so....you're a DX10 elitist? I don't get your angle here. Those screens were taken with all settings maxed. Maybe you just have a thing against hobbit holes? Also, the game's textures (as with any game) look fuck ugly up close. Perhaps the shots are too zoomed-in for your liking? I can't do much with "ugly graphics are ugly lulz", I need more input. Moooore input.
Haha, I'm HARDLY a DX10 elitist. All I know is in all other LoTRO screens I've seen the game looks a lot better than that. Maybe it's just the player housing that looks like crap. Obviously if your settings are maxed there's no amount of input that's going to help.
Unless you're one of the designers you don't have to take it so personally. Last time I checked bad screenshots weren't a reflection on someones character.
I think the mileage will vary depending on the house. Here's the upstairs library in my elf house
As you can see, vast difference in textures and architecture.
This is why they have different types of homes
Raynaga on
0
Triple BBastard of the NorthMARegistered Userregular
edited June 2009
Yeah, hobbit-holes are....well...holes. Very ordinary when it comes to the interior architecture. And the textures in my hobbit-hole are just the ones that I chose for it. I didn't want any of that fancy elf business in my hobbit-hole.
"Everyone who is capable of logical thought should be able to see why you shouldn't sell lifetime subscriptions to an MMO. Cell phone companies and drug dealers don't offer lifetime subscriptions either, guess why?" - Mugaaz
It seems like your gripe was an interior vs. exterior thing. The environments in LOTRO are gorgeous, even now 2 years after the fact.
I guess I'm just not used to seeing shots of the interiors. Although, the inside of that elf house was pretty decent, it still doesn't compare to the exterior shots. Not sure why they'd skimp on the interiors but I guess most of the game you're outside anyways so...
naturalchaos on
0
Triple BBastard of the NorthMARegistered Userregular
It seems like your gripe was an interior vs. exterior thing. The environments in LOTRO are gorgeous, even now 2 years after the fact.
I guess I'm just not used to seeing shots of the interiors. Although, the inside of that elf house was pretty decent, it still doesn't compare to the exterior shots. Not sure why they'd skimp on the interiors but I guess most of the game you're outside anyways so...
To be more specific, I think you probably just thought the inside of my hobbit house looked a little simple, and too plain. Which it does.
It seems like your gripe was an interior vs. exterior thing. The environments in LOTRO are gorgeous, even now 2 years after the fact.
I guess I'm just not used to seeing shots of the interiors. Although, the inside of that elf house was pretty decent, it still doesn't compare to the exterior shots. Not sure why they'd skimp on the interiors but I guess most of the game you're outside anyways so...
To be more specific, I think you probably just thought the inside of my hobbit house looked a little simple, and too plain. Which it does.
The problem was the lighting, it made the plain interior look even more flat and uninteresting. If the light cast some shadows and had a little falloff it'd do wonders.
So they still haven't fixed the distorted limbs bug in WAR... it seems like the models are being forced to deform using another creature's bones animations. I spotted that way back in Beta.
So... I was in the Aion Beta this weekend, which was focused on the Asmodian race and spanned the first 10 levels.
I have thirty 1440x900 screenshots of my first character, with some comments along the way, and I'll break them down into two parts so that it doesn't WTFBBQPWN people's bandwidth all at once.
Now, without further ado...
This is Harpy, my newborn Asmodian Scout. She's as cute as a button despite the sharp pointy claws and the stylish ponytail back hair.
The default UI has an art nouveau theme, and it's overall a joy to look at. My only aesthetic qualm with it is how the character portraits and the inventory/preview character models are rendered at a lower resolution and not anti-aliased.
Also pictured, Harpy's aforementioned claws and back hair, as well as an NPC fighting a pig-faced, lizard-bunny humanoid... thing.
When wounded past a certain point, your character shifts into a different set of animations, which is a good visual cue, if you forgot to check your HP bar. It also gives me an excuse to take a picture of the pretty skybox!
They've done a pretty good job localizing the quest text. No Engrish whatsoever, and the dialog itself gives the NPCs more personality than you'd expect from a Korean MMO. It's not Shakespeare, but it's a pleasant read. Certain quests have limited branching options, but they're overall just for flavor or letting you choose which mob you want to kill. Hopefully they put this feature to better use down the road.
