Final Fantasy XIV city Ul'dah made real in diorama form
Square Enix brought a small piece of Eorzea to Earth in celebration of Final Fantasy XIV's 10th anniversary. The company recreated the city-state of Ul'dah, one of the three starting locations for new players of the game, in physical diorama form.
The promotion, titled "A New Hope", included a special site with detailed pictures of the model as well as a trailer showing off the construction process.
The Final Fantasy XIV Ul'dah diorama measures 2 meters x 2 meters (6' x 6') model, and recreates the in-game city at 1/180th scale. Like the in-game 3D model of Ul'dah, the diorama is not quite "realistic", and employs tricks of compression and perspective that make it look appropriately large from the street-level perspective players have access to. As such, accessible areas of the city like the Quicksand inn and the Sapphire Avenue Exchange are significantly larger compared with the distant buildings and towers. However, the level of detail is significant, as the street areas also include player-scale models of characters, as well as a "night mode", with built-in LED lights illuminating the windows of the dome-shaped citadel in the center of the model.
Ul'dah itself is one of three starting city-states players can begin the game in. Located in the desert of Thanalan, Ul'dah is a major mercantile power in Eorzea, and is ruled by the Sultana Nanamo Ul Namo. It's also the home city-state of the Immortal Flames Grand Company, which serves as Ul'dah's military force and one of the main factions in the Eorzean Alliance. Players who choose the Gladiator, Pugilist, or Thaumaturge starting jobs will begin the game on the road to Ul'dah, though they eventually visit Gridania and Limsa Lominsa, the other two Final Fantasy XIV starter cities.
Final Fantasy XIV is available on PC, PS4, and PS5, and its latest expansion, Endwalker, received the last major patch of its update cycle recently, bringing the game to version 6.5. Check out Jame's reflection on Patch 6.5 and the rest of the Endwalker patch cycle at this link.
