can someone explain the whole 1.0 graphics > 2.0?

ive seen screenshots, ive seen videos but i just dont see it.
1.0 looks very muddy and shiny at the same time somehow.the colors look very muted and extremely plain. everything is very gloomy (even before the world ending event)

ive watched some attack animation videos and while yes, it does feel nice to have the attack weight in the animation, its simply not possible to do it in this game with how much fast reflex movement is needed

I think most people go on about how the textures look on the character models and the terrain. These were scaled down for 2.0 most likely (among other things) to be better run on PC and not make the PS3 sound like they are gonna explode.

They scaled down textures and polygon models by a small percentage to increase the amount of machines that would be capable of running the game. However the lighting effects and some other graphic enhancements blow 1.0 out of the water. I've played since 1.0 Alpha and I think their changes were for the best, sure my crazy PC can run it but I have a lot more friends in my FC for their decision to allow the game to run on something other than a supercomputer :)

Graphics were far more detailed back in 1.0 but it had a cost of requiring a F load of system requirements that can make a PS3 over heat.

Just look at the detail for 1.0 cutscene compared to now...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvXSHLPB1aM

they scaled down character model? really? because this game has crazy detail for character model
especially fi you looks at the more intricate armor like ironworks stuff

hard to imagine how detailed 1.0 must be

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Originally Posted by EdwinLi

Graphics were far more detailed back in 1.0 but it had a cost of requiring a F load of system requirements that can make a PS3 over heat.

Just look at the detail for 1.0 cutscene compared to now...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvXSHLPB1aM

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ok i watched that and im sorry but that looks awful. everyone is extremely shiny for some reason. their skin looks very plastic-like and it seems like the cutscene has some instagram filter on it or something

I remember hearing that the primary focus on development of 1.0 was to make as pretty looking a game as possible- to the detriment of pretty much everything else.

I have a pretty decent computer, and it handles 2.0 just fine but 1.0 made it drop frames like an art gallery in an earthquake.

I think it's worth a mention that they replaced the game engine (from Crystal Tools, the engine FFXIII was built with, to a game specific engine). Not that it exactly has anything to do with the "downgrade".

FFXIV 1.0 had ubsurdly high polygon counts for everything. Many regular objects, like a flower pot (as mentioned by Yoshi-P), had about as many polygons as a player character model. That's how ridiculous it was.

By the standard of polygon count, 1.0 looked much much better. Lighting and environment detail wise, however, 2.0 is generally seen as the better. We've gone from LITERAL rotated copy pasta maps to areas built with detail in mind. The areas feel smaller by comparison, but this among other factors (like optimized game engine and each city/area is zoned off like in FFXI) allows lower end computers and the PS3 to run the game.

And a cut from the Polygon post about it:

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Yoshida pointed to three main reasons for Final Fantasy 14's failure in that first form. First, the team had an "unhealthy obsession with graphical quality." In a series of videos comparing the original version of Final Fantasy 14 to A Realm Reborn, he showed that the core game may have looked slightly better, but its areas were also empty and it took up a lot of processing power.

For a specific example, Yoshida showed a screenshot of a flowerpot outside of an inn in the first form of Final Fantasy 14. He called it "the loveliest flowerpot in an MMO," but then revealed its heavy cost: That single flowerpot contained over 1,000 polygons and 150 lines of shader code, meaning it took up as many resources as a single player character.

In order to accommodate such heavily detailed graphics, the original team made compromises that went against the reasons why people play MMOs. For example, they limited the number of player characters on screen at any one time to 20. While this allowed the game to look beautiful while still running, it lost sight of how great it is to log on to an online game and see dozens of players running around at once.

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http://www.polygon.com/2014/3/20/552...n-new-approach

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Originally Posted by File2ish

We've gone from LITERAL rotated copy pasta maps to areas built with detail in mind.

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^ This, 100 percent this. The areas in 1.0 felt huge but they were almost all a blur of similar looking areas. The Black Shroud especially was like a nightmare to try to navigate.

I'm with the OP on the comparison of 1.0 to 2.0.

To put it kurtly, too much bloom! Everything looks like it's glowing! How can I appreciate the detail when it looks so washed out?!

So, yeah, I much prefer the color palette and lighting of 2.0.

The lighting was better in 1.0, IMO. It had more personality to it.

Models looked better.

The animations looked better.

