Electricity in Eorzea

[Rosenoire]

Well, lighting in general. Given that it seems to be a Renaissance-plus-magic level of technology, I'd assume candles, but they have airships, and the Gold Saucer is clearly using either magic or Lalafells on treadmills to power their Vegas-style showplace. Do some places like maybe Ishgard or Limsa have gaslight?

[Belhi]

Maybe. Generally from what we have seen lighting is usually from a mundane (candles, torches, lanterns) or aetheric (magiteck, spells, crystals) source. Most Garlean lighting is probably powered by Aetheric Lightning which is also how most tech a Machinist uses is powered.

[Apoptomon]

There's an early Limsa quest that involves replenishing streetlamp oil.

[Enkidoh]

Ceruleum, a fuel extracted from aether-rich ore is the main fuel source for most technology in Hydaelyn - Garlean vehicles are powered by it exclusively for instance, and at least some Eorzean technology is powered by it too (such as airships), and it stands to reason it would also be used for streetlighting (in Ul'dah at least, given that Ul'dah owns a ceruleum refinery in Northern Thanalan). Electric lighting seems to at least exist in limited form (such as the Gold Saucer), but mostly lighting seems to be done with more primitive oil lamps and candles in most places in Eorzea.

Hence, Eorzea is rather inconstant with the levels of technology used, a lot of it in part due to simply lacking modern ideas of manufacturing that would allow more widespread adoption of advanced technologies such as powered vehicles or electric lighting (as in, assembly-line processes to speed up production and reduce cost). This was a plot point during one of the postmoogle quests where a scam was run that spread the false rumour that a way of mass producing ceruleum engines cheaply and efficiently had been perfected, thus sending the stock price of ceruleum fuel through the roof (due to investors wanting to capitalize on the expected new demand for cereleum fuel that it would bring).

But alas, it was not to be (it also should be noted that there is a certain political motivation for keeping certain technological innovations restricted or suppressed: Loloritio and the East Aldernard Trading Company make a fortune on chocobo caravans and so any advancement in powered transportation (as in, railways) would threaten that. This is the reason why the railway in Ul'dah cannot be ridden on, despite the Sultana's best efforts to open it up to passengers. Lolorito used his political clout to get the rest of the Syndicate to stonewall Nanamo's attempts to expanding the railway to public use, thus ensuring his lucrative chocobo caravan business remained free of competition. To say nothing of also keeping people using the aetheryte network (which Lolorito and the Syndicate also get windfalls from due to the teleportation charges collected from them).

General apathy by the smallfolk doesn't help either - even seemingly trivial technological ideas seem to be laughed at by the common people in Eorzea, probably owing simply to fear and ignorance, an example being some background npcs outside the GSM's Guild in Ul'dah having a discussion about an idea one of them has for "a seat suspended between two wheels that you pedal with your legs" (clearly a bicycle), and his companion mocks the very concept as ridiculous. It certainly does not help Eorzea shed it's Garlean-held image of a cultural, technological backwater inhabited by 'savages'.

[Theodric]

In Limsa Lominsa, at least, one of the very first quests you can take involves pouring oil into various streetlamps. The item description states that it 'reeks of fish'.

Magitek related power likely isn't embraced by most people living within Eorzea due to being expensive, many of the people living there being rather superstitious and the simple fact that is created almost exclusively by Garleans. It also requires ceruleum to operate which is harder to acquire than wood, wax and oil.

[Keever]

Hydaelyn has a futuristic level of technology (Allag, with technology beyond our wildest dreams, was five millennia ago for instance), but not a futuristic level of infrastructure. In Eorzea, the likes of the Garlond Ironworks, Highwind Skyways or Amajina & Sons Mineral Concern use a lot of ceruleum-powered technology in their operations (Amajina are the chief extractors of ceruleum in Eorzea, and it's used to transit mined material across Thanalan by rail) but everyday Eorzeans wouldn't use ceruleum technology on a day-to-day basis.

It's possible that people in certain areas may have access to kinds of plant or animal products of fantasy forms of life with special properties which may make them burn longer or more effectively than real-world fuels.

And very significantly, as Belhi alluded to in passing: fire crystals!

[Rosenoire]

Maybe. Generally from what we have seen lighting is usually from a mundane (candles, torches, lanterns) or aetheric (magiteck, spells, crystals) source. Most Garlean lighting is probably powered by Aetheric Lightning which is also how most tech a Machinist uses is powered.

I figured the Garleans had some form of ceruleum powered electricity. I always forget about the ceruleum in North Thanalan, since the only reason I've spent any time there was for FATE grinding.

[Rosenoire]

The SchizoTech trope definitely applies, it seems. I've always wondered about that, and the idea that there's a financial incentive to keep tech out of the hands of the masses makes sense, now that you mention it. Thanks!

[CamomileTea]

I’m holding out hope for one day having a futuristic yet minimalist zone, like a glass city... probably won’t happen but I can dream

[gumas]

the garlean is probably your only chance to see any kind of "futuristic" design though it still probably on "futuristic fantasy" design which still using magic as the basis.

its funny we have some impressive tech like airship, gun or machinery like alexander (at least i presume it as machine) but somehow i never see something more mundane like motorcycle or anything close to a car. maybe in garlean?