Riding Chocobos in town?

Then I'm all for the "Enter town with a chocobo and die" option.

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Originally Posted by Jynx

Then I'm all for the "Enter town with a chocobo and die" option.

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As long as it's immersive.

Forcing your hand and making you auto-dismount isn't realistic. Maybe I didn't want to dismount, did you ever think of that.

I guess we should up the immersiveness of the game, so when your logged out for a few months your character is dead and unplayable because so much time has passed.

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Originally Posted by Jynx

I guess we should up the immersiveness of the game, so when your logged out for a few months your character is dead and unplayable because so much time has passed.

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Ah touche, but now you're just being ridiculous. There's a line which you can draw between a game and realism, and there's a point where one can say "it's just a game" legitimately. Forcing people to not go into a town on their chocobo is not one of those times. It's completely unnecessary and ever so annoying.

Anyways, speaking of permadeath, if you logged out for a few months in FFXI, sometimes they deleted your character.

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Originally Posted by giftforce

Ah touche, but now you're just being ridiculous. There's a line which you can draw between a game and realism, and there's a point where one can say "it's just a game" legitimately. Forcing people to not go into a town on their chocobo is not one of those times. It's completely unnecessary and ever so annoying.

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That fine line is subjective, I think walking into town on a Chocobo is silly as the towns were not designed to accomidate any sort of vehiculer travel. It's one of those times I'm willing to put immersion aside for my convience in the game "To not have my vision blocked with people "Walking" with towering chocobos on the footpaths of town.

Convience and Immersion will always clash, it's just a matter of what people are willing to sacrifice for the sake of either.

*edit*

I would also quote general game design theory:

1. Does it add any function to the game? If no disregard If yes "Step 2"

2. Does it detract from normal gameplay or inhibit it in any way/shape/form If yes can it be changed to accomidate? If no disregard.

I think it would look silly, Uldah is quite big in most areas so it seems fine but what about Limsa? Running choco around the small shops and stairs, look silly.

i would much prefer when you hit city zone the chocobo qurks, runs back a bit and in chat it informs you the chocobo does not want to enter, no popup, you can dismount then if you wish.

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Originally Posted by giftforce

As long as it's immersive.

Forcing your hand and making you auto-dismount isn't realistic. Maybe I didn't want to dismount, did you ever think of that.

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Maybe I didn't want to go to the bathroom after drinking a gallon of water. Oh, I wet my pants? RL completely killed my immersion.

Immersion != you get to do whatever you want, whenever you want, however you want. You are entering a town knowing that you are not allowed to enter on a mount. This means that when you hit that zone line, you have given the game permission to dismount you. That is not a hard concept.

I'm not saying I'm for or against the idea here, but assuming there IS a redesign in the works for the cities in addition to zones, there's nothing to say that they can't add some kind of a freight elevator in Limsa Lominsa that lets you move your chocobos around inside. Personally, I don't really see a huge benefit to having your bird walk around the city. I think that I'd much rather see NPCs in a place like Gridania riding chocobos around while patrolling the town, and that's about it.

There are cutscenes that show Ul'dah as a bustling city with people riding chocobo-drawn carriages down the city streets. I'd love it if the city actually looked that way (and not just in cutscenes now and again), so I'm all for mounts being rideable on city streets.

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Originally Posted by giftforce

Well wouldn't it take more effort to forbid them from going into town because then the programmers have to implement a protocol for that? In which case from a practical standpoint the issue becomes "why can't chocobos go into town?"

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Yeah, another program line or 2, 3, 5.

I always say this: Don't think about this or any other game in the Programming side. Think of the implementation and if it can be cool to have. Then let the developers check it and see if it can be implemented. We Are Not Programmers. (I am, but acting as a gamer would be better in terms of creativity)

Why they shouldn't? They dirt the town (in any sense) and are annoying sometimes.
Why they should? So you can herp derp around the town and/or reach far places (that are easily reachable by feet).

Now Your explaination on why let them =)

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Originally Posted by Shipp

Immersion != you get to do whatever you want, whenever you want, however you want. You are entering a town knowing that you are not allowed to enter on a mount. This means that when you hit that zone line, you have given the game permission to dismount you. That is not a hard concept.

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Many forget that. It's seems people just want to do anything to this game.

This is not about being a good or bad feature, to me it's seems that it's just plain old personal preference. As for me, I wouldn't like to have chocobos inside any of the cities. If it kills your immersion, well it kills my FF memories.

