Questions and Feedback on the Future of FINAL FANTASY XIV

I am more than happy to pay for this game after seeing the future plans. I have enjoyed my time on FFXIV, and although some of the issues with the game have been frustrating I haven't lost confidence in the developer's and Yoshi-P. I am very excited for the changes that are coming and I thank everyone on the FFXIV crew for their continuous hard work.

One question I do have though is about the new graphics engine. With the overhaul, will the PC requirements be higher when that is implemented or will the requirements be somewhat the same? I am currently running FFXIV on my laptop which runs everything on medium-high graphics comfortably, so I would like to know if this overhaul is going to affect my ability to play.

Thanks!

Can we get a benchmark for the new graphics engine when it's done?

I just happen to remember you released a benchmark for XIV before it was released, and considering it will be a while before the new graphics engine will be released even when it's done, could we get another one for the new engine as soon as possible? Shouldn't be too time-consuming if you just port the current cutscene, or would it? I want to see the changes asap and in real-time! :)

It doesn't hurt to ask!

What content will be posted in this subforum? Any timeframes?

1. With the new 2.0 server systems, will the major game breaking issues such as animation lock, the positioning imprecision, and interface lag be greatly reduced? How do we know you're telling the truth, when at first XIV release the game was a complete disaster?
2. Payment using Click and Buy is something a majority of the users have come to not want. Since you seem to be listening very well to what the players want, why haven't we heard anything regarding SE's own private subscription plans and the abolishment of the Click and Buy contract?
3. How much is the subscription going to cost? Since the game is only 50% done, will we see a 50% reduction in subscription costs ala: 6/7 USD?
4. Why are you deciding to charge now, when the game is only 50% to where you wanted it to be at launch? It seems awkward that we're going to be paying a subscription fee for a product that is only half complete, how do you justify this?
5. In the 2.0 PDFs, addons were highlighted as something you want to see happen. Tanaka said the same about addons early in XIV's development but we never saw anything come out from it. Will you be releasing a developer kit to help create new addons for the game and show you're fully supported in evaluating and balancing addons?
6. On the photoshopped concept screenshot of the UI, the party unit frames and general UI seem vastly improved. However there are two glaring features that seem to be missing. One, the multiple action bars on screen at all times seems to have been forgotten, and two, the party unit frames have very abstract buff/debuffs. Timers on the unit frames are a welcome sight, but aside from protect and shell, I cannot differentiate anything about the buffs/debuffs. Will they be hoverable with tooltip information? What happened with showing multiple action bars on the screen at one time? Toggling the action bar is incredibly inefficient for PC users.
7. How are you planning on addressing the current loot distribution quagmire that seems to plague the game right now? Ifrit drops weapons that people can't use because they don't have the jobs leveled, nor do they want to level those classes. Loot cannot be master looted or need for greeded, and there is no random number roll. In 2.0 how are you addressing this lack of attention in the loot table and loot distribution department?
8. To cast a spell, you need to target a monster, hit your spell hot key, and then CONFIRM your target. This is incredibly redundant, annoying, and frustrating to inuitive gameplay. Why haven't we seen the complete removal of confirming targets on spellcastting, and why hasn't the AOE toggle bar been completely removed as you said it was going to several months ago? In 2.0 are we still going to see the AOE toggle?
9. The toggling action bars is unitutive, causes problems, and again is flat out frustrating. You have mentioned being able to see all three action bars on the screen at the same time previously, and I figured this would have been a priority for you. Why have we not seen this feature added yet? Did it get dropped? What is taking so long to implement this feature?
10. A significant number of players have asked for a Final Fantasy card game (Tetra Master/Triple Triad) to be implemented directly into the game, where monsters can be converted into cards, quests yield cards, and crafters can create cards. The 2.0 PDFs disappointingly have no mention of a card game at all. Can you tell us what is happening, or if there are any plans to implement a card game.
11. What are you planning on doing about the monotonous crafting mechanics? People literally sit and press enter for hours on end. Why was this specific crafting style chosen over something simplistic and automatic ala World of Warcraft?
12. How far along is the jump system, and will 2.0 have a full utilization of it? Can you tell us more about it?
13. Arcanist and Musketeer were mentioned earlier in developer/community team posts. Unfortunately there were no mentions of either class in the 2.0 PDFs. Are these classes dropped, and when can we expect to see them and their respective jobs?
14. What happened to the other classes such as Flayer and Fencer?
15. Will you be allowing free server transfers on the 2.0 launch so people can play with friends?
16. Spell animations and player casting animations for mages were requested and confirmed to be under review, how is the progress on this topic and what can you tell us about the new animations?
17. Having to wait for multiple players and NPCS to spawn in crowded areas is a frustrating mechanic. Will FFXIV 2.0 still render only a certain number of users in a given radius from the player, or will all NPCS and players render at the same time for a more fluid appearance to the game?
18. The current build of XIV has underutilized going inside buildings. Most of the shops are outside in tiny stalls. Will 2.0 utilize buildings as actual objects that we can traverse inside, or will buildings still remain a graphical box that we just look at?
19. Pets and summons were alluded to in the 2.0 PDFs, can you tell us more about the planned classes and jobs that will utilize them, and how will summons come into play?
20. Several important content filling topics listed on the 2.0 PDFs are coming "after 2.0." How long "after 2.0" are we talking for many of these features?
21. The current story arc has been said to come to a close before 2.0. Will the Ifrit, Garuda, Moogle primal fights still be accessible after 2.0 occurs?
22. The 2.0 PDFs mention a free trial reinstatement occurring sometime between October and November 2012. The next line then says that the free trial period ends in January 2013. Does this mean that players will have two to three free months when 2.0 launches, or is this a window of opportunity for players to return for a free trial? Also how long will this trial be?
23. What can you tell us about the LEGACY items, and the "application" process?
24. Will we finally be able to alt tab from full screen?

