17 replies to this topic

[Soltenius Drake]

Who am I, I am one of the guys that is willing to go all out and upgrade CPU, MoBo, 2x7970's, Memory, and also purchasing SSD's instead of HD's to have a top notch experience. I know that you have consider the average PC out there, however I hope this game is scalable to Late model duel card demand. Even most games out today do not take full advantage of the average pc's hardware because game companies are always porting to consoles and have to play according to those restrictions.

I Just watched the most recent 1080p Video about a hot drop of a Mech. The textures on the video looked a little plain. That is to say the detail seemed to lack all the polish and flair I am hoping for. I know that you are still in development and there is probably plenty of wax and shine to come but I wanted to declare my hopes just in case. The concept art pic that you posted under the video would be the hope for me as I plan to totally upgrade for this game when it hits in the summer.

So I guess I am trying to say that I am dedicating myself to this degree to your game so please show guys like me some of the same dedication and make the polish so good that we will shed tears of blood from looking at the shear awe of your game. Together with the game play depth that I already know you're adding I know this will be one of the greatest games to ever be played.

[Polymorphyne]

Im not too sure about making the game able to look/perform too highly..... Hot mech action with that level of graphics and detail? It might end up being such a sensory rush that it becomes the new replacement for **** and becomes horribly addictive and shameful.
You fought an Atlas in a Jenner on those graphics settings? YOU SICK *******!

[Dlardrageth]

Well, it comes down a bit to business matters in this; sure, you could develop a game where everybody gets peak performance if he gets a new computer for 2K+ bucks with state of the art equipment and what not. But the appeal for the wider customer base, which will in the end bring a considerable size of the earnings into the coffers in a F2P game won't stand for that. You sort of have to prioritize downward compatability a bit, especially if you go for the global gaming market where in some countries people don't just go to their local electronics retailer or on the internet like that and spend a 4-digit sum of money on a new rig for a game.

That is not saying there should be no graphical "perks" for those with varsity equipment, it just can't be a main focus and it cannot give in-game advantages. Let me make two examples... When EVE-Online back in the day decided to upgrade the minimum graphics requirements so that Shader Model 2 won't be supported any more, there was quite a bit of negative feedback coming in. In the end they actually had to come up with a compromising solution where you could run the game on a "client light" basically. With lower hardware requirements. You think they did this just out of the goodness of their hearts? No, rather because they didn't want to lose a large chunk of paying customers. Or another one, why do you think LotrO for a long time now supports running the game (client) with a DX9, DX10 or DX11 setup, whatever fits you best? They proved they could adapt the game to DX11 with juiced up graphics and what not. Still they enable people to run it with an quite average (older) computer which is only DX9 compatible, in order to keep a bigger number of (potentially paying) customers happy.

And as the devs and PGI as a company will have to look out for potential earnings due to a larger customer base, don't expect them to set the treshold too high for playing MWO. There might be a nice bunch of optional tweaks you might be able to enjoy with a high-end computer system. But for plain reasons of market viability a F2P game has to rely on attractiveness for a broad spectrum of computer users, and that means it also has to be somewhat modest in its hardware requirements. Otherwise the game might not be around long enough to enjoy it for you with your top notch equipment.

Edited by Dlardrageth, 01 March 2012 - 04:32 AM.

[Will Hung]

I thought the mere fact that the game would be using CryEngine 3 was already a solid enough commitment to higher-end machines. This game isn't going to be running smoothly (or at all) on a lot of rigs, (speaking from a 3rd world perspective, mind you) where I come from. This is not a complaint; I want my first Mechwarrior MMORPG experience to be a sensory delight as well, so I will invest enough money to make it so.

[Durant Carlyle]

Ummm...

What exactly are you saying "looks a little plain"? I've viewed both versions of the video multiple times, and I can't see anything that I would describe as plain. Your impression could easily be influenced by the particular scene in the video -- the brightness and spacing of the lights, the camera angle, etc. The concept art of the drop bay is great. The video shows the same thing, just in sections with a rather tight camera focus and realistically-modeled lighting.

Your willingness to spend thousands of dollars to upgrade your machine is great. PGI doesn't see a penny of that though. They are already creating a great game both visually and gameplay-wise (and they are not porting this from a console, so you shouldn't be worrying about that). They have more dedication to the game than you do, trust me on that. After all, it's their baby, and they have seen it mature from a twinkle in somebody's eye to being only a few months away from release. PGI would be perfectly happy if you saved some of that upgrade money and bought some stuff in MW:O instead. At least that way, they'd see some profit from it.

[Zakatak]

What could you possibly gain from having 2x 7970's? A single one can run BF3 on Ultra 16x AA, at 60+ frames! My gawd man.

[FinnMcKool]

Come on you guys , the week sisters can always turn off stuff on the video settings ,but its hard to turn on stuff that isnt there.

