World of Warcraft

Hey, I was reading that they added some higher quality lighting/shadows to the game. Is this currently implemented in the live game or will it come after the expansion?

Also, how much of a performance hit are people taking with new lighting/shadows at highest possible quality?  I saw some vids on youtube and they looked great :)

Originally posted by Terranah

Hey, I was reading that they added some higher quality lighting/shadows to the game. Is this currently implemented in the live game or will it come after the expansion?

 

Also, how much of a performance hit are people taking with new lighting/shadows at highest possible quality?  I saw some vids on youtube and they looked great :)

They're live on the current build.

Performance-wise, I'm really surprised.  They're remarkably well-optimized for an after-the-fact feature.  At least they are on the current build.  They were kinda questionable early on, but they seem to have worked out most of the kinks.  Unless your system is already borderline for your settings, you shouldn't have a problem with turning them on.

Of course, part of the reason for the low performance hit is the draw distance for these shadows.  It's very high for static terrain (as it should be), but the dynamic shadows draw at a very low distance for players.  I think that's probably a good decision, if they're aiming for largescale PvP with Lake WG.

Originally posted by Terranah

Hey, I was reading that they added some higher quality lighting/shadows to the game. Is this currently implemented in the live game or will it come after the expansion?

 

Also, how much of a performance hit are people taking with new lighting/shadows at highest possible quality?  I saw some vids on youtube and they looked great :)

The dynamic shadows were added with Patch 3.0.2.  Yes, that's on the live servers now.

The performance hit is hard to tell.  There was definately a hit, but how big is the question.  There is a slider that allows you to adjust the shadows all the way back down to what they were prior to the patch, so I would think most people will find a setting that's to their liking.  And yes it does look great and it's actually functional as well.  Now when a horde hovers above me on his mount, I can see his shadow and prepare to be ganked.  It also helps you estimate just how far off the ground you are when dismounting from a flying mount.

With my GeForce 7950 GTX (lappy video card) at 1440x900, and all the video settings at medium-high, I noticed a fairly significant hit running the new shadows and lighting at full but unnoticeable at 3/4.  I'm sure my system is fairly weak compared to most of the people here, you probably won't have any trouble with it.

Aye, there is definitely a hit - I have an 8600GT, three gigs of RAM and an E7200 processor. I was able to run at full settings in BC before with FPS in the 60s and 70s. Now, with medium to high settings in BC, I get 30 to 45-ish FPS, it varies widely though. Terrokar is a bit iffy, while Hellfire is 60s and 70s. Looks smashing though...