WoW Cataclysm Updated G.Engine

[Frizz]

"Blizzard notes that there will be “incremental tweaks and updates” to the graphics engine in Cataclysm that will require some increases to the game’s minimum system requirements, but it refrained from identifying what those requirements will be."

http://www.macworld.com/article/142405/2009/08/cataclysm.html

There are alot of people against the idea of having an updated graphics engine. Imo clearly they are clueless of what the next generation of hardware is going to bring. Its not just the performance and new architecture in cards, but the GPU's we know as of today would drop price so much that I can imagine a 4650/70 being under the $70 AUD mark and Nvidia's GTS250 just below 100 AUD. I really don't think blizzard is going to stay in the old times for too long as in 2010 MMO's will be defined with next gen graphics ie. Blade and Soul and T.E.R.A ..

What I really think is its about time players have upgraded from the 8 year old rigs they've been using to play this game as it will come at a cheap price.

What are your thoughts?

 

[Mussels]

my thoughts is that the old game should use the old engine.

if they want to update the graphics, release WoW II - i wouldnt like one area of the game having high graphics and another one low, i like uniformity

 

[CrAsHnBuRnXp]

my thoughts is that the old game should use the old engine.

if they want to update the graphics, release WoW II - i wouldnt like one area of the game having high graphics and another one low, i like uniformity

The last time they updated the graphics it was all around. Im pretty sure they'd do it across all games not just cat.

 

[Frizz]

Thats true, although I've never seen WoW getting old, its always trying to keep up to date which sorta brings me with this theory. I've played it for a long time and I can tell what they mean by they've changed the old textures into a styalized form of graphics in WOTLK, it doesn't look as plain and dull anymore.

Since blizzard is taking the level cap to 85 I can imagine 3 more expansions being released for WoW as the only difference I could guess WoW 2 will make would probably be just the Graphics Engine making it a non-viable option for at least another 5 years.

 

[Mussels]

i wonder if they could release an update that uses the same servers/compatible with the old engine?

Could just have all new graphics engine, better sounds and such, but still remain compatible

 

[Papahyooie]

I'd say the "graphical updates" will be just like the graphical updates in Burning Crusade and Wrath. A little more detail and higher resolution textures for the armors, more terrain highlights, etc. Nothing revolutionary. It will still retain the cartoonish look, i think. As for it not being uniform, the new expansion will completely remake the "old" world, so everything from vanilla WoW will be gone anyway. On top of that, if the graphical updates are as I say they might, then they will still fit in with BC and Wrath. There have been graphical updates for both expansions, and they still fit in with vanilla just fine unless you look closely.

As for whether people should upgrade or not, I know plenty of people who love to play wow on thier 5-10 year old laptops, on the lowest graphics settings, and have just as much fun doing it. Of course, these are people who have no interest in computer hardware whatsoever, they just want to play thier game. I'd love to have Wow tax my hardware just like any other brand new game, but the bottom line is its targeted to the average, mainstream player these days. Not necessarily your hardcore gamer, like it used to be.

That being said, there are plenty of games that look 10 times better than wow, and run 10 times better on comparable hardware (aka guildwars???) I think blizz should work on optimizing thier stuff before updating the actual look. Ive known machines to get better framerate in crysis than in Wow.

 

[Frizz]

No SLI/CF support and even a gtx285/4890 goes below the 40's in max settings. Optimization would be great kthxbye blizz.

 

[1Kurgan1]

This is just like every other expansion so far, BC brought some, WotLK brought quiet a few, and the noticeable one when talking about Cata is there will be much improved water with reflections, beyond that looks not too much diff.

 

[Frick]

No SLI/CF support and even a gtx285/4890 goes below the 40's in max settings. Optimization would be great kthxbye blizz.

+1.

But still, you can run this game on a Pentium 3 and a Radeon 9000, so lowend-wise it's well done. ^^

 

[Reefer86]

there is going to be no crazy update, remember that the requirements are higher in WOTLK then they are in the 'original' wow.

