There are too many places that I liked, so I have encapsulated them in spoiler boxes so as people on their phones don't click the thread and then have to scroll for a very long time to reach the bottom.
► World of Warcraft
When I first played WoW for the very first time and hadn't reached level cap or "endgame" yet on my Tauren, I spent much of my time AFKing in Thunder Bluff despite the inconvenience of having to commute by airship to the main hub of Orgrimmar. I afked in the area by the pond. It felt very comfy being surrounded by tents and strong but nice people, and a blue sky above you. I do wish that there had been wind effects and a nicer painted skybox with moving clouds to make the place feel cool and breezy.
The airforce overhead also provides a sense of security.
When I joined the Kor'Kron Legion RP guild, I spent a lot of time AFKing in Orgrimmar, usually in front of Grommash Hold but also by the barracks in the Valley of Honor when an RP event was coming up or when RPers were chilling there.
In front of Grommash Hold, where most Orgrimmar players are.
In the Valley of Honor, where Horde RPers used to congregate for huge events that were organized on the server forums.
On my Alliance characters, I would AFK in Stormwind, usually perched on a building looking across the town towards the ocean or reading people's MRP or TRP profiles. I don't like the boring architecture, I just like that it feels like an important city everyone congregates in, that it is actually a big city with lots of streets and soldiers patrolling on their horses and the air force flying overhead.
The capital of the world's leading superpower should borrow the effect that Valdrakken has and place many flying mounts and airships in the sky.
Looking down at a popular Alliance walkup RP spot, Lion's Rest, from a rooftop in Mage District.
I never liked any of the expansion cities (Shattrath, which is an ugly green/grey ruin, or Dalaran which is a cramped girl's play doll house set) until MoP. I quite liked the Shrines, with the ornate architecture and the blending of colors with the blue tiles and the gold illuminated by fire. Slow paced oriental music.
During MoP, I had my hearthstone set to the my farm at Halfhill, so at the end of every play session I would hearth back to there, then start the next one there and harvest my plants before flying to the Shrine. I would either AFK at the farm or the Shrine while queued.
During WoD, when I wasn't AFKing in Orgrimmar before or after an RP event, I was AFKing in the garrison. I liked both, but Frostwall Edged out for me because you didn't have a treeline up close obfuscating your view of the background mountains from the central plaza. It felt wide open.
During Legion, I quite liked the paladin class order hall underneath Light's Hope Chapel, but I played a Tauren who felt inappropriate for a Church of the Light themed place, so again I spent my time at Orgrimmar.
In Dazar'Alor, I liked the crafting terrace by the bridge that went across the river, and you got to see dinosaurs bathing and a view into the jungle. But again, this was an out of the way place from where the players and services were located, so I spent most of my time AFKing in Orgrimmar.
During Shadowlands, I liked the Kyrian Covnenant hall, the Elysian Hold. It was the only Shadowlands hub that was open the outdoors rather than being an interior. You were located in serene, ornate floating stone gardens, with colorful plants and tile accents, gold dust on the tiles, and water fountains. You can look out across picturesqe golden floating islands with beautiful fluffy clouds in the background, and one of the tracks was quite nice. I also liked the fantasy weather condition of the slowly raining golden feathers. I also liked that the banners flapped and flowed.
During Dragonflight, the central plaza and the crafting terrace in Valdrakken were okay. While the grey stone buildings weren't that attractive, there was a lot of flora, and the plazas were open so you got great views of the sky and the plains. I liked the gold and glass structures by the crafting terrace. I also liked that there were a lot of NPC dragons flying around in the sky, which helped make the place feel more populated and important.
View of Valdrakken from a little outside the designated city area.
During MoP remix, because the essential services were added to towns around Pandaria, I wound up spending most of Remix AFKing at either Tian Monastery (comfy town with pleasant villagers and colorful architecture, is high up in the China mountains that you can have fun flying around), or the Temple of the White Tiger's cool/breezy open courtyards high in the mountains. Again, I wish there were wind effects/weather conditions to better sell it.
