Mar 2018: Chocobo Forest

Area of the Month for March 2018 is Chocobo Forest!

A template format for your review is below; click 'edit' at the top of the page, copy-pasta from the ---- to the next ----, and fill in the gaps!

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Player: You!(Class/Level)

Review Date(s):

Descriptions: X/10

How does the area's room descriptions(descs) work for you? Do they give you a good idea of the area? Do things that stand out in the desc and NEED explanation GET that, either from flavor text(extra-descs) or NPCs in the room or anything?

What about mobiles(mobs) and their descriptions? Can you get a decent mental image of who or what this NPC/monster is? Do they respond when you talk or interact with them?

Some areas have interact-able objects like fountains. Do they stack up well also?

Balance: X/10 (OR N/A)

(NOTE: combat will be most accurately gauged when your character is in the area's suggested level range.)

If this area has combat, how does it feel? Does anything jump as horribly overpowered and impossible to deal with? What about the flipside, anything far too easy to beat?

Are purchased or rewarded items at the appropriate strength levels? Is the effort required to obtain rewarded items reflected in their usefulness (or uniqueness and fancifulness)

Attractions: X/10

Why would you suggest someone come to this area? Is it just a good place to grind experience(lots of mobs)? Does the area provide a chunk of good gold and loot?

What about the quests? Does this area's quests feel properly done, or is there some part of it that you feel needs work?

For towns, are the shops good? Any other non-combative attraction for the area?

Connections: X/10

How easily and well does this area connect to its nearby areas? Does it make sense thematically to be connected to the areas it is?

Personal

Any comments you'd like to make that you don't feel apply to the other sections can go here!

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Player: Kaze (Ninja L50) - Token'd

Review Date(s): 3/2/2018

Descriptions: 7/10

The general navigation worked to a point. The descriptions were were generally serviceable. The description when you pop the box is one of the better ones, but I don't like that it's a weird special room that teleports you around. (More on that later)

One thing that isn't clear from the descriptions is any sort of progression from place to place. Forest becomes rocky. Go up and you're on a hill or in the sky. It's rather abrupt, really. The layout is probably part of that issue.

The descriptions of the chocobo are pretty good. I can tell which each is, readily. I'm not convinced someone who hadn't played as much FF as I would, but such tend not to stick around that long, so... eh?

Chocobo should either spook and run/fight or react with curiosity when you talk to them. They tend to be portrayed as quite friendly, which doesn't come through. Maybe that's intentional. Dunno.

The nooks are suggested in the descriptions, so that seems fair. The cave is rather vague.

The biggest thing that seemed off, though was the inability to ride Boco or one of the others. What a gyp!

Balance: 7/10 (OR N/A)

The chocobo are pretty straightforward foes. (Some teamwork would ramp up the difficulty tremendously, as would inserting a white one should you do so.)

Attractions: 4/10

Honestly, mostly this zone is accessible exp. While they are giving good experience and you can drop them, the zone is a goldmine. Otherwise, it's not all that great. The gold chocobo feather was less than exciting. Note that part of that is the difficulty in obtaining Float status. If you could snag such things while there was exp to be had, it wouldn't seem so lackluster but you'd have less reason to return. The Sky Armor pet I now have is... interesting, but not very useful.

Now, I say all this knowing that I haven't gotten into the cave, yet. (I was going to experiment with trying to get the red chocobo to cast comet on the boulder, but I haven't come up with a good way to do so.)

Okay: The fact that completing a leg of the quest leads to a special smoky room and then forces you to exit back to the clearing is irritating because that sleep thing. When you wake you can easily abandon a vehicle in the void. It's not too hard to avoid, if you're thinking about it, but I don't like it.

I'd like there to be more quests, honestly. A quest to set up safer spots for nesting might be interesting. If there's going to be a free pet available, why not a chocobo buddy that's one of those fancy ones that levels and, thus, scales? Apparently, there is code in place to do that, so even if not a mount, (which, obviously, would be cool) at least a battle buddy could be a nice touch. A quest one-shot flag would make this something to be very careful of. (opening up the possibility of one or more resurrection quests) I'm seeing this as a difficult quest, though possibly more on the mind than the body. Don't know; kinda spit-balling. Some spirit of the forest could need something done to fix stuff for Big Bird's cousins.

