Please don't hate me, but I am going to say something that will likely not be accepted very well by MANY.
Disclaimer: I am not hating on pantheon, nor do I "hate" anything I have seen thus far... that being said.
Am I the only one that is finding some of the shared screen shots from the game, a bit.... boring? bland, not sure which verb to use here.
Trees, trees, tress, gray, gray, gray, brown, brown, brown, (& grass).... hints of redish brown-gray in wild's end.
Am I going to need 2 graphics cards? One to render the 100,000 Trees, and then one for everything else?
Every single structure I have seen so far. Brown, rickedy wood stairs or Old gray Ruins. Is no one who lives in these lands building anything anymore?
I get grim dark is grim dark, but geez, does Everything have to be old, dilapidated gray and brown?
Are there NO other building materials found in the entire pantheon world that isn't brown Wood planks and Old Gray stone?
Can we not get creative with landscapes instead of obscuring everything behind a 10,000 trees?
Are we going to see any Pristine buildings/structures untouched over the ages because some arcane magic has protected them for centuries? Ornate tapestries etc. that still look new?
Neriak was prety amazing looking because of the arcane symbols etched into the buildings, the skulls with glowing eyes on the walls, the portcullis openings, the magic made the area seem alive.
Commonlands (east commons and west commons back in the day) had some trees, and rolling hills, but also had buildings made of clay with red clay or ceramic tiled roofs, with merchants and guards, and a pathway carved clearly down the middle of both zones.
Some buildings in EQ1 and 2 were trimmed with elaborate Gold designs and other precious metals. (kaladim)
Kith Forest had full blown log cabins even though the undead plagued the land.
The structures I have scene so far is SO bare minimum. planks and rope.
The picture of the Orc Brigand and Orc bruser, what are they guarding? a wall of twigs? a patch of grass and trees? I see nothing that gives them a reason to WANT to guard that area.
There is almost Nothing there. The Orc WARLORD is guarding a structure of 4 skinny posts with a grass roof? Why?
I get the Orcs are stupid, but are they that stupid?
Dark elves appeared to be guarding trees at the entrance to Mistmoore, but then after going thru that scary tunnel, you found a graveyard with iron gates and a Tomb, then there was a pristine, evil filled castle at the top: a reason to be there.
Please don't take this as all negative. I don't mean it as bashing the game or the Art direction. I am just wondering if this is just a limitation of the Unity engine.
I will be playing the game no matter what. I am supporting the game every single month with cash. I am going to pledge More money multiple times before it comes out.
Obviously, I want to play the game, or pantheon wouldn't be getting my money every month.
Can we see something that isn't a bland plank building with minor stonework here and there. and Not that starting "city" gray stairs that was at the beginning of the twitch video)
What do others in these forums think of the graphics? ( I do understand and know that game polish hasn't been applied yet. )
I am sure all of this ( appearance of buildings ) will appear in other zones or even in another part of that same zone What VR has been showing us has only been just a small bit of one zone, which is fine being they have a lot of things going on at the moment. Just thinking of EQ and Vangauard gives you a pretty good idea of what you will be seeing here and even more spectacular sights im sure :) I do agree with you about the purpose of guards and other pathers. The purpose of the camp itself.
Considering like 95% of what we've seen has mostly been from one zone (Avendyr's Pass), it shouldn't come as a surprise that its had a common theme. Thats like looking at nothing but screenshots and videos of Oasis of Marr and concluding that all of Everquest was comprised of nothing but desert and huts.
With Terminus being a world inhabited by displaced peoples from other worlds, all with their own architecture (and probably unique resources), we will probably see very diverse environments and structures by the time its all said and done.
Dullahan said:Considering like 95% of what we've seen has mostly been from one zone (Avendyr's Pass), it shouldn't come as a surprise that its had a common theme. Thats like looking at nothing but screenshots and videos of Oasis of Marr and concluding that all of Everquest was comprised of nothing but desert and huts.
With Terminus being a world inhabited by displaced peoples from other worlds, all with their own architecture (and probably unique resources), we will probably see very diverse environments and structures by the time its all said and done.
lol true, osasis did have some Nice merchant huts that were clean and sturdy though ;p
the gypsies had some nice carts parked out there.
even the evil liches had a large moss covered, well constucted building in the water hole.
the evil skellies and zombies had some nice ruins. ( a reason to be bound there throughout the years )
The docks were in good shape, and looked solid enough to hold more than a fisherman before collapsing.
