Why doesn't Blizz improve the visuals of WoW like other devs?

[Syegfryed]

because they are lazy, the WoD model is a lazy job, they didn't even finish

[iamthedevil]

They did. Just look at this cutscene from WotLK.



Now look at this one from late Mists of Pandaria.

This is my favorite.

[JohnnyMccrum]

Games are split into two main programming sectors, Engine and Gameplay programming. Engine work is the maths, data structuring and physics. It isn't simple at all, being accomplished and a grand master in all of these areas is rare in the industry, exceptionally rare.

The deep, high level stuff that actually makes the game work is all Engine Programming. Engine work is way, way, way, way more complex than gameplay programming ever is or could be.

It's this programming, taking a black screen and building a 3D world from nothing that's the challenging part of game design. Literally the work that gameplay programmers actually do is closer to using tools that Engine programmers have already developed and built from nothing. It's literally is closer to art, writing and music than it is to programming, I doubt designers actually even program at Blizzard anymore, content is so limited and they'll have built software for almost everything.

things like GUI's, quests, and even bosses are gameplay programming, even major features like pet battles and flying were possible in vanilla with a little gameplay programming, areas, models etc aren't even programming - it's art. Basically everything that has ever been done in WoW was possible because of the foundations laid by the engine programmers that came a decade before. As far as engine work goes, WoW was a literal masterpiece, it was built to last, and it did.



In short, WoW has never really ever had a dedicated engine team at really any point outwith the launch of the initial game, some small things have been done, but really, nothing major has really changed about WoW's engine over the last 10 years. you can backport legion models, even encounters, spells etc to vanilla client and they work almost flawlessly, the engine hasn't changed at all. Nothing has changed except new models, bigger numbers and new stomping grounds, none of this is engine related in the slightest.

You see other games like RUST adding major new features every week, but they're on Unity, they're not programming any of that, the code is already there, they just slam it together to get something functional, anyone that works on/with unity is a gameplay programmer, since unity is "the" engine work. It's also the reason in games like RUST the devs will straight up say they can't introduce a feature because of engine limitations, they don't even control their own engines. they're in a massive sandbox filled with tools, on wheels.

In short, gameplay and graphics programmers are laughably different, and "dumb" gameplay programmers are all WoW has actually had for literally a decade at this point, the engine teams (or the smart guys) were on other never-ending plethora of projects like Diablo, Overwatch, Starcraft - the focus has never (not once since vanilla) been on WoW.

And at this point, no engine work will ever be done to WoW. Don't get your hopes up. Enjoy your new models, new zones, new quests, new bosses and a higher level cap for the next 5 years.

[Torto]

Ironically, some of the old models did have boob physics. The female dwarf and undead models were pretty blatant.

This really needs to come back. I mean, what's the point of creating a female toon if there is no boob physics?

[iamthedevil]

because they are lazy, the WoD model is a lazy job, they didn't even finish

I think they learned the issue with "High Hopes". Hopefully they will continue to be better with calculating.

[Powerogue]

Love that cutscene. I could just imagine it with modern graphics. The facial expressions that could make it even better. Wrathgate started Blizzard cut scenes, and for the most part, they have kept it up solid ever since.

Really? I picked it because it was one of the earliest they ever did where they attempted actual lipsyncing, and it showed. Not to mention the attempted updates to things like Jaina's face, which I'm glad they backpedaled on.

The wrathgate cutscene was good specifically because they avoided this being visible as much as possible. The Lich King had his dark helmet on, Saurfang the Younger had his, same for Putress, the only one we could see it on was Bolvar.

I found the cutscenes really unsettling due to that lipsyncing until late MOP where the updated models started coming in.

[Tic Tacs]

https://eu.battle.net/support/en/article/76459

Nowhere near demanding for minimum.

The Core 2 Duo listed is 9 years old. The GT 440 is 6 years old. The AMD CPU is around 8 years old.

Even recommended can be built on a budget so even the recommended requirements aren't budget intensive.

Part of the appeal of the game is that it can run on low end pcs still. Might not be Pentium 4 stuff but that's still old tech listed in the min requirements.

Yes, you can probably play on even older hardware with everything on low settings, have fun playing with minimum specs though.

[Radaney]

The fact that Meatball looks like a complete abomination of pixels in the general landscape of legion is telling of the graphical improvements from Vanilla to Legion.

[Tennis]

Some people still play on bad computers, the better graphics the more you isolate people playing on lesser computers

True but that's their problem. You don't see Fifa and Call of Duty worrying about that.

[iamthedevil]

The fact that Meatball looks like a complete abomination of pixels in the general landscape of legion is telling of the graphical improvements from Vanilla to Legion.

Hah, yeh something could surely use an update by now. Even a 2006 update would help by now.

[Eleccybubb]

Yes, you can probably play on even older hardware with everything on low settings, have fun playing with minimum specs though.

I've played with those minimum specs. On low it's more than playable.

