Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
My first Impressions of the game
admriker444
Member Posts: 1,526
Just downloaded all my patches and started last night around 8pm. My first impression was one of excitement as I watched and listened to that really neat Playonline window going. The little effects onscreen and sound made me think the game itself would also have the same neat graphics. Boy was I wrong....
The graphics are pretty bad for this game's age. I didnt expect SWG or Eve graphics as the game is 2 years old roughly. However even older games outshine FF11. I have way above minimum system requirements so I figured I'd be able to crank out the settings for maximum effect. Only prob was the settings were non-existent. Only real adjustments I was allowed to make were screen size and background quality which I maxed on both. It still looked just awful. Reminded me of Horizons only with less detail.
The interface was difficult to learn. Maybe Im used to american type games but the interface was really hard to learn. For most games, I rarely need to open the manual. I prefer to learn on the go, however it wasnt possible with this game. Even with the manual, it took me an hour before I could open menus and walk without bumpng into walls. I had a heck of a time getting through doorways. Whats up with that arrow on the side of commands ? Whats with the lack of seeing an item like weapon or clothing ? I never did figure out how to equip something. I guess Im used to thousands of other games including all rpg where you see an open box inventory with the image of your toon. You can simply drag the shirt onto your chest area and walaa its equipped. Nothing like that with this game. At least I didnt see it...
Getting help wasnt possible in most cases as half the players didnt speak english (or bad english) and the rest didnt know how to tell me to change my mouse settings as they were on PS2. They werent rude or anything so Im not faulting them.
I tend to quit on games after a few days if my initial impression leaves a bad taste in my mouth. However I will continue to play this game in the hopes that it improves. There's really nothing else to play anyway since I quit SWG and CoH. Any suggestions on how to improve my experience, better starting towns, races, etc ? Also I didnt seem to get to choose a server and the whole system was foreign to me (content ID) ???
Comments
At this point I stopped reading. You really think HZ and FFXI graphics are on the same level?
Right....
FFXI has graphics on par with most of the games out now. If not better, and the engine is over 2 years old. Character Models, Animations, and Gameworld are still some of the best. Not to mention most beautiful I've seen in a MMO.
In War - Victory.
In Peace - Vigilance.
In Death - Sacrifice.
Perhaps you can help me adjust the graphic settings instead of being defensive like most fanboys are on this site ? I didnt flame the game, I simply stated my opinion.
My system is an AMD 3000+ with 1 gig corsair ram, 200 gig hard drive, ATI 9600xt 128 mb card, soundblaster audixy 2. I can handle SWG almost maxed so I assume this game shouldnt be any trouble at max settings ?
I had game set at 1024x768 and something else (background or something like that) set at 512x512. I didnt see any option for shading or shadows or stuff like that. If its there, I missed it. What you recommend then ? I dont see how setting screen to 1600x1200 would make a difference when there arent any options besides that ?
The background was a bit grainy and there wasnt much in details. I started out in some castle in the elf city. The walls and floors lacked any detail whatsoever. No paintings, no rugs, no cracks in the floors, no cobwebs in a corner, basically not much to make one feel immersed. There werent even objects around like tables and chairs. Just a bunch of npcs standing around. Again, not trying to flame here but I just dont see the graphics being all that special.
Please if Im missing something tell me how to adjust and I'll give the game a shot.
I didn't think the graphics were all that bad. They made it sought of anime which I like but guess its not for everyone. Since you play on a computer, I suggest buying a gaming controller (i used a sidewinder worked perfectly). Makes getting around and everything ALOT easier.
Cant say we didnt warn ya, all you gotta do is look at all the bad reviews here. FFXI is the worst game I have played MMORPG wise and thats bad considering Ive played 15 of them.
Lying in bed, looking up at the stars, a single thought passed through my head. Where the fuc|{ is my roof.
-----------------Censored------------------
Did you turn on Mip-mapping, or any of the other settings? when I first started it looked pixelated to all hell. then I turned that setting on and it was much better.
The game still sucks after that eye candy improvement though.
Getting groups sucked. No one speaks English(though you can use the Jap translater which actually worked great when i figured it out). Boring level grinds. It wasn't that bad c'mon.
The options are easy you go to Start>Programs>Final Fantasy XI>FFXI config and your there volla your in the options menu and some of the options are also in the game itself for shadows its in the config menu in it and change your keyboard to compacted and makes your gaming better and easier.
My analysis after 3 straight days of gameplay...
