One to Fifty, One Zone - Long OP

[Kiara]

Adding my reply from another thread in this original one.

In response to Yoshida-san asking us to discuss how they'll redesign the areas, on the highest level for the Area / Map Redesign:

• The current massive "1 Area" per Nation (Thanalan, The Black Shroud, La Noscea), should be broken up into Smaller Areas (thematically, design-wise, artistically).

• The Smaller Areas should coincide with Player Progression: Rank 1 - 10 is Smaller Area A; Rank 11 - 20 is Smaller Area B; Rank 21 - 30 is Smaller Area C, etc.

• Each Smaller Area should be Visually Distinct, Thematically Different, but still provide a sense of a cohesive world. For example, in FF XI, Crawler's Nest and Rolanberry Fields were very different and distinct, but it was believable that they both could coexist in the same region.

• There should be some noticeable and unique Landmarks in these Smaller Areas. These "Landmarks" can be anything from a massive Crashed Airship (like Mor Dhona), to a unique type of Magical Vegetation that only grows in that area, to a Giant Waterfall, to an area that is the ONLY home of a type of a creature (e.g., Black Mandragoras!).

• Send the players out to other lands as they progress further in the game: Don't let us be stuck in Thanalan, La Noscea or The Black Shroud forever. The game should encourage and push the player to progress not only through distinctive Smaller Areas within the Region, but also send them out to other Continents / Major Areas (like send them to Coerthas or Mor Dhona or future Lands like our version of Sky or Sea).

Now as to specifically how the team might change the Geography and/or Design of each Area as they develop it (as Yoshida-san is asking us to discuss)...

• They could use some of the more distinctive, beautiful areas in the game that are currently wasted because they are filled with Rank 60+ Mobs that are too dangerous to SP on (or are places that are too far away). Here are some examples I posted earlier, around Page 30+:

* The Black Shroud *

• Rank 1 - 10: Camp Bentbranch region (キャンプ・ベントプランチ) (same as it is now, but with less tunnels :P)
• Rank 11 - 20: Five Hangs region / Mirror Lake (鹿落五橋). Open it up more, but have a whole region be in and around a GIANT LAKE with Harbors, etc.
• Rank 21 - 30: Sorrel Haven (スカンボの安息所): It's a gorgeous area, with flowing Rivers and a GIANT MANA TREE! This is already in the game.
• Rank 21 - 30 (Alternate): The Tam Tara Deepcroft / Mun-Tuy Cellars (タムタラの墓所) (Dungeons). They're fine as is.

* La Noscea *

• Rank 1 - 10: Camp Bearded Rock (キャンプ・ビアデッドロック) region (as it is now).
• Rank 11 - 20: South Bloodshore BEACH (サウス・ブラッドショア). The lower level Beach area (expanded a bit more), would be a distinct, "ocean side" battle area, with a gorgeous view. It could be like a "Valkurm Dunes" area for XIV. There are quite a few Beach / Coastline areas that are currently too small and unused.
• Rank 21 - 30: Cassiopeia Hollow (浮海月の巌穴) - Unique and different as is, already in the game.
• Rank 21 - 30 (Alternate): The Isles of Umbra (幻影諸島です) - If you've been to The Isles of Umbra, it's a BEAUTIFUL area, high above the lands, with cliffs and climbing areas and then the huge open view overlooking the oceans. If they made this area usable for this rank, that'd give a unique experience as well.

* Thanalan *

• Rank 1 - 10: Camp Black Brush (ブラックブラッシュ). It's fine as is, for a basic Desert Starter area.
• Rank 11 - 20: Nanawa Mines (ナナワ銀山) - It's a Mining Dungeon area. It's different from the outside areas and they can keep their work on this.
• Rank 11 - 20: The Footfalls (Deep Canyon Area) (足跡の谷) - If anyone's been to The Footfalls (it's found via the Lower Canyon area going to The Docks (to get to the Ferry from Limsa -> Ul'dah)), it's a deep Canyon area, with Tall, Mountainous Walls, and Ravines. If they developed this area out more, added some cool Nausicaa Overgrown Spore Foliage and made THAT the Rank 20 Camp, that'd stand out far more than Drybone.
• Rank 21 - 30: Burnt Lizard Creek (with MORE of the Temple Architecture) (リザードクリーク): If anyone's seen the Hidden Temple in a cave in Burnt Lizard Creek, it's BEAUTIFUL and completely unused. (>_>) If they developed out more of this hidden Temple Architecture and added it to the area around Burnt Lizard Creek and maybe added something like an Active VOLCANO with Flowing Lava, that'd be a great Rank 30 area that'd be visually distinct.

