Poll: Seamless+CopyPaste VS. Zones+Variety

[Mack]

Actually Mack there is atleast 2 or 3 possible zones that is on the current continent that has yet to be unlocked. You need to look at the largest Eorzea map, and you will see them. One of them is the destroyed city and area around Ala Mihgo and the other is unknown city state.

Sweet I had no idea tbh I thought the entire map was almost filled out but looking at it again I can see room for 3 or 4 more zones.

[Elexia]

The type of game it is means absolutely nothing, you of all people should know this lol. Just because Crysis is not an MMO doesnt mean CryEngine cant be used for one (Its currently being used for 2 new mmos and Aion uses CryEngine 1)

I think the point generally was with an MMO there's a lot more data and memory management to take into consideration compared to an offline/multiplayer game. It's why no MMO yet created a "always producing world" since it's not a new technique or anything, it's just really hard to fit into MMO architecture compared to offline games.

[Mack]

I love the big seemless world. I may be the minority because I like to walk around and explore. Makes it actually feel like a world not just some instance. I've had a lot of problems with games where there is an epic scene and it is interrupted with a loading screen. Half life 2 had major problems with this when it first came out. I also find there is enough variety in the zones that you can visually tell which part of the zone you are in. There are many unique parts of the world as well that just require you to explore a little. The copy and paste complaints are just from people who like many people on this forum, are just trying to find something to complain about. It's not like they made a suburban zone here.

Yea I mean its not like plenty of people who left the game too complained about copy paste. Its not as if you can open the map and see how the map itself will show you copy pasted terrain everywhere. Thanalan for instance copy pastes its caves all over and it copy pastes its downhill paths that kinda curve into a downhill. Its there and its obvious and the world is HUGE so when I need to explore every nook and cranny to find something small that doesn't mean there is "variety".

[viion]

I think the point generally was with an MMO there's a lot more data and memory management to take into consideration compared to an offline/multiplayer game. It's why no MMO yet created a "always producing world" since it's not a new technique or anything, it's just really hard to fit into MMO architecture compared to offline games.

CryEngine 3 does it, but that is very very new haha.

Also MMO's are not greatly over taxing than Single Players, one of the benefits of a Single Player is you dont have to pass all that data across a bandwidth (most of the time excluding multiplayer). So even though you'll have less characters, you'll have more environment objects, maybe even constructable environments and a lot more graphic/particle effects even more physics than an MMO. GW2 has destructible environments and most likely because of that (and maybe some other stuff) its poly count is a lot lower on things like mobs/players and relies a lot on textures and variation.

An MMO might have a lot of players on screen, a lot of different armours and weapons, but a single player has higher textures, more content in the area, more of all the things said above. It ends up balancing out.

[Jinko]

I voted for 2, although I wish there was a 3rd option, scrap crystal tools and use unreal engine 3 or cryengine 3.

[Rhomagus]

I liked Physic's post.

or the third option is large zones that are seamless, but a lot more zones overall with different assets, or just have some large and some small.
But if i have to choose, id go with smaller zones with more variation.

Honestly though i dont buy the excuse, i think its just lazyness, coerthas is way less monotonous than black shroud for example. And la noscea has bridges, beaches, mountains, caves, multiple dungeons, all without direct loading

It seems like an excuse when you already have very nicely designed zones like Coerthas, but obviously poorly designed ones like the Black Shroud and some of La Noscea. Thanalan was okay... but only if you stay out of the caves. If you've been in one cave in Thanalan you've been in them all. I think you should just have less caves, and maybe a few, very different, large ones rather than a lot of the same small ones.

The reason for only giving two options is also something I kind of disagree with. It gives a false sense of contribution and doesn't really get at the heart of the problem. I have this same problem with the survey's that were laid out during the beginning of the year. It seemed like the changes were already decided upon and then given to us in a multiple choice question format to give the illusion of choice.

The purpose for the forums is discussion and loose brainstorming from the community. This type of questioning seems only appropriate for a player survey controlled by devs and undermines the purpose for the forums.

Not saying that you don't have the freedom to create it. I just don't see the use for it considering the more dynamic option of a discussion based proposal.

I do like the citing of sources in the Rentahamster's OP.

[Rentahamster]

I just don't see the use for it considering the more dynamic option of a discussion based proposal.

We've been having that discussion throughout this whole thread. The poll was just to get a baseline of opinion.

[Nevrath]

Hm so how many of you worked at an mmo? And if so which? Because that "we can totaly have both" still is just like saying "Hey guys i have no clue at all but i just go troll some forums cos i can".
I tried to explain but i think its hopeless some guys dont even care. Most just want to behave like they totaly know how it works while probably dont even knowing how to code a freaking text adventure. Or what the hell a GDD and TDD is.

Everyone who claims such nonsense has absolutely no idea what the hell he/she is asking from the developers.
Thats like "ow please turn my water into wine k thx bye." XD
Some here wouldnt recognized the diffrence of low poly vs high poly if its thrown right into their face. Not because of stupidity, out of pure ignorance and the fun of trolling.

XD

[Masamune]

Yea I mean its not like plenty of people who left the game too complained about copy paste. Its not as if you can open the map and see how the map itself will show you copy pasted terrain everywhere. Thanalan for instance copy pastes its caves all over and it copy pastes its downhill paths that kinda curve into a downhill. Its there and its obvious and the world is HUGE so when I need to explore every nook and cranny to find something small that doesn't mean there is "variety".

If your problem is the map, then don't look at the map. Or if you had to look at the map to see copy and paste, it just proves my point about variety. Your argument about what I said about variety doesn't even make sense. The areas are built in enough variety that they appear different, even though they may have some of the same "parts".
What I mean is the complaints about the world being so copy and pasted are overblown, as Eorzea has amazing environmental detail that can be enjoyed and explored. Especially when there are much more pressing issues about this game. One of my favourite parts is being able to see the towns far away then being able to walk into them seamlessly.
All they have to do is add some of your landmarks to the already created zones and release new ones. But I think they should be done seamlessly.

[Mack]

If your problem is the map, then don't look at the map. Or if you had to look at the map to see copy and paste, it just proves my point about variety.

My problem isn't the map, I see the copy paste everywhere, it has nothing to do with the map, I was just telling you that you can see the copy pasted regions clearly on the map. The entirety of the regions are bland and empty, that is my problem, I wouldn't care about the repeated "sections" had the areas had *something* in them.