Lackluster boat ride

[Aravou]

The boat ride is truly uninspired. Here are several things that could improve it.

1. Fix the graphics of the ocean. The boat ride is one of the few areas in the game where there is little more to render than the vast open waters of the sea. The development team should really go all out with the water FX here. Look at the ocean in Killzone 3. It's three dimensional, churning, and chaotic; not simply a flat plane with a DirectX 9 water shader applied. This should be THE zone SE shows us how amazing ocean water can be in a next-gen MMO.
2. Make the boat a part of the world. It is very disconnecting to see the boat dock in front of you, have the door open, and then not be able to board it. How about letting us board the boat and explore it while we wait for it to depart? Even better, why not let the boat depart the dock and travel for a bit before zoning? This would give players a nice opportunity to watch the shore fade into the distance; meanwhile, those on the shore could watch there friends go out to sea. Immersive.
3. The voyage itself should be interesting and fun. First thing, open up the entire boat for exploration. It's never fun when there is a door that won't open, or a place that's off limits. Why not fill the boat with little curiosities to peruse while traveling? Have special sea going monsters spawn on the deck during travel. This has been done before, so why not do it again, possibly even better than before? Out in the ocean, why not add things of interest such as other boats, little islands, glimpses of strange monsters just below the surf, and other objects the players could hope to catch a glimps of.

Please SE, significant work is needed to spruce up this incredibly lackluster "placeholder" of a boat ride that shipped upon release. I call it a "placeholder" because that is the only excuse I can come up with for how this was implemented into Final Fantasy XIV. I'm sure the developers had grander plans, but ran out of time.

[Abraxai]

The boat ride is truly uninspired. Here are several things that could improve it.

1. Fix the graphics of the ocean. The boat ride is one of the few areas in the game where there is little more to render than the vast open waters of the sea. The development team should really go all out with the water FX here. Look at the ocean in Killzone 3. It's three dimensional, churning, and chaotic; not simply a flat plane with a DirectX 9 water shader applied. This should be THE zone SE shows us how amazing ocean water can be in a next-gen MMO.
2. Make the boat a part of the world. It is very disconnecting to see the boat dock in front of you, have the door open, and then not be able to board it. How about letting us board the boat and explore it while we wait for it to depart? Even better, why not let the boat depart the dock and travel for a bit before zoning? This would give players a nice opportunity to watch the shore fade into the distance; meanwhile, those on the shore could watch there friends go out to sea. Immersive.
3. The voyage itself should be interesting and fun. First thing, open up the entire boat for exploration. It's never fun when there is a door that won't open, or a place that's off limits. Why not fill the boat with little curiosities to peruse while traveling? Have special sea going monsters spawn on the deck during travel. This has been done before, so why not do it again, possibly even better than before? Out in the ocean, why not add things of interest such as other boats, little islands, glimpses of strange monsters just below the surf, and other objects the players could hope to catch a glimps of.

Please SE, significant work is needed to spruce up this incredibly lackluster "placeholder" of a boat ride that shipped upon release. I call it a "placeholder" because that is the only excuse I can come up with for how this was implemented into Final Fantasy XIV. I'm sure the developers had grander plans, but ran out of time.

Genius. Just genius.

Like merging the FFXI Sea zones.. With under-water monsters. A Bibiki Bay style Mana clipper that passed nearby islands, and better graphics..

I agree entirely

[quantumsaint]

2. Make the boat a part of the world. It is very disconnecting to see the boat dock in front of you, have the door open, and then not be able to board it. How about letting us board the boat and explore it while we wait for it to depart? Even better, why not let the boat depart the dock and travel for a bit before zoning? This would give players a nice opportunity to watch the shore fade into the distance; meanwhile, those on the shore could watch there friends go out to sea. Immersive.

I think the reason that they don't let you board the boat is so it doesn't depart as you're running toward it, which would happen sometimes in FFXI. Immersive? Sure. Annoying? Definitely.

[Aravou]

I think the reason that they don't let you board the boat is so it doesn't depart as you're running toward it, which would happen sometimes in FFXI. Immersive? Sure. Annoying? Definitely.

I completely agree. We could easly have our cake and eat it too, however. They could intigrate the same system we have now, with the one suggested. Simply have those who have passed the gate teleported onto the boat at the moment of departure, thus leaving nobody behind and having a more immersive boat system.