That's just turning old game limitations into sacred cows.

If there is ever a cinematic with NPC's riding them around in town your idea that they are lore-wise not allowed in towns flies out the window.

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Originally Posted by Tiraelina

That's just turning old game limitations into sacred cows.

If there is ever a cinematic with NPC's riding them around in town your idea that they are lore-wise not allowed in towns flies out the window.

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Those cinematics already exist :D

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Originally Posted by Preypacer

I think they should not be allowed in town and can demonstrate why very simply...

A picture is worth a thousand words.

Two is even better.

Replace all the mounts with Chocobos, and you get the idea.

No thanks.

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oh my [SIZE="5"]GOD[/SIZE] [SIZE="7"]NO![/SIZE]

Perhaps jump could be disabled within the city? If absolutely they can't find a different way to abolish mindless bunny hopping.....

I don't hate the jump itself, just the idiots who got nothing better to do than bunny hop all the time....

.... hop, hop, [SIZE="6"]HOP![/SIZE]

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Originally Posted by Nuinn

Perhaps jump could be disabled within the city? If absolutely they can't find a different way to abolish mindless bunny hopping.....

I don't hate the jump itself, just the idiots who got nothing better to do than bunny hop all the time....

.... hop, hop, [SIZE="6"]HOP![/SIZE]

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This doesn't actually have any substantial basis for being implemented. There are valid reasons why people don't want choco's in town, such as this game already lags in a city as it is, we don't need every person on a mount lagging them down even more.

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Originally Posted by Shipp

This doesn't actually have any substantial basis for being implemented. There are valid reasons why people don't want choco's in town, such as this game already lags in a city as it is, we don't need every person on a mount lagging them down even more.

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TURN. YOUR. SETTINGS. DOWN.

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Originally Posted by Mimmo

ya lets make them fly too

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Anything flies with rockets strapped to it.

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Originally Posted by Nuinn

Perhaps jump could be disabled within the city? If absolutely they can't find a different way to abolish mindless bunny hopping.....

I don't hate the jump itself, just the idiots who got nothing better to do than bunny hop all the time....

.... hop, hop, [SIZE="6"]HOP![/SIZE]

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I hate bunny hoppers too >.< Makes me kinda hate that they're going to put jumping in the game.. But this thread is about chocobos, perhaps start a new thread about anti-jumping-in-city-limits :)

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Originally Posted by giftforce

TURN. YOUR. SETTINGS. DOWN.

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*hands trollfeed to gift*

With every single setting at the lowest level, cities still lag. IT IS A SERVER AND ENGINE ISSUE, NOT A CLIENT ISSUE. Or maybe your system just sucks so much that even the field has crappy lag and you don't notice the difference.

...and?

It wouldn't add any more lag than the 100's AFK in town because of player shops. It doesn't lag at all for me and most people I know besides server lag, they also aren't trying to run a current gen game on out-dated hardware.

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Originally Posted by Tiraelina

...and?

It wouldn't add any more lag than the 100's AFK in town because of player shops. It doesn't lag at all for me and most people I know besides server lag, they also aren't trying to run a current gen game on out-dated hardware.

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Tell me what's outdated about exceeding all "recommended" specs of FFXIV. Not minimal specs, but recommended specs.

I really want to see some fraps footage of you guys who apparently have no stuttering in towns. There are several threads talking about this, and claiming it's out-dated hardware is nothing but a troll response since you don't actually know my hardware.

Edit: Also, chocobos have an ingame model. More models to load, whether they are the same models or not, increases lag.

Like this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogGMLaPpdxQ

Read the title before you make your next post. I was also recording at full size 1920x1200.

If you are really complaining about that kind of stuttering after logging in you must be new to MMO's and gaming in general.

I also don't need to know anything about your computer except that its lagging and mine and many others are not.

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Originally Posted by Tiraelina

Like this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogGMLaPpdxQ

Read the title before you make your next post. I was also recording at full size 1920x1200.

If you are really complaining about that kind of stuttering after logging in you must be new to MMO's and gaming in general.

I also don't need to know anything about your computer except that its lagging and mine and many others are not.

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A lot of other people, probably far more, have to play on low settings and still lag. It doesn't help that you need a pretty high end set-up just to play the game, and adding chocobos in-town would...probably kill PS3s as well.

