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  1. #1001
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sechs View Post
    Not sure if we'll ever get a new expansion. I would have said "absolutely not!" 1 year ago, but now I think it's a possibility.
    I'd love an expansion set in the Far East, with a japanese/eastern settings, buildings and stuff.
    I wonder if the client base is enough to warrant developing a new expansion. They are doing a fantastic job churning out new content but I wonder how much is left in the bottle...

  2. #1002

    Despite the large volume of content, most of the content they've been churning out is gameplay content, with lots of recycled models etc. Arguably the "meat" of an expansion would be new areas and storyline, and if you take a look at the Adoulin story it feels like a lot of corners were cut to make it happen, EX literally showing concept art on-screen rather than give us cutscenes etc, and that's with the story only being expanded upon once every 3 or 4 months.

    Certainly not impossible though, I suppose. Isn't Everquest STILL getting expansions? lol

  3. #1003
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kincard View Post
    Despite the large volume of content, most of the content they've been churning out is gameplay content, with lots of recycled models etc. Arguably the "meat" of an expansion would be new areas and storyline, and if you take a look at the Adoulin story it feels like a lot of corners were cut to make it happen, EX literally showing concept art on-screen rather than give us cutscenes etc, and that's with the story only being expanded upon once every 3 or 4 months.

    Certainly not impossible though, I suppose. Isn't Everquest STILL getting expansions? lol
    everquest just got a new expansion, but it's also free to play now

  4. #1004
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    the story cycle has been moving a fair bit faster than before. its almost every 2-3 months now.
    i'm ok with them showing art on screen because sometimes its just easier to get by them doing that.. and it is storytelling.. so there's a lot of 'this is how it went down' in areas that aren't even in the game. I find that it helps with getting people to imagine what it would be like.. rather than showing outright. its a storytelling device, to say the least.

    I feel like the story is slowly heating up.. altho it also seems like it's moving slower than the rest of the expansion. CoP moved at a crazily rapid speed and paced new areas and stuff (maybe because it also locked them away) but it was a good pace.

    Another expansion is also well within the realm of possibility.. although I think there would be a short lull period in between after SoA stuff begins to die down. before WotG, the game swung from expansion to expansion.. with 1 being announced while another was in full swing. I believe they'll take things a little easier with this one. If they want to announce a new expansion, i'd think they'd wait till about late 2014 to do so... unless there are other developments that might bring more life back into the game.

  5. #1005
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kincard View Post
    EX literally showing concept art on-screen rather than give us cutscenes etc
    Ungh...
    Well, it probably is just a way for them to tell a lot saving resources. But it's a fantastic way at doing that, a really good/efficient compromise, so much that the word itself is too small to describe it, imho.
    I mean, in the end it's not like in the past expansions with full budget they never cut out things... there were plenty of things cut out or told with plain, boring, long text from an NPC dialogue.
    This new idea they had with SoA is fantastic imho.

    Also, we're still getting cool cut-scenes after all and the lust bunch of added missions had quite a few if you remember.

  6. #1006
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kincard View Post
    EX literally showing concept art on-screen rather than give us cutscenes etc
    I personally enjoyed this approach.

    (I would have enjoyed it a lot more if they weren't subject to being so low-res.)

  7. #1007
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    Disappoints me verily, especially since the quality of cutscenes improved so much through ToAU and WotG. They haven't really utilized any of that whatsoever. Majority of the cutscenes have been NPCs standing in one spot talking, or low res concept art quality images.

  8. #1008
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    Oh, don't get me wrong—I thought that the cutscenes in WotG were absolute marvels, and I did not mind that SE took their sweet time in releasing the missions, considering how impressive the results were. From a technical standpoint, I was wowed by what they did with some old character models and a lot of dynamic camera work.

    However, I like the storybook-esque appeal of using artwork instead of in-game modeling, and I believe they haven't done that enough. In my perfect world, there would be a blend. There's really painfully little artwork in FFXI as is.

  9. #1009

    I do like the storybook-feel the on-screen concept art does (that music that goes with it is great too), but like you said, there's no balance here, so I get the feeling that this was mostly done as a cost-saving measure.

  10. #1010
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    I like how since WoTG, they show actual choerographed NPC combat that uses unique NPC gestures and animations. If you watch vanilla FFXI NQ cutscenes from original cities before RoTZ, NPCs all have green NPC names above their heads and combat between two different NPCs is more like "/drawsword and then run at eachother with a white flash, sword hit SFX, then white screen fades and one NPC falls to the ground.

  11. #1011
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    Quote Originally Posted by Priran View Post
    I could see the white wyrm having something to do with the Naakuals, but I'm still betting the 7th is a dark-element Amorph. Some kind of king of the Umbrils, perhaps.


    Furthermore I'm gonna guess that his current mission, the one Sajj'aka can't remember, is leading the Blackthorn Coven.

  12. #1012
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    What makes you think he has anything to do with the Blackthorn Coven? Been so long since I've done those quests with the Mithras, besides the obvious "its a group of witches!" what is the Coven's purpose? Sajj'aka did say that August made Xol "see the light." So whatever his mission is must be for the good of keeping Hades sealed away, right? Even if he is...different. And what of the other two of the triumphant?

