Lackluster Graphics in FFXIV

[Abriael]

I see what is causing your confusion.

You're the one that's confused

Not only there are no shadows cast by characters, but there's no shadows casted ON characters. on the other hand there are shadows cast on structures. There are also baked shadows very visible, which are a clear indication of prerendering.

Reflective water uses "minimal resources" only when the water model is extremely simple. That's most decidedly not the case with FFXIV.

You really shouldn't talk about what you don't know Everyone disagrees with you, and ultimately this thread was epic fail.

[BelgianRofl]

D Everyone disagrees with you, and ultimately this thread was epic fail.

#1, You and Elkwood having zero understanding about what pre-rendering is does not mean everyone disagrees with me. Did you even look at the 3dMark 2005 video showcasing vastly superior real-time graphical technology?

#2, You've posted on this thread probably about 45 times. It doesn't get much more WIN than that, making fanboys this mad...

#3. Pause the 2005 video at 9 seconds in and examine what you see. The walls, posts etc.. of the structure do not cast shadows. Light is allowed to pass through as if there are no walls, lampposts, or rails. Hence, no shadows on the characters either. Same thing as compared to FFXIV today.

[Abriael]

#1, You and Elkwood having zero understanding about what pre-rendering is does not mean everyone disagrees with me. Did you even look at the 3dMark 2005 video showcasing vastly superior real-time graphical technology?

You're showing some very selective reading. A very vast majority here says that the graphics are fantastic. Also, are you seriously comparing a benchmark program (which is not even a game) with a MMORPG?.

#2, You've posted on this thread probably about 45 times. That means my thread is epic WIN.

You have a quite wild idea of "win" if you think that being proven wrong 45 times no matter how you spin it has anything to do with winning

#3. Pause the 2005 video at 9 seconds in and examine what you see. The walls, posts etc.. of the structure do not cast shadows. Light is allowed to pass through as if there are no walls, lampposts, or rails. Hence, no shadows on the characters either. Same thing as compared to FFXIV today.

Nope, characters in FFXIV today cast shadows both on environment and on themselves. It's an entirely different effect, as FFXIV uses as the only dynamic light sources the sun and the moon.

[BelgianRofl]

You're showing some very selective reading. A very vast majority here says that the graphics are fantastic. Also, are you seriously comparing a benchmark program (which is not even a game) with a MMORPG?.

The thread is not about an overall lack of graphics in the game. It's about repeating textures, lifeless water tech, and lousy shading. Check the OP

Also, I was comparing a vastly superior tech-demo to another inferior tech-demo that you believe is pre-rendered LOL

Nope, characters in FFXIV today cast shadows both on environment and on themselves. It's an entirely different effect, as FFXIV uses as the only dynamic light sources the sun and the moon.

Yes. Characters cast shadows correctly on themselves, other characters, and the environment. unfortunately, that is not the point of discussion. It's the environment that doesn't cast shadows. If it did, it would drastically futureproof this game.

[Abriael]

The thread is not about an overall lack of graphics in the game. It's about repeating textures, lifeless water tech, and lousy shading. Check the OP

The thread is about "lackluster graphics". The graphics aren't lackluster. It's that simple.

Also, I was comparing a vastly superior tech-demo to another inferior tech-demo that you believe is pre-rendered LOL

Have you ever seen a game that looks nearly as good as a tech demo? Crysis (/and not even what we've seen so far of Crysis 2) doesn't look nearly as good as the cryengine tech demos, and the same works for basically every other game that has been preceded from tech demos of the engine, or of the concept.

Tech demos do NOT have the same restrictions as a full game. Developers can focus the whole resources of the machine on a single scene. That does all the difference of the world.

As for the "vastly superior" tech demo, you confuse superiority with difference. The benchmark demo actually shows a lot of scenes, all separate, and each of them is actually quite a lot simpler and smaller in breadth and number of mobiles/effects than the Square Enix one.

All the scenes also focus on a single element, on very few elements. None of those show a whole city that includes architecture, vegetation, water, moving characters all in the same scene, with an extremely long field of view.

The only scene in that whole benchmark that is comparable in breathd and variety is the last one.
And in that scene, compared to the SE one:
1: the field of view is shorter and/or obstructed
2: the water is reflective, but much simpler in rendering, and reflects only environment and not mobile.
3: both architecture and environment are very simple, not only much simpler than the SE demo, but also of FFXIV itself.
4: there's only one mobile.
5: natural lighting is way simpler.

To put it down simply, it's not only not vastly superior, it's actually vastly inferior.

Yes. Characters cast shadows correctly on themselves, other characters, and the environment. unfortunately, that is not the point of discussion. It's the environment that doesn't cast shadows. If it did, it would drastically futureproof this game.

The point of discussion is that the tech demo shown has several prerendered elements.

[JudgeN]

Nope, characters in FFXIV today cast shadows both on environment and on themselves. It's an entirely different effect, as FFXIV uses as the only dynamic light sources the sun and the moon.

Dunno about the sun and the moon because the landscapes don't seem to cast a shadow. Characters do have dynamic shadows like you said. While I do think the graphics in this game can be good the lighting is still very much lacking, why didn't square make ALL light sources dynamic?

The thread is not about an overall lack of graphics in the game. It's about repeating textures, lifeless water tech, and lousy shading. Check the OP

Bingo this is all that's wrong with the game right here.

[Hazmatyre]

Dunno about the sun and the moon because the landscapes don't seem to cast a shadow. Characters do have dynamic shadows like you said. While I do think the graphics in this game can be good the lighting is still very much lacking, why didn't square make ALL light sources dynamic?

I'd be running the game like a slideshow.

[JudgeN]

I'd be running the game like a slideshow.

If the engine for this game wasn't so poorly optimized grumble grumble, but it would be interesting to see. Maybe the game did have good dynamic lighting at one point and they realized the already tanking FPS went into the single digits on high end cards so they removed it and gave us this crap.

Anyone know if the closed alpha beta had better lighting?