So let's say everyone who has had anything derogatory to say about SE's decisions or development cycle takes your advice and leaves.
*crickets*
Yeah.
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I also remember seeing something posted by Yoshi-p saying that after 1.18 the patch timeline will see significant improvements in speed, I'm looking for it right now.
EDIT: A little tidbit from the mouth of Yoshi-p
"1.18 has proven to be a time-consuming patch, but there’s a good reason for this. 1.18 is the momentous first bold step towards the ideal game that we’ve envisioned, and we hope our fans will be able to feel and appreciate the passion that went into its creation. We ask for your patience for just a little while longer."
That's out of the letter from the producer XII, in case anyone wasn't sure on his reasoning for 1.18s delays.
We are unfortunatly not privy to know what the guys have actually been working on. Hell they mentioned the last thing that needs actual polish was the dungeons...like 2 weeks ago.
So chances are they have been working on 1.19 for some time, what the patch entails will dictate the speed of the release. I'm expecting a 1-2 month cycle from here on out but I wont really hold my breath until we start hearing about 1.19.
This is a pretty major change in game mechanics coming in 1.18, so that would naturally be time consuming to balance, and then QA. Spending more time in QA may help avoid problems like...well, pick your problem from the launch, many of them could have been prevented with better QA.
I don't see what the problem is, Why care so much about the game right now? this is a perfect time to take a 6-9 month break, the game probably needs another 2-3 major patches before its even respectable.
I don't think the dev team is capable of doing work that they can wrap up by the end of a week or two weeks. I'm sure Yoshida has been riding them and all they are saying is "give us more time." I think the things we got quickly were the few people that could turn something around in under a week, but the rest of them are so accustomed to the FFXI development cycle that they can't break out of it. It will be a matter of whether their new leader can successfully break their habits or not.
The problem with this thread is that both sides of the coin are right. Side A is frustrated with the development cycle and rightly so. It has been almost a year and many of us have been max level since January meaning we have had next to zero new content since that time. I am not counting mid-level content because really, we want content at our level. Side B is also right though. Yoshi and his team are trying to turn around a game that was mis-handled in the first place, and developing content almost from scrap.
What Side A has to remember is that Yoshi has posted and stated that the development cycle for *new* content, from planning to implementation is about 6 months. This is a large part as to why it has taken so long for them to start pumping stuff out. The new Dev Team started in January. First they got the community's opinion in the 2 player polls. Then they assessed their new vision and new direction for the game. And now we are just starting to see the tip of the iceberg emerge. The patches from Jan - May have been things that the old team started and Yoshi teams finished. The things from Now - Forever, should be things that the new team is solely responsible for. Not all of it of course, as the existing dungeons were probably already in progress with the old team. Yoshi has already stated that he has multiple teams working on content side-by-side. That means that much of the work is likely in it's completion phases and that is why Side B is hoping that the update schedule will be accelerated from here on out. As they finish implementation, they will have more manpower to dedicate to other areas.
What Side B needs to understand is that FFXIV has had a bad run so far and people are jaded and frustrated. SE has to earn back the trust Side A.
But both sides needn't attack each other. We're all here to play the game after all. But we do need to be adult about it. Either it's going to happen or it is not. Complaints and criticisms is perfectly acceptable so long as it is constructive and reasonable. Optimism is fine too, so long as it does not spawn zealots in the community. The minute either side descends to attacking each other personally is the exact moment when a thread loses all relevancy.
The problem is that regardless of everyone's personal feelings, this game has to live up to the standards of a modern MMO. It doesn't have to do that now, that's not the point. Someday it will have to. That's the point.
And that's exactly my concern. I don't care about playing the game as it is. I care about the future prospects, and the problem is that 2-3 major patches will not be enough after 1.18. It still won't be up to par.
Whatever this forum might think is irrelevant. if there is no mass appeal, the game won't be left running for you alone.
I'm not frustrated. I'm not impatient. I just want the game to be a future success. The current development speed just won't be enough.