No Graphics Upgrade for 360 FFXI

GamesIndustry.biz has the word that Final Fantasy XI, as it will appear on the Xbox 360 console, will be a straight port of the title with no proposed graphics upgrade. From the article: "The company also revealed that Final Fantasy XI was originally in development for the current generation Xbox console, but that an agreement couldn't be reached with Microsoft that would allow Square Enix to implement its custom PlayOnline online gaming service on Xbox Live. The restrictions on this have been eased significantly with the Xbox 360, the firm's spokespeople explained, and players will log into PlayOnline in order to play FFXI, not the Live service."

Comments

Article not entirely accurate.

[falcon5768]

It wont be a graphical update of the PC version, but it WILL be graphically better than the PS2 version. Realistically though anyone who buys a MMORPG or any game based on graphics alone is a moron.

And the reason behind it is that they do not want to lose the PS2 fanbase which while smaller in America is well over 50% of the Japanese users.

Re:Article not entirely accurate.

[djdanlib]

The ideal 3D resolution seems to be 512x512 at 800x600 2D resolution. I think the textures were designed at that resolution, because the geometry and textures seem to line up very well at those settings. I've got a 22" monitor that I usually run at 1600x1200 and I can tell you that FFXI does look best at 512x512. I've played it at 2048x1536... not a happy experience for the eyes.

Setting up MIP mapping at above-normal settings (like 4 or 5) in the registry and forcing anisotropic filtering in your display driver both help it look better. Also, sitting more than a foot away from your monitor helps immensely.

For more details... check out my old Allakhazam post on all the registry settings. AFAIK, I am the only one to have ever gone into that much detail.

Re:No, it isn't.

[ZephyrXero]

I think the GP was trying to make a joke...