Posts tagged visuals 
Newest Ask Cryptic for Champions Online covers the flames of fashion
There are many components to making a great superhero game, but one of the key elements is ensuring that players can be astonishingly good-looking. So it's no surprise that the latest installment of Ask Cryptic sees several questions from Champions Online players about current, upcoming, and ...
The Daily Grind: What's the coolest ride you've had in an MMO?
One of the universal aspects of MMOs is the fact that you have to cover some distance. And not just a few feet in any given direction -- no matter how instanced, you'll be getting from one end of the map to the other on a regular basis. In some games, such as Guild Wars, this is accomplished with ...
MechWarrior Online to use the CryEngine
A game like MechWarrior Online positively screams for a good graphical engine. You want something that can show you every single scorch mark you leave on your enemy's chassis, after all. So if you're one of the many players looking forward to getting into the cockpit, you'll be happy to know that ...
The Daily Grind: What games go overboard with effects?
It's not that I don't love City of Heroes, don't get me wrong. And it's not that I don't love the flashy and unique animations that every powerset gets to show off. But when you get in a full group of people exploding with various powers, the whole screen turns into a sustained burst of white ...
The Daily Grind: Which environments tend to drain your interest?
The problem with fantasy settings is that the imagery is pretty well played out. You know there will be an area with a lot of trees, probably a desert, probably a set of rolling plains, and of course there will be caves. And the odds are good that at least one of those environments won't make you ...
Anarchy Online 'heads' into the future with new screenshots
Is Anarchy Online's visual makeover project picking up steam? Considering that Funcom's posted two batches of improved screenshots within a month, we think so! Today Brad "Kintaii" McAtee posted four new pictures of Anarchy Online's upgraded looks. Two are high-definition renders of the city ...
ASTA showing off its CryEngine3 visuals at Gamescom
If you were fortunate enough to attend this year's GDC, it's possible you caught a glimpse of ASTA, the new fantasy MMO from NHN. The title, formerly known as Project E:st, is powered by the CryEngine3 and boasts some of the more impressive visuals in the MMO space. Assuming you can make it to ...
The Daily Grind: What's your favorite use of heavily stylized graphics?
In the earliest days of gaming, games were by their very nature pretty much abstract in graphics. The Atari 2600 couldn't really handle photorealistic human faces, after all. But even though we're now in the era when realism is not that far off, many games still employ intentionally stylized ...
The Daily Grind: What aesthetic should we see more often?
Possibly showing our skewed priorities, most of the Massively staff launched into paroxysms of cooing at the unveiling of City of Heroes' Steampunk Pack. It's an aesthetic that's sadly underused within the MMO space -- we have a few hundred games that feature a vaguely European fantasy world but ...
The Daily Grind: Are graphical upgrades a waste of dev resources?
You all know the adage, so say it with me: gameplay > graphics. While most of us appreciate pretty pixels, high resolutions, and slickly mo-capped animations, many of us would also point out that these bells and whistles pale in comparison to fun game mechanics and the staying power of a ...
