This game could beneift from a classic server.

[Yadam]

Do you guys actually want old FFXI or do you just want to try and recapture your childhood/memory? Cause I think most of you truly THINK you want old FFXI, but what you want is actually to feel that joy you felt the first time through old FFXI. But that joy is impossible to recapture. You feel it once and the feeling is gone. This is called growing old, or moving on, or in simpler terms. Life. Bringing back old school XI in some form of classic servers just won't bring you the same joy and happiness you felt when you first went through those levels.

when you get to endgame what is it you look forward too? Lock outs? Finding 18 people to do meaningful content? camping ground kings? I mean... do you understand the significance of what you ask or are you trying to get MA FEELZ?

I loved FFXI as much as any man, in fact, I probably loved it more than all of you combined back in my prime of the game. Back when i was still leveling THF... but honestly, even if I could go back in do it, I wouldn't. It'd be an insult to my memory, it would be an insult to the friends I met leveling 1-75 back in the old days, it would be an insult to the fun I had back then. They are a memory, a memory I will cherish. Going back to an old school server is going to make the friends I lost on the way come back to XI, it won't make the hundreds of names on my friendslist light up.

And Demon makes a great point. If FREE servers that offer 75 era feel can barely scratch 100 players, what makes you think a classic server, which will need to be paid for, and will get no content updates, last? I have to imagine even you people must realize a game with no content added will get stale in a matter of moments, and then SE is back where they started, out the extra crash, and none the better to show for it. Even if those 100 people would hypothetically play 13$ just for "more stability", for how long? I mean really how long? Will this game, in classic mode, with no new content at all, be fun in a year? 2 years? 6 months? How long will it be "Fun" when you realize absolutely no new content will ever be added to it.

Reality is here, and FFXI 75 is gone, and there is no incentive for SE to bring it back. Can either join a free server or wait for the "There are no plans".

where to begin? let's see, first of you all you claim you love old ffxi more than all of us combined, yet you are not supporting getting back our old game? that's hilarious. Secondly, you mentioned how the free oldschool servers only get 100 people, i'll tell you why, first of all it's pc only, second of all it is really hard to get set up on your pc, thirdly even if you get it set up on your pc it's all buggy and shit cause it's not run by professionals. The server we are asking for would get more than 100 people on it. Oh, and it wouldn't effect your servers at all, so move along to another thread if you don't like it bud.

[mattkoko]

With all do respect Plume, I have read many of your responses. You can't tell people not to make their opinion sound superior when you do exactly the same. Every time someone expresses an opinion against yours, you complain that they don't read what you are saying. It is not that they don't read what you are saying. It is just that they don't agree with what you are saying. I am all up for friendly debates and love reading other peoples opinions, but your way of thinking seems to be "alright he/she doesn't agree with me. I guess he/she can't read properly or is just dumb." Others are allowed to disagree, and it does not make them illiterate if the they don't. And I know I am going to get quite a bit of fire from this but I said my piece.

[PlumbGame]

With all do respect Plume, I have read many of your responses. You can't tell people not to make their opinion sound superior when you do exactly the same. Every time someone expresses an opinion against yours, you complain that they don't read what you are saying. It is not that they don't read what you are saying. It is just that they don't agree with what you are saying. I am all up for friendly debates and love reading other peoples opinions, but your way of thinking seems to be "alright he/she doesn't agree with me. I guess he/she can't read properly or is just dumb." Others are allowed to disagree, and it does not make them illiterate if the they don't. And I know I am going to get quite a bit of fire from this but I said my piece.

There is no offense taken. I also don't say my opinions are superior. I point out how there has already been many answers to the same questions that keep being presented as if people aren't reading.

[Shirai]

where to begin? let's see, first of you all you claim you love old ffxi more than all of us combined, yet you are not supporting getting back our old game? that's hilarious.

