The zones we have now are to small.

The zones are just as big. They are broken up into smaller sections. 1.0 you had the Shroud: North, South, east and west all on the same map. 2.0 has the same but broken up into smaller sections. It's really not any different. Just seems smaller because of the some breaks.

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Originally Posted by adam92682

Why can't we have zones that were as large as they were in 1.0 but still be filled with things to do like the current areas?

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Those zones were split into SEVERAL different serverside areas, and they couldn't have areas that big without

1) lots of copy pasta
2) ability to load them on the PS3 with its limited memory.

Besides, what's the point in having gigantic areas with nothing to fill them with?

The small zones are my #1 issue with the game currently. It's not just PS3 limitations - they're also trying to hit the poor people with toasters for computers demographic, like WoW. It's not just size; as others have mentioned, verticality, an overabundance of choke points, and far too much segmentation in general. The current map designs belong in game from 2005, not 2013.

The copy pasta in 1.0 is a bit overstated. Yes, it was basically a tiling system for much of the zones, but it did have its unique points where necessary. Take the Shroud for example - eastern shroud looked different from central shroud looked different than western shroud. Everything was very nicely spread out. Unlike now where I don't even use my chocbo half the time cause everything is right bloody next to everything else.

Zones look fine to me, I love the way high and low level content has been mashed together too as it stops early areas from becoming ghost towns.

Only issue I have is there's too much zoning. It would be great if that could be cut down. Less load screens and more seamless landscape :)

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Originally Posted by KenzieLynch

Silly people,

2.0 was scaled back to work on console, yes, but also on low end PC's.

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You do realize that the PS3 has less RAM than the minimum requirements for a just a standard operating system on a PC, right?

The biggest thing I miss is the fact that 1.0 did not really have loading screens and everything seamlessly flowed into the next zone. I miss that SOOO much. The way the game is now with broken up zones makes it feel smaller and sucks...good thing I like the game overall because this is really my only complaint minus the red circle lag.

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Originally Posted by RowanLauron

The zones are just as big. They are broken up into smaller sections. 1.0 you had the Shroud: North, South, east and west all on the same map. 2.0 has the same but broken up into smaller sections. It's really not any different. Just seems smaller because of the some breaks.

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No, there is a difference. Now the areas look different instead of being bland repeats of everywhere else.

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Originally Posted by Pinworms

The biggest thing I miss is the fact that 1.0 did not really have loading screens and everything seamlessly flowed into the next zone. I miss that SOOO much. The way the game is now with broken up zones makes it feel smaller and sucks...good thing I like the game overall because this is really my only complaint minus the red circle lag.

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Did you even play 1.0? There were loading screens between zones (e.g. going between The Black Shroud and Thanalan). There was nothing seamless about 1.0.

yeah zones are way too small. no way to farm for weaver or leatherworker since there almost no mobs in the zone, feels like im hunting HNM's in FFXI.

i hope the expansion zones are bigger. no reason they can make big zones, BUT i think they decided to make straight .bsp with no portal volume that can make the world look seamless thats why we have to load between zones. as for mmo's WoW has it, thats why you can run across a whole continent with no loading screens game only shows whats in proxmity & in that portal volume and it only draws whats in your screen saves mass amounts of system power. think of portal volumes are visually like A* but with .BSP.
i think they made the zones small because of time constraints.

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Originally Posted by BlueMage

(2) I'd rather we get completely new zones added, rather than a patch/expansion to make the existing zones bigger.

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I'm sure we'll get some new zones but I can bet we'll see extensions to the zones you can currently discover on the map are small compared to where you can drag the map around in the Map UI.

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Originally Posted by KamikazeMan

After the mess that was 1.0, I'm actually fine with the size. However, I do have a problem with the lack of things to do in zones. They feel small to me because all there is to do are FATEs, leves, and gathering. Nothing to explore since the world is pretty much flat, nothing to discover, nothing fun to do....nada.

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This is kind of how I feel, I like that they are smaller but it feels like there isn't much to do and thus they feel smaller than they actually are. I think they tried to streamline everything too much this time round which ended up hurting the feel... overall.

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Originally Posted by Despite

They are very small.. and not only that.. very linear and corridory. Rubbish.

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This makes me laugh given the old Black Shroud zones. Those were the epitomy of "corridory." They also may have been large, but the maps were made up entirely of about 6 set pieces that were just rotated and repeated ad-naseum. Not to mention the whole zone wasn't actually one zone, but a series of small zones that were connected by a very long completely empty transition corridor while the game loaded in the next area... which was made up of exactly the same 6 set pieces rotated and repeated ad-naseum. And a good 50% of the map was not even playable content. It was just filled with creatures up to 50 levels higher than the max level a player could reach with no quests or anything to do other than finding teleportation shards:
http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__...ack-shroud.jpg
Vs. what we have now:
(Notice the similarity in size overall, and the intelligent level design. Also compare the fact that every area in this map has a different feel and look to it, compared to every area on the old map looking exactly the same.)
http://i.imgur.com/pEQUAAN.jpg

The other areas of the game were exactly the same, although it wasn't as obvious since the set-pieces were not corridors but rather designed to be open spaces when pieced together:
http://www.ffxivinfo.com/images/maps...s-thanalan.jpg
http://www.ffxivinfo.com/images/maps...-la-noscea.jpg

Don't kid yourself. This game has some of the smallest most corridory zones in mmo history. It's undeniable. The reasons and whether or not 1.0 was better are irrelevant. They could have made it bigger, they did not. It's a cop out.

