Graphic Engine update possible? Dated graphics especially in core game zone for 2020 - [Merged]

Some games are converting their engine to other newer one like Unreal Engine 4,is this possible for Guild Wars 2?

Nope. The technology isn’t here yet.

@"Vishnok.7059" said:Some games are converting their engine to other newer one like Unreal Engine 4,is this possible for Guild Wars 2?

a graphics engine update (like other games going from UE3 to UE4) alone wont improve the "graphics" without new assets/files to go along with it (new hi-res/HD textures, new high poly-count models, maps being retouched a lil bit for the new textures, etc.) - while it's something i'd really want for the game, it's also something i personally do not need. ---- this all translates to much more work that you think, they probably know and realise that the graphics are ageing a bit but it's too low on GW2's priority if it exists at all.

what we do however need is better multi-core support and more gpu utilization (game is too CPU heavy) ---- this is something the d912pxy mod kinda fixes, if you have the hardware for it (you'll gain tons of FPS improvements compared to not having it, again, if you have the right hardware)

Unfortunately a graphics engine update means a lot of work. almost re working the game. Your best bet is GW3 for better graphics. On the other hand Blizzard have upgraded WoW's graphics somewhat over the last 10 years or so. How WoW looks now is vastly different than how it looked back in 2004.

Biggest leap will be from dx9->DX12, it’s not a complete rework just needs a dedicated small team to focus on the migration path only.

Dx9proxy has proven framerates go up even with a wrapper. Native coding into DX12 for the engine with the increased cpu multi threading, draw time reduction and increased asset detail will allow anet to rollout previously higher detailed assets and more complex maps in the future.

All we can really hope for is gw3. I do hope we would be able to transfer some stuff tho like my permanent hair styling kit ^.^

@Astyrah.4015 said:

@Vishnok.7059 said:Some games are converting their engine to other newer one like Unreal Engine 4,is this possible for Guild Wars 2?

I love all the comments about an engine update being hard or complicated or whatever. Or that they need to create the assets again.

All they need to do is update the graphics of the game up to Draconis Mons to use the after Draconis Mons graphics quality. That would be a good start to improve the visuals and at the same time cut down on the work needed to create new outfits, armor, mounts, dyes etc. Currently they have to make sure everything they make looks good on both graphic settings, all player assets are built with both in mind, old ones have been already updated, most enemies exist on both graphic settings, so really the only "issue" is the terrain, the skybox and things like trees and building on old maps. Things that shouldn't be hard to update, compared to the thousands of skins that they already updated.

Not only will it make the game look better, but it will also help with development of future content, which is why I don't understand why they haven't done it yet.

the graphics engine is fine, it's perfect for the GW2 art style, it loses its magic if goes down the path of ultra realism

the game engine certainly isn't, and Anet admits it :lol:

@Dawdler.8521 said:

@Astyrah.4015 said:

@"Vishnok.7059" said:Some games are converting their engine to other newer one like Unreal Engine 4,is this possible for Guild Wars 2?

yup im not comparing at all... im just saying to the OP that creating a new engine for the game to run under will look mostly the same unless they make/update/refresh the assets to match it's new potential.

again, just wanted to point out that GW2/games/things wont magically look way prettier by just "converting to a new engine" and just re-using all the assets as-is

Perhaps, using an injector would simulate what you are hoping for.

@GummyBearSummoner.7941 said:All we can really hope for is gw3. I do hope we would be able to transfer some stuff tho like my permanent hair styling kit ^.^Please NO - Invalidate years in-game when we would have to start again?!

Just expand, build and maintain- GW2.FYI: GW3 got cancelled by NCSOFT in favour of expanding GW2 which I believe is the right decision. Mike O B left shortly after GW3 decision was made.

@Astyrah.4015 said:

@"Vishnok.7059" said:Some games are converting their engine to other newer one like Unreal Engine 4,is this possible for Guild Wars 2?

