I love Rifts artstyle. Like i said it fits the game.
If i had to pick best graphics...
1.AoC (overall AoC is simply amazing, from animations to the look of the world)
2.Aion (Nothing comes close to Aions character design, World looks good but mob graphics/design are what put it over)
3.Rift (World design is dark and gritty, completely immersive. Character designs are above average.
4.Lotro (Nothing beats Lotro's game world, sadly the below average character design and low tech ability effects keep it from the top)
5.Vanguard: (Great world design, average graphics, horrid animations.)
If we went gameworld alone Lotro would get it. If we went best overall artstyle that suited the game I would have too flip a coin between Aion adn Rift. Overall polygon counts goto AoC.
They will most likely polish, but if they do too much, you will probably have to turn some effects down/off in large scale raids/pvp I would probably guess....So I guess its a good tradeoff for a lot of people. Had to do this in a ton of games, to help fight the lag monster in large scale 50 vs 50, 100 vs 100 type stuff.
The games graphics was actually one of its appealing factors for me. Had no complaint about the graphics except how terrible the defiant races look. Nothing wrong with graphics just they look terrible.
While Aoc has superior up-close detail on avatars, the reality is they wasted alot of time and efficiency by implementing this. Most of the time you are zoomed out and do not have the highest settings turned on. If you look at a zoomed out character on Aoc vs Rift with AA turned on you not notice a difference.
with Rift in my opinion it is critical that you have AA turned on max to truly enjoy the graphics.
As much as I found Rift to be boring and repetetive ad nauseam I actually like its graphics. It is not mind-blowing but it is eye pleasing - especially lightning and spell effects. Unfortunatelly this does not apply to the character's animations, which are far worst then the graphic overall.
As a dwarf-lover I also have to say that this game has worst dwarf running/fighting animations I've ever seen in any mmo.
Running with an unsheated weapon looks like carring the Olimpic torch...
The problems with lag is not only client-sided, the worst thing is when the gameserver is lagging. And the only thing to do to prevent that is to run the game on servers that can handle the stress a couple hundred players cause when they fight on the same map or even in the same building. And the choice of ISP is also very important for this to work, you cant use a small ISP with 1gbit connection, not even 10gbit links between the blades would be able to handle the extreme amount of data the blades sends back and forth. I'm not sure a 40gbit link would handle it either, or even a 100gbit link wich is the fastest possible per wavelength at the moment. The servers the MMO's are using are not built to handle games, they are built for very different tasks. The MMO-Industry needs to sit down and crack some ideas on another server structure. Otherwhise we will be stuck with games that have very limited storage, inventory, spells, skills and so on, because the database completly engulfs the bandwith.
Perhaps the solution would be to give up on using rack servers, just a huge motherboard with loads of CPU's installed on it, I dont know, no one knows, yet. But until something is done you wont be able to enjoy any game on the market, previous or in the future without server lag during massive fights.
While Aoc has superior up-close detail on avatars, the reality is they wasted alot of time and efficiency by implementing this. Most of the time you are zoomed out and do not have the highest settings turned on. If you look at a zoomed out character on Aoc vs Rift with AA turned on you not notice a difference.
with Rift in my opinion it is critical that you have AA turned on max to truly enjoy the graphics.
I have to agree with you Oz, turning up AA on Rift makes a big difference.
Adding more detail can always make a game look better, but In the end I think that gameplay would suffer with large numbers of players on the screen. The game looks very good (no, not perfect) and plays smoothly with 50+ players in one location at the same time.
I know this game is still in beta but it comes out in a month. The world graphics seem fine but the character graphics need some polish in my opinion. At first glance of the game the first thing my friends and I see is the character looking and moving a bit silly.
Compared to other games such as Everquest 2, Age of Conan, and sadly even somewhat WoW, the character graphics arent as good. Age of conan on Directx10 with graphics on max the character looks next to real.
Overall my question is will the graphics on the characters be changed at all? If there is no change I know I won't be playing.
I also thought the graphics were very average for a game this new. My most recent game was Vanguard and Rift graphics do not even come close to Vanguard in either character models or environment. I also think Rift falls well short of AoC and EQ2.
