The Community Teams interview Yoshida in Japan!

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Originally Posted by Sigmakan

Wow, a lot of creepers in the FF14 community. Not that surprising I guess.

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And what is creepy about telling a pretty girl that she's pretty? I'm sure it takes some effort on her part to maintain that appearance, and I for one appreciate it. The world is a better place because she is in it.

They are all beautiful.

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Originally Posted by trinta

I'm not the only one who uses a fake character on the forums, to prevent my level being brought up every time I post. Tarryn Kinasha, Mysidia.

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If your opinions had any shred of validity you wouldn't worry about showing your character levels.

Or maybe you'd actually play the game in order to form a valid opinion on it.

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Originally Posted by trinta

I'm not the only one who uses a fake character on the forums, to prevent my level being brought up every time I post. Tarryn Kinasha, Mysidia.

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Lol.. i'm just sayin' :3 you put a smile on my face on the name you chosen ;)

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Originally Posted by Abriael

If your opinions had any shred of validity you wouldn't worry about showing your character levels.

Or maybe you'd actually play the game in order to form a valid opinion on it.

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I think it's important to consider all viewpoints, from people who've got way more 50s than you to people who are just starting off - at what "level" do we decide an opinion is valid? I don't think people need to throw out all their experience for an opinion to have validity, nor does simply having the most experience automatically make your opinion superior.

And trinta just told everyone how to find their character, so apparently it's not really a huge worry to them anyway?

Wouldn't it be a novel idea if we could be rewarded by more then just gear. I mean really if it takes 6 months to produce something for a content rewards, to me it just seems like content wouldn't be coming out fast enough to ever make this game subscription base.

Yoshida if you're reading this instead of focusing on always rewarding people with gear there are other ways to reward people. You can unlock new areas to explore, reward them with abilities such as unique for certain classes, traits and other enhancements. Make use of the fact that we work on an ability point system instead of focusing purely on gear. While sure it's nice to have pretty looking gear but at the pace it's coming out now you'll never truly have unique looking characters because people will always be wearing the top tier gear.

Just take a step back and contemplate a reward system that will reward people with a wide variety of things then just gear. To me I think most MMO's fall flat cause the majority of rewards are always gear. Heck I"m not saying be like XI but not all of XI's rewards have always been gear.

In XI there were quest to obtain new weaponskills, quest to unlock jobs, missions to unlock new areas and content. Even abyssea we were rewarded with abyssite(enhancements taking effect in abyssea zones) and atmas(attirbute augments use in unison with Lunar abyssites) from defeating mobs or completing certain quest. XIV's main content of reward is gear. Honestly all you need are two members brainstorming how they can evolve classes with skill and tweaks that can be added to their class to allow customization through play style rather then how they look.

The best example I can give is creating a wide series of trait that enhance specific abilities such as a series of traits for Iron Tempest:
-You can make one that enhances it's wind damage
-Another can increase it's radius
-Decrease recast
-Increase recast with improved damage
-cut recast in half but reduce damage
-Turn it into a single target with improve damage
-A trait that allows you to attach Tornado to the ability but requires a casting period to be harnessed properly

But ya like with dungeon rewards you can create it where the player obtains a shard of the beast KI once defeated and you can exchange it to an NPC along with Guild Marks to obtain new traits and abilities for your class.

You can give the traits a main effect and a sub class effect where the effect are slightly lowered when attached to another class as the main.

Just think about it if you map out this idea you'll save yourselves a lot of headache with always thinking that you HAVE to produce gear to compliment the release of a new dungeon or game concept.

Chocobos in 1.19! Definitely my favorite part of this thread! Aside from all the obligatory fawning over Rukkirii, of course ;)
HmmmHmmmHmmmHmmHmmHmmHmmHmmmHmmmHmmm

6 months does sound absurdly high to make a single set of gear, I don't know what to think of that...

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Originally Posted by Eekiki

And what is creepy about telling a pretty girl that she's pretty? I'm sure it takes some effort on her part to maintain that appearance, and I for one appreciate it. The world is a better place because she is in it.

