EverquestNext Concept Art

[Malrubius]

Originally Posted by mixxit [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

http://eq2wire.com/2010/08/06/eq-nex...t-concept-art/

From the fanfaire

Where are the things that you click on to get an insta-rez?

[Lanvaren]

I'd imagine that with graphics that good, they're planning on compensating for something. [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

[mixxit]

I'm pretty happy to see EQ1 reimaged :-) It's what we all wanted let's face it!

[cured]

It's SoE so they'll introduce some revolutionary new dynamic into the game that everyone will hate.

Maybe they'll try to make a WoW/EQ hybrid but I'm not a fan of having a game be for console, as well, unless they plan on putting those people on seperate servers.

[Qaedain]

The days of truly difficult MMOs are dead. They don't make money, because they turn away the largest demographic willing to pay money for an MMO: casuals.

This demographic is why WoW is so successful, and why the difficulty curve is constantly slipping further in favor of the reward side of the risk:reward balance. It's simple, really. An easier game entices more players.

This success is also why so many MMOs have failed in WoW's wake. They, too, attempt to drum up a mass appeal through easy progression and/or content, but they fail because they are trying to replicate a model that has already been perfected through five years of polish and an enormous amount of content. The barrier to entry is simply too high.

WoW's success was also timely, as it was initially challenging enough to attract a much-needed nucleus of disillusioned EverQuest players. These fervent players, fans of the MMO genre itself, told their friends, who told their friends and so on, and the devs responded by scaling the difficulty curve back as little sisters and mommies signed onto the game in droves.

WoW is a masterstroke because it was timed correctly, offered shelter to a massive population of players no longer satisfied with the management of the incumbent MMO and has evolved to appeal to a larger demographic than EverQuest ever could with its difficult nature.

Despite this, you'll notice that EVE Online continues to have a very loyal fanbase with a very large server, an active and responsive dev team and continuous (not to mention excellent) expansions. It achieves these goals precisely because it does not attempt to appeal to everyone.

EVE has never been watered down. It has a very steep learning curve and, like EverQuest was in its heyday, intimidates new players with complicated politicking, social interaction, gameplay and mechanics.

By deliberately refusing to pander to the lowest common denominator, EVE has continued to slowly increase its subscribers, boast low turnover and a high satisfaction rate.

You will, however, note that I said that the days of truly difficult MMOs are dead. How, then, can a difficult MMO like EVE survive?

After doing some research, you begin to notice that many MMOs close shop noting that "the number of subscribers were less than anticipated." Tabula Rasa is a notable entry in this regard.

To put it simply, these bland and generic MMOs are hoping to execute on WoW's design better than Blizzard. As a result, they invest a correspondingly high amount of money with the belief that they will recoup the cost with a large number of subscribers. They don't, and they fail.

EVE survives because the cost of development was based on reasonable population estimates, and that plan has born fruit. They did not shoot for the moon in the way NCSoft, Sony and other developers do.

In short, we can only hope that SoE carves EQ3's niche in such a way that it can thrive on a loyal fanbase of satisfied users, but after the increasingly bland debacle that has become of both EverQuest and EverQuest II, I have very dim hopes.

[guineapig]

Originally Posted by Qaedain [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

The first two pictures on Mixxit's second link are absolutely images captured from a 3D engine. I CAN TELL BY THE PIXELS.

But seriously, you can tell because:
A) It does not match the rough style of the sketches.
B) The water clearly looks computer-generated.
C) The shadowing is too precise to be done by hand, both in color and edge definition.
D) Concept artists gloss over definition in foliage (you can see this in the smudgy palm tree), but every little plant and leaf is detailed in the screenshots. Again, CGI.

Basically, unless SOE's concept artist is a hyper realist, we have two actual screenshots.

Most of this type of game art is done on computers, not by hand. But I highly doubt they have zones up and running in the game engine already or they would have shown you video of it instead of a single frame.

Shadows and light sources would not look like that in this stage of development. They were drawn there. The images themselves are completely flat.

[Dantes]

Looks cartoony.

[mixxit]

Originally Posted by guineapig [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Most of this type of game art is done on computers, not by hand. But I highly doubt they have zones up and running in the game engine already or they would have shown you video of it instead of a single frame.

Shadows and light sources would not look like that in this stage of development. They were drawn there. The images themselves are completely flat.

Actually if you look at the rock at the bottom of the freeport shot it's clear that it's in game. Infact it reminds me of nothing better than the type of graphics you get in Anno 1404.

[guineapig]

Originally Posted by mixxit [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Actually if you look at the rock at the bottom of the freeport shot it's clear that it's in game. Infact it reminds me of nothing better than the type of graphics you get in Anno 1404.

Maybe I am looking at a different Freeport picture then? The one I'm looking at has 2 little guys painted on there which would indicate that this is an artist rendering.

[You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Also note the backgrounds and the fading used by the artist to simulate light.

Whether this was done by computer or by hand, this is a painting.

[Cogwell]

Originally Posted by Qaedain [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

The days of truly difficult MMOs are dead. They don't make money, because they turn away the largest demographic willing to pay money for an MMO: casuals.

Simply because a game is difficult does not mean it is casual unfriendly. If it requires 4-5 hours to accomplish anything, then it's casual unfriendly. Those two are not mutually exclusive.