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  1. #1
    Player Edyth's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Location
    Bastok
    Posts
    520
    Character
    Edyth
    World
    Asura
    Main Class
    SMN Lv 99

    Any countermeasures planned for declining player population?

    In 2010 and early 2011, I saw the normal online population hover around 3,000 online when I used /sea all.

    Midway through 2011, /sea all results dropped to about 1,500 characters typically online at any given time.

    Now in 2012, on a summer afternoon, I see ~900 people online.

    A few things need to happen to counter this. My top 4 suggestions:


    1. We need server merges to revitalize the communities while content is added and improved to retain, regain, and recruit players.


    2. The game needs to be made more convenient for new players.
    Travel around Vana'diel is great when you've got Abyssea and Voidwatch warps, but for new players who have to wait week after week for vital outposts like Valkurm Dunes or Buburimu Peninsula to be conquered by their nations, the game's pace is like a Crawler inflicted with Gravity II. Movement speed in FFXI is an issue as well. I'm sure it would cause "major complications" if the default player movement speed were increased, but something needs to be done to pick up the pace for players who are just beginning and can't travel freely, and the only parties going on are in Gusgen Mines a couple times a day.

    3. Exciting content and important fixes need to be delivered more quickly. Blue Mages were teased with getting Spike Flail in what, 2009? Meteor took 3 years to arrive after being announced. The enfeebling magic, VW stagger, and new avatar updates still haven't happened. Cruor buffs still wear off when we're disconnected. Etcetera.

    4. We need to feel like there's hope. When the customers really, really, really want something, it would be a great idea to do more than talk in an illogical loop about balance and say no. Players are voting with their wallets now. Way too much. Make Red Mage better instead of shooting down or ignoring great suggestions. Fix blood pact recasts instead of making spirits cost less MP. FFXI's current direction is not popular, and Square Enix's unwavering resolve to make FFXI what it wants instead of what the customers want is costing the game and the company a lot.
    (24)

  2. #2
    Player Gokku's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Location
    Bastok
    Posts
    481
    1. no, no we dont carby merged with gila and it was horrid i came back to a sea of gimp idiots who think they are Jesus Muhammad and cocaine in 1.

    2. not really an issue what new players need most is a newb friendly server cuz lets face it alot of older servers are some cold shoulders.

    3. T A N A K A and you can keep on dreaming

    4. See 3!

    sorry to be the bringer of reality but lets put it this way people waited what 8 months for einhanjar update and got 1... yes ONE single room. now you look at the post about moogle slips and you see that thers at most 10 or so new drops form odin 2.0 10-1 they are gonna bring back the 36man bullshit and 10-1 almost none of the drops will be worth the effort required to get 36 players to beat him , youll have another legion shitstorm and he will get nerfed for 18 man groups who will then kill him with x2 ochain / relic plds 3 cors 2 brds 2 whm 1 sch 2smn 1rdm and 6 relic / empy DD's.

    it will be NI 2.0 + prov + legion combined and SE will argue that lower costs and 100% drops justifiy the 1% population win rates.


    my predicted odin 2.0 kill strat

    full buff alliance and have 2 plds and 1 whm drop and form a holding pt. main alliance zergs odin down to x% (or out right kills) when or if wipe does occur plds take over and hold ... rinse repeat zerg.
    (0)
    Last edited by Gokku; 06-06-2012 at 06:17 PM.
    Quote Originally Posted by isladar View Post
    As far as I'm aware BG has always held the position of "We're not the *** Morality Police". People are welcome to express their opinions about third party programs on this site. However, we will, as stated, ban the *** *** out of someone trying to post links to said programs. And if people want to cry about Stan's guild program then they should probably start boycotting ffxiah. And excel.

  3. #3
    Player Camiie's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Location
    Bastok
    Posts
    1,495
    Character
    Camiie
    World
    Fenrir
    Main Class
    MNK Lv 99
    If they cared about this game's success they wouldn't have stuck us with you-know-who as Producer. It's Japanese custom to stick a failed employee on an unimportant project where he can languish until he quits or retires. FFXI is that unimportant project. Just imagine that Ivan Drago is in charge at SE. "If it dies... it dies."
    (12)
    Last edited by Camiie; 06-06-2012 at 07:17 PM.

  4. #4
    Player Finuve's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Posts
    282
    Character
    Finuve
    World
    Lakshmi
    Main Class
    DRK Lv 99
    as far as I can tell Lakshmi is faaar from needing a merge
    (1)

  5. #5
    Player Reiterpallasch's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Posts
    388
    Character
    Korialstrasz
    World
    Leviathan
    Main Class
    DRG Lv 99
    Too bad there aren't any cross server activities in this game. Blizzard is currently working on a system for WoW to allow cross server zoning to help fill low level, low population areas that need it.

