can someone explain the whole 1.0 graphics > 2.0?

[Kaisha]

-depth of field.

Which was almost mandatory to have on, otherwise you see the horrific LoD transitions in the environment in plain sight. Boy was anything in the distance pretty ugly without it.

Main thing I remember from 1.0 was fantastic ground textures, too much bloom (anything yellow would blind you), and wall textures looked like they were made of paper mache. Lack of proper light sources as well. People seem to forget 1.0 had no shadow casting in the environments. It was just whatever was prebaked into lightmaps, and the one shadow per character model on the ground.

[Gramul]

People seem to forget 1.0 had no shadow casting in the environments. It was just whatever was prebaked into lightmaps, and the one shadow per character model on the ground.

I like that we have dynamic shadows, I just wish they could be softer when it calls for it. Shadows in 2.0 almost always have very sharp edges in spite of the distance and intensity of the light source. Looks great when there's harsh light, but kinda cheap when the light is supposed to be more dispersed.

And one thing I actually really hate about ARR's lighting system is how light sources (especially colorful ones like fluorescent plants) have this ugly splotch around them as an excuse for a glow. It looks remarkably corny and simple.