However, I do believe that this was probably intentional on Trion's behalf for two reasons:
1) Low barrier to entry. The PC requirements for this game are very low which won't force people to run off and have to upgrade their rigs to play. This was a big problem with Vanguard, where the requirements were so high that is forced people to play on the lowest settings possible or spend money to upgrade.
2) Decent framerates during events. Rift events/invasions etc. draw dozens or even hundreds of players into the same area and yet the game continues to run pretty smoothly. In order for this to happen, you cannot have high end graphics and affects and still hope that player will get 30fps.
So yes, the graphics are disappointing, but I see why they did it.
I honestly dont understand. I am gfx mad , have to have max settings etc. I thought the models and gfx all round were really good. I have played all the top gfx games so can compare.
Some of the shader and texture work is extremly nice. Admited its better on the npc's than the players but thats for obvious reasons. I think you need to look a little closer and turn those settings up.
I know this game is still in beta but it comes out in a month. The world graphics seem fine but the character graphics need some polish in my opinion. At first glance of the game the first thing my friends and I see is the character looking and moving a bit silly.
Compared to other games such as Everquest 2, Age of Conan, and sadly even somewhat WoW, the character graphics arent as good. Age of conan on Directx10 with graphics on max the character looks next to real.
Overall my question is will the graphics on the characters be changed at all? If there is no change I know I won't be playing.
I also thought the graphics were very average for a game this new. My most recent game was Vanguard and Rift graphics do not even come close to Vanguard in either character models or environment. I also think Rift falls well short of AoC and EQ2.
However, I do believe that this was probably intentional on Trion's behalf for two reasons:
1) Low barrier to entry. The PC requirements for this game are very low which won't force people to run off and have to upgrade their rigs to play. This was a big problem with Vanguard, where the requirements were so high that is forced people to play on the lowest settings possible or spend money to upgrade.
2) Decent framerates during events. Rift events/invasions etc. draw dozens or even hundreds of players into the same area and yet the game continues to run pretty smoothly. In order for this to happen, you cannot have high end graphics and affects and still hope that player will get 30fps.
So yes, the graphics are disappointing, but I see why they did it.
Mmmm not sure what people are looking at when they say things like Vangaurd and EQ2 have better graphics. I have played both of those games extensively and think the opposite.
Rift graphics fall comfortably between AoC and Aion. (overall graphics, not art style because that is a matter of preference)
Personally, I'm OK with the graphics, although I'm not a huge fan of the art style, it does have it's charm. What I really dislike though are the animations for everything except for caster with a staff animations, those are pretty good.
Discussions on graphics are always subjective because beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Rift graphics are much more stylized than Vanguard graphics for example, and personally, I don't like that approach. I also think the environmental graphics are a bit dated. I prefer the more realistic look shown in the screen-shots below. The grass sways in the wind, the clouds move across the sky with dyanmic weather, and every single person is recognizable by appearances alone because of the externsive customization options with both character and gear.
I know many Vanguard players such as myself that are really looking forward to Rift, but none who have said they believe Rift graphics are on par with Vanguard.
Discussions on graphics are always subjective because beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Rift graphics are much more stylized than Vanguard graphics for example, and personally, I don't like that approach. I also think the environmental graphics are a bit dated. I prefer the more realistic look shown in the screen-shots below. The grass sways in the wind, the clouds move across the sky with dyanmic weather, and every single person is recognizable by appearances alone because of the externsive customization options with both character and gear.
I know many Vanguard players such as myself that are really looking forward to Rift, but none who have said they believe Rift graphics are on par with Vanguard.
The experience of the "world" is very different from Vanguard to Rift. At least for the first 20 levels.
Like Skyrim? Need more content? Try my Skyrim mod "Godfred's Tomb."
I know this game is still in beta but it comes out in a month. The world graphics seem fine but the character graphics need some polish in my opinion. At first glance of the game the first thing my friends and I see is the character looking and moving a bit silly.
Compared to other games such as Everquest 2, Age of Conan, and sadly even somewhat WoW, the character graphics arent as good. Age of conan on Directx10 with graphics on max the character looks next to real.