Tell me, what is so hilarious about it?
I too loved the old FFXI, but I do not long back to those times either. Why? Because the magic is gone, a huge part of that magic was everything being new, having to figure things out for yourself.
That time is gone, everything is known and written down in several wikis and on tons of other guide pages and forums and placed into memories, there is nothing new to learn anymore.

Apart from that, the community that the old game had (And in my personal humble opinion what made the game so enjoyable)? Gone, moved on to the next MMO or quit MMO gaming altogether and moved on with their lives.
A "Clasic server" is not gonna bring the majority of them back to ffxi.
Those that do come back, how long do you think they'll play? A month, 3 months, a year? And how many people you figure will still be playing after the first year, on a game they have to pay a monthly fee for, but is not recieving any updates?

Secondly, you mentioned how the free oldschool servers only get 100 people, i'll tell you why, first of all it's pc only, second of all it is really hard to get set up on your pc, thirdly even if you get it set up on your pc it's all buggy and shit cause it's not run by professionals. The server we are asking for would get more than 100 people on it.

Answer me this: On what other platform would they sustain it?
PS2? That thing's at its end as it is already, they're not going to develope any re-release for that.

Xbox 360? Sorry, but that thing is nearing end of life as well. The next gen. is out and unlike Japanese manufacturers western developers don't really cling to older platforms.
In about 15 to 18 months Microsoft will drop support for that console as they did with their previous brick.
Apart from that, the only reason why FFXI is still up on 360 is because a lot people are still playing it through that platform. If Microsoft had its way the Xbox version of FFXI would have had their own servers and they wouldn't be able to play with the other platforms.
It's part of the reason why FFXIV isn't on the Xbox 360/One, MS demanded that FFXIV would get their own set of servers to play on and SQEX said no.
You think MS would agree to a FFXI re-release with for MS unfavorable conditions on a platform which is pretty much nearing its end of life phase already?

What remains is the PC as only sustainable platform for a seperate version of the game.

As for your conviction that enough people will come and play it, how many people do you know, personally, that would come running back to FFXI for this?

Oh, and it wouldn't effect your servers at all, so move along to another thread if you don't like it bud.

It would be nice if you stopped saying that, this is a forum, and as you are free to defend your point of view, so are we and we are not going away.

Apart from that, if you take the time to actually read, we are not telling SE not to do this, we are telling you several reasons why SE will most likely not do this and why this idea wouldn't be as popular as you think it will be.
This is called discussing and that is what a forum is for.

[vienne]

I loved the old ffxi, I have very fond memories of it...this server sounds like fun, but I know it would just turn out to be a dissapointment. Its like Karbuncle sais, Those names on your flist wont come back to life that awesome shell is not there anymore, and tbh my playtime nowadays is only a fraction of what it was back in 2004. It would take ages to accomplish anything.
Doubt many people would remain happy for a long time without some of the Q of life adjustments we've been seeing recently and lets not forget the lack of updates.

[nekrothing]

Those names on your flist wont come back to life that awesome shell is not there anymore

Seems like the only people who believe that a classic server wouldn't work are the one's under the assumption that nostalgia would be the only reason why anyone would want a classic server. That's why they believe it won't succeed, because they're assuming the only driving force behind the idea of a classic server is nostalgia. They don't seem to realize that some people just prefer that style of gameplay, that it's their preference.

Saying "things won't be like they used to" is completely irrelevant, because we aren't attempting to relive the past. We just prefer that slower-paced, group-orientated style of gameplay.

tbh my playtime nowadays is only a fraction of what it was back in 2004. It would take ages to accomplish anything.

I'm sorry to hear that, but my work schedule hasn't changed much since then, so I wouldn't have any issues accomplishing anything.

[Natasha]

Seems like the only people who believe that a classic server wouldn't work are the one's under the assumption that nostalgia would be the only reason why anyone would want a classic server. That's why they believe it won't succeed, because they're assuming the only driving force behind the idea of a classic server is nostalgia. They don't seem to realize that some people just prefer that style of gameplay, that it's their preference.