Graphics - Well I was able to adjust my settings to 1600x1200 and turn on all eye candy. Game isnt as pixelated but still lacks any realism to it or depth. Granted there's no lag however I'd be willing to assume some lag for some more details. The castle i was in had very little details in it. No furniture, no items laying around to lend to immersion... basically very bland. SCORE - 4/10
Interface is really tough to get used to. Every single other rpg or mmorpg I've played worked basically the same way. Click escape to log out, hit "i" or control/i to access inventory, arrow keys to move, "m" or control/m for map, double click to attack, spells and special moves assigned to hot keys (f1, f2, etc). Also Im used to seeing (and prefer) having various boxes on my screen to utilize like chat, hot keys, potions, etc. I really dont like the fact that with FF11 I have to first hit some weird key THEN click to access something. I want it all right on-screen ready and able for a quick click of the mouse button to use. I get the feeling the interface for PC users was an afterthought and meant for gamepad users only. Ultimately I dont tend to enjoy a game when I have to ask how to log off (i never would guess hitting - or + twice to get out, not very intuitive). SCORE - 1/10
Sound - Kinda hard to judge since Ive only been in the Elvish castle and outside it for combat. Sound seems to only play the same scottish irish bagpipe song. It does fit in with the atmosphere of the area but otherwise quite annoying. I didnt notice song ever changing while in combat mode (which is usually a good indicator that combat has begun) SCORE - 4/10
Chat - Seems fairly normal here except for one drawback... I like chat bubbles over players' heads. Makes it much easier to track who said what and where. Aslo different chat channels on chat window would be nice. Separating chat from combat would make life easier too. SCORE 4/10
AVERAGE SCORE (13/40) = 3.25 / 10
Im really having a hard time trying to play this anymore. Im gonna stick with it a few more days as Ive been told not to judge things so quickly. However I really am not enjoying this game so far. Any helpful hints to make the game more interface friendly and things to do would be appreciated.
As you may know FF is one of the hardest games to learn in the beginning. I didn't have the same problems as you when I started to play FFXI. There are some settings in the game that you make like, so check them all out, and if you don't know what something means check the manual.
I don't understand how people can think that the graphics are that bad. I only have problems with the trees and leaves. But the characters are very good I think.
The controlls were hard for me to learn but I did a lot of funny things like when I fought my first fight. Then I wanted to heal so I ran to the entrance to sandy and pressed something so that my character acctually healed. ut I didn't know that he was healing so I said "How do I heal" ... well maybe it doesnt seem funny to you but it was really funny when he said "lol, you are healing now"... heh
Do you have a linkshell? If you don't have one. Get one. They may help you and answer your questions
You think the graphics are bad???? They are actually quite good. You need to get into further areas like Valkurm Dunes and Qufim and Jeuno, it becomes so beutiful. Keep playing the game, its definatley my favorite.
EQ2 Qeynos Guild- http://www.imperium-arcanum.com
You have so right! The nature is so beautiful. If you don't look to close that is, heh. But from your characters view the nature really is beautiful.
You may quit FFXI if you like but you sure will miss something!
As for getting used to the interface, ou wont need to be too quick on your feet in the earlier levels, but if you want to streamline your gameplay, learn to make full use of macros and button memory. for example you can make it 2x click to start combat. Once you hit the attack button once, every time you open that menu your cursor will be on the attack button by default until you use the menu for another option. Its not too hard to get used to the menus, and once you start using more macros, actions will be alot more streamlined. Another helpful tip is to use the f-keys when you can for targeting, they make things alot easier. You can play the whole game on the keyboard alone, the mouse is not absolutly needed. Like I said, lower levels, your speed isnt terribly important, but later on some jobs require you to activate 3 different abilities in a matter of only a second or two.
sound is one of the greatest parts of this game, this game has some of the nicest music you will find in mmorpg's.
visuals. I can understand that this engine is a bit dated, however what they have done with it is amazing. the farther into the game you get the more spectacular the visuals get, the more immersive the settings get. San d'oria is most likely the most mediocre place to start, you really dont appreciate it until you spend time in the other nations. EQ2 has alot of cutting edge technology behind it's gfx and I was really excited about it for awhile, but the more I compared it to FFXI it started to look gawdy and uninspired. Also remember to set shadows to high, and adjust the gamma and brightness so that dark is dark and the shadows are a bit more prevelant. Lots of times, people play this game with high brightness and gamma and it makes the game look very bland.
As for chat, you may find it best to go into the config in game and turn damage to on-screen only, unless you really want to know your dmg.
and one more thing, the interface rox for me totally, im using PC. U guys probably have NEVE EVER played ff7 or ff8 on pc, because that's how the control works, the moment i started, i knew how to use this whole damn thing, .. maybe some people are just stupid .
and another thing, i think the music fits the game well, it is surely FF style and it rox totally, u must be tone deaf or something..
First off, the graphics aren't bad. I've played alot of MMO's, this would be probably in the top 5 graphics wise. They are trying to give it a final fantasy look, so when you say it doesn't have much realism, you can see why. I thought the game looked very artistic.
Interface - I hated this the most at first. Play for around a week or two and (at least for me) you'll find they are very easy and straight forward.
Also, nobody here has mentioned content. This was one of it's biggest accomplishments.
Granted that, I would only give this game a 7 because later on it gets repetitive.