Foggy Memory Syndrome

[Nel Celestine]

So, in the starting quests it seems like everyone can't remember what exactly happened during the fall of Dalamud.  Only that the "Warriors of Light" as they call them saved the world.  But they can't remember who they are.

 

For those of us who RP'd in 1.x and those that skipped.  How is this going to effect RP?  Are those that stayed behind going to be forced to IC'ly forget everything related to those who skipped?  That's a lot of interaction lost.

[John Spiegel]

Perhaps people that had a stronger bond (friends, family, etc) would remember the time jumpers. Like, JJ's son, Alex, clearly ain't gonna forget about JJ. He just doesn't know what the heck happened to him.

[Rhostel]

I think we should wait and see. It may turn out that once we get our 1.0 characters back that NPCs will suddenly remember them on meeting them again. Alternatively, it may turn out that the Echo (new PCs do in fact get it as well) clears it up.

 

Besides, as it turns out, the Grand Company leaders were in fact all sent forward, they just apparently reappeared sooner than the rest. They didn't have any trouble resuming their old roles.

[ArmachiA]

Currently my guild has it set up where they think the people who were sent forward in time are dead or they MIGHT have been sent forward in time but they just can't remember if they were or not. We're assuming that the memory of what happened that day is hazy, but no other memories were changed.

 

A friend of mine's entire character is based off of her being at the battle but not being sent forward for whatever reason, she says she's just making it so her character's memory of what happened to everyone there is fuzzy and she can't confirm whether or not her friends are dead or one of the Warriors of Light.

 

That's really the only change we've had to make so far, but it could change more as the story reveals itself.

[TwilightSea]

My character was sent forward in-time during the war. He'll be in a surprise when people forgot who he was. I'm still wondering how the hell do they have FMS when a giant dragon razed the lands dust. That's not something you can forget!

[Rhostel]

Currently my guild has it set up where they think the people who were sent forward in time are dead or they MIGHT have been sent forward in time but they just can't remember if they were or not. We're assuming that the memory of what happened that day is hazy, but no other memories were changed.

 

A friend of mine's entire character is based off of her being at the battle but not being sent forward for whatever reason, she says she's just making it so her character's memory of what happened to everyone there is fuzzy and she can't confirm whether or not her friends are dead or one of the Warriors of Light.

 

That's really the only change we've had to make so far, but it could change more as the story reveals itself.

 

I had the impression that people assume that those who were "lost to us" died and were named Warriors of Light for that reason/their sacrifice. But then there's the whole fuzzy memory thing, so based on what they're currently giving us, I think that's a great way to RP it.

Exactly. There's no reason for anyone left behind to have any inkling that those who are missing were sent through time, until they start showing up again. Obviously the GC leaders have some idea since it happened to them, but there are very specific reasons for Kan-E confiding this; the player character being touched by the Mother Crystal, and then doing some stuff important enough to be made an envoy between cities. It's certainly not something I've seen any other NPC hinting at any knowledge of, and I've been looking for all the NPC dialogue I can.

 

That said, the only way I can think of for someone to have been at the battle but survived without being thrown forward is for them to have fled and gotten out of range of both Louisoix's spell and Bahamut's attack. That's more or less what happened with Gaius Van Baelsar, I think, though he didn't flee so much as leave since he knew there was no point staying.

---

My character was sent forward in-time during the war. He'll be in a surprise when people forgot who he was. I'm still wondering how the hell do they have FMS when a giant dragon razed the lands dust. That's not something you can forget!

That wasn't forgotten. The only, only thing that was forgotten was the identities of those who were sent forward.

[Averis]

I was wondering about this too. Seems like an odd thing to forget. I wonder what purpose this will serve in the story. Maybe it's a means to help slow new players into the lore then trying to dump everything on them at once. It could also be to prevent all the NPCs assuming that everyone in that battle died so it's less shocking when they return? I wonder if the crystal is somehow responsible. I'm still trying to brush up my lore, so I could be way off. I'm not playing much of the beta since I don't want to ruin the story, but that kinda makes figuring out the lore a little hard.

