KR/SA graphics

[Wolfways]

I've never liked 2D and left when 3D was scrapped. I've played lots of mmo's since then and none can compare to UO's gameplay and content.

So, hearing about KR i came back to try it.
Overall i think it looks better than 2D (not difficult) but it all seems...fuzzy...like it was drawn with a bigger crayon than 2D and then slightly blurred.
Anyway, i started building my new house and found that the tiles were kinda hard to see properly so i switched to 2D and built my house. Then when i switched back to KR it looks amazingly bad!...nothing like it is in 2D.

So my question is this. Is the KR client (the graphics) going to be used for SA as is?
If so i'm not sure i want to keep playing

 

[Old Man of UO]

I've never liked 2D and left when 3D was scrapped. I've played lots of mmo's since then and none can compare to UO's gameplay and content.

So, hearing about KR i came back to try it.
Overall i think it looks better than 2D (not difficult) but it all seems...fuzzy...like it was drawn with a bigger crayon than 2D and then slightly blurred.
Anyway, i started building my new house and found that the tiles were kinda hard to see properly so i switched to 2D and built my house. Then when i switched back to KR it looks amazingly bad!...nothing like it is in 2D.

So my question is this. Is the KR client (the graphics) going to be used for SA as is?
If so i'm not sure i want to keep playing

If you take the time to read the other threads you will see that while the 2D and KR clients will be updated, the 2D client will keep the old cartoon graphics. I prefer the new KR/SA graphics myself, especially with the shadows turned off. It runs so much faster than the 2D client ever did.

 

[Hildebrand]

I think he's asking as to what SA will ultimately look like. I'm a bit confused with that part too since I'm not in beta. Supposedly, it won't look exactly like current KR, since they are downgrading some tiles down to 2D quality. But they are keeping some graphics to KR's graphics. It's a combo of best of both clients. The UI will be like KR.

Hopefully they will fix the "fuzzy" aspect. To me, the fuzzy is because there's no distinct separation of objects. (like an EV blends with a tree and I can't "see" the outlines of the two).

I do hate how I can barely drop stuff on floor and how decorating a house in kR is impossible, but I'm used to it by now.

I hope SA comes out soon, but I don't mind waiting if they test the crap out of it first.

 

[Wolfways]

I have read a few threads but haven't seen anything about the final SA look. I just wanted to know if KR is it.
I do prefer KR over 2D but it is fuzzy.
Also house tiles are completely different shades on the clients.

Another thing, not sure if this is common knowledge, but i finished building my house and had a look at it in KR before commiting it and was told (and could see) that i couldn't commit because a whole section of roof wasn't supported.
So i switched back to 2D and it was fine, so i commited it and it was suddenly fine in both clients.

Oh yeah, and i hope they change swamp areas. It's like walking across mirrors!

 

[Tazar]

Considering that the SA Client went into open beta today, why not head over to UO.com, install it, and test it for yourself?

 

[Wolfways]

Thanks. Installing now

 

[Basara]

Here's what I see so far:

2D-style:
Houses (& content), landscape items, items, and the text input methods default to legacy.
Furthermore, they followed my suggestion from WAYYY back at the Columbus Town Hall (the Town hall about a week after KR went live) to use F1-F12 as the default macro hotbar keys instead of 1234567890-= like KR.

KR-style: The appearance of text, the GROUND ITSELF (yes, that means 2D trees on KR's base terrain - IMO an improvement over both), and mobiles (characters, creatures, etc. - not the KR art, but redrawn versions of it - usually for the better).
Containers are either grid or list (There was a "Legacy container" option that probably means freeform, but it is in the OPTIONS, not something to taggle the bag to). The items IN the container are 2D-style.
Runebooks look 2D style in your pack, but function as in KR.
Skill list is as KR, with the ability to set a custom skill list as in KR.

New: The new radar map (even gives names for the icons displayed, like the Fan Dancer's Dojo, if you mouse over).
You can now set macros to target a specific target, HOWEVER, the ability to set a spell to target self no longer exists as a target option, without setting up a macro for it.
The paperdoll box looks a bit nicer (the character will take getting used to, and I've not looked at any of my characters yet with dyed hair).
The pet bar looks nicer than KR's.
To me, it looks as if the interface was influenced by BB Enhanced, in general.
Pets look a more reasonable (smaller) size, though my ethy ostard looking like I should have squashed it flat by sitting on it.

Small issues:
Sometimes you see shadows or phantom embers/flames of stuff upstairs (most usually resolved by exiting and returning).
The client-side crash bug on someone lifting an item in a container (which crashes 2D and KR) also crashes SA.
The Dawn's Music Box works better now (at least working correctly for the 8 tracks I picked at random), but is missing its animation art, so that when you make it play, it vanishes until the animation run would normally stop.

