Next visual improvement: Status icons

[Alhanelem]

But what about the PS2 users?

Will somebody please think of the PS2 users?

No. 12345678

Still a waste of time to spend "tweaking" visuals when such horrid conditions with pet jobs still exist.

It's not a "waste of time." And doing this does not prevent them from addressing "horrid conditions with pet jobs and bla bla bla bla."

Please, give me a break. I'm sorry you had a bad day or whatever, but you're really being silly here. It doesnt matter what else they do, you're never going to be satisfied. Many people would like visual upgrades in addition to mechanical tweaks. Should they not get what they want just because you have this list of demands?

[Korpg]

It's not a "waste of time." And doing this does not prevent them from addressing "horrid conditions with pet jobs and bla bla bla bla."

Please, give me a break. I'm sorry you had a bad day or whatever, but you're really being silly here. It doesnt matter what else they do, you're never going to be satisfied. Many people would like visual upgrades in addition to mechanical tweaks. Should they not get what they want just because you have this list of demands?

Ok, here is a scenario for you.

Company has 500,000 of that country's currency to spend on improving their product. They want to keep their customers, because their product is on the decline in it's product life cycle. They know that there is one complaint that their current customers want changed. They instead spend half the money to make the box look prettier. Is that a waste of resource? Yes.

Now, I'm not saying that the example is Square Enix, but like everyone else, they have a specific budget for this game, and spending money to make the "box look pretty" is a waste when there are technical issues their paying customers have brought to their attention, or at least it would be brought to their attention if they actually read their own "forum" instead of picking one/two things that people have mentioned....

What exactly does the ascetic changes do to this game in terms of customer retention? Absolutely nothing! What would fixing known issues do to this game in terms of customer retention? Increase it by a marginal percentage, but it is still an increase! For any products on the way to an inevitable death, any retention should be the company's top priority!

But that is intermediate business knowledge here, most of you guys wouldn't know stuff like this.

[Alhanelem]

wall of text

I have a fair understanding of buiness. Please, stop trolling. What you think improves customer retention is entirely your opinion. In reality, any kind of improvement or adjustment. improves customer retention.

Improving the buff icons in particular goes beyond asthetics as many buff icons are ambiguous and some different icons such as HP or MP up/down are actually different but look almost the same to where it's hard to tell.

If the game looked less like it was made 10 years ago, it would gain more new players. People who know nothing about the game systems can't learn them effectively from screenshots and trailers, which are the things that woo people toward a game.

Regardless of all of that, this is a case where you can have your cake and eat it too. We can get our better buff icons and you can still get your fixes. Under your ideas and policies, these sorts of improvements that do get asked for will never happen, because there will always be issues to fix. Go play some MUDs if mechanics are the only thing you care about at all. They have percisely zero graphics, you get to use your imagination even!. Those of us who like video games would likes some better video to go with our game.

We can argue about resources all day, but the fact of the matter is just because you don't want something doesn't mean it shouldn't be implemented.

[Korpg]

Obviously Korpg is the best person to tell SE what to do. He obviously knows the inner workings of developing an MMO. Also he's so smart that he made up a new way to spell "Aesthetic".

Gimme a break. New status icons wouldn't kill anyone, and as someone said earlier, the people who make the textures are on a salary. They still get paid whether or not they do anything. They're not programmers. They don't do the same job as the people who adjust the game balance.

We are the best people to tell SE what to do. Not just me, but everyone. Why you ask? Because we are paying customers. Also, spelling is not my strong suit, so sue me.

I'm not saying that they won't kill the game, I'm saying that there are more important things to do than to make this game look pretty. Yeah, they may be on a salary, but could that money used to pay that artist go towards an additional programmer to help fix the coding? I'm not saying that they need to get rid of all artists, but they need to set priorities straight for a dying product. Who cares about how the title page looks? You spend a whole 2 seconds on it.

I have a fair understanding of buiness. Please, stop trolling. What you think improves customer retention is entirely your opinion. In reality, any kind of improvement or adjustment. improves customer retention.

Improving the buff icons in particular goes beyond asthetics as many buff icons are ambiguous and some different icons such as HP or MP up/down are actually different but look almost the same to where it's hard to tell.

If the game looked less like it was made 10 years ago, it would gain more new players. People who know nothing about the game systems can't learn them effectively from screenshots and trailers, which are the things that woo people toward a game.

