Graphics Sux

jk3592

Did anyone post how horrible the graphics look b/c it does. I mean out of all the highly anticipated games coming out soon, SWTOR looks the worst. Skill animations look also pretty lame. Comparing it  to WOW's graphics, since it's so outdated now, I don't see that much of a difference. I mean other than it being Star Wars, I don't kno why so many people are so excited about this game, other than being Star Wars. Let's pretend this game wasn't Star Wars, would you be still so hyped about it. I kno hard it would be to forget the "Star Wars" part of it all but try very hard. 

Pocahinha

Yep..the fact that its star wars makes people interested...because the game by itself is nothing but another mmorpg, a wow genre mmorpg.

Hyanmen

Stylized.

whilan

For the interest of conversation, i'm going to point out a few things to you.

The graphics were made to be less realistic so that it would run on a wider array of machines. I have also seen the graphics in a 15 min preview and they look okay. Not great, but not really bad either.

But on top of that, you got PVP (both instances and Open)

You got a massive story by a well known creator (bioware) that is known for making really great stories. Ala neverwinter nights, dragon age, mass effect, and other such games.

A very interesting crafting system that work with your companions

As well as the companions themselves which if you get to know them well enough can open up quests of their own, involving their own story line which intertwine with your own.

You also have choices in your quests that allow you to alter how the quest goes about (ala shoot the captain, don't shoot the captain idea)

You also have 8 classes (each with a different story) that can later be split into 16 different classes (2 for each one)

All of these without ever touching the star wars name.

Korithian

 They seem to have taken the WoW graphics model and thought thats the way to do it. What seems to have escaped their notice is that WoW is 6 years old, its unlikely Blizzard would opt to have the same cartoonish graphics again if they brought wow out this year.

So far EA or BW or LA whoever is responsible for the decisions on this game seem to rely too heavily on the names involved and not enough on the game. Which didn't work for WAR and it seems unlikely it will work for ToR.

wizyear2099

Originally posted by jk3592

Did anyone post how horrible the graphics look b/c it does. I mean out of all the highly anticipated games coming out soon, SWTOR looks the worst. Skill animations look also pretty lame. Comparing it  to WOW's graphics, since it's so outdated now, I don't see that much of a difference. I mean other than it being Star Wars, I don't kno why so many people are so excited about this game, other than being Star Wars. Let's pretend this game wasn't Star Wars, would you be still so hyped about it. I kno hard it would be to forget the "Star Wars" part of it all but try very hard. 

lol exactly why this game gets - points... looks like something on the wii. >< i mean i like Star wars myself but this game is trying to live up to what old school SWG was but gotta get better graphics that that. Gameplay is good but these days we need graphics! its sad, sad, sad...

Sfaliara

I agree the graphics and the animations suck. Hopefully the game has more to offer tho.

shedrin

The graphics may not be as realistic as many would want, however, having played mmo's with decent graphics (like Aion, eve online, Final fantasy xiv and everquest 2 to name a few) I believe, and it is my own opinion not one I wish to shove down other people's throats, that game play is definatly more that graphics. Some great games like D & D online have not so great graphics but a decent investment in trying to make the game playable for the long run. I hope this is what Bioware is doing here too.

whilan

Originally posted by wizyear2099

Originally posted by jk3592

Did anyone post how horrible the graphics look b/c it does. I mean out of all the highly anticipated games coming out soon, SWTOR looks the worst. Skill animations look also pretty lame. Comparing it  to WOW's graphics, since it's so outdated now, I don't see that much of a difference. I mean other than it being Star Wars, I don't kno why so many people are so excited about this game, other than being Star Wars. Let's pretend this game wasn't Star Wars, would you be still so hyped about it. I kno hard it would be to forget the "Star Wars" part of it all but try very hard. 

lol exactly why this game gets - points... looks like something on the wii. >< i mean i like Star wars myself but this game is trying to live up to what old school SWG was but gotta get better graphics that that. Gameplay is good but these days we need graphics! its sad, sad, sad...

Actually it's the other way around, game play should always be over graphics, you can play a bad graphics game and still find it somewhat enjoyable.  Whereas if you get a great looking game but the gameplay is horrid, you won't be able to play it. A great recent example is FF14. Graphics were superb, but then you got into the UI issues, the bazaar that never really worked right, the quests that kept repeating themselves. People hated it.

