Will the graphics engine ever move with the times?

[FinnDS]

I may sound crazy, but I enjoy the graphics despite that I run it at a very low setting.

[Feba]

Oh, keep in mind, SE is the same company that rereleased a 2D *GBA* game in an entirely new, 3D release for *PS2*, a substantially more expensive system, and I don't recall anyone being upset that they couldn't play that on their GBAs... and i'm fairly sure it had new content!

Not to mention the fact that nobody was upset that their SNES couldn't play the rereleased FF3, which was also updated with a full graphical overhaul...

[IfritnoItazura]

Not counting FFXI, S-E makes money by selling physical copies of games.

With FFXI, S-E lose slightly less money with each additional copy of physical copy of something sold--but all in all, the selling of boxes doesn't come close to cover the cost.

There are very different economics at work between selling individual games and subscriptions to an MMORPG. Selling physical stuff works if enough buyers for single games--selling physical stuff is secondary compared to retaining/expanding subscription base for MMORPG.

* * *

I don't see how an engine update can change the visuals enough to make a difference, and I don't see a viable business case for the amount of resources and work require to really change the visuals to work.

Graphic engine change won't really do what people actually want, and what people actually want is much bigger and more complicated than they think, and so expensive that A) S-E won't want to pay for it, and B) People won't want to pay for it, either.

So, likely no spiffy world shattering graphic update for us.

[Feba]

I'm sure there's quite a few players out there that would happily buy a Vana'diel Collection 07+. And yes, SE might not make much physically reselling copies, although the point of graphics is to get people interested, not keep people playing. Tons of people still play MUDs, which is about as far as you get from cutting edge graphics, but if you try to take the average (WoW/Guild Wars/COH/FFXI/OtherMajorPrettyMMO) player to them, they'll likely hate it, mostly because of the graphics.

I'm sure a lot of people on this forum still play games that are a decade and a half old
sometimes, because they're still fun, but at the same time, how many people do you see looking at decade old games in stores, and buying them at random?

People DO judge books by their cover, and a GUI overhaul could add a lot of players to FFXI.

[IfritnoItazura]

A long time ago, I've actually typed up a huge post on Allakhazam on how S-E should really go out and grab new players, in part by really spending the dough to revamp the graphics.

Thinking back, I have to say I was naive; what if S-E really does spend all that money, but the players don't come?

Is WoW's wider appeal based on looks? If updating the graphics can get S-E WoW subscription base's size, I think the management would order it done in a heartbeat.

* * *

Didn't Ultima Online received major graphic/UI upgrade? Did that move substantially capture new subscribers? If it didn't (and I doubt it did), why would S-E enjoy the huge success needed to recoup cost where E-A failed in attempting the same route?

[Legal Fish]

I don't want a Graphic Engine boosted, just give older areas the same treatment as older areas in terms of textures. Aht Urhgan areas look so much better than their original zone counterparts. A lot of people are turned off how ugly the textures are in the starting areas(the only areas they will ever see if they quit early).

[BurningPanther]

I think S-E would see a boost in subscriber base as a result of a graphical update, but not an amazingly huge boost.

What makes WoW so popular is it's accessibility. You can pick it up easy, test the waters with a free trial, pretty much choose normal game or PvP as you mood suits, fully customize your character to your liking, and progress through the game pretty quickly, and take time off without fear of missing out. Raid areas are instanced, so you're not stuck waiting for others to get done before you can have your fun(unlike BCNMs/Dynamis), hell, even inventory space is far less an issue.

By comparison, S-E has a very conservative, hardline view on how the way they want their game played, with rather heavy limits at every turn, almost the opposite of all of the WoW features I mentioned. This puts the more casual prospective player at odds with FFXI, and makes it a rather scary, unpalatable package.

Not saying FFXI sucks, but Blizzard knew how to get players and keep them, as will as bring more in: through the game's accessibility. I truly believe that S-E can make FFXI more accessible, without sacrificing the challenge they so revere in this game. It's all in whether they recognize it.

[Feba]

The biggest thing WoW has going for it is that everyone else plays it. It has a 'cool' mentality to it. I'd imagine AT LEAST 33% of FFXI users have tried WoW at some point, maybe more.

