Updated Graphics inf FFXIV???

[Eugenics]

Its funny because if you look at the The Coffer & Coffin picture the chocobo has a shadow and i think the npc but nothing else does. SE designers must see this? :S If you ever fish near camp horizan you can see your shadow just floating, it looks really bad and amateurish.

[Ava]

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/18930059/shadow4.5.png
Total lack of shadows from tarps, but why?

I don't have time to log in right now to double check but in the screenshot it looks like the light source is underneath the tarps, therefore the shadows should not be on the ground. If you look at the tarps, they are shadowed on the material of the tarp itself, which is accurate when the light source is underneath the tarps.

I highly doubt whether they are using "objects" or "land" would make any difference whatsoever on shadows, considering the engine likely looks at light sources, and "stuff". I would say it's more likely that the engine is simply bugged or they are using some stupid method around shadows that clearly doesn't work. Shadow mapping is generally something that is applied to everything. At least to my knowledge as a design student (still learning a lot about 3D ).

[Platinumstorm]

Also i think Platinum has right about objects but why they used shadows only for some of them? For examples Trees in la noscea could be considered objects as well but no shadows around. So they should optimize/add all the objects shadows and it'll be already a big step forward.

Again, a wild stab, but perhaps it has something to do with what a computer created vs what a developer added to the world. So when the world was materialized, the computer added camps, and the developer added an aethyrite crystal.

This argument isn't amazing because that suggests that towns were created by computers, and chances are that people made those. However, towns also don't have weather effects [save fog] for performance optimization, so shadows may have been removed as part of that optimization process in towns for the most part.

Frankly, their optimizations shouldn't be worried about adding visual fidelity to the game, which already looks nice [save for spell animations], but rather performance to attract a wider range of customers in the future.

[Abriael]

Oh crap, that's REALLY interesting, you sir have a good eye.

Though I wouldn't hold my breath over a complete engine overhaul for now. I just think that those items are considered as props by the engine (which are treated the same way as characters by the lighting engine, and as such cast a shadow), pretty much like the big floating easter eggs, the christmas trees and the aetherites.

[Platinumstorm]

I don't have time to log in right now to double check but in the screenshot it looks like the light source is underneath the tarps, therefore the shadows should not be on the ground. If you look at the tarps, they are shadowed on the material of the tarp itself, which is accurate when the light source is underneath the tarps.

I highly doubt whether they are using "objects" or "land" would make any difference whatsoever on shadows, considering the engine likely looks at light sources, and "stuff". I would say it's more likely that the engine is simply bugged or they are using some stupid method around shadows that clearly doesn't work. Shadow mapping is generally something that is applied to everything. At least to my knowledge as a design student (still learning a lot about 3D ).

My favorite part is that it's just a floating light source and isn't actually attached to anything in particular. I'm not disputing what you're saying, but what might be happening is the light source is directly underneath the one tarp so it shines brightly on that one, but everything else is being effected by the generalized darkness and not that lighting, so no shadows are being cast there, and it's just an optical illusion, otherwise you would expect to see shadows on the ground too from the poles and any of the objects on the ground.

[Ava]

My favorite part is that it's just a floating light source and isn't actually attached to anything in particular. I'm not disputing what you're saying, but what might be happening is the light source is directly underneath the one tarp so it shines brightly on that one, but everything else is being effected by the generalized darkness and not that lighting, so no shadows are being cast there, and it's just an optical illusion, otherwise you would expect to see shadows on the ground too from the poles and any of the objects on the ground.

I see the front middle pole should have a shadow coming toward the position you were probably standing in the ss, but it doesn't. I'd also expect the poles on the sides to cast wall shadows, but due to camera angle can't see them. Only other possibility is a secondary light source preventing the shadows. I know that sometimes developers in 3D do some crazy work with light sources to control different environments. It's possible there are hidden light sources that we can't see cancelling out the shadows. An example of what I mean is I've seen situations where it's appropriate to hide light sources underground to make it shine a bit more. Could be something like that at play.

[Evangela]

please fix the shadow displaying on characters first

[Dreadnought]

im gonna +1 this thread
shadows make a big difference in immersion to me so heres hoping we get a response from a Rep. as to whether or not things like shadows are in fact being addressed.
anyone ever see the sky shine through trees in Rift? thats something this game should have.

[Platinumstorm]

im gonna +1 this thread
shadows make a big difference in immersion to me so heres hoping we get a response from a Rep. as to whether or not things like shadows are in fact being addressed.
anyone ever see the sky shine through trees in Rift? thats something this game should have.

This isn't going to happen anytime soon. Remember, they're developing for release on PS3 and PS3 can't have the same visual quality as PC's, plus by adding more shadows to the game you're going to hit PC performance, which will ostracize more players from the game. Right now it's sort of a compromise, and it's definitely something most people have gotten used to.

[Dreadnought]

This isn't going to happen anytime soon. Remember, they're developing for release on PS3 and PS3 can't have the same visual quality as PC's, plus by adding more shadows to the game you're going to hit PC performance, which will ostracize more players from the game. Right now it's sort of a compromise, and it's definitely something most people have gotten used to.

all i can say is, sad then. Rift may not have the polygon count FFXIV does but its sad things like console limitations get in the way of something that could only serve as direct improvements to this game.
this game has loads of potential and the visual aesthetics (as one of its potentials) are almost there.... just not quite.

i always thought this games lighting looked blatantly generic..... ugh why PS3, why must you force people to design MMOs for you......

for the sake of avoiding any arguments by which game is better - i only play Rift casually since its all around generic. the character designs are horrid IMO. but man, certain lighting effects make a pretty massive difference when it comes to overall appearance and the "mood" of the zone. the landscapes in Rift are better than WoW and FFXIV in my opinion. too bad its boring in ever other aspect.