For a game that is nearly 10 years old I say the graphics are great. You guys should see Vanguards, only nice detail they put in there is the day and night cycle.
im glad to see some of this critique, i've been concerned when i've tried to go back recently to EQ2, that either my machine was screwing up or my eyes and reflexes were shot.
for instance, the movement in game is so jerky. run|stop. run|stop. also, i have always been a bit put off by the camera decisions in relation to the size of the avatar models. i honestly don't have the expertise to label exactly what's wrong there, but i do feel most of the time like i'm manipulating toy figures rather than a character.
it's still a good game. and on occasion i do enjoy it. so i put up with it, but really, it's that way with any game really. you enjoy the parts you can and dismiss the one's you don't.
"There are at least two kinds of games. One could be called finite, the other infinite. A finite game is played for the purpose of winning, an infinite game for the purpose of continuing play." Finite and Infinite Games, James Carse
Originally posted by Jorl For a game that is nearly 10 years old I say the graphics are great. You guys should see Vanguards, only nice detail they put in there is the day and night cycle.
which is the weird part for me, right? i actually feel more comfortable with Vanguard's graphics than i do with EQ2's.
"There are at least two kinds of games. One could be called finite, the other infinite. A finite game is played for the purpose of winning, an infinite game for the purpose of continuing play." Finite and Infinite Games, James Carse
Originally posted by Father_Jack Gameplay is more important than graphics to me
Within reason I agree with this too.
No matter how amazing a game looks in the beginning, it's initial graphical appeal over time will loose it's shine. Then the depth and game-play begin to factor as a major stimulus to keep players in a particular game. Thankfully, EQ2 has both those things in spades.
And for a ten year old game there are still some parts that can look pretty impressive. A sunrise over the Desert of Ro (Sinking Sands) is just one example.
This games graphics have nothing to do with its age. From the minute it was launched people complained. They did do a revamp after release. The terrain looks good, but character models are just hideous.
EQ2 started off with good graphics but ran terribly on most systems so they slowly got worse over time. Combine this with the fact EQ2 has some of the cheesiest overexaggerated animations ever and I can see where OP is coming from.
Originally posted by PurutzilStylized graphics have the benefit of being able to look far cleaner given aging then one that is meant to look 'realistic' at the time of its creation. People really crave realistic yet it tends to hurt the game in the long term, both forcing it to requiring more strict speccs (Thus less people being able to play it) as well as having the disadvantage of aging far quicker then one that goes for a more "Cartoony" look as some of the silly people tend to call it.
Everques 2 graphics and art style are NOT realist, they are and always were very, very stylized!
From the proportions to the color pallet, EQ2 visuals are very unique. Games like Medal of Honor Allied Assault(released before EQ2) have a true realistic style. A game doesn't need to look "cartoony" to have stylized aesthetics.
Realistic visuals, even with old or low quality graphics, will have realistic proportions and color pallets. The stylized and NOT "life like" proportions on Everques 2, ironically, are some of the visual details that doesn't please everyone.
Soul Reaver is another example of a game that does not look cartoony but still has fairly stylized visuals.
EQ2 is not for everyone, but for me, it is one of the best MMOs on the market.
Over the course of several years, i found it harder and harder to get back into the game after taking a break. The graphics had a huge part in that.
I always felt that mainly the lighting is very bad and artificial looking. Everything looks like in these old movies where they do an outdoor scene in a studio. Putting up some rocks, trees and a spotlight, the light looks ridiculously fake and obvious compared to natural lighting in an outdoor-scene.
EQ2 always looked like crap. While the character models were / are nice, that's about all the game has going for it in terms of graphics. It's a very ugly game overall, with terrible landscaping and landscape textures. The fact that the engine sucked down resources & still chugged along even on decent PCs of the time didn't help matters.
Not even going to start on the animations. Let's just say that I've seen flip-book comics with more fluid movement, and Rift's are butter-smooth in comparison.
AN' DERE AIN'T NO SUCH FING AS ENUFF DAKKA, YA GROT! Enuff'z more than ya got an' less than too much an' there ain't no such fing as too much dakka. Say dere is, and me Squiggoff'z eatin' tonight!
We are born of the blood. Made men by the blood. Undone by the blood. Our eyes are yet to open. FEAR THE OLD BLOOD.
The reason realistic graphics don't age well has more to do with you getting accustomed to newer technology. Once, the realistic graphics have emerged to level where it is like playing a bluray movie with live actors then it will start to age more slowly.
EQ2 always looked like crap. While the character models were / are nice, that's about all the game has going for it in terms of graphics. It's a very ugly game overall, with terrible landscaping and landscape textures. The fact that the engine sucked down resources & still chugged along even on decent PCs of the time didn't help matters.
Not even going to start on the animations. Let's just say that I've seen flip-book comics with more fluid movement, and Rift's are butter-smooth in comparison.
