Curious what the community thinks about the seasons changing throughout our days in Eorzea. Not sure if it is possible while still supporting PS3, and PS4 limitations, but I think it would be so cool if over the course of a week or so, we see obvious changes to the climate in all areas of the game. Some places like Costa del Sol and Coerthas will see very little if any change, but how could would it be to see the leaves turning in the Black Shroud, or falling snow in La Noscea? Perhaps even Thanalan could see some flowering in the Spring.
They could also perhaps do different things with the changes such as music, different mobs depending on season (exclude hunted mobs so they are always available), and so forth.
Thoughts?
Season changes in Eorzea
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12-13-2016, 09:32 AMGeminaSeason changes in Eorzea
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12-13-2016, 11:16 AMEnkidoh
I think it would probably be too complicated to implement (not to mention time consuming now to go back and redo zone textures in different 'seasonal' variations), so SE probably won't see the justification.
Plus, climate in Eorzea seems to be all over the place and is not as clear cut as it may seem, I have never seen it written anywhere that it ever snows in La Noscea at all (not surprising given how far 'south' it is), and the Black Shroud's trees seem to be evergreens and not deciduous, that is, they never have a US-style 'Fall' where they go brown and shed their leaves in autumn, not surprising given how powerful the elementals are there which would keep the trees green year-round anyway (the more 'autumn' looking foliage in the North Shroud is actually fire damage still lingering from the Calamity that the forest has not recovered from yet). And to say nothing that Coerthas is locked in a never-ending Winter that probably never will see the Spring again for lore reasons.
Having said that, there are minor seasonal weather changes in the three main cities for seasonal events (at Christmas time light snowfall appears in each city but doesn't really change the ground texture, and around Easter time the Little Ladies Day event has Japanese style cherry trees in full bloom in each city (complete with cherry blossoms being carried on the wind). But that is probably the closest you'll probably get I'm sorry to say. -
12-13-2016, 11:28 AMSigmaOZ
I completely support your suggestion, in fact I made a similar one asking season changes in-game a long time ago but was quickly forgotten and probably never seen by the Devs, I hope they can see it this time!...
@SE and anyone else interested
Have you ever played Pokémon Black & Pokémon White!?... You definitely should as they show how seasons can work inside a game by cycling them every single month of real life time, even special fiends could appear during specific seasons not to mention quests and whatnot, it would make the game all the better!...
Forget about excuses and let the Producer and the Dev Team make it a reality, regardless of how poor the game code is they can absolutely make it!... :) -
12-13-2016, 03:22 PMGeminaYou're very likely right, and it is just wishful thinking. I wouldn't think it would be like our slider request and having to go back and redo god knows how many gear pieces, but rather it would be an addition not unlike adding additional areas that come with expansions. I know the playerbase would probably rather that time and energy to go towards the development of new areas to explore, but I also believe it is important to keep interest in the starting cities so they remain populated.Quote:
Originally Posted by Enkidoh
The actual weather and locations are just ideas, and not meant to change the game's lore. La Noscea is a costal/island area, so snow would be very unlikely there, and I am all too familiar with the perpetual icy depths of Coerthas. The Black Shroud though is adjacent to Coerthas and more subject to seasons than any other region, I just wouldn't want to leave anybody else out. The elementals should be well aware that seasons are a life/death cycle that is perfectly natural :p -
12-13-2016, 04:05 PMGeminaAww, sorry your suggestion ended up in the forum abyss, and hopefully they do see this one and it at least raises an eyebrow. But yes, you're thinking just like me.Quote:
Originally Posted by SigmaOZ
Many times it has been mentioned about more dangerous open world content, and perhaps the winter ala Game of Thrones could bring interesting and dangerous mobs you're better off staying away from if you're solo. Of course, nothing would change about how the areas operate now. B/A/S elite marks still spawn as normal, same with FATEs, normal mobs, and NPCs; you'll still get Tension weather when Odin is around and so forth.
La Noscea could get a hurricane season not much different than when it is raining like crazy in Costa del Sol. How cool would it be to see trees and other debris flying around when you look up?! How about severe thunderstorms during summers in Thanalan that leave random telegraphed areas where lightning strikes that you need to dodge similar to dungeons? Easy enough to dodge and doesn't cause much damage, but could slap you with paralyze right near a hungry mob so best to not ignore it? I think the potential there is pretty big. Nothing so difficult that it creates huge headaches, but you know in the back of your head, "Hey, it is not as easy to traverse this area during this time of year." :)
I only see it as additions to keep current content interesting. -
12-13-2016, 04:08 PMChocolys
I like how the game already have full day cycles with dynamic sun lightning and weather changes.
I would certainly love seasonal changes as well.
But I have not expectation that they will implement such feature in FFXIV.
Who knows? Maybe in the next FF MMO? or in a future FFXIV expansion for the added regions? -
12-13-2016, 04:19 PMNeophyte
Well, I just assume that Hydalin has no axial tilt nor does her distance to the sun change throughout the year. Therfore no seasons.
