Many of us have read the plans for the future of the game and we understand that the job system is under development, that mounts are under development, we now have solid confirmation that the zones are being redone, and we know crafting is having significant revamping to it, a battle with Ifrit will ensue, and that the battle system and the UI are undergoing constant revision.
I don't really know what the direction of the game is, though. I'm not sure what the objective of FFXIV is going to be, nor what kind of focus the developers want to have in the long term, and I honestly don't even care about the time table.
I would have to assume the game is focused on being accessible to players, since a healthy player base is needed; but some of the changes being made and statements being made regarding leveling seem to put up significant barriers to accessibility [4 months to hit rank cap for one class at 2 hours a day is a significant barrier, but seems to be the goal for Yoshida.] Just who is the game being aimed at?
There's content that needs to be made for all level ranges, and I guess it would be nice to know how they plan to prioritize adding content into the game.
This is just a random stream of questions to highlight so much of the confusion in the game:
Are all rank ranges going to be supplied with a healthy amount of content in the new zones? Are the mission quests and lackluster class quests being redone? What will happen with the original stories that are seemingly dropped at rank 20? Is the focus of the game going to be on story quests, small-scale dungeons, large scale raids, or what exactly? If guild leves aren't going to be the primary focus, then what is?
I don't even know how to plan my caster classes right now. I'm very interested in black mage, but it seems like conjurer keeps being driven towards the white mage, while the lore seems to favor conjurers being black mages and THM being white mages. Ranking up classes takes a big investment of time, and I just don't have an indication of what's being done!
Will there be a significant amount of "retcon" done to the lore in the game? How can the nations even hope to take on the Garlean empire given the vast technological differences [Arrows vs airships of death is very hard to swallow.]?
Are the main cities also being redone or retouched in significant ways? [Ul'dah is great, but could be more lively]
Will the revamped zones be "themed park", or will mob distribution be semi-random still for ranking levels? Are you aiming for a hand-holding experience, a semi-sandbox experience, or a sandbox experience?
Will stationary groups be focused on or will you try to develop Tanaka's vision as he spoke of in which [paraphrasing] "the mobs form groups and hunt you"?
How do the producers plan to tackle the massive amounts of gil held by players that will lead to high inflation with any sort of significant item demand?
Will we be able to attack multiple mobs without being penalized in sp?
Is the game still being focused on for the Playstation 3 vs the Playstation 4? I ask this because waiting until [estimate] 2013 to launch FFXIV on the PS4 could really solve technical issues that were rumored around the game's beta with 1/3 1/4 resolution on PS3, and reduce the technical limitations of future content. PS players will not hate you for making a better game in the meantime.
How about the payment options? There is a vocal community on both FFXI and on FFXIV but we're not really getting answers regarding this; and right now the lack of answers makes me concerned about contractual obligations to Click and Buy.
Perhaps the mots important question of all: Why do firestarter imps use ice attacks?
What's going right? What's going wrong? What will future battle system refinements and UI changes have in store? Will we get the desired drag/drop and multiple action bars on screen at once?
So all these questions are in really random directions, and they honestly just kind of sum up how the information that we're receiving in the community is extremely fragmented. I know we're still in a "reboot" phase, but it would be great to get some direction into what's happening long term without getting hit with a plan table and a 4 word caption by it. I appreciate those too, don't get me wrong, and I understand that the development of the game is in full-force so we can test the new systems and get to a point where the game is actually ready for "release", but I just don't feel like I have a great idea of where the game is headed right now because of a lack of communication, and it would be great if we could have not only more communication, but in a more organized fashion too.
Thanks for reading, and feel free to add your own questions too!
What is the direction of FFXIV?
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08-05-2011, 04:29 PMPlatinumstormWhat is the direction of FFXIV?
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08-05-2011, 04:34 PMthepinksupervisor
My mind was so blown by all those questions i only have one answer thats its going to be for the ps3 because the ps4 wont be coming out for a long while.
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08-06-2011, 03:07 PMDendai
Want to see where this late night post was going. Bump please...
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08-06-2011, 03:53 PMthepinksupervisor
I reread this post and i was like whats is this nonsense（╯°□°）╯︵ ┻━┻ .
(The grand company stands a semi chance because they have HOPE.) -
08-06-2011, 03:55 PMSeikninkuruThere is no direction. The direction for the game comes from popular opinion polls. So basically it just stagnates.Quote:
Originally Posted by Platinumstorm
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08-06-2011, 03:57 PMPlatinumstorm
The idea I was going for with the random string of questions really is nonsense, Pinksupervisor. I feel like the information is so scattered that it reflects the nature of the post.
Perhaps you didn't notice how unsure players were of what was even going into 1.18 until the day of the patch. I know players who thought the job system was being introduced as well as mount systems in 1.18, simply because they aren't laying out their vision for the future in a cohesive manner. On the other end, the "outposts," although in skeleton form, were completely forgotten even though it was one of the first things introduced to us about 1.18. Also, keep in mind the 1.18 plans were only a short term presentation.
Hope and arrows vs deathship crazy fireballs? Yeah.. -
08-06-2011, 04:07 PMthepinksupervisor
Didn't in a producer letter forgot which one said that 1.18 would focus on the battle system and chocobos and airships would come in 1.19?
Hope is a powerful thing like in ff13 -
08-06-2011, 04:50 PMBudi
I like your post.
SE should definetly aim for the PS4 release. They want to hold FFXIV as long as possible (maybe over 10 years?) so they need/should be on the new platforms, although I would consider a "weaker" version for PS3, so that people who can't afford the new consoles asap/ or people who are already waiting for a PS3 version dont get screwed... but saying that, they could simply release it on PS3 first and then release it with the new expansion on the PS4.