The cutscenes had better quality camera work.

Miqote tails didn't just clip through all the things and sometimes even had armor on them. :rolleyes:

I just would like to see again the same camera work and voice acting 1.0 had. That guy did such an awesome job with cutscenes, looking much more dynamic and realistic.. NPCs AND PCs using real gestures and not just pre-recorded emotes. It was so lovely.

Watch this from 4:25. Even your character would make voice sounds!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2ahpI7XvlU

This second video at 14:35 is what I'm talking about in particular. It felt so much more alive.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6TF...47BDFD&index=3

Things may look "Shiny" in that cutscene, which doesn't really stand out to me tbh, but the content of the cutscene feels so much more defined. It has great camera work and the animations and actions of those in the scene feels more fluid, like thought went into the camera work of the scenes. I mean, it feels more dynamic than most of FFXIV2.0 cutscenes, which are usually just people standing around talking in a circle, theres very little to no action at all and if there is its nearly killed by bad camera work.

1.0 Cutscenes fell more like old Star Wars... and 2.0 cutscenes, well they feel like new Star wars.... sure its technically prettier, but the soul is dead.

Everyone in 2.0 cutscenes has like 3 motions to chose from. slight head nod, randomly selected /emote, and blank stare while talking. The two or so posts above me explain this better, and i have to agree with them. FFXIV has done some cutscenes well, so credit where credit is due. A lot of the later cutscenes feel like they're getting more into their groove and some amount of effort is being put into them, but at the same time, its still very unimaginative and static camera angles that just kill the feel of the cutscenes. I can think of a few cutscenes, like the ones involving Leviathan, that stand out as a bit more dynamic.

I think the faster content pushing is what hurts the quality of cutscenes, they aren't horrible, just average. I think the best cutscenes in XIV 2.0 are from the Hildebrand storyline... Those feel like time went into them, and I'm sure it did. Hildebrand cutscenes use pretty decent camera work to make the Humor really work. If they used that same effort of camera work in the actual storyline I think they could far surpass 1.0.

Overall, I don't see much of a difference. I really don't. Though the scene does seem to be a bit better...hrm...choreographed? A lot of cutscenes, especially through the main 2.0 storyline, are bit stiff the few times there's action. You got to figure, though, they had to make 2.0 pretty darn quick in comparison to most MMO's, even if had some assets they could lift.

I think it's getting better. The main storyline quests post core have been getting better each patch, and Hildibrand is certainly dynamic. Maybe since XIV has been a big success (and the sole reason that SE is in the black), more attention has been put into 3.0.

They even scaled down our BUTTS.

And I will never forgive them that.

You know what. I'll have to agree on the cutscene front. After watching the opening to Ul'dah in 1.0, the quality is on another level.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oD45euKWO1U

Maybe in Heavensward.

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Originally Posted by EdwinLi

Graphics were far more detailed back in 1.0 but it had a cost of requiring a F load of system requirements that can make a PS3 over heat.

Just look at the detail for 1.0 cutscene compared to now...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvXSHLPB1aM

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Jesus Merlwyb just point blanked some dude, with a blank expression on her face.

Never played 1.0, but that was badass lol

Everything about the game as it is feels stilted and jittery from the stiff animations to floaty combat mechanics nothing is meant to flow it's all blocky and modular.

At least in 1.0 they had some creative flair to everything they did the copy/pasted maps as much as everyone bemoans them (Few people who cry about them actually played much) there was a massive depth of variety in the lanscape and zones themselves they felt alive and in proper scale. Hell even the enemies had a sense of power to them, look at the 1.0 opening scenes for Gridania and Uldah now common (And in one case hillariously rideable) monsters were really a threat.

Nothings a threat nothing feels like it belongs. Just my 2 cents. It's a shame they couldn't have had the time to keep things like great animations, physics for your character and environment, texture quallity but it was shoved out the door like the ill fated 1.0 was.

1.0 did some things that no other MMO did and it took pride in those things it's just a shame it had such a flimsy system built within an amazing world and they threw the baby out with the bathwater when they rebuilt the base system.

i seriously think you guys are mistaking shinier=better
didnt 1.0 came out during that era when next gen = shiny?
i admit the cinematography is better but as for the graphic quality and lighting itself? 2.0 hands down

Let's be honest here, Youtube compression really doesn't do the 1.0 graphics the justice they deserved. As someone who played 1.0 I can say with all honesty that it was a gorgeous game. Yes, far more gorgeous than 2.0.

