So, how about some additions to the Dev team?

[Sp1cyryan]

Help help help I need an adult, or perhaps an SE financial adviser. That would most likely be more beneficial.

I am going to go out on a limb here and conclude that the Dev team at this point in the game are rather understaffed for the desires of the player community.

Anyone who has played this game for a long time has seen the obvious decline. The last expansion pack was in 2007 and if I can go out on a limb I would say Wings of the Goddess was the official marker to the age of reusing old content for new content.

Don't get me wrong I am not complaining and I am not against recycling. It makes perfect sense to save time, money, resources, etc on reusing certain things. I happened to love WotG as campaign is incredibly fun (imo) and the great quality of work put into the story line easily makes it my favorite in the game.

However, somewhere along the line this game has reached a point of seemingly just being short staffed. We have reached a point where important adjustments are about "balance", adjusting what exists several times over in a year in more often than not being in minor ways, and reusing every square inch of vanadiel. The headlines of update day announcements today were above the footnotes or even the footnotes.

Never before was the player base to be excited and entertained by "AoE damage of bosses in WoE will do less damage" or "Testimony drop rates have been increased". That was at the very bottom of an update day announcement and never even worth mentioning amongst all the juicy details that make us all happy to roam Vanadiel as it ever changes and grows.

Those are not bad things, but when it is most of what we have to look forward to since 2009 with the add on scenarios it honestly seems like our plate of rations seems to be getting slimmer and slimmer.

Personally I am fond of abyssea, and it can serve as a unique event for the life of this game with a minor tweak here and there every now and then. However, something like abyssea could really have been an opportunity for a new expansion. This game honestly could be much more appealing to new and old retired players with just that as well as obviously keep the current subscriber base happy for years (well, some people are never happy, but you know how that works).

Why does EverQuest 1 get four expansions since 2007 and Final Fantasy 11 gets zero?

TL;DR + Questions to the big cheeses:

• How understaffed is FFXI, and is the cost not worth the benefit of adding on to the team?
• Besides a decrease in staff over the years what are multiple serious obstacles that stand in the way of breaking new ground in FFXI?
• What obstacles stand in the way of a content filled expansion pack to FFXI?
• How much of an issue does the amount of data the PS2 HDD can hold pose? What happens if it ever becomes filled? Are those "PS2 is partly responsible for holding the game back" rumors true at all? If so, what becomes of the PS2?
  
  
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• (Random and unrelated) With the advent of the newer billing system and people using crysa. Could something like a 'Crysta Card' or a "Three months of FFXI card" usable for both FFXI and FFXIV (in the case of Crysta) be plausible to implement? You know, WoW has those cards at convenience stores and Walmarts it serves as decent advertising and a somewhat practical way to have people put in crysta or pay for FFXI over existing methods.
  Someone needed eyeliner and while I was in the checkout the idea just came to me so...

[Starry]

PS2 limitations to pretty much all your questions <.<

[Arcon]

PS2 limitations to pretty much all your questions <.<

None, to be precise.

[Tamoa]

• How understaffed is FFXI, and is the cost not worth the benefit of adding on to the team?
• Besides a decrease in staff over the years what are multiple serious obstacles that stand in the way of breaking new ground in FFXI?
• What obstacles stand in the way of a content filled expansion pack to FFXI?
• How much of an issue does the amount of data the PS2 HDD can hold pose? What happens if it ever becomes filled? Are those "PS2 is partly responsible for holding the game back" rumors true at all? If so, what becomes of the PS2?

I would love to get answers to these questions from SE.

[Runespider]

My guess is they will announce the new addon they are working on around the time GW2 and Tera comes out, since FFXI is at it's worst time ever right now they need something around then to try stop the bleeding of players that will want to try those due to sheer boredom. I can see Tera being the biggest problem for FFXI right now since it's endgame content is low-man friendly and it's just so damn fun to play.

[wish12oz]

Why does EverQuest 1 get four expansions since 2007 and Final Fantasy 11 gets zero?

Aren't there more people playing FF11 also? Now that I know this, I find it entirely unacceptable.

[Camiie]

It'd be nice if some folks above the dev team could see this. The ones who control the purse strings and dole out funds to the various divisions within SE. They need to take a look, not only at this thread, but the site as a whole. The customers are asking for fresh content and fixes to problems both new and old. You could say we're asking for more bang for our buck, but at this point we're not even getting the same "bang" we used to get for the same amount.

We aren't getting nothing, and many of us do appreciate what the devs are able to do for us to varying degrees. Sadly though it seems many of our requests are met with something like, "We'd like to be able to do that, but we don't have the time or resources to make it happen (or make it happen in a reasonable time frame)." The devs themselves admit they are short staffed. As someone in a similar work situation, I can certainly relate. I'm sure many of my fellow players can understand being overworked and understaffed. I know that at my job even one or two more people would make a world of difference. I also know that personnel is a huge expense, and good people can be hard to find.

Even still, I think the SE online division is a very important part of the company and certainly a worthy division to place a healthy investment in. As important as "normal" offline games, handhelds, mobile apps, etc. are there's something special about MMOs. They're a long term commitment from both the players and the developers. They are a much greater financial and emotional commitment than any one and done game purchase. If anything is a make or break proposition it is this. Making a bad game is one thing. Most gamers can forgive that. Screwing up something people have poured lots of time, money, and emotion into is quite another. You can easily turn your biggest fan into your worst detractor.

If SE wants to breed loyalty amongst its customers then they need to be loyal to us now and put their full faith and effort into this project once again.

[Starry]

None, to be precise.

Actually your ignorance of your own post is showing; PS2 limitations is pretty much in the top 3 reasons to this 'What obstacles stand in the way of a content filled expansion pack to FFXI?'. Good try though bro.

[Michae]

All the devs are on ffxiv and as I am canceling my ffxi in about 5 mins since i full time ffxiv and never play xi anymore anyway i thank you for that se ^^

much love

(pretty sad when that bomb of a ff title has grown in one year to be a better time than the much loved xi in its current state)

[Arcon]

Good try though bro.

What was I trying, "bro"? What is needed for a new expansion? Hard disk space and a willing development and production team. PS2 is no hindrance in either. By all means, show me how I'm being ignorant.