Graphics test. SWTOR, RIFT and WoW

[thestackshow]

Im running this game on a duo core amd 6000 with 6 gigs of ram and a geforce gtx560 and its just fine for me.

 

And whats your FPS in warzones/fleet on max settings? I have a similar gig and i get sub 20 in all warzones and 10 in fleet on low AND max settings.

[Daedricshots]

And whats your FPS in warzones/fleet on max settings? I have a similar gig and i get sub 20 in all warzones and 10 in fleet on low AND max settings.

 

I havent checked my fps in warzones yet. But i do agree it does drop slightly. I think thats mostly just the programming of the game and even high end machines will experience fps drops. Just needs to get smoothed out and people need to be patient.

[darthtoph]

How can yo go on about graphics and not mention Aion? OP = noob

 

[Culveren]

How can yo go on about graphics and not mention Aion? OP = noob

 

 

Im pretty sure AOC is still the graphics front runner of MMOS. It looks much better than oblivion does, which is really saying something (and i mean with mods for oblivion's faces).

[Romiz]

Will not comment on the 3 titles OP noted. Eve-Online is noted only to compare what can happen in 7+ years.

 

In Graphics look would rate them: Rift - SWTOR - WOW

 

Music and sound SWTOR - WOW - Rift

 

Now something key armor for classes. Rift - SWTOR - WoW

 

Weapons SWTOR - WoW -Rift

 

-- Rift may have the better graphics for the most part. But SWTOR has the very best cities of the 3 games. WoW added DX11 but very few of it feature. It still looks like a very dated game.

 

Just look at a game like Eve-Online that is a older than wow. It only has about 150k subs compared to wows 10+ million. CCP has keep up with the time and has amazing graphics. But the MMO that makes Billions every year has barely progressed from the look of 7 years ago.

 

-- Music is a hard one. But SWTOR wins since the music is triggered at key times not none stop. One of WoW's strong points was it music. But unlike SWTOR not as good at setting the mood. Rift music and sound are not well done at all.

 

-- Armor wow has no customization to looks. Also Blizzard has no plains to allow custom looks. Rift weakness it they repeat same look over and over but lots of color options. SWTOR armor progression is very nice but missing color customization. That said Bioware will be bring back this option. When it does the order would be SWTOR - Rift - WoW.

 

-- Weapons SWTOR stays true to the lore we expect. WoW has good and bad with weapons. The are colorful and big but not well scaled from male to female. Only reason placed Rift last is weapons are overall boring. Yes they have some nice items but not that many.

 

 

My background with these MMOs. Played wow for 7 years, no longer play as on Dec 20th. Rift played it 6 months. SWTOR started in the beta weekend till now.

Edited January 8, 2012 by Romiz

[darthtoph]

Im pretty sure AOC is still the graphics front runner of MMOS. It looks much better than oblivion does, which is really saying something (and i mean with mods for oblivion's faces).

 

Or AoC. But SWTOR, Rift and WoW? C'mon!

[MajorMelchett]

If they gave me SWTOR with the high res textures ingame (aswell as higher res world textures to go with them) and slightly smoother shadows i'd rate it as the best overall in both graphics and aesthetics.

 

Rift looks great maxed out but there is one thing that just annoys me and that's the animation, i really hate with a passion how characters and mounts wakj/run, it's more like they glide over the ground and it looks terrible and it really puts me off,

 

To this day i still love WOWs aesthetics the most though despite no longer playing it and it being out dated graphically.

[Xmok]

Ive done everything there is to do in wow

 

I seriously doubt that, unless you have 14,000 achievement points and are in one of the top guilds.

[Eronenris]

It's much harder to create a seamless huge world than several disconnected zones.

 

 

i understand that but with the lore of star wars a huge seamless world is impossible unless you go way off mark of the original lore and story and had they have done so it wouldn't be star wars it would suck, and lots of die hard star wars fans would shun the game.

[Cranberries]

i understand that but with the lore of star wars a huge seamless world is impossible unless you go way off mark of the original lore and story and had they have done so it wouldn't be star wars it would suck, and lots of die hard star wars fans would shun the game.

 

pink lightsabers

[Daedricshots]

pink lightsabers

 

thats not a lightsaber.........

[Cranberries]

thats not a lightsaber.........

 

you can get pink lightsabers

[Daedricshots]

you can get pink lightsabers

 

woosh

[MajorMelchett]

All i can say is, how have i never heard of Aion?, after seeing the screen shot earlier i had to cherck out a video of it.

