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What do you think about the art behind SW-TOR?

lunatislunatis Member UncommonPosts: 261

Hello!

 

I have been very interested in this game ever since it was announced that Bioware was working in partnership with EA on the game, yet I don't feel like I'm awaiting for it's release like I have been with other games.

 

One of the main reason is that the art of the game pushes me back, first. Not that there is no quality work, but I feel that the artists might have been stopped in their "élan de création" (creative mood).

 

It is hard to express my thoughts in english, as a seccond language, but here's an example of a screenshot of the game:

 

When I look at this, it makes me feel like their is a solid lack of creativity and polish. It makes me feel like we're in the original star wars movie, but nothing has evolved. The machine is simple, squarish, boring. The costume is old and the character looks like a mix between a nun and a chinese ninja.

Every game in the genre has cooler graphics and pushes further their concepts. BEFORE YOU FLAME, HEAR ME OUT.

Here's my logic:

- Star Wars is suposed to be futuristic.

- All they could come up with was this old rusty squarish machine that looks exactly like the original in the movie - which back then was original, but now is very outdated.

My point is, you can tell that they tried to stick with original art AND tried to innovate a little too but it didn't work out too well.

 

This city for example looks very simple. The statues are not elaborated, the buildings look like a mix between an unpolished coliseum and a bunker, with added monk design.

What is your thought on the matter, will the art design make this game fail? 

 

{mod edit - resized images}

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Comments

  • romanator0romanator0 Member Posts: 2,382

    As far as style goes the I think the game looks "meh". 

    image

  • MumboJumboMumboJumbo Member UncommonPosts: 3,219

    Think the art style looks awesome. I liked ME2 sci-fi and I think some of the grand and epic places in TOR are similarly jaw-dropping and the character designs look right out of the star wars universe.


  • Originally posted by lunatis

    Hello!

     

    I have been very interested in this game ever since it was announced that Bioware was working in partnership with EA on the game, yet I don't feel like I'm awaiting for it's release like I have been with other games.

     

    One of the main reason is that the art of the game pushes me back, first. Not that there is no quality work, but I feel that the artists might have been stopped in their "élan de création" (creative mood).

     

    It is hard to express my thoughts in english, as a seccond language, but here's an example of a screenshot of the game:

     

    When I look at this, it makes me feel like their is a solid lack of creativity and polish. It makes me feel like we're in the original star wars movie, but nothing has evolved. The machine is simple, squarish, boring. The costume is old and the character looks like a mix between a nun and a chinese ninja.

    Every game in the genre has cooler graphics and pushes further their concepts. BEFORE YOU FLAME, HEAR ME OUT.

    Here's my logic:

    - Star Wars is suposed to be futuristic.

    - All they could come up with was this old rusty squarish machine that looks exactly like the original in the movie - which back then was original, but now is very outdated.

    My point is, you can tell that they tried to stick with original art AND tried to innovate a little too but it didn't work out too well.

     

    This city for example looks very simple. The statues are not elaborated, the buildings look like a mix between an unpolished coliseum and a bunker, with added monk design.

    What is your thought on the matter, will the art design make this game fail? 

    thats not meant to be some extravagant city.  thats a jedi temple on tython if i'm not mistaken so personally i don't have a problem with more simple design.

    as for the walker looking like something out of the movies, well thats kinda what they are going for. they want things to be recognizable so that even casual star wars fans can relate to things.

    personally i like the art design they have gone for and it doesn't bother me but then again graphics and art aren't big concern for me when looking at game(and before anyone says anything i understand it is for other people and was just stating my opinion and in no way was i saying it should be gameplay>art/graphics).

     

    {mod edit - resized images}

  • ThomasN7ThomasN7 87.18.7.148Member CommonPosts: 6,690

    Not the art style I would have chosen but it looks ok.

    30
  • MMO.MaverickMMO.Maverick Member CommonPosts: 7,619

    I didn't like SWTOR's graphics much a year ago either.

    But the BW designers have been gradually improving the graphics, from both environment and character models, and while I still like Mass Effect's graphics better I can't - and so I won't - deny that SWTOR's graphics have been taking solid steps forward over the months.

    Most playtesters en masse keep saying that to their own surprise they were awestruck by the graphics when they start playing, since they didn't expect it from the images and footage they saw of SWTOR before their demo session, but apparently they confirm the continuous improvements that have been made in the graphics department.

