2.0 Grass: please change!

[valkiria]

El pasto es de adorno, no para que se lo estén fumando... -_-

[Arcell]

Yes. Dude I explained it in the OP. Copied:

Wow! Xenoblade's grass is so much easier on the eyes. It's because every piece of grass is identical, and it auto-rotates to face the camera.

By identical it's the same art asset. Not a unique art asset.

So...you want MORE copy/paste even though that's what we're trying to get away from.

[Gramul]

El pasto es de adorno, no para que se lo estén fumando... -_-

Por que Espanol?

So...you want MORE copy/paste even though that's what we're trying to get away from.

He wants a grass that looks good and doesn't burden the system.
I don't see why people are getting so upset with him. It's not like he's going to quit over it.

He just made a suggestion and people are all: "oh why don't you just quit" or "You're stupid!"
It's rude.

[Zahbi]

Several issues with your argument, here.

As it has been mentioned, this is still a fairly early build of 2.0. I know it's tempting to blow that off and think it's a fanboy excuse, but think about it. Detailed environmental effects are nice, but they will not likely be high priority unless they have some significance in the gameplay. This is what the video intended to show, and I would say that it hit the mark. Optimizations are still on-going, so I think this foliage fuss is unnecessary until we're actually able to get into the environment ourselves.

Secondly, it's a mistake to compare the rendering and whatnot to Xenoblade. Xenoblade is a single player console RPG. Its graphics engine does not ever need to consider the possibility of dated hardware (because the Wii's specs don't just magically change), nor does it need to consider the amount of mobs (player or otherwise) on the screen at one time. This was actually the problem with using Crystal Tools for XIV 1.0. They already tried this approach, and while I don't think anyone can argue that the game isn't pretty, the lack of optimization for online play and varied hardware has been one of the game's bigger detriments.

Also, the game may not necessarily be shown on its highest settings. While it would be awesome to see the game in action with as much anti-aliasing as possible, with depth of field and ambient occlusion, the reality is that there still may be many rigs that cannot feasibly perform well with everything cranked up. If they show it off that way, and someone with an older machine buys it with the expectation that it will look just like that, that person will be met with disappointment. It's likely they'll even wrongfully slam the game because of it. That's the last thing SE needs for this game right now.

Finally, there's not much out there in terms of HD screenshots. The only gameplay video we have was filmed with a camera phone. Converting pictures and video into a web-friendly format often means compression, which leads to a loss of visual quality. Now, add that to the fact that the few sources we have are mostly low quality to begin with, and I'm sure you'll be able to put 2 and 2 together at this point. I will admit that this is probably not as strong of a factor as my other points, but it's still something to consider.

[Empyrean]

So...you want MORE copy/paste even though that's what we're trying to get away from.

Considering that most grass in real life looks pretty much the same, it wouldn't be so bad. Every chigoe looks the same, every treant looks the same, etc. The problem is that the environments are copy-pasted, not that aspects of the environments are copy pasted. Treespeak looks like Humblehearth looks lke Bentbranch looks like Crimsonbark. Horizon looks like Drybone looks like Bluefog. I think for an MMO that prides itself on looking absolutely gorgeous, asking to polish up something that looks like it's from the PS2 era isn't a terrible idea. It's not like there aren't graphic sliders that will set the game to something that could be played on an N64 anyways.

[Gramul]

Several issues with your argument, here.[...]

See this?
This is good. Points out the issues without personal attacks or mindless defending of SE.
Thorough and clear.

[Ryujin_Ketu]

so...again...why is this thread still going on lol? Wow...such a debate over friggin grass...lol /facepalm

[Ranulf]

Nice to see someone's priorities are straightened out.

At lease SE's is.

[Empyrean]

Also, the game may not necessarily be shown on its highest settings.

Sorry to double post and potentially lower the curve of discussion by attacking one of your points, most of what you said is quite valid, but this needs to be addressed. They are not us. They don't build their computers on a budget. They have top of the line everything. The purpose of these conferences is to show off the game and drum up hype. There's no reason to show a game like this at less than its maximum settings.

[Zahbi]

Sorry to double post and potentially lower the curve of discussion by attacking one of your points, most of what you said is quite valid, but this needs to be addressed. They are not us. They don't build their computers on a budget. They have top of the line everything. The purpose of these conferences is to show off the game and drum up hype. There's no reason to show a game like this at less than its maximum settings.

Don't get me wrong, that's what I would believe, too. It makes more sense to do it that way, right? I'm not saying they're playing on emachines or anything, but I can see them being hesitant to show anything beyond what can run at the max frame rate for minimum or recommended specs. People may get the wrong idea of what they're supposed to see, and then run off into several reborn realms of stupidity because they "didn't get what they paid for". I see it as more of a "cover your ass" sort of thing, but hey, if I'm wrong, then I'm wrong.

P.S. - Don't apologize for countering a point. This is what a forum discussion is all about, right?