The reason why I believe WoW is still on top is Performance

shenfrey

It plays incrediblely smoothly, from running and jumping to moving the camera around. Theres no judder, no stutter no dips its just pure butter and it looks incredible. (In my opinion, but to be honest I dont think anyone could say WoW is an ugly game by any strech) 

 

Every other MMO iv played with, wether its GW2, DCUO, AoE, TSW they all have these moments of sluggishness and stuttering and if these guys can't get their engines together and make an experience that mimics WoWs, I don't think theres gonna much hope. 

I understand that specs are a huge part of things, but thats what makes WoW so great, it looks good and isn't demanding. Making a demanding MMO is extremely counter-inutuitve, the term massive springs to mind here. If you want massive sales, massive revenue your gonna have to accomdate for masses amount of people and don't set out trying to make one mmo look far more superior to the other. 

 

This is the reason I can't enjoy GW2 as much as I want to, it just doesnt' have the smoothness and responsivness as WoW. 

kadepsyson

I get 10,000 FPS in Pong, does that mean it's better in some way?

KingJiggly

Originally posted by kadepsyson
I get 10,000 FPS in Pong, does that mean it's better in some way?

Pong for goty

shenfrey

Do you think maybe you responded to quickly without stopping to think about what it is I'm saying? Your post stamp is evident of this I believe.

What I am saying is you can have a great looking MMO without having huge system requirements, WoW has proved this. 

vgamer

I think it's more due to many people havinh friends on wow, not wanting to leave them.

 

I saw it a few years ago on the wow forums, lots of people saying the only reason they played wow was because of their online guildmates. Not sure about now.

Sigilaea

Gw2 plays so smooth on my laptop, I never have to lower the settings from "Maximum Appearance." And my machine is now 2 years old.  The fact that you can run an 8 year old game smoothly and not a new one means your machine is probably the problem.

FuryV

Originally posted by kadepsyson
I get 10,000 FPS in Pong, does that mean it's better in some way?

Ha

shenfrey

980x, 580 sli 6GB Dom III. 

I get 60fps in Guild Wars 2, but it still feels no where near as responsive, and it certainly has it moments of juddering and stuttering and just moving the camera feels awkward. 

I think we are getting ahead of our selves and just comparing to one game, I think this goes for a lot of games, sure you can have the smooth framerate - at times - but you still do get dips.

And lets be honest here, (Going back to GW2 rather contradictory)  it doesn't matter if your on lowest settings or highest settings your still gonna get the same performance which is 60fps with dips. Believe me, I have seen this on many machines and detailed on many websites, their engine is just not as optimized as it could be or they have programmed it in such a way that it is not as flexible as other engines.

Going back to other games I gave a few exmaples, I have experienced this and yes this is subjective and this is the reason WHY I BELIEVE, and I also believe I am not the only one to have these opinions. On this forum we are but a small minorty, and dealing with people on the outside world have all said the same thing. 

 

 

kadepsyson

Originally posted by shenfrey

980x, 580 sli 6GB Dom III. 

I get 60fps in Guild Wars 2, but it still feels no where near as responsive, and it certainly has it moments of juddering and stuttering and just moving the camera feels awkward. 

I think we are getting ahead of our selves and just comparing to one game, I think this goes for a lot of games, sure you can have the smooth framerate - at times - but you still do get dips.

And lets be honest here, (Going back to GW2 rather contradictory)  it doesn't matter if your on lowest settings or highest settings your still gonna get the same performance which is 60fps with dips. Believe me, I have seen this on many machines and detailed on many websites, their engine is just not as optimized as it could be or they have programmed it in such a way that it is not as flexible as other engines.

Going back to other games I gave a few exmaples, I have experienced this and yes this is subjective and this is the reason WHY I BELIEVE, and I also believe I am not the only one to have these opinions. On this forum we are but a small minorty, and dealing with people on the outside world have all said the same thing. 

 

 

There, the problem IS your machine after all.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micro_stuttering

Kuinn

Originally posted by shenfrey

It plays incrediblely smoothly, from running and jumping to moving the camera around. Theres no judder, no stutter no dips its just pure butter and it looks incredible. (In my opinion, but to be honest I dont think anyone could say WoW is an ugly game by any strech) 

 

Every other MMO iv played with, wether its GW2, DCUO, AoE, TSW they all have these moments of sluggishness and stuttering and if these guys can't get their engines together and make an experience that mimics WoWs, I don't think theres gonna much hope. 

