Revelations from Fan Festival 2017 Frankfurt

[Rocl]

Maybe Yugiri just has issues with metaphors, guys.

[Anonymoose]

this still doesn't make sense.

Disclaimer: The following is my personal interpretation going by what is known right now.
It could change with new information of commentary by the development team.

I take it less as a metaphor and more as a misunderstanding of a noun. Specifically, a "nation" is not just one thing. It is a physical location, a governing body, a sovereign entity, and in the minds of many of its citizens, a state of being - a culture, a set of values and beliefs, customs, traditions. There are lots of ways these things can change, including by force.

This is a big theme with the upcoming expansion. Take Ala Mhigo, for example. What Ala Mhigo is will be different to someone who was born there ten years ago and someone who was chased from it in 1557. Some believe that the "true" Ala Mhigo lives on only in the Resistance. Some believe that the "true" Ala Mhigo was saved from destroying itself (albeit brutally) through Garlean law and order. (Let's refrain from a debate about the accuracy of this belief, for now.)

Yugiri is as biased as Yda when it comes to Garlemald. She's Doman Resistance, through and through. When she says Doma is dead, I believe that she is representing one definition of "nation"; the one she feels is more important. Let me break down the language as far as I can:

この世には IN THIS WORLD すでに ALREADY / TOO LATE ドマ DOMA という SAID / CALLED THUS 都市は CITY 存在せぬ DOES NOT EXIST。

The city called Doma no longer exists in this world.

"This world" could be literal (physical planet) or in the status quo of how things are (the geopolitical climate, that point in time, etc.)

帝国 THE EMPIRE による DUE TO 粛清 POLITICAL PURGE により DUE TO 、 文字どおり LITERALLY 滅亡したのだ HAS BEEN DESTROYED / MADE EXTINCT

Because of the political purges conducted by the Empire, it is literally [completely destroyed / extinct / utterly perished].

As far as she is concerned, the utter destruction of the Resistance and the massive series of executions that purged people who believed in the same Doma she did... those actions have extinguished the soul of Doma. The city, to her, has been destroyed.

Going by the fact that Doma clearly still exists, going by yesterday's presentation, it appears that a combination of Yugiri's bias and a choice of phrasing ("razed to the ground") that didn't age well seems to be the culprit for our confusion. Yugiri seemed to mean that the physical location was destroyed, whereas in reality, while a lot of people were killed and the Resistance was utterly annihilated, Doma is still a place ... just not the one she knew.

To her, a territory of the Empire is masquerading as her beloved city - and that city has well and truly died.

Maybe Yugiri just has issues with metaphors, guys.

"Yugiri, you said this place didn't exist anymore."
"You know what I meant!"
"That's not how Eorzean language works!"
"Ohhh, my Twelve, I am literally going to explode."
"See, you're doing it aga—"
MIJIN GAKURE'D

[Enkidoh]

Personally I'm still taking Yugiri's statement about Doma being destroyed literally - after all the new trailer did not actually show Doma itself at all, it was merely pointed to on a map, and then the trailer dived underwater and showed the Underwater Shrine and proceeded to Kugane, which, again if you take special notice of the new map, seems to be an entirely separate citystate to Doma (the proof is on the map - both have different crests beside their names, with Doma's being the Chinese/Japanese character that the Doman refugees in Eorzea had emblazoned on their outfits, where as Kugane's crest is a triple orb symbol).

Also this neatly explains why Yugiri and the Domans fled to Eorzea instead of Kugane after Garlemald crushed their rebellion in the wake of the War of Succession - Kugane is still occupied by the Empire even if it has an 'open port' policy, it would have been far too dangerous to seek sanctuary in for the insurrectionists (judging by the trailer Kugane's troops seem to be Garlean Quislings based on that it seems Garlean imagery is emblazoned on their helmets and that they are not only equipped with guns but also katana as well), so Eorzea, from what we know the only remaining 'free' realm not already under the Garlean jackboot, was an obvious choice for asylum. And the rest is history.