On most quests, a few keywords are underlined, and you can click on them to get more information on the creatures, NPCS, objects and zones, as well as having their location marked on your map. Handy!
This area was just breathtakingly beautiful. After I parked Harpy on the shallow waters to take a picture, she conveniently gathered some water in her cupped hands and then splashed it over her head in an arc. The contextual animations really bring the characters to life.
Oh no! It seems like liquid bloom was spilled on the water!
After finishing some quests, I use Aion's Hearthstone equivalent for the first time. It has a 20-minutes cooldown, and it rarely felt like a necessity, simply because it's relatively fast to travel from one end of the newbie continent to another, even on foot.
Harpy learns dual-wielding and a buys a new set of armor! She's trying to look all fierce and menacing...
...but quickly realizes it's simply impossible, so she mellows out near the Scout Trainer.
I'm in awe at how good the game looks overall, and how well it runs. I played all the way through with my settings maxed, and it ran smooth like butter.
When logging out Friday night, I decided trying to capture the animation Harpy does when clicked on in the Character Selection screen, but it just looks way better in motion.
I'll post the second part in a couple of hours or so.
aunsoph on
0
Just_Bri_ThanksSeething with ragefrom a handbasket.Registered User, ClubPAregular
edited June 2009
Every time I click to view new posts in this thread, it takes me back to post #60.
Just_Bri_Thanks on
...and when you are done with that; take a folding
chair to Creation and then suplex the Void.
Aion is crazy good looking and it looks great in motion too. The animations are great. I'd post some screenshots too if I was home. You can get access to the beta if you preorder at gamestop I think. But the beta only occurs every other weekend I think. So next time will be available in two weeks.
So they still haven't fixed the distorted limbs bug in WAR... it seems like the models are being forced to deform using another creature's bones animations. I spotted that way back in Beta.
Its a client graphics problem. I haven't seen it since early launch, but I suppose it has something to do with the new drivers I installed shortly there-after.
Yeah, I've not seen it since the first month either. Also, no more horses boxing.
I kind of miss that one. It was funny.
Fun fact: There was a concept for a race of anthropomorphic horsies for Trials of Atlantis. They were to be fighting in Volcanus with the minotaurs but it got scrapped. What a shame too.
Also in Classic portions of Midgard, the "Wolftaurs" were actually supposed to be were-wolf-centaurs but the character models suddenly went missing and they just put in a placeholder of regular werewolves. It was never fixed.
My run-of-the-mill inane questing is interrupted by an NPC trying to catch a glimpse of my future, in which I've ascended as a Daeva and apparently am a hot-shot. I arrive at an on-going battle of some sort, and things look grim, but morale is restored when I join the fighting. So I naturally spread my wings (!!!) and fly into battle...
...only to have the fortune-telling cut short, because that's all the witch was able to see.
She mentions an imprisoned Fallen Daeva, who might be able to help me Ascend.
Speaking of wings, the in-zone fast transportation between a couple of the outposts was done in style; courtesy of this nifty spell:
Highlights of some quests over the next few levels:
* Looking for trouble with a rag-tag group of corsairs down on their luck. (Or cursed, if you believe in such things.)
* Going into an once-Prison, now-Cemetery to do some grave-digging and tangoing with stupid-looking ghosts. (I should've taken screenies, but oh well.)
* Pillaging and plundering a village of peaceful anthropomorphic creatures, eventually going after their protectors/slavers. (Catmurais!)
I finally find the Fallen Daeva, and he indeed does lend a hand, but not before he showing me a more thorough view of things to come.
The dream continues, and I join the battle, engaging assassins trying to ambush me, followed by Elyos soldiers, and finally an Elyos Archon in battle...
...which despite uber-me's best efforts, proves too much to handle; he delivers a killing blow in aerial combat and I plummet to the ground.
As future-Harpy dies, the Fallen Daeva awakes me from the dream, insisting that my fate can be altered, promising to come to my aid when the events portrayed come to pass.