Well the Dx9proxy does also have some new asserts partial because there was no way around it I think especially the water shader broke with dx12 , so they have their own. In theory you could make your own texture pack ^^. Dx912pxy real advantage is it running smoother because of multi threading but it has a lot of overhead because it is a proxy you have basically all textures and shaders twice in the memory . You have some performance lose because you making a dll call after dll and possible ArcDPS is in between which is another dll call on top of that you have 2 garbage collectors running instead of 1 and if it would be me I also would change in an upgrade matrix transformations with AvX2 code support(by the way AvX2 support is mandatory for win 10 systems because Dx12 us it internally)

With this you would have another 20-30% more performance available if you support dx12 directly with gw2 then with the Dx912pxy.

I think some people have the wrong impression what needs to change when you upgrade Gw2 from dx9 to dx12 wait you mainly change is the dll calls from the dx9 api to the api from dx12 . Yes there is also some setup work because you have more control over the grapic card and you need to transform you shaders I think this would take 2-3 people who know what they are doing 4-6 months.

I don't know how this will end at the moment the content updates become more and more slower in Gw 2 on one hand and on the other we have Arena.NET training their developers in the UE4 engine.

@Lord of the Fire.6870 said:

@Astyrah.4015 said:

@"Vishnok.7059" said:Some games are converting their engine to other newer one like Unreal Engine 4,is this possible for Guild Wars 2?

yeah it doesn't address the issue completely but it does help somewhat.

a native dx12 gw2 would be the dream. they can even keep dx9 as a legacy mode for those who don't have the hardware to utilise dx12 or not running windows 10/7(just like how WoW had dx11 &dx12 now -and- how FF14 had dx9 & dx11)

I like the core gfx. The newer maps whilst pretty, are too visually noisy.

Is it weird that I really don't consider updating the graphics to be that important? Yes it's possible to add a few more effects or slightly higher polygon counts to games than it was in 2012, but to me it seems like a lot of work for very minor differences. The graphics are good enough that it's still as clear as it ever was what's going on (masses of overly shiny attacks on one spot are an issue, but that's not new) and I like the art style, to me that's all that matters.

Maybe it helps that I regularly go back and play older games (as in 5, 10, 25, 30 years old) and I've never especially liked games which attempt totally realistic graphics (the ones most likely to end up looking outdated quickly) so my experience with graphics is all over the place. But to me GW2 still looks as good as it ever did and I have a hard time understanding that the graphics could be a problem for anyone.

I do not agree with updating the engine. Many ppl have weak Personal Computers. New engines are not optimized for weak PCs, and there is also a problem of memory-leaks. Nowaday many developers are too lazy to optimalize these in new engines, because they expect modern PCs have 32+GB RAM or even more. so they do not even bother to optimalize (read: fix) these memory leaks. For weak PCs, these memory leaks can make games using updated/modified engines absolutely unplayable. (for example, memory-leak problems happened in Planetside 2 some years ago)

BIG NO to any engine update. Doing this would be imho contradictory to the main marketing target of GW2 - casual PvE players with average PCs (and average internet connections).

Is the Unreal engine any good for fights like in WvW? Or for MMO in general? I know some free asian mmo's use the engine but I wonder if they have fights like this.

If they were to do a major game/gfx engine update or even come out with GW3, I'd like to see them unify GW1 and GW2 under the same engine. I suggest they could call it Guild Wars Ages and allow the player to create characters to specific time periods. It could allow for some very heady cross time period storylines and related achievements.

I don't think an engine update is needed. They've shown with POF Maps and the newer maps that they can make very beautiful environments with the current one.What it needs is an asset upgrade, Looking at the core maps as well as the older WvW ones you can tell how dated they are. They have plenty of assets available from all the newer maps that they could replace such as trees/rocks/plants/terrain textures - I think that alone would make the a world of difference.

