Thematic issues. Why all the sci fi.

[virianna]

xD Yes, let’s cite the one cannibal island with a barely contacted tribe as the example for what most of the world actually looks like. I was hoping you'd use this as an example just so people see how far you need to go to make things make sense in FFXIV.

Okay so better examples - Amish communities literally live “next door” and are pretty much exposed to our world, yet they didn’t give up on their style of living.
While anticlimactic another example would be a fax - while we have much better technology right now, there are still countries that use them widely eg. Japan.

We have started delivery quests to rebuild an obsolete train. It is unrealistic to think Turalli engineers would not realize this and begin analyzing Solution 9 for the most efficient mode of transportation to build next. From day 1 of contact.

Studying Solution Nine technology isn’t an activity for one night, it may take them years to understand it and the train could have been fixed now because that’s the technology they know or already studied prior to solution nine appearance. There is also the mentality of we don’t need it, which makes technological changes harder even in real world (a real life example would be my parents neighborhood that wasn’t connected to fiber internet until december 2023 (!) due to people claiming they have good internet (no) and don’t need a new one)

I don’t know where you come from and how fast your country adopts to new technologies but i can assure you it’s not happening overnight as you imagine

[Akamadoshi]

I remember when first "casual wears" started to appear (I think late shadowbringers) BTW this was not the first TIME it was released, what I mean by it, it became more "common release" than ever before, before it was often only crafting map outfits and/or deep dungeon sacks. (correct me if I am wrong, I am not an experienced player) yoshiP mentioned in live letter in a small talk "I personally don't like it. In my games, if I had the option I would prefer medieval style and fantasy gear/outfits" something like that if memories serves right (no direct quote) I remember it well because I felt very guilty at that time. I am a super fan of "casual attires" and "cute outfits" and whatnot, totally not fantasy and unrelated. To me that they wanted to include it was a huge thing because I knew YoshiP hated to implement them but they are requested so much, so I always appreciate it.

Now however the whole technology and booming intelligence of advance technology makes little sense to me, however, as the game is over ten years old and it growing in time we also are getting photocamera pose emote, so I think people like what people are used to. I like them doing a lot of different things, but I think they could've executed it better by better ways of introduction. we were slowly introduced to the advanced technology through time, in good pace but this was a little bit too sudden for me. I remember the sci-fi style appeared in PVP first time (even if it wasn't first time most likely it was for me) and suddenly it has become a major thing, also I think looking at popularity - so it makes sense. I am not VERY into sci-fi but I love the casual wears regardless. It shows also how Vanguard was very popular dungeon despite the dungeon design being awfully tedious, it was worth farming for the glams (I just hate the class specific lockouts)

[BigCheez]

To me the big thing is that glamour exists as a lore thing, that alone justifies so much of what are aesthetic inconsistencies, the knight in a suit of armor and the catgirl in streetwear could be wearing the exact same equipment as far as we know, but they have vastly different aesthetic tastes, so they choose to use the common illusion magic of the setting to express themselves in very different ways, and for that, both sides only need to exist in the setting.

It's also why glam limitations per job are incredibly stupid even in lore, glamour is literally illusion magic, there should be nothing stopping anyone from casting the image of anything over anything else.

Glamour isn't the problem. I'm fine with people fighting in non-combat gear. Armour in FF has traditionally been mostly on the lighter to non-existent side. The problem for me is that it feels like we have Steiner and Tifa in the same universe and it's aesthetically confusing.

[tsuchii]

Hmm have you played other Final Fantasys?
It's literally part of every game. Every game has sort of like out-of-place hi-tech part. It's a core element of the franchise.

[Khryseis_Astra]

Hmm have you played other Final Fantasys?
It's literally part of every game. Every game has sort of like out-of-place hi-tech part. It's a core element of the franchise.

This.

Although that being the case you have a lot of people who prefer one side or the other. While I’ve been enjoying S9 and Alexandria, I’m ready for the pendulum to swing the other way for awhile, hopefully by leading us to Meracydia for a more dragon/fantasy expansion for 8.0!

[Valence]

Glamour isn't the problem. I'm fine with people fighting in non-combat gear. Armour in FF has traditionally been mostly on the lighter to non-existent side. The problem for me is that it feels like we have Steiner and Tifa in the same universe and it's aesthetically confusing.

This all tends to show that appreciation of thematic dissonance mainly lies in the eye of the beholder. I have a hard time dealing with a tank running a dungeon in a bikini unlike someone wearing a science fiction suit that comes from somewhere in the world. But I guess the bikini can be waved away by glamour right?

