Geography of ARR vs. 1.0

[Enkidoh]

In a nutshell, it's pretty much completely different. In fact, the whole technical reason for "bringing Dalamud down" (to paraphrase Yoshi's own words), was to provide a narrative reason for redesigning the maps, as the original maps and geography of Eorzea was one of the major negative points about 1.0 that players mentioned. Of course, the end result is a number of 1.0 players are now wondering whether they made a mistake, now thinking that 1.0 zones might have been better, but that's life I guess - they made this monster, now they can't complain that it's stomped on a city.

Having said that, there have been some odd geographical changes that simply can't be explained by Dalamud's fall - for instance, in the Central Shroud, the location of Lifemend Stump is in a completely different place to where it was in 1.0 (in 1.0 it was actually north-west of Gridania, along the Furline to what was Camp Emerald Moss (which doesn't exist in ARR). Now it's in a little spot to the east of Gridania, with no explanation as to the change, other than simply retconning it.

Gridania itself doesn't escape from this, specifically the changed location of Stillglade Fane, which in 1.0 used to be in the top left north-west corner of the city (and accessed by a long and winding tunnel), where as now in ARR it's been plonked pretty much where the old aethertye used to be in 1.0. So yeah, a lot of things have definitely been changed, some with no logic as to how it even happened.

[BobbinT]

they made this monster, now they can't complain that it's stomped on a city.

I never ask for it. In fact, I wanna stay at the old Eorzea. I was really heartbroken when SE finally shut down server for good in Dec 31, 2012. ; ;

I really miss old Coerthas, and especially... the old Shroud. ><

Almost everything.
The zones in 1.0 were bigger, but they were empty for the most part (not even monsters in some places) and their layout was just a number of copy-pasted pieces.

Just compare this map section from 1.0, a part of Thanalan,



With this map of Thanalan

wrong comparison. The 1.0 picture above are eastern Thanalan, while the ARR version you put below are central Thanalan. lol

[Alenore]

I never ask for it. In fact, I wanna stay at the old Eorzea. I was really heartbroken when SE finally shut down server for good in Dec 31, 2012. ; ;

I really miss old Coerthas, and especially... the old Shroud. ><

As much as I miss the landscape the old Coerthas offered, who in his right mind could miss these tunnels-in-forest shrouds?!

That said, most maps were really changed, while keeping the same overall design. Take Coerthas or even that Eastern Thanalan map from 1.0 poster before, they're very similar. A few spots changed, but everything is roughly where it should be.

[BobbinT]

As much as I miss the landscape the old Coerthas offered, who in his right mind could miss these tunnels-in-forest shrouds?!

Ever been in real forest sonny? And not the one in parks. lol

Cause I did, and got lost there too. Which is why the old Shroud really reminds me of that experience. XD

[Alenore]

Ever been in real forest sonny? And not the one in parks. lol

Cause I did, and got lost there too. Which is why the old Shroud really reminds me of that experience. XD

A real forest isn't made of paths carved in the ground with wall of trees around you. They're wild and unpredictable. Not vegetation corridors.

[Kyana]

wrong comparison. The 1.0 picture above are eastern Thanalan, while the ARR version you put below are central Thanalan. lol

I think I missed the point where I said that these maps show the same zone/area. Help me find it please.
No matter which zone you look at, the difference will be the same, so keep your lols for yourself please.

[Rasenore]

I think I missed the point where I said that these maps show the same zone/area. Help me find it please.
No matter which zone you look at, the difference will be the same, so keep your lols for yourself please.

That's just silly, though. When you draw a comparison to show changes to a place, you should be comparing the new version with the old. I could share Southern Thanalan and compare it with modern Central Thanalan, and they'd look really different, even though Legacy Southern Thanalan was different to how the other maps in Thanalan were.

As for the pictures you showed, if you compare the old Central Thanalan with the new one, there's still some resemblance. Not as much as Central Highlands in Coerthas, but you can see they used the original as a base to work with. Similarly, Eastern Thanalan may look really different, but if you split it in half, it's a little more like ARR's Eastern Thanalan. The lower half? That's actually now part of ARR's Southern Thanalan.

The geography is definitely different, with crevices, canyons, and mountains that didn't exist before or no longer exist, but there are still clear traces of them usually being the same place, minus the odd location change. It's also worth noting that the maps only tell half of the story. I think the easiest example would be Old Gridania. The lower area near Greatloam Growery was there in the original, but inaccessible (and thus not on the map). Similarly, the entrance to the cave that lead to Stillglade Fane and the Amphitheatre are sealed off by a cave in, the paths still visible, but is what has lead to their movement.

So no, the difference will not be the same.

[Akoree]

Of course, the end result is a number of 1.0 players are now wondering whether they made a mistake, now thinking that 1.0 zones might have been better, but that's life I guess - they made this monster, now they can't complain that it's stomped on a city.

Nobody actually "misses" the old maps. Back in 1.0 nearly 100% of the population agreed that the maps were boring hallways of copy/pasted terrain filled with random monsters placed there for no other purpose than to grind. There were a few areas like the red labyrinth who actually had some sort of "unique" feature such as have red rocks that that's where it ended. Some people here on the forums still claim they miss 1.0 but I assure you that, when those people aren't trolling, it is only nostalgia fueling their words and that none of them would really rather play 1.0 than what we have right now even if they wouldn't admit it.

[Phyllo]

Gridania itself doesn't escape from this, specifically the changed location of Stillglade Fane, which in 1.0 used to be in the top left north-west corner of the city (and accessed by a long and winding tunnel), where as now in ARR it's been plonked pretty much where the old aethertye used to be in 1.0. So yeah, a lot of things have definitely been changed, some with no logic as to how it even happened.

Actually, if you look carefully where the old fane used to be, you can see that the entrance is blocked by boulders.
It didn't magically moved to the old Aetheryte plaza, they just dug another cave to make the new fane where the now destroyed aetherite used to be

But aside from that one... Yeah a lot of landmark magically moved like the gelmorra ruins