Swan Song of Vana'diel; ~Why I Won't Play the Mobile Native App~ [Archive]

Rosalie

04-04-2015, 10:54 AM

(0:57:24～)
Q: Will the native application be a completely separate game from the Windows version of FFXI that will continue even after March 2016?
A: As far as accounts go, this will be a separate game, but it will be the same game in the sense that it continues the enjoyment of FFXI. What we’d like to clear up is that the native application won’t take over the current FFXI operations, but Square Enix will continue to operate and manage the current FFXI, and the native application will be developed as a new FFXI.

As far as content goes, even with the sheer volume of playable content in FFXI we won't be able to discuss this too concretely, but we think we won't start service with a lot of content lined up. We want to try and get this out to customers as fast as possible, and while it'll take some time, we'll eventually implement a good deal of content. There will definitely be restrictions on content and jobs at the start, such as only implementing up to Chains of Promathia. There are possibilities for expansive content exclusive to the native application as well. Players will eventually be able to play Rhapsodies of Vana’diel, so we'll be putting in a ton of effort to try and match or even surpass the PC version.

Dear Square-Enix, FFXI Dev Team, and any others concerned,

I've given you my loyalties & my money for over 10 years now. I even bought every scrap of merchandise I could afford, importing CD's, books, stuffed animals, and shelling out the big bucks for both pieces of the Players' Collection jewelry.

I've made friends in real life and fallen in love with people I've met through this game. When the mobile "native app" was introduced, I thought there might be hope; that I might continue on my adventures with the character that I'd cultivated and nurtured for so long, even without MAJOR content updates, and even be able to use my phone to check in on things, even if in a limited capacity, whenever I was bored.

I could understand if there was content only accessible through mobile. I could have continued on. With this announcement, however, I realized that you just don't care anymore. No matter how much time, energy, effort, tears, and love that we players have poured into our characters, it just doesn't matter. The 1625+ quests, numerous missions, skills, experience, job points, weapons & armor of legend I toiled endlessly alone and with friends & against foes for, trusts I earned, the fellow I raised up, the gardens I tended, the house I so carefully decorated time and time again; they won't carry over.

And eventually, it WILL ALL dissipate into the ether as deleted data, since we all know that's where the PC version is heading with this decision to separate the data. The writing is on the wall.

There were so many possibilities still out there; a graphical "rebirth" of the game similar to what FFXIV underwent (using the FFXIV engine, even! Much of the monsters & other graphical data is ALREADY IMPLEMENTED in FFXIV!) would really have brought a resurgence of this game. FFXI players are nothing if not patient; patience was forced on us with HNM camping, experience parties, and almost the entirety of the content of the game in the old days.

But, the announcement of the decision to cease all major content, and on TOP of that to completely separate the mobile native app's connection to our characters is the final death knell that I hear tolling.

Truly, the "Rhapsodies" are Vana'diel's swan song.

Sincerely, and with a heavy heart,

M.B. a.k.a. "Rosalee" (Bismarck), formerly "Rosalie" (Seraph)

Alhanelem

04-04-2015, 11:08 AM

There were so many possibilities still out there; a graphical "rebirth" of the game similar to what FFXIV underwent (using the FFXIV engine, even! Much of the monsters & other graphical data is ALREADY IMPLEMENTED in FFXIV!) would really have brought a resurgence of this game. FFXI players are nothing if not patient; patience was forced on us with HNM camping, experience parties, and almost the entirety of the content of the game in the old days.Not 100% accurate, the mobs borrowed from XI (which many of XI's mobs were borrowed from previous games by the way, because they are "Final Fantasy") have higher poly models and higher res textures, the attacks and effects are different, etc.

Yes, yes, its a technicality :p

I don't know what they're thinking with the mobile app. If we can't use our existing characters on it, what the hell is the point? But also keep in mind that the mobile game is only happening because of a deal with a third party. If they didn't have that connection, it wouldn't exist and we'd get nothing at all. It's not like the mobile version being made is taking away from the possibility of something else.

I imagine they're probably going to consolidate areas and such in the mobile version because who the heck can download 20GB on mobile? Unless you're paying out the nose for an unlimited plan, it would take you months to download to your smartphone.

Draylo-

04-04-2015, 11:08 AM

I was pretty upset at the news as well. I initially thought it would be connected to the same servers or that we would at least be able to transfer somehow with our data. Now I can just see how they plan to eventually phase out the PC, hand off XI to some cheesy phone game company and focus on their beloved FFXIV. Oh well, what can we do.

Alhanelem

04-04-2015, 11:13 AM

Actually, I think the bigger insult is that they're making a spinoff game, telling us all this stuff about it while also telling us we'll never be able to play it.

Lisotte

04-04-2015, 12:16 PM

And eventually, it WILL ALL dissipate into the ether as deleted data, since we all know that's where the PC version is heading with this decision to separate the data. The writing is on the wall.

There were so many possibilities still out there; a graphical "rebirth" of the game similar to what FFXIV underwent (using the FFXIV engine, even! Much of the monsters & other graphical data is ALREADY IMPLEMENTED in FFXIV!) would really have brought a resurgence of this game. FFXI players are nothing if not patient; patience was forced on us with HNM camping, experience parties, and almost the entirety of the content of the game in the old days.

Meanwhile back on Earth... we know from what they've said, that continuing development for FFXI will be difficult. Not to mention, expensive, particularly considering just how few people still play. Matsui is 100% right when he says that making a new version of FFXI would cost as much as a brand new MMO; SE already did that, and it's called FFXIV. Actually SE did that twice. There's no question: the way that the end of FFXI is coming, is the best way they could possibly do it. They're not shutting the servers down, and they're even still going to release version updates (albeit bugfixes and balance changes), and also they're going to ramp up with fun content tying all the expansions together by November. It's one of the smartest ways I've seen a company end an MMO. I'd rather see them continue on forever, but I am realistic here. Also I would be very surprised if the Grandmasters spinoff didn't make it over to NA at some point.

Stompa

04-04-2015, 01:47 PM

Atomic_Skull

04-04-2015, 02:12 PM

Matsui is 100% right when he says that making a new version of FFXI would cost as much as a brand new MMO; SE already did that, and it's called FFXIV.

Except it's not, the more like a watered down version. The FFXIV analogue to mithras are just generic anime catgirls, the world is generic high fantasy, etc.

vienne

04-04-2015, 06:27 PM

I still have alot to do on xi but yes, the idea of dead servers after november is taking away my enjoyement of playing somewhat. SE will never do a HD remake of this game its obvious they're focussing on xiv and no i dont want to play on a smartphone i'm in my 30's ffs, I want something to escape in after a long day of work i dont want to play something on a tiny screen, i want to immerse myself in something that has nothing to do with the reality of life.
Yes i have tried many other mmo's out there, i've given them all a decent amount of time, sadly enough i have found nothing else that has intrigued me as much as ffxi. I do refuse to believe that there are no developers out there who want to aim for a niche market like the ffxi playerbase. Maybe the community should unite and start a crowdfunding project to find a developer that will shape our ideas, in discussion from a development and playercommunity point of view, into a financial succesfull MMO for this niche market (which of course for legal matters would have nothing to do with the world of final fantasy....which probably already is far fetched that i'm posting this on the official forum but i stopped caring kinda).
Call me crazy, i've just been thinking alot about this since the press event.

Nakts

04-04-2015, 06:29 PM

This leaves me feeling a bit disgusted, if this is in fact the swan song for FFXI, I hope it's the same for SE. They're banking on all of us moving to FFXIV, but if we were going to do that, we'd have already moved. It's just another bad decision on their part.

Fawkes

04-05-2015, 03:02 AM

With the mobile app being a different thing and our characters unlikely to transfer as a whole, it seems pretty unlikely that I'll want to play it. Maybe if there's a significant amount of things we can transfer, but right now it kinda sounds like being asked to delete my character and make a new one.

Altered

04-05-2015, 07:45 AM

the age of ffxi is done!

Draylo-

04-05-2015, 08:21 AM

Never ! :)

Moppet

04-05-2015, 09:53 AM

Stompa

04-05-2015, 10:09 AM

One of the mysteries to me is that they didn't repackage FFXI as a luxury disc/book set with all the expansions, a book of the beautiful art we have seen during the course of FFXI's life, wall-posters and keyring etc. all bundled into the set. I would buy that, even though I have multiple copies of the game already.

