Absolueely incorrect. Someone else did make a comment about poverty, I simply agreed wtih their main point which was that persons should not hold a game back because they can't keep up with the requirements of said game. The person got his post deleted. The fact remains however that condemning a great game like AO to poor graphics because THEY cant afford a better system is truly sad imo.
The ONLY person that threw out insults was YOU! ie: the "lack of brain capacity" comment, which for some reason the mods here at MMORPG chose to ignore even when you falsely accused others of insulting you. I'll be watching your every post sir.
No worries the mods here are actually good, I've been warned a decent amount of times for my strong opinions on mmos.
Think I even got one for that comment haha!
Anyway I don't think a engine should be held back so everyone with an old system could keep playing them but for such an old game that would basically mess up the playerbase. As a business person myself it would be a very stupid decision to increase the game requirements so much on a nine year old game.
In such an upgrade you could lose more subs than you gain. with AO the upgrade isn't going to effect combat much just lighting and overall graphics so Most new MMOers won't touch it anyway.
Basically losing the 20-30k subs AO has due to high PC requirements would be really bad for business.
I agree AO is a great game, I actually list it in my Sig as one of the top 5 currently out.
Maybe one day I'll buy a New PC but right now since I can actually play games like Fallout 3 and Eve and great settings why would I bother? I'm sure you would agree that the recent crop of MMOs have been underwhelming to say the least.
I could afford a new PC but my wife would look at me like a tool if I put down three grand on a PC to play the exact same games on slightly higher graphics settings.
Do you have some AO info? maybe something on possible specs? what they've been working on? would you like to contribute to this thread at all?
Just to respond to the Original post, which did not refer to specs at all and in particularly this comment:
"My problem is wouldnt such a radical jump in graphics kill off alot of players that use older systems?"
My comment to that is simply this: games shouldnt be held back because some people cannot afford newer technologies. Gaming in itself is a high tech hobby, and requires that some upgrading and even in some cases, a new machine, in order to handle it. Perhaps it would be wise not to indulge in such hobby if one cannot afford to keep up with it.
Cheers!
Again you assume people can't afford to keep up with MMO hardware requirements.
Not once did I ever say I or anyone else couldnt afford PC upgrades or new PCs, you assume too much and directly insult.
This is why most of your posts have been deleted from this thread.
Please next time reread the entire thread not once did anyone say they couldn't afford hardware, you're assuming that and using it over and over in your posts just makes you a troll imo.
The ONLY person trolling is you unfortunately, because you obviously have an issue with someones response to the original post and are reiterating the same remarks over and over. Instead of answering it head on you decided to insult me ( ie: the "Lack of brain capacity" comment that you made and subsequently deleted but not after I reported it as I will do with ANY insulting post you make going forward).
You asked me a question and I responded. I added something to this thread by responding to your original post. In response to your most recent question, to state that that updated graphics will "Kill off players with older systems" is in its self implying that certain individuals couldnt afford an upgrade. What else is it implying if not that?
Cheers!
Well insults aside, I have to agree with broomy's comment about high end hobbies. I just put together a few weeks ago and Phenom x3 (tripple core) + 8 gigs corsair Dominator DDR2 1066HMz dual channel, xfx nVidia mobo + 2 x GeForce GTX 275 in sli mode... and when that game Terra finally comes out, I suspect I will have to put another new PC together just for that game, and maybe for a few other MMO's coming out in a few years that use the CryTech Engine.
You have to keep up with the jones when it comes to mmo's... as for a graphics overhaul on an older title, I would suspect the dev would not one to loose their loyal consumer base, and would probably try and optimize it... just a guess though.
Well insults aside, I have to agree with broomy's comment about high end hobbies. I just put together a few weeks ago and Phenom x3 (tripple core) + 8 gigs corsair Dominator DDR2 1066HMz dual channel, xfx nVidia mobo + 2 x GeForce GTX 275 in sli mode... and when that game Terra finally comes out, I suspect I will have to put another new PC together just for that game, and maybe for a few other MMO's coming out in a few years that use the CryTech Engine.
You have to keep up with the jones when it comes to mmo's... as for a graphics overhaul on an older title, I would suspect the dev would not one to loose their loyal consumer base, and would probably try and optimize it... just a guess though.
Thank you. That is all anyone meant. MMO gaming in general is an expensive hobby. And it truly is a "keep up with the Joneses" type of thing. The market is too competitive and too many games are going to hit the market all bent on trying to outdo the others. Developers will not cater to persons that cant keep up with the costs of upgrades for long. If they were we would all still be playing "Streets of Rage" on a crappy Sega-genesis system!
Btw your new rig sounds like a nuclear reactor man! Very nice!
Well insults aside, I have to agree with broomy's comment about high end hobbies. I just put together a few weeks ago and Phenom x3 (tripple core) + 8 gigs corsair Dominator DDR2 1066HMz dual channel, xfx nVidia mobo + 2 x GeForce GTX 275 in sli mode... and when that game Terra finally comes out, I suspect I will have to put another new PC together just for that game, and maybe for a few other MMO's coming out in a few years that use the CryTech Engine.
You have to keep up with the jones when it comes to mmo's... as for a graphics overhaul on an older title, I would suspect the dev would not one to loose their loyal consumer base, and would probably try and optimize it... just a guess though.
Thank you. That is all anyone meant. MMO gaming in general is an expensive hobby. And it truly is a "keep up with the Joneses" type of thing. The market is too competitive and too many games are going to hit the market all bent on trying to outdo the others. Developers will not cater to persons that cant keep up with the costs of upgrades for long. If they were we would all still be playing "Streets of Rage" on a crappy Sega-genesis system!
Btw your new rig sounds like a nuclear reactor man! Very nice!
