► MIDGAR UNDISCOVERED FFVII - LORE ◄["Powered by eight giant mako reactors that were erected by the Shinra Electric Power Company, Midgar is known as the city of mako. Rising 300 meters above ground level, the steel plates surrounding the Shinra Building offer comfortable residential districts for its well-heeled citizens. Below these plates, however, are the dark and derelict slums for the impoverished."]
What's this for?{
To inspire future mods, to collect some info. The FF7 modding scene never stops to surprise us. Would it be nice to walk around Midgar as a whole? }
Spoiler: Full Midgar OG mapping, credit to Luneyes show •What we don't get to see while in Midgar?-S1 slums/upper (we see S1 Mako Reactor)
-S2 slums/upper/reactor
-S3 slums/upper/reactor
-S4 slums/upper/reactor
-S5 upper (we see S5 Mako Reactor and S5 slums)
-S6 upper/reactor (we see S6 slums)
-S7 upper (
we do in Remake)
-S8 slums/reactor (we see a glimpse of S8 slums in
Ever Crisis)
-Deepground
•
What we actually see in OG.-
S1 Mako Reactor (
Remake)
-
S4 Plate Interior (
Remake)
-
S5 Mako Reactor (
Remake) and
S5 slums (
Remake)
-
S6 slums (
Remake)
-
S7 slums (
Remake)
-
S8 upper (
Remake)
-
S0 Shinra Building (
Remake)
•
Once upon time...-Midgar was once eight individual towns, but their names have been forgotten in favor of referring to the different areas as sectors.
-The now nameless Slums were once home to the workers.
-Shinra Manufacturing was a company specialized in weapon manufacture.
-Shinra Manufacturing begins construction of Midgar in [ μ ] - εγλ 1976/06/24. The company establishes its headquarters in the city and rebrands itself as the Shinra Electric Power Company. They discovered a process to refine the planet's life energy, the lifestream, into a form of energy they dubbed "mako". The city is under continuous construction since then.
-However, Shinra Manufacturing was suppose to have a location for their previous HQ, who knows in which "Slum" would that be? Or maybe outside the giant Midgar?•
Shinra CreationsWeapons, Mecha, Robots, Cyborgs...
•
Transportation-The Corkscrew Tunnel it's a large spiral tunnel encased in the tall circular structure that supports the center of the city. It is the primary method of transportation between the upper plates and the slums below via the railroads that run through it. Absent of a train, a motorcycle can be used to drive through them. •
Shinra Divisions► The General Affairs Division (Heidegger on paper. Rufus de facto. Also known as The Turks. A special Shinra task force often saddled with atypical assignments, such as scouting for SOLDIER recruits, escorting important individuals, spy work and assassination. The Turks keep to the company's ever-growing shadow, performing deeds best kept out of the public eye. )
► The Research and Development Division (Hojo)
► The Advanced Weaponry Division (Scarlet)
► The Public Security Division (Heidegger. Also known as Peace Preservation, is Shinra's non-mako infused military/police force, Shinra Security Officers)
► The Urban Planning Division (Reeve)
► The Space and Aeronautics Division (Palmer)
► SOLDIER (Elite troops assigned to Shinra's Public Security Division. Those who pass SOLDIER's rigorous screening tests are bathed in mako to further enhance their physical capabilities. Units are assigned one of three ranks depending on aptitude, but even SOLDIERs in the lowest rank are not to be underestimated)
► Deepground SOLDIER (Shinra’s top-secret military group was known only to President Shinra which created it. Formerly the medical division. Also known by Heidegger, Scarlet and Hojo, as of "high rank people"; if Rufus was briefed after Shinra's death, that's unknown. Tsviets: an elite unit within Deepground army which are looking for Protomateria = Ancient Materia, key to control Chaos & Omega. "Only the DG SOLDIERs who have been injected with Genesis’ genes could become a Tsviet with a colour epithet." - CC Ultimania.)
•
Shinra Building Floors (Sector 0) Deepground
B20 - Advanced Weaponry: Testing
B16 - Advanced Weaponry: Inspection
B15 - Advanced Weaponry: Production
B14 - Advanced Weaponry: Maintenance
B13 - Advanced Weaponry: Development
B12 - Advanced Weaponry: Research
B3 - General Affairs: Auditing
B1 - Underground Parking
Shinra Building - Perimeter
1F - Entrance
2F - Atrium
3F - Elevator Hall
Executive floors
10F - Adminstration
20F - Research and Development
30F - Urban Planning
40F - Space and Aeronautics
50F - Public Security
59F - Skyview Hall
60F - Memorial Museum
61F - Visual Entertainment Hall
62F - Corporate Archives
63F - Recreational Facility
64F - Conference Rooms
65F - Hojo's Laboratory: Sublevel
66F - Hojo's Laboratory: Main Level
69F - Executive Suite
70F - President's Office
•
Mako ReactorThese massive plants harvest the mako deep within the planet to power the city. In order to prevent intelligence leaks and keep mako poisoning to a minimum, most labor and security inside the reactor is automated.