I personally find FF14 unplayable, I have nothing at all against FF14 players and I hope they have a lot of fun in FF14, and that the game is a success. But I really hate playing it lol. And yet (here comes my point) even though I knew I hated it, I actually paid out money for the recent FF14 luxury box set, with the artbooks and cards and all. I paid that because I collect SE games, and I will always support them by buying their box-sets and random merch, it is Brand Loyalty that I've had since FF7.

We know that transient mainstream playerbase moves away from games after a few months or a few years, they move to the newer stuff as a matter of course. And we know that FFXI is old, we know that most people download game data instead of using discs, and so I can understand why there hasn't been a really luxury repackaged FFXI box set with books and trinkets and cards/poster etc. But I still think that if this were on the shop shelves, people would buy it, and new players would discover FFXI, a game that has been almost hidden from casual shopper browsing for absolutely years.

Lisotte

04-05-2015, 12:05 PM

Except it's not, the more like a watered down version. The FFXIV analogue to mithras are just generic anime catgirls, the world is generic high fantasy, etc.

You misunderstand me: I'm not saying FFXIV the new version of FFXI, it's the brand-new MMO they made. One meant to appeal more to modern MMORPG gamers, to recoup the ginormous costs of development. Making a game that looks as pretty as FFXIV in this day and age costs far more than FFXI and requires far more paying subscribers than FFXI was ever able to get.

I agree the world is less fully realised, but it's real beautiful, caters to people who played classic FF, and while the catgirls are not mithra, they're not unsufferable. Being able to make female... whatever the analogue to galka are, is pretty neat. And the new race is cool.

If you gave me a choice, between FFXI and FFXIV, I'd probably still pick FFXI. But XI's not the game it once was, it plays much different now. The content is alot different now. The community is a bit different now (same people, but those remaining are mostly pretty hardcore). I like FFXIV if nothing else than for the pretty FF world and that feeling of playing a fresh MMO just coming into its own.

Belmonts

04-05-2015, 02:23 PM

Well, it seems SE put its foot down about the future of FFXI, which is sad imho.

FFXI generation were, by far, the most patient grinding-wise. We had good and bad things, from both playerbase and development team.

As for FFXIV goes, Square Enix will have it tougher with its playerbase. The reason ?: A lot of them are used to very soon/instant gratification. Nothing compared to the grind FFXI gave us. And because of that, they will have to make quite large update after update to keep their customers hooked in. Yes, FF14 has amazing graphics, but if their aesthetics and playability are kept as they are (pretty much healer tank DD combo and 1 or 2 lolsupport spells/JA's) iced with somewhat odd choreography, is probably that its lifespan will be even shorter than FFXI.

It will be nice to end up my projects in game, finish the storyline they will implement and stay as much as I can till they decide to shutdown the servers.

My two cents.

Atomic_Skull

04-05-2015, 04:55 PM

Blame Tanaka, it's really all his fault.

If they had started in 2007/08 an engine/graphics update would have been viable from a financial standpoint but Tanaka was obsessed with maintaining a lowest common denominator across all platforms. That and he was taking the portion of FFXI's subscription fees that should have been reinvested into maintaining and improving the game and flushing it down the toilet funneling it into developing what ended up looking like a 2006 game engine but with 2010 hardware requirements while leaving FFXI with a skeleton crew.

Remember the DirextX 9 update for the PC version that was supposed to come out with COP? That, and all the other improvements that should have been done to the PC version over the years were sacrificed on the alter of Tanaka's failed project.

Alhanelem

04-05-2015, 06:09 PM

Except it's not, the more like a watered down version. The FFXIV analogue to mithras are just generic anime catgirls, the world is generic high fantasy, etc.
I don't agree with "watered down." I play both and have enjoyed both for as long as they have existed for different reasons. FFXI just has a certain charm to it that can never be copied, even if SE tries it again it will never be the same. The catgirls in XIV look pretty much exactly the same as in XI. In BOTH cases they're generic anime catgirls, to be honest. And I'm not sure what's not "generic high fantasy" about XI's world. I think the teams of both games gave proper care and attention to their worlds, so let's not have a bashing contest. There's a reason why SE's getting more than $12.95 from me each month, and its not because either game is bad or generic or whatever.

Remember the DirextX 9 update for the PC version that was supposed to come out with COP?To be fair that was never actually a thing and the only extent of relation FFXI was ever going to have with directx 9 was enabling official windowed mode. They never said or intended to do anything else there. Which is a different problem. You're right about the lowest common denominator thing though. If he had allowed non-gameplay differences to exist between platforms from the start, we'd have a client in a much better state than it is now.

Allestra

04-05-2015, 06:15 PM

Ffxi needed major upgrading many manyyyy years ago, they chose not to. This was the inevitable result imo. Their refusal to enter modern times with ffxi could only last so long...errr for the same reason I dont enjoy "pong" anymore, you gotta keep up and adapt to survive and remain a lure, in any business....they chose to remain stagnant.

I would never ever play a mobile version...just ewww no thanks. But would have eagerly anticipated an upgraded look/ui for the pc long ago.

But I am grateful the pc version will be remaining even if there will be no patches, just minor tweaking and adjustments :) Ffxi will always feel special for all the memories it has created.

Ffxi has some awfully good points but so does ffxiv. I play both and will continue to do so for as long as both last!

Crevox

04-06-2015, 06:00 AM

You won't be playing the native app because it's not coming to NA, not because of your choice

Moppet

04-06-2015, 03:31 PM

You won't be playing the native app because it's not coming to NA, not because of your choice

The native app is being release in NA and EU, it's the spin-off game that's not.

Atomic_Skull

04-06-2015, 03:43 PM

The catgirls in XIV look pretty much exactly the same as in XI. In BOTH cases they're generic anime catgirls,

Uh no mithras are more cat-like in FFXI, in FFXIV they're just girls with ears and a tail.

steellords

04-06-2015, 08:44 PM

You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink. SE created FFXI, and it is my solemn opinion that FFXI is the single greatest videogame in the history of videogames. I've played most decent games starting in 1979 on the seriously wierd kit-build computers. I really do rate FFXI higher than any game I've played in like 36~ years as a gamer. I would be happy to write out a long user report on the game to explain why it is better than other games, but tbh nobody here cares.

SE made and then added to FFXI, improved it, great advances were made, some big mistakes were made too, but overall they kept the core game bouncing along. And FFXI is here today, in all its retro majesty. I went fishing today and watched the pink fluffy clouds streaming across the Vana sky. I went and battled ferocious mobs, they still look great to me, and are exciting to battle. It is all still here. But people don't want to play it. The water is here and the horses are not drinking. Standing in town on Saturday, 430 ppl (including mules lol) on the server, no shouts for over an hour.

In summary. I blame the players. Not SE. SE created a masterpiece of videogame genius called FFXI, but people are instead playing inferior games just because those games are newer and have sugarfrosted eyecandy graphics. So, I will blame the horses that don't drink, and not the people who carried the water for the horses to drink.

There's some truth to this, but it's not just the games are newer. You only do the same thing so many times before getting bored and you run out of new things to accomplish. Look at Vagary for instace. Already my LS has cleared 5/5 multiple times. OK, back to being bored.

It's also difficult when it began as a heavily multiplayer adventure, but all your friends move on. It begins to feel like not the same game. The fact i can solo all lv75 content, that used to take 40+ players, kind of drives that point. Compare pre ToA with exp PT, sc+mb, to bird PT...then abyssea leveling...then trusts which are intended to replace actual players.

There's nostalgia to be had with simple things like you say, but it's not helpful to blame players for moving on, or SE for that matter.

steellords

04-06-2015, 08:49 PM

I was really hoping they would have:
- Made a PS4 port of the FFXI client (The PS4 has a -much- easier framework to deal with then the PS3).
- This would also make it possible to remote play it with the Vita's remote play functionality.
- Have the FFXI PS4 client available for digital purchase/download from PSN.
- Reinstate the FFXI/FFXIV combo subscription discount.
- Plan more collaboration between FFXI and FFXIV events.

This would do a number of things:
- Give players who left friends on FFXI to play FFXIV a good reason to keep a FFXI sub.
- Give new players that liked FFXIV an easy way to try out FFXI.
- Have a central console location for all the FF SE MMOs.
- Allow for more media exposure of FFXI through the PS4's streaming/sharing options.
- Foster a feeling of the two player bases being unified instead of FFXI vs. FFXIV.
- Give players left in the cold from the PS2/XBox service ending an excuse to buy a PS4.