Saying "things won't be like they used to" is completely irrelevant, because we aren't attempting to relive the past. We just prefer that slower-paced, group-orientated style of gameplay.



I'm sorry to hear that, but my work schedule hasn't changed much since then, so I wouldn't have any issues accomplishing anything.

This is really the main problem right now, even people who want this aren't supporting us (we need the support to get an answer if the devs ever comment on these boards ... been nothing for a week) because they're already decided its impossible. Its more like they're finding excuses not to be invested.

As a side note, I don't know why people think its impossible to play ffxi casually. I actually did that for a while when in college I had a particularly packed schedule, I would only play about 6-8 hours a week and I still had a lot of fun and got things done (static parties and events).

[PlumbGame]

This is really the main problem right now, even people who want this aren't supporting us (we need the support to get an answer if the devs ever comment on these boards ... been nothing for a week) because they're already decided its impossible. Its more like they're finding excuses not to be invested.

As a side note, I don't know why people think its impossible to play ffxi casually. I actually did that for a while when in college I had a particularly packed schedule, I would only play about 6-8 hours a week and I still had a lot of fun and got things done (static parties and events).

That's what I don't understand. Some of these people currently playing FFXI talk about the grind that existed back in the days, even though it was limited by absurd lockouts. For example, complaining that no one hast time for dyna, yet these same people are doing dyna everyday. Also spamming delve everyday, or spamming X content that is now readily accessible everyday in current XI. Matter of fact, the ONLY thing that you spend more time on realistically is leveling up back in the days. There is more grind accessible to players now, than there was back then. Maybe it is just me though, because I have always played this game pretty religiously when I do play, and I feel like more now than ever, I have something I'm always spamming and not pigeon holed (well except the cookie cutter necessity that every one requires now, like aegis and empy pld etc).

[Vil]

Do you guys actually want old FFXI or do you just want to try and recapture your childhood/memory? Cause I think most of you truly THINK you want old FFXI, but what you want is actually to feel that joy you felt the first time through old FFXI. But that joy is impossible to recapture. You feel it once and the feeling is gone. This is called growing old, or moving on, or in simpler terms. Life. Bringing back old school XI in some form of classic servers just won't bring you the same joy and happiness you felt when you first went through those levels.

when you get to endgame what is it you look forward too? Lock outs? Finding 18 people to do meaningful content? camping ground kings? I mean... do you understand the significance of what you ask or are you trying to get MA FEELZ?

I loved FFXI as much as any man, in fact, I probably loved it more than all of you combined back in my prime of the game. Back when i was still leveling THF... but honestly, even if I could go back in do it, I wouldn't. It'd be an insult to my memory, it would be an insult to the friends I met leveling 1-75 back in the old days, it would be an insult to the fun I had back then. They are a memory, a memory I will cherish. Going back to an old school server is going to make the friends I lost on the way come back to XI, it won't make the hundreds of names on my friendslist light up.

And Demon makes a great point. If FREE servers that offer 75 era feel can barely scratch 100 players, what makes you think a classic server, which will need to be paid for, and will get no content updates, last? I have to imagine even you people must realize a game with no content added will get stale in a matter of moments, and then SE is back where they started, out the extra crash, and none the better to show for it. Even if those 100 people would hypothetically play 13$ just for "more stability", for how long? I mean really how long? Will this game, in classic mode, with no new content at all, be fun in a year? 2 years? 6 months? How long will it be "Fun" when you realize absolutely no new content will ever be added to it.

Reality is here, and FFXI 75 is gone, and there is no incentive for SE to bring it back. Can either join a free server or wait for the "There are no plans".

This sums up exactly how I feel. Like many, FFXI was my first MMO, and my first real online experience playing with others. I used to think a lot about the "old days", but I think...at this point in my life it's better left in the past.

