Blizzard's New Cataclysm Video Is Shameless Scenery Porn

[Brotherofwill]

Why would they demand a new engine? I dunno, maybe something to do with paying for the game every month? Plus it certainly isn't unheard of. One of the only other long-time MMORPS's which hasn't died is EvE online & they did indeed redo their graphics engine for one of the updates, and probably will do so again in the future.
There is NO such thing as FREE content with WoW - you pay a sub for it.
Graphics processor intensive?! Er what?! Think this goes to show you as being one of those people who just plays WoW and needs to expand their horizons. WoW looks good? Compared to what??? Compared to N64 games? Sure. Compared to games that are a few years old? No, no it does not.
It seems that people get so used to paying the sub they forget they are paying for it and demand nothing more from the game, even though they have pumped hundreds of pounds into it....

I don't play WoW and I also don't pay for it.

Yeah sure, no free updates, you are right. I meant to say content that you don't have to pay for additionally, free wasn't the right word.

I still stick with what I said. They don't demand shit because frankly noone cares about graphics, especially in a game like WoW. The art design is able to carry the game, so that's enough for most people. Good art design will always trump good graphics.

Blizzard is smart having the game run with this engine. Gives them a wider install base, limits problems for people with shitty machines. They spent their time improving the game, or updating it, so that's good for them and the fans.

 

[Redratson]

attention escapist!
NNNNNNNNNNNEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRDDDDGAAAAAAASSSSSMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!
I just had a nerdgasm, that is all.

 

[Brotherofwill]

Well if good art design always trumps graphics & if no one cares about graphics then:
1)Why did EveOnline have the Trinity update?
2)Why do graphics keep on improving if art design is key, not graphics, and if no one cares about graphis?
Your argument is missing logic. Nice.

1)Why are you asking me? I don't see what EveOnline's decision has to do with the design argument.
2)What?

 

[Linakrbcs]

On the endgame being harder to reach bit, experience gain in the lower-level region has been increased significantly, and items were added that further increase exp. gain on alts. So getting to the maximum level is no harder than it was previously, if anything its gotten easier with things like the dungeon finder and a much more streamlined quest progression

 

[Cowabungaa]

....That level of detail has been in most games for years....Hell look at the FF's...
Art design in WoW is good, but very, very limited by the engine. If you don't care about polygons and lighting, you are saying WoW could be PS1 graphics and you wouldn't mind.

Let me remind you of the fanboy argument:
"You're not allowed to criticize a game because the graphics are too primitive."

Don't be such a graphics snob. Games are about gameplay, not graphics. If you want good graphics go watch Avatar again."

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/experienced-points/8120-Experienced-Points-A-Fanboys-Guide-to-Fanboying.2

Art design =/= graphics. Saying you don't care about the graphics is absurd - you pay for the game, so why not want the best? Plus whether you like it or not graphics helps with immersion, something which all games should have.

What are you going on about? This is a simple matter of taste; I love WoW's graphics, I love how it looks, I've explained why and I can easily do without all the high-tech lighting and high-res textures. It's as simple as that. And FF games never really felt alive to me, if anything most of them felt very dead, mostly thanks to the empty-looking world to facilitate random encounters.

As for immersion, yes graphics help immersion, and WoW's graphics do that extremely well for me. It's why that game ranks in my top I-don't-know-how-many games.

Also, don't forget that WoW is trying to appeal to a very wide audience. Not everyone has the beefy PC required to run games like Metro 2033 on Very High.

 

[frago roc]

Scenery porn is just pretty scenery? Dammit, I was expecting a gratuitous amount of penis shaped mountains. >_<

 

[Irony's Acolyte]

Extremely rich in detail!? Compared to what? Games that are 4 years old, maybe, but not modern games, that's for sure...
Something which makes graphics and scenes look impressive is lighting. This is known through the industry and sadly, working on a basic DX9 platform, WoW is never going to look pretty compared to many scenes in Metro 2033 which are actually stunning - when you see the doors to the Metro open for the first time and so on. The contrast & lighting make it an awe-inspiring moment. Sadly, WoW's graphics are never going to take anyone's breath away if they have kept up-to-date because they are simply nothing special- low polygons, limited detail, bland lighting and so on. They are certainly doing the best with what they have, but WoW is certainly looking very dated.