 

 

I want that interface so much, i love how it's all on the bottom bar and really neat.

Edited January 8, 2012 by MajorMelchett

[vekkth]

unbiased opinion.

 

1. Rift. movie at start looks amazing - detailed character, amazing passive lightning. Then it comes down to a fight and you suddenly realize that yes it is an Asian MMO - you cant see a crap whats going on there. Lightning, lightning, lightning. All your character amazingless disappear in those whirlwinds taking 3/4 of your screen. Not pleasing to watch at all.

2. Wow. I cant be unbiased because i played it from start till the early Cata, i've seen it all. I should say that being graphically bland and sometimes i dare to say tasteless (especially with all that PHANTASY weapon designs that were spewed in the game with AQ launch), level design was almost always very spot on, capturing the essence and giving a player some room for imagination.

3. SWTor is going the same route but for my taste doing it better. Locations are aesthetically pleasing, animations are well done, music is great, and unlike Rift you can always tell whats happening on your screen. And i pray that would stick to somehow natural, historical designs of weapon/armor, not going in to the same failrealm as wow did, trying to please younger audience who needs some COOL LOOKING STUFF.

Edited January 8, 2012 by vekkth

[PhazeFadis]

Also agree, Rift had far more "ambiance" over SWTOR it wasnt even close. Rift was better overall in everyway (graphics, ambiance wise), shame it really was WoW 2.0, but w/e

 

One of the reasons I have a LOT of hope for the sci-fi MMO TRION is making... now if they could only work out some legit PvP/RvR.

 

I've simply done the Arena/Warfront gear-grind too many times for it to be fun.

 

Unsubbed from TOR already...

[harkain]

RIFT is a great game I agree. I remember talking on a twitch chat and mentioned that RIFT is really cool. All I got was WoWtards going 'lol how many subscribers?!?!" 'Game's dead blah blah blah"

 

By there Logic Since Justin Beiber sold a lot of records, he's more talented than 99% of musicians.

 

It was rather annoying.

 

Rift is the best fantasy mmo IMO if you look for a generic themepark experience aka it beats out wow on all lvls, some will debate the arena or not but i am one of those that thinks arena is only negative for a game.

 

rift took a gear centric tiered raiding system and made it good why i left it after 6 months was the fact i played that for several years already (in wow, lotro and others) i dont see myself buying a fantasy game for along time agian.

[Chiricahua]

Of all the videos WoW looks the best. In fact I'm going to check to see if I have DirectX11. I think part of the problem with SWTOR from a graphical stand point, is the artistic rendering. It's like comparing HD video to a television from 20 years ago.

[OddballEasyEight]

Heres all i have to say on the subject:

 

http://www.penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/graphics-vs.-aesthetics

Edited January 8, 2012 by OddballEasyEight

[Seravie]

Eh I doubt AoC or Rift can compare to FFXIV in graphical settings.... not talking about gameplay either lol.

 

I enjoy SWTOR tho... music and setting blend together like PBJ sandwich.

also that music in WoW is horrendous. my opinion though.

Edited January 8, 2012 by Seravie

[Laeris]

Innovation? The one thing that Rift really "innovated" was the ability for players to create entirely different specs using the soul system. All that did was to make the game boring faster, since it meant that players could explore all the different roles of the trinity on fewer characters. Big deal.

-Rift has Dungeon Defender style tower defense zones in the L50 advanced difficulty Emerald Isle zone. I don't recall any other MMO having this.

 

-Rift was the first MMO to introduce true "Instant Adventure" content. It's a system where you mash a button and get ported to a world quest event in progress where you team up in an open world raid of constant objectives, boss fights, defense engaments, etc.

 

-Rift also has the rift mechanics and zone/world invasion mechanics. Many people overlook these as mundane if they've played Rift because they're so frequent. However, you don't have this in WoW. Other games have tried limited variations of this concept but none have implemented it on such a wide scale.

 

-Rift's classes are easy to learn but difficult to master. Chloromancers heal both raids and groups by converting damage to healing and have very unique mechanics that allow them to do it. Dominators in PvP do damage to the enemy by literally making them hurt themselves (via using raid-boss like debuffs that force PvPers to be situationally aware). The soul system is diverse in that there's many variations of building a good character.

 

 

I could go on but I don't really need to. Rift has an awful lot of unique innovation. SWTOR has some voice overs but mechanics wise... it plays like KOTOR. When people start topping out their characters here, if BW doesn't seriously start making some serious end-game content... Rift is going to get a whole lot bigger.