This is so doable , that Im confident you didnt even have to ask for it, Im sure its already there.

[Durant Carlyle]

Based on what I've seen, it is already there. I'm already convinced that we will all be blown away by the quality of the graphics. I'm just surprised that someone else could say that it "looked a little plain" and "seemed to lack all the polish and flair I am hoping for". I was looking for some specific examples so I could see what my eyes have evidently missed thus far.

[nubnub]

I think the OP may have meant overall it was plain not specifically the textures. I agree with this - compare it to other MW trailers\intros where there is stuff happening everywhere: sparks, explosions, dust, smoke, loud bangs, flashing lights, boobs, characters etc.

But it does no mean it wasn't good. Infact I thought it was a great tease - the calm before the storm.

Secifically with the graphics I agree that the game should have very flexible graphics to suite both worlds - high end gamers (who a probably a large proportion of these forums and more likely to pay for content) and the more casual gamers. This is an advantage of PC since you can turn things up\down, and the game is carried by gameplay.

[Soltenius Drake]

Some people are going over board with my take on the graphics here. I am not trying to exclude the common crowd of players (who would want game servers with stunning vistas and no players) , it's just like FinnMcKool said I want there to be the ability to scale the graphical ability to max out these next gen cards in cross fire. That does not mean I am against having game playable on a 4870 ATI card with the graphics scale back to modestly to enable game play.

Finn made the statement that if the graphics are there you can turn it off, however if it was never programmed then there is no way to turn what was never created on.

All of this said this is no game breaker for me, I still plan to play. Just wanted to weight in on behalf of others that feel the way I do with my two cents.

[GDL Irishwarrior]

I'm gonna be the outlier here and suggest not making graphics a top - or even very high - priority. You see, there is a reason that games nowadays are getting shorter, simpler, and repetitive. That reason is pandering to all those people that demand extremely detailed graphics - the developers have to put so much time and effort into making the game look good, that they can't put any into creating content. You look at games from the 90's, and even the relatively simple ones have exponentially more content and gameplay time than most modern games. They made the quality of gameplay and the amount/quality of content their very first priorities, and worried about graphics afterward. This is a big part of why simulation games are so rare nowadays - there is no time to make anything that complex.

I'd be happiest if PGI took the same mentality as those earlier developers to heart. Work on content, customization, gameplay balance, etc. Give a wide range of complexity, allowing some players to use a simpler, more streamlined control system, while others can have a full-blown simulation. I know this game is going to look great no matter, what, but I think creating graphics that melt low-end computers should be last on the developers' to-do list. I'd rather have the best 'Mech gameplay in the world with graphics that look like MechWarrior 3 than graphics that make Battlefield 3 look like an NES game at the cost of having the gameplay amount to MechAssault Online (Yes, that was a massive exaggeration - it's good for making a point lol)

[CeeKay Boques]

GDL Irishwarrior, on 02 March 2012 - 10:22 PM, said:

I'm gonna be the outlier here and suggest not making graphics a top - or even very high - priority. You see, there is a reason that games nowadays are getting shorter, simpler, and repetitive. That reason is pandering to all those people that demand extremely detailed graphics - the developers have to put so much time and effort into making the game look good, that they can't put any into creating content. You look at games from the 90's, and even the relatively simple ones have exponentially more content and gameplay time than most modern games. They made the quality of gameplay and the amount/quality of content their very first priorities, and worried about graphics afterward. This is a big part of why simulation games are so rare nowadays - there is no time to make anything that complex.

I'd be happiest if PGI took the same mentality as those earlier developers to heart. Work on content, customization, gameplay balance, etc. Give a wide range of complexity, allowing some players to use a simpler, more streamlined control system, while others can have a full-blown simulation. I know this game is going to look great no matter, what, but I think creating graphics that melt low-end computers should be last on the developers' to-do list. I'd rather have the best 'Mech gameplay in the world with graphics that look like MechWarrior 3 than graphics that make Battlefield 3 look like an NES game at the cost of having the gameplay amount to MechAssault Online (Yes, that was a massive exaggeration - it's good for making a point lol)

Visuals sell the game. They regular guy who just wants a new game, will flip through screenshots and gameplay movies, and they better be compelling.

However, I 97.2% agree with everything you said.

Look at the new Jagged Alliance, they really ramped up the graphics, and forgot to bring the gameplay... I'm betting the browser version might be better!

[Soltenius Drake]

GDL Irishwarrior, on 02 March 2012 - 10:22 PM, said:

I'm gonna be the outlier here and suggest not making graphics a top - or even very high - priority. You see, there is a reason that games nowadays are getting shorter, simpler, and repetitive. That reason is pandering to all those people that demand extremely detailed graphics - the developers have to put so much time and effort into making the game look good, that they can't put any into creating content. You look at games from the 90's, and even the relatively simple ones have exponentially more content and gameplay time than most modern games. They made the quality of gameplay and the amount/quality of content their very first priorities, and worried about graphics afterward. This is a big part of why simulation games are so rare nowadays - there is no time to make anything that complex.

