The evolution of FFXIV

[Rithy255]

I feel so out of place as a paladin going through new zones & dungeons these days when people are walking up in casual glams taking selfies I feel goofy...

I wish it was less "tech based" they've gone too far in the tech direction while ignoring a lot of the core fantasy elements, ff14 feels more like a sci fi these days then a actual fantasy game.

[Daralii]

I feel so out of place as a paladin going through new zones & dungeons these days when people are walking up in casual glams taking selfies I feel goofy...

I wish it was less "tech based" they've gone too far in the tech direction while ignoring a lot of the core fantasy elements, ff14 feels more like a sci fi these days then a actual fantasy game.

It's not even a cohesive level of sci-fi. Allag and Garlemald both fit the idea of highly advanced civilizations still grounded in the context of the setting, and now Cosmic Exploration is a mix of Gundam and NASA. The Ninth's detritus isn't even coherent with itself, ranging from generic cyberpunk to Phantasy Star and plenty else.

[TKMXIV]

It's not even a cohesive level of sci-fi. Allag and Garlemald both fit the idea of highly advanced civilizations still grounded in the context of the setting, and now Cosmic Exploration is a mix of Gundam and NASA. The Ninth's detritus isn't even coherent with itself, ranging from generic cyberpunk to Phantasy Star and plenty else.

YES! This sums it up perfectly. Even Amaurot with its towering skyscrapers was grounded with their use of creation magic and crystals.
As for the little lops they also use Amaurot designs and themes with a rabbit twist. Even the Robots they made have a style that doesn't sync up with the Cosmic Exploration tec.
Plus, when the Loporrits do break away from Amaurot designs they choose fun and colorful designs. So why are they making things NASA style? They are not even putting rabbit ears on the new mount or little robot minion.
The only Loporrit thing I've seen so far is the Parasol.

I am still going off screenshots because I don't want to do the cosmic exploration story until after I help a friend with an NPC wedding. So, who knows maybe someone is collaring the Loporrits playful design style.

???: No! You will be NASA! Nothing else! But you can design a parasol and nothing more. Remember you are NASA now not magic moon rabbits. Be Thankful you not being swept under the rug and forgotten now that Endwalker is over.
Apathyway: Ok no fun colors or ears. Can we at least make a pocket for our friend's tails in the space suits?
???: No cut the tails off. But just to confuse them do custom helmets for the ears.

[Daralii]

YES! This sums it up perfectly. Even Amaurot with its towering skyscrapers was grounded with their use of creation magic and crystals.
As for the little lops they also use Amaurot designs and themes with a rabbit twist. Even the Robots they made have a style that doesn't sync up with the Cosmic Exploration tec.
Plus, when the Loporrits do break away from Amaurot designs they choose fun and colorful designs. So why are they making things NASA style? They are not even putting rabbit ears on the new mount or little robot minion.
The only Loporrit thing I've seen so far is the Parasol.

I am still going off screenshots because I don't want to do the cosmic exploration story until after I help a friend with an NPC wedding. So, who knows maybe someone is collaring the Loporrits playful design style.

???: No! You will be NASA! Nothing else! But you can design a parasol and nothing more. Remember you are NASA now not magic moon rabbits. Be Thankful you not being swept under the rug and forgotten now that Endwalker is over.
Apathyway: Ok no fun colors or ears. Can we at least make a pocket for our friend's tails in the space suits?
???: No cut the tails off. But just to confuse them do custom helmets for the ears.

Another aspect is that all the potentially spaceworthy technology they could have seen after going to Etheirys would have roots in Amaurot or Allag. Even if you expand that to Jammingway's experiences in Ultima Thule, you still get nothing that looks like what's being made.

[TKMXIV]

Another aspect is that all the potentially spaceworthy technology they could have seen after going to Etheirys would have roots in Amaurot or Allag. Even if you expand that to Jammingway's experiences in Ultima Thule, you still get nothing that looks like what's being made.

The only thing close to it would be the biggest shark jump the spaceship Ragnarok. But Ragnarok's design looks more advanced than the Cosmic stuff.
The Ragnarok looks so out of place next to everything else Sharlayan has made that I try and forget about it as much as possible.