In TWW, I have been AFKing in the central open area of Dornogal, surrounded by other players and having a view up towards the lush mountain while gentle harp and horn music is playing. That being said, I did have complaints about the basic street texturing, and the blocky buildings. They weren't as appealing to look at as Valdrakken, Oribos, the Elysian Hold, etc.
In TWW, I prefered the lower plaza in Mereldar, with the water fountain with the orphans running around and the knights patroling on their cats, the unique color palette of the buildings and the flora, and looking up at the great light crystal Beledar. And it had memorable music. Unfortunately, it's not an official hub with services, and no one else AFKs there. So I only sometimes AFK there while waiting for a rated BG queue to pop. It is also nice to mount up and fly around the beautiful zone, over the cliffs and over and past the waterfalls, or towards the beachfront towards the unending ocean under the crystal sun.
The airforce overhead also provides a sense of security.
When I joined the Kor'Kron Legion RP guild, I spent a lot of time AFKing in Orgrimmar, usually in front of Grommash Hold but also by the barracks in the Valley of Honor when an RP event was coming up or when RPers were chilling there.
In front of Grommash Hold, where most Orgrimmar players are.
In the Valley of Honor, where Horde RPers used to congregate for huge events that were organized on the server forums.
On my Alliance characters, I would AFK in Stormwind, usually perched on a building looking across the town towards the ocean or reading people's MRP or TRP profiles. I don't like the boring architecture, I just like that it feels like an important city everyone congregates in, that it is actually a big city with lots of streets and soldiers patrolling on their horses and the air force flying overhead.
The capital of the world's leading superpower should borrow the effect that Valdrakken has and place many flying mounts and airships in the sky.
Looking down at a popular Alliance walkup RP spot, Lion's Rest, from a rooftop in Mage District.
I never liked any of the expansion cities (Shattrath, which is an ugly green/grey ruin, or Dalaran which is a cramped girl's play doll house set) until MoP. I quite liked the Shrines, with the ornate architecture and the blending of colors with the blue tiles and the gold illuminated by fire. Slow paced oriental music.
During MoP, I had my hearthstone set to the my farm at Halfhill, so at the end of every play session I would hearth back to there, then start the next one there and harvest my plants before flying to the Shrine. I would either AFK at the farm or the Shrine while queued.
During WoD, when I wasn't AFKing in Orgrimmar before or after an RP event, I was AFKing in the garrison. I liked both, but Frostwall Edged out for me because you didn't have a treeline up close obfuscating your view of the background mountains from the central plaza. It felt wide open.
During Legion, I quite liked the paladin class order hall underneath Light's Hope Chapel, but I played a Tauren who felt inappropriate for a Church of the Light themed place, so again I spent my time at Orgrimmar.
In Dazar'Alor, I liked the crafting terrace by the bridge that went across the river, and you got to see dinosaurs bathing and a view into the jungle. But again, this was an out of the way place from where the players and services were located, so I spent most of my time AFKing in Orgrimmar.
During Shadowlands, I liked the Kyrian Covnenant hall, the Elysian Hold. It was the only Shadowlands hub that was open the outdoors rather than being an interior. You were located in serene, ornate floating stone gardens, with colorful plants and tile accents, gold dust on the tiles, and water fountains. You can look out across picturesqe golden floating islands with beautiful fluffy clouds in the background, and one of the tracks was quite nice. I also liked the fantasy weather condition of the slowly raining golden feathers. I also liked that the banners flapped and flowed.
During Dragonflight, the central plaza and the crafting terrace in Valdrakken were okay. While the grey stone buildings weren't that attractive, there was a lot of flora, and the plazas were open so you got great views of the sky and the plains. I liked the gold and glass structures by the crafting terrace. I also liked that there were a lot of NPC dragons flying around in the sky, which helped make the place feel more populated and important.
View of Valdrakken from a little outside the designated city area.
During MoP remix, because the essential services were added to towns around Pandaria, I wound up spending most of Remix AFKing at either Tian Monastery (comfy town with pleasant villagers and colorful architecture, is high up in the China mountains that you can have fun flying around), or the Temple of the White Tiger's cool/breezy open courtyards high in the mountains. Again, I wish there were wind effects/weather conditions to better sell it.