A "classic" server, imo, wouldn't work, at least not for me and a lot of people I've kept in touch with over the years. Majority all agree that what made the XI 75 experience was the community..y'know, the silly stuff like running to Jeuno for the first time, exping up in sky, moon, sea, ToAU, downing Kirin with a full alliance..KillingIfrit, somepage, the Wiki drama...and of course the daily shenanigans like KS30 scorpions with full blm burn. Sure you can put the game back to the "pre-Abyssea" era, but by itself it wouldn't mean much. You'd need to rewind the clock to about 2004-2007, and I'm pretty sure a classic server cannot do that. It's been years...people have moved on.

I used to think I'd be the last man standing when and if the servers ever shut down...but what finally drove me to quit wasn't Abyssea, nor any of the recent changes..it was the fact that many of my friends and linkshell mates all for one reason or another quit. RL called, people got married, a few passed away (Hurricane Katrina :/ ), some moved overseas and couldn't play during NA times...etc.. multitude of reasons. It was folly to think the experience would last forever. The game, and its community, needed to evolve.

That said, speaking as a longtime veteran who played since NA release.. I actually DON'T long for the old days. Sure, I remember them fondly, and laugh when I reminisce about "you remember that time when x linkshell made Nidhogg flail and killed the whole pit?", but I'm not silly enough to think that in this day and age I can somehow recreate that and other experiences. Unless a Classic server can bring back the exact same people, the exact same linkshells and the exact same "server asshole" we all loved to hate, my experiences will never be like they were back then. But that's okay, because I like the changes that have happened in XI. Records of Eminence? Dang, about time! Being able to solo a lot of stuff? Dang, about time!

Ideally yes, it'd be great to have a community like back in the day, but speaking from my personal situation, I just simply don't have the time to play like I used to. I've kept an active XI sub since June of this year, but between Grad School and commissions and just daily chores, I can't be anything but casual (yes I know, filthy casual! ;p )

[Natasha]

That's what I don't understand. Some of these people currently playing FFXI talk about the grind that existed back in the days, even though it was limited by absurd lockouts. For example, complaining that no one hast time for dyna, yet these same people are doing dyna everyday. Also spamming delve everyday, or spamming X content that is now readily accessible everyday in current XI. Matter of fact, the ONLY thing that you spend more time on realistically is leveling up back in the days. There is more grind accessible to players now, than there was back then. Maybe it is just me though, because I have always played this game pretty religiously when I do play, and I feel like more now than ever, I have something I'm always spamming and not pigeon holed (well except the cookie cutter necessity that every one requires now, like aegis and empy pld etc).

Its a change in design philosophy from the more broad everquest like world mmo, to a more ffxiv like themepark attraction model. The new model focuses on always having a reason to log in daily, hence daily and weekly quest things and progression oriented endgame. Personally I am so sick and tired of that design with every major mmo on the market that I probably wont play any more MMOs until it changes. FFXI originally felt very connected and regardless of how long it took to do something I felt like effort put into it was effort well spent. It might take you 2 years to make a relic but at least when you got it it mattered, unlike wow/ffxiv/swtor/every raid tier endgame ever mmos where in 2 years you're still stuck grinding and will be til the end of time because you will always be in the same place relative to the gear curve as always.

Ideally yes, it'd be great to have a community like back in the day, but speaking from my personal situation, I just simply don't have the time to play like I used to. I've kept an active XI sub since June of this year, but between Grad School and commissions and just daily chores, I can't be anything but casual (yes I know, filthy casual! ;p )

Nothing wrong with being casual, its just that casual play requires an adjustment of perspective. Casual players shouldn't be expecting to keep pace with non-casual players. As I said just a bit ago, I managed to play ffxi pretty well casually in pre-abyssea just by scheduling things appropriately. Also, for me personally, while I do have fond social memories like most I actually miss the style of game it was not just the social that came with it.