What's with the drought?

[Elexia]

All i want to know is ..When we will have the next Live Letter? i wanna have a good laugh with Yoshi-P,Fox-clon and Wada ^_^

They'll announce it a month before it actually happens so you'll know when there's a next one.

[Ramesses]

Let's break it down:

"Alpha four weeks ago" -

It was stated the version we tested wasn't the actual version of the game that they've been working on, this point doesn't matter one bit in terms of what the OP was referring to.

"Detailed new roadmap" -

Subject to change, may not even be largely accurate. What information did this give us besides general points? What screenshots or videos? The fact the release is likely June/July (most likely July) you'd see a lot more by now, even if it's beta.

"He posted up a letter two weeks ago" -

This letter didn't actually say much in regards to Information, what the OP is talking about.

"the new beginnings cutscene was added one week ago"-

We seen 99.9% of this from E3-End of an Era in November. Barely 2 minutes of that video was actually new and not even..much. No one is being impatient, what have they actually given us in terms of solid information lately? Everything has generally been hush hush due to Alpha, and if you have any form of Internet skills, everything SE posted themselves you got more of from Testers lol.

So really, take a trip to the Seeker's of Adoulin website for FFXI's new expansion, see that information? It's a tiny bit as well but it's more along the lines of what the OP is more than likely talking about, not being impatient.

Nope, not buying this explanation, Elexia... and as the old adage goes, "this is why we can't have good things". The OP using certain terms to badger the forums just to alleviate his impatience is not cool... and NOT the done thing. If the OP didn't want these types of responses then he should have been more intuitive, polite or delicate with the thread's title. True story.

First off, establishing the word "drought" in any form of use indicates a lack of anything for a prolonged period of time... hence the reason I had to explain to him that there HAD been a flow of information on a weekly basis.

Next, stating that Yoshi's New Year's day letter not saying much is just downright disrespectful... and you obviously aren't getting the point. It doesn't HAVE to contain a lot of information... what is critical is that he generously posted it on New Year's day while most people round the world were relaxing with some turkey. What that really says is that he and the entire dev team actually cares about being in touch with the fans. That speaks volumes in my book.

Thirdly, the Dev Team are being VERY transparent with their release of information and the frequency of this information... they even added a developers blog for people to follow their progress. Most of the other MMOs currently out there (Aion, TERA, GW2 etc) did NOT give this much information when they were in their Alpha to beta stages. That's a fact.

And your statement their road map is filled with general points actually exhibits how little you are familiar with game development. They HAVE to give an approximate ball-park date for several reasons ranging from programming issues to legal issues... not to mention time for the marketing crew to select material that will really exhibit the game in a positive light. All these processes require long hours with dedicated skill.

Sheesh...Just the programming aspect of tweaking stuff from a game's Alpha build is a workload in itself and anything could push the timetable off by a month (editing the AI, texture mapping, diffuse mappings, server architecture latency, rigging + skinning, kinematics, audio + sound management...name it)

Inbetween having to deal with all these, you are more concerned with how soon you can get your mitts on a benchmark? Heck, if I remember correctly, during 1.0 the benchmark didn't get released until JUNE, which was less than three months before release.

So yeah, if you don't understand by now WHY the team is giving those kinds of dates in the road map then you're just being insensitive to how much 300+ people around the world are working themselves to the bone to make this game phenomenal.

[Elexia]

Inbetween having to deal with all these, you are more concerned with how soon you can get your mitts on a benchmark?

I am? Thanks for telling me, I wouldn't have known this, considering I never once stated my stance on this.

Next, stating that Yoshi's New Year's day letter not saying much is just downright disrespectful... and you obviously aren't getting the point.

In regards to what the OP was talking about, it didn't have much in what he was referring to. No need to kiss ass here.

And your statement their road map is filled with general points actually exhibits how little you are familiar with game development.

You only wish this statement was true. Since you obviously don't understand the concept of general points in regards to using "detailed roadmap as information", what detailed information was in it that matters to the general consumer? The testing phases? What will be in tests? That doesn't matter when people want information about the game, not the testing phases, which is what was detailed in the roadmap.

Sheesh...Just the programming aspect of tweaking stuff from a game's Alpha build is a workload in itself and anything could push the timetable off by a month (editing the AI, texture mapping, diffuse mappings, server architecture latency, rigging + skinning, kinematics, audio + sound management...name it)

Except as stated we tested a separate build of the game, so while it could throw the time off, which they stated, that's very unlike since SE themselves had stated they have two developments going on with ARR in terms of alpha/beta (main client.)

Heck, if i remember correctly, during 1.0 the benchmark didn't get released until JUNE, which was less than three months before release.

Since you're trying to tell people they're wrong, allow me to correct you: Yoshida has stated we're getting 2 benchmarks, 1 before the release of ARR which has a character creator and 1 that is coming "soon." So what does 1.0's timeline have to do with anything when they already gave us general ideas of release? Your problem is you're taking certain words too literally, especially to use in an argument.

Since we're being literal:

Prolonged can means lengthy period of time, which could mean weeks or months or years. It has been very long time since we've gotten information about anything significant, no one can deny this. What can you tell us about Arcanist and Summoner besides "Summoner may not be ready at launch - SE"? The game is creeping closer to release and we still have very little information about even the class. This is the kind of information the OP is generally asking for.

