Questions and Feedback on the Future of FINAL FANTASY XIV

Regarding the handling of re-development and communication before transition to new client

In your outline it seems that a lot of items being re-developed are finished or being worked on as we speak (such as character system and the chat system). Since it will take until the second half of 2012 for us to experience these items ourselves, what plans, if any, do you have to present said items to the players in more detail before the transition to 2.0 takes place?

These changes look astounding SE, kudos to Yoshi-P and the dev team for getting us set on the FFXIV we were due at launch. While I am happy to pay to play here soon, I do ask that we get a better system than click and buy to do that with. Either paypal or a direct account billing system with SE would be a much better option. The changes look amazing guys, I really can't wait.

Oh, oh. I got another:

What are your long term plans regarding the PS3 and PC versions, so as not to be forced into a position where the PC version suffers due to "PS3 limitations?"

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Originally Posted by Quintalian

What grabbed my attention more than all the amazing revamps and additions, was the idea that the story quests that are available now will no longer be available after the 2.0 reboot. Will post-reboot new players experience any of the existing main scenario or will it be entirely redone? Would there be new introductory scenes for each nation?

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^ This.

And I'd like to know if players will be able to change their race and look once the new genders and character creation are avaliable. Or will people who'd like to change the appearance/gender of their character have to create a new one and redo everything (level up DoH, DoL, DoM and DoW) they achieved in the past?

Take my money.

Take -all- of my money.

Definitely willing to pay for front row tickets to the apocalypse, myself. I can totally understand if others aren't, that's why you can just quit playing until after the Seventh Umbral Age starts.

Also, I really want to see optional, voluntary level caps being figured into the new system! (Or, hell, non-optional, non-voluntary level caps; I want to be challenged by these new instanced dungeons, not roll through them at level 50!)

Dev team are my heroes. <3

I'm very happy to stay, and pay.

1) Do you intend on releasing any more concept art this year?
2) Will player housing be a quest/achievement goal or in place when you start the game as a new player?
3) Will we be able to populate housing/estates with wares we've gathered or won throughout our time in Eorzea, pre and post 2.0, as with ffxi furniture etc?
4) Can you post translated versions of the concept art soon?
5) Will new gathering professions such as farmer or shepherd be introduced?
6) How close do you envisage the graphics of the new engine being equivalent to that of the main chimera concept pic?

1 more thing my LS mates and I were discussing:

Once 2.0 comes out, will there be a roll back or just a simple convert-to?

Will billing be updated or changed to where we don't have to use a third party companies like Clink and Buy? I would prefer if I payed Square-Enix Directly.

I will be glad to support FFXIV with my money.

I have no questions about the future of FFXIV for the moment, you have outlined quite a bit.

I am glad we have this amazing Director/Producer, all of the concept arts scream Final Fantasy. Yoshida and Dev Team, thank you.

Here we go again being asked to pay for an admittedly incomplete game.

Need money for development? Go to the bank.
I'm not a charity.


P.S. All the changes so far and the planned path to v2.0 (Phoenix!) are great. I hope it all works out because the FINAL PRODUCT is definitely something I would buy.

Ok, I have some questions:

- Is there a tiny possibility that we can get Moogle and Vieras as a playble race? Like the ones on this picture?
http://ffxi.allakhazam.com/images/ne...reenshot04.jpg (I know that those where for Aprils Fools but I would seriously throw my money at you guys if we could have Moogles) :P

- Is there a chance that the male Miqo'te can be designed to be more... manly? I'm not asking to copy the design of this characters but maybe something more like this?

http://images.wikia.com/bof/images/3/3d/Rei.jpg
http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/k...bof4-cray1.jpg

- Do we get an option to revamp our characters appearance and gender/race, once 2.0 comes out?

I know some of my questions aren't that important but would be nice to have a response. :D

If you're really that desperate for money SE you should sell 2.0 as an expansion. Charging us for this barely tolerable excuse for a game is stupid unless there's some major content update in 1.20

Does everyone really want to pay to be level 50 and no higher for another year? Pass.