In TWW, I have been AFKing in the central open area of Dornogal, surrounded by other players and having a view up towards the lush mountain while gentle harp and horn music is playing. That being said, I did have complaints about the basic street texturing, and the blocky buildings. They weren't as appealing to look at as Valdrakken, Oribos, the Elysian Hold, etc.
In TWW, I prefered the lower plaza in Mereldar, with the water fountain with the orphans running around and the knights patroling on their cats, the unique color palette of the buildings and the flora, and looking up at the great light crystal Beledar. And it had memorable music. Unfortunately, it's not an official hub with services, and no one else AFKs there. So I only sometimes AFK there while waiting for a rated BG queue to pop. It is also nice to mount up and fly around the beautiful zone, over the cliffs and over and past the waterfalls, or towards the beachfront towards the unending ocean under the crystal sun.
► Guild Wars 2
In GW2, before Lion's Arch was revamped, my preferred AFK spot was the bank in Divinity's Reach. It felt lively, and you got a nice view of a large looking grandiose castle city below you.
After Lion's Arch was revamped, I wound up AFKing at the water fountains in front of the squid bank, since there was a lot of people there, one of the tracks was neat, and it felt open and sunny. I think the reason why I preferred the new LA over DR is because DR was I played a Charr character, so hanging out in a human capital felt odd given that my race had been ravaging humanity and wiped out a human kingdom. It would be like a Warcraft orc AFKing in Stormwind or Kul'tiras, or Silvermoon. Whereas LA is supposedly a "neutral" city for all the races (even though NPCs are predominately humans).
I also liked AFKing in the bar at The Black Citadel, with the juxtaposition of artsy black steel structures with the autumnal forest. Unfortunately there isn't much memorable music here, and the place feels underpopulated for its size, so I gravitated towards DR and then new LA.
When End of Dragons released, I wound up AFKing at Arborstone. I thought it was unique in how it was an abandoned, overgrown cathedral (it is still a hub with all of the NPC services like bank and auction house, it's not some random ruin out in a zone), and it had somewhat atmospheric music. I also liked that you could mount up and climb those pillars and try reaching the very apex of the map, which is engaging gameplay and a fun way to pass the time while waiting for a group to form or while queued for a rated PvP match. It also helps that Arborstone gave you a unique rested EXP bonus for AFKing there, which no other map in the game gave you, though this is only relevant if you are not caught up with the game and still have expansions and their masteries ahead of you that you haven't gone through yet.
Eventually I wound up buying the Thousand Seas Pavilion pass off of the cash shop when it became available, and since then it has become my preferred AFK spot. I like to port in and then glide down to the beach where I am by myself, and lean against my mount while staring at the permanent sunset with the fantasy colors while fiddling with my build or being queued for a rated PvP match.
After Lion's Arch was revamped, I wound up AFKing at the water fountains in front of the squid bank, since there was a lot of people there, one of the tracks was neat, and it felt open and sunny. I think the reason why I preferred the new LA over DR is because DR was I played a Charr character, so hanging out in a human capital felt odd given that my race had been ravaging humanity and wiped out a human kingdom. It would be like a Warcraft orc AFKing in Stormwind or Kul'tiras, or Silvermoon. Whereas LA is supposedly a "neutral" city for all the races (even though NPCs are predominately humans).
I also liked AFKing in the bar at The Black Citadel, with the juxtaposition of artsy black steel structures with the autumnal forest. Unfortunately there isn't much memorable music here, and the place feels underpopulated for its size, so I gravitated towards DR and then new LA.
When End of Dragons released, I wound up AFKing at Arborstone. I thought it was unique in how it was an abandoned, overgrown cathedral (it is still a hub with all of the NPC services like bank and auction house, it's not some random ruin out in a zone), and it had somewhat atmospheric music. I also liked that you could mount up and climb those pillars and try reaching the very apex of the map, which is engaging gameplay and a fun way to pass the time while waiting for a group to form or while queued for a rated PvP match. It also helps that Arborstone gave you a unique rested EXP bonus for AFKing there, which no other map in the game gave you, though this is only relevant if you are not caught up with the game and still have expansions and their masteries ahead of you that you haven't gone through yet.
