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Halfling starting area huge rip of Hobbits from Tolkien.
brihtwulf
Member UncommonPosts: 975
I know that these games were both developed somewhat simultaneously, but I find it in poor taste to see Vanguard ripping off the artistic expressions representative of JRR Tolkien's Middle Earth. Here is an image from The Lord of the Rings Online:
And here is a "bastardized" image from Vanguard of the halfling starting area:
In my opinion, Vanguard just doesn't cut it with their system-heavy graphics. And before you start thinking I'm running on low settings with Vanguard, they are on balanced, and some are high. I know a game can't be judged solely on its graphics, but when the graphics are a HUGE hindrance to gameplay, and they are still sub-par, I consider that a problem.
Comments
Yes, you are right, both houses have round doors, these bastards!
They even look like EQ2 hobbit houses, must have stolen from them, too.
Still, it would be nice if someone would finally come up with a version of a Halfling that doesn't liberally crib from Middle Earth.
Also, your first screenshot is not gameplay screenshots.... It's not like that in the game at all (how the hell do i know that).
eqnext.wikia.com
Also, your first screenshot is not gameplay screenshots.... It's not like that in the game at all (how the hell do i know that).
Um...what? I didn't post the screenshots at all. Sorry.
halfling=hobbits
They are and always have been the same thing.
Halflings/Hobbits live in houses with round doors that are built into hills
Dwarves live in caves
Elves come from forests
These things are fantasy standard and have been for years. This isn't really a bastardization as much as it is tradition.
Basically everything we know about fantasy comes from Tolkien.
Also, your first screenshot is not gameplay screenshots.... It's not like that in the game at all (how the hell do i know that).
Um...what? I didn't post the screenshots at all. Sorry.
Yeah = for you
rest = op
eqnext.wikia.com
Also, your first screenshot is not gameplay screenshots.... It's not like that in the game at all (how the hell do i know that).
First, yes, the game does look like that in it... I have seen screenshots from the beta test.
Second, I'm aware our current definition of fantasy comes from the books written by Tolkien, it just strikes me as funny that Vanguard couldn't come up with a more unique way to locate their halflings than to make some ugly interpretation of The Shire. The halflings in the game have a disproportional, silly look to them. And the graphics for the "hobbit holes" in comparison to LotRO look amateurish. Halflings and hobbits may be nearly the same, but even Everquest made an attempt not to "rip off" the artistic ideas of Tolkien and his illustrators. They lived in little huts, with grass roofs... Sure, simple, functional, and with an identity of its own. It would be like making a city to look like Gondor and calling it by a different name. In my opinion it's borderline copyright infringement.
But clearly the game is poor quality in comparison to the required system resources to play the game. And everyone's going to argue, graphics aren't everything, but as I said, they are something when it's a hindrance to the very gameplay. Not to mention that there is no innovation in the gameplay at all either. I was sadly disappointed to find fields of randomly places monsters that made little or no sense to the story or setting... Giant moths hanging around in droves near the village? Randomly located flying scorpion-like creatures? Aside from the quests given to kill these beasts, it's not much different from a high-exp grinder game like Lineage 2. Anyone else remember standing in the same field for an hour killing giant eyeballs?
Also, your first screenshot is not gameplay screenshots.... It's not like that in the game at all (how the hell do i know that).
Um...what? I didn't post the screenshots at all. Sorry.
Yeah = for you
rest = op
Ah, ok. No worries, then.
I have been to the Halfling starting area many times, and the picture that you are showing simply does not do it justice. You say you are running it on a fairly high setting, but to me it doesn't appear that way. I am fortunate enough that I can run Vanguard on the highest setting and still get good FPS, and in my opinion Vangaurd's graphics are far superior to those of LOTRO (not that I have anything against that game).
Secondly, the picture you are showing from LOTRO was obviously a staged screenshot (unless you took that shot yourself), while the screenshot you posted to defend Vanguard's graphics is obviously taken by you, and not in the least positioned to show off the beauty of the Halfling starting area.
Thirdly, its apparent from the armor that your halfing is wearing that you are probably under 10, unless you never upgraded any gear. I don't think that is high enough to judge the entire game's playing experience.
Not trying to sound like I am insulting you, but I just wanted to state that I don't believe you are giving Vanguard a fair chance.