I'm just joking, but you get what I mean. At least there wasn't 100,000 trees everywhere.
Sometimes all you need a simple glowing opening in a rocky desert wall. befallen. nothing was hiding it, but I knew I had to go in it. I died within 3 minutes of course lol
To Dullahan's point, simply because of the backstory with Terminus being a amalgamation of many worlds, and the mana climates, etc., there' are a ton of oppurtunities for their to be other-worldly almost alien visuals. And they've mentioned regions that might have dramatic environmental varirables including things like gravity having a lesser or greater effect.... Imagine the visuals in a region where there's light gravity, or potentially even zero gravity, as just one example of how much less "bland" things might get :)
I am sure it must be time consuming to pick just the right color for buildings and such and do it correctly. What I have seen does seem just a bit bland colorwise so far. Even some faded color on the very old structures would be nice. I think/hope a bit of color here and there will be added after the basics are taken care of.
Further along in the process, maybe Hire a professional decorator for a couple weeks to go over certain special building interiors.
I think Orcs are not too concerned about such things but maybe a stockade the color of blood or something intimidating like that.
Corals , under focused lighting. The thing that makes corals *pop* with color in salt water fish tanks is the lighting. Under the broad spectrum of the sun through water they are colorful- but narrow down the spectrum in lighting over a tank- and you get the brilliance. That brilliance is the coral doing what it does naturally in generating its own sunscreen.
Reference was made to the old neriak and the neon lighting- Maybe the dark myr place can be rife with coral with appropriate lighting? Heck I would pay for a dev to take a trip to a local fish store and look around (heh, because it would be cheap and paobably something I could spring for- Uber/cab ride-n-all+lunch and snack on the way back.)
Pretty, varietal and strange colorful fish, brilliant building material (LPS, SPS, Zoa's) and permeating it all....evil.
Medjai -
I can't respond to every bit of what you've asked, but I can provide some context for what (I believe) you are seeing.
First, the bulk of footage, images, etc of what we've chosen to show is of Avendyr's Pass. It's where we've spent a good amount of our time developing our world creation pipeline, some asset creation, terrain passes, etc. In a sense, it's "the first of many", and what we've released or captured footage of has been heavily concentrated in and around that zone. The Pass may be one of the more "traditional" areas of the continent, but it is by no means representative of the whole. You'll have to trust me on that. This is a high fantasy game. It will have a high fantasy world.
Second, what you are describing as "dilapidated, overgrown, bland, rickety" is the lore-accurate state of this sliver of the world. It's what we were aiming for in the Pass. What you’re looking at is an area that used to be a prominent portion of Thronefast's dominion, at least symbolically. Guarded with reverence, stewarded over with an eye for the historical moment that took place in an otherwise nondescript piece of land. But now Thronefast's eye is toward the sea. Trade, exploration, etc. That's where their wealth is, that's where their heart is. So their collective concern has increasingly withdrawn from the Pass over the last 50-100 years, and the management of the land has suffered in kind. It has decayed, in small doses, with every reduction of manpower, every cut of resources. So the Pass is in the midst of reclamation by the wilderness, infested with bandits, smugglers and worse. It has been allowed to run wild again. Groups like the Black Daggers from the newsletter have gone from resisting the crown's authority to outright contesting it, at least within this sphere of influence. In short, the Pass and its people are in rough shape. And you've borne witness to that, perhaps better than you've realized ;)
Third, the "tapestries, flags, gold" and the like are absolutely coming in time. However, for us to spend time on polish right now would be a misallocation of our resources. Instead of Monty spending time on flag creation, texture selection, iconography, color palette, location, etc (all headed or proofed by Lore as well), so we can achieve a finish-grade "effect", he's spending time on creating the actual assets. It would be like asking him to create a nice set of scarves when what we actually need is character models. We need his creative energy in PoIs, zone terrains, etc. We don't need brass fittings and flag posts yet, while we're still in the throes of zone development. We can’t test a flag and have it tell us “yeah, your spell family for the Wizard class has the perfect progression curve,” or “that copper roof is proof that the level design of the Silent Sanctum is fun and challenging.” Not that your question was unnecessary, because those details (which the Creative Team has a genuine appetite for) absolutely sell the finished product. Something like a banner or flag is critical to authenticate the world. Makes it feel lived in, inhabited by real creatures and factions. We don't have those details painted in yet, in most places, because that's not the wisest use of our resources. It’s a developmental strategy that we’ve chosen for good reason, even if it leaves us a bit naked when your eye is scrutinizing for those details.