Connections: 4/10

It's not hard to find but it's certainly out of the way. I have no idea what the thematic reason for its placement was. It actually seems like something that might fit better between Viorar and Truce, whether north of the Veldt or more southerly.

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Player: Aludra???(Gambler/100) - Token'd

Review Date(s): 03/04/2018

Descriptions: 8/10

The room descriptions aren't too short, nor are they too long to the point where it's a bother to read them. The different sections of the area are color coded in the short description, which is a nice touch. It really helps to remind you which part of the area you're in at a glance.

The mobs themselves are all described fairly decently except for Mene, the moogle. It isn't badly written so much as it's more backstory than appearance. A little jarring compared to the rest of the zone. The color in his name also makes me spell it wrong constantly. Although this could be contributed to my font as well.

The hidden objects and other looktraps are also quite nice. Plenty of secrets if you know where to look.

Balance: 7/10 (OR N/A)

The combat in the area is fairly engaging. The enemies use a variety of different abilities, which is only natural given the nature of different coloured chocobos. Some of the enemies drop wands that help out. The merchant in the area sells a few goodies as well. Though those are mostly used to access the rest of the zone. Aside from the boss of the zone, the enemies themselves aren't too rough. The only exception to this is the boss, and depending on your level, the Sky Armours. They can be a little mean if you're there kind of early. There's not much aggro to deal with. It's just too bad the zone is lacking in actual mobs. It's kind of deserted.

Attractions: 10/10

The main reason I'd come to this zone is for the quests. They're short, fun, and the rewards are very nice. It's worth a trip just to check them out, even if you're out of range for the forest itself.

The secondary reason? Taming chocobos. They make great pets and each colour offers a different utility - though Red would be my favorite, as it's a berserker with a lot to offer.

Like I mentioned previously, there aren't very many mobs to kill. Maybe ten enemies in the entire area, assuming you can swim and/or fly, and then you have to wait for a repop.

But again, like I mentioned before, the enemies drop some feathers - wands - which prove to be fairly useful if you remember to use them. It's just too bad you can't buy them in the shop.

Connections: 2/10

There's only one place this really connects to, and that's the road outside of Wutai. The plus side, is it's super quick and easy to get to whether you're coming from the pier or walking through Truce Canyon. You don't even have to worry about recall scrolls because it's such a short distance. It's just a shame there isn't an area beyond it.

Personal

Great zone, very iconic. Easily one of my favorite areas when I was a lower level. Just wish it was more populated. Throw out some chocobo eaters and some extra chocobos or something, you know?

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Player: RedMage(Wizard/26) - Token'd

Review Date(s): 3/15/18

Under Descriptions, I will list all of the typos/bad Engrish I've encountered while minimizing potential spoilers. I'll be posting only partial room descriptions to point these things out. Attractions has some problems too. Some of my comments are maked by ((parenthesis)).

Descriptions/Problems: 1/10

• Guardia - Forest Trail

 with colorful drawings etches onto the beams.  

((*etched))

>look drawing

 Some time ago, someone lightly carved into the fence and colored it in with pastel.  Tiny drawings depict stick figure people smiling and holding hands with large birds.

((So chocobos have hands apparently.))

• Chocobo Forest - Entrance

 The sounds of the various creatures that normally populate a forest die out here, 
 than in your average woodland area.  

((Who's average woodland area, mine? I thought one of the cardinal rules of building was to never use 'you'. This is the cleft of dimensions where nothing is normal or average.))

• Chocobo Forest - Chocobo Path

 The trail is difficult to see from the path through the myriad trees, but once accessed it becomes easily navigable. 

((*myriad of trees.))

• Chocobo Forest - Central Clearing

 their hue is an odd white green unlike any other in the forest.  

((*blend of white and green))

• Breeder's Courtyard

 The two paths from the north and northwest collide here, coalescing into
 a trail leading to the east. 
 (] Exits: north east south [)

((Where's the northwest?))

