WoW's art direction is very clearly a long and lasting approach that they have chosen for many of their games. I got the same feeling from WoW as i did from the other games.

There are many things about wow that I like and many things that I don't like. The artist direction is in the middle. With the release of BC they re-used way to many previous graphics. And the run way lights they attached to my t4 shoulders aren't earning them any points with me.

Some of the weeknesses that I"m sure have been mentioned in WoW's engine are:

1. Very few direct lights. Its almost all ambient lights or light effects on objects.

2. Very few variations on look between characters of the same race. And in game there is almost no ability to further differentiate yourself. While you might claim this was a choice made by the Artistic team I think it was  a choice ment to reduce development costs.

3. Over re-use of models. I understand the trade offs in content development vs schedule. But i'm dissapointed that my favorite game gave me the same look on level 60+ uncommon gear as level 7 grey drops. (Only a slightly different color.)

The artist direction of wow is fine. I like it and i like the game.

But its not an epic artistic approach. There are a few really cool choices like the length of NE ears and some other choices like goat legs on Draenai that are at least interesting.

Originally posted by urgo

yes,but on the other hand,if they have their cooldowns,u know u r dead from the first sec.not much u can do.and now think of some classes that players have to play the piano on keyboard.lol.something must be done.take their pets or something.i don know.and i hate seeing specific classes and teams pwn in arena.anyway,thats my opinion,from my own expirience.

In my experience its really the mojo of the team. I wonder if what is happening is that the teams that are winning are played by players who understand how to make that combination work. Its common, you see one strategy that works and you duplicate/copy it. I know from my experiences that it has a lot more to do with individual performance than a class combination. But knowing how to play with your group in a winning strategy makes a huge difference.

Originally posted by JonnyWarhawk

I hope you understand that just like every poll about MMO's, this is going to just turn into another popularity contest. No matter what question you ask, if it involves "which MMO is best at xx", people respond with whatever they play. The fact that WoW even has 1 vote shows that.

I look forward to discovering the game that is what I always wanted in an online roleplaying game. I'll keep searching but give WoW a break. It isn't nearly as sucky as many many many of the others I've tried.

Irony,

I can't tell what your point is. It looks like you asking for one of two things:

1. Recognition for your ability to play a character in the game. In that case seak out competitions and become a professional game player.

2. Having your story heard.

In this case I think you've come to the wrong place. We don't know you. If you need to be heard you may be looking for something that cannot be given in a forum.

However, if your goal is the same as mine. A place to pontificate... If your just providing some mental input for or output from masterbation (OMG I"M using that term a lot today in my own mental masterbations) then have at it. That is what forums are best used for. :)

Originally posted by davidw123

 

Originally posted by Itachi54

No matter how many times you post this it won't change anything I personally dislike WoW. I found it well... just kinda bored the sh1t out of me. I had a lvl 70 druid.PLUS Burning Crusade was horrible it was like a big grind fest just so you could get into the dungeons it was like get 20k honor to get into SC and sitting at my computer grinding naga etc is not exactly my definition of fun

 

You dislike WoW? It bores the **** out of you? The expansion was horrible?

 

And yet you STILL went and levelled up to level 70 anyway? It amazes how many people continually say how bad they think the game is, yet carry on playing it regardless.

My favorite thing about all of these posts (as a new member I get to experience them for the first time) is that almost all of them are completely devoid of the person actually doing anything to change their experience. They are victims to the game, the players, or the world. This thread started with a diatribe about how Mileage varries with the situation of the game. It was a complete mental masterbation (IMO.) It basically fed all of the same false beliefs that lead people to be victims in the first place. That something outside of yourself is driving your life.

So in response here are a few suggestions for those who find themselves in situations they don't like, playing games they think suck, or any other victimy place. DO something about it, right now!

Find someone to schedule time to play with. Get a RL Friend to commit to playing with you at a precise time to do a precise activity. Be it WoW or anything else. If you have a negative experience with your current guild, character, or whatever. Delete the character and re-roll on a different server or in a different place. Do whatever it takes to reboot your thinking. Your current character is a record in a database and if it is the reason you are miserable or unhappy delete it and go do what is going to make you happy.

RULE 1: Do not let the past define your future.

I play WoW nearly every day. I play it with my wife, my RL best friend and a guild of folks that I mostly can tolerate nearly all of the time. My character is a priest. I am one of a group of great healers in our guild. But the number one thing I talk about related to my character is how good his hair is.

We are not role players. My guild thinks role playing is stupid in MMOs and there is almost no roleplaying. But I consistently interject comments about my chacter's hair becuase it improves the game and play. The jokes about my hair and my vainity are endless source of fun.

FULE 2: Do not let the features of the game engine or system define your character, their abilities, or their personality. We are in much more control than you we give ourselves credit for.

Maybe it was always this way for me but ever since I started playing paper based D&D I realized that the rules where there to support my playing fun and not hinder it. So many of the things that we use to constrain ourselves are actually in our control. Take control.

Moos,

If you leveled two characters to 60 in a month and you played all the content to the degree you express here I think you must be a grinder. Something like online 10-15+ hours per day every day.

That much play time will wear you out of anything. Perhaps a balance is more in demand.

I play 3-4 hours a day on average and I haven't completed all the new BC content. And yes the new content has some aspects that are better than the older content. I think this is simply a matter of staffing levels at Blizzard.

Everyone I know who burned out on WoW has had the following three things in common.

1. They leveled their first toon to 60 very quickly. Spending very little time in each area. They typicall were grinding as hard as the could to get to what everyone thought was the real game.

2. They did this mostly alone and without friends. MMOs are about friends IMO. If you aren't playing with friends or make friends in the game you won't be playing an MMO very long.

3. They got into a raid guild as fast as possible and almost all of them either were an asshat or were in a guild with asshats. They had no real connection with the people there and as soon as the newness of raiding wore off they lost interest in the game completely.

Also, a lot of people are saying that Raiding content in BC is the same old stuff. I don't agree at all. Karazhan alone has required me to increase my skill with the game. Healing in Karazhan is much more intense than in any pre BC instance. And healing in Heroics is even more fun. And Gruuls lair is just a short fun fight. (that's all I've done so far.)

Also, I think the developers at blizzard are learning from their mistakes. The dungeons in BC are so much more playable in an evening.

This looks like a question for Blizzard technical support.

As others have said. Graphics engines are directly related to the technology of the code and the hardware expected to run the software. They have nothing to do with the game content, appeal of the style, or otherwise.

I would not buy a game based on its use of a graphics capabilities of a limited set of video cards.

I have played wow a couple of years and haven't updated my hardware much beyond getting more RAM. For most people upgrading hardware to a $600 card every couple of years is a big deal. They mostly just can't afford it.

I like WoWs artistic direction.

The list of things that I do want from Blizzard is not very long but honestly I'll play the game as long as their isn't a better option for me and the friends I play with.

I am currently researching other MMOs. And playing them. And so far none of them have wowed me much. After reading all the bitching on this site about how bad WoW is I expected to find some bitching games out there at the top of the rating list. And what I have found rated the same as WoW or above just plainly doesn't cut it.

Eve being one exception. However, the learning curve on their UI is substantially steep.

The game needs more story.

The grinding and the leveling and the gear are all adequite. What is needed is the ability to customize the characters and interactions. And not just in ways that make them tougher.

Also, some serious work should be done to in whatever expansion comes next revive the old world. IMO give something to do in teh old content.