WoW Graphics Upgrade Unlikely in Near Future

Posted 27th Dec 2007 03:14 PM by Maticus

While no one is in any doubt about WoW being the leader in the world of MMORPGs, there is one element about the game that players feel could be improved upon - the graphics.

WoW has been around for 3 years now, and in that time computer games’ graphical capabilities have soared, while the appearance of WoW has remained the same. Surely, with all the money Blizzard rake in, they could afford to improve the graphics engine. Users on the US WoW forums asked the questions: Why haven’t they done it? Could Blizzard make the gameplay like the amazing WoW cinematics? 

Nethaera commented:

Could we? Most likely so. But that would mean limiting who could play the game. We also enjoy the style that we have and while we continue to make improvements, want to be very careful in how we go about doing it so that we can allow people to play without the need of needing to do massive upgrades.

Blizzard have always stated that they want WoW to be accessible by as many players as possible - not just the ones with top-end machines. Keeping the system requirements relatively low means players can continue to play on mediocre computers and laptops. However, if you do happen to have a mighty super computer with all the bells and whistles, WoW will look and play a lot better, so players do benefit from having hardware that packs a punch.

Don’t forget the fact that Blizzard increase the polygon count on most new graphics (Blood Elves and Draenei for example), so we’ve have some nice improvements already, with plenty more to come in WotLK.

That said, Blizzard haven’t ruled out a graphics engine update altogether.




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lothaer
Posted 27, Dec 2007 07:24 PM
(0)
 

i totally agree i love the fact that my ****ty computer can run wow almost perfectly, ibf blizzard buffed there graphics too much then only the 10 richest people in the world will be able to play lol and that make blizzard a sad panda.

Reply
 
lothaer
Posted 27, Dec 2007 07:24 PM
(0)
 

i totally agree i love the fact that my ****ty computer can run wow almost perfectly, ibf blizzard buffed there graphics too much then only the 10 richest people in the world will be able to play lol and that make blizzard a sad panda.

Reply
 
Tr1cK
Posted 27, Dec 2007 07:52 PM
(0)
 

The graphics are nice enough to me.

I really love the cartoony look. It looks leaps and bounds better than comparible ‘realistic’ looking MMOs.

I also love the fact that you can scale it to play on integrated graphics or crank it up to look great on the newest video cards.

If they do anything, they should add in more options to turn on/up so that you don’t screw those players that currently have borderline PC specs.

Reply
 
Tr1cK
Posted 27, Dec 2007 07:52 PM
(0)
 

The graphics are nice enough to me.

I really love the cartoony look. It looks leaps and bounds better than comparible ‘realistic’ looking MMOs.

I also love the fact that you can scale it to play on integrated graphics or crank it up to look great on the newest video cards.

If they do anything, they should add in more options to turn on/up so that you don’t screw those players that currently have borderline PC specs.

Reply
 
Tr1cK
Posted 27, Dec 2007 07:52 PM
(0)
 

The graphics are nice enough to me.

I really love the cartoony look. It looks leaps and bounds better than comparible ‘realistic’ looking MMOs.

I also love the fact that you can scale it to play on integrated graphics or crank it up to look great on the newest video cards.

If they do anything, they should add in more options to turn on/up so that you don’t screw those players that currently have borderline PC specs.

Reply
 
Leviathonlx
Posted 27, Dec 2007 07:55 PM
(0)
 

I am glad Blizzard isn’t concerned with making the graphics any different. My computer already has a tough time running some areas of the game and it would be worse with the graphics some of the latest games have. And unfortunately upgrading or getting a new computer isn’t a option for some of us who have to use spend money on more important things.

The minor graphic changes Blizzard has been doing are fine such as adding polygons to models updating game effects such as fire in WotLK.

Reply
 
Leviathonlx
Posted 27, Dec 2007 07:55 PM
(0)
 

I am glad Blizzard isn’t concerned with making the graphics any different. My computer already has a tough time running some areas of the game and it would be worse with the graphics some of the latest games have. And unfortunately upgrading or getting a new computer isn’t a option for some of us who have to use spend money on more important things.

The minor graphic changes Blizzard has been doing are fine such as adding polygons to models updating game effects such as fire in WotLK.

Reply
 
Leviathonlx
Posted 27, Dec 2007 07:55 PM
(0)
 

I am glad Blizzard isn’t concerned with making the graphics any different. My computer already has a tough time running some areas of the game and it would be worse with the graphics some of the latest games have. And unfortunately upgrading or getting a new computer isn’t a option for some of us who have to use spend money on more important things.

The minor graphic changes Blizzard has been doing are fine such as adding polygons to models updating game effects such as fire in WotLK.

Reply
 
spadron
Posted 27, Dec 2007 08:52 PM
(0)
 

Could we? Most likely so. But that would mean limiting who could play the game. We also enjoy the style that we have and while we continue to make improvements, want to be very careful in how we go about doing it so that we can allow people to play without the need of needing to do massive upgrades.

It’s funny, I’m sure most of my games have options

There’s no reason why they couldn’t add new shaders, HDR, higher-resolution textures, denser foliage, better trees etc… (to name but four), but have the option NOT TO TURN THEM ON.

The age-old argument about “style” doesn’t wash either. Nobody’s saying that you should be able to see the pores in an Orc’s skin should you zoom in fast enough…you only have to look at Team Fortress 2 to see that you don’t have to go with photo-realism to create a good, modern graphics engine.

edit: and on top of that, the “small” graphics updates they have made are not optional, and therefore do screw over people who’ve been playing happy for years then suddenly hit Shattrath, which is counter to the argument they presented.

Reply
 
spadron
Posted 27, Dec 2007 08:52 PM
(0)
 

Could we? Most likely so. But that would mean limiting who could play the game. We also enjoy the style that we have and while we continue to make improvements, want to be very careful in how we go about doing it so that we can allow people to play without the need of needing to do massive upgrades.

It’s funny, I’m sure most of my games have options

There’s no reason why they couldn’t add new shaders, HDR, higher-resolution textures, denser foliage, better trees etc… (to name but four), but have the option NOT TO TURN THEM ON.

The age-old argument about “style” doesn’t wash either. Nobody’s saying that you should be able to see the pores in an Orc’s skin should you zoom in fast enough…you only have to look at Team Fortress 2 to see that you don’t have to go with photo-realism to create a good, modern graphics engine.

edit: and on top of that, the “small” graphics updates they have made are not optional, and therefore do screw over people who’ve been playing happy for years then suddenly hit Shattrath, which is counter to the argument they presented.

Reply
 
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