     

    Since I'm lazy and have too little time to do a search right now, I'm just going to copy paste some examples I've posted in another thread, to show that compared with a 1-2 years ago SWTOR's graphics have become pretty alright to even impressive in some cases.

    Maybe I'll dig up some more SWTOR images later on, but for now here you go:

    The ACTUAL size of MMORPG worlds: a comparison list between MMO's

    The ease with which predictions are made on these forums:
    Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."

  • MeowheadMeowhead Member UncommonPosts: 3,716

    MMO.Maverick... the first and second picture you show of the city, those look pretty amazing, but I'm wondering just how much of that is actually traversable.

    If those were screenshots from City of Heroes, or a game like that, I'd be really impressed because I'd know you could fly, hop and teleport over every square inch of it. :)  Not sure how it'll work in SW:TOR.

    Still just about my favorite screenshots they've shown, but I'd like to see how it works out actually in game. :)

  • MMO.MaverickMMO.Maverick Member CommonPosts: 7,619

    Well, I don't know if you'll be able to enter every building that's shown in there, or actually travel at street level, but people did jump at Coruscant when their time was up and that worked pretty well image

    Although they complained that the fall took ages... Some people are never happy image

    The ACTUAL size of MMORPG worlds: a comparison list between MMO's

    The ease with which predictions are made on these forums:
    Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."

  • MeowheadMeowhead Member UncommonPosts: 3,716

    Originally posted by MMO.Maverick

    Well, I don't know if you'll be able to enter every building that's shown in there, or actually travel at street level, but people did jump at Coruscant when their time was up and that worked pretty well image

    Although they complained that the fall took ages... Some people are never happy image

    Right.  I mean, in my idealized world, cities would be considerably more 3D.  You could go inside and out of buildings, up and down them.  Of course, utilizing vertical space as much as you do horizontal space, then making a wide open world with a lot of square footage horizontally would mean incredibly crushing demands for graphics and cmoputer processing. :)

    Some day, I'd love to see an MMO that uses a world like BLAME!  ... a world design where they ripped apart the outer planets, and extended Earth further and further as a maze of buildings until it got so big it SURROUNDED the moon.  The artist calls it the cyberdungeon, and it's supposed to take thousands of years just to traverse from one side to another in a straight line.

    Now that would be a fun cyberpunk MMO setting. :D  (Hey guys, I'll uh... meet you soon.  I'm on the express, and game time is 100 times faster than real time, so if you wait four days, I should be right there....)

    edit:  This is not meant to be a bash of SW:TOR, saying 'Oh no, the cities aren't realistically traversable!'.  I realize that technology is extremely limiting in this.  That's why I'm curious what they HAVE managed.  It would be like holding the fact that grass doesn't squish realistically under your feet against a game.  It helps to have realistic expectations.

  • MMO.MaverickMMO.Maverick Member CommonPosts: 7,619

    Originally posted by Meowhead

    Some day, I'd love to see an MMO that uses a world like BLAME!  ... a world design where they ripped apart the outer planets, and extended Earth further and further as a maze of buildings until it got so big it SURROUNDED the moon.  The artist calls it the cyberdungeon, and it's supposed to take thousands of years just to traverse from one side to another in a straight line.

    Hehe, yeah, great idea. And great choice for a world.

     

    We (or the MMO playerbase and MMO designers both) would have to break away from the themepark mindset though, because for some reason people have gotten it into their head that massive, vast 3D worlds are somehow unpractical and no gaming fun. I beg to differ, but that's the dominant way of thinking in the MMO scene for the moment.

    The ACTUAL size of MMORPG worlds: a comparison list between MMO's

    The ease with which predictions are made on these forums:
    Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."

  • MeowheadMeowhead Member UncommonPosts: 3,716

    Originally posted by MMO.Maverick

    We (or the MMO playerbase and MMO designers both) would have to break away from the themepark mindset though, because for some reason people have gotten it into their head that massive, vast 3D worlds are somehow unpractical and no gaming fun. I beg to differ, but that's the dominant way of thinking in the MMO scene for the moment.

    I'm a themepark player who dreams sandbox dreams. :D

    It's not that massive, vast 3D worlds are impractical and no gaming fun, they're just harder to do right, and themeparks are easier.

    ... and the people who seem to get attracted to the idea of building sandboxes seem to be the same sort of people who don't have any business sense, or idea of practicality.  Problem with being a dreamer, I suppose!

