Letter from the Producer LIVE Part XXVIII Digest (2016/04/12)
Greetings, everyone!
We're pleased to present the full digest from the Letter from the Producer LIVE Part XXVIII! If you missed the live stream, or if you just want to watch it again (and again), check it out below!
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/V1pe9AnqRS8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
http://sqex.to/9Ut
*Don’t forget to select the 720p option to watch the video in HD!
«Q&A»
Classes and Jobs
Quote:
0:03:09
Q: Healers seem to miss their attacks quite frequently in dungeons released in Patch 3.2. Do you have plans to adjust healer accuracy?
A: Dungeons were created with the idea that your attacks would land on monsters without having to worry about accuracy. However, the accuracy requirements for the dungeons added in Patch 3.2 were set somewhat high. We're planning to reduce these requirements in an upcoming patch. As I've mentioned in the past, our plan is to avoid adding accuracy on healer equipment wherever possible, but we're aware there are many healers who would like to do damage while playing. We'll keep this in mind as we discuss accuracy requirements in the future.
Quote:
0:04:49
Q: What's the status on the glamours for summoner's egis?
A: We've finalized the specs for this system, but it will require a significant amount of resources to implement. Our plan is to release one each patch, and we'd like to begin implementation from Patch 3.4 at the earliest. We're still discussing which egi we should start off with, so please hang in there just a bit longer.
Quote:
0:05:25
Q: There are a lot of great gun designs in the game, but machinists often use Gauss Barrel and you can't really enjoy the original design. Can you implement a feature to hide the Gauss Barrel?
A: We've been receiving a lot of requests for this, so we'd like to insert a text command that will toggle off Gauss Barrel’s visual display, but only for the player using it.
Quote:
0:06:40
Q: Full parties with a scholar and an astrologian don't have a Mind party bonus, which makes it quite difficult for healing. Do you have plans to change the party bonus for scholar or astrologian?
A: While it's not too difficult for us to change party bonuses, there may be scholar and astrologian players who feel that their roles are weakened by switching this from a Piety bonus, so we'd like to hear more feedback from the forums about whether to change this or not. If there is a large demand for it, then we can look into this.
Quote:
0:08:17
Q: Is there any way to add a noticeable utility to the parry stat on tank equipment?
A: As of Patch 3.2 it's possible to meld materia into the new equipment sets, and we're aware that many tank players are not choosing parry when they are considering which materia to meld into their equipment, focusing on determination or critical hit rate instead. I’ve been discussing this with the development team, and they said that the parry calculation is based on a gradual curve, so even if players were to focus on parry, it wouldn’t have any noticeable effect because the rate at which enemy damage is mitigated would not necessarily increase. However, this is tied to large-scale system changes, and while I can't give an official comment just yet, we are looking into whether we can make adjustments in Patch 3.4, when the item level is increased, or around Patch 4.0.
Battle-related
Quote:
0:09:42
Q: Since the introduction of Alexander: Gordias (Savage) the number of parties for it in Party Finder seems to vary greatly depending on the World. Do you have plans to make it possible to recruit members from other Worlds?
A: We’ve noticed many players are using the World transfer service in order to clear Alexander: Gordias (Savage). We're also aware of the differences in Party Finder recruitment numbers on each World, which is why we are looking into whether we can create a new raid finder system. On a basic level, this raid finder would have the same function as the Duty Finder, but it would primarily address Savage raids with specific participation requirements.
For example, you would be able to select whether you wanted to go for practice or to clear it by checking a box. If you were going into a raid to practice, you would be able to select the beginning, middle, or end phase of the fight. While it has not been finalized, we're also considering a check for achievements to determine whether or not a player has already cleared the fight. We’re currently working on this system and we hope to have it ready by Patch 3.3. We've also been receiving a lot of requests asking if we can create a Party Finder that spans across all Worlds, but I’d like to save that topic for another day.
Quote:
0:12:21
Q: Did players clear Alexander: Midas (Savage) faster or slower than the development team had anticipated? I feel like the difficulty jumped up quite a bit in the second area.
A:The speed of players competing for world first in Midas (Savage) was just as the development team had anticipated. However, as I mentioned previously, the DPS checks for Midas (Savage) were easier compared to Gordias (Savage), but the settings for equipment with lower item levels makes it challenging, so many DPS characters were using advanced materia melding. In exchange for making the DPS checks in Midas easier, we set the boss damage to be a bit more severe. That being said, I think players’ overall run will go more smoothly if they try melding grade V vitality materia to their accessories.
