Tanaka or Yoshi?

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Originally Posted by Seif

And let's remember that Naoki still isn't a game designer on XIV Tanaka however is. So basically all the new systems are still designed mostly by him and not N.Yoshida. I can tell that none of the videogame projects I've been involved with has had a producer that had any say in the gameplay mechanics. Yet people seem to assume that he's almost single handedly designing all the new stuff being added to XIV (maybe someday just wait a little longer etc.)

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Maybe not completely, but in the reality of things, Tanaka wouldn't be able to designing most of these new systems even if he wanted to (Due to him being replaced by Yoshi_P). He could, however, help suggest and throw in some of the visions he has for FFXIV, especially with his original plans. Ex. Companies

In my opinion, if you don't like what has been implemented, you guys have nobody to blame but yourselves. Also, why fuss? If you make it a point that you don't like it, and enough players support your idea, most likely it will grab Yoshi_P's attention and he will do what it takes to fix the problem.

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Originally Posted by Nuru

Maybe not completely, but in the reality of things, Tanaka wouldn't be able to designing most of these new systems even if he wanted to (Due to him being replaced by Yoshi_P). He could, however, help suggest and throw in some of the visions he has for FFXIV, especially with his original plans. Ex. Companies

In my opinion, if you don't like what has been implemented, you guys have nobody to blame but yourselves. Also, why fuss? If you make it a point that you don't like it, and enough players support your idea, most likely it will grab Yoshi_P's attention and he will do what it takes to fix the problem.

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Btw I never said I do or don't like it. i don't know if you were referring to me or people in general. But at this point I don't think there a lot of arguments for or against either producer. Clearly Tanaka didn't meet the release deadline with an enjoyable game and most of Naoki Yoshida's plans are at this point just pipe dreams.

I'll comment on the changes when I see them but what has been promised for over 6 months admittedly sounds promising =)

No i wasn't directing anything towards you, i was just adressing what is going on around here and what people need to realize.

So anyway.

The original vision (presented to us on www.finalfantasyxiv.com for example) was something many of us were pining for. But even at release, the game was a far cry from that. Yoshi, instead of trying to realise the dream however, seems to be on a collision course with WoW/FFXI and is deviating from the original vision many of us wanted, and still want.

I heard it said today during leves by one crafter that if Yoshi continued to marginalise the crafting system he would leave. Another mentioned that the back-peddling of Player Companies and Company Housing/Ships in favour of this new "Grand Companies of Eorzea" concept was again something they didn't want.

There are so many Linkshells who left, vowing to come back when Player Companies, housing and ships were implemented, and now there is not even a hint of those things being in the game any time soon, even before PS3 release.

And whatever happened to the UI overhaul we were meant to receive in february?

I feel like devoting months and months to redeveloping the combat system, which in effect is tantamount to regurgitating the combat system of FFXI/WoW by the sounds of things, has been a failure by the new development team. I would rather have seen improvements to the existing combat (more fluidity, diversity, roles, more emphasis on positioning, and a realisation of the combat system we were promised on www.finalfantasyxiv.com) than what we have been promised by Yoshi and his team (auto-attack, whoopty-doo).

It's not that the development team aren't working or producing content for us which is disheartening, what's dishearting is the overall direction of the game ever since Yoshi was appointed lead. And although Tanaka's team failed to deliver, I wanted what they had to offer on the horizon. I don't want what Yoshi offers. He's not bringing FFXIV to its full potential.

If I recall, didnt the majority vote for radical changes on the first player poll? I guess this what happens when people get what they ask for.

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Originally Posted by Spellbinder

If I recall, didnt the majority vote for radical changes on the first player poll? I guess this what happens when people get what they ask for.

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This is what happens when people listen to those who spend more time taking polls and posing on forums than playing the game.

Do you prefer something concrete but different from what you expected or something that will remain in the dreams forever? I think the original vision will be modified in part as well but the basis wil remain. The original fault has to be repaired in some way. If this way will be good, only time will tell us. For now, i see the right path.. on paper.