[GrizzlyTank]

FF1 had a sci-fi flying fortess. Didn't look much like it on release but that's what it was.
FF2 had it's own flying fortress though that was more steampunky.
FF3 gave us the base for the alagan empire with the crystal tower the life work of a paranoid emperor magician to be immortal.
FF4 have mad a mad scientists turning people into robots.
FF5 Probably one of the few ones that the least technology.
FF6 The empire is all about magitech.
FF7 Shinra is again a highly technologically advanced empire.
FF8 Oh boy, flying cities, space cities and gods knows what other trippy sci-fi things going on.
FF9 Alternate dimention world that was sci-fi advanced.
FF10 Post apocalyptic sci-fi
FF11 Blank ( Don't know enough about this chonker)
FF12 Starwars, but final fantasy
FF13 Two sci-fi worlds entwined ruled by petty gods on each.

[Avoidy]

A few years ago, there was a livestreamed lore Q&A event featuring the producers. Fans began asking really niche questions, and at one point it prompted the staff (it might've even been Yoshida himself) to say something along the lines of, like, "don't put so much thought into it, we just wanted to make something cool." For me that was further confirmation that the msq just isn't worth taking seriously. Initial confirmation was in their willingness to sell story skips. If the msq is soooo worth doing and sooooo meaningful, then why would you let us skip it by paying you? Imagine if you planned an incredible night out for somebody you cared about, full of exciting events, wonderful food, just a real good time that you sold them on, you convinced them that this night out would be really fun and most of all that it would be important and worthwhile... and then you told them they could just not-do the night out but say they did, in exchange for like 30 bucks. What does that say about your belief in the meaningfulness of your event, if on the one hand it's so valuable but on the other hand it's worth skipping for 30 bucks? Not much imo. Imagine a writer selling you his "important" novel and then saying you can pay him another 20 dollars to just skip the whole book. It's bizarre that this is even an option and cheapens the value of the experience. Every time these devs try to say the msq is important, remember that they'll let you skip it for 20-30 dollars. But I digress.

Ever since I started this game, people have been coping hard over the intrusive sci fi garbage. I was real immersed and walking around the woods outside Gridania when a damn flying car sped past me. I was like "wow that's pretty jarring" and had a dozen people I didn't even know screaming at me about how "ackshually it's fine because allagans" or something. Now I guess they need us to once again go into space, and instead of using any established cool magical teleportation type stuff, they just put us in a rocket because creativity is dead.

[Ath192]

Okay so better examples - Amish communities literally live “next door” and are pretty much exposed to our world, yet they didn’t give up on their style of living.
While anticlimactic another example would be a fax - while we have much better technology right now, there are still countries that use them widely eg. Japan.


Studying Solution Nine technology isn’t an activity for one night, it may take them years to understand it and the train could have been fixed now because that’s the technology they know or already studied prior to solution nine appearance. There is also the mentality of we don’t need it, which makes technological changes harder even in real world (a real life example would be my parents neighborhood that wasn’t connected to fiber internet until december 2023 (!) due to people claiming they have good internet (no) and don’t need a new one)

I don’t know where you come from and how fast your country adopts to new technologies but i can assure you it’s not happening overnight as you imagine

Actually the Amish do use tech. So this wouldn’t be a good example as even they have been affected by the world around them.

Hard to say about the fax. It is still modern enough imo. But yeah, some old stuff does stick around. It doesn’t stick out in an office like a papyrus scroll and desk would. An example that would convince me I’m the one with the incorrect perspective is a country actively wielding swords and shields plus plate armor for combat and a wooden ship navy with black powder cannons.

And no, when there are obviously superior ways to transport people don’t just keep pouring millions into obsolete projects, even if it takes longer they stop and study the better solution to implement it. I feel like this is how you’re trying to rationalize them building a steam engine but it’s not something that makes sense in the larger picture economically.

——

I mean I found a solution for myself, at this point I just pretend anyone wearing plate or medieval attire is a renaissance fair weirdo and just wear timeless and high tech gear and weapons. But that doesn’t mean I enjoyed making the transition from a high fantasy setting to cyberpunk.

I don’t feel that was the game that was sold to me when I bought it.

[mallleable]

And I like how they've kind of flipped the script with Alexandria, because it's a high tech city built on top of a fantasy medieval castle. Visually, The Underkeep looks like a cool dungeon, getting Old Aperture vibes from it.