We also believe in authenticity in world creation. So if a hut looks like it was built with the trees in the woods next to it -- that's good to us. Because the people in a realistic, living world would do that. Same with the stone in the foundation of a castle. It has to come from a nearby resource -- within reason. Obviously much of the ancient world shipped resources great distances to give their building projects nuance or a unique strength, and we will have that represented. But there's also the majority of a given population who need to use what nature gave them, and again, the population of Avendyr’s Pass are precisely those people. Gripped in a state of divided loyalties, poor sitting alongside great wealth. Neglected -- to a point -- by their own civilization.
Like I said, I cannot answer all of your questions, but I hope to speak to the nature of them. They were fair questions, and I thank you for bringing them to us. You’ve also highlighted one more thing I want to confess: there’s a risk of even semi-open development because of reasons like this. Every time we give you what we want to give you (a window into development) we put that very development at risk of being held to a “finished” standard, when it isn’t meant to be assessed that way. For every Medjai who asks about this with sincerity, there are ten who don’t and assume our game will look dated, or unfinished -- but never say anything. It’s not a burden, but it’s a consideration for us at all times when it comes to public releases, streams, etc. Because to strive to make things LOOK AMAZING is often a shortcut to actually making them amazing.
I’ve said enough. Thanks, friends.
Istuulamae said:
Medjai -
I can't respond to every bit of what you've asked, but I can provide some context for what (I believe) you are seeing.
First, the bulk of footage, images, etc of what we've chosen to show is of Avendyr's Pass. It's where we've spent a good amount of our time developing our world creation pipeline, some asset creation, terrain passes, etc. In a sense, it's "the first of many", and what we've released or captured footage of has been heavily concentrated in and around that zone. The Pass may be one of the more "traditional" areas of the continent, but it is by no means representative of the whole. You'll have to trust me on that. This is a high fantasy game. It will have a high fantasy world.
Second, what you are describing as "dilapidated, overgrown, bland, rickety" is the lore-accurate state of this sliver of the world. It's what we were aiming for in the Pass. What you’re looking at is an area that used to be a prominent portion of Thronefast's dominion, at least symbolically. Guarded with reverence, stewarded over with an eye for the historical moment that took place in an otherwise nondescript piece of land. But now Thronefast's eye is toward the sea. Trade, exploration, etc. That's where their wealth is, that's where their heart is. So their collective concern has increasingly withdrawn from the Pass over the last 50-100 years, and the management of the land has suffered in kind. It has decayed, in small doses, with every reduction of manpower, every cut of resources. So the Pass is in the midst of reclamation by the wilderness, infested with bandits, smugglers and worse. It has been allowed to run wild again. Groups like the Black Daggers from the newsletter have gone from resisting the crown's authority to outright contesting it, at least within this sphere of influence. In short, the Pass and its people are in rough shape. And you've borne witness to that, perhaps better than you've realized ;)
Third, the "tapestries, flags, gold" and the like are absolutely coming in time. However, for us to spend time on polish right now would be a misallocation of our resources. Instead of Monty spending time on flag creation, texture selection, iconography, color palette, location, etc (all headed or proofed by Lore as well), so we can achieve a finish-grade "effect", he's spending time on creating the actual assets. It would be like asking him to create a nice set of scarves when what we actually need is character models. We need his creative energy in PoIs, zone terrains, etc. We don't need brass fittings and flag posts yet, while we're still in the throes of zone development. We can’t test a flag and have it tell us “yeah, your spell family for the Wizard class has the perfect progression curve,” or “that copper roof is proof that the level design of the Silent Sanctum is fun and challenging.” Not that your question was unnecessary, because those details (which the Creative Team has a genuine appetite for) absolutely sell the finished product. Something like a banner or flag is critical to authenticate the world. Makes it feel lived in, inhabited by real creatures and factions. We don't have those details painted in yet, in most places, because that's not the wisest use of our resources. It’s a developmental strategy that we’ve chosen for good reason, even if it leaves us a bit naked when your eye is scrutinizing for those details.
We also believe in authenticity in world creation. So if a hut looks like it was built with the trees in the woods next to it -- that's good to us. Because the people in a realistic, living world would do that. Same with the stone in the foundation of a castle. It has to come from a nearby resource -- within reason. Obviously much of the ancient world shipped resources great distances to give their building projects nuance or a unique strength, and we will have that represented. But there's also the majority of a given population who need to use what nature gave them, and again, the population of Avendyr’s Pass are precisely those people. Gripped in a state of divided loyalties, poor sitting alongside great wealth. Neglected -- to a point -- by their own civilization.