It feels like they are directly marketing to the Japanese game market now with their move to mobile. Such an odd choice... Do they really think that platform with resonate with people who love and still play a 12 year old game that is considered "outdated" by many people?

It's pretty heartbreaking that one game we won't even get, and the other is disconnected from actual FFXI.

They are trying to milk what they can out of it still, rather than breath new life into it with lower subs or a cash shop. If after the updates stop they're still charging $13/mo how many will stick around? Very few, it's like paying monthly to play final fantasy 10 or other offline game. It's hard to justify on its face.

After years of our subs being used to keep 14 alive, you'd think 14 could sustain the minimal server costs for 11 and just make it FTP. That is a huge slap in face and can undo whatever goodwill the "finale" brings. I believe private servers will take over at that point and the main servers are in trouble after november

Finuve

04-06-2015, 11:21 PM

cant wait to see how terrible the combat is on the mobile version. Nexon + mobile is such a great match

Stompa

04-07-2015, 12:11 AM

There's some truth to this, but it's not just the games are newer. You only do the same thing so many times before getting bored and you run out of new things to accomplish. Look at Vagary for instace. Already my LS has cleared 5/5 multiple times. OK, back to being bored.

It's also difficult when it began as a heavily multiplayer adventure, but all your friends move on. It begins to feel like not the same game. The fact i can solo all lv75 content, that used to take 40+ players, kind of drives that point. Compare pre ToA with exp PT, sc+mb, to bird PT...then abyssea leveling...then trusts which are intended to replace actual players.

There's nostalgia to be had with simple things like you say, but it's not helpful to blame players for moving on, or SE for that matter.

I do understand what you're saying, and I do agree with you to some extent. But my point was a more general point, not entirely about FFXI players moving on, but the more general trend of modern gamers, and how they seem to me as I am an almost extinct gaming dinosaur. When I started it really was a huge mindblowing omg moment when we saw the first platformer games arrive, with mister stickman hopping over some blank spaces. It was a revolution to us, after playing "move the letter D across the screen while avoiding the full-stops (.)" games for the previous years.

And when the platformers arrived, we played them into the ground. Joysticks were worn down to stumps lol. We made mister stickman jump over the blank spaces for a decade. I failed school because of staying up all night playing Chuckie Egg, lol. And we didn't get bored at all, and those games were really really dull compared to FFXI.

So I have this trench-warfare kind of mentality, and see the kids today getting bored with games after like a week, and talking about how FFXI graphics suck because the graphics are ten years old, etc. The FFXI graphics are beautiful, and imho the core game engine is a living miracle. It is just not as shiny looking as the stuff that came after it. But I do rate playability much higher than super-realistic graphics, and FFXI has nice enough graphics for me, and it has huge playability.

So I think my main point is really about playability vs. eyecandy graphics. Some new games have graphics that look so realistic and mega-shiny, but I don't really get any traction in playing them, those games often feel like they're playing themselves. I never felt that way about FFXI, I always felt (and still do) that my responses are critical in outcomes, and also that FFXI offered me far more choice in terms of direct user input, than any other RPG / fightingfantasy game I've played.

But of course we are all different people, and others want more new stuff all the time etc. and thats cool, nobody's opinion is more right or wrong on gaming, because it is such a personal experience. And I totally see what you're saying.

Alhanelem

04-07-2015, 01:32 AM

Uh no mithras are more cat-like in FFXI, in FFXIV they're just girls with ears and a tail.
That's a stretch, the only thing that makes them look more catlike is the color of their skin, which you can pick from a wide range in XIV.

Skyrant_Kangaroomouse

04-08-2015, 06:02 PM

They will soon realize that they made a huge mistake. FF14 is not going to go anywhere because the content locusts that crave instant gratification are already rushing through every update even with the hard caps in place to slow them down. The cost of these updates is 10x that of a FFXI update due to the increased graphical fidelity. Long term they will not be able to produce quality content fast enough and subscriptions will decline. That is when they realize they should have continued to support FFXI and update it to the new engine instead.

I was really looking forward to a mobile client until i heard it was not a client for FFXI but a completely new game with no character import at all. The mobile client will be a disaster. It's made by nexxon and the ADD riddled instant gratification crowd on mobile phones is worse than on PC. Monetisation which will most likely come in form of play time restrictions or content pay walls is going to scare away a lot of players.

Alhanelem

04-09-2015, 01:35 AM

They will soon realize that they made a huge mistake. FF14 is not going to go anywhereToo late, it's already gone somewhere.

I love FFXI as much as the next guy. It's why i'm still subscribed. But crapping all over FFXIV just because you think it's the reason for XI's demise is not exactly a fair or reasonable argument. Most FFXI updates even those with "new battle content" or some other major new feature, don't even add new graphics at all. FFXIV could recycle tons of their graphics if they wanted to (and they do to some extent, just not nearly as much as XI). If in the future they need to lower the cost of updates, then I'm sure they will apply a cost cutting strategy as XI did. But right now that's not needed, because the game is still growing.

You're totally right, however, about the mobile app. Any chance there was for me to use it was lost when they said it was seperate from the main game.

Finuve

04-09-2015, 03:07 AM

That's a stretch, the only thing that makes them look more catlike is the color of their skin, which you can pick from a wide range in XIV.I just wanted to let you know you are wrong

Olor

04-09-2015, 03:18 AM

You're totally right, however, about the mobile app. Any chance there was for me to use it was lost when they said it was seperate from the main game.

Yeah, they lost me too.

The sad thing is this truly means the death of FFXI. There is no way a stripped down XI without the core playerbase will do well on mobile phones, and while I was potentially interested in maintaining my sub if I could casually log in with my cell phone to putter around on a whim or what not - I don't see any point in subbing at all for no content updates etc.

I don't really care about the rhapsodies, I've never been big on mission content.

It's sad but I think I'm done.

Enochroot

04-09-2015, 04:50 AM

For years we'd been asking for mobile integration. Let us craft from our phones! Let us update the auction house or our bazaars while we're out and about! Not this. Not this at all. No one asked for this. No point starting a new mobile experience if it throws away all of our years of character-building.

Lisotte

04-09-2015, 05:52 AM

Yeah, they lost me too.

The sad thing is this truly means the death of FFXI. There is no way a stripped down XI without the core playerbase will do well on mobile phones, and while I was potentially interested in maintaining my sub if I could casually log in with my cell phone to putter around on a whim or what not - I don't see any point in subbing at all for no content updates etc.

I don't really care about the rhapsodies, I've never been big on mission content.

It's sad but I think I'm done.

While overall I agree that it's a dumb idea, and that it's pretty much the death of the game for you and I, keep in mind that neither of us are the target audience at all for this. FFXI has been concentrating on retaining the current playerbase for years now, while not doing nearly enough to attract new players. By the point that RoE came around the general sentiment I got was "this is nice... for the 2 people totally new to the game."

The target audience is mostly in east Asia, who live on their phones and only play free games. They might spend money on it but it'd be on a cash shop. Nexon isn't trying to bring you or I over to the native app, they want new players. I doubt SE would ever have dared to try this themselves but with Nexon taking the risk it's somehow happening.

bungiefanNA

04-09-2015, 07:00 AM

I have found it hard to get new people into FFXI, even after the changes in December 2013. Most old friends that used to play were of the mind that no matter what changed, SE would have to pay them to reinstall and patch the game. I have maybe been able to get one new person to try that either hadn't played before, or it had been a very long time. Meanwhile, half my workplace jumped on FFXIV for at least 2 months after ARR launched, by the January after release. Most don't play anymore, but they were willing to try that and not FFXI.

vienne

04-09-2015, 04:53 PM

we've recruited 4 people in our ls this week...2 brand new and 2 returning players from pre-aby era. I just wonder if they have whats needed to stick around, so many struggles for a returning or new player. Empty AH, a bland lvling system wth trusts (granted its better then solo), its even hard to find people (even with a shell) willing to help with cruciale missions. the thing they hear the most is "you can solo that" but thats not what a new player wants to hear........they need a mommy to hold their hand (which i gladly do when not occupied with rl).
I've pointed this out before and again i really think this is whats needed to boost the morale of new players: 2 things.
A: revamp the mentor system, make it more dynamic, make it so if a new player talks to one of the mentor npc's that they get a list with all registred mentors on the server (with language)
B: do it like in EVE its simple and very effective....specially now with the ability to equip 2 shells at once. Make a linkshell dedicated to new players with mentors acting as mods (sackholders in this case) the new people stay there for a month and the shell is only used to answer questions and ask for help.

