Eye candy is nice, it adds to immersion, but eye candy alone does not make a good game. AW was the greatest game of its genre for well over 10 years, its graphics were sub-par at best. Balancing realism vs. playability, the game interface itself and game balance are far, far, far more important to a successfull game than graphics. Those factors remain important forever in a game, as was the case with AW. Graphics on the other hand are dated practically as soon as they are released, like hardware they have built-in obsolecence, graphics are always improving as the power of computers improves theoretically 2 X processor power every 2 years. There is no 'arrived' with graphical eye candy. But, there is the possibility of making the 'perfect' game in every other respect if those producing it have vision and talent..
So, if I had to choose whether HTC devoted its meager programming resources on graphics or gameplay/interface elements, I choose gameplay everytime. AH does not likely generate enough recurring income to hire a large programming team and remain financially solvent. HTC has to prioritize its efforts on those aspects of the game that will have the greatest impact for the players and draw the most long-term subscribers. I don't think eye candy has the kind of long-lasting, high customer fidelity draw that would make it being the primary focus economically worthwhile...
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