Enhancing open world / immersion / lore

[AmyNeudaiz]

You have many players complaining about how small the world is and how it's an "empty lobby" and I have an idea that could change this with minimal cost for new assets.

I believe you can make a lot of people happy as well as improve the games immersion and depth if once you clear a dungeon, you're able to enter it in an open world setting with no or very few monsters. You can turn them into mini quest hubs so a player can see what happens after they clear it.

As it stands now, you are tasked with clearing a dungeon for an NPC - but for what? I cleared Stone Vigil for Ishgard and it just fills back up with dragons and it remains a dragon stronghold? Why not see them having taken it back with quests to help restore it? Why not see Sibold paying respects at Chimera's den with a quest to learn more about the Darklight Raiders? Why can't we enter Dzemael Darkhold and see it completed?

I believe there are many things that can be done with this, please look into it.

[Gooner_iBluAirJGR]

I cleared Stone Vigil for Ishgard and it just fills back up with dragons and it remains a dragon stronghold?

LOL that's very true. It would be nice if they expanded the open world like this. It would open things up for a lot more content.

[KyroeFelix]

I'm not sure that would be as easy as you think. The dungeons are set on an instanced server and allocated their own space. Idk much about server maintenance and all that, but I think adding onto currently existing zones by expanding their area with sprawling dungeons would be somewhat costly. I think the idea is cool, but not sure if the cost is reasonable.

[Eclipse]

May aswell support the ongoing thread on this topic.

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...-with-no-teeth.

[Arkghyom]

I hope they don't get lazy.

[Zoeila]

ever notice how hauke manor hard looks like its in the past and normal looks the present?

[AmyNeudaiz]

I never stated it would be easy. I'm sure it would have a fair cost. But it would be leaps and bounds less than all new content as they already have the assets done and ready, as in the area being added is already competed and just needs to be put in.

May aswell support the ongoing thread on this topic.

http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...-with-no-teeth.

That seems like a different topic to me. I didn't read much of the comments but the OP is looking for a dangerous world, I'm seeking to go into dungeons in the open world.

[KyroeFelix]

But it would be leaps and bounds less than all new content as they already have the assets done and ready, as in the area being added is already competed and just needs to be put in.

From the little bit of game design I've done, here is where the problem lies. Just because you have a space fleshed out and set up in a separate location does not mean it can be tacked on to the existing world. Doing this is essentially like creating new content; not new art concepts and all that but changing the geometry of the established map to fit this entire new "zone" into your current space.

I do think this could be done in patches maybe, like the structure shifting they did in patch 2.1, but then we would see a delay in actual new content for patches because they would be working on fitting in dungeons for us to just walk around in. I hope I'm not coming across as "hating" on your idea. I just don't think it would be feasible to do now, while they are trying to create content for us in their alternating patch schedule currently running. Maybe if we ever see some downtime in the development cycle?

[AmyNeudaiz]

-snip-

I do see it as doable, it's much less work than newly made content and it would provide new rehashed content. Which, by the way is much easier/costly to develop, which is why rehash is always the first of new content. Even by your mindset then we shouldn't have hard/extreme modes because it would mean less people developing newly made content either and I love the hard/extreme modes, so I'm going to have to disagree with you.

there is a topic on that too.

But the thread as a whole is getting ideas for open world as a whole.

So you'd want me to derail the thread further? No thank you.

[Eclipse]

there is a topic on that too.

But the thread as a whole is getting ideas for open world as a whole.