This is rather frustrating...

[Ingolf]

Don't you know? All they want to hear is how everyone and their mom love Yoshi-P!!

Serioulsy, you need to be blind to not see how some aspects of the new graphics took a downgrade.
The images in general look good, and show off a more interesting world compared to what we have now.
But that doesn't hide the fact that there are some things (like foliage, and textures) that look worse than right now.

For those saying that graphics don't matter, well sorry - they do. They're part of the game, and we all know nobody would be playing XIV if it had the graphical quality of Runescape, don't kid yourself.

This is the big thing that is making it so I'm slightly irked instead of very mad.

The world looks far better now, I'm just hoping that the 15% will allow those with the hardware to crank it up to the same quality we currently have. (or better of course)

[Cenewulf]

Hell im just glad they are optimizing it for lower end pc's as well which means my computer will run it a little faster.

[Ingolf]

Hell im just glad they are optimizing it for lower end pc's as well which means my computer will run it a little faster.

I'm glad about that too. Being able to play on my laptop at work will be good.

[Malakhim]

If it looks visibly worse, then the videophiles (the people who buy the hardware so they're able to crank the game to max) feel a little upset. If it looked visibly identical or better, then no-one would care.

This is a forum, the devs want feedback.

And you will, regardless of what those specs are. It isn't Square-Enix's job to make sure that every single transistor is working double time. It's their job to make an interesting world that we want to explore. Visually appealing = top-end graphics. It's your own problem that you bought all that hardware in the first place.

[Starlord]

Lets put it this way.. if you bought a top end Computer.. then even if you were to quit FFXIV, you still have this Fabulous Computer at your Disposal. So I really don't see the QQ some people have over building a computer :P.

[Ingolf]

And you will, regardless of what those specs are. It isn't Square-Enix's job to make sure that every single transistor is working double time. It's their job to make an interesting world that we want to explore. Visually appealing = top-end graphics. It's your own problem that you bought all that hardware in the first place.

So I shouldn't be giving the devs feedback on what I personally see to be an issue?

[Viritess]

Building a comp is fun, and its nice to have something powerful that can run anything smoothly.

Expecting any and all games that come out to make full use of that system is a huge mistake. Just because i've put good money into my comp is no reason for me to expect Crysis out of every game out there. And just because i'm in the top percent of madly powerful computer users is not reason to expect them to tailor anything towards me.

Its an MMO, Scaleability is important. How many people skipped on FF14 the first time BECAUSE of the high requirements.
You need to deliver as much quality as you can, certainly. But Time, cost, feasability etc all factor in too.

Everyone likes pretty pictures. But the relentless hunt for more polys is only gonna get you so far. Penny arcade has a video series called Extra Credits. Everyone should do themselves a favor and watch all of them, but especially the Graphics-Aesthetics episode. (someone posted it in a similar thread)

Some times you have to give a little to get a little. Your not gonna get 100+ people on screen if only a handful of people can run the game. And few companies (especially one in the position SE is in) are going to spend even more time for the smaller percentage of players when they have a deadline. Maybe we'll see HD, super high res at a later date. But if your looking at things they can put off till another time, thats one of them. And despite my heavy duty rig and enjoyment of a high number of polys, if i was in their position i'd do the same.

If you want a lively game, full of players that help finance a long and healthy life for this game, you might have to give up a few polys here and there. Enjoy the Aesthetics and try not to worry so much about your FPS and poly count.

[MStowastiqVahlshdeh]

Whatever makes a game for one person is their choice. A blend of everything is good but for me there are some requirements in a game that I will not do without and some I will sacrifice. I'm a graphics freak and I will refuse to play a game over bad graphics because it makes the game for me the most in the way of immersion since I'm a visual person. Still, I understand how others like gameplay more than graphics and can tolerate less of the graphical quality as long as there is good gameplay.

I think it is in any business model's best interest to accommodate as much of a variety as they can and not just have one or the other. Bravo to SE for listening to their customer's feedback.

[bobbygunz]

But I mean, is it really too much to ask to have high res textures back?

I mean, seriously. You guys are kinda being crazy.

[DeeBeeP]

Whatever makes a game for one person is their choice. A blend of everything is good but for me there are some requirements in a game that I will not do without and some I will sacrifice. I'm a graphics freak and I will refuse to play a game over bad graphics because it makes the game for me the most in the way of immersion since I'm a visual person. Still, I understand how others like gameplay more than graphics and can tolerate less of the graphical quality as long as there is good gameplay.

I think it is in any business model's best interest to accommodate as much of a variety as they can and not just have one or the other. Bravo to SE for listening to their customer's feedback.

The last MMO that was considered a graphic powerhouse was Age of Conan, turned out that was all they had past level 20. The game was DOA and the only reason its still around is because it went F2P, even now only a handful play it. I'd rather not FFXIV suffer the same fate. While you may put visuals on a pedestal you are a minority. Every MMO that has failed in the last few years has been because their gameplay does not keep subscribers, SWTOR is hurting because they have no endgame content. Aion touted its Unreal Engine 3, its F2P. Rift had a shiny engine, they were doing server merges only months after release. Whether you like it or not the truth is that most people could care less about graphics if the game isn't even fun to play.