    A sandbox game is basically as good as the tools designed to create the world and your interactions within it.  It could even be done with a lot of casual appeal, it's just... well, harder.  Doesn't mean it's not worth trying. :)  It would be nice to see something along the lines of Second Life for creation tools and customizability, only done by REALLY good programmers, basically giving people the tools to create sandboxes cheaper and more efficiently, and to allow even users to create content.

    I guess sort of like Unreal Engine... only specifically for sandbox games.  That could really turn around the market.

    edit:  This has nothing at all to do with Star Wars!  I guess to be on topic, I'll say that it makes sense Bioware is making a themepark game, because that is totally catering to their strengths as a company.

  • DeeweDeewe Member UncommonPosts: 1,980

    Originally posted by MMO.Maverick

    I didn't like SWTOR's graphics much a year ago either.

    But the BW designers have been gradually improving the graphics, from both environment and character models, and while I still like Mass Effect's graphics better I can't - and so I won't - deny that SWTOR's graphics have been taking solid steps forward over the months.

    Most playtesters en masse keep saying that to their own surprise they were awestruck by the graphics when they start playing, since they didn't expect it from the images and footage they saw of SWTOR before their demo session, but apparently they confirm the continuous improvements that have been made in the graphics department.

     

    Since I'm lazy and have too little time to do a search right now, I'm just going to copy paste some examples I've posted in another thread, to show that compared with a 1-2 years ago SWTOR's graphics have become pretty alright to even impressive in some cases.

    Maybe I'll dig up some more SWTOR images later on, but for now here you go:

     

     

     

    Really like those... the environment artists are doing marvels!

  • djazzydjazzy Member Posts: 3,578

    The art style looks ok. As someone else said, it's not the style I would have chosen. I much prefer the Mass Effect look than the one they have for SW:TOR.

    Edit: the pictures above do look pretty good, much better than the ones in the OP.

  • IsaneIsane Member UncommonPosts: 2,630

    The graphics are excelent ;  All the topics related to the graphics such seem to be baseless and from people who don't like the style that is something totally different from there being anything wrong with them.

    Great Graphics massive expansive worlds; I am not seeing much wrong here can't think of anything better at the moment where you still get decent gameplay and content.

    ________________________________________________________
    Sorcery must persist, the future is the Citadel 

  • lunatislunatis Member UncommonPosts: 261

    Originally posted by Isane

    The graphics are excelent ;  All the topics related to the graphics such seem to be baseless and from people who don't like the style that is something totally different from there being anything wrong with them.

    Great Graphics massive expansive worlds; I am not seeing much wrong here can't think of anything better at the moment where you still get decent gameplay and content.

    I'm glad you joined the conversation, but the topic is really not about the graphics but the art style. I think the graphics are clean and well worked, it's the style behind the graphics that I wonder about. I'm just trying to get people's opinion, not to bash.

     

    I think most people agreed so far that the concepts are very close to the movies and the star wars world in general, it's just that I think the art style could have been updated a little bit or worked on further according to the scenes I have seen so far.

    The word is MORE AMBIANCE, more DETAIL!

    It's just me tho!

  • MMO.MaverickMMO.Maverick Member CommonPosts: 7,619

    Ah yes, artstyle, I agree to that.

    Although they're starting to be very good with the scenery, the artstyle for the environments, Coruscant, Hoth, the other planets, I've no complaints about.

    For the character models I wish they'd chosen another 'stylised' design. The graphics are starting to look very good, the artstyle for the character models doesn't always agree with me.

    The ACTUAL size of MMORPG worlds: a comparison list between MMO's

    The ease with which predictions are made on these forums:
    Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."

  • DarkPonyDarkPony Member Posts: 5,566

    As someone with a creative education and profession (herp derp!), I approve of this art-style very muchly. It looks very painterly; much like 50's - 70's sci-fi book cover artwork. It's almost like you can see the actual brush strokes. Sometimes it is hard to tell the difference between concept art and an actual screenshot and I think that is amazing.

    It truly does ooze 'retro sci-fi' to me. Love it. I could go on and on about this so I better stop and link another screenshot.

  • MeowheadMeowhead Member UncommonPosts: 3,716

    Originally posted by DarkPony

    It truly does ooze 'retro sci-fi' to me. Love it. I could go on and on about this so I better stop and link another screenshot.

    The ground textures are pretty horrible there.

    ... of course, that applies to almost every MMO out there.  Can't speak for AoC, but it applies to GW2 and Tera for sure.

