DevTalk: Detailed Analysis of Depopulation in Limsa/Grid and How to Fix It

[Sorel]

I thought this part was obvious. You enter ward from Grid, you exit to Grid. You enter ward from Uldah, you exit to Uldah.

Yes, but does that actually make physical sense?

If a person can walk into Room X from Room Y that is connected to Room Z (because people from Room Z can walk in and interact with things in Room Y), what physical reason is there to stop people from going into Room X from Room Z through Room Y?

If I can get to the Unified Market Ward zone from the Limsa Lominsa zone and from Gridania zone to interact with retainers and players from both cities, what stops me from just walking to the Gridania zone through the Market Ward zone?

Normal physics will not allow for a unified Market Ward zone. So we'll have to use metaphysics instead.

Any ideas anyone??

[Rentahamster]

Yes, but does that actually make physical sense?

If a person can walk into Room X from Room Y that is connected to Room Z (because people from Room Z can walk in and interact with things in Room Y), what physical reason is there to stop people from going into Room X from Room Z through Room Y?

If I can get to the Unified Market Ward zone from the Limsa Lominsa zone and from Gridania zone to interact with retainers and players from both cities, what stops me from just walking to the Gridania zone through the Market Ward zone?

Normal physics will not allow for a unified Market Ward zone. So we'll have to use metaphysics instead.

Any ideas anyone??

Huh? Are you arguing this from the perspective of retaining immersion or something?

This is a computer program. All the regions and zones aren't laid out in a physical location. They aren't all laid out on after the other in some kind of actual physical order. They are just coordinates in a virtual space. The market wards in Uldah right now aren't actually attached to Uldah, they are just another instance in the server.

If you enter the unified wards from Uldah, the game knows that you came from Uldah, so when you choose to exit the wards, the game automatically puts you back in Uldah.

[Sorel]

Huh? Are you arguing this from the perspective of retaining immersion or something?

This is a computer program. All the regions and zones aren't laid out in a physical location. They aren't all laid out on after the other in some kind of actual physical order. They are just coordinates in a virtual space. The market wards in Uldah right now aren't actually attached to Uldah, they are just another instance in the server.

If you enter the unified wards from Uldah, the game knows that you came from Uldah, so when you choose to exit the wards, the game automatically puts you back in Uldah.

Yes. I'm not arguing against a Unifed Market Ward, though. I kind of like the idea. I'm just pointing out a flaw that needs to be addressed.

Gridania and Limsa Lominsa are just instances on the server, along with Market Wards. However the case, in the virtual world of Eorzea we cannot simply go from Gridania to Limsa Lominsa without a physical or metaphysical conveyance (e.g. walking, running, teleportation, etc).

All I'm saying is that we need to put some thought into how players from different (virtual) geographic cities can somehow end up in the same (virtual) geographic marketplace simply by walking down a street or making a left around the next corner.

Time And Relative Dimension In Space, transporters, portkeys, folding space with Spice, high-speed elevators to the center of the planet ... whatever. The players just need a way to get to this Unified Market Ward that can be explained. It doesn't have to be realistic, it just has to be explainable. The more it fits into the lore of the game though, the better.