Seriously, FFXI has always had way too many screens to click through to log in (more than any other MMORPG I know of). With SE merging all PoL Accounts into Square-Enix Accounts, I had been hoping we'd finally be able to do away with the convoluted mess that is the PlayOnline Viewer altogether. Sadly, it appears as though this is not going to be the case.
So once account management is switched over and being handled via web-browser rather than the PoL Viewer, and seeing as how FFXI is the only game remaining in PoL, the Viewer will become nothing but a bunch of useless screens and menus that do nothing but get in the way of FFXI's login process.
With that in mind, I think some redesigning of the PoL Viewer's menus is in order, since apparently we're stuck with the damn thing.
At first I had the idea of simply moving the "Play" button from the FFXI top-page to the main PoL top-page, which would certainly be an improvement over the current layout, but then I thought, "Why stop there? Why not take it a step further?" Since FFXI is now the only game on PoL, we can safely assume that anytime someone launches the PoL Viewer, it's because they want to play FFXI. So why not just make the Viewer launch into FFXI automatically as soon as it starts?
In other words, whatever function is called when we players click on the "Play" button on the FFXI top page, make that function be called automatically as soon as we enter our password(s) and hit Enter, rather than loading the PoL top-page and forcing us to dig through the various layers of menus in the PoL Viewer to get to FFXI.
This would make it feel almost as if the PoL Viewer had been removed, which is very nearly as good as actually removing it.
And just in case anyone's worried about still being able to access the PoL Viewer for any reason, you could still get back to it by backing out of FFXI via the "Back" button on FFXI's title screen.
Oh, and for anyone who actually WANTS to see all of the PoL Viewer's various screens and menus every time they log in (why?), go ahead and throw in a toggle option so people can choose if they want to bypass PoL and load FFXI automatically or not.
If you're not going to get rid of the PoL Viewer, SE, then at least let us bypass it.
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07-09-2011, 04:15 AMRhianuIf you're not going to get rid of the PoL Viewer, SE, then at least let us bypass it.
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07-09-2011, 05:16 AMBumbeen
Please lord do this. At least make it an option in the settings to auto-launch XI after logging in.
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07-09-2011, 05:21 AMCatsby
Fully supporting this. There's an unspoken rule in game usability about there being no more than 3 menu screens or "levels" between the executable and the game state. FFXI violates this to a face-palming degree.
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07-09-2011, 05:38 AMTsukino_Kaji
Never heard of that rule and honestly POL doesnt' bother me. Plus, even with such a rule, POL has been grandfathered in. lol
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07-09-2011, 05:43 AMJackDaniels
POL is minus 3-4 minutes off my playtime (don't have a lot).
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07-09-2011, 05:44 AMTsukino_Kaji
3-4 minutes?! Your PC sucks. lol
I get through POL in less then 2 inclouding POL itself launching. -
07-09-2011, 05:48 AMCatsbyPOL viewer still sucks.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tsukino_Kaji
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07-09-2011, 05:51 AMTsukino_Kaji
Realy it was designed to hoste the miriad of online games SE was planning. I know tetramaster is gone, but I'm pretty sure the JP markest still has a bunch of other features on it that we never got.
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07-09-2011, 05:51 AMDebbieGibson
2-3 mins multiplied by the entire playerbase is a lot of time saved. It is definitely worth spending dev time on.
Also, you wouldn't need to hit back in ffxi to get to pol. You could just make it a little checkbox on the password screen next to the auto-signin one. Checked=straight to XI, unchecked=POL. -
07-09-2011, 06:27 AMJackDanielsThis is exactly what I was thinking.Quote:
Originally Posted by DebbieGibson
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07-09-2011, 07:16 AMTwille
I support this idea.
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07-09-2011, 08:21 AMOctaviane
Me too, not that it bothers me that much about the time spent logging in, it doesn't really, but every other game I play I can log in in seconds.
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07-09-2011, 08:44 AMZiyyigo-Tipyigo
How about at least updating the game ads across the bottom of the main screen?
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07-09-2011, 08:46 AMRhianuQuote:
Originally Posted by Catsby
That's because it's unspoken. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Tsukino_Kaji
As far as I'm aware, the only things that the JP players got that we didn't was like four other games that have all since been discontinued, just like Tetra Master.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tsukino_Kaji
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07-10-2011, 04:50 AMWolfe
First off, I want to say how badly I hate the mobile version of this site on iPhone 4. I've crashed numerous times and keep losing everything I've typed. So this may be posted as numerous smaller posts to save whatever I have so far.
POL viewer was a great idea, years ago, back during the concept phase. Since it was "supposed" to allow us to have a LOT more features. But since those features either never made it or have long since been cancelled, POL is now completely useless. The only useful feature it still has going for it is the reactivation -
07-10-2011, 04:54 AMWolfe
Sorry, stupid iPhone.
Reactivation services, or the content ID purchase features, which can very easily be converted directly into the FFXI main screen.
The POL viewer is still advertising mobile wallpaper for phones that are no longer even in service. The email feature is no longer even useful. POL viewer needs to go the way of the PS2 system and be completely phased out. -
07-10-2011, 05:01 AMWolfe
There is a lot that needs to be fixed with the game and this is great step in the correct direction. By removing the POL viewer, you not only free up a lot of HDD space (which the PS2 already desperately needs), but a lot of system resources too. Because even while playing FFXI, the POL viewer has to be running in the background. It's nothing more than a waste of space. I'm sure there would be a lot of complications at the start of removal, but I feel that it would overall be a huge increase by the end. Fresh installs of the game would no longer require installing POL and updating it before updating the game. You could install and update FFXI without ever needing to sign in to an account. This would be heaven for anyone that has this game installed on more tha one system.
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07-11-2011, 01:22 AMGropitou
Who cares what POL could of been-should of been, bottom line its a useless series of time consuming screens delaying our entry into the game. Trash it ASAP.
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07-11-2011, 01:28 AMCatsbyOr at least condense it to a reasonable point.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gropitou
Security screen > main menu > game. -
07-13-2011, 10:19 AMInafking
Why is there even argument about this? No one uses anything in the POL viewer except for account maintinance and chat when the servers are down. It's unnecessary.
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07-13-2011, 05:04 PMRhianuIs there an argument? So far everyone seems to be agreeing that the PoL Viewer is indeed useless.Quote:
Originally Posted by Inafking
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07-13-2011, 05:51 PMtfun90
They updated the button graphics, what more do you want ;p