    Can't wait until they start using megatextures or some other fancy technology to make the ground look pretty all the time. :T  You know, the ground never used to bother me until a friend of mine who went to school for game design pointed out to me 'Want to see where texture work is the laziest?  Looka t the ground ing ames'.  GAH.  He's ruined so many games for me. D:<

  • Jimmy562Jimmy562 Member UncommonPosts: 1,158

    I like the Art style. I liked ME art style but I personally don't feel it would work well in the game. I find the art they are using really captures the old republic era extremely well.

  • DeeweDeewe Member UncommonPosts: 1,980



    Originally posted by MMO.Maverick
    Ah yes, artstyle, I agree to that.
    Although they're starting to be very good with the scenery, the artstyle for the environments, Coruscant, Hoth, the other planets, I've no complaints about.
    For the character models I wish they'd chosen another 'stylised' design. The graphics are starting to look very good, the artstyle for the character models doesn't always agree with me.

    Models... well, here's some feedback from the UK event:
     


    A brief note on the graphics as well (which I realize I haven't even mentioned yet; a sign of how important it is to me perhaps). I must say that I still don't really like the character graphics. The heroic proportions just aren't to my taste and playing a character who doesn't wear bulky armor makes it more visible. That said it didn't bother me as much as I thought it would either and I can see how with longer playing I might get used to it enough to not really notice anymore.


    The cartoonish or stylised looked caused some issues with taking things seriously or giving the slugs the right level of menace, they looked good but they did look like stylised slugs. My mentor is imparting words of dire warning and its hard to take them seriously as I'm thinking about my half ogres mohawk.


    The only slight down side at this point was the stylised graphics now I know this is a like it or lump it point but given the dark world and talk of blood by Sith did look a little cartoonish and not the dark forboding image of either the movies or the trailers. Propotions were fine and it is hard to put my fingre on it but the dark atmosphere of a repressive sith empire out for vengence against the galaxy weren't immidently apparant he looked like he would have been at home on the farm talking about corn or some such.


    Not much negative points I have to say, the only thing that bugged me a bit was graphical, as I had the slight feeling the area was a bit "monochromatic". Not in the strict sense of the term, but on Hutta where I played, everything was pretty much a shade of brown, including NPCs and Animals. It wasn't displeasing to see by all means, and I unserstand there has to be some sort of main colour related to each planet, but that's the feeling I was left with.


    I found the Consular to be fun. My only grievance would be that the same bacta tank is pulled from the ground each time you cast Project. I'm sure this is a beta issue and come release we'll be flinging all manner of different shaped rocks and underground parts at our adversaries.


    Running with my weapon unsheathed still looked a bit stiff as well.


    Flight cut-scenes were the most dissapointing part of the game for me, the take off and flight seemed very clumbsy and unrealistic.


    The big issue though was the character sheet screen which looked more like a trading card from some cartoon. Star Wars falls into a category of space fantasy which is a hard place to be
  • SwaneaSwanea Member UncommonPosts: 2,401

    While I think the characters could still use some work, I think the art for the background and everything is just amazing.  They really put effort into it.

    Everything looks richly detailed, and not just some low rez makeshift wall, rocks, etc,  like many games I know of.

     

    I think it worked out great.  But then again, people enjoy different things!

  • MMO.MaverickMMO.Maverick Member CommonPosts: 7,619

    Originally posted by Deewe

     






    Originally posted by MMO.Maverick

    Ah yes, artstyle, I agree to that.

    Although they're starting to be very good with the scenery, the artstyle for the environments, Coruscant, Hoth, the other planets, I've no complaints about.

    For the character models I wish they'd chosen another 'stylised' design. The graphics are starting to look very good, the artstyle for the character models doesn't always agree with me.






    Models... well, here's some feedback from the UK event:

    Ah yes, impression reports, always nice. You know what, let's add some for the sake of completeness and sort of an overview, I mean, we wouldn't want to be biased and onesided now, would we? image

     

    So, here's a more comprehensive list, not only focusing on either good or bad:

     

    Graphics, World and Environment

    Summer/Fall 2010


    • This see-through green panel denoted a "storyline instance" -- one that would allow only my party and myself to enter. I hit the panel, expecting a quick loading screen, but I was surprised to find myself passing right through it and into the next room. The instancing had occurred without me even realizing it (Brennan, Massively)

    • We went outside and approached a small hut that had someone who I was supposed to talk to in it for my main quest. Initially it had a big red barrier in front of it for Samm, but a green one for myself. After I walked into it however it then became blue for Samm, allowing him to come in behind me (Brandon, Torocast)

