New Bard Performance is... pretty bad.

[Olivia0x25]

I think this really ruined my ability to play music.

I tried to play with it a bit but really it's just awful to work with.

There isn't enough displayed keys on the UI to be of real use. It limits the ability to really even play a decent song or so.

Using shift keys for octaves is incredibly awkward. This UI could of been done way better if you just allowed players to hotkey buttons between normal octaves and higher or lower ones.

In example:

Normal octave:
Q,2,W,3,E,R,5,T,6,Y,7,U,I

Octave below or higher:
Z,S,X,E,C,V,F,V,G,B,H,N,M

Allowing to set keybinds for each individual octave would be a way better approach to use music.

Being limited just doesn't work out. It doesn't feel right or well, and I find it way harder to get a song done than ever before.

I think this UI totally needs to be redesigned for more keys or allow keybinding for EACH octave to really be efficient. Otherwise it's going to be too difficult to get anything done.

[Lizardizzle]

Separate keybinds for each note throughout all three octaves is super necessary. Playing a song that dances between octaves is harder than ever before, but that could be solved by expanding on the performance keybinding screen, allowing -1 and +1 octave notes to be bound to keys at our leisure. The UI of the piano keyboard could remain the same, and using the octave modifiers could operate the same, though an even better addition would be to span all three octaves on one window, or layer them on top of one another like a pipe organ.

[SenahViqqoh]

I'm honestly amazed that no one seems to have any feedback good or bad for the new perform UI (as far as I can tell.) Is there another subsection of the forum that is talking about this that I somehow missed? Because this new system is so bad I can't understand how or why anyone would want it. I agree with the posters above in that having to hold down keys to switch between octaves isn't ideal and the problem could be easily solved by adding more keybinds. I'd also like to expand on that by not only giving us the option to have more key binds so we don't have to hold down more keybinds if we don't want to, I also think it should be possible to toggle between octaves with certain keys to make it more convenient for people if they so choose, i.e. left arrow goes up an octave, right arrow goes down an octave. Just a thought.

Also, one of the things I liked about the previous system was that I could set it to where I switch to sharps and flats by holding down ctrl. I like the idea of being able to switch between one key to go to a different octave rather than have to hold shift for one and ctrl for another. Again, just offering suggestions, different methods for different people. The way it currently is way too restrictive and you have very little options.

[SenahViqqoh]

Sorry for the double post, but 1000 characters isn't enough and I feel this needs to be said.

And finally, I have no idea who put together the sounds for the instruments, but they clearly have no idea what a fiddle is supposed to sound like. I don't know why they changed the sounds from the harp either, but it sounds much worse than it did before the implementation of the UI system. However, my main gripe is with the fiddle, it sounds absolutely horrible, I don't know how anyone could play that, it's such a bad sound.

Overall, the UI just feels like a bunch of scraps put together to make it function and they released it before optimizing it. I really hope there's another thread about this that I'm missing or more people need to speak up, because I can't honestly believe that anyone is okay with how it currently is, what with the restrictiveness of it all and the horrible sound quality.

[Rongway]

Before they even announced the new interface, I was already playing with twelve keys and changing octaves with modifiers, so nothing significant has changed for me except that the new system is much more responsive during passages with brighter tempos (seriously, you can actually play Overture from William Tell at tempo now. You would have had to play it at about 60% with the old system).

I have no idea who put together the sounds for the instruments, but they clearly have no idea what a fiddle is supposed to sound like

It's pizzicato (plucked). It sounds exactly how it's supposed to sound.

[Maoska]

I'm not very fond of the new system and after some practice I can tell that it is possible to adjust to change but I don't get why we can't have the old one. Many people already used to old one and now all they work and practice goes to nothing. It's sad. I planning to practice a lot but I know that the whole system it's a lot harder to master at some minimum level for me. I also used modifiers at the old one but the new system destroyed all keybinds I had. I'm maybe just depressed that I can't play at the moment at all and need a lot of practice to even start when at the old system I wasn't scared to death to perform in the Limsa. After day one! I just want to have option to choose system I liked more.

[BluexBird]

I think the reason they changed it was to try and make it easier for controller users. And to be honest, it IS easier for controller users now. But it just completely screws over people who got used to playing on a keyboard.

Another reason why they changed it is because you required a lot of keys in a lot of hotbars to play your songs. Dedicated players (like me) changed their entire keybinds just so they could play songs on their Bards. I couldn't even move my character with WASD anymore, but that's fine since I play the game with a controller nowadays.

Admitedly, this new system frees up our hotbars and allows us to play faster, so it's not all that bad. However, the new harp sounds DO sound awful compared to before the patch, and having to manually change octaves is just unrealistic if you plan on playing advanced songs. They really need to allow us to set individual keys for each octave...

[MeanDanGreen]

I agree with the criticism of this new system. Its so hard to play anything now. The speed is better, but the lack of available notes has me frustrated. If you're going to lock down my keyboard anyway, use the whole thing for every note. I think I'll just wait for the system to improve before I attempt to play anymore songs...

[Puppysaurus]

(little late to the party D: )
I super agree that the new ui is too restrictive. The main draw of FF14s music was just how open and configurable it was.

After playing around with it for a week I'm disappointed. First impression of the new sounds and layout immediately reminded me of a free piano app for phones/tablets. For now, I put Bard on the shelf and muted performance music.

I have no idea why they decided to change out the harp sound but it and the piano one (which sounds out of tune) sound like they were ripped from a midi program or something.

Other sounds are nice,but the way it feels playing with this new ui (even after configuring keys) is rigid and skips notes if you're clumsy with keystrokes. It'd be stellar if we could do two or three notes at a time. That'd help eliminate those nasty note skips and provide more depth since jumping octaves is a pain now, with the only keys/buttons for it being from like three options in a drop down menu.

[Rathael]

I have absolutely no problem with the new system. It is actually 1000x better for me. I'm using a digital piano as a midi controller and a midi translator to simulate keystrokes. I can play the full 3 octaves from my piano to the game without any issue. I really hope they do not remove the current system. It works like a charm if you use it right.

There are only a few things I would love to see added to the system:
- Longer notes from the harp and piano. Currently they are extremely short.
- The ability to play more than one note at a time.
- One more lower Octave. We still have the alt modifier available.