View Screenshots – Aleczan's New Diary (FFXIV: ARR)

Lord Hubby – Lavender Beds

Went out to the Lavender Beds with Raykit’s Lord Haurchefant for a session of photo shoot.

Yesterday, late night, Raykit told me she was going to play FE (something like that) and thus she would log into her Lord Haurchefant alt to let me take screenshots while she’s half AFK. So, here goes my spam. XD

Lavender Beds has some wonderful spot for photo shooting.

Even at night, with proper lighting from grouppose control, we can still take pictures with good exposure and colours. The photos below, however, were mostly adjusted outside of the game using PC program called PhotoScape and one of its presets of Film Effect.

Night turned into morning, and I was still there spamming my screenshot button gleefully, LOL.

I took about 200 screenshots in this session, and I’m posting 42 of them. Most of the pics were repeated shots of same thing, trying to achieve best lighting/position/direction/details.

What’s a bummer was that while I was adjusting the camera angle and distance of the pic below, it became 8 o’clock and the weather changed, giving us Fog.

//screams with frustration!

At least the fog wasn’t too ugly and did not obstruct the photo that much (like, for example, Dust Storm is a hair-pulling kind of weather for any screenshot freak.)

The new /gpose features are really, really great. SE did a wonderful job.

The tree in the mist does look pretty, after all.

Another extreme adjustment from Film Effect.

The one below was natural lighting from in-game.

Nice pose, nice angle, but that Botanist NPC…..

I could even tilt the camera 90° and take portrait pics.

Love it! Great job, SE.

Teeheehee!

Happy time.

Then, we moved to other part of the Lavender Beds.

This lotus pond is nice.

Background…. foggy green sky. Cry.

I adjusted color temperature in PhotoScape and turned it more blue.

Self note: I have to go back there again and take this pic with bright blue sky.

It will be a nice wallpaper for my phone. XD

After that, we moved to Dappled Stalls. It’s a nice small field of flowers, with chocobos in the background LOL!

Sunset…

And then night time came. I had to rely heavily on gpose lighting, otherwise the characters look too dark.

The 2 pics below took 24 attempts, as it cannot be done smoothly in gpose. The hand position was achieved by having Lord-sama stand in a specific pose where he kind of runs his hand through front hair, or smooths it back, and I entered /gpose and quickly capture the photo in 1 second. Cannot adjust camera angle or lighting before taking pic, and if the timing failed, I had to exit /gpose and re-enter again. XD

What a fuss! But it’s totally worth it.

Night sky.

Embrace and salute.

Really gotta love the stop/pause function in /gpose.

Can pick the best frame of the emote to create desires positioning.

:3 Same pause, different angle.

Many different angles, actually.

Cannot achieve this without stop/pause function. Bravo SE!

Could even take a vertical pic.

Huggle!

Our old trick, using /bow to make Lord-sama lean closer into the hug.

Last pic, it’s purely in-game lighting, without additional lighting from /gpose. Day time in the game really gives nice and vibrant colours. Really love it.

Really love the newly added functions in /gpose

By Aleczan Knighthill | March 21, 2016 - 4:02 am |March 21, 2016 Screenshots, Self Screenshots, View Screenshots

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Today I was able to steal some nice shots of Corn and myself at Vanu Vanu beast tribe. All thanks to the /gpose thingie.

It’s been difficult to really take good screenshots of Corn, because when he’s out in the sun, he hardly stays still, due to the demand of beast tribe quests. And when he goes AFK in the house or in front of the house, it’s usually either too dark or raining, or he’s not in PLD outfit.

OK it’s now 4 A.M. and I need to make myself sleep XD Night night all.

Atop a Snowy Cliff

By Aleczan Knighthill | November 26, 2015 - 2:50 pm |December 22, 2017 Quests, Screenshots, Self Screenshots, The Feels, View Screenshots

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*This entry contains spoilers of FFXIV 3.0 main scenario quest line*

I used to go to the top of the cliff overlooking Ishgard for sightseeing a lot. This cliff has the Mark of Menphina (symbol stone of one of the Twelve, the Lover) and sometimes I come here to admire the stones. XD

With the story of 3.0 (Heavensward) there is a change to the cliff… a change which I’m still trying to cope with. ><;;

Today I was supposed to continue main scenario quest to catch up with the 3.1 updates, but I am sick and emo and didn’t feel like it. So I just sat there moping while writing a poem.