 

I think I'm gonna play it safe with my current plans since in my character's story her life was only affected by the destruction that was caused. I don't know if you can forget something like your house being destroyed along with the people in it when you would still have the rubble days after the event (unless there is more to this story and the whole world was recreated afterwards and no on remembers) In any event, the battle is only something she would have heard about. I find it hard to believe that everyone would have amnesia. If someone they knew died, would that mean they wouldn't know that? Is everyone just missing?

[Rhostel]

Hrm. This is where it gets tricky. You see, the way the game frames it, all PCs, old and new, are supposed to be from 'somewhere else'. They're seeking their fortune in Eorzea, but are not from there. Where they are from is left intentionally unexplained, which I think is a sort of callback to the original Final Fantasy's Warriors of Light.

 

Because of that, the Warriors of Light didn't leave any family behind in Eorzea, going strictly by lore. Of course, that's completely garbage for roleplay, and we're left with which problem has no canonical solution. Could there be bonds strong enough to thwart the memory loss entirely? I don't know, and I don't think the game will give an answer.

 

In any case, as I said, it's only the identity that's forgotten. Names falter on tongues and faces cannot be pictured, but deeds, emotions and objects connected to those who vanished linger in the memories of those left behind. This is made quite clear. If you left behind family, they'd remember you, they just wouldn't be able to give you a proper memorial.

[Myal]

I really, really hope this in not an excuse to conveniently wipe all the story progresses from 1.0, because nobody remembers you anymore.

 

There are a lot of unfinished arcs from the guild quests!

[Aysun]

I think it'd be pretty awesome if it WAS a case of those who stayed behind will not recognize/remember those who time-skipped. Sure, a lot of interactions will be lost (but only on one side?) but that offers some fun RP opportunities and a chance to re-forge bonds. Personally I think the best part of RP is establishing and building relationships, not existing in ones that are just /there/.

 

My interpretation thus far is that they can't specifically say who was there and lost, and won't recognize us when we do come back (maybe just a deja vu feeling). I'm looking forward to how it plays out.

[Averis]

Hrm. This is where it gets tricky. You see, the way the game frames it, all PCs, old and new, are supposed to be from 'somewhere else'. They're seeking their fortune in Eorzea, but are not from there. Where they are from is left intentionally unexplained, which I think is a sort of callback to the original Final Fantasy's Warriors of Light.

 

Because of that, the Warriors of Light didn't leave any family behind in Eorzea, going strictly by lore. Of course, that's completely garbage for roleplay, and we're left with which problem has no canonical solution. Could there be bonds strong enough to thwart the memory loss entirely? I don't know, and I don't think the game will give an answer.

 

So all the adventurers we play are supposed to be immigrants? Do you think they are implying that our PCs are somehow special and can only come from outside of Eorzea? I'm not really sure what purpose it would serve to set it up like that unless there's a reason or it's just for flavor. In any event, yeah, I don't see many people roleplaying with that background. Seems kinda strange.

[Rhostel]

It's really just flavour, to have a ready-made one-size-fits-all background for player characters when it just has to be addressed for narrative reasons. Except, of course, it really doesn't fit all.

 

Basically, ignore it. If you want to use it, use it because it's what you wanted to do anyway. If it's not, just pretend it doesn't exist. It's just not helpful when looking for lore.

[Rhashi Nefhys]

So, what is the scenario here? We got a damn powerfull Space/Time-Spell probably from Althyk powered through Louisioux and all the chaos in the flow of Aether which got even worse on Bahamuth's rampage.

 

We have seen it in lots of games, movies and tv - Timetravel can fuck up pretty much everything and cause paradoxes. The disruption of the Aether also started to affect the people more and more.

 

For RP I'd probably handle it like this:

Relatives and close friends will not forget the existence of someone who timewarped. They know that he or she is gone and most likely dead. The effects from the timespell/aether could now cause them to forget the appearance and the name of said person. But everyone should decide for themselves how far that goes.

 

As soon as the person is back and comes into contact with any relative or friend, the effect could be lifted instantly or over time. Time heals itself

 

The circumstances are leaving the door wide open for pretty much any desired effect.

