question about terrain draw distance

[SLUGFly]

simple question really. Does increasing the terrain draw distance also increase the distance at which mobs and players are drawn?

[iamthejuggler]

I believe so, yes.

[moopy]

Aren't there additional settings for character and object draw distances? Not in front of WoW right now, so I can't check. I do know that mob draw distance is too short, even with everything maxed out. With a fast mount, you can still get mobs only being drawn when they're in aggro range, sometimes. This is annoying when you're using a pretty powerful machine that could take the extra strain..

[milqueman]

Sure does, It also slows down your machine A LOT! If you have a slow machine or outdated graphics card, or a slow internet connection, I would reccommend not doing it.

Seeing things further away means:
-More things to see
-More mobs that your computer and the server have to talk to each other about
-More things your computer has to think about
-More things your graphics card has to draw.
-More memory usage.


@Moopy:

I have this problem with a normal mount. It has to do with the fact that your moving at a faster pace then your computer and the server can talk to each other. By the time your computer tells the server that your'e "Here" Your'e already "Over there", lol. (I'm also using a fast internet connection and a gaming computer, so it's not the hardware) Anyway, let me use this as an example. My wife and I play together in the same room. We both use the same connection and have fast, powerful computers. When we're running down the road together and I look at my screen, I'm in front of her, but If I turn and look at her computer (while we're still running) She is in front of me on Her screen. If we both stop and stand next to each other, then it's the same on both monitors. SO..... Just because you see where you are at on your screen, it doesn't mean that's where the server thinks your'e at. If your'e using a FAST Epic mount, it just amplifies the problem. That would explain why when your on your mount, mobs sometimes don't "Draw" in until your literally on top of them.

[swaldman]

Aren't there additional settings for character and object draw distances? Not in front of WoW right now, so I can't check. I do know that mob draw distance is too short, even with everything maxed out. With a fast mount, you can still get mobs only being drawn when they're in aggro range, sometimes.

Can anybody say "Scarlet Courier"? :-)

[moopy]

Can anybody say "Scarlet Courier"? :-)

Precisely :)

Last weekend I needed to make some repairbots for heroics, and the AH price of thorium was ludicrous, and BS/SG were all but stripped. I decided to go to plaguelands ("shining like a national guitar..") to mine some of the more dangerous areas where the nodes are usually unmolested.

I actually ran into that dirty-animal-food-trough-wiper and his friends. I exacted a terrible vengeance for all the times that he's made me late for a strat run. Putting snakes on his plane just about made my day.

Milque,

I think it's a bit of both, as it goes- as I can use far sight to see mobs (so my client is made aware of them), and pop it on and off a few times to see that they're still in context, but if I ride towards them, they won't be visible normally until they are actually all but on top of me- which is a problem with the more vicious stuff with a big aggro radius.

I usually have a fairly solid throughput both ways, and low latency (rarely above 80 ms), so sometimes I suspect that it might also be server-side lag, as it happens more when server intensive things like AHs are crawling too. Another factor which might be a problem for some people is low memory and a slow disk subsystem, but this also isn't a problem that I have, though memory was a little tighter on my old machine, and the problem was obviously worse.

Interestingly, back when server lag was really hellish (mostly just after "upgrades"), a lot of people on my server found buildings and even ground textures taking a while to appear, too. That was weird as hell, when Ironforge just looked like a lava plane. At one point this was happening everywhere, and blizz bounced the server, and when it came back, all was fine- blizz said "let there be geometry" :)

[JaedxRapture]

I think there should be a set distance at which PLAYERS are drawn if there's only X amount of players or less to be drawn. I mean, if you're out of range of seeing an enemy player but they can still see you, it's unfair.

[Kalos]

You would have to be using very aged or budget parts to not be able to support the full terrain draw distance in normal gameplay. Sub-$100 graphics card can do it without breaking sweat, in most situations. I still turn it down for large raids, or certain bosses where Blizzard went nuts with the visual effects and it noticably increased draw times. But the majority of the time, PvP BGs and regular world action, it was on max the whole time. For a Videocard made in 2003, not bad. A modern one, even of a non "Highest of the high" generations like the 8800 can do these stunts pretty good, if you know whih ones to buy.

[Baal]

I really wish you could set these settings even higher... I've got everything at max, and it's still not enough for me. I'd love to be able to see mobs even further away than you can with the slider at max.

[SLUGFly]

I don't see why players (and mobs) can't also have a very simple 2 dimensional graphic (blurry) that allows us to see them as long as we have a line of sight on them, regardless of distance but allowing for atmospheric disturbance. From more than a hundred and fifty yards there doesn't even need to be animation and the computer that can handle rain certainly could handle a hundred pixel-shaded raiders coming over the hill.

[ferofax]

...thats actually a good idea. but if they ever implement stuff like that, then the racials would probly contain enhanced vision of sorts (like the Nelfs and Belfs), which have better eyesight and can see things farther away than most races...

plus if they used sprites for mobs/objects/players that are beyond the draw distance, you'll know that there's a couple of bad ass elites surrounded by tough mobs in the distance instead them suddenly popping outta nowhere.

[SLUGFly]

perhaps they could make it so mouse-over identification only works within a certain range... so if your eyes (real eyes, not character eyes) are good you could see movement in the distance but you might not know what it is exactly.

[ferofax]

...its silly when you see a pixel-width yellow line and painfully aim the mouse over to see what it is and then it says "Rabbit". lol

[moopy]

I really wish you could set these settings even higher... I've got everything at max, and it's still not enough for me. I'd love to be able to see mobs even further away than you can with the slider at max.

You and me both. I find it frustrating to have all the settings maxed, still unable to see something the size of a house before I am almost standing on its foot.

[Aswer]

You and me both. I find it frustrating to have all the settings maxed, still unable to see something the size of a house before I am almost standing on its foot.

/signed tbh

[swaldman]

You and me both. I find it frustrating to have all the settings maxed, still unable to see something the size of a house before I am almost standing on its foot.

Yay for "stealthed" Devilsaurs.