Recommended Posts

I'm surprised they have not already given it a graphics overhaul considering its 3 years old and other MMO's like EVE and Second Life are improving there engines. Afterall it is a Subscription and if they bumped the graphics they could get a few more eye-candy seekers.

I'm happy to keep playing as it is however. I love the Art Style and for me that makes up for the low poly counts even if I am running with a wasted 8800GTX lol

Indeed you do. While I like the art style. They could do with bumping up the polly counts on mobs as well as bosses and improve the textures.

And risk the chance that some of the millions of people that play the game and are happy with the game, might suddenly find that their system can't support new gee-whiz-neato graphics updates? Yeah, good plan.

And risk the chance that some of the millions of people that play the game and are happy with the game, might suddenly find that their system can't support new gee-whiz-neato graphics updates? Yeah, good plan.

With EVE people can use both game engines at once on the same servers.

So older generation computer owners can run the older engine and play with people running the newer engine which has updated graphics. Blizzard could do the same thing by updating the client engine. In reality the clients only send information back its not like the engine being used to view that content will screw with someone elses perception of what the server is telling there client. Just like viewing a website with many different browsers. As Blizzard would be the ones making all the clients they know what to expect and like EVE can program for any oddities between client traffic.

So yes it is a good plan.

And risk the chance that some of the millions of people that play the game and are happy with the game, might suddenly find that their system can't support new gee-whiz-neato graphics updates? Yeah, good plan.

How about a new graphical setting called...

VERY HIGH!

:rolleyes:

LotRO supports it (look at their super rez textures) why blizzard can't I don't know.

WoTLK is getting a graphics improvement but I agree that something should be done. Like an above poster said, maybe have a very high setting(and give a warning for all the idiots that try it on there old pc's).

God why is eveyone obsessed with graphics. Wow looks the way it does as thats the intened graphical "style" of hte game its not meant to be a photo realistic effort.

Id rather we had a whole load of new content than a new set of high res textures or some mince like that. Which btw would probs increase wow`s hdd usage up a few gigabytes and in turn again mean some folk wouldnt / couldnt install it.

The sparkle of pretty gfx is only the first thing you go to in a game when ur gettin into it, for a few days u,ll be impressed then the novelty wears off as you get deeper into the gameplay at which point ur either hooked or realised youve bought a turd.

Yeah because good graphics and a good game are mutually exclusive....not!

I agree with you that pretty graphics alone do not make for a good game, but WoW has long established a formulae for a sucessful MMO experience and game.

It would be naive to think that future gamers are going to continue to choose WoW over some of the impressive MMOs emerging next year especially when newer games can easily replicate this formula whilst offering ever increasing options for the player coupled with the graphics.

I'm also pretty confident the number of users who could afford the extra HDD space for graphical improvements would vastly outweigh those who do not.

The sparkle of pretty gfx is only the first thing you go to in a game when ur gettin into it, for a few days u,ll be impressed then the novelty wears off as you get deeper into the gameplay at which point ur either hooked or realised youve bought a turd.

What's that got to do with WoW?

Blizzard's idea is to have it the way it is.. so you can run it on a low end machine, high end machine, and mac etc..

Let me put this again:

You still have HIGH, but then you have a new setting called VERY HIGH.

No one looses out.

God why is eveyone obsessed with graphics. Wow looks the way it does as thats the intened graphical "style" of hte game its not meant to be a photo realistic effort.

I know, I've mentioned that before but the game looks like it's aging badly. Paper mario has a simplistic look to it. But it still the manages to have some great textures.

Id rather we had a whole load of new content than a new set of high res textures or some mince like that.

To make textures you only need the artists. For new content you need programmers, play testers, designers. Now why they can't fit that in to the schedual while the programmers are working on fixing the content I don't know.

Which btw would probs increase wow`s hdd usage up a few gigabytes and in turn again mean some folk wouldnt / couldnt install it.

Seriously if you can't afford a new HD you can't afford WoW.

What's that got to do with WoW?

What hasnt it? Didnt you look at screens of wow and think "man that looks colourful bright and fun, the enviroments are nice etc etc i think i might give it a go once i find out more about gameplay"

I know, I've mentioned that before but the game looks like it's aging badly. Paper mario has a simplistic look to it. But it still the manages to have some great textures.

Couldnt the same be said for WOW, or does the fact Blizz wont up poly counts on 3D models compared to a 2D/3D game that would see less improvement annoy you?

To make textures you only need the artists. For new content you need programmers, play testers, designers. Now why they can't fit that in to the schedual while the programmers are working on fixing the content I don't know.

