I’m not talking about the cinema graphics. I’m talking about flying over the zones, or in the dungeons.
In Black Rook Hold I notice detail, like actually image detail on objects that seems to be dormant in dragon flight. I notice Fog and other world elements, attention to details on objects l that I don’t see while flying in DF.
DF in comparison looks a bit pastel. I don’t know who did the graphic work in dungeons like BRH or DHT or legion zones but the experience leaves me awe struck returning to this content. Maybe not Neltharions lair but the other dungeons are pretty in-depth in their designs. These devs need a shout out.
Darkheart Thicket is mesmerizing. The hues, the contrast, the fog. the roots, the different look/feel as we go deeper into the dungeon.
Haven’t really enjoyed things visually as much as this in DF. I thought I’d be WoW’d (no pun intended) but traveling over the dragon isles compared to flying over legion zones leaves quite a different impression.
Yes, I’m running at nearly maxed settings. I just feel like Legion looks better.
Thoughts?
(edited and added on 1/15 - I’ve spent quite a bit of time flying around and observing in further. DF graphics are fantastic. But I realized it is definitely the fog and mist effects that are missing. I went to the bottom of a waterfall in DF. No mist rising from the water. I think this is something the designers chose to not continue at some point. I’m not entirely sure the reason, but I do miss this detail. Hopefully they bring these back in the next expansion.)
Legion Dungeons had incredible atmosphere and are probably my favorite set.
But this could simply be my personal preference.
In terms of open world and graphics, I haven’t been more impressed with WoWs visuals than the first time I was on that ledge at The Ruby Life Pools on DF launch, where you’re introduced to Dragon Riding.
There does feel like there has been a noticeable change in the aesthetics over the expansions. Could also notice that in Legion the main art director from D3 had moved over to wow.
There is also an issue in zones lacking contrast, or having muter colors than previously. With Arathi being a perfect example going from a vibrant green to something more dreary.
Will say that pastel isn’t the right word to use for the current color theme though. Since pastel colors tends to be more on the lighter/whiter side like “baby blue/pink”.
i’m questing through Legion on an alt right now and I was saying to myself how nice the zones look. what blizzard did is they made the zones feel “smaller” by filling in the empty space with doodads and other “clutter” so the zones don’t just feel huge and empty. I noticed with a lot of the zones in SL and DF they’re just huge and feel empty.
How are they not up to quality? BRH is extremely detailed, HoV is, as well and quite a contrast. Same with the Suramar dungeons. And Maw was pretty innovative being on what was supposed to be a moving boat.
The layouts were good, the mechanics were interesting and I think they’re a heck of a lot better than most dungeons we got later on.
Well, let’s keep in mind the sheer size of Dragon Isles compared to Broken Isles. Some of the biggest complaints about Broken Isles back then we’re how cluttered it was and how you always got stuck on something. I think you can fit like two or three Broken Isles into the Dragon Isles, too. Hehe
I prefer the more vibrant colors and contrast used in legion especially around valsharah and highmountain, even suramar which uses a lot of pastel purple feels brighter and more detailed with its starry sky and bright blue gems. Wows style was very color saturated if you look at pretty much everything pre-bfa a carry over from the RTS probably.
Dragonflight feels like a continuation of the maw’s very smooth blending and muted color scheme but applied to a place that isnt warcrafts equivalent of hell, it works well when dragonflying over zones since you wouldn’t expect a lot of color or detail from that height but walking around it can get pretty meh feeling.
I agree. You know, I just did a black rook hold. I think a big part of legion is the fogging and lightning effects used. There isn’t a lot of fog in DF zones or dungeons. Makes them feel more flat to me, lacking depth.
Definitely one of my favorite dungeons. The look and feel of it is incredible. The music give a very spooky ambiance. My only complaint is the dialog between Malfurion and Xavius is some of the most awful cringe in the whole game.
Legion was literally like… the perfect iteration of what modern WoW should look and feel like. Lore, Zones, Classes, Atmosphere. EVERYTHING about Legion was absolutely ridiculously incredible and I will be chasing that high and hoping they get it right so long as I play this game, basically. That expansion was lightning in a bottle and nothing they’ve done has even come close.
I think DF’s zones are very pretty, and more detailed than one would thinķ. I spend a lot of my time on my ground mount as well and there is a delicious amount of detail, nooks & crannies, and colors.
Legion definitely had a lot going for it in various places just like any expac. I still think BFA had the best zones all together. I do get what you mean about DF - if not carefully looking, just like SL, one can almost get that monotone feel.
Things like the way skyboxes are rendered is different in Dragonflight. It was probably done to lower the strain on GPUs as we flew almost three times faster. You’ll notice rather than detailed horizons you get simpler outlines, and fewer gradients in favour of several strong colours dominating.
I get why they did it, but I’m still torn about whether I like it compared to BfA style skyboxes, which are my favorite.
Could it be because you’re flying lower and slower? In DF on my dragon, I’m more focused on the horizon and my pitch. On my old mount, it’s on auto pilot and I can pan around and admire the landscape.