Eventually I wound up buying the Thousand Seas Pavilion pass off of the cash shop when it became available, and since then it has become my preferred AFK spot. I like to port in and then glide down to the beach where I am by myself, and lean against my mount while staring at the permanent sunset with the fantasy colors while fiddling with my build or being queued for a rated PvP match.
► Final Fantasy XIV
Up until Endwalker, the main place I afked at was the Gold Saucer, usually in front of the bunny suit NPC in the Yojimbo room so she could teleport me to the next GATE. It was nice being able to take a break from some work I was doing by alt+tabing in and doing a quick 2 or 3 minute minigame. A large pecentage of my 3k hours played must have been spent AFKing there.
Before Dawntrail, if I needed to buy something, I would port to Limsa as the market board was 5 seconds away from the crystal, and if I afked there for a bit it was because there were no walls around the plaza. You get a bright open oceanic view, at night you can feel a cool breeze and the lively atmosphere.
Of the three starter nations, I am the most invested in the royal kingdom of Ul'dah with its good grandiose kingdom feel and ornate islamic architecture, but I don't afk there or go use the market board there. Buying something is a two step process where you have to first teleport to Ul'dah, then click on the crystal and navigate the menu to get another loading screen to the Sapphire Avenue exchange, which is enclosed by walls and not very scenic.
My starter nation was Gridania, so if I am hopping data centers to try to get into a 24 man raid, then that is where I get placed. Apparently it can't be changed. It is fortunate that the plaza is open and looks more appealing. I love the nation of Ul'dah but being stuck in that cold, dim, cramped crystal room every time I swapped data centers would be sad.
During Endwalker, I managed to buy a scenic housing plot in the Empyreum, so now I spend most of my time AFKing there, about 50/50 inside and out. Inside I covered the room with windows and made it look like an illuminated glass garden, about as bright as being outside but you can't actually see outside which is unfortunate. Provides privacy, though. The other half of my time there, I AFK outside, either right out the front door by the chocob stables, or further out on the wide open stone street where I have a scenic view of Ishgard's huge flying buttresses and the mountain valley and clouds and starry sky in the distance. The housing district night theme is very relaxing.
After Dawntrail, I no longer go to Limsa when I need to buy something. I instead go to Tulliyolal, and it is where my home point/hearthstone is set to. Yes, it is a two step process of having to click the crystal to teleport to the bayside marketplace and then run over, but the area is open air and has good views, both of the ocean and of the romantic castle on the hill. At night, you can feel a cool breeze, and I like the big band jazz music (both day and night theme). It has a lively atmosphere. I afk there sometimes.
I have also found myself AFKing at the Nexus Arcade in Solution Nine sometimes. I think Solution 9 with the Nexus Arcade has thus far been the only indoor hub area that looks kinda good, since it isn't cramped and looks like a very brightly illuminated and prestigious Las Vegas casino.
Before Dawntrail, if I needed to buy something, I would port to Limsa as the market board was 5 seconds away from the crystal, and if I afked there for a bit it was because there were no walls around the plaza. You get a bright open oceanic view, at night you can feel a cool breeze and the lively atmosphere.
Of the three starter nations, I am the most invested in the royal kingdom of Ul'dah with its good grandiose kingdom feel and ornate islamic architecture, but I don't afk there or go use the market board there. Buying something is a two step process where you have to first teleport to Ul'dah, then click on the crystal and navigate the menu to get another loading screen to the Sapphire Avenue exchange, which is enclosed by walls and not very scenic.
My starter nation was Gridania, so if I am hopping data centers to try to get into a 24 man raid, then that is where I get placed. Apparently it can't be changed. It is fortunate that the plaza is open and looks more appealing. I love the nation of Ul'dah but being stuck in that cold, dim, cramped crystal room every time I swapped data centers would be sad.
During Endwalker, I managed to buy a scenic housing plot in the Empyreum, so now I spend most of my time AFKing there, about 50/50 inside and out. Inside I covered the room with windows and made it look like an illuminated glass garden, about as bright as being outside but you can't actually see outside which is unfortunate. Provides privacy, though. The other half of my time there, I AFK outside, either right out the front door by the chocob stables, or further out on the wide open stone street where I have a scenic view of Ishgard's huge flying buttresses and the mountain valley and clouds and starry sky in the distance. The housing district night theme is very relaxing.
