Why Does War3 Reforged look so bad?

[hiphop4eva]

Am I the only one that thinks that the game looks extremely off? Like the entirety of the graphical and animation changes make the very serious moment of Arthas's decision to cull Stratholme and how screwed up Arthas is becoming seem cartoonish. Like it doesn't even emanate the seriousness of that moment, whereas a game that came out 16 years ago with much worse graphics and animations could do it a thousand times better.

 

[DaneTheBeast]

Let's be real, it didn't do anything better. Can you name something that was better back then? How did it do it thousand times better?

 

[hiphop4eva]

It's not that War3 was amazingly immersive, it did good with what it had at the time. It's that the reforged version just looks like a cartoon, I can't take it seriously.

 

[DaneTheBeast]

The release is a ways away, chances that it will go through multiple style changes are high... At least that's how it usually is with games

 

[ISL]

There's a lot of effort and work that have been put into the visuals

If you have seen their concept arts, you'd know how decent all the models are
I think it would be better if Blizzard has been lastingly teasing us with those arts to be honest

As for the other visual aspects, I think that a) they got the tile textures wrong, b) that some of the character animations feel too cheap in the cinematics, and c) that the rendering is not that impressive in regards to the modern standards (but I guess limited render is something that all RTS games have to deal with)

Yes, keep in mind that what you see in the trailers is still a work in progress
All special effects are either absent or unchanged; look at how the rifleman shoots without any fire, or how the blademaster simply spins around himself without any effects or whatsoever in the trailer. The spell effects (Dark Conversion, Devotion Aura) and the missiles (Necromancers', Towers') are all the same as in the original game.
However, in the midsts of the gameplay it looks MUCH better - take a look at The Culling mission for example

 

[Chaosy]

It does not look bad.
Not in my opinion anyway, unlike standard wc3 my eyes doesn't bleed from watching the models.

 

[Sieben]

It doesn't look bad per say, it's just that in my opinion, graphics don't match the spirit of the original game.

 

[hiphop4eva]

The model quality is amazing, and there are no doubts that a good amount of effort has been put into them. My problem is that the art style is so off compared to Warcraft 3 that it feels weird. This looks like World of Warcraft and the art style of WoW is nothing like War3, all the animations and models are much more cartoon-y. And just look at the cinematic. The characters act as if they are just casually walking into Stratholme and Arthas just says that the city needs to be purged. Where is the weight behind those words that I felt while I was playing war3? The voice acting and models are there but none of the spirit that existed in war3 exists here. Idk maybe I am just nitpicking.

 

[Blackcat]

I would love to see their first testing with more cartoony visuals (as was talked about on the BlizzCon panel) and see why they've chosen to go with this more realistic look. They said they've taken the Mists of Pandaria cinematic as the model of reference.

By the way, I think the units look great. Worried about the effect it will have on competitive play.

The buildings need some work.

 

[Sieben]

And just look at the cinematic. The characters act as if they are just casually walking into Stratholme and Arthas just says that the city needs to be purged. Where is the weight behind those words that I felt while I was playing war3? The voice acting and models are there but none of the spirit that existed in war3 exists here. Idk maybe I am just nitpicking.

I agree, and I have seen this point expressed numerous times.

By the way, I think the units look great. Worried about the effect it will have on competitive play.

The buildings need some work.

Agreed too.

If you guys want to provide feedback about visual changes (graphics, design, UI), I opened a new thread to do so in a developed and detailed way, whether it is about positive or negative opinion. Feel free to join me

 

[hiphop4eva]

Yeah, putting the change in style aside the models really do look great, I am legit curious how the undead and night elf structures look.

 

[StoPCampinGn00b]

It's pretty interesting that aside from most of those who embrace the new look, those who are not fond of it are generally in two different camps.
1. Some say that it looks too realistic. People cite the darker look and overdone details, taking WC3's gritty universe into the new graphics too far.
2. Some say it looks too cartoony. People cite the some bright overtones from WoW and the lack of the same details from the original, trying to appeal to a non-WC3 audience.

Now of course, it's not always as black and white as it seems. In the end, it would be best for developers to be as consistent as possible to meet the best of both worlds so they can narrow down the focus.

Also, the cut scenes are just placeholders.

 

[Augustus]

I quite like the way it looks but it needs a lot of work.