Atop a Snowy Cliff

Many moons have passed since that day,
The cursed moment when you were taken away,
What I wouldn’t give to go back in the past,
To stop that day from being your last,

Oh, why, only if I weren’t so careless,
We could have spared me from this sadness,
Atop the wind-chilled cliff in the Highlands,
With white flowers in my trembling hands,

I come here to greet you again, dear friend,
The deep wound in my heart has yet to mend,
It doesn’t get any easier, Francel said,
That echoes my exact thought, I’m afraid,

Staring at the broken shield and snowy headstone,
Fierce pain pierces though my every bone,
Trickles of sorrow seep along my veins,
My heart feels heavy like shackled in chains,

You were so kind, just, and courageous,
My cheery ally, truly warm and courteous,
Whose loyalty stirred me to the very depths of my soul,
At the very best, you’ve carried your role,

A knight lives to serve, to protect, to sacrifice,
But why must the vow come with such price?
A knight is to aid those in need, you said,
Then, before me, your life has been laid,

Don’t call me hero, for the true hero was you,
Countless times, you had helped me through,
Had welcomed me with open arms,
And smiled to me with such unique charm,

Told me no matter how far I may roam,
To ever consider your place my home,
Your hospitality was great and endless,
You’re beacon of hope in a world of darkness,

I know no man with stronger conviction,
Who has greater love to the Ishgard nation,
Would that you were here to fight by my side,
Or leisurely hop on for a chocobo ride,

So that I could show you the peace you saved,
And the road to prosperity which you paved,
I daresay you were my greatest comrade,
And the sturdiest ally I’ve ever had,

“My arm will not falter; my shield will not break,”
You promised, before putting your life at stake,
This loss is both too harsh and too heavy,
Why, oh why must you do this to me?

You fought your battle with all your honor,
To you, I know this is not an error,
But to me, I felt so much despair,
How much I wish this were just nightmare,

Wallowing in sorrow will make you frown,
~~The~~ A Warrior of Light can’t let you down,
For these reasons, and for these alone,
That I will wipe my tears and not bemoan,

I must not remain a broken blade,
Because that was what you forbade,
You once said a smile better suits me,
Therefore, like that, it will be,

Though it won’t be an easy feat, I’ll try my best,
With you as a model, I will pass any test,
I shall now straighten up and fight on,
In tribute to the hero who is gone,

May the Fury take your soul in her Hall,
And grant me your courage when the duties call,
May Menphina, the goddess of love,
Let you have peace and watch us from above.

– Aleczan –

The Joy of Having a Flying Mount

By Aleczan Knighthill | July 7, 2015 - 1:29 pm |July 7, 2015 Screenshots, View Screenshots

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Not only that flying mounts are making an adventurer’s life easier and enabling fast travel, but they are also excellent means for any screenshot enthusiast to enjoy taking pictures in the game far beyond the old capability.

We can now take a screenshot from any height, distance, and angle. We can take a picture of anything from pretty much anywhere while adjusting the elements in the frame much more to our liking. No more frantically jumping to reach a specific camera angle (and still can’t get it anyway). No more getting angry at how the piece of land ends before we could walk to a spot where we want to stand while taking a screenshot. No more being blocked from the perfect view by a mountain or a boulder.

The only downside? Now my screenshots folder gets about 400 new pics per day on average instead of 200. LOL. (But I expect it to tune down soon when I finish all the quests, because I also take screenshots during quest cutscenes.)

Limsa before the fall

By Aleczan Knighthill | June 30, 2015 - 5:37 pm |May 14, 2016 Creative Writing, Screenshots, Self Screenshots, View Screenshots

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Screenshots dump. 1.0 pics from November 2012.

Accompanying them with a short story I’ve just written now, as seen on my tumblr entry.

“Twelve have mercy!” Exclaimed a weary Monk upon reaching the mark of the Navigator atop a platform in Limsa Lominsa. Llymlaen is her guardian, and it wasn’t a coincidence that they saved this monument for the last. “I hope we can make it in time.”

Since Louisoix and the other Archons bid them go on a perilous pilgrimage in order to visit all of the stone monuments, each bearing the symbol of the Twelve, adventurers did all in their power and spared no effort in doing so. Praying to the Twelve deities would revitalize the guardians’ strength and may lend the land what it needs in fending off this apocalypse.

“I supposed this is all we could do for now, I wonder how the others fare.” Her Bard friend commented after they have knelt down and paid respect to the guardian’s symbol. The will of each of the adventurers on this pilgrimage will surely strengthen the guardians’ power, but the question is, will it be enough and can they do it fast enough to save the realm?

“I bet they are doing fine. But we better hurry. Dalamud is disturbingly close.” Staring at the Lesser Moon, her fists were clenched tightly. “Let’s report back to Louisoix.”

