I don't find it funny.

[Alhanelem]

I "had" to re-subscribe just to take screenshots and verify the funny so I, for one, certainly found it all funny.

(I have been subscribed since 2005, but this was one of the few months here and/or there where I was not.)

These clearly did not take much time and/or effort to do (like the home points I imagine are basically a dat-swap), though yes, with the same effort and time they could have done a lot of requested things but... I'd imagine they decided not to do those things... yet.

I do agree with the bad timing though, unless it was on purpose (since it was before April 1st but it's a Saturday in places so...).

Remember, it was already April 1st in Japan. It isn't here yet, yeah. but this game runs on JP time.

[Tarmarkvar]

Such a great use of the limited resources that are constantly lamented.

When you screw up the actual update because you thought it would be cute to do this, don't forget to be extra sorry about it.

Are you for real? Do you not get that, other than the smashed homepoints, none of the stuff mentioned in the fake update notes was actually implemented? The resources it took to create this was a static web page. Most likely the post itself was generated by inputting values into a template. I would be surprised if this took more that 8 man hours (8 working hours divided up among some number of workers) to create, with most of that time being a 45 minute pitch meeting. The smashed telepoints were probably a single value in a configuration file or a database. Something like "point the home point resource to this image file instead of this one). I would bet anything that the home point thing will be automatically overwritten as part of their deployment process. Two weeks ago I had to make a hot swappable configuration file change to fix a bug, then I had to make the same change again last week after our regular scheduled deployment overwrote it.

How stupid do you think these experienced, professional programmers are that creating a web page and hot swapping some values is somehow going to mess up their development cycle?

[Tarmarkvar]

>We are removing most of the team from the game to work on something else, you'll get less content updates for the game you've played for 20 years. Also here is an april fools patch notes of lots of pretend updates two days after telling you that you're not getting any more soon"

People have posted hundreds of suggestions of things they would like changed, that don't even take long and it never happens. Yet they have time to make an npc have smoke trails.

Do you just not understand that, in software development, not all changes are equal? Just because you can implement one trivially easy thing does not mean that you can implement some moderately difficult thing.

[Alhanelem]

Do you just not understand that, in software development, not all changes are equal? Just because you can implement one trivially easy thing does not mean that you can implement some moderately difficult thing.

The shattered crystal thing has been done before anyway, they just flipped a switch essentially. The GMs already have the ability to change things in the game, that's how the player event support works. And maybe people don't realize it but that service is still available.

[Pixela]

The home point change was acceptable and it should of stopped there, the smoke trails behind an npc in sandy and Zeid being unable to move in cut-scenes was far far too much and it almost feels like mockery. What's next, Altana with a santa hat on at christmas? Promathia wishing everyone a happy halloween in cut-scenes? Why not? it's just a video game afterall right? : DDDDDD!!!!

This event aside I worry what this says about the future. FFXI is a far more serious mmorpg where people don't think of it as a video game first and foremost, and it's far more of a real place in peoples minds they grew up in from their teenage years and take seriously. When I think of XI I have a certain amount of reverence for it, it means more to me than the sum of its parts. This is why even though it's a 20 year old ps2 game, it means more to me than any modern mmorpg and I hold it above anything else I could swap to today.

Stupid garbage like this very much solidifies that yes this is a video game and nothing more. I fear Fujito has that mindset and has zero respect for the world and how people think of it at all.

This kind of childish rubbish feels like something a Ps would do, this is almost embarassing from a producer on a video game of this age and standing. Matsui would of never allowed this, he has more respect for the world he built.

I fear what comes next with someone like this in charge, he has no reverence for Vana'diel at all. I fear what the future brings, more "comedy"?, new content that breaks the 4th wall? spending our sub money on real life events for 10 people?

[Pixela]

The shattered crystal thing has been done before anyway, they just flipped a switch essentially. The GMs already have the ability to change things in the game, that's how the player event support works. And maybe people don't realize it but that service is still available.

Personally: I was already feeling depressed about what was said in the producer announcmnent, I was logged in and had near no drive to do anything at all that I normally do and was getting ready to logout. Then I zone and see a shattered crystal, do I need to point out the lore and what crystals mean in XI? It's such a bad timed "joke" on something that has a lot of meaning in the lore of the game so soon after this maintenance mode announcment.

When I first saw it I was trying to figure out what it meant for a few seconds, and because XI is such a serious mmorpg I thought it was a sign from the developers that the game is dying and all the crystals are broken.

Then I see the delivery npc in sandy, with loony tunes smoke trails.

[Rinuko]

April fools stuff = bad timing.

Both the patch notes and the smashed home points.

Sounds like you don't like fun. Must be real fun at parties :')

The home point change was acceptable and it should of stopped there, the smoke trails behind an npc in sandy and Zeid being unable to move in cut-scenes was far far too much and it almost feels like mockery. What's next, Altana with a santa hat on at christmas? Promathia wishing everyone a happy halloween in cut-scenes? Why not? it's just a video game afterall right? : DDDDDD!!!!

Sure. That would make a lot of people laugh. Not you obviously, fun-police.

[Pixela]

...........

[DoctooOkay]

I finally set up my forum account and it's just to say this: Y'all are being a bunch of sticks in the mud. Let the dev and production team have some fun, they work hard and all they ever see in this forum is people either griping about something in the game or demanding a "Classic Server".

[Danlmer]

Been playing this game for all but a few months after it started. I chuckled at the announcement, and enjoyed seeing the fun mods. The devs having fun once a year? No problem by me.