FFXI Remaster - Remake

[Dihlyte]

A lot of people do indeed want a remake. FFXI Reddit is a vastly more active community than the official forums.

I personally feel XI is....what it kinda is atm......

.........However, FFVII remake was made because that action -esque combat is more accessible than turn-based. So, this would be a reason I could see a FFXI remake. It would make XI accessible to more players because the combat would most likely be action based instead of .....whatever XI is lol........

Tab target lol?

If action RPG’s are more accessible, why are games like WoW classic and hardcore, and Baulders Gate 3 making so much more money than games like Stellar Blade, FF16, and the like?

Real gamers want harder more engaging games, and sales show it.

SE Is just slow to realize it. Yoshida even said action games are a thing, and they aren’t. Especially not easy action games like FF16.

[Dihlyte]

Since I’m here, I’ll say it more clearly for Square-Enix, and Naoki Yoshida:

Dear Square-Enix:

Stellar Blade is an action game. 1 million units sold.

Baulders Gate 3 is a turn based RPG: 10+ million units sold.

FF16 is an easy action game: 3 million units sold.

Elden Ring is a harder game: 25 million units sold.


Looks to me, like turn based games, especially if they are difficult, will sell well, as opposed as this idea that easy action games are “popular”

Lastly.

Minecraft has horrible graphics: 300+ million units sold.


No one cares about graphics, easy games, or action games.

[Alhanelem]

But yeah, the main problem with a remake is they would really have to at least partially update the combat systems to appeal to a new audience. If everything was left exactly as it is, well, it simply wouldn't sell.

[Alhanelem]

Since I’m here, I’ll say it more clearly for Square-Enix, and Naoki Yoshida:

Dear Square-Enix:

Stellar Blade is an action game. 1 million units sold.

Baulders Gate 3 is a turn based RPG: 10+ million units sold.

FF16 is an easy action game: 3 million units sold.

Elden Ring is a harder game: 25 million units sold.


Looks to me, like turn based games, especially if they are difficult, will sell well, as opposed as this idea that easy action games are “popular”

Lastly.

Minecraft has horrible graphics: 300+ million units sold.


No one cares about graphics, easy games, or action games.

I don't think the games you cited sold well specifically because of their difficulty. It's more just because they were exceptionally polished, excellent all-around experiences- This meant that people wanted to play them even if they weren't specifically looking for a hard game.

[Dihlyte]

But yeah, the main problem with a remake is they would really have to at least partially update the combat systems to appeal to a new audience. If everything was left exactly as it is, well, it simply wouldn't sell.

I’m not trying to argue here, but why?

The people who want FFXIV, have FFXIV. The people who want a FFXI style game, could/can play FFXI.

Why would they need to change anything except update the game to run more smoothly, and update the graphics to look more acceptable?

Honestly they don’t even “need” to touch the graphics. Just update the game so it runs smoother, and easier to install.

That alone would sell. It’s already profitable, make it easy to install, and such, and you got yourself something more profitable than what is already profitable.

[Dihlyte]

I don't think the games you cited sold well specifically because of their difficulty. It's more just because they were exceptionally polished, excellent all-around experiences- This meant that people wanted to play them even if they weren't specifically looking for a hard game.

If I ever tried Elden Ring, I would only ever buy it or play it because I heard it was difficult.

I would never buy it because it’s “an action game.”

Most people I talk to appreciate the game because it is difficult. That’s the appeal to my understanding, as is in my case personally.

Edit: also, we are completely glazing over the fact I mentioned “hardcore WoW” that literally is the whole point, and why hardcore WoW is popular. Because it’s a style of difficulty that is interesting and fun.

This is a very common and ongoing interest of gamers. Harder, more engaging gameplay games. Which was my whole point. Easy, simple games aren’t selling as well as more difficult and engaging games.


One of FFXIV’s biggest complaints is that it’s too easy. Naoki Yoshida himself the game is so easy and boring it literally puts him to sleep. It’s confusing to me that he would say that, and yet he is the developer of that very game. No one wants that, so why is he doing it? Makes no sense. Make a better game, and make more money.

[Alhanelem]

The people who want FFXIV, have FFXIV. The people who want a FFXI style game, could/can play FFXI.