I would like to know why you are deciding on a subscription fee now, rather than when 2.0 is ready. If the game isn't ready for a relaunch now [Yoshi said 50% - and that was only in reference to the amount of content, and not even discussing core systems], and for the public PS3 release, then how can it be justified at this point in time?


Feedback and reasoning for the question:
Keeping it free allows your current players to virally market for you as the game improves to counter the many voices of dissent who have lost trust in you, and it lets players see the critical milestones the game needs to reach to succeed, and it prevents the current active players from committing themselves to another MMORPG between now and in the future. By charging a subscription fee, these players who become attached to another MMORPG will become lost to this game forever, while this game is still building to become good.

I want to be billed for this game, but I want to be billed for this game when it has earned it. It hasn't earned it yet.

Other questions:

What happens between August 2012 and October 2012. Will the servers be running? I ask this because the development road map does not list anything being "live" during this time period.

Is the "reboot period" also being considered a PC beta test?

Are there any large segments of time where the servers will need to be taken down for periods over 72 hours to prepare for 2.0 or the stated server changes?

Will the animation lag that North American, European, and other non-Japanese players suffer be addressed and fixed with the new server code and infrastructure to allow more engaging combat scenarios?

Will the storyline be significantly revamped for the three starting zones?

Will the cities themselves be reworked in the revamp?

What is the estimated time table for the things listed as "after 2.0 launches"?

The picture with the chimera and UI mock up looks like several high quality models that have been copied and pasted from internal files into the image, rather than something that is compressed to actually run on a game client. Can we get a high resolution [1920x1080 or higher] image from somewhere in the world with a player standing there, maybe even casting a spell, that actually exists within the client that consumers will be playing on so we can know what kind of graphical upgrades to expect?

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Originally Posted by Platinumstorm

I would like to know why you are deciding on a subscription fee now, rather than when 2.0 is ready. If the game isn't ready for a relaunch now [Yoshi said 50% - and that was only in reference to the amount of content, and not even discussing core systems], and for the public PS3 release, then how can it be justified at this point in time?


Feedback and reasoning for the question:
Keeping it free allows your current players to virally market for you as the game improves to counter the many voices of dissent who have lost trust in you, and it lets players see the critical milestones the game needs to reach to succeed, and it prevents the current active players from committing themselves to another MMORPG between now and in the future. By charging a subscription fee, these players who become attached to another MMORPG will become lost to this game forever, while this game is still building to become good.

I want to be billed for this game, but I want to be billed for this game when it has earned it. It hasn't earned it yet.

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I think it's fair to counter this and say I think the game has reached a point where I would be willing to pay. Content roll-outs are part of all MMOs, and nothing in this genre is ever 100% complete until they pull the plug.

If I might offer something for everyone asking about why we're being charged now..

