As most people know, it has been a long time since I last played FFXI, and it is highly unlikely I will ever go back to record the remaining missions. If I ever do, I'd probably only wrap up the WotG missions/quests and not do Rhapsodies or Adoulin, since I never actually finished those.
That said, while pointing some other people to this project, I noticed that all of the old Veoh embed links no longer worked (although the videos are still there). I know I used to say that I'd never post the videos to YouTube, but that was because, at the time, YouTube had restrictions on the length of the videos that would have required me to split everything up into 10 minute increments, defeating the purpose of these compilations. Now that YouTube no longer has those restrictions, I have re-uploaded everything there and have updated the links in each of my posts. Note that I did not re-do all of my old references to Veoh and have left them simply for posterity.
For reference, here is the link to my YouTube channel:
Part four of the San d'Oria quests is now available. With the Bloodwing Horde dealing a devastating blow, Excenmille must find the strength to overcome his fiercest enemy.
Get your tissues ready for this one; WotG Windurst part 3 is now uploaded.
For full details, visit my original WotG post, which has been updated to reflect the new material. I have also updated this post to reflect my current progress on completing and recording these missions
Bashraf, Wahboud and Foudeel... Oh My!
While I'm somewhat indifferent about this quest myself, it is frequently cited as one of the most loved in FFXI, and you gotta admit, there's a couple of great lines. Bill Withers reference anyone?
This video includes the cutscenes from the two related quests:
Two new videos have been added to Veoh, Missions part 3, and Bastok part 3. For full details, visit my original WotG post, which has been updated to reflect the new material.
Additional WotG videos (and maybe a surprise!) will be recorded and uploaded in the next few weeks.
Picking back up with the mini-expansions released last year, A Crystalline Prophecy brings the lore of Memoria de la Ŝtona full circle, re-uniting Aldo with his long lost sister when Vana'diel is faced with an other-worldly threat.
This video includes all the missions from the mini-expansion, including:
The Echo Awakens
Gatherer of Light
Those Who Lurk in Shadows
Remember Me in Your Dreams
Born of Her Nightmares
Banishing the Echo
Ode of Life Bestowing
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The final fight of this add-on was a real bitch for me, requiring numerous attempts with many different setups over the course of about a year. In the end, I think we won with only one person left alive at a couple hundred HP left. Many thanks to my comrades at Got Jugs for bringing these missions to a close.
Of course, even though I finished and recorded the cutscenes a couple of months ago, Veoh continues to be tempermental about accepting my large divx files. I finally lucked out with a random attempt to upload this week, so here you are.
As for the overall project and my playtime, I had a couple of months this summer where I got back in the swing of WotG, but my schedule caught up with me again, especially given the new job I started recently. My future play time is therefore in limbo, and my highest job is still only 76, but I am at least planning on spending some time this holiday weekend editing part three of the missions (#16-26) and trying to record parts three and four of the nation quests through Q11, which have all been completed except Bastok - What Price Loyalty. As for Shantotto, the final fight is every bit as annoying as ACP and I'm 0/3.
Oh, and in case ya'll are wondering, while I did reserve a blog space for FFXIV, I'm really not sure if that's gonna happen or not, especially with FFXI not even done, but you never know.
These videos were recorded and prepared several months ago, but due to technical issues, I was unable to get them uploaded to Veoh. After some recent software updates, I am finally able to bring them to you.
For full details on the cutscenes contained in these videos, please consult my original WotG post, which has been updated to reflect the new material.
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As I've mentioned in several comment responses, the future of this project is currently in limbo due to ongoing real life issues over the past several months. Simply put, I'm not a kid with endless amounts of time to sink into MMORPGs. While I have recently reactivated my content IDs and have returned to FFXI, my schedule is more unpredictable than ever and I cannot make any definite commitments on future installments at this time. With new updates and level cap increases, there is so much happening in game that it's often difficult to simply try to find people willing to help me through the fights. My only request from my fans is that if you play on the Shiva server, or know others that do, {Help me out!}. The faster I can actually get through the missions, the quicker I get the scenes recorded and edited.
I appreciate everyone's enthusiastic support for this project over the years and certainly hope I'll be able to bring you more in the months ahead.
One of the new experiments Square-Enix launched in 2009 was the release of three "add-on scenarios". Each one provides a compact story which offers a unique reward with customizable augments.
