2.0 New Era? New Dimension? Time Disturbance Backward? Fast Forwarded X Millenia?

[BlaiseLallaise]

However they do it, I will be very disappointed if they abandon the current story and leave it with so many unresolved loose ends.

[Arcell]

Yeah, everyone has a good idea of how will happen, but there is more beyond that.

I think the question is: How are they going to explain not only the geographical changes but the the sudden appearance of certain ancient ruins, townships, and other large constructed features in the landscape?

Those things certainly can't appear overnight as a result the catastrophe in question. So what are the options?

I'll try expanding on the OP's options in the title (before he/she went crazy with FF7 tie-ins), as well as adding my own ideas:

1. Cataclysm occurs and players wake up 300~1000 years later (perhaps Atomos sends us there?)... All current NPCs are gone, the cities are different and a new story begins.
2. (variation on #1) The entire 7th Umbral Era experience was a result of the Echo. Players return the the 'present time' (2.0 era) and begin a new storyline in a new world with new NPCs etc...
3. Cataclysm is triggered but occurs in the past and splits the timeline creating a parallel universe. Players awake from it to realize that the history of the world has been altered. Geography has changed, and current NPCs remain with no memory of what happened.
4. Cataclysm seals off current areas of the world and opens others (think the differences in the WotG zones in FFXI). Cities change slightly but not much. This may be accompanied by a 5~10 year jump forward in time (player in a coma?) Current NPCs remain and the story progresses.

We've been told that all the maps are going to be rebuilt. This includes the main cities as well, but to what extent, we don't know. If there is a full rebuild, it would lend itself better to options 1, 2 and 3. If the team is trying to keep the cities as they are for the most part, then options 3 or 4 are more likely.

Honestly I'm not even expecting anything crazy like that. All I'm expecting is the event to happen, servers go down for a period of time as per their 2.0 conversion plan, servers come back up and the entire world has changed due to said event.

I dunno, maybe it's just me but I'm not expecting any kind of parallel timelines or time travel or anything like that.

[tymora]

Meteor comes down.

[Ziar]

Drugs <Do you have it?> <You can have this> <Gil> </tell>


Our continent is probably just going to get f'ed up and we move to another one where all the stuff is already there

[ninesunz]

the empire does something bad
the world as we know it is ending
earthquakes, volcanos erupting and meteors
the twelve step in and save the world
but not before the realm has drastically changed
the world after the cataclysm is 2.0!

directed and edited by ninesunz

[leomike35]

Let's start a campaign to make this the XIV theme song:

In West La Noscea, born and raised
Bloodshore cliffs is where I spent most of my days
Chillin' out, maxin', relaxin' all cool
And all pullin' some Dark Bass from a Grade 3 school
When a couple of Garleans who were up to no good
Started makin' trouble in my neighborhood
I got in one little fight and my mom thought hard
She said your movin' with your auntie and uncle in a town called Ishgard

I boarded a ship called the Fare Thee Well
It was filled with adventurers with a Maraurder at the helm
Maybe I could join those pirates as a bard
But I thought "nah, forget it. Yo ho, to Ishgard!"

I walked up to the gates around 7 or 8
And the guard said "Sorry son you're a little too late"
So I sat at the entrance, officially a ward
Of that grand Kingdom known as Ishgard

If that can play each time I log in, I'd love SE hardcore.

Nice points to you for nostalgia and actually making me hear you lyrics inserted to that Fresh Prince theme.

[Atoli]

I doubt any of that will happen, Zantetsuken.
At least that's what I hope xD
I get kind of pissed when you call it cataclysm..makes me think of another MMO I hate too much..

You know, a moon falling onto a planet could change a lot of stuff!
Maybe it breaks down mountains and stuff so we can explore valleys or whatever was behind it, and that's where some ancient culture had built those ruins.
I'm not a fan of alternative universes and timelines, and using the Echo sounds like a cheap excuse to me.

[Zantetsuken]

I doubt any of that will happen, Zantetsuken.
At least that's what I hope xD
I get kind of pissed when you call it cataclysm..makes me think of another MMO I hate too much..

Yeah, I know what you mean, I was just using the term because it seems like the most appropriate one for this upcoming world-altering disaster.

You know, a moon falling onto a planet could change a lot of stuff!
Maybe it breaks down mountains and stuff so we can explore valleys or whatever was behind it, and that's where some ancient culture had built those ruins.

Wait, isn't that one of the scenarios I proposed??

4. Cataclysm seals off current areas of the world and opens others (think the differences in the WotG zones in FFXI).

[Rubicon]

The entire 7th Umbral Era experience was a result of the Echo. Players return the the 'present time' (2.0 era) and begin a new storyline in a new world with new NPCs etc...

THIS. Ties in the Echo and the current storyline VERY well.

[Arcell]

THIS. Ties in the Echo and the current storyline VERY well.

Seems like a bit of a cop-out to me. So everything we've done up until this point was just echo and didn't really happen to us? How would you explain all the player progress done now since it's technically just echo?