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Originally Posted by CrystalObsidian

I hate bunny hoppers too >.< Makes me kinda hate that they're going to put jumping in the game.. But this thread is about chocobos, perhaps start a new thread about anti-jumping-in-city-limits :)

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:p I know it's about Chocos, I've already posted a few times ;) It's just that someone mentioned jumping, and then someone else mentioned jumping on Chocos and my mind ran screaming in fear :p

Anyhow, I'm in the team 'no Chocobos in towns', for many reasons, as people have already stated.

I'm almost 100% sure they won't allow them into towns though. I don't want to repeat myself, but why do you think they already turn weather effects off in the cities, or people and mobs vanish at Broken Water when you play during Japanese prime-time leve linking, or the whole open world is copy+paste (they specifically said it was to ease the memory on PS3 for this one)....? I'll stop sounding like a parrot now :p

The negative technical and design issues outweigh the practical usage of Chocobos in places that are highly saturated with players and NPCs.

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Originally Posted by giftforce

Ah touche, but now you're just being ridiculous. There's a line which you can draw between a game and realism, and there's a point where one can say "it's just a game" legitimately. Forcing people to not go into a town on their chocobo is not one of those times. It's completely unnecessary and ever so annoying.

Anyways, speaking of permadeath, if you logged out for a few months in FFXI, sometimes they deleted your character.

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You only find it "ridiculous" because it's not what you want. If it's what you wanted, you'd find it perfectly reasonable and would even be thinking of ways to defend the idea. Just like you are with the idea of being able to ride a chocobo in town, which I'm sure you've noticed, others happen to feel is ridiculous.

We don't even *have* Chocobos in the game yet and you're already talking about what is and isn't necessary.

People kept asking for chocobos so they could get around more quickly...
It's confirmed we're getting chocobos.
Are people happy?

Pfft, of course not. It's only resulted in the flood-gates being opened and now people are demanding "omg... we need to be able to jump with them, or it's not realistic and immersive", "OMG, we need to be able to ride around town with them, or it's not realistic and immersive".

SE's only just acknowledged that they're giving a foot, and folks are already demanding a mile.

Has it ever occurred to some of you that it would be perfectly realistic and immersive for a city to have rules preventing dozens of chocobos crowding the streets, sidewalks, shops, vendors, doorways and other things? That's *more* immersive and believable than to think that a city is going to find something like this - Click Here, or this: Click Here - perfectly acceptable.

And if we're talking "realism", Gridania has some open areas, however they're connected by a lot of narrower, winding paths. Limsa is mostly comprised of long, narrow walkways. Ul'dah has only one large area - the road around its circumference. Most everything else is narrow pathways and market areas.

They weren't allowed in towns or cities in FFXI and it made perfect sense. They're large animals that take up a lot of space and can clutter an area up quickly. They're ideal for traveling quickly across long distances, but there's no reason to be riding around on one in a city where everything is easily reached on foot.

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Originally Posted by Shipp

I really want to see some fraps footage of you guys who apparently have no stuttering in towns. There are several threads talking about this, and claiming it's out-dated hardware is nothing but a troll response since you don't actually know my hardware.

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i used to stutter a lot in town but since i bought an ssd the problem has gone hm.

I used to stutter a lot but then I got my speech impediment fixed.

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Originally Posted by Aveline

There are cutscenes that show Ul'dah as a bustling city with people riding chocobo-drawn carriages down the city streets. I'd love it if the city actually looked that way (and not just in cutscenes now and again), so I'm all for mounts being rideable on city streets.

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Watch the opening again.

The only chocobos you see in that opening are the ones pulling the wagon your character arrives on, and the ones pulling the parade wagons. In all cases, they are being used as beasts of burden and are tethered.

At no point do you see single chocobos being ridden by any citizens, not even by a city guard. Furthermore, you don't see NPCs riding around on Chocobos in-game either.

So, your idea that you could see tethered and restrained chocobos drawing around large carriages or wagons carrying travelers is conceivable. However, it still wouldn't support having dozens of individuals riding around, or standing around cluttering everything up and blocking vendors, doorways, stairways, etc. with large yellow birds.

There's no reason to believe that wouldn't be the case, because it is in any other MMO I've played where you are allowed ride mounts in a city or town area. If people are going to be hanging out in a city for a prolonged period of time, chances are they're spending a lot of time sitting or standing in one spot, or running relatively short distances. Why would you need a large mount to stand in one spot, or to run short distances?

