Platforming and puzzles in an MMO...

[Tsukino]

FFXI had a several instances of this.

The earliest one was probably the "three-mage gate" where you needed one of each of the color mages to stand on a glyph to open it. The Eldieme Necropolis had levers that controlled gates, requiring more than one person to work together to progress. Beadeaux had a fairly unique system where you could voluntarily silence yourself at some machines in order to avoid being cursed (greatly reduced HP/MP and movement speed) when passing by other machines. Castle Zvahl also had a lot of drops to platforms at different levels, as well as teleporters. Many areas, mostly dungeons, had one-way drops and holes in the floor to other maps.

With Zilart the Quicksand Caves had pressure plates that required the weights of different races in combination to open doors, as well as one entrance that could only be used after activating several pillars around the entire desert. The Temple of Uggalepih had one-way drops and keys that were required to access certain areas. Ifrit's Cauldron had you avoiding flame spouts and carefully planning routes down one-way drops. And of course all of Tu'Lia, especially the Shrine of Ru'Avitau, had several key/switch areas and tons of teleporters.

In the Promathia expansion most level-capped story areas had some sort of classic dungeon progression gimmick. The areas of Promyvion under the crags required you defeat gates and use teleporters to continue to the end. Phomiuna Aqueducts had multiple levels, one-way doors, and keys, and there is an area that requires players to flip switches in a certain pattern to open a door for a story mission. Riverne used teleports and keys. The Sacrarium had a maze that shifted to different patterns with each game day. Fei'Yin was nothing but various kinds of different puzzles. Attohwa Chasm had a large mountain with a very confusing method of climbing that must be conquered under a time limit for a story mission and some other quests. Movalpolos required people to use furnaces to rotate gates. Ulegeurand Range had very strict paths and drops you had to take to get anywhere, and IIRC one even required you moving your character mid-air to hit a landing. And of course Lumoria had crazy teleports and was confusing like Tu'Lia before it.

In Aht Urhgan areas returned to a larger scale, and all of the dungeons had their own gimmick. Arrapago Reef had one-way drops and keyed doors. Halvung had many separate entrances and lever-controlled gates. Mamook got the multiple levels and one-way drops. Eventually they added something more unique with Alzadaal Undersea Ruins, which connected to many of the other areas with a series of teleporters.

The entire game had things like strategic placement of enemies you had to wait to turn their backs to avoid, hidden areas of maps you had to figure out how to traverse, and multiple maps to figure out how they connected to each other.

I don't know if any of the same area designers are working on XIV, but I'd love to see that same kind of classic dungeon crawling experience in it. Promathia in particular often felt like you were one member in an old-school FF game, while you worked with your party to figure out how to get through an area together.

[Kyitrai]

Eventually they added something more unique with Alzadaal Undersea Ruins, which connected to many of the other areas with a series of teleporters.

Great post, but for some reason I felt compelled to note that Sky had some rage-inducing teleporters first. lol

[Denmo]

Puzzles?


[SIZE="5"]PUZZLES?[/SIZE]


did someone say puzzles.

[AdvancedWind]

Puzzles?


[SIZE="5"]PUZZLES?[/SIZE]

did someone say puzzles.

Ugh, not this thing again.....D:

[Ruisu]

Puzzles?


[SIZE="5"]PUZZLES?[/SIZE]


did someone say puzzles.

I dislike you.

[Seif]

FFXI had a several instances of this.

The earliest one was probably the "three-mage gate" where you needed one of each of the color mages to stand on a glyph to open it. The Eldieme Necropolis had levers that controlled gates, requiring more than one person to work together to progress. Beadeaux had a fairly unique system where you could voluntarily silence yourself at some machines in order to avoid being cursed (greatly reduced HP/MP and movement speed) when passing by other machines. Castle Zvahl also had a lot of drops to platforms at different levels, as well as teleporters. Many areas, mostly dungeons, had one-way drops and holes in the floor to other maps.

With Zilart the Quicksand Caves had pressure plates that required the weights of different races in combination to open doors, as well as one entrance that could only be used after activating several pillars around the entire desert. The Temple of Uggalepih had one-way drops and keys that were required to access certain areas. Ifrit's Cauldron had you avoiding flame spouts and carefully planning routes down one-way drops. And of course all of Tu'Lia, especially the Shrine of Ru'Avitau, had several key/switch areas and tons of teleporters.

In the Promathia expansion most level-capped story areas had some sort of classic dungeon progression gimmick. The areas of Promyvion under the crags required you defeat gates and use teleporters to continue to the end. Phomiuna Aqueducts had multiple levels, one-way doors, and keys, and there is an area that requires players to flip switches in a certain pattern to open a door for a story mission. Riverne used teleports and keys. The Sacrarium had a maze that shifted to different patterns with each game day. Fei'Yin was nothing but various kinds of different puzzles. Attohwa Chasm had a large mountain with a very confusing method of climbing that must be conquered under a time limit for a story mission and some other quests. Movalpolos required people to use furnaces to rotate gates. Ulegeurand Range had very strict paths and drops you had to take to get anywhere, and IIRC one even required you moving your character mid-air to hit a landing. And of course Lumoria had crazy teleports and was confusing like Tu'Lia before it.