    • We began to split up a little bit and explore the world [Hutta]. It was much larger than I thought it would be, and the rumour on the street is that this is one of the smallest of the planets. It took a little under an hour to roam from one end of Hutta to the next, but that was on pretty much a straight line with only a couple little side ventures. To cover every inch of the map, would take a pretty good chunk of time, and that's if you stayed outside and didn't go into any of the massive interior sections (Brandon, Torocast)

    • Going in and out of instanced areas was again very seamless. Obviously no loading screens help with that but, I ALWAYS felt like I was in the MMO world and never like I was in my own personal instance (even though at times I was). This game gave me a feeling of “on the other side of that wall there could be something going on with other players”. This is good news for anyone who was hoping for that big living world feeling, which a lot of MMO’s have strayed from lately (Brandon, Torocast)

    • The graphics looks awesome, the player characters and NPCs look absolutely fantastic. I am really beginning to take a liking to the art style chosen for SWTOR. The amount of detail that has been put into the worlds is incredible, from the signs on the walls of Ord Mantell, to the detail of a Sith Lord’s tomb on Korriban, it all looks absolutely fantastic.

    • The worlds are open WoW style, where they are separated by zones, with seamless loading time between them all. The audio in the game sounds awesome, classic blaster fire, great explosions, the dialogue, all of it was very clear and crisp (Samm, Torocast)

    • The videos and commentary just don't properly translate how utterly massive the world felt. I saw other people running around all over the place. There were also alot of "social centers" (although they at the time were'nt active) Like taxi ports, mailbox looking things, interactive screens (bounty boards maybe?) as well as centralized quest hub areas where lots of players were congregating... it felt like dalaran on a friday night, just alot prettier with about 1/50th of the lag. If I got one feeling to put into words it was MASSIVE. The zones were huge and open, but not so huge as to never see another player for 20minute run stretches (Harvest151)

    • The starting environments are fantastic in detail. Canyons are detailed in shadows, crags, recesses, etc. The overall look is a much sharper looking game world than WoW (I have not played Cat so this may not be the case anymore). However, lighting, architecture and topography are stellar. SWTOR ran fluidly and this build looks more polished than the build I saw from E3. Voicework is the best I’ve heard hands down. I loved the interactive dialog and the ‘tree’. It has been stated that Bioware wants the player to feel powerful from the beginning. I can say I think the game succeeds here without question (Caldruid)

    • Graphics, though they are in the same sort of category as WoW's are definitely improved, a lot more crisp, high quality and the environment and textures have a lot more detail to them. Though character and equipment detail can be somewhat improved (Raul)

    • The starter world was pretty big, I only played at/around one town/city. There were 2-3 vendors I encountered there and they were selling armor only. But the town itself was pretty big too and I only went into some of the buildings, there were some huge other ones too but my quests didn't take me there (Raul)

    • Graphically, the game is looking better and better. The lighting effects and fighting animations lend grace to the powers. A special mention goes to one of the Knight’s attacks, which enables him to leap fifteen meters with a spin in the air before impaling an enemy with his saber. Exhilarating! The environments have also been carefully treated and filled of detail. As the character modeling is a little smooth, in a cartoon style, it will certainly generate debate, but it nevertheless remains convincing (Jeuxvideo)

    PAX East 2011


    • I know when the game was in early production and the developers had just started releasing screenshots, there were complaints about the characters seeming very cartoony and flat. I have to say, these characters were amazingly detailed, and although it was heightened realism, the quality of textures and depth of facial expression curtailed any criticism I might have had about the stylistic approach. One other thing that caught my eye in the midst of battle: There was no clipping. The graphics are incredibly polished, even in this beta stage (Larry Everett, Massively)

    • Visually, the game was a treat right off. The graphics have been tightened up and refined nicely, and everything moved fluidly. A few animations from the trailers have looked a touch stiff, but that isn't conveyed when you get to playing. The entire flashpoint was also filled with some impressive incidental graphics and surrounding events, keeping a sense of urgency up as your team moves forward (Eliot Lefebvre, Massively)

    • The visuals of the game looked fine; they were nothing special for video games but relatively impressive for an MMO. I think the visuals were a good balance of prettiness and practicality (Grant, desktopreview)

