Anarchy Online gfx update

[Numtini]

I felt even by the time of Shadowlands, the environment graphics were really eclipsing the characters.

[Ratman_tf]

I think you guys forget how awsome AO character models where for not only MMOs, but for video games in general at the time they were released. They were not blocky or wooden like EQ or DAoC; they had curves and shiny surfaces, 'realistic' motion animations, and fantastic amounts of animated emotes.

By today's standards, sure, they need a revamp, but you guys are talking like AO never had anything going for it, and that's way off the mark.

As a DAOC vet, I'd have to disagree. The characters in DAOC weren't blocky at all, at that time. No moreso than Anarchy Online, anyway.

EQ? I hated EQ's graphics from day 1. It was like being stabbed in the eye. They looked like lego people with cebreal palsy.

[Soukyan]

I think you guys forget how awsome AO character models where for not only MMOs, but for video games in general at the time they were released. They were not blocky or wooden like EQ or DAoC; they had curves and shiny surfaces, 'realistic' motion animations, and fantastic amounts of animated emotes.

By today's standards, sure, they need a revamp, but you guys are talking like AO never had anything going for it, and that's way off the mark.

As a DAOC vet, I'd have to disagree. The characters in DAOC weren't blocky at all, at that time. No moreso than Anarchy Online, anyway.

EQ? I hated EQ's graphics from day 1. It was like being stabbed in the eye. They looked like lego people with cebreal palsy.

I have to second this. DAoC character models were superior to AO. I think had a wide variety of armor and weapons which made a big difference in terms of a unique look, but the overall quality, DAoC was pushing more polygons and higher textures.

[Koyasha]

As a DAOC vet, I'd have to disagree. The characters in DAOC weren't blocky at all, at that time. No moreso than Anarchy Online, anyway.

EQ? I hated EQ's graphics from day 1. It was like being stabbed in the eye. They looked like lego people with cebreal palsy.

EQ's original character graphics weren't bad to me, back then.  The Luclin models were a mix of better and worse with a lot of performance clunkiness but less textures allowed.  For years I switched back to the old graphics on certain characters because I liked seeing certain textures that they never bothered to (and as far as I know, STILL haven't bothered to) redo for the Luclin models.

AO's character graphics were...uhh...I didn't like them much.  They were more rounded, better textures, etc, than some games I played at the time - though I also agree that DAoC had better than AO at the time - but I really really don't like the look of the characters themselves from a design standpoint.  They just look ugly to me.

[Numtini]

DAOCs graphics were good. Don't confuse women with no clothes on with good detailing. For a lot of us who played DAOC, the fact we actually had real clothing was a plus.

[Tale]

EQ? I hated EQ's graphics from day 1. It was like being stabbed in the eye. They looked like lego people with cebreal palsy.

No, that was pre-alpha EverQuest ... http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=5ae-1KuAvMY

[Draegan]

EQ? I hated EQ's graphics from day 1. It was like being stabbed in the eye. They looked like lego people with cebreal palsy.

No, that was pre-alpha EverQuest ... http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=5ae-1KuAvMY

That is full of the awesome.

[tkinnun0]

Zomg, he solos a dragon! False advertising!!

(Actually, no it isn't.)

[Draegan]

As far as AO is concerned I tried to download it due to complete bordom, and I couldn't get the game to patch.  Just would download the patched, then reboot the game, cycle through the checks reboot the game cycle through the checks...

Could not get it to work.

Oh well, I'm pretty sure I'm not missing anything.

[AngryGumball]

Anyone else remember this game as frickin beautiful for its time?

Just the soundtrack. Still the best music in a MMO.

Game did have some nice sun sets and rises though because of the nice (by 01 standards) view distance.

Agree, was best music for me in any MMO, of course I've completely forgotten most of it now and just saying that with a very jaded memory. Plus I never played for more than one year.

I remember when it started, my friend was into it, I avoided the horrible first 6-9 months of its startup. I remember about how it was supose to have that definite lifecycle and i remember how they quickly chucked that idea, and just letting it run forever. I was disappointed.

Wish I had played AO much more instead of quitting when I did to stay with UO.

[Lum]

Don't confuse women with no clothes on with good detailing. For a lot of us who played DAOC, the fact we actually had real clothing was a plus.

It helped that one of the character artists was a woman who had a spear in her office, and was quite ready to use it.

[TripleDES]

AO is a nice IP to do a reboot with. I'm still longing for a nice scifi MMO. Of the few that were, it had the best art direction. Fuck things like Tabula Rasa, it's yet more fantasy with some shiny surfaces and a bunch of laser pistols in the regular MMO virtual environment.

If CCP would plan more things with their Ambulation project, we'd be getting somewhere, but they don't, so...

[Ingmar]

Don't confuse women with no clothes on with good detailing. For a lot of us who played DAOC, the fact we actually had real clothing was a plus.

It helped that one of the character artists was a woman who had a spear in her office, and was quite ready to use it.

Someone should send her to clean out Blizzard's art department.

[Aez]

I never actually tried AO.  The trainwreck of a release they had scared me for life.  How does the gameplay compare?  DIKU with guns for 250 lvl?

[Ratman_tf]

I never actually tried AO.  The trainwreck of a release they had scared me for life.  How does the gameplay compare?  DIKU with guns for 250 lvl?

Pretty much. You grind instance missions for lewt and tokens.

Hell, the froob program is still going on. You can check out the basic game for free.

[Margalis]

I thought it was really neat for the few hours I played it. I loved the item variety.

[Phred]

I thought it was really neat for the few hours I played it. I loved the item variety.

Until you learn enough about the game to realize that 99% of the items are useless. :(

Is there still a  3rd party hack program that lets you find missions with rewards you want or did they break that?

[Tale]

I never actually tried AO.  The trainwreck of a release they had scared me for life.  How does the gameplay compare?  DIKU with guns for 250 lvl?

Yep that describes it. But in an awesome original sci-fi setting. There's a bit of Dune here, some Blade Runner there, but lots of truly original stuff of equal quality. Very atmospheric places, music and story. Guns that sound great and feel like you're firing bullets, when it's actually just diku autoattack.

Worth soloing some levels for kicks and visiting the dark, brooding, old world cities, not just the modern easier-levelling intro areas. But soon you start to see the grind ahead, find the stats-from-equipment system overwhelmingly complicated, discover it's all sewn up by wealthy players up the food chain, and stop caring.

There is a cool moment when you first get to fly (level based). Or at least it used to be insanely cool, long before any other MMOG had flying.

[TripleDES]

That's why I say to reboot it. The setting, art and story are great, the game itself is a bit backwards.

[Margalis]

That was why I didn't continue, it was too complicted. IIRC when you gained XP you could sink it into a bunch of different things but I had no idea what any of them did, and a couple other complicated subsystems like that turned me off because I had no idea WTF I was doing and didn't feel like investing the time to figure it out.

I do remember liking the gun sound effects. I don't know how useful the items were but they did a good job with them, even at a low level there was a lot of different stuff I could wear and weapons I could use.

[Sjofn]

Don't confuse women with no clothes on with good detailing. For a lot of us who played DAOC, the fact we actually had real clothing was a plus.

It helped that one of the character artists was a woman who had a spear in her office, and was quite ready to use it.

She's seriously my hero. I still use DAoC as an example of female armor done right.