Items still wanted:
The ability to bring up item tags by CRTL-Shift as in 2D
the ability to cycle through previously said text with CTRL-Q and CTRL-W, as in 2D.

 

[Serafi]

Here's what I see so far:
You can now set macros to target a specific target, HOWEVER, the ability to set a spell to target self no longer exists as a target option, without setting up a macro for it.

You can, you just need to disable Legacy targeting first.

 

[Magnus]

Sadly there will be no KR graphics;

[18:07] <Magnus> I'm just worried about the new client screenshots and the utter lack of KR art
[18:07] <Supreem> sorry magnus although a small percentage of our players liked the KR art... the majority of them rejected it
[18:07] <Magnus> Well, I was thinking it'd be in like the 2D art is in KR. A toggle
[18:08] <Supreem> maybe someday we can bring it back as an optional patch

I for one am very disappointed in this.

 

[DarkChronus]

Sadly there will be no KR graphics;

[18:07] <Magnus> I'm just worried about the new client screenshots and the utter lack of KR art
[18:07] <Supreem> sorry magnus although a small percentage of our players liked the KR art... the majority of them rejected it
[18:07] <Magnus> Well, I was thinking it'd be in like the 2D art is in KR. A toggle
[18:08] <Supreem> maybe someday we can bring it back as an optional patch

I for one am very disappointed in this.

That disappoints me as well, but maybe once the adoption rate for the new client is up they'll feel better about improving things like textures. I loved the KR textures for the most part, although I understand the whole "blurry" edge thing that people talked about. If you're used to the crisp edges on the old 2D textures, the lack of an outline on the KR stuff would look that way. If the changes play as well as they sound, I bet you'll see a lot more people using the client now than they did with KR.

(as a side note, who would I ask about my post count/account age for the boards?... my old account information never got merged with this account after the forum issues last year)

 

[JC the Builder]

The last thing want to do is maintain 2 different sets of art. The choice was either a carefully build and clean 2D set or spending an enormous amount of time/money/manpower trying to fix all the problems with the KR set.

 

[CroMag1980]

82%.. this better be worth it...

 

[Magnus]

The last thing want to do is maintain 2 different sets of art. The choice was either a carefully build and clean 2D set or spending an enormous amount of time/money/manpower trying to fix all the problems with the KR set.

I am not suggesting they go and make art for each 'set'. I'm saying is bring in the art thats already there and allow it to be used where it was. Its understandable that the art for SA and any future content will not be the KR art (unless it uses art already in).

Am I making sense?

 

[JC the Builder]

The problem is a lot of the art was just plain bad. For example countless items with circles in them had the wrong perspective (a circle instead of an oval). There is no point in using that unless they were going to clean it up. Plus they are not even sure if enough people would care if it were done. It 100 people liked the KR art style that isn't enough when there are thousands who despised it.

 

[Wolfways]

Here's what i've noticed so far...

My large forge is now half a forge, even if re-deeded then placed.
Water tiles are extremely dark.
Trees are 2D again. I preferred the KR ones.
Swamps are still blindingly bright (Haven't increased the default brightness).

Overall i think it's okay, the UI is definately better, but unfortunately i think UO will never reach the level of competitiveness with other games because so many players won't accept anything other than 2D, usually because they're playing on stone-age pc's

 

[CroMag1980]

I really like it, a lot. I now pvm and enjoy non-2d clients. What has happened to me. I better drink a lot of beer and get into a fight just to redress the balance.

 

[Magistry]

The void around malas hurts my eyes in the new client

 

[Beer_Cayse]

also:
Atlas has a flyout legend that can be handy to define icons you see.

Skills can toggle a transparent window thing like buffbar that tracks your gains/losses in them, so you can see at a glance what has occured to the character. Problem: not dockable so if you want this on, make sure it's off the main screen and in black border area (white text - possibly changeable).

Legacy container has a bug ATM that is being worked. If you use it, items in it (and I think bankbox) are not visible but can be hovered over and accessed. Pick an item up it will be visible, but disappears when placed back. <shrug>

 

[Calyndrell]

Shields and Chargers of the fallen.

Please tell me they hve improved the artwork for both of these for SA because in KR my charger of the fallen looked like I had just transplanted a Playmobile toy from my toddlers lego set into game.. and the perspective for the shields was..... ugly (on the paper doll)

 

[Bullseye_of_Atl]

MY only gripe is the icons in the backpacks and containers are too small......I uninstalled SA and reinstalled KR...........

Notice the tool menus?.....they're leftovers from the old 3D client..........I like the KR tool menus, the icons are bigger and the words are clearer to read.......

I did try the resizing process as mentioned in another thread, but....to have everything else on my system get smaller just to sharpen SA isn't worth it.