How Does This Game Have Good Graphics?

[Valmonte]

Because its models are high-quality. We're talking about graphic quality, not style. Graphics means quality of the models and the engine that makes them work. Style means how those models are used. Get the difference. When it comes to graphic quality, the amount of data and detail in the 3d models is much better than other games because it was created for new-age consoles, not for some dude's old computer he never updated because he can still play World of Warcraft.

When it comes to style... It works. It's not amazing but it doesn't need to be.

Style and Graphics go hand in hand and are equally important, if one must outweigh the other then style must always be at the forefront. this is why the FFXIV we have now has great models, but the FFXIV we'll be getting has style.

[bobbygunz]

Style and Graphics go hand in hand and are equally important, if one must outweigh the other then style must always be at the forefront. this is why the FFXIV we have now has great models, but the FFXIV we'll be getting has style.

Just because something isn't flamboyant or over-the-top doesn't mean it doesn't have style. Understand that designers and artists can make a concientious decision to make a world which is subtle and unasssuming. Not everything has to be a Nickelodeon cartoon or constantly "epic".

If you look at the world and the amount of detail the designers invested into even such small things as light fittings and cultural architecture (like the doorways in Uldah; the wooden beams in gridania; the roughyl hewn rocks in Limsa to give just some examples) you realise the game does have a lot of style, and each area is teeming with individualised assets. You can look into any room and see designs specific to that culture/nation.

It's such BS to say that this game doesn't have style.

[Mirage]

Because its models are high-quality. We're talking about graphic quality, not style. Graphics means quality of the models and the engine that makes them work. Style means how those models are used. Get the difference. When it comes to graphic quality, the amount of data and detail in the 3d models is much better than other games because it was created for new-age consoles, not for some dude's old computer he never updated because he can still play World of Warcraft.

When it comes to style... It works. It's not amazing but it doesn't need to be.

Well, the engine has a few quirks too, such as the poor handling of background/foreground rendering, problems handling two transparent objects overlapping (hair/eyebrows look terrible against water surfaces, for example). Shadows aren't *that* accurate, and you can see double shadows through certain terrain etc. And of course, environmental shadows aren't dynamic, and ambient occlusion uses 5 times as much resources as other games need for it.

Those are the technical flaws. When it comes to subjective flaws, many environmental textures are dull and look plasticy (especially in la noscea). Cloud textures are a bit poorly made too (but they look a lot better with ambient occlusion, too bad they need to fix AO first). And before you ask, yes, I play with the highest texture settings.

[Null]

Tera owns FFXIV it doesn't even compare.

[Amsai]

Well the graphics quality is top notch. However, as others have said the style and maybe even the atmosphere may not be the best to some people. It is subjective, but basically the thing I like most about FFXIV is the char models have a more realistic look as opposed to a more toon look. Same is true about the armor and weapons. Which is the reason I can't stomach games with toon like characters such as WoW, Rift for their char models, and Tera has god awful armor (though I do like the half naked girls). However, I will have to agree that for instance the art style and atmosphere of other games backgrounds and landscapes can look better in my opinion even though FFXIV technically has better graphics. Fortunately, 2.0 is supoosed to have better landscapes, and from the SSs I have seen appear to have a good ambiance. Then we also had Yoshi P say that the world would look more alive (NPCs that dont act like background scenery).

[Falen]

It's such BS to say that this game doesn't have style.

I believe the question is less than this game has "Style" as that the style isn't well woven together. You can see how the cities were developed and who developed them (in-game/lore), but I (and I assume plenty of others) can talk to the citizens, and they don't feel like they care about their surroundings as much.
For example, I talked to one of the NPCs in the area around the Ul'Dah Inn entrance and he says "Oh, this area was specially opened for the public during these hard times" or something. But the area isn't all /that/ special looking that he would have needed to say that. The area doesn't feel like it has a history that would need that isolation, unlike the Statesrooms you visit the Grand Company leaders in. Those areas are normally cut off because they have a purpose for it,
so why is that NPC (in dark armor with a sword and shield) there, in the center area, saying this? In the stead of being placed near the entrance to the Statesroom on the top level of Ul'Dah? What's so special about that room on the bottom floor in the center that it would be normally cut off to the public, despite the area design saying, "Hey, want to get from the Coliseum to Sunsilk Tapestries faster than going around the outside ring?"
Sorry if it's a bit...rant-y. Trying to explain what I mean. The area is good, but the people around it, and their history with the area...don't feel real, or believable.

[Dragon]

I don't see why you need to bash the creator of that video when he's actually saying the same you said..
Sure, aesthetics will always be subjective, but since they are used to set the mood (for example, using only grey-brownish colors in Deus Ex Human Revolution was fitting the "dark future" mood the game was supposed to convey while fantasy MMOs are supposed to convey a feeling of "go out into this vast beautiful world and have some awesome adventures" for which those colors might not be a perfect choice) they are important.
Katamari might be "crap" to you but the simple style, the bright color palette etc. used are totally fitting the mood of the game - fun, nonsensical rolling around.
This doesn't mean you will enjoy the game, but it means the game might be more enjoyable if you like these types of games.

Also, the video creator and his team are all video game developers, saying they have no clue at all makes no sense

I personally enjoy FFXIV's aesthetics and think they fit the whole more-close-to-reality idea the game is following well.
But since aesthetics are subjective, the OP might think differently.
Since - like you and everyone else before you said - GRAPHICS are measurable though it can easily be proved that FFXIV's graphics are anything but bad.

Watch the video for yourself.

The fact is he tried to throw off his view of aesthetics as objective. He bashed games like Gears of War (hell I don't even like half those games like GoW) because they contained too much 'brown'. Case closed.

[Atoli]

[...]..because they contained too much 'brown'.

Well it really is a trend right now to throw in a lot of 'brown' to make things look more 'realistic'.
But if I look out of the window I see everything but brown.
I think it's just a lazy approach and I'm happy SE is not going this way with FFXIV.

[Dragon]

Well it really is a trend right now to throw in a lot of 'brown' to make things look more 'realistic'.
But if I look out of the window I see everything but brown.
I think it's just a lazy approach and I'm happy SE is not going this way with FFXIV.

Point is, the author bashed a game for being "too brown" and yet praised Katamari/SotC/whatever for their limited palettes in a video that's supposed to be about the differences between aesthetics and graphics.

It's not even close to being a lazy approach, palettes are there to build certain kinds of atmosphere. Games about war should always have certain palettes, just like kiddy games should have a certain kind of palette. A lazy approach would be using a universal palette for everything, something that those people bashing GoW for "being too brown" or what have you want.

[indira]

nothing beats the character models though the landscape is another story.

[...]..because they contained too much 'brown'.

leave thanalan.