[dev1032] Spell Casting Animations Needs More Love

[DoctorMog]

Dear People of this thread,

Stop confusing casting animation with spell particle effects.

Thanks,

Mog

[Kazai]

Old dev team: "hey we just finished thm, next is black mage, white mage, and arcanist....what?! Release is next week??!! Make whm and blm one class and forget about arcanist!"

[Gidonoidon_Sur]

Dear People of this thread,

Stop confusing casting animation with spell particle effects.

Thanks,

Mog

Definitely think there is a little confusion here. But also, I think both need vast improvement.

[Aravou]

I posted this in another forum last November. We are still in the same boat.

So far, I am disappointed with the look of magic in this game. I have fond memories of how impressive and well designed the magical effects in FFXI were. It's hard to believe the team responsible for these effects have produced what we are seeing in FFXIV. The game has such wonderful graphics in so many other aspects, it just seemed a given that the magical effects would be amazing as well.

The casting effects alone are underwhelming when compared to FFXI. In XI, Each class of magic had it's own distinct casting effect. Casting a black magic spell looked different than casting a white magic spell. In FFXIV, there is little to no distinction. The effect itself is rather bland as well, in my opinion. In XI, your entire character swirled with magical effects which could flutter clothing, for some races. In XIV, one of your hands gives off a slight radiant glow effect that differs slightly for Conjurer and Thaumaturge.

I had hoped that the lack of effect could be attributed to character growth. It seemed possible that as your characters rank and level increased, the casting effect would become more impressive. While this hope isn't entirely dead yet, it is looking unlikely.

I wonder if SE may one day redo the magical effects in FFXIV, once they have first fixed the games more pressing issues. If so, I wouldn't expect any such updates until the first official expansion pack, at earliest.

To agree with most others on this subject; I'll reiterate.

1. Each school of magic (black, white...) should have it's own distinct casting animation.

2. This is a NEXT-GEN mmo, therefor, magic and casting animations should outdo the former generation, by a WIDE margin. How about casting animations scale with the level of the caster, just as magical animations scale with the tier of the magic? The casting animation for of a level 50 Conjurer/White Mage should be far more elaborate and bedazzling than the casting animation of a level 1 Conjurer.

3. Magical Effects and Animations in FFXIV are extremely lackluster. The update that increased the size of spell effect did little more than to stretch and enlarge those effects. They didn't bother to increase the resolution of the sprites and textures involved, so now those effects are big, but blurry and lacking in definition. I would strongly argue that a fundamental redesign of all magical animations and visual effects in FFXIV is warranted. The developers should strive to knock our socks off, not simply implement version 2.0 of the same old dog and pony show we're used to. Surpass our expectations, by a WIDE margin.

4. The dev. team should address this topic directly, as Magic is a core part of the Final Fantasy Franchise, and many many players will be playing a DOM class/job.

[Mort]

Almost all animations in this game are unexiting, my beliefs is that they are placeholders. The game was rushed and they probably didnt have enough time..

[Anon]

Spell animations are VERY lame, redo them please, oh and while your at it make con some gloves... how do you over look this when releasing a game and then again when assessing what needs immediate attention (by two different teams might I add); a class is missing gear for one whole slot no biggie.

[Roll]

Old dev team: "hey we just finished thm, next is black mage, white mage, and arcanist....what?! Release is next week??!! Make whm and blm one class and forget about arcanist!"

Sounds like what may have happened lol
I was so surprised there were only two DoM classes in the beginning.

[Darrkness]

i'm a THM myself and always with any RPG or MMO i always go for the mana/magic thrower classes and i do have to agree with this thread that the effects are ehhhh okay at best being a brand new mmo and seeing the graphics of everything else for the first time i couldn't wait to cast my first fire spell and see what it looks like.......... really? thats it?? hmm, maybe it gets better as i lvl... now i'm 24 rank and nothing has changed except the value of the number that pops up... /sigh

[Roll]

Dear People of this thread,

Stop confusing casting animation with spell particle effects.

Thanks,

Mog

I probably should have renamed it for magic in general(Spell casting animation, spell effects, etc).
I just think SE can do so much better.

[PEANUT]

I'm just adding my comment to show I agree with this thread 100%! The unique magics and magic effecrs have always been my favorite in the FF series and this game should be no different!