About Companies i really don't think they dropped the original vision of it. Yoshi said in a recent interview, they have to consolidate the basis of Companies before to introduce something like player-ship and stuff.

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Originally Posted by Munba

Do you prefer something concrete but different from what you expected or something that will remain in the dreams forever? I think the original vision will be modified in part as well but the basis wil remain. The original fault has to be repaired in some way. If this way will be good, only time will tell us. For now, i see the right path.. on paper.

About Companies i really don't think they dropped the original vision of it. Yoshi said in a recent interview, they have to consolidate the basis of Companies before to introduce something like player-ship and stuff.

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In the case of recent NPC quests, I would actually rather just have nothing. To be honest, they seem to make the game worse for being implemented, rather than better. Their poor quality sends bad signals. But, generally speaking, yes, I would rather having something concrete than have nothing more than a dream.

However, that being said, having a dream is still important for informing and shaping the content the developers create. And if the dream is bad, so is the content. This is relevant because - contrary to popular belief - I see Yoshi deviating from the vision of the original developers and treading down a path from where there is no hope of salvation.

Yoshi said himself that to him games are like themeparks; you give players a bunch of things to do to occupy themselves; and that's where the fun lies. But the original vision seemed to have a larger scope than just a themepark. The original plan seemed to envision a place where players helped stimulate themselves (thriving crafting economy, player-driven companies and ships), as opposed to just passively digesting the forgettable drivel the developers presented them with.

YOSHI FTW

While I like Tanaka, I think I prefer Yoshi-p. It's clear that the lines of communication are now open. We're getting promised things which are then delivered in updates on time. Japan gets hit with an Earthquate, Yoshi-p gets sick and we still get a great update.

I also like the direction the game is headed right now. Although I would have liked to have seen Tanaka overhaul the game I'm not convinced that he would have made the dramatic changes that Yoshi-p is proposing. All of the changes lined up are things I'm definitely looking forward to.

Yoshi-p all the way.

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Originally Posted by Nuru

?

Tanaka also gave us Yoshi_P if ya wanna put it that way.

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I'll take the guy with the big resume of classic games and FFXI over the guy that sends letters and takes polls any day

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Originally Posted by Ostia

I'll take the guy with the big resume of classic games and FFXI over the guy that sends letters and takes polls any day

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I'll take a guy who is getting it done in the present over a guy who got it done in the past but couldn't in the present any day.

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Originally Posted by gifthorse

So anyway.

The original vision (presented to us on www.finalfantasyxiv.com for example) was something many of us were pining for. But even at release, the game was a far cry from that. Yoshi, instead of trying to realise the dream however, seems to be on a collision course with WoW/FFXI and is deviating from the original vision many of us wanted, and still want.

I heard it said today during leves by one crafter that if Yoshi continued to marginalise the crafting system he would leave. Another mentioned that the back-peddling of Player Companies and Company Housing/Ships in favour of this new "Grand Companies of Eorzea" concept was again something they didn't want.

There are so many Linkshells who left, vowing to come back when Player Companies, housing and ships were implemented, and now there is not even a hint of those things being in the game any time soon, even before PS3 release.

And whatever happened to the UI overhaul we were meant to receive in february?

I feel like devoting months and months to redeveloping the combat system, which in effect is tantamount to regurgitating the combat system of FFXI/WoW by the sounds of things, has been a failure by the new development team. I would rather have seen improvements to the existing combat (more fluidity, diversity, roles, more emphasis on positioning, and a realisation of the combat system we were promised on www.finalfantasyxiv.com) than what we have been promised by Yoshi and his team (auto-attack, whoopty-doo).

It's not that the development team aren't working or producing content for us which is disheartening, what's dishearting is the overall direction of the game ever since Yoshi was appointed lead. And although Tanaka's team failed to deliver, I wanted what they had to offer on the horizon. I don't want what Yoshi offers. He's not bringing FFXIV to its full potential.

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I want what tanaka said all his interview from E3 and on now this game is not even looking how it was going to be thanks to yoshi. this is the only reason i want tanaka back i want what he had to offer not what yoshi is giving us.

