Dalamudversary

[Lucavi]

Ooooh yeah! I remember the embargoed reviews! I remember asking review companies not to release their initial reviews, hahahahahaha.

Oh man... that thread is a classic at this point.

[Vuitton]

I really enjoyed the last days of 1.0, and I was there until servers went down, and just after that SE posted the End of An Era vid... that was an epic experience! (and laggy, very laggy >_>)

Dalamud getting bigger every patch, Nael epic fight, Atomos, chaos everywhere, mobs disapearing because Dalamud messed up the gravity, #lore

I also miss the High Quality textures. Can't wait for DX11 on ARR so they can implement them again >,<!

Anyways, ARR is better, and I expect it to be better on every patch!
Thanks Dalamud for the reset.

What mobs disappeared? I remember everything but that one.

[arus2001]

Aesthetically, the old movie was cool. But you know, SE does the CG thing well, usually.

Pragmatically, as a relative outsider to 1.0 since I dropped it very quickly into the first open beta, I couldn't much invest myself into the characters depicted. The vid does very little to tell the viewer about the Scions and, in the end, the "PCs" featured also have no 2.0 significance beyond being labeled Warriors of Light. So, those who wonder if we might ever meet the people from the movie will be disappointed. As well, I find 2.0 could've done a better job telling people what happened since right now really isn't much different than XI's "war from 20 years ago" the served as a foundation and was still poorly executed even when WotG visited it.

Anyway, like others, I was pretty grumpy about XIV's initial state. And like many other XI players, was pretty pissed that THAT was what had been killing the game I'd been playing for years. It fueled the Tanaka hate, really, and brought cringes when he was shuffled back to XI, yet praise when he was finally axed. I didn't really fall into the Yoshi hype and most XIV kinda stayed dark for me because I either didn't care or just held onto some spite about XI. Of course, XI fell into the suck of the VW era, so I poked into other things like GW2 and Rift. They had their pros and cons, but eventually word started trickling back to me that 2.0 was nothing like 1.0. So, I just kind of shed my prejudice and decided to look at things as a new game instead of just a reboot because I knew I wasn't going to roll on a Legacy server, anyway.

I'm pleased, but at the same time, I'm concerned. I live in that awkward chasm between hardcore and casual that no MMO I've played really seems to have catered to well, and XIV is no exception. Fluff like housing is not something that wins me over. PvP isn't for me because I have zero tolerance for the social norms it tends to facilitate. And really, I just hate how the genre has made raiding the be-all of progression if it isn't a game that touts itself PvP-centric. Either way, if a game can keep me playing for 3+ months, I can't really complain, as console titles may be lucky to manage 50+ hours anymore and are comparably less cash efficient. Heck, the cost efficiency of MMOs is partly why I play them.

[Elcura]

Aesthetically, the old movie was cool. But you know, SE does the CG thing well, usually.

Pragmatically, as a relative outsider to 1.0 since I dropped it very quickly into the first open beta, I couldn't much invest myself into the characters depicted. The vid does very little to tell the viewer about the Scions and, in the end, the "PCs" featured also have no 2.0 significance beyond being labeled Warriors of Light. So, those who wonder if we might ever meet the people from the movie will be disappointed. As well, I find 2.0 could've done a better job telling people what happened since right now really isn't much different than XI's "war from 20 years ago" the served as a foundation and was still poorly executed even when WotG visited it.

You do realise they had a whole bunch of shit leading into that right? And for anyone who played the game the whole thing was easily understood. You watched a cutscene that marked the end of a game you never played and you're disappointed it didn't tell you who what and where even though everyone who played the game pretty much knows? You're complaining that 2.0 doesn't explain what happened before even though the people who played the game actually experienced it?

I mean I would be confused to if I saw the effective ending to a story I had never even heard of before.