Overall my question is will the graphics on the characters be changed at all? If there is no change I know I won't be playing.
I say again, to quote Inigo Montoya "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."
The following statement is false The previous statement is true
Originally posted by boojiboy Discussions on graphics are always subjective because beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Rift graphics are much more stylized than Vanguard graphics for example, and personally, I don't like that approach. I also think the environmental graphics are a bit dated. I prefer the more realistic look shown in the screen-shots below. The grass sways in the wind, the clouds move across the sky with dyanmic weather, and every single person is recognizable by appearances alone because of the externsive customization options with both character and gear. I know many Vanguard players such as myself that are really looking forward to Rift, but none who have said they believe Rift graphics are on par with Vanguard.
Simply stated... Anyone that says the graphics in this game suck, or aren't that good are running older systems / PCs.
There's only one real problem with the graphics at this point, and that's the fact that their FSAA algorithm is a little off. What this means, in a nut shell, Every visual in the game gets sampled 2-4 times, every time. It's like you going to an all you can eat buffet and having 4 of everything at the same time. Even people like me running cutting edge enthusiast systems, can't run the game with 4x Super (Smooth Edges works fine, but as soon as you hit multiple SS you can see something isn't quite right) Sampling enabled. (and I'm running 2x GTX580 hydros) This is a known problem, and is being looked at by developers. Even without the SS enabled, if you've got your antiliasing stepped up the game looks beautiful.
That issue aside, even without SS at 4x the game still looks great. I do agree with some people that some of the character animations are a bit on the dull side, but that too is being looked at by the developers.
I'm also under the impression that people using mobile GPU/CPUs are having issues, of which, are also being sorted by developers, as well as VGA manufacturers (driver end).
In the past, most MMO's were/are both CPU and GPU intensive depending on where you had your sliders at in video settings.
RIFT is of a newer breed where 90% of the graphics abilities of the engine are GPU extensive. I, personally, wouldn't expect the best you can get, eye-candy wise, in this game unless you're running an Nvidia 400 series card (or ATI equivelant) or better. We're moving into a "new age" for graphics engines where the majority of the processing is going to be done on the GPU itself, and everything previous to the 200 series just won't perform well, if at all.
Some suggestions on video settings for people who simply can't upgrade right now:
Turn OFF: Fullscreen FX, Shadows, Super Sampling.
Keep your sliders on the low side for partical density, ground density, and view distances (all applicable sliders).
Rift needs latest pc to experience its full graphics quality, i cant go past medium settings, it drops my FPS too low as its not stylized graphics so it does not look good at low settings, while in other games like WoW,LoL,Torchlight which can be played at low setting without making it look terrible.
I know this game is still in beta but it comes out in a month. The world graphics seem fine but the character graphics need some polish in my opinion. At first glance of the game the first thing my friends and I see is the character looking and moving a bit silly.
Compared to other games such as Everquest 2, Age of Conan, and sadly even somewhat WoW, the character graphics arent as good. Age of conan on Directx10 with graphics on max the character looks next to real.
Overall my question is will the graphics on the characters be changed at all? If there is no change I know I won't be playing.
Bro get a better graphics card. And No an E-Machines with on board graphics will not do....
I know this game is still in beta but it comes out in a month. The world graphics seem fine but the character graphics need some polish in my opinion. At first glance of the game the first thing my friends and I see is the character looking and moving a bit silly.
Compared to other games such as Everquest 2, Age of Conan, and sadly even somewhat WoW, the character graphics arent as good. Age of conan on Directx10 with graphics on max the character looks next to real.
Overall my question is will the graphics on the characters be changed at all? If there is no change I know I won't be playing.
Not sure if you're talking about the animated rigging of the characters that accounts for their movement or the graphical depiction the refers to their appearance. Realistic movement is something that can be tweaked a little bit I will admit but doesn't detract too much from the game, at least for me. Appearance wise I can count the hairs and moles on my warriors chest and she's not happy about that I can tell. I think the visuals are quite nice and run well on my system which leads me to believe you may want to look into your system settings, if it's an appearance display issue you have.