    Speaking of Naakuals, any bets on where they're all from? Sajj'aka mentioned that none of them were of Ulbuka origin, just that they were assigned to protect the entrances to the Serpentine Labyrinth. And speaking of that labyrinth...when it was first mentioned, I couldn't help but feeling like what was actually meant was Cirdas Caverns. It's far more serpentine in nature, nevermind that the areas that the Naakuals preside over are all connected directly to it via a Gates area, while Ra'kaznor is off by it's lonesome in Kamihr. Although we do see an entrance to it in Woh. Perhaps there's other entrances all over the continent that haven't been added/discovered yet.

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    The Coven questline is still ongoing too, it has something to do with a magical artifact and the Velkk king scheming something. I think that plot is actually more related to the beastmen themselves(which are completely ignored in the main storyline) while the main missions focus on Hades.

  14. #1014
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    Yeah, got the same feeling. They've got plenty of storylines they can continue as well to tie up any other loose ends or details. Like Jeuno/Bastoks involvement in the Midas storyline and Naakual KIs and research. That got good too for only being 2 quests in, but we haven't seen anything added to it since the first update after SoA launch. :/

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    The Coven infiltrated the Velkk because they had some magical artifact, the Coven knew about it, and the Coven decided that it was too dangerous to allow them to continue having it. They know the forest well, they use unique dark magic, and they serve an ultimately good cause. What that cause (or the artifact) is is left to the imagination, but they are opposed by the Exorcists (much like the Umbrils). I wouldn't be surprised if they tied this quest line into the story like they did so many times in CoP (along with other unresolved quest lines, like Midras's).

  16. #1016
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    Naakuals reminds me of the brave fencer musashi crest guardian thing. The "evil guardians" were actually good and necessary to lock away a great evil but the hero defeats them all unknowingly and unleashes the evil themselves. "Nice job breaking it, hero"

    http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.ph...BreakingItHero

  17. #1017
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    Quote Originally Posted by Malithar View Post
    What makes you think he has anything to do with the Blackthorn Coven? Been so long since I've done those quests with the Mithras, besides the obvious "its a group of witches!" what is the Coven's purpose? Sajj'aka did say that August made Xol "see the light." So whatever his mission is must be for the good of keeping Hades sealed away, right? Even if he is...different. And what of the other two of the triumphant?

    Speaking of Naakuals, any bets on where they're all from? Sajj'aka mentioned that none of them were of Ulbuka origin, just that they were assigned to protect the entrances to the Serpentine Labyrinth. And speaking of that labyrinth...when it was first mentioned, I couldn't help but feeling like what was actually meant was Cirdas Caverns. It's far more serpentine in nature, nevermind that the areas that the Naakuals preside over are all connected directly to it via a Gates area, while Ra'kaznor is off by it's lonesome in Kamihr. Although we do see an entrance to it in Woh. Perhaps there's other entrances all over the continent that haven't been added/discovered yet.
    i thought the naakuals were kept imprisoned like the dragon itself in rakaznaar and augustine freed them and they became is his poké... i mean best friends and guard now the verious entrances to rakaznaar on his order. Or did I missread the mission?

    maybe they just came from the underworld? Cirdas [U] Rala[U] yorcia [U] what does that U stand for? maybe those are the beginning of the serpentine labyrinth and not only rakaznaar is the labyrinth, hence why you needed one of the naakuals defeated (and so their crest) to enter the [U] as in Underworld?

  18. #1018
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    It isn't clear whether the Naakuals and Sajj'aka were imprisoned in Ra'Kaznar, or somewhere else. I personally think that Ra'Kaznar is merely a gate to the Underworld, where Hades and whoever still serves him are as well as whatever prisoners (August?) remain. The Naakuals and Sajj'aka were possibly locked away there, rather than Ra'Kaznar.

  19. #1019
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    Thought it was kind of interesting how Morimar just came straight out and said August's spirit was causing all the previous issues when Adoulin went through the Great Expedition, as well as placing the curse on Ygnas. You'd think Hades or whoever is his spirit's keeper would be more able to control him, and not allow him to stop people from adventuring into Ulbuka. Unless maybe they needed time for something, to prep for their return maybe. Can't wait to meet August, Hades, etc.

    Lack of "Wtf Morimar, just how old are you and why are you still alive?!" was disappointing. I'm curious if he's simply alive because of some sort of bond with the tiger, or if there's some natural/supernatural reason behind it.

  20. #1020
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    I think thats just something they'll eventually get into.. especially if they ever explain the deal behind Melvien as well, who alludes to the notion that he was possibly being possessed by someone as old as Morimar. (it isnt likely himself because according to Grenniths diary he grew old together with Ygnas and the rest of the cool kids.

    Considering the fact that the 6 wildskeeper Naakuals are still faithful to August, its likely that Xol is too. Theres some speculation that maybe Teodor is Xol, but i can't rationalize that somehow. We don't know enough. That being said, Teodor appears like he might be a living ancient as well, seeing as he knows so much more than most people.

    The Serpentine Labyrinth is most certainly Ra'Kaznar, but we dont exactly know what (inner) Ra Kaz'nar will be like, tho I will postulate that the other 5 entrances probably lead to it because they are below ground. Interestingly, the entrance in Woh gates may be in plain sight, whereas this isn't the case for the other 4 underground entrances, altho all 5 of them have an additional inaccessible map layer.

    And then theres still Vortimere.