What happened to rebuilding trust? We were told that the PS3 release would be the marker of when the game is good enough to charge for, and now we're being told that the PS3 release is a year off and we're going to start getting charged next month. What gives?

First of all, as more of a lurker than a poster, I don't often get involved in topics on the forums.
I like the proposed direction for 2.0 and I appreciate that a lot of work has been done in the background. While the move away from the large zones is disappointing (I'm sure that the repeated segments lowered the memory footprint for each zone with the PS3 client in mind), but the zone blueprints are fantastic. I took a long break between December 2010 and May 2011, and the changes that have been coming in have been great. Keep up the good work.

Okay, with the grovelling out of the way, here's my questions:

1) The Umbral Era story line sounds cool, but will this be the only story line to be phased out? Will the old main scenario and quests be modified to remain consistent with the new world situation in the 7th Umbral? While I'm sure you'll be reassigning the places we have to visit for quests due to the map changes, aren't there some that just wont 'fit' in the new scenario? I'm not asking this because I want to see the back of them, I'm just wondering what the plan is.

2) Have you been developing assets in tandem with each other for the current engine and the new engine?

3) Will the severs shut down during transition from the current setup to the new one? Or will data be mirrored over the weeks prior to the changeover?

I just want to start by saying that I was part of the alpha / beta tester group, and for a while, felt that a lot of the feedback and requests I posted along with other testers seemed to go largely unacknowledged. It's nice to see that this has changed.

I really like the direction the game is going now. Running around on chocoback through the random settlements makes the game feel more alive for sure, and I love seeing beastmen on the field now. Looking forward to the class rebalance and job additions.

I have one request in regards to jobs, though. Is there any way we could see a Thief job in the future? I've always loved thief classes, and feel that thief has always been a major staple of the FF job system. I originally started leveling Pugilist, thinking that was the closest thing to thief, since the website even mentioned a Steal ability, but that has since been removed. I'm very happy to see White Mage coming around, but would be ecstatic to see Thief.

Also, with the changes to character creation options, what does that mean for existing players? Will we be given the option to change our character's look once these new options come around?

FFXIV version 2.0 "Reboot"???

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DEV'S tell me this does not mean we loose all our information, level's, items, gil, gear etc etc... 2 years of game play will be accumulated by that time, i'm REALLY hoping your not saying we all start over ... cause "Reboot" is a scary word...

So the PS3 game wont release until 2013? I can't say I wasn't expecting it but man that hurts.

ALl you guys need to realize losing NON-paying players is not SE concern. They need to make money. 10 months of a free game is crazy when you think about it and either you like it and want to pay for it or you don't.

I think weeding out all the non willing to pay players is needed so we can really see what we are working with. Plus when money rolls in SE will have to be timely with updates and stuff.

I didn't see anything about releasing new Disciples of Magic. So in that entire time line a new DoM come after all that? So possibly Oct 2012 there are no new caster jobs?

Really not digging that. I need something to do. Because if my linkshell is not doing an event, I am sitting around weaving, and that isn't too fun for me.

I have no interest in leveling a Disciple of War, I see no real benefit to raising one, other than that quickstep. I am only interested in Magic jobs. I don't want to sit around for almost a year waiting, cause the Jobs are going to be the same level as our classes, and both of my DoM are at 50.

When can I expect to see new Disciples of Magic?

Hooray! Please don't pay and quit the game. Thank you!

First: Someone has already been nice enough to copy and paste twice that 2.0 will be available for download for free to those of us already playing on PC and that our characters will not be wiped.

Secondly: Will SE be keeping in this ridiculous "Voidwatch" system where loot acquired from coffers and primals goes directly into someone's inventory rather than loot list? I'm not usually a complainer, but I do not like this loot system at all. I would like to get a weapon I want and can use instead of being forced to farm something 100 times until I finally luck out on getting what I want. I think this is a terrible mechanic that forces an unnecessary time sink. I would prefer a lower drop rate to this Russian roulette situation.