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Some people were being nice about it, but others were bordering on creepy. There are a lot of girls who play games but you wouldn't know it because some of us like to avoid the subject because once your appearance is brought up, people just cannot stop mentioning how you are a HUMAN FEMALE. It's nice to be judged on your personality and merit rather than just have people hitting on you and talking about your appearance. Respect to Ruki for having to deal with this! Enjoyed reading the interview, and Yoshi-P... please, get some sleep!

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Originally Posted by Airget

Wouldn't it be a novel idea if we could be rewarded by more then just gear. I mean really if it takes 6 months to produce something for a content rewards, to me it just seems like content wouldn't be coming out fast enough to ever make this game subscription base.

Yoshida if you're reading this instead of focusing on always rewarding people with gear there are other ways to reward people. You can unlock new areas to explore, reward them with abilities such as unique for certain classes, traits and other enhancements. Make use of the fact that we work on an ability point system instead of focusing purely on gear. While sure it's nice to have pretty looking gear but at the pace it's coming out now you'll never truly have unique looking characters because people will always be wearing the top tier gear.

Just take a step back and contemplate a reward system that will reward people with a wide variety of things then just gear. To me I think most MMO's fall flat cause the majority of rewards are always gear. Heck I"m not saying be like XI but not all of XI's rewards have always been gear.

In XI there were quest to obtain new weaponskills, quest to unlock jobs, missions to unlock new areas and content. Even abyssea we were rewarded with abyssite(enhancements taking effect in abyssea zones) and atmas(attirbute augments use in unison with Lunar abyssites) from defeating mobs or completing certain quest. XIV's main content of reward is gear. Honestly all you need are two members brainstorming how they can evolve classes with skill and tweaks that can be added to their class to allow customization through play style rather then how they look.

The best example I can give is creating a wide series of trait that enhance specific abilities such as a series of traits for Iron Tempest:
-You can make one that enhances it's wind damage
-Another can increase it's radius
-Decrease recast
-Increase recast with improved damage
-cut recast in half but reduce damage
-Turn it into a single target with improve damage
-A trait that allows you to attach Tornado to the ability but requires a casting period to be harnessed properly

But ya like with dungeon rewards you can create it where the player obtains a shard of the beast KI once defeated and you can exchange it to an NPC along with Guild Marks to obtain new traits and abilities for your class.

You can give the traits a main effect and a sub class effect where the effect are slightly lowered when attached to another class as the main.

Just think about it if you map out this idea you'll save yourselves a lot of headache with always thinking that you HAVE to produce gear to compliment the release of a new dungeon or game concept.

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I like these ideas but the sad thing with uncapped (being able to defeat a level 30 dungeon on a level 50 class/job)dungeons is that you pretty much can only reward with gears. Unless you cannot obtain shards when you are 10 levels above the dungeon level and then you got to get your shards from another dungeon in your level range.

If you don't then people can just farm their shards in lower level dungeons and then buy their abilites/spells enhancing effects without so much a sweat.

6 months is the price to pay to develop HD models and is not exactly horrible if you have a timeline of content, gear set concepts, and story planned well in advance. Which is what all MMOs do and why it seems (to you) that there is a constant flow of content and gear and that it seemingly does not require that much time.

MMOs have these development plans even before they launch. FFXIV did not have this luxury being that it's direction completely shifted in January.

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Originally Posted by Laiferr

It's nice to be judged on your personality and merit rather than just have people hitting on you and talking about your appearance.!

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Absolutely. And in this case, we already established that Ruki has a charming personality before anyone here knew what she looked like. Once those with cheeto-stained fingers saw what she looks like, it sent the hormones a-ragin'.

All you lonely guys out there, I just got out of a relationship with a gamer girl, and I can tell you, finding one to go out with you is not necessarily the answer to your prayers.

Hey gang! Here are the questions and answers that were gathered and discussed by our French and German community reps! :)

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Can you explain a typical day for the FFXIV dev. team?