[Eva]

This is a tricky one.  In the end I think folks should do whatever they feel is best for their own story arcs.  Again, I'm a little glad we chose to time-jump rather than stay behind since it allows dodging of the entire issue.  But if Eva did stay behind, I would think friendships forged would allow her to retain many of her memories of her friends and peers.  I also wouldn't want to go against the lore - so there's probably a good middle ground there where details might be a little hazy - particularly towards the end of 1.0.

In any case, I'm really looking forward to the resulting RP, however it's spun.  If the people whose lives she touched remember Eva than I'm sure she will be happy, and if not than she may be appropriately confused.

[Manari]

The group of us who left on the boat for the island did so well before the battle in Mor Dhona. We weren't there when Dalamud fell and we didn't see those who skipped fight in the battle or get sent in time. I think it makes sense that this whole hazy memory thing wouldn't even effect us in particular. As such, in my own RP, I'm going to ignore this issue entirely. Manari would not forget her friends anyway. But even for those who didn't skip and stayed in Eorzea, expecting them to just forget every person who skipped is asking a lot.

 

However, I'm sure more lore on this issue will be made known once the 1.0 characters are able to be used in 2.0. I know we will start in a different place than new characters and NPC dialog is different for us.

[John Spiegel]

We all seem to somewhat agree on this middle-ground of "If they were close family or friends, you might be harder pressed to forget". I like what Aysun wrote of reforging bonds. This obviously would happen even if not for this memory loss thing. Five years of being gone does that to any kind of group.

 

But I don't think just downright complete amnesia of relationships is called for.  The NPCs do say that they can remember everything but like the faces and names. So, insert the face+name and they should remember, right? I tried to find an NPC that had a family member in the battle but I never found one that spoke of it. That'd shed some light on everything. 

 

I'm not in as much of a pickle as some of you guys are since JJ/Alex does not have any recent ties to any characters. As for Alex, who did not jump time, I'm trying to figure out how he'd respond to all this... you know, his dad and sister disappeared for five years, but he'd not forget their names and faces, would he?

[Rhostel]

In any case' date=' as I said, it's only the [i']identity[/i] that's forgotten. Names falter on tongues and faces cannot be pictured, but deeds, emotions and objects connected to those who vanished linger in the memories of those left behind. This is made quite clear. If you left behind family, they'd remember you, they just wouldn't be able to give you a proper memorial.

Quoting myself for emphasis, since a lot of people seem to have missed it.

[Deirdre]

I tried to find an NPC that had a family member in the battle but I never found one that spoke of it. That'd shed some light on everything.

 

There's an orphan in Gridania whose father went missing in the battle, it's openly spoken of.

 

This whole topic confuses me and I tried to rationalize things for myself yesterday, being someone not involved in the time skip myself. I think before I make any solid decisions like Manari said, I'm going to wait for our 1.0 characters to be available, to see if they give us any more concrete information of what happened.

 

It will be unfortunate though if it comes down to people actually not being able to remember anything... seems silly to me, because that can be completely personality changing.

[Nee Ninean]

I sorta skimmed thru the comments so sorry if this has been mentioned. When we get our legacy characters back it is possible the storyline may be different. The story given is just for new characters, with warriors of light being the legacy characters. Anyways my two cents and I am keeping the change.

[Rhio]

As you progress through the story a bit, this gets mentioned multiple times. So I think there are a couple of potential ways to look at this. By way of example, I'm going to use Ellaire Aldul, Rhio's mother and a resident of Ul'dah, because she exemplifies the problem perfectly.

 

The obvious method is that you forget this person ever existed, left with just fuzzy memories of who they once were. This would work for casual acquaintances, but Ellaire has years of evidence to point to the existence of her daughter. If she completely forgot Rhio it would leave her completely insane, surrounded by a life with huge blanks that she can't possibly fill in.

 

Even in more casual cases, it has issues. Deirdre knew Rhio, for example, and they had certain interactions that shaped one another. If Deirdre gave Rhio a gift, how does she explain the fact that one of her belongings has gone missing? She knows she gave it to someone, but who? Why?

