I would have preferred that they updated the ''old races'' AND ARMOR (in general) in this game, instead of adding .... ahh.... some goddamn pandas and a new panda starting point that most of us, (even when we take it easy) will whizz throught it in a couple of hours.

ONCE UPON A TIME, THE HUMANS FOUGHT A BITTER WAR OF SURVIVAL AGAINST THE ORCS, while there was the looming threat of demons and undead hordes on the horizon....

.........

NOW WE HAVE PANDAS,,, i mean actually, really, without joking, we'r getting kung-fu pandas...ahhhh,, the headache just thinking about them running about in Stormwind, and etc. as if the place didnt already look ridicilous enough with the draenei etcatera as it is.... :(

PS; as I slightly mentioned above, armor really sucks, and we really dont have anthing in the way of chest armor etc, AND EVEN WHEN WE DO (feet/arms) its just the reskin of JUST A COUPLE BASIC models..

So, IMHO they need to focus MORE on the world, ARMOR and races THEY ALREADY CREATED, instead of going bananas!,,,, sorry, pandas!

From what I've seen the cartoonish art style leaves the game well to the left of uncanny valley, which is much better than being in the valley itself resulting in a psychological creepiness that many find disturbing.  I don't have a problem with the art style and the rendering does seem improved, but having it mistaken for photoreality (the right side of the valley) seems a bit of a stretch.

I agree with the article, the female pandaren look pretty weighty to me. they're not as fat as the males sure, but male and female humanoids do have different anatomy (I know that claim sounds a little ludicrous considering it's fantasy furry pandas and all

I don't understand how the so-called Uncanny Valley is even close to being relevant here.

Even people who talk about the Uncanny Valley like it's a fundamental truth about human psychology don't use it as a synonym for ‘things wot I find creepy’.

Pretty sure you just don't like furries.

Improve the graphic engine of WoW, and I bet lots of people would complain they can't play the game in thier old computers.   Addicts of WoW, don't care how the game looks as much as the gameplay.   So they will tend to look pass the dated graphics.

I mean you have to be a true believer of Blizzard and WoW to buy into playing kiddie pandas.    So how your character looks is not high on the list for your average WoW addict.

I will for sure return with my full set of alts to play new expansion. But that is not the only way to get subs. Subs mean also endgame. And with this I do NOT mean RAIDING. Nope, I have job and other things to do, despite I play really a lot. But can not immagine any working people and regular students, to regularly plan 1 or 2 weeks in advance next epic raid or spend without interruptions in game 6 hours or so. For me end game in Wotlk was only 5mans of all types. They got my subscription for at least half year more until next expansion. But with so many mistakes they did, imo of course, to end game, espec 5man, in Cata, I have lost completely any wish for end game in wow. Actually have developed kind of hatred. As much as I have enjoyed wotlk. Also there is fact out there are many other good games. For me this mean Rift and Swtor. When Blizzard lost me as endgame enjoyer, they it looks lost me for ever. And I guess there are many as me. Very costly mistake they did listening to very vocal minority that wanted to change completely wotlk style of end game, that actually attracted me to wow.

Originally posted by BarryManilow

Improve the graphic engine of WoW, and I bet lots of people would complain they can't play the game in thier old computers.   Addicts of WoW, don't care how the game looks as much as the gameplay.   So they will tend to look pass the dated graphics.

I mean you have to be a true believer of Blizzard and WoW to buy into playing kiddie pandas.    So how your character looks is not high on the list for your average WoW addict.

 

 

Rift and Swtor are great expamples that one can have very good graphics and can play very very very fluidly on his computer. My computer is not top but not bad either. However Aoc, War, ... were just unplayable on maxed out settings. 

WoW is perfect for 9- to 15-year-olds.

That is all.

I recently reactivated my account for $15 and tried a new hunter again to see how the game feels.  I played from 1 to 65 and not once did me and my pet ever really need to take more than 2 or 3 shots to kill any mob the entire way.

It is just too dumbed down now.  Any dps pet or tank pet can hold an entire area of mobs now without any fear of getting into trouble before you can gun them all down.

Originally posted by daltanious

Rift and Swtor are great expamples that one can have very good graphics and can play very very very fluidly on his computer. My computer is not top but not bad either. However Aoc, War, ... were just unplayable on maxed out settings. 

 

What?

Originally posted by daltanious

Originally posted by BarryManilow

Improve the graphic engine of WoW, and I bet lots of people would complain they can't play the game in thier old computers.   Addicts of WoW, don't care how the game looks as much as the gameplay.   So they will tend to look pass the dated graphics.

I mean you have to be a true believer of Blizzard and WoW to buy into playing kiddie pandas.    So how your character looks is not high on the list for your average WoW addict.

 

 

Rift and Swtor are great expamples that one can have very good graphics and can play very very very fluidly on his computer. My computer is not top but not bad either. However Aoc, War, ... were just unplayable on maxed out settings. 

Eh?