Hey speak for yourself... I AM still playing Streets Of Rage!!!
You wont need as good computer as you need for AoC, at least not at the start. They might add more and more stuff with time however.
Still, you might consider starting to save for a new computer anyways, or at least to upgrade your old a bit. Newer games comes out all the time and some of them are good. And who knows when something might break anyways?
You should at least try to get the best GFx card that your computer can support, if it have an AGP port it is a 7900 Nvidia card and if you can find one (or a 7800) it will be really cheap and good enough to actually run AoC.
Enough RAM ain't bad either, 2 Gb us enough. Those things are very cheap and will get your computer able to run any MMO even if it wont be at highest setting.
Do you have some AO info? maybe something on possible specs? what they've been working on? would you like to contribute to this thread at all?
Just to respond to the Original post, which did not refer to specs at all and in particularly this comment:
"My problem is wouldnt such a radical jump in graphics kill off alot of players that use older systems?"
My comment to that is simply this: games shouldnt be held back because some people cannot afford newer technologies. Gaming in itself is a high tech hobby, and requires that some upgrading and even in some cases, a new machine, in order to handle it. Perhaps it would be wise not to indulge in such hobby if one cannot afford to keep up with it.
Cheers!
Again you assume people can't afford to keep up with MMO hardware requirements.
Not once did I ever say I or anyone else couldnt afford PC upgrades or new PCs, you assume too much and directly insult.
This is why most of your posts have been deleted from this thread.
Please next time reread the entire thread not once did anyone say they couldn't afford hardware, you're assuming that and using it over and over in your posts just makes you a troll imo.
The ONLY person trolling is you unfortunately, because you obviously have an issue with someones response to the original post and are reiterating the same remarks over and over. Instead of answering it head on you decided to insult me ( ie: the "Lack of brain capacity" comment that you made and subsequently deleted but not after I reported it as I will do with ANY insulting post you make going forward).
You asked me a question and I responded. I added something to this thread by responding to your original post. In response to your most recent question, to state that that updated graphics will "Kill off players with older systems" is in its self implying that certain individuals couldnt afford an upgrade. What else is it implying if not that?
Cheers!
Well insults aside, I have to agree with broomy's comment about high end hobbies. I just put together a few weeks ago and Phenom x3 (tripple core) + 8 gigs corsair Dominator DDR2 1066HMz dual channel, xfx nVidia mobo + 2 x GeForce GTX 275 in sli mode... and when that game Terra finally comes out, I suspect I will have to put another new PC together just for that game, and maybe for a few other MMO's coming out in a few years that use the CryTech Engine.
Dude that's not a PC that's a Nasa super computer.
I wouldn;t even know what to do with that thing. My PC can already run every game I want.
I'm personally not a techie so I dont get all nuts and buy new shit every four months, could I? yeah but I see no point.
I also disagree with your MMOs are high end hobbies comment. That's totally dependant on the games you play. Hell only one MMO on the market requires more than a single core processor. I wouldnt call that high end.
Those games your trying to build systems for would Blow ass for someone like me who basically feels Eve online is the best god damn MMO since UO.
Once a few games come out and I feel that my system isn't up to snuff I will totally buy a new PC that will last me another 5-6 years.
Man this will be great! once intergrated with the AOC engine maybe the staff from AOC can start to help in the developement of AO again since they already know AO programming and AOC engine. one word = SWEET!
Man this will be great! once intergrated with the AOC engine maybe the staff from AOC can start to help in the developement of AO again since they already know AO programming and AOC engine. one word = SWEET!
Sure they will. As soon as they finish The Secret World and their crappy little free to play titles. They'll all start on AO around 2012.
-Letting Derek Smart work on your game is like letting Osama bin Laden work in the White House. Something will burn.- -And on the 8th day, man created God.-
Man this will be great! once intergrated with the AOC engine maybe the staff from AOC can start to help in the developement of AO again since they already know AO programming and AOC engine. one word = SWEET!
Sure they will. As soon as they finish The Secret World and their crappy little free to play titles. They'll all start on AO around 2012.
whether its 2012 or 2013 i couldnt care less, the main fact that there might be more light at the end of the tunnel for AO is great news.
I think AO might lose some loyal players. Not because they have unwisely chosen an ever changing and potential expensive hobby....but because it is easier to go play another game. Although I may have the money to upgrade....I may not want to be bothered changing out computers just because the game I'm playing becomes higher maintenance. Especially when there are so many gaming options available.
The ignorant argument that was made by one poster...which basically states that people shouldn't play PC games if they can't keep up with the tech....is ridiculous and elitist ,to say the least. I'm glad money is no object to this person...especially in these poor economic times. I'm glad you are so fortunate. Others are not as carefree and financially fortified as yourself. No one should have an issue keeping up with tech ...at least enough to play their favorite game...just don't feel bad that you can't run out and buy a better PC whenever you want. It may take a few to several months of putting some cash aside....but don't let it stop you from your hobby.
I think AO might lose some loyal players. Not because they have unwisely chosen an ever changing and potential expensive hobby....but because it is easier to go play another game. Although I may have the money to upgrade....I may not want to be bothered changing out computers just because the game I'm playing becomes higher maintenance. Especially when there are so many gaming options available. The ignorant argument that was made by one poster...which basically states that people shouldn't play PC games if they can't keep up with the tech....is ridiculous and elitist ,to say the least. I'm glad money is no object to this person...especially in these poor economic times. I'm glad you are so fortunate. Others are not as carefree and financially fortified as yourself. No one should have an issue keeping up with tech ...at least enough to play their favorite game...just don't feel bad that you can't run out and buy a better PC whenever you want. It may take a few to several months of putting some cash aside....but don't let it stop you from your hobby.