When we observed the race for world’s first clear for Burden of the Son (Savage), we noticed that players who were struggling with the intensive damage from the boss began to use grade V vitality materia melds. I suspected they would clear it the next day, and sure enough, the world’s first group emerged victorious.
In regards to the Cuff of the Son (Savage), we're aware that players have been having difficulties, and I think one of the contributing factors to this is that the Arm of the Son (Savage) appears less difficult. The Cuff of the Son (Savage) is an area where you need to defeat four bosses in a row, although we consider this a single boss with four different forms and each is separated into phases. However, because each boss has unique mechanics and heavy damage output, there are a lot of instances where players need to redo the entire fight due to a single mistake.
While there are exceptions, what the development team had in mind was that players would complete the Fist of the Son (Savage) and the Cuff of the Son (Savage), obtain the items for those areas, and then challenge the Arm of the Son (Savage) after. That being said, I’ve been in discussion with the development team about adjusting the damage output in the Cuff of the Son (Savage). The major concern here is that the difficulty of the Cuff of the Son (Savage) and the Arm of the Son (Savage) would be reversed. These adjustments to the Cuff of the Son (Savage) have not been finalized just yet, so please stay tuned for follow-up information.
Quote:
0:15:34
Q: To accompany changes in Patch 3.2, FATE spawn times have been reduced for FATEs related to the beast tribe daily quests. However, the spawn timing for "What a Boar" and "Quenching the Flame" seem to be longer than others. Please reduce the spawn time for these FATEs!
A: While we have made adjustments to the four FATEs associated with the Sylph, Amalj'aa, Kobold, and Sahagin quests, the only FATEs where the changes were really noticeable were Kobold and Sahagin. This is because two of the FATEs for each tribe take place in parallel, so the frequency for both increased. However, the Slyph and Amalj'aa FATEs are tied into three other FATEs, so the wait time may seem longer. FATEs are integrated into a very complex system, so any revisions to that system take quite a bit of time to process. But we'll continue to look into this and make adjustments as necessary.
Quote:
0:16:45
Q: I'm having a hard time obtaining the orchestrion rolls from the Crystal Tower raids. We have to roll between 8 people, and because these items are used as crafting material, there's demand even for those who have already obtained them before. Please adjust the number of obtainable rolls from the chest!
A: Looking at market history data for the orchestrion roll that can be obtained from the Crystal Tower on each World, there are a significant number of Worlds where it hasn't even been put up for sale, so we'd like to make adjustments so that it's a guaranteed drop. The number of drops is still being worked on, but we can guarantee that at least one scroll will appear in the loot.
This Letter LIVE is focused primarily on questions about Patch 3.2, so we aren't covering much new about future updates. But since we're on the topic of 24-person raids, I brought a picture of the next part of the Void Ark that will be implemented in Patch 3.3. The Patch 3.3 Special will take place during Niconico Chokaigi, so please look forward to it!
* The video introduces some pictures of the next phase of the Void Ark content.
Quote:
0:20:06
Q: I'm excited for Season One of the Feast to start, but I'm worried that certain jobs will become stronger or weaker with the adjustments that take place in Patch 3.25. Will Season One begin as planned from Patch 3.25?
A: The other day I posted the adjustment plans for the Feast, but we'll be making the following adjustments in Patch 3.25.- Make adjustments to reduce stalemates in 8 on 8 matches.
- Remove walls from the arena's center in 4 on 4 and 8 on 8 matches.
- Reduce the amount of HP the adrenaline box has.
- Adjust the spawn rate and location of the offense and defense kits.
- Balance adjustments for each job.
Additionally, we've been receiving a lot of feedback that machinist's burst damage is too high, so we're planning to make changes to this. In regards to match-making, the rating range was wider for the pre-season and formed on an algorithm that totaled the team’s strength. Therefore, there were many cases where higher rated players were matched with lower rated players. We were able to pull data for how quickly players increased their rating, so we will make changes to the algorithm based on that data. However, these adjustments will not be implemented in Patch 3.25. We’re planning to kick off Season One about two weeks after we make the initial changes and take a look at the feedback.
That being said, we hope to take your feedback into account as much as we can to preserve balance before commencing with the season.