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Yoshida: The dev. team is made up of various teams such as Core Members, Scenario, Quest, World Settings, In-game Economy, Battle, Grand Companies, The Lodestone, User Interface, Tool, Character, Backgrounds, Art, Animation and so on. The day varies depending on the person.

As an example, I come in to work at 10:00 a.m. The day starts off with morning meetings regarding operation and new tasks. From there on, various meetings are scheduled all the way up until 9:00 p.m. I check the game specifications, plot, design, etc. Then I reply to emails (around 230 per day) and then, get back to working on game specification if necessary. During work, I check forums and post various comments, so I usually leave office at around 2:00 to 3:00 a.m. This has been going on for past 6 months... (laughs)

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What type of games do you like?

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Yoshida: I like various kinds of games including RPGs, action, FPS and fighting games. I like the Fallout series, Red Dead Redemption and the Assassin's Creed series, as well. I often play Street Fighter IV during my break. I really love MMOs and some of the online games that I still regularly play are Diablo, Diablo II, Ultima Online, Dark Age of Camelot and World of Warcraft. I believe DAoC is what I played the longest, playing it for nearly 6 years. Right now, I am interested in checking out Rift.

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What is your favorite MMO?

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Yoshida: Oops! I accidentally just answered this! I still cannot forget the excitement of realm vs. realm in Dark Age of Camelot. In Ultima Online, I was a major PK (player killer) player. And for now, I am quite interested in Rift!

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Do you prefer console or PC gaming?

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Yoshida: I spend quite a time in online games, so I believe the total hours I have spent on each are about equal. If it's entertaining, it doesn't matter whether it's on a console or PC.

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Do you play FFXIV as a personal player or only for testing/work purposes?

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Yoshida: Since my private hours are close to null, I can only play it while I'm in the office. But on my free time, I wander around Eorzea so some players may have walked right passed my character. (laughs) If things calm down a bit more, I'm thinking about playing from home. Of course, my identity will have to remain hush-hush!

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If yes, what race is your character?

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Yoshida: Oh, I do have my own character! A Lalafell!

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Tell us, just how much do you like Lalafells?

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Yoshida: I really love them! They are so adorable, and surely anyone would simply die being around that much cuteness! Also what I like about them is that once the PvP is implemented, they are hard to target and can easily hide from others! (laughs maniacally)

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Due to all of the conferences and meetings abroad, are you less afraid of taking the plane now?

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Yoshida: Actually, things haven't changed at all... I have been a frequent flyer way before I became the Producer/Director of FFXIV and flew around 30 times a year. However, I still can't overcome my fear of flying. I usually wear shades while I'm on board but even with that the cabin attendant will often ask me "Sir, are you alright?" so guess I'm still not used to it...

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Any plans for Mog Houses?

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Yoshida: Not sure if it will be a Mog House, but a private space and housing are in our plans for the future. We are planning to work on it along with a major revamp of the map.

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Will male Miqo’te and female Roegadyn be available with the PS3 release?

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Yoshida: That’s the plan!

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When will more means of transportation made available?

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Yoshida: We are planning to implement both airships and chocobos in patch 1.19. I believe I'll be able to provide more details in August!

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Do you still manage to get enough rest despite all the long hours you put in?

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Yoshida: Well, not really… Though I'm a light sleeper, I’m able to get rest when I can, so I'm doing fine.
Thank you for your concern! ^^

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Tea/Coffee/Hot Chocolate, what does the dev. team prefer?

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Yoshida: Everyone has their own favorite so it's hard to say but I believe the favorite would be coffee. Personally, I sometimes feel that 1/3 of my blood is made out of caffeine… (laughs)

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How many sugars do you put in your coffee?

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Yoshida: No sugar for me, as I like my coffee black. But around 7:00pm, I start to get a sugar craving. At times like that, I add about two spoonfuls of sugar.

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Are you planning to make cities more “lively”?

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Yoshida: Yes, we are planning to work on this as part of the revamping of the map!

Here comes part two...!

Here is the third and final set of Q&A from the community reps and Yoshida!

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What are your work hours? Do you usually get to go home on time?

