Can I play FFXI

[Zoltar]

Re: Can I play FFXI

as long as you disable weather effects you'll be golden...have fun, PC players ftw!

[Ameroth]

Re: Can I play FFXI

Is FFXI graphic intense? More so than Sims2?

As far as graphics go, FFXI probably has much better graphics than the Sims

L o L. No.

FFXI is not graphics intense. 10 year old computers can run it well enough to be enjoyable. And the Sims2 is definitely more GPU intensive than FFXI.

Like Lunaryn said, you're being overly cautious. Most computers manufactured within the last 5 years are perfectly capable of running FFXI. Just make sure to get the Vista version of POL because you can't run FFXI without it.

[Lunaryn]

Re: Can I play FFXI

Ah, forgot to account for Vista, though that's less an issue of video chipset and more processing power. If you can downgrade to WinXP, you'll probably get better performance, but it's up to you whether it's worth going through that much effort (personally, I don't want to touch Vista at all, let alone allow it to run on any machine I use regularly in a personal capacity, but then I'm still running Windows 2000, and only for FFXI's sake; if WINE supported FFXI I'd be running it on that).

[Ryoii/Nonomii]

Re: Can I play FFXI

I've been running a second character on my work laptop.

Processor: AMD Turion X2 TL-56 1.8 GHz
Video: ATI X1250 with 96MB of allocated system memory
Overlay and Background Resolution: 1280 x 800

I had to mess with both environmental animations and texture compression to get good performance, but now I'm running at 25-30 FPS.

[dani1977]

Re: Can I play FFXI

I've been running a second character on my work laptop.

Processor: AMD Turion X2 TL-56 1.8 GHz
Video: ATI X1250 with 96MB of allocated system memory
Overlay and Background Resolution: 1280 x 800

I had to mess with both environmental animations and texture compression to get good performance, but now I'm running at 25-30 FPS.

To clarify (again I'm pretty ignorant when it comes to pc stuff) You list "Overlay and Background Resolution: 1280 x 800". That is what your PC is capable of and you had to lower the settings? When wanting to lower the resolution, one does that on the PC (I think in the display area) right? Or is it something you do in the game options while it is running? Or sounds like both???

What is FPS?
______________________________
GPU intensive is what would make it run slower or contributes to graphic issues? I was under impression that GPU is the processing power that is being used, the lower the better.

I am learning that while I should be able to play, graphics will be an issue, so I need to lower resolution (somehow) and it should be fine. It just won't be as pretty.
I ran the benchmark test again last night and got a lower score. It is in the same "Tough" category though. I wonder if that maybe because the SIMS in loaded on the PC now? When I start downloading music into Itunes will that effect game play?

[Ryoii/Nonomii]

Re: Can I play FFXI

I double checked my configuration and took a few screen captures which might further explain what is possible with my system which is similar to yours. I'm using Windower 3.4 so that I can alt-tab out to view the web and have access to some helpful plug-ins. The FPS value in the upper left of the FFXI screen shots indicates the number of frames displayed per second.

Processor: AMD Turion X2 TL-56 1.8 GHz
Screen Resolution: 1280x800
Video (GPU): ATI X1250
System Memory: 1024MB (128MB allocated to the GPU)
Operating System: Windows XP SP2

When the FFXI Background (3D graphics) Resolution is set lower than the Overlay Graphics Resolution, the graphics have to be stretched to fit the screen. Below are two options available by default:

Overlay Graphics - 1280x800 / Background - 512x512

Overlay Graphics - 1280x800 / Background - 1024x1024

This option requires editing the Windows Registry:
(0001 = Overlay Horizontal Pixels)
(0002 = Overlay Vertical Pixels)
(0003 = Background Horizontal Pixels)
(0004 = Background Vertical Pixels)

Modifying the Windows Registry

Overlay Graphics - 1280x800 / Background - 1280x800

Here you can see how little memory FFXI uses when loaded:

System Resources Usage

Here are screen captures of my setup:

Final Fantasy XI Config - General Tab

Final Fantasy XI Config - Screen Size Tab

Final Fantasy XI Config - Textures Tab

Final Fantasy XI Config - Effects Tab

In-Game Commands Menu

In-Game Misc. Configuration Menu

In-Game Misc. 2 Configuration Menu

Enjoy the game once you get it. Just mess with settings until it seems to run well.

[Ameroth]

Re: Can I play FFXI

Just a question, have you ever used a computer before?

You list "Overlay and Background Resolution: 1280 x 800". That is what your PC is capable of and you had to lower the settings? When wanting to lower the resolution, one does that on the PC (I think in the display area) right? Or is it something you do in the game options while it is running? Or sounds like both???

That is the resolution he has the game running at. You change that from the FFXI-Config tool.

What is FPS?

Frames/sec

GPU intensive is what would make it run slower or contributes to graphic issues? I was under impression that GPU is the processing power that is being used, the lower the better.

GPU intensive would suggest the game requires a lot of processing power from the graphics card (in your case sounds like an on-(mother)board GPU). FFXI is really not that hard of a game for computers to run. You may not be able to run the game at the fullest capacity some other computers can, but you'll still be able to run it.

I am learning that while I should be able to play, graphics will be an issue, so I need to lower resolution (somehow) and it should be fine. It just won't be as pretty.
I ran the benchmark test again last night and got a lower score. It is in the same "Tough" category though. I wonder if that maybe because the SIMS in loaded on the PC now? When I start downloading music into Itunes will that effect game play?

Lower the game's resolution, not your computer's. Also, I doubt having loaded the Sims onto your computer is going to make much a difference unless you have a smaller hard drive.

Really though, if the Sims2 is running well enough on your computer for it to be enjoyable, FFXI isn't going to be an issue.

[dani1977]

Re: Can I play FFXI

Thanks for all the info. I really appreciate it!

[dani1977]

Re: Can I play FFXI

Ok, well I got the game, got the controller, and spent 6 hours downloading disks and patches and updates etc and have to say configuring the contoller was the hardest part. I went to bed convinced the controller was broke and would have to return it, but it's working good now! must of needed a long shut down *shrugs* The game looks a little grainy and faded. I think the system loaded with the lowest settings already though. I played for about 30 minutes this morning before work. I'm interested to see how it plays when a lot of other players are on. Looking forward to tonight. Thanks again for all the help!