Ala Mhigo love please.

I want people to actually advocate to improve this place. Why does it still look like that?

Why can't this place get some damn love and a much needed makeover for it's capital city? It always, always, always wracks my mind how they dropped an incredibly barebones map down and called it a day. Legit every other city-state is more expansive. Ala Mhigo just gets like five winding roads of absolutely nothing. It does it's themes and culture absolutely no justice.

How can something that's been built-up from ARR all the way to Stormblood just get completely shafted? In both design and just general story. Does that not bother anyone? The area with probably the most grounded and interesting real world-esque issues about resistance, culture, etc., has almost nothing done with it's themes other than incredibly basic surface level takes?

It's not great, and you can clearly tell that the devs favored Othard a lot more. Unfortunately, there's not much you can do at this point. A good number of people have expressed similar grievances. But Mhigo is just not an amigo for the devs.

Choices had to be made, but yes i hope that Ala Mhigo will become a true city at some point.

It would be nice but we're moving to a new story, new adventure, I would think there won't be much more put into older regional areas/maps at this point.

Not much time has passed and things have only just settled down with the end of the Final Days. When you think about the events of Shadowbringers, remember time barely passed on the Source while you were away. It's hard to really quantify as this universe exists in a bubble of time.

All that being said, the devs probably won't touch that area for a very long time, if ever.

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Originally Posted by Deveryn

Not much time has passed and things have only just settled down with the end of the Final Days.

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Of course Doma still had more than enough time to remake the entire enclave, among other things.

Anyway, while Ala Mhigo got suckered into Loloritos servitude, at least we can take heart in knowing that Doma has it worse as they got suckered into Rowenas servitude. Words fail to describe how profoundly i pity the poor fools...

Other MMO's have taken the time to touch up older regions and make them more relevant as the story moved forward. It's...not that difficult a feat to accomplish, especially with the use of phasing.

I don't disagree that Ala Mhigo and certain other regions were done dirty by the split focus of Stormblood and Endwalker.

Many places in FFXIV need to be improved including Ul'dah.
So if they started to improve old regions then they would need to improve them all eventually. It would be nice but I fear that SE doesn't want to put that much effort into rebuilding old zones since they seem more focused on building newer ones instead. it's a shame though because you can still rebuild Limsa Lominsa into the ferry hub it was always destined to be which would make ferry travel easier and would give players a reason to max out their standing with the grand companies if they were given perks like more ferry ports in the hub city too. it's ultimately up to Yoshida and the team and not us though but I hope they'll start improving the foundations more rather than just adding more blocks to the top of the wavering structure.

I'd much rather forget I even had to see that place or ever visited it tbh.

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Originally Posted by Protantical

I want people to actually advocate to improve this place. Why does it still look like that?

Why can't this place get some damn love and a much needed makeover for it's capital city? It always, always, always wracks my mind how they dropped an incredibly barebones map down and called it a day. Legit every other city-state is more expansive. Ala Mhigo just gets like five winding roads of absolutely nothing. It does it's themes and culture absolutely no justice.

How can something that's been built-up from ARR all the way to Stormblood just get completely shafted? In both design and just general story. Does that not bother anyone? The area with probably the most grounded and interesting real world-esque issues about resistance, culture, etc., has almost nothing done with it's themes other than incredibly basic surface level takes?

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Same way all the plot from art to ew was shafted mid EW msq.

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Originally Posted by LaylaTsarra

It would be nice but we're moving to a new story, new adventure, I would think there won't be much more put into older regional areas/maps at this point.

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Except the Ishgard Restoration is evidence against this. They're clearly willing to touch up old maps/cities, which is why I want more people to advocate for an Ala Mhigo restoration or anything at this point. The place doesn't even have furnishings let alone a glance into what an actual house looks like. It's incredibly disheartening to see!

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Originally Posted by Protantical

Ala Mhigo love please.

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This thread is not about what I thought it was going to be about.

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Originally Posted by Protantical

Except the Ishgard Restoration is evidence against this. They're clearly willing to touch up old maps/cities, which is why I want more people to advocate for an Ala Mhigo restoration or anything at this point. The place doesn't even have furnishings let alone a glance into what an actual house looks like. It's incredibly disheartening to see!

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Correction. They'll make nice instances for this kind of thing, as they did for the Doman Enclave. Ishgard proper is still in the same condition. The Brume in particular hasn't seen any kind of change.

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Originally Posted by Deveryn

Correction. They'll make nice instances for this kind of thing, as they did for the Doman Enclave. Ishgard proper is still in the same condition. The Brume in particular hasn't seen any kind of change.

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Even something similar to the Doman Enclave would go a long way. There's only up when you've been given literal dirt. Even rigging the Ala Mhigo dungeon to look less like a wartime battle and a populated area with NPCs, pretty little scenery is welcome. It'd be the least resource demanding (since I HIGHLY doubt they'd do a proper housing ward cause, apparently, they hate Ala Mhigo). Maybe even a community-type areas like a real Turkish-inspired bathhouses or really nice mosaic architecture. Despite having a really beautiful cultural inspiration, it's CRIMINALLY underused in what we got.