Wotlk, northrend has better textures and graphics. With cataclysm, it changing the 2 main islands from vanilla wow. All this will be is updated skinning and textures to the original islands and in turn increase requirements a little. Blizzard will never change the gfx much or bring out wow 2, they make too much money with a product that works now.
why change if you earn around 90million pounds a week, wow earns this as people with any pc can play it, and why change to wow2 when you earn that much. AND BELEIVE ME bizzard are money grabbing set of TW*TS so they will never make wow2 or massively change the gfx engine

 

[Mussels]

reefer: they sure will make a WoWII... when sales drop and people start leaving

 

[1Kurgan1]

They are already working on another MMO, and as far as it's known it's not based on any IP, was really hoping for Diablo, but the announcement of D3 was the nail in the coffin

 

[Mussels]

They are already working on another MMO, and as far as it's known it's not based on any IP, was really hoping for Diablo, but the announcement of D3 was the nail in the coffin

if diablo III was an MMO, you wouldnt be seeing me on TPU anymore. i'd be in jail for murdering whoever made that decision in a painful, agonizing way.

 

[1Kurgan1]

if diablo III was an MMO, you wouldnt be seeing me on TPU anymore. i'd be in jail for murdering whoever made that decision in a painful, agonizing way.

I agree a bit, and disagree also. It would really depend on how it was done, that would make or break it, I just hope that D3 will be awesome and not so quick to toss aside like D2, also hope there wont be rushing, I hate that crap.

 

[Mussels]

I agree a bit, and disagree also. It would really depend on how it was done, that would make or break it, I just hope that D3 will be awesome and not so quick to toss aside like D2, also hope there wont be rushing, I hate that crap.

not sure what you mean by toss aside - i played it daily for nearly 3 years, and its regularly patched too despite being such an old game.

 

[1Kurgan1]

I liked D1 a lot more, the setting and mood of the game just was better. D2 spells were too colorful and the mood just didn't feel the same to me. And what I mean by toss aside is, it's a quick play through then you can play through it again and again and again, just the maps are twisted. And in the end you can just cow grind and skip play throughs. I don't know, maybe it was just that I also didn't really like the mobs, I liked the old goats, stealthers, and abundance of skeletons versus tons of midget mobs like the goblins and dart shooters.

 

[Mussels]

ah i getcha, you liked the darker feel as opposed to the cartoony feel.

I'd agree with that, i just seem to care less than you do about it.

 

[Cold Storm]

To me, I feel that they should have just went with WoW2 like Mussels has said.. Look at Guild Wars2. Their doing a huge reamp and instead of throwing it as a update, it's a whole new thing.. to me, Wow would of went better that way then this...

But, this is all in early stages and we still do no know how it will turn out in the end.. All I know is.. I waited, what about 1 &1/2 years (its a guess) for WOTLK to come out after they said it was coming out blah, blah...

 

[Binge]

Why build a new house when you can made an expansion... for free no less? If you're going to use the same content it's tackey as hell to put a roman numeral at the end of a game title and call it a brand new game. GWII will probably not only look different but have much different content than the first. WoW is WoW... the world of warcraft doesn't just become something different. They would be sacrificing a fan-base for a face lift... retarded.

 

[Cold Storm]

Why build a new house when you can made an expansion... for free no less? If you're going to use the same content it's tackey as hell to put a roman numeral at the end of a game title and call it a brand new game. GWII will probably not only look different but have much different content than the first. WoW is WoW... the world of warcraft doesn't just become something different. They would be sacrificing a fan-base for a face lift... retarded.

Hey, they don't have to use a roman numeral, just a numeral. lol.. Nah, I get what your going at Binge, and do agree with ya.Yes, WoW will all ways be WoW. No matter how you try to sugar coat it. It came, it saw, and everything else is just "mirrors" of how WoW has made themselves.

