Don’t get me wrong I am very much excited for Classic WoW, being that I started playing WoW back at the beginning of 2005. Leveling from 1 - 60 again, exploring without wings, no quest tracker / having to read quest text thus actually absorbing the lore, and most importantly ‘connecting and socializing with other players’.

Even though all that sounds great! There is just 1 thing I would change in this glorious remake of our beloved Vanilla WoW.
[ I would love it if we had the option to switch between ‘Classic’ to ‘HD’ character models via settings menu.]

Classic was indeed very special to me and many others, not because of its looks but because of its play style. Retail WoW however has very attractive character models and animations that really do catch the players eye as they play the game. It makes the combat and emote part of the game even more entertaining. So it would be cool if the option could not only update character models but also npc models as well throughout the world. Currently in retail WoW, I love playing my dwarf hunter because his beard looks Glorious! His run anim, attack anim, even right down to his face anim when using emotes is a joy to see. But I also love my bear pet model as well. The way they run is far more life-like and unlike classic, their mouths don’t hang open all the time like the older models. The new version just feels a lot better, as do many other renewed models.

In addition the Classic WoW models do not look particularly attractive on ultra HD monitors… I believe the HD models would be far more appropriate for a re-release to compete alongside other MMORPG titles with newer models / textures and animations. Blizzard have done it with ‘Warcraft III - Reforged’. Why not do a ‘World of Warcraft - Reforged’?

That being said this is all just my opinion and I would love to hear what everyone else has to say regarding this topic. ‘Would you like to see a HD option in the game for the player and npc models?’ or ‘Do you think it should stay true to the original formula?’

If there is a possibility that can be switched on and off. Then I am fully satisfied with it. Personally, I've been playing since 2005 and currently also play a little retail (levels only), but I'd like to play Classic WoW in the same graphics as in the last 5-6 years on private servers.

I don't know how the hd models would cohere with the oldschool environment. Imagine the old gear on an hd character model and being in an old zone. It probably wouldn't fit.

I would have to see it first.

@Faendor

I see what you mean, but I will mention there are many areas in Azeroth where the environment, building models and textures have not changed since 2005 and the new character / npc models seem to still work / suit alongside them just fine. I think its just the blizzard art style that just works so fluidly no matter how old some of the pieces may be.

I wouldn't mind higher polygon counts / more detailed textures but I actually much prefer the old animation/rigging to the retail ones.

blizzard has stated they drove to have a somewhat cartoony art style thats not too realistic back in the day. however if you ask me id say its closer to realism and it moved more to what they wanted originally over time. i am very much against the alternate graphical toggle as it gives a false representation of the game to new players since the art styles are so different and i honestly feel that a player that joined wow more recently will just use the modern graphics and not see the game as it was

Super disappointed we wont be getting new graphics. Graphics are aesthetic. We want WoW for community. Toggleable option would appeal to a wider audience and thus strengthen the community and promote longevity to the project. Disappointing all around.

I’m okay with a toggle. If I can’t see the shitty new models other people choose then that’s fine by me.

Personally I like the fact that everyone is forced to use the same models.
I don't want to watch PvP movies with the new anime korean MMO bullshit models.

Tool wrote: ↑

5 years ago

Personally I like the fact that everyone is forced to use the same models.
I don't want to watch PvP movies with the new anime korean MMO bullshit models.

Very selfish perspective. I cant imagine caring how others see my character or complaining about the aesthetics another player uses. This is the equivalent of complaining about an addon that allows players to change their HUD. Who cares what they are seeing, just play your own game. Especially if this draws in a wider playerbase, and it would inevitably do that. We arent talking transmog here that actually impacts the game... We are talking about the individual preferences that players are using. Whats next, are you going to do some gamma checks and brightness tests to ensure players have their visuals set to your liking?

I would be interested in seeing how many players actually left their old graphic model on after they added the updated models. I hear a lot of people say they did, but it would be interesting to see some actual analytics. My bet is that most of the echoed "no changes" screeches would be largely outweighed by people who opted to select the more refined and updated option.

A strict no for me if the implementation would be same as it was for retail, as I dislike the new skeleton movements. You never had the possibility to opt out of it.

Also from a design standpoint it would create quite the slippery slope, as said previously, once you throw a few newer models into the world created more than a decade ago it will clash with the general aesthetic. Not to mention if the environment models are updated you would have to share the geometry between the old models if there is an option to turn the new models off. It would be all or nothing kind of thing, and I'm sure Blizzard would never take their limited art resources away from the current content to make this happen.