“I don’t like this,” the Elezen looks into the sky, too. “Aetheric disturbances are so intense the weather went all crazy.” The heavily clouded sky above had been turned into a fiery hue, and they hadn’t seen the sun nor the moon in so long already. It was as if the Dalamud’s presence had dominated the hemisphere above, that everything else seemed to have ceased to exist, all save for the thunder.

He gritted his teeth and turned back to where they ascended from. But as soon as he reached the windowed man-made tunnel, the sight of the Lesser Moon held him in place. He uttered angrily. The Archons and the adventurers went to such great length to try to stop what was called upon them, yet it still kept approaching. Never had he felt so useless and powerless before.

“Hey, are we leaving or what?” He called out to his pilgrimage companion because she was taking too long.

“Sorry, I just received this ring from my guardian, so I went back to pray again and thank her.” In her hand, rested a stone ring that seemed to be made of aquamarine, the symbol of the Navigator carved on the top of its face. He nodded. He already got his from the top of a cliff in Coerthas Central Highland, so he wasn’t surprised.

“Shall we?” He tilted his head into the direction of the exit. She nodded firmly while putting on the ring with an expression as if this ring was the most important amulet in her life. Desperation, hope, determination and resolution mixed together in her eyes not unlike what he had seen in others, or in the mirror. A slight curve appeared on his lips as he gestured to her, “After you.”

Scenery Screenshots

By Aleczan Knighthill | May 25, 2015 - 8:35 am |May 25, 2015 Screenshots, View Screenshots

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Some scenery screenshots from my FFXIV folder. I posted this on tumblr yesterday and this set of pics was shockingly popular and received over 70 notes in just one day. O_o

Some of these were taken before I got my new PC, so the pictures may vary in size and resolution.

Sunrise at Tranquil

The moon outside Tempest Gate

Sunrise at Costa

The light house at Hammerlea

The moon at Forgotten Springs

Morning sun at Sagolii Desert

The Byregot’s Strike

The Oasis of Forgotten Springs

Costa Del Sol sneak a peek

Ul’dah view from Hammerlea

Ishgard at night

By Aleczan Knighthill | March 2, 2015 - 1:25 pm |March 5, 2015 Screenshots, Self Screenshots, View Screenshots

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I’ve been browsing my screenshot folders recently and found this one, which I would call “my masterpiece of the year 2014” without hesitation. It was taken on 8 December 2014 when I made a stop at the Mark of the Lover on the top of a cliff in Coerthas Central Highlands.

Below: me in front of the backdrop. I can’t remember why I was there. Probably was because I saw nice sky and decided to go there for a pic. You know, Coerthas hardly ever has a break from the snow storm. Rare photo occasion anyone would snatch if they have chance!

Update: 2 more Ishgard screenshots from later (5 MAR 2015), now with “glare” setting on low (I usually keep it off, so the first pic had glare: off).

ffxiv_03052015_080917

It snowed on me while I was messing around with my glare setting.

ffxiv_03052015_081021

Using mounts as height aid for screenshots

By Aleczan Knighthill | January 16, 2015 - 11:03 am |January 16, 2015 Informative, Screenshots, View Screenshots

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I’ve been using my mounts for height adjustment when I’m taking FFXIV screenshots in 1st person camera view for a long time but today was the first time I’ve noticed and compared the height difference between various mounts.

In some circumstances, when you’re trying to take a nice screenshot while in 1st person camera mode, tilting the camera up and down can achieve what you want for your pictures, but it doesn’t always work. Take this screenshot for an example, here I wanted the umbrella to be the foreground of the ocean view. I wanted to see more of the sea water above the wooden floor and to see some of the top of the umbrella without moving closer to the ocean. Tilting my camera up won’t help. The only option I had would be standing on a higher ground. There was nothing to climb on, so my mounts are the answer.

Without any mount I see too much floor and cannot see the yellow part of the umbrella.

Coeurl is a low mount and gives a only slight lift off the ground.

Legacy Chocobo is a little taller, and I assume it has the same height as Company Chocobo.

Fat Chocobo is a bit higher.

Draught Chocobo is even taller.

Ahriman gives noticeable height.

Goobbue is maybe too tal. LOL!

Scenery Screenshots #1

By Aleczan Knighthill | September 5, 2013 - 9:26 pm |September 5, 2013 Screenshots, View Screenshots

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A dump of random screenshots from my folder. I especially love nighttime sky in FFXIV: ARR. They really did a great job with the stars and milky way or whatever we see out there. Really mesmerizing.