It's sort of the reason why most people use Windows. A lot of people they know do it, there's a lot of support for it, and it ships with a lot of computers. I imagine there are a lot of people out there that would actually like OS X, or even Ubuntu more than Windows, but they never even try it, just because it's not out there for them.

The best thing SE could do is to give away free FFXI trial discs... 14 days each, and after that, you can pay a monthly fee and keep your account.

Honestly, the big reason FFXI doesn't have a lot of players is because there was no advertising, hardly any hype. Think about FFXI release, I honestly don't remember anything about it, except hearing that there was a Final Fantasy MMO and that I waited a few months before getting a copy. Think about WoW release, tons of hype, tons of people talking about it, can't take one step into a game store without cardboard cutouts stabbing you in the eye.

Even today, WoW has tons of advertising spent on it.

That seems to be SE's biggest problem, they barely advertise, and i've never once seen them in anything close to mainstream media. They let their products be sold on word of mouth alone, which can help a lot, but not when most of the people interested are already in a fairly tight knit community.

[IfritnoItazura]

Honestly, the big reason FFXI doesn't have a lot of players is because there was no advertising, hardly any hype.

FFXI has fewer subscribers than WoW, Lineage I/II, and RuneScape (huh?!), according to http://www.mmogchart.com/ (June/May 2006).

However, S-E does outdo the likes of Eve Online, EverQuest I/II, Star Wars Galaxy, and bunch of others I'm too lazy to type out. Being 5th isn't all that bad, I think.

More troubling is that I can only see three MMORPG's with 120k+ subscription base growing substantially on the chart--and FFXI isn't one of them. At least we're not in a steep decline like Lineage I/II or EverQuest...

[Feba]

By "a lot", I mean at least 1m+.


(If you get that joke, you read these forums too much.)

[little ninja]

Actually alot of the new players an friends i made in WoW all came from the free trial. So in alot of ways it did help them brin gin fresh customers. Not to mention it had to of helped their expansion sales. An to comment on what yu said Feba, I remember 1 tv commercial when FFXi first came out. I seen it on a few episodes of wrestling at the time. An i think i seen a 1 page ad in a couple game magizines before i stopped seeing anything.

For me WoW was the perfect game for me. As a casual gamer, I just had alot of things i could do with the limited time i had. Just something that was impossible for FFXI. If you ask me i think the next S.E MMO will have its art/visual style, with a game style similar of WoW.

I bet 07 will show S.E subscriptions at the end to be around 250,000 - 320,000

[Mhurron]

I don't want a Graphic Engine boosted, just give older areas the same treatment as older areas in terms of textures. Aht Urhgan areas look so much better than their original zone counterparts. A lot of people are turned off how ugly the textures are in the starting areas(the only areas they will ever see if they quit early).

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The original zones really are quite pretty. Ronafure, and Sarutabaruta and the Dunes at Sunrise/Sunset are some of the nicest looking areas to me. On the other hand, I find the Mire and Thickets for instance to be ugly. I had high hopes after seeing some of the CoP areas that really were better looking then the original zones.

Maybe I should be asking for SE to make ToAU areas as pretty as CoP areas :P

[eticket109]

ToAU zones all seem dark and dreary to me. Even during daytime it seems like its always dusk.

By "a lot", I mean at least 1m+.
(If you get that joke, you read these forums too much.)

lol /guilty

[Akashimo]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The original zones really are quite pretty. Ronafure, and Sarutabaruta and the Dunes at Sunrise/Sunset are some of the nicest looking areas to me. On the other hand, I find the Mire and Thickets for instance to be ugly. I had high hopes after seeing some of the CoP areas that really were better looking then the original zones.

Maybe I should be asking for SE to make ToAU areas as pretty as CoP areas :P

Yeah, I gotta like the CoP areas the best in their details. Though Castle Z. was nice in its own league for the orginal areas. Promyvion, putting missions aside was alsome looking. Altep areas are sweet too, espically this one spot where you get on top of the hit and get a nice ocean view at the horizon. Hmm, ToAU only area that really sticks to me in how nice it looked was Arrapagro Reef with all the ships and islands, plus the music really played well with that area. Mire ugh don't get me stared >_>;;;

[robinkle]

I think they could give the PC, and Xbox 360 version a boost in grafics as long as it doesnt give any advantage towards the PS2 users. More detailed characters is most interesting to me.