That's my only question, really. Otherwise, I am VERY excited for upcoming patches and 2.0! SE, you had me at kupo~! ^o^

I definitely want to know if we get a name change with out race/gender change, and although I could post some extreme examples as to why I'm just going to say that since the beginning I wanted a female roegadyn (I expected this to be implemented much earlier -sad face-) but didn't want my miqo'te to have the same name since it'd look wierd, and also many that would want to switch genders would probably really want it as well.

As well since I have little time to play It'd suck to lose my progress just cause I want to change my name so badly for my female roegadyn because I will create a new character if there is no name change, so if it's no being planned please consider it.

Just going to contribute, for my part, since it seems to be a topic flying about a lot, that I do not want in the event of making a male Mi'qote to be forced to play something that looks like a Ronso.

It's my firm opinion that the more anthropomorphic races having massive gender dimorphism is an enormously tedious and annoying cliché, and if there is to be such in this game, then I would really hope there's an option for those of us would strongly prefer Mi'qote males be on the more androgynous (or hell, just plain normal) side.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by DantesAmore

FFXIV version 2.0 "Reboot"???

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DEV'S tell me this does not mean we loose all our information, level's, items, gil, gear etc etc... 2 years of game play will be accumulated by that time, i'm REALLY hoping your not saying we all start over ... cause "Reboot" is a scary word...

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No worries mate. They've already mentioned that the character data will be preserved for Version 2.0.

Mentioned on the "Announcement"-page:
"Among our new plans is the fundamental reworking of in-game maps. As part of this process, there will be a period required for switching over to a new client and new servers, after which there will be a large transfer of data when service is brought back online. After the new client is completed, new software for the PC version will be distributed online, and can be acquired free of charge. Character data and progress for players already playing the PC version will also be preserved, allowing those players to continue using their in-game avatars. Another announcement will be made in the future as the day on which the new FINAL FANTASY XIV software will become available for download draws near, and the PlayStation®3 system version officially released."


Mentioned in the "Outline"-PDF:
"After that, we will begin work on the worldless party matching system, as well as the porting of all current content data and player character data. We expect these tasks to be complete by the third quarter of the fiscal year ending March 31, 2013."

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Originally Posted by Liminality

I know this is probably out of the question, but I've always liked playing a Lalafell (Tarutaru from FFXI); however, I find that they're not as "cute" as they used to be. They look a little too much like small children. Is there any plans to change some of the current character designs, aside from the graphic upgrades in 2.0?

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i like lalafells how they are now :/

What kind of non-instanced activities / quests will players and parties be able to participate in as a party or individually?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Shadowedge

...Also, with the changes to character creation options, what does that mean for existing players? Will we be given the option to change our character's look once these new options come around?

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"The new graphics engine will cause certain objects to display differently than they do in the current version.
Because of this, we will allow all current players the opportunity to re-customize the race, gender, and
appearance of their characters upon the implementation of the new engine."

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Fensfield

Just going to contribute, for my part, since it seems to be a topic flying about a lot, that I do not want in the event of making a male Mi'qote to be forced to play something that looks like a Ronso.

It's my firm opinion that the more anthropomorphic races having massive gender dimorphism is an enormously tedious, and if there is to be such in the game, then I would really hope there's an option for those of us would strongly prefer Mi'qote males be on the more androgynous size.

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They've shown an example of a Miquote male. It looks a little reminiscient of Lehko Habhoka from FFXI, though less frail looking.

The development team has made great progress this past year, despite a slow, rocky start. I commend all the work that has been done, and intend to stick with the game. However, I have an issue that I would like to place my opinion on, and I apologize if this has been discussed to death already (which it likely has, and will.)


