Brack: Will Blizzard consider a graphical overhaul? "Yep, probably."

by Mike Schramm Aug 21st 2008 at 2:30PM

Chilton and Brack are just all kinds of talkative at the Leipzig Games Convention this year -- in addition to chatting with the buffed.de folks, they also sat down with Jeff Kaplan and Eurogamer, and the results of that conversation are now up on their site.

They start out by talking about the changes with 10 and 25 man raiding, and Kaplan says plainly that the Burning Crusade endgame was just too plain hard: "We just had: 'OK, welcome to level 70, here's a brick wall. Maybe you can climb it.'" There will still be a hardcore endgame in Wrath, but it'll be later on, near the very end of the raiding ladder. They also describe Wrath as a "coming home" moment -- after an "exploratory" period in Outland, Wrath will be a return to Warcraft's tradition and lore. And perhaps most surprising, Brack actually lends a lot of credence to a question about a graphical overhaul "from the ground up." He says that by the next expansion they'll "probably" have to look at updating the graphics system completely.

And finally, Blizzard believes that yes, even though it doesn't seem like it now, eventually there'll be something bigger than World of Warcraft. Brack's last word is an interesting look at the future: "Something will come along and WoW will be like EverQuest: a great game I played back in the day."

[via WorldofWar.net]

Tags: blizzard, brack, coming-home, endgame, eurogamer, everquest, graphics, hardcore, jeff-kaplan, northrend, overhaul, raiding, tom-chilton

Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Blizzard, Instances, Expansions, Raiding, The Burning Crusade, Interviews, Wrath of the Lich King

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Darthregis Aug 21st 2008 2:38PM

Let's hope the graphical overhaul doesn't alienate some people who have "lesser" or older computers.

We don't need to see the sort of problems that people who got AoC had (from the system requirement standpoint, that is...)

Although, it will be nice to see things become a bit more refined.

Metal_Gear Aug 21st 2008 2:43PM

Exactly, graphical updates are nice, but dont cut part of the community out of the game. Sharpen up a few textures, dont make the human children as ugly as sin, stuff like that.

Also, if they are going to do this from the ground up, no more flying mount restrictions please while you're there! ^_^

Mattimus Aug 21st 2008 2:46PM

By the time the next expansion rolls around, 2+ years from now, it will probably be built for computers being made new like... a year ago. It will still be primitive by the standards of the day, but less so.

I doubt most people will still be using a 6-year-old or more computer when Blizzard upgrades the graphics engine for WoW.

Mindstrike Aug 21st 2008 3:40PM

Maybe they will pull a UO and make it that you can run "both" still. In theory if it is just a fx upgrade, then the underlying game should still work.

Finally we may get to see Hogger is glorious 4D ;)

Melenor Aug 21st 2008 4:40PM

I've been able to run WoW at max settings since the day it was released. The game didn't look exceptional then, and by today's standards it's quite below any of the competition. Blizzard should overhaul the graphics ASAP, and keep the current settings as an option for those who don't have computers made in the last decade.

typobox Aug 21st 2008 8:27PM

You won't need a "six year old" computer to have issues running a severely updated WoW. Laptops with integrated video already struggle quite a bit - WoW being one of the few modern games that I can run on it acceptably at all. Graphics chip technology may be advancing fast, but it's the one part on a computer that the low end seems to be left way behind on regularly.

Fletch Aug 22nd 2008 2:55AM

I think part of the reason why WoW is so popular is because it is so tolerant over the specifications of the computer on which it can run. Maybe people in your country can afford to update their computer every few years, but is that true of people in China or Russia (or India if it gets officially released over there)? Besides, do the graphics really need updating? I guess it's a matter of personal taste, but I far prefer the low polygon cartoon feel of WoW to the (very) pseudo realism of AoC

Splink Aug 21st 2008 2:39PM

That article you've linked to is three months old? None of it is news, it was all announced before the beta even started.

Rihlsul Aug 21st 2008 2:52PM

Which article? A few were linked, and a number of them are from today.

SgtBaker Aug 21st 2008 2:54PM

Whoa, 4 self-links and one link to a interview dated 16th of May..

Nice way to increase page views for your ads :-P

Barth Aug 21st 2008 3:19PM

The report is on what the guys said at the conference. Chill out. Maybe find something else to look forward to in the day other than reading only the brand newest of the new news about video games.

Bylak Aug 21st 2008 2:56PM

If the second link in the article is what we're talking about , then yeah it's listed as being posted May 16th.

Aaron Aug 21st 2008 3:05PM

lol...this article was made back in may.

way to go.

Cowy Aug 21st 2008 3:11PM

"Something will come along and WoW will be like EverQuest: a great game I played back in the day."

I've played since day one of release, soo soo many years ago (prior to WOW, I played FFXI). Every time I try a new game, i find it awesome and amazing at first... but as the grind sets in, i just can't make it to the end. Lineage II, Saga of Ryzom, Silkroad, Vanguard, Spellborn(I'm in beta), EQII, LOTR, AOC, Sword of the new world, the list really does go on. I've played so many games, and so many of them... are really just missing something that WOW has, though i can't put my finger on what exactly that is.

For me, there is NO game out there that can hold my attention like world of warcraft.

There are times when I quit wow. ( Usually due to some injustice that I feel I need to punish blizzard over). I swear off the game, I tell myself that its a pointless game where nothing I accomplish matters because everything is replaced at some point, or made easier. I swear to myself up and down that I don't like it anymore.

Months will go by...and it will start to creep back into the back of my mind. Other games I play... i start to compare to warcraft. "Sure this is ok, but its not as fun as WOW was..." etc. Before I know it, I'm back at my account page reactivating and getting excited to play all over again.

I really do start to wonder if I'd play WOW forever, so long as content is constantly introduced. I think Warcraft has a appeal that could last indefinately and I think its not too odd, to think that wow could still be at the top of MMO's in 10 + years so long as it gets an occasional overhaul of its graphics.

If someone out there plans to "kill wow" then they have to not only create a amazing game, but they have to have lore, intriguing mysteries, hidden content, fantastic jokes , crazy ideas, lovable races you can identify with, top notch graphics, cultural references, and a lot more before they can even be considered to be in the same league.

Thats some pretty big shoes to fill.

FLeedawg Aug 21st 2008 3:26PM

I agree with you completely. I've quit the game several times, only to have the sudden urge to play it again. The time I came back after quitting the first time, I had started to dream about it.

Anyway, I know full well I'll be a WoW player for life, but I'm going to play Warhammer some when it comes out (I'm in the Beta, and it's a lot of fun, and does several things really well that WoW doesn't do), but I'm getting WotLK the day it comes out and will love it!

Alluin Aug 23rd 2008 12:11AM

Keep in mind though, Blizzard still has a new MMO in the works. I think the only game that is gonna beat WOW in the near future is gonna be this new MMO. Blizzard is the best PC game company right now. The "WoW killer" is gonna be made by Blizzard.

Imno Aug 21st 2008 3:13PM

It would have taken a few seconds to check the date on the interview and verify it was from the Leipzig Games Convention. Unless the date on the linked interview is wrong, this information appears to be over 3 months old.

Sloppy, irresponsible, and misleading.

I expected more from you Mr. Co-lead... what happened?