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Chapter 12: Echoing the Past    Last time I got ambushed by a golem, but like anything at this stage of the game it was disposed of rather easily. Still, that puts us about 2/3rds of the way through what's essentially this game's prologue. We don't have too long to go!   Fortunately, we didn't need him this time.   Oh, no. Here we go again.  Welcome to the echo.  While the game doesn't tell us the name of these type of visions yet, there's no real point in hiding it either. It was an important plot device in 1.0.  In 1.0, the player character experiences a few visions like this before they eventually learn that it is known as the Echo. They learn what it is at the end of their city-state storyline. The same happens here, but it's no real secret this time around.  In this context, the Echo enables characters to explore another character's memories. It has other properties, but they either won't show up until later or are no longer relevant. I'll talk about the ones that are no longer relevant soon, but not in this update.  Right now, we're exploring Thancred's memories, or, well, a simulation of them. When you're in the echo, it's actually possible to interact with the memories. We're viewing Thancred's memories here, but players actually experienced gameplay during the echo in 1.0.  This isn't actually an issue with my image compression. When you're experiencing the echo, the graphics occasionally gets fuzzy. This is to basically inform the player that they are currently in the echo. It's also often used to change memory.  1.0 actually never did anything like this. There were no visual effects, and the only clue to being in the echo was a sort of whooshing sound. You can imagine how confusing this would be when it's not actually explained at all for the first ten or so hours of the game. I don't really know how long it took to finish the city-state storyline in 1.0.    "If they truly mean to summon a primal, we must act quickly."Going by the dialogue, it's safe to assume that we're currently around the year in which 1.0 is set, as that's roughly when the Amalj'aa started becoming more hostile.  "You wouldn't keep a girl waiting, would you!?" So, the thing about 1.0's echo was that the protagonist unwarily experienced it.  "So tell me, where in this marvel of a city might you lovely ladies be staying?" The consequence was that the player was also unaware of it. The story was designed to seamlessly transition between the present and a person's memory in a way that something seemed off, but the narrative progressed naturally anyway. It was confusing, and a lot of players didn't really understand the story.  What the developers were attempting to do was pretty cool, but the execution kind of sucked.  So, the point in this echo sequence is to both introduce the both the echo Thancred to us.  Thancred was one of the main characters in the 1.0 storyline, and was particularly prominent in the Ul'dah story.  The current scene is set during the Seventh Umbral Era events of 1.0, during its final months. "Aye, this weakening of the aetheric flow must surely be linked to Dalamud's descent. And, of course, to the primals. A fine mess. But we must not lose hope." This whole echo section is essentially a fast forward through 1.0's events from Thancred's perspective. Thancred belonged to the Circle of Knowing, which was lead by a Sharlayan known as Louisoix. Louisoix is the old man that loses his life during the end of the era cinematic that can be found in the OP, but he was also the main quest giver for the Seventh Umbral Era questline.  The other city-states also had their own member(s) of the Circle of Knowing involved in the storyline. They're also similarly involved in the A Realm Reborn scenarios.  These members had a more important role during the city-state storylines. Thancred was pretty much the protagonist of the Ul'dah story, as the player was involved strictly through Thancred's memories. It was Thancred that ultimately did everything.  He disappeared for the majority of the quests following the abrupt ending of the final Ul'dah quest, only showing up when the quests started involving combat. I've said it before, but 1.0 allowed you to play the main scenario as just a crafter or gatherer.  As a result, the battles were designed so that the player didn't have to take part. Thancred, or any of the other Circle of Knowing members, would fight for you. That was essentially his role before Yoshida took over as director and the Seventh Umbral Era storyline started.  Because of the heavy use of the echo in 1.0, the city-state storylines actually took place fifteen years ago. Thancred hasn't really aged at all, and neither has any of the other members of his order. This has lead to some interesting speculation about Thancred and his associates.  