evanwimbish

04-10-2015, 03:30 AM

I have not logged into ffxi for about 35 days now...... I stopped logging in 2 weeks before the press conference because I went to panama city beach spring break; so I didn't want to bring ffxi with me..... I read the mobile app news while I was at PCB and then it discouraged me from logging in any further... (I still havnt updated my march patch) the news that I gathered instantly made it so I didn't want to waste anymore money;

-no new content (meaning NO NEW JOBS OR AREAS/TOWNS)
- mobile app has nothing to do with ffxi so you basically have to start all over again, and launch will only have COP content so VERY limited areas, playing it on a phone would be unconventional so I'd have to use my fullsized ipad or ipad mini which I use as often as my google glasses (never) making it unappealing.
- xbox and ps2 support will end in 2016 (I play on 2 xbox and 1 laptop meaning it will be harder for me to use my alts without third party programming)

week 1 without talking to my LS mates was a bit difficult however, I spent about $1000 at gamestop on new videogames to take my mind away from ffxi which quickly helped so I didn't feel as guilty for NOT returning to ffxi (considering I'm the LS leader of Cult of personality EW) (an old song of my fathers, not an actual cult)
week 2-3 my LS mates started calling my phone, hitting me up on facebook, and xbox chat services about when I would return, and I had to tell each and every one of them my reasons for not returning. (its going on day like 40 of me not playing ffxi even though I'm still paying for it x3 -,-)

when 14 was released I bought it on ps3 and pc version, I played it for 5 mins and then quit because the game was stupid, so about a week ago since I WASNT playing ffxi, I decided to give final fantasy 14 another try on my alienware laptop. Final fantasy 14 is like ffxi meets world of warcraft, I personally hate 14 and stopped playing it again for a second time, the game is WAY too busy, too much clicking with a mouse, camera angles suck, I couldn't even figure out how to auto attack enemies so I basically ran around and hit #1(some fire spell) and #2(some ice spell) for an hour on enemies to level up to level 6 while being spammed out of control by RMTs. Then after very quickly getting bored , I did a /shout and asked, "are there any unlockable jobs" everyone said "No" then I asked "the max level cap is 50" then they said "yes" .......... BORING, so I quit again and went back to weight lifting and playing marvel vs Capcom 2 online xbox live...

With all that being said, this latest press conference has ruined my outlook on mmorpgs and I'm not sure how much longer I will be playing videogames..... I tried playing soooo many new games in the last month or so, from Project spark, and diablo III, dragon age Inquisition, Mario kart 8, super Mario 3d world wii u, monster hunter 3 ultimate, ect and they were all 10 minute video games to me, with the exception of final fantasy 15 demo and the newest final fantasy game for xbox1 which I beat in 10 hours -,- but at the end of the day, I still don't want to return to ffxi because now I associate feelings of sadness and hatred towards something I felt so passionate about.

I am not making this post to discourage anyone else from playing the game, but I do want it to be noted that I am NOT a satisfied customer!

evanwimbish

04-10-2015, 03:43 AM

And for those who are interested; Cinemin Swivel is a small portable video projector for your smartphone / tablet, it ran me about 200~300$ a few years ago and it is simply an amazing product for its price. you literally just plug it into the bottom of your phone and it will project your phone onto whatever surface you want. sometimes I would use in the car, or sometimes I would use it while hot tubing projecting off the wall, but you can use it virtually anywhere, and it comes with the red / yellow / white connector cords so u can play xbox and stuff on it too. I imagine this would be a good idea for mobile gaming as well and it would be nice to see ffxi somehow partner with their technology so that way people could play the new smartphone ffxi app using this product, or types like it, below is the link.

http://www.wowwee.com/en/products/tech/projection/cinemin/swivel

Sephiran

04-13-2015, 11:34 AM

Who knows, maybe if the mobile app flops hard enough, they'll considering remaking the desktop client. Again, the excuses we're being given here are bull, and I'm probably one of SE's least critical customers. I didn't even react uncivilly when RME were getting the can. But this, I won't accept quietly.

Atomic_Skull

04-19-2015, 12:13 PM

That's a stretch, the only thing that makes them look more catlike is the color of their skin, which you can pick from a wide range in XIV.

I just wanted to let you know you are wrong

Yes mithras have cat noses and their eyes are larger. Also the dialogue from mithra NPCs hints at fur.

As for the mobile version it'll be a korean MMO with an FFXI coat of paint, ugh.

Raiyara

04-21-2015, 03:15 AM

To be honest I think the mobile app is gonna be a massive flop. FFXI is a console/pcmasterrace game. Always has been. Had they been willing to sink money into a complete rebuild of the game or even a port over to the XIV engine I wouldve given them a hell of a lot better of a chance in that area than a cheap mobile app from Nexcon :/

Maybe things might change in the long run but I dont see it working out well in the future.

Atomic_Skull

04-23-2015, 02:09 PM

Duskira

04-28-2015, 05:22 PM

What's with all the FFXIV hate? I play XIV as well and I love it. Granted, I get that a lot of your frustrations are due to loyalty to a game you've spent a great many years playing... and I can't really understand where you're coming from because I just started XI yesterday, and I've logged 1.5 hours total. Nothing compared to your tireless devotion and countless hours spent.

I'm glad I get to experience Vana'diel! I hope to get many months, hopefully years, of playing in! But all things do come to an end. I know it's sad, it's hard, it's not something we ever want to experience... but it's reality. :/

I probably won't play the mobile app either. If I do download it, it'll be just to see what it looks like. I'll still be plugging away at Vana'diel on my laptop.

I'll be splitting my time between Eorzea and Vana'diel, but loving both. :)

vienne

04-28-2015, 05:35 PM

Duskira

04-28-2015, 05:59 PM

And it is sad to see so much sadness here on the forums, as a new player. Not that I blame any of you - had I been playing a game this long only to have it being effectively ending, I'd be pretty damn sad too.

But while you're disappointed in what XIV is, that's not really the fault of the developers. They used that money to make a successor to XI, and while it's very different, there's a reason for that... XIV 1.0 was VERY reminiscent of XI in a lot of ways... and it was a critical and commercial failure. The changes they've made have distanced it from XI, which is actually what has caused it to flourish. It's now a critical and commercial success. I have a hard time faulting SE for listening to the overwhelming majority of people calling their game "crap" and remaking it to fit the wants/needs of the playerbase.

As a newbie to XI, I also wish SE had put more effort into revamping XI a bit... graphical updates, etc. Though the graphics are actually not bothering me as much as I thought they would. Maybe it's because the PS2 was the console I spent the most time playing on (I have a PS3 but I have a grand total of 3 games for it: FFXIII, FFXIV, and a game called LIMBO), but I'm actually digging the XI graphics. Still, a little extra TLC to XI in those areas would've been nice.

I can't have a truly strong opinion, because I can't imagine the situation long-time players are in, but being bitter at SE for using XI's sub money to fund a new project is kinda... I dunno. Isn't that how business works? A movie production company makes a movie, it sells millions, which finances the next project. A record label releases an album, it sells millions, it allows them to fund other albums. A video game company releases a game, it generates revenue, it allows them to put money towards a new project.

I'm sure XI subs helped, at least in part, fund several other SE projects in addition to XIV.

vienne

04-28-2015, 06:19 PM

Shirai

04-28-2015, 06:20 PM

Not quite actually. Even in its 1.0 form XIV was a vastly different game from FFXI.
The huge mistake they made with XIV 1.0 was completely ignoring the huge amount of beta testers telling them to wait a few months and to actually develop some content for it, but they decided to release the game in a state far from ready for commercial release.

That said, I don't hate FFXIV. I've even played it for a couple of months, but it simply isn't a game I feel at home in.

Seillan

04-28-2015, 07:58 PM

Not quite actually. Even in its 1.0 form XIV was a vastly different game from FFXI.
The huge mistake they made with XIV 1.0 was completely ignoring the huge amount of beta testers telling them to wait a few months and to actually develop some content for it, but they decided to release the game in a state far from ready for commercial release.

Exactly. Comparing 1.0 to FFXI -- and even using that as a basis for why the game failed -- is a huge insult to FFXI, in my opinion. It's also just plain wrong.