So basically Eorzea lost quantity and gained quality. I'll take that trade off any day.

Central Shroud
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y15...ps2e90d72f.jpg
North Shroud
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y15...ps49aaed18.jpg
East Shroud
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y15...ps99d1ccc1.jpg
South Shroud
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y15...ps0d97e701.jpg

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Originally Posted by Despite

Don't kid yourself. This game has some of the smallest most corridory zones in mmo history. It's undeniable. The reasons and whether or not 1.0 was better are irrelevant. They could have made it bigger, they did not. It's a cop out.

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It is definitely deniable. Your definition of corridor is not very accurate, never mind that "corridory" is not a word.

As far as size, they could have made it bigger... at the expense of visual variety and quality. Feel free to show me an mmo with zones that are significantly larger which is just as high quality and which is just as varied in its look across a given zone. And it's not just visuals. Large zones need more stuff to fill them with. A larger area typically just means the same variety of mobs and quests are spread out over that larger area. You just end up with 1,000,000 square pixels filled with goblins instead of 500,000 square pixels filled with goblins. Or worse, large areas without any mobs or quests in them at all.

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Originally Posted by Mhaeric

As far as size, they could have made it bigger... at the expense of visual variety and quality. Feel free to show me an mmo with zones that are significantly larger which is just as high quality and varied in its look across the same zone.

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Rift. Wide open, massive zones with none of the infuriating invisible walls and canyon-like choke points that funnel you from Location A to Location B like in XIV.

The zones we have now are fine, we just need more purpose for them. Some content is coming in 2.1 such as the treasure hunts and beastmen quests, it's a good start in that direction.

In 1.0, the areas were larger yes but you could literally see where they had connected two areas together to make "one zone". You would be walking around down a path, and suddenly there are no monsters and you spot a dark line not so well hidden in the ground and walls. Then you would pass that point, and boom monsters pop up. They weren't really large zones at all, it just appeared that way.

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Originally Posted by Naunet

Rift. Wide open, massive zones with none of the infuriating invisible walls and canyon-like choke points that funnel you from Location A to Location B like in XIV.

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You must have forgotten the part where I said just as high quality and as varied in its look across the same zone.

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Originally Posted by Shan

ps3 limitation

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:( I thought in beta everyone was always yelling at me and swearing there would be no PS3 limitations....

o.O

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Originally Posted by Mhaeric

You must have forgotten the part where I said just as high quality and as varied in its look across the same zone.

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No, I didn't. It's quite beautiful everywhere.

Just shots I had already uploaded to imgur, so not as varied as they could be, but...

[edit] Incidentally, XIV's zones are not that varied in look from place to place. They each have very clear environmental themes, just like any MMO, so your "varied in its look across the same zone" bit is rather a non-argument. There are minor variations within the zone, and unique landmarks (such as the Burning Wall in Eastern Thanalan, or the swamp in the southern end of South Shroud), but that is not unique to XIV.

I love this game. The zones are utterly beautiful... but small. They're an improvement in comparison to 1.0's, that is true - but they're still small. I think a lot of us just wish for the new areas that are going to be developed to be more open/for SE to open up the existing ones.

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Originally Posted by Mhaeric

You must have forgotten the part where I said just as high quality and as varied in its look across the same zone.

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How about Tera and GW2? ^^.

Welcome to Caledon Forest! :-) @

Pipe Organ. (8)

__________________________________________

I'd even rank Lotro amongst them, albeit it's an older game - so its graphics are older.

Welcome to Forochel! :-D @

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Originally Posted by Babydoll

:( I thought in beta everyone was always yelling at me and swearing there would be no PS3 limitations....

o.O

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They honeymoon period of this game is over it seems :P, now that the Haterade has started to take effect people are starting to be a tad bit over-dramatic about this game, especially the PS3 version. Although I will admit I'm amazed SE even managed to make it work on the PS3 at all lol.

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Originally Posted by Naunet

Rift. Wide open, massive zones with none of the infuriating invisible walls and canyon-like choke points that funnel you from Location A to Location B like in XIV.

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Exactly. Rift had nice big open zones and the Storm Legion had even bigger open zones.. oh and hey NO LOADING SCREENS BETWEEN ZONES. Imagine that.
FFXIV ARR just screams rush to "completion". They half assed almost everything in this game.