Im sorry if the truth hurts. Gaming IS an expensive hobby because game development moves forward and demands the pc requirements to play them. You state there are other options for the loyal players to just "go and play another game", lol, what other game is that? AO is one of the oldest MMOs out there, most of these "other" games your talking about will most likely have higher requirements than AO did. So please, thats a weak argument.
And your right money is no object when it comes to my hobby which is gaming...now if you wanna talk about playing Polo, scuba diving or taking long treks on a safari, nope, I cant afford it. Thats why I dont engage in those hobbies. If there ever comes a day when I can tho, you best beleive I will. But until then I am not going to complain about how much money they cost. Cheers!
I think AO might lose some loyal players. Not because they have unwisely chosen an ever changing and potential expensive hobby....but because it is easier to go play another game. Although I may have the money to upgrade....I may not want to be bothered changing out computers just because the game I'm playing becomes higher maintenance. Especially when there are so many gaming options available. The ignorant argument that was made by one poster...which basically states that people shouldn't play PC games if they can't keep up with the tech....is ridiculous and elitist ,to say the least. I'm glad money is no object to this person...especially in these poor economic times. I'm glad you are so fortunate. Others are not as carefree and financially fortified as yourself. No one should have an issue keeping up with tech ...at least enough to play their favorite game...just don't feel bad that you can't run out and buy a better PC whenever you want. It may take a few to several months of putting some cash aside....but don't let it stop you from your hobby.
Im sorry if the truth hurts. Gaming IS an expensive hobby because game development moves forward and demands the pc requirements to play them. You state there are other options for the loyal players to just "go and play another game", lol, what other game is that? AO is one of the oldest MMOs out there, most of these "other" games your talking about will most likely have higher requirements than AO did. So please, thats a weak argument.
And your right money is no object when it comes to my hobby which is gaming...now if you wanna talk about playing Polo, scuba diving or taking long treks on a safari, nope, I cant afford it. Thats why I dont engage in those hobbies. If there ever comes a day when I can tho, you best beleive I will. But until then I am not going to complain about how much money they cost. Cheers!
The only truth is that gaming can be an expensive hobby...and no..that doesn't hurt.There are plenty of good games...single player and mmo...that can be obtained for next to nothing on Amazon and that will work on older systems. Sure...if you're stuck with a commodore 64..your screwed...then again..I still have mine...and play it regularly as well. I also still play my Atari 2600...SMS...Genesis..NES..Super Nes..Nintendo 64...PS1.&2...3DO..Dreamcast.....XBOX(1) and 360. I still play Diablo II , Baldur's Gate II and Everquest..among others.....as well as Assassins Creed, CODWAW,Crysis , Age of Conan, WoW and Lotro..whenever the mood hits. Was all this together expensive..sure. I didn't buy any of them right off...waited for sales. Never desired to be the first with the best.
I am merely saying..fun doesn't necessarily mean "new" and gaming doesn't have to be an immediate expense...and thus discourage anyone from taking up this great hobby. I am sorry for the speech...I guess I just perceived your statement on gaming as a bit snobbish and not really pertinent to what the OP was asking. But then I am guilty of the pertinence issue myself. No insult intended. Take it easy.
Well insults aside, I have to agree with broomy's comment about high end hobbies. I just put together a few weeks ago and Phenom x3 (tripple core) + 8 gigs corsair Dominator DDR2 1066HMz dual channel, xfx nVidia mobo + 2 x GeForce GTX 275 in sli mode... and when that game Terra finally comes out, I suspect I will have to put another new PC together just for that game, and maybe for a few other MMO's coming out in a few years that use the CryTech Engine.
You have to keep up with the jones when it comes to mmo's... as for a graphics overhaul on an older title, I would suspect the dev would not one to loose their loyal consumer base, and would probably try and optimize it... just a guess though.
Thank you. That is all anyone meant. MMO gaming in general is an expensive hobby. And it truly is a "keep up with the Joneses" type of thing. The market is too competitive and too many games are going to hit the market all bent on trying to outdo the others. Developers will not cater to persons that cant keep up with the costs of upgrades for long. If they were we would all still be playing "Streets of Rage" on a crappy Sega-genesis system!
Btw your new rig sounds like a nuclear reactor man! Very nice!
Heh.. I guess it's kinda ironic that I'm actually taking a turn toward more "old-school" style games, lately, then; good old 2D isometric games (think Diablo 2, etc). I don't know why, I think of those older games and remember having a lot of fun, despite the dated graphics. I think of most newer games and my impression is "great graphics, but a forgettable experience overall".
That said, I would be interested to see how AO is after the engine upgrade. I don't think it'll ever get back that "feeling" it had for me some years ago up to and even for a time after Shadowlands came out (I enjoy SL, personally; though I know it gets slammed a lot by vets). But it'll be nice to see how everything looks with the enhanced graphics.
"If you just step away for a sec you will clearly see all the pot holes in the road, and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
They have stated that their target system is one with a $25 PCI card or comparable built-in graphics (what 90% of the PC's in the world today run). I would expect AO under the new engine to run just fine on that hardware, albeit with most of the newer eye-candy turned off. Helpfully, the video card manufacturers have started putting out video cards with recent vintage GPU's bolted onto PCI cards - no need for PCIe or AGP slots. A game like AO should run like a bandit in such an environment, as a card with 512 mb video RAM will hold an enormous amount of AO's textures at once.
As for avatars, they have also stated they will be doing some polishing of the bodies, and have been playing around with adding some new heads. Things like shiny armor getting a reflective glint are already done for the new engine. They will not be going anywhere near such things as redoing animations or more complex meshes, as the cost and time for that would be a couple of orders of magnitude beyiond what is needed to make the engine switch.
