Blizzard's New Cataclysm Video Is Shameless Scenery Porn

[Cowabungaa]

This still doesn't really answer why WoW's graphics shouldn't be improved. I'm not talking about super-realistic, I'm saying half decent graphics when compared to the rest of the market. If something is meant to be chain, make it look like chain in one way or another, because as it stands many WoW materials are dubious as to what they actually are meant to be.
I am not saying games that are 4-5 years old are not immersive. I'm saying modern games have the ability to be MORE immersive than their predecessors thanks to technology. You are paying hundreds of pounds for a game (WoW), you really shouldn't need to use your imagination. Imagine if someone handed you a book that was half written and used the excuse of "use your imagination".
I've no idea what you are comparing WoW with to claim it is a thrilling world or has a detailed look....I walk around (when I used to play) and would not come across anything other than NPC's walking aimlessly around in fixed positions - quite a slap back to reality.

Because I'm not gaining anything by improving the graphics, all I'd get is very laggy 25-man raids and unbearable FPS in cities like Ogri, IF and Battlegrounds. I don't want my PC to be even better for all those things to run smoothly. As it is now the game is and gorgeous, thanks to brilliant art design, and very accesable thanks to it's low-requirements graphics. And I want to use my imagination, I love it.

As for the emptiness, that might've been in Vanilla WoW, but nowadays I see tons of activity going around. And cities like Stormwind have always been buzzling with life; kids playing, mages discussing techniques, warheroes talking about stories and of course the tons of players. Shit's going on and it makes the world feel alive.

And about those huge EVE Online battles, a friend of mine plays it and told me those battles are massive lagfests. No thanks. In WoW too there's a bazillion spell and weapon effects going on at the same time, a lot more character customisation than EVE ever has and every character is performing a lot more animations than a ship does in EVE.

 

[Composer]

why must everything be related to porn now =_=

 

[Jimbo1212]

The redesign looks great and the design team have obviously been very working hard, it is just such a shame that it is presented in such poor graphics as this kills 50% of the experience.

 

[Biscotti187]

why why why why why does blizzard always make it so hard for me to stay off of wow ... WHY

 

[John Funk]

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.

That's fair enough you don't want your games to do the same thing, but surely quality should be something you do want from all of them? And surely value for money should be factored in? You are playing a game, part of that game is graphics, so why not demand better graphics? The game would only be improved with them...
EvE renders unbelievably more than WoW - there are battles with easily over 600 ships per side, each shooting multiple weapons, multiple effects, customisation of ships and so on...
With the amount of money Blizzard receives through WoW subscriptions, I'm pretty sure they could triple the size of a studio & still have enough money for Chardonnay showers at the end of the day. Plus if CCP could afford it, Blizzard certainly can. Improving graphics could alter the art style but hey, that's something for their art department to sort out and they've done a fine job so far. Also on a side note, if realism wasn't something that'd work for WoW didn't they have the cutscenes in realistic graphics yet with still the WoW style?

If your hardware has a problem rendering people, maybe Blizzard need to tighten their engine. If it's anything like the SC2 engine (which from the SC2->WoW mod suggests it is), it's pretty poorly optimised. As a customer who has given ~$150 dollars (?) to Blizzard, if I was in your shoes I'd know I'd certainly be asking for everything to be improved at every instalment of WoW, but maybe that's just me.

Yes, I want quality. And I *get* quality. Is it really that hard to imagine that millions of gamers don't care about graphics? A game can *look* good without being the superest-high-end - just look at the people here in this thread who haven't played WoW who say it's pretty.

I know exactly what EVE does, and you've missed my point. In updating EVE, CCP had to update player models (ships - how many? Not nearly as many as there are armor sets in WoW, but let's be fair and say that since they're more complex, teh work there is roughly equivalent) and some spaceship models as well as the background scenery that you never actually interact with.

Blizzard would have to do that *and* completely resculpt the entire world in a new engine. And have both engines compatible with one another. Keep in mind that you're dealing with a playerbase that rages that the Farm is maybe two steps closer to the Horde spawning point in Arathi Basin than the Stables is to the Alliance spawning point. Imagine if there was some sort of terrain exploit or imbalance that only existed in one of the engines. What do you do then?

