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DAT Mining Vana'Diel (for fun)
 Cerberus.Kylos
Server: Cerberus
Game: FFXI
Posts: 4618
By Cerberus.Kylos 2025-04-26 19:54:07
I found something interesting in South Gustaberg, which sent me on a wild goose chase to find out why it is there. If you look up and to your right after warping to Abyssea - Altepa, you will see this on the side of the cliff.
There’s no way this is a natural formation, so I inspected South Gustaberg’s DAT file.
See the red arrow? It points to a small arch a player could run in to. Also, the bigger section next to it is blocked up with bricks. Why would that be? Is there anything beyond it? While there isn't anything directly behind, I panned the camera and this is what we see.
It could be nothing. However, if you look at one of the concept drawings for the Vana'Diel world map, there could be an answer. West of Bastok, we can see "Mythril (Mines)", and this is in a very similar area to where the above is placed in South Gustaberg.
Developers may originally have intended to have the Mythril Mines here. Kazham is south west, so there'd be no need to include a way to get there under the ocean. This idea was scrapped when Kazham became Kuzotz, so it was blocked off and Korroloka Tunnel was created to connect Kuzotz to the mainland.
This would explain why mining equipment remains in Gustaberg despite Bastok's focus on Korroloka for years. As Gustaberg is a bit of a wasteland, developers kept mining tools there to give it some character. However, as a Bastokan for over 20 years, it never made sense to me why this stuff would be left out there.
Maybe I'm reading too much into it, or someone else already found this a long time ago. I just found it interesting and wanted to share.
Server: Asura
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Posts: 659
By Asura.Melliny 2025-04-26 21:07:40
Quote: ROM-4 67.DAT: A scantily clad Mithra playing around with a pot in very mysterious ways. This is one of the strangest things I have found.
That's just Mhe Quryobhi. She hangs out at the fishing pier in port windurst. She's been feeding the fish with whatever food she's got in that pot since the dawn of time.
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Cerberus.Kylos
Server: Cerberus
Game: FFXI
Posts: 4618
By Cerberus.Kylos 2025-04-26 21:11:07
Quote: ROM-4 67.DAT: A scantily clad Mithra playing around with a pot in very mysterious ways. This is one of the strangest things I have found.
That's just Mhe Quryobhi. She hangs out at the fishing pier in port windurst. She's been feeding the fish with whatever food she's got in that pot since the dawn of time.
Yeah, that was said on page 1 by someone else, and I replied with the fact I'm Bastokan and haven't chilled in Windurst enough to notice, lol.
Edit: On something else entirely, I found something interesting in Konschtat and North Gustaberg, but it may take some time to put things together to show it.
 Siren.Dekoda
Server: Siren
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Posts: 146
By Siren.Dekoda 2025-04-26 22:33:38
What’s the best way to view the zone .dats?
Cerberus.Kylos
Server: Cerberus
Game: FFXI
Posts: 4618
By Cerberus.Kylos 2025-04-26 23:01:36
What’s the best way to view the zone .dats?
Download Noesis. There is a link on the previous page, but it's for an outdated version. This is the latest.
Cerberus.Kylos
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By Cerberus.Kylos 2025-04-27 00:54:02
While looking around at Konschtat Highlands, I stumbled across something surprising. I have always assumed the small entrance at D-7 (SAM job quest) is an unused zone connector, as it is too similar to the Gusgen Mines entrance to be in the game for decoration.
While scanning around in Noesis, I was shocked to find a second entrance sitting behind a high wall. The player can not see it, but I imagine many have run by it without knowing.
It is roughly where I placed the red dot on the map, and it has some solid ground directly before it. There's a bunch of unrendered graphics before this ground which either isn't showing in Noesis, or could be filled in to create a path. This unrendered area conveniently takes us to the main path at F-11.
What could they have planned for this zone? What if it was to take us back to North Gustaberg? A bigger Dangruf Wadi? Or if we get imaginative, what about (along with the D-7 zone) a completely different area? Finding this zone encouraged me to look elsewhere to see if there was anything else to uncover.
First thing was to scour Dangruf Wadi for clues. Sadly, I did not find anything suspicious. But then... I went to North Gustaberg and found this!
For the unaware, this is the gorge (Zeikt Creek) where the waterfall goes to. You can only get here by taking the northeast zone in Dangruf Wadi. A bridge lets you get across the river, and the waterfall (Drachenfall) is known for its stone monument, THF AF quest, and a blank target to acquire the Apocalypse Relic weapon.
