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Originally posted by Alverant
Can you use gear of another faction? There's no logical reason why you couldn't. But sometimes games have exclusive gear for no reason outside of game balance.

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I tried to aswered this question before but I didn't have an accurate reply and it bothered me that I didn't. So, I started reading up the Q&A and here is what I found:

2. Will there be Faction-specific armor for top-level players, or just in-general pieces that can only be worn by a certain alignment?

Each faction has numerous pieces of clothing and armor that are specific to their faction, from Lightbearer robes to CHOTA bone armor to Enforcer ballistic plate. Some of these outfits will simply function as armor, such as the aforementioned Enforcer ballistic plate, while others may have different functions. Each Faction has pieces for a variety slots, with each Faction having at least its own chest, foot, glove, belt, and head pieces. Most of these slots have 3-5 different pieces for each Faction, denoting different ranks or membership in subfactions. Faction-specific clothing and armor can only be worn by members of the appropriate faction, so if you're a Traveler trying to disguise yourself as a Vista, best not wear your Traveler-specific gear into a Vista town. Players can learn to make Faction-specific clothing and armor if they have the appropriate Armorcraft skill and a really high Faction rating.

That is an official Dev. Quote... you can find the full article here

Originally posted by Seiren

Many of the games out today are superficially designed as if that is the most important quality in an MMO. The MMO industry is not as advanced as we think. It is still very young and has much to learn about what Gamers really want. FE looks like a fresh new concept even if the graphics aren’t glorified like in other MMO’s. To say I won’t play because the graphics aren’t crystalline says more about the person stating the comment than of the game it self. I think some of us have greater standards and understand the industry more than others to see where this new generation of developers will be taking us. One can actually see it if we look beyond the front-page hyped MMO.

You said the KEYWORD >>UNDERSTAND.

I think most of us don't need a complete hi res world but we do expect advancement beyond FFXI/Everquest witch were made prolly 8-10 years ago.FFXI was VERY limited by a console engine so you have to for sure outdo there CONTENT and there Graphics.Everquest showed us that realistic looking armour was capable back when peeps only had pentium2/3/4 PC's,so YES we HAVE come a VERY long way,the TOTAL bandwidth these average PC's can handle is at least 5-10x what they could when Everquest was designed.

You are also correct when saying some of us have greater standards,that is because i know what it takes to make these games,maybe not the whole financial side of it ,but the gaming engine and effort i do understand.I am also sure some of these newer gaming engines have some advanced physics capabilities,but again i nor others expect a full dx10 game with shader 4/5 ,we just want what is FAIR and EXPECTED from modern day coders and graphic artists.I should also mention we expect a complete game design by the horrid modern day managers of these games.

To tell the truth i was not too sure what you meant by SUPERFICIALLY designed,you mean like crappy WOW graphics that could fool the average gamer?games that are too lazy to make meaningful spells per level,so they just turn to these nowaday SKILL trees players seem to love ..lol.FFXI managed to combine meaningful spells per level AND incorporated skills for each to go along with it.Kind of obvious why i always praise FFXi,since most games are half the game that is and designed for PC lol.

Since i have seen the best out there it will of course be very hard to please me,by heck why would i play something that is inferior? because it is new? pfft not me.I can however move to and play something UNIQUE that shows quality was put into the effort.Look no further than the two youngsters who started CRASH BANDICOOT years ago,they didn't need some large staff,they made such a great game ,SOE purchased the rights from them and made them millionaires.Quality is achievable by all who are capable.

Technology has come a long way yes, but not everyone who plays MMO’s has the top PC or to support the demand of some MMO’s today. I stopped updating my PC for new MMO’s four years ago and I don’t think I’m missing much from where graphics are concerned. The point I was trying to make (perhaps I didn’t do so well), is that graphics isn’t that important when the game it self is good. Of course we are talking here about a new MMO that isn’t available yet, so it is a bit hard to determine how good the game will actually be.

