I just played the game for a couple of days but so far I must say I am surprised by the poor level of the gfx (and I have it set to high).

Maybe it is because I switched from AoC but I wasnt expecting that kind of gfx. But what I have seen so far is more on the level of DAoC than AoC.

Anyone know if this is an issue that they are working on?

Nah, not that I heard of. I felt quite the same... underwhelmed. I mean it's functional, but thats pretty much it.

If it is it shouldn't be that high up on the priority list. Must sacrifice graphics for LESS lag in big battles.

I dont want to see graphics overhauled until at least a year from now.

The problem is that they sacrificed graphics and animations for the big PvP battles yet the game still lags really bad in massive keep raids and fortress raids, so its almost like a shot in the foot.

Well I havent participated in Fortress sieges but all the keeps that I faught at with at least 30 on each side (probaly much more) with siegie weapons going off have been decent with lag. Just a few characters skipping ahead.

The most memorable moment I had so far was when we defended a keep against about 40 order and we (stupidly) continued to push to their warcamp, back to the keep, to their warcamp for over a hour. It was pretty smooth and I was suprised by not only the FPS but also the lack of characters teleporting around from the amount of players on my screen.

I have to agree, WAR graphics were a bit of a turn off (even after setting everything on high, forcing antialiasing etc). While I can understand the need for simple graphics for huge open battles, I see no reason for the absolutely terrible animations, which in all honesty bugged me the most about WAR (graphic wise).

I finally let my old rig retire before it burnt out & bought a new one that seemed to have no issues at all.

For a few weeks it was great & I could play at High Res with no performance problems, but since 'Heavy Metal' I get major scenario lag whenever KOTBS use that flashy new ability with all the sparkles.

Hopefully there will be a KOTBS performance patch soon.

Originally posted by Otakun

The problem is that they sacrificed graphics and animations for the big PvP battles yet the game still lags really bad in massive keep raids and fortress raids, so its almost like a shot in the foot.

And isnt that the biggest irony of it all? They step back in 2000 graphics and STILL its a lagfest in keep raids.

Not to speak of the abysmal animations. Even a student after a few weeks StudioMax could do better animations.

I like the graphix, I guess Im easier to please. I don't need gears of war graphics in my MMO for it to be good.

AS long as the game is optimized for my system im good.

Yep it's weird. Graphics aren't the most important thing for me in a game unless they are really bad and I understand the need to compromise when expecting huge battles, but I still get the lag at times anyway! So maybe it would be better if they continued optimising rather than improving the graphics?

Originally posted by Otakun

The problem is that they sacrificed graphics and animations for the big PvP battles yet the game still lags really bad in massive keep raids and fortress raids, so its almost like a shot in the foot.

Imagine how bad it would lag if the graphics were any better? Probably wouldn't work at all.

Gameplay > Graphics. Always.

Its sad that graphics are so terribly important to a select group of people.   75% of the really awsome looking games I've bought in the last few years were some of the crappiest games when it came to gameplay and storyline.   Gamers that ask for better graphics and dont' seem to give a lick about anything else are destroying the game market ... whats sad is some of these people work in the industry.   The Game industry is finally feeling the burn for all the crappy but pretty games they've forced on us.  

Irony part is...WAR's graphics are decent but its gameplay and storyline leave something to be desired if you play it too often.   Its like good for a few days..take a break for a week ... come back and everything is good again.   Not exactly what I expected in terms of an MMO.    Patch 1.1 made the game fun again for me but I'm on the fence about keeping my sub to much longer....I just can't stand the grind....if they atleast had some down time activities other than scenarios ... *sigh*.

You can crank the graphics to the max via the nvidia control panel.

They're like WoW level without the great art style to make them look upto date and end up coming off really bland and boring.

Originally posted by Yamota

I just played the game for a couple of days but so far I must say I am surprised by the poor level of the gfx (and I have it set to high).

Maybe it is because I switched from AoC but I wasnt expecting that kind of gfx. But what I have seen so far is more on the level of DAoC than AoC.

Anyone know if this is an issue that they are working on?

Warhammer graphics are never going to be amazing like AoC graphics are, but I've heard that the frame rates can get pretty low in AoC when you get lots of players in once place. It's basically a trade off that allows Warhammer to have large-scale battles and still keep frame rates up. Personally, I think the graphics in War are better than many other MMOs out there but I admit they aren't as impressive as AoC.

Personally I think the graphics are great. They match the IP perfectly. I am an old school tabletop battles player from way back. I have played Warhammer fantasy battles and 40k for years. The graphics would look stupid if they were more realistic looking. They totally wouldn't match the IP. It's the same argument that has been on the WoW boards for years. The graphics in WoW match the original Warcraft games spot on. They look the way they should and I think the WAR graphics are the same. Performance on the other hand does need some optimization.

Originally posted by Lowfer69

Personally I think the graphics are great. They match the IP perfectly. I am an old school tabletop battles player from way back. I have played Warhammer fantasy battles and 40k for years. The graphics would look stupid if they were more realistic looking. They totally wouldn't match the IP. It's the same argument that has been on the WoW boards for years. The graphics in WoW match the original Warcraft games spot on. They look the way they should and I think the WAR graphics are the same. Performance on the other hand does need some optimization.

I dunno the game would have looked soo much better if they took the art style of the CG trailers that were much darker.

Originally posted by Gnazon

I have to agree, WAR graphics were a bit of a turn off (even after setting everything on high, forcing antialiasing etc). While I can understand the need for simple graphics for huge open battles, I see no reason for the absolutely terrible animations, which in all honesty bugged me the most about WAR (graphic wise).

Yeah, I thought by now Mythic would have hired some good animators (or programmers) to link some nice animations together in a WoW style; with multiple animaitons layered on otp of each other form differnt bodyparts.  Ends up the animation is still extremely simplistic and somewhat stiff.

However DAOc had the same kind of animation so it would be expected form the company.

The thing that hurts me the most are some of the sound effects and the uninspring music.  After playing AOC & WoW, I was completely dissapointed by this soundtrack.  Most of the good songs are less than 30 seconds in leangth.