The Old Intros of Final Fantasy XIV ("1.0.") for those who just played ARR

Just as a little Retroperspective for those who "just" experienced ARR. Not all was good about "1.0.", but i personally enjoyed the old intros very much.

See how we met characters like "Yshtola", "Papalymo & Yda" and "Thancred" for the first time. Before the "Crash" (Rendering Intro ARR).


My personally favourite is the Gridanian Intro (quiet fun), followed by Limsa Lominsa and the least favourite .. the intro of Ul'dah ;)

>>Limsa Lominsa Intro - ARRR* pirates... and Yshtola<<
http://i1188.photobucket.com/albums/...tola_field.jpg

>>Gridania Intro - First meet with Yda & Papalymo<< (most funny) :D
http://i.ytimg.com/vi/0xnhhJisWNs/maxresdefault.jpg


>>Ul'dah Intro - A Fairy Tale about a Gobbue... and Thancred.. ah and.. flowers for all<< ;)
http://i.ytimg.com/vi/srYTdUVqB_Y/mqdefault.jpg


EDNINGS:


GAIUS
http://www.miingno.ch/wp-content/upl...12/11/r075.jpg

NAEL van Darnus (final story cutscenes before "crash")
http://zantetsuken.net/wp-content/up...123-banner.jpg

I was pumped watching these back when the game first came out, though I waited till ARR.

The amount of time it took to make these cut scenes. The real life motion capture, amazed me. The tacky riding in on a chocobo cart/ship intros we have with the old geezer is nothing compared to these. Thanks for sending me back into 1.0 nostolgia.

and yet they insist the 'graphic quality' is better in ARR

The graphic quality isn't better, just more efficient AND accessible. Aka, you don't need an amazing computer to run the game. I did like the graphics in 1.0 but I understand why they were changed. I DEFINITELY miss the real life motion capture, though. And it makes me sad that every race holds weapons the exact same way, now. Although your appearance can differ, and so will your emotes, your actual 'motions' don't differ that much from others.

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Originally Posted by Kerwin

The amount of time it took to make these cut scenes. The real life motion capture, amazed me. The tacky riding in on a chocobo cart/ship intros we have with the old geezer is nothing compared to these. Thanks for sending me back into 1.0 nostolgia.

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They still use motion capture, but of course 1.0's epic failure was due to the graphics being too intense for an MMO.

They were able to use proper lip-sync as well since they only had to worry about one language: English. There was no split between 4 audios. Very nice cutscenes yes T.T

Yet, even the much lauded graphic quality of the cutscenes was just all smoke and mirrors - Crystal Tools was so badly optimized it could only render a handful of characters on screen at once (the Ul'dah opening showed that all to well, for what is meant to be a parade in a crowded street, notice how there was only a handful of people in the immediate foreground and yet the background area was completely empty, as the engine simply couldn't render more. It was these kinds of short cuts and limitations that contributed to 1.0's demise before it was even born.

I agree though that they did grab the player in narrative wise though, but everything was so convoluted, nothing really made sense (how many players realized at the time that all the original opening scenes were actually in the Echo (and weren't even taking place in 'the present', but were events that had happened a decade before? Not many I'd wager - it was only Ferne actually revealing that fact here on the forum did it now make sense.)

At least ARR's openings, as subdued as they are, do fit into the greater scheme of things and don't overload the player with a ton of narrative stuff they're only going to forget ten seconds later. I guess it's one of those times you can't have your cake and eat it too.

The graphical quality of 1.0 is significantly higher than 2.0. The reasoning for this was due to putting a lot of focus on making things look pretty. So much so, in fact, that 1.0 was much larger and even objects like a single plant pot contributed as much to server latency as a single player due to the obscene number of shaders.

The graphical quality got dropped because 1.0 was meant for very high-end PCs at the time it was out, which caused a lot of players (myself included) to be left in the dust. But as technology continues to evolve at an exponential rate, so does accessibility to higher and higher quality graphics. So it is possible that, in time, FFXIV will look as gorgeous as 1.0 again. It just may not be for a while. Maybe a graphical update with 4.0? #wishfulthinking

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Originally Posted by Enkidoh

Crystal Tools was so badly optimized it could only render a handful of characters on screen at once (the Ul'dah opening showed that all to well, for what is meant to be a parade in a crowded street, notice how there was only a handful of people in the immediate foreground and yet the background area was completely empty, as the engine simply couldn't render more.

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This and the fact that they made everything look as good as possible, not just the character models.

Just as an example; a simple flower pot in 1.0 had something close to 1,000 polygons and had 150 lines code for the shading, which was about the same count for both as a player character model had.

http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/...et9dvbrsxw.jpg

http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/...0ohqmek5r3.jpg

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Originally Posted by HakuroDK

The graphical quality got dropped because 1.0 was meant for very high-end PCs at the time it was out, which caused a lot of players (myself included) to be left in the dust...