The problem is the number of people that want this that aren't already playing XI now isn't a very large number. There's a reason why so many more people are playing FFXIV and WoW and other modern MMOs compared to FFXI. They're easier to understand and get into. FFXI is a wonderful game that is, sadly in more ways than one, beyond a lot of today's gamers.

[Alhanelem]

If I ever tried Elden Ring, I would only ever buy it or play it because I heard it was difficult.

I would never buy it because it’s “an action game.”

I mean, that's fine, but that's just you. And The people you say you know are people who are like you who are into that sort of thing. But Elden Ring and Baldur's Gate attracted way more people than simply people looking for more challenging games. These games h ad personality, they oozed quality, and both were excellent candidates for role play and other fun stuff. They both have way, way more to offer than simply a bit of challenge.

You can find all sorts of "easy" games that sell big numbers. Difficulty is just one factor out of many. More than one company tried to make a 'hardcore" MMO after FFXI and none were very successful. You can't just have difficulty for the sake of difficulty, it has to be the right kind, and it still has to be a quality package.

[Dihlyte]

That’s wasn’t my point, so I’ll simply restate my point for clarity to Square-Enix, as I would not like to debate or argue different points than my main point.

People who play video games instead of movies, are looking to enjoy the gameplay, not a “just a story.”

People who play RPG’s are looking for a deeper more engaging experience over regular video games.

RPG’s are not supposed to be simple or easy.

MMORPG’s more specifically are supposed to be intended for people who want an even bigger RPG, because they want to sink time into an engaging and challenging game.

If people want a simple easy MMORPG, that is what FFXIV is for.

Fans of FFXI should naturally want a harder more engaging, deep, and satisfying experience, as that’s why we play it. Because it is not FFXIV, because it is not simple, because it is not easy.

That’s why we play FFXI, and what we want from FFXI.

Making FFXI into anything it is not, would not satisfy the FFXI fanbase. It would be an insult to the people who have supported FFXI and SE through all these years.

Please SE respect your fans, and keep FFXI an engaging, satisfying video game that is interesting, creative, unpredictable, difficult, expansive, massive, meaningful, and everything else that FFXI represents.





TLDR:

Square-Enix made an anchovy pineapple pizza (FFXI)
People who want an anchovy pineapple pizza love it, and want to keep enjoying it.

Turning FFXI into a boring bland cheese pizza so more people "buy it" is an insult to people who enjoy something special, and takes away what makes FFXI, FFXI.

[Zenion]

The thing is, there has been a bit of a paradigm shift in game design since FFXI was released. Thanks to streaming and Youtube, there are as many people watching games as playing them. If you want a game to really take off now, it needs to be entertaining to sit and watch somebody else play, and FFXI is... well, not that. If you don't play FFXI, you're not going to watch someone else play it.

FFXIV is bigger and flashier, more going on on-screen to catch a viewer's eye, and it tries to be prettier with its glamours and its modern graphics. Raids are big, with the zoomed out camera so you can see the arena - because they paid for the whole room, they're using the whole room. It's much more streamable.

I think they would need to cater to that a little to make an FFXI remake that wouldn't just be needlessly spending money on an existing audience. I'm not sure how they could without changing the character of the game, maybe make animations more dynamic, or fix the "you cannot see the enemy" problem so fights can move around a bit more? Maybe give a "cinematic" camera mode players can choose to use, which gives that big scaled-out view of a fight, maybe give more visual telegraphing of major TP moves when a monster is supposed to be readying them? (Maybe host a server or two outside Japan so non-Japanese players can get to see monsters readying their TP moves before the damage from them is applied, as seems to be intended gameplay?)

And of course, in terms of just regular gameplay... nobody can say quests couldn't be better. I don't need every quest to tell me exactly what coordinates of what zone I need to visit like Seekers of Adoulin tended to do, but maybe when a quest has six steps that need to be completed in order, the quest log could tell me which step I most recently completed?

What FFXI really needs, though, is a tutorial. When I started playing, I was level grinding for probably two hours before I realized I started with equipment, and it wasn't equipped by default (on black mage! That was painful.) Just the basic controls are unintuitive enough that I've had people I tried to introduce to the game give up ten minutes in because they couldn't figure out how any of it even worked. First character on an SE account should get dropped into a tutorial zone to learn the basics of the game before bring dropped into a world that expects players to know everything and tries to punish ignorance.