Gameplay is always first.  if you can't play the game, nothing else matters.

Yamota

Originally posted by shedrin

The graphics may not be as realistic as many would want, however, having played mmo's with decent graphics (like Aion, eve online, Final fantasy xiv and everquest 2 to name a few) I believe, and it is my own opinion not one I wish to shove down other people's throats, that game play is definatly more that graphics. Some great games like D & D online have not so great graphics but a decent investment in trying to make the game playable for the long run. I hope this is what Bioware is doing here too.

Well after playing Mass Effect 2 I wont accept any gfx worse than that.

Paradoxy

If i played MMOs only for graphics i would have missed so many nice games.

Gameplay > graphics.

MMO.Maverick

Yeah, I didn't really like the graphical style in SWTOR that much as well when compared to other MMORPG's.

But to be fair, it seems they have been gradually improving, and ingame scenes like these look pretty ok.

 

 

 

But if it had been up to me, I'd have chosen for the graphical design of a ME series for in SW:TOR. Would have probably caused the world to split into zones and instances like in AoC or have a limited range in their set of objects as FFXIV has though.

 

Besides Star Wars, I think another maybe even bigger attraction to the game is that Bioware is doing it. They're one of the better game companies around with consistently good quality in their games. That builds a lot of goodwill and credibility as well.

Thekandy

Originally posted by whilan

Originally posted by wizyear2099

Originally posted by jk3592

Did anyone post how horrible the graphics look b/c it does. I mean out of all the highly anticipated games coming out soon, SWTOR looks the worst. Skill animations look also pretty lame. Comparing it  to WOW's graphics, since it's so outdated now, I don't see that much of a difference. I mean other than it being Star Wars, I don't kno why so many people are so excited about this game, other than being Star Wars. Let's pretend this game wasn't Star Wars, would you be still so hyped about it. I kno hard it would be to forget the "Star Wars" part of it all but try very hard. 

lol exactly why this game gets - points... looks like something on the wii. >< i mean i like Star wars myself but this game is trying to live up to what old school SWG was but gotta get better graphics that that. Gameplay is good but these days we need graphics! its sad, sad, sad...

Actually it's the other way around, game play should always be over graphics, you can play a bad graphics game and still find it somewhat enjoyable.  Whereas if you get a great looking game but the gameplay is horrid, you won't be able to play it. A great recent example is FF14. Graphics were superb, but then you got into the UI issues, the bazaar that never really worked right, the quests that kept repeating themselves. People hated it.

Gameplay is always first.  if you can't play the game, nothing else matters.

Dwarf fortress, Minecraft.

That is all.

Hat off to you sir.

Sovrath

Originally posted by Korithian

 They seem to have taken the WoW graphics model and thought thats the way to do it. What seems to have escaped their notice is that WoW is 6 years old, its unlikely Blizzard would opt to have the same cartoonish graphics again if they brought wow out this year.

So far EA or BW or LA whoever is responsible for the decisions on this game seem to rely too heavily on the names involved and not enough on the game. Which didn't work for WAR and it seems unlikely it will work for ToR.

Of course they would have. The art design is based off of Warcraft.

What you are complaining about is "art design". The art design was already set before world of warcraft came about.

And though I'm with Yamota in that I wish they were more like mass effect 2, I have to admit, if I boot up wow with everything on max is runs effortlessly, even in the highest popoulation areas with the entire light show that is the armor and weapons of the game.

Sovrath

Originally posted by Paradoxy

If i played MMOs only for graphics i would have missed so many nice games.

Gameplay > graphics.

Heck, I just loaded up morrowind with some new textures and I'm having a blast. I've also recently installed Baldur's gate and it's still fun.

Qazz

Everybody knows that the more polygons you put into a game, the better the game is right? 

alanthecelt

I liek the look of the graphics

as i like hte look of ffxiv graphics

they are both individual and makes STWOR look a bit like KOTOR which is no bad thing

wizyear2099

don't wanna keep taking the easy route less graphics = better gameplay... now im wondering are they challenging themselves as developers? hell gameplay could be just as bad lol. don't wanna keep sweeping the dirt under the rug now do we :P. i won't accept certain graphics either. they already made a toony easy graphics star wars an that game wasn't hot. fun but the other more graphic game was funner :P. Maybe they can upgrade this in the future perhaps? it is a mmoprg you know.