In Aht Urhgan areas returned to a larger scale, and all of the dungeons had their own gimmick. Arrapago Reef had one-way drops and keyed doors. Halvung had many separate entrances and lever-controlled gates. Mamook got the multiple levels and one-way drops. Eventually they added something more unique with Alzadaal Undersea Ruins, which connected to many of the other areas with a series of teleporters.

The entire game had things like strategic placement of enemies you had to wait to turn their backs to avoid, hidden areas of maps you had to figure out how to traverse, and multiple maps to figure out how they connected to each other.

I don't know if any of the same area designers are working on XIV, but I'd love to see that same kind of classic dungeon crawling experience in it. Promathia in particular often felt like you were one member in an old-school FF game, while you worked with your party to figure out how to get through an area together.

Honestly as much as I love XI I really hated those bits that were impossible to solo. That's not to say the member minimums for XIV dungeons are even more arbitary and only limit the gameplay experience instead of enhancing it.

[Forerunner]

FFXI had a several instances of this.

The earliest one was probably the "three-mage gate" where you needed one of each of the color mages to stand on a glyph to open it. The Eldieme Necropolis had levers that controlled gates, requiring more than one person to work together to progress. Beadeaux had a fairly unique system where you could voluntarily silence yourself at some machines in order to avoid being cursed (greatly reduced HP/MP and movement speed) when passing by other machines. Castle Zvahl also had a lot of drops to platforms at different levels, as well as teleporters. Many areas, mostly dungeons, had one-way drops and holes in the floor to other maps.

With Zilart the Quicksand Caves had pressure plates that required the weights of different races in combination to open doors, as well as one entrance that could only be used after activating several pillars around the entire desert. The Temple of Uggalepih had one-way drops and keys that were required to access certain areas. Ifrit's Cauldron had you avoiding flame spouts and carefully planning routes down one-way drops. And of course all of Tu'Lia, especially the Shrine of Ru'Avitau, had several key/switch areas and tons of teleporters.

In the Promathia expansion most level-capped story areas had some sort of classic dungeon progression gimmick. The areas of Promyvion under the crags required you defeat gates and use teleporters to continue to the end. Phomiuna Aqueducts had multiple levels, one-way doors, and keys, and there is an area that requires players to flip switches in a certain pattern to open a door for a story mission. Riverne used teleports and keys. The Sacrarium had a maze that shifted to different patterns with each game day. Fei'Yin was nothing but various kinds of different puzzles. Attohwa Chasm had a large mountain with a very confusing method of climbing that must be conquered under a time limit for a story mission and some other quests. Movalpolos required people to use furnaces to rotate gates. Ulegeurand Range had very strict paths and drops you had to take to get anywhere, and IIRC one even required you moving your character mid-air to hit a landing. And of course Lumoria had crazy teleports and was confusing like Tu'Lia before it.

In Aht Urhgan areas returned to a larger scale, and all of the dungeons had their own gimmick. Arrapago Reef had one-way drops and keyed doors. Halvung had many separate entrances and lever-controlled gates. Mamook got the multiple levels and one-way drops. Eventually they added something more unique with Alzadaal Undersea Ruins, which connected to many of the other areas with a series of teleporters.

The entire game had things like strategic placement of enemies you had to wait to turn their backs to avoid, hidden areas of maps you had to figure out how to traverse, and multiple maps to figure out how they connected to each other.

I don't know if any of the same area designers are working on XIV, but I'd love to see that same kind of classic dungeon crawling experience in it. Promathia in particular often felt like you were one member in an old-school FF game, while you worked with your party to figure out how to get through an area together.

Epic post is epic.

[Dragon]

FFXI had a several instances of this.

[snippet]

Exactly.

I say bring back XI's puzzles and of course update them to exist in XIV's world, especially those that require cooperation (eg. Eldieme).

[Preypacer]

FFXI had a several instances of this.

The earliest one was probably the "three-mage gate" where you needed one of each of the color mages to stand on a glyph to open it. The Eldieme Necropolis had levers that controlled gates, requiring more than one person to work together to progress. Beadeaux had a fairly unique system where you could voluntarily silence yourself at some machines in order to avoid being cursed (greatly reduced HP/MP and movement speed) when passing by other machines. Castle Zvahl also had a lot of drops to platforms at different levels, as well as teleporters. Many areas, mostly dungeons, had one-way drops and holes in the floor to other maps.

