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Is this the most graphically-impressive MMO on the horizon?
Baseline
Member Posts: 503
One of my major gripes with the MMO industry (and the game industry in general) today, is that all of these damned companies are shooting for making games that can run on every system, and on just about every level of detail.
Nowadays, you have these companies seeing bigger dollar signs in games that look like WoW, TF2, and then you end up with games that look like SWTOR and all of these other modern eye-candyless MMO's.
Can you think of many exceptions to the rule? Where game companies are pushing the envelope with the high-end and admittedly say "yeah, we're making a gorgeous super-high end graphics option, and not everyone will be able to run it"?
Crytek always have, which is why I'll buy Crysis 2.
EQ2 did this when it came out, and that game's extreme high-end graphics settings were stunning.
Vanguard tried to. It's a shame the gameplay sucked.
Yeah, I said it. SWTOR, as much as I like Star Wars, I'm completely put off by the feeling that I'll be playing what feels like a kids game just by looking at the models and the world from the screens I've seen. Well, that and the fact that it's questionable whether or not it will even be an MMO, and one worth sticking around in.
From the videos I've seen of GW2, especially that shatterer dragon fight, it looks like this game, when run on the highest settings, will actually make you feel like it is a worthwhile investment to upgrade your PC to play a game on the highest quality.
Comments
I think there are a few mmos coming out that have better graphics (like Tera). But the combination of the great art direction GW2 has and the graphic quality makes it a winner in my opinion.
TERA, Rift (subjective), AoC, ArcheAge, Final Fantasy XIV, Vindictus and probably a few others I can't remember all have better graphics. I'd put it to an average for 2011.
Clearly not the most graphic-impressive, but if you widen the meaning a bit, it can get higher.
well if you are counting AoC, it has better graphics than any current or future mmo.
Some of those might have better graphics than gw2 but I much prefer the art style.
What games other than WoW are looking to be on every system?
AoC high standards, Aion somewhat high, EQ2 high, Final Fantasy 14 high like seriously?
I think if anything game companies need to realize that just because a game looks fantastic doesn't make it a good game, gameplay/smoothness > graphics.
There are a lot of games that FAIL because of their stupid standards, AoC and Aion especially when they were released were complete lag fests when it came to their big pvp stuff. High graphics in mmo's always make gameplay suffer that is a fact.
[Mod Edit]
Like the other guy said... who the heck buys an MMO for the graphics?
2nd, this game will probably have graphical quality comparable to the upcoming WoW exapnsion or SWTOR. If you look closely at the GW2 vids, you'll realize that the polygon count is still ridiculously low. AOC is more graphically advance than this game... and is probably one of the few games that could almost be considered as having "advanced" graphics. (Though it's still far away from something crom Crytek.)
The only thing that makes this game look fancy, is the art style. Which is a pretty good testament to the GW2 team.
A game like WoW or TF2 doesn't look 'bad' because of the graphical engine, it's purely a choice of art style.
Funny thing is I still kinda like current graphics like Lotro, EVE, War, Aion, AoC & Vanguard all look very good to me and even older games like Ryzom and DAoC are appealing.
Playing: Rift, LotRO
Waiting on: GW2, BP
TF2 uses all the advance render techniques, I personally believe TF2 uses one of the best lighting systems in video games. TF2 uses everything like normal maps, spec maps, etc. TF2 art style is also one of the best, every artist I know idealizes the people who came up with the silhouettes of the TF2 characters. My gripe is not graphics render power but the lack of art direction most video games have. sick of people bashing toon style, it works for games that try to be whacky and rediculous, like TF2. Wow also uses a sense of humor in there game too which is why toon style woks there too.
Sorry, I rarely ever post but this topic brought me out of hiding.
Graphics and the pursuit of it is taking up unnecessary resources in MMOs does not belong here.
First off, wanting to play a game that makes you feel as if it is not a game is like wanting to be so drunk all the time your reality is never sober. It's just rediculous to want to mesh something that is an entertainment release into something that is your real life. There needs to be separation. I apprecioate knowing that my character is a toon or avatar and it wont ever be real. Why would you put more importance on sight appeal when the story and the content is grossley lacking? Games dont get masses of forum spam because they looked great on the website and screenies but then, boom it's just a normal graphically advanced game. No, they get pissed because they were promised content and it's not there. Thats what people really want and the graphics messiah will not bring the lack of content to salvation.
Secondly, pushing for higher quality graphics is kind of backasswards with how the global economy is working. America is in a slump and China depends on America's economy for their own. Also other countries are more conservative with their spending on entertainment and find it silly to invest thousands of dollars every other year on new hardware. Expecting games to push the envelope further is like asking that when a game gets released, you and three friends are the only ones allowed to play it.
Lastly, technology is always improving, but the leaps and bounds it is improving by is more like baby steps now and will continue to get smaller and smaller. Technology's advancement is slowing down and we pay the same basic amount for less improvement. Honestly, I dont want to have to keep paying loads of money for very miniscule improvements on graphics. There is a certain point that good.. is good enough. Shit thats why we have movies going for 3D.. it sucks anyway but people cant be impressed any further anymore. Just be god damned content with knowing it's a false world created for your entertainment, not fgor you to become that world.