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Yoshida: Generally, everyone starts their shift at 10am. However, in my case, I have a fairly chaotic schedule. There may be days where I would to attend a meeting at 9 am, skip lunch and continue to attend meetings, while also performing various checks. Due to my chaotic schedule, I'm rarely at my desk. From 9pm to 11pm, I read and reply to emails (around 230 emails per day). From 11pm, I create documents and hammer out designs while checking the forums. I leave the office at about 2-3am. I do some stretches, read a book and watch some videos at home. So, it will be after 4am when I go to bed. Then I wake up around 7-8am.

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Tell us more about your daily life. For example, what is the work environment like? Is it more of a relaxed environment or a serious environment?

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Yoshida: The office is much more lively and relaxed compared to what it was before. Since I am a heavy smoker, I do make frequent appearances at the designated smoking area. Everyone at the office gets along with each other.

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What's the most exciting thing you have experienced while developing FFXIV?

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Yoshida: Hmm, that's a tough question to answer. I think it may be chocobos as we are currently working on the specifications. (laughs) Since a lot of effort has been made for their implementation, I feel a major sense of accomplishment regarding it. Although it's been taking quite a long time, please be patient and look forward to it!

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What's the worst thing you have experienced while developing FFXIV?

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Yoshida: Hmm, I would have to say when players get angry at me in the forums… Pointing out mistakes and lack of information is one thing. However, it gets to me (along with the rest of the team) when the players start bashing my personality ^^; Please don't be too hard on us!

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What do you do in your spare time?

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Yoshida: I play FFXIV, watch movies or play basketball. Sadly… stress does build up as I hardly ever have any spare time these days! (laughs)

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Do you play FFXIV on your spare time?

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Yoshida: Even when I don't necessarily have the time, I play FFXIV.

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How many hours do you work a day?

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Yoshida: I would prefer not to disclose this to the public, but I generally work 14 to 16 hours a day.
As commuting takes one and a half hours for both ways, I don't have much time to sleep. (laughs)

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Will you continue to monitor the Q&A threads on the forums?

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Yoshida: I will continue to check the forums and the reports from community reps each and every day. So, please keep posting your comments!

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Are there any plans to implement a housing system for players and linkshells?

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Yoshida: Yes, as it's on the plan, it will surely be implemented even if it takes time. It will be implemented gradually with several phases. Please be patient until it's unveiled!

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Are there any plans to implement chocobos and/or airships?

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Yoshida: Both of them are planned to be implemented in patch 1.19. Cheer the dev. team on so that it will be ready by 1.19! ^^

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If there are plans to implement chocobos and/or airships, will players be required to complete a quest? For example, completing a quest to obtain an airship pass.

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Yoshida: Yes, that's the plan! Airships will also require a fee after the completion of the quest.

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Are there any plans to implement a system where players are able to inscribe their names into the crafted items?

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Yoshida: This is currently being discussed; however, we must wait for the server-related adjustments before we can get our hands on it. I'm very sorry for the time it's taking for us to address these types of requests.

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You previously mentioned that you guys are working on redesigning the areas. Are you more focused on changing the geography or the design?

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Yoshida: Changes will be made to both the geography and the design of the areas. Some areas will be changed rather drastically, so I'd love if you all could discuss how you think the changes will be made while you're all looking forward to it.

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Currently, there are only 3 class quests per class. Are there any plans to add more?

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Yoshida: There is a plan to add more but there are many other things to take care of first, so I assume it will be after the job system is implemented.

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Are there any plans to implement new monsters?

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Yoshida: Yes, new monsters will be added along with the implementation of the beastmen strongholds. Other than that, we are considering adding more monsters that are FINAL FANTASY-like. Due to the high quality nature that we strive for in FINAL FANTASY XIV, it's going to take some time until they are implemented but I can't wait 'til you're all able to tackle them!

I like tea.

Seriously, I want to ride my Chocobo !

(meh I was serious)

Awesome stuff, super excited for Airships and beastmen! Would like to point out an error here though; 'Airships will also require a free after the completion of the quest' I believe it should say 'fee'?

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Tea/Coffee/Hot Chocolate, what does the dev. team prefer?

