Thread: 7.1 Graphical DOWNGRADE

Has anyone else noticed the game looks flat after 7.1?

After DT released, the changes in lighting and textures made a lot of details pop up, enabling a sense of depth that wasn't present in the game before. Metal shined, wet surfaces looked great, and new zones like Yak'tel and Urqopacha had this 'atmosphere' that almost let you feel the humidity or dryness of the place.

Post 7.1 though, everything seems sort of flat or lifeless. Even the textures on clothes look bad, almost like they are made of plastic. I heard something about them doing some adjustments to the character models in this patch to get them closer to how they were before DT, and they do seem different than pre 7.1, but even the skin looks like it's painted on...

I play on a PS5 and 2k monitor, so I don't know if these things are noticeable in other setups, but damn... feels like huge step back from what they'd achieved with the graphical update.

I've seen many people complaining on the Japanese forums about the graphical update and how they wanted it to look like it did before, but this seems like overkill.

I haven't noticed any difference. Do you have screenshots to show what you're referring to?

I haven't noticed any difference on PC.

I wouldn't be surprised if some concessions were made on console to improve performance in the areas that have received graphical upgrades in 7.1 though. While it's important that the game looks nice, it also needs to run at an acceptable level of performance in the more intensive areas like cities full of players.

I haven't noticed a difference at all, except better detail in places like Western Thanalan as they showed off.

Originally Posted by Cyrtip

I'm not familiar with what settings PS5 does/doesn't have, but the devs may have changed what parallax occlusion and ambient occlusion settings are forced/default on consoles.
Parallax occlusion is the 'fake' depth you see on textures like the stone roads in the outdoors parts of Ul'Dah, but it doesn't affect characters or clothes.
Ambient occlusion places shadows between objects that are close to each other (Like the edges between pillars and floors, or different bits on clothing).
I'd check if you can change AO, that sounds like exactly what you're looking for.

Thanks, that might be it! PS5 settings don't go that deep, unfortunately.
My wife has the same setup and she too noted the difference in the graphics. Things like the horizon line looking too sharp, and how objects in-game now look 'fake'.
Curtains that had started to look like cloth after 7.0 now look like the textures are just painted on.
Even the textures on equipment seem rubbery now (they looked more like leather or cloth pre 7.1)