"but it takes blah blah time to create a class blah blah"

Indeed, but they have an outline and concepts of it, I'm sure, so unless it's been pushed back, even you can admit they're slacking on giving out solid information for a game set to release in about 5 months or so if all goes well. That's extremely close to release to have such little information out about it.

Then again, you think a rehashed trailer counts as them giving us information..so I don't think you meant to say people were being impatient, you're injecting your own ideologies on this subject onto someone else.

[AkiRouscelia]

This started as a thread asking about planned releases of information. Ramesses has derailed it into a cesspit of white-knightery and pauses. Can we please resume on forward as consumers and get an answer?

Having solidly founded criticisms is a crucial part to sustaining standing in debates, Ramesses. However you've no facts to base your argument on, and you cheapen the argument by assuming your opponents stance and desires on the topic. No-one is being impatient (rather than you, for pitting yourself in an argument with people over having a question) and no-one is wanting x or y. Questions were asked - that's all. So sit down and stop derailing this thread, please.

[SkyeWindbinder]

I am? Thanks for telling me, I wouldn't have known this, considering I never once stated my stance on this.



In regards to what the OP was talking about, it didn't have much in what he was referring to. No need to kiss ass here.



You only wish this statement was true. Since you obviously don't understand the concept of general points in regards to using "detailed roadmap as information", what detailed information was in it that matters to the general consumer? The testing phases? What will be in tests? That doesn't matter when people want information about the game, not the testing phases, which is what was detailed in the roadmap.



Except as stated we tested a separate build of the game, so while it could throw the time off, which they stated, that's very unlike since SE themselves had stated they have two developments going on with ARR in terms of alpha/beta (main client.)



Since you're trying to tell people they're wrong, allow me to correct you: Yoshida has stated we're getting 2 benchmarks, 1 before the release of ARR which has a character creator and 1 that is coming "soon." So what does 1.0's timeline have to do with anything when they already gave us general ideas of release? Your problem is you're taking certain words too literally, especially to use in an argument.

Since we're being literal:

Prolonged can means lengthy period of time, which could mean weeks or months or years. It has been very long time since we've gotten information about anything significant, no one can deny this. What can you tell us about Arcanist and Summoner besides "Summoner may not be ready at launch - SE"? The game is creeping closer to release and we still have very little information about even the class. This is the kind of information the OP is generally asking for.

"but it takes blah blah time to create a class blah blah"

Indeed, but they have an outline and concepts of it, I'm sure, so unless it's been pushed back, even you can admit they're slacking on giving out solid information for a game set to release in about 5 months or so if all goes well. That's extremely close to release to have such little information out about it.

Then again, you think a rehashed trailer counts as them giving us information..so I don't think you meant to say people were being impatient, you're injecting your own ideologies on this subject onto someone else.

Daaaaamn...

I was gonna respond myself, but you pretty much said it all! The White Knight BS does get annoying at times admittedly. On one end, we have people on the far left trashing SE and Yoshi and how they do things and seemingly critical of everything they do. On the far right, we have people defending any and everything SE does and calling it sacrilege if anyone seems even a little bit critical of them. People stuck in the middle of these two warring factions are often accused of being on the other side and blasted for it, like if maybe they question something SE has done or praise a move by SE they may agree with. It gets kind of crazy to deal with after a while. lol

[Warlock]

Daaaaamn...

I was gonna respond myself, but you pretty much said it all! The White Knight BS does get annoying at times admittedly. On one end, we have people on the far left trashing SE and Yoshi and how they do things and seemingly critical of everything they do. On the far right, we have people defending any and everything SE does and calling it sacrilege if anyone seems even a little bit critical of them. People stuck in the middle of these two warring factions are often accused of being on the other side and blasted for it, like if maybe they question something SE has done or praise a move by SE they may agree with. It gets kind of crazy to deal with after a while. lol

I find it impossible to white knight something you don't like....Yoshi-P's concept of a better FF14 happens to agree with the massive majority that's the difference ...as stated by Yoshi-P's poll only 10% of playerbase spend full time in this forum 30% sometimes show their face here and 60% never...if a handful is way too vocal disliking everything the team does of course they will be stomped...they trying to c@ckblock progress

[trep]

No drought, just people working on a game before a beta goes live. What kind of dev posts do you want anyway, we already had like 6-7 dev comments in the past 4-5 days.

[HarukoD]

It has been awhile since we've got something of real interest. The most recent thing they gave us was a thread about 3rd phase beta characters. Something, which I thought, was pretty straightforward if you read the beta timeline.

What I miss is our drip feed of information. Before the holidays, the dev team made it their mission to give us something to occupy our time with on a daily basis. Whether it be a blog update, or a reply to a thread. I'm not accusing them of being lazy, or anything of the sort. They're busy and that's a good thing for us. I just miss the discussions that come from a small tidbit of information (even as a lurker, it's interesting).

Any of us could write a long paragraphs agreeing or disagreeing here. My TL;DR (that I choose not to post) is that yes, I'd like to see some more info soon. Maybe tease us about a new DoW or more info about the archanist.. Hell, even some info about free companies or something.

[Kirito]

Just a mention, I think we should receive a new blog post by today or tomorrow... If you look at the date of every post so far, they about a week a part...

[ShinigamiKayla]

All i want to know is ..When we will have the next Live Letter? i wanna have a good laugh with Yoshi-P,Fox-clon and Wada ^_^

I wanna see more Soken in battle o.O/