One to Fifty, One Zone - Long OP

[EdenArchangel]

I haven't been following every single post in this thread but I'm really really glad to see something that everyone agrees on.

Forgive me if it's been suggested already as I likely missed it but I think there's more than just changing the world map that would need to be done.

I would also suggest that each mini zone have their own music. As you traveled through FFXI, the themes for each zone helped make them unique and memorable. There are so many unused tracks already I don't see why this wouldn't be possible if SE decides to fix this massive problem.

Oh goodness yes, the music.
Even after three years I can still match the music to areas in XI, and have images of the zones pop into my head.

It's a key point in giving each area/zone an identity.

[Zahak]

I would also suggest that each mini zone have their own music. As you traveled through FFXI, the themes for each zone helped make them unique and memorable. There are so many unused tracks already I don't see why this wouldn't be possible if SE decides to fix this massive problem.

I agree on this..we need more music variety to enhance the feel of each seperate sub zone. We also need more diversity in the look/weather/mood of each subzone that the music can change to!

[Mack]

While i agree whats being said here i disagree at the same time. While FF XI had good zones most them eventually went unused a lot like the starter area's, Bibki bay, and tons of other places. Now what i do like about the current zones you can choose where you wanna level if i decide not to ever leave the thanalan region that's totally up to me SE has not forced one person to exp 1-50 in one region, this is all players choice there are plenty places to visit as i have already exp'ed on pirate's in mistbeard cave, bore's eyebat's bats and humanoid mobs in mun tuy cellars. Fighting the red crabs in the LL region even the undead mobs in the mines in the thanalan region.

What I'm trying to say is SE should not have to hold your hand and place mobs in a certain level range per region to make you feel like you have progressed, but i do agree the zones needs more landmarks and such.

Well in general people are asking for more options. So instead of like in XI where you were almost forced to go to Qufim (although not really), you would have 3 Qufims in FFXIV. Instead of being forced to go to Kazham, you would have 3 Kazhams...of course all different looking all with their own music and their own monsters. I think this would still give the player a choice, people wouldn't all congregate to one zone and we'd all have our variety.

[Sigmakan]

watch the dev video "Link"

We need less barren/exact landscapes and more of those really diverse looking areas and landmarks.

At least we know who to blame for the terrible maps!

[Rowyne]

Thanks, and from what I have read of you and others as well you seem to see it the same way I do. We just need to stop think as the zones (like thanalan) as just 1 zone but a big region with multiple sub-zones that if designed differently from one another, we would not go into a depression thinking we are still in thanalan at higher levels. The big flaw is that regardless if you are rank 10 or 40, you still fight the same monsters and it's the same environment everywhere you look.

If they take OP's ideas from his sketches then you'd be fighting one type of mob, let's say squirrels and mushrooms from 1-10 in bentbranch in a woody type area, then you would make your way to emerald moss which would look like a thicket with maybe bigger bodies of water and you'd fight Yarzons and crabs from 10-15, then Tranquil which could be a thick forest and you'd fight Does and Lizards to get to level 20 and so on around the various SUB-zones of the shroud so that it would feel like you progress and you get to see new places (would actually help that if we would get a text when you reach different sub-zone). Then at 35 you could go to Coertas and Mor Dhana to get a similar progression within those region. There still could be remote places in the starting areas that could be way higher level for later.

Absolutely. I think this right here would solve a lot of issues. ^

[Perrin_Aybarra]

I haven't been following every single post in this thread but I'm really really glad to see something that everyone agrees on.

Forgive me if it's been suggested already as I likely missed it but I think there's more than just changing the world map that would need to be done.

I would also suggest that each mini zone have their own music. As you traveled through FFXI, the themes for each zone helped make them unique and memorable. There are so many unused tracks already I don't see why this wouldn't be possible if SE decides to fix this massive problem.

I agree that on top of a different design for each sub-zones, a different music would be more than helpfull to make them feel apart while still in the same big zone.

[Kiara]

Hi All,

Definitely an important topic that I hope Yoshida-san and the Dev Team notices.