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And yeah, this. I played a bit of 1.XX, but my computer (laptop) could barely run the game at 6-9FPS (depending on population) on minimum settings and resolution (which made the game look significantly worse, ARR doesn't look nearly as bad as 1.0 did at bare minimum everything AND it runs better). It also remains the only game to make the computer overheat and cause the CPU/GPU to force shut down the computer so it doesn't damage the components.

They dropped Crystal Tools for a new in house game engine made specifically for ARR so they can reach a broader audience on PC as well as make the game playable on the PS3 (which was promised since 1.0). A very wise decision in my opinion, it certainly helped get more people to play the game. And ARR is still very pretty to look at, but it's clear which version had a ton more investment in graphical fidelity (especially when looking at certain textures).

Those cut-scenes are way better in term of animations and camera shots... thanks for the upload.

+ voice over in English is also so much better.

I remember getting a whole new computer for 1.0...and then replacing THAT one when ARR came out due to...different reasons.
IMO a game can look as pretty as pretty will allow, but that's all worthless if the game isn't fun.
1.0...wasn't very fun in the long run. There was one reviewer back at launch that really highlighted the game's problems: those gorgeous cutscenes segued into some of the most boring, slow, and tedious battles in MMO history. Being able to start the game as a gatherer or crafter was cool...being forced to fight jellyfish with a pickaxe wasn't.

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Originally Posted by Tonkra

NAEL van Darnus (final story cutscenes before "crash")
http://zantetsuken.net/wp-content/up...123-banner.jpg

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Look at her eyes. Thats interesting. Thought it happened after the crash.

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Originally Posted by kyuven

I remember getting a whole new computer for 1.0...and then replacing THAT one when ARR came out due to...different reasons.
IMO a game can look as pretty as pretty will allow, but that's all worthless if the game isn't fun.
1.0...wasn't very fun in the long run. There was one reviewer back at launch that really highlighted the game's problems: those gorgeous cutscenes segued into some of the most boring, slow, and tedious battles in MMO history.

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Well as someone coming from FFXI.. and having in mind that FF had turn based combat battles.. i myself enjoyed the battles really much. Now we have a more or less standard gameplay.

a little pitty, that most of the players seem to enjoy the same combat system over and over. I mean i am fine with what it is like now.. but i enjoyed battles in 1.0. also. (if you blend out the enormous lags it had)

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being forced to fight jellyfish with a pickaxe wasn't.

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haha that was stupid yes :) *rockthrow* at gobbuue for example^^ these crafting and gatherer classes werent made for combat ;) it wasnt good that you could start as a crafter, too.. where you had to fight through the tutorial battles like any other fighting class.

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Originally Posted by Kerwin

The amount of time it took to make these cut scenes. The real life motion capture, amazed me. The tacky riding in on a chocobo cart/ship intros we have with the old geezer is nothing compared to these. Thanks for sending me back into 1.0 nostolgia.

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yup we have to admit, that Yoshi P. and his team had much less time to make these intros.. in contrary to the 1.0. team.. which i think had about 4 years(?) to develop the game...

Yoshi P. had just 2 years.. for that they did a really great job. lets see what "Heavensward" can offer

Gridanian Intro really had an impact because in 1.0 if you faced off against a treant, even at level 50 with a full PT, you were likely to lose, if not one-shot entirely.

Back when treants were level ?? and jacked your shit up if you weren't tip-toeing.

i always loved the limsa intro was just awesome

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Originally Posted by KarstenS

Look at her eyes. Thats interesting. Thought it happened after the crash.

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I think the most interesting part is that everyone thought Nael van Darnus was a man. She really did have the Samus Aran effect, didn't she?

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Originally Posted by HakuroDK

I think the most interesting part is that everyone thought Nael van Darnus was a man. She really did have the Samus Aran effect, didn't she?

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AFAIK the Nael from 1.0 was male, while the 2.0 Nael was female due to...shenanigans?

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Originally Posted by kyuven

AFAIK the Nael from 1.0 was male, while the 2.0 Nael was female due to...shenanigans?

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Wait, what? That's... bizarre. Did Nael ever show his face in 1.0?

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Originally Posted by HakuroDK

Wait, what? That's... bizarre. Did Nael ever show his face in 1.0?

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no, but he has a masculine voice and mannerisms in a culture that doesn't discriminate against someone based on their gender.
And in 2.0, a certain force really futzed with his body. Since he was dead.