Yes we've been told we're "going to Doma", but that could just be shorthand for "we're going to the Far East!" I know that's splitting hairs, but to me this does help answer all these questions while keeping within already established lore and ideas.

EDIT: and a final point to remember which leads even more firmly into the 'Doma is destroyed' camp is remember that Doma's FFVI namesake was also destroyed by an Empire (by Kefka poisoning the city's water supply), so FFXIV Doma would only be in keeping with this (as sad and unfortunate as it is).

[ZhaneX]

Doma was shown during the Keynote.

It looked fine.

It's been years and years since Yugiri and the Domans first fled the city. Plenty of time for the Imperial Occupiers to have rebuilt any damage they may have inflicted in their initial occupation.
You really think that they'd just leave a burning ruin forever in their territory, rather than properly repurpose it? That's just stupid.

[Rocl]

You know if Doma is populated I have a really bad feeling about an 'evil' Empire and its closeness to the One River....

[PArcher]

Something else, just because the city is marked on the map doesn't mean its there as a settled place anymore.

Sharlayan had (has) the same marker on the old Eorzean map (current one in-game), but is definitely not a city-state at the time of AAR (and still isn't technically, and has been renamed too). The marker has been updated on the new map, although its still labeled as Sharlayan for some reason...

[faiarrow]

Snip.

Glad I was able to help out with this. It's a contextual snafu (one of many) but as I explained to others who were confused about it last night on twitter: to Garlemald a city especially of that size is an asset for keeping control. They wouldn't get rid of it. But they'd expunge the festering 'pests' that had just rebelled. Lore book also confirms that the JP text regarding Doma's 'destruction' is solely from that of the people and its culture being wiped out -- public executions of resistance members and their families was a big thing when Garlemald marched right back into Doma and quashed them down after their victory at reclaiming the city and its palaces.

[Catapult]

An additional item of Lore from the Art Design panel.
Yoshida emphasised the need for the art of Omega to appear alien, and the graphical imagery was very deliberately intended to be shown as emerging into our world from somewhere else.

What does this mean? It strongly indicates that Omega is not of Allagan make, even if it's husk is said to be buried in Allagan ruins.

[alimdia]

This is the name used for omega



Interdimensional Rift Omega, so he's not from this dimension.

Which leads us to the second term, the place where you fight him, The Bend of Time http://chrono.wikia.com/wiki/Bend_of_Time

My theory is that he crossed to our dimension during the Allagan era and the Allagans tried to control him, and for whatever reason decided not to use him again and buried him, maybe they couldn't control him but managed to deactivate him.

[YianKutku]

To her, a territory of the Empire is masquerading as her beloved city - and that city has well and truly died.

By that token, is it even possible to liberate Doma and return it to what Yugiri would consider "alive" again? Unlike what we've heard from the Ala Mhigans scattered around Eorzea regarding their home city, Yugiri's words heavily imply that there's nothing left to liberate.

This might well be part of the themes behind the expansion: Ala Mhigo, whose scattered citizens largely dream of retaking, versus Doma, whose refugees have written her off as a lost cause.

Also, I would imagine that Yugiri's fellow Doman refugees would mention something if Yugiri didn't mean the city was literally destroyed, as opposed to figuratively. However, I can't remember if they had any dialogue on that matter; it's possible the topic simply never comes up, and we're left with our misunderstandings.

It's been years and years since Yugiri and the Domans first fled the city. Plenty of time for the Imperial Occupiers to have rebuilt any damage they may have inflicted in their initial occupation.

Has it been years? The time bubble makes it hard to confirm.

Having said that, apparently the Garlean Engineering Corps can work miracles if needed, such as erecting gigantic fortresses deep in Eorzean territory, so I would assume rebuilding a city in an astonishingly short period of time to be well within their capabilities.