I get confused when people say that Yoshi-p is turning FFXIV in the direction of wow/ffxi. WoW and FFXI are extremely different from one another. How could someone turn a game in the direction of both of them at the same time? I don't see how that's possible. I think it's headed in the direction of the Final Fantasy series, and anything that makes FFXIV more Final Fantasy is a good idea.

People should probably forget about the game that was sold to us during the development phase. That game was never made. It wasn't even close to being made.

People bought FFXIV thinking that either they'd get the game that was described during development or they'd get some nice Final Fantasy action. Players didn't get either of those.

I'm not saying Tanaka is solely to blame, and I have respect for his career, but as the head of the project he should have known what would happen when the game launched.

Now we have a chance to take this germinal game and turn it into a great representation of the Final Fantasy series. I think Yoshi-p is the person to make it happen.

Doesn't matter which you prefer, if you think they would change it again you're crazy.

Yoshi is here to stay, Tanaka is working on FFXI again now anyway.

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Originally Posted by rainfish

Doesn't matter which you prefer, if you think they would change it again you're crazy.

Yoshi is here to stay, Tanaka is working on FFXI again now anyway.

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Where the info on this? i did not hear that tanaka went back to FFXI. I have a feeling onces this game is fix he be coming back to FFXIV. Yoshi may be good for now but i don't think he have what it take for the long run at least that what i think.

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Where the info on this? i did not hear that tanaka went back to FFXI. I have a feeling onces this game is fix he be coming back to FFXIV. Yoshi may be good for now but i don't think he have what it take for the long run at least that what i think.

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He has posted quite a few times on the JP FFXI forum.

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Originally Posted by rainfish

He has posted quite a few times on the JP FFXI forum.

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Ahh just saw a few of his post no wonder everything is going casual he no longer working there -.- i guess we have to deal with this new guy and see what he have for hardcore if he think the stuff he release is casual i don't want to know what he think hardcore is.

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Originally Posted by Zenaku

Ahh just saw a few of his post no wonder everything is going casual he no longer working there -.- i guess we have to deal with this new guy and see what he have for hardcore if he think the stuff he release is casual i don't want to know what he think hardcore is.

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What do you mean? In an interview last year Tanaka said he was going to cater to the casuals first, and then the hardcore players second. Casual content was going to be the first thing he added. Tanaka gave you surplus SP. Yoshi-p is taking it a way, saying that he thinks players should decide how to play the game.

FFXIV will have a mixture of casual and hardcore content. There's no reason to prevent casuals from getting to endgame. Hardcore players will still have more jobs at endgame than everyone else. They'll still do more endgame content and get better loot faster. Being hardcore isn't always about what you can get, it's also about how fast you can get it and keep up with the changes in the game in terms of tactics.

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Originally Posted by Zozor

What do you mean? In an interview last year Tanaka said he was going to cater to the casuals first, and then the hardcore players second. Casual content was going to be the first thing he added. Tanaka gave you surplus SP. Yoshi-p is taking it a way, saying that he thinks players should decide how to play the game.

FFXIV will have a mixture of casual and hardcore content. There's no reason to prevent casuals from getting to endgame. Hardcore players will still have more jobs at endgame than everyone else. They'll still do more endgame content and get better loot faster. Being hardcore isn't always about what you can get, it's also about how fast you can get it and keep up with the changes in the game in terms of tactics.

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Ya but you can pretty much say all that stuff tanaka said down the drain. The problem is that the stuff added so far are not even casual for me. I think the a level below casual. When i think of casual is a player who have only 4hours to play a day or only play in the weekend. The NM was not even that fun there just like other mobs with high HP why could they not make the nm was there own attack and need at least small amount of planing. Some could even have PH which that could be fun and could make it very casual.

Even the companies don't look like how they was going to be, even if this is the NPC companies. I hope they stay with the idea of the Linkshell companies having linkshell building and airship. I was sold by what tanaka said this new guy is like what happen? he done a few great things but what happen to everything else they said? did they just cross everything out.

i hope at least the LS companies would stay to the version they said back then.

But when will Player Companies be revisited?

