Quickie post

[thistlechaser]

Zzzz, so tired. I took the time to edit and upload some screenshots so I can post them tomorrow, but I wanted to put a sample up now.

I always try to explain FFXI in a way that non-players will "get it", but I feel like I usually fail. How can you explain how real of a world it is? How it doesn't seem one little tiny bit like a game?

Look at this screenshot. (I left it full-size for effect.) That's not from a cutscene or anything, that's what I see every day there. I can walk in any direction you see (and the ones you don't, too!). Look at all the options! Look at all the details!

Ah, maybe I shouldn't have tried to do this while my brain is already asleep. It's just that that screenshot shows how many opportunities there are! You can go in any direction -- and not just on the land but in your "life", too! You can help people or you can hurt people. You can grow strong in whichever way you choose. You can make a name for yourself -- a good one or a bad one.

And a last note before I'm unable to see straight: Somehow (amazingly) I leveled chocobo digging again. :D Zero wait time between digs! That leads to many complications (macros, RL hand/arm issues) but those can be worked out later! I've made more progress on digging than many (most?) NA players have. So nice! (Hey, I may not be level 75 yet, but I sure as heck am good at digging junk out of the ground! :P )

And now: To bed! I see I have a mess of email, but I'll deal with that in the morning. Hopefully work won't be too evil...

Comments

[pomr.livejournal.com]

It takes real effort to harm someone else. I can only think of a few things:

1) Spread rumors about them.
2) Let them be hurt or killed by inactivity on your part.
3) Deliberately aggro something dangerous, train it out to them, then warp away or something.
4) Steal something they're pulling.
5) Raise someone before the thing that killed them is gone or occupied, so they die again. Rest, recover mana, repeat.

That is the limit of what I can think of that might harm another. I REALLY love that the game is designed around a core concept of party play and cooperation and that there is no Player vs. Player save in that silly Ballista thing. :)

That said...the depth of detail in the game is mind blowing. There are stars at night, the moon has phases, you can have weather effects...and it all intertwines with other things like skills, and spells and so on. To say it is immersive is doing it a disservice. :)

Sometimes it can be too immersive, really. I don't honestly need all the time it takes to travel anywhere in the game. Really. I can do with a cut scene of the journey, only to be interrupted by an encounter. :) I /am/ glad that they don't require you to have food to survive, or drink. That would be awful. :)

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

I don't honestly need all the time it takes to travel anywhere in the game.

When I first started playing, I hadn't had issues with this. I liked the airship, I liked how realistic traveling was... but then it got seriously old. Not only old, but it actually got in the way. (Everyone: "Hey, we're doing an Escort run, wanna come?" Me: "Um... I'm in Sandy. I'll have to airship to Jeuno so I can airship to Bastok and pick up the quest, then fly back to Jeuno so I can travel out to CN. Want to wait 45 minutes for me?") However, since I suppose it's SE's intent to keep us on the game longer, I don't suppose they'll change that.

I /am/ glad that they don't require you to have food to survive, or drink. That would be awful. :)

Sometimes I think that would be fun, but everyone else I know thinks it would be just horrible, so I'm willing to go with that opinion. :)

[pomr.livejournal.com]

Right! The first time I rode the airship or a chocobo it was a lot of fun. Heck, the first time I ran anywhere it was neat. I just don't much care for how LONG it takes. Like you said, AS to Jeuno, then AS to , then AS to ...still, imagine if you had to run all that way? Or even Chocobo? The Airship is good.

And of course they won't. That's why there are spots you can't run, even with a Chocobo, and so on. Longer we're on, the more money they make. :)

Trust me. Having to mess with rations to survive is just not fun in a game. At all. :)

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Trust me. Having to mess with rations to survive is just not fun in a game. At all. :)

Since I'm not much of a gamer and all big-time gamers say that, I'm willing to believe you. :)

...still, imagine if you had to run all that way? Or even Chocobo? The Airship is good.

I had a dream the other night that SE put "teleportation pads" into each of the three cities. Just step on the pad, select which of the starter cities you wanted to go to, and poof! Just a zoning and you were in the new city. :P

[pomr.livejournal.com]

Mmmm...teleporters...yummy....

*blisses out on the concept*

[kamalloy.livejournal.com]

Town teleporters. YES. That would be awesome. There would have to be a level/rank restriction, and probably some obnoxious quest before you could access them, but they would rock.

If it were only among the three starting towns, then you'd still need the airship or a chocobo to get to Jeuno, so those would stay in business.

I like this idea. How can we get Square to implement it? ^_~

And while the airship is still faster than chocoing, it's annoying to have to wait 8-10 minutes for one to get in to Bastok, then a few more minutes for it to take off, then the travel time to Jeuno, then wait for the one to Windurst to get in, etc. I had about an hour of a half of playing time last Sunday and all I got to do was move myself from Bastok to Windurst in preparation for stuff yesterday. ^^; I'd like to, y'know, actually be productive when I play.

[yshyn.livejournal.com]

For me, travel got a helluva lot easier once I got the teleport spells. I didn't have an airship pass at that point. I'd been chocoing everywhere, but once I got all the tele-spells, plus warp on a sub, combined with outpost ports, it becomes insanely easy to travel to anywhere. And even though Bastok is a bugger to reach on land, with the outposts and spells it's much easier.

Of course, it's a total and complete bugger if Bastok doesn't control Buburimu or the Dunes, since those are the outposts I tend to return to home from. I'm surprised more people don't level WHM to 36 for the three basic crags to be honest.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

I like this idea. How can we get Square to implement it? ^_~

They'd probably want to charge us lots of RL money for that. :P

[kamalloy.livejournal.com]

I have RL money! I don't have very much RL time! Works for me! ;p

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

While people must think us batty, I'd agree with that. In this case, I'd rather give up RL money to save RL time. :)

[peppygrowlithe.livejournal.com]

I still like my cartooniness!

But that's just the way I am, I suppose. I just personally find a sort of charm in things that -don't- appear as realistic, which is why I'm a bit concerned about this recent shift the video game world has been making. More and more, games are all about looking as beautiful as possible, while I'm more than content to stick with sprites and such.

I'm old-gen! *wails helplessly*

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Yeah, you and I are opposites on that. :) It'd make me so sad to be in a less realistic world! Not to mention, I couldn't really feel a connection to it.

But hey, I still like you, even if you are cartoony and less than fully realistic. ;)

[mark356.livejournal.com]

Ooh, those colors, that sky and ground, are so beautiful. If only it were a movie or a series, I think I would adore it!

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'd love to see a FFXI movie!