Annnd... cancelled again within the first day. The performance of this game is just as poor as it was back when I last played.Intolerably so.
Before I continue let me provide my system specs:
ASUS K8N (NForce4 Chipset)
GeForce FX 6800 GT w/ 256 Vid RAM
1.5 Gigs low-latency RAM (Ballistix line)
AMD AthlonXP 64 3400+
XP Pro with swap file on second hard-drive; separate from OS and game installation
Now.. with the above specs, I am able to run pretty much any game out there right now (except for EQ2) with highest, or near highestgraphics settings and still consistently maintain very acceptable frame-rates. Based on the performance I get out of other games, my system should be chewing this game up. The reality is completely the opposite.
I was expecting *something* better out of Horizons when I decided to try it out again. But... what I experienced, right out of the gate - with only a few tweaks to the graphics, such as resolution and a slightly higher texture setting than default, was constant hiccups, chop, lag and generally sluggish performance.
After I got to the mainland from the training area, everything would chop up every few seconds. Now.. I know that some games have to swap in new geometry for the world and other characters, etc.as you move - though I've never experienced it to that degree before. However, even standing still.. I'm looking around and *everything* is hiccuping along without stopping. Players are hiccuping along.. the clouds are hiccuping across the sky.. and I'm not even *moving*. I stood in one spot for over a minute and it never improved. It's usually a matter of no more than a few seconds for things to smooth out in other games.
Sorry.. but this is unacceptable. To make it even more interesting, I'm reading through other threads and some people actually seem satisfied to get over 10fps... I guess playing this game makes people lose perspective of what a reasonable frame-rate should be. Even on my older system, which wasn't nearly as powerful as what I havenow, I would get consistently better than 20-25fps on most games.
I'm sure I'll beslammed and told to not post here by some because I dare to criticize this game that they so enjoy. But, really.. ifsome think getting over 10fps is a big accomplishment, then I have to say this game has really reduced some people's expectations andthey really need to play some other games to get some more perspective on just how poor Horizon's engine is. Shame, too.. because I do think the game world is great. I think the creatures and races are great. I think the game has alot of potential. But without an engine that can handle it or make it playable, it makes it real difficult to enjoy.
... for what it's worth.