Yoshi said Player-run companies will take a backseat while they focus on Grand Companies, but speaking for myself and many others, we were looking forward to Company Housing and Company owned ships, so you can forgive us for being a little disappointed to hear Grand Companies involve no player input and will be coming sooner.

I just wonder when all the things Tanaka promised will be looked at and released. The new UI, when is that coming? Player companies and ships, when is that coming?

Yoshi scrapped all the good ideas.

It kind of casts a shadow on Grand Companies, knowing what was sacrificed to implement them.

I don't really feel Tanaka or the original team had any vision, and that's the main problem with this game. I can't see a clear style, clear story, there's just no impact, a bit all over the place. I mean compared to say, FFXII, that was a clear vision; the style was obvious, races clear, music worked so well, fun battles, fun enemies, story was lacking sure but it had a good 'feel' to the world and it's people/places. This game lacks that and I'm not sure they can fix it now (not in the original zones at least, perhaps with expansions though!) When I try to picture to myself what their original vision was, I'm not sure. I just think 'an MMO' which imo, is a bad place to start. World, characters and lore should come first, not just 'we're making an MMO.' The game should stand well even if it wasn't online, which let's face it, this game doesn't.

I know for most people battle and content is their focus for sure, but I think without a game with a great original artists vision and feeling, the whole thing will be a lackluster. Which is why I think Tanaka was a problem, not to say it's all his fault but I think he's made his ideal MMO in FFXI (he even said that!) so he lacked a 'vision' for this. Really needs some TLC overall! Hoping Yoshi-P will realise this.

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Originally Posted by Laiferr

I don't really feel Tanaka or the original team had any vision, and that's the main problem with this game. I can't see a clear style, clear story, there's just no impact, a bit all over the place. I mean compared to say, FFXII, that was a clear vision; the style was obvious, races clear, music worked so well, fun battles, fun enemies, story was lacking sure but it had a good 'feel' to the world and it's people/places. This game lacks that and I'm not sure they can fix it now (not in the original zones at least, perhaps with expansions though!) When I try to picture to myself what their original vision was, I'm not sure. I just think 'an MMO' which imo, is a bad place to start. World, characters and lore should come first, not just 'we're making an MMO.' The game should stand well even if it wasn't online, which let's face it, this game doesn't.

I know for most people battle and content is their focus for sure, but I think without a game with a great original artists vision and feeling, the whole thing will be a lackluster. Which is why I think Tanaka was a problem, not to say it's all his fault but I think he's made his ideal MMO in FFXI (he even said that!) so he lacked a 'vision' for this. Really needs some TLC overall! Hoping Yoshi-P will realise this.

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We've had the game for a while now (6 months) so we're probably a little disenchanted, but I honeslty wouldn't say that the world is irredeemable. In fact, the lore is very promising, the zones are detailed (even if they do repeat).

I know this is just my opinion, but i think they achieved a greater cohesion of concepts than most other MMOs out there. The armory system, for example, and also the fact that crafters and gatherers are important roles in the game, all of these help give substance to the world and bring it to life.

FFXIV tried to take a more communal approach to the genre, with players helping build something together, and this was perhaps to be built upon by the implementation of player-run companies.

Anyway, it's hard to recognise a piece of art when you've only seen half of it.

I'm for whatever keeps the sand box. That's what we were given, and it's a fun sand box. I'm concerned it will slip away, and the freedom of character development (between class-specific armor and double-secret-tree-specialization) will become what it is in every other game. What I wear now is partially inappropriate for my character, but a) I like it and b) I seem to do just fine doing my leves. Inventory problems aside, character development has me concerned the past few weeks, especially with many of the Type A group leader militant style posts frustrated with not being able to put special patches on people's shoulders to identify 'precisely' what they are in the group so they can be ordered around properly. Blech.

Ah well, I'm going to enjoy it all as much as I can before the cards fall. Just the other day I stumbled across all the 20th level cut-scene style quests that aren't part of the epic story. I was pleasantly surprised, I love those! I did Hoodwinked first, so went to Girdania to see if there was something similar for Conjurer and Leatherworker (my other two abilities over 20) and there were! Not to mention that Girdania seems to have far more side quests than the city (though hardly anyone was around, sadly). It's been a great past few days and I'm still not done. Sure hope there are more like that down the road.

