Blizzard going out on a limb once again

[cam5778]

All I see from the Legion beta streams is new spell graphics and heavy focus on the artifact weapons. Anyone else feel like they are once again wasting so much development and resources into something they are hoping will be a huge hit, just like they did with garrisons. I just don't think they realize that the most of the WoW population could care less about these things. We need more end game content, a reason to explore the World. They build up so much excitement around these things and it's fun for the first two weeks until you hit max level and there is not much to do.

[Kryos]

I think the major content just takes lots of time and can't be released in small patches. The small things are released to the public alpha servers to show that there is still stuff happening. I expect a bigger content drop patch during march. I also don't expect the end content to be much different from all other expansions. You level, you go dungeons as long as they drop good loot, you go lfr or normal raiding and then depending on what type of player you are you are basically done and can just grind stuff for minor improvements (likecrafting some gear or get a rep-based item) or continue with HC or mythic raids for the really good gear.

[Morssoe]

Dam them for trying new features first for legion IN ALPHA

[Deleted]

All the talented devs slowly left Blizz. What you now have is a crew of beginners and wannabes. The result is something like WoD or D3. And Legion looks exactly like that again.

[Numero]

Diablo 3 is awesome. WoD....not so much.

[Thage]

WoW's visuals are being updated because they really, badly need updates. That being said, quest design and filling the environments with shit to do isn't the art team's job; they're there to animate stuff and design the stuff you're looking at. It's the quest design team's job to give us reasons to go out there in the world and make it feel rewarding at level cap. The art team is the one team that has consistently knocked it out of the park every patch, barring asset reuse for Dragon Soul (but at the same time, Well of Eternity was given a totally unique tileset and environment design, so...).

And given WoD's reception, I'm not convinced Blizzard is about to try another expansion where the art team carries the entire crew.

[Deleted]

It's not really the art team's job to create "features" so your anger is a bit misguided. Likely, a lot/all of the Legion art is finished and now they're doing nice-to-have's like spell effects and bonus artifact skins.

[McNeil]

Diablo 3 is awesome. WoD....not so much.

Atleast the Diablo team managed to salvage a bad game, can't say the same thing about the WoW team

[OneSent]

The World of Warcraft looked just fine to me with the graphics from 10 years ago. Ironically, with each new graphical update and subsequent expansion, I feel less and less immersed in the outdoor world.

Compare Talador to the original Terokkar Forest, for example. Talador's graphics are obviously far superior from a technical standpoint, but the zone just doesn't 'grab' my attention in the same way as Terokkar Forest did, or even the original Ashenvale.

The same goes for the new class spell animations. I mean, they look superior from a technical standpoint, but the original spell animations for things like Blizzard, Rain of Fire and Pyroblast were sufficient enough and didn't distract from the gameplay. (ie: it was easier to see your melee DPS in a 40-man Vanilla raid than it was in a 10-man MoP raid)

In my personal opinion, I think the game looked better throughout the Vanilla/TBC/Wrath era. And I strongly believe that if the game was the same graphically as it was during those years, but with far more emphasis on content, there'd be more people enjoying it.

Before anyone mentions it, I know that the art team isn't the same as the content development team. But resources spent are resources spent; and pretty graphics and spell animations do not hold a player's interest for very long. Frequent, new and original content does that, but as of late, the balance between the two seems backwards.

[Thage]

It's not really the art team's job to create "features" so your anger is a bit misguided. Likely, a lot/all of the Legion art is finished and now they're doing nice-to-have's like spell effects and bonus artifact skins.

This. It's really just busy-work for the guys while they're waiting for post-launch content to work on, given we're still in alpha. Clearing the plate, so-to-speak.

[Deleted]

Wait I thought 150 people working on nothing but garrisons for 4+ months was worth it?

[Deleted]

All I see from the Legion beta streams is new spell graphics and heavy focus on the artifact weapons. Anyone else feel like they are once again wasting so much development and resources into something they are hoping will be a huge hit, just like they did with garrisons. I just don't think they realize that the most of the WoW population could care less about these things. We need more end game content, a reason to explore the World. They build up so much excitement around these things and it's fun for the first two weeks until you hit max level and there is not much to do.

It doesn't surprise me. First thing I said when I saw the Legion trailer was "this is the cosmetic expansion". It's all just shiny flashy graphics and shit, it all looks good, but there is no depth.

[Deleted]

but there is no depth.

Like your posts?

#burn

[Zenny]

It doesn't surprise me. First thing I said when I saw the Legion trailer was "this is the cosmetic expansion". It's all just shiny flashy graphics and shit, it all looks good, but there is no depth.

Based on what exactly? What depth does say, Wrath, have that Legion does not?

[Kagonos]

The World of Warcraft looked just fine to me with the graphics from 10 years ago. Ironically, with each new graphical update and subsequent expansion, I feel less and less immersed in the outdoor world.

Compare Talador to the original Terokkar Forest, for example. Talador's graphics are obviously far superior from a technical standpoint, but the zone just doesn't 'grab' my attention in the same way as Terokkar Forest did, or even the original Ashenvale.

The same goes for the new class spell animations. I mean, they look superior from a technical standpoint, but the original spell animations for things like Blizzard, Rain of Fire and Pyroblast were sufficient enough and didn't distract from the gameplay. (ie: it was easier to see your melee DPS in a 40-man Vanilla raid than it was in a 10-man MoP raid)

In my personal opinion, I think the game looked better throughout the Vanilla/TBC/Wrath era. And I strongly believe that if the game was the same graphically as it was during those years, but with far more emphasis on content, there'd be more people enjoying it.

Before anyone mentions it, I know that the art team isn't the same as the content development team. But resources spent are resources spent; and pretty graphics and spell animations do not hold a player's interest for very long. Frequent, new and original content does that, but as of late, the balance between the two seems backwards.

