20th Anniversary suggestion: Open Source Final Fantasy XI?

[Dragoy]

I think a version of FFXI that is platform-independent (can be hosted on Windows or Linux operating system, on physical or virtual hardware) would be ideal.

As a Linux user since 2010 myself, yeah, this would be quite nice indeed. :]

Similarly, a version of FFXI where the POL client can be deprecated would be another boon for SE's loyal fan base.

I know it's probably beyond dated, and many will think it's silly, but I actually make use of the PlayOnline Viewer quite a bit. I tend to have it running at all times, and when I see friends online, I know to jump into the game myself if I'm not there already (very handy during the rare times I've been unsubscribed).

It also allows me to see if some friends of old have visited at times I'm AFK, and they can see that I am around still as well.

So with that said, I'm actually glad that it is still around.

[Gwydion]

As a Linux user since 2010 myself, yeah, this would be quite nice indeed. :]


I know it's probably beyond dated, and many will think it's silly, but I actually make use of the PlayOnline Viewer quite a bit. I tend to have it running at all times, and when I see friends online, I know to jump into the game myself if I'm not there already (very handy during the rare times I've been unsubscribed).

It also allows me to see if some friends of old have visited at times I'm AFK, and they can see that I am around still as well.

So with that said, I'm actually glad that it is still around.

I guarantee you're in the extreme minority if you think players want to continue to use the POL interface (or even a friend list feature). If you need proof, take a look at their FFXI Refriender system, it just uses Twitter's APIs ....lol.

[Alhanelem]

The game's code is heavily intertwined with Playonline. It depends on it for both certain front-facing features like the friend list etc. as well as backend features like account functionality (content IDs, etc)

[Neogon]

I admit I sometimes wonder why, other than licensing restrictions, dev studios or publishers don't outsource their code to allow it be turned open source when a game has long passed its "sell-by date". It's generally free labor & advertisement years after a game's original release, and definitely will generate some good publicity. However, it won't necessarily work in the case of an MMO that's still running and bringing in more cash since it'll just popularize private servers more (and I've played on private servers before and enjoyed them, so I'm not against them).

The game's code is heavily intertwined with Playonline. It depends on it for both certain front-facing features like the friend list etc. as well as backend features like account functionality (content IDs, etc)

The sad thing is how POL was seemingly not unlike an early version of Steam; ahead of its time. Read the other day about it. I'd like a Real Life world transfer to a universe where it worked out.

[Dragoy]

I guarantee you're in the extreme minority if you think players want to continue to use the POL interface (or even a friend list feature).

Oh I definitely don't think that, hence the "and many will think it's silly" part. ^^

But yes, like mentioned, it's got its tentacles pretty deep, and would no doubt require quite a bit of work to get rid of, but considering the topic, I'd consider nothing beyond the realms of possibility.

[Gwydion]

I sincerely hope we get a response from SE regarding the game's future, the 20th anniversary, the SquareEnix-Nexon relationship, as it relates to FFXI.

Please throw us a bone, SE!

[Alhanelem]

I admit I sometimes wonder why, other than licensing restrictions, dev studios or publishers don't outsource their code to allow it be turned open source when a game has long passed its "sell-by date". It's generally free labor & advertisement years after a game's original release, and definitely will generate some good publicity. However, it won't necessarily work in the case of an MMO that's still running and bringing in more cash since it'll just popularize private servers more (and I've played on private servers before and enjoyed them, so I'm not against them).



The sad thing is how POL was seemingly not unlike an early version of Steam; ahead of its time. Read the other day about it. I'd like a Real Life world transfer to a universe where it worked out.

As illustrated in a trailer for PlayOnline, it was originally going to have a lot more robust online functionality that wouldn't appear on consoles for a while after the PS2- there was to be a music player (which sort of exists but only plays a limited selection of built in background music tracks) and a lot of other features. The interface looked a lot more slick than it ended up being as well. In other words, even more ahead of its time than most people realize.

Instead, the games ended up hamstrung by it. There were a number of other playonline compatible games, but none other than FFXI and Tetra Master ever made it outside of Japan (supporting playonline at least). And all of those other games have since ceased operation.

[Beastorizer]

Q: Can’t you remake FFXI as a brand-new MMO and continue service?

A: MMORPGs were originally games that were played on PCs; however, we wanted to make this playable on the console and this was what started FFXI. Just like how we challenged ourselves when people voiced their concerns about a FINAL FANTASY MMO, we would like to continue pushing the boundaries of FFXI to release the game for iOS or Android devices in order to expand Vana’diel.


Q: Is there any possibility to release an offline version of the game?

A: We have talked about plans for an offline version several times; however, every time we start looking into the cost it is too high and we end up dropping the plan. We do want to make it available, but it is impossible to make the entire FFXI game something that is playable by one person, so we would have to take away specific parts. For these reasons we currently have no specific projects for this.

Yeah, I feel the Mobile game may be the big news. Also, it could mean the death and birth of XI. "Wanting to expand" seems akin to how they cutoff console support. Money can be made in a HD version of XI; perhaps the mobile game is just that?

The fact that this game has been in development for years, and not a peep is known other than some screenshots is strange....

Why so James Bond about the game? I would at least like for them to take some player suggestions and questions instead of being like "Here ya go!!!" At least a play test,beta/alpha.

[Alhanelem]

There's honestly not that much stuff that simply can't be done by one person. Most of the stuff that isn't would just require some swings of the nerf bat and that's about it.

[Dragoy]

Why so James Bond about the game?

Perhaps because it's not really mobile-only as originally announced? -.^

(Honestly, I'm not sure I'd like XI on Unreal, unless they put some effort into making the camera and characters move the same way they do in current XI. Little things. Of the mobile-only version I'm not interested at all.)

And then they also open-source it!