Conquest of the Horde

Well, I just wanted to make a thread about what Graphic settings made my RP the most realistic looking and what felt best.

- REALIZE THIS! For you to proporly adjust to the new settings, you must run this set yup for at least an hour to get a good feel for its RP value.

- The "Use Desktop Gamma" Button must be unchecked.

- Gamma all the way down.

- All nametags off ((except party members))

- Fullscreen glow off.

- Shadow detail all the way down.

- Specular lighting on.

- All settings besides the ones listed as far up as you feel comfortable with.

- You must remain in fullscreen. (( Not windowed ))

I've noticed that these settings dramatically improved RP for me. I now have use for items that cast light, I don't venture into places that are too dark, I don't just rush into areas that wouldn't normally make sense to just enter into like caves and alleyways. I find that other players are more difficult to spot at night, I have reason to RP indoors at night. I don't see the nametags, so if you hide well, I won't know you are there. All these settings allow the usage of in-game lighting and objects more realistic, thus making RP using object and lighting for logical IC reasons and hiding easier. Now, my point of this is so that maybe others could change there settings to somewhat match these. If many people were to do this, then it would greatly improve night RP.

Imagine if there was this cult gathering in the woods near Goldshire, plotting to burn it. With the game's default settings, a player in Goldshire could look out and see them clear as day, but if it's night time, that doesn't quite make sense. Now, if everyone in this situation were using these settings, the cult would pick a dark spot where little light lingered, hiding away from Goldshire's view. The player in Goldshire both cannot see the cult or their name tags, thus making him ignorant to their movements. ICly, this should happen anyways, but with these settings, it makes the player -honestly- oblivious to what is going on. Now, say that the cult was spotted. If both parties were using these settings, then ICly the cult would have actually been seen, and because the settings make night look like NIGHT, any arguement stating that ICly they wouldn't have been seen would be void. These settings also add a darker element to the game, making certain confrontations more surprising, ominous, and realistic. Players start to avoid really dark areas that just wouldn't make sense to RP in, stick to taverns and buildings, and not travel at night without someone else or a lights. I think that RPing with these settings adds an extra layer to the RP and allows players to make better use of the time of day and their environment for the sake of RP.

It can make your eyes strain a tad, but once they adjust, it makes a huge difference in the gameplay. Also, the light becomes more meaningful, making alot of locations more pleasing to the eye.

I urge everyone to try this out IG and then comment here. I have received VERY positive feedback so far, and I think it's important that you express your feelings about what you like about the settings, what has changed, what are some perks to RPing with these settings, and what you don't like. Thank you.

-Hayju

Takes a bit getting adjusted too, but the effects are pretty nice. I've always left the names off of players, but I never thought changing the gamma would help. Either ways, it looks nice and the visual scheme is a lot less exagerrated than before. It might not be for everybody, but it's worth a try.

I have yet to see the effect in a night setting, but I changed mine over a little while ago and I'm really beginning to like them. At first I wasn't so sure, with it being so much darker than what I normally played at, but it is certainly beginning to grow on me. It definitely helps to establish the mood of a scene. I find myself thinking twice before I run into an abandoned, lifeless building to see what's inside.

It also forced me back into full-screen mode, which in itself helps RP more than you'd think. No distractions.

If you'll excuse me I'm going to fly to Darkshire and creep myself out the way I should have long ago...

Mind you, none of this is meant for OOC use. It can hamper OOC tasks and leveling can be difficult as the game is designed for the player to be able to see in locations that ICly the player could not.

It harkens back to the days of WarCraft: Orcs vs. Humans; more Low Gothic Fantasy and less High Fantasy. The interiors of buildings are gloomy, Ghostlands is positively Soul-drainingly depressive GRIMDARK.

The only disadvantage I can see to this is that when not very many people use it, it's a handicap to you. Everyone else who doesn't or doesn't know how to edit their settings can still see you.

I think I'll stick to my low-graphics mode for the short term, but I'll certainly test this out a bit eventually and see if I like it.

I understand this. However, that was one of the reasons I posted this. I want to get as many people trying it as possible. If it catches on, then we can work from there.

Though knowing not everyone will catch on to this, I still am willing to give it a try. After all, it is for your own RP experience in the first place.

I can´t even change the gamma setting for some reason, the whole area where it is configured is greyed out.

Uncheck the box to keep it set to Desktop gamma.

Remember, you can't do this in Windowed mode, and the "Use Desktop Gamma" Button must be unchecked.

Aaah, but I like windowed mode. Will it keep to the settings if I window it after?

I think that Windowed Mode actually uses the Desktop Gamma regardless of in-game settings.

The settings will remain, but Windowed mode uses desktop gamma. So, unfortunately, you must remain within fullscreen

I must admid i love these settings. After having tried them out, there perfect for RP. It solves alot of issues and the liking that i've had before. This is outmost perfect, Thanks! ^_^