You do realize they used motion capture for the character animations, yes? I'm really not sure what people are looking at. One possible reason is they haven't improved their graphics settings. It's a lot down to personal preference, but to say they're not fluid is basically just a lie.
Yes, the landscape isn't great compared to new games these days. Back 10 years ago though there was nothing wrong with it, and even today it still looks fine. Once you get use to it areas can still look quite nice. And it's still got one of the longest line of sight options for in-game objects of MMOs going around today.
EQ2 looks fine to me, but I am not all about graphics. I liked EQ2's graphics more than I did WoW, and still do. So I do not think this 'ages well' thing is universal.
EQ2 looks fine to me, but I am not all about graphics. I liked EQ2's graphics more than I did WoW, and still do. So I do not think this 'ages well' thing is universal.
Well beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but art style can be tied to a certain period of time which gives it an inherent "older" look, or some might feel it becomes retro over time.
I do believe animations play a huge role into the overall look of a game. I find that the more realistic a game attempts to look, the worse the animations look over a given time. Stylized graphics more often than not have less than realistic animations, which add to the flavor of the style. Additionally, we're not overly comparing the stylized look to "real life" the more forgiving we seem to be as they age.
However, like with pretty much all things art, it's all a matter of personal taste.
I see a lot of realistic graphics age poorly on here. I want to point you to FFXI, I just played last week and the detail and gameworld looks realistic and beautiful still even after 11 years straight. That is one game they don't have to update the graphic for because it was well made at its very foundation.
If you look at games like Ashreons Call 2, also a game I'm currently playing part time, they have added new graphics to that game that I find very realistic and very beautiful. The sky looks like a real sky, the water looks very beautiful, very HD updated.
I think games need to use their engine and announce at the start of anygame that they will be updating graphics when new technology comes out to allow them to. Many old games can be retextured with high quality HD looks and a SKYRIM look to them. Heck, even skyrim was updated to HD textures with a mod.
EQ 2 has the ability to use Mods, very few games had the verisitility of Mods back then, and this is one game I think should have HD textures and a total realistic makeover done to it. I know if a game like AC2 can be retextured, so can a big title like EQ2
The bottom line is money... does the company want to spend money to retexture everything, and the cost of doing so. Its not that it ages poorly, its not that its unable to be done, its weather or not a company wants to remodel everything. Just like a house, you tear off that old siding and put on new siding thatll last another decade, and you keep doing that instead of letting your house fall apart and no one is left to live in it anymore.
I've always thought EQ2 look was ugly. I don't think the GFX are bad, but I think the art style, Character models, animations, and the over plastic look turned a lot of people away. I'm happy EQN is taking the more stylized approach.
I started to play Everquest II when it became free to play - around January 2012. I choose a game for its feel and immersive environment. That's always a question of taste and preferences. I like the picture-book style and the oldschool charm of EQ II. I took a lot of time to create my characters (a human female mage and a half elf male monk) and was very happy, when new hairstyles were made available. I just love to hang out and roam around this open world. I never play one game solely, so I don't get tired of them. Everquest II is a much loved all time classic. If it is not to Your taste - just move along...
Comments
im glad to see some of this critique, i've been concerned when i've tried to go back recently to EQ2, that either my machine was screwing up or my eyes and reflexes were shot.
for instance, the movement in game is so jerky. run|stop. run|stop. also, i have always been a bit put off by the camera decisions in relation to the size of the avatar models. i honestly don't have the expertise to label exactly what's wrong there, but i do feel most of the time like i'm manipulating toy figures rather than a character.
it's still a good game. and on occasion i do enjoy it. so i put up with it, but really, it's that way with any game really. you enjoy the parts you can and dismiss the one's you don't.
"There are at least two kinds of games.
One could be called finite, the other infinite.
A finite game is played for the purpose of winning,
an infinite game for the purpose of continuing play."
Finite and Infinite Games, James Carse
which is the weird part for me, right? i actually feel more comfortable with Vanguard's graphics than i do with EQ2's.
"There are at least two kinds of games.
One could be called finite, the other infinite.
A finite game is played for the purpose of winning,
an infinite game for the purpose of continuing play."
Finite and Infinite Games, James Carse
Within reason I agree with this too.
No matter how amazing a game looks in the beginning, it's initial graphical appeal over time will loose it's shine. Then the depth and game-play begin to factor as a major stimulus to keep players in a particular game. Thankfully, EQ2 has both those things in spades.
And for a ten year old game there are still some parts that can look pretty impressive. A sunrise over the Desert of Ro (Sinking Sands) is just one example.
Everques 2 graphics and art style are NOT realist, they are and always were very, very stylized!
From the proportions to the color pallet, EQ2 visuals are very unique. Games like Medal of Honor Allied Assault(released before EQ2) have a true realistic style. A game doesn't need to look "cartoony" to have stylized aesthetics.
