Please make XIV Resemble FF Franchise: Cities Need Color

[SuzakuCMX]

Only Ul'dah is plain, and that's pretty much because they're a desert.

I don't remember the cities in FFXII being all too colorful, except maybe the sky city.

But other than those....I like Ul'dah because it's populated, but it's so...plain in and around the city that it gets tiring looking at brown everywhere.

[NYAMeowPurr]

First of all, great job SE for working on improving the game! There's nothing I'd want to see more than to have a Final Fantasy MMO where my character can be the hero. Below is my request:

The first thing I notice when playing XIV is that is barely resembles the style of rest of the Final Fantasy franchise. I'll go over why I believe this....

So today I'd like to ask that cities, such as Ul'dah and Limsa Lominsa to be visually improved. These both are brilliantly structured but lack assets like color, glass, grass, trees, bushes, city banners, presence of an army (besides 2 guards), more npcs, etc.

Below are some areas I noticed that seem very bland. (I'll strictly be talking about Ul'dah to save text.)

Compare Ul'Dah To Archades and Rabanastre from FFXII

Archades
http://i.min.us/in44Po.jpg

Rabanastre
http://i.min.us/in84co.png

Ul'Dah
Little color
http://i.min.us/in44Pq.jpg

Bland. Only has shades of brown and orange.
http://i.min.us/ilnsno.jpg

There needs to be more props and a reason for them existing. These look random and lonely next to a single closed door.
http://i.min.us/in4BnE.jpg

It took me 6 months to notice this awesome architecture because nothing caused me to look up at it. Where are the city banners, colorful flags, flowers in windows, evidence that people live in the city walls etc?
http://i.min.us/ilrCJ4.jpg

I wish the city lights look more like the aetherial nodes—more FF-looking, less regular lamp. More colors too please, the lonely yellow on the brown theme looks lifeless and lonely.
http://i.min.us/ilnWHG.jpg

No light comes through in any buildings.
http://i.min.us/in8xDS.jpg

I only found a bushes throughout the entire city, but the ones I found looked great!
http://i.min.us/ilsg9u.jpg

These alleyways are so deserted and empty. Where are all the npcs?
http://i.min.us/ilnnXa.jpg

This city does not resemble the wealthy city-state it's supposed to be.
http://i.min.us/ilnyBE.jpg

In summary, please add more assets, such as trees, areas of grass, city banners and flags, more npcs especially soldiers, glass, crates, bushes, children and families (who are we protecting anyway?) etc. As for design, please add more color to the structure and less burnt-looking stone. More blues to go with the orange and brown (etc), colored walkways, etc. I'm certain that Limsa could benefit from some of these improvements as well.

Thank you,

Maddix

I agree with this and props for presenting your case and staying positive (something rare on forums).
I think the cities would really benefit from a living economy of npcs and population. I like the direction things are going and hanging in towns should reflect the same sense of awe that many of the world locales do. I believe limsa is a good example of a well done location since there is enough in most the places to draw your attention but still more life is needed.
Make it the ff I remember with people all doing their own thing and a bustling populace. Color where needed is fine but there is something I notice about the pictures in the quoted text and that is that this game does well at portraying a scale of epicness. Just look at the large robust buildings and gothic style architecture. The castles and mountains in the distance and you can really get swept away.
I really just dont want to feel like im in what used to be a big place but was sense deserted (aside from the 8 multiboxing laeffels waiting next to the leve issuer- lol).

I love the potential this game has and cant wait to see what the development team does with it!

[Ava]

More important than color, I think the cities need roaming NPCs. The center of uldah is actually really pretty if you look up, but overall I do think cities need more color (via props, flora).

[Micrll]

I like the way its presented, I wonder if we will ever get more detailed cities. I'm starting to doubt it, they have to make sure that they can fit the game into the PS3's system requirements and they have already stated that they were having trouble doing so with just the base game.

As for the tech demo, I wish we did have some areas that looked like that LL while 'inspired' by that really feels 'flat' its pretty bland overall. I loved the glass domed areas of the tech demo. Also if that was pushing the limits of the technology it was doing it 5 years ago, we should be able to EASILY run that by now.

[Sykora727]

I wonder whatever happened to this

http://youtu.be/sgtZvn5c4e4

I know it's just a tech demo, but that kind of makes me queasy. That city looks gorgeous! Grass, glass, color, but still fantasy and mysterious, dark in some areas and colorful in others. Just brilliant. A city you'd like to live in.

[Sykora727]

*bump. Ul'dah needs a revision. Not only "color" but taste overall. Please state your onions.

[Teknoman]

I like the way it looks, just needs more banners and npcs walking around (which im sure will happen once companies hit).

[Seif]

I completely agree. All the towns would benefit greatly from some colorful animated flags and lights. In general something unique that I don't see in every game would be nice. That's one of the reasons I managed to wade through that XIII awfulness because there was always something unforgettable to see like is always the cas with FF titles. Except THIS one.

I can describe X's Mushroom Rock Road or VII's Woods where Aerith was buried *spoilerslol* VIII's Fisherman's horizon but when trying to for example describe the fields outside of LL I'd be at a loss of words to tell anything to tell how it looks like.

"It's like a field with some gray stone in it I guess..." Makes you excited to play doesn't it?

[Sykora727]

I completely agree. All the towns would benefit greatly from some colorful animated flags and lights. In general something unique that I don't see in every game would be nice. That's one of the reasons I managed to wade through that XIII awfulness because there was always something unforgettable to see like is always the cas with FF titles. Except THIS one.

I can describe X's Mushroom Rock Road or VII's Woods where Aerith was buried *spoilerslol* VIII's Fisherman's horizon but when trying to for example describe the fields outside of LL I'd be at a loss of words to tell anything to tell how it looks like.

"It's like a field with some gray stone in it I guess..." Makes you excited to play doesn't it?

Couldn't have described it better myself. Exactly. Imagination is Square's biggest asset in FF games and it's what's lacking here (except the buildings' structures.)

[Demacia]

Bastok was kinda dreary in my opinion but something else made it more charming then Uldah, I'm not from bastok (windurst here so I really can't name it)

http://images.wikia.com/finalfantasy...ts-Wartime.jpg

I think it's the combination of music, good lore/NPCs, and architecture. Bastok was my favorite city.