Comments from the Devs

[xopher]

I don't remember meeting aldo in the original rank missions

[solracht]

He was in the magicite mission, which was rank 4.

[Alkar]

i think you're mistaken by which missions i mean.
All of what i mentioned was available at launch.

We meet Aldo for the first time in Tenshodo as part of the original mission storyline which requires you to retrieve the magicite from beastmen strongholds. We just don't get to know him that well until Zilart, ACP and ASA tho.
Mathilde on the other hand has always been in Selbina, tho only CoP and ACP storylines bother to point this out, and otherwise theres no way to reunite the siblings.

Tavnazia wasn't suddenly introduced in CoP, and has been referenced fairly often even before Zilart release, with the most significant one being the WHM AF quest, which was introduced when the level cap was raised to 60, in Nov 2002, which was 6 months into the launch of FFXI in Japan.

Again, Tavnazia and the events that took place there were not explained at launch. Aldo being briefly in one mission doesn't change the fact that you have no clue about him or his character at all nor any way to connect him to the opening (yet). Mentioning updates is exactly what I'm talking about: all this stuff was added later on. FFXIV never had the chance because Tanaka was replaced after the very first update.
I've never said that Tavnazia popped out of nowhere with CoP either but it surely wasn't in the game at launch. The first time you hear of Tavnazia in the Sandy story is after the Shadow Lord battle and those missions were added later on.

[Spira]

my point really was that Aldo was a real character that you could kinda point to and say' oh hey i think i remember him from the opening cutscene' and like maybe hope to find out more from there. i don't think its unreasonable in both XI and XIVs openings that whatever happened there would be revealed later on in updates, i just feel that XIs opening had better direction and set the stage better, but only very slightly so

XIV's cinematic had me thinking 2 things.
1) is that supposed to represent me?
2) is any of this real? or is it just a trailer to hype me up?

its definitely a matter of opinion for preference but for the most part the opening cinematic in XIV left more questions than answers which certainly didn't help a game which didnt have much direction going on about it.

I wonder if pinning it on Tanaka would have changed much tho. The original missions did run up to Futures Perfect, which at least explained the Echo but scarcely made reference to the events of Mor Dhona at all, even if you do actually go there to get unaspected crystals. Its hard to say where the story would have continued towards, but I guess thats history.

For ARR, A New Beginning isn't the final version of the cinematic to be used in its opening right?
The Meteor scene does definitely provide a background story for new players joining XIV.. altho the parts that follow after, with the random cuts to Odin and Behemoth seemed very random to me.

[xopher]

He was in the magicite mission, which was rank 4.

That was the skippable one, right?

[solracht]

That was the skippable one, right?

No

[xopher]

Nevermind then. I guess I just don't remember it.

[Eagleheart]

Aldo was the leader of the Tenshodo (o.O ) he was inside the Neptune's Spire in Lower Jeuno.

He was also involved in the single worst expansion XI ever had. >_> "A Crystalline Prophecy".

I'd waited for years for them to resolve that plot thread that was just sitting right there in Selbina, for eight damn years, and they just kind of brought the Macguffin out, said "oh, yeah, we did forget about this, didn't we," resolved the plotline in the worst possible way, and then gave everyone amnesia, recited the Memora de la S'tona and handed you a reward. Nobody remembers anything. Nothing changed. The Macguffin went back to being amnesiac in Selbina, Aldo went back to being some kind of good-guy pirate, and we never got any straight answers on why the Crystal was a raving psychopath.

Could have been awesome.

Could have been a suitable, fitting ending to the opening FMV, bringing the characters back together after the annihilation of Tavnazia, which is still something of a whispered legend amongst the players >_> c'mon, who hasn't wanted to go to the actual city, see the aftermath, drive the barbarians out, or hell, go back in time a la WotG and take part in the battle?

Could have been a definitive climax to the entire adventure of XI that began with the horror of the Beastmen massacre of the Marquisate. It. Could. Have. Been. Epic.

Instead, we got a smartass poet/sentient mineral deposit with a Sephiroth complex, and a botched storyline that read like something a writer had picked up out of a round file somewhere in the halls of Squeenix.

o.o It will be a dark day for the scenario writer for ACP if I ever find him.

Desert, honey, fire ants. Hungry, angry fire ants. Some assembly required. -.-

EDIT: With regards to XIV, if they pull an ACP I'm going to kidnap the scenario writer and hold them hostage. ._.

[Vuitton]

Tavnazia is also referenced throughout the San'd Oria rank 1 - 5 missions, I believe.

[Shinso]

I think it's important to take into consideration not everyone cares about the story. If they make the intro cinematic have too much story significance might deter people who would only dabble in the story as a side thing. I know in XI almost all my of friends who played never even made it past rank 3 till like just before sea was released. They were however able to enjoy and appreciate the story as it had a well paced progression. It was nice that they had these references in the opening cinematic, but to make it a requirement that you have to reference for the story (given how long it takes for the story to progress in an MMO) is a bad move.

[Grey Jorildyn]

Maybe that's a problem with players and not the devs. Food for thought.

[Enygma55]

I think it's important to take into consideration not everyone cares about the story. If they make the intro cinematic have too much story significance might deter people who would only dabble in the story as a side thing. I know in XI almost all my of friends who played never even made it past rank 3 till like just before sea was released. They were however able to enjoy and appreciate the story as it had a well paced progression. It was nice that they had these references in the opening cinematic, but to make it a requirement that you have to reference for the story (given how long it takes for the story to progress in an MMO) is a bad move.

I believe this is one of the main reasons Yoshi is making EXP so important in Quests and Missions and not supporting open world XP parties.

If people dont have to do them they wont. But if the chunk of your EXP comes from completing these missions, you'll do them for that purpose alone. (and hopefully pick up some of the story as you run thru them)

[Vuitton]

Final Fantasy has always been about the stories. That's one of the major reasons the franchise became so famous.

[Adajer]

Stories, graphics, and music. Everything you would want from a game. I think they still have been able to produce those elements of late, just been really lacking on the gameplay. Which can make the previous three elements moot.

[Jinn]

I'm running out of things to do in the beta :/

[xopher]

I've already decided I'm not touching beta again til phase 3

[ArchDizzle]

^ This, also because Gridania is my home nation and dont want to burn myself out on the area before release.

[xopher]

I'm already burnt out on Gridania. That's half of why I'm done with it

[Adajer]

This is why I stopped at lvl 15. I was going to make Uldah my new home town. but since they changed the theme music for the worse, I'll be staying in Gridania most likely.

[Fievel]

I'm already burnt out on Gridania. That's half of why I'm done with it

Yeah, fuck Grid.