While unrelated to the Feast, we decided that Patch 3.25 wouldn’t be pushed back because we'll be implementing the next phase of the Anima weapon quest. We're also planning to add more storyline to the Anima weapon series in Patch 3.3, and it'll be possible to change your weapon's secondary stats at that time.
We'll be proceeding with a system similar to that of the alexandrite that was needed to create Zodiac weapons, but it will not involve materia. Just like the initial stage of the anima weapon quest, we'll be preparing several avenues for obtaining the necessary items, so you can choose a method that suits your preferences. The weapon enhancements coming in Patch 3.3 will make them comparable to weapons affixed with grade V materia.
Here are some examples of the anima weapons in Patch 3.3.
* The video shows off illustrations of anima weapons.
Quote:
0:27:17
Q: A collaboration event with Phantasy Star Online 2 has been announced in Japan. Will anything from that game be featured in FFXIV?
A: First off, thank you to all of the PSO2 players who've been discussing what may be implemented in FFXIV. However, we haven’t decided what we'll be doing for the collaboration event. Work on FFXIV is done with a schedule planned far in advance, and we haven't been able to fit it in just yet. Based on feedback from PSO2 players, the FFXIV development team would also like to work on returning the favor. Since we've determined that the collaboration period would have to be extended due to the schedule, we decided to first announce that Odin will make an appearance in PSO2. We'll be making a follow-up on the collaboration, so please look forward to this.
Gathering & Crafting-related
Quote:
0:29:04
Q: During the 20th Letter from the Producer LIVE, you explained that a specialist system will be put in the game in order to provide balance for different players looking have options to play in various ways. However, there are now specialist recipes which require advanced melding, and the skill rotation for specialist actions has become much more complicated. It feels like the threshold for becoming a specialist has made it more difficult than before for players to approach crafting. Do you have plans to make adjustments, so more players can enjoy crafting?
A: Players couldn't craft items unless they leveled all crafters to 50 and acquired gear for them, which I said is a bit extreme. To address this, we implemented the specialist system so that you can craft items even when focusing on classes of your choice. However, between patch 3.0 and patch 3.2, we received some complaints that we were a bit too lax with these changes, and I feel that top crafters should be given favorable treatment. As for specialist recipes, the specialist restriction will be removed for older items with each major patch, so crafting shouldn’t be too difficult so as long as you're not trying to craft the newest items.
Also, in patch 3.3, we plan to raise the item level cap for Disciples of the Hand. I realize there may be mixed opinions about this, but we will be introducing a new set of equipment that can be shared between classes. Think of this as preparation for the new crafted gear sets coming in Patch 3.4. Naturally, in order to make the shared Disciples of the Hand equipment in Patch 3.3, the gear you're using now will come in handy, so it won't go to waste. We'll also be updating red scrips.
* The video introduce images of the new Disciples of the Hand equipment that will be implemented in Patch 3.3.
Quote:
0:33:06
Q: Do you have any plans to add materia that can be used by the Disciples of the Hand as rewards for beast tribe quests?
A: Crafting materia won’t be available as a reward from the Ixal beast tribe quests, but we will be adding new avenues to obtain grade IV materia for crafters in Patch 3.3. We're still making adjustments to this, and I'll discuss this further during the Patch 3.3 special.
Quote:
0:33:58
Q: I haven't leveled any Disciples of the Hand classes yet and I always ask my friends to meld materia, but they feel bad failing advanced materia melds over and over again. Do you plan on adding an NPC that we can use for advanced materia melding requests?
A: We've actually already created a system for melding materia into an open equipment slot via NPCs, but I feel the advanced melding system is more suited towards making a request to a player who's leveled the required Disciple of the Hand class. We'll look into implementing it for regular melding since there are often a lot of equipment updates, but we'd like to see more feedback on the forum in regards to advanced materia melding.
Quote:
0:35:23
Q: I'm really happy that you implemented a system for switching HQ items into NQ items, but I'd be even happier if we could do this for multiple items at the same time.
A: Having a process that can turn a large amount of data into a different item with a single command opens the risk of data corruption in an MMORPG. It would need to check the items one by one, and there is also the possibility that it could cause the server to crash, so we'd like consider this very carefully. If we can improve upon this for the sake of convenience, we would.
Quote:
0:36:20
Q: In Patch 3.2, legendary nodes were introduced and grade 5 carbonized matter can now be obtained from unspoiled nodes. However, GP doesn’t recover fast enough if we're gathering red scrip items at the same time. I would like to use more cordials to gather, so can you please consider reducing their recast time?
