It is everywhere, is consistent. Beautiful! Now the wilderness area looks like true wilderness instead 1950's flat lawn! :DQuote:
Originally Posted by Tybur
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It is everywhere, is consistent. Beautiful! Now the wilderness area looks like true wilderness instead 1950's flat lawn! :DQuote:
Originally Posted by Tybur
I agree. Would love to see this spread into Dimrill Dale, Lothlorien, Mirkwood and all that remain of Rhovanion that haven't seen this yet.
Actually those are a combination of the frill kind they use at Lothlorien & Rohan. Also there are lore reason for the color of the vegetation at Lothlorien & Mirkwood so you should never see violets at Lothlorien or any color other than gray at Mirkwood. Dimril Dale should not have vegetation because the orcs stomped over it. :eek:Quote:
Originally Posted by Crissaegrim
Anyone got some screenies?
Elven neighbourhood at night-time:
http://i.imgur.com/Hhw3Vvv.jpg
Gondamon
http://i.imgur.com/nBd7ATF.jpg
Michel Delving
http://i.imgur.com/yYUMu1Q.jpg
I must point out that while all areas got their frill revamped (bigger, ticker & more varied), the frill is not identical between areas but made with colors & texture that match the already existing vegetation of the corresponding area. Example, the new frill of North Downs near Esteldin have very tall dark green grasses & some wild flowers but not near as many flowers as the elven zones.
Esteldin entrance:
http://i.imgur.com/ckdA18J.jpg
Kingsfell - North downs
http://i.imgur.com/EhvhrRf.jpg
Lin Giliath - North downs
http://i.imgur.com/GVT7iDS.jpg
Most of Eriador seems to have frills working seamlessly into the rest of the maps. Except for Western North Downs (Annundir & The Greenway) as it has a white and purple frill literally covering EVERYTHING, which is out of place as it covers the rocky cliff parts (areas where grass cant really grow).
http://i.imgur.com/rhsRfSl.jpg
Besides this one area, the rest of Eriador looks really nice.
Said what??? http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=...ures&FORM=IGREQuote:
Originally Posted by OMG_PEANUTS
As long there is waters there will be plants & many plants are specialized on growing over & inside the rocks. They have strong roots that can even split the rocks.
The newly added frills look really nice! I spent quite a bit of time riding around to look! I have very recently started a new character so I can play together with a friend so I will get to experience it all properly during our adventures. Very much looking forward to it! :D
I have just one lil thing I would like to ask for if possible :o
Could you perhaps add a thing or two in front of some of the Michel Delving hobbit houses to make them look more lived in and also to make the garden stand out less? :) Maybe some flowers could grow just below a window, or maybe a bench or a flowerpot or some other small things? :D
Hey! That actually looks exactly like the rocky hills at the valley where my granpa lived when i was a small kid. So because i saw on 1st person how that place look & i remember well the grass covering the stones, i can say that You Are Wrong. This frill is in the right place & looks as it should. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by OMG_PEANUTS
they could have perhaps made the frills fade better between those two empty spots and the rest of the hill. Those 2 dark empty patches look kinda weird
Overall it looks really good. My only concerns/complaints would be how it might effect some of the folks performance since lag still seems to be a huge issue for some. I would have also preferred to see the park in Bree that is across from the jail be left untouched. A few of the music bands perform there and it seems like that would be a place the townsfolk would keep trimmed with their lawn mowers...ie: goats. :P Its awful silly to have all that high grass in a place that seems designed for picnics and such.
While we are on the subject of frills. Most of us that use the stage in Bree outside the prancing pony still would like to have those stupid benches removed or at least, the first few rows so folks that like to dance will have a bit more room.
Awful silly to have high grass in a public park? That's what parks are for: green growth and letting things grow. Oh my Valar, if it isn't the music mafia demanding special snowflake treatment again. Just because something on the public landscape doesn't satisfy your personal RP vision is no reason to ask for its removal and deprive others from enjoying it. Personally I love the tall grass added to the Bree park, freshens up the area and makes it more pleasant and organic to be in. Makes me want to spend more time there, now that it no longer looks like a plastic artificial turf from 1950s.Quote:
Originally Posted by Emere
Please do not speak for "most of us." My kinship and other allied kins who put on social events at the Bree stage enjoy all these benches and use them for sitting. Or for standing on, or dancing on, as an excited audience tends to do. Funny, we never have a problem with room for dancing around because we just dance and don't let anything bother us.Quote:
Originally Posted by Emere
Really cannot understand the entitlement attitude demanding change in public landscape just because it doesn't accommodate some selective in-group's agenda.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Silmelin
Oh, these are fair! Love the new frilly look of Eriador - only after seeing this wild-growing greenery do I realize how barren and empty it used to be prior. And Falathlorn homesteads really needed some love in the plant department, now thankfully it no longer looks like bare-lawn American suburbia but a truly Elven homestead. Especially at night... Bravo!Quote:
Originally Posted by Silmelin
p.s. Is there any noticeable changes in the Shire homesteads - more waving grass there too?