My self, I don’t, have the knowledge you say to have in game development. I speak from a gamer’s point of view, and one that has tried many of the games out today, only to be disappointed and completely disgusted with what some companies keep developing. Ironically my turn-off from these games has nothing to do with the graphics. Some games today are designed to be art first and a large amount of time is employed on that. Also another factor is that many of the games designed today are based or derived on themes with already established fans. SWG, AoC, LOTRO, D&D, and many others…Original games are often overshadowed, especially by big budgeted companies with millions to spend on marketing, and the small budget companies that make unique and interesting games are left behind.

Personally I want to play FE for its storyline content, crafting system, and other interesting facts about the game that have captured my interest. It is what I look for in an MMO, my standard, graphics play a very little part. I’ve never played FFXI and I’ve heard great things about it. I’m sure I would like it. But I already have a favorite fantasy theme game, one I’ve loved for four years, and continue to play today, which don’t allow room for FFXI.

Alas, there are many factors that we can agree and disagree in regards to why graphics are important or not important. The core point we both have is that it is a personal choice and based on our experiences as gamers, and technical knowledge of the industry (however small in my case), that our expectations are set. True the industry has come a long way in the graphics department, there is great technology out there, but the industry still needs to learn that there is a large demographic of elder gamers that prefer original concepts, hybrid characters, skill levels instead of class levels, smart AI worlds, and questless grind over cloned and artful graphic MMO's.

Originally posted by TenSpotting

this game looks horrible lol

some of the worste graphics i've seen yet

The graphics arn't all that bad,The game is still in Alpha mind you.it has a nice lighting system with real time shadows.   While I do like eyecandy Im willing to sacrifice some of that for awesome gameplay.

Im more concerned about the combat. Im no fan of fps or 3rd person shooters. Still this game looks pretty amazing. Its got two things going for it...

sandbox

crafted goods better than drops

thats enough for me to buy it

Originally posted by Seiren

Technology has come a long way yes, but not everyone who plays MMO’s has the top PC or to support the demand of some MMO’s today. I stopped updating my PC for new MMO’s four years ago and I don’t think I’m missing much from where graphics are concerned. The point I was trying to make (perhaps I didn’t do so well), is that graphics isn’t that important when the game it self is good. Of course we are talking here about a new MMO that isn’t available yet, so it is a bit hard to determine how good the game will actually be.

My self, I don’t, have the knowledge you say to have in game development. I speak from a gamer’s point of view, and one that has tried many of the games out today, only to be disappointed and completely disgusted with what some companies keep developing. Ironically my turn-off from these games has nothing to do with the graphics. Some games today are designed to be art first and a large amount of time is employed on that. Also another factor is that many of the games designed today are based or derived on themes with already established fans. SWG, AoC, LOTRO, D&D, and many others…Original games are often overshadowed, especially by big budgeted companies with millions to spend on marketing, and the small budget companies that make unique and interesting games are left behind.

Personally I want to play FE for its storyline content, crafting system, and other interesting facts about the game that have captured my interest. It is what I look for in an MMO, my standard, graphics play a very little part. I’ve never played FFXI and I’ve heard great things about it. I’m sure I would like it. But I already have a favorite fantasy theme game, one I’ve loved for four years, and continue to play today, which don’t allow room for FFXI.

Alas, there are many factors that we can agree and disagree in regards to why graphics are important or not important. The core point we both have is that it is a personal choice and based on our experiences as gamers, and technical knowledge of the industry (however small in my case), that our expectations are set. True the industry has come a long way in the graphics department, there is great technology out there, but the industry still needs to learn that there is a large demographic of elder gamers that prefer original concepts, hybrid characters, skill levels instead of class levels, smart AI worlds, and questless grind over cloned and artful graphic MMO's.
 

Yea, I feel the same way. Atm I am just looking for a game that isnt WoW and is more leaned towards the older MMO elements. I absolutly loved SWG and this game seems to be the closiest to it.