I understand that specs are a huge part of things, but thats what makes WoW so great, it looks good and isn't demanding. Making a demanding MMO is extremely counter-inutuitve, the term massive springs to mind here. If you want massive sales, massive revenue your gonna have to accomdate for masses amount of people and don't set out trying to make one mmo look far more superior to the other. 

 

This is the reason I can't enjoy GW2 as much as I want to, it just doesnt' have the smoothness and responsivness as WoW. 

 

WoW does not look bad imo, but it's just inevitably getting very old. Put a screenshot of WoW and any new game next to each other and WoW just lacks the detail and crispiness of today. Player move from Blizzard would be to rebuild the engine for WoW with some updated gameplay mechanics

 

But then you might run into same problem as with GW2, it playes super smooth for me, so I guess your problem might be with system specs rather than the game. Trust me, I've quit several mmorpgs because of un-smooth gameplay as main reason, and it's not even on the list of issues with GW2 for me.

Phry

Originally posted by shenfrey

980x, 580 sli 6GB Dom III. 

I get 60fps in Guild Wars 2, but it still feels no where near as responsive, and it certainly has it moments of juddering and stuttering and just moving the camera feels awkward. 

I think we are getting ahead of our selves and just comparing to one game, I think this goes for a lot of games, sure you can have the smooth framerate - at times - but you still do get dips.

And lets be honest here, (Going back to GW2 rather contradictory)  it doesn't matter if your on lowest settings or highest settings your still gonna get the same performance which is 60fps with dips. Believe me, I have seen this on many machines and detailed on many websites, their engine is just not as optimized as it could be or they have programmed it in such a way that it is not as flexible as other engines.

Going back to other games I gave a few exmaples, I have experienced this and yes this is subjective and this is the reason WHY I BELIEVE, and I also believe I am not the only one to have these opinions. On this forum we are but a small minorty, and dealing with people on the outside world have all said the same thing. 

 

 

for all its faults, WoW does perform remarkably well, so yes, i do have to agree on that, the graphics may not be all that great, but they are pretty old, as is the game engine.. but it is smooth and responsive, given time the other games may well have the same level of responsiveness, WoW has after all, had a few years of 'polish' to address those kinds of issues.

Xithryl

I have to agree with OP, I logged into WoW recently and its just so dang smooth, animations are tight.. the game just feels so amazingly polished, yeah I get it... Its been out for ever at this point but still!! Game feels amazing!

Sigilaea

Also, bear in mind that Wow uses a lower polygon count than the new games. Blizzard relies on "faking" depth through the use of textures, instead of using high-polygon meshes; which is a great idea. But you are still comparing an engine that has had 8 years of polish and attempts to do less than the one used by Gw2.

 

Now back to your original point: I believe you stated the reason WoW is so popular is because it is smoother for massive amounts of people.

 

I am going to both agree and disagree with you. I think WoW took off for a variety of reasons, and the simple graphics engine was just one of those decisions. Blizzard pulled in a large group of causals and first-time gamers to achieve its subscription numbers. And it was a comibnation of these other factors that did it, not just the fact that their game will run on a toaster.

Amjoco

OP I respect your opinion. I love WoW and how it responds when playing.  But, you could have left the second and last paragraphs out. Now you have drug GW2 into this....unless this was your intentions. ;(

Fadedbomb

Personally I believe that if a product does not have any competitors then said product will remain "The Best".

 

Not a SINGLE AAA company has tried a sandbox. So all that has come out in the past 7years is nothing but WoW-clones, and you all know how "Copies" of an original fair (hint: people still prefer the original).

 

So if you have everyone and their mother constantly redoing the same'old same'old then you have customers that would rather play the original than a ripoff copycat-clone.

 

 

In other words, if people wanted to play WoW THEY'D PLAY WOW. Copying it with Aion, Rift, GW2 (to a somewhat more free extent, but still the same old-themepark model) will never topple WoW.

Jaedor

I'd agree with the OP that WoW is very smooth 99% of the time, and has been for many years. In my experience, it is smoother than every other MMO I've ever played. Whether you like the game or not, props to Blizz for putting out a polished product.

ace80k

Immersion in MMOs is a good thing. WoW does not have that imo, the engine is just too out dated sadly.