I was very glad when I read this in the notes but at the same time I felt a worry in case this new ground covers would not match with the look and 'feel' of the areas. But, from what I have seen so far, it looks very good! And some places such as the Vale of Thrain, and Lone-lands now feel in a sense complete, or more so than before. And they have done more than this addition. One thing that is so well done in the later half of the game, and especially in Rohan, is that the artists have structured the places/settlements and other spots, in such a specific way that there is most of the times from what I have seen, a very great-looking view behind or ahead, or all around. Think for example how we can see the snowy tips of mountains and rolling green hills even when inside a village in Rohan due to how they have placed everything and lower heights in the wooden walls and so on. Very impressive.
It seems they have done this too along with the added frills. This is a graphic update at least to Eriador. The assets may be not new to the game, yet they are to the older areas. As screenshots show below, some trees have been removed/repositioned/added and I think some rocks placed in different angles; all to contribute to more impressive views such as wider skies filled with stars (whereas before the tall tress would cover it).
Truly great work art team. Even places where before before did not compel you strongly to halt and take screenshots, now they do. Well done!
But a little constructive feedback: it seems to me Archet has far too many flowers. Not that it is not possible, but it changes somewhat the 'character' and atmosphere of the original place. Grass is fine, but I think less flowers would keep more with the original concept of Archet.
Now screenshots!
I will start with Evendim. Many more to come!
Older version
http://i.imgur.com/ynzja7r.jpg
Newer
http://i.imgur.com/IFW7us3.jpg
Older version
http://i.imgur.com/4n1stlu.jpg
Newer
http://i.imgur.com/xJdT0WB.jpg
Older version
http://i.imgur.com/tdgS6Wb.jpg
Newer version
http://i.imgur.com/o5JYbwZ.jpg
Older version
http://i.imgur.com/DdXzk0i.jpg
Newer version
http://i.imgur.com/HZzqrjr.jpg
Older version
http://i.imgur.com/q3sCYp2.jpg
Newer
http://i.imgur.com/zSxzy6V.jpg
Older
http://i.imgur.com/uxUUneK.jpg
Newer
http://i.imgur.com/aPmhAe6.jpg
Lone-lands
Older version
http://i.imgur.com/AaEQoXV.jpg
Newer
http://i.imgur.com/CRqKKHE.jpg
Older
http://i.imgur.com/uXwwXIb.jpg
Newer
http://i.imgur.com/egmecCt.jpg
The Midgewater Marshes
Older
http://i.imgur.com/AVRDFWn.jpg
Newer
http://i.imgur.com/Hb30hiu.jpg
Lone-lands
Older version
http://i.imgur.com/nMLHTDV.jpg
Newer
http://i.imgur.com/uSQi80n.jpg
Older
http://i.imgur.com/1nrknzq.jpg
Newer
http://i.imgur.com/ygZu7nO.jpg
Older version
http://i.imgur.com/hjIwkOQ.jpg
Newer
http://i.imgur.com/OBemLEc.jpg
Older
http://i.imgur.com/hNhX5dF.jpg
Newer
http://i.imgur.com/Gc0D863.jpg
It's like the people of Eriador just gave up on spraying Roundup entirely. :rolleyes:
I'm okay with the frills being added, but if the additional graphics cause lag spikes (as they do in MT) then I'm turning them off ASAP. Game play > appearance.
I got the same feeling, i was chocked by so many flowers at Archet outside the inner gate. Allright there it can have lot of frill & flowers (but not too many flowers). It is inside the town that the frill must be absent because the town just got burned down.Quote:
Originally Posted by Erennor
Then that is why there are several frill options because some people lag more than others & some don't lag anything. So that issue is already addressed. ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Ride_the_Train
These new revitalizations are wonderful! I can't wait to see them on live.