A: We're aware that a large amount of GP is being used, and the development team is considering shortening the recast time of cordials. Previously I was talking about the Disciples of the Hand equipment update, but we will also be adding new equipment for Disciples of the Land as well in Patch 3.3. This equipment will be the last for Disciples of the Land and Hand in the Patch 3.x series.
Quote:
0:37:25
Q: I have a lot of love for the weapons that I enhanced myself, namely the Zodiac and Anima weapons. I think it would be fun to be able to enhance armor in the same way, so do you have any plans to introduce something like Anima armor?
A: We haven't made any decisions as to whether or not we will do this, but the development team has been talking about something like this for a future patch series, but not for 3.x patches. We'd like to hear your thoughts on this.
Free Company-related
Quote:
0:39:59
Q: The number of members in my free company have increased, so I've been thinking about buying a new L-size house, but I'm wondering if I should wait for the moving system. Could you tell us about this feature and when we will see it in game?
A:Just as I mentioned on a previous occasion, we'll be adding land in Patch 3.3, and we're aiming to have apartment-style housing in Patch 3.4. The moving feature will come after that. As part of our future plans, we'll be making enhancements to our current server structure to support things like housing and expansions to the Armoury Chest.
Quote:
0:41:20
Q: Could you add an option to listen to music from the orchestrion as regular background music instead of with 3D sound? Also, do you have any plans to add a shuffle feature and add more songs from previous FINAL FANTASY games?
A:
Quote:
Regular background music instead of 3D sound
It's difficult for us to address this right away. As for the reason why, I will speak to the Sound Director Masayoshi Soken and have him post about this on the forum in the near future. However, we will be making adjustments to the 3D sound to address the problem of some songs being hard to hear.
<a href="http://sqex.to/y2H">Read Soken's comment.</a>
This is currently in development. We’d like to continue to add features like this as we go.
Quote:
Adding songs from other FINAL FANTASY games
It's difficult for us to add songs that are not used in FFXIV, but it might be possible to add these in as optional items.
Questions received in real-time
Quote:
0:44:41
Q: Do you have plans to sell the Chinese-themed clothing which is sold exclusively for Chinese servers globally?
A: We're trying not to add too many optional items for sale, but if there is enough demand for this, as there was with the Lightning gear, we'll consider it.
Quote:
0:45:35
Q: Could you please make it so the actual orchestrion roll items will stack? I would like to distribute them to my free company members, but they fill up the company chest.
A: I don't think you're able to stack items which have to be used individually. I would need to check back with the dev team regarding this, so we'll follow-up on it in the future. If stacking can be easily processed, we'll do this.
I was planning to show an image during the gatherer-related questions, and forgot to show this one.
* The video introduces a picture of what is being referred to as a "treasure hunter dungeon."
We're planning to introduce a dungeon, which is currently being referred to internally as the “treasure hunter dungeon.” Maps in Patch 3.3 may reveal an entrance to a dungeon instead of a chest. If players are lucky enough to reach the deepest part of the dungeon, they will be able to reach an area filled with treasure chests. It will be a new feature, but it won’t involve any difficult battles. While deciphering timeworn dragonskin maps, if you happen to unveil an entrance to the dungeon, you can shout and gather friends to enter it. We should be able to give more in-depth details next time, so please look forward to this!
Story-related
Quote:
0:48:52
Q: The Hildibrand quests in Patch 3.2 were really interesting. I'm also really interested in hearing when we can play the continuation of the other side quests such as the St. Endalim Scholasticate and the Delivery Moogle series.
A: We just had a meeting last week about the scholasticate quests, and we're working towards starting a new chapter from Patch 3.4. We’ll be adding Hildibrand quests in each patch. We're aware that there was feedback mentioning that the Hildibrand quests this time around were short, so we told the team in charge to try their best to expand upon them. As there are a lot of other side quests right now, we do not have any concrete plans for the Delivery Moogle quests at the moment.
Quote:
0:50:20
Q: Sephirot does not directly influence the main scenario quests, unlike previous primals. Does this mean the Warring Triad’s story is going to be expanded upon separately from the main scenario?
A: While the Warring Triad’s story is separate from main scenario, elements from main scenario, such as the Garlean Empire, will appear in the plot. We thought we would separate the storylines so that players would be able to challenge these trials early on. However, elements from the storyline of the Warring Triad will also be involved in the main scenario in the future.