• Outside Chocobo Breeder's Farm

 Lacking a door, the building to the east is more of a barn than a proper
 (] Exits: north [east] [)

((Huh, I thought the building to the east was lacking a door.))

>talk breeder

 You think 'Do you have any work needs doing?'

((*Do you have any work that needs doing?))

 You think 'I've got the feathers you wanted!'

((This line showed up the first time I talked to him then mysteriously disappeared the second time, strange.))

• Breeder's Barn

 still full of that smell which tends to fill any barn.

((What if I've never been to a barn?))

 though occasionally they have discarded tools of the trade tossed inside.

((What trade? What are these tools? What do they do? Can I use them for anything?))

• Chocobo Forest - Riverside Path

 creatures drinking from the water.  A river crossing made up of solid white

((Why can't I drink the water? Other rooms describe it as being pristine and pure.))

• Chocobo Mountain - Cliff Wall

((A mob in this room has a "is in perfect condition." line when it shouldn't.))

• Choco Falls - East Side

 The river that the waterfall creates flows gently to the norhtwest,

((*northwest.))

• Top of the Cliff

 A small alcove set agains the side of the mountain, accessible only by climbing from the plateua below.

((*against, *plateau.))

• Stepping Stones

 To the south you can spy a waterfall at its origin.

((There's that you again.))

• Singed Forest

 woods, aside from the occasional reslilent tree proving too stubborn to die. The cause of the devestation is made strikingly clear from the constant

((The only thing that's strikingly clear are these typos. *resilient, *devastation.))

 patrol of crimson fowl, their sharp determined glare speaks volumes of their disdain for anyone who would intrude upon their sacred ground.  

((What crimson fowl?))

• Chocobo Trail

 To the northwest you can spot a large clearing surrounded by thick brush and large rock formations.  To the east the trail widens, and you can hear the faint sound of running water in the distance.  

((I should start a 'you' counter.))

• Chocobo Lake: Shallow Water

 The creatures in this lake live in a peculiar casual harmony, the chocobos acting as both predator and proector, another sign of their strange but astonishing intelligence.

((Their intelligence is so astonishing that they have become the legendary proectors of the forest. *protector))

• While in ??? foggy rooms

 Looking around you see:
 This doesn't matter probably? , right here.

((GUESS AGAIN MOTHERWARKER!))

• Cumulus Ridge

 Comfortable and sturdy, it provides an excellent place to lean against or sit for a spell without fear of falling to the ground below.

((So why is there no furniture to rest on?))

• Chocobo Forest - Chocobo Paradise

 (] Exits: sw [)
 A shimmering golden chocobo observes you sagely.
 Choco is sitting here.
 Choco is sitting here.
 An enormous, rotund chocobo occupies a throne here, endlessly devouring a pile of food next to him.

((Choco look, it's your long lost twin brothers! I wonder how many Chocos we'll get in here before a despawn prog is put in.))

Throne extra desc

 At the side of the throne sits a giant pile of food of every type and variety.

((Why not just list some greens?))

• Fat Chocobo's ?????

 seals off any hope of escape. 

((Divine recall is reserved for those of lower levels than you. - GUESS AGAIN MOTHERCLUCKER! Huh, deja vu.))

 is lined with a series of protusions which should allow safe descent;*

((Not that anything has had any extra descriptions in this zone, but it'd be nice to know what those protusions are that I can climb down. Erm, I mean *protrusions.))

• Post-Dislodge Quest

 Fatty C says 'Redmage "Redmage"'

((I heard you the first time.))

• After Recalling with Choco present at any time

((So nice of Choco to wait for me if I recall while he's following and return later. That can get messy fast if people keep abandoning their Chocos and nothing is there to despawn them.))

• Chocobos going past the boulder

((Hey wouldn't it be nice if the only red chocobo in the entire zone wandered past the boulder where no one who's done the quests yet could get to it to attempt to grind for red chocobo feathers? That can totally happen.))

  pecks you hard on the forehead! ( (39))
 That'll yeach ya!

((That sure did yeach me.)

((Post-Mene Quest Choco no longer seems to be afraid of fighting. It can now be a useless follower, yay!))