    Something like that would be awesome in FFXI, but we'd obviously never get it because:
    1: Technical limitations, for obvious reasons.
    2: It's something in a rival MMO, and therefore it is the devil and we should never have it ever.
    (1)
    ~ The OF motto ~
    If someone has more gil than me, they bought it.
    If someone outclaims me, they're botting.
    If someone is more successful than me, they cheat.

  6. #6
    Player Finuve's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Posts
    282
    Character
    Finuve
    World
    Lakshmi
    Main Class
    DRK Lv 99
    I hate cross server anything in an MMO, the last thing I want it to meet people I'll never see again, completely takes away the point of a community
    (6)

  7. #7
    Player Spiritreaver's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
    Posts
    211
    Character
    Spiritreaver
    World
    Siren
    Main Class
    DRK Lv 99
    Quote Originally Posted by Camiie View Post
    If they cared about this game's success they wouldn't have stuck us with you-know-who as Producer. It's Japanese custom to stick a failed employee on an unimportant project where he can languish until he quits or retires. FFXI is that unimportant project. Just imagine that Ivan Drago is in charge at SE. "If it dies... it dies."
    LOL

    Just had a vision of 'youknowwho' in gloves and trunks and a buzzcut, leering down over a beaten and broken Altana.
    (4)

  8. #8
    Player Alhanelem's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Location
    Bastok
    Posts
    10,099
    Character
    Tahngarthor
    World
    Shiva
    Main Class
    SMN Lv 99
    The only countermeasure would be "make the game fun again."
    (18)

  9. #9
    Player Sarick's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2011
    Posts
    732
    Character
    Saricks
    World
    Fenrir
    Main Class
    RDM Lv 99
    Quote Originally Posted by Edyth View Post
    In 2010 and early 2011, I saw the normal online population hover around 3,000 online when I used /sea all.

    Midway through 2011, /sea all results dropped to about 1,500 characters typically online at any given time.

    Now in 2012, on a summer afternoon, I see ~900 people online.

    A few things need to happen to counter this. My top 4 suggestions:


    1. We need server merges to revitalize the communities while content is added and improved to retain, regain, and recruit players.


    2. The game needs to be made more convenient for new players.
    Travel around Vana'diel is great when you've got Abyssea and Voidwatch warps, but for new players who have to wait week after week for vital outposts like Valkurm Dunes or Buburimu Peninsula to be conquered by their nations, the game's pace is like a Crawler inflicted with Gravity II. Movement speed in FFXI is an issue as well. I'm sure it would cause "major complications" if the default player movement speed were increased, but something needs to be done to pick up the pace for players who are just beginning and can't travel freely, and the only parties going on are in Gusgen Mines a couple times a day.

    3. Exciting content and important fixes need to be delivered more quickly. Blue Mages were teased with getting Spike Flail in what, 2009? Meteor took 3 years to arrive after being announced. The enfeebling magic, VW stagger, and new avatar updates still haven't happened. Cruor buffs still wear off when we're disconnected. Etcetera.

    4. We need to feel like there's hope. When the customers really, really, really want something, it would be a great idea to do more than talk in an illogical loop about balance and say no. Players are voting with their wallets now. Way too much. Make Red Mage better instead of shooting down or ignoring great suggestions. Fix blood pact recasts instead of making spirits cost less MP. FFXI's current direction is not popular, and Square Enix's unwavering resolve to make FFXI what it wants instead of what the customers want is costing the game and the company a lot.
    I DON'T WANT ANOTHER FORCED MERGER!

    you may ot realise it but people are quitting because the developers are doing lackluster improvements and making people HATE the game. IT doesn't take rocket science to know why people are quitting in droves. Forced mergers don't help all that's being done is pissing people off. You notice the spike in players quit last merger? If people want to move to a popultered server give them the ability to move to one without paying a server transfer fee.

    The people who ask for mergers discust me because I have enough fun with the 1000+ players online. When you have 3k online It's not fun because everyone is fighting for resources.

    OH God please don't listen to people like this developers. It's people like this that want overcrowding and more people to leave.
    (5)
    Developers take notice when a post has a lot of likes. Please support your fellow posters if they make good suggestions or comments by clicking the like.

  10. #10
    Player
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
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    1,003
    Quote Originally Posted by Alhanelem View Post
    The only countermeasure would be "make the game fun again."
    I suspect there's some internal debate over whether or not that coincides with their vision for the game.
    (8)

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