Jackdog

Blizzard has never been known for their cutting edge video, they always design thier game so kids can play them on a hand me down laptop. Been that way since Diablo 1, it good marketing and sells alot of boxes

Zylaxx

Originally posted by kadepsyson
I get 10,000 FPS in Pong, does that mean it's better in some way?

Exactly. 

 

 

 

WoW although nice and polished also has 7+ years of polish keeping it fresh.   Also you have to take into consideration WoW looks like complete ass compared to most any other game.

 

jungleninja

Originally posted by shenfrey

It plays incrediblely smoothly, from running and jumping to moving the camera around. Theres no judder, no stutter no dips its just pure butter and it looks incredible. (In my opinion, but to be honest I dont think anyone could say WoW is an ugly game by any strech) 

 

Every other MMO iv played with, wether its GW2, DCUO, AoE, TSW they all have these moments of sluggishness and stuttering and if these guys can't get their engines together and make an experience that mimics WoWs, I don't think theres gonna much hope. 

I understand that specs are a huge part of things, but thats what makes WoW so great, it looks good and isn't demanding. Making a demanding MMO is extremely counter-inutuitve, the term massive springs to mind here. If you want massive sales, massive revenue your gonna have to accomdate for masses amount of people and don't set out trying to make one mmo look far more superior to the other. 

 

This is the reason I can't enjoy GW2 as much as I want to, it just doesnt' have the smoothness and responsivness as WoW. 

Hahahaahahaha, man get a better pc! Lol! GW2 is waaaaay better than that aged game WOW! Dont get me wrong WOW is cool and all, but its outdated gfx is a shame, ok, its getting an overdue overhaul in the next expansion, but the gameplay, the crafting, actually everything is outdated overdue for the bin. GW2 has the fact that everyone gets loot, everyone gets the mats,etc. No camping, stealing, ninjaing. Lol! You are a person in denial! Just like all those fanboys out there. Open your eyes, GW2 has brought new light to the MMO genre and finally, finally all those big companies are scared for it. No monthly fees! No monthly fees! MMOs that you pay for per month, should have every month an update with new goodies. They dont, they steal your cash and give you once a year some crappy vanity stuff, that noone needs. GW2 people! GW2!

jungleninja

Originally posted by Jackdog
Blizzard has never been known for their cutting edge video, they always design thier game so kids can play them on a hand me down laptop. Been that way since Diablo 1, it good marketing and sells alot of boxes

Yep, right about that one there! We could prob even play it on a c64!

dreamscaper

Modern MMORPGs are to WoW what WoW is to UO, in terms of graphics and animations.

Reizla

Originally posted by XiThRyL
I have to agree with OP, I logged into WoW recently and its just so dang smooth, animations are tight.. the game just feels so amazingly polished, yeah I get it... Its been out for ever at this point but still!! Game feels amazing!

Having the same experiences with GW2 right now. Does this mean that GW2 is the upcoming big thing to stay as long as WOW and get 12M players..?

No, I think the performance things plain BS. WOW's success comes down to 3 things:

1. SImple g ame-mechanics and handhelding - It makes it easy for everyone to get started with the game. Not saying it's a bad thing, but I don't want to be told what to do and when to do it. I'd rather 'do my own thing' and explore and (at times) get killed by a monster that's way higher than me because I did take a wrong turn.
2. Players stay for the friends they made in-game (already said, but it's true)
3. After 8 years, 4 expansions players have paid $1000 and invested lots of time in the game and they feel it to be a 'waste' of time & money to leave WoW and go for a new game. IMO a plain BS theory, because if you did have fun, money is not wasted IMO.

 

Ridelynn

Any game where addons can kick me offline (and are required for guild raiding) - I am not a fan of.

ace80k

Originally posted by Aori

Originally posted by ace80k
Immersion in MMOs is a good thing. WoW does not have that imo, the engine is just too out dated sadly.

how does the engine affect immersion?

Simple. Engine controls graphics, graphics control immersion. Swaying trees, water, resolution, animation, spell particles, etc etc.

Thorqemada

I agree that Lotro is a feeling like a World but WoW to me is a moba.
The zones be totally empty, Stormwind is the only crowded place.