About the only loss I see from not using Ogre is that the prospects for the Linux/Mac Windows emulators to still be able to run AO just went way down.
They've had this new graphics update on the announcement radar for far too long. They announced it way too early in my opinion, perhaps they were seeing dreadful subscriber forecasts and wanted to start a "stringing-along" campaign to keep the hope on the horizon, as Anarchy Online is pretty much running strictly for the die-hard fans.
I'd really like it if they came out with a new engine, it would draw me in for another peek for sure, but I have no idea when this is. I remember hearing about this a long time ago. It will be great for the people that play it now, but I'm afraid it will do little in the way of drawing in more people, as it will be way too far down the line, well past the next-generation MMOs that are releasing soon.
So all those games that are surviving off a niche fan-base, like Anarchy Online, will have their players spread out much, much thinner than they are now. As all the next-gen games are around the corner.
So whats the latest OFFICIAL news on this? Does anyone have a link to the lastest official reports?
Is AO really going to use AOC's engine or is that just speculation? Last official thing I heard was that it wasn't possible to transpose the game to the AOC engine due to the fact that they are so dissimilar regardless of the fact that AOC's engine is an evolution of the AO version engine.
The 'Friday with Means' of May22 (listed in these forums) explains the change from Ogre to DreamWorld engine.
Thanks for the heads up. Having just read that post I can honestly say that this will be a good move for not only Anarchy Online but for the other 2 games too. I'm hoping that the graphics will not just have a small adjustment to lighting, but the textures themselves will be redone to make good use of the engine.
Anarchy Online has much going for it, but the interface and graphics are letting it down right now. It's still got unique character customisation not seen anywhere in any other MMO and its based on a different genre.
Coupled with the AOC textures, could help to make Anarchy Online into one of todays premier online MMOs. Then of course, there is the F2P part of the game that could help get people interested once the graphics update goes live.
Yes, no doubt some will be disgruntled that the recommended PC spec maybe higher than before, but lets be honest here, AOC doesn't need a super computer, nor does it need a Bank Loan to buy the necessary hardware. I'm using a 4600+ AMD with 4gb Ram and a 8800 GTX. It's not the fastest pc on the market, but I'm satisfied with it for now.
The 'Friday with Means' of May22 (listed in these forums) explains the change from Ogre to DreamWorld engine.
Thanks for the heads up. Having just read that post I can honestly say that this will be a good move for not only Anarchy Online but for the other 2 games too. I'm hoping that the graphics will not just have a small adjustment to lighting, but the textures themselves will be redone to make good use of the engine.
Anarchy Online has much going for it, but the interface and graphics are letting it down right now. It's still got unique character customisation not seen anywhere in any other MMO and its based on a different genre.
Coupled with the AOC textures, could help to make Anarchy Online into one of todays premier online MMOs
No, Means has said elsewhere that the textures will not be redone. The only things being done are better lighting and shadows, some new heads for characters, new particle effects for nanos and such, and a few little extras like "shiny" armor and being able to see equipped items such as ncu belts. It's geting a graphics engine, not new graphics.
and actually, if you look closely at armor, weapons, etc. in the game as they are now ( very noticeable with an LCD screen ) the current textures are very detailed. They just do not have the benefits of new engine capabilities such as bump mapping and specular lighting.
The 'Friday with Means' of May22 (listed in these forums) explains the change from Ogre to DreamWorld engine.
Thanks for the heads up. Having just read that post I can honestly say that this will be a good move for not only Anarchy Online but for the other 2 games too. I'm hoping that the graphics will not just have a small adjustment to lighting, but the textures themselves will be redone to make good use of the engine.
Anarchy Online has much going for it, but the interface and graphics are letting it down right now. It's still got unique character customisation not seen anywhere in any other MMO and its based on a different genre.
Coupled with the AOC textures, could help to make Anarchy Online into one of todays premier online MMOs
No, Means has said elsewhere that the textures will not be redone. The only things being done are better lighting and shadows, some new heads for characters, new particle effects for nanos and such, and a few little extras like "shiny" armor and being able to see equipped items such as ncu belts. It's geting a graphics engine, not new graphics.
Well, those things you list may very well be enough to pull AO back into the limelight again. Then again, they may find they can do a little more than what they've said. We won't know for sure until the time comes.
And even then, there's nothing to stop them from continuing with updating the graphics as and when they can do it after the graphics update has gone live. It's a matter of resources, and the AOC and TSW teams are extra resources that AO could benefit from. Between those two teams, thats 200 people (120 for AOC, 80 for TSW).
The 'Friday with Means' of May22 (listed in these forums) explains the change from Ogre to DreamWorld engine.
Thanks for the heads up. Having just read that post I can honestly say that this will be a good move for not only Anarchy Online but for the other 2 games too. I'm hoping that the graphics will not just have a small adjustment to lighting, but the textures themselves will be redone to make good use of the engine.
Anarchy Online has much going for it, but the interface and graphics are letting it down right now. It's still got unique character customisation not seen anywhere in any other MMO and its based on a different genre.
Coupled with the AOC textures, could help to make Anarchy Online into one of todays premier online MMOs
No, Means has said elsewhere that the textures will not be redone. The only things being done are better lighting and shadows, some new heads for characters, new particle effects for nanos and such, and a few little extras like "shiny" armor and being able to see equipped items such as ncu belts. It's geting a graphics engine, not new graphics.
Well, those things you list may very well be enough to pull AO back into the limelight again. Then again, they may find they can do a little more than what they've said. We won't know for sure until the time comes.
And even then, there's nothing to stop them from continuing with updating the graphics as and when they can do it. It's a matter of resources and the AOC and TSW teams are extra resources that AO could benefit from. Between those two teams, thats 200 people (120 for AOC, 80 for TSW).