[arus2001]

Welp, there's not exactly going back to seeing 1.0's finale through your own personal gameplay, so people new to the game really only have vague tidbits to glean from the video and the bread crumbs throughout the story. A little more lore on the Empire's actions prior to Bahamut wouldn't hurt for the user here, as well as any hallmark activities that the Scions had participated in to allegedly earn them their fame. I know I've seen names like Hildebrand and White Raven thrown around in the past here, too. So, sure, I could hit up the Google and maybe find something out, but that's not exactly keeping the experience self-contained.

But perhaps I'm hoping for too much out an MMO plot.

[Viar]

Welp, there's not exactly going back to seeing 1.0's finale through your own personal gameplay, so people new to the game really only have vague tidbits to glean from the video and the bread crumbs throughout the story. A little more lore on the Empire's actions prior to Bahamut wouldn't hurt for the user here, as well as any hallmark activities that the Scions had participated in to allegedly earn them their fame. I know I've seen names like Hildebrand and White Raven thrown around in the past here, too. So, sure, I could hit up the Google and maybe find something out, but that's not exactly keeping the experience self-contained.

But perhaps I'm hoping for too much out an MMO plot.

It's not you are hoping too much for mmo plot lol, it's you are hoping too much info, when it's better not to give too much info in a story.

Background story in xi and xiv is just fine, there no need to write 10 pages of essay to explain it. What matters is the character and present, what happened in the past is up to readers to use their imagination. But background story only serve as a stage for characters, it should be brief and not a 10 page essay.

XIV story is nothing special to me due to shallow characters and plot, certainly not because of subtle background story. You feel the need to know more about background, maybe because the characters in the present are uninteresting to begin with.

[Niiro]

I'm really going to miss the superior story/writing/cutscenes from 1.0, it's not even about the filler bullshit that is most of 2.0's MSQ, even the pivotal events and characters were just a complete bore.

There hasn't been a single 2.0 cutscene I found worth rewatching.

[Seravi Edalborez]

http://www.ffxivmaps.com/old.html

Looking back, damn Coerthas is tiny now. Central Lowlands/Eastlands just got their zone lines to Mor Dhona/Shroud moved into Highlands and cut entirely, to say nothing of the other regions. Edit: And West Highlands are out too; The Fury's Gaze moved/retconned to Boulder Downs.

Upper/Outer La Noscea is kind of a mishmash of nameswaps and Bronze Lake being flooded (the latter is explained in LORE or something). Whole Bloodshore area is pretty different. Aleport and Wineport got names swapped.

Lolblackshroud. Though West Shroud has been cut out entirely with no obvious places where it could "be". From the Mor Dhona side (X33 Y16 ARR) there's not really anything there except ruins.

Speaking of, Mor Dhona has also been a bit summarized (Castrum Centri and the railroad to North Thanalan can be handwaved but we're missing the whole southeast Brittlebark area).

Thanalan, just cut most of the old zones in half or trim the edges.

[Grey Jorildyn]

it would be neat if someone took the old maps and the new maps and made some kinda gif showing a transition of how we got there, including aetherytes moving. Some weird stuff seems to have happened to the world for sure.

[Niiro]

On the topic of maps, I gotta say I really do miss the huge old ones.

I didn't think I would, when they announced that regions in 2.0 would be divided up into smaller zones I was ok with that since there was so much empty space in the 1.0 zones, but it gave the feeling of a much more vast, tangible world.

The 2.0 zones are just too small, there's a distinct purpose to every nook and cranny, you never feel like you're exploring anything.

Remember the first time you ran around Coerthas in 1.0? The sheer vastness of the zone, the hills, the rocks, the lakes, the AWESOME views from the bridges (esp. Ishgard), the huge abandoned fortifications, etc.

Even if there was no content to be had, the world was large and detailed enough to make you want to go and see just what was all the way out there in the corner of the map and it made the world as a whole feel more substantial.

The 2.0 zones are like mini-malls, you can't go 5 feet anywhere in the game without running into tons of people or the next prominent landmark, there's never a feeling of anything being "uncharted", there aren't even any world mobs above lvl 50 to kill you or pose any kind of challenge. In a lot of places the zones the are just too cramped. The tidegates in Aleport essentially have LL forts within spitting distance of the Sahagin stronghold, it just looks so ridiculous to have NPC guards and beastmen within sight distance of each other 24/7, just hangin out like they're not mortal enemies.

