Why do ground textures in new zones look worse than in the old ones?

[Namill]

Here you can see a comparison of similar ground textures from La Noscea and Kholusia

https://ibb.co/hCtWfn3

It's not just those 2 zones. It's all the zones. Could someone please explain this to me? I get that the zones are bigger now than they were in AAR, but since PS3 is no longer supported is shouldn't force the devs to lower the resolution of ground textures right? It's very weird to actually have a game experience a graphic downgrade in newer expansions.

[Amnmaat]

Well neither are that great in terms of resolution; Kholusia one just has more color so that low quality pops out more, and less blurry than the La Noscea one.
The problem is that from the user data they get of XIV players, most people are probably still using graphics cards that don't go beyond 4GB of video/graphics memory. I forget how much the ps4 has but I think it was 8GB, so until PC players upgrade they're kinda holding the game back.

I remember YoshiP alluded to this in the past, asking players to please upgrade.

Until 80%+ of PC players "git gud" in terms of their hardware we're at their mercy. Easier said than done in a world where "chips" either cost a lot or are not being made because of politics, making graphics cards from 5-6 years ago still cost $800 today. And making the new graphics cards cost $1200+ minimum.

[Namill]

How is that an excuse to start using WORSE quality textures rather than sticking to the same quality? Kholusia might have more colour, but it also has significantly lower quality textures.

Another comparison - Il Mheg vs La Noscea, same camera distance https://ibb.co/sggNm0s The former looks worse than WoW Classic.

[MilkieTea]

They have the same level of artifacting and same pixelated quality. Again, because of the difference in color (color makes ALL the difference) you’re able to see it more. You can actually test it out yourself:

1. open a paint program or download a painting app on your phone (ibis paint X is free)
2. make two canvases - one at something like 125x125 pixels, and one at 2000x2000, the 125x125 should have a DPI of 75, 2000x2000 should have a DPI of 300
3. grab a pale yellow and a pale green similar in color.
4. color one half of the canvas in the green and one in the yellow, use a blur tool to blur the two, and smudge the colors in the middle to the best of your ability to blend.
5. do this for both canvases
6. do this again for two more canvases, but one color should be a brighter yellow further away from a brighter green (to mimic the vivid colors in the screenshot)

one blends way easier because the colors are closer together, so youre not going to easily see the pixelation and mess. Even with the 125x125 75DPI canvases, the pale colors closer together will blend way easier and trick you into thinking its higher rez.

That’s what’s happening. the art quality hasnt changed, the resolution hasnt either. It’s just our minds eye playing tricks. Youre able to see the pixelation more with the colors that dont blend as easily.

[Namill]

They have the same level of artifacting and same pixelated quality. Again, because of the difference in color (color makes ALL the difference) you’re able to see it more

Does the same apply to this comparison - https://ibb.co/WgrYSSm ? If yes, then why are they not using the methods that make the ground look less pixelated? It might be my eyes playing tricks on me, but (grassy) textures in new zones do appear to look much worse.

[MilkieTea]

Does the same apply to this comparison - https://ibb.co/WgrYSSm ? If yes, then why are they not using the methods that make the ground look less pixelated? It might be my eyes playing tricks on me, but (grassy) textures in new zones do appear to look much worse.

It does! brighter colors make it easier to see pixelations and artifacting.

Also,
They might be preparing to upscale textures soon and are leaving them like that to avoid extra work in the longrun. (By soon I mean in a few years when they phase out PS4 support)

Like if youre filling in base colors in an artwork before you go to bed, rather than leaving the colors empty.

This way, they dont have to remake textures, just upscale and touch-up later on.

[TheMightyMollusk]

(By soon I mean in a few years when they phase out PS4 support)

PS4 isn't the problem. People playing on aging PCs that can't handle higher resolution are the problem. PS4 is well above the minimum game specs.

[Namill]

It does! brighter colors make it easier to see pixelations and artifacting.

I see. In that case, I really wish they would adopt a philosophy of designing the zones based on what they can make actually look good. It doesn't matter how amazing of a design you come up with if it ends ups looking bad due to your technical limitations.

[Fawkes]

If you look closely, all the textures in the game are bad.

[MilkieTea]

PS4 isn't the problem. People playing on aging PCs that can't handle higher resolution are the problem. PS4 is well above the minimum game specs.

No yeah, PS4 isn't the problem, nor is it what's holding us back. But that sounds like the timeline they're going with - phasing out PS4 support means they're probably gonna raise the minimum specs overall, which would impact those who are playing on ageing PCs and, by extension, phase out support for that as well.