Printing In Eorzea, and Linkpearl Recording

I don't want to get too technical into this, but I think it might wind up being so. I have 'two' questions here, and thought it might be better to condense it into one thread, instead of making multiple.

How advanced are Eorzea's printing capabilities? I'll assume, looking at numerous fliers across Eorzea, knowing we have newspapers, as well as text within key items and such, that printing technology exists quite abundantly. Where is Eorzea in that technology? Renaissance era? Will we ever see the shops of our beloved Eorzean printers in the game?

On another note, I sort of raised personal (though silent) questions in 1.0 when we had Gramophones in a particular quest, as well as 'boy bands' using linkpearls to distribute their music to Eorzea. How is music distributed most readily? Do bands get together with hundreds of linkpearls laying in front of them, and record their music? Do they use one main linkshell, and record it onto multiple linkpearls? Do they use an actual gramophone technology, or is it more a strange hybrid gramophone that plays linkpearl audio transmissions? Do tropes of musicians even record music?

Can linkpearls even record sound? If I recall correctly, the Garleans were 'dropping' linkpearls around in 1.0, which were spewing propaganda. Were these per-recorded messages, or was it an occasion stream of 'live' content?

Great questions.

Regards to the recording of music - well, if they can record/compare aetheric waves and readings, I'm sure they could easily to the same for sound waves, right?

Linkpearls are basically radios, per Cid. He describes them exactly like real world two way radios (or cell phones) , only to give and say they use aether since the Warrior of Light is just staring blankly at him. Presumably, this means they are Garleanian in origin, being technology not magic. Whether the city states manufacture their own, or if the Ironworks makes them all and distributes them to the Grand Companies is unknown. They seem more advanced then the rest of Eorzean tech.

As for printing presses, all three city states have their own newspaper and reporters, which leads me to think they have presses. Presumably, they can't use scribes to hand write enough newspapers to the general populace.

They are described similarly to radio--however, Garlean's do not generally seem to use linkshells for communication. (At least, that's what I've gathered from the story, besides their use of them for propoganda purposes in 1.0?) Maybe there's something more to it? They have their own magitek communication that seems to be more similar to an actual radio, as is shown being interfered with by adventurers and the city states repeatedly. If they could all easily use linkpearls, why do they have a need to have other communication devices that are constantly inhibited by the Eorzeans?

Do linkpearls require at least some form of aetheric manipulation by the person using it? If that were the case, then pure-born Garlean's could not use them. I feel like, if that werethe case, linkpearls probably would not be popular with Garleans. Really only conscripts could use them, and that could cause problems if the conscripts decided to defect or rebel. Are they worried about their enemies spying on them, via a linkpearl they found on a soldier? I would think it wouldn't be too much harder to steal a conscripts radio, and do the same thing.

Though, we've also seen Garleans intercept linkpearl transmissions. Though I call hacks on that, as Nero is of similar technical genius as Cid.

Spoilers.



Well, the 2.4 storyline regarding the spy involves a jamming device, which I believed was for linkpearls. I don't recall if they used the name linkpearl, though. It was clearly the city states were blocking long range communications of the garleans.

Also, I -think- Maggie (our magitek armor) has a built in communications device.

A large segment of the MS right before level 50 involves you setting up a way to disrupt Garlean communications to make your Castrum hijinks easier. It seems like EVERYONE uses them for communication, which makes me think they aren't Garlean exclusive. Could they have adapted them or enhanced them? Absolutely. But the base method seems identical.

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Originally Posted by Diyne

Where is Eorzea in that technology? Renaissance era?

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We have airships. Airships. The goblins also have tanks. And the Garleans are capable of deploying weapons of mass destruction. :p

I think it's fair to say that Eorzea enjoys many of the modern conveniences we do today, except transposed into fantasy, magical terms. Hence the Eorzean equivalent of our radios and telephones, the linkpearls.

But Reinassance-era "technology" would probably be a good guess as to where their printing capabilities are. Mind you, block printing was already common in Europe by the 1300s. The Gutenberg printing press was invented in the 1430s. Mass printing became common in the 1500s. This was also the time of Leonardo da Vinci, who, among other things, conjured up designs for airplanes and tanks.

So, yeah, I reckon Reinaissance Europe is as good an analogy for "present-day" Eorzea as any.

I'm more curious about the state of plumbing in Eorzea, actually. No toilets around. If we could smell the world, Eorzea would probably stink to the high heavens. :p

We have tubs and fountains, though, so obviously there's some sort of plumbing in use. And don't all the inn rooms have doors leading off to the side? I assumed that was the bathroom.

We also have aqueducts and such. That big long arch thing in Mist is an aqueduct, and apparently brings water to each house in the residential area. (At least, that's what is said in the artbook.) Privies have also been referenced a few times in different places. However, I'm not sure if those are outhouses, or actual toilets with plumbing.

As for the Garleans using linkpearls: It does not say that they use linkpearls in that MS questline. Cid simply says "Imperial forces communicate at a distance via electromagnetic waves. Simply put, voices are borne upon aetheric lightning energy that permeates the air." I think they might have some other form of magitek based communication device, moreso like a radio. (And maybe a bit more advanced than a linkpearl.)

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Originally Posted by Diyne

As for the Garleans using linkpearls: It does not say that they use linkpearls in that MS questline. Cid simply says "Imperial forces communicate at a distance via electromagnetic waves. Simply put, voices are borne upon aetheric lightning energy that permeates the air." I think they might have some other form of magitek based communication device, moreso like a radio. (And maybe a bit more advanced than a linkpearl.)