Gormok

I would rather have WoW and ToR style graphics, than say the graphics of games like Rift and Tera. The reason i say that is, because i would rather run my game at max settings with 50 to 60 fps. Which you can do with a game like WoW, with  games like Rift and Tera you have to run them on low settings at a shitty 7 to 8 fps and thats barely even playable. Yeah i'll take ToR graphics and have fun instead of Rift or Tera graphics and have headaches.

wizyear2099

in mmoprg how often do you see on patch notes? we have uppe'd all our graphics. You can fix gameplay mechanics. but graphics would take lots to fix...

Darth_Osor

I can understand where the OP is coming from. Graphics don't have to be great, just not horrible.  The reason I've never tried WoW is because just looking at screenies/youtube vids makes my eyes bleed.  While I don't hate TOR's graphics, I am overall disappointed, but at least they don't fall into the "won't buy" category.  The environments look fine, but the character models are still awful, although they are better than they were and hopefully will continue to get better for the release version.

Antaran

personally i'd prefer a developer to work on the actual gameplay more than the artwork and graphics, means the game will be more enjoyable instead of just a pretty looking waste of space.

Hyanmen

MMOs: Gameplay <> Graphics.

You are going to play these things potentially for years. You can't slack on graphics. They are as much of an immersion killer as anything else.

If the game looks crap out of the box, what about 3-4 years in the future? Hideous.

Just saying.

Also, gameplay can be improved, graphics are based on the engine. You can do little improvements here and there (LOTRO DX9 > DX11) but that only brings the game from crap in 2007 to crap in 2010. It's only there to keep the status quo if anything.

sloeber

to all you GFX lovers out there.....one word....aion.....this one was supose to kill all the competition on the market just because it looked SOOOOO awesome (and had flying people...lolz).

wow is...when it comes to gfx......SOO outdated but still is the biggest game out there....how do you think this is possible??

PLAYABILTY my friends......smooth gameplay....have that and your game wins.

my 2 cents

Paradoxy

Originally posted by Hyanmen

MMOs: Gameplay <> Graphics.

You are going to play these things potentially for years. You can't slack on graphics. They are as much of an immersion killer as anything else.

If the game looks crap out of the box, what about 3-4 years in the future? Hideous.

Just saying.

Also, gameplay can be improved, graphics are based on the engine. You can do little improvements here and there (LOTRO DX9 > DX11) but that only brings the game from crap in 2007 to crap in 2010. It's only there to keep the status quo if anything.

As usual you are way of the mark here. EVE improved its grpahics and it was by no means little. Anarchy Online is completely overhauling the graphics for last 2 years now. So yeah a lot more can be done to graphics than just little here and there.

Also, don't confuse art style with graphics. FFXIV looks damn good but why it fails to immerse players in the world? its over all design that matters. So yeah gameplay over graphics anyday.

whilan

Originally posted by Hyanmen

MMOs: Gameplay <> Graphics.

You are going to play these things potentially for years. You can't slack on graphics. They are as much of an immersion killer as anything else.

If the game looks crap out of the box, what about 3-4 years in the future? Hideous.

Just saying.

Also, gameplay can be improved, graphics are based on the engine. You can do little improvements here and there (LOTRO DX9 > DX11) but that only brings the game from crap in 2007 to crap in 2010. It's only there to keep the status quo if anything.

Graphics update can happen (ala AO) anything can be updated, but if your game looks great but falls flat when you try to play it (ala bad gameplay) your never going to get the chance to update anything.

Most players will be able to deal with sub par graphics but bad gameplay will just kill it right at the front door. Even if you try and "fix" it later you've lost most of your player base.  FF14 is a good game but it's also the prime example of graphics don't always win.  Granted the graphics can't look like utter crap, but when i look at screenshots and gameplay footage, i'm not seeing bland textures and smudges.  You do need both, but in my personal opinion you need gameplay a lot more then graphics.

My chart would look something like this MMos: Gampley<>>graphics.