Like I said, I cannot answer all of your questions, but I hope to speak to the nature of them. They were fair questions, and I thank you for bringing them to us. You’ve also highlighted one more thing I want to confess: there’s a risk of even semi-open development because of reasons like this. Every time we give you what we want to give you (a window into development) we put that very development at risk of being held to a “finished” standard, when it isn’t meant to be assessed that way. For every Medjai who asks about this with sincerity, there are ten who don’t and assume our game will look dated, or unfinished -- but never say anything. It’s not a burden, but it’s a consideration for us at all times when it comes to public releases, streams, etc. Because to strive to make things LOOK AMAZING is often a shortcut to actually making them amazing.
I’ve said enough. Thanks, friends.
Istuumalae,
I want to thank you for your response and beg that your guys don't take it 'the way it reads'. (read: all negative)
I honestly did not know the Lore for the area and after reading your post makes the area being heavily wooded and very poor fit a lot better.
That's why I love you guys being SO open. I get that it's a double edged sword and one of those damned if you do, damned if you don't things.
I am NOT a good writer. I have a hard time expressing things in text that doesn't come off as being a dill hole. I really am a nice person and super stoked about Pantheon.
I have been following this game for soooooo long. I am just trying to ask questions and give feedback even if it isn't always positive.
Maybe someone who is just learning of the game will read what you wrote and become more excited about the game. I think Dev posts should stand out more.
I share this game on facebook, G+, twitter and every other form of social media I can find. I want people to learn about Pantheon and be in on this early developement process.
I want everyone to share ideas and ask hard questions. You guys never back down, you are always honest and open which just makes this game all the better.
KIlsin is amazing. He ineracts with all of us ALL the time. He handles negative comments just as well as he handles the positive and humorous comments.
Kilsin might be more excited about this game than Brad himself lol. He's a trooper and awesome, I appreciate everything he says and shares. Such a great person.
My appreciation for the everyone making this game is deep and sincere. I started following this game the minute I heard Brad was involved. He is my hero :p
Going back to my original post. Thank you again. I have NO concept how a game is made. I honestly know nothing what-so-ever about game making.
That's why I ask dumb crap. I just noticed that everything was a forest, overgrown with millions of trees, and everything looked like it was made out of scrap wood.
Now, I know why. So even if my post wasn't received well, or taken as being an ass, I got the best answer possible. You really helped me understand the area and why. For that, I am happy.
Cheers.
Correct me if I am wrong here. This game is in Pre-Alpha. I find it very hard to understand why people think this should be in a polished state at this time. Not being harsh on the OP but that sort of thing will come in time.
Also on this part
Trees, trees, tress, gray, gray, gray, brown, brown, brown, (& grass).... hints of redish brown-gray in wild's end.
Am I going to need 2 graphics cards? One to render the 100,000 Trees, and then one for everything else?
What type of graphics card do you have exactly? Just curious.
I think Istuulamae covered most of this. The expectation level needs to be kept in check sometimes. Optimization is not where near in sight yet and there are tons environment introductions that have to be made. Patience is the best thing here.
It was a fair question though. Devs have answered.
Ox
Medjai said:Istuulamae said:
Medjai -
I can't respond to every bit of what you've asked, but I can provide some context for what (I believe) you are seeing.
First, the bulk of footage, images, etc of what we've chosen to show is of Avendyr's Pass. It's where we've spent a good amount of our time developing our world creation pipeline, some asset creation, terrain passes, etc. In a sense, it's "the first of many", and what we've released or captured footage of has been heavily concentrated in and around that zone. The Pass may be one of the more "traditional" areas of the continent, but it is by no means representative of the whole. You'll have to trust me on that. This is a high fantasy game. It will have a high fantasy world.