Regarding performance: It's important to keep in mind that these original areas were first brought in in 2007, and many had a lot of initial layout work done back in 2003. The performance of modern systems FAR exceeds what we were working with back then (as evidenced by current landscape areas), so it's absolutely fine to bring them up to spec.
Of course, you don't want to go TOO overboard, but from what I've seen so far they've been doing a good job. I also like that areas are maintaining their individual character. It's not just a bunch of flowers evenly distributed across the entire region, but is varied and appropriate for the geography.
Well done, Turbine! <3 Yay Quality of Life!
IM VERY IMPRESSED, Never thought I would see anything like this so far into the game. Awesome
The screenshots looks nice but that is not the whole story. First, if the frills will pop-up (even on ultra) like Barrow's on movement, then it will be a glitchy mess.
Second, have you ever seen areas like Rohan, etc. with frills turned off? it looks horrible. Turning off frills in Eriador will disable everything not just the new grass and flowers.
Here you can see the difference between frills on/off (Live, 1080p ultra-high)
http://imgur.com/a/utL8Q
I'm ok if they add an option to disable the new ones and the terrain looks exactly the same as before, otherwise, adding these will force people to turn everything off to be able to play the game or to play the game on steady 60FPS; and NO, this is not solved with new hardware; the new areas/graphic additions in LotRO have degraded the overall game performance to the bottom even on high-end systems.
Yeah, I suppose you are correct. I googled public parks and was overwhelmed at how many pictures popped up of overgrown parks..../sarcasmQuote:
Originally Posted by Herwegur
Yes, its me, lonely ol me, a mafia of one. Of course, making a personal observation of preference is in no way demanding so I must ask, did I do something to anger you so? Why spew your venom on me unless its personal, and if so, take it up with me in tells in game. Unless of course I already had to put you on ignore for such assaults on my character before. Oh, and just because something fits your personal RP vision, is no reason to ask for it to remain....
As for most of us, I was speaking for the many friends of mine who do perform there at the stage or attend the shows and have mentioned the desire to see the benches completely or partially removed to allow for them to have more room to dance. So I do apologize that you felt I was including you as one of my friends. Rest assured, I didn't intend for my comment to include you as well. I will try to be more specific next time. :)
Erennor, I really really appreciate you sharing those screenshot comparisons with us! :D Thank you! :D
I always turn off grass in games.
No longer.
Once in a while even turbine can make something good it seams.
Looks amazing thank you Turbine. Just going to have to take all my screenshots again!
It has breathed new life in the older areas and has modernised the game no end.
Just wondering though, would it finally be possible to end the pixelated tree issue? It's still an issue in quite a few places around Eriador?
Now that I have seen more and spent even more time exploring, further feedback concerning the added frills in Eriador.
First, it is good to see more time and care put back in the graphics of the older areas. Though they were beautiful before, now they look much more up to date with the later half of the game. But, it seems they have overdone it in a few places/spots. Trollshaws, (except the High Moors perhaps) it seems to me that the added plant life is too much. This region already was/is very rich in green and plants of various kinds and shapes, so adding even much more to it is excessive. Now Rivendell: outside the house of Elrond, it seems overgrown and somewhat 'wild', and the iconic Last Homely House is now covered almost entirely from view by the addition of more trees right in front of the house. This was very disappointing to see, and again takes steps away from the first excellent visualization of this place and the clear view of the Last Homely House.
It is important keeping with the theme and style of the areas as they were made originally and enhancing that quality without changing the core element and way of depiction/vision. The visuals of the game and how places have been digitally illustrated even before this change and the later areas, have been loved by many.
But as was shown in the previous screenshots they have done a most excellent work from what I have seen with the following areas: Evendim, the Shire, Bree-lands, the Midgewater Marshes, Forochel, Lone-lands, and the Vale of Thrain. These all are enhanced very well with the added frills without losing anything of their authentic individuality or looking overdone.
Other than that, there are some patches of frills that look disconnected with the rest of the field, like a 'block' of almost wholly different kind which makes it stand out in an unattractive way. Also, there are some spots where npcs and objects (camp-fires, benches, and more) need to be moved a little as the added grass goes through them which is jarring to the eye. And there is grass in some spots where it does not look very natural, or at least not very well placed perhaps.