General
Quote:
0:52:35
Q: The number of attractive rewards available in the Gold Saucer has increased, but there’s not enough MGP divvied out to buy them all. Do you plan on increasing the amount of MGP rewarded?
A: In Patch 3.25 we will be increasing the amount of MGP rewarded for the challenge log. We will also be making an extensive update to chocobo racing, which will introduce challenge races against NPCs. A hefty amount of MGP will be rewarded from these challenge races, so please give it a try!
Quote:
0:53:54
Q: Previously, I read an interview where Yoshida mentioned that Fenrir is listed as one of the mounts that will fly. Are there any other existing mounts that will also become able to fly?
A: Fenrir will be able to fly in Patch 3.3. It’s still in development, but I requested to have it freeze the air and run on top of it to “fly.” After this is finalized, we're looking into the three mounts which you can obtain from the tank achievements. It'll require a lot of resources to release all three at once, so please be patient. We’re also planning to introduce a new flying mount in Patch 3.3. This is one of the cotton-like plants you can find in the Churning Mists. This mount will also glow during the night.
* The video introduces a picture of the new flying mount.
Quote:
0:56:31
Q: In a previous Letter LIVE, you mentioned a new feature that would let us make our own platoons. Can you please tell us how it's coming along?
A: There were some setbacks in the planning stage, but we're expecting to have this ready for Patch 3.4 as of the current schedule. However, I cannot make any promises as to whether they will be able to enter dungeons alongside you at the time they are added to the game. We're also planning to unlock the first lieutenant rank for Grand Companies at the same time. These ranks will not be ready for Patch 3.3, although there will be new Grand Company equipment.
* Yoshida mentions second lieutenant rank in the video, however the rank that will unlock at the same time as platoons will be the first lieutenant rank.
* The video introduces a picture of the new Grand Company equipment.
Special Guest Section
Guest: Lead UI Artist Hiroshi Minagawa
Minagawa has worked on the following games:
Magical Chase, Ogre Battle, Tactics Ogre: The March of the Black Queen, FINAL FANTASY Tactics, Vagrant Story, FINAL FANTASY XII, Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together, FINAL FANTASY XIV.
Quote:
1:12:56
Q: What kind of work does a lead UI artist undertake?
A: Minagawa: In general we're known as UI designers or UI planners. In FFXIV, I carry out tasks as both a designer and a planner. The role differs between the start of the game development and when you are in the middle of development. As a UI planner, my first job is to receive the overview from the producer and plan a structure which is compatible on different platforms as well as a multitude of languages. I also create mockup images for the game so I can share common visual features with the staff who will work on the project. As a UI designer, I create the title logos, as well as each of the patch logos.
Quote:
1:15:46
Q: Is there anything you would like to mention to Yoshi-P right now?
A: Minagawa: Please take care of your health. Our desks are near each other and I know he's always working late.
Yoshida: I knew I wanted to work together with Minagawa and this is what fueled my motivation at Square-Enix. But when I took charge of FFXIV as producer and director, I wasn’t able to work alongside him. I remember during the process of transitioning from FFXIV 1.0 to A Realm Reborn, the dev team members were deciding on their seating arrangements, and Minagawa brought his own desk near mine, saying he wanted to be assigned next to me.
Quote:
1:17:25
Q: What user interfaces in other MMORPGs have impressed you?
A: Minagawa: In terms of the default UI where no add-ons are being used, I would have to say RIFT and ArenaNet's Guild Wars 2, two titles released after Blizzard’s World of Warcraft. Both of these titles were released around the time that FFXIV was being reborn, so to speak, and they served as great references. There are a lot of commonalities in terms of visual aspects and features in an online game, and I have a lot of respect for developers that challenge themselves with new content.
Quote:
1:18:31
Q: There are many MMORPGs out there, but is there anything you had trouble developing to make FFXIV stand out?
A: Minagawa: I believe it is critical to create a standard interface for the MMORPG for PC users. However, we still have to consider how to make the controls gamepad-accessible for those who primarily play console games. I've had the most difficulty combining the needs of both types of players into a single UI. Because this is a numbered FINAL FANTASY game, we've developed the UI so that it's easy for those fans who want to play a new FINAL FANTASY console title even if they have never experienced an MMORPG. We’ve been adding a variety of new functions to the game for every patch, and we're aware that some of these are a little overwhelming for new players. Much like the Hall of the Novice in Patch 3.2, we’ve been working on a feature for new players in Patch 3.3 that will make it possible to optimize their equipment.