    • Visually the game looks great. It has an art style very similar to the Clone Wars animated series, but it’s much more mature looking. It’s artistic, but not quite cartoony. It looks like it should be able to run on any machine that can play WoW, but with everything cranked up on the Alienware rigs we were playing on and with 240hz monitors hooked up the game looked pretty damn hot (Bedivere, Fronttowardsgamer)

    • the landscapes and environment of SWTOR are extremely well-done, and look very solid— we noticed few, if any, instances of the old foot-sinking-through-the-ground-surface blips that often plague MMOs. The foliage looked incredible, and mobs were very detailed, particularly the lolloping Skinflayer (Johnston, Arstechnica)

    • We then went planetside, and I have to say that Taral V looked amazing. We were able to make it to the last boss of the demo without much trouble from this point. I was particularly impressed with the no auto-attack, I felt much more immersed in the game. I was also really impressed by the animations compared to the MMO's I have played in the past. (AtlasFontaine)

    • When I walked out onto Nal Hutta, I was "there". The world felt Star Wars to me. The interiors from the Taral V Flashpoint said it best, but this was a near second. (Hengist)

    • First of all, once I was dropped into the world, and started my initial quest, the dialog, and conversation choices [as Imperial Agent] felt exactly right to me. (Hengist)

    • Visually things were laid out clearly as far as the quest points, easily found the trainer when we got to level 2, etc. on the map. Graphics-wise, it looked fantastic to me. (Yossariank)

    • The origins [Tython] was fun and I loved the landscape it was beautiful.(Darth XveriunUlnh)

    • The environment was kickass. I felt like I was in a total warzone. Ships were flyin overhead, bombs shooting everywhere. (TheDuck)

    • Graphics were improved and looked great. I spoke with the lead writer and he said these graphics are not even the final product and that the final graphic enhancements stuff goes in last (TheDuck)

    • Once on Taral V the world was vibrant and very interesting. There were sidequests as you progressed up a hill (the sidequests are just there as you kill stuff and explore. You don't take the quests or anything) (TheDuck)

    • The game is absolutely impressive visually! The videos don’t even do it justice IMO. Tython looks GREAT! (DigitalMaster)

    UK Community Event 2011


    • Another thing is I didnt see a single loading screen playing for an hour and 15 minutes. Obviously there was one right at the start before I started playing but that was it (Deanogee)

    • Tython and the whole game look pretty nice, we didn't have an AA and shadows were jagged as a hacksaw but I was happy with the overall art style. I didn't notice any textures or items popping in, draw distance was far and the resolution was set really high. There were however several odd happenings with npcs in cutscenes including clothing clipping and levitating (Nighthaunterz)

    • from what I can tell you the game looks really, really good. Korriban itself is probably less of a jaw dropping world than Tython (what I saw of it which is hardly anything so I could very well be wrong) but it all fits very well with what it should feel like if you have played KOTOR and read the books etc (JamieM)

    • The stylized graphics were pleasantly pleasing on the eyes during gameplay (DarthViscus)

    • After the opening sequence you're taken to a lovely wide open field with lots of rivers and wildlife, some hostile some not, you're tasked to help padwans being attacked and off you go into the fields, it looked great I have to say even if my pre-built character was a bit goofy I spent about 5 minutes just looking at a river and the way it washed over rocks before realising why I was there (Saigo)

    • Everything looked pretty lush, if I was being honest I didn't enjoy the look of the smuggler starting area as much as the Jedi one, it was a bit more cluttered and could be a bit confusing to new players, plus the quests there were pretty basic (Saigo)

    • I think the game looks really polished and given the art direction is as good as it could be. But once again this will be one that divides opinion. The cartoonish or stylised look caused some issues with taking things seriously or giving the slugs the right level of menace, they looked good but they did look like stylised slugs. My mentor is imparting words of dire warning and its hard to take them seriously as I'm thinking about my half ogres mohawk. The big issue though was the character sheet screen which looked more like a trading card from some cartoon (Costello)

    • The level design is just absolutely stunning. For a moment I just looked at the Jedi Temple in awe (Karduth)

    • The place looked awesome,very lush and vibrant. The VO really draws you in to the game right from the outset and if you so choose to skip it you can (AdmiralMalice)