What you see above is the Dangruf Wadi zone on one side, and a dead end wall on the other. This path always puzzled me. Why have it if it goes nowhere? I was amazed to find that if you use Noesis to go through the wall, there is a zone here. Could it have connected to Konschtat? Or another area between North Gustaberg and Konschtat? We’ll probably never know. But it’s interesting to know there are two secret zone connectors, along with the other at D-7 in Konschtat.
With three in close vicinity, my guess is Dangruf Wadi was originally planned to be bigger, or at least more connected to Konschtat. The developers could have intended to add another dungeon area, although this feels a little excessive. The Highlands is already connected to Gusgen Mines, and Wadi is nearby, so they perhaps felt it was overkill. Instead of taking them out, it may have been easier to cover up the secret zones. The player would never see them by normal means.
Again, I don’t know if anyone has found these before. I’m only here to share what I have found while looking around for fun. I hope someone found this interesting. Have an enjoyable weekend.
 Fenrir.Zenion
Server: Fenrir
Game: FFXI
Posts: 295
By Fenrir.Zenion 2025-04-27 01:15:05
ROM-1 24, 25, 29, 30.DAT: Shows the maps used for the boat trip between Selbina and Mhaura. Why are there four identical zones? Perhaps dependent on the type of ride you experience? I can't remember if there are two boats. If so, there are two zones for each.
Pirates. One zone is Mhaura to Selbina, one is Selbina to Mhaura, one is Mhaura to Selbina WITH PIRATES!!, and... yeah. Maybe it's because of the different fishing table, might have been harder for them to change the availability of certain fish based on whether the event was going to happen or not, so they said screw it and just made additional zones?
Something I'm curious about though: as you ride the ferry, you see landscape details slide by in the distance. What's actually moving: the boat, or the landscape?
By RadialArcana 2025-04-27 01:30:56
I always assumed the carving into the wall there was a visual hint to Gwynham Ironheart, the bastok seaman who traveled Vana'diel and left the stone tablets as he went. There is one a short distance from there, there are 20+ more.
Asura.Vyre
Forum Moderator
Server: Asura
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Posts: 16125
By Asura.Vyre 2025-04-27 03:07:17
I found something interesting in South Gustaberg, which sent me on a wild goose chase to find out why it is there. If you look up and to your right after warping to Abyssea - Altepa, you will see this on the side of the cliff.
There’s no way this is a natural formation, so I inspected South Gustaberg’s DAT file.
See the red arrow? It points to a small arch a player could run in to. Also, the bigger section next to it is blocked up with bricks. Why would that be? Is there anything beyond it? While there isn't anything directly behind, I panned the camera and this is what we see.
It could be nothing. However, if you look at one of the concept drawings for the Vana'Diel world map, there could be an answer. West of Bastok, we can see "Mythril (Mines)", and this is in a very similar area to where the above is placed in South Gustaberg.
Developers may originally have intended to have the Mythril Mines here. Kazham is south west, so there'd be no need to include a way to get there under the ocean. This idea was scrapped when Kazham became Kuzotz, so it was blocked off and Korroloka Tunnel was created to connect Kuzotz to the mainland.
This would explain why mining equipment remains in Gustaberg despite Bastok's focus on Korroloka for years. As Gustaberg is a bit of a wasteland, developers kept mining tools there to give it some character. However, as a Bastokan for over 20 years, it never made sense to me why this stuff would be left out there.
Maybe I'm reading too much into it, or someone else already found this a long time ago. I just found it interesting and wanted to share.
I may have developed a Mandela Effect memory, but I was pretty sure waaaaay back in early 2005 when I beat the 2-5 Mammet fight in CoP for the first time that instead of getting dumped out by the lighthouse, the COP mission originally dumped you into that cut out, and with no other recourse you hopped down from there.
I have a distinct memory of it, and have always gazed up at that cutout every time I am in that section of South Gustaberg.
Love seeing the posts like these. Keep it up!
To add to it, though, I've always wondered if they ever intended to make more zones like Beadeaux. You know how you have easy access ramps that eventually take you on top of what also double as the zone perimeter walls. You can run around much of the border of the zone in Beadeaux, and there's a few other zones in the game that feel like you should have been able to do something similar.
Also always felt like there was a bunch of stuff they intended for Ft. Ghelsba by San d'Oria, as it is much more intricate of a zone compared to Giddeus or Palborough Mines (though Palbo is pretty up there too).
By Dodik 2025-04-27 04:32:03
was pretty sure waaaaay back in early 2005 when I beat the 2-5 Mammet fight in CoP for the first time that instead of getting dumped out by the lighthouse, the COP mission originally dumped you into that cut out, and with no other recourse you hopped down from there.
Yes, it did, depending on which home nation you had in the past.
There are a couple more places like that, one in E. Ronfaure that you get spit out in after.. one of the fights around Sandy rank 9-1 or so.