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Originally Posted by Alish

They honeymoon period of this game is over it seems :P, now that the Haterade has started to take effect people are starting to be a tad bit over-dramatic about this game.

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I think that is the one universal concept with MMOs since the genre first came out. People also seem to hate the game they love and always bash the devs and the company.

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Originally Posted by Despite

Exactly. Rift had nice big open zones and the Storm Legion had even bigger open zones.. oh and hey NO LOADING SCREENS BETWEEN ZONES. Imagine that.
FFXIV ARR just screams rush to "completion". They half assed almost everything in this game.

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I don't see it. Rift was one of the least visually attractive MMO's I played. The areas were wide, but the details on spells and monsters were minimal so I don't think it's equivalent.

Guild Wars 2, however, is a great example of detailed visuals with wide open spaces. TERA as well, though its landscapes were fairly simple.

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Originally Posted by Allyrion

Guild Wars 2, however, is a great example of detailed visuals with wide open spaces. TERA as well, though its landscapes were fairly simple.

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I disagree with your comment re:Rift, but I do agree that GW2 and TERA have excellent zone designs. Though TERA is a bit too happy with the invisible walls as well, you can still do some great mountain climbing/sight seeing. And GW2... no MMO has ever made me quite so happy with all the enterable buildings and stuff. XIV comes close on the buildings aspect, but Squeenix shadows it by putting so many NPCs in all the available chairs.

the zones are too small. however they are designed that size to run on poor hardware. Not likely going to change now.. but that being said. It would be nice to see future zones added to the game that have less comforts in them as you venture away from the main traffic areas.

I would like to see expansion zones added that have less teleport access and more dangerous areas. I would even go as far as to say i would like areas that normally require group effort to get to most areas and content ( dungeons, hubs, towns )

simply put I want to travel though zones that have risk and scare the shit out of me

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Originally Posted by zeroumus

the zones are too small. however they are designed that size to run on poor hardware. Not likely going to change now.. but that being said. It would be nice to see future zones added to the game that have less comforts in them as you venture away from the main traffic areas.

I would like to see expansion zones added that have less teleport access and more dangerous areas. I would even go as far as to say i would like areas that normally require group effort to get to most areas and content ( dungeons, hubs, towns )

simply put I want to travel though zones that have risk and scare the shit out of me

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Dangerous open world? Never going to happen :(

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Originally Posted by zdub303

Dangerous open world? Never going to happen :(

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well, i want it. at least for areas far away from cities...


is it really too much to ask for to have a MMO that has BOTH, OPEN/dumbed down areas .. AND.. OPEN/hard ares that you can elect to challenge when your ready.

about ps3 limitation where is the fact!? have dev said that? or is you guys.

XI has ps2 limitation by bigtime..

Zone are fine, larger is just anoying wanna spend like in 1.0? 1 or 2 hours runing from point A to B?

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Originally Posted by zeroumus

the zones are too small. however they are designed that size to run on poor hardware. Not likely going to change now.. but that being said. It would be nice to see future zones added to the game that have less comforts in them as you venture away from the main traffic areas.

I would like to see expansion zones added that have less teleport access and more dangerous areas. I would even go as far as to say i would like areas that normally require group effort to get to most areas and content ( dungeons, hubs, towns )

simply put I want to travel though zones that have risk and scare the shit out of me

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Thanks but let's leave the invisible potion and 30min travel time in FFXI where they belong.

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Originally Posted by Dyvid

Thanks but let's leave the invisible potion and 30min travel time in FFXI where they belong.

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oh come on, there where "some" good times had when traveling to things

i am certainly not asking for everything to have long hard travel times, just some things. just asking for variety

examples

some areas you just warp to from the duty finder ( most dungeons as they are now )
some areas you need to be in the zone ( coil )
some ares you need to be at the entrance
some areas you need to walk to full zone
some ares you need to play the sneak/invis game
some areas require solving a group puzzle
some ares you have to grind your way in solo
some areas you have to grind your way in as a party
some areas you can not access tell you beat a story event

and the most extreme, grinding into an area over a period of a few days, ( yes I am serious , I would love this ) no access to warping, no access to town, no vendors, log in and out together as a group. better have all the items you need before you leave, or be able to make them along the way... Someone please put this into an MMO as an option to do, i want some real adventure... i know many people would never like this, but why is it not a choice for something to do

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Originally Posted by Tagihi

Zone are fine, larger is just anoying wanna spend like in 1.0? 1 or 2 hours runing from point A to B?

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And people complain that there's nothing to do but raid and QQQQQ lock outs QQQQQQQQ.
MMOs should take a hint from open world games like Oblivion/Skyrim where getting to where you want to go is half of the adventure. Every fight is fun and dangerous. I'm so sick of this easy mode-teleport wherever you want to go or just cross an entire zone in less than 90 seconds CRAP.