Weighing the convenience of "not having to run a minute or two - max - on foot", against all the issues it would cause having them all over the place... the result is pretty obvious to me: People riding chocobos in town is a bad idea.

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Originally Posted by Jennestia

Given that people complain about every little detail, I'm pretty sure they'll be rideable in town, dungeons and under lava or whatever else people will want.

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Can I ride it in your retirement home?

I still don't get why they should walk into town =)

Anyway, have you ever seen many horses walking in your town regularly?

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Originally Posted by Aveline

Those cinematics already exist :D

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/facepalm

Seriously? You're still beating that drum?

Once more, with feeling...

No one is riding around on a chocobo in any of the cinematics... Ul'dah or otherwise. The Chocobos are tethered to large parade floats for a special occasion (a parade), and to a transport wagon which comes into the city only to drop off travelers.

You do not see individuals casually riding Chocobos in any of the cities, in any of the cinematics. Nor do you see them doing so at any point in the game. They are beasts of burden, they are not mounts. One is not the same as the other.

Anyone can go watch the opening for Ul'dah - or Gridania and LL for that matter - and see that for them self.

Repeatedly referring to a cinematic that does not support what you are citing it for does not strengthen your statement. It makes you look either willfully ignorant, or flat out dishonest.

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Originally Posted by Preypacer

/facepalm

Seriously? You're still beating that drum?

Once more, with feeling...

No one is riding around on a chocobo in any of the cinematics... Ul'dah or otherwise. The Chocobos are tethered to large parade floats for a special occasion (a parade), and to a transport wagon which comes into the city only to drop off travelers.

You do not see individuals casually riding Chocobos in any of the cities, in any of the cinematics. Nor do you see them doing so at any point in the game. They are beasts of burden, they are not mounts. One is not the same as the other.

Anyone can go watch the opening for Ul'dah - or Gridania and LL for that matter - and see that for them self.

Repeatedly referring to a cinematic that does not support what you are citing it for does not strengthen your statement. It makes you look either willfully ignorant, or flat out dishonest.

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Actually, that isn't the only cinematic that features chocobos within Ul'dah. I suggest you do some class quests around Ul'dah and see for yourself. :) Nice jumping the gun though! +1!

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Anyway, have you ever seen many horses walking in your town regularly?

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Yes, I live in Portland, Oregon and we have mounted patrol all through the city (ie cops on horses). And also throughout the city, you can still see the metal tether rings from when it was quite common to have horses as transportation all throughout the city. Our mounts are now referred to as "automobiles," and they are often allowed within city limits. :)

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Originally Posted by giftforce

TURN. YOUR. SETTINGS. DOWN.

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So, you think it's reasonable that others would be required to lower their graphics settings - affecting how they experience the entire game - so you can engage in a superfluous and potentially disruptive activity that would serve no practical purpose whatsoever.

Pretty self-centered attitude ya got there.

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Originally Posted by Tiraelina

Like this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogGMLaPpdxQ

Read the title before you make your next post. I was also recording at full size 1920x1200.

If you are really complaining about that kind of stuttering after logging in you must be new to MMO's and gaming in general.

I also don't need to know anything about your computer except that its lagging and mine and many others are not.

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That's not just Fraps making it stutter, because it would constantly be doing that. That looks just like the stuttering that a lot of people are suffering from in cities, albeit not as bad. You've got stuttering while you're walking down the main street, and that is a problem when it's like that for a lot of people who exceed the recommended specs and are playing on low.

I'd also like to know what your specs are, because they, quite obviously, far exceed the normal player's since it cuts down stuttering by that much. I'm also not new to MMOs. Been playing them for 10 years. Guess what happens on PC MMOs that don't use a console's engine. You update your hardware and things get better. Guess what happens on an FF MMO. You update your hardware and you see little to no difference. Go Fraps yourself running through Whitegate or Jeuno. An FPS drop is normal. Stuttering like XI and XIV do is a server-side issue.

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i used to stutter a lot in town but since i bought an ssd the problem has gone hm.

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And I'll look into this if SE doesn't optimize servers and the game actually gets good. You shouldn't have to buy an SSD just to play the game, especially since SE never states that in recommended specs. I have heard most people getting one parrot the same thing you said though, so I figured it's worth looking into if the game ever improves.