All of which Blizz have in abundance, and you dont just need artists for textures they too have to be coded in and optimized before programmers knock up a new set of gfx options and other tweaks to match the new textures. I.e why have high res textures on low res models. Not to mention the sheer volume of textures theyd need to go ack and incrase dpi / resolution on.

Seriously if you can't afford a new HD you can't afford WoW.

Well example, I was unemplyed for 6months I got ?180 a month to cloth feed and look after myself. I literally was able to pay my sub and no more. If id had to upgrade an HDD just to play the latest patch then I would of been ****ed as ?30-40 is still a lot of money to some people.

Im soz but the game looks fine to me, I dont worry about how it looks when Im playing wow at all. Im too busy doing other stuff, and tbh in many ways im still impressed by some of the gfx and scenery. If you wanta bad time try running wow on all its lowest gfx settings as I have been for 3 weeks now after my gfx card packed in playing Crysis.

What hasnt it? Didnt you look at screens of wow and think "man that looks colourful bright and fun, the enviroments are nice etc etc i think i might give it a go once i find out more about gameplay"

No.

I originally though: "Man, this looks like tripe but I'll give it a shot." Thankfully it was worth it. I pre-ordered it and picked up a beta key.

Couldnt the same be said for WOW, or does the fact Blizz wont up poly counts on 3D models compared to a 2D/3D game that would see less improvement annoy you?

Missing my point but that's internet debate for you.

All of which Blizz have in abundance, and you dont just need artists for textures they too have to be coded in and optimized before programmers knock up a new set of gfx options and other tweaks to match the new textures. I.e why have high res textures on low res models. Not to mention the sheer volume of textures theyd need to go ack and incrase dpi / resolution on.

Granted I made it seem a little simple. But If Mythic (a small company at the time) can do it with DAoC so can Blizzard. They have an abundance of talent. It's not like they are putting it to good use at the moment anyway. The new dungeon was simply more of the same.

Well example, I was unemplyed for 6months I got ?180 a month to cloth feed and look after myself. I literally was able to pay my sub and no more. If id had to upgrade an HDD just to play the latest patch then I would of been ****ed as ?30-40 is still a lot of money to some people.

Should have spent less time playing and more looking for a new job tbh:/:/

Anyway as I said, LotRO makes it an OPTIONAL install as many people can't run the settings at a moderate framerate.

Im soz but the game looks fine to me, I dont worry about how it looks when Im playing wow at all. Im too busy doing other stuff, and tbh in many ways im still impressed by some of the gfx and scenery.

That's great for you. You may be easily impressed. But compare WoW to the future MMOs like Warhammer & Conan and guess which will catch the eye quicker.

And risk the chance that some of the millions of people that play the game and are happy with the game, might suddenly find that their system can't support new gee-whiz-neato graphics updates? Yeah, good plan.

I agree

Just look at the GFX overhaul between Everquest and EverquestII.

also Bliz would be loosing out on a massive potential in not releasing WOW 2 which would pretty much do the same thing ;)

AARRGGGHHHH

"Optional" install and setting!!! :)

PS.

I've just re subscribed :) woooooo

Can anyone reccommend any good mods/addons please :):):)

Nothing. There are so many trojans/keyloggers going around its ridiculous. There have been reports from various TRUSTED websites that some trojans even make it through. For example:

http://www.mmo-champion.com (Read about it there)

http://www.wowinterface.com/forums/showthr...?threadid=13868 (Here too)

No.

I originally though: "Man, this looks like tripe but I'll give it a shot." Thankfully it was worth it. I pre-ordered it and picked up a beta key.

And that is obviously where you amd I differ. I saw it thot, ooh that looks like a beefed up and interesting game based on the WC3 art style and universe this could be good.

Missing my point but that's internet debate for you.

Without sounded like some trivial 2 bit forum troll. I think you may have missed mine. Paper Mario is delibretly 2d and a bit nah looking to reflect the art direction and premise of the game. Wow hasnt had major graphic updates for the same reason. Its still meant to resemble the WC3 universe the one game that many (non hardcore or older PC gaming) fans remember i.e most recent release outside WOW for the game universe.

Granted I made it seem a little simple. But If Mythic (a small company at the time) can do it with DAoC so can Blizzard. They have an abundance of talent. It's not like they are putting it to good use at the moment anyway. The new dungeon was simply more of the same.

What works for one company cant always be applied to another. Yes Blizz is bigger and has more resources espec with this Activis deal. You say they arent putting it to good use and that the new dungeon seemed samey. Well what do you want improved graphics and the "same" dungeon formula, or no major graphic updates and new and interesting gameplay elements to combat these "samey" dungeons.