Last Homely House
Older version
http://i.imgur.com/iJpfr23.jpg
Newer version
http://i.imgur.com/sm1tiCT.jpg
I hope it will not be left like that. The former, original version, is much more impressive. The Last Homely House, the focal point of the vale, and a moment that doubtless many new players that have read and loved the books look forward to seeing visualized in the game, is now put entirely out of the picture.
I have not yet explored Eregion, Angmar, Misty Mountains, and North Downs.
Quote:
Originally Posted by YamydeAragon
Yea. To speak out my mind, I feel less excited now that I have seen a few/some other spots that are less well done. But most of all, very disappointing to see how the Last Homely House is almost all covered with additional trees. And there are some/a few small spots here and there that do not 'flow' seamlessly with the rest of the field but stick out like different patches of graphics. And there are many npcs and objects now that have grass through them as the screenshot above shows. It is still build 2, and yet, it is not that early if the update launches end of this month.
Thank you for your words! : ) Much time was spent for this, and sometimes it was difficult to find the same spot again on the live server.Quote:
Originally Posted by Silmelin
A very nice and unexpected good surprise that they put this in the game.
Kudos to Turbine for a change on this!
They did a good job, but some of the region look bad (elven part of Ered Luin, North Downs, etc...). However it is a matter of taste .
In Rivendell, a tree growing from one of the bridges. On the one near the the stables.
Yah, those NPCs need to be deweed, that is not healthy. :rolleyes: The last Homely house probably didn't need the autum trees at front :eek: , though the smaller plants that got added at front looks perfect ;) . I have no problem with seeing small loose grass over the stone covered yard at the the Perch because it looks quite natural, grass tend to do that a lot specially in subtropical places like the Shire that grass have a chance to grow all year round. So appart a few adjustments needed here & there this is a very welcome revamp! :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Erennor
Quote:
Originally Posted by Marcho_Brandybuck
Indeed, they have done a most impressive work, and doubtless it took much time. It is evident, for otherwise the colors. shapes, and lengths would not match as they do (or at least in most/almost all cases). But it is not always a matter of taste. For example, a place is either too cluttered or it is not. The trees that have been added outside the Last Homely House cover it almost entirely: one of the most memorable images/views in the history of the game. Now hidden.
Indeed, the grass and the plants seem well - it is the trees that change the whole image, in a negative/less favorable way, of that memorable place. As for grass over stone, I too have seen this on some real places over the years, but the difference here is that there is no crack visible whence the grass comes out. Instead it looks as if it stands on the stone surface, and thus less well placed. In any case, this is another example of excess. The stone texture outside the Golden Perch looks satisfying as the older version has it without adding overgrown grass over it.Quote:
Originally Posted by YamydeAragon
[Older version]
http://i.imgur.com/PXtsw2b.jpg
I will post some more screenshots of great improvements soon. I explored a little Enedwaith today and it looks very good!
On another note, which area would you say now is your favorite concerning this addition?
For my part, from what I have seen so far, certainly Evendim. It seems to me that this is the most subtle and most seamless change/addition that works truly brilliant in bringing out the beauty and quality of that area, without adding to it, but rather extending, or that is the illusion it creates perhaps. It is so well done. Along with Evendim, or close second after it, Lone-lands. To me, this place always struck me as too sun-burned, in that the ground was alike, in a sense, a desert. Now with the added frills it looks much more like wilderness while still keeping the barren characteristic look of the land.
But i have seeing this IRL. The grass not in existing cracks but growing over the stones because grass not only grow up but also sideways. & that grasses make new cracks when they dig their roots inside the stones. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Erennor
I love these new "frills". Especially in places like outside Ost Guruth, Evendim, and Esteldin. But the gardeners inside the towns seem to have gotten lazy. I would suggest cutting back within towns like Michel Delving, Rivendell, and a few others.
A couple regions (like Echad Dunann) I am not so sure about. The colors seem to be too green for the more brown undergrowth. When you look at a distance where the frills aren't drawing, the colors are totally different than up close.
I can hear the computer fans (video card I imagine mostly) hum a lot more (similar to the new areas) than it does without the frills. Hopefully this isn't too taxing on systems.
Again, as mentioned in another thread, while people may love the new frills, at what price? Honestly, the past 6 months has seen huge performance issues with this game. Those issues are still front and center. Why not try and re-optimize the game instead of adding things that will potentially make things worse? If you have to adjust your graphics in a newly updated "frill" zone to play with no performance issues what is the bloody point of adding the frill?? This game continues to have it's priorities backwards.Quote:
Originally Posted by SkyWarpPro
/shrug.