•
Sun lampPresident: "By the light of these magnificent lamps... We shall lead our brothers and sisters of the undercity to a brighter future."
•
Architectural digest-A 31 years-old city constantly expanding, building on itself, building over its history.
-“The idea is that the city is being built from the center outwards."
-"You can also sense the different architectural styles as you go out from the central pillar, with high-rises on the city edge. We’ve put quite a bit of effort into making you feel like it is modernizing as the city builds outwards.”
-“Within each sector you’ve got the difference between rich and poor. Each plate is its own city,”
-“There are some areas within those that are older, beaten up. The playground is used to show there are downturned areas that aren’t so well off in the city areas too.” Kitase & Hamaguchi
-The construction of the sectors begin with Sector 0, Sector 1 going onwards, that's the oldest builded sector and the most high-risk to live in (as of exception for the Sector 4 since in Crisis Core Mail, in Shinra News we read "Shinra Company Headquarters and Sector 4 are the last on the schedule to be completed. The headquarters interior in Sector 0 is complete and already in operation. The exterior is slated for completion in two years, while the surrounding city will be finished in seven years. Reeve." But this could be talking about "completing" only)•
UppercityRising 300 meters above ground level, the steel plates surrounding the Shinra Building offer comfortable residential districts for its well-heeled citizens.
•
UndercityLife is mean and meager in this dark section of Midgar—a stark contrast to the thriving cityscape just above it. Despite the poor quality of life, there is a strong sense of community and independence among its people.
•
Sewer SystemBeneath the slums, a labyrinthine sewer system twists through Midgar, collecting the city's refuse and runoff. Monsters have taken up residence in its dark passages and unexplored tunnels, giving even the most intrepid urban-spelunkers a reason to balk.
•
The various Don of the Slums-Gabriel Gainsborough is the good Don of Sector 5 Slums. (source: Traces of Two Pasts.)
-Corneo is the Don of Sector 6 Slums.
-Manson is the Don of Sector 8 Slums (source: Traces of Two Pasts.)
•
The Wasteland-Thanks to its eight mako reactors, the city's massive power demands are met, but at a cost to the surrounding countryside, which has become a barren wasteland due to the city sapping the surrounding life energy.•
Curiosity-Midgar's name derives from Midgard, one of the nine worlds in old Norse mythology. One could think that previously the eight Midgar sectors/town were named after Niflheim, Muspelheim, Asgard, Jotunheim, Vanaheim, Alfheim, Svartalfheim, Helheim? Who knows...-In ToTP and Rebirth Nibelheim's river is named Gunnthra, as well as the cave in Rebirth is named [...]. Several Rebirth weapons: Járngreipr, Brísingamen, Gambanteinn, Gjallarhorn, Fafnir, Rune.-The waste it’s a real issue, most of it it’s thrown into the Slums from the Upper plates, specifically the Sector 1 outer edge it's extremely full of it.
-During the Wutai War and earlier the Shinra produced a lot of SOLDIER and Materia, so there should be for sure a huge establishment or area designed to create those.
-Due to insufficient supply and technology, a movement begin to start in the Slums. Creation of internal rules, re-use of waste, self-defense. The "Neighborhood Watch" goal, of which Biggs and Wedge are part, is protecting the Slums and teaching locals how to defend themselves.-
Chocobo bean popcorn is a thing...---
•
Sector 0-Shinra Building: The Headquarters of Shinra.
-SOLDIER: P0 Class training program (from FS.)
-SOLDIER
ranks /
class (from FS.)
-
Deepground facility: Shinra's darkest secrets lurk miles underground with an entire hidden city home to their Deepground program. Underneath Midgar was built the same time the Shinra Headquarters, in 1976 as a medical lab for wounded SOLDIER members.
-
Mako Reactor 0: builded in Deepground to power the facility and the Shinra Building above it.
-Deepground SOLDIERS
-Tsviets: Before the war's end the facility was reformed into a secret prison for human experimentation with the aim of replacing the existing SOLDIER program with stronger, unquestionably loyal candidates.