The members of the Circle of Knowing were also known by another name: Archons. In Eorzea, the Archons are those that guide the people when a calamity is approaching, using knowledge preserved from a previous calamity. Archons were also said to be the Twelve reincarnated. "Have faith. Just have faith. You can do this."In actuality, Thancred is just a Hyur. He's not a reincarnated member of the Twelve. At least, that's what Square-Enix are currently saying.  "The Sultantree? Maybe Papashan will know something of it." And so ends our first experience with the echo. It kind of brings us a little up to speed with who Thancred is. We now know that he's investigating the Primals, and is paying close attention to the Amalj'aa, for fear that they may summon Ifrit. Although, they did successfully summon Ifrit just before the 1.0 storyline faded out for the seventh umbral era stuff. The A Realm Reborn storyline kind of picks up from around then. So now that we've been introduced to one of the most important plot devices in XIV, we'll be returning to gameplay in the next update. I've been ignoring the Gladiator quests, so it's time to continue that. I'll be able to talk a little more about the Gladiator's party role. Bonus So, now that I've brought up the echo (and explained it a little), it makes sense to share this link. Someone kindly decided to record and host every main scenario quest from 1.0. For just now, I'd recommend watching the four Ul'dah videos, but since this is all set before A Realm Reborn, feel free to go hog wild with it. Just remember to listen out for the dull whoosh. It's worth noting that none of the city-state storylines ever see a conclusion, and the main scenario for 1.0 disappears into the background to drop a meteor on Eorzea. Right now, we might actually see a conclusion to the Ul'dah story, but that's uncertain at the moment.  Also, Starlight Celebrations are here so happy Starlight.
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Dec 20, 2014 16:26
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| # ? Apr 19, 2024 08:06 |
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So I assume this game has different servers for different regions (in the real world, I mean; Asia, South America, etc.). Do different regions have different themed holidays, or does everybody get Halloween and such? I'm guessing a lot of Western holidays aren't as big in Japan.
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Dec 20, 2014 20:10
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I wonder if players would have liked XIV's original story more if the rest of the game wasn't so awful. Though 15 years with no aging (especially for Hyur) is a bit much. Schwartzcough posted:So I assume this game has different servers for different regions (in the real world, I mean; Asia, South America, etc.). Do different regions have different themed holidays, or does everybody get Halloween and such? I'm guessing a lot of Western holidays aren't as big in Japan. Actually from what I gather Christmas is actually celebrated in Japan. They just celebrate the winter solstice (with the tree and the presents) part of it and not the birth-of-Jesus part of it. And they do it while eating KFC with champagne: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/why-japan-is-obsessed-with-kentucky-fried-chicken-on-christmas-1-161666960/?no-ist Seraphic Neoman fucked around with this message at 20:24 on Dec 20, 2014 |
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Dec 20, 2014 20:22
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There are currently three regions: Japan, NA/EU, and China. (ANZ gets to pick between NA/EU and lag, or Japan and a language barrier.) Japan and EU/NA share seasonal events. I have no idea what happens with the Chinese servers because like most MMOs in China, they're run by some Chinese company and are apparently about a patch behind. This means that while we do get Christmas, Valentine's, Easter, and Halloween events, we also get a summer event that I guess is based on Japanese summer traditions.
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Dec 20, 2014 21:48
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SSNeoman posted:Actually from what I gather Christmas is actually celebrated in Japan. They just celebrate the winter solstice (with the tree and the presents) part of it and not the birth-of-Jesus part of it. You can bet I'm ready! 
JDRockefeller fucked around with this message at 22:18 on Dec 20, 2014 |
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Dec 20, 2014 22:09
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Sorry that the updates haven't been too consistent lately. Things have been busy, and I got a bit bummed out over something that happened in my city this week. Expect an update in the next couple of days. Hope you all had a good Christmas.
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Dec 28, 2014 03:10
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| # ? Apr 19, 2024 08:06 |
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That Christmas Lalafell is awesome. Sorry to hear that CrashScreen. Take your time with the update, we can wait.
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Dec 28, 2014 21:09
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