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Originally Posted by Shipp

That's not just Fraps making it stutter, because it would constantly be doing that. That looks just like the stuttering that a lot of people are suffering from in cities, albeit not as bad. You've got stuttering while you're walking down the main street, and that is a problem when it's like that for a lot of people who exceed the recommended specs and are playing on low.

I'd also like to know what your specs are, because they, quite obviously, far exceed the normal player's since it cuts down stuttering by that much. I'm also not new to MMOs. Been playing them for 10 years. Guess what happens on PC MMOs that don't use a console's engine. You update your hardware and things get better. Guess what happens on an FF MMO. You update your hardware and you see little to no difference. Go Fraps yourself running through Whitegate or Jeuno. An FPS drop is normal. Stuttering like XI and XIV do is a server-side issue.


And I'll look into this if SE doesn't optimize servers and the game actually gets good. You shouldn't have to buy an SSD just to play the game, especially since SE never states that in recommended specs. I have heard most people getting one parrot the same thing you said though, so I figured it's worth looking into if the game ever improves.

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The games engine is based around the client and not the server, the maps and character models are stored localy, the stuttering is local because the engine still needs optimising, the SSD completly proves that its because alot of data is being pulled from the HDD and a normal HDD cant transfer fast enough.

If it was a server side problem a SSD would not fix it because it only improves disk transfer rates

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Originally Posted by Aveline

Actually, that isn't the only cinematic that features chocobos within Ul'dah. I suggest you do some class quests around Ul'dah and see for yourself. :) Nice jumping the gun though! +1!

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I've seen up to the 39th or 40th cut-scene in the Ul'dah storyline. There's only one other cut-scene that "features" chocobos to any degree. They're not being ridden around the city. In fact, they're not being ridden at all. They're "parked" at the chocobo stable.

Back up your claim please. Link me to a video showing normal Ul'dah citizens/NPCs riding freely around the city streets on untethered chocobos. And not just 2 or 3 in an isolated example, but dozens... enough to at least approach what we could expect to see in-game should SE make the mistake of allowing them in cities.

Even if there is such a scene, it would be a far cry from seeing a few individual NPCs in a cutscene riding around, and seeing dozens of players milling around and cluttering up the place, blocking stairways, pathways, NPCs, doors, etc... something that *does* happen in games where mounts are allowed in towns.

If it was something that's considered "commonplace" and part of the city atmosphere, don't you think there'd be NPCs riding them around town all the time? Mounted up? Heck, even leading them around, perhaps carrying goods to a market stand? You don't. You see them only at chocobo stables or otherwise outside the city.

There is nothing backing up wanting chocobos in cities as being beneficial, nevermind ideal, other than that you want it that way.

Jumping is at least something that provides some useful purpose, such as being able to better navigate over certain terrain, or canceling spells, etc. There is absolutely no benefit to being able to ride or stand around inside a city on a chocobo.

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Originally Posted by Preypacer

I've seen up to the 39th or 40th cut-scene in the Ul'dah storyline. There's only one other cut-scene that "features" chocobos to any degree. They're not being ridden around the city. In fact, they're not being ridden at all. They're "parked" at the chocobo stable.

Back up your claim please. Link me to a video showing normal Ul'dah citizens/NPCs riding freely around the city streets on untethered chocobos.

Even if there is such a scene, it would be a far cry from seeing a few individual NPCs in a cutscene riding around, and seeing dozens of players milling around and cluttering up the place, blocking stairways, pathways, NPCs, doors, etc... something that *does* happen in games where mounts are allowed in towns.

If it was something that's considered "commonplace" and part of the city atmosphere, don't you think there'd be NPCs riding them around town? Mounted up? Heck, even leading them around, perhaps carrying goods to a market stand? You don't. You see them only at chocobo stables or otherwise outside the city.

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I'd wager you don't see it for the same reason you don't see the horses talked about in a few La Noscea leves, or the homesteads and farmlands that NPCs talk about, or the crashed/blown up ferry that an NPC at an aetheryte goes on about, or any of the many other things that NPCs TALK about, but aren't actually implemented in the game: Because Square-Enix is still trying to catch up with their vision.

The comment I originally responded to was someone saying that we'd have to have cutscenes of chocobos in cities in order to state that there's lore to back up the idea. There is a cutscene in the Platinum Mirage where right outside the building, you see chocobos and chocobo-drawn carriages rolling past. You also see a much more crowded city street, filled with people and vendors. What we see in these cutscenes is what the cities would look like, if the designers had their way. The cutscenes also directly answer the commenter who was talking about cutscenes = proof of lore. If you are not that commenter, I don't know what you are getting worked up about.