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Originally Posted by kyuven

no, but he has a masculine voice and mannerisms in a culture that doesn't discriminate against someone based on their gender.
And in 2.0, a certain force really futzed with his body. Since he was dead.

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I see. Maybe he was transgender, then? Wouldn't matter if there was or was not gender discrimination there if he was biologically female yet was otherwise a man.

This may be something to take into the Lore forums.

The only complaint I had about 1.0 is that I felt very LOST, as in I didn't quite know what to do after I got in the town. I got to level 6 there, then gave up. Still have the char in a legacy server around there...

That Limsa Lominsa intro brought back lots of memories tho, and I didn't realize it was Y'shtola back then, hahahah.

::WARNING SPOILERS!!::

Nael van Darnus is a male.

Nael deus Darnus is the entity that Bahamut uses in order to stop your advances in Turn 9, it is Nael van Darnus essentially made into one of Bahamut's thralls after his defeat in 1.0, the image we see after Nael deus Darnus' helm is knocked off was the carnation of Nael van Darnus' mother, if I remember correctly.

Here is a better understand of the entity known as Nael deus Darnus

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Upon arriving to the Holocharts, she and the Adventurer find themselves in an the Riven Road where Deus Darnus awaits them. Telling them that their presence is an insult to his original self's resting place, Deus Darnus tells them that they will die before Alisaie knocks the Legatus's helmet off with a ruin spell, revealing a white haired woman bearing the Garlemald birthmark. Deus Darnus is revealed to be what remained of the original Darnus after a fraction his essence was recovered by Bahamut and used to create an artificial being in Darnus's likeness with elements from his memory. In maddened glee, Deus Darnus transforms into a dragon-like monster and summons Bradamante before being defeated by the Adventurer.

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http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Nael_Van_Darnus

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Originally Posted by Yamimarik

::WARNING SPOILERS!!::

Nael van Darnus is a male.

Nael deus Darnus is the entity that Bahamut uses in order to stop your advances in Turn 9, it is Nael van Darnus essentially made into one of Bahamut's thralls after his defeat in 1.0, the image we see after Nael deus Darnus' helm is knocked off was the carnation of Nael van Darnus' mother, if I remember correctly.

Here is a better understand of the entity known as Nael deus Darnus

http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Nael_Van_Darnus

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Ohhh, okay. Makes a little bit more sense, then.

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Originally Posted by HakuroDK

I see. Maybe he was transgender, then? Wouldn't matter if there was or was not gender discrimination there if he was biologically female yet was otherwise a man.

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That's true but that would be a very weird eccentricity to add, though Nael's already eccentric.
Nael refers to his former body before his death in 1.0 as "he," so if any gender identity issues occurred, it would be AFTER that.
Maybe the force that remade him acted upon his secret desires?

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Originally Posted by HakuroDK

Wait, what? That's... bizarre. Did Nael ever show his face in 1.0?

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No, he was never unmasked in 1.0

Before having his soul consumed by Dalamud (Bahamut) Nael was a man, born and raised. It is in the 1.0 Lore and even on that ARR website in his description.

See Yamimarik's spoilers for a clearer explanation.

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Originally Posted by HakuroDK

I see. Maybe he was transgender, then? Wouldn't matter if there was or was not gender discrimination there if he was biologically female yet was otherwise a man.

This may be something to take into the Lore forums.

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Not really, Eorzea & Hydaelyn lore believes all beings return to the Mother Crystal until they are reborn. Whether it be reborn as a Male, Female, Race, Beast, Tree, etc. We also have experienced thralls in the World of Eorzea as well. Which shows the journey back to the Mother Crystal isn't always successful and there is also a darkness to the light. Nael wasn't returned to the Mother Crystal. Bahamut's Lore & powers are in Coil Lore and already in the spoilers above.

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Originally Posted by kyuven

no, but he has a masculine voice and mannerisms in a culture that doesn't discriminate against someone based on their gender.

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You know Darth Vader mask?

Gaius had a mask too, that seems to modify the voice.

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Originally Posted by Yamimarik

http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Nael_Van_Darnus

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That is still a fan site. No officially FF lore team site. There is also no link to an official lore source. So actually I would say, what we can read there is just speculation.

When reading the ending dialogue in T9 there are some hints between the lines, that Neal was a woman all the time. Alise remembered her back to her times as a "little girl", that not got heared as long she was wishing.

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Originally Posted by KarstenS

That is still a fan site. No officially FF lore team site. There is also no link to an official lore source. So actually I would say, what we can read there is just speculation.

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There is no speculation before his death of him being a born a male.

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Originally Posted by ReplicaX

Before having his soul consumed by Dalamud (Bahamut) Nael was a man, born and raised. It is in the 1.0 Lore and even on that ARR website in his description.

