Quote Originally Posted by R041 View Post
This actually gives me some hope that XIV could see some significant improvements in the future. I wonder if it was XVI that kicked off the improvements, and we may not have seen this stuff otherwise.
I doubt it. I think it has everything to do with them looking forward to the "next 10 years". That, combined with seeing New World, Ashes of Creation and all of the graphics adjustments a lot of people feel they "have" to make.

But the engine just isn't everything. The texture quality is low because they made low quality textures. If they made low polygon models, then the models are low polygon. The models are not as high polygon as they could be so that some models are not higher polygon than others, which was a problem in 1.0. The shaders don't look realistic because they don't code them to be realistic so that it doesn't break people's computers when 600 players gather for Chi or a hunt.

But they do some amazing things with the engine sometimes that show what they can do with it, especially in trials and all the expansion alliance raids.
Aetherochemical Research Facility
Shinryu Extreme
Amaurot
Hades
Archaeotania
E4S Phase 2
Perfect Alexander
Eden Resurrection
Dead Ends
Or even the alliance raid in the new trailer
https://youtu.be/RVQtvBIdv4Y?t=35

My point is they can do all these great things. They just limit the texture and shader quality on purpose, which for some people, ruins it. Even when they improve these things, the quality from previous expansions remains.