While released as the second of the three, the first one I've been able to complete is A Moogle Kupo d'Etat - Evil in Small Doses. While certainly nothing as epic as the true expansions, these missions feature a light-hearted take on our sometimes overlooked mog house pals.
This video includes all the missions from the mini-expansion, including:
Drenched! It Began with a Raindrop
Hasten! In a Jam in Jeuno?
Welcome! To My Decrepit Domicile
Curses! A Horrifically Harrowing Hex
An Errand! The Professor's Price
Shock! Arrant Abuse of Authority
Lender Beware! Read the Fine Print
Rescue! A Moogle's Labor of Love
Roar! A Cat Burglar Bares Her Fangs
Relief! A Triumphant Return
Joy! Summoned to a Fabulous Fete
A Challenge! You Could Be a Winner
Smash! A Malevolent Menace
A note about this video: this is my first using the new hardware and software. I'm still trying to find the best balance between quality and file-size, so I'm especially interested in feedback along these lines.
Also, FYI, I haven't been able to finish the other two add-ons yet, so I don't know when I'll be able to post those.
All right, it took a month, but all of my videos are finally fully uploaded on Veoh now. A couple of notes about the new host:
1. For videos longer than 30 minutes, if you want to watch the full video rather than just a 5 minute preview, you need download/install the Veoh Web Player. There is a link over on the right side of my blog, or you can let the website prompt you.
2. Full-screen viewing using Veoh's built-in viewers will display in lower quality than the original movies. For best results, I recommend downloading the entire videos using the Web Player, then opening up the downloaded file using Windows Media Player, DivX Player, or some other viewer. Since the videos are all .divx files, you'll need the DivX codec. There is a link on the right of this page to download the codec if you don't already have it.
3. If you are trying to view the videos using the embedded viewer on this blog, and it won't work, there is a link directly below each video for where you can go to view/download directly on the Veoh website. I am not sure why the embedded viewers seem to work on some computers / browsers and not on others.
4. In the future (no definite ETA on this yet), I may be adding additional host sites where you can go to download the videos. I'll add these locations directly below the embedded players.
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As for new installments of the videos, I did start recording some new cutscenes. Unfortunately, I've discovered that my current editing software, DivX Author, will not work correctly on a 64-bit operating system. This means I will either have to use an older, less powerful machine to do my encoding/publishing, or I'm going to need to find a new program. Since part of the reason I just invested so much in my new computer (i7 processor, 6 GB RAM, GeForce GTS 250 gpu) was to speed up the editing/publishing of my videos, I don't want to resort to the first option. Right now I'm in the process of evaluating Pinnacle Studio 14, and I'm hopeful that will be the right solution. If anyone would like to suggest some other software that's not terribly expensive (preferably around $50, definitely not more than $100), please feel free to comment. As an FYI, Windows Movie maker severely restricts the output quality so that's not an option. Also, I tried using VirtualDub in the past and could never really figure it out :/
Until then, thank you everyone for your support. I'm hoping to bring you some new material soon.
Well, folks, it seems as though once again my publishing site of choice has abandoned me. First it was Stage6, which completely shut down in early 2008, which prompted me to create this blog in the first place. Now it's Vuze, which is no longer accepting user-generated content as of December 1, 2009. In fact, it appears that none of my videos are available from Vuze anymore, which is why all my links and embedded previews are now broken. I'm sorry it took me a while to figure out what was going on.
So now I must re-evaluate where I can host my videos. At this point, I may try to go back to Veoh, since a couple of my vids are already there. Or I may explore some other options like BlipTV. If other people know of some good sites that accept very long, HD videos (at least up to 3 hours and 4 GB in size), please leave a comment. One of the things I will miss about Vuze was the Peer-to-Peer aspect which allowed the videos to be downloaded quite rapidly compared to other sites.
I had planned to try to do some recording of new videos over the holidays, but I doubt that will happen now since I have to re-upload all the previous videos. Rest assured, I do plan to continue this project, at least through completion of WotG, even if it means hanging in there after FFXIV comes out. Thank you everyone for you patience and support through this disappointing time.
Oh, and thanks a lot, Vuze; you sure do know how to give people a Merry Christmas.....
It's finally here: the video I personally never really wanted to take the time to do, but happens to be what many, many people have been asking for for quite some time. I've also always been a sucker for completeness...
