Very interesting...

[Jericho]

I was bored in class and went searching around, eventually stumbling upon this thread:

Original Thread: http://www.eosun.org/forum/showthread.php?t=5009
Condensed: http://zeusls.llima.net/download/ffxiupdatehistory.html

Another good update read: http://www.jpbutton.com/?p=145

It basically consists of a guy attempting to translate either... Patch notes, or someones reviews of each patch, of FFXI from beta to the end of 2004.

I'm not one of those "FFXI was a mess when it started, too!" boppers, but it did make me feel good to realize how much they can change a game. They never had to overhaul the battle system completely, and by 6 months I believe the level cap was raised, but either way, it's pretty interesting and nostalgic, and was worth the probably hour and a half I put in to reading it. And it was nice for me too because I am absolutely 100% japanese illiterate.

I hope you all enjoy it!

** Edit, 3/24/11 - Thanks to Gromph for the link to the condensed information **
** Edit again - Thanks to Phrozen for the jpbutton.com link **

[Xatsh]

Both games had the same kind of start honestly, the difference between the 2 is with FFXIV they stopped and went back to the basics to try to make them more accepted for the masses. In ffxi they just kept the anti PC UI and everything and added content in most updates.

If FFXIV would of not had a team change and told the player base tough crap don't like it then quit like the did in 11, there probably would of been 2 massive content updates already just like in the release of FFXI.

[SirEdeonX]

- No crafting, no chocobo, no airship existed.

:O I don't feel so bad now XD good read

[TheVedis]

11s launch was painful
now imagine being one of the few english players around at it, relying on your friends to translate everything for you cuz you cant speak japanese

[Keith_Dragoon]

Square anounces that the level cap at the current state is 50. Although they have it programmed until level 100, to maintain balance between players they are now ajusted till 50. But at the current state there were nothing much you could do but exping, and between users there were some unpopularity. Square responded that "You level too fast..." (lol...) or "you leveled in a way that we did not expected" (exploits huh...) But then again, users believed "What else could we do???"

however if you attack anything post "Tough" you missed like no tommorrow, people started to solo since exp were better that way.

lol sound familiar?

[Kilta_Firelotus]

I found it cool to see that the Jp did kinda have an open mind in having us. But when they saw how greedy some of the NA was like with the commenting of gimi gimi gimi. They started to dislike us. Then got more upset on our party style, then even more upset how we though jp only was racist when infact they jusy didn't know enough english to feel good about parting with the NA. Meaning talk and have fun not just party up level then leave.

[Kilta_Firelotus]

pretty much ffxi was just as bad if not worst then ffxiv @ start. I love how they kept re adding and taking away sneak when opening chests. That musta been confusing.

[Xatsh]

That FFXI update record is why I have not given up hope on this game to be honest.

To know that they screwed up this bad before, and made a great mmo in the end that half a million ppl played for almost a decade.

To comment on the Cutural thing with JP vs Na players.

I think the issue between the JP and NAs is almost all a cultural thing. In general the NAs are more demanding, very short on patients, and extremely vocal on everything. On Xi with the partys a JP party would last for 3-5 hrs with almost no one leaving if they did they always got a replacement before they left, the JPs worked together and communicated with each other. In the NA partys people would just bail when they wanted out of the party and at least for awhile at the start they did what every they wanted to in partys... that is one of the reasons why JP players stopped partying with us alot, we where stupid, arrogant, stubborn noobs.

Even now on the forums you can see the difference between the mentality of the playerbases. I think JP players had 380 topics but they are probably about 10:1 in population of overall FFXIV players atm, NAs have around 1000 post... The thing is you will something like "I dislike how the targeting system is" on the JP forum with 300-400 responses of players giving thier opinions and how they want it fixed but on the NA forum you see 30 threads about the same thing with the same 100-300 ppl complaining on each of them with things like "yea this is why the game fails, this game sucks".

Using Google Translator I have not seen 1 troll in the JP forums, and there are at least 3-4 here who are very vocal in the NA forums. Just literally 2 different worlds, we all have the same complaints but approach them so differently.

[Kilta_Firelotus]

xat that why I wish I knew japaese. I was never like the "typical" NA player. i was never gimi gimi gimi. And as you see I try not to create a complaint thread and only try to help out suggestions. If I dislike a suggestion Instead of debating why I dislike it I try to make a alernative.
I also partied with jp alot.... >.>

[Kibo]

lol sound familiar?

LOL

I think the issue between the JP and NAs is almost all a cultural thing. In general the NAs are more demanding, very short on patients, and extremely vocal on everything. On Xi with the partys a JP party would last for 3-5 hrs with almost no one leaving if they did they always got a replacement before they left, the JPs worked together and communicated with each other. In the NA partys people would just bail when they wanted out of the party and at least for awhile at the start they did what every they wanted to in partys... that is one of the reasons why JP players stopped partying with us alot, we where stupid, arrogant, stubborn noobs.

Not to mention Japan is blatantly xenophobic. But it's understandable, considering their isolation and attitude towards "gai-jin" throughout history. I'm not much better myself tbh, having been raised in the same sort of "isolation".

And I have to agree about the average NA player, but not in XIV though. I've only been part of American LSs since launch, and none of them fit into your description. None of which I've met either. Except this one French guy. He was a complete asshole.

I'm Swedish, for the record. (^.^)V