 

Instead, I favor a disconnect. Ellaire remembers her daughter, Rhio, and she remembers that Rhio went... somewhere. She can't remember where. She doesn't know where. And she should know, and it needles at her, but just like the year after Dalamud fell, everything gets hazy. She knows that there was a miqo'te at the battle, and it could have been Rhio, but... was that it? No, that couldn't have been.

 

Sure, there's still a disconnect. Rhio could show up at Ellaire's door and Ellaire wouldn't fully recognize her daughter. But it at least allows the people to be remembered without violating lore.

[ArmachiA]

^ This is a pretty great way to do it. That disconnect is the perfect way to describe what seems to be happening.

[Grott]

Instead, I favor a disconnect.  Ellaire remembers her daughter, Rhio, and she remembers that Rhio went... somewhere.  She can't remember where.  She doesn't know where.  And she should know, and it needles at her, but just like the year after Dalamud fell, everything gets hazy.  She knows that there was a miqo'te at the battle, and it could have been Rhio, but... was that it?  No, that couldn't have been.

 

Sure, there's still a disconnect.  Rhio could show up at Ellaire's door and Ellaire wouldn't fully recognize her daughter.  But it at least allows the people to be remembered without violating lore.

 

This is the easiest way to do it. It allows for the confusion that the lore is going for but it doesn't completely erase past relationships.

 

Uther was in Ishgard for the entirety of 1.0 so he won't really have to deal with this, but it'll be interesting to watch how this fuzzy memory thing plays out with everyone else.

 

Another thing I'm wondering is if for some people it'd just be easier to ignore this problem. I know that sounds a little like lore blasphemy, but it's not too uncommon. For instance, how many of us actually are from "somewhere else" or have the Echo? In Uther's case, I replaced "somewhere else" with Ishgard, and any time he's referred to as "special" or "different" I sub in either being damn good with a spear, being from Ishgard, or that inner-dragon thing from the Dragoon story arc. It's worked out so far.

[Ellie]

Instead' date=' I favor a disconnect. Ellaire remembers her daughter, Rhio, and she remembers that Rhio went... somewhere. She can't remember where. She doesn't know where. And she should know, and it needles at her, but just like the year after Dalamud fell, everything gets [i']hazy[/i]. She knows that there was a miqo'te at the battle, and it could have been Rhio, but... was that it? No, that couldn't have been.

 

Sure, there's still a disconnect. Rhio could show up at Ellaire's door and Ellaire wouldn't fully recognize her daughter. But it at least allows the people to be remembered without violating lore.

 

Actually I think you've got it backwards, from what I saw from the Gridania questline. Everyone remembers the deeds and the fact that they fought in the battle, but not the names or the faces. Rhio's mother would remember that her daughter went to fight the Garleans and disappeared after Bahamut's attack, and she'd remember her interactions with her, but her name and face would probably elude her. Sort of like in the ending of FFVIII where everyone's faces are blurred out and indiscernible. They're still there in your memories, but you can't quite make them out.

 

At least, that's the impression I got.

[Gideon Aryeh]

Personally I like the effect for new players who didn't play 1.0 My character Reese is suffering from amnesia due to the Calamity, he doesn't remember anyone at all (since I didn't play 1.0). He did not time jump and was simply not around during the first fight that the Warriors of Light participated in, his time is now (he was too busy saving people, getting them out of harm's way). So this story was a great thing for me personally and the amnesia/foggy memory is such a Squaresoft trope I sometimes wonder if they invented it, lol.

[Merri]

In my own opinion, I feel as though it might be best to wait until we get to play our 1.0 characters through the storyline. While they might say they don't remember the names or faces of the adventurers from Carteneau to new players, that might not be the case with our 1.0 characters. I don't have time to dig up the quote right now, but as Nee said, Yoshi-P mentioned that 1.0 characters will experience a slightly different interaction with NPCs during the main storyline that new players will not. It was mentioned that we'll be known as "hollow ones" or something along those lines.

 

My guess is that certain characters, such as the Grand Company leaders and the archons, will recognize your character after having their memory jogged by actually seeing you again.

 

Or, maybe not. Either way, I feel as though it might be best to wait until we find out what happens in the 1.0 character version of the storyline before claiming anything as 100% canon.