FFXIV GRAPHICS UPDATE/OVERHAUL - WHEN???

[Ash_]

I wonder if they've thought of using AI to do some of the work in up-scaling the textures. There's been some news articles lately showing off the possibilities of what AI can do, so maybe that would be a cost effective way of doing it.

[Berethos]

Black Desert Online did last year xD. Game was launched on 2016. But then again it's easy to remaster a game when its still small.

That was a graphic overhaul, and while one of their scope is impressive (along with the audio improvements that came with it), they aren't the first to do it.

There's a significant difference between that and an overhaul of the game engine, which is the part of the game that handles everything from rendering graphics, to collision detection, to memory management, and quite a bit more.. The game engine is essentially the software framework within which pretty much the entire game works.

If you're talking about doing a complete rebuild of the game engine (as the person I quoted suggested they do), you're basically talking about making a brand new game, which is why it's basically sequel territory.

[Selova]

Black Desert Online did last year xD. Game was launched on 2016. But then again it's easy to remaster a game when its still small.

A remaster is not even on the same level as a complete rebuild and overhaul of the graphics engine. They aren't even in the same realm.

[Fynlar]

No thanks. The game looks fine; content lulls are the biggest issue we have atm.

[Vahlnir]

No thanks. The game looks fine; content lulls are the biggest issue we have atm.

Updating the engine and updating the graphics aren't really the same thing, but you have to consider what is underneath it all. The game LOOKS fine, I can agree with that. The game is not BUILT fine though and apparently limits everything that they can do, or so they would have us believe. We're not talking about appearances, we are talking about what allows those appearances and lets us run the content they give us. Aka, what's under the hood of this "vehicle". We will never know what the reality of the situation is but the game is apparently very, very limited in its capabilities.

[Fynlar]

Updating the engine and updating the graphics aren't really the same thing.

I don't really know/care what the difference is. The topic is addressing a "graphics update/overhaul", and that's what I'm responding to.


I think we have far more critical matters at hand.

[Vahlnir]

I think we have far more critical matters at hand.

Like updating the engine.

[JunseiKei]

Black Desert Online did last year xD. Game was launched on 2016. But then again it's easy to remaster a game when its still small.

BDO also had high res textures to begin with. If you read the interview, XIV never made them to begin with. BDO remastered mostly added new shading and lighting, but I can't say the textures themselves changed (and why all the issues with BDO remastered had everything to do with lighting and effect).

For XIV to update their graphics, I'd could imagine them reusing older assets more as they looked to create higher resolutions of them in the future. That'd give them more time and resources, but then they'd have player backlash, as we've already seen the 'Ugh, these are the same outfits from 3.x and 2.x! It's not even original looking gear!' However, I can't see XIV promising better graphics in the future when it'd be a long undertaking (like 4+ years, maybe more?) given every expansion has seen 2 new jobs added with 2 expansions having earned 3 new jobs, plus new gear every major content patch.

BDO also basically has no content and I often compare the game to Minecraft or Runescape. Just pretty.

Like updating the engine.

Considering XIV uses the same engine as XV, I don't think it's the engine itself. Love XV, hate XV, XV looks gorgeous.

[Fynlar]

Like updating the engine.

I don't feel like that's what's to blame for our content lulls, so nah, not on board with this necessarily. (Refer to your own WoW mention for another example of this; despite regular overhauls the game is still apparently struggling now, so what are these overhauls really fixing/addressing?)


Maybe if you actually specified what/how exactly "The Engine" limits the devs in its current iteration and how an overhaul would allow them, both in terms of technical limitations and their own man hours/resources, to address those limits, then you might get more people on board with this idea.

[hynaku]

I heard for long time now engine to game is running about at its max limits. If keeps it up it is going to break. I would thought by now they been working on a new engine or update this engine so can handle graphics ones want.