Bro get a better graphics card. And No an E-Machines with on board graphics will not do....
I wish people would stop behaving this way. Let me first say that I was not even following this game until a month or so ago. I applied for Beta and was invited into beta 4. After the beta event ended I prepurchased the game along with 6 months time. I simply loved it. That said, you can love the game and simaltaneously admit it has issues.
Anyone claiming the game runs silky smooth at 60fps on max quality, or 100+ fps as some other posters commented, is simply not true. Now for all I know Trion is doing some debugging, or have some more optimizations to do prior to release. But I certainly don't have an emachines rig with on board graphics, and I doubt the other poster this was directed at does either:
Core I7 OC to 4GHZ
ATI Radeon 5970
6GM Ram
Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
I venture to say this PC can handle most games with relative ease, especially when cranking up extremely high levels of anti-aliasing. With max settings, I cannot run Rift at a stable 60fps with Vsync on. In fact, the fps is anything but stable. In the starter areas when those purple explosion things go off at me feet my fps drops to 25 fps, and when it disappates it goes back up to 55-60. This is with AA off. They just added AA in beta 5, and as some other posters noted its highly unoptimized. Turning it to 4x cut my fps nearly in half (to about 35fps on average), and putting it on super sampling brought my fps down to 18. If supersampling brings the fps to 18 on this kind of machine and it was fully optimized... whats the point of offering it at all?
I'm not saying performance sucks, but it is unoptimized at the moment and anyone claiming otherwise is simpy incorrect. And this is coming from someone who truly loves this game. Lastly, I will point out that this unstable fps does not seem related to how many characters are on the screen. I fought in some rifts that had to have close to 50-75 people in them and I noticed no average drops in fps, and that in and of itself its a rather large achievement as far as I am concerned.
Simply stated... Anyone that says the graphics in this game suck, or aren't that good are running older systems / PCs.
There's only one real problem with the graphics at this point, and that's the fact that their FSAA algorithm is a little off. What this means, in a nut shell, Every visual in the game gets sampled 2-4 times, every time. It's like you going to an all you can eat buffet and having 4 of everything at the same time. Even people like me running cutting edge enthusiast systems, can't run the game with 4x Super (Smooth Edges works fine, but as soon as you hit multiple SS you can see something isn't quite right) Sampling enabled. (and I'm running 2x GTX580 hydros) This is a known problem, and is being looked at by developers. Even without the SS enabled, if you've got your antiliasing stepped up the game looks beautiful.
That issue aside, even without SS at 4x the game still looks great. I do agree with some people that some of the character animations are a bit on the dull side, but that too is being looked at by the developers.
I'm also under the impression that people using mobile GPU/CPUs are having issues, of which, are also being sorted by developers, as well as VGA manufacturers (driver end).
In the past, most MMO's were/are both CPU and GPU intensive depending on where you had your sliders at in video settings.
RIFT is of a newer breed where 90% of the graphics abilities of the engine are GPU extensive. I, personally, wouldn't expect the best you can get, eye-candy wise, in this game unless you're running an Nvidia 400 series card (or ATI equivelant) or better. We're moving into a "new age" for graphics engines where the majority of the processing is going to be done on the GPU itself, and everything previous to the 200 series just won't perform well, if at all.
Some suggestions on video settings for people who simply can't upgrade right now:
Turn OFF: Fullscreen FX, Shadows, Super Sampling.
Keep your sliders on the low side for partical density, ground density, and view distances (all applicable sliders).
Meh... I don't know. It seems most of the folks disappointed in Rift graphics are not suffering from a lack of hardware. Quite the opposite where folks have some pretty hefty rigs and can easily pull in very high frame rates with absolutely maxed out settings. But their assessment of the graphics in the end is just 'average'. I wouldn't say they suck, and they don't suck. But they are also nothing special or new.
I was running it with a Radeon 5870 which blew up and was returned. Then I threw in my trusty 8800gtx back-up card and there was very little difference in graphics and fps. Rift is simply not a hardware intensive game, which is a good strategy by Trion. If people trying out a game log in and get low fps, graphical glitches or can't run it at all, then they probably won't buy the game.
