Global changes
The expansion applies not only to the game in general but in subtly different ways to each of the three main areas of the game, namely Hibernia, Albion and Miguard. To be honest, you could as easily be under any one of the three and not really notice much difference. That’s not a criticism as such, as underground is the same pretty much anywhere you go in real life, but a bit more effort on making things noticeably different would have been good.
A before and after picture… Even Living TV’s ‘Extreme Makeovers’ couldn’t beat this… (and yes, it is modeled on Rys, our hardware review guru.)So let’s deal with the global differences first, then we’ll get down to the extras that Catacombs bring to the party. First off, Catacombs give DAoC a massive graphical face lift, and fans of the game since it launch will be happily impressed with the results. The modelling on each character looks like it has been given a thorough re-working from scratch, it really is that noticeable.
But the improvements don’t just stop with a higher polygon count with improved animation. The artistry evident in the game has had an overhaul too with the textures looking far less blocky and mapping in a much more realistic way than before. This realism is enhanced by the lighting dynamics which are far better than before… something of a bonus for a game set in the dark and dingy depths of the underworld.
Finally, obviously tipping a nod towards the latest MMPORPGs out there, Catacombs now lets you customize your character however you wish (within reason), so you can finally send as close a representation of yourself of possible out into DAoC’s mythical world.
Fortunately, Mythic have seen fit to not add any voices to the dialogue in the game for the characters you encounter. I say fortunately, because in my experience, voice actors trying to sound ‘medieval’ just end up sounding like a poor 1930s Ealing studios historical drama… which kinda takes the edge of the immersion factor when you get a hammy faux-English accent laden with ‘thee’, ‘thou’ and the odd ‘verily’.
