Hey look, it's I forgot to hit the special key to turn off the interface time!
"Hello, little interface box. What's a Hero panel?"
To my credit, I did start playing like 5 minutes before the stress test ended. Two minutes after taking that shot, I found out my graphics settings got reset, too. Hooray defaults!
Lack of composition is partially to blame. WoW can look really nice if you put in the effort to find a nice background and pose and so on, but when you're just taking a snap from the char select... eh.
So in an effort to do Vanguard's graphics justice (on request of @Glal) I edited the game's fog settings and went to an open area in one of the original starter areas. I must say there was more interesting stuff to gawk at this time around and it also made it clear to me why I think the graphics of this game are disappointing.
First off: player animations are just stiff, I would have been more forgiving to the graphics if there was some fluidity to it, but there isn't.
But to limit this to still images, let's start with the first vista you are treated with:
There's also some gorgeous skies:
There is also a lot of detail going into some props:
But that's why I am bothered by the graphics, there's so much detail in *some* objects and there's this huge draw distance, but most of the things contain of clunky textures stretched out over surfaces with no lighting to mask anything
and characters suffer from this as well.
The sad thing is that there are some spots where they get it right and you just want to explore ahead. Like this long corridor:
But if so much of the game looks ugly and out-dated, it's not enough to do right in some spots. If they had bothered to make all objects and textures as detailed as the little pillows and bothered to put some lights in more places they'd have gotten away with most of this stuff. As it is it looks like a typical SOE game: all over the place and with no sense of style behind it.
I have the same problem with LOTRO, by the by: no matter how pretty your ponds are, you lose too many points by make characters clunky and stiff and not making other places as gorgeous as those ponds.
It has its ups and downs. You can tell the game's team was forced to change a lot, as quality varies from area to area. Generally, a lot of the architecture is meh (similar problem to EQ2), but for the most part I like the actual world; having both a huge world and being able to force the engine to extend the draw distance can make it feel huge, too. I think pushing the fog as far back in WoW as you can in VG would more or less let you see the entire Barrens if you sat at the ex Crossroads.
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reVerseAttack and Dethrone GodRegistered Userregular
@MyCoCo you are, again, most welcome. It was worth it to get a look at that fabulous armor. But you just had to post the screenshot with me in the middle of my fantastic dance routines, didn't you? :P
Damn it now I live with someone obsessed with this game. On top of the cool screens here I saw it in action the other day. I'll probably have to buy it now.
My ridiculously crappy Comcast connection has a habit of dropping my connection for 10-15 seconds, every 30 seconds or so. It's very frustrating, but today it did cause me to get locked in a funny pose, which I have added the appropriate caption to:
I recently bought this cooking set. It actually comes with a bunch of abilities like summoning a Charr sous chef.
Continue to deal with it.
The reason why modern foods tend to stay out of MMOs.
You cannot trust the Charr. I was always checking my back while getting pictures of their shitty rust city.
I do my best Link impression and SLASH THE THING.
Here is me trying to fight a pig.
My personal quest in which I
fight my alternate future self, who has taken over the world.
A Skritt city, but I understand if you initially confused it with a Charr settlement.
MOOSE?
Keep those guild colors flying!
After I helped an NPC get some embers for his golem, I followed him and it turns out he was competing in a tournament. His opponent brought a water-type golem and won easily.
A matter of size.
Norn dudes are even bigger. Sexism!
This is part of a platforming puzzle. It's elevated high in the clouds.
More of the puzzle. While appearing to be instanced, this IS a part of the persistent world. I fell once and, instead of a loading screen back to the start, I plummeted all the way to hard earth below. To add insult to injury, I had to run all the back.
Oh, you thought I was done? Vistas are things in the game that you can find. Once found, a short cinematic plays that is basically the camera panning around the vista. It provides some decent screenshots of the game's very pretty zones. Also, the lack of a first-person camera means this is one of the few ways I can get sans-characters screens without using the cower emote.
What's the norm lady dance? It looked familiar but sped up of whatever it is.
I really just have vista screens right now. Does the game have a force high quality screenshots function? If I'm playing on my laptop it's not worth it to take shots at everything low/off
Posts
See if I can get a loot reaver pug together to get the golden wing shoulders.