Even though I started out in Bastok when I first set foot in Vana'diel five years ago, I was largely disappointed with the story and characters overall, and it ended up being the last rank 10 I achieved. To me, it always felt somewhat disjointed, like a haphazard assortment of go here, kill this NM, retrieve that item. To this day I still don't really understand the last mission in relation to the rest of the story; I kind of think maybe it could have just ended after 9-1. In short, these missions lacked cohesion to me, and I guess that's why I never felt all that compelled to record the custscenes. But I will admit, now that it's done, that while I still remain unimpressed with the overall plot, there are some moments that are touching, and some I found quite humorous.
When I recorded the San d'Oria and Windurst missions, I largely omitted the parts having to do with the Shadow Lord and put that in a separate video. However, the Shadow Lord plays a much more integral relation to Galkan history, so I decided to include MOST (though not all) of those scenes in this video. I did still omit the portions of the Magicite missions having to do with Aldo, Verena, and Fickie, and I left out the one sceen with Ajido-Marujido in Castle Oztroja (which conversely was pretty integral to the Windurst plot). On the flip side, I took the liberty to add in a few scenes from the Dark Knight job quest and a small snippet from DRK AF, since these shed a little more light on Gumbah and Zeid.
The Bastok missions cover a wide variety of subjects, but if I had to pick an underlying theme, it would be about the legend of the Talkekeeper, set against a backdrop of racial tension between Humes and Galka.
I am still making my way through FFXI's last full expansion, but the story essentially gives us a glimpse into the history of Crystal War, with a twist. Things aren't happening the way they're supposed to, and somehow a mysterious cat figures into things. What is the link between Atomos, emptiness, creation, and the Champions of the Dawn?
Part 1 of the WotG Missions include: 1 - Cavernous Maws 2 - Back to the Beginning 3 - Cait Sith 4 - The Queen of the Dance 5 - While the Cat is Away 6 - A Timeswept Butterfly 7 - Purple, The New Black 8 - In the Name of the Father
Part 2 of the WotG Missions include: 9 - Dancers in Distress 10 - Daughter of a Knight 11 - A Spoonful of Sugar 12 - Affairs of State 13 - Borne by the Wind 14 - A Nation on the Brink 15 - Crossroads of Time
Part 3 of the WotG Missions include: 16 - Sandswept Memories 17 - Northland Exposure 18 - Traitor in the Midst 19 - Betrayal at Beaucedine 20 - On Thin Ice 21 - Proof of Valor 22 - A Sanguinary Prelude 23 - Dungeons and Dancers 24 - Distorter of Time 25 - The Will of the World 26 - Fate in Haze
Part 4 of the WotG Missions will include 27 - The Scent of Battle 28 - Another World 29 - A Hawk in Repose 30 - The Battle of Xarcabard 31 - Prelude to a Storm 32 - Storm's Crescendo 33 - Into the Beast's Maw 34 - The Hunter Ensnared 35 - Flight of the Lion 36 - Fall of the Hawk 37 - Darkness Descends 38 - Adieu, Lilisette (missions completed; not yet recorded)
Part 5 of the WotG Missions will include 39 - By the Fading Light 40 - Edge of Existence 41 - Her Memories 42 - Forget Me Not 43 - Pillar of Hope 44 - Glimmer of Life 45 - Time Slips Away 46 - When Wills Collide 47 - Whispers of Dawn 48 - A Dreamy Interlude 49 - Cait in the Woods 50 - Fork in the Road 51 - Maiden of the Dusk 52 - Where It All Began 53 - A Token of Troth 54 - Lest We Forget (missions completed; not yet recorded)
WoTG Quests:
In addition to the mainline missions, each nation has it's own independent storyline, which I have recorded separately.
Bastok
Political strife between the Galka and Humes are at an all time high, and now the murder of an official only aggravates matters. See the relationship between friends Werei and Gumbah, and the rivalry between Volker and Zeid.
Part 1: Quests in this video include 1 - The Fighting Fourth 2 - Better Part of Valor 3 - Fires of Discontent 4 - Light in the Darkness 5 - Burden of Suspicion
Part 2: Quests in this video include 6 - Storm on the Horizon 7 - Fire in the Hole
Part 3: Quests in this video include 8 - Quelling the Storm 9 - Honor Under Fire
Part 4: Quests in this video will include 10 - Beneath the Mask 11 - What Price Loyalty (quests completed; not yet recorded)
Part 5: Quests in this video will include 12 - The Truth Lies Hid 13 - Bonds of Mythril (quests completed; not yet recorded)
San d'Oria
This story features the adventures of the Young Giffons, a group of rambunctious kids unsatisfied with the way adults handle affairs of war. What does the future hold for Excenmille and Rahal?
