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WTF happened to their..
spankybus
Member UncommonPosts: 1,367
....Character Artists?!
OK, I played FFXI for 2.5 years. I loved it, great times and great memories.
Now I am stoked to see a new edition to the MMORPG lineup from SE. However, after seeing the traiiler and reading some of the fansites, I have to wonder.
Did Square Enix fire all of their character artists? I mean seriously, we're getting the same races again?
Sure, they changed the named and made some very minor alterations to they're appearance. But they're basically the same toons from FFXI! Ok, so maybe they kept one character artist and fired the rest
Did they simply run out of ideas? I just hope we get some new racial options in this game. I don't want to feel like I've been playing a game for years, after I only just started it.
Frank 'Spankybus' Mignone
www.spankybus.com
-3d Artist & Compositor
-Writer
-Professional Amature
Comments
Aye. It would be nice to see some new races. I don't think we're even asking for all new races, just a couple would even be nice. Such as Yeti's ( Umaro, FFVI, III ) Moogles, A Zidane like race, or maybe even a anthropomorphic Nanaki ( Red XIII ) type race. Or something totally original that interconnects to the lore of Eorzea would be wonderful too.
I agree with you both. The game would definitely benefit from having some new races injected in it. How are they supposed to draw in new fans if it looks like the same game as their previous MMO?
You know i am too passionate about Square's work when i start out with a 2 line answer and it ended up a novel ..lol.
So i restarted with hopes i just dwell on the topic.
I don't mind them re using old characters,it is kind of nostalgic and keeps the same feel from FFXI.I would have been super pissed if they re used the EXACT same models,but at least these actually took some work to redesign.
I have to say that not once has my gut feeling been wrong about a game,usually if i smell a bad layout or production ,it ends up bad and i feel this is what i wil lsee from this game.I draw my conclusion from all the new games line up from Square,i look to see their direction,and i look at how sloppy they have been over the last 2 years in their design and expansions.
We are going to get a half finished game,released too early,however it will be polished,because it is going to play like a console game ,the realism of a MMORPG will not be in this game.
I would not be worried about Square's artwork it has been and will contion ue to be very good stuff,the yusually create a fair bit of detail even when using low quality textures.Judging by the video,it looks like shaders/layering is the new thing this engine can handle and we are going to see a lot of it lol.I am sure they allowed for standard ,larger texture sizes to clean up the graphic quality.
Right now i have about a 30/70 hope this game will turn out anything close to the quality of FFXI and i was hoping for another FFXI but revamped with more quality.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
I share the passion. I don't mean to write novels. But I've got a do-nothing job and like discussing this stuff.
We can only hope Square-Enix has kept a trump card up its sleeve. That wild joker, that new race (or races). I understand why they're using modified XI models, they've explained it themselves, but for there to be nothing else would turn many people off right from the start. I know I'm looking forward to new race(s) even if I have no intention to play them. But I don't think it has anything to do with their artists, lol. You have to remember that XIII, Versus, and Agito are all still in the making. And while that might lead one to believe that some if not all of these products are being rushed, not all of them have the exact same production & development teams. The characters (in XIII) look 100% human for the most part. The three games all bring three different engines and worlds for people who want to experience a different styles - turn style, action style, strategy style. Square-Enix is doing more than just telling the same 'save the world' story with different races, they're reinventing them.
I don't think we'll get a half-finished game. I think we'll get a 1/100th finished game. First of all, it's very unfair to say that any MMORPG is "finished" upon its initial release. As players conquer the game's most current contentand find and abuse exploits over time, changes are made and new content is added. So in the case of MMORPG's, no game is finished until it is no longer being supported. And on that note, they're giving Final Fantasy XIV a longer beta period than the four months they gave to Final Fantasy XI, meaning more kinks and flaws are likely to be ironed out to ensure a quality product is released. This product is nothing but a host for whats to come. Anyone who makes up their mind for Final Fantasy XIV either before or after playing the first version upon release is not giving the game a fair shot.
The 'realism' of an MMORPG is an oxymoron. And even so, such realism will be in this game more so than any other before it. It's being embedded in the very mechanics of gameplay. Just because it's on a console doesn't mean it'll play like a console game. Final Fantasy XII WAS a console game and the gambits & 'blank slate' made it FEEL like it was an MMO. So we don't really know what to expect from Square-Enix other than another great story. Lastly, don't call the FFXI or FFXIV character models "toons" because they're aren't. Not that I'm going to enforce terminology of a game, but it sure irks me. It's just one of my peeves. You can almost tell what a person's first MMORPG was by their lingo. WoW had TOONS. THEY were carTOONy.
At least you know that with Final Fantasy, whatever artists are assigned to a project, they have a history of original quality work. Truth is we've only been given a glimpse of XIV. Instead I'd question the artistic capabilities of Blizzard! =p
Abraxas [365]
How can you say "I was hoping for a revamped FFXI" in the same paragraph that you complain about SE using similar character designs?
Regardless, I would reserve judgment until you actually see the game. After all, you wouldn't judge people just looking at a picture of them, would you?
Which Final Fantasy Character Are You?
Final Fantasy 7
lol In a fantasy video game, you bet yer arse I would. Sorry, I am a 3d Artist, so I am biased beyond that of just a gamer :-)
I am not a big fan of lazy work. EA is really famous for it, ei, look at how much art they reuse for their Tony Hawk series. However, seldom is the reused art that of characters, unless its a famous person (in this case, tony hawk is expected to return).