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Originally Posted by Protantical

Even something similar to the Doman Enclave would go a long way. There's only up when you've been given literal dirt. Even rigging the Ala Mhigo dungeon to look less like a wartime battle and a populated area with NPCs, pretty little scenery is welcome. It'd be the least resource demanding (since I HIGHLY doubt they'd do a proper housing ward cause, apparently, they hate Ala Mhigo). Maybe even a community-type areas like a real Turkish-inspired bathhouses or really nice mosaic architecture. Despite having a really beautiful cultural inspiration, it's CRIMINALLY underused in what we got.

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You good? Just because something isn't worked on doesn't mean it's hated.

Reality check: Doma's gone where Ala Mhigo still has quite a bit left to it. The enclave is small compared to the real estate Ala Mhigo has.

Anyway... There's not much to be done aside from wait and see where the story goes. There's always the possibility that they'll revisit these areas somehow.

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Originally Posted by Deveryn

You good? Just because something isn't worked on doesn't mean it's hated.

Reality check: Doma's gone where Ala Mhigo still has quite a bit left to it. The enclave is small compared to the real estate Ala Mhigo has.

Anyway... There's not much to be done aside from wait and see where the story goes. There's always the possibility that they'll revisit these areas somehow.

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Exactly. That "reality check" doesn't mean jack when that enclave is actually USED and turned into a pretty locale. Despite having a bigger area, that doesn't mean better. It's underutilized, barely decorated, and looks like a beta cs_dust map. If the shoe fits...

I like being as optimistic as possible, but the amount of times Ala Mhigo gets shafted in terms of narrative and locale speaks for itself. Consider the Endwalker Role Quests, the lack of anything Ala Mhigan in terms of furnishings, the lack of care put into the city-state itself compared to Doma/Othard. For a place that's integral to the state of world affairs and has been a big part of the story from ARR onward, it's hard to justify the idea that the devs will eventually do something with the area.

And there is something to be done. Just keep mentioning it until the devs get the picture. I'm sure people legitimately want more Ala Mhigan stuff, especially since the story and themes revolving around the place are pretty juicy and the potential is CLEARLY there. I want them to know this is something WORTH doing, even on a smaller scale like the Doman Restoration rather than Ishgard.

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Originally Posted by Protantical

For a place that's integral to the state of world affairs and has been a big part of the story from ARR onward, it's hard to justify the idea that the devs will eventually do something with the area.

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You seem lost and confused. How do you say this and say it's underutilized at the same time?

All that seems "clear" is an unhealthy attachment to this place.

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Originally Posted by Deveryn

You seem lost and confused. How do you say this and say it's underutilized at the same time?

All that seems "clear" is an unhealthy attachment to this place.

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Let me try to be more concise, since it's just a case of coming back to this thread in different mindsets. When I say underutilized, I mean the in-game location we get looks extremely dull despite the wealth of cultural inspiration the devs can use. Compare the Ala Mhigan Quarter to any other expansion city-state like Ishgard, Kugane/Doma, Sharlayan, Thavnair. Despite being a pivotal location in the story, the city we see is undeniably dull which isn't fair given how much more decorated and pretty the other areas are. Why would devs spend base game and an expansion building this place up, only to drop the ball so hard? That's why I want them to go back and give it something that makes that pay-off worth it rather than a box of brown and empty alleys.

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Originally Posted by Deveryn

You seem lost and confused. How do you say this and say it's underutilized at the same time?

All that seems "clear" is an unhealthy attachment to this place.

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I think it's rather disingenuous to try and frame interest and passion as 'unhealthy attachment'.

I'm reminded of the people playing World of Warcraft who insisted that it was perfectly fine for the Night Elves to consistently be mishandled badly as the story advanced. That was despite their popularity and people politely asking for the game to throw fans of the race a bigger bone every now and then.

Just because you, yourself, don't care much for a particular region in the game world that doesn't mean that others have to be silent and not push for what they'd like to see more of. Especially in a game with active ongoing development...

I say all this as someone who is largely indifferent to Ala Mhigo. Though I can easily recognise that it was mishandled on many fronts.

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Originally Posted by Theodric

I think it's rather disingenuous to try and frame interest and passion as 'unhealthy attachment'.

I'm reminded of the people playing World of Warcraft who insisted that it was perfectly fine for the Night Elves to consistently be mishandled badly as the story advanced. That was despite their popularity and people politely asking for the game to throw fans of the race a bigger bone every now and then.

Just because you, yourself, don't care much for a particular region in the game world that doesn't mean that others have to be silent and not push for what they'd like to see more of. Especially in a game with active ongoing development...

I say all this as someone who is largely indifferent to Ala Mhigo. Though I can easily recognise that it was mishandled on many fronts.

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It has nothing to do with how I feel about the region. I have nothing against it and would not oppose anything being added.

I don't see it as mishandled. The fact that it remains a point of interest throughout the whole story speaks against the idea that this place is poorly treated or underutilized. There's only so much that can be done with all these areas. Old Sharlayan is a perfect example of good things coming to those who wait. It was originally supposed to be a hub years ago.