Atomic_Skull

05-01-2015, 06:36 PM

But while you're disappointed in what XIV is, that's not really the fault of the developers. They used that money to make a successor to XI, and while it's very different, there's a reason for that... XIV 1.0 was VERY reminiscent of XI in a lot of ways... and it was a critical and commercial failure.

It flopped because it was a bad game with copypasted zones running on a terrible poorly programmed game engine that looked like something from 2005 but which had high end system requirements in 2010. Tanaka siphoned development funds from FFXI to make this turd starting around when COP was released and left FFXI to rot. Any planning for the eventual end of PS2 services and migration of the dev environment to the PC was not considered necessary as Tanaka had deluded himself into thinking we'd all just quit FFXI and switched to FFXIV and they could just pull the plug on the servers.

Then they had to do a complete rebuild of the game from the ground up which pretty much sealed FFXI's fate at that point as they couldn't afford to rebuild FFXIV *and* modernize FFXI at the same time.

So yes I hate FFXIV, it's hard for me not to when it murdered something I love. I hate it with the blazing fury of a thousand angry suns.

WoW

05-03-2015, 04:57 AM

People dont hate ffxiv, they're just dissapointed in what it is. Think all us so called "haters" wish xiv the best but have settled with the idea that its just not our type of game we want to dump many hours in.....also well that money to develop xiv did have to come from somewhere.

I agree with this;

Will add my personal experience of being a bandwagon mmo player.

I have no loyalties to any game; will play the MMO which gives me the most enjoyment.

I do not enjoy FFXIV, some do, this is all subjective.

not sure if anyone is hating per se, but they may not enjoy it.

Duskira

07-02-2015, 06:44 PM

Exactly. Comparing 1.0 to FFXI -- and even using that as a basis for why the game failed -- is a huge insult to FFXI, in my opinion. It's also just plain wrong.

We'll have to agree to disagree. Of course it was an entirely different game, but there were a lot of similarities to FFXI in 1.0 - exact copy, obviously not, but similar in a lot of ways. I meant no insult to XI, but let's be honest: almost nobody plays XI anymore while XIV has a huge playerbase. Which happened AFTER 1.0... after they further distanced themselves from XI. That said, I'm very happy I've picked XI up. I found a great LS, and the in-game community is very helpful and friendly. I've yet to meet a single player with a bad attitude - several even gave me large amounts of gil after asking if I was a new player! I completely understand why people left XI, but, I'm pretty sure I'll be playing it for a long while.

I can't wait to start unlocking some advanced Jobs. :D

Duskira

07-02-2015, 06:54 PM

So yes I hate FFXIV, it's hard for me not to when it murdered something I love. I hate it with the blazing fury of a thousand angry suns.

Yeah... still gonna maintain that XIV did not murder XI. Time murdered XI. From a business standpoint, it makes more sense to make an entirely new game than to "modernize" a game with so many expansion packs and add-on scenarios that it's overwhelming and daunting to new players. The story ran itself out. I'm glad they didn't beat a dead horse by continuing on to expansion 35 or what have you; how utterly displeasing to a new player base. XI is already very much a catch-up game for new players at this point, adding even more expansions and add-on scenarios... it would be silly to start as a new player in a game that would take you years to clear up to the point of being current.

Having said that, XI is far from "murdered". Yes, it's a shadow of what it once was, but every time I log in I see new players. Granted, they aren't filling the streets of the major cities in droves, but I play during what you would not consider "peak times" (tonight I logged in for the first time today at a little past midnight) and I encountered two newbie players. I also found a LS with a great mix of veteran players (some 10+ years) and newer players (one who's been playing less time than I have!).

They also must be selling more copies recently, because when I bought the complete pack it was $19.99, I looked today and it's $29.99.

So, XI is not dead. Nobody murdered it. It's here, it's beautiful, it's enthralling, it's exciting. It's just old. It fell out of popularity. Oh well, it happens. I'm sorry the state of things have upset you, but your game has not been murdered. New players are finding themselves there every day, I'm glad to be one of them who wandered into Vana'diel recently, and I don't see myself leaving any time soon. :P

Olor

07-03-2015, 02:09 AM

So I've come back after taking a couple months off, and I am enjoying myself. Still can't see myself playing the mobile version. I love my character and I never want to start a new one again. I'm hanging with a new player and two returning players (in addition to another LS of people I don't know as well). Last night we were doing Zilart missions (missions are a lot more fun with friends!) and we ran into another returning player doing them as well. He joined up with us, which is cool, and it shows that the game still has a lot of life in it.

I am having trouble understanding the devs. They say the game can't be developed anymore because PS2 dev kits are failing, but then they are doing this mobile farce? Why port to mobiles? It can't be cheaper than a proper port to PC. I am glad to be back but I worry about when the updates stop.

madmartin

07-03-2015, 04:27 AM

I am having trouble understanding the devs. They say the game can't be developed anymore because PS2 dev kits are failing, but then they are doing this mobile farce? Why port to mobiles? It can't be cheaper than a proper port to PC. but I worry about when the updates stop.

Because in japan console and pc gaming is declining and mobile gaming is surging. Also the mobile version isn't a port from my understanding its being developed from the ground up so no ps2 dev kits required.

Olor

07-03-2015, 07:06 AM

Because in japan console and pc gaming is declining and mobile gaming is surging. Also the mobile version isn't a port from my understanding its being developed from the ground up so no ps2 dev kits required.

This is what I am saying though - that's ludicrous to make a hollow shade of XI on mobile instead of doing a "rebirth" on PC like they did for XIV. And Japan isn't the only market for MMOs, its not even the biggest market for MMOs

It doesn't matter if billions of people have cell phones if no one wants to play your game on a cellphone. Cannot for the life of me see a cell phone gamer wanting to play anything like XI.

bungiefanNA

07-03-2015, 01:32 PM

Mobile client is a different engine with different resources, and they are launching it with content including the first two expansions. There's a lot more content to update in PC FFXI to redo it, and by dropping consoles, they are leaving it on an unpopular platform in Japan, the PC. Globally, PC is popular, but inside Japan, mobile rules as a platform they would have a large playerbase for. Also, the game is not likely to be as complicated as PC FFXI on mobile, as they have to assume you just have a touchscreen, so mechanics like gear swapping and macros are probably going to be dropped. Zones are probably going to be shrunk down.

Diraco

07-07-2015, 10:05 AM

Cell phones destroyed the market for real computers, and also the market for real games. That's progress.

Aquilah

07-08-2015, 01:03 AM

The reason Square Enix isn't doing a PC rebirth has been touched upon above. Let me also offer this: Right now, Square Enix has two PC MMOs. One is dying (Let's face it, FFXI is not full of life right now), one is extremely active and successful.

They could "rebirth" FFXI on PC but you know what that would result in? Two of Square Enix's own MMOs competing with each other. From a business perspective, that's just a waste of money when FFXIV is already capturing that market. What would be the point?

The smarter decision is to re-position FFXI. To tap into a customer base that Square Enix hasn't already captured. The MMO market for cellphones is currently weak (but traditional MMOs do exist for cell phones, so hopefully that fact will ease the worries that FFXI mobile will just be screenshots and selecting quests from a touch screen), so that's a way FFXI AND FFXIV can coexist and make money for them at the same time. I think this is a good thing for FFXI overall. And if you're that attached to your characters/the current page, this will still be here for a few years yet.

They can't realistically hold onto the current FFXI forever. At least the game will continue in some official form after the death of the original.

Draylo-

07-08-2015, 02:24 AM

Nobody wants it for the mobile, nobody. It can't ever be as complex as the current FFXI and will be a complete step down. You say that about FFXIV, but do you realize SE was creating FFXIV and released it when FFXI was successful and captured the market? Yet they released it anyway, why can't they do the same and make both games different. You don't lose any customer and even gain some if you reduce the sub price.

Aquilah

07-08-2015, 02:41 AM

FFXIV was meant to succeed FFXI in the first place. That's why it had, like 90% of its races and throwbacks to all of FFXI's locations and lore. The only reason FFXI continued to stick around afterward was because FFXIV 1.0 failed miserably.
I don't think Square Enix anticipated ARR to be to blowout success it's been. But it is, so now FFXI with its 700ish active players tops on most servers no longer has a place here. Times change and so do plans. It would make them more money, especially in Japan, to move it to mobile phones and let both markets generate income instead of one.