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Oh man you should have said hot chocolate!

Cool story Bayohne!

I wish I didn't have to start work until 10am...

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Yoshida: I really love them! They are so adorable, and surely anyone would simply die being around that much cuteness! Also what I like about them is that once the PvP is implemented, they are hard to target and can easily hide from others! (laughs maniacally)

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I don't care for pvp much but this made me smile, the only thing though is what is the use of being able to "hide" when you can see the HP bar which is hard to miss lol (unless they make them invisible in pvp, which I doubt they would)

Like, I'd hide in a bush, but my HP bar is right above my head and doesn't blend well in the bush, so I'm not hidden at all :/

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Originally Posted by Bayohne

Yoshida: Yes, that's the plan! Airships will also require a free after the completion of the quest.

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I think it's supposed to say fee.
Anyways. I like my coffee black too ^^b

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Originally Posted by Laiferr

Would like to point out an error here though; 'Airships will also require a free after the completion of the quest' I believe it should say 'fee'?

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Fixed! (123456789101112)

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Originally Posted by Bayohne

Fixed! (12345678910)

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-YcBVEnLT8

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Originally Posted by Yoshida

And for now, I am quite interested in Rift!

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Cool, I've been enjoying Rift.

Could walk right by each other and not even know it. :)

Glad to hear they may going to adjust the color palette

seem like they making the game for me. lol

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Originally Posted by Bayohne

Fixed! (123456789101112)

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Aww, why not a free?

Edit: Wow, how did you find that clip? I haven't seen that since I was 7.

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Originally Posted by Bayohne

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What's the worst thing you have experienced while developing FFXIV?

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Yoshida: Hmm, I would have to say when players get angry at me in the forums… Pointing out mistakes and lack of information is one thing. However, it gets to me (along with the rest of the team) when the players start bashing my personality ^^; Please don't be too hard on us!

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Awe, that's sad to hear. :(

I know FFXIV has a lot of problems, but do we really have to be so rude to the guy who's trying to fix it? I think we should all be a little more grateful to Yoshida, considering all the long hours he puts in.

Say Bayohne, do you think you could pass on a message to Yoshida for me? Tell him I think his personality is awesome, and that his lighthearted, happy-go-lucky attitude really helps to bring a real sense of personality and humanity to the dev team and make it easier to deal with all the problems the game currently has, because I know he's trying his hardest, and that he shouldn't be discouraged by all the immature forum trolls who do nothing but criticize and belittle him when all he's trying to do is provide us with a fun game to play. Other players should be more appreciative of all the hard work he and everyone else at SE put in. Game development isn't easy, and I just want Yoshida to know that he is appreciated, at least by some of us.

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Originally Posted by Evangela

Glad to hear they may going to adjust the color palette

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Where did they say that?

Thank you, Bayohne.

It makes me sad that Naoki Yoshida is a chain-smoking fiend that works 16 hour days and gets virtually no sleep ... mostly for our benefit.



So I drink to his continued health! Huzzah!

Two tumbs up with for beastmen strongholds, most exciting news out of them all!

Yoshida is a good guy, I feel bad for him he's got attached to a project in such a bad condition and such a bad name. Hope he gets to shine in the future on his own project.
I think all the white knights going to faint after they see he likes WoW and wants to check out rift.

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Originally Posted by Rhianu

Where did they say that?

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They didn't. Design and geography doesn't mean the color palette necessarily.

How can he play DaoC and Ultima Online and think THIS is the best direction for FFXIV?

Wada breathing down his neck?

Edit:

Anyways, beastmen strongholds, housing, map redesign, and new mobs all sound interesting.

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Yoshida: I really love them! They are so adorable, and surely anyone would simply die being around that much cuteness! Also what I like about them is that once the PvP is implemented, they are hard to target and can easily hide from others! (laughs maniacally)

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I'm vomiting sugar...