There comes a point when throwing more money at a problem doesn't actually solve it, especially not from a studio as perfectionist as Blizzard. If given the option between asking its artists to redo the world in higher graphics or asking its artists to come up with wonderfully designed brand-new content? That isn't even a choice.

Everything IS improved with every installment. I mean, the ray tracing in Orgrimmar when the sun was setting the other night was *gorgeous*. As technically demanding as Metro 2033? No, hardly. It's a ten-year-old engine. but they're making what tweaks they feasibly can, and I'm satisfied with that.

 

[TheYellowCellPhone]

I've never played WoW, and I have to say I didn't see that cool of graphics.

I liked the diversity, but it's be better. Considering the graphics needed for WoW, it was good.

I must say, the music was great.

 

[Cowabungaa]

So in short, you don't want better graphics because you wouldn't benefit from them due to your hardware limiting you. Well frankly I like to stay up to date with graphics, not stuck in some 5 year time warp. If you were playing on decent hardware, you'd realise how hollow it is to claim that it is gorgeous when it just sounds like a whole load of ignorance from your end of things (as in you certainly won't have played the best games on or close to Max).
Those large EvE battles have not been lagfests for a long time due to the blade upgrades. Don't make up crap, WoW can barely handle Wintergrasp let alone several hundred players a side. The fact you are willing to go this far to justify something shows that I'm just going to be hammered by juvenile fan rhetoric rather than thoughtful discussion.

I'm sorry? Juvenile fan rhetoric? You're the one blowing this out of proportion, you]re the one who's actively insulting me, so who's the juvenile person here? I already made it clear: I love how WoW looks thanks to it's art style and I don't care about that the graphics are technically outdated. I can do without those flashy new things, the reason that I don't benefit from it is because I just don't care about them in WoW's case, exactly as I don't care about them in Planescape: Torment's case or Fallout 1's case.

My opinion has fuck-all to do with ignorance as I have played Metro 2033 on high settings and I'm used to games like Uncharted 2. As for my hardware, is an AMD Phenom II X4 965 3.4 Ghz, Radeon HD 6870 1GB and 4GB ram 'decent' enough for you. Stop assuming things, it makes you look rather foolish.

As for EVE, I didn't know there was such a patch, I haven't spoken with that friend in quite some time. Good that EVE players aren't troubled by that any longer.

 

[VanityGirl]

I'm super psyched for Cataclysm, even if I'll still have to be working all next week writing news for y'all. Ah well, that's what I get for not requesting time off in advance.

Totally random, but what server do you play on? I need some people on the Deathwing server to come help me kill Deathwing. (Redundant?)

OT: I LOVE the new changes to WoW! SW looks much crisper and cleaner than it ever has. I might be the only one who loves some of the talent tree changes.
I really like the changes to the salt flats. It's under water now!

This video is great. I L-O-V-E it!

 

[ZehGeek]

Very simple. Story, Gameplay, and Experience are higher on the foodchain then Graphics. Game with good graphics but weak everywhere else sucks. Graphics to me are more icing on a delicous chocolate cake. Nuff said

 

[clairedelune]

Although I'm a longtime WoW fan, after playing dragon age for a few hours these graphics are shockingly lawlable.

 

[Brotherofwill]

Point one was rhetorical. You said MMO players don't care about graphics, which is clearly bull. Point 2 was to highlight that you said art design is far more important than graphics. If this was true, graphics would never have improved in the gaming industry, which clearly isn't the case.

I was joking about point one. I still don't see why EveOnline should be this glorious case study that shows how people care about graphics. I've never played Eve, but isn't it like a menu based stat game? I don't know.

When I say 'noone cares' I don't mean noone, you know XD? It's just a dumb way of saying: Graphics contribute very little to a game's success, especially if the game has the wide range appeal of something like WoW. Ofcourse some people (like you) care, but the majority doesn't. They want their friend interactions, smooth gameplay and 'avatar' (not the movie) experience that WoW provides.

So graphics are improving....your point? That sentence makes no sense to me whatsoever. If something is less important than something else it doesn't improve? What?
Everything is improving. Gameplay is improving, HUDs are improving, online is improving, sound is improving, design is improving, art design is improving, player interactions are improving, visual feedback is improving, engines are improving, performance is improving. Everything is improving, that's how humans roll.