I'm not saying they won't ever redo the graphics themselves. But until we see how successful the 're-launching" of AO is after the new engine and currently planned features are in, judging the likelihood of newer textures and such on a grand scale is impossible. Basically what they are doing now is all they really have funds for. This new engine really will be the "sink or swim" moment of AO.
Very true. The fact that the update is coming this year is quite a goal to aim for. I hope that they can pull it off. At the moment, Anarchy Online is a diamond in the rough
Yes it is.
As you may gather from a line in my sig, I am no fan of Funcom for various reasons, many to do with AO as well as with AoC.
However, one thing that i've come to like about Means is he plays a bit "outside" Funcom. He has done in his short time many things that previous Game Directors ( including Sil, who was a good director ) said were impossible, the latest of which is the current coding of a soon to be implemented mailing system. Not to mention fixing a slew of bugs from all the way back since beta.
He even managed to upgrade to the newest and greatest version of C-Tree for the new database implemented in the new 18.1 patch ( AO has used the same c-tree from 2001 since , well, 2001 ). I can now zoom though Bor with 40+fps ( a little stuttering right now with all the stim farmers ) with large groups gathered throughout Bor, whereas before the new database Bor was a lagfest where just a few people gathered in front of FT dropped me to 10fps or less at times.
He's also the first GD ever to decide to do what needed to be done for balance from the beginning and basically reworking every profession from the bottom up. This is why the Keepers were crying, because they were the first on the list being worked on on test, but they mistakenly thought the "nerfs" were coming to live with the patch. When in fact Means has stated all the professions will be revamped all at once as soon as they have all been gone though outside of live.
So although I have no love for Funcom, I do have love for the game and I do respect what Means has done and is still trying to do.
Comments
Absolueely incorrect. Someone else did make a comment about poverty, I simply agreed wtih their main point which was that persons should not hold a game back because they can't keep up with the requirements of said game. The person got his post deleted. The fact remains however that condemning a great game like AO to poor graphics because THEY cant afford a better system is truly sad imo.
The ONLY person that threw out insults was YOU! ie: the "lack of brain capacity" comment, which for some reason the mods here at MMORPG chose to ignore even when you falsely accused others of insulting you. I'll be watching your every post sir.
No worries the mods here are actually good, I've been warned a decent amount of times for my strong opinions on mmos.
Think I even got one for that comment haha!
Anyway I don't think a engine should be held back so everyone with an old system could keep playing them but for such an old game that would basically mess up the playerbase. As a business person myself it would be a very stupid decision to increase the game requirements so much on a nine year old game.
In such an upgrade you could lose more subs than you gain. with AO the upgrade isn't going to effect combat much just lighting and overall graphics so Most new MMOers won't touch it anyway.
Basically losing the 20-30k subs AO has due to high PC requirements would be really bad for business.
I agree AO is a great game, I actually list it in my Sig as one of the top 5 currently out.
Maybe one day I'll buy a New PC but right now since I can actually play games like Fallout 3 and Eve and great settings why would I bother? I'm sure you would agree that the recent crop of MMOs have been underwhelming to say the least.
I could afford a new PC but my wife would look at me like a tool if I put down three grand on a PC to play the exact same games on slightly higher graphics settings.
Playing: EvE, Ryzom
Just to respond to the Original post, which did not refer to specs at all and in particularly this comment:
"My problem is wouldnt such a radical jump in graphics kill off alot of players that use older systems?"
My comment to that is simply this: games shouldnt be held back because some people cannot afford newer technologies. Gaming in itself is a high tech hobby, and requires that some upgrading and even in some cases, a new machine, in order to handle it. Perhaps it would be wise not to indulge in such hobby if one cannot afford to keep up with it.
Cheers!
Again you assume people can't afford to keep up with MMO hardware requirements.
Not once did I ever say I or anyone else couldnt afford PC upgrades or new PCs, you assume too much and directly insult.
This is why most of your posts have been deleted from this thread.
Please next time reread the entire thread not once did anyone say they couldn't afford hardware, you're assuming that and using it over and over in your posts just makes you a troll imo.
The ONLY person trolling is you unfortunately, because you obviously have an issue with someones response to the original post and are reiterating the same remarks over and over. Instead of answering it head on you decided to insult me ( ie: the "Lack of brain capacity" comment that you made and subsequently deleted but not after I reported it as I will do with ANY insulting post you make going forward).
You asked me a question and I responded. I added something to this thread by responding to your original post. In response to your most recent question, to state that that updated graphics will "Kill off players with older systems" is in its self implying that certain individuals couldnt afford an upgrade. What else is it implying if not that?
Cheers!
Well insults aside, I have to agree with broomy's comment about high end hobbies. I just put together a few weeks ago and Phenom x3 (tripple core) + 8 gigs corsair Dominator DDR2 1066HMz dual channel, xfx nVidia mobo + 2 x GeForce GTX 275 in sli mode... and when that game Terra finally comes out, I suspect I will have to put another new PC together just for that game, and maybe for a few other MMO's coming out in a few years that use the CryTech Engine.
You have to keep up with the jones when it comes to mmo's... as for a graphics overhaul on an older title, I would suspect the dev would not one to loose their loyal consumer base, and would probably try and optimize it... just a guess though.
Thank you. That is all anyone meant. MMO gaming in general is an expensive hobby. And it truly is a "keep up with the Joneses" type of thing. The market is too competitive and too many games are going to hit the market all bent on trying to outdo the others. Developers will not cater to persons that cant keep up with the costs of upgrades for long. If they were we would all still be playing "Streets of Rage" on a crappy Sega-genesis system!
