lotuss79 said:
I really like the new art style. The old style was so dated. I think the new art style will really stand the test of time. Loving what im seeing from 247 too. Old school MMO’s are so.. dated. I think an extraction game-MMO hybrid will really stand the test of time. Also, im so tired of game studios that operate with deadlines and oversight. I think Visionary Realms will really stand the test of time. Keep up the great work VR. Onward and upward!
Even if they were to do this, the damage has already been done. It shows an inconsistency in vision and dedication to the design of the project. What we get in 5 years may not resemble at all what we were promised 10 years ago. Anyone who was on the fence has already written off the game. Many who supported it are now giving up on it. It would take a miracle to bring it back from near-death now.
Darch said:
I absolutely hate the graphics… that graphic style is the reason I never played Fortnite. With that said though, Fortnite has a high population, which means that those of us that don’t like that art style are the minority. I was never following this game (or playing EQ for that matter) for the graphics though. As long as they come through with the game mechanics promised I’m ok.
dorotea said: If you like a studio that operates without deadlines you will be happy as a pig in mud here.
It is a sad, but true, statement. VR may have internal deadlines but none of them ever have been made known to anybody. It is the apparently lack of deadlines that hurts VR. Even if VR were to come here and emphatically state they have deadlines, without actual proof it is just words.
Vandraad said:
dorotea said: If you like a studio that operates without deadlines you will be happy as a pig in mud here.
It is a sad, but true, statement. VR may have internal deadlines but none of them ever have been made known to anybody. It is the apparently lack of deadlines that hurts VR. Even if VR were to come here and emphatically state they have deadlines, without actual proof it is just words.
You don't speak for me. I am 100% fine with the art style. Pantheon was never about the art style, it was about the MMORPG gameplay design that made EQ great, and was lost when every MMORPG since became a WoW clone.
Well, 100% may not be accurate. I personally find the character models to be absolutely terrible. Ugly. Males are not "cool", and Females are not "hot". I'd have no particular desire to select either if I was staring at them in the character creator. But again... that is not the important part of the game. Non-ugly looking character models would just be a bonus.
That said... Hand Painted art styles can look great! While Realism often looks "meh" unless using the absolute latest high quality game engine. Realism styles do not age well. They get dated VERY quickly.
The only fault I find with the graphics style change is... doing it after 10 FREAKING YEARS! I completely understand people being upset with the change. For the last decade, we have been shown one style, and the community has gotten accustomed to and expect that. I understand the need to change the style. The reasoning is very valid and reasonable. But it should have been realized and implemented FARRRRRRRRRRR sooner. Sometimes there is just going to be something that needs to be done in development for the greater good of the project, that is not going to go over well with all fans. And you will just have to do the best that you can to do it and introduce it in a way that mitigates the response with the community. And VR utterly failed on that. It came out of nowhere, way too late in the development process, with fairly underwhelming screenshots to show for it, and poorly communicated.
The style itself is not bad. It can be anywhere from pretty to dark and gritty. That's up to the artists and art direction. But what has been shown so far is kind of "meh" as far as hand painted styles go. The scenes are lacking content like bushes and rocks. The terrain is too flat, and the texture transitions are cheap. This is why it gets that mobile game vibe instead of a WoW vibe. They needed to put their best foot forward to convince people the change was a good thing... and they failed on that.
I really think the old-school MMO gameplay only works with a more realistic art style. This new art style just does not fit the gameplay -- this kind of art needs faster gameplay. Hitting a snake with the same animation over and over... just isn't worth it without an aesthetic payoff. Camping and grinding for a long time is just not worth it when the rewards will not make us look (and feel) more badass. WoW may have just gotten away with it, but that gameplay was much, much more polished and dynamic than what we've seen. Imagine playing Everquest with cartoony graphics like the art we now see. I don't know about you all, but I couldn't be bothered to do that. The non-cartoonyness of the world imbued it with a sense of meaning that is, unfortunately, lost in this art style. In my opinion. I'm certainly not motivated to whack at a snake over and over and over if I don't feel like my character is cool. The art hasn't given me that feeling yet. Maybe I'll try the 247, but the gameplay videos have not seemed very exciting...
Sorry VR - odd that this ended up happening.
DarkAkuma said:
You don't speak for me. I am 100% fine with the art style. Pantheon was never about the art style, it was about the MMORPG gameplay design that made EQ great, and was lost when every MMORPG since became a WoW clone.
Well, 100% may not be accurate. I personally find the character models to be absolutely terrible. Ugly. Males are not "cool", and Females are not "hot". I'd have no particular desire to select either if I was staring at them in the character creator. But again... that is not the important part of the game. Non-ugly looking character models would just be a bonus.
That said... Hand Painted art styles can look great! While Realism often looks "meh" unless using the absolute latest high quality game engine. Realism styles do not age well. They get dated VERY quickly.
The only fault I find with the graphics style change is... doing it after 10 FREAKING YEARS! I completely understand people being upset with the change. For the last decade, we have been shown one style, and the community has gotten accustomed to and expect that. I understand the need to change the style. The reasoning is very valid and reasonable. But it should have been realized and implemented FARRRRRRRRRRR sooner. Sometimes there is just going to be something that needs to be done in development for the greater good of the project, that is not going to go over well with all fans. And you will just have to do the best that you can to do it and introduce it in a way that mitigates the response with the community. And VR utterly failed on that. It came out of nowhere, way too late in the development process, with fairly underwhelming screenshots to show for it, and poorly communicated.
