Lackluster Graphics in FFXIV

[Abriael]

Sigh... people and their demands, "Perfect" games does not YET exists guys, play and enjoy what you have today, or wait another few years for a better game with better graphics to be developed.

Perfect games will NEVER exist

I seriously wonder what BelgianRofl would do if he bought Shogun 2 today. He'd probably be speeding towards Creative Assembly's studios with a torch in his hand lol.

That's what happens when you dabble with more effects than you can chew.

[Martin]

Perfect games will NEVER exist

Yup, agreed totally with that comment, they will never exist, if they want a perfect "Game" with graphics, stop playing games and face real life and try to "adventure" through it :P

Side note: Real life graphics ARE perfect unless you have an eye-sight issue xP...

[gifthorse]

Perfect games will NEVER exist

I seriously wonder what BelgianRofl would do if he bought Shogun 2 today. He'd probably be speeding towards Creative Assembly's studios with a torch in his hand lol.

That's what happens when you dabble with more effects than you can chew.

Perfect games will never exist, but I'd rather have a game that compromise a little on graphics and creates a world that I can actually interact with rather than just a blue screen that goes on in the background as I run past.

http://aaportal.net/en/index.php?vie...lery&Itemid=55

[Abriael]

Perfect games will never exist, but I'd rather have a game that compromise a little on graphics and creates a world that I can actually interact with rather than just a blue screen that goes on in the background as I run past.

And how exactly are the two things conflicting?

[gifthorse]

And how exactly are the two things conflicting?

Because the Crystal Tools engine doesn't have game world streaming technology, it has to load in the zones all at once, this limits their ability to create truly seamless zones. Limsa Lominsa isn't really an island surrounded by water, it's an island surrounded by a flat panel representing water.

[Abriael]

Because the Crystal Tools engine doesn't have game world streaming technology, it has to load in the zones all at once, this limits their ability to create truly seamless zones. Limsa Lominsa isn't really an island surrounded by water, it's an island surrounded by a flat panel representing water.

Seamless worlds are extremely overrated, and they are not necessary to create environments with which you can interact. Not to mention that technologies can be implemented at a later date. Engines aren't static entities.

As for the "not sophisticated enough" that someone pulled out (lol), again, when another engine will produce a MMORPG better looking than this one, we'll talk. As of now, that's not even on the radar.

[BelgianRofl]

Seamless worlds are extremely overrated.

anything not in FFXIV is overrated. and FFXIV is underrated. right now it only has a 49/100.

[gifthorse]

Seamless worlds are extremely overrated, and they are not necessary to create environments with which you can interact. Not to mention that technologies can be implemented at a later date. Engines aren't static entities.

As for the "not sophisticated enough" that someone pulled out (lol), again, when another engine will produce a MMORPG better looking than this one, we'll talk. As of now, that's not even on the radar.

Yes, well I still don't foresee them changing that aspect of the engine anytime soon, not to mention the fact that they would then have to implement the changes to La Noscea after that.

Im not saying FFXIV has bad graphics, I'm just saying it has a lot of shortcomings. And personally I'd rather see a game with slightly crappier graphics in certain areas, but more flexible design features overall, and seamless zones. It's not just the fact that I want seamless zones, but it's the features which stem from this ability to create seamless zones which I want. Isn't it irritating that you can go from desert to forest (with a loading screen in between) and notice no natural transition between the zones? Isn't it annoying that you have loading screens between the docks in Thanalan and Limsa?

One of the areas in which FFXIV falls short is repeated terrain. The quality of the terrain isn't an issue, because it's all high quality textures for an MMO (barring draw distance etc). However, if the engine could cope with the passive streaming of the game world (as opposed to loading screens between zones), then this would give SE more freedom to create richer, more detailed, more unique environments. It would also allow SE to create oceans, say, around Limsa Lominsa. Currently there aren't oceans, but simply tiles which are supposed to represent oceans.

What Dreamer said about Aion having better character models/gear models is crazy, because in my mind that's one of the only ways in which FFXIV excels. The characters are all so detailed and the gear so three-dimensional. You can always tell if something is hempen, cotton, canvas, velveteen etc. The detail is amazing.

But it's annoying to see such detail in the characters and world detracted from by a few shortcomings: loading screens, repeated terrain, and the implications of these on the design of the world.

[BelgianRofl]

One of the areas in which FFXIV falls short is repeated terrain. The quality of the terrain isn't an issue, because it's all high quality textures for an MMO (barring draw distance etc). However, if the engine could cope with the passive streaming of the game world (as opposed to loading screens between zones), then this would give SE more freedom to create richer, more detailed, more unique environments. It would also allow SE to create oceans, say, around Limsa Lominsa. Currently there aren't oceans, but simply tiles which are supposed to represent oceans.

This !! There wouldn't be so many repeating textures - Uldah/Limsa cliffs if Crystal Tools wasn't a piece of junk.

But it's annoying to see such detail in the characters and world detracted from by a few shortcomings: loading screens, repeated terrain, and the implications of these on the design of the world.

Yes. Why SE took the time to create proper shading, etc on the characters, but neglected Environment and structures is beyond me.