Viewing distance was incredible, allowing you to see far into the distance without the 'haze' which permeates the entirety of 2.0. This was especially noticeable in Coerthas where you could get a wonderful view of Ishgard from our side of the bridge. Now it's swallowed up by fog even on the brightest and sunniest of days.

Character model detail was astounding. They were significantly more detailed than 2.0 figures, boasting more polygons and higher resolution textures. Anyone who has played both can easily admit than 1.0 was the better looking of the two, for the most part.

2.0 Made our special effects far more special though. Spells and skills feel like they have more impact here, whereas in 1.0 they felt dulled and unimportant. Almost everything was accompanied by a bright glow which doesn't make for much in the way of unique feeling attacks. On the other hand, they did have skillchains... not sure why Yoshi dropped it.

The thing is, exploring 2.0 is great but it's not special. You don't feel the same connection to each zone since each one is relatively small and there are less 'interesting' landmarks. Despite its copy-paste terrain, each area was large and expansive and had some great terrain features in various places that seem oddly removed from the remade maps.

Take Thanalan, for example, there was an area of terrain where large pillars sprouted from the ground, suspending a network of stoney platforms overheard. This is somewhat present in 2.0, near the entrance to Vesper Bay; the area known as 'The Silent King'. However, now we only have the option to go below them, and the upper platform itself is inaccessible. Further in Thanalan 1.0 to the South-East, there was a fun yet dangerous stretch of thin interconnecting pathways which was generally inhabited by moderate level birds. I remember trying to get through that area for my crafting leve hand-ins, using the higher ground to hide away from the birds or wait for them to pass so I could sneak beyond.

That's the sort of gameplay I miss. Right now each map lacks soul. There's little to no incentive to explore them, and no interesting scenery for those who do. It's hard to be impressed by 2.0 graphics when we were first introduced to an open area where you could way from the Ul'dah's merchant strip to Vesper Bay and then back to Gridania... all without a single loading screen.

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Originally Posted by ErzaScarlet77

can someone explain the whole 1.0 graphics > 2.0?

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1.0 graphics were intended for top-tier gaming machines/pc, marketing have recognized that percentage of users able to run over it is too small to be profitable, and everything have been scaled down to run in "normal" gaming machines/pc. That's all.

Edit: and have done a great job on scaling, you see that with time you also got nice things here and there. DX11 coming too.

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Originally Posted by EdwinLi

Graphics were far more detailed back in 1.0 but it had a cost of requiring a F load of system requirements that can make a PS3 over heat.

Just look at the detail for 1.0 cutscene compared to now...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvXSHLPB1aM

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Oh wow, didn't expect to see one of my old videos around again. But yes 1.0 cutscenes were miles better than the current ones. I've pointed this out multiple times in the past against ls members. Everything was more dynamic, alive, less dull.

Like people mentioned, the current cutscenes are quite pale compared to the 1.0 ones. But like some people mentioned, the current cutscenes aren't awful at all. But they do feel very dull. I've gotten a bit tired of the 1/4th camera viewpoint and npc's appearing literally out of thin air and walking to our characters.

Let's hope, this is just for 2.0 and that the expansion Heavensward will have S-E improving themselves on that part.

They also sacrificed the graphics to allow for more resources being used for stuff that actually matters. Even making new gear in 1.0 was a major pita for the devteam, now, not so much.

Another thing I liked of 1.0 was the much darker and realistic feel the lighting and ambientation had in general. Night really felt like night, and not just a "darker day". 2.0 is nice if you like colorful, almost anime-ish ambientations, which personally I'm not a fan of. I think this mostly comes from the fact that Yoshida comes from the Dragon Quest's team; those who have played both series of games will certainly have a familiar DQ feel about it.

I mean, come on... even the water flowing out of the sewers in the Tangle is crystal clear! Not exactly the place where I'd expect to see Molboros. Don't get me wrong, I love 2.0, but this feeling I have when I look around, like Eorzea screams "This is a beautiful world and everything is okay!" lets me down. I want to taste sorrow, problematic circumstances, impending doom. Even Little Ala Mhigo doesn't manage to give me that emotion much, though Northen Thanalan does accomplish that a bit.