Doing it well would be such a huge undertaking that I wouldn't trust the current Blizzard to do it anyway.

I personally dont like the new models but I understand why people would want them. I would like to try Classic with the hd models so I could see what it would really look like. I cannot say for sure whether I would dislike it or not in the end.
In this regard I am up for the toggle option.

On the other hand, it seems to me like it might make it confusing for general game recognition and it just doesnt fit the Vanilla vibes.

I've seen it posted by more passionate people than me, but basically you create a persona and an image with your character, not knowing what other people are actually seeing can feel a bit jarring from a RP standpoint. I think it should probably just be as classic was, to help recreate the authentic original experience as much as possible. Could just be me being an old fuddy duddy though.

Gimme those HD models and animations!

I don't mind the new models being an option, but I'd probably leave them off, mainly because I don't like the way the new orc hair looks. Way too smooth. Gimme them scraggly-ass beards

I'm all for the HD models and updated animations as long as it's a toggle and doesn't disrupt other players' experiences.

Selexin wrote: ↑

5 years ago

I've seen it posted by more passionate people than me, but basically you create a persona and an image with your character, not knowing what other people are actually seeing can feel a bit jarring from a RP standpoint. I think it should probably just be as classic was, to help recreate the authentic original experience as much as possible. Could just be me being an old fuddy duddy though.

I recently changed what class, and also race because of it, I will be playing, and I am much more heavily opposed to allowing the new models than ever before because while the race I used to play looked better with the new models, the one I will be playing now looks much, much worse (in my opinion). Of course, people not playing the same race as me don't care.

A lot of people playing Orcs want the new models. Their newer model looks amazing. They would all certainly toggle the graphics on.

So when they're running around killing Alliance with their super-awesome orc model I don't want to look like a complete loser in their PvP vids just because I got the short end of the stick with race updates.

You'd think this wouldn't affect me so much, but in any PvP video my teammates make, or guild screenshots standing next to bosses in progression, youtube accidental cameos, or really just any screenshot my friends send me that ugly updated graphic would be staring right at me.

And not a lot of people care because they're not playing that race, which shall not be named because I know people will say it doesn't look that bad, but it does. I played the race on retail when they had a toggle and I never turned them on for that reason. I've heard they've since taken the toggle out, but I haven't been back.

I would say the closest analogy I can think of, though not a perfect one because it's still prestigious to have an epic, would be if Crown of Destruction only looked like it does for the wearer, and for everyone else it was the ugliest most stupid helm you can imagine. I would hide my helm.

Is it to late to update the graphics?





More videos here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCArpkO ... L9Gzxt-HFg

Grindhouse wrote: ↑

5 years ago

Is it to late to update the graphics?





More videos here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCArpkO ... L9Gzxt-HFg

I would give my left nut to be able to explore that inside a VR headset. I don't think I'd use it as a replacement graphics set for actually playing the game, but I immediately recognized everything in that elwynn forest video.

Pippina wrote: ↑

5 years ago

I would give my left nut

I would give my left and my right nut for this

cburmeister wrote: ↑

5 years ago

I would give my left and my right nut for this

Confirmed female gamer.

I'm pro choice. We have the tech now.

I get there are a ton of supporters for "NO CHANGE". But come on, lets just fuckin reboot this bitch for WoW 2.0 and make it great again.

Some great feedback peeps! Love it!

I can totally understand where people are coming from with regards to screenshots / streams of a single event shared amongst many players of ‘said’ event and some screenshots / streams will have HD models and some without, which I know can be a little frustrating.

But in the long run, I do believe that just by having this little option in the settings menu, it will attract a bigger player base. Players that want the mordern models, let them be able to switch it on. Players who want original models, let them switch it off. Everybody wins!! There is no reason why this game can’t do that.

I’ve played WoW since in 2005 and ideally I would prefer to have to toggle to have the choice. As an animation artist I would rather enjoy classic with all its glorious classic game design with the modern character and npc models.

Stfuppercut wrote: ↑

5 years ago

Super disappointed we wont be getting new graphics. Graphics are aesthetic. We want WoW for community. Toggleable option would appeal to a wider audience and thus strengthen the community and promote longevity to the project. Disappointing all around.

Maybe they’ll implement it if they see it profitable. After all they are still not 100% aboard this project as it seems right now..

I set my foreground fps to 8 frames, dropped the graphics bar as low as it can go; then whenever I go in a major city I stop moving every 6-8 seconds for a few moments to simulate my computer freezing.










The true 2004 vanilla experience.