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12-13-2016, 04:33 PMJunseiKei
Would love to see the lush, green hills of Coerthas while in game. *Shakes fist at Calamity.*
http://i.imgur.com/If2lhND.jpg
http://files.enjin.com.s3.amazonaws....inal/59345.jpg
Or at least some part of it, possibly nearer to Moar Donuts, start to thaw and reveal its original greenery thanks to seasons. -
12-13-2016, 06:52 PMGeminaAs do I, and I think they've done such a great job with the detail we currently have. For instance I love how the Black Shroud will gradually bring a storm in. You look beyond and see the clouds coming together and flashing, then the sun goes away and KABOOM! thunder followed by heavy rain. That is just so freakin awesome and I don't take it for granted. But seasons? C'mon, you have to admit it'd be pretty cool!Quote:
Originally Posted by Chocolys
Square, quite honestly is the pre-Disney Pixar version of gaming, and they know how to jerk tears and emotion from their fans. They do it well in this game also, but seasons are like a gimme. Everyone has their favorite season and a crap load of story and emotion to call their own during that time. Seasons in this game is like, "Why da fuq did we not think of this sooner" kind of thing IME. -
12-13-2016, 07:02 PMGeminaThat is definitely one way to look at it. That is a sad rock though. A planet like that, which also supports life would basically have one part where vegetation grows year-round, and another part where nothing ever grows. Seasons are actually a pretty important part of what Hydaelyn is all about.Quote:
Originally Posted by Neophyte
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12-14-2016, 12:10 AMLineageRazorThey could go the subtle route, like they did in FFXI. That game had seasons, but the changes those seasons brought were hard to spot unless you were looking for them. It mostly affected weather (areas that got snowy weather would get it more often in winter, and less often in summer, for example), but in some areas trees would change color, or patches of snow would appear.Quote:
Originally Posted by Enkidoh
It's probably too late, now, even for subtle changes, though. Seasons pretty much need to be built in from the ground up, and given the insane time and money budgets they were under to make ARR, it's not too surprising that seasons weren't taken into consideration. Honestly, we should consider ourselves fortunate that we got any kind of weather at all, given that it has very little impact on gameplay outside of fishing. -
12-14-2016, 01:13 AMNaunetWhere's the lore that the very distinctly autumn-colored leaves in the North Shroud is due to "fire damage"? Curious. Though I don't think SE needs you making their justifications for them. xDQuote:
Originally Posted by Enkidoh
@OP: Seasons would be cool in climes where it's appropriate. :)
No axial tilt has a lot of other implications that would make it very challenging for life to have evolved, though SE has not shown they understand science (and especially ecology and biology) particularly well in the game.Quote:
Originally Posted by Neophyte
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12-14-2016, 01:35 AMSigmaOZWhy do you even bother!?... Weather is not the same as seasons!...Quote:
Originally Posted by Gemina
We do have weather in Eorzea but I also want seasons, detractors like yourself just make me want to leave the game, but I won't, I just hope to never meet you!... :( -
12-14-2016, 01:40 AMMistyMew
Agreed! I too have suggested this in the past, a few of us have over the years.
I wish our suggestions would be implemented or at least forwarded to the dev...the English forums have made a huge amount of good suggestions with no input from ...anyone at se...unless to delete threads.
These forums need a lot more direct se interaction/representation like the jp receive on an hourly basis. smh.
Anyway, it is still a cool idea, even if just a couple zones could have this feature it would add a lot in atmosphere to the zones.
I understand if it cant be achieved but personally I would really like it. :)
/support! -
12-14-2016, 01:53 AMYasmina
I would love the season changes, even they could give life back to the ARR / HW areas.
There could be achievements, challenges, quest, titles and more things that could be achieved only during a specific season! -
12-14-2016, 02:21 AMJpec07
Now that PS3 limitations are gone, I'd actually be very curious to see what they could do in terms of adding season changes.
Could get expensive resource-wise, but examples of things I'd like to see in terms of seasons:- Rain being replaced with sleet/snow in some regions.
- Flora (and flora-based monsters) changing: flowering, blooming, shedding leaves, leaflessness, etc.
- Adjust ground covering depending on season/weather.
- NPCs dressing warmer/colder depending on weather/temperature.
- Enemy presence changes: many animals hibernate during winter, become more aggressive during mating season, migrate to different regions, etc.
- Change the path of the sun through the skybox.
- Change which stars are visible at night, and their orientation.
There's lots of subtle changes they could make that would make seasons non-intrusive (just ignore anything about mob behavior above) but also add another layer of immersion. -
12-14-2016, 02:49 AMGeminaWTF is your problem? With a crappy attitude like that it's best you stay the hell away from me as far as possible anyways.Quote:
Originally Posted by SigmaOZ
Thanks to everyone else knowing how to contribute to the thread. -
12-14-2016, 03:54 AMStormfur
Well, their justification will probably be:
1) La Noscea is on the coast, it doesn't snow there
2) Coerthas is always covered in snow
3) Thanalan is mostly desert and hot/dry
That doesn't leave much in the way of areas to actually show all 4 seasons. -
12-14-2016, 06:12 AMLineageRazorDid you quote the right person? As far as I can tell, Gemina was AGREEING with you, and not a detractor at all!Quote:
Originally Posted by SigmaOZ
Seems as though you made an enemy, and very pointlessly, at that. XD -
12-14-2016, 06:32 AMSendohJinthey don't need a justification. it's obviously too expensive to implement and not worthwhile since most of the content isn't even on the world map.Quote:
Originally Posted by Stormfur
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12-14-2016, 06:43 AMdragorian
Already an thread on this topic already.
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12-14-2016, 06:55 AMDreamAngel-Ren
So this is how I see it:
Gridania - Spring
Limsa Lominsa - Summer
Uldah - Fall (maybe)
Coerthas - Winter
TA DA!