Should have spent less time playing and more looking for a new job tbh.

What gives you the right to make comments like that? Do you know my circumstances or the level to which I was playing WOW vs the time I spent job hunting? No. I work in a specialist field within the design industry which see`s many more applicants than job postings and finding work after losing long term employment proved to a be a bit of a pain in the backside.

And that is obviously where you amd I differ. I saw it thot, ooh that looks like a beefed up and interesting game based on the WC3 art style and universe this could be good.

I played WC3 once and found it immensely dull. That maybe why.

Paper Mario is delibretly 2d and a bit nah looking to reflect the art direction and premise of the game. Wow hasnt had major graphic updates for the same reason. Its still meant to resemble the WC3 universe the one game that many (non hardcore or older PC gaming) fans remember i.e most recent release outside WOW for the game universe.

It can still resemble the WC3 universe with a graphical update. Hell blizz can turn the lore how they like ('lol spaceship'). What's wrong with making something have a bit more candy.

Well what do you want improved graphics and the "same" dungeon formula, or no major graphic updates and new and interesting gameplay elements to combat these "samey" dungeons.

Artists aren't game designers. Yes they will likely have a look in but nothing more than 'proof reading' so to speak.

What gives you the right to make comments like that?

You brought it up. Don't bring it up if you don't want someone to comment. Obviously this is going no where so lets leave it at that.

Nothing. There are so many trojans/keyloggers going around its ridiculous. There have been reports from various TRUSTED websites that some trojans even make it through. For example:

http://www.mmo-champion.com (Read about it there)

http://www.wowinterface.com/forums/showthr...?threadid=13868 (Here too)

Woah there Captn' Kneejerk! It appears hackers have circumvented the servers where the addons are hosted (WoWInterface and the old ui.worldofwar.net). Stick to WoWace for the time being and download only the zips. Don't run anything that holds and .exe in it.

Those complaining about outdated grahpics should look at some of the screenshots of the next expansion. While it's not a complete overhaul, the textures being used are significantly higher resolution than those currently while still retaining the overall feel.

ss37-hires.jpg

ss33-hires.jpg

ss36-hires.jpg

ss39.jpg

ss40.jpg

Nothing revolutionary, but an improvment over what's in currently.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Posts

    • I'm still on Windows 10 22H2 because I didn't want to deal with all the issues in Windows 11, so I waited almost a week before installing the latest Patch Tuesday update (KB5094127), I went ahead and did it, and it was a huge mistake—ever since then, my File Explorer has seen a performance drop of about 30% when transferring large files... Once again, Microsoft has outdone itself! This update cannot be uninstalled, either through the Control Panel (via Settings) or by accessing Advanced Startup Options. The only possible alternative would be to use system restore points, but I’d have to reinstall all app and driver updates (and there’s no guarantee it would work). Or there’s the “nuclear option” of a in-place repair without losing files or apps, but even then, all my customizations would be lost! Microsoft just can’t help but mess everything up! Way to go, Microsoft! But I still don’t want your c****y Windows 11!
    • Microsoft: Windows 11 could finally solve a major issue across AMD, Nvidia, and Intel GPUs by Sayan Sen While Microsoft has been trying to improve it, Windows 11 is definitely not flawless, as even today some issues are taking a year to publicly acknowledge. However, one area of trouble that may finally see much better results soon is graphics driver crashes. Work on graphics driver timeouts, also called Timeout and Detection Recovery (TDR), is not new as the latest WDDM 3.2 also has specific improvements regarding it. Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) version 3.2 is supported on Windows 11 24H2 and 25H2. However, with the upcoming version 26H2, TDR crash diagnosis could go to the next level as Microsoft is introducing a new DirectX 12 API feature called "DirectX Dump Files". Similar to how system memory dump files work when a system crashes or freezes or encounters any such major issue, DirectX Dump Files (DDF) will essentially record a snapshot of the GPU execution right at the moment a graphics-related crash or hang or freeze occurs, so that developers can better understand and diagnoze these TDR and timeout detection errors. The dump will be available as a .dxdmp file for analysis and it will be a comprehensive dump file generated with detailed insights about the hardware, drivers, Windows, as well as the affected application. This should be another welcome change in this department. Earlier at GDC 2026, when the technology was first debuted, Microsoft had shared more details regarding it. The company had explained how DDF is designed to gather data from every layer of the graphics stack into a single file, eliminating the need for developers to manually correlate logs from multiple tools. As mentioned above, the dump can contain a lot of useful details like GPU hardware state information such as register values, shader program counters, page fault virtual addresses, shader memory data, and command buffers. Alongside that, it also captures DirectX runtime and kernel information, including D3D objects, pipeline state objects, device error data, adapter details, and CPU call stacks. Microsoft says the feature has been built around two primary use cases: retail device removals and local device removals. The former allows developers to collect crash information from end users' systems in the field, while the latter helps QA teams and developers investigate issues on test machines. Developers will also be able to include up to 2 MB of custom application data through new D3D12 APIs, providing additional context for troubleshooting. In addition, Microsoft is introducing three dump collection modes ranging from zero-overhead capture, which has no runtime performance impact on supported hardware, to higher-detail modes that collect more vendor-specific debugging data. On compatible Tier 2 hardware, zero-overhead dumps will be enabled by default, meaning developers may begin receiving useful crash diagnostics without making any code changes. The table below explains the three tiers: Tier Description NO_OVERHEAD Enables crash capture with no runtime cost and is suitable for broad deployment MEDIUM_OVERHEAD Provides a balance, capturing additional diagnostic data with moderate impact HIGH_OVERHEAD Collects the most detailed GPU and driver state available, enabling deeper investigation at the cost of higher runtime overhead In terms of availability, the company expects broader release to be around the fall of 2026, which should be right around the time when Windows 11 version 26H2 lands. Right now, DirectX Dump Files are available as a preview and currently, only AMD has the compatible AgilitySDK Developer Preview driver version 26.10.07.02. You can find the official announcement post here on Microsoft's website.
    • And with SO much better perf than the laggy mess that is Files.
    • BrowserOS 0.46.0 by Razvan Serea BrowserOS is a free, open-source Chromium-based browser that runs AI agents natively, offering a smarter, more productive browsing experience. It supports Chrome extensions and integrates AI agents to automate tasks, fill forms, and streamline workflows. Your data stays on your computer: you can use your own API keys or run local models via Ollama, making it a privacy-first alternative to tools like Perplexity, Comet, or Dia. With built-in productivity tools and app integrations, BrowserOS boosts efficiency while keeping control firmly in your hands. Being Chromium-based, BrowserOS lets you effortlessly import your bookmarks, passwords, and Chrome extensions in just a few clicks. BrowserOS works with OpenAI GPT models, Anthropic Claude, Google Gemini, and local AI models via Ollama or LMStudio. You can use your own API keys and effortlessly switch between providers. BrowserOS Agent Your AI productivity assistant that organizes and manages your browsing effortlessly Quickly list, group, or close tabs Save and resume browsing sessions Search your history and organize bookmarks Switch instantly to the tab you need BrowserOS Navigator – Automate web tasks with ease Navigate websites and search automatically Interact with pages without manual effort Handle repetitive tasks in seconds What makes BrowserOS special Feels like home - same familiar interface as Google Chrome, works with all your extensions AI agents that run on YOUR browser, not in the cloud Privacy first - bring your own keys or use local models with Ollama. Your browsing history stays on your computer Open source and community driven - see exactly what's happening under the hood MCP store to one-click install popular MCPs and use them directly in the browser bar (coming soon) Built-in AI ad blocker that works across more scenarios! BrowserOS 0.46.0 changelog: Run Claude Code & Codex right in your browser — We've extended the agent harness to bring full coding agents into BrowserOS. Claude Code and Codex now come bundled and plug straight into the assistant, so you can drive your browser with the agent — and the subscription — you already use. A brand new experience — A redesigned new tab, a calmer composer, and a rebuilt command center for switching between agents. The whole assistant is cleaner, faster to reach, and easier to live in. New MCP tools — We rebuilt the browser tool surface from the ground up — a tighter, more reliable set of tools for agents to drive the browser. Plus one-click install of BrowserOS as an MCP server into the agents you already run, with automatic URL sync. Chromium 148 — Updated to the latest Chromium base with all recent upstream fixes and security patches. Streamlined — We've pulled back a few features that weren't getting much use — Skills, Soul, and Memory — so we can focus and ship better versions of them soon. Download: BrowserOS 0.46.0 | 181.0 MB (Open Source) Download: BrowserOS for macOS | 485.0 MB Links: BrowserOS Homepage | Github | Screenshot Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware
  • Recent Achievements

    • Week One Done
      Jordan Smith earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Reacting Well
      BizSAR earned a badge
      Reacting Well
    • First Post
      AndreaB earned a badge
      First Post
    • Week One Done
      Huge Trailer earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Week One Done
      Classifyskilleducation earned a badge
      Week One Done
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      591
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      187
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      77
    4. 4
      Michael Scrip
      75
    5. 5
      Steven P.
      67
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!