-
Restrictors: Four specially picked members of SOLDIER Unit 14 "Lost Force", the confidential unit would prove their worth by destroying the 13th Unit, Ragnarok, in a single night. They were generals who enacted the orders of President Shinra and maintained rigid order among Deepground.
-Other:
Worldwide Network, the
SND, the
Protomateria, Stagnant Lifestream,
Patricia (artificial materia acting as supercomputer), the
secret cave.
•
Sector 1 - Mako Reactors & Waste Zone: High Danger / High Waste Levels
-Its proximity to the mako reactors makes this area
unsuitable as a residential district, so it's used as a dumping ground for waste materials and a graveyard for old waste management facilities in operation during Midgar's construction. With parts of the foundation caved in and some sections of the outer wall in serious disrepair, the sector has been overrun by monsters, making if a dangerous area that
most slum residents keep well away from.-Weapon production plant beneath the plate available.
-One of the eight Midgar mako reactors. These massive plants harvest the mako deep within the planet to power the city.
-In order to prevent intelligence leaks and keep mako poisoning to a minimum, most labor and security inside the reactor is automated.
-Sector 1 is monster and waste overcrowded close to the outer edge, high-risk to live in due to pollution that reaches even the upper plates... not easy location for the Slums.
•
Sector 2 - Habitable Zone: Medium Danger / Medium Waste Levels
-Most undercity residents live here, in the tolerable margin between the mako reactors and the processing plants. Though monsters are still known to find their way in, resident-led neighborhood watch groups help maintain a semblance of peace.
•
Sector 3 - Industrial Zone: Low Danger / Low Waste Levels
-Energy plants built to support Mako Reactor 0, sewage treatment plants, and other large-scale facilities are positioned around the main pillar. This area is relatively safe: monsters rarely venture here, as it is the zone most removed from the city's outer wall.
-The main pillar is surrounded by large-scale facilities placed to be in position far from the outer edge. There are few monster and the risk level is low.
•
Sector 4 -Weapon production plant beneath the plate available.
-The main pillar is surrounded by large-scale facilities placed to be in position far from the outer edge. There are few monster and the risk level is low.
•
Any Sector 1 to 4 slums-BC Turks: "Emma" birthplace is Midgar slums, Elena's elder sister.
-Probably house to big Weaponry Establishment and old HQ of Shinra Manufacturing.
•
Any Sector 1 to 4 upper-BC Turks: "Alvis" birthplace is Midgar upper plate.
•
Sector 5 upper-Mako Reactor 5: A mako reactor built on the border between Sector 4 and Sector 5. Doubling as an artillery development plant, this reactor expends an exorbitant amount of power. New heavy weaponry is currently being produced there at an alarming rate.
-Hollander's Secret Laboratory.
-
Denzel, seven years old at FF7 time, grew up in a well-to-do family in Sector 7. Parents died in the plate-fall but Denzel survived thanks to the father that foresaw the advent and sent the son in Sector 5 upper plate. His father, Abel, worked for Shinra Electric Power Company, while his mother, Chloe, worked around the house.
•
Sector 5 slums-Elmyra's father-in-law (Gabriel Gainsborough) was a very important person for S5 Slums and was the good version of "Don Corneo" for Sector 5.
•
Sector 6 slums-The walls between the slums are barriers, put in place to prevent incidents like the fall of the Plate Number 6 from damaging other areas.
-BC Turks: "Ruluf" an ex-bodyguard of Don Corneo. His birthplace is Wall Market.
-Church: a now lost religion
-Evergreen Park
-Wall Market: Walled in on all sides, Midgar's biggest and most infamous entertainment quarter is run almost entirely by a man named Don Corneo. Free of Shinra's influence, this dangerous area of the city offers "intriguing" ways to pass the lonely nights.
-Mansion of Don Corneo
-Honey Bee Inn
-Sewer System beneath Sector 6 and Sector 7
•
Sector 6 upper-Largely impassable since the plate's collapse some years ago. Buried in the wreckage of what was once the upper part of Sector 6 and the expressway, it is now rife with monsters.
-Collapsed Expressway.
-Initially Sector 6 contained company housing for lower level Shin-Ra employees after Midgar was finished; company housing would later be moved to Sectors 7 and 5
-Housing was supposed to be demolished, but some rich guy leased it from Shinra for his workers to live in; people who live there now came from the slums; rent is cheap compared to the rest of plateside Midgar; kind of place where people are poor for the plateside, but too rich for the slums live
-Houses are very basic and made out of what looks like brick.