• Yellow chocobo description

 spark of intelligence missing from its chicken cousin,

((Since when were chocobos related to chickens?))

• Red chocobo description

 Its blazing crimson feathers designate it as a rare, but aggressive, breed of chocobo, with a oooked beak a similar but darker color. 

((Wow, even with copy/pasted descriptions, he still managed to type oooked.))

 Its eyes are aggressively dominant and intelligent, and there is a spark of great power, barely held in check.  

((I don't understand this sentence. Are its eyes holding back sparks of great power? With great power comes great aggressive dominance and intelligence?))

• Aspik description

 Its body is extremely weak and vulnerable to physical attack, and its sole tendril fares poorly in combat.  In order to survive the Aspik has developed a natural defense in the form of an extremely high voltage current, which it can generate at will.  

((Hey thanks, now I don't have to read an analysis scroll!))

• Mene the Moogle's description

 All other ways, however, Mene stands alone.  An outcast from his moogle brethren, he identifies more with his best friend Choco than anyone from his own race.  Alone together, they travel to find their place in the world.

((Well I'm glad I got to know Mene better just by looking at him.))

• Choco's description

 Choco is no different; though smaller than most and strangley distant from his choco brethren. Choco is particuarly gifted in his intellect, especially in his ability to determine a person's worth.  A shy bird, Choco's only friend is a moogle named Mene.  Alone together, they travel to find their place in the world. 

((Well I'm glad I got to know choco better just by looking at him. Huh, deja vu. *strangely, *particularly))

In summary: Most of the room descriptions are okay, typos can be fixed, but they are lacking severely in extra descriptions. There are many instances of capitalized improper nouns and the hidden areas are really easy to find (found them all before I was even tasked to). What really drags this score down are the mob descriptions. There is a lot of copy and pasting across the different chocobos as well as background elements in some parts, which don't belong in a mob's description. This area is also lacking in furniture/fountains/fishing spots/mining spots, all the things that make a zone interesting.

Balance: 7/10

While I have a bit more HP/Mana than most Wizards at my level, my armor was 100's across and I had vulnerability to Pierce, which EVERYTHING here uses. Despite these drawbacks I didn't have much trouble fighting anything. Red Chocobos could pull me down pretty quickly if I failed enough casts. They're also resistant to mental for some reason, so watch out Dancers! The other mobs had reasonable resistances/vulnerabilities and their combat progs certainly filled them with some life.

The main problem here is that there's BARELY any chocobos to fight. This ties into the quest mentioned below, so if these reviews are to accomplish anything, Chocobo Forest needs more spawns. A lot of spawns. Maybe even a few other critters from the source material (or from the cleft. Chocobos are Pokemon, aren't they? Look how they evolve into new colors! Someone should CATCH THEM ALL!).

Oh yeah, no mobs reward any money, at all. That's most likely a bug so I won't subtract any points, but it certainly needs to be addressed.

Attractions/Problems: 0/10

• Loot

 The Sky Armor now follows you.

((Oh, uh...ok. Thanks? Wait, your name is SKY ARMOR and you can't fly? How are you even..nevermind. Nice lack of teleport prog there, too.))

 [*SAY*] The Sky Armor 'I can wear equipment in these locations:'
 [*SAY*] The Sky Armor 'Hold, float, and light.'
 [*SAY*] The Sky Armor 'I have 4 damroll 6 hitroll 0 magroll. My average damage is 22.'
 [*SAY*] The Sky Armor 'My armor modifies damage by 105 / 105 / 105 / 105 percent. I have 0 Saves.'

((Well aren't you a keeper. No wonder you were free.))

Chocobo Wing(L32) is uh...semi-mediocre. Garbage as a shield since its -AC is worse than a L10 shield and there are better ways to get Haste. A +Dex shield with proper AC would probably be better.

The Dislodge Quest Reward isn't clear about what level you have to be to use it. I'm L31 now and I still can't use it properly.

-Quest Issues-

• Mene Quest

 Mene says 'But...this place is way too big, and there's dangers all around.  Sad to say, but I'm simply of no help to choco in this situation...'