With Zilart the Quicksand Caves had pressure plates that required the weights of different races in combination to open doors, as well as one entrance that could only be used after activating several pillars around the entire desert. The Temple of Uggalepih had one-way drops and keys that were required to access certain areas. Ifrit's Cauldron had you avoiding flame spouts and carefully planning routes down one-way drops. And of course all of Tu'Lia, especially the Shrine of Ru'Avitau, had several key/switch areas and tons of teleporters.

In the Promathia expansion most level-capped story areas had some sort of classic dungeon progression gimmick. The areas of Promyvion under the crags required you defeat gates and use teleporters to continue to the end. Phomiuna Aqueducts had multiple levels, one-way doors, and keys, and there is an area that requires players to flip switches in a certain pattern to open a door for a story mission. Riverne used teleports and keys. The Sacrarium had a maze that shifted to different patterns with each game day. Fei'Yin was nothing but various kinds of different puzzles. Attohwa Chasm had a large mountain with a very confusing method of climbing that must be conquered under a time limit for a story mission and some other quests. Movalpolos required people to use furnaces to rotate gates. Ulegeurand Range had very strict paths and drops you had to take to get anywhere, and IIRC one even required you moving your character mid-air to hit a landing. And of course Lumoria had crazy teleports and was confusing like Tu'Lia before it.

In Aht Urhgan areas returned to a larger scale, and all of the dungeons had their own gimmick. Arrapago Reef had one-way drops and keyed doors. Halvung had many separate entrances and lever-controlled gates. Mamook got the multiple levels and one-way drops. Eventually they added something more unique with Alzadaal Undersea Ruins, which connected to many of the other areas with a series of teleporters.

The entire game had things like strategic placement of enemies you had to wait to turn their backs to avoid, hidden areas of maps you had to figure out how to traverse, and multiple maps to figure out how they connected to each other.

I don't know if any of the same area designers are working on XIV, but I'd love to see that same kind of classic dungeon crawling experience in it. Promathia in particular often felt like you were one member in an old-school FF game, while you worked with your party to figure out how to get through an area together.

An emphatic YES to every example given in this post... and then some.

[Shipp]

FFXI had a several instances of this.

The earliest one was probably the "three-mage gate" where you needed one of each of the color mages to stand on a glyph to open it. The Eldieme Necropolis had levers that controlled gates, requiring more than one person to work together to progress. Beadeaux had a fairly unique system where you could voluntarily silence yourself at some machines in order to avoid being cursed (greatly reduced HP/MP and movement speed) when passing by other machines. Castle Zvahl also had a lot of drops to platforms at different levels, as well as teleporters. Many areas, mostly dungeons, had one-way drops and holes in the floor to other maps.

With Zilart the Quicksand Caves had pressure plates that required the weights of different races in combination to open doors, as well as one entrance that could only be used after activating several pillars around the entire desert. The Temple of Uggalepih had one-way drops and keys that were required to access certain areas. Ifrit's Cauldron had you avoiding flame spouts and carefully planning routes down one-way drops. And of course all of Tu'Lia, especially the Shrine of Ru'Avitau, had several key/switch areas and tons of teleporters.

In the Promathia expansion most level-capped story areas had some sort of classic dungeon progression gimmick. The areas of Promyvion under the crags required you defeat gates and use teleporters to continue to the end. Phomiuna Aqueducts had multiple levels, one-way doors, and keys, and there is an area that requires players to flip switches in a certain pattern to open a door for a story mission. Riverne used teleports and keys. The Sacrarium had a maze that shifted to different patterns with each game day. Fei'Yin was nothing but various kinds of different puzzles. Attohwa Chasm had a large mountain with a very confusing method of climbing that must be conquered under a time limit for a story mission and some other quests. Movalpolos required people to use furnaces to rotate gates. Ulegeurand Range had very strict paths and drops you had to take to get anywhere, and IIRC one even required you moving your character mid-air to hit a landing. And of course Lumoria had crazy teleports and was confusing like Tu'Lia before it.

In Aht Urhgan areas returned to a larger scale, and all of the dungeons had their own gimmick. Arrapago Reef had one-way drops and keyed doors. Halvung had many separate entrances and lever-controlled gates. Mamook got the multiple levels and one-way drops. Eventually they added something more unique with Alzadaal Undersea Ruins, which connected to many of the other areas with a series of teleporters.

The entire game had things like strategic placement of enemies you had to wait to turn their backs to avoid, hidden areas of maps you had to figure out how to traverse, and multiple maps to figure out how they connected to each other.

I don't know if any of the same area designers are working on XIV, but I'd love to see that same kind of classic dungeon crawling experience in it. Promathia in particular often felt like you were one member in an old-school FF game, while you worked with your party to figure out how to get through an area together.

<3

I think these things really fostered a lot of friendships in the game. You couldn't progress through certain places without the help of others, as you mentioned. I had a few friends in XI that I would always help with things like this, and they'd always help me. I don't want the whole game centered around this where nothing can be soloed, but at the same time, I do want a lot of these elements in XIV, as it helps maintain bonds.