If anything, it goes to show that the focus on graphics (as in the "OMGWTFBBQ this game looks soooo good') that most game boxes and game reviewers and the shallow game media contantly spout in your face isn't helping anyone, because games aren't selling better than they used to. Games from the NES and Gameboy still hold most sales records, I am hard pressed to think of a game that holds 'amazing graphics' as their number one feature that sells like crazy.

 

[John Funk]

Speaking of good music:


SOUND THE BATTLE KAZOOS

 

[Cowabungaa]

...You see, here is the problem old chap. You claim that that is your set up, and yet a)you think Uncharted 2, on the scheme of graphics, is impressive and b) you said if the graphics were improved "all I'd get is very laggy 25-man raids and unbearable FPS in cities like Ogri, IF and Battlegrounds".

Now if that was your set-up, well you certainly wouldn't be worried about "unbearable FPS".
In short, you are either lying about your set-up or lying about the low FPS you would get/drastically warping the truth. See now why I called what you said as being nothing more than juvenile fan rhetoric because frankly I think the above shows why trying to debate with you is an utter waste of time. And if you hadn't figured by that, I'm done talking with you.

Even with that setup, yes, simply because there's so much to render during a raid/BG/in a city on Ultra settings. It's a pretty damn demanding game in those situations, very CPU intensive and as far as I'm aware not that well-optimised for quad-core CPU's. Right now it's more than fine, and I want to keep it that way.

This 'debate' was already pointless from the beginning, you simply can't seem to deal with the fact that some people don't care that much about high-end graphics. I love how WoW looks despite it being technically outdated, I don't care about that fact. WoW's art style keeps me more than satisfied, engaged and immersed, is that so damn hard to understand? The only effect I really care about when improving the graphics is a possible problem with FPS, and that's not something I'm waiting for.

You seem to think that that's impossible, you're blaming it on all kinds of apparent misconceptions or failures on the player's parts, and the only thing you don't seem to consider is the simple freakin' fact that some people are damn happy with what they've got. That is ignorance. Not everyone's like you, not everyone thinks like you, not everyone has your tastes.

And yes, I thought Uncharted 2 was pretty damn impressive, and I don't think I have to explain that it's technically quite a bit more advanced than WoW, so there goes your "they have nothing to benchmark it with" argument.

Speaking of good music:


SOUND THE BATTLE KAZOOS

That's so freakin' awesome. I hate myself for missing the Liberation of Gnomeregan event, especially as a life-long Gnome player. Sure my main right now is a Dwarf Warrior, but I'm still a Gnome at heart!

 

[Dommyboy]

I'll be honest, all I really thought about while watching that video was the lack of shadows.

 

[lewism247]

Blizzard's New Cataclysm Video Is Shameless Scenery Porn

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This final (?) Cataclysm trailer may just be eye candy for WoW junkies, but it really doesn't need to be anything else.

In case you've missed it, World of Warcraft: Cataclysm is out next week. Yeah, it's pretty big news. Blizzard has been building up to the big event with a promotion called "Your Fortune Awaits... [http://fortune.worldofwarcraft.com/en_us/home.html]," though I can't really say I've been following it too closely.

At any rate, WoW players hit 100% on the contest, and Blizzard responded with this video you see here to the right: "The World Reborn." It's a glimpse at how the world of Azeroth will look once Cataclysm drops this Tuesday - old zones (already given their cataclysmic revamp [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/interviews/8354-The-End-of-the-World-of-Warcraft-is-Nigh]), shiny new zones, and instanced dungeons alike.

Yes, it's just scenery porn [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SceneryPorn] (whoops, TVTroped you, sorry). If you don't play WoW, you probably won't care that much. If you do, though, it's pretty fun to watch - and I'm consistently impressed by how Blizzard's stellar art department can make a game that was technologically dated when it came out six years ago still look so good. I mean, that midair city in the clouds (the raid instance of Skywall)? That's eye candy, right there.

I'm super psyched for Cataclysm, even if I'll still have to be working all next week writing news for y'all. Ah well, that's what I get for not requesting time off in advance.

Stock up on Mountain Dew and pop-tarts, folks. We're in for a ride.

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Looks like I have something to add to my christmas list!

That does show one of the main reasons I recently got in WOW, the massive amount of variety in settings.

Although it did show how little I've seen, I barely knew any of those places....