I'll look into the Last Homely House thing.
If you guys do see frills sprouting through walkways, NPCs, etc., please bug them but if you see multiple locations, please put them all in one bug. It's easier for me to look at them that way.
I agree. The new version looks horrible. Elrond would never let the area become overgrown like that. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Erennor
Exact! Fix lag once for all and not make it worse! Also, places likes Ost Guruth were meant to be the way they used to be, why make them full of frills at this point?Quote:
Originally Posted by SkyWarpPro
Hostile to the humans doesn't mean absent of plants. There may not be rainy enough to have a humans farm (or maybe they can farm if the figured how to get the water from the clouds at Weathertop) but can rain just barely enough the wild plants adapted to arid weather strive & bloom. Someone may think that the salty lands on a desert that took shape out a of dried sea, like Lone Lands, could not support life right? Well that assumption is wrong! This picture is a real life salty lands on a desert that took shape out of a dried sea, it is called Desierto de Atacama:Quote:
Originally Posted by Winds
Except the Lone Lands are not the Atacama desert and the "flowering desert" is a rare phenomenon.:rolleyes: Esto es la Tierra Media; no Chile.
------------
Still no answer about the performance impact and how the old zones will look (obviously worse) after the people -who can't endure playing at 20FPS- have to disable frills. Typical :mad:
Exept you didnt read anything but the name of the place. It is the Same Kind Of Place geographically speaking. It is obvious that is not the same place, because one is the Earth planet & the other is a fantasy world inspired on our planet on a very distant past. Also Tolkiens was not a dummy, he knew his geography lessons so that very stable 4 years lapse season of the flowering desert existed. It have already proven that his description of Middle Earth was gegraphically viable: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/...8IBxQE.twitter Also you ''forgot" that we cross Lone Lands right after Frodo did & there was a storm that night.Quote:
Originally Posted by Laerien
Good to hear, and thank you.Quote:
Originally Posted by Arbor
There are very many such examples Arbor. Though this is certainly a visual improvement, and the areas look even more realistic and detailed and beautiful, they are not yet ready. There is a lot to do. Last night I spent much time exploring Eregion and today the Trollshaws. I found more than fifty such examples, perhaps close to one hundred. And that is only in these two regions. I have written down their locations as shown under the mini-map. I am not sure if I will have the spare time to dedicate more on this, as it seems they are everywhere so to speak, at almost every settlement/town/camp and pathway, and through stone walls and surfaces and even bridges (which naturally makes me wonder how can the artist/s have not noticed this while adding the frills, unless it is all computer-generated which in many parts seems unlikely). But I will try and do the rest tonight and then submit it all in one ticket as you have suggested.
Here is a quick video I made to get a foretaste of all this, if you have not already seen some of it. As we can see, there are even trees blocking bridges or/and on their stone surface.
I have absolutely seen mailboxes that are almost overgrown with weeds. Might make the mailbox a bit hard to see in the game, but that is 100% accurate to real life. Sometimes, putting the mower away and coming all the way back to the mailbox with a weed trimmer is WAY too much work. ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Erennor
Other than that, I'm seeing exactly what you mean here. Seems a lot of folks are too lazy to clear out their fire pits when they camp, and are trying to start grass fires in the process. And while I can absolutely imagine the elves having their structures built around and even featuring trees as structural components, I'm positive they would not plant one right in the middle of the entrance to a bridge. :)
This thread should be called "Frills Gone Wild".
I definitely appreciate how much more lush and untamed Eriador feels now, but I was a bit disappointed when I got to some areas of Forochel. I get that not much can grow in those conditions, but I would have taken anything there, even little piles of snow.
It's not out of the question for brush to be growing out of the stone surfaces. The gardener just hasn't been pulling weeds in awhile.
Sam the Gardener is not available at the moment to deweed the walkways. He is busy on his fellowship mission with Frodo. :rolleyes:Quote:
Originally Posted by Celebrawn
About the Rivendell thing-
Before making a final decision, please consider the following:
Keep the trees and stuff, but move it to be -near- the Last Homely House without it being right -next- to the Last Homely House. I love the idea of Elrond having a glade near his place filled to the brim with bushes, wildlife, trees, and frills- these are Elves not Romans. But at the same time, I appreciate the faithfulness to the text and the idea of not having the trees directly obscure the Last Homely House.