Second, what you are describing as "dilapidated, overgrown, bland, rickety" is the lore-accurate state of this sliver of the world. It's what we were aiming for in the Pass. What you’re looking at is an area that used to be a prominent portion of Thronefast's dominion, at least symbolically. Guarded with reverence, stewarded over with an eye for the historical moment that took place in an otherwise nondescript piece of land. But now Thronefast's eye is toward the sea. Trade, exploration, etc. That's where their wealth is, that's where their heart is. So their collective concern has increasingly withdrawn from the Pass over the last 50-100 years, and the management of the land has suffered in kind. It has decayed, in small doses, with every reduction of manpower, every cut of resources. So the Pass is in the midst of reclamation by the wilderness, infested with bandits, smugglers and worse. It has been allowed to run wild again. Groups like the Black Daggers from the newsletter have gone from resisting the crown's authority to outright contesting it, at least within this sphere of influence. In short, the Pass and its people are in rough shape. And you've borne witness to that, perhaps better than you've realized ;)
Third, the "tapestries, flags, gold" and the like are absolutely coming in time. However, for us to spend time on polish right now would be a misallocation of our resources. Instead of Monty spending time on flag creation, texture selection, iconography, color palette, location, etc (all headed or proofed by Lore as well), so we can achieve a finish-grade "effect", he's spending time on creating the actual assets. It would be like asking him to create a nice set of scarves when what we actually need is character models. We need his creative energy in PoIs, zone terrains, etc. We don't need brass fittings and flag posts yet, while we're still in the throes of zone development. We can’t test a flag and have it tell us “yeah, your spell family for the Wizard class has the perfect progression curve,” or “that copper roof is proof that the level design of the Silent Sanctum is fun and challenging.” Not that your question was unnecessary, because those details (which the Creative Team has a genuine appetite for) absolutely sell the finished product. Something like a banner or flag is critical to authenticate the world. Makes it feel lived in, inhabited by real creatures and factions. We don't have those details painted in yet, in most places, because that's not the wisest use of our resources. It’s a developmental strategy that we’ve chosen for good reason, even if it leaves us a bit naked when your eye is scrutinizing for those details.
We also believe in authenticity in world creation. So if a hut looks like it was built with the trees in the woods next to it -- that's good to us. Because the people in a realistic, living world would do that. Same with the stone in the foundation of a castle. It has to come from a nearby resource -- within reason. Obviously much of the ancient world shipped resources great distances to give their building projects nuance or a unique strength, and we will have that represented. But there's also the majority of a given population who need to use what nature gave them, and again, the population of Avendyr’s Pass are precisely those people. Gripped in a state of divided loyalties, poor sitting alongside great wealth. Neglected -- to a point -- by their own civilization.
Like I said, I cannot answer all of your questions, but I hope to speak to the nature of them. They were fair questions, and I thank you for bringing them to us. You’ve also highlighted one more thing I want to confess: there’s a risk of even semi-open development because of reasons like this. Every time we give you what we want to give you (a window into development) we put that very development at risk of being held to a “finished” standard, when it isn’t meant to be assessed that way. For every Medjai who asks about this with sincerity, there are ten who don’t and assume our game will look dated, or unfinished -- but never say anything. It’s not a burden, but it’s a consideration for us at all times when it comes to public releases, streams, etc. Because to strive to make things LOOK AMAZING is often a shortcut to actually making them amazing.
I’ve said enough. Thanks, friends.Istuumalae,
I want to thank you for your response and beg that your guys don't take it 'the way it reads'. (read: all negative)
I honestly did not know the Lore for the area and after reading your post makes the area being heavily wooded and very poor fit a lot better.
That's why I love you guys being SO open. I get that it's a double edged sword and one of those damned if you do, damned if you don't things.
I am NOT a good writer. I have a hard time expressing things in text that doesn't come off as being a dill hole. I really am a nice person and super stoked about Pantheon.
I have been following this game for soooooo long. I am just trying to ask questions and give feedback even if it isn't always positive.
Maybe someone who is just learning of the game will read what you wrote and become more excited about the game. I think Dev posts should stand out more.
I share this game on facebook, G+, twitter and every other form of social media I can find. I want people to learn about Pantheon and be in on this early developement process.
I want everyone to share ideas and ask hard questions. You guys never back down, you are always honest and open which just makes this game all the better.
KIlsin is amazing. He ineracts with all of us ALL the time. He handles negative comments just as well as he handles the positive and humorous comments.
Kilsin might be more excited about this game than Brad himself lol. He's a trooper and awesome, I appreciate everything he says and shares. Such a great person.
My appreciation for the everyone making this game is deep and sincere. I started following this game the minute I heard Brad was involved. He is my hero :p
Going back to my original post. Thank you again. I have NO concept how a game is made. I honestly know nothing what-so-ever about game making.
