The sad state of customization

[DPZ2]

Character customization in GW2 ... WildStar ... Rift even has more customization.

Customization in GW2?! Not much different from FFXIV, actually. Sure, 9 faces instead of 4, but they're all pretty much the same, and aesthetically there are maybe 4 worth choosing. Only thing it's got going for it is 'body types', several of which don't fit the Final Fantasy genre image.

Wildstar? Deliberately cartoonish and the selections were unsatisfactory for me. Might have been a lot of them, but I wasn't enamored by my character's possible looks.

Rift? Nice armor/glamour system.

The thing is, they may have a couple more options [not THAT many -- I checked], but then everything looks pretty blah going forward (with the possible exception of my Kelari mage in traditional garb).

FFXIV is the best looking game I've encountered over the years.

[Naunet]

Only thing it's got going for it is 'body types', several of which don't fit the Final Fantasy genre image.

What the hell does this even mean?

Not sure how you can say that those games are "not much different from FFXIV" though. That's simply not true. Whether you personally LIKE the options or not is irrelevant.

First and for most, no other game has graphics like XIV.

That's a load of nonsense. FFXIV doesn't even have high resolution textures.

Also your assessment on WoW is dated. Blizzard has been steadily and significantly improving their graphics - both on the character models and in the zone design - ever since Wrath. The difference between a WoD or Legion zone and vanilla zones is incredible. It's also a GREAT example of a game dev doing something absolutely right. Blizzard recognized that the product they presented didn't look all that great compared to what else was out there and so they put effort into improving it.

[Razor]

Also your assessment on WoW is dated. Blizzard has been steadily and significantly improving their graphics - both on the character models and in the zone design - ever since Wrath. The difference between a WoD or Legion zone and vanilla zones is incredible. It's also a GREAT example of a game dev doing something absolutely right. Blizzard recognized that the product they presented didn't look all that great compared to what else was out there and so they put effort into improving it.

Perhaps I wasn't quite clear enough, I was not criticising WoW for it's development process. I would agree and say that WoW has done a great job continuing to try and keep it's game relevant to the modern competition, but Blizzard has also completely rewritten the game's engine at least once, within it's lifetime of 13 or so years. In it's prime it competed (or rather, was tried to be competed with by) FFXI which took on the traditional SE mantle of "Premium graphics, and we'll swing the rest". Vanilla FFXI was gorgeous for the time period compared to WoW, but suffered in many other ways as a result.

Blizzard chose to upgrade WoW's engine and continue the game, SE chose to cut their losses with XI and start an entirely new game, which we well know had a very bad false start with 1.0. To what degree ARR suffered as a result, is up for discussion, but the begging question is will this development style continue. FFXIV has just received it's second expansion, and does that mean that the next FF MMO is currently being planned out in secrecy? ARR to some degree helped save SE's hide from financial strife, but that doesn't necessarily mean XIV has an open checkbook. Resources could be stipened for XIV because it is being diverted to the next FF MMO, which will use a completely new and up-to-date engine that XIV may never recieve.