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From the Official Site aka from the Lore team. Talks about him before being consumed by Dalamud.

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Legatus of the VIIth Legion presently dispatched to the western front, van Darnus boasts distinguished parentage in his sire, a founding figure of the Garlean Empire. A ruthless man who has risen to infamy even among his own people, he draws no distinction betwixt friend and foe when met with dissent. Tales are oft told in hushed whispers of van Darnus’s swift rise to power upon the abrupt death by illness of his sire, whose body had no sooner grown cold than his closest aides were put to death.

The White Raven seems a man well-suited to such dark rumors, for it is his pet project, "Meteor," that will herald Eorzea's inevitable plunge into the Seventh Umbral Era...

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Source: http://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/pr/wor...ent?threats_03

TIL Nael tucks it back.

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Originally Posted by KarstenS

Look at her eyes. Thats interesting. Thought it happened after the crash.

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He got his red eyes here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?featur...z1gjQPrE#t=981

Complete the quest after Second Coil in Waking Sands.

Urianger and Alisaie agree that Bahamut goofed in reproducing the likeness of Darnus. That's it. The unmasking was played entirely for momentary shock value. You never see nor hear Darnus in 1.0, so it would have been a nice little twist to find the big bad was elf F--the race/sex combo no one plays.

There are clearly a lot of people speculating who have never set foot in Turn 9. Nael deus Darnus refers to its old self as MALE. Bahamut just remade him as a female for some reason.

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Originally Posted by Sholah

Bahamut just remade him as a female for some reason.

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*ahem* bow chicka wow wow. That primal is lonely.

Joking aside, you can actually watch the t9 cutscenes on youtube, and you're right he does address his old body as male.
So yeah gender identity aside, the 1.0 nael had a trouser titan.

Sorry but the retro feeling brought me here :( Sometimes i have to say i miss some quallity parts of 1.0. ;D

the openworld, the unique combat system.. the voice actors and cutscenes ;I

Doesn't matter how much nicer the cutscenes looked back then, the game was garbage and failed horribly. What we have now is much more of a success and still manages to look better than most of the MMOs out there.

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Originally Posted by Gyson

Doesn't matter how much nicer the cutscenes looked back then, the game was garbage and failed horribly.

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at beta/release maybe.. and the server response was the problem

but is this group gameplay horrible to you?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWUkrUREFXU


at least its group play (leves) and openworld which we dont have anymore due to wow copy&paste instances over and over.
sure it lacked at many points, content wise and so on. but at least it had more to do with final fantasy. gameplay wise.

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Originally Posted by Tonkra

at beta/release maybe.. and the server response was the problem

but is this group gameplay horrible to you?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWUkrUREFXU


at least its openworld which we dont have anymore due to wow copy&paste instances over and over.
sure it lacked at many points, content wise and so on. but at least it had more to do with final fantasy. gameplay wise.

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Did you really just imply 1.0 didn't copy&paste over and over? I'm not sure I'd call a series of small rooms connected by corridors more "open world" either.

Oh well, it's gone and it's for the better.

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Originally Posted by Gyson

Did you really just imply 1.0 didn't copy&paste over and over? I'm not sure I'd call a series of small rooms connected by corridors more "open world" either.

Oh well, it's gone and it's for the better.

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Nah it didnt. at least i can say that i enjoyed the landscapes more while walking around. as they seemed much more lively .. sandstorms etc.

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I'm not sure I'd call a series of small rooms connected by corridors more "open world" either.

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thats what you call a dungeon.




Well my opinion is: the best would have been if FFXIV ended up being a mixture between ARR and 1.0.
server structures and some content stuff from ARR. Graphics, voiceover, Cutscenes, Openworld and the unique combat system from FFXIV 1.0.


as the Combat system was very unique in comparison to ARR which we have seen millions of times in the MMO Genre. The CS of 1.0. reminded me more of a Final Fantasy , for example Final Fantasy XII. unluckily they changed the tp based combat system to standard button smashing aka WoW

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Originally Posted by Tonkra

at beta/release maybe.. and the server response was the problem

but is this group gameplay horrible to you?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWUkrUREFXU

at least its group play (leves) and openworld which we dont have anymore due to wow copy&paste instances over and over.
sure it lacked at many points, content wise and so on. but at least it had more to do with final fantasy. gameplay wise.

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It took them almost 14 minutes to complete that levequest, most of which was just running around, for around 2k gil and a few thousand experience points. That's not my idea of a good time. The concept of an open world dungeon area is cool and all, but man I have to say that gameplay looked slow as hell. I don't think I could've played 1.x.

Oh I missed these opening cut scenes. I remember playing this with a bunch of friends when it first went into beta. So many good memories. Thank you for sharing :)!