Designing Areas.

[Shunyu]

Yoshida: Changes will be made to both the geography and the design of the areas. Some areas will be changed rather drastically, so I'd love if you all could discuss how you think the changes will be made while you're all looking forward to it.



He asked for it, so lets give it to him.

I personally thing that, "The Sanctuary of Zi'tah" was one of the most fantastic Areas in FF11. I was really hoping that there would be an area like that in ff14. the moment you walk in, you really feel like its a mysterious and adventurous place. I often spent my time there doing stuff, just because the area (not to mention the music) was fantastic. I would be grateful if an area like that showed up in FF14.

On a side note, for existing areas, i personal think, it would be nice to have land marks that really stand out. thing that make you think "something amazing happened here. I wonder what happened"

Lastly, FF14 is still pretty young. it would be interesting if in the future, based on server conditions or something like that, certain aspects of the land would change. Maybe seasons. Seasons would be difficult to do i think. then again, what about editing ff14 is easy.

What do other people think about, good edits to terrain, would be.

[Goma]

I always, personally, wished a mmo would have seasons, they could be longer or shorter than standard RL seasons but it'd be fun to have a periodic change, maybe going from fall to winter while the game is down for maintenance. Or perhaps, since many games have monthly down-times, a more subtle change, leaves turning slightly in Sep., a sea of orange and yellow in Oct. and then falling leaves/bare trees in Nov. onto snow in Dec/Jan. and then the snow ending in Feb etc.

Or just a quarterly change and have four basic seasons with less than subtle changes. It would be an ideal but it may be hard to do each landscape and recolor/edit 4 times per you know? Always wished for something like this, could you imagine Gridania with all the leaves a beautiful orange or vibrant yellow?

[Betelgeuzah]

Zitah has no landmarks...

But they could try to make the black shroud more of a deep scary forest-type of place.

La noscea could benefit from a slightly darker tone as well, Lufaise Meadows style.

Overall I think the areas could be darker and grittier than they are now. Still beautiful to look at, so not gritty in the Western "ugly as hell" way, but more like melancholistic. It'd go well with the setting.

[Raikki]

I'd like the Black Shroud to actually feel like a forest, and not just have a picture that looks like a forest as the backdrop. Narrow rocky corridors with the occasional circular area with 3 or 4 trees does not a forest make. It would be nice if there were some richer colors there also. The same gray and green everywhere gets pretty tiresome. This is a problem that most of the zones have actually. Nearly every zone in the game is done in two dull colors (ironically, Thanalan, which is supposed to be somewhat desolate, has more color than the rest). I'm not looking for the opposite extreme with vibrant colors burning your retinas, but there's lots of room in between!

Additionally, we desperately need to have visual transitions between zones. I'd like it to start looking different as I get close to a different zone so that it's not just a jarring switch between radically different looking areas. Even something simple might work for some transitions like a cave that you go through and emerge somewhere else on the other side.

[Esk]

Additionally, we desperately need to have visual transitions between zones. I'd like it to start looking different as I get close to a different zone so that it's not just a jarring switch between radically different looking areas. Even something simple might work for some transitions like a cave that you go through and emerge somewhere else on the other side.

Agreed, but id prefer to see new even if they are smaller (camps/outposts/villages? of some sort with a small zone around them for later expansion) added in between the zones to do this, expanding out gaming world has to be better then just altering what we have to much.

The colours and tones need to be darker and/or more vibrant at times, a deep forest that's as light as a desert zone?
The zones should all feel very different: (Just to cover the main ones)
LL - Windswept and misty as its on the coast.
UL - Bright, well actually id say its right atm
Grid - Dark, but with beautiful bright light open areas dotted around.

But black shroud really does needs more trees for a start, more twists and turns and routes though/around the zone.
More animated plant life and some smaller Lv1 critters running around.
Mobs roaming, even fighting each other.

Weather and time of day having an effect on the mobs.

The camps could feel and look more built up and important not massively but some..
More guards, tents, defences and so on, and turning those villages we have now into much more built up ones, so it looks like people can actually live in the place, even if its fluff in the background we cant get to but can see.

The LV50 (or end game) content being based out of the lower camps a lot more, and sending us to areas where we had seen as we levelled up but could never go to without instant death.

I don't really think their is much wrong with the zones overall, they just feel a little dead...
But I do Love the realistic look over a full ott fantasy world, but a bit more wouldn't hurt.

[Aveline]

I remember back when we first got to travel between all three cities. A friend of mine had started in Gridania, while I had started in Ul'dah. We were chatting with excitement about the differences in our geographic regions, and he said to me: "You have to show me a picture of what the Black Shroud looks like from the outside! These trees are massive!"

Imagine our disappointment when, upon reaching the zone line between Thanalan and the Black Shroud, it turned out to be just a wall of rock that you couldn't see over. :/

I'd love it if the zones had a more "natural" border that had more impact. Speaking of more natural zones, the ferry ride from Thanalan to Limsa Lominsa! Let's get that changed as well! The water is so still.. the ride, so boring. And what happens to all those NPCs you see making a mad dash onto the boat in the cut scene? They disappear every frigging time. I'd love to see the ferry ride get more ambiance like the ferries in XI, as well as more liveliness in the form of NPCs (passengers as well as crew) and maybe some mini-games to pass the time. Maybe there's a fisherman on board that challenges you to see who can fish up the most during the passing, or maybe there's a sailor who wants to play at a game of dice?