My issue with Vanguard is that the graphics were drop-dead gorgeous, but you needed state-of-the-art everything in order to turn all settings to high. And even with a very top-end machine after the game being on the market for 3-years, you would still see fps drop in the 20s on a raid.
The point I was making about Rift graphics is I think Trion went for middle of the road purposely so they didn't have huge programs when a hundred or so players converged in a single area for an event.
All the of the other MMO's out there had graphic's that left a lot to be desired when they launched for live play. All of them have upgraded their graphic's.
The various Game Engines have graphical problems which can be tweaked.
The number one way to tell if a game company has worked on their graphic's - either you get a message that your video card driver is out of date OR your characters drop through the landscape to their deaths.
Comments
I love Rifts artstyle. Like i said it fits the game.
If i had to pick best graphics...
1.AoC (overall AoC is simply amazing, from animations to the look of the world)
2.Aion (Nothing comes close to Aions character design, World looks good but mob graphics/design are what put it over)
3.Rift (World design is dark and gritty, completely immersive. Character designs are above average.
4.Lotro (Nothing beats Lotro's game world, sadly the below average character design and low tech ability effects keep it from the top)
5.Vanguard: (Great world design, average graphics, horrid animations.)
If we went gameworld alone Lotro would get it. If we went best overall artstyle that suited the game I would have too flip a coin between Aion adn Rift. Overall polygon counts goto AoC.
Playing: Rift, LotRO
Waiting on: GW2, BP
They will most likely polish, but if they do too much, you will probably have to turn some effects down/off in large scale raids/pvp I would probably guess....So I guess its a good tradeoff for a lot of people. Had to do this in a ton of games, to help fight the lag monster in large scale 50 vs 50, 100 vs 100 type stuff.
The games graphics was actually one of its appealing factors for me. Had no complaint about the graphics except how terrible the defiant races look. Nothing wrong with graphics just they look terrible.
While Aoc has superior up-close detail on avatars, the reality is they wasted alot of time and efficiency by implementing this. Most of the time you are zoomed out and do not have the highest settings turned on. If you look at a zoomed out character on Aoc vs Rift with AA turned on you not notice a difference.
with Rift in my opinion it is critical that you have AA turned on max to truly enjoy the graphics.
As much as I found Rift to be boring and repetetive ad nauseam I actually like its graphics. It is not mind-blowing but it is eye pleasing - especially lightning and spell effects. Unfortunatelly this does not apply to the character's animations, which are far worst then the graphic overall.
As a dwarf-lover I also have to say that this game has worst dwarf running/fighting animations I've ever seen in any mmo.
Running with an unsheated weapon looks like carring the Olimpic torch...
The problems with lag is not only client-sided, the worst thing is when the gameserver is lagging. And the only thing to do to prevent that is to run the game on servers that can handle the stress a couple hundred players cause when they fight on the same map or even in the same building. And the choice of ISP is also very important for this to work, you cant use a small ISP with 1gbit connection, not even 10gbit links between the blades would be able to handle the extreme amount of data the blades sends back and forth. I'm not sure a 40gbit link would handle it either, or even a 100gbit link wich is the fastest possible per wavelength at the moment. The servers the MMO's are using are not built to handle games, they are built for very different tasks. The MMO-Industry needs to sit down and crack some ideas on another server structure. Otherwhise we will be stuck with games that have very limited storage, inventory, spells, skills and so on, because the database completly engulfs the bandwith.
Perhaps the solution would be to give up on using rack servers, just a huge motherboard with loads of CPU's installed on it, I dont know, no one knows, yet. But until something is done you wont be able to enjoy any game on the market, previous or in the future without server lag during massive fights.
I have to agree with you Oz, turning up AA on Rift makes a big difference.
Adding more detail can always make a game look better, but In the end I think that gameplay would suffer with large numbers of players on the screen. The game looks very good (no, not perfect) and plays smoothly with 50+ players in one location at the same time.
I also thought the graphics were very average for a game this new. My most recent game was Vanguard and Rift graphics do not even come close to Vanguard in either character models or environment. I also think Rift falls well short of AoC and EQ2.