And to touch on solution 9. It is from another kind of reality? So, I can believe in the fantasy of it a fair bit. It's mostly just with how Dawntrail MSQ was done poorly I'm a bit lost.
Ok so they have medieval kingdoms. They find magic lightning rocks and maybe the Ascians pushed them a little so that is why Living Memory has a touch of Amaurot like buildings hidden under the glam.
However, they somehow managed to become the most advanced thing despite their world ending. Even the Omicrons are outdated next to them. Wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff can only do so much to dismiss logical progression of events.

Last thing I'll rant on a little is AAC M8. It screams Phantasy Star so much I would believe it if someone said it was a crossover fight like the Rathalos. Nothing about it says Solution 9.
It is pure Phantasy Star from the way the boss looks the music the battlefield. It all captures that space fantasy Phantasy Star is known for. Kind of like the Ragnarok.
For the theme of Solution 9's culture it just comes off as so out of place. Don't get me wrong I love the fight the setting and the music. But that is because I like Phantasy Star.

[Hallarem]

It's not even a cohesive level of sci-fi. Allag and Garlemald both fit the idea of highly advanced civilizations still grounded in the context of the setting, and now Cosmic Exploration is a mix of Gundam and NASA. The Ninth's detritus isn't even coherent with itself, ranging from generic cyberpunk to Phantasy Star and plenty else.

This is the main issue that the "But FFXIV always had scifi" - defenders always conveniently shut their ears and eyes from.

Scifi isn't bad, it's not about not having a full "fantasy" FFXIV. It's about do the inserts MAKE SENSE or follow the worldbuilding and cohesive point of view. We went from magical unattainable allagan tech that fiddled with magic and science, to scrappy magitek that wasn't even near levels of the allagan tech but derived from it.
To suddenly modern day scifi references, the devs favorite gundam references, and a full blown cyberpunk reference (copy), and now star trek combined with all that. Not to mention the ludicrous fact that Electrope just can do anything the writers want it to do.

Endwalker ruined the worldbuilding, and it's been marching to the grave ever since.

[Minneyar]

We went from magical unattainable allagan tech that fiddled with magic and science, to scrappy magitek that wasn't even near levels of the allagan tech but derived from it.
To suddenly modern day scifi references, the devs favorite gundam references, and a full blown cyberpunk reference (copy), and now star trek combined with all that.

Really does feel like I'm being forced to participate in some dev's anime hyperfixation of the season with items released/story updates.

[Underscore]

It's not even a cohesive level of sci-fi. Allag and Garlemald both fit the idea of highly advanced civilizations still grounded in the context of the setting, and now Cosmic Exploration is a mix of Gundam and NASA. The Ninth's detritus isn't even coherent with itself, ranging from generic cyberpunk to Phantasy Star and plenty else.

The "punk" part of cyberpunk doesn't even make sense within the setting of Alexandria. That kind of aesthetic and cultural attitude doesn't come out of nowhere just because the technology is advanced enough.

This isn't a futuristic capitalist dystopia, it's an idyllic kingdom ruled by a universally beloved queen where everyone lives equally in luxury apartments with all their needs met, never having to worry about death from unnatural causes. It's like the devs wanted the surface level aesthetics of cyberpunk but didn't understand the point behind it.

[Mawlzy]

The "punk" part of cyberpunk doesn't even make sense within the setting of Alexandria. That kind of aesthetic and cultural attitude doesn't come out of nowhere just because the technology is advanced enough.

This isn't a futuristic capitalist dystopia, it's an idyllic kingdom ruled by a universally beloved queen where everyone lives equally in luxury apartments with all their needs met, never having to worry about death from unnatural causes. It's like the devs wanted the surface level aesthetics of cyberpunk but didn't understand the point behind it.

Completely agree with this. When we first got to S9 I was excited because I figured we were going down a cyberpunk path. But instead of William Gibson we got Jane Carruth.

[DreadCrow]

The "punk" part of cyberpunk doesn't even make sense within the setting of Alexandria. That kind of aesthetic and cultural attitude doesn't come out of nowhere just because the technology is advanced enough.

This isn't a futuristic capitalist dystopia, it's an idyllic kingdom ruled by a universally beloved queen where everyone lives equally in luxury apartments with all their needs met, never having to worry about death from unnatural causes. It's like the devs wanted the surface level aesthetics of cyberpunk but didn't understand the point behind it.

As someone who's actually into the punk scene...

The vast majority of cyberpunk (and pretty much all the other something-punk genres) isn't actually "punk", in ethos. I mean, Ghost in the Shell is one of the most iconic pieces of the genre... And well, it follows cops. Who are presented as good. That's pretty much the most unpunk thing I can think of.