What's up with the 7.0 gear textures?

[miraidensetsu]

Well, I didn't see any changes on textures. It seemed equally pixelated for me.

Even square grapes is still square grapes and looks exactly the same.

[kaynide]

Just to add I was a little surprised over dye..options. So many older outfits could have used the second dye channel for something more than like..a feather. Or buttons. Or a belt loop.

Then, on one that could use it well is not consistent.

Ex, the Isle Shepherd dress top, the secondary dye colors the orange stitchwork. Wonderful! But, it doesn’t also dye the orange shoulders….which are the same color as the stichwork.

Everything gets dyed but the orange shoulders. Shame.

[Akonyl]

Almost anywhere two materials meet is very pixelated.

I'm obviously not a FF14 dev (though I am a software dev) so take it with a grain of salt, but I think this (which I think is the main issue that makes things look terrible, honestly) is just something that's likely an unfortunate side effect of how the FF14 engine handles textures, and isn't something they can totally fix without a rework or massively bumping texture resolutions (and thus game size). (Also: In the OP, that image isn't really showing two images with wildly different resolutions, the new one just has better detail, though I guess it's hard to say 100% with stream compression. The jagged edges on the first one are likely unseen edges on the armor anyway).

From what I remember hearing, the material system in the game identifies materials via a numeric value encoded in one of the textures, interpreted as I believe materials 1-16, rather than say, a texture where RGB define the % influence of 3 specific dyes/materials (which some games do use, but is more costly). The issue there though is that it means the values can't be smoothly interpolated, because if you for example had material 1 and material 3 right next to each other, the blending would be interpreted as meaning there was a thin band of material 2 between them, which would show its own ugly artifacts (materials being where they shouldn't). So they have to go with nearest neighbor (pixelated) interpolation, which yields jagged edges like we have.

A lot of games don't actually have textures much better than XIV, it's just that when you actually allow the engine to interpolate/blur textures, they look measurably better even at the same resolution. It is pretty unfortunate though, and it'd be nice if they could do *something*, but I don't know if I want that to just mean dumping another 10gigs on 4k textures or whatever.

[CidHeiral]

I'm obviously not a FF14 dev (though I am a software dev) so take it with a grain of salt, but I think this (which I think is the main issue that makes things look terrible, honestly) is just something that's likely an unfortunate side effect of how the FF14 engine handles textures, and isn't something they can totally fix without a rework or massively bumping texture resolutions (and thus game size). (Also: In the OP, that image isn't really showing two images with wildly different resolutions, the new one just has better detail, though I guess it's hard to say 100% with stream compression. The jagged edges on the first one are likely unseen edges on the armor anyway).

From what I remember hearing, the material system in the game identifies materials via a numeric value encoded in one of the textures, interpreted as I believe materials 1-16, rather than say, a texture where RGB define the % influence of 3 specific dyes/materials (which some games do use, but is more costly). The issue there though is that it means the values can't be smoothly interpolated, because if you for example had material 1 and material 3 right next to each other, the blending would be interpreted as meaning there was a thin band of material 2 between them, which would show its own ugly artifacts (materials being where they shouldn't). So they have to go with nearest neighbor (pixelated) interpolation, which yields jagged edges like we have.

A lot of games don't actually have textures much better than XIV, it's just that when you actually allow the engine to interpolate/blur textures, they look measurably better even at the same resolution. It is pretty unfortunate though, and it'd be nice if they could do *something*, but I don't know if I want that to just mean dumping another 10gigs on 4k textures or whatever.

Interesting, that's very informative. So it's not an issue with the resolution, it's an issue with how the engine is smoothing out the textures? Am I understanding that right?

[DaveFishnomer]

Small. Indie. Company.

But seriously, that is the vibe the keep giving us, with so many different aspects of the game.

And no, it's not an engine issue, as can be seen on YouTube modders have been improving the textures for years now.

[GreenLeafy]

The texture update is so inconsistent across the entire game I just gave up in full after they thought its ok to give me this in the 7.0 phys range role quest cutscene on the highest graphic settings.


Like , Idk , speechless tbh looooooool. What do you even say to something like that when they didn't stop shoving GrApHicAl UpdATe marketing down your throat every LL? This it Yoship? This my update right here?

[CidHeiral]

The texture update is so inconsistent across the entire game I just gave up in full after they thought its ok to give me this in the 7.0 phys range role quest cutscene on the highest graphic settings.


Like , Idk , speechless tbh looooooool. What do you even say to something like that when they didn't stop shoving GrApHicAl UpdATe marketing down your throat every LL? This it Yoship? This my update right here?

To be fair I don't think that particular piece has been updated yet. They're updating things in waves.

[GreenLeafy]

To be fair I don't think that particular piece has been updated yet. They're updating things in waves.

Still though , this is a quest line in the Brand New expansion they have just released. Why did they think this is an ok pass? Why would you put a new npc in your new expansion quest line in non-updated gear and give a zoom in shot to really hammer it in? Just like someone pointed out earlier - they didn't even have the courtesy to do that for a character that's part of the MSQ - Koana. Its just a very baffling choice. I can understand it for some old quest ( like it was for my experience finishing up some EW quests ) but actually making the concious choice to put this in your new expansion is mind-boggling. Especially when you consider they put some random guards at the very start of the MSQ in the most shiny rendered metal armour for them to legit never appear again much afterwards.

Yeah sure roll it out in waves for updating old things , but don't put this type of stuff in the new product you have people paying for under the advertisement that things will be updated.

[Sunhwapark]

Have to agree.
It would be better overall if CBU3 worked on completing at least one thing before jumping onto another project, rather than giving us these early access type of implementations that will not be complete for the next few years.
Particularly, Hats on Hroth/Viera, Dual Dye system & Gear Texturing as some of the obvious matters.

[Oizen]

I'm going to assume they advertised the update with larger textures than they actually used for the final release, because the 6.0 PLD gear does not look nearly as good as they advertised it did post update.
The things that look good are getting carried with the better metal shader, the actual texture quality isn't all that improved.