The style itself is not bad. It can be anywhere from pretty to dark and gritty. That's up to the artists and art direction. But what has been shown so far is kind of "meh" as far as hand painted styles go. The scenes are lacking content like bushes and rocks. The terrain is too flat, and the texture transitions are cheap. This is why it gets that mobile game vibe instead of a WoW vibe. They needed to put their best foot forward to convince people the change was a good thing... and they failed on that.
Sarim said:
DarkAkuma said:
You don't speak for me. I am 100% fine with the art style. Pantheon was never about the art style, it was about the MMORPG gameplay design that made EQ great, and was lost when every MMORPG since became a WoW clone.
Well, 100% may not be accurate. I personally find the character models to be absolutely terrible. Ugly. Males are not "cool", and Females are not "hot". I'd have no particular desire to select either if I was staring at them in the character creator. But again... that is not the important part of the game. Non-ugly looking character models would just be a bonus.
That said... Hand Painted art styles can look great! While Realism often looks "meh" unless using the absolute latest high quality game engine. Realism styles do not age well. They get dated VERY quickly.
The only fault I find with the graphics style change is... doing it after 10 FREAKING YEARS! I completely understand people being upset with the change. For the last decade, we have been shown one style, and the community has gotten accustomed to and expect that. I understand the need to change the style. The reasoning is very valid and reasonable. But it should have been realized and implemented FARRRRRRRRRRR sooner. Sometimes there is just going to be something that needs to be done in development for the greater good of the project, that is not going to go over well with all fans. And you will just have to do the best that you can to do it and introduce it in a way that mitigates the response with the community. And VR utterly failed on that. It came out of nowhere, way too late in the development process, with fairly underwhelming screenshots to show for it, and poorly communicated.
The style itself is not bad. It can be anywhere from pretty to dark and gritty. That's up to the artists and art direction. But what has been shown so far is kind of "meh" as far as hand painted styles go. The scenes are lacking content like bushes and rocks. The terrain is too flat, and the texture transitions are cheap. This is why it gets that mobile game vibe instead of a WoW vibe. They needed to put their best foot forward to convince people the change was a good thing... and they failed on that.
Well said, this is my position as well. Everyone who has not seen the new art in-game should really wait until they see it for themselves. The few short videos and few screenshots are not enough to really show off the change. It's unfortunate that the testers and more importantly, streamers, are still bound by NDA. Pantheon+ has made a new stream yesterday where they carefully touch upon the many things that are being done currently, but may not talk about it or show it yet. That really is not helping...
I'm unsure about the future of Pantheon. But the new art style is not something I worry about.
Prevenge said:Sarim said:I agree with these 2 guys. Go watch the "Shaman refresh video" that VR put out. Those graphics are absolutely nothing special and they are zoomed in for this specific video, so you can see them even better. The painted style won't be as realistic, but I seriously think it will look better, overall. I'm also reserving full judgement until I get into the game myself. Things always look so much better when you finally get to launch them on your own computer. Although yes, please make sure the character models are something people WANT to look at and WANT to choose. Because I agree that the character models don't look great, so far.DarkAkuma said: You don't speak for me. I am 100% fine with the art style. Pantheon was never about the art style, it was about the MMORPG gameplay design that made EQ great, and was lost when every MMORPG since became a WoW clone. Well, 100% may not be accurate. I personally find the character models to be absolutely terrible. Ugly. Males are not "cool", and Females are not "hot". I'd have no particular desire to select either if I was staring at them in the character creator. But again... that is not the important part of the game. Non-ugly looking character models would just be a bonus. That said... Hand Painted art styles can look great! While Realism often looks "meh" unless using the absolute latest high quality game engine. Realism styles do not age well. They get dated VERY quickly. The only fault I find with the graphics style change is... doing it after 10 FREAKING YEARS! I completely understand people being upset with the change. For the last decade, we have been shown one style, and the community has gotten accustomed to and expect that. I understand the need to change the style. The reasoning is very valid and reasonable. But it should have been realized and implemented FARRRRRRRRRRR sooner. Sometimes there is just going to be something that needs to be done in development for the greater good of the project, that is not going to go over well with all fans. And you will just have to do the best that you can to do it and introduce it in a way that mitigates the response with the community. And VR utterly failed on that. It came out of nowhere, way too late in the development process, with fairly underwhelming screenshots to show for it, and poorly communicated. The style itself is not bad. It can be anywhere from pretty to dark and gritty. That's up to the artists and art direction. But what has been shown so far is kind of "meh" as far as hand painted styles go. The scenes are lacking content like bushes and rocks. The terrain is too flat, and the texture transitions are cheap. This is why it gets that mobile game vibe instead of a WoW vibe. They needed to put their best foot forward to convince people the change was a good thing... and they failed on that.Well said, this is my position as well. Everyone who has not seen the new art in-game should really wait until they see it for themselves. The few short videos and few screenshots are not enough to really show off the change. It's unfortunate that the testers and more importantly, streamers, are still bound by NDA. Pantheon+ has made a new stream yesterday where they carefully touch upon the many things that are being done currently, but may not talk about it or show it yet. That really is not helping... I'm unsure about the future of Pantheon. But the new art style is not something I worry about.