Btw your new rig sounds like a nuclear reactor man! Very nice!
Current Games: WOW, EVE Online
Thank you. That is all anyone meant. MMO gaming in general is an expensive hobby. And it truly is a "keep up with the Joneses" type of thing. The market is too competitive and too many games are going to hit the market all bent on trying to outdo the others. Developers will not cater to persons that cant keep up with the costs of upgrades for long. If they were we would all still be playing "Streets of Rage" on a crappy Sega-genesis system!
Btw your new rig sounds like a nuclear reactor man! Very nice!
Hey speak for yourself... I AM still playing Streets Of Rage!!!
You wont need as good computer as you need for AoC, at least not at the start. They might add more and more stuff with time however.
Still, you might consider starting to save for a new computer anyways, or at least to upgrade your old a bit. Newer games comes out all the time and some of them are good. And who knows when something might break anyways?
You should at least try to get the best GFx card that your computer can support, if it have an AGP port it is a 7900 Nvidia card and if you can find one (or a 7800) it will be really cheap and good enough to actually run AoC.
Enough RAM ain't bad either, 2 Gb us enough. Those things are very cheap and will get your computer able to run any MMO even if it wont be at highest setting.
Just to respond to the Original post, which did not refer to specs at all and in particularly this comment:
"My problem is wouldnt such a radical jump in graphics kill off alot of players that use older systems?"
My comment to that is simply this: games shouldnt be held back because some people cannot afford newer technologies. Gaming in itself is a high tech hobby, and requires that some upgrading and even in some cases, a new machine, in order to handle it. Perhaps it would be wise not to indulge in such hobby if one cannot afford to keep up with it.
Cheers!
Again you assume people can't afford to keep up with MMO hardware requirements.
Not once did I ever say I or anyone else couldnt afford PC upgrades or new PCs, you assume too much and directly insult.
This is why most of your posts have been deleted from this thread.
Please next time reread the entire thread not once did anyone say they couldn't afford hardware, you're assuming that and using it over and over in your posts just makes you a troll imo.
The ONLY person trolling is you unfortunately, because you obviously have an issue with someones response to the original post and are reiterating the same remarks over and over. Instead of answering it head on you decided to insult me ( ie: the "Lack of brain capacity" comment that you made and subsequently deleted but not after I reported it as I will do with ANY insulting post you make going forward).
You asked me a question and I responded. I added something to this thread by responding to your original post. In response to your most recent question, to state that that updated graphics will "Kill off players with older systems" is in its self implying that certain individuals couldnt afford an upgrade. What else is it implying if not that?
Cheers!
Well insults aside, I have to agree with broomy's comment about high end hobbies. I just put together a few weeks ago and Phenom x3 (tripple core) + 8 gigs corsair Dominator DDR2 1066HMz dual channel, xfx nVidia mobo + 2 x GeForce GTX 275 in sli mode... and when that game Terra finally comes out, I suspect I will have to put another new PC together just for that game, and maybe for a few other MMO's coming out in a few years that use the CryTech Engine.
Dude that's not a PC that's a Nasa super computer.
I wouldn;t even know what to do with that thing. My PC can already run every game I want.
I'm personally not a techie so I dont get all nuts and buy new shit every four months, could I? yeah but I see no point.
I also disagree with your MMOs are high end hobbies comment. That's totally dependant on the games you play. Hell only one MMO on the market requires more than a single core processor. I wouldnt call that high end.
Those games your trying to build systems for would Blow ass for someone like me who basically feels Eve online is the best god damn MMO since UO.
Once a few games come out and I feel that my system isn't up to snuff I will totally buy a new PC that will last me another 5-6 years.
Playing: EvE, Ryzom
Man this will be great! once intergrated with the AOC engine maybe the staff from AOC can start to help in the developement of AO again since they already know AO programming and AOC engine. one word = SWEET!
Sure they will. As soon as they finish The Secret World and their crappy little free to play titles. They'll all start on AO around 2012.
-Letting Derek Smart work on your game is like letting Osama bin Laden work in the White House. Something will burn.-
-And on the 8th day, man created God.-
Sure they will. As soon as they finish The Secret World and their crappy little free to play titles. They'll all start on AO around 2012.
whether its 2012 or 2013 i couldnt care less, the main fact that there might be more light at the end of the tunnel for AO is great news.
Yeah I think the avatars are probably the game's biggest weakness and most likely the biggest turn off to new players checking out the game........
I think AO might lose some loyal players. Not because they have unwisely chosen an ever changing and potential expensive hobby....but because it is easier to go play another game. Although I may have the money to upgrade....I may not want to be bothered changing out computers just because the game I'm playing becomes higher maintenance. Especially when there are so many gaming options available.
The ignorant argument that was made by one poster...which basically states that people shouldn't play PC games if they can't keep up with the tech....is ridiculous and elitist ,to say the least. I'm glad money is no object to this person...especially in these poor economic times. I'm glad you are so fortunate. Others are not as carefree and financially fortified as yourself. No one should have an issue keeping up with tech ...at least enough to play their favorite game...just don't feel bad that you can't run out and buy a better PC whenever you want. It may take a few to several months of putting some cash aside....but don't let it stop you from your hobby.
Im sorry if the truth hurts. Gaming IS an expensive hobby because game development moves forward and demands the pc requirements to play them. You state there are other options for the loyal players to just "go and play another game", lol, what other game is that? AO is one of the oldest MMOs out there, most of these "other" games your talking about will most likely have higher requirements than AO did. So please, thats a weak argument.
And your right money is no object when it comes to my hobby which is gaming...now if you wanna talk about playing Polo, scuba diving or taking long treks on a safari, nope, I cant afford it. Thats why I dont engage in those hobbies. If there ever comes a day when I can tho, you best beleive I will. But until then I am not going to complain about how much money they cost. Cheers!