    • I went all around this hill looking for someway up it, where the quest was located, but I couldn't find it... but then I saw it a pipe! leading up the hillside, not exactly obvious but pretty awesome. I approached the pipe and I realised... Woah, I can't get up here, I need the jump button. I might add that jump was actually useful, I jumped from small notch to the next up this pipe and when I was at the top I was able to manoeuvre around the hill to my goal. What was it? Well it certainly surprised me it was an Artifact Holocron. Interacting with it told me what it was and that it was attuned to.... "Increasing my Agility attribute", I could only use it one time to increase my agility and I did so, whilst getting a codex entry for my efforts (Kandycane)

    • There may well have been other "Zones" within the planet [Tython], but the zone we started in was pretty expansive, I'd akin it to... about the size of Hillsbrad in WoW, but probably about 1.5 times the width, not exactly sure though, It's hard to judge size because the quests were linked together so well that there was only really 1 moment that I had to do a lot of onfoot travelling and that took around 3-4 minutes following the path I think (Kandycane)

    • The game was also very nicely polished the graphics and cutscenes right from the get-go looked fantastic -- there were a couple of graphical glitches here and there (MEHColeman)

    • The character design was good. It is not lifelike but we have seen the trailers and know the design style so I wont go on about it. The textures were very clear and looks so much better than what I have seen in the tralers and pics so far (PuhNoobie)

    • First impressions on the open world is "OMG" its glorious to look at. I clicked "M" and opened up the map. looked very small but then realised i had to click on the Zone Exit icon (There are little icons which show different zones of the map) when you click on this it showed me the whole of Ord Mantell and Boy oh Boy is HUGE!!!!! By the time i finished the play session I got to level 5 and was not even close to opening up more than 1/8th of the map. Traveling from Zone to Zone is seemless (PugNoobie)

    • The graphical bugs i found were issues with shadows looking jagged, A couple of times i could see through the head of an NPC. could see lines of the back of the NPC's head on thier face. very weird. Also when you run into the water you just keep running like water doesnt exist. you could stand on the sea bed and look up and see the water graphics but run around like you was on land (PugNoobie)

    • The stylized graphics work very well, and were a step-up over what I was expecting. I was nicely surprised (Helderash)

    • Anyway I spent most of my play time on the surface of Korriban, the scenery is quite brilliant. A Star Destroyer hangs in low orbit above the academy, the faint outlines of a couple of moons are also visible and I was generally very happy with the draw distance and the expansive area that spilled out before me. The actual Valley of the Dark Lords is much much bigger than previous KOTOR games, so much so that there is a fast travel system in place to get from one side of the valley to the other, there is also other fast travel points that are discoverable as you go along (AgripAA)

    • I found that the graphics were brilliant, I found a balcony with an impressive view where I could see other players running around beneath me, giant Sith statues in the distance looked clear (there was no lazy obscuring the view with fog here), there were ships flying overhead, and I could glance up to a balcony above me and target the NPCs chatting there. Bioware seem to have captured the feeling of being in the Star Wars universe very well, which bodes very well for roleplayers indeed. It was great to wander by NPCs and listen to them going about their normal business, I am also pleased to say that I actually jumped when a mouse droid skittered and beeped its way past me (AbKi)

     


     


    Animation

    Summer/Fall 2010

    • The camera angles and focus were beautiful. The facial animations and body language were precise and appropriate for the dialogue. I don't believe I need to mention the voice-over; BioWare has always been the master at finding VO talent (Everett, Massively)

    • I know there have been some complaints on the official forums about the running animations, but I am going to have to say that this does not apply to animation as a whole. The body language of the characters is superb. I am going to assume the team is still working on perfecting the facial expressions, but that aside, the hand gestures and the way the rest of body shifted with speech really captured the emotion of the character (Everett, Massively)

    • From what I've seen and played, this is the top of the food chain as far as quality mmo's I've seen. The only thing I saw that irked me was some animations and mobs getting stuck hopping on crates, going for cover, or getting killed and floating midair for 2-3 seconds. Other than that it seemed more polished than many games that have been out for years (Harvest151)

    • What the other guy said about some of the animations seeming stiff was true. There were some aspects that seemed "untweaked" like hand placement while running, leg animations, jumping, and strafing. One thing I did take special note of. Your Head.Seriously. The players head turns and moves very very naturally. Not just when targeting. As you run by hostile npc's or even standing still, as aggro begins to build (and yes, it's not BOOM! ATTACK!, they notice you at certain ranges, get defensive, then as you get closer they assume a hostile stance, and then finally full out attack) your head will turn to focus on potential threats, you will look back and forth as if you are sizing up potential tagets, with those enemies that have taken notice of you being prioritized (Harvest151)