* The video introduces a video illustrating the “Recommended Gear” command.
We've added a "Recommended Gear" button next to the Gear Set List button in the Character window. Pressing this button will list the best gear available in your Armoury Chest which you can then equip.
Yoshida: There are two reasons for why we wanted to implement this feature. The first is that when compared to other new games, there are a lot of different gear slots in FFXIV, and we wanted to make it so you could update your gear sets easily with a single button since there are often cases where players progress through the game without updating their equipment. The second is the variety of gear in FFXIV. With so many different types, it may be difficult to tell which specific piece should be worn. Even so, I think the definition of “optimal” may vary greatly among our hardcore players. For instance, some players will consider secondary stats over item level when equipping accessories. This is something we would like you all to keep in mind for this feature.
Quote:
1:23:19
Q: Picked up a question from Yasumi Matsuno (game designer) on Twitter.
Yoshida, what happened to that text command I asked for when we went out drinking last year? Add a new text command (ex: <targethp>) to display a target's HP in chat. You mentioned you would ask Minagawa, but can I have an update?
A: Minagawa: I can’t answer right away, so I will look into this once I get back to the office.
Quote:
1:25:30
Q: Would you like to do research with UI/UXs designed for VR games? Or are you already working on this?
A: Minagawa: I have an interest in playing VR games as a hobby, but whether or not to implement it into FFXIV’s UI is a completely different story. Though if it’s possible to make a limited VR game within FFXIV, I'd like to challenge our team to do it.
Quote:
1:27:21
Q: In a previous Letter from the Produce LIVE Yoshida talked a little about a double cross hotbar, but I would like to know what this is.
A: Minagawa: The "double cross hotbar" was the internal development codename and I never thought it would become the official name. I was a bit worried that announcing the name ahead of time would raise expectations too high, but I brought along a video of the double cross hotbar currently in development.
* The video shows the double cross hotbar.
The "double" in double cross hotbar refers to double-clicking. By quickly pressing the R and L triggers on the game pad twice, another hotbar will appear. The way this is used won't be much different to those of you familiar with hotbar cycling, but the double cross hotbar is one step faster in returning to the original. However, after having a lot of testers internally test this feature out, there was a 50-50 split between those who would use it and those who wouldn't, so we're making further adjustments to make it more convenient. We're aiming to implement this feature in Patch 3.4.
Yoshida: I think the double cross hotbar will be useful for actions with long recast times, but makes it possible to keep those actions you absolutely need.
Quote:
1:30:53
Q: Could you tell us what you can about the progress of add-ons?
A: Minagawa: I apologize, but development has been postponed.
Yoshida: It’s being postponed because the major concern is what to do about DPS meters. If we were to implement the add-on system in its current form, I fear that there would be arguments about having or not having a DPS meter. Due to this, the addition of a DPS meter is still pending. We're currently discussing add-ons that would allow you to make design changes such as adjustments to the UI or changing skins.
Minagawa: We were considering implementing add-ons roughly a half-year after the launch of A Realm Reborn. At that time, we had been thinking of implementing add-ons for the PC and then adding the same features to PS3/PS4 as part of the core system. However, we determined that it would be difficult to add the system itself to PS3/PS4 due to a lack of space.
Our biggest concern is adding this for the PC version only would result in functionality differences between platforms. So we've been delaying the feature. This is not to say that the plan for add-ons has been abandoned, but we'd like to prioritize adding official systems to the game instead of add-ons for the time being.
Quote:
1:33:12
Q: I've been playing more PvP lately, and it's a lot of work to switch between PvE and PvP hotbars every time. Can you please consider registering hotbars for PvP and PvE individually?
A: Minagawa: We've had the same feedback come up internally as well, but having two types of memory for every job is an extremely difficult process to accomplish. However, we're looking to see if there is a different method for switching. Since it's already possible to switch hotbars using the macro system, the development team is working to make use of these macros easier. We've also been receiving comments that players would like to constantly change their allocated PvP action points, and we're creating a system that would allow you to save multiple sets that can be loaded any time you wish. We're aiming to implement this in Patch 3.3.
Quote:
1:35:52
Q: With the number of actions and jobs increasing, I've filled up all my macro slots. Do you plan on adding more macro space? Also, there are a lot of macros I want to make that exceed 15 lines. Will you be increasing this limit in the future?