Passion is all well and good, but when you block out logic in favor of that, it becomes unhealthy. People are treating the real timeline we live in as the same timeline in the game. I believe things will change there, but the fact is we may not see it for a while (if ever).

As much as I would absolutely love an Ala Mhigan Restoration zone and while I'd place Sharlayan housing as the fifth hypothetical ward (though for the rest I'd want Thavnair, Ala Mhigo, Anywhere on Norvrandt, the Azim Steppe, and Werlyt long before any other options and especially before we start doing anything Garlean themed), at this point I would like some housing items that reflect Ala Mhigo. Start with some wall hangings and furniture. Some wall and flooring options.

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Originally Posted by Denishia

As much as I would absolutely love an Ala Mhigan Restoration zone and while I'd place Sharlayan housing as the fifth hypothetical ward (though for the rest I'd want Thavnair, Ala Mhigo, Anywhere on Norvrandt, the Azim Steppe, and Werlyt long before any other options and especially before we start doing anything Garlean themed), at this point I would like some housing items that reflect Ala Mhigo. Start with some wall hangings and furniture. Some wall and flooring options.

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Thavnair housing!!?!
Yes Please

Now that you say this, I literally never go there. What is it even there to do after you finish MSQ? Maybe for hunt trains I use their portal but thats it.

I kind of agree, and especially with the Lochs area that has a bunch of named areas that were not really relevant with the story.

Also there was the whole case of cutting out a Tribe Quest in The Peaks, and you can see the remnants of what could have been. Heck it was barely ever relevant itself as well despite the cut-content.

I would really love to see Ala Mhigan style furnishings for sure, and some themed cosmetic outfits.


I genuinely don't understand how we got Shirogane housing in Kugane, a city where we just see the city and don't get to explore the actual nationstate because we're going to Doma and Kugane's just a port. Yet somehow we can buy land there and love it?



But we didn't get Ala Mhigo instead when it's been far more central to the narratives?



Look, we got to build up the Doman Enclave via questing. Then build a new area in Ishgard via more intensive questing. Now let me build up Ala Mhigo in the same way. I mean, Ala Mhigo that we get to is mostly the areas around it (like with Thanalan/Vylbrand/the Shroud), and it's not even a true City map on its own, the teleport point is just "the quarters". That's Rhalgr's Reach. I'd love to see a restoration that opened up somewhere like the Firmament - a sub-zone accessible through a gate point in the Quarters of an area that we're working on rebuilding to be usable by the populace and restored to its glory after the invasian destroyed it. It could be exactly like Firmament in that it's opening up a space which can be templated for housing wards, or maybe we're opening an economiz engine zone like the Doman Enclave (somewhere to help people be employed and do trade, have an aetheryte / market board / etc).

Did they ever redo old zones in FFXI? That might be a way to gauge the possibility for XIV.

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Originally Posted by Awarewolf

Did they ever redo old zones in FFXI? That might be a way to gauge the possibility for XIV.

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Technically yes with the Wings of the Goddess expansion which reused the assets of every single base game zone while adding a few new ones(the new ones actually replaced Teleport Crag zones as part of a new challenge to traversal/requiring new maps). You got to see the zones during war time, and while their structure was largely the same, there were now bases, different color sky/grass/dirt, new music, Campaign battles actively raging across them, and different requirements for traversal.

They then reused the teleport crag zones in the Abyssea "add-ons" wherein the Teleport Crags themselves were destroyed/completely gone. The zones had new monsters, new spawn spoints, and a vermilion hued sky. Later Abyssea zones would reuse Chains of Promathia areas with the same caveats.

However, both of these cases were actually done due to the game not having a long term plan beyond the Treasures of Aht Urhgan expansion. Thus they reused the old zones almost completely, other than the touch ups/differences I mentioned as a very very easy way to cut down on man hours needed to produce an expansion.

Of course, they also introduced the Walk of Echoes which was brand new on top of many new monster families and types.

It wouldn't be until Seekers of Adoulin that FFXI got a fully new set of zones and city. But this time, it came at the expense of new music. There was far less music, as only Naoshi Mizuta was composing for the game and mixing the tracks, as far as I am aware.

Also on topic, I would love for Ala Mhigo to get a zone like the Doman Enclave. I don't know where they'd put it or what they'd call it, but maybe use the Royal Menagerie as an entry ground for it. Maybe we could rebuild the airship landing pad that Zenos destroyed as Shinryu? Hmm...

The way I see it, the Skalla and Lolorito questlines were pretty much the dev's way of saying "they'll manage it themselves" as if we shouldn't even bother, then put neon signs pointing at Doma. It is, ironically, more likely we'd see a Garlemald restoration before seeing Ala Mhigo even mentioned again.

https://youtu.be/mA18iOfM4dw

He sacrificed for this. If it was not for Ilberd we would have never united the GCs and show how weak Garlean Emperor was.

Well they can develop a well so we can ditch Lyse in it.

"snip"

Apologies, I forgot I posted in this already.

But yes I wish there was more done for the Lochs in general.