Originally posted by Seiren

Technology has come a long way yes, but not everyone who plays MMO’s has the top PC or to support the demand of some MMO’s today. I stopped updating my PC for new MMO’s four years ago and I don’t think I’m missing much from where graphics are concerned. The point I was trying to make (perhaps I didn’t do so well), is that graphics isn’t that important when the game it self is good. Of course we are talking here about a new MMO that isn’t available yet, so it is a bit hard to determine how good the game will actually be.

My self, I don’t, have the knowledge you say to have in game development. I speak from a gamer’s point of view, and one that has tried many of the games out today, only to be disappointed and completely disgusted with what some companies keep developing. Ironically my turn-off from these games has nothing to do with the graphics. Some games today are designed to be art first and a large amount of time is employed on that. Also another factor is that many of the games designed today are based or derived on themes with already established fans. SWG, AoC, LOTRO, D&D, and many others…Original games are often overshadowed, especially by big budgeted companies with millions to spend on marketing, and the small budget companies that make unique and interesting games are left behind.

Personally I want to play FE for its storyline content, crafting system, and other interesting facts about the game that have captured my interest. It is what I look for in an MMO, my standard, graphics play a very little part. I’ve never played FFXI and I’ve heard great things about it. I’m sure I would like it. But I already have a favorite fantasy theme game, one I’ve loved for four years, and continue to play today, which don’t allow room for FFXI.

Alas, there are many factors that we can agree and disagree in regards to why graphics are important or not important. The core point we both have is that it is a personal choice and based on our experiences as gamers, and technical knowledge of the industry (however small in my case), that our expectations are set. True the industry has come a long way in the graphics department, there is great technology out there, but the industry still needs to learn that there is a large demographic of elder gamers that prefer original concepts, hybrid characters, skill levels instead of class levels, smart AI worlds, and questless grind over cloned and artful graphic MMO's.

I agree with a lot of what you say, but there's one big problem with games these days: the more complicated the game, the longer it takes to develop. In the early days of games, a company made of a few people could crank out a few games each year. Today it's not unheard of that a game will take several DECADES of man-hours to develop. On top of that market forces want a quick turnaround time on products. So a game company has to rush to meet deadlines. That means it's possible for something to get left behind. Having internet access for computers and game consoles becoming standard and expected allow for companies to slip up. If there's a huge flaw in the game, just release a patch and let people download it. Today's computers can play great games but with the time it takes to make great games isn't as practical as it used to be. People want great graphics, great sounds, great music, great game play, great AI, etc. We want a very complicated game but we don't want to wait for it. So what companies do is release OK games and sometimes we buy them.

There's not much we can do as individuals. The whole gaming society has to change if we want better games and that will include things like willingly pay more for them and voicing our opinions to companies.

Originally posted by Seiren

Technology has come a long way yes, but not everyone who plays MMO’s has the top PC or to support the demand of some MMO’s today. I stopped updating my PC for new MMO’s four years ago and I don’t think I’m missing much from where graphics are concerned. The point I was trying to make (perhaps I didn’t do so well), is that graphics isn’t that important when the game it self is good.

I put it this way:
Great graphics help to sell a game and draw people in... Solid, fun and lasting gameplay keeps them there.

Of course, "solid, fun and lasting" are all subjective.

Originally posted by WSIMike

Originally posted by Seiren

Technology has come a long way yes, but not everyone who plays MMO’s has the top PC or to support the demand of some MMO’s today. I stopped updating my PC for new MMO’s four years ago and I don’t think I’m missing much from where graphics are concerned. The point I was trying to make (perhaps I didn’t do so well), is that graphics isn’t that important when the game it self is good.

I put it this way:
Great graphics help to sell a game and draw people in... Solid, fun and lasting gameplay keeps them there.

Of course, "solid, fun and lasting" are all subjective.

 

So true, so true...