Now, you are getting far, far too angry at someone you don't even know about something you obviously don't know much about, so calm down. <_< We're discussing giant chickens here. Giant. Chickens. Obviously if the (no less than) 3 videos of chocobos in cities aren't enough to convince you that they are there, then nothing will, in which case, I'm not sure why you're even bothering to type any words at anyone at all.

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Originally Posted by Delsus

The games engine is based around the client and not the server, the maps and character models are stored localy, the stuttering is local because the engine still needs optimising, the SSD completly proves that its because alot of data is being pulled from the HDD and a normal HDD cant transfer fast enough.

If it was a server side problem a SSD would not fix it because it only improves disk transfer rates

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Sorry, meant engine-based issue, not server-side issue, as FFXI was also due to the engine not being optimized for PC.

Here is the stuttering that a lot of people are complaining about, and not one bit of this was from Fraps. Also, notice the galka running through a wall.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGi3GIR3dsY

Out in the field, no stuttering at all and a constant 60fps, the only time it dips is during Behest, which is understandable. It never completely stutters though, just an FPS drop.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzkddEfXinM

Loading screen when first logging into the game, outside of a city.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=th7MuHIC-VM

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Originally Posted by Aveline

I'd wager you don't see it for the same reason you don't see the horses talked about in a few La Noscea leves, or the homesteads and farmlands that NPCs talk about, or the crashed/blown up ferry that an NPC at an aetheryte goes on about, or any of the many other things that NPCs TALK about, but aren't actually implemented in the game: Because Square-Enix is still trying to catch up with their vision.

Now, the comment I originally responded to was someone saying that we'd have to have cutscenes of chocobos in cities in order to state that there's lore to back up the idea. There is a cutscene in the Platinum Mirage where right outside the building, you see chocobos and chocobo-drawn carriages rolling past. You also see a much more crowded city street, filled with people and vendors. What we see in these cutscenes is what the cities would look like, if the designers had their way.

Now, you are getting far, far too angry at someone you don't even know about something you obviously don't know much about, so calm down. <_< We're discussing giant chickens here. Giant. Chickens. Obviously if the (no less than) 3 videos of chocobos in cities aren't enough to convince you that they are there, then nothing will, in which case, I'm not sure why you're even bothering to type any words at anyone at all.

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Addressing your last paragraph first, I'm not getting angry. I'm simply challenging you on something you're stating, and asking you to back it up. Please keep your psycho-analysis out of this, and stick to the discussion at hand, okay? Thank you.

Second, your statement about videos not being enough to convince me they're there is completely dishonest. A pure strawman argument. I never said "there are no chocobos in Ul'dah". If anything I've confirmed their existence by acknowledging that they're there pulling parade floats or a transport wagon. What I *did* say is that there are no un-tethered chocobos being freely ridden around Ul'dah, as mounts, by its citizens. If you're going to debate me on something, please be honest and respond to statements I do make. Don't ignore what I have said and conveniently replace it with things I haven't. Thank you.

Now, for your first paragraph, you can "wager" all you want. Your statements are based on what you *think* *might* be the case *in the future*. It's unsupported conjecture based on something you would *like* to see happen, nothing more.

And you so smugly accused me of jumping the gun? Pot, meet kettle.

You are basing your entire premise on 2 or maybe 3 isolated cut-scenes that *still* don't support what you're claiming they do. I'm basing mine on what those same cut-scenes actually *do* show, as well as the state of the game we are playing, right now. Might it change down the road? Sure. It could. Regardless, you cannot build an argument on something that's completely unsupported right now, because you think it "might happen" down the road.

For your second paragraph, you see Chocobos and Chocobo-drawn carriages strolling past. So, in other words, once again, the chocobos were tethered and behaving as beasts of burden, not common mounts. You have not seen cut-scenes of numerous normal city citizens going about their daily routines, freely riding or standing around on untethered chocobos. In other words, my point still stands.

I have no problem with more lively city streets with more vendors or NPCs. I'd welcome a bit more of that as well, in fact. NPCs and such have coded behavior and tend to either move on a pre-set track, or stand in one spot. They're not cluttering doorways, stairways, narrow paths, etc. on giant birds.

I'm now going to duck out of this particular exchange because my point has been made and there's no need to rehash it further.