Syncaine over at Hardcore Casual thinks EQ2 is “flat, boring and lifeless”, and as examples, puts up some rather poor EQ2 screenshots (which he got from the official site so you’d expect better, though I suspect he got at least one of them from a player-submitted shot). Sure enough, in comparison, EQ2 suffers.
Well, comparing Lord of the Rings Online’s graphics to those of EverQuest 2’s is legit… but at least use screenshots of similar quality. I went to the exact same spot of Syncaine’s screenshot in the satyr area of New Tunaria (and thanks to having to come there a hundred times for the Sword of Destiny quest, I knew where that was), and snapped this shot:
(Appearance armor: Actually, aside from the bandit mask, that’s the armor I wear…) I turned around and caught this nice scene looking the other way:
Boring, flat and lifeless? I don’t think so. Here’s another from near zone-in. Walking into New Tunaria – this is what you see.
(Appearance armor: Some dress I made. I wanted to dress kinda elfy or something so they wouldn’t catch on I wasn’t one of them hoighty-toighty high elves. They caught on to me right away – friggen bandit mask. But it’s soooo comfortable…)
So people say, yeah, Echoes of Faydwer looks great, but those old world zones – BLECH! Especially FREEPORT!
I dunno. I like the way Freeport looks. Here’s a shot I took in West Freeport while doing the Hallowe’en mask quest. This is Overlord Lucan D’Lere’s floating fortress, with the un-blowed-up moon Drinal high in the sky:
And this shot is of the Pit of Execution in front of the militia house. Jump in that smoky, dusty pit and find yourself out in the Commonlands. Well, I guess being sentenced to the Commonlands is like death… unless you’re an orc or an armadillo.
You can judge EQ2 many ways, but please, if you’re going to compare screenshots, make sure you at least try to get decent ones…
Oh yeah, before I end this, check out this screen shot. Undergrowth, trees, a little hobbit home in the background, smoke rising lazily from a chimney, ruins, monsters, it’s got it all.
THAT shot… is from Everquest 1. Misty Thicket. My old home town….