((I left all the capitalized non-proper nouns alone in the room descriptions, but I think Mene owes his buddy a capital C at the very least. Mene's dialogue is very uh, interestingly spaced out by the way.))

 You think, "No thanks."

((This option literally does nothing.))

 Mene takes a moment to catch his breath

((Hey Mene finally decided to do an emote instead of spamming say, too bad he forgot his period.))

((Mene seems to enjoy copy and pasting parts of his dialogue between quest sessions. Choco definately enjoys copy and pasting throughout when QINFO happens.))

 Mene says 'I guess I'll have to forgo a life in the lap of luxury...but hey, at least I can always pay for food from that Chinese Delivery place.'

((Not for long!))

 You say 'I lost my [QINFO ITEM], can I have another?'
 Mene says 'Sure!  Here you go! '
 (10) [QINFO ITEM] is here.

((Miiight want to add melt_drop to those suckers. Too bad I'm not L30 yet, I'd totally max Artifice here.))

 Mene says 'Sorry, looks like your party's a little too full, Choco's really shy.'

((I know other zones use pet mechanics, but does Chocobo Forest really -need- one? You can't even order Choco to do anything let alone get in a battle with it. Well Sky Armor, it's been nice while it lasted. ...You uh..you can go home now. You know, wander on home? HOME! Shoo!...or you can just stay at Mene, that's fine too.))

((A mob post-Mene Quest has a description that describes the outcome of Mene Quest when you look at it. Spoilers!))

• Chocobo Breeder Quest

((Chocobo Breeder Turn-in didn't remove the black and blue feathers from my inventory. Free items!))

• Dislodging Quest

((This is handled pretty messily. Can't go into detail because it's qinfo, but anyone is welcome to message me in private if they want the details as to why I say that. I'll just sum it up as 'It can be progged better.' It's also level locked.))

• Fat Chocobo

 Fatty C says 'Well, well, well, what do we have here? QINFO, I haven't had one of those in ages! '

((I always wanted to call the Fat Chocobo Fatty C and make fat jokes about it.))

• Dislodge Quest Boss

((Um...it's really hard to talk about this without breaking QINFO rules. Just like above, anyone is free to ask me in private if they want a detailed opinion. But it's really BAD. On-kill dialogue makes NO sense and it is a very immature way to implement a very notable boss from its source material.))

Summary: The quests are boring and unimaginative. There is no immersion, there is no reason why you should care about anyone or anything in this zone. There were so many ways the quests here could have been better and more clefty and the finale is just downright immature. There are not enough mobs to support the fetch quest or its other level locks. The quest rewards aren't worth the effort either.

Connections: 1/1

Chocobo Forest fits where it's been connected to. What else is there to say? It does its job on this front. 1/1.

Personal

• Breeder's Courtyard

 It definitely smells like chocobo here, for all the wrong reasons.  

((Well I did keep saying this was a shitty area, seems the zone itself agrees.))

• Chocobo Breeder Quest

((This quest is awful. You need to turn in items dropped by mobs in the area, which there are very, VERY few of.))

• Chocobo Lake: Shallow Water

 This rather shallow section of the lake butts up against a high wall of rock and earth, making land access impossible.

((Well that's just an excuse to put the word butt in the description. I guess this area really is ass.))

• Chocobo Lagoon

 The walls sparkle with occasional gems, but are otherwise bare and smooth.  

((I want those gems. Why can't I mine them?))

 Redmage's group:
 [ 0 Mob] Choco  501/ 501 hp    0/   0 mana  100/ 100 mv    0 xp
 [26 Wiz] Redmage     505/ 505 hp  593/ 593 mana  490/ 490 mv 59017 xp

((I feel like Choco should just ride me.))

 You are in Chocobo Forest. Have you:
 - Talked to the friend of a Chocobo?
 - Discovered the truth behind the legend?
 - Dislodged an obstruction?
 - Finished a stupid fetch quest?

((I guess even the zone acknowledges one of its quests is stupid.))

Final Observation: It looked like Ademisk was pretty good with the combat from the source material and I wouldn't mind seeing him in charge of designing possible action heavy events in the future. Just leave the creativity to someone else.