Reading through all 32 pages (so far), it's clear this is a major dissatisfaction with many players.

As to "Why?" it was done this way, looking back on the game now, it clearly seems like they ran out of time and/or were also hoping to "re-use" assets as much as possible to save money and development time. The massive amount of copy & pasting is evident everywhere in The Black Shroud (seeing the same River Crossing, same Trees, same Shrubbery all over the place). You notice it in Thanalan and La Noscea as well.

What adds to the frustration and boredom of the environments is also the "re-use" of THE SAME MONSTERS as well. Here's one quick example:

How many Mushroom monsters (who look exactly alike) do we really need? We have:

* Forest Funguar (Rank 1)
* Faerie Funguar
* Fallgourd Funguar
* Fumbling Funguar
* Funguar
* Stumbling Funguar
* Queen Bolete
* Shrieker (Rank 50 - 54)

ALL IN THE SAME AREA! Huh?!

Do we really need 8 types of Mushrooms (that look exactly alike) to level and grind on, in the same area?

It's understandable that a development team re-uses some art assets (it's a classic RPG recurrence ("Red Enemy" "Blue Enemy" "Green Enemy")), but the above example just shows how badly Square was Copy & Pasting not only their Environments but the Enemies as well.

Someone thought this was a good idea to save time / get the game out, but as we can see from this thread, it was far too noticeable and a bad decision.

To be fair, there *are* some gorgeous "Landmarks" / Areas in the game, but they are too few and far between. If anyone wants to see some beautiful areas, check out Sorrel Haven (27, 38), for an absolutely GORGEOUS area that's different from the rest of The Black Shroud... that NO ONE goes to, or knows about, since it's completely out of the way.

Or "The Mirror" Lake area around Five Hangs. Unique and beautiful, and unusable due to Rank 99 Goblins.

Square also put in some more unique creatures like the Guivre model (also re-used as Banescale Guivre, Doomvoid Guivre, Fire Drake, Inferno Drake, etc.). Awesome creature... that is pretty much wasted because most versions of it are unbalanced for Rank 1 - 50). Morbol is a fun fight, but also wasted, being put into ~Rank 70 areas near Lynxpatch Pelt.

As others have said (and I sent an e-mail Week 2 to SE via Lodestone Customer Support), the lack of unique environments (and monsters) is just too depressing and needs to be addressed.

I remember Week 1, when I learned about Camp Bentbranch (Rank 1 area). I thought, "OK this is nice." Then a Local Leve (Crafting) sent me to Camp Nine Ivies and Camp Crimson Bark (basically Rank 50 areas). I snuck around and made it to both camps, only to be completely underwhelmed:

"They look EXACTLY like Camp Bentbranch, but smaller."

And, around those Highest Level Camps (since we're Rank 50 Cap), I'm greeted by... Dormouse (basically a Star Marmot, tiny rat creature), and Shrieker (another Mushroom creature that looks just like the Rank 1 Forest Funguar I've been fighting).

THAT was pretty depressing.

There are interesting places now in Mor Dhona with Ogres and Rainbow Basilisks, but they're not really suited to SP on (unbalanced). We definitely need to get our 3 core Nations' Areas cleaned up, adding more UNIQUE detail to make them stand out. I think the one area that really stands out from the blandness of the 3 major areas is:

* Cassiopeia Hollow

It's visually different and interesting, and really stands out from the rest of La Noscea. We need more distinct areas like that for our starter areas.

Here are some quick examples of what SE could do that would make the areas stand out more:

* The Black Shroud *

• Rank 1 - 10: Camp Bentbranch region (キャンプ・ベントプランチ) (same as it is now, but with less tunnels :P)
• Rank 11 - 20: Five Hangs region / Mirror Lake (鹿落五橋). Open it up more, but have a whole region be in and around a giant LAKE with Harbors, etc.
• Rank 21 - 30: Sorrel Haven (スカンボの安息所): It's a gorgeous area, with flowing Rivers and a GIANT MANA TREE! This is already in the game.
• Rank 21 - 30 (Alternate): The Tam Tara Deepcroft / Mun-Tuy Cellars (タムタラの墓所) (Dungeons). They're fine as is.