I'd be happiest if PGI took the same mentality as those earlier developers to heart. Work on content, customization, gameplay balance, etc. Give a wide range of complexity, allowing some players to use a simpler, more streamlined control system, while others can have a full-blown simulation. I know this game is going to look great no matter, what, but I think creating graphics that melt low-end computers should be last on the developers' to-do list. I'd rather have the best 'Mech gameplay in the world with graphics that look like MechWarrior 3 than graphics that make Battlefield 3 look like an NES game at the cost of having the gameplay amount to MechAssault Online (Yes, that was a massive exaggeration - it's good for making a point lol)

I couldn't agree more that gameplay and balance have hire priority then graphics in producing a quality product. However when a good balance is attained and gameplay is five star sound it is time to polish the product. Listen this game happens to have a theme and a layout that needs immersion. The player needs to be captivated by the theme and feel the part of the role they play, feel like they are really there in the **** pit of a mech. I am not suggesting to get so caught up in graphics that the higher priorities of quality game making suffer but to make a complete five star product and not have to sacrifice one for another. Look at the Metroid series on Nintendo, the gameplay is always great yet every time they make Metroid the make sure to tap every ounce of Visual quality they can out of the hardware so that they can immerse the player in their world.

The result is a strong franchise and a game that stands along with some of the best games ever created. I am not with the console experience anymore but some of the best titles I ever played were there. Some did not depend on graphic immersion others needed it to be complete.

A game with graphic but no gameplay is like a Scally wag ho with a beautiful face - tempting but never fulfilling.

Edited by Soltenius Drake, 03 March 2012 - 12:48 AM.

[Soltenius Drake]

This may shed some clarity on what I was talking about in the video. Has anyone heard of the term " Tessellation" well this feature has been included in graphics card for a while and helps produce a more realistic and dramatic 3 dimensional effect in graphics. For example if you had a dragon on display rather then having a flat texture for scales each scale would take on a geometrical form thus becoming a individual bumpy or scaly hide. Each tooth would take shape, the tongue in the mouth of the dragon wouldn't be a flat texture inside the mouth of the dragon. This seems to be missing from the latest video posted, you have flat painted textures that represent legitimate 3d details. This may be place holder and I hope it is but without talking about pushing two flagship graphics cards to the max a single current gen mainstream card is capable of crunching this geometry.

The question comes down to how many figures does the graphics card has to render at one time. I am hoping for a scale of graphics that will include mainstream players but will be scale able to Ultra high duel card capability.

As I said before this subject is not a game breaker for me but a hope for greater immersion.

Edited by Soltenius Drake, 03 March 2012 - 01:46 AM.

[FinnMcKool]

its the Cry 3 engine I got no worries in game play or Graphics

and I do Have a highend Machine , not the best but better than most.
I hope to use it for 4-5 years.

Edited by FinnMcKool, 03 March 2012 - 09:10 AM.

[nubnub]

FinnMcKool, on 03 March 2012 - 09:08 AM, said:

its the Cry 3 engine I got no worries in game play or Graphics

and I do Have a highend Machine , not the best but better than most.
I hope to use it for 4-5 years.

4-5 years? Thats optimistic...

[Insidious Johnson]

PGI needs to sell a high end alienware competitor reboxed in an atlas head tower. Also include cockpit chair and 3 multifunction displays for 180 degree view. Slap on a logo and over charge for it. It'll sell for this.

[Soltenius Drake]

Soltenius Drake, on 01 March 2012 - 02:16 AM, said:

Who am I, I am one of the guys that is willing to go all out and upgrade CPU, MoBo, 2x7970's, Memory, and also purchasing SSD's instead of HD's to have a top notch experience. I know that you have consider the average PC out there, however I hope this game is scalable to Late model duel card demand. Even most games out today do not take full advantage of the average pc's hardware because game companies are always porting to consoles and have to play according to those restrictions.

I Just watched the most recent 1080p Video about a hot drop of a Mech. The textures on the video looked a little plain. That is to say the detail seemed to lack all the polish and flair I am hoping for. I know that you are still in development and there is probably plenty of wax and shine to come but I wanted to declare my hopes just in case. The concept art pic that you posted under the video would be the hope for me as I plan to totally upgrade for this game when it hits in the summer.

So I guess I am trying to say that I am dedicating myself to this degree to your game so please show guys like me some of the same dedication and make the polish so good that we will shed tears of blood from looking at the shear awe of your game. Together with the game play depth that I already know you're adding I know this will be one of the greatest games to ever be played.

My prayers are answered