You think FFXI can't be done on mobile phones? Go look up some traditional MMOs on mobile phones. They exist. And frankly, I think it'll be a step up. Because it's a chance for FFXI to have a modern UI and finally get the streamlining it sorely needs. There's nothing in this game that is so complicated that it can't be done on a mobile phone. However, I do hold no illusions that it's going to be a different game in a lot of ways too. They already stated they want to make it more solo friendly. So who knows what the future holds?

But I'm of the opinion that not all change is bad. And if nothing else, Squeenix is handling this gracefully by keeping the old servers alive for a few more years so everyone can play the original for a while longer.

Draylo-

07-08-2015, 05:53 AM

First off the graphics will be worse, I can't imagine it having the same graphic quality on a phone? Second, who likes to sit and play on a phone when you have a perfectly capable PC or console? Maybe grandma's with their candy crush but not actual gamers who pay for these MMOs in the first place. I'll hold my judgment until its released but I don't expect much, I don't like to play phone games over a PC. Also the only MMO games I found to go mobile was silly free to play ones or maple story type stuff, that isn't exactly sealing the deal here.

Aquilah

07-08-2015, 06:45 AM

I look at it this way: We'd all love for this version of the game to last forever and get expansions and a new UI and stuff. But it's not going to happen. I'd rather it live on, active, in another form, than die and be inaccessible.
With what Square Enix has been doing in the mobile market lately, I have faith that they don't intend to half-ass any of this. Even their announcement makes it pretty clear they want to preserve the game as much as they can, while upgrading the experience.

We'll see.

As for graphics...eh. FFXI isn't exactly cutting edge graphics. I won't mourn too much if some corners are cut. But like, there are mobile games out there that look really good.

I mean, look at this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBXH9ecBsYU

That's a game that generally has more going on at any given time than FFXI does, too.

I can't exactly make you be optimistic about this, but as someone who currently prefers this to FFXIV and missed the boat on playing during its more active years...I'd really like this mobile version to work out.

Draylo-

07-08-2015, 09:27 AM

That game doesn't look bad, but is it online? I would imagine they have to dumb the graphics down for online mode so its accessible to everyone with a phone. Also the problem still remains that we would have to play on a phone... I can't imagine getting serious about any kind of phone game. I really enjoy FF record keepers, but I'm not super serious about it its more casual. This just screams to me, we don't care about FFXI anymore so we are throwing it off onto a third party where they will make it a pay to win game that people play 10 minutes out of the day. This game deserves better than that imo, they could have invested in a PC revamp and made it unique compared to WoW-esque MMOs like FFXIV.

Aquilah

07-08-2015, 09:52 AM

It is. Kritika is an online game.

http://www.siliconera.com/2015/03/19/final-fantasy-xi-getting-smartphone-version-courtesy-nexon/

This seems to have the most information of all the news I've read and it all points to them at least trying to keep the core of the game intact. The screens, tiny as they are, at least seem to resemble FFXI.
But that's all we have. So who knows? I guess we'll have to wait for them to show off some actual gameplay to see what's happening.

I don't consider it a 'we don't care about FFXI' anymore move, though. To me, if they didn't care, they'd just quietly kill it and not devote all this development they're currently devoting to it. It costs a lot of money to remake a 13+ year old game, you know :P.

Draylo-

07-08-2015, 12:30 PM

I guess, lets just hope its decent.

Aquilah

07-08-2015, 01:18 PM

That much we agree on.

Zeargi

07-09-2015, 03:15 AM

I just don't see this working well here in the states.

bungiefanNA

07-10-2015, 04:23 AM

It's not as if the USA is the primary target for this. Japanese company, Japanese targets.

Zeargi

07-10-2015, 10:10 AM

It's not as if the USA is the primary target for this. Japanese company, Japanese targets.

Correct, which is why it's on a mobile platform. They are are showing a complete bias on the demographic that they want. Big shock, because it's not the first time that this has happened. I don't live in Japan, and have like 2 friends that I talk to regularly that are from there, so I've no clue how their mobile/cellular data and Hot spotting works as a country. The reason I say that I don't see this working in the states is because of the huge cap on cellular data plans, and the lack of overall Wi-Fi Hot Spots that can be trusted.

bungiefanNA

07-10-2015, 10:53 PM

Japan is the testing ground of new cell phone models. They've had more features than us for longer than us for a long time in that market. We get maybe 10% of the phone models that are released there. It's easy to cover Japan in cell signal, with how compact the country is.

Arciel

07-16-2015, 03:06 PM

Before I begin let me just apologize in advance for what is going to be a long post.
After SE announced the Vanadiel Project, I wasn’t sure what to think of it and it really took me a long while to understand where they were coming from.. and over the past few months I think I finally get it.

Perhaps the most confusing part of the Vana Project was the decision to announce everything together, because it seemed like none of the 3 separate announcements were actually linked.

XI ending regular updates was a signal of the end, and Rhapsodies was essentially the apology. I believe this was always an inevitability, but the reliance on PS2 hardware meant that this came sooner than later. Essentially, FFXI’s dev team had painted the game into a corner and there was nothing else they could do. Service would slowly wind down, and the very least they could do left was keep the servers online for PC gamers, for now.

The deal with FF Grandmasters? I honestly think this one was in no way influenced by FFXI winding down, and was just another side project, but related to FFXI. This is just another way for SE to cash in on the expansive mobile gaming market, alongside FF WWW, Pictlogica and Record Keeper. Having seen videos of the beta in action, I’d go as far as to say its basically another generic mobile+gacha kind of game, except that it’s FFXI flavored and conveniently uses its lore, monsters and equipment to furnish the game, just like how FFRK draws from all the other numbered FFs.

It was really the third announcement that struck me as odd - and I think the first thing that came to my mind was.. Why would we want to play FFXI on mobile after a decade on console/PC? And then I realized, the FFXI native app isn’t actually meant for us. I believe it’s really meant to introduce XI to a brand new audience of gamers, who would hopefully be drawn into the game.

Why are they doing this? Why are they telling us this? Perhaps SE knew that XI in its current form would die. This was its only saving grace - a MMMRPG.. multiplayer mobile RPG. I’ve never actually come across this term before, so perhaps they feel like they’re carving out a niche in the market for the game? I also believe they decided against going for a full remake of the game because it was a waste of resources and like some have mentioned would compete for the same pie as XIV, which doesn’t make business sense.. so a new XI would have to cater to a different market.

So what exactly is this native app? I wish I knew, and I wish they told us more. With no news in the last 4 months I’m left wondering if they even decided to proceed with it. If they did then I believe this is the future for FFXI. This is to be FFXI: A Mobile Reborn. (lol)

If I may be cautiously (or unrealistically) hopeful about it, I think this might be a chance for SE and Nexon to remake FFXI and get things right, from the very beginning. The main question of concern left for us would then be.. are we willing to do it all over again? My answer would be yes.

(Side note: I’ve been playing FFXIV: Heavensward for the better part of the last month, and I only have praise for the game for leaving me thoroughly impressed by the vast improvements made since ARR. I am also wont to comparing it with XI and thinking of how XI could have turned out if it was more well planned out.. and as a newer game on better technology. This also made me miss XI a whole lot)

How exactly does one recreate an MMO with over 10 years of content? The most logical step from both a business and development standpoint would be to start from the beginning and work progressively. When this app game releases, I expect it to be the vanilla FFXI. No expansions. Level 50 cap. After all, if everyone is starting from scratch, there’d be no one to do endgame immediately. And they could roll out the updates at a steady pace to keep gamers entertained. They’d not have to worry about designing new content because it’s all already been done before.

The game changer, and major difference really, is they’d be able to implement all the QoL additions they made to the current game into the app. I’m talking about Home Point warps, Survival Guides (hopefully integrated more efficiently), Fields of Valor and Treasure Caskets, Warp Rings, cheap Reraise scrolls, wide scan, no EXP loss till 30, Level Sync, Synthesis and of course Trusts. RoE could probably be implemented in a way that it would run automatically, like a true Achievements system or XIVs Challenge log.

For all the times I’ve said to myself.. ”if only these changes were around when i started the game”, this could be that chance. Of course, they’d need to figure out a UI intuitive enough to support all these features.. and I think that’s really the biggest challenge the native app faces.