But in this case, seriously? I am not a Uber-hardcore SE fan, but wasn't FF12 the first time they used a previously existing world in the franchise? Wasn't that world based on FF tactics? Anyways, my point is, I could understand previously created races in that game, because its a story set in the same world. There I would expect a character rework smilar to this case. Updating the characters for the newer graphic engine.
However, Eorzea, as they have named it, looks to be a completely new world. Except, they have the same races as Vana Diel? OK, yes, they cut the Galka's tail off (did yal see the movie 'coming to America' when Akeem gets his hait cut?). Seriously, the amount of changes to the characters would have taken a week for all of them, probably less.
OK, sure, reuse Humans, as they are a FF constant....but really have we run out of hot chick/animal races already?? We have Fran, the Bunny girl, and Mithra, the cat chicks....nothing else comes to mind? lol
It just seems like they were not feeling very creative with this enterprise, which is weird for Square....but I guess Square Enix is ok with it.
Frank 'Spankybus' Mignone
www.spankybus.com
-3d Artist & Compositor
-Writer
-Professional Amature
So what you're saying is that you would have been fine with it if they didn't change the names?
ludicrous!
Which Final Fantasy Character Are You?
Final Fantasy 7
It would've been cool for them to make a whole new set of races. But meh, i loved the races in FFXI... I'm sure they'll add a couple new original ones into the mix. The reasoning behind it was more then likely to help people wanting to take the step, moving over from FFXI to FFXIV... so they have some sense of attachment/familiarity moving on to the new game.
No, mate lol I am saying I would have been fine if they were different all around. Different names, characteristics, traits, appearance, history.......DIFFERENT. Not the same crap with bobbed ears, snipped tails and new names lol. a different game should be diferent, unless its a continueation of a previous game.
Frank 'Spankybus' Mignone
www.spankybus.com
-3d Artist & Compositor
-Writer
-Professional Amature
thanks for the male mithra this time SE... </3
No, mate lol I am saying I would have been fine if they were different all around. Different names, characteristics, traits, appearance, history.......DIFFERENT. Not the same crap with bobbed ears, snipped tails and new names lol. a different game should be diferent, unless its a continueation of a previous game.
Well they've been saying since the beginning they did it to keep races familiar to those coming from XI. I'm still keeping an "opening" for at least one new race, though, "to be announced".
On one hand, I do think it's kinda lazy to use similar races; though the models are different - some more than others. I think the Miqo'te look better overall than the Mithra. The Humes look almost identical. I like how the Lallafel seem to have been "stretched" a bit more vertically and actually have something resembling a torso (they don't look like kickballs anymore). Also, the new 'Galka' seem to resemble "really large guys" moreso than "really large pasty white freaky looking guys".
On the other hand, I do kinda fall into the group that finds it cool that I'll be able to bring Shanree into the new game... and potentially give her an "upgrade" in appearance; maybe make her look a little more specifically how I'd like.
But I can see your point.
and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
Don't misunderstand me. I said 'same of crap' before. I don't really think the toons in FFXI were crap. I like em a lot.
I am just ready for some new art. Not altered/moderninzed old art.
I am hopeful that there will be a new set of races in addition to the old favorites, which would really be the best of both worlds. Here's hoping.
Frank 'Spankybus' Mignone
www.spankybus.com
-3d Artist & Compositor
-Writer
-Professional Amature
It is great they are keeping the same races altho they are giving them different names and altering abilities I am sure. I think they should have left the names the same also. What of what made FFXI great was the universe they created and the solid story line that the characters played into it. I say good job to square-enix on that one. I don't want a new completely different FF I want the same but MORE MORE MORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
lol In a fantasy video game, you bet yer arse I would. Sorry, I am a 3d Artist, so I am biased beyond that of just a gamer :-)
I am not a big fan of lazy work. EA is really famous for it, ei, look at how much art they reuse for their Tony Hawk series. However, seldom is the reused art that of characters, unless its a famous person (in this case, tony hawk is expected to return).
But in this case, seriously? I am not a Uber-hardcore SE fan, but wasn't FF12 the first time they used a previously existing world in the franchise? Wasn't that world based on FF tactics? Anyways, my point is, I could understand previously created races in that game, because its a story set in the same world. There I would expect a character rework smilar to this case. Updating the characters for the newer graphic engine.
However, Eorzea, as they have named it, looks to be a completely new world. Except, they have the same races as Vana Diel? OK, yes, they cut the Galka's tail off (did yal see the movie 'coming to America' when Akeem gets his hait cut?). Seriously, the amount of changes to the characters would have taken a week for all of them, probably less.
OK, sure, reuse Humans, as they are a FF constant....but really have we run out of hot chick/animal races already?? We have Fran, the Bunny girl, and Mithra, the cat chicks....nothing else comes to mind? lol
It just seems like they were not feeling very creative with this enterprise, which is weird for Square....but I guess Square Enix is ok with it.
actully from what i understand the 2 planets are fairly close to each other like in the same galaxy hence whyt he races are simuliar
You should go read the updated website. It looks like they've spent the last 5 years on an incredible back story. I still say we should reserve judgment for the actual game. I have a feeling this one's got the potential to change the way MMORPGs are made.
Which Final Fantasy Character Are You?
Final Fantasy 7