Alpha First Look: Video 3 - The Black Shroud

[NadienKirisame]

Blah blah

First 16 posts on the forums and it is all in one thread... and this isn't even that big of a thread yet... has anyone ever told you you talk too much hmm? Also you have a very odd fascination with jumps... I was going to say lucky your not on my server but hehehe... hehe... oh the fun...

The silly aside...
The video was nice I liked the music and how the map is done... very good... also the area is looking so much better then the 1.0 Black Shroud... I love the openness and how the trees look... the changing of the leaves was a nice look as well... I love the color...

The cat is bemused =-.-=

[Tupster]

First 16 posts on the forums and it is all in one thread... and this isn't even that big of a thread yet... has anyone ever told you you talk too much hmm? Also you have a very odd fascination with jumps... I was going to say lucky your not on my server but hehehe... hehe... oh the fun...

I was thinking maybe that was the case. I'm used to being on forums that move very fast and were I reply to everything that is said, but everybody else does too, so it works. Umm, if that is unusual here then I'll cool it some.

[NadienKirisame]

I was thinking maybe that was the case. I'm used to being on forums that move very fast and were I reply to everything that is said, but everybody else does too, so it works. Umm, if that is unusual here then I'll cool it some.

No need to cool it silly head... most people don't get that I like to poke and have fun... but I will say this to your post above this one. There is actually a turning motion most people don't seem to catch... it is not shown in this video here but it has appeared in others. The lack of motion here is because there is no animation tied to the camera turn or at least it appears there is none yet at this time... if you watch some of the other videos out there you can see a normal turning motion tied to someone actually turning and not using the camera to turn...

I will give you one thing of credit though... at least you are posting in this thread about this video instead of in the general discussion forums... since this thread is for alpha talk and on the video... most people don't seem to get that is why they made a different forum section for these things...

Oh well...

The cat is bemused =-.-=

[Cichy]

Listen up SE. We know you can produce pretty graphics. Can we get something that shows us examples of gameplay, etc... This was really boring

[Neasa]

Soooo much nicer... Still looks crazy huge, but wow. I really can't think of the proper words, I'm just very impressed and already getting rather hyped. x.x

[Teakwood]

Woah, I am stunned.

Absolutely beautiful game, beautiful BGM.

I'm a little curious as to why the BGM faded out so quickly the first couple of times? But- wow, I've just rewatched it again and everything looks -so- amazing, and the shadow rendering looks like it's finally something I'll be happy with the looks of. Love the variance in colour palette, especially in the dungeon-type darker area.

So beautiful. <3

[KamikazeMan]

I absolutely love this! However, I do have some problems with it as well:

The areas, while populated with NPCs, feel...dead. Empty. I'm not talking about the lack of players, but the lack of things going on with NPCs. They just stand there not doing anything. I wish they would have voice clips that loop, do some gestures......something. They can have merchants say something like "Come one come all! I have wares for sale!" every 5 minutes or so or that guild leve NPC say "Dare to take up the challenge, adventurer?". Throw in some kids running around playing tag, throwing rocks at each other, animals roaming around, rodents sneaking into houses, people arguing (with voices), etc. Those are just ideas.

I also really can't stand these new animations. They feel so generic. The animations XIV has now make my character and all of the characters feel more life like. It's like they are putting so much detail into everything but the animations.

I hate to complain because I get that SE has put a tremendous amount of work into re-launching XIV.

[Linkurrra]

I absolutely love this! However, I do have some problems with it as well:

The areas, while populated with NPCs, feel...dead. Empty. I'm not talking about the lack of players, but the lack of things going on with NPCs. They just stand there not doing anything. I wish they would have voice clips that loop, do some gestures......something. They can have merchants say something like "Come one come all! I have wares for sale!" every 5 minutes or so or that guild leve NPC say "Dare to take up the challenge, adventurer?". Throw in some kids running around playing tag, throwing rocks at each other, animals roaming around, rodents sneaking into houses, people arguing (with voices), etc. Those are just ideas.

I also really can't stand these new animations. They feel so generic. The animations XIV has now make my character and all of the characters feel more life like. It's like they are putting so much detail into everything but the animations.

I hate to complain because I get that SE has put a tremendous amount of work into re-launching XIV.

I noticed this too, however I am leery to request such a feature! Ever play Everquest II? They had this and it got so annoying NPC's would jump, holler, and yell to get your attention everytime you traversed to another area! You leave come back to the same area and the same NPC would do the same thing over and over.

Maybe it's just a matter of adjusting the timing, or using it sparingly in an area instead of having ALL NPC's do it. but when ppl mention stuff like this I cringe because that is all I can think about is how annoying it was to have all the NPC's yelling at you when you enter an area! lol

Now an interesting dynamic would be have this tied to fame/reputation! As you do more for a faction or area the more attention you get from the NPC's and they ask for your help directly!

[KamikazeMan]

I noticed this too, however I am leery to request such a feature! Ever play Everquest II? They had this and it got so annoying NPC's would jump, holler, and yell to get your attention everytime you traversed to another area! You leave come back to the same area and the same NPC would do the same thing over and over.

Maybe it's just a matter of adjusting the timing, or using it sparingly in an area instead of having ALL NPC's do it. but when ppl mention stuff like this I cringe because that is all I can think about is how annoying it was to have all the NPC's yelling at you when you enter an area! lol

Now an interesting dynamic would be have this tied to fame/reputation! As you do more for a faction or area the more attention you get from the NPC's and they ask for your help directly!

Oh yeah it's definitely a matter of timing. In GW2 some of the NPCs get ridiculously annoying because they're on a one minute loop. I figure 5 minutes is good enough. hell, if not voice acting for a particular NPC, then they could throw in background chatter, grunts, laughter, crying, etc. This way they don't have to record new voices for each language. It's these small things that could add "life" to towns, cities, and any other populated areas.

Looking at the video, I feel like they designed a gorgeous town, designed NPCs, and just threw the NPCs there without really taking into consideration the sort of mood they would set.

I just don't want to visit towns and run through them. I want to be able to walk around and feel a sense of life in the towns.

[Trenma]

This may have been mentioned before (only noticed it now because I could watch it in fullscreen).

However, Hurray for the Mini-map displaying co-ordinates