I agree that GW2 has some amazing looking graphics from what we've seen. Although even if it doesn't have the best graphics, it still has the best art-style out of any MMO I've ever played or seen.
IF you are like me a firm beleiver that graphics is more then just a pixel and polygon count then it will be the game with the most stunning graphics... I'd say most impressive scenery and annimations..
Best MMO experiences : EQ(PvE), DAoC(PvP), WoW(total package) LOTRO (worldfeel) GW2 (Artstyle and animations and worlddesign) SWTOR (Story immersion) TSW (story) ESO (character advancement)
Since all art/graphics are subject to individual tastes I think your question is pointless.
I do like what gw2 is putting out but I also like Rift's visuals, I've no preference for either style's aesthetics over the other.
I agree with a few other posters on a few points. The current crop imo look very satisfactory and even some of the older ones eg DAOC, Ryzom look great to me.
I also agree, content > graphics. A lot of good it will do if the environment is very high rez but art direction is directionless and not coherent with a consistent world-building style or realism. I generally prefer stylization because it is a "just a game" and the style is part of the fun imo, and because it works on lower-end pc's which are cheaper and last longer to play on etc.
GW2 fits the bill in all these areas so far: Especially if some of that concept artwork gets into the game, it's diverse and detailed and has direction. Amazing. Graphics is more of a brute force solution to a problem of making a game attractive or fun, though as a companion to good gameplay it helps. In conclusion: I'd prefer a more plastic (ie dynamically changeable) mmo world to a more graphically enhanced one if I had to choose and use a stylization to substitute the difference.
http://www.gdcvault.com/play/1014633/Classic-Game-Postmortem
Technically Id say AoC is superior to any MMORPG coming in 2011. But GW2 has much more creative and impressive art design
GW2 have stunning art but I am not sure if I would call it the most impressive on the horizon. Rift and Tera both look very good too and they might be having better polygon count.
And from the small avatar animations I seen I would say World of darkness online will be a real stunner. They way they handles clothes is unseen in any current game, MMO or not.
But GW2 probably have the best art in any game that will release soon.And the use effects really good too.
But they are using art, colors and effects so the graphics looks better than it actually is, something Blizzard are good with too.
Those demos you saw for World of Darkness were not in game footage, and you'll not see anything like it in a game for a long time to come. Eve certainly isn't a graphic stunner, so I wouldn't get my hopes up for WoD until they actually have something real to show.
He has clearly stated "graphically-impressive" and GW2 is not that. Not for 2011.
Rewards are given annually for a "best graphics in a game", what is subjective is art style.
They might not be in game footage but EVE was released in 2003 and the graphics are up to par with the most recent MMOs, one can only expect a game releasing 9-10 years after that by the same company to be rather stunning.
It is not the poly-count that matters, it is how those polies are used. I would also like to remind everyone that GW2 is still in Alpha stage. The graphics will get better as time goes on. I am really hoping for a vast improvement as I am still not sure about the art style they chose.
What you see in GW2 is the art style, not the graphics. If you look carefully at a few things the texture quality may be low or it may be a few polygons short of a sphere.
Here is a picture of an early dungeon in GW2, or at least part of it. It could be better, but it does look nice. Some things are a little flat, others seem to pop a little more. The texture quality isn't the greatest. To me that rug just doesn't look the greatest. Or the railings for that matter.
And then you have this picture of the Shatterer, which you mentioned. It looks very impressive, and is drawn together nicely with the lightning elements along the stone, but focus on some of the textures and on the ground. Look at the feet. This game relies on the stellar art style to bring everything together and look nice.
Disagreement Heirarchy
Honestly I think the game looks better in action than the still pictures. I greatly enjoy the art style they have chosen even if it isn't Crysis level graphics.
I agree. I always find still pictures useless. This game shines more when you see the gameplay footage. It is at the top of my list graphically speaking based only on what others have shared to date. I just love the art direction.
There Is Always Hope!
Meh so far I'm not too impressed by GW2's graphics but it's early and things can change. Out of all the new games coming out I would rank GW2 near the bottom as far as graphics go.
Velika: City of Wheels: Among the mortal races, the humans were the only one that never built cities or great empires; a curse laid upon them by their creator, Gidd, forced them to wander as nomads for twenty centuries...
For all we know the images released to date could all be taken using the DX9 engine; I mean, it is Anet, they are known to display the lowest common denominator of their game so as to not raise expectations too high. Even their test rig has a graphics card that is no longer on market.
It would also explain why the game looks better in motion, the demo rigs were probably running the game in DX10
Who knows, they may even surprise us all and do a patch after release that enables DX11...
I really doubt that, since those screenshots look exactly like what was on display on Gamescom and Pax (that used high-end Alienware PCs). Like most people have already said, GW2 does not shine in its graphical prowess but rather in its art style and direction.
If those screenshots were using low-end test rigs then you'd most likely get: smeared textures, lack of particle effects, screen tearing, etc. But in the end, all that matters really is the content and even if my shitty graphics card won't allow me to play GW2 on the highest settings, I would still have a lot of fun playing it.
You're kidding right? What MMO coming out looks so much better then this from a graphics and artwork perspective? I think just about every outlet has given the art style of this game high marks, especially considering how far from release they may be. Can you give us your list?
There Is Always Hope!