Modern vs Medieval, what time is it?

[ObsidianFire]

Another thought... There's a lot of historical ground to cover between the "Medieval Age" and the "Industrial Age" when it comes to tech levels. "Fantasy" tech levels don't always have to default to Medieval ones. They can be in any tech age the creator wants them to be in. I'm specifically thinking of the "Renaissance Age" and the technology that was invented during it. You've still got stuff like animal-driven transportation, but you also have stuff like the printing press being invented. And a whole bunch of other technological advances.

The Renaissance is also not too far off from Eorzea in terms of society either. You've got the Italian City-States, the rise of the Artisan class, mercenary groups for hire, a new wave of scholarly types coming in and developing new ideas... Eorzea probably has much more in common with the Renaissance Age then it does with either the Medieval Age or the Industrial Age.

[Riastrad]

i would say Eorzea is in the equivalent of the post industrial revolution. So around the mid to late 1800's in our own time. Magic has definitely played a factor in how tech (particularly the rise of Magitek as a way to combat it by people unable to use magic themselves) has deviated from our own. Which would make the Imperial expansionist period of Garlemald similar to Germany's in WW1.

[MistakeNot]

i would say Eorzea is in the equivalent of the post industrial revolution. So around the mid to late 1800's in our own time. Magic has definitely played a factor in how tech (particularly the rise of Magitek as a way to combat it by people unable to use magic themselves) has deviated from our own. Which would make the Imperial expansionist period of Garlemald similar to Germany's in WW1.

Well, no. Eorzea has most certainly not had an industrial revolution yet - just about everything is still handmade rather than massproduced in a factory.
The level of technology available is more or less equivalent to our 18th century - but it is very unevenly spread, just like it was in our world. Rich nobles may have access to fairly advanced technology, but poor peasants won't have such access.

[Riastrad]

Ah, I do see your point. But, airship technology has been present for such a long time in the world of FFXIV, whereas in our own world we still have underdeveloped nations. Eorzea has been adopting said breakthroughs and many others with the help of Garlean defectors and the sudden interest in advanced technologies (the Skysteel Manufactory and the Garlond Ironworks being two examples). Garlemald has such a monopoly on it that it still has yet to spread even after decades of use in their campaigns. I still think it fits.

[Gula]

So much delicious, delicious insight. Thank you.

big snip

I forgot all about Vesper Bay (Pray return to the Waking Sa- I mean Rising Stones) and how politics run the world stronger than the magic itself. Which is rad. Yeah, I suppose it does make perfect sense in that regard.

I always consider Adventurers/other players to be apart of the world, causing a ruckus with their outlandish outfits and clotting up the chocobo stables with all the non magic mounts. The WoL is always the exception, yes, but in the instance of, say, Concerted Works- it doesn't work without a mass of other people. So to me, they exist, and are actively affecting the world wherever they go. Which is why I'm eager for more insight. Thank you.

Also keep in mind that Eorzea has magic, and that it is much more prevalent then tech is. Why go through all the bother of designing the equivalent of a refrigerator when a bunch of ice crystals will do the job?

Now this makes me wish for an ice box furniture item that can store exclusively food ingredients. Nothing Allag level fancy, just a plain lacquered wood box. And I'm also wishing to see a fully furnished, average peasant house.

ARR houses are usually a table/chairs, bed, some counters and the front door. It looks more like a place you can enter, and not really complete because of how spacious they are. But hey, if those cabinets are laced with ice crystals and there's some communal outhouse we never see, I'd believe it. Dwarf house on the First is more fleshed out... but it's on the First.

[LineageRazor]

I think that the presence of magic REALLY skews things a lot. I suspect it's a lot more pervasive than we might think, which could explain why spears and bows are a match for firearms. While Garlean technology DOES give them an advantage, the advantage should be OVERWHELMING, but the game presents it as just an edge.

Because of magic, a lot of more primitive trappings hang around technological advances that SHOULD make them obsolete.

[Astrid_Stormborn]

And Teledji famously prevented even having an aetheryte installed in Vesper Bay simply to snub the Scions of the Seventh Dawn for not taking bribes.

That's still Lolorito, IIRC.

[Risvertasashi]

I think that the presence of magic REALLY skews things a lot. I suspect it's a lot more pervasive than we might think, which could explain why spears and bows are a match for firearms. While Garlean technology DOES give them an advantage, the advantage should be OVERWHELMING, but the game presents it as just an edge.

Because of magic, a lot of more primitive trappings hang around technological advances that SHOULD make them obsolete.

The game's lore says that all jobs use aether to perform their superhuman feats. All jobs, not just mages. Everything from warrior to machinist to monk couldn't do everything they could do based purely on training and muscle. And then, of course, there's that the Garleans developed technology specifically to make up for their inability to use magic.

So in short, basically yeah, you're right.

[Wyssahtyn]

And Teledji famously prevented even having an aetheryte installed in Vesper Bay simply to snub the Scions of the Seventh Dawn for not taking bribes.

Reasonably certain that that was Lord Lolorito, hence the giant statue of him in the main plaza.

instant mass-communication is available in the form of linkshells that are basically radiophones (Cid outright mentioned they use radio waves to function)

Also reasonably certain that he was speaking of the Garlean equivalent to linkpearls and how they could be disrupted by lightning aspected aether.

Okay, found the specific thing. Drowning out the Voices MSQ: "Imperial forces communicate at a distance via electromagnetic waves. Simply put, voices are borne upon aetheric lightning energy that permeates the air." So, it's the Garlean equivalent of linkpearls, likely actual radios.

[Enkidoh]

Also reasonably certain that he was speaking of the Garlean equivalent to linkpearls and how they could be disrupted by lightning aspected aether.

Okay, found the specific thing. Drowning out the Voices MSQ: "Imperial forces communicate at a distance via electromagnetic waves. Simply put, voices are borne upon aetheric lightning energy that permeates the air." So, it's the Garlean equivalent of linkpearls, likely actual radios.

Eorzean linkshells are still the same technology at their base though, as Nero was easily able to use his Garlean-tech wrist-communication device to hack into the linkshell transmission between Cid and the player in the Praetorium, showing it works the same way. Also as the player descends deeper into the Praetorium more and more radio static becomes apparent with the signal eventually cutting out completely, due to radio/aetheric intereference inside.

So although Garlean communication technology might be more advanced in theory, it still works the same way linkshells do in Eorzea (an interesting thing is back in FFXI where linkshells first appeared, they were outright stated as being 'magical').

That's still Lolorito, IIRC.

Reasonably certain that that was Lord Lolorito, hence the giant statue of him in the main plaza.

Urk, you're both right. I've even stated that myself in the past (about the statue), how did I slip up with that one? :P Thank you for the clarification.