World scale lost to too-convenient travel?

[Argurios]

The only teleport I use is the free recall to Lima Lominsa

[Recycler]

Totally agree with this, however it matches the fast-paced nature of 2.0 just fine. Personally I'd love a world where I can live in, where travels take time, with less focus on simply rushing to endgame and farming stuff. I feel that 1.0 was closer to that ideal

[Klefth]

In terms of design, it boiled down to scale vs variety. It's true there was something really endearing about the vastness of old Eorzea, even with its repeated terrain, but we gained a more engaging world to discover.

For travel, I do think it's a bit overly simple to just be able to appear at any place at any time as it does cheapen the invaluable appeal of a journey. Hopefully the future will bring more challenging zones with a wider scope, but there is no way they would remove a convenience to the community. People hate it when their conveniences are removed.


God damn it I miss old Coerthas.

I can never seem to disagree with this guy, ever.

God damn it, where's my pretty, green, and humongous Coerthas? Where's my Miller's Glade or Riversmeet? WHERE'S MY DOWNY DUNSTAN!? :/

[Gramul]

Not at all like FFXI of course, but I suspect most won't want that anyways.

But that was the best part. The first time braving the long and dangerous journey to a new town. That satisfaction of entering Juno. Finally getting your chocobo and making travel a breeze. Yeah there probably should have been shortcuts for more experienced players, but the first journeys where always something special. Something I haven't seen repeated in any other game sense.

[Starlord]

Rule of thumb= If you teleport too much you'll be broke ( eventually). Either that or you'll never see the rich life :P.

[Roci]

I have a few friends that talk about missing the old travel. I on the other hand prefer to get where I'm going. I don't explore the real world, if I can take a plane over a car, done any day of the week. If I can teleport, take a porter or airship there... I'm all about it.

[DeafMuteSpy]

I have a few friends that talk about missing the old travel. I on the other hand prefer to get where I'm going. I don't explore the real world, if I can take a plane over a car, done any day of the week. If I can teleport, take a porter or airship there... I'm all about it.

But don't we play fantasy games because the real world isn't as cool?

[Balaur]

Teleportation for all, fade to black airship/ferry rides. The scale of Eorzea is lost. It's akin to the shrinking effect flying mounts had on other online games but even more pronounced. It also removes the need for the player to comprehend the geography of the game world when they can simply select their destination from a list.

I am enjoying this game, and as a 1.0 player I am already beyond the awe anyway. But for players new to XIV, players new to MMOs, I'm sad to think they will miss out on that experience of scale and conquest.

I dunno about you, but I ride around on my chocobo and my coeurl all the time, sometimes from one end of the Twelveswood to the other. Set out from Ul'dah to get to Bluefog? Easy-peasy.

[DeafMuteSpy]

I dunno about you, but I ride around on my chocobo and my coeurl all the time, sometimes from one end of the Twelveswood to the other. Set out from Ul'dah to get to Bluefog? Easy-peasy.

Well I just wish you and I could ride a boat together!

[Naunet]

I will beat this drum til the cows come home, but XIV's maps do feel claustrophobic and strangely disconnected. This is the result of a few things:

1. Many maps are simply a series of winding canyons funneling you from one direction to another. I mean, look at these: http://home.comcast.net/~nakomaru/ffmaps/ - See how most of them (focus on the non-dungeon maps) are just twisty-turny paths with a few "bulges" every so often? And those are just the first three main zones. Coerthas and Mor Dhona and such are no different. The result is a restrictive world with very little opportunity for exploration.

2. Excessive invisible walls. Want to try and scale that hill? Nope, invisible wall. Want to wade into that water? Nope, invisible wall. What's on top of this wall? Invisible wall! Or up this cliff which looks totally climbable? Invisible wall!

3. The camera itself does not allow you to pan directly up. This is absolutely infuriating to me when I'm trying to get a look at an area and I cannot see what is directly above me. I have no idea why this camera restriction is in place; it seems completely arbitrary.

4. The zone transitions are completely discontinuous. I can be traveling through a canyon (ah yes, the many canyons of Eorzea!), heading towards what looks like great swaths of mountains, and then I hit a loading screen. When I pop out, suddenly I'm in the middle of a jungle. What happened? Why can't I explore those mountains? Why is 90% of the world seemingly cut off from me? Not only is this horribly disappointing from an exploration standpoint, but it cause great amounts of disorientation for me when trying to learn my way around the world.

So yeah, it's not just a matter of the zones being scaled down - it's a combination of a number of things. And it's very depressing.