Be brave

[Neptune]

Let's take a look at some game reviews and compare it to the dev team's progress so far. I'm going to highlight things in these reviews that may have elicited brief comment from the dev team but are currently a very low priority based on the latest plan (released in the producer's letter X). So let's just have a read through and then conclude afterward about the facts.

Out of gamespot's scathing review of FFXIV's initial launch, the one good thing I heard the video reviewer say was how cool the Armoury system was; and now the new team is going to take the scalpel to it.

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/final...3Bwatch-review

Taken straight from the top of Gamespot's text review:

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/final...%3Bread-review

The Good
-Impressive visual engine
-Flexible class system lets you be what you want, when you want.

The Bad
-Absolutely miserable interface
-Does a poor job of communicating important information
-Limited questing means you're always looking for something fun to do
-Everything about the economy stinks
-Every aspect of the game is filled with dumb obstacles.

It's disappointing that the new leaders don't seem to appreciate the wealth of game criticism out there. They've now spent all of their time focused on things that no one ever thought of as a high priority, while the only points of contention like UI, markets, mounts, account management, etc. are stuck in the "future analysis" column of the plan.

Later in the review the reviewer points out:
-slow anima regeneration
-lack of mounts
-confusing account management
-annoying outside game config
-dependence on text macros
-manual configuration of gamepads
-lack of convenient UI features
-game soundtrack on endless repeat
-cookie cutter environments
-lack of auto follow.

All of these issues are at best in the "future" column of the dev team's plan, and at worst not mentioned as in development. Meanwhile there is praise for the battle regimen system and yet battle regimen work has been postponed by Matsui. I didn't read in the review any criticism of the class system at all.

In leading the team Yoshi-P has gone the opposite direction of addressing this Gamespot review. He has placed high priority on changing the only features of the game that were praised, and ignored all of the criticism by postponing its analysis or not even acknowledging the specific issues cited.

Let's take a look at some other online reviews of FFXIV.

GameSpy:

http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/square-enix...1127142p1.html

-Attacks and damage being out of sync during combat
-Crafting is a chore through multiple menus
-Lack of intuitive navigation of features
-No mail system
-Grinding

Mail is not even on the development list at all, and all of the above has never been mentioned in detail by the dev team.

IGN review:

http://pc.ign.com/articles/112/1123824p1.html

Criticism:
-Storyline missions too spaced out
-Levequests lose their appeal after a while
-Dull grind
-Too many submenus
-Useless map
-Poor PC optimization
-Lack of mounts

Praise:
-"Thankfully the actual combat is fun to play around with."
-Praise of battle regimen system
-Praise for mixing and matching actions
-Not feeling limited by classes
-Fun to swap classes
-Fun to experiment with freedom

As we can see in yet another case, Yoshi-P has effectively ignored the criticism above, and focused all of the team's effort on changing, nullifying, or ignoring the only things about the game that were praised.

Let's not grow content yet, let's look at another review.

PC Gamer:

http://www.pcgamer.com/2010/10/18/fi...sy-xiv-review/

Criticism:

-Lag issues
-Framerate dips
-Nightmarish UI
-No PVP
-No auction house
-No sensible fast travel system that doesn't break your bank
-Very hard to just buy a sword in the game
-High failure rate of crafting
-Long timer on guildleves
-Dull grind
-Fatigue

Praise:

-Ability to make a truly unique character

RPGfan:

http://www.rpgfan.com/reviews/Final_...XIV/index.html

Criticism:

-Only five zones
-Underutilized zones
-Copy/pasting
-Long load times
-Soundtrack wearing out its welcome
-Non-user friendly UI
-Lag between UI menu selections
-Cumbersome sheathing/unsheathing of weapons
-Movement speed reduced while weapon unsheathed
-Frozen in place while sheathing weapon
-Needless deaths from complicated sheathing mechanics
-Need to unsheathe weapon for casting buffs
-UI tedium
-Guildleves seem like cheap, uncompelling content
-Fatigue system
-Game tries to keep you away from playing it
-Elemental instability in crafting makes your items explode and you lose materials
-Market wards crashing
-Standing still during combat

Praise:

-Crafting and gathering system is well done
-Combat system works well
-Praise for battle regimen system, but mention of it's inefficiency
-"The Armory system is a solid successor to the Job system"

Once again we can see that the list of criticism has been ignored. In the case of the praise, the crafting system is being revised, battle regimens are again paused on development, and the armoury system is slipping through the cracks faster than you can say "The Armory system is a solid successor to the Job system".

I could go on but I think any other reviews will tell us a similar story. I'm not saying I agree with the conclusions of the reviewers above in every case but we definitely see that compared with the dev team's published plan, the dev team is way off course in making this game acceptable to these very same reviewers. It seems like the dev team grasped in the dark for an improvement to FFXIV instead of taking in an assessment of the "harsh market feedback" it so generously received at launch. Looking back at the dev team's progress, and looking forward to the dev team's planned changes, makes it look like the team is totally clueless to what has happened to make this game's reception what it has been. And instead of a rational approach to sating qualms, we have had a blind redesigning (and perhaps ruining) of the very few things praised about FFXIV.

Is it too late? Yoshi-P has invested most of 2011 in a way that completely bypasses the concerns of the FFXIV launch reviewers. I think the work will bear fruit. However, what may remain after 2011 may be a mediocre game devoid of the brilliance that glimmered ever so slightly in the eyes of the above reviewers.

I don't think it's too late to grasp Tanaka's brave vision for FFXIV.

