(Extremely Gimped Iconic Summon) that is EGIS

[Dyvid]

Fudge it. It's put up or shut up time. I posted this in the London Fan Fest ask the Devs. If you really want an answer like the post.
This is still a hot topic on the general discussion and dps role forums. Can you please explain the reason for the design of Summoner's Egi and would you ever consider changing it?

[LineageRazor]

Fudge it. It's put up or shut up time. I posted this in the London Fan Fest ask the Devs. If you really want an answer like the post.
This is still a hot topic on the general discussion and dps role forums. Can you please explain the reason for the design of Summoner's Egi and would you ever consider changing it?

This question has been asked, almost word-for-word, AND ANSWERED in the past, so I doubt it will do much good here. To briefly paraphrase the answer given: "Primals are too godly and awesome for players to summon them in their full godly awesomeness. Summoners summon a fragment of their power, and the new design is intended to represent this." Doesn't really answer why they couldn't have made them more closely resemble the original primals, but if they didn't address that issue then, I doubt they'll address it for your question either.

My guess is that the model designers for the Egis had strict limits on polygon count to prevent console strain when you have a bunch of Summoners around at the same time, and within those limits they couldn't make an approximation of of the original primals that didn't look horribly crude. So, instead, they created abstract approximations of the Primals - entities that evoke the nature of the Primal without being direct copies. I don't think it's a bad comprimise, if SMN is going to be a pet job. (Whether it SHOULD be a pet job at all is another matter entirely...)

[Exstal]

My guess is that the model designers for the Egis had strict limits on polygon count to prevent console strain when you have a bunch of Summoners around at the same time, and within those limits they couldn't make an approximation of of the original primals that didn't look horribly crude. So, instead, they created abstract approximations of the Primals - entities that evoke the nature of the Primal without being direct copies. I don't think it's a bad comprimise, if SMN is going to be a pet job. (Whether it SHOULD be a pet job at all is another matter entirely...)

Well if we assume that FFXI had PS2, it's likely PS3 can handle more primal looking egi. However, I don't exactly know how limiting PS3 truly is since maybe increasing their graphics to a degree where you see Garuda in all her pointy glory would cause frame rate issues.

Everyone's favourite scapegoat is PS# limitations, y'know?

[LineageRazor]

Well if we assume that FFXI had PS2, it's likely PS3 can handle more primal looking egi. However, I don't exactly know how limiting PS3 truly is since maybe increasing their graphics to a degree where you see Garuda in all her pointy glory would cause frame rate issues.

Everyone's favourite scapegoat is PS# limitations, y'know?

Well, I wasn't precisely trying to evoke the tired old "PS3 LIMITATIONS!!1!" wank. I said "consoles" when I should have said "platforms"; I meant to include PCs in the evaluations. Not every PC gamer is running a bleeding edge Alienware gaming comp, or whatever. I'm guessing that the vast majority of PC gamers have PCs specced lower than PS4, and there are likely plenty that still run at PS3 levels.

Primals in FFXIV are GORGEOUS. They are fantastically rendered, and one of the reasons they can afford to be so detailed is that each shows up in an arena with few, if any, addtional creatures and a limited number of players. To make a copy that players can carry around with them anywhere would certainly need a drastic reduction in detail, and it's possible they'd just wind up looking, well, even more terrible than the Egis we have.

In FFXI, while you'll notice that the Avatars DO look just like the Prime Avatars, both they AND the Prime Avatars you fight to earn them are some of the chunkiest models in the game. It's not hard to position your camera in such a way that Ifrit's or Titan's squarish arms are clearly visiable. They are definitely low-detail models - and even then, were unsummonable in towns due to the greater concentration of NPCs and architecture in those areas.