Part 1: Quests in this video include 1 - Steamed Rams 2 - Gifts of the Griffon 3 - Claws of the Griffon 4 - Boy and the Beast 5 - Wrath of the Griffon
Part 2: Quests in this video include 6 - Perils of the Griffon 7 - In a Haze of Glory
Part 3: Quests in this video include 8 - The Price of Valor 9 - Bonds That Never Die
Part 4: Quests in this video include 10 - Songbirds in a Snowstorm 11 - Blood of Heroes
Part 5: Quests in this video will include 12 - Chasing Shadows 13 - Face of the Future (quests completed; not yet recorded)
Also, by special request, here is a short clip featuring Excenmille's Dynamic Entry from Wrath of the Griffon:
Windurst
The Yagudo will stop at nothing to destroy the Tarutaru, but all efforts to prevent disaster are being lead by the Warlock Warlord, with the help of the Ministers, Mithra Mercenaries, a young Ajido-Marujido, and... a Mithra male?!?
Part 1: Quests in this video include 1 - Snake on the Plains 2 - The Tigress Stirs 3 - The Tigress Strikes 4 - Knot Quite There 5 - A Manifest Problem
Part 2: Quests in this video include 6 - When One Man is Not Enough 7 - A Feast for Gnats
Part 3: Quests in this video include 8 - The Long March North 9 - The Forbidden Path
Part 4: Quests in this video will include 10 - Sins of the Mothers 11 - Howl from the Heavens
Part 5: Quests in this video will include 12 - Manifest Destiny 13 - At Journey's End (quests completed; not yet recorded)
For ease of reference and to keep them all in one location, as new missions and quests are released, I will edit this post and add them here, but I'll make sure to make an update post as well.
Being a “career mage”, I fell in love with Windurst and the mysterious aura of magic that enveloped the city and surrounding ancient ruins.What makes the Windurst missions unique among the nations is the way they tie in so well with other quests, as well as the RoTZ and CoP missions.In particular, the “Star Onion Brigade” (S.O.B.) quests are intricately linked with the events from the Windurst story line, so much so that I heavily debated whether I should make them their own video (about 30 minutes long), or integrate them with the already two-hour long Windurst mission video.I decided that in order to fully understand the sequence of events, the two could not be separated.I also found it important to include cutscenes from the Summoner Flag quest (I Can Hear a Rainbow) and the Fenrir Prime quest (The Moonlit Path).The result is the longest video I have produced to-date, even 20 minutes longer than CoP Chapter 5.
This story is as much about the Cardian named “Joker” as it is about the Star Sybil, Karuha-Baruha, Ajido-Marujido, and the history of Windurst.You also get background into the Kuluu and Zilart, and the origin of summoning magic.Only by combining the various sources described above does the viewer/player understand how Joker comes be resurrected, the rebirth of Fenrir, and the final outcome of his/their promise to the S.O.B.s.
As with the San d’Oria missions, I have omitted those cutscenes which deal specifically and exclusively with the Shadow Lord, as you can get that complete story in my Shadow Lord Missions video.I have also slightly altered the order of the scene from the “magicite” mission since placing it earlier actually explains events in 3-1 and 3-2.I inserted the SOB and Carbuncle/Fenrir quests in the positions I felt made the most sense to the story overall, trying to follow the grand sequence of events of the various characters’ interactions with each other, specifically the Ace Cardians, Nanaa Mihgo, and Semih Lafihna.
This video has been a long time in the making for me.While I completed the Windy missions right after the new year, I have held off completing the recording until beating Fenrir (which I finally did last weekend); I’m now glad I did, as the result is much more cohesive video than would have otherwise been possible.
Yet another set of side quests to CoP provide additional story related to the Mithra Trackers, which were sent to the middle lands to accomplish three things:
- subdue the wyrms that threaten the world with destruction (Shikaree X)
- learn more of the sleeping gods who supposedly hold the power to obliterate the emptiness (Shikaree Y)
- discover the location of Mildaurion, who knows the method to awaken the deities (Shikaree Z)
While the CoP missions themselves deal primarily with Shikaree Z, the quests "Tuning In" and "Tuning Out" give a great deal of information into Shikaree Y's investigation. Specifically, this video provides yet more background for the Dark Divinity (see the NPC Fellowship quests).