"we’ll have reached that point once we've developed a system where we listen to the voices of the players and then communicate back what we are going to do, how we are going to do it, and a deadline for when it will be done. We’re not there yet."

'S something Naoki Yoshida said several months ago when asked about how long the free period would last. So at least.. we were warned. Really I wasn't surprised, 'was expecting to find a subscription announcement somewhere the moment I saw the word 'roadmap'. If nothing else he's keeping his word. .. Okay except for the promise to keep all the old promises as regards the promise of definitely getting other-coloured chocobo but, well.

Still, yes, certainly wondering about whether the prices'll be any lower in the meanwhile or 'out.

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Originally Posted by Kibo

Can we get a benchmark for the new graphics engine when it's done?

I just happen to remember you released a benchmark for XIV before it was released, and considering it will be a while before the new graphics engine will be released even when it's done, could we get another one for the new engine as soon as possible? Shouldn't be too time-consuming if you just port the current cutscene, or would it? I want to see the changes asap and in real-time! :)

It doesn't hurt to ask!

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I would like this too.

GO PHOENIX GO!!

I got a question...i'm concerned about what i saw at concept art regarding miqo'tes...they all (both male and female characters) have shaved ears...just like FFXI ones...and then i saw this (quoting from new FFXIV outline):

"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."

Are you guys changing the race models or racial characteristics (like FFXIV miqo'tes having furry ears)? Or is this just for those willing to change races, hairstyles, gender or whatever? Or is it related to just engine itself, like shading, textures, etc?

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Originally Posted by Sorel

I would like this too.

GO PHOENIX GO!!

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And I'm agreed on the Pheonix brand. The souls of the land who stand up with steely swords to brave the tumultuous times to come are the embodiment of a reborn soul from the ashes. Looking forward to motivational speeches in an epic storyline.

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Originally Posted by Rentahamster

Start billing when 2.0 hits. Anytime before that is too early, IMO.

Diablo III is coming out soon.

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This. Start charging exactly by the time Star Wars: The Old Republic is about to be released is, at least, an extremely reckless decision. IMO the correct is they only charging after 2.0 is out. IDC much if they need money or whatever...charging for a game in the curent state will just get even more players away.

IMO, start billing now is a death sentence. Would be better just turn servers off...probably would have a better monetary return than start billing and then only resume at 2.0. I predict some tremendous backfire coming from this decision.

I understand that the focus at and long term goal at the moment is to reboot and re-launch FFXIV with FFXIV version 2.0, and that therefore it is vital that you manage to create a satisfying product that once launched will get enough attention. Therefore we work as your beta and paying customers while you keep us busy with improvements and content until the game is ready to redeem it's name and is ready to successfully market itself and recruit a wider playerbase.

Seeing as there are already many players with multiple lvl 50 classes I am wondering how you are going to keep them striving for time consuming content, so my questions are naturally:
- Are there yet any plans for the implementation of more classes/jobs by version 2.0 or after?
- Are there yet any ideas to when the lvl cap is going to be raised?

Are there plans for Summoner and Thief Jobs/Classes?

Apologies if this has been asked a million times already.

I'm overall pleased with the direction of the game, and I will P2P and continue to support the games new direction. There are a couple of areas that I'm worried about, but nothing that would keep me from playing the game.

1. Will you be able to successfully ballance PvP and PvE and keep them seperate, such as class ballancing and gear?

2. The mention of UI Add-Ons seems like it would put PS3 users at a disadvantage. Will they be only cosmetic, or will you NEED them to do challenging content, or worse yet will they be able to play the game for you?

3. I saw no mention of new classes/jobs. Will you be implementing them in the future? Everyone has their favorite, and I'd like a Ninja (non-tank).

4. Could you elaborate on the possible new races of Dragons and Demi-humans? Will these be the only new playable races added, if any are added? What is a (FFXIV) Demi-Human anyway? Could we possibly have playable Goblin and Qiqirn races?

5. Could we get some feedback on the lack of ballance between Gladiator tanks vs. Marauder Tanks, as well as the future direction of the Paladin Job? The way I currently see it isbasically this:

Gladiator: Good defense/defensive skills, Poor AoE damage/Good single target damage, Good Single Target Enmity skills/Bad AoE enmity skills/Slow enmity build up.

Marauder: Good defense/defensive skills, Awesome AoE damage/Awesome single target damage, Good Single Target Enmity skills/Good AoE enmity skills/Fast enmity build up.