[Laeris]

unbiased opinion.

 

1. Rift. movie at start looks amazing - detailed character, amazing passive lightning. Then it comes down to a fight and you suddenly realize that yes it is an Asian MMO - you cant see a crap whats going on there. Lightning, lightning, lightning. All your character amazingless disappear in those whirlwinds taking 3/4 of your screen. Not pleasing to watch at all.

 

Rift is most definitely not an Asian MMO. There are no outlandish chicken mounts and pandas flashing Yatta! signs when you click on them. Does Rift have a lot of brilliant spell effects? Yep... but that to me does not make a game Asian. Asian games to me thrive on overly stylized wardrobes (schoolgirl outfits, human models with cat ears and tails, steampunk tuxedos, etc), fiendish grind systems, unrealistic and far-flung mobs... etc.

 

Rift's wardobe system is decidedly minimalist. The armors and robes look like something someone could make and actually wear. No glamorized giant shoulder pads, no swords 3x taller than the man wielding them, and dare I say metal armor looks like metal, leather looks leathery in texture and cloth... well, looks like cloth. Asian MMOs often look the same: Heavy armor might be a metal shoulder pad with a dockworker style shirt and long shorts. Light armor is almost always a ridiculous skirt and thigh-high stockings.

 

And, in that video... you talk about lightning. Well, a stormcaller pretty much deals with lightning and ice. So yeah.

 

Anyhoo, I've ranted enough for one day.

[Laretor]

I have played AoC, Rift, WoW and now ToR and in my opinion only rift had some aesthetic issues. It just didn't seem to fit together really.

 

I've grown tired and bored with the WoW look so ToR is refreshing yet a bit familiar at the same time. I like how it doesn't take itself too serious. AoC was a bit more "realistic" but still aesthetically pleasing and probably the best looking of the 4. I'm not really disappointed with how ToR looks but I'd like some improvements. I'm not sure if it's the high texture bug or not but the armour on my Guardian looks rather pixelated. All my settings are on high, with the exception of shadows which are turned off.

 

@OP. You say to take into account the relative ages of the game but while reading through the posts (I must admit I skimmed some) I've not seen anyone comment on the fact that the WoW engine has had several updates in the years since it's release. I remember my dwarf having 3 "fingers" (the index & middle finger and ring finger & pinky were "glued" together). Same with the DirectX11 support. I don't remember for certain but I think DirectX10 wasn't even released then.

 

While I'm sure ToR will get its graphical options expanded and updated I hope it's not a top priority while they have other things to do (I must admit I've not encountered or rated many of the "game breaking" bugs that are mentioned so vigorously on the forums or deemed them "game breaking").

 

My 2 cents

[Avantasia]

All i can say is, how have i never heard of Aion?

 

By sheer fortune. That game was absolutely terrible once you hit about level 35, let alone the horrible RNG armour creation that made grown men cry.

[Laeris]

AoC, IMO, was nice but overdone. The textures on the rock walls or floors was ridiculously unrealistic. Still, its detail level was its downfall. It couldn't even allow 100 people in a zone and their zones were 1/3 the size of an average zone in Rift. AoC couldn't even fit an entire city in 1 zone. Tarantia had what, 3 zone boundaries for one city?

 

SWTOR, IMO, is not only the worst looking MMO I have played since 2005 but one of the worst looking games I've played... period. And I play Dungeon Defenders. People are quick to point out how nice the distant terrain looks and such... but I'm notoriously picky. I hate cheap shadows and flat textures. I hate low rez avatars that make everything look out of focus. I swear I'm playing the Matrix Online again. Don't even get me started with this engine's lack of ability to support HDR lighting (pull out your lightsaber and stick it in an NPC's face... doesn't illuminate him because this game doesn't support such things).

 

SWTOR has its moments though. The Sarapin assault space mission looks nice and some of the backdrop art looks good (which is really just a static flat image added for depth of feel effect). I just don't like anything about the avatars, the clothes they wear or the lightsabers. Lightsabers that don't cast light are a big huge nerd rage issue for me (the glow on your face is a preset thing and not the result of a light source).

 

For me, atmosphere is not the same as graphics quality. For example, the art direction is nice on places like Tattoine and in your ship interior as well as in other places like Alderaan. They still look amazingly horrible to me but the atmosphere created is enjoyable. It would just look so much better if I wasn't crying from the visual pain after seeing a shadow run across my face that made me look like a jigsaw puzzle.