An Eorzea that is more 'alive' and dynamic. - A suggestion for the future of Eorzea

[Kallera]

I think changing the mob behavior to new roles(and not signifying it with odd marks) is a good idea. Discovery is part of the fun in an MMO, even if it involves death by ogre. The aggro symbols hurts that. Have behavior involving actions other than agro, or have specific agro via low hp/magic/if you're lalafell be unmarked

[Munba]

Already commented in other similar topics but i'm always agree about this. Some points to bring Eorzea to live:

- add jump crickets (and sounds of them in the night) and frogs (near ponds), birds fliyng between trees, fireflies (rare) in the night, random fishes you can see through water in the sea/rivers/lakes.
- add citizens/npcs doing various stuff, walking around, children playing in plazas, etc. (like we see in the introduction cut-scene of Limsa Lominsa)
- add more unique places to find around the world (to incentive exporation too), like particular caves (among the ones all similar..) with a waterfall (or a spring) inside or some secret 'hidden' places to find.
- add the possibility to enter in the 'unique' buildings, like the lighthouses and towers in La Noscea. Because in this state they seem only monuments.
- add random enviromental events when you explore around, like minor meteor swarms in the night (or falling stars), rainbow after rain (but it should be very rare), some type of fauna and flora that appear only in rare occasions and so on. So Eorzea would be in continuos 'change' and never monotonous (in every moment you could be surprised by something happen and the wish to explore would be always present, also in the places you already explored).
- add random attacks by beast tribes on camps, villages and cities. Also random ambushes around the world by bandits (in the forest), pirates (on the boat) and beast tribe patrols as well.
- volume music should be more 'subtle' in the night. So maybe the system could low the music volume automatically in the night time (and emphasize the sound effects of the night).

And... add the possibility to make or light up campfires around (like those in La Noscea)

[Kilta_Firelotus]

I think changing the mob behavior to new roles(and not signifying it with odd marks) is a good idea. Discovery is part of the fun in an MMO, even if it involves death by ogre. The aggro symbols hurts that. Have behavior involving actions other than agro, or have specific agro via low hp/magic/if you're lalafell be unmarked

again with the rediculous hate for the aggro icons. You guys sanity is becoming something i'm starting to wonder. Not beking mean, but you know none of what you said is even romotely true.

if you guys have to hate aggro icons then you must or shoulda hated sneak and invis stuff in ffxi those do actually make exploration safer.

should the game fell more live? yes. To the point where gameplay is inquestion no. The animals bahavois were taking out ciz ppl abused them, kept getting links and aggros, and got annoyed with chasinbg stuff.

[Kallera]

again with the rediculous hate for the aggro icons. You guys sanity is becoming something i'm starting to wonder. Not beking mean, but you know none of what you said is even romotely true.

if you guys have to hate aggro icons then you must or shoulda hated sneak and invis stuff in ffxi those do actually make exploration safer.

should the game fell more live? yes. To the point where gameplay is inquestion no. The animals bahavois were taking out ciz ppl abused them, kept getting links and aggros, and got annoyed with chasinbg stuff.

I'm not against making exploration safer, I'm against making it obvious. Sneak and invis didn't save you against everything, you know.

Back on topic, maybe Se should vary populations according to time of day a little more. Bring back the terror that is the qufim wight!

[Jinko]

I like the idea about adding mining nodes, herbs/flower and schools of fish.

I would also like to see roaming NPC's walking around the outside world, patrolling the roads of Thanalan and The Black Shroud.

They need to make camps feel more like camps and not a big shiny crystal, maybe make them the hub for quests and guildleves.

Hopefully in time the devs will get on top of the current problems and we will see more of these things.

[gifthorse]

Already commented in other similar topics but i'm always agree about this. Some points to bring Eorzea to live:

- add jump crickets (and sounds of them in the night) and frogs (near ponds), birds fliyng between trees, random fishes you can see through water in the sea/rivers/lakes.

There is a secret frog in the game already.

http://www.ffxivcore.com/gallery/129...534_128638.jpg

It's difficult to spot but it's in Mun Tuy Cellars, sitting on a rock.

There are a lot of little unique things if you explore:

http://www.ffxivcore.com/gallery/ima...1299133878jpg/

But they are few and far between, there's no denying that.

- add citizens/npcs doing various stuff, walking around, children playing in plazas, etc. (like we see in the introduction cut-scene of Limsa Lominsa)
- add more unique places to find around the world (to incentive exporation too), like particular caves (among the ones all similar..) with a waterfall (or a spring) inside or some secret 'hidden' places to find.
- add the possibility to enter in the 'unique' buildings, like the lighthouses and towers in La Noscea. Because in this state they seem only monuments.
- add random enviromental events when you explore around, like minor meteor swarms in the night (or falling stars), rainbow after rain (but it should be very rare), some type of fauna and flora that appear only in rare occasions and so on. So Eorzea would be in continuos 'change' and never monotonous (in every moment you could be surprised by something happen and the wish to explore would be always present, also in the places you already explored).
- add random attacks by beast tribes on camps, villages and cities. Also random ambushes around the world by bandits (in the forest), pirates (on the boat) and beast tribe patrols as well.
- volume music should be more 'subtle' in the night. So maybe the system could low the music volume automatically in the night time (and emphasize the sound effects of the night).

And... add the possibility to make or light up campfires around (like those in La Noscea)

I stand by my opinion: We should have player-made villages.

[Munba]

http://www.ffxivcore.com/gallery/129...534_128638.jpg

It's difficult to spot but it's in Mun Tuy Cellars, sitting on a rock.

Lol, great find Eorzea need more of these details..

Btw, i also would love to see player-made villages indeed.

[derekx]

I somewhat agree with the OP. The way the world moves during some of the weather effects adds a lot to the game. A more subtle wind effect applied all the time (or something similar) would go a long way to animating the world. The world needs more motion. I don't agree about the mob following behaviors. Those were interesting but impeded game play too much. I'm not sure many of those behaviors were very realistic either. (When is the last time some wild animal just started following you around?) Adding new mob behaviors where they roam around would be interesting though.

The cities do need to feel more alive, like some of the hustle and bustle going on in the background of some the the city cut scenes.

Like the OP stated, I don't expect this to be a major priority right now, but I think it should be on the road map and implemented in the near future.

[ambrosia]

Having more NPCs camping in the open
Mobs travel in packs
NPCs walking in towns (even if they run on preset paths)
Weather could be a bit more dramatic (Mirages outside Ul'dah, lightning storms)

[Nakiamiie]

Wow!! You guys and gals have lots of very interesting ideas (Munba, Kallera, Jinko, Gifthorse, derekx, Ambrosia, just to name a few on this page)!! I really hope our enthusiasm reaches the developers for later development.

I really like the idea of a player-made village and random events. Random events sure would be exciting! Not everything need to be labelled and precisely timed so players can prepare themselves. An element of surprise sure is welcomed, somewhat like the random battles in classic Final Fantasy, you never knew what (and when) you could stumble upon. haha!

Just like derekx and a few others before him (sorry for not naming everyone), impeding events like a big nanny goat asking for hug during an epic battle is somewhat troubling, however, as also mentioned, if these events are instead adding to strategy and/or simply aesthetic to enhance our gaming experience, it's worth it.

Obviously, once again, there are choices to be made regarding the development of the game. And, hopefully, the game will come out of its critical state before long, giving time for lesser projects that add details to the world to make the experience even greater -- whatever these lesser projects may be (at least for people who care about details like me and you).

Thank you very much everyone for your comments, they are very appreciated.