The fact of the matter is

[Tibian]

Server problems, server verification of EVERYTHING, and server side UI are the three probably most important aspects of this game that need to be completely fixed/redone/altered before this game goes pay to play and/or ps3 launch.

Server verification literally takes 4-5 seconds on everything. If you don't believe me, get protect and cast it on yourself. It will occasionally tick 4 minutes 54 seconds and 4 minutes 56 seconds. This indicates that protect is actually a 5 minute spell, but you literally lose 4-6 seconds due to server verification.

When you have such a delay on spells, the same can be applied to your movements, enemy skills, heals ect. This is why we wanted a hardware mouse and its exactly why things need to be modified. There is no "twitch" play to this game, because everything takes a soupy 5 seconds full of lag and waiting.

How are we supposed to have meaningful and challenging fights when we're battling SERVER VERIFICATION ON EVERYTHING and not battle mechanics!?!?!?

[Coldfire]

The best way to see the horrible lag is to let someone follow you and see how far behind he is. On his screen he will be right behind you ^^
My problem with the graphical engine is not the lack of detail but the non-existent optimization for pc. LoD is to reduce the stress on the hardware and makes it possible to draw more characters and at a higher distance... I think this definately directly affects gameplay. Graphics are part of the gameplay as they create an atmosphere, which is important for RPGs. People that say otherwise should at least give some arguments...

[Isaveron]

The linear story and areas werent because of the engine in ffxiii, they were because loads had to be cut out because 360 uses dvds and they would have been looking at about 6 disks, to play ffxiii, did you see any of the problems we are having in ffxiv, on gran pulse? because that was a large open area, if not everything you say about crystal tools failing period holds no merit.

People need to stop saying this, it isn't true. This is how rumors get started.

[cdreamworld]

Yes it seems that they build this game to troll RMTs and didn't care how the game would play for normal players. We all know they have serious server side issues which prevents many good suggestions brought up in this forum.

+1 i totally agree. it seems this game is build upon rmt prevention, and we are the afterthoughts

[Murugan]

I found XI with the necessary .ini tweaks to look better than most other MMO's even today. AoC had some impressive graphics, but I found the art direction/character models to be kind of trashy. LotRO had some nice landscapes, as did Vanguard, but I found their character models and animations distractingly bad.

I find XIV to look better than any MMO today, or those in development. The drawing distance is really only a problem because it is automatically set so low, there is no real setting to raise it unfortunately. Hopefully this is addressed in the future, or user-made tweaks can be done like in XI, other MMO's don't even try it seems like.


I don't have an issue with latency/server side processing, but a good friend of mine still refuses to play because of it. I'd disagree that it is the most important thing though, except maybe for people who find no other serious faults with the game's content/gameplay etc.

I don't have 5 seconds of lag located in central US, I think that's a bit of an exaggeration. I tried a tunneling service which helped bazaar/menu browsing, but didn't really make a noticeable difference in actual gameplay. I'd love for them to reduce what lag there is for other people, and I'm sure it's still high up on their list of priorities (at least part of the team, hopefully not too many people since there are other far more important issues).

I'm just saying I don't see it as a big problem personally, and I find it rather ridiculous so many people are accusing the graphics of being "horrid", and the engine "outdated" when I thought the general consensus was that it is by far the best looking MMO on the market, and looks to hold that designation for some time.

[Betelgeuzah]

I'm just saying I don't see it as a big problem personally, and I find it rather ridiculous so many people are accusing the graphics of being "horrid", and the engine "outdated" when I thought the general consensus was that it is by far the best looking MMO on the market, and looks to hold that designation for some time.

The graphics can be witcher 2-level but if the engine can't bend to do anything AND runs like crap (which doesn't even include simply FPS- the game taxes your system so much that the temperatures can raise to even hundred degrees, the settings can only be changed outside the game (while the effects that tax you the most give lackluster increase in visual level). Can this game even render animated objects other than characters?

Let's not even talk about the cities themselves. If you don't experience any sort of lag, consider yourself lucky. The way the game is stored on our PC's makes walking through the city a nightmare.

Yet as somebody said, the work needed to get the engine and servers out of this mess is so massive its scary. Don't get me wrong, changing the core battle mechanics and redesigning zones are massive tasks as it is, but I'm not even sure if they're capable of making enough modifications to the engine and servers. Do they even have the expertise?

At least that Next Generation Engine director is assisting them. They sure could use his help.

[Tsukino]

the settings can only be changed outside the game

This isn't a limitation, it's a cultural thing. Most Western games will have all the settings be within the game and some will just tell you that the game must be restarted before they will take effect. Most Japanese games, on the other hand, use a separate application for those settings.

[Hartigan_Redsail]

Yesyes! Such hard agreeing on this end.

[Winterclaw]

The game will always, always be chained by its server structure and engine. Nothing they can do will make as much (and enough) of an impact than the server and engine overhauls.

At this point, wouldn't it be a little difficult to overhaul their engine?


Aside from that, I agree with you.

[Winterclaw]

Another thing that makes the game feel ancient is the "click here to do anything" button. For instance, the elevator in limsa, why do I have to ask and confirm to use it -.- then watch a small cutscene. It'd be quicker to take the stairs since it doesnt take two clicks and a movie. Why can't I just stand up if I try to run? Instead of having to open my menu and tell my character to stand up.

Admit it or not but there IS a standard in the MMO world for quality of life. It doesn't matter how much content you add, people are going to give up if you don't bring your UI and game behavior up to modern standards.

You mean that having to click on an enemy twice to attack him or fumble around with a targeting system that makes you manually cycle through all of the 20 mobs in the area or decides to start moving the cursor on the action bar instead of targeting a mob doesn't live up to modern MMO standards?

Or a crafting system in where you have to scroll down to use special skills because the interface won't show more than 4 items at a time is a bad interface?

Or the lack of a proper AH that most games have is a bad idea?