That's why I ask dumb crap. I just noticed that everything was a forest, overgrown with millions of trees, and everything looked like it was made out of scrap wood.
Now, I know why. So even if my post wasn't received well, or taken as being an ass, I got the best answer possible. You really helped me understand the area and why. For that, I am happy.
Cheers.
Medjai -
Only thing you've said that I take issue with is some of ways you've criticized yourself. It's clear to me that you're very passionate about our world, and you had some questions regarding it. They weren't negative, they weren't phrased poorly. You're a fine writer, and I understood what you were saying. Nobody improves their writing by not doing it, so keep it up. Kilsin started off as a passionate board member. He spoke plainly about things that concerned him. Now he's the community hero :)
None of you are less important as people than us. None of you need to disparage yourselves for expressing thoughtful opinions. I modded a board for years, and it looked like a troll Hall of Fame compared to you fine folks. So don't beat yourselves up for asking a few questions.
Later, all.
Oxillion said:Correct me if I am wrong here. This game is in Pre-Alpha. I find it very hard to understand why people think this should be in a polished state at this time. Not being harsh on the OP but that sort of thing will come in time.
Also on this part
Trees, trees, tress, gray, gray, gray, brown, brown, brown, (& grass).... hints of redish brown-gray in wild's end.
Am I going to need 2 graphics cards? One to render the 100,000 Trees, and then one for everything else?
What type of graphics card do you have exactly? Just curious.
I think Istuulamae covered most of this. The expectation level needs to be kept in check sometimes. Optimization is not where near in sight yet and there are tons environment introductions that have to be made. Patience is the best thing here.
It was a fair question though. Devs have answered.
Ox
Hi Ox,
I understand this is Pre alpha and things aren't done. My post was more concerned with the type of art and it's simplicity, not so much Game polish.
The buildings were VERY basic, and I was wondering more if things were limited by Unity engine or if this was just the way the art was going to be.
And the tree thing, I was concerned that the whole world was going to be one giant forest with points of interest sticking out here and there.
I don't hate trees. Nor do I hug tress. I was really just asking about it because it was tree heaven. ;p
As far as graphics card, I currently have a 2016 27" 5k iMac with Skylake i7 4.0Ghz, 24GB ram, 512 Flash storage, and the AMD 395X 4GB graphics card.
I play at 2560x1440 most of the time because you can't game at 5K. everything is too small to see (text boxes, UI etc)
I have a windows partition and game on windows 10.
However. I will be building a pure gaming system before Pantheon goes live. I will have a nVidia 1080 or 1180, whichever is newest when I build.
And I won't build until Brad gives us a release date. Until then, my iMac plays everything flawlessly. (playing EQ1 and sometimes WoW and both of those will run on a 4 slice toaster.)
I will be running it on a 50 or 55" 4k display. I will buy 2 graphics card if needed and run SLI since I will need to run at 3840x2160 or 4096x2160.
If my games wont run at max resolution with graphics settings on Ultra (max eye candy) I need new/more stuff.
I work at Apple so I get a new maxed out iMac every year a new one hits since i get them a couple bucks cheaper than most people ;p
I know Brad said this game will run on macOS, but open GL sucks compared to DX so I will be running it on windows.
Pretty graphics will get new people to try the game, and pretty graphics keep us 'founders' excited to show off the game.. but graphics really arent important otherwise.
Example: Great games from 10 years ago are still great games. Like.. I just started playing my gamecube again and was grossed by the graphics at first impression. But once I got emersed by the gameplay the graphics fade away and I dont notice how poor the game looks.
tldr Dont let graphics ruin it for you
Defector said:Pretty graphics will get new people to try the game, and pretty graphics keep us 'founders' excited to show off the game.. but graphics really arent important otherwise.
Example: Great games from 10 years ago are still great games. Like.. I just started playing my gamecube again and was grossed by the graphics at first impression. But once I got emersed by the gameplay the graphics fade away and I dont notice how poor the game looks.
tldr Dont let graphics ruin it for you
I see what you are saying and agree the game should be fun, but if graphics didn't carry some importance I'd just go back to playing EQ.
Good graphics are important to creating a lively and immersive game world.
I just want to say that after seeing EverQuest and Vanguard:SOH I am not worried in the least when it comes to graphics and art direction with Pantheon. But the OP's points are legit for anyone who hasn't seen Brad McQuaid's previous work and has only seen the stuff shown for Pantheon thus far. Seeing a developer respond to the OPs concerns is awesome btw, love it.