So my simple suggestion is this: move the garden. There's a nice spot where a stream flows into the lake behind the Last Homely House. Put the trees, frills, flowers, bushes, and statues there. I've liked this idea since seeing in the films the scenes with Elrond and Aragorn and/or Elrond and Arwen pacing through his garden at nightfall in the moonlight with the stars shining, light slanting on the trees and statues. That's beautiful stuff too- as much as Tolkien's image of travelers from afar seeing the twinkling lights of the Last Homely House East of the Sea far below.
So my point is that this doesn't have to be an either/or thing- book fans vs. movie fans or any of that rubbish. Simply provide the vistas for both- the garden in a place that doesn't obscure the twinkling lights of the house from afar, while still feasibly close enough to imagine Lord Elrond walking and meditating in it after nightfall.
I deeply love the books, and have fond memories of seeing the films as a child, which introduced me to the books. The game isn't film-based- I understand that. But there are some ideas that can translate without lore-obstruction. Truly, there's nothing wrong with imagining Elves meditating in gardens beneath the stars- nothing wrong with it at all- and I don't want to see the Last Homely House area completely restored back to what it is on live: a 1950's-style lawn with nothing but painted grass on the 'ground.' It really looks atrocious when you consider what the rest of the world looks like. Elves don't have lawn-mowers- sorry to say. Unless Lord Elrond has a bunch of Elf-slaves pulling-up grass on a daily basis, which I highly doubt.
Oh, and Treebeard agrees with me. *Smiles*
I am very happy this was done, the areas certainly needed it. Frills are fairly gpu heavy, but they're not going to cause any undue lag on decent systems. That's a different matter entirely in the new areas.
Yeah its great.
I'd also like to petition Turbine to update northern Rhovanion also. I want Nanduhirion in Lothlorien to have that Rohan-style grass (yes yes Orc-trampling and all, but the War of Dwarves and Orcs was years ago in the lore, and the current Orc presence is pretty minor in comparison- not enough to stamp-down all the grass frills; as of now, looks like the grass is just painted there between the East Gate of Moria and Nimrodel), maybe an added update to the frills in Lothlorien (don't remove any of the plants that are currently there though!), and the Great River region could use the frills also (except in the Rushgore that's pretty frilled-up as it is). Other problems include snowy-rocks in places that have no snow- its egregious in the Brownlands and in the Stonedeans; I guess a graphics update on some of the rocky-wall and boulder textures went awry. Obviously Eastern and Western Rohan don't need a frill update- they introduced these frills in the first place. But Great River, Lothlorien, and Southern Mirkwood definitely need some love.
Southern Mirkwood needs the love most of all. The trees look cartoony and kind of outdated. The distant imposters don't even work- and I'm on a very decent CPU on full graphics- the Mirkwood trees have heavy digital problems regardless. The frills in Mirkwood also need an overhaul. Really, I wish Mirkwood would get a bit of a material revamp, replacing all those older trees with Fangorn-style trees and fir-trees as was the case in the Scuttledells instance that was introduced with the Erebor raids. These Fangornish trees are also distant imposters for Mirkwood in the Anduin Vales Beorning starter-area. I also wish the sky was more like the Dawnless Day in Gondor, which has far better graphics than Mirkwood's current sky that feels rainy rather than murky, not the right type of bleak.
Regardless, much deserved kudos to Turbine for the Eriador frill-revamp! I love it! *Smiles*
Happy to see it finally coming. I'm going to reroll just to be able to rediscover regions.
I do agree with Phantion, the trees next to the Last House are not that bad, but they're way to close to have a beautiful and clear view of it.
By the way, does anyone could post a few photos of Ered Luin, Bree area, Evendim or Galgals ? Thanks. I don't have the connection to download the beta launcher.
(English is not my native language so apologies for the mistakes)
Fortunately, the trees have been moved to a more correct position lore-wise. They are now along the little stream flowing into the lake beyond the Last Homely House. I highly endorse this visual interpretation and would not want it to be further meddled with. It's fine. It does not obstruct the beauty- it adds to it.
The lore describes the clear views of the Last Homely House being from two key directions: heading north up the High Pass in "The Hobbit" and heading southwest to the High Moor as described in LOTR. Now its clear and visible without obstruction to both views- the trees should stay there along the stream now as its a pretty fun place in which to rp and/or wander-around. I love it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Phantion
When we are already comparing descriptions from the books with what we see in the game ... Prancing Pony in Bree was more similar to what we read in the books before the update from a few years ago when they introduced graphically update Bree. Tavern building should be buried in the hill. But no matter. That was years ago and has nothing to do with this update...
