1.0 Photo Archive vs... opinions

Just discovered a Post Your Best Scenic Shot ~<3 thread via google in the 1.0 archive forum. Is it me or does the whole environment of 1.0 (via the in-game photos) look like they wanted it to be as good or better than the environment in the recent Elder Scrolls series? That would almost make sense given the large open world aspect they wanted to do. I've heard some say ES' recent online title isn't as nice looking or functional as the stand alone series or what they intended via all the hype. For people in the know of other titles. Did FFXIV get some things right or better when it came out in comparison to the competition? As it is today post 2.0 (other than gameplay) where/what did it improve, what remained the same, what may have moved backwards in comparison to 1.0 or other titles?