Time Compression... Explanation that fits everything

[Sir Bahamut]

But using it as an excuse for all the little inconsistancies/unexplored points is so boring!

I agree. As I said, we should be seeking explanations that do not rest on the fact that it is a game, BUT, I do not think we should be basing theories such as the nature of time on real world physics. This would be a fallacy, because the writers could very well(actually, almost certainly) have based their game on their own views, and their own idea, instead of stuff like quantum mechanics and general relativity. After all, most physicists believe travelling to the past is impossible anyway, but we can certainly not take this into consideration when discussing FF8, because time travel DOES happen.

Of the examples you brought up, I only think the second one is silly. The others I think are in reality correct(at least to a certain degree, like the one about the Esthar barrier), in the sense that they are a result of the FF8 world not being the same world as ours(for instance, Squalls wound could be healed completely by magic, which is possible because it's a game).

However, I do agree that the answers should in almost all cases be expanded on beyond the phrase "It's just a game". Exceptions would be things like the last point you mentioned, which has no other explanation.

[ThePheonix]

I never actually got the time to read more that a couple of pages of the FAQ, but I think it would make more sence if the timeline was aclually infinite, and the only fixed point in time is the "Present" as in, the point in time that a person is who is sending th people back in time. The past cannot be changed to alter the present, that is why Ellone could not change the past. This can also be 1 or 2 dimentional time.

School is starting, so I can't go on very often, and will not play any game until the end of the school year (this is the one that counts the most). But after, I will play FF VIII through again with special focus on this, I'm also planning on getting FFXI then, too.

[Fire_Emblem776]

where is squall of seed when you need em

[Sir Bahamut]

I never actually got the time to read more that a couple of pages of the FAQ, but I think it would make more sence if the timeline was aclually infinite, and the only fixed point in time is the "Present" as in, the point in time that a person is who is sending th people back in time. The past cannot be changed to alter the present, that is why Ellone could not change the past. This can also be 1 or 2 dimentional time.

1) If the timeline was infinite, time compression would not be possible, because it acts at a finite speed.

2) Not sure what you mean by "fixed point". Surely, the past exists in FF8 no matter how you look at it(or else timetravelliong would not be possible). If you mean that there is only ONE "real" present, and that is the time at the very tip of the line of time(an evolving line of time naturally) then sure, that is a valid belief(although not one I find very compelling, as I explain in the FAQ).

3) Still don't know why 2 Dimensional time is used as an option. It is not necessary to use 2-D time to explain the events in the game, so it really just complicates things more than necessary.

where is squall of seed when you need em

I don't mean to sound angry here(although I'm kind of annoyed), but why can you not judge what I am saying, instead of waiting for SquallOfSeeD to come and 'set things straight'? He is not the only one capable of making sense of FF8(no offense, SoS).

For that matter, if you had even bothered to check out my FAQ, you would have noticed that SquallOfSeeD is a co-author of the FAQ! His contributions are mainly in the R=U section, but all he would add to this is that he'd tell you to read the FAQ.

Again, sorry for jumping at you here, but it's really annoying when you're not even considered because you're not as 'prominent a poster' as SoS.....

[Future Esthar]

QUOTE.Again, sorry for jumping at you here, but it's really annoying when you're not even considered because you're not as 'prominent a poster' as SoS.....QUOTE.

Agreed.

[Squall of SeeD]

Yeah, I appreciate the vote of confidence and all, fireemblem, but Sir Bahamut there is easily as much of an expert on this game as I am. It's by first having debated against one another and then later trying to figure out things together that our knowledge of the game has been so enhanced. For that matter, as far as matters of discussing time goes, I'd suggest turning out an ear toward him before anyone else, even me.

While we both have solid conceptions of time, we've never managed to agree on it. He believes that the past is fixed and unmallable, while I've always believed that it can be changed and Ellone's statement that it couldn't stemmed from the fact that her attempts to change the past were only reinforcing it. From the standpoint of discussing this game, my view would probably be considered the more unorthodox of the two. While I recognize that when viewing time as a line, Ultimecia would always appear in the past long before she was ever born, I don't accept that things were always this way.

That said, however, I've tried to look at things his way and he's tried to look at them mine, and we've argued for and against one another's views over the last couple of years. We have a mutual respect born of recognizing an equal in the other (and if I may say so, when we debated against each other, he provided me with the best debate I've ever had the honour to partake of, even if it ended with a draw). My point here is that I consider him to be the premiere individual on the subject of time in Final Fantasy VIII... even if I don't agree with him about it.

This is all a really long-winded way of me saying this: "Just read the FAQ Bahamut linked to."

[Sir Bahamut]

Thank you, SquallOfSeeD, for your kind words. I can't say I don't feel the same way. Heck, if it weren't for you, I would still be arguing in favour of R=U, which I now can't imagine anymore. You have been one of the main contributors in several of the best debates I've had too, even if they ended in a draw, as you said(even if it ended in me having to give up, too!).

But yeah, all praise put aside, read the FAQ.

[Mercen-X]

where is squall of seed when you need em

I don't mean to sound angry here(although I'm kind of annoyed), but why can you not judge what I am saying, instead of waiting for SquallOfSeeD to come and 'set things straight'?

Again, sorry for jumping at you here, but it's really annoying when you're not even considered because you're not as 'prominent a poster' as SoS.....

OMG~! Fireemblem77what's it posted once with one line that was probably sarcasm and you feel insulted? Like the opinion of some spammer actually matters to you anyway?
It seems Sir B needs a major confidence booost . .. ♪ Let's go, Sir B, Let's go! Let's go, Sir B, Let's go! ♪

[BackRoomKid]

^^^*aggrees*

finally a lil' more info on time comprehension

big ups to ThePhoenix though

[Sir Bahamut]

Mercen X: Haha, thanks, but it's not nearly that bad. I have confidence in my own (limited) knowledge of FF8, and the small post of a single user I don't know doesn't exactly stab me in the heart either.

But after all, if you had spent ages debating and discussing, and writing down an FAQ based on several years of discussions, just to be ignored simply because you don't have the right username, it gets a bit annoying no matter what(if it was sarcasm, I missed it completely...).

But yeah, it's not a big deal or anything. I just got a bit annoyed, that's all.