Back to the sand box ...

that's exactly how I feel... I used to look forward to the future of FFXIV, but now I am just really apprehensive.

Now we have "quest hubs" to look forward to also. Very innovative.

Personally I prefer Yoshida. Tanaka wouldn't communicate and seemed completely out of touch with what players really wanted. I don't like EVERYTHING Yoshi's doing, but I was disliking MOST of what Tanaka was doing.

I vote Yasumi Matsuno. The man behind FF Tactics, Vagrant Story, FF XII, Tactics Ogre.

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Originally Posted by gifthorse

that's exactly how I feel... I used to look forward to the future of FFXIV, but now I am just really apprehensive.

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I love it how people seen to make their gameplay that they do freely seem like a chore, that they in the end keep on doing. like they ache under every leve, quiver with every synth.

Honestly though, what is the point of this thread? SE made a business descision to replace Tanaka with Yoshi P. It was decided that a new team needed to be in place to save the game, and that team needed to communicate with the players left to let them know that SE has heard their concerns and is working on changes to the game.

If you don't want your voice to be valued as highly, or to hear that changes are being made to the game, then by all means, say so. But they are making a product to send to the customers, they know they have to reach more than just the fans on this one and in order to preserve the fans that did shell out money for this(not to mention provide a good voice to counteract the reviewing community) they needed a line of communication.

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Originally Posted by Kallera

I love it how people seen to make their gameplay that they do freely seem like a chore, that they in the end keep on doing. like they ache under every leve, quiver with every synth.

Honestly though, what is the point of this thread? SE made a business descision to replace Tanaka with Yoshi P. It was decided that a new team needed to be in place to save the game, and that team needed to communicate with the players left to let them know that SE has heard their concerns and is working on changes to the game.

If you don't want your voice to be valued as highly, or to hear that changes are being made to the game, then by all means, say so. But they are making a product to send to the customers, they know they have to reach more than just the fans on this one and in order to preserve the fans that did shell out money for this(not to mention provide a good voice to counteract the reviewing community) they needed a line of communication.

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I know, but their method is wrong and won't get them what they want.

Wow! This is one of the greatest speculative debate/discussions I've ever read on a forum - and for the most part one of the most cordial! I have a long post brewing; I can feel it.

First off, I've thought I was on crazy pills for the last 6 months. All kinds of fan love rallied around Yoshida like he was the messiah of MMOs and I couldn't understand what the craze was all about. I kept thinking, "Hey, I'm not a huge fan of Tanaka, but what has this guy done to merit this?" He wrote us some cute letters with humorous undertones and everyone (probably starved for attention by Tanaka) lead the biggest cheer campaign I've seen possibly ever. I'm so, so, glad to see that finally things are turning around - finally people are wondering "What the heck is Yoshida even doing?" and it's probably happening because his letters are next to nothing now. He's dropped his proverbial ball, the thing that made him a champion. Without his letters filled with lots of hope and vague content ideas with no deadlines (really? this excites you?) people are starting to wake up.

As I said, I'm a long time Tanaka critic. Reasons previously stated have caused me to practically want to strangle the guy. I agree that his "shut up and listen" approach works for him in a weird way, but if it weren't so damn abrasive people may actually appreciate him including me. I don't like being lied to and I think any long-time player of XI knows this guy lied straight to our faces with the blanket "PS2 Limitations" on a lot of stuff. There probably were limitations that required a lot of work, but saying we can't have more inventory for 5 years then suddenly "oh new inventory if you pay $10 for a security token" was a slap in the face. So yeah - lot of things about Tanaka to not like.

I was delighted when he stepped down. I didn't know Yoshida (or care) because it was like the Iron Curtain had finally dropped. We were going to be let in on what was going on! We'd be a part of the development! Things were going to change and be more open! Well, 6mo later and I got to tell you -> I HAVE NO CLUE WHERE THE GAME IS GOING. Everything Yoshida says is so vague. Half of it I think is just to make people "Shut up and listen" to begin with. Such as "considering Jump" and "considering AH." What does that even mean? Practically nothing. It's basically saying, "Yeah we read you, now wait indefinitely while we work on real issues" and lots of his comments are this way.

