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Why 3 years ago it used to look a lot better?

Potato BasketPotato Basket Member, Braver of Worlds, Kickstarter, Alpha One, Alpha Two, Early Alpha Two
edited July 2021 in General Discussion
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdKW8EtLn_E
https://youtu.be/QRETPXuUEJs?t=390

Following the project from the Kickstarter I've watched every livestream ever since

I might be the only one that cares but I can't help but notice the graphical degradation that's happening over time with the game

I understand that graphics are not what's most important but watching gameplay footage from 3 years ago compared to playing todays alpha something feels very off
The sense of scale is very miniature and toy like in comparison
That simply lost its magic for me

The sense of the huge scale was also prevalent throughout many monthly live streams up until some point
I speculate they probably had to compromise on graphics in favor of performance for large scale battles

Hopefully it was done only for the sake of alpha where things are very unoptimized so the environment will get back to feel huge and immersive as it was if not more further down the road

Regardless, I'm very impressed with the backend performance and the progress that has been made so far
Excited for the future

<3

Comments

  • JustVineJustVine Member, Alpha One, Alpha Two, Early Alpha Two
    @Nerror
    Node coffers: Single Payer Capitalism in action
  • MaezrielMaezriel Member, Alpha One, Alpha Two, Early Alpha Two
    The graphics really aren't all that different. The spells have certainly changed but I'd chock that up to them making their own now rather than using stock Unreal assets. For as early as the game is in development it's gorgeous.
    ZeFuP1X.png
    If I said something that you disagree w/ feel free to say so here.
  • Potato BasketPotato Basket Member, Braver of Worlds, Kickstarter, Alpha One, Alpha Two, Early Alpha Two
    edited July 2021
    Maezriel wrote: »
    For as early as the game is in development it's gorgeous.

    Not saying it's not pretty

    But why at even earlier stage it seems like they had solutions for problems that exist today for some reason

    For example the cloak clipping, it didn't happen then but it happens now
    Physics in general seem like they've worked better
  • RamirezRamirez Member
    edited July 2021
    Play with zoomed camera will look like that
  • CROW3CROW3 Member, Alpha Two
    I’d argue it’s mostly a difference between playing on a local box v. a scaled client/server. Three steps forward on the mmo infrastructure, one step back on graphics optimization.

    I’m confident that the end product will be beautiful.
    AoC+Dwarf+750v3.png
  • DygzDygz Member, Braver of Worlds, Kickstarter, Alpha One, Alpha Two, Early Alpha Two
    Yeah, that's what I was going to say - it's mostly because the camera is zoomed out now.
    The cloaks clip sometimes but I'm not concerned about that in an Alpha as the devs continue to play with the physics. I expect them to fix that eventually.
  • RocketFarmerRocketFarmer Member, Alpha Two
    How far are the graphics turned down for alpha? It sounded like they have at least 2-3 iterations to get to their released, polished state. And then they still have to optimize.
  • CROW3CROW3 Member, Alpha Two
    RocketFarmer wrote: »
    How far are the graphics turned down for alpha? It sounded like they have at least 2-3 iterations to get to their released, polished state. And then they still have to optimize.

    Not sure where you heard ‘2-3 sprints’. Alpha 1 lasts until sometime next year. It’s July 2021, two-week sprints means there are about 10-12 sprints left in ‘21 plus whatever sprint cycles they plan next year.

    Alpha 2 has been quoted as starting when the game is ‘feature complete.’ That doesn’t mean optimized. So, patience is key. 🤗

    AoC+Dwarf+750v3.png
  • RocketFarmerRocketFarmer Member, Alpha Two
    How are you translating the word iteration to sprint?

    You are talking about something completely different.

    Graphics iterations are not a time-based thing, it’s a technical process.

    I am also referring to the state at release. That means optimized.
  • CROW3CROW3 Member, Alpha Two
    Fair point, often in agile development the two terms become synonymous. If you’re saying ‘iteration’ meaning graphics engine increment, then I have no idea.

    Was there a quote that quantified the number of iterations (your definition)?
    AoC+Dwarf+750v3.png
  • HighscoreHighscore Member
    I'm going to assume because of apoc's reception they scrapped it completely. And even then its not that different, mainly camera pos and different effects.
  • NoaaniNoaani Member, Intrepid Pack, Alpha Two
    CROW3 wrote: »
    I’d argue it’s mostly a difference between playing on a local box v. a scaled client/server. Three steps forward on the mmo infrastructure, one step back on graphics optimization.

    I’m confident that the end product will be beautiful.

    This, plus the fact that the content we saw back then was essentially curated - they only showed us what they wanted us to see.
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