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Many are missing the point entirely about the "Graphics" debate....
BearKnight
Member CommonPosts: 461
No one is asking for "Realistic Graphics". What people are asking for is simply an atompshere that fits within the Everquest franchise as a whole.
Almost anything would be better than Cartoon based graphics, and I say cartoon because the character models they presented at the reveal look EXACTLY like those animated shorts that StarWars was putting out for awhile.
Also, before anyone starts posting screenshots of EQ1 at a small attempt at jabbing humor, Everquest's original artstyle was mature and in no water "Cartoony", however the technology of the time wasn't up to snuff with how the original developers wanted to portray Everquest (this was said SEVERAL times by developers at SOE conventions in the past).
Personally, gameplay and mechanics DO trump "Graphics" or "ArtStyle", but they play an important role nevertheless in setting the overall atmosphere and tone of the game. I just hope people can understand that aren't used to the EQ franchise is that what they'd shown so far is literally as if the developers of WoW had gone and made WoW: Next with Arma 3 based graphics.
To reiterate, stop repeating that people are mad the graphics aren't super-realistic, it isn't what we're talking about.
-Thank You /bow
Comments
I am not sure what ppl are upset about, the landscape(world), the chars or both.
Personally I never felt any EQ version had great graphics.
Looking at WoW then looking at Wildstar kinda gives us an idea of how far along these type of graphics have progressed and what we should expect in EQnext. It is really not that bad and still an improvement over their past graphics.
Eq originally came out in 1999. For its age the graphics were amazing. The art-style also fit, very mature, sometimes gritty, other times serious.
What most people, that i've spoken to, are upset about are the character and armor designs. I put WoW and EQ:Next armor and weapon concept art side-by-side and they're frighteningly similar.
Bulky, over the top, childish all around.
I haven't seen enough of the world design to say yay or nay, but technically it is the same engine and graphics as Planetside 2. So, as long as the post processing is optional the world design is fine.
It doesn't matter how "far along" cartoony graphics have progressed. If they're cartoony in an originally mature franchise then that's a problem.
I don't care much about graphics. I grew up in the era when a giant 1" x 1" pixel was your character rofl (dragonstomper rules!) , but I can see why it's not to some people's liking. I actually like the graphics of EQNext, it's one of the few games that the characters look like they belong in the environment. Very few games get it right for some reason.
It's just like when WoW came out (and still to this day). People complained about the cartoony graphics...but Warcraft has always been cartoony. I don't know where people got the expectation of realistic graphics.
It's SOE, they only take MASSIVE tractor-trailer type turns in direction at any one time. They're not ones to "fine tune" anything whatsoever. Believe me, i've been playing both EQ1 and 2 since they came out. They're most famous for creating OP spells/items/classes, and instead of slowly tweaking them into a balanced range they prefer to simply break new stuff completely than actually balance it.
Same way with SOE. If you don't tell them NOW that the ArtStyle is a mistake for an EQ title then they'll simply run with it until they break the franchise as a whole.
Self-pity imprisons us in the walls of our own self-absorption. The whole world shrinks down to the size of our problem, and the more we dwell on it, the smaller we are and the larger the problem seems to grow.
Well seeing as how the Art Director for EQNext is the same lady that was the Art Director for EQ, I'm not that worried. They are going in a different direction, yes, but I find it exciting. It would be damn near impossible to get the same feeling and sense of wonder/exploration that the original Everquest gave us if everything is too familiar.
I get the concerns with the Kerran, but the human female is amazing and has so much potential to go either Disney or Turner, hopefully at player discretion.
That doesn't matter whom was the Art director where. She's being TOLD to do this direction by upper management whom are, yet again trying to feed off of WoW's tactics that only work for WoW's specific theme.
She's not the one who made this decision, I promise.
Also, the comments about Disney are positive? Really
? Everquest =/= Disney, just how Disney =/= Everquest or WoW =/= CoD or Arma3 or DAOC.
That's BS, and has been called BS since day one.
Why name is "Everquest" if they're not trying to cash in on the Everquest's fanbase? They knew full and well EQ1 and EQ2 fans were hoping for a refurbished EQ1 with sandbox elements and open class systems. So the statement that they weren't wanting to gut the other two games is an outright lie.
A new generation or not, you don't take something that is the pride and joy of a previous generation, that made you successful with their money and praise, and then throw them to the side for a newer easier to appease generation. It doesn't work that way.