    • Combat is fast and exciting. Animations are fantastic. For example, with the BH, I enjoyed launching a missile into a group of enemy NPCs (doing AoE damage) and then running into the mob with blasters firing away. When I got close enough I’d unleash a flame thrower to finish them off. You can run around the mobs and your avatar’s torso turns with arms up and weapons firing. You can jump off a ledge onto unsuspecting mobs and rain death on them. When a mob climbs to a higher level, your character ‘looks’ up at them and when fighting, this very much resembles a scene from the films. Hard to explain but I got the feeling of fighting in a 3D space that I don’t usually get from MMOs (Caldruid)
    PAX East 2011

    • Honestly, I wish I could have tried out the other classes, too. My teammates' abilities were just as impressive as mine and made for some intriguing combat and gameplay elements. Seeing them do things like fling giant rocks and throw up mini-shields for cover in the heat of battle just looked fun and it made sure that there was never a dull moment. The fact that I was so impressed with this demo when it didn't even cover all of the game's classes told to me that the full version is going to be packed full of impressive abilities, species, and powers, and that's the name of the game with something like Star Wars (Grant, desktopreview)

    • The character's fighting animations looked great, but the global cooldown for abilities felt a little slow (Johnston, Arstechnica)

    • All of the animations were very fluid, the zone itself looked great and the mobs were very detailed. The game looks very polished. Same goes for the sound.(StoneYeti)

    • Animations looked very polished for what I saw. We ended the event with all 4 of us dancing, but combat looked and most importantly felt fluid. (Hengist)

    • The first thing I noticed was how much better the character animation had improved since my play time at Pax Prime Last year. Instead of the disjoined awkward looking leg and torso movements it ... well .. looked almost human instead of robotic. The overall graphics were also greatly improved. There were, for me, still a few issues like target selection, which at times I found a tad fiddly (TheDarkKnight)

    • About the game itself, it was very smooth. The animations are very good. BioWare has done a good job of making these character look like they are performing the tasks they are performing and not just sticking a gun out there and pew pew coming out of it. (Rikalonius)

    • The running, jumping, and combat animations are much improved since we have seen last. (Engrey)
    UK Community Event 2011

    • the animation on the faces is great - especially around the eyes - really sucks you in as the plot unfolds (JamieM)

    • Flight cut-scenes were the most dissapointing part of the game for me, the take off and flight seemed very clumbsy and unrealistic (Vixone)

    • The combat animations were beautifully fluid and it was very apparent how much work had been invested; to create so many different versions of the same move. This was none more apparent than when an NPC was engaged from a different tangent then the direction your character was facing (Fectious)

    The ACTUAL size of MMORPG worlds: a comparison list between MMO's

    The ease with which predictions are made on these forums:
    Fratman: "I'm saying Spring 2012 at the earliest [for TOR release]. Anyone still clinging to 2011 is deluding themself at this point."

  • DarkPonyDarkPony Member Posts: 5,566

    Originally posted by Meowhead

    Originally posted by DarkPony



    It truly does ooze 'retro sci-fi' to me. Love it. I could go on and on about this so I better stop and link another screenshot.

    The ground textures are pretty horrible there.

    ... of course, that applies to almost every MMO out there.  Can't speak for AoC, but it applies to GW2 and Tera for sure.

    Can't wait until they start using megatextures or some other fancy technology to make the ground look pretty all the time. :T  You know, the ground never used to bother me until a friend of mine who went to school for game design pointed out to me 'Want to see where texture work is the laziest?  Looka t the ground ing ames'.  GAH.  He's ruined so many games for me. D:<

    Unless, Meowhead ... you find yourself strolling over lush and purty flowery beds. Seems when they cover ground textures up they're doing it properly :)

  • Paradigm68Paradigm68 Member UncommonPosts: 890

    I've learned that the look can't be judged on looking at screenshots or even video clips. You need to be in, in your char and see how it feels.  If it feels right, they got the look right.

  • ste2000ste2000 Member EpicPosts: 6,194

    To be honest in reference to the art style matter, Star Wars has always been a mix between Sci-Fi and Fantasy, c'mon the lightsabres should be a give away, who needs swords when you have laser guns?

    It's obviously something that add another dimention to the classic Sci-Fi genre, that's why Star Wars is so succesful.

     

    I have to say though, that I really hate the character models and the cartoonish color palette

    It looks a like a game for kids.

  • DeeweDeewe Member UncommonPosts: 1,980

    *** self edit ***
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