I don't know.. I feel that they can Make something bigger.. But then again.. Everquest did the jump and didn't they lose the fan base? Or was that just because of WoW's ability to take everything away from it? I really don't think that WoW can lose their fan base if hey went and added the roman Numeral. But, if they ever do, it gotta be BIG. IMO

 

[TheMailMan78]

You guys talking about Diablo should take a look at Titans Quest. Its 5 bucks on Direct2Drive today. WELL worth it!

 

[Mussels]

You guys talking about Diablo should take a look at Titans Quest. Its 5 bucks on Direct2Drive today. WELL worth it!

own it. refuses to start for me under windows 7.

also, i got sick of the bugs with it erasing save games, and the imbalanced expansion (you can be halfway through the game on the second difficulty when you install the expansion, go back to finish it with the new levels... and get one shot killed by the weakest enemies there)

 

[3870x2]

"Blizzard notes that there will be “incremental tweaks and updates” to the graphics engine in Cataclysm that will require some increases to the game’s minimum system requirements, but it refrained from identifying what those requirements will be."

http://www.macworld.com/article/142405/2009/08/cataclysm.html

There are alot of people against the idea of having an updated graphics engine. Imo clearly they are clueless of what the next generation of hardware is going to bring. Its not just the performance and new architecture in cards, but the GPU's we know as of today would drop price so much that I can imagine a 4650/70 being under the $70 AUD mark and Nvidia's GTS250 just below 100 AUD. I really don't think blizzard is going to stay in the old times for too long as in 2010 MMO's will be defined with next gen graphics ie. Blade and Soul and T.E.R.A ..

What I really think is its about time players have upgraded from the 8 year old rigs they've been using to play this game as it will come at a cheap price.

What are your thoughts?

I have 3 friends who are the usual "casual" players that make up the majority of these users. These users fit into a category that do not have much of any computer knowledge at all. They play on regular laptops, and are barely able to play as it is, and dont plan on spening any money on upgrading their systems at any point in the future, they just want to play WOW. They are barely able to run the game as it is, and on his level 80 raids, it is very hard to do what he needs, and is barely possible, but still playable.

If this upgrade happens, blizzard can plan to lose about 40% or so of players because of incompatibilites, and computer speed problems. Another 30% will be gained by new users wanting to get in on WOW and bringing back players who have since retired. Blizzard knows this, and it looks like they are taking the sacrifice. In the long run it is a good decision for them, because it increases the longevity of the game, and more money for blizzard.
My figures are purely fictional and are based purely upon speculation and educated guessing, but represent my view of how the matter will affect the game.

 

[Mussels]

those people they lose now due to slow arse PC's, are the kind to come back in a year or two when they get a faster machine and make new accounts to replay the "new" WoW (make a new char on a new server with new friends and play the new content with new graphics)

 

[3870x2]

No SLI/CF support and even a gtx285/4890 goes below the 40's in max settings. Optimization would be great kthxbye blizz.

I have an e8500 and 4870, both vanilla clocks, 8x/16x at 1920x1200, and I never go below 40, in fact, the only time ive ever gone below 50 was at the brew fesival where there were hundreds of people running around on my screen, where it went into the low-mid 30s.
Although I do agree with you, there are several games that look much better, and also run better. Wow isn't too bad though, I've definately seen worse.

those people they lose now due to slow arse PC's, are the kind to come back in a year or two when they get a faster machine and make new accounts to replay the "new" WoW (make a new char on a new server with new friends and play the new content with new graphics)

Still quite a loss for WoW. I think they should just start work on another MMO, I would really like a gritty MMO based on the Diablo world.
I think they will lose a lot of users to Starcraft II and Diablo III. From what I've seen those who play blizzard games usually play the entire category of them (aside from the casual WoW community)
and switch to the next, like I will be doing.

Does anyone know if there is going to be an action MMO? rather than an auto-attack sleepfest? sort of like Zelda meets WoW? (rather than just clicking on the enemy, stare at the screen until it becomes fuzzy, and you daze out, until you see no more movement on the screen). It would be glorious.