(Spoiler) About amaurots downfall

[Iscah]

I'm not convinced Eulmore is Limsa, geographically.

We land on the eastern shore of Kholusia, and Eulmore is at the southern tip.

It seems more like Moraby / Oschon's Torch to me, although the geography is hard to match up and the giant cliff can't be placed equivalent to anything in La Noscea. (The cliff at Summerford was caused by the recent Calamity - and facing the wrong direction in any case.)

Unless the entire southeast section of the island collapsed somehow, I guess.

[Edax]

I'm not convinced Eulmore is Limsa, geographically.

We land on the eastern shore of Kholusia, and Eulmore is at the southern tip.

It seems more like Moraby / Oschon's Torch to me, although the geography is hard to match up and the giant cliff can't be placed equivalent to anything in La Noscea. (The cliff at Summerford was caused by the recent Calamity - and facing the wrong direction in any case.)

Unless the entire southeast section of the island collapsed somehow, I guess.

Their locations are so similar according to the maps that I think it's a very safe bet this is intentional on the part of the devs. It's mentioned in the wiki that Limsa Lominsa was only built in the Sixth Astral Era out of the remains of the ship Galadion, so the architecture can't be pre-sundered.

[Alleluia]

I got the impression it's just the result of being an alternate of the prime dimension. These worlds are referred to as "reflections" so I'm guess they intentionally made the styles similar since the geography is almost identical minus what damage the cataclysms did.

The reflections bit is kind of my point, though. Am Areng and Thanalan are both deserts, Raktikka and Gridania are super forests, Il Mheg and Ceorthas are both highlands. This is b/c, though the areas differ in details due to calamities and such (especially Il Mheg and post-Bahamut Coerthas), they are still reflections of the same continent that existed on the primary world and their geography, and the resulting local climates, are similar as a result. The land on both the source and the first has a "common ancestor" in the primary world, so to speak.

So, if we can agree that Limsa and Eulmore have common architecture, then there are two possibilities. One, its an artistic choice with no lore basis. Or two, Limsa and Eulmore's civilizations, or at least their architectural style, have a common ancestor back in the primary world they both were copied from. I just wish I'd asked which it was.

Their locations are so similar according to the maps that I think it's a very safe bet this is intentional on the part of the devs. It's mentioned in the wiki that Limsa Lominsa was only built in the Sixth Astral Era out of the remains of the ship Galadion, so the architecture can't be pre-sundered.

The Galadion wasn't made of stone, but a good portion of Limsa is, so clearly its not all from the Galadion. There could very well have been prexisting structures, either in that spot or somewhere else on the island, that they observed and imitated.

Also Iscah is right about the locations. Eumore is directly south off the bottom tip of not!Vylbrand, right in the area where the island that houses Moraby Drydocks is. And Mt. Gulg (which I'm 99% sure is the reflective counterpart to Mt. O'Ghomorro) is directly north of it, which matches its placement on the island of Vylbrand neatly. Limsa is on the southeast coast of Vylbrand, with more coastline definitively continuing south of it before it snakes around to Moraby and Red Rooster Stead. Moraby Drydocks' island is directly south of Mt. O'Ghmorro, too, like Eulmore. Whereas you have to leave Limsa and go east inland a bit to be directly south of O'Ghmorro.

[YianKutku]

I got the impression it's just the result of being an alternate of the prime dimension. These worlds are referred to as "reflections" so I'm guess they intentionally made the styles similar since the geography is almost identical minus what damage the cataclysms did.

Yeah, it's one of those "oh my, so convenient" lore preparations that any similarities can be attributed to twelve thousand years being nothing in geological time, and any differences can be attributed to "Calamities changed the Source".

For example, the Fourth Calamity is said to have earthquakes that "cracked continents", so presumably at least one of the continents on the Source had been "cracked". Not to mention the long-term climate changes wrought from Calamities like the Third (global warming into droughts) or Fifth (ice age).

[Atamis]

I'm not convinced Eulmore is Limsa, geographically.