He sends me off to Pandemonium, the Asmodian Daevas' capital city.
I undergo the Ascension ceremony...
...thus becoming an Asmodian Daeva.
And that's it for now! I didn't even try to mess around with the new continent I was sent to on my first assignment, since I won't be able to level anymore during this Beta phase.
So far, I must say that I see a lot of potential in this MMO. I'm looking forward to Aion's next Beta phase!
Why do you only have 5 skills, though? One of which seems to be context dependent and 2 others not really combat related/buffs? Also, was that whole vision just a cutscene you had to watch? I mean, it looks beautiful, but I'm being critical regardless.
Why do you only have 5 skills, though? One of which seems to be context dependent and 2 others not really combat related/buffs? Also, was that whole vision just a cutscene you had to watch? I mean, it looks beautiful, but I'm being critical regardless.
At lvl 10:
* 1 positional ability doing more damage from behind with a medium cooldown. Better used as an opener, on a casting opponent or after I manage to stun them briefly.
* 2 ranks of a fast melee attack. Both ranks, (The second rank I only got at lvl 10.) link into the next attack, if you time it.
* 1 extra attack, only proc'ing from the previous two, replacing their hotkey item, and seems to have a small time window for use. I was told that with more levels, these Chain Skills can branch out on which one you want to use after each Chain Skill level.
* 1 conditional low-damage stun, only usable after Evading an attack. Great for setting up the positional ability, or giving me a headstart when running.
* 1 attack that I didn't try before I stopped, since I got it at lvl 10 on what would be a new outpost. I don't remember if it was a new Chain Skill or not, but I don't think it was.
* 1 short duration buff that increases all my physical damage, with a long cooldown. Good for bursting.
* 1 defensive buff that makes the next attack be automatically Evaded, with a medium cooldown. Great for setting up the conditional attack, although I also used it when running away from hard-hitting melee mobs.
* 1 stealth ability, with a cooldown longer than its maximum duration. It can only be used out of combat. I initially used it to guarantee opening with my positional ability, but quickly realized it just took some planning to almost always land it without the cooldown. It can only be used out of combat, but you don't actually enter combat until you're hit, so you can pop it just as a mob aggros and move out of the area safely. Also useful for scouting.
I also had Return - the equivalent of a Hearthstone, and a self-healing ability with a short cooldown that consumed bandages. Oh, and a toggle for Shards, which are items that you can drag onto your weapons to make them hit harder, but consume one Shard per hit... I only ever used them on "boss" characters or when I suddenly bit off more than I could chew.
From 1-10, you're one of the basic archetypes: Warrior, Scout, Mage or Priest. At 10 is when you shift into one of the proper classes: Warriors become either Templars or Gladiators, Scouts become either Assassins or Rangers, Mages become either Sorcerers or Spiritmasters, Priests become either Clerics or Chanters. So I'm guessing you'll be getting a lot of cool class-defining stuff from lvl 10 onwards.
I also learned some passive abilities, such as Dual-Wielding and an Improved Evasion Rate.
As for the vision, yeah, it was a cutscene. You have control of your character up to the point you jump off to start flying, and for the brief stints with the assassins and Elyos soldiers, while having a buff that increases your damage and defenses. Once the Elyos Archon pops up, it was all scripted.
Posts
I really should have adjusted the resolution to something more eye-pleasing, but uh
well
fuck you
I think the mileage will vary depending on the house. Here's the upstairs library in my elf house
As you can see, vast difference in textures and architecture.
This is why they have different types of homes
Old pic of my main I had lying around.
My Guild Wars main, Zagroth Sonus
My warrior in starter armor.
How do I get it to show the picture instead of a link?
My Guild Wars character is Zagroth Sonus. Let me know if you need a mesmer for anything in Hard Mode.
"Everyone who is capable of logical thought should be able to see why you shouldn't sell lifetime subscriptions to an MMO. Cell phone companies and drug dealers don't offer lifetime subscriptions either, guess why?" - Mugaaz
In photobucket you can copy paste the image from a list of links under it?
Those heirloom shoulders aren't helping any.
Now THAT's what I'm talking about!