Here are just today I rode through Eregion to see what it looks like once my favorite region. everything was fine until I got to the place where the Fellowship confronted with Wolves ... I was surprised. Burnt Tor should look burned and not covered with vegetation!
Yeah- Eregion, in my view, is the only zone that suffers from this update- particularly southern Eregion. Nan Sirannon was a country of red stones in the books, barren and desert-like, not having any green grass or anything of the sort. Burnt Tor is the same story. So, really, they needed to kind of -cut- the frills in the Nan Sirannon area as well as the other area that's directly south of it, kind of east of Emyn Naer. If they insist on having grass, I'd prefer the Wold-style, burned to a crisp grass at the least, but even that would be a stretch. It needs an -absence- of frills in those parts. Its also odd, for example, for there to be grass up on the Redhorn Gate near the Snowfall area where the Fellowship was trapped at the walls of the cliffs of Caradhras. It should just be snow. No green grass. Just snow! They seemingly know nothin' about what happens when a blizzard happens- its so off-kilter and terrible all one can do is laugh.
Eregion's fine in the areas that are -supposed- to be covered with grass.
If they don't change anything, I do have good news: there's an easy solution- Turn-off the frills whenever you're in the eastern Redhorn or in Nan Sirannon or Burnt Tor. No one should -have- to do this- the frills shouldn't be designed to be in these areas in the first place. But its still a solution that works to cut the grass off the burned hill-top and off the deserted areas and off the blizzard-laden snow. Its not an ideal solution, but it still works, although its incredibly annoying immersion-wise to have to do that.
I think that you are seriously confused about where & where not can grow grass, so let me break it down:Quote:
Originally Posted by Phantion
Not Growing grass/plants:
- Recently Stomped
- Any orc encampment
- frequently used Roads
- Horses Stable
- Recently Burned
- Middle of any Campfire
- Places that got incinerated recently
- Recently cleared crop field
Growing Grass/plants:
- Natural forest
- Man made woodlands
- Gardens & growing crop field
- Wild Valleys
- Marshlands
- Rocky terrain
- Any man made ruin that have being abandoned too long
- Semi arid or Desert
- Tundra or equivalent mountain heights
I already explained all the above but Tundra. Just in case you wonder that means snow covered places. Plants that grow on this kind of environment have a natural antifrezzing & will not care that you think that those plants can't grow there. They will grow there & may even produce fruits at the very middle of winter. They are the main sustain of many vegetarian wildlife animals. Here are some pictures of plants growing in the ice & snow: https://www.bing.com/images/search?q...=0-0&sp=-1&sk= https://www.bing.com/images/search?q...snow&FORM=IGRE . The bottom line is that life don't care about where we think that plants can or can't grow, because that place is uncomfortable for humans. They don't have the same limitations as humans, they live by other rules. Life will bloom at any place & at any chance they have & will adapt when needed. They did before humans came & they will continue after humans are gone.
the only thing you need to do Yamy, is re-read Lord of the Rings, chapter where the company goes through Eregion. The land is described a certain way in the book, and no amount of your "wisdom" about nature and tundra can change the book's description. Especially Burnt Tor, because you know... Gandalf sweeping it with fire to repel the wargs left it immaculate and the grass regrew in one day. and Redhorn is described as being ""mighty peak, tipped with snow like silver, but with sheer naked sides", on Sirannon I may concede you the benefit of the doubt
"Gandalf halted. Snow was thick on his hood and shoulders; it was already ankle-deep about his boots... The wind whistled and the snow became a blinding blizzard. Soon even Boromir found it hard to keep going... eddying blasts swirled around them from every side, and the snow flowed down in ever denser clouds... If they had had no larger companions the hobbits soon would have been entirely buried... As the light grew stronger it showed a silent shrouded world. Below their refuge were white humps and domes and shapeless deeps beneath which the path that they had trodden was altogether lost; but the heights above were hidden in great clouds still heavy with the threat of snow." -Tolkien, FOTR, Chapter 3, "The Ring Goes South," the 11th-13th pages into the chapter.