After Dawntrail, I no longer go to Limsa when I need to buy something. I instead go to Tulliyolal, and it is where my home point/hearthstone is set to. Yes, it is a two step process of having to click the crystal to teleport to the bayside marketplace and then run over, but the area is open air and has good views, both of the ocean and of the romantic castle on the hill. At night, you can feel a cool breeze, and I like the big band jazz music (both day and night theme). It has a lively atmosphere. I afk there sometimes.
I have also found myself AFKing at the Nexus Arcade in Solution Nine sometimes. I think Solution 9 with the Nexus Arcade has thus far been the only indoor hub area that looks kinda good, since it isn't cramped and looks like a very brightly illuminated and prestigious Las Vegas casino.
► Other MMO hubs and JRPG towns
Space Cowboy Online/Air Rivals/ACE Online: I liked the ANI capital city of Arlington during the episode 3 patch. It was this wide open futuristic sci fi airforce city base nestled within comfy canyon walls near the ocean. The decor of the city was a little colorful with some red carpeting, blue panels, orange trim, and some light blue sci fi lights. It also had relaxing music. It did not feel like a stuffy military base. It felt like a place where friends could come back from an outting and crack some jokes while drinking sodas. There were hundreds of players who had setup their shops in the center plaza, down the stairs to the bank. It was quite nice. It was preferable to the other capital city, the enemy BCU nation's Bygeniou city, which was less colorful and more of a steel grey, and didn't have high protective canyon walls around it (IIRC it was built in the middle of a green plain). I thought that the episode 4 city revamps were a mixed bag, as they replaced the outdoor plazas with huge interior spaces inside a presumably even larger military city complex, which felt grandiose but removed the chill atmosphere (it didn't help that the music became more intense).
Perfect World International: I liked the central neutral city of Archosaur. The huge Hui Style architecture, the waterfalls and the enormous weathered statues towering over you along with the melancholic music really helped give it a feel of being a once great civilization that is long into decline. But it was also where most of the playerbase congregated to set up their player shops, so it still felt lively enough and not a sad empty ruin. Unfortunately I was never able to find who was the composer for Archosaur's theme (it turns out that most of PWI's OST was taken from late 1990s and early 2000s British instrumental albums. I wonder how Chinese devs on the other side of the Great Firewall could have come into possession of them).
Another PWI city I liked was the Tideborn's capital, the City of Raging Tides. Unfortunately I can't quite find any good screenshots of it online that are like how I remembered it. IIRC from the ground level there was something about the skybox that made it feel underwater, but from this aerial view it appears that the city was on the surface? I cannot recall.
Lego Universe: The central plaza in Nimbus Station. IIRC there was no day/night cycle, so the map was always night. The area had this feel of there being a cool breeze as you wander around and meet up with people without stress. IIRC later on the hub was supplanted by a new hub that was set in the interior of a massive sci fi tower, but by that point I wasn't playing the game anymore.
It's from the 2D JRPG/visual novel Granblue Fantasy, but the story got me quite invested into the countries of Erste (as in the true flesh and blood Erste people who live in the desert kingdom of Mephorash, not the military junta skinsuiting the name and importing foreigners) and Idelva. I quite liked Mephorash's moorish architecture, and Luxurios the capital of Idelva looked interesting with the fusion of medieval European castles + Southeast Asian roofs + red Chinese color, as well as being by a river. Mephorash was my favorite kingdom in the setting until I reached Luxurios, which had a better main town art (though both have good interior CGs) as well as pleasant music. I have Luxurios set as my GBF home screen location.
Some Mephorash interior CGs.
Groz island, central island of the Idelva empire where the capital city of Luxurios is located.
Luxurios on Groz Island, the capital city of Idelva.
I liked Lindblum from Final Fantasy IX, which was a towering baroque steampunk castle city. Story wise, I was much more invested in and patriotic for the poorer, maligned Alexandria, but Lindblum is so much cooler visually.
