Ffxiv's Zones Looks Extremely Bad and Outdated

[Gabadabs]

Here's the thing about WoW (which I think you're hitting on): they've always - even from the very start - been extremely focused around vignette, or scene-style, zone design. The idea is that, no matter where you stand in a given region of the game, you're overlooking-and-a-part of some small 'story' that's being told somewhere; an old, haunted barn; the edge of a canyon with an abandoned mine in it; a beach with a haunted lighthouse; a broken-down keep destroyed in an ancient battle. There are also even smaller scenes-within-a-scene, like little sheds full of tools (and perhaps a random skull), or an outhouse with a door cracked half open. It doesn't matter that there are no actual stories associated with much of this filler; it's the implication that they have their own little narratives and tales to tell that makes the world feel lived-in.

Whatever praise I can heap on FFXIV - which is substantial - for its lightning, dynamic weather (especially thunderstorms and wind), amazing housing interiors (not so much the developments, which again feel sterilized), music, etc. - WoW (even the oldest of zones) completely destroys this game when it comes to the essential quality of making an area feel like it is a part of a living world (especially now that FATE-grinding parties have basically vanished from the 1-60 zones, thus depriving FFXIV of the one inherent leg-up it had on WoW in terms of making the world feel lived-in: big mobs of player characters running all over the place).

Maybe that's what makes this game feel like a bunch of plastic toys sometimes. As cinematic and amazing as it *can* look, the zones don't feel lived in or real.

[FoxyAreku]

WoW has an edge by having an art style that ages very gracefully, FFXIV not so much.

They put no effort into their open world content in this game so at least you won't be looking at them much after the story.

[TeraRamis]

WoW has an edge by having an art style that ages very gracefully, FFXIV not so much.

They put no effort into their open world content in this game so at least you won't be looking at them much after the story.

Yep. That's the other thing about it. I like FFXIV's visuals, but they're so realistic at times (or pseudo-realistic) that at this point in the game's lifespan, they're definitely showing their age. If another 5+ years pass with no major facelift, this game will look downright tired.

This is why WoW's adoption of a cartoon style was so sneaky-smart; it gave them the leeway to upgrade something as (overall) unimportant as the visuals as time allowed, without them becoming a glaring or intrusive issue very quickly. Square would be wise to take an approach similar to this with some future game.

[Thaciscokidd]

Yep. That's the other thing about it. I like FFXIV's visuals, but they're so realistic at times (or pseudo-realistic) that at this point in the game's lifespan, they're definitely showing their age. If another 5+ years pass with no major facelift, this game will look downright tired.

A good example of this is the PSO2 and Tera. Both look good when they first started out but as time went on you could most definitely tell what was new and what was old.

[Vyrerus]

WoW has an edge by having an art style that ages very gracefully, FFXIV not so much.

They put no effort into their open world content in this game so at least you won't be looking at them much after the story.

I think it only really ages gracefully if you have a nostalgia for it. I have no nostalgia for WoW, and I think it looks pretty bad. Even in years closer to its start or closer to its graphical facelifts over the years.

If you have no attachment to that style, then it's always going to look bad. It's more of a double edge, really.

[SturmChurro]

I think it only really ages gracefully if you have a nostalgia for it. I have no nostalgia for WoW, and I think it looks pretty bad. Even in years closer to its start or closer to its graphical facelifts over the years.

If you have no attachment to that style, then it's always going to look bad. It's more of a double edge, really.

I never played WoW as a kid, and I don't really like the artstyle. I can't say it looks good, that's for sure, I think the game looks very dated, and kind of bad, but they do update their assets quite a bit more than FFXIV. It's kind of laughable really, I remember the EW benchmark having this scene with Alphinaud grabbing a book off a shelf, and it looks horrific.

[LisSquid]

Edit: it ate my post

If you have no attachment to that style, then it's always going to look bad. It's more of a double edge, really.

I don't know, I have heavy attachments to HW and WoW both. I'll spend hours afk in the Nightsong forest while I am working in another window. Can't say I could ever do the same with Dravanian Hinterlands..

Maybe that's what makes this game feel like a bunch of plastic toys sometimes. As cinematic and amazing as it *can* look, the zones don't feel lived in or real.

My friend actually coined a term for the kind of world design FFXIV has back when we were bouncing around free Korean mmos: Mob farm. The 'world' is just a suggestion of window dressing for its real purpose. Which is grinding mobs.

[Vyrerus]

Edit: it ate my post





I don't know, I have heavy attachments to HW and WoW both. I'll spend hours afk in the Nightsong forest while I am working in another window. Can't say I could ever do the same with Dravanian Hinterlands..



My friend actually coined a term for the kind of world design FFXIV has back when we were bouncing around free Korean mmos: Mob farm. The 'world' is just a suggestion of window dressing for its real purpose. Which is grinding mobs.

And which one have you had nostalgia for, longer?

In each FFXIV iteration, I've had a zone where I like to AFK for the scenery and the music. 2.0 it's Upper La Noscea. 3.0 It's Churning Mists for music. 4.0 It's Ruby Sea. 5.0 It's Kholusia during the day, Macrenses Angle at Night.

I'm far more nostalgic for zones from FFXI, which had better atmospheric music and scenery, at least in the zones that really were better.

Like, I concede that FFXIV's overworld is pretty weak non-immersive, but any world that's not your first usually will be, add to that the music development for it being hit and miss in the overworld. It's like, even if there was stuff to do there, it's not as enchanting.

[Amnmaat]

I share the opinion that a lot of FFXIV's zones are looking rather dated at this point. Even some of the newer zones, whilst bigger and prettier looking, lack a certain charm compared to the original design choices. Take Aleport for example - it's a fairly small settlement but you can enter almost every building which makes it feel much larger than it is. In newer zones, we lack that luxury. Given that older MMO's have designed some pretty immersive and impressive looking settlements/cities that also serve as zones to explore...I would very much like FFXIV to up its game on many fronts.

Even though flying was added to the ARR zones...nothing was really done to build on that. There's no secret areas to discover. There's no hidden items to acquire.

Other MMO's have such features - as do many single player games - so I hope we get a more meaningful open world someday.

This is the case from what I saw of Sharlayan and Thavnair/Radz at han, I'm already seeing a bunch of doors we can't go into. Like what's the point of creating towns or settlements if we can't immerse ourselves?

A realm reborn let you go inside near every damn door that you see. I know they talked about data and storage, but really, we're way past ps3 limitations now and I don't think the servers would explode by having letting us go into buildings/houses and the like. I would rather they bring back small maps like in A realm reborn than continue to have locations that don't offer enough places of interest.

[wereotter]

This is the case from what I saw of Sharlayan and Thavnair/Radz at han, I'm already seeing a bunch of doors we can't go into. Like what's the point of creating towns or settlements if we can't immerse ourselves?

A realm reborn let you go inside near every damn door that you see. I know they talked about data and storage, but really, we're way past ps3 limitations now and I don't think the servers would explode by having letting us go into buildings/houses and the like. I would rather they bring back small maps like in A realm reborn than continue to have locations that don't offer enough places of interest.

It must have been a while since you've really looked at the ARR zones. Go wandering around Ul'Dah, there are a bunch of doors that are roped off that have the "No Entry" sign on them. And, frankly, that's not a bad thing. Just because you exist in a world doesn't mean you're entitled to ever every building and home. You could be seeing places people live, and being the warrior of light doesn't give you a pass to just walk right into their home. The fact that we can't ever everyone's homes is MORE immersive to me than if we could since it's more realistic.