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They do use linkpearls - 1.0 stated they were dropping them from airships to broadcast Imperial propaganda in version 1.0, and the scenes of Imperial soldiers communicating in ARR showed they had the exact same mobile phone-like tone that the player's own linkpearl had as well (not to mention Nero was clearly able to hack into the player's linkshell feed with Cid in the Praetorium, showing that the Garleans are intimately familiar with the technology). And linkpearl are radio devices - like radio they're prone to interference and signal drop outs.

I would say the industrial era. But then again it's hard to compare Earth with Eorzea but they use Aether as a power source which totally changes the law of physics.

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Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

I'm more curious about the state of plumbing in Eorzea, actually. No toilets around. If we could smell the world, Eorzea would probably stink to the high heavens. :p

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Ironically there's a FATE in Southern Thanalan called 'Downwind' that actually deals with this - it mentioned that the residents of Little Ala Mhigo dig latrines outside the townsite for hygiene reasons and thus because they neglect to properly bury the waste, the resulting stench is then carried on the wind back into the town, and worse, attracts wildlife which make a nuisance of themselves (resulting in adventurers being called upon to cull the monsters). So yeah, indoor flush toilets I don't think exist in Eorzea (although it could also be this trope in effect.) ;)

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Originally Posted by Grayve

Linkpearls are basically radios, per Cid. He describes them exactly like real world two way radios (or cell phones) , only to give and say they use aether since the Warrior of Light is just staring blankly at him. Presumably, this means they are Garleanian in origin, being technology not magic. Whether the city states manufacture their own, or if the Ironworks makes them all and distributes them to the Grand Companies is unknown. They seem more advanced then the rest of Eorzean tech.

As for printing presses, all three city states have their own newspaper and reporters, which leads me to think they have presses. Presumably, they can't use scribes to hand write enough newspapers to the general populace.

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At the same time, Fern mentioned that most of Eorzea's population is illiterate bar the adventurers and rich/well off people. The market for newspapers may not be as large as you think?

Actually, how the hell does any paper make money if the population can't read? You'd think they'd do some public schooling initiatives to make more money off readers.

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Originally Posted by Enkidoh

Ironically there's a FATE in Southern Thanalan called 'Downwind' that actually deals with this - it mentioned that the residents of Little Ala Mhigo dig latrines outside the townsite for hygiene reasons and thus because they neglect to properly bury the waste, the resulting stench is then carried on the wind back into the town, and worse, attracts wildlife which make a nuisance of themselves (resulting in adventurers being called upon to cull the monsters). So yeah, indoor flush toilets I don't think exist in Eorzea (although it could also be this trope in effect.) ;)

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It could just be that way things are for Little Ala Mhigo, being basically a campsite in a cave without any other amenities of civilization (besides the Aetheryte, I mean). I'd be really shocked if none of the richies in Ul'dah have plumbing.

The linkpearl the player is given is probably not a real linkpearl, but rather an earpiece full of prerecorded messages of Minfilia telling them to go see her.

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Originally Posted by Magis

Actually, how the hell does any paper make money if the population can't read? You'd think they'd do some public schooling initiatives to make more money off readers.

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you employ someone to shout the news. a Town Crier.

(Cause text is to long, this is being broken up into three parts)

*pulls out there old 1.0 hat regarding the difference between Garlean's radio comms and Linkpearls*

So bare with me a little, because this mission was back in the days of 1.0 and like all content, its sometimes hard to find video pull ups of things that happened back then. But in a mission in 1.0, they been trying to get their hands on a Garlean Radio device within the helmet. However, every time they did-- the thing was pretty much wrecked, cause the Garleans liked to blow up their own tech, then let you get your grubby hands on it.

However, you-- the adventurer-- were able to get your hands on one of these radio devices and thus allowed Cid to hack into it. This in turn allowed them to now listen in.

(Continued)

When we roll over here to now 5 years later, linkpearls and shells had to be fixed cause of the aether flux utterly screwing with them (thus the lore reasoning for why all of us 1.0 people had to start new linkshells). Because they seem to work on aether or effected by aether-- its reason to believe that Linkpearls and shells are magically imbued to operate by carrying waves on the aether itself.

Where it seems Garlean Radios use the good ol' method that we use to transmit sound, given that Cid in ARR used a device hooked up at key points and an aetheric crystal to aid in creating interference on an electrical magnetic wave. We already know in our own world, electrical magnetic interference can really fubar with our radios.

(Final!)

Now, because both are using airwaves in some form or another, it is then very likely why one can probably hack into another if someone has the proper equipment or knowledge on how to fan-dangle their gear to do so. After all, Magitek mimics magic, so they probably create a system to hop onto the Linkshell waves and given Cid already hacked into the Garlean Radios before (ala 1.0), the grand companies know a bit more on this as well. And who is to say, because of the events of 1.0, if the Grand Companies also didn't create a hybrid system /cause/ of the aether flux making the old ways impossible.

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Originally Posted by Magis

At the same time, Fern mentioned that most of Eorzea's population is illiterate bar the adventurers and rich/well off people. The market for newspapers may not be as large as you think?

Actually, how the hell does any paper make money if the population can't read? You'd think they'd do some public schooling initiatives to make more money off readers.

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Well, for starters, Hyurs are the most educated and literate race among others... which kinda shocks me since I always thought Elezens (Elf equivalents) would be the most educated.

#HyurMasterRace