A: Minagawa: We've just finished checking whether we could change the macro system from its core structure. While it will take a significant amount of time, we're planning to make adjustments. At the moment, there are 100 macros for a single character; however, we are thinking about changing this so macros are shared between multiple characters—meaning that it will be possible for Character A to use the same macros as Character B. Along with this, we've been looking into increasing the macro lines past the current 15 line limitation, but since we’re concerned with bot-like usage, I can't say the specific number of lines.
Quote:
1:38:30
Q: Would it be possible to implement a feature to store several patterns for HUD layouts as favorites? I want to be able to change the layout according to job.
A: Minagawa: We're working on this now, and aiming for Patch 3.3 implementation. We're going to add a save button to the HUD layout mode so you can save your settings. We're thinking of making three sets you can save, and making it possible to switch between the layouts via a new menu, or through a macro, giving players the option to switch layouts when switching gear sets.
Quote:
1:40:42
Q: I play on a gamepad, but with the new actions added at level 60, I'm having a tough time finding space to place them. I'm assuming we'll eventually reach level 70 and 80, so I think it's going to be even more difficult when there are more skills. Can you look into addressing this in some way?
A: Minagawa: We're also concerned about this. The double cross hotbar we introduced earlier is one of several measures we will take to address this. However, we believe using this at all the time could prove difficult. We would like to keep the next expansion and the actions to come in future in mind for this. This is something I've been discussing with Yoshida early on.
Yoshida: If we were to add more actions, it’ll become near impossible to use all of them. Although it hasn’t been decided, we're thinking of various approaches to this issue such as changing the system to where you select the actions, including existing ones.
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1:43:01
Q: There's a display limit in 24-man raids such as Crystal Tower, and Void Ark, so there are times where I can’t see the DoTs I put on the target. Can you make it so my own debuffs display on the focus target?
A: Minagawa: We’ll look into this. We didn't know what kinds of actions would be added in the future so we squeezed in as much information that can be displayed during a battle as possible. Now that we have a better understanding of how much space we have, we believe we can increase the amount of information displayed, so please give us a little more time for this.
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1:44:27
Q: I want to glamour equipment I use on multiple jobs on a job-by-job basis. Do you plan on implementing a feature to do this?
A: Minagawa: Unfortunately, it is not possible. This would require us starting from scratch, or developing an entirely new system. Inside the item data, there is one section which stores information on which graphic to use, and this data can only store one piece of information.
Yoshida: This is not to say we won't do it at all. However, doing so with the current system would require rewriting data for several thousand items, which may lead to bug-related issues. Therefore, even if we were to do it, we would need to come up with another method.
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1:46:42
Q: In quests (in the Japanese version), only the player character’s name comes up in alphabet letters, and it looks out of place. You previously mentioned that you would like to consider registering a name which can be used only for quests, but during that time, you had many tasks at hand and weren't sure when this could be implemented. Has there been any progress on this?
A: Minagawa: We did look into it, but decided to not do this. Character names vary from player to player, and dialogue boxes utilize syntax such as <player> to call up the data containing character names. This data is used not only for dialogue boxes, but also for name plates and chat windows. Changing this would complicate the process, and could potentially lead to confusion for players as well.
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1:49:03
Q: Previously, the Valerian equipment from Tactics Ogre was put into the game, but do you have any plans to add equipment from Vagrant Story?
A: Minagawa: The Valerian series equipment, which is based on Tactics Ogre, was quite simple to design as the original game was pixelated--it could easily it fit inside the world of FFXIV. Vagrant Story is an old game, and many people may not know it, so I've brought an image.
* The video introduce characters from Vagrant Story.
The image you see here is the main character and his rival. As you can see, the rival is bare from the waist up, and you can see the main character's behind from the back. When this game was released, we used PlayStation’s polygons to somewhat hide it, but if we were to reproduce this equipment with the quality of PlayStation 4, we’re a bit worried that this type of visual may lead to various problems.
Yoshida: We can adopt certain pieces of these outfits, so we’ll consider it if it passes the ethics check.
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1:51:59
Q: My Armoury Chest and inventory are always full. Do you have plans to expand the amount of items we can hold?
A: Minagawa: We have begun looking into this closely to see how we can make this possible. We're discussing with Yoshida on how we can expand them without losing game performance. It will require more time, but we do expect to increase inventory space.