As far as the rest of the zones go, other than the already-known issues of copy/paste terrain and the lifelessness of the Shroud, it would be interesting to see more unique aspects to each zone. For instance, the Shroud is supposed to be filled with bandits, mischievous spirits, and so forth. Why not have some of those things in the Shroud, then, instead of just having NPCs talk about them? The sylph are supposed to play pranks on people.. why don't they? It would be neat if now and again while you're walking along, a tree will rustle, like there's something in it. Or maybe you see a pair of glowing red eyes peering from a cave..

I also whole-heartedly agree with the sentiment of 4 seasons in an MMO. The snow in Ul'dah was neat this past winter, but you step outside the city and it's gone. And even the snow that could be seen falling didn't stick to the ground and pile up. I'd love to see blustery winds of spring carrying seed pods and little green leaves, or snow falling in the winter, or leaves piling up on the ground in the fall. It would make the game feel so much more alive.

I'd also like to see NPCs doing more. Maybe in these upcoming hamlets they're releasing, it would be nice to see farmers tilling their fields (and then going back into their homes at night), or a traveling bard walking along the road that stops to tell you news from where she just came from.

[Nuinn]

I hope he was referring mostly to the Black Shroud. One can only pray it finally becomes a proper forest and not something made with a dungeon randomizer.

[Gennosuke]

Yoshida: Changes will be made to both the geography and the design of the areas. Some areas will be changed rather drastically, so I'd love if you all could discuss how you think the changes will be made while you're all looking forward to it.



He asked for it, so lets give it to him.

I personally thing that, "The Sanctuary of Zi'tah" was one of the most fantastic Areas in FF11. I was really hoping that there would be an area like that in ff14. the moment you walk in, you really feel like its a mysterious and adventurous place. I often spent my time there doing stuff, just because the area (not to mention the music) was fantastic. I would be grateful if an area like that showed up in FF14.

On a side note, for existing areas, i personal think, it would be nice to have land marks that really stand out. thing that make you think "something amazing happened here. I wonder what happened"

Lastly, FF14 is still pretty young. it would be interesting if in the future, based on server conditions or something like that, certain aspects of the land would change. Maybe seasons. Seasons would be difficult to do i think. then again, what about editing ff14 is easy.

What do other people think about, good edits to terrain, would be.

Excellent post and comment Shunyu. You really spoke my mind out on this one. This is probably the most troubling issue in FFXIV for me. I really hope this message and idea goes through to Mr. Yoshi and the dev team. I'm quite happy to see him expressing his interest in hearing our thoughts on this topic.

I do wish for many changes to come, but this ranks up as the first priority.. followed by the Battle/Job System/Abilities, content, and then the rest.

Funnily enough, i was just chatting to a friend a little while ago about how much nicer Sanctuary of Zi'tah was compared to Gridania. Zitah was also my fav. place, i'd spend long time there just due to the experience there. It felt much more thrilling and adventurous of a place than Gridania ever did.
It's just everything about the place. The Nature, the terrain, the openness, the massive size of the trees. There is just a thrill and an awe and surprise factor when exploring it, it's kinda misty, you don't know whats up the road.. it's like you have to go there to find out. In Gridania, you could pretty much see everything in one go, it's kinda like a bird eye's view, everything is given straight away, from beginning to end of screen.

I'd really like to be able to explore an area in FFXIV and wonder what's around the corner or up ahead, i want to feel immersed and overwhelmed by the nature around me, by the size, by vast open lively fields, by the surprise and thrill factor, by a luscious environment.
I think one of the main issues is that the size of nature in FFXIV isn't quite as big and overwhelming as it was in FFXI. Really need to feel everything massive around you to give a sense of awe, adventure and reality to the area.

Zi'tah:
http://www.miingno.ch/ffxi/beautyofvanadiel/0003.jpg

Also, i strongly agree on the music as well, though it's not quite related but music as beautiful as Zi'tah's really just completes the experience and theme and would make you want to spend a long time there, it's just a masterpiece, so very soothing, my fav track in FFXI. Gridania's is just so dull..

The other obvious issues ofcourse are content and landmarks and uniqueness.
The copy-paste terrain really just killed the experience entirely, you walk in gridania from start to end and you can not distinguish from the starting area, its like going in circles, its just really bad. Every single area should be different and unique from the other. How could it be adventurous when you're walking in the same area over and over again? not to mention mobs are mostly the same too.

There should be some major landmarks in different areas, the camps.. really need to change. Personally, i'd rather do away with the camps all together (esp now with the leves not being the focus anymore.) and have somethin else thats much nicer done instead to resemble each new area, and not just in the limited space like camps but somethin that would extend out further to cover smaller regions of the map. Just like a complete terrain change from one place to the other.

Just need to mix it up. Some examples of what i would like to see are waterfalls, cliffs, sea, sand, ponds, luscious caves underground (not the so very bland ones we have now). FFXI did it perfectly.. for example, yuhtunga and yhotor jungle did them very nicely, complete terrain changes from one place to another, beautiful waterfalls and environment.


http://www.miingno.ch/ffxi/beautyofvanadiel/0007.jpg
http://upload.wheel-of-games.com/gal...al/pic_514.jpg
http://www.miingno.ch/ffxi/beautyofvanadiel/0053.jpg
http://ffnext.com/images/game/ffxiii...vironment2.jpg
http://sukilife.files.wordpress.com/...5_00-17-49.png

Really, all it takes is to look at FFXI, was so very well done.

Also, It would be really nice to spice it up a bit, throw in some fun events or activites, have some boats for use in rivers, let one be able to drift off a waterfall down to another area, or some water slides. There's just a limitless amount of cool and wild ideas to introduce to make it more fun and lively.