Zekkyou said:
I'd say WoW actually backs the argument up. It's one of the most successful video games ever created, it's over a decade old, and yet it's still using effectively the same engine. It's seen some nice improvements, but they're been gradual and highly linear. In 13~ years they've upgraded by about half a console generation. FF14's technical base isn't just a matter of its engine though, i'd argue it's in largest part because of design philosophy. The 1.0 shitshow lead to a huge shift in technical design targets for FF14, resulting in its current 'make it look nice, then stop and move on to more content' way of doing things. If they really wanted to make significant technical changes, they already can. That they think a Switch version is even worth discussing should highlight how much breathing room they have left on the PS4. But they don't, because their technical base has been set and the work required to dramatically shift it would go against their design philosophy of the last 4~ years. They will make more improvements over time, but i expect only when it's either easy (such as POM on the DX11 version), or when they think it's necessary (maybe once the PS5/XBwhatever is out and established). The PS4 version will inevitably be dropped, but i don't think it'll be down to inherent technical limitations. I think it'll be a repeat of the current DX9 situation. |
I'm saying that it's more than just that. The design philosophy has been handcuffed by the PS3 specs, resulting in smaller zones, less complex battles, and simple instances. Stormblood is already proof that they're expanding the scope of the game and enhancing the design off of that.