"Those who fear the darkness have never seen what the light can do."
"It is in your nature to do one thing correctly; Before me, you rightfully tremble. But, fear is not what you owe me. You owe me awe." ~Francis Dolarhyde
Right, because we all know you have to be AT LEAST level 20 before you can say "this game is ugly as hell, and STILL runs like crap."
/rolleyes
Ok, you're running on highest setting. My computer can handle it, but the lag is REALLY bad. That being said, here is the screenshot of the EXACT SAME location, only with all the setting maxed:
It still looks like garbage. And this garbage can only be viewed by those with an Intel Core Duo, 2+Gig of RAM, and at least one geForce 8800... Now here's an actual screenshot I found from the beta of LotRO. (I hope that doesn't violate forum rules by posting a beta image from another site, but if it does, I'll take it off.) This isn't of the shire, but it's an in-game shot.
In my opinion the LOTRO looks horrible, why is his weapon sticking out of his cape?
Oh and you want to talk about bastardizations of Tolken lore look no further then LOTRO. It doesn't even deserve the Lord of the Rings name. Bad example comparing the two in my opinion.
Yeah, like I said, for some reason, the elf starting area looks nice. I liked the environment, and it was better done than any of the other areas in the game I've seen. But if you start a Half-giant or Varanjar, those areas are ugly too... Now, I heard reference from someone that the nicer areas are the ones that have been developed most recently, but it doesn't say much about the overall quality or continuity of the game...
Also, about the weapons sticking out through the cloak, I don't know a game that doesn't do that. It seems that no game so far has the ability to control the model clashing with weapons and various accessories... That point aside, if you look at pretty much any of the screenshots from LotRO, they are more appealing that most of the areas in Vanguard. Not to mention that they probably won't have nearly as high system requirements considering it's a similar engine to the one used in DDO.
And, about LotRO being somehow against Middle Earth lore... What exactly are you basing this accussation upon? From all the beta journals and dev interviews so far, they are COMPLETELY accurate to the books. In fact, it's an extremely strick IP. Now, if you're expecting it to be like the movies, you're going to be disappointed, because the art and images from that belong to the studio who produced them. So no, Gandalf isn't the spitting image of Ian McKellam (I am sure I spelled that wrong, but you know who I'm talking about.) But again, feel free to show me the proof of your arguement and I'll be sure to take it into close consideration. I, however, will stick with the information that has been provided...
Also, your first screenshot is not gameplay screenshots.... It's not like that in the game at all (how the hell do i know that).
First, yes, the game does look like that in it... I have seen screenshots from the beta test.
Second, I'm aware our current definition of fantasy comes from the books written by Tolkien, it just strikes me as funny that Vanguard couldn't come up with a more unique way to locate their halflings than to make some ugly interpretation of The Shire. The halflings in the game have a disproportional, silly look to them. And the graphics for the "hobbit holes" in comparison to LotRO look amateurish. Halflings and hobbits may be nearly the same, but even Everquest made an attempt not to "rip off" the artistic ideas of Tolkien and his illustrators. They lived in little huts, with grass roofs... Sure, simple, functional, and with an identity of its own. It would be like making a city to look like Gondor and calling it by a different name. In my opinion it's borderline copyright infringement.
But clearly the game is poor quality in comparison to the required system resources to play the game. And everyone's going to argue, graphics aren't everything, but as I said, they are something when it's a hindrance to the very gameplay. Not to mention that there is no innovation in the gameplay at all either. I was sadly disappointed to find fields of randomly places monsters that made little or no sense to the story or setting... Giant moths hanging around in droves near the village? Randomly located flying scorpion-like creatures? Aside from the quests given to kill these beasts, it's not much different from a high-exp grinder game like Lineage 2. Anyone else remember standing in the same field for an hour killing giant eyeballs?
What the hell are you talking about?
Had a little lag burst during that pic(and that i cranked it up a bit higher then my 6600 would like =( )
personally i'm really annoyed with the the weird textures on the skinny trees branches...the white on the trees(which youll see in the pic) i don't know if its just my pc or not tho... but bleh
Yes SoH did "borrow" alot from other IP's , just be happy you dont see any matrix looking buildings, hehe
ps, now u can play 5 games for the price of 1
Playing: EVE
and you better care