Besides those quick examples of re-using current areas (but moving them around geographically), the team could also:

• Create brand-new Environments / Textures / Themes to really make Zone Progression stand out. Examples:
  • Thanalan: Start out with Desert.
  • Then progress to an Aetheryte / Magic-Infused Crystal Mining Area (a completely distinctive more "enchanted / fantasy" instead of the brown, normal Nanawa Mines.
  • Active Volcano with Flowing Lava in another Smaller Area.
  • Gridania: Start out in the basic Forest area.
  • Then progress to an Elemental Energy-infused portion of the Forest that stands out from the earlier area, like this from Final Fantasy X:
    
    http://www.gamespot.com/ps2/rpg/fina...5/?full_size=1

And also, for the Zone Redesigns, I hope Team Yoshida is also considering:

• Monster Placement and Layout. This goes hand-in-hand with the Zone Redesign, as right now, you see Star Marmots everywhere. You see Coblyns all over Thanalan. You see Dodos or Aldgoats throughout La Noscea and Thanalan, really adding a sense of "sameness" without being distinct.
  
  Right now, you see a Rank 1 Mushroom at the start of Gridania, and you see a Rank 40+ Mushroom that looks exactly the same at higher level camps like Crimson Bark.

I hope we see Drakes / Guivres be selectively and distinctively used to really set apart an area, so that when we see them, we feel like, "Oh wow, XYZ is home of the Inferno Drakes! Cool!" instead of seeing Drakes / Guivres in every single region.

No matter what, I look forward to the major redesign that's happening! Keep up the good work Yoshida-san & Team!

[Seirra_Lanzce]

@kiara, sound just like what the OP said in this thread... . just sayin'

[Mimmo]

gonna keep bumping this thread up until the new regions are delivered

[Synfrag]

Ditto! The zones are simply too big, we need to keep focus on this.

There is a lot of terrain features that could really be utilized and simply re-textured and hinted at without breaking much of the actual modeling. Take the branches of the city state areas as most of them branch out and make them your 30s breakdown as suggested. So 1-30 in each of the starting areas but spaced much further out instead of all along the same road and then diversify the surroundings. 30-40 takes longer than 20-30 hopefully so that 10 level range breaks up into 2~3 camps of Mor Dhona or Coerthas. The same thing then 40-50 in another region. Then add in alternates as expansions to what already exists.

Finally to polish it all up add 100s of NMs in all those nooks and crannies every damn where so there is a reward for adventuring off into these places. Make pseudo-NMs that maybe drop a large quantity of shards or something slightly better than the normal mobs so they aren't "Camp" worthy but a nice treat to find. Then fit them (visually) to the cave, maw, peninsula, cliff or whatever have you. Maybe a mole den with holes everywhere and a lesser mole NM or a overgrown area with a lesser lizard NM hiding in it. It cant be extremely complicated to add a name to a mob, leave it's skin for the most part and add in a slightly different loot table.

For other small areas add some simple visual diversity. Take another one of those 100s of caves and throw in some glowing crystals and make some shards laying around selectable and obtainable. Something small, like 10 shards every 15 min, again not worth camping/farming/botting but a nice little surprise. Hell I'll even model and texture those for you SE. I got some damn cool transparency models already for things like crystals.

I don't think the zones need to be scrapped they just need to have the feel of progression and need to be filled up. Maybe make the existing camps more like small cities, the atherial gates more like the current camps and flesh it all out with stuff to do/find.

[Deceptistar]

The OP 1-50 current map was hilarious and ridiculous at the same time. It really makes u realize whats going on when there is a comparison.

[Mimmo]

make the regions fuller too. Each region in XI had something special in it like a beastmen camp or a crag or a cave etc

[Seif]

make the regions fuller too. Each region in XI had something special in it like a beastmen camp or a crag or a cave etc

THIS!

There is absolutely no point in adding few waterfalls and new rock shapes to vary the landscape. Put SOMETHING INTERESTING in there. Plains and deserts are not interesting they are not FF-imagination quality and definitely don't compel you to explore them.

[Gennosuke]

Completely 110% agree with OP.

Glad i came across this thread.

Complete major Redesign, Yes Please .. !!!!!!
This is the biggest pain in this game.
FFXIV needs a major redesign, variety, progression and more life in Eorzea. Can learn alot from XI.

I think cutting down to smaller zones can be a good way forward and help establish these goals.

I'm quite happy to see so many people agree on this.

Thank you for posting!
I think this thread definitely needs to stay alive and well 'cause it's the biggest dissappointment in the game since launch.

