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Art direction compaired to EQ2
nthnaoun
Member Posts: 1,438
If you've never played EQ2, you won't know what I am talking about. But Vangaurds art department seems to have used the same artwork on our player avatars as Sony did with EQ2. I am comparing the videos of Vanguard to EQ2 by the way.
The game sounds fun and interesting and it seems like it will give me a chance to play a game like EQ was. I played DaoC while EQ was out, so I never had a chance to play EQ when it was very popular. Vanguard is the type of game I want, but I cannot get into a game where the art just sucks or is just plain ugly. I consider the art in EQ2 ugly. Vanguard so far looks a lot like EQ2. So I may not be playing Vanguard either.
Does anyone here think that Vanguards personal characters (avatars) look similar to EQ2's? Did you find EQ2's artwork bland and ugly like I did? If Vanguard looks the similar to EQ2, will you still play it, or will you look past the bad artwork since Sigil is promising gameplay that you like?
Comments
With variances for races, they are exactly the same style,
and construction as eq2. Im about 80% sure the same artiest or art director
worked on both titles.
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"Anyone posting on this forum is not an average user, and there for any opinions about the game are going to be overly critical compared to an average users opinions." - Me
"No, your wrong.." - Random user #123
"Hello person posting on a site specifically for MMO's in a thread on a sub forum specifically for a particular game talking about meta features and making comparisons to other titles in the genre, and their meta features.
How are you?" -Me
The races in Vanguard look more like DAoC or EQ1 than they do EQ2 IMO. The screenshots are there for anyone to see for themselves.
As far as artwork, Kieth Parkinson, one of my favorite fantasy artists of all time, was the art director for Vanguard up until the time of his death. Artwork is completely subjective. There is no such thing as good art or bad art, only art you like and art you don't.
I happen to love the style of Vanguard, some people actually love the style of the characters in WoW. I think they look like Walt Disney's nightmare, but like I said, it's all subjective.
I disagree, OP.
some things are very similiar, but the art in the game is not like the artwork in EQ2. The models do not have that plastic doll look like EQ2, and you can see major differences in the Keran race and the feline race in Vanguard. in vanguard they actually look feline. In EQ2 they look too much human
the goblin race is also very original and the Orcs do not look at all like they do in EQ2.
I think the graphics engine do share more similiarities then the artwork in the game.
the armor and gear is also designed with a much higher level of detail and variety. The landscapes and the world is much better created too
"If you want a picture of the future, imagine a robot foot stomping on a human face -- forever."
Are you kidding?
EQ2 models for different races are different on skeletal level already.
You can tell dwarf from an elf just by the way how they move.
In Vanguard skeletal structure is the same for every race.
Basically is just the same bodies with different heads attached.
The way models are made and animated, EQ2 is head and shoulders above the current Vanguard state.
It would be really sad if Sigil won't improve their models before release.
I went to the Vanguard website and looked at the most recent screenshots and I have to say, I take what I said back. At a glance, the avatars look like the EQ2 avatars, but after closer inspection, they are perfect. I really like the art direction of Vanguard now and I am starting to get hyped for this game.
The only concern I have is that it will be quest oriented, instead of grind oriented. I liked DAoC because you just logged in, joined a group, and started grinding. It was fun, because you were working together with a group. Quests on the other hand, force people to rather solo, so they don't have to redo steps for newcomers to a group or feel guilty for holding other people up.
Don't get me wrong. I think having quests are great in an MMORPG, but I like the way DAoC did it better than WoW and EQ2. In DAoC, the quests worth doing were Epic and they were every 5 levels. There were also some quests that were worth doing that were scattered throughout the world. So you could grind for a while, pick up a quest for a change of pace, and then start grinding again. I especially like the end game raid that DAoC had. They weren't more than 3 hours long and could be completed with anywhere from 1 group of 8 to 100+ people, depending on your skill level and the raid difficulty.
I am hoping that raids don't get impersonal in Vanguard, like most raid games are (so many people, you don't know the people standing next to you). I prefer raids in the 10-20 range, preferably no more than 16 (2 groups).
But I am basically looking for something to replace DAoC. I never cared much for the RvR. The BG's were fun, but I played more for the RP and the adventuring with a group part. I hate solo play, and I hated EQ2 and WoW. I just can't stand a game that promotes solo play by forcing people to do quests (because they are the best xp). It is nice to just join a group, find a camp, and just practice, grind, hunt, whatever you want to call it, until you are tired of doing it. Then go back to town, sell, repair, train and maybe socialize, craft, or work on your house.
yep, just diffrent model requirements.
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"Anyone posting on this forum is not an average user, and there for any opinions about the game are going to be overly critical compared to an average users opinions." - Me
"No, your wrong.." - Random user #123
"Hello person posting on a site specifically for MMO's in a thread on a sub forum specifically for a particular game talking about meta features and making comparisons to other titles in the genre, and their meta features.
How are you?" -Me
I am the type of player where I like to do everything and anything from time to time.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holodomor - pre-WW2 genocide.
Yes, I agree with you on those points.
I really like the "atmosphere" of the gameworld of Telon and I like the looks of the races. What I really need out of a game is a "sense of wonder" that makes me want to explore every nook and cranny.