Realistic visuals, even with old or low quality graphics, will have realistic proportions and color pallets. The stylized and NOT "life like" proportions on Everques 2, ironically, are some of the visual details that doesn't please everyone.
Soul Reaver is another example of a game that does not look cartoony but still has fairly stylized visuals.
EQ2 is not for everyone, but for me, it is one of the best MMOs on the market.
Something to do with emperors new clothes.
If I played EQ2 before I played WoW, I would have stuck with it instead for sure. I enjoyed EQ2 more than I did WoW.
Ratonga is the master race.
Over the course of several years, i found it harder and harder to get back into the game after taking a break. The graphics had a huge part in that.
I always felt that mainly the lighting is very bad and artificial looking. Everything looks like in these old movies where they do an outdoor scene in a studio. Putting up some rocks, trees and a spotlight, the light looks ridiculously fake and obvious compared to natural lighting in an outdoor-scene.
EQ2 always looked like crap. While the character models were / are nice, that's about all the game has going for it in terms of graphics. It's a very ugly game overall, with terrible landscaping and landscape textures. The fact that the engine sucked down resources & still chugged along even on decent PCs of the time didn't help matters.
Not even going to start on the animations. Let's just say that I've seen flip-book comics with more fluid movement, and Rift's are butter-smooth in comparison.
AN' DERE AIN'T NO SUCH FING AS ENUFF DAKKA, YA GROT! Enuff'z more than ya got an' less than too much an' there ain't no such fing as too much dakka. Say dere is, and me Squiggoff'z eatin' tonight!
We are born of the blood. Made men by the blood. Undone by the blood. Our eyes are yet to open. FEAR THE OLD BLOOD.
#IStandWithVic
First graphics don't age.
Second, your perception of the graphics change.
The reason realistic graphics don't age well has more to do with you getting accustomed to newer technology. Once, the realistic graphics have emerged to level where it is like playing a bluray movie with live actors then it will start to age more slowly.
You do realize they used motion capture for the character animations, yes? I'm really not sure what people are looking at. One possible reason is they haven't improved their graphics settings. It's a lot down to personal preference, but to say they're not fluid is basically just a lie.
Yes, the landscape isn't great compared to new games these days. Back 10 years ago though there was nothing wrong with it, and even today it still looks fine. Once you get use to it areas can still look quite nice. And it's still got one of the longest line of sight options for in-game objects of MMOs going around today.
Because with realistic graphics you compare the game to today's engines with "realistic graphics".
With a arcade MMO like WoW their Shrek graphics engine still looks great after 100 years because players will say: "well, that's the Warcraft style".
"going into arguments with idiots is a lost cause, it requires you to stoop down to their level and you can't win"
EQ2 looks fine to me, but I am not all about graphics. I liked EQ2's graphics more than I did WoW, and still do. So I do not think this 'ages well' thing is universal.
Well beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but art style can be tied to a certain period of time which gives it an inherent "older" look, or some might feel it becomes retro over time.
I do believe animations play a huge role into the overall look of a game. I find that the more realistic a game attempts to look, the worse the animations look over a given time. Stylized graphics more often than not have less than realistic animations, which add to the flavor of the style. Additionally, we're not overly comparing the stylized look to "real life" the more forgiving we seem to be as they age.
However, like with pretty much all things art, it's all a matter of personal taste.
If it's not broken, you are not innovating.
I see a lot of realistic graphics age poorly on here. I want to point you to FFXI, I just played last week and the detail and gameworld looks realistic and beautiful still even after 11 years straight. That is one game they don't have to update the graphic for because it was well made at its very foundation.
If you look at games like Ashreons Call 2, also a game I'm currently playing part time, they have added new graphics to that game that I find very realistic and very beautiful. The sky looks like a real sky, the water looks very beautiful, very HD updated.
I think games need to use their engine and announce at the start of anygame that they will be updating graphics when new technology comes out to allow them to. Many old games can be retextured with high quality HD looks and a SKYRIM look to them. Heck, even skyrim was updated to HD textures with a mod.
EQ 2 has the ability to use Mods, very few games had the verisitility of Mods back then, and this is one game I think should have HD textures and a total realistic makeover done to it. I know if a game like AC2 can be retextured, so can a big title like EQ2
The bottom line is money... does the company want to spend money to retexture everything, and the cost of doing so. Its not that it ages poorly, its not that its unable to be done, its weather or not a company wants to remodel everything. Just like a house, you tear off that old siding and put on new siding thatll last another decade, and you keep doing that instead of letting your house fall apart and no one is left to live in it anymore.
Then you already have your answer.
I've always thought EQ2 look was ugly. I don't think the GFX are bad, but I think the art style, Character models, animations, and the over plastic look turned a lot of people away. I'm happy EQN is taking the more stylized approach.