WoW vs. Hz

[Felinor]

So someone did the EQ2 vs. Horizons and since I have been in the beta for over a month now and have experienced most of what WoW has to offer I feel I can make a comparible analysis for you interested in WoW but havn't gotten to play it yet.

Graphics- Horizons graphics are beautiful but we all know it requires a very high end computer to run with smooth FPS. WoW is made by blizzard and blizzard is superb at taking very simple graphics and making them look good. So, in this scope, WoW wins. Lower end computers can run it very very smooth and they don't look bad. Lighting is pre-rendered on items and its done so well that you don't notice.

Sound, Music- Horizons has great music, but no atmosphere. WoW has tons of atmosphere but some annoying music that seems to repeat all too quick. So, in this, Horizons wins in music but WoW wins in sound.

Community- Blizzard players vs. mature Horizons players. Need I say more? However, in WoW you CAN find mature players if you play on an RP server, but there are plenty of bad apples. Hz wins hands down.

Character creation- Character creation in WoW is terribly limited. I found that I really couldn't find a look that really suited me. You have 8 races to pick from, but nobody really looks that different at the start. Hz wins here.

Character customization- As you progress in WoW you can find really cool armor and weapons. Every piece alters the way you look so you can make yourself look very cool after awhile. Dyes were a great addition to Hz, but we still havn't seen anything reallyu unique come into play yet that really makes us look different, so WoW wins here.

Quests- Hz has the worst quests in MMORPG history, WoW has TONS. In fact, it has so many, you are ALWAYS on a quest. WoW wins here.

Combat- Hz still has its problems with large battles and WoW's large battles run smooth as pie. Hz has a great variety of new mobs now, butWoW has that x10. Combat in WoW is very fast paced and you can do something that is sadly missing from Hz... You can run after or from a mob and attack at the same time... WoW wins here.

Crafting-Simple and boring in WoW. Ground breaking and brilliant in Hz. Hz wins here no contest.

Storyline-Still waiting on one in Hz that we can actually interact with. Rich and deep in WoW. WoW wins here.

Customer support- Hz has gotten tons better on this issue, but WoW has ingame GM support which makes WoW win here.

Dungeons- Hz has none, WoW has them in droves and they are instanced!! WoW wins here.

Bottom Line-I hate to quote David Bowman but he was right when he said, "They have things they will do and do well, and so do we." It couldn't have been said any better. When I play WoW there are so many things it lacks in that I miss from Horizons, but when I play Horizons I miss so many things in WoW. The bottom line is, I will play both, but I feel that Horizons, if given a year or two more, will progress into a much deeper, richer multiplayer exerience and blow WoW out of the water in all areas. I hope this has helped some of you :)

[Kita]

Pretty much agree with that... but just have to add:

Hotkeys and general interface, Hz WINS by far!

[Felinor]

My hand got tired :) I didn't add a comparison to EVERYTHING lol, that would take all night ;)

[Blue Hasia]

I wish Blizzard, sony, and AE that they would all sit down together and make the best darn MMorpg ever all 3 of them each have there pros and cons and if we can merge all the pros into one game..WOW we would have one sweet MMOrpg

[Sajid]

Thank you Felinor, very nice review focusing on good aspects.

Appreciate it tough guy

[Amerelium]

...u should try my modified audio files then..[;)]

Sound, Music- Horizons has great music, but no atmosphere. WoW has tons of atmosphere but some annoying music that seems to repeat all too quick. So, in this, Horizons wins in music but WoW wins in sound.

[Kalis]

I would have to agree with everything but I would have to comment on is the quests. HZ quests are horrible just go here kill 20 of this return type quests. WoW quest are so much better in fact there are so many that people are doing that they are actually complaining that they can't be on more than 20 quests at once. Also the quests in WoW have stories behind them and you can end up doing several that quests that have differn't parts that span over 10 lvls. So in the end I would have to say the quests make WoW a better game but I believe if HZ can get everything in order it could give WoW a run for its money. Final comment is WoW is probably the best MMO I have played yet.

edit. And WoW does indead ooze with atmosphere expecially the night elf areas which are some of the coolest looking areas I have seen in a long time.

[Safire]

well what i personally think is give it a few mounths and it'll go down the.....toilet like most any othermmorgp with pvp

[AA0]

I find storyline something hard to compare to your part. I remember just starting in horizons, there was a lot of newbie quests, stories and lore. Since you are essentially just starting WoW the same could be happeing.

[IndyMan]

>>>> but I believe if HZ can get everything in order it could give WoW a run for its money.



I bet you believe in Santa Clause too [:P]

[Angelfury]

I agree with Indy[:)]
No interest in pvp so wow is a no go for me[H]

[Niamh]

WoW has normal servers (non-PvP) for those of us that don't go in for that.... Duels on those server are by consent so you can avoid the PvP lifestyle. The normal servers are considered PvE.