This is not something I can tell from screenshots and not even from videos. I actually have to experience the gameplay on a day-to-day basis to get the feel of it.
~~~
As far as DAoC, I would expect that Warhammer will the successor to that game. If there ever is a "WoW-killer," Warhammer Online will be that game.
~ Ancient Membership ~
some of the same artists, but they did use different character models. I see some simularities but there are diffrences as well. I think the vanguard player modles are a lot better.
the world graphics are different though. some things slightly remind you of eq2, but also of morrowind, oblivion, dark age of camelot, and many more games. I can see what infliuence each of the artists has on the world of vanguard.
I cant wait for it to come out. It might not be perfect, but then again what game today can be the "perfect" game? everyone has slightly different taists and whats from a game. This one seems to fir me and my family the best that we have seen yet.
Sorry to hurt anyones feelings, but I hope they aren't the same artists, or at least not the same art directors influencing the look of the models. EQ2 has some of the worst models I have seen in a mmorpg. A cross between action figures and claymation. I tried three times to get into EQ2, but no matter how much I liked some elements of the game, the horrible avatars were always a big thing that drove me away.
The Asian market models were a small step in the right direction, but they all looked they were angry, then sucked on a lemon which made them even angrier.
The similarities to EQ2 are a huge concern for me with Vanguard. Would be a shame to craft such an interesting world, only to ruin it with horrible character models!
I think the artists responsible for the look of the EQ2 models probably cut the potential subscriber base in half, that's how bad the models are. It doesn't inspire much enthusiasm in me to hear that some of them are working on this title.
Want to know more about GW2 and why there is so much buzz? Start here: Guild Wars 2 Mass Info for the Uninitiated
You should be more certain than that. Brad Mcquaid has said countless, countless times that many of the folks who worked on developing SWG and EQ2 are now working at Sigil.
As for appearance, it doesn't look bland to me. It certainly doesn't look like lollipop kids stop WoW to me, so it'll work.
"Many nights, my friend... Many nights I've put a blade to your throat while you were sleeping. Glad I never killed you, Steve. You're alright..."
Chavez y Chavez
You should be more certain than that. Brad Mcquaid has said countless, countless times that many of the folks who worked on developing SWG and EQ2 are now working at Sigil.
As for appearance, it doesn't look bland to me. It certainly doesn't look like lollipop kids stop WoW to me, so it'll work.
Well, then, I guess if all that is true we can almost completely kiss Vanguard good bye, huh? They go to great pains to assure us that SOE has no creative control over the game, but then hire a bunch of people from SOEs failed games to work on Vanguard?
BTW, I notice that a lot of the characters in the screen shots suffer from the same sour puss look as the SOGA EQ2 models, so I guess indeed it's the same modeler. All I can say is yuck.
Sigil is now in bed with SOE, full of SOE "talent" and has the same people who ruined EQ2's visual style doing the characters for Vanguard? Looking more and more like another "sin against mmorpgdom" in the works, good concept and basic design, somehow brought to ruin by the taint of SOE. I hope I'm wrong, but I'm now a lot more concerned than I was.
Want to know more about GW2 and why there is so much buzz? Start here: Guild Wars 2 Mass Info for the Uninitiated
You should be more certain than that. Brad Mcquaid has said countless, countless times that many of the folks who worked on developing SWG and EQ2 are now working at Sigil.
As for appearance, it doesn't look bland to me. It certainly doesn't look like lollipop kids stop WoW to me, so it'll work.
Well, then, I guess if all that is true we can almost completely kiss Vanguard good bye, huh? They go to great pains to assure us that SOE has no creative control over the game, but then hire a bunch of people from SOEs failed games to work on Vanguard?
BTW, I notice that a lot of the characters in the screen shots suffer from the same sour puss look as the SOGA EQ2 models, so I guess indeed it's the same modeler. All I can say is yuck.
Sigil is now in bed with SOE, full of SOE "talent" and has the same people who ruined EQ2's visual style doing the characters for Vanguard? Looking more and more like another "sin against mmorpgdom" in the works, good concept and basic design, somehow brought to ruin by the taint of SOE. I hope I'm wrong, but I'm now a lot more concerned than I was.
You do realize Sigil is the company that made everquest, right? Not SOE, they just bought it. And, if you noticed, The head of Sigil is trying to keep SOE as far away from the creative process as possible, after what they did to his first game.
You should be more certain than that. Brad Mcquaid has said countless, countless times that many of the folks who worked on developing SWG and EQ2 are now working at Sigil.
As for appearance, it doesn't look bland to me. It certainly doesn't look like lollipop kids stop WoW to me, so it'll work.
Well, then, I guess if all that is true we can almost completely kiss Vanguard good bye, huh? They go to great pains to assure us that SOE has no creative control over the game, but then hire a bunch of people from SOEs failed games to work on Vanguard?
BTW, I notice that a lot of the characters in the screen shots suffer from the same sour puss look as the SOGA EQ2 models, so I guess indeed it's the same modeler. All I can say is yuck.