However, I do believe that this was probably intentional on Trion's behalf for two reasons:
1) Low barrier to entry. The PC requirements for this game are very low which won't force people to run off and have to upgrade their rigs to play. This was a big problem with Vanguard, where the requirements were so high that is forced people to play on the lowest settings possible or spend money to upgrade.
2) Decent framerates during events. Rift events/invasions etc. draw dozens or even hundreds of players into the same area and yet the game continues to run pretty smoothly. In order for this to happen, you cannot have high end graphics and affects and still hope that player will get 30fps.
So yes, the graphics are disappointing, but I see why they did it.
I honestly dont understand. I am gfx mad , have to have max settings etc. I thought the models and gfx all round were really good. I have played all the top gfx games so can compare.
Some of the shader and texture work is extremly nice. Admited its better on the npc's than the players but thats for obvious reasons. I think you need to look a little closer and turn those settings up.
Mmmm not sure what people are looking at when they say things like Vangaurd and EQ2 have better graphics. I have played both of those games extensively and think the opposite.
Rift graphics fall comfortably between AoC and Aion. (overall graphics, not art style because that is a matter of preference)
Personally, I'm OK with the graphics, although I'm not a huge fan of the art style, it does have it's charm. What I really dislike though are the animations for everything except for caster with a staff animations, those are pretty good.
Discussions on graphics are always subjective because beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Rift graphics are much more stylized than Vanguard graphics for example, and personally, I don't like that approach. I also think the environmental graphics are a bit dated. I prefer the more realistic look shown in the screen-shots below. The grass sways in the wind, the clouds move across the sky with dyanmic weather, and every single person is recognizable by appearances alone because of the externsive customization options with both character and gear.
I know many Vanguard players such as myself that are really looking forward to Rift, but none who have said they believe Rift graphics are on par with Vanguard.
The experience of the "world" is very different from Vanguard to Rift. At least for the first 20 levels.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo
I say again, to quote Inigo Montoya "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."
The following statement is false
The previous statement is true
All Vanguard needed was a little love...
Simply stated... Anyone that says the graphics in this game suck, or aren't that good are running older systems / PCs.
There's only one real problem with the graphics at this point, and that's the fact that their FSAA algorithm is a little off. What this means, in a nut shell, Every visual in the game gets sampled 2-4 times, every time. It's like you going to an all you can eat buffet and having 4 of everything at the same time. Even people like me running cutting edge enthusiast systems, can't run the game with 4x Super (Smooth Edges works fine, but as soon as you hit multiple SS you can see something isn't quite right) Sampling enabled. (and I'm running 2x GTX580 hydros) This is a known problem, and is being looked at by developers. Even without the SS enabled, if you've got your antiliasing stepped up the game looks beautiful.
That issue aside, even without SS at 4x the game still looks great. I do agree with some people that some of the character animations are a bit on the dull side, but that too is being looked at by the developers.
I'm also under the impression that people using mobile GPU/CPUs are having issues, of which, are also being sorted by developers, as well as VGA manufacturers (driver end).
In the past, most MMO's were/are both CPU and GPU intensive depending on where you had your sliders at in video settings.
RIFT is of a newer breed where 90% of the graphics abilities of the engine are GPU extensive. I, personally, wouldn't expect the best you can get, eye-candy wise, in this game unless you're running an Nvidia 400 series card (or ATI equivelant) or better. We're moving into a "new age" for graphics engines where the majority of the processing is going to be done on the GPU itself, and everything previous to the 200 series just won't perform well, if at all.
Some suggestions on video settings for people who simply can't upgrade right now:
Turn OFF: Fullscreen FX, Shadows, Super Sampling.
Keep your sliders on the low side for partical density, ground density, and view distances (all applicable sliders).
Rift needs latest pc to experience its full graphics quality, i cant go past medium settings, it drops my FPS too low as its not stylized graphics so it does not look good at low settings, while in other games like WoW,LoL,Torchlight which can be played at low setting without making it look terrible.
Bro get a better graphics card. And No an E-Machines with on board graphics will not do....