Regardless of all of that, this is a case where you can have your cake and eat it too. We can get our better buff icons and you can still get your fixes. Under your ideas and policies, these sorts of improvements that do get asked for will never happen, because there will always be issues to fix. Go play some MUDs if mechanics are the only thing you care about at all. They have percisely zero graphics, you get to use your imagination even!. Those of us who like video games would likes some better video to go with our game.

We can argue about resources all day, but the fact of the matter is just because you don't want something doesn't mean it shouldn't be implemented.

I'm trolling because I disagree with you? I'm trolling because I have a different opinion on priorities when it comes to this product? I think you need to understand what an "internet troll" is.

I agree with you about any types of improvements help maintain customer retention, but making the title page nicer is not an improvement, it is a painting. Paintings don't do anything but make the area look better, they don't help write program codes or solve puzzles or do anything besides looking pretty. Like a trophy wife.

These improvements should be looked upon as "pet projects" by developers as something to do on their free time, hence not when they have better and more important things to do. A hobby, as you may call it. Not something to be considered and done before any major improvements, but with major improvements! Title page art improvements should be an addition to other major improvements like level cap increases or fixing jobs that need fixing. Not something that takes priority and has to be done for minor updates like this.

I'm sorry that we disagree, but as to reference you, stop trolling.

[Atomic_Skull]

Ok, here is a scenario for you.

Company has 500,000 of that country's currency to spend on improving their product. They want to keep their customers, because their product is on the decline in it's product life cycle. They know that there is one complaint that their current customers want changed. They instead spend half the money to make the box look prettier. Is that a waste of resource? Yes.

Now, I'm not saying that the example is Square Enix, but like everyone else, they have a specific budget for this game, and spending money to make the "box look pretty" is a waste when there are technical issues their paying customers have brought to their attention, or at least it would be brought to their attention if they actually read their own "forum" instead of picking one/two things that people have mentioned....

What exactly does the ascetic changes do to this game in terms of customer retention? Absolutely nothing! What would fixing known issues do to this game in terms of customer retention? Increase it by a marginal percentage, but it is still an increase! For any products on the way to an inevitable death, any retention should be the company's top priority!

But that is intermediate business knowledge here, most of you guys wouldn't know stuff like this.

Example doesn't fit because that's not how game development works. The artists are on salary and you'll spend as much on paying them no matter what they're doing. And they are artists not programmers so you can't just move the personnel over to coding.

[Korpg]

Example doesn't fit because that's not how game development works. The artists are on salary and you'll spend as much on paying them no matter what they're doing. And they are artists not programmers so you can't just move the personnel over to coding.

But you can fire the artists and hire more programmers.

It is called reorganizing your staff. All companies do it, including Square-Enix.

Why have 3 or more artists when they don't even do anything 90% of the time? One artist is enough for this game.

[Eric]

But you can fire the artists and hire more programmers.

It is called reorganizing your staff. All companies do it, including Square-Enix.

Why have 3 or more artists when they don't even do anything 90% of the time? One artist is enough for this game.

Sure, let's fire someone who could be designing the new material that's coming over the next year, just because you don't want the status icons to be updated.

Do you realize how stupid you sound? You have no idea how the FFXI team is composed. None of us do.

[Vicious]

Why have 3 or more artists when they don't even do anything 90% of the time? One artist is enough for this game.

Yeah, y'know, you're right; FFXI would be way better without new gear/weapon/furniture/item/spell/icon/npc/weaponskill/etc. designs for the rest of the game's life. With such brilliant ideas, why haven't they made you a dev yet?

[Unleashhell]

Ok, here is a scenario for you.

Company has 500,000 of that country's currency to spend on improving their product. They want to keep their customers, because their product is on the decline in it's product life cycle. They know that there is one complaint that their current customers want changed. They instead spend half the money to make the box look prettier. Is that a waste of resource? Yes.

Actually no it isn't. You go shopping for food, and companies will put on the packaging "New and Improved" and they not only change the product but change the packaging. Does it work? you bet it does otherwise companies wouldn't have been doing it for a century. Its all marketing to attract customers or keep current customers buying their product.

Doing subtle changes to the game such as icons, fonts etc helps step up the game visually. I know I like all the graphical improvements to the game and I am hoping to see a lot more. I do not understand how people can say the artists are doing nothing. Do you realize when you make new armor for instance, its not just ok this is what it looks like and bam its done. You have to create that armor on each race type, and then do the full motions of that armor such as running, casting magic, swinging a weapon. All of that takes time, they aren't just sitting around doing nothing. Ask anyone who does graphic artwork that has to wrap textures around a wire frame and they will tell you how long it takes.

Keep up the nice visuals SE!!