Sigil is now in bed with SOE, full of SOE "talent" and has the same people who ruined EQ2's visual style doing the characters for Vanguard? Looking more and more like another "sin against mmorpgdom" in the works, good concept and basic design, somehow brought to ruin by the taint of SOE. I hope I'm wrong, but I'm now a lot more concerned than I was.
You do realize Sigil is the company that made everquest, right? Not SOE, they just bought it. And, if you noticed, The head of Sigil is trying to keep SOE as far away from the creative process as possible, after what they did to his first game.
I have to agree SOE particular involvment with Vanguard poses no worries for me at this stage.
Take the Magic: The Gathering 'What Color Are You?' Quiz.
The comparison with EQ2 is being made and I too see elements of EQ2 being copied in Vanguard. However, I also see alot of elements from WoW being used, especially landscapes and here and there I think I see a touch of Oblivion in the screenshots. Maybe it cannot be helped that fantasy games start looking like each other, but building a huge world is alot of work and it must be difficult to be original all the time. Maybe the reference to other games is intentional in Vanguard. Seeing the resemblances I do think it is intentional in some cases. In other cases it must be due to the choice of making a EQ3 or alternatively a game setting known to a large player base.
--
Delanor
You should be more certain than that. Brad Mcquaid has said countless, countless times that many of the folks who worked on developing SWG and EQ2 are now working at Sigil.
As for appearance, it doesn't look bland to me. It certainly doesn't look like lollipop kids stop WoW to me, so it'll work.
Well, then, I guess if all that is true we can almost completely kiss Vanguard good bye, huh? They go to great pains to assure us that SOE has no creative control over the game, but then hire a bunch of people from SOEs failed games to work on Vanguard?
BTW, I notice that a lot of the characters in the screen shots suffer from the same sour puss look as the SOGA EQ2 models, so I guess indeed it's the same modeler. All I can say is yuck.
Sigil is now in bed with SOE, full of SOE "talent" and has the same people who ruined EQ2's visual style doing the characters for Vanguard? Looking more and more like another "sin against mmorpgdom" in the works, good concept and basic design, somehow brought to ruin by the taint of SOE. I hope I'm wrong, but I'm now a lot more concerned than I was.
Your reply says to me you really haven't been following this game at all. Sigil was founded, what, 5 years ago. The talent you speak of came from EQ, EQ2, SWG and VARIOUS other games. All that said, Brad McQuaid and Jeff Butler are still in charge, and Brad had some input on EQ2 (I believed), yet he bailed on the project and founded his own company. If you like to read between the lines, there's something for you to chew on.
Additionally, the people they hired, I can say with some degree of certainty, weren't the folks calling the shots for the changes that so many people hated. At the point at which those people were making those changes, Vanguard was like 2-3 years into production (this is their 4th year and, for instance, the NGE in SWG happened 1 year ago, and the CU about 9 months or so before that).
Something else that you may not be up with yet is the involvement of SOE with this project. I'm pretty sure Brad came to these forums and addressed it, but here goes again. SOE will function as co-publisher (not sole publisher) of Vanguard (which translates to marketing and getting boxes on shelves at your local Gamestop) as well as technical support (since the game is on their servers- just pray you have the machine that can connect to their servers with no issue). Aside from that, all the rest (the keys being Content and Customer Support) are handled by Sigil. Period.
Granted, I'm a realist, and I know things have the possibility of change. But that's the official word as it stands now. You don't like a quest or you think your favorite class is being nerfed, blame Sigil, not SOE. Brow-beating is fine if you aim at the right group. I also realize SOE could take over more (read buy Sigil out) years down the line. If that happens, I cancel my subscription. Plain and simple. From what the public has seen so far, Vanguard warrants a shot in my book. We all, well most of us anyway, are versed enough to know the signs when SOE takes over content and CS (for the slow there will probably be a press release of some kind) and if that happens, bail. Heck, I'm not above calling CS once a month...just to check who answers the phone.
All this said, I can hear the thought of "fanboi" rattling around in your head. BUZZZ! Sorry, you lose. I've voiced my opinions about SOE in pretty plain words on the official site (and didn't get banned, thanks Glip, owe ya a beer!) and in all honesty, my friends and I are so hacked at SOE we'd burn their buildings down if it wasn't illegal (I'm too soft for jail). I'm hoping that SOE has learned that the only part of MMORPGs they are good at is giving other companies backing (i.e., marketing help and the hardware infrasture to host the games) tocreate good games (though I still wonder why there is a need to reboot servers once a day-but hey, if I'm at work or sleep, I don't really care).
Back on the visual aspects of the game, hey, I'm not going to argue with you on that. We both could look at a single piece of art, you think it's hiddeous and I think it's gorgeous, and both of us would be right. There just flat out is no right or wrong beyond the individual when it comes to aesthetics so it really isn't a point worthy of debate. I could talk all day, but you aren't going to suddenly wake up one morning and it's now beautiful and conversely I'm not going to wake up and think it's ugly unless they scrap all current art assets and start anew. And that, just isn't going to happen.
"Many nights, my friend... Many nights I've put a blade to your throat while you were sleeping. Glad I never killed you, Steve. You're alright..."
Chavez y Chavez