When I mean detail I don't mean that in a technical sense, I meant in art design; grizzlies fishing in the streams in Grizzly Hills, the flowers on the ground covered by barbed plants in Duskwood, NPC's going about their routine, those little things that make the world feel vibrant and alive.

Yes that doors-opening scene in Metro 2033 was impressive, but WoW manages to blow me away just as much, not through technical prowess but through art design. Hence why I said that there's more to eye candy than just technicalities. I don't give a single damn about the low polygons, plain lighting and all that.

....That level of detail has been in most games for years....Hell look at the FF's...
Art design in WoW is good, but very, very limited by the engine. If you don't care about polygons and lighting, you are saying WoW could be PS1 graphics and you wouldn't mind.

Let me remind you of the fanboy argument:
"You're not allowed to criticize a game because the graphics are too primitive."

Don't be such a graphics snob. Games are about gameplay, not graphics. If you want good graphics go watch Avatar again."

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/experienced-points/8120-Experienced-Points-A-Fanboys-Guide-to-Fanboying.2

Art design =/= graphics. Saying you don't care about the graphics is absurd - you pay for the game, so why not want the best? Plus whether you like it or not graphics helps with immersion, something which all games should have.

I think the players are more than happy with Blizzard focusing on updating the gameplay of WoW rather than the graphic. I mean would you really be that happy if a company just keep updating the graphics of a game that you play rather than the gameplay. Yes its nice to have good graphics and all, but I'd take updated gameplay over updated graphics anyday. No matter how beautiful the game is, if the gameplay suck, people are quickly gonna grow bored with it.

 

[Mordwyl]

Just the scenery Funk? Even the new music is outright gorgeous. Though I agree, Skywall looks so amazing it feels like a drawing.

It's also not because we don't care about the graphics, we just don't feel they have a major impact on making a game fun.

 

[DTWolfwood]

man the game has aged remarkably well for how many years its been in existence!

Looks good

Too bad i grew out of skill based MMOs

 

[ionveau]

out dated engine with poor art i seen better with aion

you can even see the chains being stretched

 

[Grufflenark]

Meh, I'm glad I left WoW, but it still does look so pretty.

Looks shiny indeed, but I won't waste money on WoW again. Even though it's tempting.

 

[John Funk]

I think the players are more than happy with Blizzard focusing on updating the gameplay of WoW rather than the graphic. I mean would you really be that happy if a company just keep updating the graphics of a game that you play rather than the gameplay. Yes its nice to have good graphics and all, but I'd take updated gameplay over updated graphics anyday. No matter how beautiful the game is, if the gameplay suck, people are quickly gonna grow bored with it.

There is no reason why Blizzard has to chose between improving just graphics or gameplay. They get so much cash for WoW they could very easily improve both graphics & gameplay. EvE online manages to do it, so why not WoW?

They have been, though. Every expansion introduces small changes - lighting, shadow, multisampling - that weren't there before. They're not going to overhaul the game to run on a totally new engine because that would alienate so many players who don't have a superspecial gaming PC. The game is intentionally made to be as not-hardware-intensive as possible.

I have a decent-for-gaming PC, and with all the graphics turned on high it STILL chugs in Org, Stormwind or Dalaran.

