18.6.14 How can you guarantee me your game will be playable given that the high-end video cards of today on a high end machine (which will be mid-level by the time you release) cannot run a single player fully DX9 game at 1600x1200 without significant FPS issues?

Several important things to note. An animation becomes "real" at 12fps. A game becomes "usable" at 9fps. A movie runs at 24fps, and your TV runs at 30fps. It is argued that at over 45fps, the average human cannot distinguish a difference in frame rate.

Also, keep in mind that the frame rate required to play a FPS such as Halo is much different than the frame rate required to play a MMO. If you are expected to zero your cursor in on a target and fire as it moves across the screen, you need very very good frame rate... so good in fact that your enjoyment of the game practically HINGES on the frame rate. Not so in a non-"twitch" game.

That said, we WILL endeavor to maintain a usable frame rate. Will it be over 45fps all the time? Probably not... and any MMO that tells you different is either pulling your leg, running years behind in graphics, or not planning on having large groups of players on the screen at once.

I am not pulling your leg (this time), we are going to have cutting edge graphics, and we are planning on having large groups of players on the screen at once.

We will also have pleanty of settings to turn off to achieve whatever frame rate your comfortable with. -Ryan Elam, Lead Programmer

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