According to Blizzard, they are trying to run Vanilla in the current modern engine (BFA).
This means, the current engine not only has improved models & textures, but also shadows / sun / water effects, SSOA, higher view distance, render scale, ect.

What do you guys think, would it be a turn off for you having those features?
What about only small stuff like higher view distance, render scale, SSOA?

At the end of the day graphics are just visuals, they don't change gameplay and are client-side.
And people always have the option to change .MPQ files to get updated textures/models anyways.
Personally it's not a big deal for me, i wouldn't mind if they keep the old out-dated graphics (wish they probably will), they are still very decent and acceptable.

Vote your opinion bellow!

Concerning graphics I'd be probably pissed only in the case they updated models and zones, which I highly doubt they would do. Rest I don't care much. I think the old graphics are beautiful, no need to change that.

I don't really care about the graphics, since they don't affect the gameplay. I would just prefer that they don't implement them, because they would then need to spend lot of time making new graphics and I prefer classic to be released as soon as possible .

I would actually really enjoy if they did something like they did in Cataclysm but without changing the actual zones. I would love seeing the barrens with the new textures and stuff but without bean torn apart and spitting lava from everywhere.

The old graphics are just nostalgia for me, but I can live without it if they give it a revamp.

I feel like the whole graphic thing is really hard to answer correctly one. I feel like you have to test it out to know if you really wan't any graphical updates or not. My immediate response is to leave it as it is, I really hate the models. However, I could see the world looking better as a good thing, some zones in vanilla can look kinda unfinished and empty. Some more shadows, grass etc would probably look great. Hard to say.

It would be cool if there was an instant switch available to go between old and new textures/models, like they did when they released Halo anniversary!

Faendor wrote: ↑

7 years ago

Concerning graphics I'd be probably pissed only in the case they updated models and zones, which I highly doubt they would do. Rest I don't care much. I think the old graphics are beautiful, no need to change that.

Agree there’s no need to update the ‘graphics’ - its the timeless art direction that makes the game shine! The original terrain, models and icons captivated people then and they will in the future still.

I wouldn't mind updated graphics on top of old game play. I want me some wall-hop!

I usually use updated models on totally legal servers since I find them refreshing. I sincerely hope they up the option from what it was in the demo and add in the mix updated models. They're optional, so I don't think it would hurt anyone to have them in, and it's also irrelevant to the gameplay, just visual candy for those of us who enjoy them.

Why'd you necro a 9 month old thread? :\

Since this thread was first posted we got a glimpse of what the graphic situation was in the BlizzCon demo back in November. So far they seem to be reverting the graphics to how they were as best as they can. Models were back to their pre-updated versions, but shaders and lighting still needed a lot of work. I imagine that's significantly harder work for them to 'restore' since those systems have likely been massively reworked and reinvented since vanilla's time.

So as it stands it seems Blizzard, from what we saw in the demo, is going the #nochanges route as best they can with graphics. Whether we'll get a toggle option to switch between them hasn't been announced yet, but doesn't seem essential for launch. I personally enjoy the updated character models, so I would enjoy the option in the future. If they don't, I'm sure many will use custom MPQ files (does the modern engine still use MPQ?) to update them themselves.

Nothing bad in changing the graphics and animations to be honest, lets not be that harsh, the game graphics improved along the years.

On a side note, in Vanilla, graphics can have an effect on gameplay. You can have a good idea which pieces of gear an opponent is wearing, see specific enchants, etc. Changing graphics changes how quickly you can size up an opponent.

tbh I dont care about the graphics. I just want the game, nothing more!

When it comes to the light effects, the water, etc sure it's nice. But for the actual player models no, those low poly models are part of the nostalgia for me.

They could update the character or item models pretty easily, but not the world models. Think about it, the terrain models were updated in/after Cataclysm, so the zones are changed. In order to do a world update they would have to rebuild every zone. That is more work than it is worth. I expect to see the models & zones pretty much as they were, as they are using the old data.

I want Classic for the gameplay and the community. Any change that serves to promote longevity and increase the likelihood people will play while preserving difficulty and core game philosophies is okay by me.

Heres an example, I like old graphics, but new graphics appeal to a wider audience... Why wouldn't I want toggleable new graphics??? I get what I want while increasing the likelihood people will try and play the game.

As long as there is a option to play with the classic graphics i am fine even if they import all the retail effects.

Just the added foliage makes a huge difference. :)

Tinyhoof wrote: ↑

6 years ago

When it comes to the light effects, the water, etc sure it's nice. But for the actual player models no, those low poly models are part of the nostalgia for me.

This. Even the preview of Warcraft 3 Reforged didn’t quite entice me in the way I thought it would... I’m sure I’ll try it out but there is something about the newer more polished graphics (in both WC3 and WoW) that doesn’t quite jive with me. The lower-poly blockiness has a certain charm I think.