I would like to see at least good trade-offs, so that Marauder doesnt so greatly outperform Gladiator. Particularly with content that seems to be 90% AoE tanking!

Also if as mentioned before Paladin gets high defense and low attack and loses a lot of cross-class abilities and traits, it better be significantly beefy and have defensive and enmity skills that make it THE super tank. Otherwise all I see Paladin being is a highly survivable solo class, or a good off-tank/support class. If the overall goal is to make Marauder an awesome DPS/Tank, just let me know now so I can start building my Marauder/Warrior Tank.

Love the outline for v2.0

Question

With all the new changes, it seems like a completely different game. Will guild leves be changed completely as well? Will we still have crystals at each camp to activate leves. Or will it be done differently?

(ex) Get leve from counter...go to a farm...talk to npc who put up the request to have squirrels killed who are eating their crops...leve activated...kill off the squirrels in the crops....level complete.

or will it mimic closely to what we have right now?

Psst...Hey Buddy.... Wanna Free Pass?

Perhaps give each remaining paying customer a 1 year Buddy Pass (expires when 2.0 goes Live). We played free for a year, now as we pay, allow us to invite a friend to play free until 2.0 goes Live. You might just get more people hooked with the right lure. Heck some folks might use the Pass for an Alt and then keep both accounts after 2.0.

If they only keep 1 acct, or even quit after 2.0, at least you get 1 years worth of subs but I am guessing the vast majority will renew (assuming you guys can deliver...which I believe you can).

Just a thought anyway. ;>) I'm trying to bring peace to the realm while you guys tear it apart (for the greater good).

Another question:

I noticed the new maps are only covering a smal part of the current ones, like Black shroud area seems to cover from that lake from Gridania, going south past bent Brush and, possibly, going until Tranquil. Also, i saw that the new lake in La Noscea seems to be replacing Iron Lake, Bronze Lake and the O'ghomoro...

Are the darkened parts of the old maps really a reference of the new ones' position, indicating that only parts of the maps will change, or are they just as random background? I really believe that you guys always do this kind of stuff on purpose, as hints (or also we wouldn't have some of the area names erased from images...probably the already known names i guess), but it does is worth asking.

First off, overall the changes sound good. I'm especially interested in the treasure maps found by gatherers. Those sound like a lot of fun. :) But I do have a couple of questions/comments.

Like a previous poster pointed out, there is a line that says all dungeons will be converted into instanced raids. Does this mean all non-instanced dungeons will be taken out and converted? I would be sad to see this happen. Hopefully you just mean making raid versions of instanced dungeons?

The picture you showed doesn't really give a firm look at the new graphics. Just how much of a hit (if any) will the graphics take with this new engine? I understand that this change is necessary to make the game better and more efficient, but the graphics is something I really, really love, so I'm just wondering.

I'm one of the few that loved the maps as they are, seemless and vast, and didn't mind the "copy and paste" at all. Will all of the new maps be small with loadscreens now? I'm sure they will still be beautiful, I'm just wondering how much of a hit they will take compared to now.

Would you perhaps give us options to play whatever language we want for the voiceovers, or even maybe an option to turn the voiceover off please? I'm one who likes to watch anime in Japanese and I have been dissapointed in the past when spoken SE games have not included language options. In the case of gaming, I think I might even like the option to turn it off and read like the older games.

Thank you for your hard work. :)

My question:

In the concept screenshot, how much of that is concept, and how much of it is actual screenshot? How much of that is just conceptual artwork, and how much, if any, is actually rendered models and in-game graphics?

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Originally Posted by Gunheim

Thanks for being more transparent with your goals, but, to start charging me for your beta is revolting. I won't bother to log on anymore if it's gonna cost me valuable meal tickets. You will lose a lot of players in an already tiny community come December.

It's funny. I'm not even surprised that the subscriptions are being restarted. I almost expected it even if it's a bad choice. To be real: I'm starting to see SE as a maker of bad choices. You know Stars Wars: The Old Republic releases in December? I will be playing that, Diablo 3, and GW2 until the mythical version 2.0 is functioning. I'm shaking my head right now thinking about how SE is gonna compete with the heavyweights. Did you know GW2 and D3 won't even have monthly fees? All this disappointment and frustration is coming from a longtime FF fan who wants the game to succeed. Imagine what the non-fanboys must think about paying for this game.