Eorzea is under the affliction of many threats. Primals, the Empire, recovering from the Calamity, and whatever's coming next. I'd like the ambientations around me to reflect that. I'm not asking for "Dalamud weather", but I'd at least appreciate if the sea wasn't always as flat as a pool of oil even during thunderstorms. I also miss how much bigger of a deal someone's death looked like in 1.0 (just look at the merlwyb cutscene in this thread, or https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ps-giTboFpc). Back then, even though it was offscreen, you'd feel bad and somewhat taken aback by the gruesome deaths random NPCs would encounter. Here I hardly feel anything unless it's a mayor slaughter like at the Waking Sands.

I'd like to see darker ambientations, more filth, pollution, mud, puddles, smoke... overall, a steampunk touch that I miss from 1.0. Heavensward seems to be pointing in that direction with the gloomy atmosphere, so here's hope.

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Originally Posted by ErzaScarlet77

ok i watched that and im sorry but that looks awful. everyone is extremely shiny for some reason. their skin looks very plastic-like and it seems like the cutscene has some instagram filter on it or something

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most of the vids you find on youtube, are in low settings, cause you needed a monster computer, to be able to play on max settings; i had to play on absolute minimum settings, and it still wasn't smooth.
also for some reason, many ppl record during night time, in shitty (in game) lighting conditions, that makes it difficult to see what the game really looks like.
also youtube makes vids look worse than they actually are.
if you didn't play 1.0, you'll never see what it really looked like.
1.0 had a lot more graphic settings, like HDR lighting; it looked much better.

look at the textures of gob clothing.
http://images.mmorpg.com/images/gall...9f25e32e62.jpg

Global Illumination
http://files.enjin.com/55105/screens...1331359736.jpg

http://www.tale-ffxiv.com/boards/upl...5_6_274793.jpg

http://files.enjin.com.s3.amazonaws....nal/416416.jpg

http://img2.mmo.mmo4arab.com/news/20...v/ffxiv_35.jpg

http://magicgate.ddo.jp/blog/img/ff14_120527_03l.jpg

http://img01.3dmgame.com/uploads/all...15141028_4.jpg

This has been argued since 2.0 was announced. There's people who much prefer 1.0s shine and others who prefer 2.0s variety with the world. The artistic style changed along the way, making it even harder to argue which is better. It's quite clear the character models in 2.0 have taken a hit in terms of quality, but overall it still looks pretty good.

What drives me nuts is that the Hildebrand cs' show what the team is capable of with the current engine. Yet, they do completely nothing with it in the main story line. I love the Hildebrand stuff as much as the next guy/gal, but they seem to spend way more time on it vs the main plot. Hopefully Heavensward brings a bit more attention to the main story line and quests. Like I say, I don't want to see Hildebrand suffer, I want everything to be on par.

It's easy to put a lot of work into your cutscenes when you have what, four quests per class? 2.0 has more than 10 times as many quests, asking as much care to be put into each of them is a bit much.

Also the main things I remember about 1.0's graphics were blinding glare from the sun and horrific vertical stuttering while climbing stairs.

1.0 might of technically been graphically better, it lacked a lot of aspects that 2.0 in comparison pulled off better. I think people focus way too hard on character models themselves and not look at everything around them. 1.0's terrain, even if not copy/pasted, were extremely dull and forgettable, especially since everything looked the same. 2.0 has a lot of nice, small quality of life features they put into the game that make it stand out much more. Also, 1.0 used the Crystal Tools engine that was used in the FFXIII series and SE learned the hard way, that it's engine was not meant for MMO's.

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Originally Posted by Talraen

It's easy to put a lot of work into your cutscenes when you have what, four quests per class? 2.0 has more than 10 times as many quests, asking as much care to be put into each of them is a bit much.

Also the main things I remember about 1.0's graphics were blinding glare from the sun and horrific vertical stuttering while climbing stairs.

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Funny thing, when 1.xx first came out, the only quests were the main scenario and class quests. Everything else was done with guildleves.

I am loving the 1.0 graphics, the texture on the cloths.. damn.

I forgot to mention in my post that I don't mind the new 2.0 graphics. Yes 1.0 was graphically better. But I like the aesthetics of 2.0. (Especially with the usage of SweetFX).

My only gripe is with the cutscenes and how bland they often feel.

