Classic Server

[Nyarlko]

The devs have already flat out said this is never happening.. Why won't this stupid idea die?

[Pixela]

Here is what will happen if Square made a classic server:

The game would become unprofitable and would close in a couple of years.

They would have to split resources between two versions of the game when it's only JUST able to be profitable as it is. It would mean less updates for the main version of FFXI, to work on a "classic server" and that would cause people again to unsub from the main version due to lack of content. The game already has a skeleton crew working on it, and they are supposed to stretch even thinner?

There is no mass army of people who want to play classic, it's really that simple. I'm on Asura, there are no people wanting to do old-school XP, if there were they would be shouting right now. Wow has 3-4 million subscribers, if only 1% of them want classic it's worth doing. That's not the case here.

This is like to getting a health scare from your doctor and then wanting to take on a 2nd mortgage on a new house the next day. We only recently got the all clear that Square want to keep FFXI running as long as possible now we goto this nonsense?

Wow can afford this, and wow has a reason to have a changed version (ffxi right now IS clasic if you don't do level cap quests and don't get trusts), FFXI DOES NOT.

https://gamerescape.com/2019/05/23/t...d-yoji-fujito/

[Sirmarki]

Why a "server"?

Personally, this is not something that interests me, however...

An opt in "mode" could be added into the current game and servers, kind of like an enhanced level sync system. This would offer that player, under that "status" a classic experience.

That would be a lot 'easier' to implement.

In Layman's Terms, a hypothetical situation:
Player on Asura speaks to a designated NPC;
Player is now in "Classic mode", and has a little icon above their head;
All content which existed in 'whatever is considered/established as classic' can ONLY be accessed, no 'modern content' can be accessed. EXP with this special status is limited to what it was in 'classic times'.
No need for additional servers, no need for paying attention to one 'classic server'.

[Alhanelem]

Why a "server"?

Personally, this is not something that interests me, however...

An opt in "mode" could be added into the current game and servers, kind of like an enhanced level sync system. This would offer that player, under that "status" a classic experience.

That would be a lot 'easier' to implement.

In Layman's Terms, a hypothetical situation:
Player on Asura speaks to a designated NPC;
Player is now in "Classic mode", and has a little icon above their head;
All content which existed in 'whatever is considered/established as classic' can ONLY be accessed, no 'modern content' can be accessed. EXP with this special status is limited to what it was in 'classic times'.
No need for additional servers, no need for paying attention to one 'classic server'.

It's been suggested many times- a simple feature that would allow you to arbitrarily level cap yourself without needing another person at the level you want to sync to would make it a lot easier for people to experience any content at its original level of difficulty and with the appropriate skills/gear for the time.

We already have level sync and also a level restriction status, so the back end mechanics for such a thing already exist. All we need is the ability to have these things whenever we want to have them. I honestly have no idea why we don't already have this kind of functionality. No special server would be needed.

[BST]

You can already play classically, start a new character and follow the old road to Lv75 without doing newer content for EXP bonuses, trusts and whatnot, just don't uncap your level, you could unlock trust just because you wont find enough willing party members to continue the extremely slow classic EXP way to Lv75. And when you get there, then what?


All they need to do is add new content in some shape or form to keep the game going.

[Questaru]

Please release 75 cap classic server SE, thx !!

[Alhanelem]

technically a classic server would be 50 cap, because it wasnt 75 until some time after rise of the zilart came out.

But no thanks. It wouldn't work well for this game because of how absurdly grindy it is compared to any other MMO, even classic WoW, and its just not famous enough. And I like the current game and wouldn't want even a small number of players to be taken from it. Besides, it was the community aspect that made the game more fun than it probably should have been, swapping stories and stuff in your 6 man EXP parties (something that basically no MMO has anymore) while you beat up on crab after crab and mandy after mandy. Unless it was massively successful beyond your wildest dreams, that community aspect just wouldn't be restored. Plus we've all beaten all the content before so it wouldn't be the same.

Funny enough in WoW classic there's a shocking number of people turbo burning through the content as fast as possible, not realizing it's not going to get any further updates once they reach the patch before burning crusade. So it's going to be a novelty that will wear off once it stagnates.

[Seish]

I don't agree with that and the fact this is continuing shows the want for something more classic. Just send C&D's to those servers and reign in the players who want more. Those that play on private servers will return to a classic and those who want both a classic and current can still do so. Seeing how alive this thread is goes to show the need for this to be looked into--and the discord between both sides--will help better understand the interest.

[Alhanelem]

I don't agree with that and the fact this is continuing shows the want for something more classic. Just send C&D's to those servers and reign in the players who want more. Those that play on private servers will return to a classic and those who want both a classic and current can still do so. Seeing how alive this thread is goes to show the need for this to be looked into--and the discord between both sides--will help better understand the interest.

A couple people on a barely-posted-on official forum doesn't show much of anything. The skeleton crew keeping this game running doesn't have the resources to develop a classic server, again nobody can really agree when classic is, and the game is too small (it was too small even at its biggest point) for it to be financially worth. All of the games that have done classic servers were far and away bigger than FFXI ever was and thus had big enough playerbases that the community split wouldn't significantly damage either side.

The number of people playing on illegal servers shows more, but again, most people already playing for free aren't going to want to pay up to do something they're already doing.

The point is also moot because this idea was essentially rejected by SE quite a while back. It is not going to happen, no matter how much you bump this thread.

[Seish]

Not really no. Your latter post contradicts the former. This game already has the hardware support, as it was a dev outspoken requirement if this game would be supported to 2021. Now that they have it, no hardware limitations that would have existed are no longer a constraint. They have all the resources there for it and without cost. As far as the fracturing that you keep venturing into, that's not valid either. Players can have both a 99 character and a classic one. If anything, that's an extra dollar for current players in SE's pocket on top of the 13 dollars a month for every returning character.

As far as it fizzling away is concerned, Ninja said that if a classic FFXI were released he'd play it 17 hours a day in a tweet a year ago with a plethora of likes and replies supporting his comment. And we know whatever Ninja does or goes, his huge following will follow. So it seems to me there is this opportunity and more so if SE were to sponsor this man to play. Now, I will then get into your last point that this game is stagnant on player growth and unless something drastic is done we will not be able to continue unless something is done. And while content may be a concern--though we won't know til after proposed classic comes out--the greater concern is to give fans of the game what they want and to increase revenue. That way, both classic players and current players like us will be able to enjoy it.