| I dont think he was trying to argue in terms of how smooth the game runs or how many FPS you can get but simply how dated and flat EQ's graphics now seem to him in comparison. On that point I think he is right, but it is not just FFXI it is any more recently developed game. FFXI is a good comparison because it is an MMORPG as well, but a newer one and not one of the stupendous failures that currently abound.
Even if I could have turned on spell effects in Everquest without lagging to hell and back during raids, I would not have, and I didnt use them outside of raids because they simply look like shit. Even the new improved ones arent that great, its a minor bit of eye candy that doesnt justify the ugly old effects. I mention spell effects because once upon a time I thought they were a cool part of the game. I used to always have them on, I used to grudingly turn them off when raids got too laggy and turn them back on for XP time. The first time I grouped with a bard I fell in love with mana song as much for the pulsing blue light moving through the bodies of the group as I did with the mana regen.
I know the mantra of gameplay > graphics reigns supreme here, and I do not disagree, but these little things really enhance good gameplay for me. Social animations where you see more then a stiff wave or bow, maybe even with facial expression, clubs that are used for beating things rather then poking them, minor aspects you dont think about when you dont have them, but after you get used to playing with them their absence seems much more marked when you try to go back. And my apologies, but making a definitve opposing statement based on 20 hours played then right back to Everquest doesnt count. If someone played Everquest for 20 hours /played then came back and told you that the game was stupid and worthless and they were quitting, you would push them off of a cliff. That is a drop in the bucket in an MMORPG, like watching 5 minutes of a one hour network televison drama and proclaiming it vapid. |