My Opinion on Timeframe for Subcription Activation:
You are going to start charging too early. I'm not saying it shouldn't be soon, it most definitely should be. The game has made a lot of great changes over the past year. Now, there are good arguments for both sides of the coin, however I believe this should be put off until post-Job release. The main reason being is that based on the outline you have given us, it appears as if you will be charging us prior to placing one of the more integral pieces of the game, which is the finalized job/battle system. I believe everyone should have a bit of time to fully recognize what each new job entails prior to entering into a payment plan.
I fully support this game, and although I will likely "suck it up" and start paying like many of us, I feel very strongly that it is several months too early. I do not believe you should hold off subcriptions until 2.0. However, (again) I feel very strongly that we should be allowed to experience the fully realized job & battle systems BEFORE we are slated to make payments.


I hope I can receive an answer to this question as I believe it is an important aspect to this anouncement. Beyond that, continue doing this great amazing job. I am very impressed with the direction of the game, and the future makes me extremely excited.

Do we get more Missions with these awesome Cutscenes + Voices? Are we getting more difficult missions? Is the Path Companion going to be more important?

How long roughly till new jobs will be implemented? (I dont mean WHM, BLM & co!)... I mean jobs we either havent seen in FFXI or... I'd stick with Blue Mage too =P

Will there be any "casual gamer" accomplishments? Something which takes a long time to achieve... so we actually get a reason to log in ^^

Are the crafting & gathering jobs getting revised? Are there going to be different ways of acquiring money instead of crafting/gathering?

グリダニアの再構成の以外のものは、新しい地域を発表するつもりですか？
"Aside from the reconfiguration of Gridania, Are there any plans to announce a new region?"

Sharlayan, please? :)

While hordes of instanced content is great please leave in open world dungeons/strongholds separate from other instanced content as the open exploration aspect is a much a part of the game as anything else. (If I've missed something in print or the comment is off base i apologize)

As for billing for the game starting up again, i personally don't have a problem with it as long as updates stay on or as close to schedule as possible and community feedback and support continues.

Q:
Will there ever be...

1. a Thief job?
2. full-fledged minigames for crafting and gathering? something better than Parley?
3. different day/night music? seasonal weather changes?
:D


Q:
How does my guardian deity (Althyk, the Keeper) look like? I hope he is not a senile old man :p

Does this thread mean that you are preparing the questions (and answers) in advance for the second LIVE letter?

I hope to get this answered during the broadcast!

Q:

A) I would like to know how the class and job system will interact? The thing i love abt final fantasy is the variety of jobs to interact with. Right now it seems like to have new classes, the dev need to add a class and the corresponding jobs for them. Unless jobs might end up being a kind of class specilization?

B) Will archer ever be able to upgrade to Ranger? A bow using rdps job, purely dps unlike bards?

C) All the artifact armors for jobs look so amazing. Will classes be given the artifact armor treatment?

Ok, The UI shown in the mockup picture has way too much going onto the point where I just would not be able to stand having that much on my screen, so my question (going off of that mockup)

Will it be possible to toggle display of UI elements without resorting to addons, things like the gil counter, Health bars over player heads, damage and XP showing up over the characters instead of just the log, what looks to be a gil count in the bottom right of that new UI screen. I like my UI to be as little as possible and would like to know if that will be possible when the UI changes. It is already disheartening to not be able to toggle things in the current UI like the experience bar and the XP and damage indicators over top of the characters

also...when can wield a scythe as a weapon....

I'm one of the few that has been anticipating paying subscription since day one so this whole year being free has been quite a bonus. I know we have a discounted 6 month payment option (which is still available to us I hope), but is SE considering any form of "Lifetime Subscription"? I read about DC Universe having the lifetime subscription option for around $200. But I'm not so sure how common this is with other MMO.

Will voice acting be supported for all cutscenes? What's your focus in this regard to voice acting? :)

Will voice chat be a feature for parties to take advantage of rather then using third party tools?

What plans do you have for better linkshell tools and systems in the new XIV?

How about, when V2 goes live we get free credit for the time we paid for before V2? I mean, if it's going to be as great as it looks the influx of new characters should help off-set the cost.