Animated World Objects [Can I have them?]

[Fayette]

People say they hate the shroud, that it is all copy/paste with winding passages. Yes it has long winding passages but did anyone ever stop to look? I was exploring up around the Five Hangs node near Bentbranch and the detail they put up there with the forest, the canopy, the water, flowers, heck there is even a dock up there and it has some gorgeous areas to just sit and relax. The water scenes around the dock there and around the bridges are beautiful places that I doubt many people ever bothered to explore. I just wish we could fish up there ^^

With the redesign of the maps they are doing, I just hope they leave those areas untouched because I would be very sad to see them changed just because of a few complaints!

More on topic: I would love some more animated objects around the world but I can see their reluctance to tax people's computers even more in loading such fluff. I do miss seeing some npc's walking around and outside town. In FFXI, Sandy had that little boy by the AH running back and forth and it also had the guards going up and down the paths to the other gate guards saying "All's clear" or something.

Maybe in the future they can add Chocobo carriages that move along the roads with NPC's on them and/or NPC's walking along the roads carrying things on their backs just to make the world feel more traveled.

[camjay]

With the redesign of the maps they are doing, I just hope they leave those areas untouched because I would be very sad to see them changed just because of a few complaints!

No worries. In that interview that Reinhart translated, they definately state that they aren't just going to throw away the current towns and designs. They'll be overhauled yes, and largely redone, but I'm willing to bet the spots that are actually unique and enjoyable right now as they are will be left alone. And should be, obviously.

Anyway I agree wholeheartedly with this thread. Birds/non-attackable animals running and flying around would be really cool. Another thing I think would be neat to see in the future is a climbing system, and some rope ladders or just ladders scattered about throughout the world, allowing us to say, climb up the outside of a tower in Limsa Lominsa and see the view from the top, or just hang out up there. Haha... Yeah... Would be nice. Hopefully! We'll see.

As for your comment about the physics engine, as far as I know, there wouldn't be any sort of performance impact whether or not something was animating or stationary. The polys have to be rendered either way. The physics engine is already there, so utilizing it would just mean not wasting having the engine in place. Hopefully that made sense! Lol. 4 AM here.
Walking/whistling/wandering NPC's sounds like a great idea too! Good thinkin'. It all boils down to having a more realistic ambiance. And I support that 120%!