"The morning was passing towards noon, and still the Company wandered and scrambled in a barren country of red stones. Nowhere could they see any gleam of water or hear any sound of it. All was bleak and dry. Their hearts sank. They saw no living thing, and not a bird was in the sky; but what the night would bring, if it caught them in that lost land, none of them cared to think." -Tolkien, FOTR, Chapter 4, "A Journey in the Dark," the 4th page or so into the chapter.
Regardless of rl circumstances of tundra, Eregion is more of a temperate area, not far in the arctic-North like Forochel, and the descriptions in the text are clear: Nan Sirannon should be bereft of vegetation- as should the snow-laden areas in the eastern Redhorn-Gate. Its clear that any grass would've been buried by the snow-fall that nearly buried hobbits. It's also clear that the Company did not travel through pleasant green-grassy plains dotted with red stones; the land was "barren" and "bleak" (Tolkien FOTR).
It is one day before the launch of the new update and from what I saw the added frills are unfinished still. It is very disappointing to see this as the setting alone is what has earned LotRO so many players over the years, and still the/a main reason it draws others, and also a cause of return. It has been a matter of admiration. Do not mistake me, this visual update makes the older areas look more detailed, and much more up to date with the later half of the game, but it is clear from very many examples, that this has been done not with much care.
Some patches of grass with very different hue from the ground making these 'surfaces' stand out and look very 'game-like', especially when you turn the camera around from an upper angle; elsewhere the added frills are right in front of doors, cover entire pathways, and enter into some towns/settlements, through npcs, fires, walls, water surfaces, bridges, rocks, benches, tents, pillars, logs, and more. These spots (based on what I saw after built 3), were hundreds. I thought to check again today, ere writing this post, just an hour ago, and from what I saw, apart from some (such as the tress on the bridges in Rivendell) they are unfixed yet. One day ere launch.
The visual update is welcome, but it is not finished. Even though the older areas looked less detailed before, at least then, they were, in a sense, complete/right, in that they did not seem rushed and done with less care with grass going through all the aforementioned examples. Also, the transition between Bree-lands and Lone-lands, is sudden. It could receive some more attention and time to make the transition look more believable.
Again, there are other places that the added frills have been applied very well in a way that looks complete and finished, such as those places in Evendim posted in the first page of this thread. But it is not universal. Other, very many others spots/places have received much less care.
For those that have not seen, here is a video. And this is only a few of such examples.
http://i.imgur.com/4ugfgkI.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/KDl2yFQ.jpg
And here is a comparison with the different colors. The second screenshot shows the same color of hue as the ground cover, whereas the first, is very different. This is evident in some places, especially in the Shire from what I saw.
http://i.imgur.com/ZrFsH6k.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/T9QPiAW.jpg
Quote:
Originally Posted by Phantion
Yea. For my part, when I saw this, it was not just the description from the book that came to mind, but that an iconic view/moment was almost entirely hidden. Think for example Meduseld later been covered, say by giant rocks, or tall trees; the majestic and awe-inspiring Argonath hidden by a block of trees. Regardless of the the directions given in the books, the trees in front of the house of Elrond gave a negative change to the iconic view; the Last Homely House was blocked from view when approaching it. We would see it from afar, much less detailed, as a distant imposter, and almost none of it when just outside the house.
But thankfully the Last Homely House has been restored to its previous clear and iconic view.
Oh! The area around The Last Homely House looks great now! Well done, Turbinite who fiddled with the vegetation! :D
And thank you for the screenshot, Erennor! :D
Yea : )
It was very pleasing to see this restored and receiving back its original iconic and impressive view.
Thanks for sharing shots of the Lone Lands! I haven't had an excuse to get back there, but it really looks vastly different now. In a good way, I think :)
Although I tend to agree -- I wasn't sure at first, but I myself live in a semi-arid area (San Diego, CA) and have to admit that it matches up with the natural areas of our county -- one thing the Lone Lands really does highlight is the lack of distant imposters for a lot of this vegetation.Quote:
Originally Posted by Iltheiel
For larger trees it's one thing, but the ground/brush is definitely darker and absolutely more varied than the flat geometry of the land, so the pop-in as we get to frill distance is *really* noticeable as you're travelling around. It's not helped by the ridiculously vast vistas that we can see at once, but there are probably other areas with long views as well.
It would really be less jarring if there were distant imposters for the scrub, or if the coloring was averaged out a little bit. Even with everything on Ultra High, it's pretty distracting seeing the straight line of the vegetation coming into draw range.