It's only very recently (starting with announced Auto Attack and now another 6 week wait on Dungeons / Battle Systems) that I think about that last update post from Tanaka. The one about "player run guilds" and "ships." I wonder what he would have brought to the table in 6 months to flesh out this game that we still don't have because fans filled out a poll and now we're getting a new battle system. People like Pere admitting there were untapped potentials in the battle system that no one even understood or realized until recently (though I saw many of them around ... idk February? Too late for poor Tanaka. Too late for that poll that already decided the fate of the Battle System).

I do think it's too soon to truly judge Yoshida, but I'm with you when I say I may be wondering FOR YEARS what this game might have been with Tanaka. I think what this game really needs right now is some concrete deadlines. I realize how hard that must be when you're re-working an entire battle system, but it would be nice to know ... when that system will start to implement (June, I believe) and when it's likely to be finished?

It would be nice if someone would comment on how long we'll be waiting on Chocobos & Airships. I'm so tired of hearing those two words, a dev could practically come in and go "You won't see that for 18 months. So stfu." and I"d be like "Thank heavens! at least we know!" so people would stop whining about it.

I keep thinking I waited almost 7 years for XI to produce a timeline of scheduled content and events like they have had the past 2 years and I finally quit that game for a game I think will be more progressive and interactive with the customers - and it's like the dark ages while XI knows most of the big selling points they're going to get for the rest of the year. You know what I mean?

Yoshida probably has a direction. I still have fingers crossed that he does. He probably has a lot of good ideas or he wouldn't be where he is now (either that or he's a figurehead and PR face for some other guy like Tanaka) but keeping us in the dark on where things are headed and when we can expect them is a real Tanaka thing to do.

So if we're going to be in the dark, Tanaka-style, I'd rather have Tanaka. Though I still think Yoshida may have some magic to produce for the game, he's yet to prove it to me. He seems to just throw away the ideas I liked for ideas I don't like or am luke-warm about (auto-attack, I'm looking at you).

Tanaka is working as a consultant on the project, read the letters he's still very much involved yoshi's job is communication and bringing satisfaction up. I dunno where some of you people get this stuff. Plus the game is meant to be easier to get in and get out for the everyday gamer that does not have hours a day to spend. Surely content of that kind is going to be coming. As far as end game is concerned most including myself will be waiting for that stuff to come out longer than early and mid game content. This game for release will need content for all level ranges. That being said the game was incomplete at release so all that rank 1-50 content has to be designed plus as well expac content and vision. So enjoy waiting

You should just all forget about producers. Focus on the director and the others members of the true developpement staff instead. (Yoshida is both, maybe it's why it's leading to confusion?)

(about PS2 limitations on FFXI : as far as I can remember - I think it was before the release of Aht Urhgan - they clearly stated they weren't limited in adding more inventory, but limited in making inventory of more than 80 items, which is still verified today)

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Tanaka is working as a consultant on the project, read the letters he's still very much involved yoshi's job is communication and bringing satisfaction up.

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About 2 seconds after it was suggested he wasn't a consultant, this was cleared up.

What I don't get is how do you know "he's very much involved?"

Where is this statement located? Which letter, interview, press release?

My opinion says Tanaka is good at world-building, but poor at gameplay implementation and listening to feedback. My money is on Tanaka working on expansion content, with Yoshi-P focusing on the core game.

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Originally Posted by Xzen

I vote Yasumi Matsuno. The man behind FF Tactics, Vagrant Story, FF XII, Tactics Ogre.

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This guy has experience with "multiplayer" game design, so he's the perfect choice for the FFXIV project when it comes to getting the nuts and bolts together. Too bad the Japanese company was as dumb a brick about it.