I do believe they are using the 1.0 map for much inspiration in the first. As you can see from the attached map, the 1.0 Lower La Noscea looks extremely similar, they added the ladder and gave access to the above cliff, the southern bay is of course way off geographically, instead there are small housing islands where the mountains in the 1.0 area were wich i suppose could be explained as mud and debris from the sixth calamity. The hollow lines up with the dwarven area, and Mt Gulg could be the northern mountain southwest of wineport on the map.

[Apoptomon]

Being rather literal minded (as might perhaps be gleaned from my other posts here), that Eulmore = Limsa thing kind of bugged me too, lol, and I had trouble seeing why people were getting minds blown about rock columns in vylbrand and mine tunnels in thanalan. Thematically, sure. Physically not so much.

The shard correlations are definitely something I'd love to see explored further in terms of in-game canon (i think there was a casual mention of the lake but not much more). On that note I thought it mildly interesting that the hand-drawn maps for both have identical coastlines, islands and counterpart location placements despite the supposed differences (although this may just be a case of tracing the original eorzean map as is the case with the Hydaelyn-from-space texture). Then on the other hand the zones themselves basically don't correlate at all, though they of course are 'abstracted' from reality for gameplay purposes.

As for Amaurot, I'd love to know where it would have sat when above the water, and by extension which body of water was "the pond" that other troubled nations where located across. - ie did the calamity start in the New World? Meracydia? One of the Three great continents? I hope that gets explored from the source side in future patches, too.

[QT_Melon]

I'd just figure it was something inherit in architect's soul if it was from an individual or, just that you're gonna reach similar conclusions construction wise due to location on what to build.

Like say the source soul always enjoyed and had a strong affinity to that location no matter how many times reborn and will build similar structures.

[YianKutku]

I'd just figure it was something inherit in architect's soul if it was from an individual or, just that you're gonna reach similar conclusions construction wise due to location on what to build.

Like say the source soul always enjoyed and had a strong affinity to that location no matter how many times reborn and will build similar structures.

Personally my (unsupported) opinion is that it is indeed just that geography and location means certain areas are much more "logical" places to build a large settlement. Close to large bodies of water (whether ocean or river), easy foundations, nexus of trade routes, abundant nearby resources, so on and so forth. And again, Calamities on the Source might mean that certain geographical features got changed, but others did not, so the devs can justify everything.

I'm actually curious if there are cities and large settlements on the First where Calamities on the Source had rendered the area less optimal. For example, Mhach was in a good enough spot to turn into one of the superpowers of the Fifth Astral Era, but their current location in the Seventh Astral Era is a swamp, due to the Sixth Calamity. Was there some similar (if probably not as powerful, lacking Black Magic) nation in that same area prior to the Flood of Light? Or was it all rolled into Ronka, which, based on location, might have been supposed to take the geographical place of Amdapor?

[Edax]

I'm actually curious if there are cities and large settlements on the First where Calamities on the Source had rendered the area less optimal. For example, Mhach was in a good enough spot to turn into one of the superpowers of the Fifth Astral Era, but their current location in the Seventh Astral Era is a swamp, due to the Sixth Calamity.

The Crystalium is a good example. From what I've learn from city building simulators and Civilization V, one of the most important places to build thriving city is in an area with access to plenty of fresh water. In the First, you have Lakeland which supports the Crystalium, while in the Source you have the poisoned land of Mor Dhona, ruined by the Seventh Umbral Calamity. I think it's implied that Mor Dhona was formerly a central part of the Allagan Empire but I suspect it would be impossible to have a self-sustaining city there now.

[Rocl]

While it doesn't necessarily change your point, I feel like making clear that Mor Dhona was not ruined by the Seventh Umbral Calamity, but instead by the Battle of Silvertear Skies some years prior. It featured "breathtaking scenery" and a bunch of inns before Midgardsormr slammed the Agrius into the Lake.

Unspoiled Mor Dhona actually features in the opening CGI for 1.0, where the Warrior of Light fights along companions in an Echo vision against a morbol moments before the Empire invades and does battle with the wyrm.