Speaking of successful free games, if the plan is to take ideas from other places, learn to make money without charging monthly fees. There are some fine examples to emulate like League of Legends, AoC, or GW.

Take care. See you again! December 2012. Yes, please.

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Yeah you're a fan allright. A fan of the games you mentioned you will be playing. Good luck to you good sir.

One of my magor issues with the planned updates is the extention of the party search to what seems to be a cross server model. In my experiance while this may help people find parties quickly, it also leads to a fealing of disconnection from the comunity.

Some people, like me, will still endevore to be polite and do our best but alot of people tend to stop careing how they treat other people in parties if they have no reason to expect to ever see or hear from those people again.


I do agree that converting all the in game dungeons to Instinces isn't an apealing idea to me either. Haveing a large world that at least feels somewhat seamless is something that alot of the plays I've talked to think is one of the better parts of this game. Shrinking it into a series of smaller zones and instinces would seem like a let-down.

Big question that's been niggling at me all day.

Q: Can we get a look at what the character models might look like with the new engine?

I'm worried that my character that I've grown so attached to over this year will change for the worse. I like how cute she is.

Questions:

1. Will you release an API tool to allow creation of add-ons like Auto-translate and data parsing?
2. Can we have true full-screen with suspended Dirext-X states to utilize crossfire/sli and alt-tab out without crashing?
3. Can we adjust the majority of graphic settings in-game? (like modern games)
4. Can we map ALL key's to whatver we want? Like Alt-0 for slot1/bar1 and Alt-Shift-0 for slot1/bar2?
5. Can we dynamically re-size the window? (like modern games)
6. Will you engineer the game to support DirectX9-11?
7. Will you offer a downloadable ISO for the new version 2.0 as I bought collector's and don't want to have to buy the game again to get the new large installer?
8. Will I have to buy the game again?
9. Can I work for SE? :)
10. Will we have a public test server so you can send invites to a few hundred/thousand players before each patch to test each one?*

*I ask this because players will think differently than developers. You develop to make the game work in a certain fashion and 8/10 players (especially lazy/hardcore) ones will attempt to circumvent this by finding loopholes. The same way I tried to get out of doing presentations, or the laundry when I was a kid lol.

*We would have uncovered the PL issue before the patch went live, because the first thing we want to do is break whatever has been done so it works for our benefit, not SE's (sad but true fact)

Icehunter, it's been stated already that we won't have to buy the game again.

Great move SE, let's hope the hype of impending change will make people want to give you a years worth of subscription fees to play an incomplete game while they wait.

Seriously, who thought of THAT stupid idea? Every single person I've talked to said they won't be paying until 2.0 is released, so have fun with three people online come December.

... That's it, I give up. I promised myself I'd stop dropping question after question but this one's starting to torture me.

In the mock-up/concept screenshot for what.. I assume is a v2.0 notorious monster battle - what's with the seven square-ish clusters of green, red, grey and blue dots in the bottom right? I can't even manage to come up with theories.

I wish the PS3 version will release sooner.

Final Fantasy XIV was to originally be a voiced MMORPG but there seems to be only a select few cut scenes where voices take place. Do you have any plans to fully voice all Mission and Quest cut scenes for 2.0?

Two things concern me - cross-server parties and add-ons. After playing WoW and Rift I frankly feel that cross-server parties undermine server uniqueness and do not encourage good behaviour. I'm also wondering how they will work with such a diverse player base (multiple languages) all on the same servers. Does this mean SE is going to create zones (ie., NA servers, JP servers, etc.)? If this is so that also makes me a little sad as I love the multi-cultural nature of the servers.

As for add-ons, in my experience they dumb down the game to a ridiculous extent. For example, if you're worried about dps introduce target dummies and let intelligent players work out their own shot rotation. I live by two simple ingame rules - if the monster dies and we all live then it's a successful battle. Sometimes the better option is crowd control but then that doesn't look good on the dps metres.

In short, if they're making a JP version of WoW/Rift and every other MMO out there I'd rather pay for Rift. It's cheaper and I can pay in USD.

For the sake of SE's hard work and the wonderful time I've been having I shall keep playing for now and yes, I will pay the subscription (ouch!).

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Originally Posted by Fensfield

... That's it, I give up. I promised myself I'd stop dropping question after question but this one's starting to torture me.

In the mock-up/concept screenshot for what.. I assume is a v2.0 notorious monster battle - what's with the seven square-ish clusters of green, red, grey and blue dots in the bottom right? I can't even manage to come up with theories.