I have a feeling Yoshi-P players on Wutai because he did mention Final Fantasy 7 was his favorite game. I wish I could meet you Yoshi-P in game I would treat you like another player and not as leader of FFXIV. I think you would be surprised at how many people would treat you like a player and not with reverence. Already a lot of players like you for just being a player of other games and MMO's and understanding and even giving us polls and listening to what fans say and making strides to make the player base happy overall. I would just like the opportunity to party with you and do a dungeon sometimes and talk about random things instead of game design and future plans, lol. Heck I don't even know if you speak any English or you have a translator do it all for you but I would assume you are well versed in the English language.

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Originally Posted by giftforce

How can he play DaoC and Ultima Online and think THIS is the best direction for FFXIV?

Wada breathing down his neck?

Edit:

Anyways, beastmen strongholds, housing, map redesign, and new mobs all sound interesting.

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Editing on my PS3, so no bolding emphasis on anything. Anyway, I'm not entirely sure what 'THIS' is yet! Hopefully once we get a couple more patches done we get some view on the bigger picture, because from what I gather at the moment they seem to be going for some kind of system in which you can choose what you do that day (aside from the others out there, quest, quest, quest etc) including just grinding in the fields if you so choose, or doing a couple of Leves, or faff about raiding some poor guys who were just hiding in a cave.

The larger scale changes to the world itself will be intriguing, I have no doubt of that. I'm really surprised to hear him mention DAoC so often, along with the PvP. Clearly he has interest in that area, that will doom us alll, aaaaaahhh. But not really. Whatever happens, so long as I'm not forced to 'quest' all the time, I'll be a reasonably happy camper.

*Edit* He is probably the single most interesting looking game designer I have ever seen, and although these are 'fluff' pieces, I do like reading them. The supposed difference in the team over the months is interesting to hear.

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Originally Posted by InuraBera

Editing on my PS3, so no bolding emphasis on anything. Anyway, I'm not entirely sure what 'THIS' is yet! Hopefully once we get a couple more patches done we get some view on the bigger picture, because from what I gather at the moment they seem to be going for some kind of system in which you can choose what you do that day (aside from the others out there, quest, quest, quest etc) including just grinding in the fields if you so choose, or doing a couple of Leves, or faff about raiding some poor guys who were just hiding in a cave.

The larger scale changes to the world itself will be intriguing, I have no doubt of that. I'm really surprised to hear him mention DAoC so often, along with the PvP. Clearly he has interest in that area, that will doom us alll, aaaaaahhh. But not really. Whatever happens, so long as I'm not forced to 'quest' all the time, I'll be a reasonably happy camper.

*Edit* He is probably the single most interesting looking game designer I have ever seen, and although these are 'fluff' pieces, I do like reading them. The supposed difference in the team over the months is interesting to hear.

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Well DaoC was all about territorial control and Ultima Online was all about player-freedom and role playing, so it's really weird to see Yoshi, insofar as it concerns FFXIV, focusing almost exclusively on "instances" and "questhubs" which are stark opposites of the sandbox-philosophy which served as the foundation for those games he mentioned being such a big fan of.

How come nothing was asked about the scarfs Yoshida wears? He's ALWAYS sporting a new scarf every time a new picture pops up of him lol....

I wonder if he runs around Uldah on his lalafell in the bandanna's...

More really good info here, cant wait for chocobos and airships, hopefully the chocobo quest wont be like the one on 11, standing around for hours trading gyshal greens to a sick chocobo, possibly a training type of quest simalar to ffx, bar the bs race at the end lol.

I think we should all respect the hard work Yoshi-P and the dev team put into the game, and i'm the same as Yoshi, I beleave my blood i 90% caffene.

Yoshi-P and the dev team will always have my respect

Yoshi-P.kewl guy who doesn't afraid of anything.

Except airplanes.

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Originally Posted by giftforce

They are all beautiful.

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That Christina Aguilera song comes to mind...

Interesting intreview, but lost some respecting calling Lalafell cute

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Yoshida: Hmm, I would have to say when players get angry at me in the forums… Pointing out mistakes and lack of information is one thing. However, it gets to me (along with the rest of the team) when the players start bashing my personality ^^; Please don't be too hard on us!

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the poor guy...i hate to be in his place when it comes to this...