Alpha First Look: Video 3 - The Black Shroud

[nibelunc]

That really looks great! I can't wait to explore this world.

[Dimitsuri]

New zones look really good, especially the lighting engine. Was good demonstration in the cave. Water looks sweet too. But Devs i got a favor to ask: please Dont JUMP when it is NOT NEEDED. I know you want to demonstrate how it works, but we've seen it too many times by now!

[Warlock]

I loved the video every bit of it Black Shroud looks amazing!! nothing seems copy pasted! wherever you look is different! I don't get it how some people want NPCs to act like they are from a circus they live in a damn forest w/o TV and internet what do you want them to talk about? and remember nearly everyone died thanks to Bahamut so you wont see that many people around. all in all i can't wait to explore this game!

[Rane]

Excellent video. Thank you.

I can't put into words how impressed I am with these new areas. They look amazing! One of the best parts about the new environments is the sense of scale they provide. The world seems big and vast, unlike many MMOs whose worlds come across as strangely miniature-sized. The 2.0 environments seem real. I also love the attention to detail and the care that has obviously gone into creating even the "mundane" sections of the forest. This is a complete 180 from version 1.0, and it's starting to remind me of the Final Fantasy worlds I used to know.

Soken has outdone himself again with the music. It's beautiful and it fits the areas perfectly. For me part of the excitement of exploring this world will be getting to hear all of the new background tracks.

You know, I'd be perfectly happy if this video just ran on for an hour or two. This looks to be almost everything I could have wanted out of the reincarnation of the Black Shroud. I certainly never thought that I'd see anything like this back in December of 2010. Dev team, I'd reach through the computer and give you a hug if I could.

...though I guess that would be kind of weird. Never mind.

[Tupster]

Is it just me or does it seem like the shading model has been simplified? In version 1.0 it seems like we have a full modern diffuse/specular/bump/gloss map, but I'm only noticing diffuse/bump in these videos (except for water and aetherites). The result is that everything looks a little plain. I'd have to see a character in shiny armor to be sure, but I haven't gotten a good look.

Maybe I should go check out the old limit break trailer and see if I can make out how things are shaded.

However it seems to me that they have simplified the animation and the shading for the PS3. I don't mind as long as it looks good, but the complex shading was one thing that really made FFXIV version 1.0 stand out.

I really liked how, using a gloss map, you can make cloth look soft, leather look leathery, and armor look metallic. It lent a kind of reality to how your gear looked that was really compelling.

[Warlock]

Is it just me or does it seem like the shading model has been simplified? In version 1.0 it seems like we have a full modern diffuse/specular/bump/gloss map, but I'm only noticing diffuse/bump in these videos (except for water and aetherites). The result is that everything looks a little plain. I'd have to see a character in shiny armor to be sure, but I haven't gotten a good look.

Maybe I should go check out the old limit break trailer and see if I can make out how things are shaded.

However it seems to me that they have simplified the animation and the shading for the PS3. I don't mind as long as it looks good, but the complex shading was one thing that really made FFXIV version 1.0 stand out.

I really liked how, using a gloss map, you can make cloth look soft, leather look leathery, and armor look metallic. It lent a kind of reality to how your gear looked that was really compelling.

Nah what made 1.0 stand out were the server crashes... you can have those tho i'll be happy in 2.0 !!!

[Tupster]

Nah what made 1.0 stand out were the server crashes... you can have those tho i'll be happy in 2.0 !!!

I don't think you are implying that shaders have anything to do with server crashes, but I was just thinking I wouldn't want to lose the look of the equipment and other good things about version 1.0 in the transition to 2.0 unless there is a really good reason (like the high dollar cost of having artists create two versions of each shader because the PC shader was too advanced and instead unifying them to something the PS3 can handle).

Edit: Looking at the limit break trailer again, which has more examples of different gear, it looks the same. There is a "plainness", for lack of a better word, that comes from something that is missing that I can't quite put my finger on.

ARR definitely has better art direction, and I think that is what most people are noticing when they say they like the new look, but if I had to guess right now I'd say that the graphics engine is actually simpler and that isn't surprising really.

That said, it still looks good. It is just different.

Edit 2: Maybe this engine just has better ambient occlusion? I'm gonna stop speculating now since it might just be their video capture equipment or something...

[Malakhim]

Happy Thanksgiving indeed. I love the music throughout the entire video. I just wish that short piano theme that plays at the beginning were longer.

[MicahZerrshia]

I remember when I started the beta for 1.0 how impressed I was with the graphics but even alpha version of 2.0 all I can say is wow!

[Junpei]

Those map coordinates displayed under the minimap .... DELICIOUS