-Build upon the idea of freedom, dev team.
-Be brave and strike out into uncharted waters.
-Let the (perhaps frightened) return to defined classes and typical MMO activities be a stepping stone on the path of innovation.
-Bring Tanaka's vision back. Accept the praise given to FFXIV and build upon it.
-Move these reviewer's criticisms to the top of your priority list.
-Don't be afraid
-Be a market leader, not a market peer

[Akira_Tenshi]

I understand what you are saying but i'm not worried. I think the game is heading in a good direction. I think future reviews will still be harsh though just for the simple fact this isn't WoW. It's always going to be unique and is never going to have the sort of mass appeal a game like WoW does, but there will always be an audience for FF XIV and it will survive.

FF XI never got amazing reviews and it's lasted 9 years and will most likely last at least another 2 to 3.

[Neptune]

I understand what you are saying but i'm not worried. I think the game is heading in a good direction. I think future reviews will still be harsh though just for the simple fact this isn't WoW. It's always going to be unique and is never going to have the sort of mass appeal a game like WoW does, but there will always be an audience for FF XIV and it will survive.

FF XI never got amazing reviews and it's lasted 9 years and will most likely last at least another 2 to 3.

I don't like to see this attitude. What you'd like to say is that FF online games can only be enjoyed by a few with certain tastes. However, FFXIII sold 5 million copies. If your game does not appeal to a wider audience I think it is worth asking why that is. And if the answer is that you fail as a developer, as I believe it's quite evident, your course of action would be different than simply conceding you make games for a small audience.

[Rentahamster]

I keep hearing about "Tanaka's vision" this, "Tanaka's vision" that. What IS "Tanaka's vision", anyway? Does anyone even know what that is?

Tanaka had his chance. He had 5 years. He blew it.

[Akira_Tenshi]

Well if they wanted mass appeal and 20 million players like WoW they shouldn't have made the system requirements so high. I think thats a big part of WoW's success, you can run it on your toaster it's not just down to the quality of the game.

FF will have a large audience but MMO's are very competitve and there are lots of them. I think XIV will me the marmite of the MMO world. You will either love it or hate it. It will always get mixed reviews.

[Neptune]

I keep hearing about "Tanaka's vision" this, "Tanaka's vision" that. What IS "Tanaka's vision", anyway? Does anyone even know what that is?

Tanaka had his chance. He had 5 years. He blew it.

Well, clearly Tanaka utterly fails as a producer. On the other hand, he did bring us the immersive world of FFXIV, the cutscene-laden beginning, the music, the idea of a storyline-driven MMO, etc. So while he totally blew his chance at making a good game, he is responsible for the best parts about FFXIV. I would say to answer you, look no further than the praise above for the definition of Tanaka's vision. He spoke of it a little during interviews but I think the praise of the launch reviewers is the best source.

[Neptune]

Well if they wanted mass appeal and 20 million players like WoW they shouldn't have made the system requirements so high. I think thats a big part of WoW's success, you can run it on your toaster it's not just down to the quality of the game.

FF will have a large audience but MMO's are very competitve and there are lots of them. I think XIV will me the marmite of the MMO world. You will either love it or hate it. It will always get mixed reviews.

Excellent point. The system requirements should have been a lot lower. And they could be a lot lower. That, obviously, is one of the things that should be a higher priority. Really, my own view on this matter is that this game should appeal to as many people as possible. Because if it did, it would appeal more strongly to me. And it's easier to spend time on something that has mass appeal. And it's more satisfying, and easier to share with others. I would like the dev team to realize that they alone determine FFXIV's success, and not the market.

[Sephr]

Well, clearly Tanaka utterly fails as a producer. On the other hand, he did bring us the immersive world of FFXIV, the cutscene-laden beginning, the music, the idea of a storyline-driven MMO, etc. So while he totally blew his chance at making a good game, he is responsible for the best parts about FFXIV. I would say to answer you, look no further than the praise above for the definition of Tanaka's vision. He spoke of it a little during interviews but I think the praise of the launch reviewers is the best source.

You're making this whole thing sound worryingly religeous. He also directed all the utter crap that came with this game. The 'praise' of his vision is vague at best, and launch reviewers thought the game was a pile of piss.

He's a director, you have to realise he was in charge of the WHOLE game.

[Rentahamster]

Well, clearly Tanaka utterly fails as a producer.

Yep.

On the other hand, he did bring us the immersive world of FFXIV,

This world is totally not immersive. It lags, I can hardly interact with it, everything looks too similar in too many areas, nothing I do impacts the world at all, it hardly has any sense of "life" to it, and it relies on too many stale archetypes in its design.

the cutscene-laden beginning

The cutscenes are pretty, but how is that uniquely Tanaka's vision? Every other game out there has stuff like this.

the idea of a storyline-driven MMO,

This game is hardly driven by story. There are hardly any story quests. They are embarrassingly easy and require no effort on the part of the player at all. They offer no rewards, and it doesn't make a lick of difference if I do them or ignore them completely.

So while he totally blew his chance at making a good game,

Totally. Blew. It.

he is responsible for the best parts about FFXIV.

I still don't see anything of merit that is uniquely "Tanaka's vision" that is even remotely positive. The concept of the armory system, customization, battle regimens, crafters/gatherers being their own class, etc are all pretty nice in theory. Game concepts can be as pretty as we imagine on paper, but look what we have in reality. The game as it was released back in September had Tanaka's stamp of approval, and it was complete crap.

I would say to answer you, look no further than the praise above for the definition of Tanaka's vision. He spoke of it a little during interviews but I think the praise of the launch reviewers is the best source.

The praise of the reviewers, in context of the entire reviews is faint and grasping at anything positive to balance out the overwhelming negatives. The fact that you have to look for reviewers for hints at Tanaka's vision rather than Tanaka himself should obviously point out to you how little "vision" there was to begin with.

[Genz]

It's interesting to see the battle/armory system was praised, but you should just forget about the "Tanaka's vision" : he was producer, not director/game designer/battle director/lead something.