WildStar is getting graphical enhancements when it goes free-to-play

WildStar is already among the prettiest MMOs you can play, but it'll get even more good looking next week. To coincide with its move to a free-to-play model on September 29, NCSoft has announced it has tweaked the game's lighting system, and the results are impressive based on the screenshots provided.

While the launch of Reloaded will usher in some of the changes, the studio plans to roll out more over future updates. They'll focus on starter zones to begin with, and progressively move up to higher level areas.

"Where before large sections of zones had sort of flat single-point lighting, we’re going back and making it more realistic by increasing the number of sources that light up the environment. We've also added effects such as the rays from an otherworldly star—or a glow from a campfire—that all go into bringing the look and feel of an environment together. While still fairly time-intensive, it’s allowing us to make some dramatic improvements to the visual quality of the game without needing to touch the already high-quality models and textures in the game."

Here are a couple of before and after shots, but head over to the site to see them all.

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After

Before

After

Shaun Prescott is the Australian editor of PC Gamer. With over ten years experience covering the games industry, his work has appeared on GamesRadar+, TechRadar, The Guardian, PLAY Magazine, the Sydney Morning Herald, and more. Specific interests include indie games, obscure Metroidvanias, speedrunning, experimental games and FPSs. He thinks Lulu by Metallica and Lou Reed is an all-time classic that will receive its due critical reappraisal one day.