But there are also the possibilities of them undoing past mistakes or limitations for the remake. For eg, implementing a unified teleporting system early in the game would save them the need to add so many overlapping systems in the future. Or to be able to tweak older gameplay systems to not be as totally redundant as they are now (Expedition Force lol, or a better Evolith system from the very beginning). Battlefields could be truly instanced. Quest fights could be instanced from a small section of an open area zone. Jobs would actually be fairly balanced from the beginning and not totally suck.

The possibilities are truly endless - but this is of course, mere speculation. My point really is that the sky's the limit with the native app. And if this is what they’re planning for it, then I want to see it succeed. It’d breathe new (rehashed ) life into FFXI.. at least until it runs out of content to implement - which won’t be anytime soon. By that time, if FFXI is doing well enough, we may see that version being ported for other platforms, or brand new content for FFXI.. maybe a new expansion.

But one thing seems very clear, it won’t happen to THIS FFXI, only the mobile one. OR, i could be totally wrong. I wish there was more info.

Stompa

07-16-2015, 06:38 PM

I was reading a Nintendo article following the recent very sad news about Satoru Iwata. Nintendo spokesperson was basically saying that mobile-phone games are pretty much the only thing they are looking at, going forward. The article kept saying how Nintendo is keen to leave consoles behind entirely, in favour of mobile-phone games.

This chimes with earlier posters' comments about this changing marketplace in the Far East.

As I said before, I will not be playing any of the portable games, I still use a Nokia mobile phone from like 1998 lol. I love my PC games, and enjoy gaming at a desk where I can set up my coffee and pizza in the traditional gamer way.

Draylo-

07-16-2015, 10:26 PM

Aquilah

07-17-2015, 12:50 AM

Zeargi

07-17-2015, 03:53 AM

You won't always have a Vita or something on you. Meanwhile, you'll always have a phone and it's always online. Bored at the doctor's office? Play something on your phone. Bored on a bus or as in the passenger's seat? Play something on your phone. Got some dead time? Well, you have a game to fill it nomatter where you are.

I'm pretty sure Square Enix is well aware mobile gaming is done in bursts rather than long sessions, so I doubt FFXI will be the timesink it is now. When I say timesink, I don't mean how long it takes to get gear and stuff. I mean, how long it takes to do things like get to a BCNM or Dangruf Wadi. A duty finder ala FFXIV seems like a likely addition for this reason.

How are you expected to play anything in those jammed packed Trains? While I get that mobile gaming is nice, but it's a different lifestyle in Japan than it is here. They go to school, then more school, then cram school, after school job, back to night school... and just about every type of school you can throw in there. Where we in the west focus on having holidays and a division of 'work' and 'social' lives. Both the console market/PC Market are still strong this side. That being said, SE has said that if any more of their titles 'fail' it's not likely they'll stay in either of those markets and focus on mobile. Which is why I was surprise to see the FF7 Remake. But it also depends more so which demographic developers want to woo. If Nintendo does go to the 'mobile market,' I'd place my bet on it be a mobile console they develop themselves. Larger than the 3DS, and maybe a tablet-like functionality. I want these people to stay in the gaming market.... And I want my Playstation 9... D:< I better be getting my mind control, holographic surround movie system, and telepathic personal music!!

bungiefanNA

07-17-2015, 04:10 AM

Japan is a country where people are in transit a lot of the time during the day. Trains are a big mode of transport there. Cell phone connectivity is cheap, and coverage is very good. Cell phones are also cheaper than game consoles there, and games on the phones are generally less expensive. That's why it has major appeal there.

Aquilah

07-17-2015, 05:05 AM

One thing to keep in mind is that gaming on tablets at home or a Wi-fi location is becoming a bigger thing over here. Square Enix is probably going to retain more of its customers than you'd think, whether they stay here, play FFXI mobile or play FFXIV.

I also wouldn't rule out like, a PC viewer or a hand-held port. Until we hear more of what Square Enix's plans are, anything could happen.

I certainly hope none of their games fail, though. I happen to like them developing for console and PC lately.

Arciel

07-17-2015, 01:37 PM

one of the biggest considerations to take note of for mobile/tablet is the built in userbase. You don't need to encourage people to buy an android or ios device. Millions of people already own them.. and that means the potential outreach for that is exponentially higher than a dedicated mobile gaming device like the Vita, as more and more people feel such devices are not necessary when they have their phones that can already do most of that.

Most people also prefer convenience over technical specs for mobile so they dont care for a dedicated mobile gaming device. if they wanted quality it'd probably be on console? but even that has a smaller market

Dragoy

07-17-2015, 08:20 PM

Now that they have X|V going, they don't need XI around to fund it that much any longer, and they will instead use the XI-fund into remaking VII finally (not entirely serious words there), and although I feel I should be excited for VII — The Remake Edition, I really can't say I am... I may play it at some point (on a Linux PC), but I'm sure the original will always be win for me.

You won't always have a Vita or something on you. Meanwhile, you'll always have a phone and it's always online.

I don't own any hand-held consoles, and my main phone is from 2005, still running on its original battery. I also have some phones (that still work) from the 90s, but the point is that the phone from 2005 has not failed me yet. Should it become unusable, I'm not sure if I would find me a replacement phone, or one of those mini-PCs (smartypants phones).

Bored at the doctor's office? Play something on your phone. Bored on a bus or as in the passenger's seat? Play something on your phone. Got some dead time? Well, you have a game to fill it nomatter where you are.

Ha! How do people have the time to be bored, I wonder. I'm not sure I was bored much when I was younger even, though I remember I didn't like waiting for something (such as growing up, heh!). It's not like I'm old now, but it feels like time is only moving faster and faster, so it's getting worse, still. Heck, I'm currently unemployed (might be the why) and I still feel like I don't have enough time for things!

I do realise it's very different for many (most?) other people, like those who spend lots of time while waiting for something during their daily routines.

I have been playing around with computers since the 80s, which sometimes makes me wonder why I am not interested in the mobile technology of today and tomorrow: computers everywhere! I guess I'm simply stuck to them old ways like that. ^^

I especially dislike their integration with cars, but I digress!

Time. Give to me.

I'm pretty sure Square Enix is well aware mobile gaming is done in bursts rather than long sessions, so I doubt FFXI will be the timesink it is now. When I say timesink, I don't mean how long it takes to get gear and stuff. I mean, how long it takes to do things like get to a BCNM or Dangruf Wadi. A duty finder ala FFXIV seems like a likely addition for this reason.

I guess I like time-sinks, even though I often have been against certain ones. Not all of them are nice, but when it comes to exploring a world, all this fast-travel we now have do make the large world so very small. It takes something away, though it's not that I'm complaining about that. I, too, do on the other hand enjoy being able to effortlessly get to some places.

It's probably quite clear that I am not of the target audience for the future FFXI, and that's fine. Mobile is the future, desktop is history, right? Consoles kick around their own parts, but I don't do that, either (last console I bought currently is a PlayStation 2, which I got for FINAL FANTASY XII (the Last Fantasy (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/manga.php?id=5955) I mean last Final Fantasy game I have played on a console, and aside from XIV and X|V, the last one in the series).

I sort of wish they would have left FINAL FANTASY XI out of this. Make another spin-off, if they must, for it will not be FFXI.

Still, I can think positive, if there are people who want it to happen and who will really enjoy it. It's the same with FFX|V, really. I was in that since the very first αlpha phase, helping as I could with issues it had, yet it never really made me interested in it more than on a technical level (I like squashing bugs I maybe guess, and I was — and during free-to-play periods still am — testing it for Wine; I have been playing on Gentoo Linux since 2010, and often do what I can to help out the open source projects I make use of).

After they put it behind service fees, I did pay for the 90 days required for the Legacy status (just in case I'd want to have it some day), but not more (partly of course because FFXI isn't cheap either, and I tend to have two accounts for that). That game simply doesn't do it for me. Not visually, or with its content. Not even with things I can never ever dislike: Nobuo Uematsu, and all the throwbacks to the old, the good games.

Once FFXI is no more, who knows. I might go say “Blubb!” to friends at Eorzea, but I hope that time won't be here for a long while yet.

Long story short, the mobile FFXI, the everything FFX|V, and likely any other future and/or past products from SqEX are probably not for me, and so be it! I'll accept that.

saevel

07-17-2015, 09:14 PM

Me too, someone please explain to me the allure of mobile gaming? I guess if you are on a lunch break and you wanna play something quick and people won't notice you are gaming if using a phone instead of a PS VITA or something? What other reason could people want for mobile gaming lol.