Entrance to main street.
Main street on ground level.
Main street.
View of the central tower rising above the ground level within the city's walls.
A street at a higher level.
Air taxi platform.
Bridge that connects outer wall to central castle.
King Cid's private airship dock within the castle.
Room connecting the royal airship dock to the central elevator shaft. I like rooms where there is an elevated platform in the middle, and then there is a gap between the platform and the walls. I don't know how to explain it. It's just cool.
Cid's royal reception hall. Cid's throne can swing down to a dining room below.
Dining room underneath the throne room.
Top of the central tower.
Trails of Cold Steel pentalogy: Heimdallr, the Vermilion Capital of the Erebonian Empire. It has this unique blend of some traditional medieval European remnants like aqueducts with modernizing industry like brutalist blocky buildings, cars, and now mechs and airships, but there is also still a society of anime swordsman still practicing and teaching their family's traditional styles of swordsmanship in Eastern styled dojos. The unusual choice of music also helps make Heimdallr more distinctive, as rather than going for a generic grandiose or dramatic orchestral sound, it instead has this South American instrumental album feel with an emphasis on percussion and flutes. It gets across the feel of both traditional and martial prowess, and some gentleness with the piano. Interestingly, Thors Military Academy where CS1 and 3 take places was supposed to be set in Heimdallr, before it got moved to a small town 30 minutes away from Heimdallr. Heimdallr isn't the main hub you spend most of the runtime of the games in, but still feels the most palpable of any of the Cold Steel settlements.
The mountain village of Ymir from CS2 and Reverie. It has that comfy mountain village vibe if you have ever been to one. You can imagine the palpable tree smell, the sound of leaves rustling in the wind, and the cool breeze on your skin. The bright sun glistening off of the white snow. The smell of something good cooking. Tied with the Worzel clan's nomadic village as the comfiest Trails village. The song is incredibly atmospheric with the chimes and lone flute and the booming percussion. You could just stay up here as the rest of the world burns.
The Worzel family's nomadic village, dozens of miles away from the nearest railroad line deep into the wilderness. I know that it doesn't have super high fidelity graphics, but it gets across the idea of the simple life. **** being stuck in traffic on the way to and from your meaningless 9-to-5 job, **** the office politicking and paying lip service, **** large swathes of your income being taken away by healthcare and so on, **** it all. There is no pesky buercracy or tax collectors to worry about out here. Only the things that really matter: life, and the people you love. It's like the freedom and camaraderie of when you going on Boy Scout overnight hiking trip deep into the wilderness, but you stay there and you don't come back. The idea of ditching work and going out to live in some remote place in the wilderness where the guberment will never find you is pretty tantalizing. Maybe it could happen for real. Something like 99% of American land is undeveloped. From what someone who owns land in Oregon told me, it is pretty tough to retain your property rights out there because there are squatters (and if the are there long enough, they get it by default), and there is too much land to reasonably patrol. Being sticky and smelly because you don't have running water to shower in sucks, though.
Perfect World International: I liked the central neutral city of Archosaur. The huge Hui Style architecture, the waterfalls and the enormous weathered statues towering over you along with the melancholic music really helped give it a feel of being a once great civilization that is long into decline. But it was also where most of the playerbase congregated to set up their player shops, so it still felt lively enough and not a sad empty ruin. Unfortunately I was never able to find who was the composer for Archosaur's theme (it turns out that most of PWI's OST was taken from late 1990s and early 2000s British instrumental albums. I wonder how Chinese devs on the other side of the Great Firewall could have come into possession of them).
Another PWI city I liked was the Tideborn's capital, the City of Raging Tides. Unfortunately I can't quite find any good screenshots of it online that are like how I remembered it. IIRC from the ground level there was something about the skybox that made it feel underwater, but from this aerial view it appears that the city was on the surface? I cannot recall.
Lego Universe: The central plaza in Nimbus Station. IIRC there was no day/night cycle, so the map was always night. The area had this feel of there being a cool breeze as you wander around and meet up with people without stress. IIRC later on the hub was supplanted by a new hub that was set in the interior of a massive sci fi tower, but by that point I wasn't playing the game anymore.
