EQ2 Wins by Default

[zoziw]

Anyone running EQ2 on a lower end system (by that I mean an Athlon XP 1600+, 512 Ram, Geforce 3 Ti200 card).

I need to pick up a gift for myself to give my mom to give my grandma to give back to me to open on Christmas day (grandma doesn't know this is how we get our gifts from her....don't ask anymore questions because it doesn't make much more sense).

I wanted to pick up either EQ2 or WoW (as per a previous post) and while I had hoped it would be WoW all of the stores in town are sold out and it doesn't seem likely they will get more in before Christmas (I need this by this Friday).

So, in the grand tradition of the real meaning of Christmas, I am now looking at picking up EQ2 but am a little concerned about the system requirements I have heard people discussing (not the official ones which are always suspect).

I have played both Doom 3 and Farcry on my present computer and have no complaints about graphics or framerates, but I have heard mixed things about running EQ2 on a system like mine.

I am no graphics hound or speedfreak, but I don't want a slideshow or a barren wasteland because I have the settings set to low. I'm looking for 25 - 30 frames per second (some dips are acceptable) with a medium to medium-low graphics setting.

Is this possible with my current system?

Thanks,

 

[Dust and Ashes]

Athlon T-Bird 1.0 GHz
544 MB SDRAM
64 MB Radeon 9000 (4x AGP)
XP Pro (SP2) DX 9.0c

I don't know about the final product but I figure it's better than the beta and I am basing on the beta. I had details turned down but not on low and it still looked decent and was quite playable but then, I, like you am not a speed freak or graphics hoe.

I would, however love to see the game on a really high end system with all the bells and whistles turned on.

 

[Touring3D]

Do yourself a favor. Go back to the store and take back EQ2. Then wait for WoW to come in, and buy it. It's LEAGUES better than EQ2.

BTW, I saw about 12 copies at the Best Buy in Shreveport today.

 

[Dust and Ashes]

Do yourself a favor. Go back to the store and take back EQ2. Then wait for WoW to come in, and buy it. It's LEAGUES better than EQ2.

BTW, I saw about 12 copies at the Best Buy in Shreveport today.

This is very sound advice! I'm totally hooked on WoW and my little dorf hunter just keeps getting better and better. I love mah dawg! The transportation's pretty cool too.

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[Mongoose]

Heheh, you really must like big chat boxes Forgiven. I couldn't do that, though, because I have the Cosmos UI, so I like to keep my chat boxes small.

 

[Psalms34]

Wow! WoW really does look cartoonish but what really counts is game play of course. EQ2 looks more realistic to me, but realism is not at the top of everyones list I'm sure. Heh I say don't get too wraped up in WoW or EQ2, Middle-earth Online will be live next year Looks great so far, but now it comes down to game play as with any other mmorpg. Nice pics of WoW there though.

Sure, chances are EQ2 will run fine on your computer. I don't mind not being able to max the settings if the game has more than bells and whistles.

 

[Dust and Ashes]

Wow! WoW really does look cartoonish but what really counts is game play of course. EQ2 looks more realistic to me, but realism is not at the top of everyones list I'm sure. Heh I say don't get too wraped up in WoW or EQ2, Middle-earth Online will be live next year Looks great so far, but now it comes down to game play as with any other mmorpg. Nice pics of WoW there though.

Sure, chances are EQ2 will run fine on your computer. I don't mind not being able to max the settings if the game has more than bells and whistles.

Actually, I believe the cartoonish graphics, in keeping with the Warcraft universe, is what makes WoW more playable on relatively lower end PCs. I never have been much of a graphics hoe, so it's not the first thing I look at.

I think the steep system requirements is the main reason I didn't even consider EQ2. If I'd had a more beefy PC, I'd have certainly given it a try but figured there was no point with the current setup. For that matter, I'd like to see WoW on a higher end PC to see what kind of difference it makes.

I can't wait to see MEO, though I'm almost certain my PC will just laugh if I mention trying to run it. Already, Doom 3 and HL2 aren't really playable to me, so only time will tell.

 

[Psalms34]

Actually, I believe the cartoonish graphics, in keeping with the Warcraft universe, is what makes WoW more playable on relatively lower end PCs. I never have been much of a graphics hoe, so it's not the first thing I look at.

I think the steep system requirements is the main reason I didn't even consider EQ2. If I'd had a more beefy PC, I'd have certainly given it a try but figured there was no point with the current setup. For that matter, I'd like to see WoW on a higher end PC to see what kind of difference it makes.