It seems like your gripe was an interior vs. exterior thing. The environments in LOTRO are gorgeous, even now 2 years after the fact.
I guess I'm just not used to seeing shots of the interiors. Although, the inside of that elf house was pretty decent, it still doesn't compare to the exterior shots. Not sure why they'd skimp on the interiors but I guess most of the game you're outside anyways so...
To be more specific, I think you probably just thought the inside of my hobbit house looked a little simple, and too plain. Which it does.
The problem was the lighting, it made the plain interior look even more flat and uninteresting. If the light cast some shadows and had a little falloff it'd do wonders.
But the winds of chaos are fickle, and those who dabble in them may get more than bargained for...
I am.
I have an awesome shield too.
That sorceress' eyes are freaky though.
I'm reduced to tears everytime one of these pops up
Does anyone have a screenshot of a male Draenei on a Dwarven mount? The Ram or whatever it's called?
I have thirty 1440x900 screenshots of my first character, with some comments along the way, and I'll break them down into two parts so that it doesn't WTFBBQPWN people's bandwidth all at once.
Now, without further ado...
This is Harpy, my newborn Asmodian Scout. She's as cute as a button despite the sharp pointy claws and the stylish ponytail back hair.
The default UI has an art nouveau theme, and it's overall a joy to look at. My only aesthetic qualm with it is how the character portraits and the inventory/preview character models are rendered at a lower resolution and not anti-aliased.
Also pictured, Harpy's aforementioned claws and back hair, as well as an NPC fighting a pig-faced, lizard-bunny humanoid... thing.
When wounded past a certain point, your character shifts into a different set of animations, which is a good visual cue, if you forgot to check your HP bar. It also gives me an excuse to take a picture of the pretty skybox!
They've done a pretty good job localizing the quest text. No Engrish whatsoever, and the dialog itself gives the NPCs more personality than you'd expect from a Korean MMO. It's not Shakespeare, but it's a pleasant read. Certain quests have limited branching options, but they're overall just for flavor or letting you choose which mob you want to kill. Hopefully they put this feature to better use down the road.
On most quests, a few keywords are underlined, and you can click on them to get more information on the creatures, NPCS, objects and zones, as well as having their location marked on your map. Handy!
This area was just breathtakingly beautiful. After I parked Harpy on the shallow waters to take a picture, she conveniently gathered some water in her cupped hands and then splashed it over her head in an arc. The contextual animations really bring the characters to life.
Oh no! It seems like liquid bloom was spilled on the water!
After finishing some quests, I use Aion's Hearthstone equivalent for the first time. It has a 20-minutes cooldown, and it rarely felt like a necessity, simply because it's relatively fast to travel from one end of the newbie continent to another, even on foot.
Harpy learns dual-wielding and a buys a new set of armor! She's trying to look all fierce and menacing...
...but quickly realizes it's simply impossible, so she mellows out near the Scout Trainer.
I'm in awe at how good the game looks overall, and how well it runs. I played all the way through with my settings maxed, and it ran smooth like butter.
When logging out Friday night, I decided trying to capture the animation Harpy does when clicked on in the Character Selection screen, but it just looks way better in motion.
I'll post the second part in a couple of hours or so.
chair to Creation and then suplex the Void.
Its a client graphics problem. I haven't seen it since early launch, but I suppose it has something to do with the new drivers I installed shortly there-after.
I kind of miss that one. It was funny.
Fun fact: There was a concept for a race of anthropomorphic horsies for Trials of Atlantis. They were to be fighting in Volcanus with the minotaurs but it got scrapped. What a shame too.
Also in Classic portions of Midgard, the "Wolftaurs" were actually supposed to be were-wolf-centaurs but the character models suddenly went missing and they just put in a placeholder of regular werewolves. It was never fixed.
My run-of-the-mill inane questing is interrupted by an NPC trying to catch a glimpse of my future, in which I've ascended as a Daeva and apparently am a hot-shot. I arrive at an on-going battle of some sort, and things look grim, but morale is restored when I join the fighting. So I naturally spread my wings (!!!) and fly into battle...