[metagruen]

there are in fact PvE servers, too

[aceracer24]

I personally was not thrilled with the graphics in WoW. If AE could clean up the lag...those with weaker systems migh actually be able to see what Istaria REALLY looks like. WoW graphics looked all washed out...the animation although very smooth....just looked **************** lol. The way they swing back for a hit or shoot an arrow...omg i about fell out of my seat. Teh ground loked fake...more so then HZ's does. I just was not feeling WoW at all. Although i must say...teh quests are one of WoW's finer points IMHO.

[gopher65]

I haven't played WOW, although I think it looks interesting, so I can't comment on it.

I have a(fairly) low end system, and I play HZ with the graphics near min all the time. A few days ago I was up on the northern contient; I was all alone: no mobs, other characters, NPC's, or moving resources. So I cranked up the graphics to near max, and WOW!! I couldn't believe it, Istaria actually looks nice!

I'd always thought that HZ had terrible graphics and itturns out it was justmy crappy computer[:S]. Almost makes me want to spend $500 and buy myself a new graphics card, a new proccesser, and another 512 megs of ram. And if I had 500 bucks to waste I would[:^)]

[TheDom]

...u should try my modified audio files then..

I've been slowly replacing some of Horizons music with more interesting tracks which are suited to the RPG genre - I'll talk about the results when I'm finished.

So, you've got a sound pack that provides better ambient sounds? Neat...but where can I get it?
Links? :)

[Tantalyr]

[img]/Web/Themes/default/images/icon-quote.gif[/img]Amerelium wrote: ...u should try my modified audio files then..

I've been slowly replacing some of Horizons music with more interesting tracks which are suited to the RPG genre - I'll talk about the results when I'm finished.

So, you've got a sound pack that provides better ambient sounds? Neat...but where can I get it?
Links? [img]/Web/emoticons/emotion-1.gif[/img]

http://community.istaria.com/Web/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=2184

[Martal Bau]

From my experiences with WoW (which is a good game but not as good a world as HZ) and from what I've seen/heard of EQ2 it's my opinion that if AE had the budget for HZ that was put into WoW or EQ2, HZ could be in the top tier of MMORPGs quite easily.

[Ziggy]

I agree, if AE had even the money to support it's own game sufficiently it'd be great. But it doesn't. Hz was released 1 year too soon and it still doesn't have several things promised for launch. Huge potential but now that the real companies have released their games i see a huge exodus coming.

Anyways, here aremy WoW vs Hz opinions. First off, i've only been playing for a little over a week and my highest character is only 6. But i've tried several so i can offer at least a newb opinion...

- I love the voluntary PVP, i'm on a non PVP server and i can simply go to a battleground area if i feel the need for a real challenge.
- Sound is great, best i've ever heard in any game. I really feel like i'm in the game.
- Graphics are great if you like Warcraft 3. While a bit cartoony, at least they're not plastic like EQ2 or dated technology like Hz. The only flaw i see are the character's hands, they look like they're inbred mutants.
- Player base, sorry i'm too new and haven't grouped yet. However i will say this, every game has it's good and bad players. While PVP does tend to draw in the punks, you'll find that in every game, PVP just enables you to do something about it.
- Quests galore, and they're very straightforward so far. What urks me is the huge number of people constantly asking the simplest questions in general chat when all they have to do is read the quest. New game, they are forgiven.
- I'm not sure about this one either, but as far as i know WoW doesn't have armor dying or housing other than guild housing. Huge plus for me with Hz. I like the multitude of armor styles in WoW though, and how they actually add depth to a character. Hz just seems to paint the skin, ya know?
- Awesome death graphics and sound. I really feel like a ghost. I like the idea of optional corpse runs too. I can't wait to die again!
- The biggest flaw in WoW is where Hz truely shines and that's the user interface. I haven't been able to resize or move any of the windows, there's no lock on attacking, and the camera control is horrid. I really wish they'd allow you to bind the camera to the 6 buttons above your arrow keys.
- I am probably alone in this, but i don't like the Nightelf forest. It's too...i dunno...cutesy? I much rather prefer the Tauren and Human lands.
- Blizzard has already stated there are many things that they're saving for launch, so if you think you know everything about WoW then think again.

[Tigris]

My impressions of HZ and WOW, crossposted from the Dejavu thread...

PROS of Horizons when compared to WOW:

1. You cannot own land or have a plot in WOW. Players cannot build buildings.
2. You cannot play a dragon in WOW. Dragons can fly. Nothing in WOW flies.
3. There is a very limited selection of classes and only eight races to HZ's eleven.
4. No adventure class multiclassing. Very limited crafting class selection.
5. Cartoony characters and a Pitiful character creation options.
6. HZ uses the bindstone death system. WOW involves you becoming a ghost and having to find your corpse.

CONS of Horizons when compared to WOW:
1. Mounts - Kodos, Raptors, Horses, Griffens, etc all varying by race.
2. Pets - WOW has a whole adv class dedicated to having a pet.
3. You can play the dark sinister evil undead race.
4. LOTS AND LOTS OF LORE IN WOW!!!
5. NPCs that move. The town guards actually patrol around the town.
6. There are PVP regular, non-PVP regular, and non-PVP Roleplay servers on WOW. Folks are even petitioning for a PVP roleplay server.

I don't plan on quitting HZ anytime soon.