Also the little hole you get put in N. Gustaberg by the Moblin in Newton Movalpolos if you tell him to get you out.
I always thought those little caves in the walls were just warp exit points for missions and the like, and that all the starter zones next to the cities had them to facilitate walking back to the city after a long long mission.
Remember warp points were not a thing back in 2003, only thing close were outpost warps. Pre-warp-cudgel even. Walking back to the city after a mission had to be facilitated somehow..
By Genoxd 2025-04-27 10:32:20
There is a zone connector inside mog gardens behind the wall towards the boat
Cerberus.Kylos
Server: Cerberus
Game: FFXI
Posts: 4618
By Cerberus.Kylos 2025-04-27 11:22:36
There is a zone connector inside mog gardens behind the wall towards the boat
That opens if you do things in your Mog Garden. It allows you to raise more monsters in Monster Rearing.
was pretty sure waaaaay back in early 2005 when I beat the 2-5 Mammet fight in CoP for the first time that instead of getting dumped out by the lighthouse, the COP mission originally dumped you into that cut out, and with no other recourse you hopped down from there.
Yes, it did, depending on which home nation you had in the past.
There are a couple more places like that, one in E. Ronfaure that you get spit out in after.. one of the fights around Sandy rank 9-1 or so.
Also the little hole you get put in N. Gustaberg by the Moblin in Newton Movalpolos if you tell him to get you out.
I always thought those little caves in the walls were just warp exit points for missions and the like, and that all the starter zones next to the cities had them to facilitate walking back to the city after a long long mission.
Remember warp points were not a thing back in 2003, only thing close were outpost warps. Pre-warp-cudgel even. Walking back to the city after a mission had to be facilitated somehow..
I believe the hole you come out of is one of the exits to Palborough Mines, which is the closest zone to it other than Gusgen.
The 9-1 mission is probably misremembering 7-1. You come out of a hole in Bostaunieux Oubliette and spawn Maurauder Dvogzog on the ledge. I remember this very well as I used it to kill RMTs a couple of years ago for fun.
And I cannot say anything about where the COP 2-5 Mammet fight put you as I was late to getting those done. Although, it is true that it puts you near the lighthouse, which is an odd place to end up after being in Riverne Site #A01.
I always assumed the carving into the wall there was a visual hint to Gwynham Ironheart, the bastok seaman who traveled Vana'diel and left the stone tablets as he went. There is one a short distance from there, there are 20+ more.
I am aware of the stone monuments and it does seem to resemble one a little, although it would be really strange to stick it there with no explanation. Do you know of any other weird formations like these?
And to anyone else, if you have spotted anything weird, please let me know and I'll check it out. I'm going to have something about Norg later today.
By Dodik 2025-04-27 11:58:21
The 9-1 mission is probably misrembering 7-1. You come out of a hole in Bostaunieux Oubliette and spawn Maurauder Dvogzog on the ledge. I remember this very well as I used it to kill RMTs a couple of years ago for fun.
No, it's not that one, I do remember that, fun fight at the time.
There are multiple missions that spit you out in the city adjacent zones.
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Cerberus.Kylos
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By Cerberus.Kylos 2025-04-27 12:02:05
The 9-1 mission is probably misrembering 7-1. You come out of a hole in Bostaunieux Oubliette and spawn Maurauder Dvogzog on the ledge. I remember this very well as I used it to kill RMTs a couple of years ago for fun.
No, it's not that one, I do remember that, fun fight at the time.
There are multiple missions that spit you out in the city adjacent zones.
Only thing I could suggest as 9-1 has you going to Xarcabard, Valley Of Sorrows and Batallia Downs. None of those spit you back in to Ronfaure. Neither do any of the surrounding missions.
Cerberus.Kylos
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By Cerberus.Kylos 2025-04-27 15:37:45
For anyone wondering what is beyond Gottna in Norg. He's a Galka who guards the entrance to the dock where ships can be regularly seen.
There is a path, but there isn't anything to suggest we were meant to use it to board a ship. It would have been easy to add a boarding platform, but it doesn't seem like one was there and has been removed.
We never get to see this cargo ship up close. Unlike the ships we can board, this sports a different look and has boxes on the deck. I wanted to know three things about this ship, which I can confirm for those who wanted to know.
1) Unlike the other ships, this has a closed door. Others always have their doors open, except when you're out at sea.
2) If you look behind the door, there is no solid floor, nor does it seem like anything else would load. Other ships have these.
3) The windows are closed around the cockpit. Going inside reveals no solid ground or anything else.
