Game doesn't need flashy animations

Apok

On the issue of animation culling and the overwhelming visuals on screen effecting game play such as not being able to see your surroundings at times to not seeing damage over time puddles on the ground. It got me wondering if the game even needs to have these flashy animations. in my experience playing games, the MMOs that were well defined and had good in depth systems didn't need over the top animations. It's mostly the dumbed down or streamlined games that use these as a crutch to compensate for bad game play.

I personally feel like the game would be better off with the animations getting toned downed and given more passes in development over stuff like animation culling or particle density options. Like the saying goes less is more, remove the unnecessary stuff to achieve an overall better result.

thoughts/opinions?

Dygz

Steven needs them.

Caww

.....slider please....

Volgaris

The VFX solo look great, in a group it looks like dookie. It's just too much and you can't see any tells. Sucks for melee or anyone trying to interrupt. I don't know if this is by design to create some chaos and confusion, if so it's not need the group pve along with the constant griefing threat is enough to get your blood pumping. A way to tone this down so you can see the tells and not need sunglasses to play it would be perfect.

eatefreeland

Apok wrote: »

On the issue of animation culling and the overwhelming visuals on screen effecting game play such as not being able to see your surroundings at times to not seeing damage over time puddles on the ground. It got me wondering if the game even needs to have these flashy animations. in my experience playing games, the MMOs that were well defined and had good in depth systems didn't need over the top animations. It's mostly the dumbed down or streamlined games that use these as a crutch to compensate for bad game play.

I personally feel like the game would be better off with the animations getting toned downed and given more passes in development over stuff like animation culling or particle density options. Like the saying goes less is more, remove the unnecessary stuff to achieve an overall better result.

thoughts/opinions?

I just hope the VFX doesn't reach FFXIV levels, it just makes it impossible to see the actual boss and those around you.

Songcaller

I'm not sure what is left? What weapon active skills do we actually have?

Apok

eatefreeland wrote: »

Apok wrote: »

On the issue of animation culling and the overwhelming visuals on screen effecting game play such as not being able to see your surroundings at times to not seeing damage over time puddles on the ground. It got me wondering if the game even needs to have these flashy animations. in my experience playing games, the MMOs that were well defined and had good in depth systems didn't need over the top animations. It's mostly the dumbed down or streamlined games that use these as a crutch to compensate for bad game play.

I personally feel like the game would be better off with the animations getting toned downed and given more passes in development over stuff like animation culling or particle density options. Like the saying goes less is more, remove the unnecessary stuff to achieve an overall better result.

thoughts/opinions?

I just hope the VFX doesn't reach FFXIV levels, it just makes it impossible to see the actual boss and those around you.

yeah you get to the point playing that game where you don't even watch the screen you just remember what to do and hit your buttons like clockwork. I don't mind some skills being flashy, they should maybe implement scaling on skills so they get bigger as you level them. And for persistent skills just do a quick animation and keep something more toned down on the persistent part of it. One that's horrible is magma skill mages do like I don't see why it can't be cracks in the ground or something it sticks up and covers a whole area when trying to grind xp, that one skill is enough to blind you while playing.

neem

Also: the abominable over the top close-to-death screaming your char does when you get hit with your (mage) Shell bubble up.

Droshi

VFX culling is absolutely needed, and I would love to see them make a system that's programmable similar to POE loot filters. Let users customize what type and level and how much detail is available for that particular spell and where it comes from. Even changing the base color for color blind people seems like a good feature.

There's so many things this achieves, but IMO something is needed here.

Phoenix77

I completely agree, in my opinion all weapon basic attacks should have no particle effects or added colors just the swing of the weapon like wow. Now abilities that are being used more frequently should have minimal particle effects and long cooldowns should have bigger. that approach not only cleans the screen of unnecessary lights and visuals but it is also a great way for players to assess the threat of the skill being cast.

REHOC

Apok wrote: »

On the issue of animation culling and the overwhelming visuals on screen effecting game play such as not being able to see your surroundings at times to not seeing damage over time puddles on the ground. It got me wondering if the game even needs to have these flashy animations. in my experience playing games, the MMOs that were well defined and had good in depth systems didn't need over the top animations. It's mostly the dumbed down or streamlined games that use these as a crutch to compensate for bad game play.

I personally feel like the game would be better off with the animations getting toned downed and given more passes in development over stuff like animation culling or particle density options. Like the saying goes less is more, remove the unnecessary stuff to achieve an overall better result.

thoughts/opinions?

I think you’re bringing up a really solid point, Apok ♠

Sometimes it’s not about making things look bigger or flashier, it’s about clarity and readability. In large-scale PvP or even group PvE, being able to see what’s actually happening is far more valuable than a bunch of overlapping effects.

That said, I do think Ashes wants to strike a balance. This isn’t meant to be a hyper-minimalist game, but it also shouldn’t fall into the trap of visual clutter = excitement.

Personally, I’d love to see:

Simplified or stylized VFX for AoEs, especially when dozens are happening at once.

Particle density sliders or “performance mode” visuals that reduce flash but keep the combat readable.

Priority given to gameplay visibility over cinematic presentation in intense encounters.

Visual identity is important, but if it starts getting in the way of the actual gameplay, then yeah, it needs to be looked at. Less can definitely be more, especially in a game where tactical decisions, positioning, and awareness matter as much as raw damage.

Diamaht

You can't do sliders though. In a strictly pve game you can let players choose their experience.

In an open world, competitive pvp game, players with sliders down or off win. Therefore sliders down or off becomes required. Since sliders being off is required, you shouldn't bother having them, you just have to decide what your default is going to be and everyone adjusts to it.

Even worse if you have sliders, and they are on by default, they become a newb trap. If new players are constantly getting trashed, you don't keep them and game dies.

ChickenInSpace

I am all for cutting back on the flash for the biggest sinners but I think striking that balance between "what's happening?" and "I can't see what's happening" is an iterative work that can take time, and thus falls quite far down the priority list.

Wouldn't be terribly surprised if we see tuning passes for this in late Beta 1 or even 2.

That said the absolutely most egregious of flashing skills should perhaps get a quick fix to their glare so we can keep testing without fear for our retinas.