It's from the 2D JRPG/visual novel Granblue Fantasy, but the story got me quite invested into the countries of Erste (as in the true flesh and blood Erste people who live in the desert kingdom of Mephorash, not the military junta skinsuiting the name and importing foreigners) and Idelva. I quite liked Mephorash's moorish architecture, and Luxurios the capital of Idelva looked interesting with the fusion of medieval European castles + Southeast Asian roofs + red Chinese color, as well as being by a river. Mephorash was my favorite kingdom in the setting until I reached Luxurios, which had a better main town art (though both have good interior CGs) as well as pleasant music. I have Luxurios set as my GBF home screen location.
Some Mephorash interior CGs.
Groz island, central island of the Idelva empire where the capital city of Luxurios is located.
Luxurios on Groz Island, the capital city of Idelva.
I liked Lindblum from Final Fantasy IX, which was a towering baroque steampunk castle city. Story wise, I was much more invested in and patriotic for the poorer, maligned Alexandria, but Lindblum is so much cooler visually.
Entrance to main street.
Main street on ground level.
Main street.
View of the central tower rising above the ground level within the city's walls.
A street at a higher level.
Air taxi platform.
Bridge that connects outer wall to central castle.
King Cid's private airship dock within the castle.
Room connecting the royal airship dock to the central elevator shaft. I like rooms where there is an elevated platform in the middle, and then there is a gap between the platform and the walls. I don't know how to explain it. It's just cool.
Cid's royal reception hall. Cid's throne can swing down to a dining room below.
Dining room underneath the throne room.
Top of the central tower.
Trails of Cold Steel pentalogy: Heimdallr, the Vermilion Capital of the Erebonian Empire. It has this unique blend of some traditional medieval European remnants like aqueducts with modernizing industry like brutalist blocky buildings, cars, and now mechs and airships, but there is also still a society of anime swordsman still practicing and teaching their family's traditional styles of swordsmanship in Eastern styled dojos. The unusual choice of music also helps make Heimdallr more distinctive, as rather than going for a generic grandiose or dramatic orchestral sound, it instead has this South American instrumental album feel with an emphasis on percussion and flutes. It gets across the feel of both traditional and martial prowess, and some gentleness with the piano. Interestingly, Thors Military Academy where CS1 and 3 take places was supposed to be set in Heimdallr, before it got moved to a small town 30 minutes away from Heimdallr. Heimdallr isn't the main hub you spend most of the runtime of the games in, but still feels the most palpable of any of the Cold Steel settlements.
The mountain village of Ymir from CS2 and Reverie. It has that comfy mountain village vibe if you have ever been to one. You can imagine the palpable tree smell, the sound of leaves rustling in the wind, and the cool breeze on your skin. The bright sun glistening off of the white snow. The smell of something good cooking. Tied with the Worzel clan's nomadic village as the comfiest Trails village. The song is incredibly atmospheric with the chimes and lone flute and the booming percussion. You could just stay up here as the rest of the world burns.
The Worzel family's nomadic village, dozens of miles away from the nearest railroad line deep into the wilderness. I know that it doesn't have super high fidelity graphics, but it gets across the idea of the simple life. **** being stuck in traffic on the way to and from your meaningless 9-to-5 job, **** the office politicking and paying lip service, **** large swathes of your income being taken away by healthcare and so on, **** it all. There is no pesky buercracy or tax collectors to worry about out here. Only the things that really matter: life, and the people you love. It's like the freedom and camaraderie of when you going on Boy Scout overnight hiking trip deep into the wilderness, but you stay there and you don't come back. The idea of ditching work and going out to live in some remote place in the wilderness where the guberment will never find you is pretty tantalizing. Maybe it could happen for real. Something like 99% of American land is undeveloped. From what someone who owns land in Oregon told me, it is pretty tough to retain your property rights out there because there are squatters (and if the are there long enough, they get it by default), and there is too much land to reasonably patrol. Being sticky and smelly because you don't have running water to shower in sucks, though.
Ironically, I just forgot to remove the old link as it was not working (it was the second image) which I had to upload to imgur to make work.
