To Zone or Not To Zone.

Often times I find people talking about the "seamless world", one which zoning does not exist. Of course, this became something people often fantasized about over the years of FFXI where zoning was very prevalent. It's also something that other MMORPG players experience, while maybe not quite as often. But it seems people are always wanting a more seamless world with less zoning. Well, I'm going to say something that might sound completely crazy but... Zoning might actually be good! That's right, zoning might actually be a good idea, and here's why.

People have really underestimated the importance of zoning. To Square Enix, it was just a way to build the game easier, to us, it has just been a frustration, but quite honestly it's one of the best game designs I've ever seen. Why is that? Because when you zone you go from one area to another. You "traverse" across the lands. Think of it as a time skip. Imagine if while watching a movie, instead of there being parts of the movie where it skips from one scene in one place to another scene in another place, everything took place in one area and the camera never left one scene. Well, this is a bit extreme and exaggerated on my part, I know I know, but it's the same principle when all is said and done honestly.

Zoning actually helps "immerse" us in our online Journey. There are some MMORPG's of which I've played that didn't have zoning, one notable one being Aion. I'm not here to bash Aion today (as much as I would like to) but one of the biggest flaws is that you could pretty much go from a scorching hot barren desert, to a swampland, to a jungle, to a forest, to a mountain range, all in just jogging for about 20 minutes at a moderate pace. It felt extremely unrealistic and made you feel like you were in some kind of gigantic play box or fake world.

This is not the kind of feeling that gives you that "enormous" feel some where like Vana Diel does. In Vana Diel, when you go from the mountains to the desert, you happen upon what looks to be a mountain pass, you zone into it and the screen goes black, moments later you appear on the other end in the desert. Some times you can see far off details at the other end that look like they are a natural part of the environment. It really gives the game a feeling and a sense of immersion that when you go from one area to another you're actually traversing across a large area to get there and makes the world feel much bigger than it actually is as well. And you know us MMORPG gamers, we can never have a big enough world! (Just not enough transportation and quick enough)

So in closing, I hope while Square Enix keeps talking about a "seamless world" for once, in the millions of times they've inconvenienced players to retain the "feel" of something they do it in the right area (no pun intended) and give us at least some zoning to make the world feel vast, expansive, and realistic so we can truly be immersed in Eorzea!

Transcendence.

Well the time has finally come, it's getting quite close to the official release date and I figure now is the perfect time to do what I have been planning to do all along. That's right, I'm going to start my own FFXIV community. One which is much different than the others, or at least the others I've seen trying to recruit thus far. I'm sure I won't be the first nor the last with the ideas and mindset I currently have.

Transcendence is going to be a community of a very different caliber. You see, I'm not making this community to force a bunch of rules onto you, I'm not making it to make you jump through hoops just to join, I'm not making it over complicated, and most importantly I'm not going to try to make it some place where we all try to rush through the game as fast as possible, racing to the end to see who can get what end game armor the quickest and who can defeat which boss first.

I'm making a community for the rest of us. A community where you can have fun and adventure. One where you can build and develop friendships, one where you can find out new information, strategies, tips and so forth to become more proficient at your own pace. Some where that you can get help for the most menial tasks and your level doesn't matter. A place where exploration, adventure and character development will reign supreme.

But most importantly, I want to make a community that will last. It's part of why I'm calling it "Transcendence". I want a community full of mature and like minded individuals. One that escapes needless drama, pointless arguments and immature activity of any sort. I myself have been playing MMORPG's for many many years and I am indeed getting older now. I'm not one who will discriminate some one based on their age, but I really have gotten sick of the "high school drama" feeling that most MMORPG's (especially FFXI) force upon people.

I want a community where we can act like adults, and have fun together as adults. Where we can enjoy a amazing adventure together, grow together, build friendships together and surpass the immaturity, stupidity and drama that a lot of communities face. I read all these different communities trying to recruit early for FFXIV and they make me laugh. All these complicated rule systems when we don't even fully know how the game or it's systems will work, all these long applications, all these confusing websites, it makes me sick.

Then lately I see these new RP guilds popping up. I've never been against RP but in my opinion they just take it too far. They try to become their own little act within the game and they are already creating back stories to stories that have yet to even be released. Not that I'm against them mind you, usually RPers are quite peaceful people who I've never had a problem with.

But isn't there a community for the rest of us? One where we can join and just enjoy ourselves? One that is more than simply a social community however. We will indeed grow, we will learn new things, and we will strive to be as good as we can be, but all at our own pace and on our own time. There is no "requirements" other than your attitude.

I was originally going to create this community simply for FFXI veterans (and if you are one I urge you to apply!) however, I've learned over the years that personalities aren't limited to a single video game, no matter how much bias I may or may not have. I've found great people from every walk of life, and I would not want to deny them the opportunity to be in a good group of folks who think like they do.

So if you want a community of mature, like minded individuals who aren't going to bullshit around about one thing or another, but just grow together and enjoy the adventure, then please consider giving Transcendence a try. It's most definitely not for everyone and if you're just trying to get as much as you can, as far as you can, as quick as you can we aren't for you. But if you want to truly develop in the best way possible with a solid group of people, then give us a check out.

Transcendence FFXIV, A little community with a lot of common sense.

Be sure and read the "Rules and Guidelines" as well as "What is Transcendence".

If you would like to join the community, fill out the really short and super basic application. There's no need to apply to post on the forums which will follow the same mentality as the community. This is also where, from this point forward, I will post all the new media information, articles, and findings regarding FFXIV.

It's time to Transcend.

Well as you may have noticed by now, I have not added very much information to my blog lately. However... That doesn't mean I haven't been working hard on FFXIV related projects and information.

Awhile back I began wondering exactly what my blog was for. I've been very in tune to the development of FFXIV since before it was even officially announced. My love of FFXI drove this and my desire and passion for new adventure fueled it. I wanted to make sure I made a difference in the FFXIV community in whichever way I possibly could, so I decided to start my blog.

It was originally going to be articles and information however, I miss calculated just how much information there was out there. It became quite a good site for a compilation of FFXIV information from all around the internet, so people knew they weren't missing one bit from any site. However as the development kept going forward further and further it became harder and harder to add all of this information from every corner of the internet.

But the craziest thing? I still plan to do this. Just in a slightly different way. I want my blog to become what a blog truly is made for, personal opinions and articles by the author. However, I am not going to stop giving people all the latest information... In fact, I'm going to make it even better. How so you ask? With Transcendence.