One to Fifty, One Zone - Long OP

[Siobu]

Fortunately, with everyone's help, this thread is almost as long as the Japanese thread which triggered an official response. Surely, this warrants one as well?

To restate my thoughts once more to any new arrivals clicking the 'last' button:

Because of 3 zones completely performing the work of multiple regions, taking characters from 1 to 50 just outside the city's walls, I worry that all further content will be build within these current zones. Why would Square Enix make new zones, when these do their jobs for them?

However, we need new zones. Without them, we may never experience a true adventure from a fresh recruit to a seasoned fighter. One that we can look back on and count the milestones we stepped over to get there. To feel nostalgia years later.

Currently, "dungeons" and extra camps/hubs are being placed around our current world. Is this their solution? Or a bandaid? They speak of re-designing the Shroud, but what does it mean? Are we merely making the corridors wider?

We do not know where we will be in a year, or two years: Faraway lands, airship rides away from home, or just outside Ul'dah's walls?

Thanks guys. Danke, Meph.

[Meph]

Danke, Meph.

Bitte ^^

This needs to be adressed in every forum, so maybe anyone can raise such a topic on the french forum if it isnt already?
(I would but i cant speak french :P)

[Mack]

Bitte ^^

This needs to be adressed in every forum, so maybe anyone can raise such a topic on the french forum if it isnt already?
(I would but i cant speak french :P)

When you said the German forums were dead I went and checked the French forums and lets just say that if the German forums are dead the French forums have decomposed and are stinking up the place, its like a ghost town over there :P but we may still be able to get some response anyway.

[Neptune]

Yes, Aion really is a beautiful game. It's a little glimmery because of the celestial theme, but I personally love it. I had originally believed Eorzea would be just as beautiful, just more realistic.

But realism doesn't mean sacrificing variety.

The regions of Eorzea are often termed 'frontiers'. America was once a great frontier. And the land is a great mixture of plains, fields, mountains, deserts, canyons, rivers, lakes, shores, snow, rain, tornadoes...

The frontiers of Eorzea have no variety within the three major starting regions.

Yeah I have thought of this too; that the zones were meant to be realistic. They don't look fantastical at all. Maybe that plays into the lore; I don't know. They do seem like frontiers. However, they would be better frontiers if they didn't copy/paste. I don't really have anything against the frontier look, but I hope they expand to more interesting looking zones in the future.

If I may continue to use a reference:

What if we never had to leave the city walls in 11?

What if this was all we knew?

http://seahorror.com/sample.jpg

I wholeheartedly support multiple areas with similar range, similar stages of progression. But right now, we have none. No progression. Adventure.

What's the right thing to do in this situation?

Oh God, that link really hit a chord with me. I'm going to post it 10 times ..please people click this.

http://seahorror.com/sample.jpg

http://seahorror.com/sample.jpg

http://seahorror.com/sample.jpg

http://seahorror.com/sample.jpg

http://seahorror.com/sample.jpg

http://seahorror.com/sample.jpg

http://seahorror.com/sample.jpg

http://seahorror.com/sample.jpg

http://seahorror.com/sample.jpg

http://seahorror.com/sample.jpg

HOLY MOTHER OF THE TWELVE! You really hit the nail on the head. You see all the bottlenecks when you copy/paste the 11 zones on to each other? That must have been what they did, because Thanalan and the Shroud look the exact same, with bottlenecks in between regions. That literally is all they did, design 1 or 2 areas and then mass copy/paste it.

Now look at Thanalan, lol:

http://www.ffxivinfo.com/images/maps...s-thanalan.jpg

The Black Shroud:

http://www.ffxivinfo.com/images/maps...ack-shroud.jpg

Coerthas:

http://www.ffxivinfo.com/images/maps...s-coerthas.jpg

..............................................*

[Rowyne]

HOLY MOTHER OF THE TWELVE! You really hit the nail on the head. You see all the bottlenecks when you copy/paste the 11 zones on to each other? That must have been what they did, because Thanalan and the Shroud look the exact same, with bottlenecks in between regions. That literally is all they did, design 1 or 2 areas and then mass copy/paste it.

Now look at Thanalan, lol:

http://www.ffxivinfo.com/images/maps...s-thanalan.jpg

The Black Shroud:

http://www.ffxivinfo.com/images/maps...ack-shroud.jpg

Coerthas:

http://www.ffxivinfo.com/images/maps...s-coerthas.jpg

Good Gods. They are all the same map. /facepalm.

This is even worse than I thought.

[Siobu]

Eden, I have also created this: http://seahorror.com/thoughts.jpg
Anything else is up to you. Thank you so much!

We need to be heard.

[Perrin_Aybarra]

Good Gods. They are all the same map. /facepalm.

This is even worse than I thought.

hehe they are very very similar and seeing the maps like that really emphazise the whole "tunnel" design they went for... makes the world kinda boring when you are restricted in an open-world...

[Daedae]

hehe they are very very similar and seeing the maps like that really emphazise the whole "tunnel" design they went for... makes the world kinda boring when you are restricted in an open-world...

God, it was really just a slap in the face to see that. This game was announced to be in development in like, 04, 05ish and this sort of laziness was the product? What. Gosh, having it put in such a perspective is really disheartening. Here's the links again from Neptune:

http://www.ffxivinfo.com/images/maps...s-thanalan.jpg

http://www.ffxivinfo.com/images/maps...ack-shroud.jpg

http://www.ffxivinfo.com/images/maps...s-coerthas.jpg

Paired with siobu's http://seahorror.com/sample.jpg

Showcases the general scheme of the zones, which are pretty much copied and rotated :< Gonna take a lot of work and a lot of complaints to get this ironed out, keep it coming.

[Siobu]

If each sub-section of our current zones (Black Shroud, etc) were turned into a defined zone, with progression.. How many unique zones would that give us?

5 per region? Perhaps 20? 21, including Mor Dhona if it were one zone. But, even more if it were divided?

Coupling unique dungeons to join each or most zones, and short paths between them.. Webbing them together like a true world.

So many thoughts...

[Perrin_Aybarra]

If each sub-section of our current zones (Black Shroud, etc) were turned into a defined zone, with progression.. How many unique zones would that give us?

5 per region? Perhaps 20? 21, including Mor Dhona if it were one zone. But, even more if it were divided?

Coupling unique dungeons to join each or most zones, and short paths between them.. Webbing them together like a true world.

So many thoughts.

That's what would make the game feel a lot more like an adventure and feel like we progress through different places. I think there are between 5-10 different sub-zones in each zones. But then, even if they would make 4-5 different sub-zones for each zones, it would still make a big difference.