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You know, it might just be an item-pack concept. *shrugs*

1) Can you tell us if you are going add more different weapon types? Do you have plans to give more optional weapons for the basic class with have now? GLA can use 2 weapons; swords and daggers. Can you add weapons to other class like: PUG can only use knuckles and katars (add dual weapon maybe? like 2 daggers? to make it NIN like or assassin type or probably a THF). LNC can only use spears (add scythe maybe?).

2) You always tell us you want more "grey" in this game by mixing hardcore and casual gamers, can you make the billing system to be this way as well? This will give no advantage to hardcore and casual gamers. And casual players will be more than happy with this system. Ex: Player need to pay $15-$20 for 30 days and that 30 days will run only when player is inside the game (online).

3) Can you tell us more about your plan and changes to "party search system"? And when can we have this?

4) You told us that we will have an option to change our Race, sex, appearance. How about our "guardian" and "Nameday"? And does it have any purposes?

Looking at the screenshot of version 2.0, and myself being a laptop player right now the new graphics engine, while looking awesome, makes me a little worried about the required and reccomended specs of version 2.0, would you beable to tell us how the PC specs will change for version 2.0 will the be lower ie it will run better on low end systems or will they require a higer end system than we currently need?

The changes look awesome but I am worried how the game will run on my laptop (will only be 2 years old when version 2.0 is released) hopefully I will have upgraded to a PC by then but just incase :P

All I gotta say is WOW.

I too am concerned about the massive change and how it may affect PC player performance, and I'll repeat a question here...
- As others have said about the massive changes, are the PC specs required for PC users going to increase significantly? I have a decent PC for XIV, not the best out there, but it was affordable and plays the game fairly well (tho I can lag in heavily populated areas like Ul'dah).

As for the announcement about paying~ I'll personally be happy to pay to play and to support XIV's development. We've had the game free for almost a year, and the changes have been good. ^^;

Welcome back to paid Beta! (sorry I had to; my only particular disagreement)

Overall though, I got pretty hyped last night when I saw the new teaser site, and I'm paying for it with a lack of sleep today. A year is a while to wait, but I'm looking forward to the transition as well and preparing to receive the apocalypse. With Yoshida in the lead I'm confident they're not going to make the same mistakes they did the first go-around. I just hope they can meet all the deadlines they've set out for themselves.

My input is going to be broad, as that's the scope of these recent announcements; large, global changes to the game.

1) First and most important to me: Get rid of Click & Buy. I am willing to pay, but I'm not willing to pay through them.
While I also don't agree with the timing, at this point it doesn't matter how many people are turned away by going P2P; its that much more SE will be taking in prior to this, and their expenses need reduction and offset. Those of you who go elsewhere are taking nothing away with you.

V) You stuck a bunch of (favorite) names from Ivalice in your mock-up - how about sticking a bunch of races from it in your plans as well!? (For Menphina's love get some Viera in there!)

3) Male Miqote look like they need a bit more bulk to them. More ... Tiger-like and muscular. Kinda like Woren (Early Breath of Fire). But that's just a matter of opinion. Oh wait, all of this is.

4) Those fonts for character names/titles on that mock-up battle screenshot are nice. Keep that! But much of that action interface is just too familiar. Don't keep that. Familiarity is nice but using a "Global UI Standard" just makes the game feel like many other MMOs out there, and can have a huge impact on FFXIV getting a feel of it's own. Referring to the console FF interfaces - they've been very unique and fun, while still functional, and give a strong sense that you're playing something different! I've played all those other MMOs and I don't want it to feel like I'm playing them again.

5) I'm really looking forward to the zone redesigns. I'll start to know where I am by the landscape around me and won't have to check the map to know which of the three identical brooks in the area I'm crossing. And the concept art of some of those new landmarks look quite inviting to take a walk through - I just hope I have a chance to appreciate the scene before being brutally pulverized by something immeasurably beyond my level.