Steam: YOU FACE JARAXXUS| Twitch.tv: CainLoveless
"Hello, little interface box. What's a Hero panel?"
To my credit, I did start playing like 5 minutes before the stress test ended. Two minutes after taking that shot, I found out my graphics settings got reset, too. Hooray defaults!
Every time I see a WoW screen shot all I can think of how out dated it does look.
First off: player animations are just stiff, I would have been more forgiving to the graphics if there was some fluidity to it, but there isn't.
But to limit this to still images, let's start with the first vista you are treated with:
There's also some gorgeous skies:
There is also a lot of detail going into some props:
But that's why I am bothered by the graphics, there's so much detail in *some* objects and there's this huge draw distance, but most of the things contain of clunky textures stretched out over surfaces with no lighting to mask anything
and characters suffer from this as well.
The sad thing is that there are some spots where they get it right and you just want to explore ahead. Like this long corridor:
But if so much of the game looks ugly and out-dated, it's not enough to do right in some spots. If they had bothered to make all objects and textures as detailed as the little pillows and bothered to put some lights in more places they'd have gotten away with most of this stuff. As it is it looks like a typical SOE game: all over the place and with no sense of style behind it.
I have the same problem with LOTRO, by the by: no matter how pretty your ponds are, you lose too many points by make characters clunky and stiff and not making other places as gorgeous as those ponds.
I always thought Orcs Must Die is what WoW would kind of look like if they rejigged it's graphics.
Don't remember how to set it to take bigger screens.
chair to Creation and then suplex the Void.
I shoot stuff at things.
This shark spawned after we did an event. It ate a lot of Asuras, but not enough.
Sharp, pointy teeth.
I managed to get to the top of one vista in the WvW map. Didn't have a much a view since it was in the back, but pretty up there.
Goodbye until launch!
I had no idea this stuff glowed along with you when you put in on, 3 hours was too short to feel so fabulous.
Woosh.
Saturday can't come quick enough :[
That is so the video game equivalent of the Dat Ass meme.
They told me I could be anything I wanted...
First off, vistas are brilliant.
Second off, all my guys are in heritage gear.
Metrica Province is really something else. Giant, jungle area with a fair amount of asuran labs.
Also, charr look better in plate. Especially plate with SPIKY BITS
I'll grab some screen-shots tomorrow.
Outside of a really fun and tricky dungeon-like place.
And, of course, dance party.
God this game is excellent.
I recently bought this cooking set. It actually comes with a bunch of abilities like summoning a Charr sous chef.
Continue to deal with it.
The reason why modern foods tend to stay out of MMOs.
You cannot trust the Charr. I was always checking my back while getting pictures of their shitty rust city.
I do my best Link impression and SLASH THE THING.
Here is me trying to fight a pig.
My personal quest in which I
A Skritt city, but I understand if you initially confused it with a Charr settlement.
MOOSE?
Keep those guild colors flying!
After I helped an NPC get some embers for his golem, I followed him and it turns out he was competing in a tournament. His opponent brought a water-type golem and won easily.
A matter of size.
Norn dudes are even bigger. Sexism!
This is part of a platforming puzzle. It's elevated high in the clouds.
More of the puzzle. While appearing to be instanced, this IS a part of the persistent world. I fell once and, instead of a loading screen back to the start, I plummeted all the way to hard earth below. To add insult to injury, I had to run all the back.
Running to action!
Lion's Arch has a diving board with a LONG drop.
I am having second thoughts about this!
Under the sea.
You can turn into animals.
My favorite screen of my character so far.
Old PA forum lookalike style for the new forums | My ko-fi donation thing.
Ascalon Catacombs, level 30.
Each armor class gets it's own style hat at the end and that one is for all the medium armor wearers.
Thanks. I mainly run medium armour classes anyway, so all the better.
Old PA forum lookalike style for the new forums | My ko-fi donation thing.
dem's some nice clothes
Winter is com- wait it's here already.
I really just have vista screens right now. Does the game have a force high quality screenshots function? If I'm playing on my laptop it's not worth it to take shots at everything low/off