Your thought process behind Minecraft is also highly flawed. Minecraft sold well because the Graphics FIT the gameplay elements. That ArtStyle went PERFECT with the game as a whole. That by no means shows that piss poor graphics always goes with amazing mechanics. The GFX for Minecraft FIT minecraft, what they're doing with EQ:N does NOT fit Everquest.
There really are only 2 points to debate here.
[ ] YES: I like it
[ ] NO: I do not like it
Really the only real cartoony parts seem to be the faces of the characters... Other than that I honestly think the world graphics and the few mobs we saw do actually capture the feel of how I imagine Norrath. And actually supersede earlier versions of it. All this crying over seeing so little is just getting old. Couldn't you have just posted your thoughts in anyone of the other 100 threads going on about this very same topic.
There's no fail whatsoever here. The art direction they're going does NOT fit Everquest. That is what they showed, and the art direction will NOT change alpha, beta, or launch unless voices are heard.
Please stop trying to misdirect this thread.
Agreed, the character models and art design for weapons/armor is their current major mistake. The world design, from what i've seen, seems to fit Everquest.
You mean, it does not fit Everquest, in your opinion. I think it perfectly fits Everquest.
Personally I don't think anyone is missing the opinions people bring up in the "debate".
What is the point of the "debate" ? If you think what it costs to bring the Average MMO to market... then think about going through three revisions already... Does anyone honestly believe they would suddenly dump the pile of cash it would take to redo all the art Assets ?
Along with the fact that since forums don't represent a very large percentage of the world wide market (much of which doesn't post on forums) ... they could alienate an even larger audience by changing the art assets.
If this was early development on the first revision of the game... then I could see the point of asking for something else. As it is.. I think they would just be moving forward as fast as they can to get to the point of bringing money in. That's just my opinion of course..
if the game plays awesome contentwise..i give a flying poopadooluuhuu bout graphics
PS: Your fault you bought yourself PC used b y NASA just 2 month ago:)
Bear, good work. you've started to define more clearly what it is that troubles you so much about the graphics and in doing so you make more reasonable arguments.
i still don't agree with them. and admittedly you are starting to sway off into the histrionic again in this thread. reread your OP and stick to that.
you are correct in that these graphics do not reflect the general style of EQ1. while EQ2 did more detailed graphics im not sure we can call them more realistic or even serious and gritty, with a few notable exceptions. so im not sure we can say that the entire franchise is cut from one piece of cloth. i think it clearly isnt.
the second problem is they apparently don't want to recreate the atmosphere of EQ1. these graphics are, purely imo, an evolution from EQ2.
thirdly, the majority of gamers (and lets be honest its a company not a franchise making these decisions) apparently dont care either.
this puts you up against a wall. go ahead and fight it if you feel you must. there is always the off chance that you may succeed, stranger things have happened. but frankly you are going to have to decide if this is a hill you want to die on. are you going to abandon the entire franchise because the graphics in this particular iteration dont satisfy you?
"There are at least two kinds of games.
One could be called finite, the other infinite.
A finite game is played for the purpose of winning,
an infinite game for the purpose of continuing play."
Finite and Infinite Games, James Carse
Herald of innovation, Vanquisher of the old! - Awake a few hours almost everyday!
On her twitter she references the stylization of EQ1 and says this new style pays homage to it. If you have seen the early EQ concept art that is part of the EverQuest loading screens, you know what she says is not a stretch at all. I can see how people would be confused though because most people associate Kieth Parkinson's marketing material/box art paintings with Everquest more than the actual concept art, which was not widely shown to the public.
There we go! I voted!
I hope they stick with it. I always thought western mmo character models looked awful. Asian mmos always had better looking models in my opion due to their anime slant which could be considered cartoony as well. EQN went with the western anime/cartoon look which I like. I really dig the fluid animations and spell effects.
Like this one?
So they can use all the content and lore that they have already and just change it up a bit to make it seem like an alternate reality. Instead of having to start completely from scratch.
Marvel and DC universe does the same thing. There is Marvel and then theres Ultimate Marvel Universe. Same thing with DC and their Multi-Verse.
Not everyone in its fan base is angry about it as you are. I've noticed there are a lot of EQ fans having positive reactions too.
No, they were just drawings, from the design of the initial release. I'll see if I can find them. They really are quite stylized.