It's profit to expense ratio. Mobile apps are extremely cheap to make, a fraction of the cost of a console / PC game. Mobile apps also hit the largest target market since Apple and Google have pretty much standardized the entire cellphone industry, you can write the game for one platform and it's available to everyone. If Nintendo makes a console, they need to compete with every other console maker for market share that also is competing with mobile since people don't like carrying multiple devices with them. So from their point of view, it's cheaper and has an order of magnitude larger consumer audience. If if their games don't sell well and are cheap, they are virtually guaranteed to make a profit on them by virtue of having exclusive access to brands. The only Zelda, Metroid, Mario or other Nintendo brand games going to be made would be by them with a profit for them.

SE is seeing this trend and hoping on board. The game quality is going to be crap, expect bad graphics on a small screen that you need to squint to really see. It's going to have minimal development effort, as compared to a standard AAA title, but it will be so cheap to make and enough people will buy "just because" that SE will make profits of it. This is the trend in gaming now, massive amounts of cheap games that people play for a few months the toss away to buy something else. Games have become wallmart commodities and it's a race to the bottom for big developers. I foresee another gaming market crash in the next five to six years as this massive rush to mobile dilutes the market with enough clones and cheap knock offs that users just stop buying.

Seillan

07-17-2015, 11:16 PM

SE is seeing this trend and hoping on board. The game quality is going to be crap, expect bad graphics on a small screen that you need to squint to really see. It's going to have minimal development effort, as compared to a standard AAA title, but it will be so cheap to make and enough people will buy "just because" that SE will make profits of it. This is the trend in gaming now, massive amounts of cheap games that people play for a few months the toss away to buy something else. Games have become wallmart commodities and it's a race to the bottom for big developers. I foresee another gaming market crash in the next five to six years as this massive rush to mobile dilutes the market with enough clones and cheap knock offs that users just stop buying.

Despite wanting to stay as optimistic as I can, I'm inclined to agree with this viewpoint. Honestly, if it wasn't for the dedicated fans running/developing private servers for many of the superior online games of yesteryear, I probably wouldn't have much hope for the future of this genre at all. That said, I feel a sense of relief when I see examples like Project1999 and how popular it is, or how the guys working on the SWGEMU are still going at it after many years, because it lets me know that no matter how far this genre ultimately falls commercially, gamers that appreciate all the care and effort that went into these old games will hopefully always have a place to go. I only hope that the FFXI emu is able to reach similar heights as development continues.

Aquilah

07-17-2015, 11:45 PM

It's profit to expense ratio. Mobile apps are extremely cheap to make, a fraction of the cost of a console / PC game. Mobile apps also hit the largest target market since Apple and Google have pretty much standardized the entire cellphone industry, you can write the game for one platform and it's available to everyone. If Nintendo makes a console, they need to compete with every other console maker for market share that also is competing with mobile since people don't like carrying multiple devices with them. So from their point of view, it's cheaper and has an order of magnitude larger consumer audience. If if their games don't sell well and are cheap, they are virtually guaranteed to make a profit on them by virtue of having exclusive access to brands. The only Zelda, Metroid, Mario or other Nintendo brand games going to be made would be by them with a profit for them.

SE is seeing this trend and hoping on board. The game quality is going to be crap, expect bad graphics on a small screen that you need to squint to really see. It's going to have minimal development effort, as compared to a standard AAA title, but it will be so cheap to make and enough people will buy "just because" that SE will make profits of it. This is the trend in gaming now, massive amounts of cheap games that people play for a few months the toss away to buy something else. Games have become wallmart commodities and it's a race to the bottom for big developers. I foresee another gaming market crash in the next five to six years as this massive rush to mobile dilutes the market with enough clones and cheap knock offs that users just stop buying.

This is dismissing everything Square Enix has been doing to try and raise the bar of quality for mobiles. Their ports aren't perfect, but they're all console and hand-held quality games on mobile. Not to mention Final Fantasy Dimensions, Mobius and others.

You're right in that garbage is seriously diluting the mobile market right now. I can understand being hesitant about FFXI mobile's quality given the mobile trend, but Square Enix has done enough good to give me hope that they're going to handle this with care, not just throw it away for a cheap knock-off.

I'll remain optimistic until they give me a reason not to be.

saevel

07-18-2015, 01:55 AM

heir ports aren't perfect, but they're all console and hand-held quality games on mobile.

They are crap, I have them and the GBA / DS versions are far superior. The mobile ports were thrown together with minimal attention given, the characters feel very much like they are just floating.

This is dismissing everything Square Enix has been doing to try and raise the bar of quality for mobiles.

They aren't, SE's mobile games are pretty much exactly what you'd expect from a mobile game. I have both an Samsung Galaxy S5 and an Nvidia shield and SE's FF's are extremely mediocre. For long periods they didn't even have controller support until they did an update to support Android TV, which consequently didn't apply to Dimensions, Chrono Trigger and a few others.

Seillan

07-18-2015, 03:58 AM

They are crap, I have them and the GBA / DS versions are far superior. The mobile ports were thrown together with minimal attention given, the characters feel very much like they are just floating.

They aren't, SE's mobile games are pretty much exactly what you'd expect from a mobile game. I have both an Samsung Galaxy S5 and an Nvidia shield and SE's FF's are extremely mediocre. For long periods they didn't even have controller support until they did an update to support Android TV, which consequently didn't apply to Dimensions, Chrono Trigger and a few others.

I've got to agree with this too. If you guys are referring to the mobile FF iterations that I'm thinking of, they look god awful from what I've seen. The graphics reminded me of those cheap Korean mmos from the mid-to-late 90s. Even the SNES versions put them to shame, imo.

Aquilah

07-18-2015, 05:30 AM

I thought Final Fantasy IV DS' mobile port was fine, as was Secret of Mana, The Worlds Ends With You, Final Fantasy VI. Final Fantasy Dimensions was a fine follow-up to FF5, with one of the deepest variations of the job system yet. A lack of controller support (for phones, no less) is frustrating, but come oooon. Look at the board we're on. FFXI has one of the worst UIs out there in all of MMORPGs. I'd think that would warrant a little slack on the touch UI (nevermind that the touch UIs are still usable on their own merits).

Since this just boils down to straight-up opposing viewpoints on satisfaction with a product, I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree.

saevel

07-18-2015, 05:27 PM

I've got to agree with this too. If you guys are referring to the mobile FF iterations that I'm thinking of, they look god awful from what I've seen. The graphics reminded me of those cheap Korean mmos from the mid-to-late 90s. Even the SNES versions put them to shame, imo.

Yeah it's just awful, looks like an 8th grader did it in their spare time. Take FFVI for example, it looks like the sprites were hastily done and then just splattered onto the backgrounds, the result being that they look cartoonish and misplaced.

Makenshi

07-20-2015, 08:00 PM

Currently playing 5 on mobile and its fine. Haven't tried any others though.

Talaya

07-22-2015, 02:50 AM

im personally really sad for the "end" of FFXI, there is so much they can do and personally i hate FFXIV, sure the graphics are lovely, its a pretty game, but in some ways, thats all it is.
i miss the way the game was, skill was key, HNM-ing was fun, the community was strong.
But, i do still love the game as it is now, id love another expansion, more jobs, more story lines.
dont let this game die, dont let it just end.

i played since the EU release in 04, i love this game as much as i did then, its a shame many players migrated, i did play both betas of FFXIV, i even played the alpha of XIV and it was fun to start.... then you hit end game and its just boring "grind these instances to get this thing to get this piece of armour because no one will invite you to do this unless you have the best armour", to be frank, its a real load of tosh that just naffed me off to no end, so i quit, screw that game.
"but FFXI is the same" .... not really, not when you really think about it, there is so much more to this game than gear, so much more than just being the highest igearedlevelpersonthingy. Content from Pre-abyssea was deffinately not like that, niddy at 3am? GUYS WAKE UP AND GET TO CAMP!, Tank tiamat for 7 hours because your LS members are asleeeep!!! panic mode activated, those were the days ; u;)
as silly as that sounds, and as stupid as that is to other people, gosh it was fun!

what i love most was the community and the community is still great even now, doing stuff with friends and making new friends is the best, this game does have a lot of life in it and it can have so much more if SE actually tried.

also il never be able to use this app, windows phones suck and im on pay as you go, sooo that went out the window real fast.