[Rocl]

The 2.0 zones are just too small, there's a distinct purpose to every nook and cranny, you never feel like you're exploring anything.

What purpose does the Garlok Lair serve!? Or the Hermit's Hovel!? The Salt Strand? The Nail? Boulder Downs? Griffin Crossing? Rathefrost?

I don't disagree that the world is smaller and that there's less places the game doesn't take you, but it doesn't make the Burning Wall any less awesome / MYSTERIOUSO for me

[Seravi Edalborez]

The Salt Strand? Rathefrost?

Fishing. Totally justified.

I don't miss Thanalan's "where's the hole in this mountain" or Shroud's "where's the goddamn ramps" labyrinths. But alas poor Coerthas. We hardly knew ye.

[Rocl]

Little Ala Mhigo still fucking gets me lost

[Niiro]

What purpose does the Garlok Lair serve!? Or the Hermit's Hovel!? The Salt Strand? The Nail? Boulder Downs? Griffin Crossing? Rathefrost?

I don't disagree that the world is smaller and that there's less places the game doesn't take you, but it doesn't make the Burning Wall any less awesome / MYSTERIOUSO for me

Fishing and quests take you there, also other than maybe the burning wall none of these places are at all "out of the way".

You pass by them just traveling through the zone.

[Elcura]

I'd rather have zones with purpose than zones with nothing but nothing you have to travel 5 extra minutes in order to get to something.

Or something.

[Rocl]

Fishing and quests take you there, also other than maybe the burning wall none of these places are at all "out of the way".

You pass by them just traveling through the zone.

Fishing takes you to every part of every zone basically, lol. There's no quest I can recall for any of those places except maybe BRD & Griffin Crossing. Also, they're all in weird nooks of the edges of the zones

[Xanthe]

But alas poor Coerthas. We hardly knew ye.

If you compare the old and new Coerthas maps, you can see they did an excellent job of placing everything. The only major movement was the placement of the Aurum Vale to the north of the Hall of the Seven Echoes. Nothing has been completely retconned out of place. I'm optimistic that they will add the missing regions (Western Highlands, Eastern Lowlands/Highlands, Central Lowlands) over time as content is developed to fill them. For now I consider us "fast traveling" through those regions. While the zone in 1.0 was vast and an amazing place to explore, the majority of it was devoid of content, and I think that is something the development is trying to avoid this time around.

I haven't done the same comparisons for Mor Dhona, but I'd venture to guess the same with that zone. It will be filled out in time, and I'd guess that 2.1 will give us the Brittlebark portion of the map as that is where the Crystal Tower is located.

[Rocl]

I'm not so certain on more Mor Dhona zones. Coerthas specifies it's Coerthas > Coerthas Central Highlands while Mor Dhona just is Mor Dhona > Mor Dhona.

This is where I imagine the Crystal Tower entrance will be (I mean, the attunement since you'll just DF yourself in)

[Raldo]

I'd guess that 2.1 will give us the Brittlebark portion of the map as that is where the Crystal Tower is located.

You can already walk up to the Crystal Tower door, unless I'm mistaken. I doubt we'll be getting a new zone for it.

Edit: Beaten by Rocl. That is indeed the door I was referring to.

[Niiro]

Fishing takes you to every part of every zone basically, lol. There's no quest I can recall for any of those places except maybe BRD & Griffin Crossing. Also, they're all in weird nooks of the edges of the zones

It also only takes like 2 mins to reach the burning wall from Drybone, another 2 mins to explore, and that's all.

I remember doing quests near the salt strand (collecting items or something) but again, you can see all there is to see of it from just passing thru.

I can't commend on all the other places because I don't know where they are (doesn't mean I haven't seem, I just don't remember the names of most places because it feels like there's a new name for the area you're in every 50 yards).