@"Solanum.6983" said:I don't think an engine update is needed. They've shown with POF Maps and the newer maps that they can make very beautiful environments with the current one.What it needs is an asset upgrade, Looking at the core maps as well as the older WvW ones you can tell how dated they are. They have plenty of assets available from all the newer maps that they could replace such as trees/rocks/plants/terrain textures - I think that alone would make the a world of difference.

Yeah that would work,update core game textures meshes to lws4 level if a whole engine update is not possibleTheres a big leap in graphical quality from core to lws4 maps..its the same engine..i wonder how they did that,Anet hired better 3d artists?":)

I'd focus on updating character models first. Your character is the one you see all the time and the whole Fashion Wars 2 is about characters and mounts customization. I would improve details and textures, especially human race because it feels "plastic" like barbie doll.

The world itself is fine, and DLC zones are getting better and better. ReShade (highly recommend) will give you a better immersion with improved lighting. Updating textures alone won't change anything, and sometimes it can do even worse. Imagine 4k plane textures without grass, flowers, bushes and animals around. It will be the same, but with more lags and freezes.

I believe, updating old zones may be worth, but there is no need to move to a different engine. Like I said, latest zones are decent ones in terms of MMO graphics and I'm sure the same can be done with the power of current GW2 engine. Just a small team constantly working on these upgrades along with major changes. Seeing in patch notes something like "Queensdale zone received a graphics overhaul" would be appreciated :)

@"Faenar.8036" said:BIG NO to any engine update. Doing this would be imho contradictory to the main marketing target of GW2 - casual PvE players with average PCs (and average internet connections).

You do understand that the minimum requirements for the game have been updated with the release of Draconis Mons right?

From: Windows® XP Service Pack 3 or betterIntel® Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz / Core i3 / AMD Athlon 64 X2 or betterNVIDIA® GeForce® 8600GT / ATI X1900 / Intel HD 3000 or better (256MB of video RAM and shader model 3.0 or better)

To: Windows® 7 or better (64 bit only)Intel® Core 2 Quad 2.4 GHz / Core i3 / AMD Athlon 64 X2 or betterNVIDIA® GeForce® 8800GTS / ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT / Intel Iris 5100 or better (512MB of video RAM and shader model 3.0 or better)

Is it so much to ask to upgrade the requirements of the Core game and Heart of Thorns too? After all, if someone's computer can't handle Path of Fire in 2020 then it means they aren't a good customer for gem store offerings either, so it's worth letting them go at this point.

Edit: I wouldn't call a PC from 13 years ago (that's where GW2 requirements for CPU/GPU are from) "average"

@Vishnok.7059 said:

@"Solanum.6983" said:I don't think an engine update is needed. They've shown with POF Maps and the newer maps that they can make very beautiful environments with the current one.What it needs is an asset upgrade, Looking at the core maps as well as the older WvW ones you can tell how dated they are. They have plenty of assets available from all the newer maps that they could replace such as trees/rocks/plants/terrain textures - I think that alone would make the a world of difference.

The original engine was created before 2012 as an upgraded/improved version of the Guild Wars 1 engine. The update that gave us the new and improved graphics was Flashpoint (Episode 5 of Season 3) and was released in 2017, 5 years after the initial release of the game.

Further, the biggest update was discontinuing the 32bit client, by using only 64bit for the "new" client, they allow themselves to use more memory, creating better, richer and more detailed environments. Discontinuing support for the aging Windows XP (and Vista) also helped.

So it's not that they hired better artists but that they improved the engine considerably by adding new features and finally increasing the game's minimum requirements. You need to understand that even the best artist in the world can't do much if their boss tells them to make something that can work on a 13 year old 8600GT with 256mb of VRAM. There comes a time when a video game company needs to upgrade their minimum requirements to allow their artists to do a better job.

I would be happy with native DX12 support and multiple core performance. For me Event/WVW performance should come before anything else. Smooth gameplay is important to me.