-
Evan Townshend grew up in Sector 6 upper plate with his mother Annette. He is the illegitimate son of President Shinra.
-Much of the Sector 6 upper plate is obliterated due to an accident while building it initially.
•
Sector 7 slums-Avalanche HQ: A group of planetologists working to protect the planet. As the organization grew, smaller cells began to splinter off. To distinguish themselves among the growing factions, it took the appelation "HQ". Despite the many groups' different approaches and ideologies, they still occasionally work together for their one shared purpose: the destruction of Shinra.
-Midgar cell: Groups which have splintered off from Avalanche HQ. The Midgar cell, led by Barret, harbored misgivings about HQ's policies and decided to defect. Since going rogue, Barret and the others employ extreme, if not altogether dangerous, methods to save the planet from Shinra.
-7th Heaven: A mako reactor built on the border between Sector 4 and Sector 5. Doubling as an artillery development plant, this reactor expends an exorbitant amount of power. New heavy weaponry is currently being produced there at an alarming rate.
-Neighborhood Watch: An organized group of slum residents dedicated to protecting the town in lieu of Shinra, who has shown nothing but indifference towards the slums. The watch deals with a variety of issues, such as building reconstruction, arbitration and monster extermination.
-Sewer System beneath Sector 6 and Sector 7
-Train Graveyard: An abandoned storage area piled high with defunct freight trains that were used in Midgar's construction. One can almost hear the grinding of wheels and the screech of engines when the wind blows just right, and on occasion, even the laughter of children.
•
Sector 7 upper-Residential area
-Employee housing area
-Jessie parent house
-https://youtu.be/zM-dSxfrswA
•
Sector 8 slums-Manson is the Don of Sector 8 Slums (source: Trace of the Two Pasts.)
•
Sector 8 upper-Midgar's newest and and most picturesque sector is already a cultural hub, setting trends for the whole city. The district's playhouse is also home to the popular theater production Loveless.
-Business District
-Loveless Street
-https://youtu.be/uoi6xGaku9o
---
•
Worldbuilding & Lore-
Material Ultimania - Worldbuilding Materials (ENG) -
video (5:17)-
Midgar Timeline -
#2-
Timeline of Shinra's history-
Mako Reactors Chart-
"Crisis Core" - Mails/Lore-
"The Kids are Alright" - Lore-
"On The Way to a Smile" - Lore-
Omega and "G" reportsPhamphlets:
-
How's the weather in Midgar today? (as of 13th Feb 21 from "Midgar News" released in last orchestra event)
-
Plants dying, waste issue etc. (as of 13th Feb 21 from "Midgar News" released in last orchestra event)
-
How's the weather in Midgar today? (as of 17th Apr 21 from "Midgar News")
-
lol•
What could be done in Sector 1, 2, 3 and Sector 4?[IMG by Chris Goss]-Definetely a steampunk-influenced city-state has more in store for us.
#Architecture explanation-Sector 1 should not have slums/residential areas due to too many monsters and waste,
prolly only one small hub close to Slum 2 could have survived with automated protection in place; however, Sector 1 upper could be a go.
-Sectors 2, 3, 4 slums as a new areas with heavy steampunk setting.
-Sector 2 would have a much more dangerous areas due to Slum 1 monster breakthrough.
-New NPCs and deserted SOLDIER would be among the mass, with some gang of Steelheads as NPCs (Dark Angel, TV series.)
-Each Slum could be house of a different "Don", each of the Don would be the "Slum Boss", they all contending piece of lands (from Trace of Two Pasts novel.)
-Sector 8 official canon Slum Boss is Don Manson, it could be created one more in any of Sector 2, 3, 4 areas.
-If to create an unofficial new Don, he could be depicted smoking Mako, and that he is into Mako & hi-tech stuff.
-New side quests, new minigames, new steel-mech bosses.
-Mako could be used as a
recreational drug in Sector 2, 3, 4 with a couple of "Mako Junkie" NPC around; From Early material in Ultimania Omega we can read: "In the original story drafts Sephiroth would succumb to Mako addiction and suffer withdrawal symptoms and while a normal person would have been crippled, Sephiroth was a unique exception: only his madness would be amplified while he would manage to retain his composure."
-Here some "reboot-art" by Feng Zhu (a diverse taken on Midgar)
#More pictures -
#Video -
#Video 2.
-As shown by
Project Shampignon nothing is impossible, something like this would be another insane utopia realized.
Other FF7 related topics: