IRT Ydahs:
what you call "fog" is just the game emulating light scattering, which games use to great effect. examples:
if anything, X looks worse on this area, since the human eye doesn't perceive the detail in objects at a distance the same way they do up close.
no way in hell. maybe it looks worse in an average game, but it's clearly used in X to great effect. the backgrounds are more than likely visitable and need to look available for travel. fogging them out destroys that sensation and would harm the feeling of exploration and 'scale' that people are talking about