mythic shipped out 1.5 million copies of the game with the highest pre-order records for any newly launched mmorpg. Even with the hype they failed to deliver. The fact that SC, WC, and the Diablo series were hit games is irrelevant... as I mentioned earlier, WoW's success was in gathering a whole NEW playerbase to reach its 11 million subscribers.
WoW = Disneyland? I'm assuming you're one of those terribles that did nothing but run around Shattrah. Yes, the game definitely can be easymode, but only if you choose to. As I mentioned earlier, the game also caters to hardcore players. Try to hit 2k+ in arena ratings and be one of the top 1% in the bracket. PVE? It takes months for guilds with countless wipes to clear dungeons... I believe most guilds didn't even complete Naxx before BC expac came out.
No, you don't owe anything, and I don't expect you to. However, there are things in life you accept, wheather you like it or not. Blizzard created a very popular game, and NO, it was not entirely fanbased and marketing that made it successful. ACCEPT IT.
This thread has gone waaaay, off topic =p
Deimos
More on topic... according to http://www.thisisgame.com/board/view.php?id=200608&category=711 article source (its in Korean) seems like Aion has done very well in its official launch!
I was worried after reading posts about OBT players opting out of the game once it hits retail... however, news is that over 90% of the beta testers are now in the retail. There are still 500-1000 people in queue to login.
PC rooms are also reporting Aion as the #1 played game played as of November 26.
Furthermore, what's more encouraging is that overall games in PC room centers have experienced a drop in usage, with WoW taking a -1.26% decrease after Aion's launch. If Aion proves to be a very good altenative to WoW players, and if the trend continues, I'll definitely be playing it when Aion is released in NA.
However, take this news with a grain of salt... most WoW players in Korea are playing in residentials, not PC rooms. Still, good news regardless.
Cheers.
I really like the random factor of an invasion happening at anytime through rifts. It just adds a whole new atmosphere to the gaming aspect as you can't be too laid back while questing or grinding. It's spontaneous, chaotic fun, and that's just how I like it!
After playing the Beta i would have to say that this is by Far the Best MMO i have played to date, now i know ppl are goona dis my post because i am a Fanboy (yes i will admit it) but i have played every successfull MMO to dat including atleast 85% of there Beta's. The OBT for me was flawless i Ran everything on Max settings with a FPS of an average 50fps in the main City (crowded) and 50-70 in the Mainland. (now also bare in mind i am in Australia and am pulling these figures)
The Game is an absolute Jem and is nothing like L2 so no need to fear here for all those ppl saying it is gonna be a Grind, the only part i found a grind was that i had to hit everything to make sure i was collecting the right drops for Quest or was killing the same mob, but this was because i dony understand the slightest bit of Korean lol. I am seriuosly thinking of getting a time Card to Continue my Journey as i was just absolutely stunned as to what they have done with this game.
This game i do not think it will appeal to the WoW crowd but i could be Wrong, you dont need a super PC to run max settings which i might add looks absolutely stunning and the Gameplay surpasses any other MMO yet IMO, if this game was to be classed as a clone i would have to Say that it would be an EQ clone but let me Assure you this is not a Clone.
I know a lot of ppl say that the Wings are not Revolutionary to Aion but i can also Gaurantee you that they have by Far Done this better than any other game out there and the Detail of the Wings is just inspiring to say the least
If i were to give this game at it's OB state a Rating, i would have to say 9/10 and if it releases in NA/EU like it was in the Korean beta than this game will even Surpass LoTRO's amazing launch, the game to me in it's OB state was as near to Perfect as you can get.
The Visuals, The AMbience, The Music, the Whole World that is Aion IMO is the Best i have encountered in an MMO and again this is IMO you may very well feel different but i urge every 1 to atleast try this game when it releases, it may turn out to be nothing new for you but i can Guarantee that you wont find too many Faults with it if any. I know this game is not going to be for every 1 but if some 1 tells me that this game was a pice of Crap Clone that is cookie cutter yada yada yada then i know that they are full of it, because even if you dont like the game i can bet that you will admit that they have done a fantastic job with this game.
I would upload some Videos to show you all how this game truly is but i am having trouble getting the files small enough without losing Quality to do so but as soon as i can figure this out i will post the Links.
Gonna put up some screens for now tho so Enjoy.
Or alternatively you can check out this little Screen shot Vid i made
s102.photobucket.com/albums/m93/charlizd/
Why I'm not surprised at all? There are still some companies capable of doing things in the right way.
Thanks for your comments Charlidz
You have to wonder if it’s the same people who were telling us that they saw no difference between the graphics of WoW and AoC that are now here.
Aion is below AoC in the graphics stakes, but it looks firmly in second place. That makes it the second best MMO graphically out there.
Hmm, from the impressions of OP, it kind of sounds like daoc. Reactionaries, combos, rvr. I will most likely give the game a shot, but probably won't rush into it. I was never really excited about the game, but that could be a good thing. More of a chance to be pleasantly surprised and less of a chance to be disappointed, hehe.
I played both, so I think I can give further insight on this statement.
I agree with you, AoC graphics are the best I've ever seen in a MMO.
Textures: Aion uses high res textures for characters/gear and certain areas, but not as crisp as AoC's, AoC textures were just perfect.
Models: Aion models look natural to me, while AoC's felt a bit stiffy, specially women. Aion wins here imho.
Ambience models: Things like big buried statues and stuff like that miss a bit of anti aliasing in Aion, you can see the polygons in something that is meant to be perfectly rounded, thus why, here AoC would win.
Lighting: Aion has some of the best lighting effects I've ever seen, in both MMORPGs and single player games, the reflection on your character gear will make it so even not so high textures get that crisp feeling, like if it was carbon fiber and things like that, really well done, thus why screenshots don't do justice, you can't see something perfectly until you see it moving. My chanter's level 22 armor had like those grains of light all over my shoulder pads and they moved as I moved depending on the light position, this like that would get Aion this victory.
Enviroment lighting: Again, Aion wins here, some of the zones of the world aren't impressive, but others...trully are, getting inside a green forest and seeing all that illumination reflected in the objects, the people running, while in AoC, I remember that once you entered that lava volcano, I felt like the floor was orange, everything was orange, yet my char looked the same with minor lighting effects affecting the moving objects.
Polygons: While this could have been discussed in the "models" part of my personal analysis, I prefered to separate them. Cause there I talked about naturality, here I'll talk about technical stuff, AoC wins hands down here, AoC models are way more perfect in terms of polygons count. The smoothness of aoc's curves was something unseen in previous MMOs.
Art style: I'll really leave that for you.
Now, Aion's usage of lower res textures, lower ammount of polygons and less complex scenarios was really necessary in Aion, as people said, you get a high FPS count on beautiful scenarios, all of that thanks to the lighting and the distance usage, you see the mountains at the back and you see them with shadows like if it was filled with rocks, you get close, and you see its just a polygon painted over. Aion can afford to have no limits in battles while keeping it as beautiful as they can. A trully master work right there.