 

[Cowabungaa]

Okay, I'll try to approach this from another angle - what about the graphics makes them good? What makes them worth the millions of pounds a month they get?
Irony you talk about empty worlds and yet you like WoW -.-
How does WoW's graphics help with immersion when every stone reminds you it's a game? Last I checked low res textures were a big immersion breaker....
I can understand that WoW technically has to be available to a wide audience, but many, many games out have an option between running the game in DX9 or DX10/11. Simply put, WoW would be better if the graphics were improved because as they stand they are laughably bad, and at the price people pay for them, I'm amazed (actually no I'm not - joe average is thick as a brick) that people don't demand better quality in all aspects of WoW.

Because I find them aesthetically pleasing, it's really that simple. Not everyone needs super-realistic imagery to be immersed, that would mean that not a single game before, say, the last 4-5 years was immersive. Some people still have an imagination you know, not everyone is so easily sucked out of a game.

In this case, WoW immerses me thanks to a mix between a thrilling, bold world, a vibrant and detailed look and stunningly gorgeous music. I have no idea why you call it an "empty" world. I walk around and see players questing, I hear birds in the trees, I see wolves hunting all kinds of critters, NPC's milling around. It sucks me in just as much as Metro 2033 and Half Life 2 did.

Planescape Torment immerses me in the exact same way, and it looks like this:

I was going to start playing WoW, but since cataclysm is going to change that much, I think I'll pass.

I don't want to think that I missed out on 6 years of history while playing.

: /

The game is unimaginable amounts of...better...ness today? Ah screw it you get the point; if any time to start is a good one, it's now. Before, the leveling content from, say, 1-60 paled in comparison with the rest, especially the 70-80 route. Thanks to the updated old world, that leveling content is totally up to snuff with the latter content. I find it far more enjoyable in every aspect.

 

[John Funk]

There is no reason why Blizzard has to chose between improving just graphics or gameplay. They get so much cash for WoW they could very easily improve both graphics & gameplay. EvE online manages to do it, so why not WoW?

They have been, though. Every expansion introduces small changes - lighting, shadow, multisampling - that weren't there before. They're not going to overhaul the game to run on a totally new engine because that would alienate so many players who don't have a superspecial gaming PC. The game is intentionally made to be as not-hardware-intensive as possible.

I have a decent-for-gaming PC, and with all the graphics turned on high it STILL chugs in Org, Stormwind or Dalaran.

considering the amount of money that is pumped into WoW from the subs, they surely can do better than a few tweaks here & there.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkfGd-x0ZwI
EvE had the option between using the old or new engine for about 2 years after it was released. I see no reason why WoW couldn't do the same. As for the graphics, WoW really shouldn't be a problem. Any frame issues are a problem with the engine and not the hardware if we compare WoW to other games on the market which have a lot of things going on e.g. Dirt 2 (crowds, car physics etc). I just feel that players are certainly not getting value for money, especially considering the expansion will not be free .

Okay, but... WoW and Dirt 2, WoW and Metro 2033, WoW and EVE Online are all different games. I don't *want* my games to do all the same things, thank you very much. You're also assuming that players value top-end graphics - I mean, don't get me wrong, I love when a game looks great, but whether or not WoW gets a graphics update does not factor into the "value" of Catacylsm for me at all (and, for I expect, the vast majority of WoW players).

Think about the comparison you've drawn between EVE and WoW, though. What does EVE render? Spaceships, particle effects, space stations, plants and stars (in the distance). Now, think about how much more *stuff* there is in WoW at any one time. Hand-crafted environments, PCs and NPCs, the gear that they're all wearing, the way they move, any spell effects, etc. There's a ton that EVE just doesn't have, and supporting two different engines at the same time effectively means you've doubled a studio's work. That's just no feasible.

Furthermore, EVE tries to go for the realistic look, meaning a graphical update - making it look more realistic - makes sense for that game. WoW is highly, highly stylized. I don't know if a graphical update makes all that much sense there, or if it'd even look good at all.

If my computer starts to chug rendering 300 people in Orgrimmar when all the characters and their equipment are (X) polygons with (Y) shaders and the like, it'll be a lot worse when it's trying to render the same people with (2X) polygons and (Super Y) shaders.