The other quest presented here ties in the Trackers with Goldmane, and gives a brief glimpse of Tiamat in her rage. This video is a compilation of the cutscenes from "One Good Deed".
This is a compilation of cutscenes from the quest “A Timely Visit”, which many players frequently site as one of the most memorable side quests in FFXI.This video tells the story of Vijartal Caphleux and gives a little history on an important San d’Orian artifact, the Scepter Rouyaulais.
Several quests share the stories of various side characters from the CoP storyline. Two in particular share a very close relationship with each other.
The first video presented here is the story of a young girl named Sanctia who sets out to find the legendary bounty hunter that captured Atarefaunet. This is a compilation of cutscenes from two quests - "Chasing Dreams" and "The Search for Goldmane".
The second video is a compilation of cutscenes from the quests "Signed in Blood” and “Tea with a Tonberry”.These quests give additional background into the characters of Louverance and Atarefaunet.
This story ties into the Goldmane quests, as well as CoP missions 3-3, 5-3, 7-2, and the epilogue.It is also somewhat related to the flashbacks in the 4-1 magicite missions. The identity of the two Louverances (one in red mask, one in purple) is one of the more confusing plot-lines in CoP. However, based on the information from these various sources, I pieced together the following:
The real Louverance (in the purple mask) is the grandson of Francmage Mistalle, who died mysteriously in Bostaunieux Oubliette after coming back from the northlands allied expedition. His family used to own Carpenter’s Landing but was stripped of its land and title after challenging another family to a duel, which is against San d’Orian law.
The new count of Carpenter’s Landing was Teulomme.He had ties with Atarefaunet’s Band, but when the leader was captured by Goldmane (Vukki-Chebukki), Teulomme tried to poison Atarefaunet to prevent him from revealing secrets about his customers.Atarefaunet used this opportunity to fake his death and escape the San d’Orian prisons.Atarefaunet then stole Louverance’s identity and donned a red mask. Atarefaunet attempted to use this false identity to take revenge on Teulomme and steal his lands back from him.
The “Louverance” in the red mask that features prominently in the Chains of Promathia missions is therefore actually Atarefaunet. This explains why Honoi-Gomoi gives him the Mimeo Mirror (the taru admitted ties to Atarefaunet in Chapter 3-3), and it also explains the history between the red-masked “Louverance” and Vukki-Chebukki (Goldmane) in CoP Chapter 5-3, and why Vukki threatens to notify the San d’Orian authorities. However, when the real Louverance (purple mask) attempted to interfere and re-claim his identity, Atarefaunet tried to set a trap for him in Carpenter’s Landing (which you end up foiling in Chapter 7). In the end, Atarefaunet challenges Louverance to a duel so as to fake his death yet again and don a new identity as a San d’Orian priest, and perhaps restore the Remevel name.
Incidentally, I also found out that Atarefaunet’s Band plays a role in the THF AF quests (which I don’t plan on doing) and that Atarefaunet may have adopted the identity of Vauderame, who plays a role in the San d’Orian rank missions and the quest “A Timely Visit”. For some interesting discussion, visit:
While CoP and ToAU may at first seem unrelated, there is in fact a hidden link between the two. In the process of forming a bond with our Adventuring Fellows, we learn of two mirrors, two entities in conflict with another, and a revelation concerning the Divinity of Darkness.
This NPC Fellowship storyline directly relates to the Treasures of Aht Urhgan missions involving Odin and Alexander, as the mirrors are of near eastern origin and are tied to the "Age of Judgment" or "Ragnarok". It also ties into the Chains of Promathia missions pertaining to the "Dark Divinity" (specifically in Chapter 5, at the Bearclaw Pinnacle), and the Mithra Tracker quests "Tuning In" and "Tuning Out". Based on these various sources, I am convinced that Odin is indeed the Dark Divinity.
This video is a compilation of all cutscenes from the NPC Adventuring Fellow quests:
I play Final Fantasy XI online as Bartholomew on the Shiva server. My project has been to travel around Vana'diel to collect all the cutscenes from FFXI missions and major quest lines, and to present them in order in a single, comprehensible story from start to finish. Obviously, this means nearly all of my videos will contain spoilers, so if you don't want to know what happens or haven't finished these quests or missions for yourself, then you probably don't want to view them. My cutscene videos typically do NOT contain any recorded battles, as you can find a ton of these elsewhere.