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Player: Poochie(Geomancer/27) - Token'd

Review Date(s): 3/16/18

Descriptions: 6/10

Some of the room descriptions are somewhat clunky and awkward to read. There are several spelling and grammatical errors sprinkled throughout as well. Some sentences are fragments entirely, while others lack or misuse certain types of punctuation. One room in the float section of the area is particularly clunky with multiple errors. Some rooms may need to be entirely rewritten to fix these types of problems.

Aside from logistics, the descriptions are adequate on a room by room basis. The area is set up in different types of terrains, somewhat quartered off from each other, which makes reading through them interesting. The rooms linking the different terrains describe their transitions adequately for some areas, but not so much for others, specifically the forest into mountain sector. It's mentioned, but easily overlooked.

In the Scorched Forest quadrant of the area, three of the rooms suddenly lack the "Chocobo Forest" title. They become one phrase titles in the default room name color. If this is intended, it's somewhat odd and makes it feel somewhat disjointed.

The chocobos are fancifully described for the most part, with one exception - the first sentence appears copy-pasted and simply altered for colored adjectives of each chocobo. The black chocobo's description is disjointed, as it starts off describing them as 'standing' on their legs and ends with clarification that they are in fact floating. It's also clear they are floating from the fact that they are only in the float area. The copy-pasting of the first sentence is likely to blame for this inconsistency, as all the other chocobos begin with the same 'standing' sentence.

Balance: 6/10

The yellow chocobos in the beginning of the area are rather easy. The red chocobos are slightly dangerous, especially for a caster with their use of bash. This would make sense, since the yellow ones are 25 and the red ones are 30. The problem I see with this specifically is that it's not like there is a large amount of progress to make between the beginning of the area and the "end". Additionally, there are only 2-3 (that I could tell) of each chocobo type and not many other mobs. An entire five level difference in this area seems somewhat broad considering it's mostly quest focused. In order to not be highly threatened by the higher level mobs in this area, you have to level elsewhere and come back at the high-end of the level range, more or less, unless you're a remorter or of a particular class.

Attractions: 4/10

The 'first' quest has a strange set-up, where when you go into the room you can't actually begin the quest until you 'come back later'. I'm not sure if this is just as simple as leaving and re-entering the room immediately, as I actually did go out and read some more room descriptions and what not at that point. Mene abrutly speaks with you, and then says that he is busy if you speak with him afterwards.

You are required to dismiss your pet to begin this quest, which is never something people are excited about. It also is likely entirely unecessary, especially because Mene explicitly states that Choco will not engage in combat. There is no benefit to having Choco be your actual pet rather than simply follow you.

The area lists one of its own quests as "a stupid fetch quest" and it is unfortunately right on the money. This collection quest requires a drop from one of each of the chocobo types, of which, as mentioned, there are only 2-3 reset into the area at a time. Even doing this passively while working on the other quests may not net you all of the items and it could easily be incomplete by the time you're done everything else. There is nothing else to do except leave the area and wait for it to repop, come back, and hope - or just not do the 'final' quest.

The other aspects of the quests are adequate, if unexpected.

There are some pets here, which may be enticing for some, but unfortunately they lack some of the normal, expected functions of most pets. They also don't despawn on dismissal. There are some interesting quest rewards and there is a useful item for a relatively low level, readily available. There are too few mobs here with no other similar level areas nearby where it could be considered a pit stop to kill everything and then move on to somewhere else.

I would recommend it if someone were specifically looking for something that they could find here, but probably not for leveling purposes.

Connections: 3/10

Chocobo Forest sort of pops out of nowhere and doesn't seem to have any connection to the area around it. Logistically, it's easy to find and not too far for its level range. It is, however, the end of the line for anything else in that direction, which feels odd for some reason.

Personal

Despite several rooms clearly describing forests and trees, there was only a default level of overgrowth in one such room that I attempted to fight in. In reference to Mene's speech when you enter the room, the extra spaces between output lines is annoying. There don't need to be extra spaces for any reason, and anyone with compact off is going to be spammed by it.

Of note, if you do happen to die in the swim or float areas, you either need assistance to retrieve your corpse or you have to necro your corpse, unless you can float or swim naturally.

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