Current Games: WOW, EVE Online
Im sorry if the truth hurts. Gaming IS an expensive hobby because game development moves forward and demands the pc requirements to play them. You state there are other options for the loyal players to just "go and play another game", lol, what other game is that? AO is one of the oldest MMOs out there, most of these "other" games your talking about will most likely have higher requirements than AO did. So please, thats a weak argument.
And your right money is no object when it comes to my hobby which is gaming...now if you wanna talk about playing Polo, scuba diving or taking long treks on a safari, nope, I cant afford it. Thats why I dont engage in those hobbies. If there ever comes a day when I can tho, you best beleive I will. But until then I am not going to complain about how much money they cost. Cheers!
The only truth is that gaming can be an expensive hobby...and no..that doesn't hurt.There are plenty of good games...single player and mmo...that can be obtained for next to nothing on Amazon and that will work on older systems. Sure...if you're stuck with a commodore 64..your screwed...then again..I still have mine...and play it regularly as well. I also still play my Atari 2600...SMS...Genesis..NES..Super Nes..Nintendo 64...PS1.&2...3DO..Dreamcast.....XBOX(1) and 360. I still play Diablo II , Baldur's Gate II and Everquest..among others.....as well as Assassins Creed, CODWAW,Crysis , Age of Conan, WoW and Lotro..whenever the mood hits. Was all this together expensive..sure. I didn't buy any of them right off...waited for sales. Never desired to be the first with the best.
I am merely saying..fun doesn't necessarily mean "new" and gaming doesn't have to be an immediate expense...and thus discourage anyone from taking up this great hobby. I am sorry for the speech...I guess I just perceived your statement on gaming as a bit snobbish and not really pertinent to what the OP was asking. But then I am guilty of the pertinence issue myself. No insult intended. Take it easy.
Thank you. That is all anyone meant. MMO gaming in general is an expensive hobby. And it truly is a "keep up with the Joneses" type of thing. The market is too competitive and too many games are going to hit the market all bent on trying to outdo the others. Developers will not cater to persons that cant keep up with the costs of upgrades for long. If they were we would all still be playing "Streets of Rage" on a crappy Sega-genesis system!
Btw your new rig sounds like a nuclear reactor man! Very nice!
Heh.. I guess it's kinda ironic that I'm actually taking a turn toward more "old-school" style games, lately, then; good old 2D isometric games (think Diablo 2, etc). I don't know why, I think of those older games and remember having a lot of fun, despite the dated graphics. I think of most newer games and my impression is "great graphics, but a forgettable experience overall".
That said, I would be interested to see how AO is after the engine upgrade. I don't think it'll ever get back that "feeling" it had for me some years ago up to and even for a time after Shadowlands came out (I enjoy SL, personally; though I know it gets slammed a lot by vets). But it'll be nice to see how everything looks with the enhanced graphics.
and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
They have stated that their target system is one with a $25 PCI card or comparable built-in graphics (what 90% of the PC's in the world today run). I would expect AO under the new engine to run just fine on that hardware, albeit with most of the newer eye-candy turned off. Helpfully, the video card manufacturers have started putting out video cards with recent vintage GPU's bolted onto PCI cards - no need for PCIe or AGP slots. A game like AO should run like a bandit in such an environment, as a card with 512 mb video RAM will hold an enormous amount of AO's textures at once.
As for avatars, they have also stated they will be doing some polishing of the bodies, and have been playing around with adding some new heads. Things like shiny armor getting a reflective glint are already done for the new engine. They will not be going anywhere near such things as redoing animations or more complex meshes, as the cost and time for that would be a couple of orders of magnitude beyiond what is needed to make the engine switch.
About the only loss I see from not using Ogre is that the prospects for the Linux/Mac Windows emulators to still be able to run AO just went way down.
~\_/~\_O
They've had this new graphics update on the announcement radar for far too long. They announced it way too early in my opinion, perhaps they were seeing dreadful subscriber forecasts and wanted to start a "stringing-along" campaign to keep the hope on the horizon, as Anarchy Online is pretty much running strictly for the die-hard fans.
I'd really like it if they came out with a new engine, it would draw me in for another peek for sure, but I have no idea when this is. I remember hearing about this a long time ago. It will be great for the people that play it now, but I'm afraid it will do little in the way of drawing in more people, as it will be way too far down the line, well past the next-generation MMOs that are releasing soon.
So all those games that are surviving off a niche fan-base, like Anarchy Online, will have their players spread out much, much thinner than they are now. As all the next-gen games are around the corner.
So whats the latest OFFICIAL news on this? Does anyone have a link to the lastest official reports?
Is AO really going to use AOC's engine or is that just speculation? Last official thing I heard was that it wasn't possible to transpose the game to the AOC engine due to the fact that they are so dissimilar regardless of the fact that AOC's engine is an evolution of the AO version engine.
Top 10 Most Misused Words in MMO's
The 'Friday with Means' of May22 (listed in these forums) explains the change from Ogre to DreamWorld engine.
~\_/~\_O
Thanks for the heads up. Having just read that post I can honestly say that this will be a good move for not only Anarchy Online but for the other 2 games too. I'm hoping that the graphics will not just have a small adjustment to lighting, but the textures themselves will be redone to make good use of the engine.
Anarchy Online has much going for it, but the interface and graphics are letting it down right now. It's still got unique character customisation not seen anywhere in any other MMO and its based on a different genre.
Coupled with the AOC textures, could help to make Anarchy Online into one of todays premier online MMOs. Then of course, there is the F2P part of the game that could help get people interested once the graphics update goes live.
