Vanilla Rain Missing Something

WoW Classic WoW Classic General Discussion
1

First off, I really appreciate the effort Blizzard is putting into making the game look as authentic as possible. However, I believe there is something lacking with the rain storms in Classic WoW. The video below shows what a typical rain storm in Elwynn forest in Vanilla:

Here is a comparison to Classic WoW rain as recorded by Hazmur in the comments below. As you can see, there are big differences between the two storms.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bRtUe7KqIo 1

Whats right:

  • The overall intensity of the rain falling from the sky
  • The fog draw distance and color

What’s missing:

  • The faint fog particle effects that slowly sweep across the screen
  • The sound used isn’t quite as loud or intense as it was before
  • Less important, but the splashes of water hitting the ground is more subtle and less pronounced

With these features missing from Classic WoW’s rain storms, it feels much less intense than it should be. I know it’s a real nit picky thing to point out, but the rain in vanilla WoW is one of my favorite things about the game, and I would love more than anything to see it restored to its former glory.

5 Likes
2

Could be that in video compared to your expeience with it on classic stress test/beta there were different levels of weather intensity in the settings chosen

3

I turned all effects to maximum and the key differences are still the same (its raining right now on the stress test server Barov)

4

Welp, guess some small changes for performance issues were made then or could be a private server thing (if footage from there)

5

Blizzard: please fix the rain.

1 Like
6

So I’m watching the rain in Elwynn right now, on Barov.

  • It’s much nicer than in retail. This is a heavy storm. That much is already an improvement.
  • I can’t hear it at all. It makes no sound effects. Other people in-game are telling me they hear it “very clearly” and I have my Ambiance at full. I’ve checked all my settings, so… not sure what the story is on this one.
  • It splatters on the ground like in vanilla, but this is barely visible to be honest. It’s not very satisfying.
  • I don’t see any sweeping fog with the wind. That part was really special to me and made it feel very fun/real, perhaps more than all the rest.

I would be very appreciative if the team took a look at this soon or down the line. It’s just one of those things that made the vanilla game very special and was instantly noticeable in later versions of WoW. And I’m glad that people are often talking about it lately. I still have yet to see a snowstorm in Dun Morogh but if anyone sees one before the stress test ends, I’d like to try to witness it.

1 Like
7

Yefang, go into game Systems >> Sound >> enable ambient sounds.

8

The graphics are all client-side, so it’s not possible for a private server to get this wrong.

9

Rain is just like retail, bunch of white lines.

10

Vanilla rain is of course missing something. The lovely taste of chocolate.

1 Like
11

I definitely had everything checked, re-checked, double-checked, everything.

Incidentally, I tried the one thing I had left to do: just quit and reload entirely. That definitely did it. The sounds help a lot. But I can’t help but feel it still used to be better, especially with that video up there.

1 Like
12

Yeah some changes require a UI reload to work.

13

I don’t have a comparison video for Classic WoW

Here: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bRtUe7KqIo)

14

Thanks for the upload! I updated the original thread with your video.

1 Like
15

The classic WOW has BfA rain, since its basically BfA engine.