Not to cherry pick here, but what the heck about Terrokar forest BC "grabbed" your attention? While leveling my alts through older content, am constantly reminded of just how bad the art was back then. The trees look like they are made from a paper kit where you punch them out of a sheet and slide them together with slots so that when you look straight on, they appear to be 3D. I mean, it's all subjective, so, I'm not criticizing your preference, but there's just no way that vanilla or even BC looked better than what we have now.

[Cows For Life]

The World of Warcraft looked just fine to me with the graphics from 10 years ago. Ironically, with each new graphical update and subsequent expansion, I feel less and less immersed in the outdoor world.

Compare Talador to the original Terokkar Forest, for example. Talador's graphics are obviously far superior from a technical standpoint, but the zone just doesn't 'grab' my attention in the same way as Terokkar Forest did, or even the original Ashenvale.

The same goes for the new class spell animations. I mean, they look superior from a technical standpoint, but the original spell animations for things like Blizzard, Rain of Fire and Pyroblast were sufficient enough and didn't distract from the gameplay. (ie: it was easier to see your melee DPS in a 40-man Vanilla raid than it was in a 10-man MoP raid)

In my personal opinion, I think the game looked better throughout the Vanilla/TBC/Wrath era. And I strongly believe that if the game was the same graphically as it was during those years, but with far more emphasis on content, there'd be more people enjoying it.

Before anyone mentions it, I know that the art team isn't the same as the content development team. But resources spent are resources spent; and pretty graphics and spell animations do not hold a player's interest for very long. Frequent, new and original content does that, but as of late, the balance between the two seems backwards.

Strange that you mention Terrokar Forest as an example because that zone was the poster child for lazy content design.

[Kryos]

All the talented devs slowly left Blizz. What you now have is a crew of beginners and wannabes. The result is something like WoD or D3. And Legion looks exactly like that again.

Legion Directors: Tom Chilton and Alex Afrasiabi

Tom Chilton was lead designer for Origin Systems on MMORPG Ultima Online. He joined Blizzard Entertainment to work on World of Warcraft and was on a team of six game designers. Chilton joined Blizzard Entertainment in early 2004 as a senior game designer for World of Warcraft and spearheaded the design of the talent system, classes, items, auction house, mail system, combat, and Battlegrounds/PvP.

Clearly very new guy and a beginner and wannabe.

Let's see who Alex Afrasiabi is, clearly a noob.... oh: Alex was once the leader of Fires of Heaven, a famous Everquest guild. Alex was responsible for the implementation of various significant events, including the opening of the Gates of Ahn'Qiraj. His bio includes World of Warcraft (2004), Quest Designer, World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade (2007), Lead Quest Designer, World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King (2008), Lead World Designer and World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor (2014), Creative Director.

Ok, two guys with experience are leading the Legion design developement. The other designers are clearly greenhorns:

Cory Stockton - Stockton started at Blizzard in June 2005 as lead dungeon designer before transitioning to his current role. Lead Content Designer for World of Warcraft through the Cataclysm and Mists of Pandaria. Also not a new guy.

Ion Hazzikostas - Hazzikostas joined Blizzard Entertainment in the summer of 2008 as a game designer. Ok, the first "noob" - he is just 8 years at Blizzard! His responsibilities have included raid boss design and implementation, class design and balancing, and maintaining the World of Warcraft achievement system

Brian Holinka - Prior to joining Blizzard Entertainment in 2012, Holinka worked on the multiplayer components of Transformers: Fall of Cybertron, Homefront, and Frontlines: Fuel of War. He is pretty new. But focuses exclusively on continuing to make the World of Warcraft PvP. So no world content and pve stuff ruined by him.

Chadd Nervig is a Technical Class/Systems Designer for World of Warcraft and started posting on Twitter on November 19 2013. So he has the least experience with World of Warcraft as a designer.

So we have two new guys and all others main designers are with Blizzard for a long time.

[SirBeef]

Dam them for trying new features first for legion IN ALPHA

Damn them for trying to freshen up the graphics on a game that many say is outdated graphically.

[cam5778]

What I am getting at is that each expansion, Blizzard comes up with a new idea that they believe is incredible. They then just invest so many resources into it and are taking a gamble if it'll work or not. For me, I am just setting my expectations very low. I honestly think the whole artifact system and class halls is going to end up being a bust. No offense, but I don't think anyone and even me for that matter, deserves a lore weapon. I can't justify supporting Legion if the philosophy behind the game is minimal effort, high reward. No, I'm not a special snowflake and no I don't believe only certain people are deserving of special entitlements, but I'm a firm believer you should have to earn things, and it's much more rewarding when you do.

[SirBeef]

What I am getting at is that each expansion, Blizzard comes up with a new idea that they believe is incredible. They then just invest so many resources into it and are taking a gamble if it'll work or not. For me, I am just setting my expectations very low. I honestly think the whole artifact system and class halls is going to end up being a bust. No offense, but I don't think anyone and even me for that matter, deserves a lore weapon. I can't justify supporting Legion if the philosophy behind the game is minimal effort, high reward. No, I'm not a special snowflake and no I don't believe only certain people are deserving of special entitlements, but I'm a firm believer you should have to earn things, and it's much more rewarding when you do.

I think that is more of an impression and assumption based on one feature, that was probably behind raiding in terms of resources spent. None of us have any idea how resources are allocated. We just know that art takes the most time and building raids is probably second. Artifacts do not seem like it is anymore resource intensive than creating the exact amount of weapon skins for the expansion. The talent system is not something entirely big. Order Halls are significantly smaller than garrisons. Spell animations get adjusted, changes, modified all the time. What better time to make new ones than with the addition of new player attack animations?