Yes, no doubt some will be disgruntled that the recommended PC spec maybe higher than before, but lets be honest here, AOC doesn't need a super computer, nor does it need a Bank Loan to buy the necessary hardware. I'm using a 4600+ AMD with 4gb Ram and a 8800 GTX. It's not the fastest pc on the market, but I'm satisfied with it for now.
Top 10 Most Misused Words in MMO's
Thanks for the heads up. Having just read that post I can honestly say that this will be a good move for not only Anarchy Online but for the other 2 games too. I'm hoping that the graphics will not just have a small adjustment to lighting, but the textures themselves will be redone to make good use of the engine.
Anarchy Online has much going for it, but the interface and graphics are letting it down right now. It's still got unique character customisation not seen anywhere in any other MMO and its based on a different genre.
Coupled with the AOC textures, could help to make Anarchy Online into one of todays premier online MMOs
No, Means has said elsewhere that the textures will not be redone. The only things being done are better lighting and shadows, some new heads for characters, new particle effects for nanos and such, and a few little extras like "shiny" armor and being able to see equipped items such as ncu belts. It's geting a graphics engine, not new graphics.
and actually, if you look closely at armor, weapons, etc. in the game as they are now ( very noticeable with an LCD screen ) the current textures are very detailed. They just do not have the benefits of new engine capabilities such as bump mapping and specular lighting.
Thanks for the heads up. Having just read that post I can honestly say that this will be a good move for not only Anarchy Online but for the other 2 games too. I'm hoping that the graphics will not just have a small adjustment to lighting, but the textures themselves will be redone to make good use of the engine.
Anarchy Online has much going for it, but the interface and graphics are letting it down right now. It's still got unique character customisation not seen anywhere in any other MMO and its based on a different genre.
Coupled with the AOC textures, could help to make Anarchy Online into one of todays premier online MMOs
No, Means has said elsewhere that the textures will not be redone. The only things being done are better lighting and shadows, some new heads for characters, new particle effects for nanos and such, and a few little extras like "shiny" armor and being able to see equipped items such as ncu belts. It's geting a graphics engine, not new graphics.
Well, those things you list may very well be enough to pull AO back into the limelight again. Then again, they may find they can do a little more than what they've said. We won't know for sure until the time comes.
And even then, there's nothing to stop them from continuing with updating the graphics as and when they can do it after the graphics update has gone live. It's a matter of resources, and the AOC and TSW teams are extra resources that AO could benefit from. Between those two teams, thats 200 people (120 for AOC, 80 for TSW).
We can but hope
Top 10 Most Misused Words in MMO's
Thanks for the heads up. Having just read that post I can honestly say that this will be a good move for not only Anarchy Online but for the other 2 games too. I'm hoping that the graphics will not just have a small adjustment to lighting, but the textures themselves will be redone to make good use of the engine.
Anarchy Online has much going for it, but the interface and graphics are letting it down right now. It's still got unique character customisation not seen anywhere in any other MMO and its based on a different genre.
Coupled with the AOC textures, could help to make Anarchy Online into one of todays premier online MMOs
No, Means has said elsewhere that the textures will not be redone. The only things being done are better lighting and shadows, some new heads for characters, new particle effects for nanos and such, and a few little extras like "shiny" armor and being able to see equipped items such as ncu belts. It's geting a graphics engine, not new graphics.
Well, those things you list may very well be enough to pull AO back into the limelight again. Then again, they may find they can do a little more than what they've said. We won't know for sure until the time comes.
And even then, there's nothing to stop them from continuing with updating the graphics as and when they can do it. It's a matter of resources and the AOC and TSW teams are extra resources that AO could benefit from. Between those two teams, thats 200 people (120 for AOC, 80 for TSW).
I'm not saying they won't ever redo the graphics themselves. But until we see how successful the 're-launching" of AO is after the new engine and currently planned features are in, judging the likelihood of newer textures and such on a grand scale is impossible. Basically what they are doing now is all they really have funds for. This new engine really will be the "sink or swim" moment of AO.
Very true. The fact that the update is coming this year is quite a goal to aim for. I hope that they can pull it off.
At the moment, Anarchy Online is a diamond in the rough
Top 10 Most Misused Words in MMO's
Yes it is.
As you may gather from a line in my sig, I am no fan of Funcom for various reasons, many to do with AO as well as with AoC.
However, one thing that i've come to like about Means is he plays a bit "outside" Funcom. He has done in his short time many things that previous Game Directors ( including Sil, who was a good director ) said were impossible, the latest of which is the current coding of a soon to be implemented mailing system. Not to mention fixing a slew of bugs from all the way back since beta.
He even managed to upgrade to the newest and greatest version of C-Tree for the new database implemented in the new 18.1 patch ( AO has used the same c-tree from 2001 since , well, 2001 ). I can now zoom though Bor with 40+fps ( a little stuttering right now with all the stim farmers ) with large groups gathered throughout Bor, whereas before the new database Bor was a lagfest where just a few people gathered in front of FT dropped me to 10fps or less at times.
He's also the first GD ever to decide to do what needed to be done for balance from the beginning and basically reworking every profession from the bottom up. This is why the Keepers were crying, because they were the first on the list being worked on on test, but they mistakenly thought the "nerfs" were coming to live with the patch. When in fact Means has stated all the professions will be revamped all at once as soon as they have all been gone though outside of live.
So although I have no love for Funcom, I do have love for the game and I do respect what Means has done and is still trying to do.
So am I understanding this correctly?
They are upgrading the graphics engine to their engine in AoC, but they're not going to change any textures??
So how will this impact the game visually? If at all? What's the point....
"Good people are good because they've come to wisdom through failure. We get very little wisdom from success, you know." William Saroyan