I can't wait to see MEO, though I'm almost certain my PC will just laugh if I mention trying to run it. Already, Doom 3 and HL2 aren't really playable to me, so only time will tell.

Well, they say they are going to try to make MEO run fine on low-end PC's but who knows what will happen. If release is six months away I should have no worries as far as having a system fast enough to run it.

I had to run EQ waaay shallow on my 1.2ghz once PoP was released. SWG was even worse. Yeah this is one reason I haven't bothered with EQ2. Still though, it should run.

Well yeah, CoH is cartoonish as well, runs great on low-end PC's. It's just the way WoW looks, I mean Morrowind does not look cartoonish to me but it runs great on slow systems. Realism need not high polygon count all the time. Color and texture play a big part in the end result.

 

[zoziw]

Good news for those strongly advocating WoW, I stopped by the store again tonight and they had a new shipment in, so I picked it up.

Can't play until my grandma "gives" it to me next week but I am looking forward to it.

Thanks for the comments!!

 

[Touring3D]

Wow! WoW really does look cartoonish but what really counts is game play of course. EQ2 looks more realistic to me, but realism is not at the top of everyones list I'm sure.

No, it's not. Especially when my character is casting a fireball at some creature.



forgivensinner001,

Cool. I have a Dwarf Hunter as well.

I also have a Human Paladin though.

 

[Dust and Ashes]

forgivensinner001,

Cool. I have a Dwarf Hunter as well.

I also have a Human Paladin though.

LOL Same here. Dwarf Hunter is main and I just started a Human Paladin as a tank. I'm also tinkering (pun intended) around with a gnome warlock, althought I'll probably stick with my orc warlock on Cenarian Circle as my Horde main. I just need to get a group to help me get the tablet from the cave so I can get my Voidwalker pet. Sweet game.

 

[Psalms34]

No, it's not. Especially when my character is casting a fireball at some creature.

So those screen shots dont look a bit cartoonish to you? Well sure, effects even looked great in EQ, that's not hard to do. I'm just looking at the textures and colors of the chars and they almost seem to look cut out and very flat. The wolf model looks like it could almost spin on a top instead of making graceful turns. Not that it does, just that it looks very 2 dimensional. Now compare the shots with this and see the difference. There are shadows and model detail. And the environment looks very well done. MEO

 

[Dust and Ashes]

So those screen shots dont look a bit cartoonish to you? Well sure, effects even looked great in EQ, that's not hard to do. I'm just looking at the textures and colors of the chars and they almost seem to look cut out and very flat. The wolf model looks like it could almost spin on a top instead of making graceful turns. Not that it does, just that it looks very 2 dimensional. Now compare the shots with this and see the difference. There are shadows and model detail. And the environment looks very well done. MEO

No doubt. And if I had a few hundred dollars to build a new PC, I'd be playing EQ2 as well as WoW. That was the key issue for me. It was playable on my box but only with everything turned down to the point that it looked nothing like this screen.

I've never been one to give in to fanboyism so I'm not going to start arguing about realism vs cartoonish vs this vs that. I played both in beta and WoW appealed more to me than EQ2. It's that simple. WoW's graphics work for it because they are true to WCIII's style and more importantly they look good and run like silk on my old box.

That said, would you mind starting a new thread about EQ2 and posting some more screens from fights, groups, etc? I'd like to see more and hear about some adventures or misadventures as I'll most certainly be trying EQ2 when I build my new computer some time in the (hopefully near) future.

Oops, just noticed that was from MEO. Any more screens from it?

 

[Psalms34]

No doubt. And if I had a few hundred dollars to build a new PC, I'd be playing EQ2 as well as WoW. That was the key issue for me. It was playable on my box but only with everything turned down to the point that it looked nothing like this screen.

I've never been one to give in to fanboyism so I'm not going to start arguing about realism vs cartoonish vs this vs that. I played both in beta and WoW appealed more to me than EQ2. It's that simple. WoW's graphics work for it because they are true to WCIII's style and more importantly they look good and run like silk on my old box.

That said, would you mind starting a new thread about EQ2 and posting some more screens from fights, groups, etc? I'd like to see more and hear about some adventures or misadventures as I'll most certainly be trying EQ2 when I build my new computer some time in the (hopefully near) future.

Oops, just noticed that was from MEO. Any more screens from it?