"When it comes to GW2 any game is fair game"
The only animations i have an issue with are the dwarfs and Bhami (the defiant giants) running animations.
I like the way the humans and elves (both factions) look and fight.
I guess i would be more critical of all the animations if i didnt come from Lotro lol.
Playing: Rift, LotRO
Waiting on: GW2, BP
Not sure if you're talking about the animated rigging of the characters that accounts for their movement or the graphical depiction the refers to their appearance. Realistic movement is something that can be tweaked a little bit I will admit but doesn't detract too much from the game, at least for me. Appearance wise I can count the hairs and moles on my warriors chest and she's not happy about that I can tell. I think the visuals are quite nice and run well on my system which leads me to believe you may want to look into your system settings, if it's an appearance display issue you have.
I wish people would stop behaving this way. Let me first say that I was not even following this game until a month or so ago. I applied for Beta and was invited into beta 4. After the beta event ended I prepurchased the game along with 6 months time. I simply loved it. That said, you can love the game and simaltaneously admit it has issues.
Anyone claiming the game runs silky smooth at 60fps on max quality, or 100+ fps as some other posters commented, is simply not true. Now for all I know Trion is doing some debugging, or have some more optimizations to do prior to release. But I certainly don't have an emachines rig with on board graphics, and I doubt the other poster this was directed at does either:
Core I7 OC to 4GHZ
ATI Radeon 5970
6GM Ram
Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
I venture to say this PC can handle most games with relative ease, especially when cranking up extremely high levels of anti-aliasing. With max settings, I cannot run Rift at a stable 60fps with Vsync on. In fact, the fps is anything but stable. In the starter areas when those purple explosion things go off at me feet my fps drops to 25 fps, and when it disappates it goes back up to 55-60. This is with AA off. They just added AA in beta 5, and as some other posters noted its highly unoptimized. Turning it to 4x cut my fps nearly in half (to about 35fps on average), and putting it on super sampling brought my fps down to 18. If supersampling brings the fps to 18 on this kind of machine and it was fully optimized... whats the point of offering it at all?
I'm not saying performance sucks, but it is unoptimized at the moment and anyone claiming otherwise is simpy incorrect. And this is coming from someone who truly loves this game. Lastly, I will point out that this unstable fps does not seem related to how many characters are on the screen. I fought in some rifts that had to have close to 50-75 people in them and I noticed no average drops in fps, and that in and of itself its a rather large achievement as far as I am concerned.
because grafx is the number 1 thing you should look for when wanting to play a mmo? i mean cuz gameplay means nuttin now days right? lol
Meh... I don't know. It seems most of the folks disappointed in Rift graphics are not suffering from a lack of hardware. Quite the opposite where folks have some pretty hefty rigs and can easily pull in very high frame rates with absolutely maxed out settings. But their assessment of the graphics in the end is just 'average'. I wouldn't say they suck, and they don't suck. But they are also nothing special or new.
I was running it with a Radeon 5870 which blew up and was returned. Then I threw in my trusty 8800gtx back-up card and there was very little difference in graphics and fps. Rift is simply not a hardware intensive game, which is a good strategy by Trion. If people trying out a game log in and get low fps, graphical glitches or can't run it at all, then they probably won't buy the game.
My issue with Vanguard is that the graphics were drop-dead gorgeous, but you needed state-of-the-art everything in order to turn all settings to high. And even with a very top-end machine after the game being on the market for 3-years, you would still see fps drop in the 20s on a raid.
The point I was making about Rift graphics is I think Trion went for middle of the road purposely so they didn't have huge programs when a hundred or so players converged in a single area for an event.
All the of the other MMO's out there had graphic's that left a lot to be desired when they launched for live play. All of them have upgraded their graphic's.
The various Game Engines have graphical problems which can be tweaked.
The number one way to tell if a game company has worked on their graphic's - either you get a message that your video card driver is out of date OR your characters drop through the landscape to their deaths.
That depends on how you define "good" looking graphics.
Raster graphics looks like crap compared to raytraced graphics, so in my opinion all of todays games have big flaws in their graphics.