what happened to the graphics in this game?

[willsparrow]

I have played since beta and i dint start with the best computer in the world. i played mostly on high performance and then i quit and came back when i got a better graphics card.back then my specs were like 1gig of ram, a 256mb video card i think a radeon 9800 pro. with pentium 4 processor.Now i am back with my laptop nearly 3-4 years later? has it been that long?i got 2 gigs ram, 512 video laptop card 8600gs nvidia to be exact with a intel centrino duo processor.Its not exactly built for gaming but it does have gaming properties, i can play games like medieval total war 2 on full specs and its a pretty demanding game on full specs.so when i come and play everquest 2 which is 4 year old game I kinda expect to play at least on high quality. Which i can run it smoothly but man what happened to the graphics in this game? I left like a year ago and when i came back with that 9800 pro the game looked amazing with lighting and what not and now it looks like this for me. the first one is the game on high performance and the second one is high quality.high performance<img src="http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i87/killafawk/EQ2_000001.jpg" alt="" border="0" />high quality<img src="http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i87/killafawk/EQ2_000000.jpg" alt="" border="0" />

[Jal]

The game still looks amazing with lighting and whatnot but your system has to be able to cope to appreciate it.  The engine is old and system technology has advanced in a direction i guess they didnt predict so its very CPU speed dependant (not number of cores which it doesnt use) and doesnt take full advanatage of current graphics cards features which should in theory make it run blisteringly fast.Laptops are an issue in that they dont get driver updates like desktops so dont always perform as well, id advise looking at sites like <a href="http://www.laptopvideo2go.com/" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.laptopvideo2go.com/</a> or some such to get a modified new driver and then work your way through the nvidia control panel and in game options till you get the best performance/graphics balance for the system.  Ive just got a laptop with an 8700M and am in the process of doing the same and getting it looking and running decently which isnt as simple as it sounds.

[ke'la]

<p>You also happen to be in one of the worst looking areas in EQ2 graphicly, its a slum it's supposed to look bad, and it has not been upgraded much.</p><p>This is a bit, more like it is now... but infact it accually is better then this as this pic is of a 2 year old expaintion Area, Kunark is even better looking.</p><p><img src="http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n65/kela_012/Yarly.jpg" alt="" width="799" height="545" border="0" /></p>

[willsparrow]

<cite>Kallarn@Splitpaw wrote:</cite><blockquote>The game still looks amazing with lighting and whatnot but your system has to be able to cope to appreciate it.  The engine is old and system technology has advanced in a direction i guess they didnt predict so its very CPU speed dependant (not number of cores which it doesnt use) and doesnt take full advanatage of current graphics cards features which should in theory make it run blisteringly fast.Laptops are an issue in that they dont get driver updates like desktops so dont always perform as well, id advise looking at sites like <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.laptopvideo2go.com/" target="_blank">http://www.laptopvideo2go.com/</a> or some such to get a modified new driver and then work your way through the nvidia control panel and in game options till you get the best performance/graphics balance for the system.  Ive just got a laptop with an 8700M and am in the process of doing the same and getting it looking and running decently which isnt as simple as it sounds.</blockquote>ill never use any of there drivers again, i downloaded one and ever since i installed it i thought my laptop was really [Removed for Content] when it really isnt that bad because i was playing like counterstrike source at like 20-30 fps with everything turned on low. i dint know what the hell was going on then i switched back to my old factory driver and then my computer came back to live, i was getting 200 fps in source with max settings i dunno what the hell they do but it doesnt work most  of the times the timing is all wrong.

[Sapphirius]

The graphics did not decline. The old world still looks pretty much the same with a few minor modifications (such as the weather in Freeport). However, there has been work with graphics in each expansion where they have progressively gotten better. As to whether or not the old worlds will ever be revamped? Who knows, but I do know that the graphics are not worse now than they were at launch.

[Jal]

<cite>willsparrow wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Kallarn@Splitpaw wrote:</cite><blockquote>The game still looks amazing with lighting and whatnot but your system has to be able to cope to appreciate it.  The engine is old and system technology has advanced in a direction i guess they didnt predict so its very CPU speed dependant (not number of cores which it doesnt use) and doesnt take full advanatage of current graphics cards features which should in theory make it run blisteringly fast.Laptops are an issue in that they dont get driver updates like desktops so dont always perform as well, id advise looking at sites like <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.laptopvideo2go.com/" target="_blank">http://www.laptopvideo2go.com/</a> or some such to get a modified new driver and then work your way through the nvidia control panel and in game options till you get the best performance/graphics balance for the system.  Ive just got a laptop with an 8700M and am in the process of doing the same and getting it looking and running decently which isnt as simple as it sounds.</blockquote>ill never use any of there drivers again, i downloaded one and ever since i installed it i thought my laptop was really [I cannot control my vocabulary] when it really isnt that bad because i was playing like counterstrike source at like 20-30 fps with everything turned on low. i dint know what the hell was going on then i switched back to my old factory driver and then my computer came back to live, i was getting 200 fps in source with max settings i dunno what the hell they do but it doesnt work most  of the times the timing is all wrong.</blockquote>Its nothing to do with their drivers all they do is allow your portable system to use mainstream nvidia drivers.  You need to test different versions see which is best, if the stock one is then great <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

[jagermonsta]

Unfortunately EQ2 is well known to not work well with todays hardware. With my system (signature) I get horrible FPS and very bad frame stuttering in high quality/extreme while all other games of today (COD4, Crysis) work flawlessly with high/max graphic settings and AA/AF levels boosted. Very disappointing...