FFXIV patch content in a nutshell

[Nebelheim]

You joke but I know plenty of people who genuinely believe this is a fair and much needed trade off. People are very serious about their graphics. I know another faction of people that would sacrifice an entire patch just to get chat bubbles as a built-in feature of the game outside mods. I don't agree with giving up content for other things but trust me when I say there are people who would think it's a worthy price to pay.

Cutting content for an entire expansion with not much to do isn't that good of a trade off for a graphics update when the graphics update doesn't look like it's that much of an improvement over what we currently have. There only updating the shaders lighting and slightly updating textures to most likely native 1080p instead of the ps3 muddy textures we have now. Which the lighting/shaders portion just looks like there applying gshade/reshade filters on top of what we have so it's more likely they are taking what the modders are doing with shaders and taking ideas and applying those ideas to the game.

[Swordsman]

I think they are sacrificing content development atm to make up for the graphics overhaul in 7.0. lol.

If they do a very good job with it then I'd say it was worth the sacrifice. This game is really in need of a graphics update after all.

[Kaurhz]

I think they are sacrificing content development atm to make up for the graphics overhaul in 7.0. lol.

Partially,

But I don't really think the amount of sacrifice is greater than what people think. Mainly because the issue is not with the amount of content we've got, just the underlying reason and incentive to actually continually replay the content. Like, with IS they've still had to develop a zone, and they've still had to develop the objects and assets in that zone e.g., the workshop, Granary, Cabin, and Landmarks.

[Snorky]

Partially,

But I don't really think the amount of sacrifice is greater than what people think. Mainly because the issue is not with the amount of content we've got, just the underlying reason and incentive to actually continually replay the content. Like, with IS they've still had to develop a zone, and they've still had to develop the objects and assets in that zone e.g., the workshop, Granary, Cabin, and Landmarks.

I actually agree with this assessment of content. I don't mind doing a grind if at the end I have something to show for it. One thing I really liked was the archeology skill from ESO because I could dig up unique items for my houses. I loved it. I don't mind grinding if I have a goal to complete. This is where things fail here in FFXIV for me personally, I would spend hours decorating my houses in ESO. I can't even bid on a house here yet. I love the neighborhood idea but it's so limited by the system it uses in ability for people to obtain one. I like to collect things, I'm not a raider but one thing I can participate in normal dungeons and not feel outcast which is nice. So mid core content is something I really hope for in the future. The graphics update is long overdue.

[Teno]

If they do a very good job with it then I'd say it was worth the sacrifice. This game is really in need of a graphics update after all.

It would also definitely play into them making the game a life sim lol. Not that I'd mind as fashion is endgame and a good graphics update would be great, but it can only go so far if it's the same bare content routine.

[Boblawblah]

This game is really in need of a graphics update after all.

Maybe I've just stopped caring about graphics as I get older, but I love the look of FFXIV as it is. I seen no desperate need for a graphics update at all.

[remiff]

Maybe I've just stopped caring about graphics as I get older, but I love the look of FFXIV as it is. I seen no desperate need for a graphics update at all.

The update to the engine and graphics was quite essential if they want the game not to age too poorly for the so-called next 10 years.
And anyway, from what we've seen, it's good but not exactly groundbreaking. It's mainly about getting rid of those PS3-tier textures and reworking the vegetation, which was basically just a pixelated mess.

Also, even though the colors in the presentation video were exaggerated, it's also a good thing that they're changing the color palette to make the game less dull in certain aspects.

Even if graphics aren't the most important thing for some people, it must be admitted that the vegetation in the cutescene and the low-resolution, low-polygon ground textures were simply an eyesore.

[Supersnow845]

Honestly I’m also on the fence about really needing enough changes to the graphics that it would suck up an expansions worth of resources, sure there are a few terrible textures lingering around, the vegetation needs fixing but honestly the biggest complaint I have right now is just how bad the default body is

I say this in the least horny way possible because i don’t go anywhere near ERP but for males in a game not afraid to use swimsuits as glams having no bulge looks more unnatural than just having a regular non pronounced bulge, skin and body textures are terrible and face options are still limited

I’d rather they do an overhaul of the character creator so people don’t have to resort to mods to do it for them over a HD grass 2.0

[Shikiseki]

Not trying to add oil into the fire but at the same time, their new baby ff16 is getting various dlcs and goodies added while ff14 is slowly extinguished.

I kid you not when I say that after the hype fanfest announcement that DT will be summer next year, my server felt 70% emptier and almost all of my fc members went awol lol - pretty ironic on the game's 10th anniversary to be this barebones

[remiff]

Honestly I’m also on the fence about really needing enough changes to the graphics that it would suck up an expansions worth of resources, sure there are a few terrible textures lingering around, the vegetation needs fixing but honestly the biggest complaint I have right now is just how bad the default body is

I say this in the least horny way possible because i don’t go anywhere near ERP but for males in a game not afraid to use swimsuits as glams having no bulge looks more unnatural than just having a regular non pronounced bulge, skin and body textures are terrible and face options are still limited

I’d rather they do an overhaul of the character creator so people don’t have to resort to mods to do it for them over a HD grass 2.0

Honestly, even though the budget for this kind of project is costly in terms of resources and money, I really don't think that the graphical update in 7.0 is the cause of the lack of content in Endwalker.

Especially since both you and I have seen the North American fanfest trailer, and even though it made things look cleaner, personally, aside from a few flowers and auto-generated grass, better-quality metal rendering, improved weather effects, and better textures for characters, we didn't see a complete texture overhaul.

It was still quite blurry in some aspects and lacked crucial details.
While I'm sure they have plans for this, it won't all be released in 7.0. They intend for a long-term graphical update with 7.0 Part 1, with minimal additions in patches 7.1-7.5 to introduce new textures gradually.
I believe the bulk of it will come over several years, likely when they phase out the PS4.

It's important to remember that the PS4 still supports Dawntrail, and even though it probably won't benefit from the new auto-generated textures, there are likely plans for more extensive improvements in the future.