Thread: A modest 1.0 proposal...

I loved 1.0 and I hate that old me didn't think to take screenshots often or record video. It was harder back then, I suppose, and I probably would have lost them to time. I made a lot of friends in that game and I had a lot of good memories that I can never have back and I will never be able to revisit. 1.0 was flawed and I will never act like it wasn't a trash fire. But there *was* good in it that I think wouldn't be so bad to bring back or at least be able to see again. It mostly goes towards its zone design and the themeing of them rather than the battle design.

The zones in some regards were superior. I much prefer 1.0 Thanalan to 2.0 Thanalan. Thanalan as we know it has water EVERYWHERE and is very condensed. The only part that feels like a desert is a blink and you'll miss it spot in the south. I loved the traversal in 1.0 Thanalan and still do. It had a good mixture of water, canyons and actual desert. A bit under-decorated, sure, but way more immersive. Ul'dah was still set up near a logical set of water while the further you got away the more sparse it got. I think it's superior. It'd be nice to revisit the old Coerthas with its caverns and interesting cave systems and verticality. We don't have many zones that have layers like that one did, I guess so players don't get confused on their minimaps? Still, I liked it and it's a shame that'll never be seen again.

Black Shroud was a travesty and should never be seen again. But it had one thing that 2.0 Black Shroud doesn't have: It actually feels opressive. The lore of Gridania makes it sound like they are constantly harrassed by growing flora and they are at the mercy of the forest and the elementals. But in reality it's got a bunch of open space and the trees have all kinds of space between them. 1.0 Black Shroud fit that oppressiveness to a T so it has that *one* thing going for it. lol I'll admit I really don't remember La Noscea much. I guess the vibes were similar and there's not much to differentiate it.

I kinda regret not continuing on my 1.0 character. I chose to leave my Miqo'te behind and re-rolled a Fem Roegadyn instead. Eh, it's just a tattoo that's covered up anyway. Anyway point is 1.0 is gone and I'm slightly melancholic about it since, warts and all, I still loved it. If it came back it wouldn't be the same and it would only serve to jog memories of when I played it and the people I have forgotten due to not taking screenshots. I can't even remember their names and I used to spend hours a day with them.

Edit: Oh and as people said, Path Companion! They were a fun innovative idea. We'll never see them again and that's also a tad sad.

Originally Posted by DiaDeem

Oh man... I do get that. I don't play Ragnarok Online anymore, but anytime I listen to its sound effects, they're so satisfying and nostalgic.

Hell yes, that Ragnarok Login Screen music lives rent free in my head.
And I'm so glad you brought that into the world, thank you!

Originally Posted by Kes13a

hard pass.

despite the rose coloured tint you are viewing things through,

Not really rose-tinted. I was there. I rmbr the good and the bad.
I had to cut my OP from 5k to 3k words; and part of that was talking about seeing a vid on YT of the "new" DRG abilities added in; and I knew i needed to play it; AND that I consider myself an MMO addict, and have played most of them, and that FFXIV 1.0 was one of the few games I actually ever got to max level in, so it had to have done *something* right. It was UNFINISHED yet had potential; and I miss the work the devs had been able to put into it; laggy as hell that it was. Lag aside, i really liked the slower combat, and playing games like TnL recently made me miss it all the more.

And it wasn't a serious request, I know it's impossible with SE's current corporate alignment; no suit would ever do something for "potential" or "art," I was merely expressing the *interest* w/ a commentary on the lack of slower paced MMOs in the modern arena (And a roundabout way to install my FFXI conspiracy copium somewhere). I wouldn't want development to be "taken away" from FFXIV (but if you want my two cents on that matter; considering the money it (AND FFXI) bring in, the least they could do was put more of that directly into the game, but again corporate suits...). In a perfect dream world, I'd buy out all the stockholders and hire a whole team to bring back 1.0; facelift XI, and everyone else can focus on art rather than profit.

Originally Posted by SeriousPan

I loved 1.0

YES! empty as the world was; there was a certain, almost creepy atmosphere to it, that I miss and 2.0+ lacks. I spent a lot of time in La Noscea, to the point I can sometimes rmbr the general correspdonding location between 1.0 and 2.0 when I'm there. Everytime I run a dungeon in a modern MMO, I find myself thinking of OG Sposhae/Sastasha...weird open world caves with NMs creeping about where I got my first good equipment! (and I always bring up Black Shroud when I have horror stories to share lmao!) OH Mor Dhona was THE ZONE. It SUCKS they never gave us southern Mor Dhona back; and yes I miss original Coerthas as well.

Originally Posted by Rabblerabble

I would like a plain old RoZ/CoP XI to go back to. Doubt that will ever happen.

you technically can right now, google HorizonXI