While I recognize that Tanaka had a hand in what may be the best games ever created by Squaresoft, I think he's not right at home with MMOs. FFXI kind of proved this. That being said, I've decided to give Yoshida a chance. He's not dissapointed me as of yet (granted, I'm not frothing at the mouth for engame content and for this to become FFXI-2 like certain individuals have), so I say: why not?

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Originally Posted by Shai

...

It's only very recently (starting with announced Auto Attack and now another 6 week wait on Dungeons / Battle Systems) that I think about that last update post from Tanaka. The one about "player run guilds" and "ships." I wonder what he would have brought to the table in 6 months to flesh out this game that we still don't have because fans filled out a poll and now we're getting a new battle system. People like Pere admitting there were untapped potentials in the battle system that no one even understood or realized until recently (though I saw many of them around ... idk February? Too late for poor Tanaka. Too late for that poll that already decided the fate of the Battle System).

...

So if we're going to be in the dark, Tanaka-style, I'd rather have Tanaka. Though I still think Yoshida may have some magic to produce for the game, he's yet to prove it to me. He seems to just throw away the ideas I liked for ideas I don't like or am luke-warm about (auto-attack, I'm looking at you).

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I think you touched on my main issues with Yoshida. People seem to act as if Tanaka is just so unscrupulous and devoid of development skill, but at least his update schedule had lots of interesting content in it, including a complete UI overhaul which was supposed to be here by now. Yoshida seems to bring a lot, but at the same time, he seems to destroy just as much. If not more. And in actual fact, I felt more hopeful and informed under Tanaka's leadership than I do presently under Yoshida's leadership.

At least with Tanaka you felt comfortable knowing that they would pursue their own vision and not be so fickle under the influence of poll results (polls which were obviously not created by someone who knows how to create polls). At least you knew where the game was headed (community and LS cooperation etc). Who knows where the hell Yoshi is taking the game now.

And the biggest problem with Yoshi and his polls is probably due to the way the polls were created (with leading questions and not enough options) that gave biased results in favour of specific features or answers. And im sure the polls did not reflect accurately the biggest problems in the game, in fact, I doubt they even reflected the biggest "perceived problems". Developing content in response to the polls is therefore totally unwise.

Sometimes a developer needs to know when to tell the community to "just stfu" in my opinion.

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Originally Posted by Duelle

While I recognize that Tanaka had a hand in what may be the best games ever created by Squaresoft, I think he's not right at home with MMOs. FFXI kind of proved this. That being said, I've decided to give Yoshida a chance. He's not dissapointed me as of yet (granted, I'm not frothing at the mouth for engame content and for this to become FFXI-2 like certain individuals have), so I say: why not?

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What so an MMO with features like NPC side quests which you can fully solo is more MMO-like than a game with features like Company Housing and Ships which involve community participation?

Please.

It was purely the fault of catering to the FF fans that screwed this game over in terms of making it an MMO. SE wanted to capture the solo single player RPG FF fans and that's why so much of the game has been centered around such players. The game needs less of this and more MMO content like Tanaka had in store.

Yoshi is not promising much community-related content with the small exception of some instanced dungeons (which is itself a spit in the face of MMO design). Instances turn games into entrance lobbies. An MMO is supposed to be a persistent world, by definition.

Tanaka said in an interview that they would not have instanced dungeons primarily because he wanted players to be playing in the same world. If anyone knew what an MMO was, it was Tanaka.

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Originally Posted by gifthorse

What so an MMO with features like NPC side quests which you can fully solo is more MMO-like than a game with features like Company Housing and Ships which involve community participation?

Please.

It was purely the fault of catering to the FF fans that screwed this game over in terms of making it an MMO. SE wanted to capture the solo single player RPG FF fans and that's why so much of the game has been centered around such players. The game needs less of this and more MMO content like Tanaka had in store.

Yoshi is not promising much community-related content with the small exception of some instanced dungeons (which is itself a spit in the face of MMO design). Instances turn games into entrance lobbies. An MMO is supposed to be a persistent world, by definition.

Tanaka said in an interview that they would not have instance dungeons primarily because he wanted players to be playing in the same world. If anyone knew what an MMO was, it was Tanaka.

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Wow a post by you I actually agree with.