SE may have thought about the idea of allowing us to reach Norg like we can with Selbina and Mhaura. However, when Kazham and the jungle were connected to Norg, and it was decided we would reach the Elshimo region via airship, developers made this boat so the Norg dock wouldn't go to waste. If you talk to Gottna, he can warp you straight to Selbina and Mhaura with no delay or animations. After agreeing, he will say the following:
"Twasn't so long ago that I'd say ya were spewing brine if ya told me an adventurer wanted to use our ships. But the times, they be a-changin'".
This could be the developers hinting at allowing us to ride the ships like the others, but after deciding against it, this was the best they could do.
Ever since I stumbled over Noesis the other year, it amazes me how much effort has been put in to this game. By using the program, it has allowed me to find things you wouldn't usually be able to see. I have no idea if we already have a thread like this somewhere (I tried searching), but it would be cool if we posted anything interesting here.
Here's just some of the things that have been pointed out before:
ROM-0 28.DAT: This big secret zone has no name, but there's an entrance to a town, which looks like it may be a reference to an early trailer. There are signposts here, one of them pointing to the "Chocobo Wood", and another pointing to the wood and "Sel Phiner". This is likely the name of the town, or an early name for Selbina, but who knows?
The coolest thing is a railway system with an upside down train. There's even detail inside, so perhaps we were meant to ride like we do the airships or boats. Across the map, there's a place showing a rusty section of track which is broken and placed over a canyon. Maybe there was an earthquake and it had to be left? It's clear this area was made very early in the games development. SE abandoned it and has done nothing with it since.
ROM-0 40.DAT: The big blue & white checkboard area is known as a GM area. Maybe someone can find a video, I can't remember where it is.
BCNM areas: SE uses several (usually three) of the exact same area miles away from each other to allow more than one party to enter battlefields.
In ROM-0 74.DAT, the three floating Throne Rooms away from the main spires have detail for a whole entrance outside of the battlefield, despite never being able to see it.
It's likely they originally intended you to zone in down the steps and make your way through another door to reach your battle, in a similar way you run up in other areas. Instead, you zone straight in to the room in front of your targets. They probably thought we'd already done enough running, and I can't blame them.
In ROM-1 6.DAT, the mountain range you can see after exiting from a Horlais Peak battlefield is HUGE! It's bigger than the three battle areas combined. SE were excessive, they would have got the same effect if it were half the size.
ROM-0 79.DAT: In the North section of Windurst Waters, you can see a low detail Heaven's Tower slightly away from the boundary. While it gives you the impression of its size, it's far too close compared to where it actually is in Windurst Walls.
ROM-1 4.DAT: FFXI has a prison area called "Mordion Gaol". It's a small area similar to the entry in Legion. They have 32 copies of Mordion Gaol, so there's plenty of room to keep people detained.
ROM-1 5.DAT: This strange little area is for the login screen. You can find little houses here, made up of three small villages, but you will never see them while logging in as you can't look around.
ROM-1 12.DAT: I was often told that the Legion zone shares an area with Ambuscade, but this DAT shows the five areas on their own. I'll have to find an Ambuscade zone first, though.
ROM-1 20-22, 45-47.DAT: There are small corridor's outside Mog House's with details for stairs and the other side of the door, like you were originally meant to walk through it to get to your Rent-A-Room.
ROM-1 24, 25, 29, 30.DAT: Shows the maps used for the boat trip between Selbina and Mhaura. Why are there four identical zones? Perhaps dependent on the type of ride you experience? I can't remember if there are two boats. If so, there are two zones for each.
ROM-1 26-28.DAT: The World Maps for airship rides are not very detailed and largely inaccurate, but you can spot some landmarks. For some reason, the airship begins in the floor, but you'll never notice because it rises up before the screen fades out.
ROM-1 48-127.DAT: There are many town areas which don't automatically load the interiors of buildings in one DAT, and instead bring in others for more detail. Most of the ROM2's are like this as well.
ROM-3 2.DAT: The first character model is an Orcish Overlord wielding a staff. I'm trying to remember where this comes from. Is it a NM or part of a cutscene? It's certainly not Overlord Bakgodek or a regular Orcish Overlord.
ROM-3 47.DAT: Either my memory sucks or I have never encountered this baby Soulflayer NPC before. What is it from?
ROM-4 67.DAT: A scantily clad Mithra playing around with a pot in very mysterious ways. This is one of the strangest things I have found.
ROM-5 67.DAT: A red Orcish Warmachine. Looks pretty cool! But I can't remember seeing it anywhere.
ROM-6 32-53.DAT: The line of Fomors have some really disturbing animations. Solid nightmare material.
ROM-7 80+81.DAT: Shadow Lord!
ROM-159 81.DAT: Bahamut!
That will do for now. If anyone has found anything interesting, please let us know!
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