Why the zones again? Follow

Ok, first off, don't kill me... if you don't agree, please state why. I'd really like to hear from you folks how you feel about this. This is just my opionion, which doesn't mean much because quite often I'm full of ****.

I enjoyed the new areas compared to the last ones. I had a great time traveling through Eorzea! I've been thinking though.. SE claimed that in order to make the zones more interesting and "add landmarks", they needed to go back to the zone system they had in FFXI. I thought "ok cool, as long as the areas improve!". . but then I had a thought as I was traversing through the landscape of ARR; it's no more unique or filled with landmarks than other successful MMOs.

I know a lot of you hate World of Warcraft! Some of you even hate Rift! And a small group of you probably hate anything that isn't FFXI! I get it, I really do. FFXI was my first MMO too and it was a beautiful game that gave me memories no game could ever match. However, the need to go back to zones really feels like a cop-out to me at this point. Azeroth is a huge open world with beautiful landscapes and many, many towns and landmarks. You always know where you are just by seeing familiar vistas or monuments. Yet there are no zones. Same with Rift, no zones.

I think I took that SE jargon and ate it right up because I was so desperate for this game to survive. It's too late to turn back, the switch was made. Eorzea will never have an open world, and I'll just have to accept that. The reasoning behind it however, I will not accept at this time in history. There was no reason they were forced to destroy the open world to add flavor to the game. It was a really bad decision in my opinion.

And even with all the zones, we're still constantly plagued with invisible walls and no ability to swim through a creek or wade into the ocean and go for a dive. I'm not sure why SE made these decisions. Time constraints perhaps? Most likely. I know any development team in it's right mind would not choose to deprive their game of features implemented in MMOs almost 10 years ago.

This isn't a hate thread. I'm not trying to be a negative nanny goat. I just think it needs to be said that although SE has improved this game quite a bit, they've still come to some very silly conclusions that will baffle quite a few potential players.

I agree on the zones feeling unique and being well designed from an aesthetic standpoint, but I could also say that Grizzly Hills and Howling Fjord are both well designed too; and yet I can freely move between the two without zoning. I can also swim in their lakes and oceans and never, ever run in to an invisible wall. The same could be said of the transition from Ashenvale in to The Barrens.

I guess my point is, I don't see why it was necessary. I would take zones without batting an eye if the exploration of said zones was free and unrestricted, but it's not at all. I still feel claustrophobic and constantly reminded of how limited Eorzea is and unfortunately will most likely be in the foreseeable future.

*I'm not harking constantly on the battle system or boss mechanics because both of those issues can be addressed in a patch or two. The world design and the total absence of free exploration however will require a very big expansion if it is to ever change, and I have a bad feeling in my gut that it won't.

Edited, Jul 7th 2013 6:47am by Transmigration

Oh lord you're right. Well, that explains it. Looks as though PS2 limitations have turned in to PS3 limitations. That's a real bummer.

It seems that the general consensus is that it was for the greater good. As long as players enjoy it, I suppose it's alright.

I'd like to know why the Mac always gets shafted by SE. Blizzard and a few other MMOs found a way to make a Mac version why can't SE and others. Apple has been gaining ground on the PCs at home. I personally know a few people who would pick the game up if there was a Mac version.

I know Bootcamp is an option, that's how I play, but not everyone wants Windows.

Yea its a PS3 limitation. I dont mind the zones it makes the maps smaller and easier to navigate, as many have said the load times are really short.

The trade off right now is if they didnt add the zone markers than no ps3/ps4 players and less player to play with. I would rather have people playing the game than having a true open world and only be limited to PC versions.

What exactly makes it a PS3 limitation? Perhaps not the greatest example, but Skyrim doesn't have zones when outside, and the game still looks great on PS3 (yes I know it's buggy but it has nothing to do with zoning, it's always been a save issue).

I'm not sure that the multiplayer is a big issue here. The PS3 version doesn't show other players very far, or many of them anyway. Remember the lalafell march? I was there, on PS3. It ran fine, no lag at all but I could only see a handful of them.

I think the servers are probably handling which other players the PS3 will load in memory, and it's probably a fixed limit. So the size of the zone, or lack of zones should have no impact.

It'll probably fine in big raids, because there's a limited amount of people in a single instance. I didn't want to make it sound as if the ps3 was showing only a handful of other players at a time, it's just not good at knowing to prioritize lalafels when there's a hundred of them walking in line

I see plenty of people around. I don't know what the limit is but it seems high enough to me.

Edited, Jul 7th 2013 9:32am by PhoenixOmbre

Not sure about Rift, but on the flip side, only a select few characters in WoW are allowed to quick travel at a world level, and no one gets a city level quick travel. I thought this was a great addition and made a good many of my other gripes disappear when I started adding up all the time watching quick flight animation in WoW.

(being a developer) I was thinking last night that this might have had something to do with, from a memory management standpoint, that sounds like a nightmare. So yah, I concur that it's probably a PS3 limitation, and this is just one reason why, I'm sure there's more that will surface as the game goes wide release. I think that the "no limitations fro the PS3" mantra is more about graphical, as in the top PC setting will blow away the PS3, but there are still concessions to be made. Who knows, maybe this is the beginning of a new era in mmo development where the engine gets a makeover a few times, PS3 usage drops off and they upgrade...

Seeing as how you don't work at SE, and aren't making a game for multi-platforms, costing your company tens if not a hundred million dollars, it would certainly make sense why you don't get it.

They chose zones because that is what allows the game to run as smoothly as it does while also have such beautiful graphics.

Source ?

Yes! I hated that so much. I remember standing at the zone, waiting for a conversation to slow down so I can zone without losing part of it. So glad it's a thing of the past.