AoC runs a lot better than Rift ever did on my computer. SWTOR runs my computer way too hot so I don't even try to play with max settings there. 

For every 'cuddly' and/or 'cute' option, there needs to be a more ominous and dark option.  If I don't want to be a Panda, let me choose something more sinister or harsh. 

Regarding WoW's 'art'... it's that WoW-stylized art that they've used for years and spans most of their games.  Does that mean it shouldn't be updated?  Not necessarily. But would WoW lose even more of its identity if Blizzard were to give in and update/revamp the games graphics across the board?  I think so.

I am not a huge fan of big, blocked, cartoonistic graphics... but that's what WoW has always been. 

Blizzard has officially crossed the line from "woah those are awesome graphics"  

    I was actually enjoying the article, even though I disagree with a lot of it until I got to this sentence by the author.  Frankly, even for 5 year old MMOs WoW does not have awesome graphics.  The graphics (art and animations) suck in my opinion.  The only reason this game is so "popular" is because it is so cheap to play in countries like China, South Korean, Japan, etc.

    As for "Uncanny valley vs paradise", I would say neither.  It is simply another attempt by blizzard to cater to the Jap Anima crowd and just looks bad no matter how you try to phrase it.

Funny how people differ in opinion. 

I have a LOT of problems with WoW, but graphics is not one of them. Yes, it is not photo realistic, but it still looks damn good IMO.

As an example,for me, WoW graphics blows SWTOR's out of the water.

Some of the screenshots from Mists of Pandaria remind me more of Sly Cooper than WoW. I think the art style switch is showing a prettier direction, but the game's dated...it can't really look good no matter what it does.

Originally posted by tuppe99

Funny how people differ in opinion. 

I have a LOT of problems with WoW, but graphics is not one of them. Yes, it is not photo realistic, but it still looks damn good IMO.

As an example,for me, WoW graphics blows SWTOR's out of the water.

 

That is not the norm though.   People will differ for sure.  I mean we have chubby chasers, tall people finding midgets attractive, etc.   So the odd ball finding WoW graphics better then any new current MMO is not a surprise to me.

For me WoW graphics are dated., old and yesterday's news.   Doesn't mean it's ugly.   Just eh and boring.   That is just my opinion but I if you ask 100 non-fanbois which graphics are the best, I bet WoW would not be on the top of the list.

I'm assuming this article is tongue in cheek.

I say this because one cannot look at World of Warcraft's graphics in comparison to Rift, Age of Conan or any of the more recent video game offerings on the PC and think it in any way realistic. 

The game's graphics engine is dated and does not compare to games released recently. Therefore the level of realism required for the term "uncanny valley" to apply is far beyond WOW. 

The graphical updates are incremental and relatively minor. I don't feel there is anything wrong with that either, WOW has its style and millions of people enjoy it. 

I take it most of you here haven't experienced MoP beta yet as I have, and I can assure you it's a lot more awesome in-game than reading some half-arsed opinion of some chump who hasn't touched WoW in months. Pandaren females (and males) are supposed to look chubby as they are bear-like humanoids, not lanky looking furries for creeps to drool over. The animations for casting, melee, and ranged all look pretty decent and well put together.

Pandarens are a solid race when it comes to background, animations, textures, and everything else related. Don't believe me? Play beta yourself. I was doubtful at first, but I changed my mind.

Sometimes its best to not to condemn something you know nothing about other than from a few screenshots.

Originally posted by Gel214th

I'm assuming this article is tongue in cheek.

I say this because one cannot look at World of Warcraft's graphics in comparison to Rift, Age of Conan or any of the more recent video game offerings on the PC and think it in any way realistic. 

The game's graphics engine is dated and does not compare to games released recently. Therefore the level of realism required for the term "uncanny valley" to apply is far beyond WOW. 

The graphical updates are incremental and relatively minor. I don't feel there is anything wrong with that either, WOW has its style and millions of people enjoy it. 

 

Agree with this... I know the author wants to take "artistic license" with the term, but there is artistic license, and then there is being just plain wrong.   To the author... You cant just selectively redefine terms at your convenience.  Uncanny Valley was coined *specifically* to refer to simulations of *humanity*.  Not anthropomorphized figures.  So you cant apply it to Jerry Seinfelds character in "Bee Movie" because you find vaguely human talking bees creepy.  Invent a new term.

In addition, WoW is a highly stylized cartoon art style.  Blizzard chose that both for longevity and because it *is* the general style of their universe.  In sticking with a cartoonish, animated style, they render the whole "uncanny valley' concept pretty much not applicable anyhow.  They arent going for "realism" therefore the odd psychological disconnect that occurs (supposedly) when *simulated human images* reach that point of "too real" yet "not real enough" cant happen.

What the author is basically saying is "I find anthropomorphized pandas creepy and think its odd that Blizzard chose to up the detail while introducing such a cartoonish race", which is fine and perfectly reasonable as the basis of an article.  No real need to make it seem more scholarly by muddying the waters with "uncanny valley"