I actually kind of like the human. I wish they would not give the elves those huge ears though. I like the smaller ears as opposed to the WoW-esque ones. At first, I didn't think the Kerra was that bad.. but, I guess I'm not all that fond of the huge upper body/ small hips thing. I don't mind somewhat stylized..even a little cartoon-y.. but it's a little much. I'm not fond of the huge shoulder armor either. It won't keep me from playing it. The game still looks really neat, as do the building tools.. but I hope they shift the character models a little. (at first I was just all WOW!!!! and now that I think about it.. there are things I kind of hope they change. I still like the Human though, I think she's pretty.)
Overall I like the look; but the Kerran and it's armor is so awful that it alone makes me not want to play.
it's all about the combat system to me. if it's good I will be fine. but since we haven't seen how movement/spells/UI/anything related to combat goes. hard to say
Very disappointed after watching these videos as far as the graphics style. I first started playing these types of games when EQ2/WoW was launched, I tried both but stuck with EQ2 for it's more realistic and mature approach towards character models. As an adult it made me feel like I wasn't just playing some game geared towards adolescents.
I personally will be more interested in seeing how the game is built and works than actually playing it I feel. I have to see more to make a full decision but I personally do not like these new "Armored Walls" style of building. Even the bulkiest armor in EQ2 isn't that ridiculously huge.
I think that the art direction is fine. Its leaps and bounds beyond EverquestII's graphics regardless of how its stylized.
The question is, how much of that Stylization is to draw a new crowd, versus drawing from EQ and EQ2. Really EQNext has to draw from the new generations. The EQ and EQ2 playerbases are too small to draw from reliably. That is probably the biggest reason it "looks like WoW/GW2" also they are using a Voxel system.
This isn't EQ Next, it's Freerealms Next. I was really hoping EQN would be MORE realistic than EQ2! But I will certainly be giving it a go - I even give my Freerealms account a run sometimes!
I loved the scenery and every system they described. The character models were NOT what I would want in an EverQuest game. They look too much like WoW/GW2/Rift, etc. I didn't even like the human. Everything was too bright and cartoony, and it looks like every other run-of-the-mill MMO. What set EQ2 (and SWG) apart for me has always been the realistic style for the character models. I hope that the art direction for the character models is not set, and they review that look going forward. Because honestly I'm down with this game otherwise. But I can't play a game where I hate how my character looks. =/
Looks like they are aiming for a newer generations of gamers. Like it or hate it WoW is the game played by most mmorpg players who like that kind of art style, even on the WoW forums, EQnext look is getting positive feed back which leads to a large pool of players to draw from there. Free Realms has millions of kids playing who are growing up and may want to move on to a more complex game aka EQnext which share the same look they like in Free Realms. Minecraft is played by kids and adults and they can get a lot players in that market with how they are building the game up with Landmark. Will will see how successful Soe is in their bid in those areas of the market. EQ and EQ2 will still be around for those who hate everything about what they are doing.
I couldn't agree more ! Visually, the only thing I really liked was the day/night cycle. The big turn off were Alex (unless we also get penguin as a playable race ) and the elves foot long's ears. Like you I'll probably take a look at it around release if EQN is included in my "All Access" sub. (yeah... euro player... I can't get into the Beta lottery with my 13 years old SOE account and I'm not going to create a Pro7 one for that)
You think those extremely low resolution textures and blocky looking shapes are better? Denial, it's not just a river in Egypt you know.
Well to be fair Conservatory is one of the best lit and made zones in EQ2... That zone was well crafted.
Its going to take a much bigger groundswell of opinion to get some injection of realism into the game. Sony don't listen unless there is a very real danger the game will suffer. Things are usually presented as a fait accomplis with Sony so I'm not holding much hope the game will grow up sadly. The Kerra is bad but what about the combat video? I have serious concerns there. There's Manga movement, falling over a good slice of the time and the warrior guy hitting the ground instead of the mob and the whole thing is blanketed in eyesight destroying over the top effects. What happened to the realistic movement? What about the "polygon of doom" that attacks the lego castle and trees in the deformable world demo? That's not just bad its gag inducingly bad.... Where's the hi res stuff? What happened to detail? Whats with the fisher price sword and armour? The list goes on...and I'm left wondering under what rock they guys who did the art direction have been living to decide that the game that was the antithesis of WoW - the game that people went to because of WoW's cartoon style - the bitter rivalry between the realists and the aircraft carrier sized pauldron brigade that were WoW lovers....why in the name of all that is holy did you think it was appropriate to make EQN into a visual APE of WoW?? I think its simple - Cartoon = cheap and easy. Realistic = expensive and difficult. That's the raison d'etre behind this art direction - not a love of Norrath or Everquest 2.
They are not "just getting started" they are just getting started again, for like the third time now.
Right. It couldn't possibly have anything to do with performance and not forcing major computer upgrades on people like Star Citizen.
You don't need to upgrade your computer to make an mmo that looks worse then it's predecessor ( EQ2 ). I guarantee you the low texture resolutions and other graphic sacrifices they made are so the game would run on consoles.
I'm really disappointed in the character artwork. Pretty decent landscapes, but populated by Disney toons, for pete's sake. I'll try the game, but I'll be playing it with a bias...balancing gameplay against my dislike of what my character looks like. I've been pretty excited about EQN for years. Now..I'm just...meh, whatever. What a letdown. Check out the latest trailer for Black Desert. Watching that made me feel like I wanted to feel for EQN. Closest I cam to feeling like for the whole EQN rollout was when they first played Jeremy Soule's intro.