I'd much rather they cut away things like Hildibrand if they can use those resources to spice the main story and important quest cutscenes. Keep the simple cutscenes for the simple quests. Here's to hoping that Heavensward will bring a positive change. I really, REALLY miss the 1.0 style cutscenes. Felt more dramatic and I felt more engaged in the cutscenes. My merlwyb cutscenes made my character feel more alive as well.

I agree with OP somewhat. I have seen a couple of 1.0 cutscenes: camera work and voice acting was much better, but they all look plastic-y and shiny, I really can't stand it. Overall I prefer 2.0 graphics, but I hope they will reach the quality of 1.0 when it comes to camera work/action sequences and voice acting. They are improving with every patch though.

i´d never pllayed 1.0 but my biggest complain with the 2.0 world is the lack of connection betwen zones, everything is fragmented in more little zones, from the world map to the raids, i think this breacks all the illusion of exploring.

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Originally Posted by Fawkes

The lighting was better in 1.0, IMO. It had more personality to it.

Models looked better.

The animations looked better.

The cutscenes had better quality camera work.

Miqote tails didn't just clip through all the things and sometimes even had armor on them. :rolleyes:

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This.

And characters had butts.

I only really miss Papalymo's voice from 1.0. other than that I'm glad to be rid of the poor lighting bloom, the terrible copy pasta terrain, and wooden character animations. I'm excited though for the DX11 Client as I see this will bring back a lot of nice little features to the game to bring it to life. I do admit the textures were nice on cloth and such in 1.0 but the metallic shine in 2.0 looks much sharper. Also... Dat Grass!!!

Below is the DX11 Comparison part of the Tokyo Fanfest.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRqW3qlYYfE

There were, unfortunately, a lot of trade offs that had to be made in moving to 2.0. One of the things promised with 1.0 was PS3 support and it's pretty amazing that Yoshi-P stuck to that promise. However, to make it happen on that machine (and reduce the ridiculous PC system requirements) a lot of changes had to be made. Zone lines, Reduced poly counts, flatter textures, and canned animations are all signs of this. While some things about 1.0 were damn beautiful, 2.0 is by far a better, more playable game. While environments in 1.0 may have been huge, they were also empty, useless, and not very diverse. There was precious little to do in game, and the fixes thrown at it were band-aids at best.

In the end, I would much rather a good game than a pretty one.

And I would like to see people try playing the game with 1.0 graphics in 24 man content, I will never play a game where the graphics horsepower determines the actual gameplay mechanics and as a result guts it and I stopped playing the 1.0 version due to this, and this is coming from someone with a powerful machine.

Theres a reason why 1.0 failed and this was one of them, do not get me wrong, I like to crack up the settings where I can, but I am not a fan if the development side of things take a turn for the worse in favour of image quality.

If you want sheer eye candy, play crysis 3.

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Originally Posted by EdwinLi

Graphics were far more detailed back in 1.0 but it had a cost of requiring a F load of system requirements that can make a PS3 over heat.

Just look at the detail for 1.0 cutscene compared to now...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvXSHLPB1aM

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It's a shame we had to give up all of that quality to get a playable game. Those cutscenes are MUCH better than what we have now. The NPC's are way better too. Thancred is a bad ### from the very start instead of comic relief, the Songstress of Uldah is a substantial improvement over the 2.0 version, etc...

though I am ok with simplifying the flower pots

From what I've seen, 1.0 had a lot of needless detail, and ran on a pretty poor rendering engine. So it ran poorly and looked bad. Terrain textures did have better quality, but when you've just got the same models and textures hewn across the entire landscape you don't have to worry about memory usage.

I'll remind everyone that good cutscene coreography is not 'graphics', too. That cutscene with our badass Admiral would work just fine in 2.0 - but her face wouldn't look awful and the lighting wouldn't be washed out. The problem with 2.0 is that nobody on the team gives two shakes about cinematography; When one considers the amount of time they had to make a completely new storyline, though, I wouldn't blame them.

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Originally Posted by MageBlack

I only really miss Papalymo's voice from 1.0.

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Isn't it the same voice actor? I believe all scions reprise their role from 1.xx. Minfilia and Urianger did not have voice actors in 1.xx.

I spent so much time trying to defeat Garuda back in 1.0 that I started to appreciate and love the opening scene for the fight. When I saw the same scene in ARR I was totally dissapointed :(

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_R56msMZW8

I'm still angry about it lol