...only to have the fortune-telling cut short, because that's all the witch was able to see.
She mentions an imprisoned Fallen Daeva, who might be able to help me Ascend.
Speaking of wings, the in-zone fast transportation between a couple of the outposts was done in style; courtesy of this nifty spell:
Highlights of some quests over the next few levels:
* Looking for trouble with a rag-tag group of corsairs down on their luck. (Or cursed, if you believe in such things.)
I finally find the Fallen Daeva, and he indeed does lend a hand, but not before he showing me a more thorough view of things to come.
The dream continues, and I join the battle, engaging assassins trying to ambush me, followed by Elyos soldiers, and finally an Elyos Archon in battle...
...which despite uber-me's best efforts, proves too much to handle; he delivers a killing blow in aerial combat and I plummet to the ground.
As future-Harpy dies, the Fallen Daeva awakes me from the dream, insisting that my fate can be altered, promising to come to my aid when the events portrayed come to pass.
He sends me off to Pandemonium, the Asmodian Daevas' capital city.
I undergo the Ascension ceremony...
...thus becoming an Asmodian Daeva.
And that's it for now! I didn't even try to mess around with the new continent I was sent to on my first assignment, since I won't be able to level anymore during this Beta phase.
So far, I must say that I see a lot of potential in this MMO. I'm looking forward to Aion's next Beta phase!
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600
GeForce 9800GTX+
2 GB RAM
Windows XP
At lvl 10:
* 1 positional ability doing more damage from behind with a medium cooldown. Better used as an opener, on a casting opponent or after I manage to stun them briefly.
* 2 ranks of a fast melee attack. Both ranks, (The second rank I only got at lvl 10.) link into the next attack, if you time it.
* 1 extra attack, only proc'ing from the previous two, replacing their hotkey item, and seems to have a small time window for use. I was told that with more levels, these Chain Skills can branch out on which one you want to use after each Chain Skill level.
* 1 conditional low-damage stun, only usable after Evading an attack. Great for setting up the positional ability, or giving me a headstart when running.
* 1 attack that I didn't try before I stopped, since I got it at lvl 10 on what would be a new outpost. I don't remember if it was a new Chain Skill or not, but I don't think it was.
* 1 short duration buff that increases all my physical damage, with a long cooldown. Good for bursting.
* 1 defensive buff that makes the next attack be automatically Evaded, with a medium cooldown. Great for setting up the conditional attack, although I also used it when running away from hard-hitting melee mobs.
* 1 stealth ability, with a cooldown longer than its maximum duration. It can only be used out of combat. I initially used it to guarantee opening with my positional ability, but quickly realized it just took some planning to almost always land it without the cooldown. It can only be used out of combat, but you don't actually enter combat until you're hit, so you can pop it just as a mob aggros and move out of the area safely. Also useful for scouting.
I also had Return - the equivalent of a Hearthstone, and a self-healing ability with a short cooldown that consumed bandages. Oh, and a toggle for Shards, which are items that you can drag onto your weapons to make them hit harder, but consume one Shard per hit... I only ever used them on "boss" characters or when I suddenly bit off more than I could chew.
From 1-10, you're one of the basic archetypes: Warrior, Scout, Mage or Priest. At 10 is when you shift into one of the proper classes: Warriors become either Templars or Gladiators, Scouts become either Assassins or Rangers, Mages become either Sorcerers or Spiritmasters, Priests become either Clerics or Chanters. So I'm guessing you'll be getting a lot of cool class-defining stuff from lvl 10 onwards.
I also learned some passive abilities, such as Dual-Wielding and an Improved Evasion Rate.
As for the vision, yeah, it was a cutscene. You have control of your character up to the point you jump off to start flying, and for the brief stints with the assassins and Elyos soldiers, while having a buff that increases your damage and defenses. Once the Elyos Archon pops up, it was all scripted.
Needs more brown, but I like it!
PSN: OrneryRooster
Flattering shot incoming...
Peeping tom checking my other char out as she loots!
Eyes forever focused, on the sanguine, metal dawn.
That hole...it was made for me!
I liked that short story almost as much as I loved Gyo. *highfives*