On older hardware for sure though. And I mean Pentium 4/Pentium D with old Geforce FX or Geforce 6 cards.

Although fun fact. WoW at launch ran on Windows 98/ME until 2.4.3. And 2000 until Mists.

Windows® System 98/ME/2000/XP OS:
800 MHz or higher CPU
256 MB or more of RAM
32 MB 3D graphics card with hardware transform and lighting, such as GeForce 2 or better
4 GB or more of available hard drive space
DirectX® 9.0c or above
A 56k or higher modem with an Internet connection

Those were the requirements for 98/ME.

[Tic Tacs]

True but that's their problem. You don't see Fifa and Call of Duty worrying about that.

Do you know that you can change game settings from ultra to low and many other options like shadows, liquid quality, texture filtering levels and many more, right? They can push limits of their engine which is basically Warcraft 3 engine on steroids until WoW 2.0 without compromising on minimum system requirements.

[Eleccybubb]

Do you know that you can change game settings from ultra to low and many other options like water, texture filtering levels and many more, right? They can push limits of their engine without compromising on minimum system requirements, which is basically Warcraft 3 engine on steroids until WoW 2.0.

Eh to be fair what is left of the Warcraft 3 core though?

Also poster you quoted is comparing 2 games that aim for realism to a game that doesn't. Basically an unfair comparison and should not be taken seriously.

[Tic Tacs]

I've played with those minimum specs. On low it's more than playable.

On older hardware for sure though. And I mean Pentium 4/Pentium D with old Geforce FX or Geforce 6 cards.

Although fun fact. WoW at launch ran on Windows 98/ME until 2.4.3. And 2000 until Mists.

Windows® System 98/ME/2000/XP OS:
800 MHz or higher CPU
256 MB or more of RAM
32 MB 3D graphics card with hardware transform and lighting, such as GeForce 2 or better
4 GB or more of available hard drive space
DirectX® 9.0c or above
A 56k or higher modem with an Internet connection

Those were the requirements for 98/ME.

What are you saying? Legion is years ahead from Vanilla in terms of graphics. Yes, you can play on minimum settings but it is not recommended.

[iamthedevil]

Really? I picked it because it was one of the earliest they ever did where they attempted actual lipsyncing, and it showed. Not to mention the attempted updates to things like Jaina's face, which I'm glad they backpedaled on.

The wrathgate cutscene was good specifically because they avoided this being visible as much as possible. The Lich King had his dark helmet on, Saurfang the Younger had his, same for Putress, the only one we could see it on was Bolvar.

I found the cutscenes really unsettling due to that lipsyncing until late MOP where the updated models started coming in.

What? I'm just saying modern graphics would improve an already great thing.

[Eleccybubb]

What are you saying? Legion is years ahead from Vanilla in terms of graphics. Yes, you can play on minimum settings but it is not recommended.

I'm saying on those minimum specs it's more than playable. Not that it's recommended. You can still raid and stuff as long as it's turned down.

I sure as hell wouldn't play on the specs either. I just said from personal experience with setting up a pc with those specs it played pretty well.

[Tic Tacs]

I'm saying on those minimum specs it's more than playable. Not that it's recommended. You can still raid and stuff as long as it's turned down.

I sure as hell wouldn't play on the specs either. I just said from personal experience with setting up a pc with those specs it played pretty well.

You are contradicting yourself, recommended specs are to the right in the link you posted: https://eu.battle.net/support/en/article/76459

Take a look.

[Eleccybubb]

You are contradicting yourself, recommended specs are to the right in the link you posted: https://eu.battle.net/support/en/article/76459

Take a look.

I believe from a personal experience that minimum is more than playable for anyone. It wouldn't be the best experience but minimum usually means it will play with some issues. A GT 440 would be fine on low. As would Intel Core 2 CPUs.

Would I tell someone to go that over the recommended specs? No because the recommended ones can actually be built on a budget these days. 750 ti cards are cheap these days as are AMD FX CPUs.

All I said was the game felt playable to me on minimum.

[Tic Tacs]

I believe from a personal experience that minimum is more than playable for anyone. It wouldn't be the best experience but minimum usually means it will play with some issues. A GT 440 would be fine on low. As would Intel Core 2 CPUs.

Would I tell someone to go that over the recommended specs? No because the recommended ones can actually be built on a budget these days. 750 ti cards are cheap these days as are AMD FX CPUs.

All I said was the game felt playable to me on minimum.

I would never recommend minimum requirements to anyone especially for raiding.

All the new content is more hardware demanding every expansion, besides you can always change your game settings to low/medium and many other options like shadows, liquid quality, texture filtering levels to play the game on older computers without any issues.

[FertsBlert]

WoW is fine visually, I am a strong proponent of 'stop playing on a fucking toaster' but WoW visuals suit the game they have always been cartoony and stylised and that is just perfect. If WoW had been one of the ultra realistic current gen MMO's, back in 2004, it would not have aged anywhere near as well as it has so why fuck with what is working well?