Well yeah, that's what I mean. It's Warcraft Classic Cartoonish (style). I know some like the look of Warcraft and how colors and such are used. I'm not just arguing what the better rendering engine is, just the use of it. I find City of Heroes about the same but maybe not so extreme. It has that Cartoonish style that tries to relate to comic strips or super hero cartoons. Anyhoot...

Yeah that's a neat MEO screen shot. Wish it was taken by me lol. They have maybe 20 at the MEO website. No, my system can't render like that, but I'm going to build a new system just for MEO's release. It would be nice to have it on my puter right now so I can tell you guys that WoW and EQ2 are both worthless, but I'm at a disadvantage until then heh. I'd like to start an EQ2 account, but will I trash it once MEO is released...?

 

[Dust and Ashes]

Looking at that MEO screen, I can't imagine being able to play it on a low end machine w/o it looking bad. But then I'm starting to wonder about the future of MMORPGs altogether, at least as far as I'm concerned.

I'm already starting to lose interest in WoW and have pretty much come to the conclusion that all of them, including EQ2 and MEO are nothing but the same game with different classes, quests and graphics. It's all pretty much: create a character, level said character so you can get better gear/skills/spells so you can fight bigger/stronger mobs so you can get more levels, so you can get better gear/skills/spells, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc.......... Oh sure this new game lets you do THIS or golly, this game is going to have THAT but they are all basically the same.

I think my MMORPG days are numbered. I've tried all of the better ones and nothing can really hold my interest for more than a couple of weeks anymore. Once the novelty of the Warcraft universe wore off, it was just another MMORPG. Just like once the novelty of Norrath +500 years or Middle Earth wears off, it would be just another MMORPG. I guess Solomon was right. There truely IS nothing new under the sun.

Which really bums me out because I have some extremely fond memories of fighting my way into some nasty places with friends or killing some major mob and completing some grand quest or the first time I soloed this certain camp, etc. but anymore it's just like a treadmill.

 

[Psalms34]

Well yeah, most of the mmorpg's get repetitive after a time. I've played quite a few for only a few months and then tossed them on the shelf. Still though I like them allot. Before MMO games came around I would easily spend big bucks every month buying new games. Now I'm happy spending $15 - $25 a month on MMORPG subscriptions. I hardly ever buy the regular games anymore.

I stuck with UO for six years and EQ for three. I like to do community type of gaming in large groups (guilds) so that adds allot of playability to the game. Beyond that, if I just soloed much of the game, I'd loose interest very quickly. I think I had the most fun with UO from all the games I've played because you can think out of the box. There are allot of group events that you can create to make the game more fun.

I'd still be playing those games but the main reason I put them away was I really got tired of the use of magic in the games. It just don't always set right with me. One of the leading reasons I'm looking forward to MEO is because its set in a medieval environment and the use of magic is very limited. We just aint going to see wizards running around popping off fire ball spells all over the place. Sounds good to me.

Well anyway, these games have come a long way over the years. There once was a time (and some still do to a degree) that you had to pay by the hour to play text based mmorpg's (MUD's). Really that wasn't that long ago so it's not so bad in comparison. I figure that in some years to come, these games will be even more immersive. I really dig all the work that goes into these games from the server side and all the programming. It won't be too long now until most anyone can get their hands on a graphical mmorpg package, put it on their server and make their own game just like we do with MUD's now.

 

[Dust and Ashes]

Well anyway, these games have come a long way over the years. There once was a time (and some still do to a degree) that you had to pay by the hour to play text based mmorpg's (MUD's). Really that wasn't that long ago so it's not so bad in comparison. I figure that in some years to come, these games will be even more immersive. I really dig all the work that goes into these games from the server side and all the programming. It won't be too long now until most anyone can get their hands on a graphical mmorpg package, put it on their server and make their own game just like we do with MUD's now.

Yeah, a lot of people have EQ and DAoC servers set up like that.

 

[Psalms34]

Yeah, a lot of people have EQ and DAoC servers set up like that.

Oh yeah, I tried out the EQ server last year. Those are emulators though. I'm talking about projects like Crystal Space just to name one. It's an open source project that you can completely bend to your will heh. It's still in beta but the past year that I've followed it, it is looking great. There are already 30 or so MMORPG projects being developed from the CS tool, and CS is still only in beta. I ran the server on my computer early this year and it ran great. At this point it takes allot of development to make your own MMO from it, but in due time things will be more complete. There are a number of open source mmorpg creation tools/engines being developed. This is a good thing because the engine is by far the hardest thing to program.