6) The decision to break-off from the seamless world model is a moot matter - it wasn't truly seamless to begin with: Thanalan, La Noscea, Black Shroud, Mor Dhona and Coerthas all required "zoning", so we're not losing (or gaining) anything. And the time it took you to walk through those narrow corridors between regions in zones (Central/Eastern/Western Thanalan for example, this doesn't really make it seamless in my mind either) is the same time you'd spend loading a full transition. (...usually, some computers aren't as fast as others)
Not to mention, a lot of those invisible transitional borders were fatal. At one point you're walking through a 10~20 sort of area, cross a bridge, and suddenly you're face down in the ground with a message in your log reporting you've been critically struck from behind for 9999 damage by something that hasn't even been loaded yet (a Wild Boar in my case). Why is that something like that living right next door to a Lv10 rat?
I take it back. I'm gaining something from fragmented zones: survivability.

7) Worldless Model: Not to be confused with a singular world in which we all reside (like the way EVE runs, for example); there will still be separate worlds ("・Party/content matching for players from different World servers"). Yeah. Most of us realize what this is emulating. For those that don't: a queuing system that builds pick-up groups out of those in the queue to run dungeon/instanced content. I've seen these systems go from non-existent to same-server to cross-server, and despite the wails and throws of those that didn't think they could deal with people from other servers, I've found them to be successful in their intentions. It's a great way to meet new people, and find out who really knows how to pull their weight. You also get some jackasses, but such is random social interaction. I have faith our collective culture is a little better behaved than most and we'll get along with each other just dandy.

X) I have a first generation PS3 with hardware PS2 emulation. I know that last bit's not particularly important, but its a relatively rare configuration these days and makes for a great testing platform. ...Right? Yeah, I just want to Beta test the PS3 version. :( I don't use it much otherwise.

I'm spent.

OK first I would just like to say this all looks incredibly awesome. Also those saying they should not be billing yet need to understand that the dev team needs this money to fund the development of what we have seen. The people who quit when billing starts won't be missed as if the game remained free to play they would not have been paying anyway. But the players who are willing to stick around will be putting money into the development of 2.0.

Now on to a few questions.

There is talk of putting the game on a new graphics engine. Is this a entirely new graphics engine or a new and better coded version of Crystal Tools? Further more Will this new graphics engine require more powerful PC's then now? Will it be more flexible allowing for in game graphics config? Will players in theory be able to make the game look better with the PC's they have now?

Is a Thief class ever planned? It is one of the key classes that are missing from the game and not just from a Final Fantasy standpoint. Nearly every game has a Assassin or Thief like class however the common weapon of a class or job like that is already part of a Gladiators class so will this be changed in 2.0 or are there no plans to have a Thief like job?

User made add ons are mentioned briefly in the PDF's given and I was wonder how exactly these will work and to what degree they can be part of the game. Many of the things people would like as add ons are already supported as part of the game itself such as seeing how long a effect will be on you and recast times and etc. Further more will SE be offering tools to allow players to make these add ons or are players allowed to just wing it and submit something to SE for approval? Also will things like modded armor and weapon appearance be part of these add ons or are they system related only?

Voice over is mentioned in the plans. How extensive will this voice over be? Will all future cut scenes both Story related and quest related be voiced? Will the voice work quality be more up to par with the quality seen in games such as Final Fantasy XII and XIII(sorry but the little voice work that is in the game currently is pretty bad)

That's it for now but I'm sure I will think of a few more questions for later.

My primary concern is regarding a certain two aspects of billing.

Last I looked, it was $9.99/mo as a base fee with an addendum of $4 for every character slot purchased. I feel this is too expensive. Can we see a price reduction?

My other question is regarding the previously announced special discount for Final Fantasy XI subscribers who also have an FFXIV subscription, from one year ago. Are there any plans to bring this back at all, and hopefully continue it indefinitely?

Thanks.

I notice that the armor on the Warrior Job Specific Armor has a flap on the helmet. Will we be able to open and close the flap on the helmet ? or will the helmet always expose our face ?

I am requested a lifetime subscription option when subscriptions are activated. I am going to stick around for years to come. I saw that option in DCUO and would love it here. Is that sometime you have considered?

Will our characters keep there current class levels ? will our $$$ be wiped out w/ new version??? Will existing gear all be carried over to new version or will we log into a new version 2.0 missing alot of what we worked for? This should have been addressed more in the PDF.

And will some NM gear truly be equal or in some cases better than crafted gear. I support crafting but i dont want to play ff14Crafters I wanna play a MMORPG

Question: Is it really impossible to have both seamless maps and diversity of areas in them (technology limitation or it simply does not exists yet)?

Question: I didn't noticed jumping in the roadmap of FFXIV 2.0, what happened to it?