This is just a quick post about some of my different little projects to reference them in one go. Incidentally, I think it also exposes my embarrassingly nerdy fetish for maps.

EWH

As I mentioned at the end of my last entry, I uploaded my version of EWH with the adjusted translation and zone additions. It can be downloaded here.

WotG Maps

Back when wings was released, I was annoyed with how inadequate the maps were. Since they use the same map images as the present versions they are utterly unhelpful except to give you a sense of what shape the area is. You can see the comparison of two areas below:

This map package is made to closely resemble the normal in-game maps. It is my personal preference, I dislike gaudy colored markers all over. And so, these maps do show environmental obstacles such as walls, ledges, towers, caves, ramps, and "off-map" areas. However they don't show informative markers such as quest and mission targets, NM spawn areas, mining points, etc.

Since past area maps are their own map file separate from present, they do not overwrite your present maps or markers. They also do not "give" you the maps. E.g. you still have to quest the map for Vunkerl (S) before you can view it in game. Lastly the pack doesn't change or overwrite your map markers. If your past areas have things marked out you want to keep they will still show up with this map pack installed.

You can see pics of all the maps here.
Download the map package itself here.
Use the provided ReadMe file for installation instructions.

Walk of Echos Map

Here's something I've been picking away at for a long time. As you might have heard the Walk of Echos area is pretty damn big. Not only is it big, it's a mess of broken disjointed clutter and mountains melded into pathways. Oh right, and it has no map. I guess that's Square's way of making sure everything in Wings is as easy (for them) and inconvenient (for us) as possible. So assuming this will actually be a playable zone eventually I've been trying some different things to create a Walk of Echos map.

You might've seen the Japanese Echos overview pic (below) which gives a very good impression of how the area is layed out.



There are still significant bits and pieces left out however, and the scale isn't helpful for section-by-section use. I'm still slowly modifying things, but this is what I've got so far (below).



Clearly, Walk of Echos is deliberately divided up into 16 sections of funky shaped platforms (plus a battlefield-esque section). Each section has an individual map as well in case it turns out that's how they implement it in the game (most likely imo).



That's not to say you could use these as in game maps, they'd be for reference only. Still I think it'd be nice to be prepared for whatever ego destroying new event Square has up its sleeves. I don't expect Echos to be a playable area for a long time, which is why I've only picked away at this slowly over a long period. For the most part it is finished now, I might just experiment with adding stylistic elements that resemble real in-game maps. In any case, I think it'll be a helpful reference some day. If all goes to plan I'll stick them up somewhere whenever the zone becomes available to players.

Traditionally, FFXI blogs revolve around a player's progress and day-to-day activity. While there's nothing wrong with that, it's just not my forte and I doubt many people would be interested in what type of crab I most recently shanked to death.

Instead I intend to focus on topics, new info, or developments I find interesting in the realm of FFXI. Other than that I'll post any matter of other various little things that catch my attention. So thanks for checking out the blog, and I look forward to reading any comments you may have. In the meantime have fun on FFXI!

Not along ago I was messing around with an FFXI zone viewing program (EWH) when I noticed something. Some rather basic things seemed to be missing, such as Outer Horototo Ruins, non-rental Mog Houses, and various airship routes. I began to wonder if perhaps the programs creator hadn't been as thorough as he could've been. My interest was piqued so I set out to comb over the games data and find out where they were.

I did eventually pin down the location of the MH, and airship zones, however I also happened to find the files for Mordion Gaol and The Last Stand. Pretty neat, seeing as how they are some of the most unknown areas in FFXI. Unfortunately there's probably a good reason for them having been ignored for so long. They're utterly boring!

Most of you have almost certainly seen pics of Mordion Gaol or taken an involuntary trip there yourself. The only bit of info worth noting here is that the entire area is only 12 such rooms total. Each room is separated to make 4 rows of 4. 12 measly rooms to hold all the trouble makers on a server of 2500+ players seems a little surprising. Then again you could probably cram a good few dozen people into a cell if you had to.

The Last Stand is fairly mysterious. Usually it's said to be a testing area for Square to try out battlefields, and I think that is the most likely explanation. Unlike a couple of the other old testing areas, The Last Stand appears to still be in use and active as it was mentioned in a zone maintenence announcement not long ago. Additionally it has its own dialogue file as well, not that it's of interest but it supports the idea that is still actively used in testing.




So how do I know this area is The Last Stand? Well... I don't. I'd say I'm about 90% certain however. I came to this conclusion based on a picture someone posted on KI years ago. They had gained access to the zone in the game itself and stood upon a platform exactly like the ones shown here. Other than that I do know this zone isn't any other known area, so it seems reasonable. It could be it's been ignored because it simply looks just like Horototo Ruins, so someone not paying attention would think that's what it is and move on. The layout and setup is not at all like Ruins though.


The zone itself is extremely simple and uses the same textures as Horototo Ruins. Platforms flank the largest center room. Disconnected from the main room at each of its four corners are four medium sized rooms, and finally four smallest rooms further out.

Here's one more thing I thought I'd bring up while were at it.



A handful of you might remember this gulch background! This isn't new by any means but not many are aware of it. Originally , when FFXI was released in Japan, the game featured a showy high polygon model when you job changed. As I understand it, the scene used this area. Kinda cool, eh? Shame they can't find something to use it for again.





So there you have it. Not terribly exciting, but I hadn't seen these zones explicitly displayed before. It's interesting simply for the sake of curiosity more than anything.

Ironically the Outer Horototo Ruins are still MIA.

*Please do not leave comments requesting help with the program. If you like there is a thread for that on KI here. I plan to upload an updated version of the program soon there with a full English zone list and the above areas added.