[Airget]

I actually thought the "random" placement of mobs within areas was kinda interesting. I mean the OP says you don't have to explore the different regions and can stay in one if you wish to go from 1-50 but I think you are neglecting the fact that different mobs drop different materials to make different pieces of gear which is a reason as to why you would go elsewhere.

It wouldn't really make sense to condense and cut down zones, it would almost be like taking out the zones of RoTZ and CoP because we don't use them, as of now. They prolly would've been better off creating the zones and closing off the ones that served no purpose until later on but instead they decided to allow access to nearly every area in each region which in the end seemed like a bad idea. I think if anything what the devs should attempt to do is just list each region and each zone in the region and give us an idea of which places are developed and which ones are being saved for later. I think if nothing had to be changed with the game we would find those other zones having more life to them but since a lot had to be changed with the game those areas still lost a sense of life.

As to the last post made about how deserts and plains aren't interesting, I think the true issue is that each region is just lacking life however with the addition of settlements and the added addition next VU I think that will slowly change. If I'm not mistaken they plan on adding beastmen forts which would be interesting however as for crags I don't think they would serve in this lore. As for caves there are "caves" but for the most part they are just one level zones or feel like that, there are no caves like ordelle's but there is mistbeard cove, Copperbell Mines, Nanawa Mines, Mun-Tuy Cellars, The TamTara Deepcroft, and Cassiopeia Hollow. We do have caves of sorts but they aren't fully developed. What we need to remember is that the devs originally in charge of this game setup a near bare bones game in which they had a majority of quest and missions done for the classes only but introduced all the zones at once so players could explore it if they wanted to. However is some cases some of the other regions are used and previously the crafters did have to go to long winded areas to turn in items which has slightly changed,

However as an example right now for my Botanist 36 quest,I have to go to the flower bed south of Crimsons Bark, however I doubt I"ll make it since I do recall they added some higher level mobs there but I"ll find out soon. Anyways instead of saying things need to be revamped and changed completely I think it's better to say that areas just need to be given more life to them and developed further. For the caverns they can add more depth to them and make them as interesting as their XI counterparts by adding secret passages and such. It's not impossible to do since they did just alter LL to add stairs to make the fisherman and Marauder guild easier to get to lol. So yea, instead of condensing the world around us it's much more logical just to add more life to those areas, based on the latest mob placements it's almost as if they are saying all these region are developed for 1-99 in mind, rather then having to go through the pain of reorganizing mobs later on they already have it developed with that in mind.

Just give them time, we were already given more quest, the dungeon concept and soon enough the materia concept. Based on their record I would say they are doing a good job focusing on the major major issues with the game and will be able to throw more life into the game once the core of it is done. You can't really begin to make the whole world interesting if you are still making sure the core is well defined or else you'll neglect the most important thing about the game and that's the ability to fight and slay foes. Once that major adjustment has been deemed complete they'll have a lot more resources at hand to bring more life to the game. However they have been doing that to since they introduced settlements. In the end I think it's just safe to say wait for the next expansion of settlements and if I"m not mistaken the introduction of beastmen forts which will make things a lot more interesting if they have the same amount of depth as the yagudo castle.

[Reinheart]

Copy/Paste from my translations

From new game magazine that came out on 7/30 in Japan.

===============
Gonna post some more in this post with info within that site I linked earlier.

*** Just remember this is from the site, I don't have the magazine so no confirmation if all this stuff posted on their is actual stuff from magazine.

改良マップのひな型もできてるらしいぞ
神ゲーはじまったな
Draft for the remodeled map is made
God game gonna start (Kami-ge Godly/Good/Awesome game)

一マップに2つ3つのランドマークを置くらしいぜ
One map will have 2-3 land marks

──マップを大規模改修中とのことですが、具体的にはどのような変更が行われるのでしょうか？
You said the map is having major remodeling changes, basically what kind of changes will be made?

吉田　すでに仕様は決まり、サンプルもできあがっているので、
後はレベルデザインを煮詰め、その後物量をこなすという状態です。
コンセプトとしては一度足を踏み入れると忘れられない印象が残るように、
それぞれのエリアやゾーンにテーマを3つくらい入れていこうかと。目安ですが。
YoshiP: Specifications are already decided and sample is already made. Next need to get into level design and (...dunno how to translate this part basically making adjustments to them.)
From concept, it's type of area once you step in you wont forget. In each area/zone want to put around 3 themes

岩尾　ランドマークとして機能するようになります。
Iwao: It will act as a landmark

Rest is already mentioned in the other translation. Might see more info posted later on, we'll see.