If they just directed us to these distinct areas and removed the Copy & Paste Clutter, that'd make for a far better experience than what we have now (with some beautifying, but overall it could work).


* La Noscea *

• Rank 1 - 10: Camp Bearded Rock (キャンプ・ビアデッドロック) region (as it is now).
• Rank 11 - 20: South Bloodshore BEACH (サウス・ブラッドショア). The lower level Beach area (expanded a bit more), would be a distinct, "ocean side" battle area, with a gorgeous view. It could be like a "Valkurm Dunes" area for XIV. There are quite a few Beach / Coastline areas that are currently too small and unused.
• Rank 21 - 30: Cassiopeia Hollow (浮海月の巌穴) - Unique and different as is, already.
• Rank 21 - 30 (Alternate): The Isles of Umbra (幻影諸島です) - If you've been to The Isles of Umbra, it's a BEAUTIFUL area, high above the lands, with cliffs and climbing areas and then the huge open view overlooking the oceans. If they made this area usable for this rank, that'd give a unique experience as well.

Remove the extra Copy & Paste Clutter of La Noscea and give us those areas above, expanded, and that's another area that SE can deliver to us without too much rework.


* Thanalan *

• Rank 1 - 10: Camp Black Brush (ブラックブラッシュ). It's fine as is, for a basic Desert Starter area.
• Rank 11 - 20: Nanawa Mines (ナナワ銀山) - It's a Mining Dungeon area. It's different from the outside areas and they can keep their work on this.
• Rank 11 - 20: The Footfalls (Deep Canyon Area) (足跡の谷) - If anyone's been to The Footfalls (it's found via the Lower Canyon area going to The Docks (to get to the Ferry from Limsa -> Ul'dah)), it's a deep Canyon area, with Tall, Mountainous Walls, and Ravines. If they developed this area out more, added some cool Nausicaa Overgrown Spore Foliage and made THAT the Rank 20 Camp, that'd stand out far more than Drybone.
• Rank 21 - 30: Burnt Lizard Creek (with MORE of the Temple Architecture) (リザードクリーク): If anyone's seen the Hidden Temple in a cave in Burnt Lizard Creek, it's BEAUTIFUL and completely unused. (>_>) If they developed out more of this hidden Temple Architecture and added it to the area around Burnt Lizard Creek and maybe added something like an Active VOLCANO with Flowing Lava, that'd be a great Rank 30 area that'd be visually distinct.

Again, just some quick examples, but with changes like the above (and removing the extra Copy & Pasted generic areas inbetween), we'd HAVE UNIQUE, INTERESTING AREAS TO LEVEL UP IN.

Instead it was as if someone on the old team decided, "Let's save those unique areas for later patches / level cap raise. We can get away with Copy & Pasting the same starter textures and geometry all over the 3 regions and it'll be fine."

Here's to hoping we get some changes with the coming 7th Umbral Age that was hinted at on Lodestone ("Storm Over Gridania"), and that SE listens to our pleas.

[Zahak]

Well in general people are asking for more options. So instead of like in XI where you were almost forced to go to Qufim (although not really), you would have 3 Qufims in FFXIV. Instead of being forced to go to Kazham, you would have 3 Kazhams...of course all different looking all with their own music and their own monsters. I think this would still give the player a choice, people wouldn't all congregate to one zone and we'd all have our variety.

I like the way you think Mack! Choices are always welcome. Just imagine all the places you could explore ranking up multiple classes if you took a different path for each.

[Siobu]

That was wonderful, Kiara! I love all of your ideas, thank you for taking the time to write all of it down for us. And I agree that the storm would be a perfect opportunity for change.

And to every one, I agree with music as well.

Our world can become so much more. We all see it.

[Perrin_Aybarra]

At least we know who to blame for the terrible maps!

you know what else too? lol

Is that at the top of the video it says "Game images shown are under development"... yet this is exactly what the world looks like today lol... it's so sad it makes me laugh.