Ok,

I was a huge Fallout fan back in the day.... and have been praying for a post apocalyptic MMORG to come out.  Now that one is finally in the pipe... I can't help but say how underwhelmed I am.

Gameplay aside, there's two ways to go about with MMORG graphics.  Cartoonish or Realism.  WOW obviously slants to cartoonish proportions in their characters, while most other MMORGs like EQ2, DDO, etc... strive to be as ultra-realistic as possible.  

Where does FE lie?  Cartoonish/Realism?  Is it a new category?   The character models look horribly childish, dated, and misproportioned.  Seriously... the artist/modeler should be fired on the spot.. and another brought in to redo all the characters.

In a genre that's suppose to have a dark, sinister, desperate backdrop - you'd expect to have art that reflects it.  Without it, the mood and environment are all wrong.   The gameplay could be awesome, but you really need an environment that pulls you in deep and really makes you feel like your there.  Bart Simpson holding a nail-spiked bat will NOT do.

It is unfortunate that alot of people place so much weight on graphics. You people miss out on some seriously sweet indie titles! That aside, what character models have you been looking at? The incomplete ones from last year? Get yourself to FallenEarth.SE and check out the more recent artwork!

No doubt you praise the "amazing" character models that exist in other current MMO titles. Considering organisations such as Blizzard and Sony Online Entertainment have extremely generous budgets for these areas, the level of quality in their MMO titles is somewhat lacking across the board. Then again, they arn't Japanese console titles so what do you expect!

I am actually surprised that a small developer like Icarus would even be able to come close to the quality of our fellow MMOs, never mind produce such an impressive array of characters. The models may not be super high quality at the moment (hence why the game is still undergoing development) but how many games offer the ammount of freedom, customisability and most importantly the ammount of unique detail that exists in Fallen Earth?

---

Originally posted by Digger1
In a genre that's suppose to be have a dark, sinister, desperate backdrop - you'd expect to have art that reflects it. Without it, the mood and environment are all wrong. The gameplay could be awesome, but you really need an environment that pulls you in deep and really makes you feel like your there.

---

I agree that the game needs to maintain a mood and enviornment, but what exactly strikes you as being wrong? What would you concider to be dark, sinister and desperate?

Does having darts piercing one's forehead as a decorative show of will not convey this? Bodies covered in foreboding tatoos, scars and blood stains? Wearing rags and bloodied bandages?

Do we also beleive that having skeletal remains hanging from lamp posts and in cages isn't at all disturbing? Or a small town with mutants dancing around an oil drum fire?

Doesn't adventuring around dangerous areas while wearing HAZMAT suits fit your model of a post-apocalyptic environment?

---

Originally posted by Digger1
Bart Simpson holding a nail-spiked bat will NOT do.

---

What would you suggest to be appropriate in a post-apocalypse envrionment? The hoards of alien blasters and energy weapons that existed in Fallout? They didn't seem to kill the mood, so why would a baseball bat?

There will be alternative weapons, but you have to accept that mainstream technology has regressed. We will most likely be stuck with practical weaponry for a while, but more conventional weaponry does exist. If you want to immerse yourself into a believable and engaging environment, influenced by the reality of the horrors that exist in todays world, stick with FE. Otherwise, this game might not satisfy your needs.

---

Originally posted by Digger1
character models look horribly childish, dated, and misproportioned

---

Read: The female models don't have huge ultra-high detail breasts like in other games! Plus, I don't even have to buy the most expensive graphics card on market to play it so the game must be really~ bad!

The "Bart Simpson" reference was in regards to the cartoonish character... not the weapon. 

From the looks of the screenshots, the "environment" looks fine.  The backdrop certainly looks dirty and ominous enough.  I have no problem whatsoever with their efforts here.  I merely point out the lack of quality in the character models.

The design and nurturing of one's "Avatar" is the most important aspect of any MMORG.  Like it or not, if players cannot look at their onscreen character without a sense of "Wow or OMG", then the link between you and him will decay and wither.  There's alot of vain people out there playing these games.  They tinker with their onscreen looks to no end.  It's almost a game within a game.

Being the "small developer" no longer holds water these days.  The market is currently FULL of MMORGs and is looking to be absolutely flooded by new ones in the coming year.  It's sink or swim.  I guarantee you the first words out of ANY reviewer out there will be either "This game is visually stunning" or "The graphics in the game are adequate".   In reviews as well as gameplay, the graphics are the HOOK.

I don't know... maybe I'm being too harsh.  However, I want this genre to be such a success that I really don't want the developer to drop the ball on this. 

Guild Wars (GW) and World of Warcraft (WoW) are both very successful MMOs. However I would not describe either of them as being "visually impressive". In fact, the character models in both those games absolutely sucked right through beta past release.

I agree that being a small developer is not excuse for poor graphics, but my point is: it is the reason. Most indie games lack the development time and finances to perform well in this area, frequently compromising in order to create great gameplay. Which is why I think Icarus are currently doing very well in this respect and it will enable them to compete in this market.

I'm not so sure about flooding, nearly every other genre has way more games, but I agree that there is alot of tough competition. As far as reviews are going, GameMethod described the graphics as being "Solid" and that was last year!

They still have plenty of time to modify and improve their models. In my opinion, they only need a bit of polishing but perhaps that is just me. I don't see how they are missproportionate or how they are childish and lack the dark sinister post-apocalypse-iness!

As far as the designing and nurturing of one's Avatar being the most important aspect of any MMORG is concerned, Fallen Earth does appear to offer alot of customisability and high levels of detail. Most peoples characters will look pretty unique just based on the clothing and the weapons they have holstered.

I don't see everyone migrating to one armor set or everyone wearing just one type of clothing that that is so common at the moment in other titles!

Ok... I studied the screenshots a bit more deeper.  I was a little harsh in my assesment.  It seems most of the problems I see are localized on parts of the models.  For one, the ARMS look horrific on most of the characters.  The problem is exaggerated greatly when you see bare arms. 

example:  Some Nasty Arm Shots

Secondly, bare torsos also need alot of work.   Character postures also seem to look odd.  I suppose since everyone is human, they didn't want to program much variation.  However, it appears every character seems to stand exactly the same no matter what height or size.

I was definately too harsh with my earlier post.  I think with a bit of tweaking, the models can be "solid".

i agree that graphics shouldnt be a big part
but i think hes right
i mean its not really the graphics hes complaining about its THE STYLE
which is true

its supposed to be a dark look at a grim future and they ....
dont look dark or grim at all
they look like bikers you'd see if simpsons went 3D.

honestly
neocrons graphics arent good
but look at how well it fits the atmosphere
dark age of camelot has exactly that
a dark twist on fantasy characters

WoW is a fantasy, and family oriented game
hence why the graphics are cartoon

its all relative to style
the graphics dont even necesarily neeed to be good
they just need to be done right for the setting

I don't care if my arms are &%@#ed up so long as the next guy's are just as bad.

Im still playin it.