A big problem is that there is no direction, because all they currently do is building the foundation of the game. I don't think this game will be "enjoyable" untill Spring 2012. With enjoyable I mean enough content for all ranks, balanced classes, unique/more quests, complete Guild/Faction/Company system, 2-3 Jobs per class and many more... Maybe 2012 was too optimistic after all. -
08-06-2011, 04:56 PMMedura
Should wait for ps4, we know what happened at first launch. The playstation launch is the second chance, better to wait a bit to long than go to early :) I just wish they would let us have more characters for free .. cause when it comes out one would want to join newer servers too. But i am not willing to pay that much extra for one char that might not even become my main :P
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08-06-2011, 05:22 PMReika
Direction is to be made more like FFXI, WoW, and Everquest.
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08-06-2011, 05:36 PMBetelgeuzah
fun, live, reboot, and rebuild.
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08-06-2011, 09:06 PMSidewinder
I think those posts should be written in JP forums since they only answer there. Anyways the lack of communication with the community that plays their game is low and, at least, in future should improve.
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08-06-2011, 09:07 PMBetelgeuzahYeah man, when was the last time the reps posted anything in English? Was it back in March?Quote:
Originally Posted by Sidewinder
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08-06-2011, 09:11 PMLoony_BoB
What direction do other MMOs have, out of curiosity? I mean, direction is such an awkward thing to put into a game, I find. I don't really care what direction a game has so long as I'm having enough fun to keep playing. Maybe I'm easily pleased in such a way, but yeah, I'm intersted in what direction you feel that WoW, Rift, Blade & Soul, Guild Wars... any major current or future MMOs have. Again - direction is a very awkward thing.
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08-06-2011, 09:43 PMSidewinderI don't remember when was the last time. Anyways I follow Reinheart's posts since he is doing a great job translating all the info of the JP forum and magazines. SE should pay him lol.Quote:
Originally Posted by Betelgeuzah
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08-06-2011, 10:08 PMNerohttp://www.ps4playstation4.com/flash/PS4-CountDown.swfQuote:
Originally Posted by thepinksupervisor
:cool: lol -
08-06-2011, 10:31 PMBeorn
I'd like the devs to grow some stones and stop doing random requests because 10 people asked on the forum (Hello? Jump? What?). It feels like they're going in all directions at once sometimes. They need to stay focused on important aspects (why oh why the hide weapon option?).
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08-06-2011, 11:33 PMBetelgeuzahI think it was... Yes, it was yesterday.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sidewinder
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08-07-2011, 12:07 AMTonyMontana
I dont think they have much of a direction. I think they are just trying to get enough random content in the game so that PS3 players dont quit in a mass exodus like the PC players did within 2 months of retail. After that they may try to figure out where they actually want the storyline to go and such.
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08-07-2011, 02:26 AMSidewinderYes... Yesterday compared to JP? You understood perfectly the meaning little fanboy.Quote:
Originally Posted by Betelgeuzah
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08-07-2011, 03:01 AMSHJcules
I'd like to know if the social systems put into place in XIV will be seeing much attention in the near future.
As it stands now, Linkshell and Friends List functionality feel pretty bare-bones. -
08-07-2011, 03:06 AMPlatinumstormSome examples would be World of Warcraft has always focused on "Boxed content". What I mean by that is WoW historically [although that seems to be changing in response to SWTOR] hasn't cared about providing a story that evolved over time, but they focus heavily on polished raids and dungeon design, and put a heavy emphasis on creating an "e-sport" from their pvp. The game targets a large audience from casual players to hardcore players and aims content at the lowest denomination first, but then adds more mechanics and higher difficulty thresholds as time progresses per expansion, and as players enter different categories of the game [zone experience vs dungeon experience vs heroic [upgraded] dungeon experience vs raid experience vs heroic raid experience]Quote:
Originally Posted by Loony_BoB
Guild Wars' direction was always being the antithesis of the mmo genre. They've always strived to not take a lot of time to progress to the top. From that point, I think the players focus on PVP.
Star Wars Galaxies originally [before the major overhaul that made it terrible] created a mostly sandbox environment where developers gave players many options and tools to play the game like they wanted to, but didn't focus on providing structured content that players felt they had to complete to enjoy their role in the game. They also had an excellent focus on player customization and being able to "exist" in a Star Wars Universe.
Those are just some examples, but it's hard to tell what FFXIV wants to excel at, except maybe the given of story presentation; but that's impossible to say because of how the storyline functions and has many points of an intense lack of polish.
They've stated they want casual players to be able to progress in the game through guild leves, but at the same time it's been stated that Yoshi wants 2 hours of playtime per day over a 4 month period to max a class, which isn't really a casual endeavor.
While some players may say "good, they shouldn't be level cap" FFXIV needs a subscriber base, and there isn't content at lower levels right now that would give casual players a reason to keep performing repetitive and unengaging leve tasks.
While it's important to recognize that we're still in a reboot phase, and the direction of the future is unknown, think of how long it takes just to get your group into Toto Rak, or a better example, Darkhold.
It takes a really long time to get started, and by the time a casual player would have entered the dungeon, they would have used up a ton of their time just to access the beginning point of the dungeon; and that isn't a very good payout for that player's time.
All of the above is important because right now the base of players that doesn't exist is far more important than the base of players that does exist. Those casual players that so many seem to despise and want to limit provide funding for the development of more niche content for the core players who spend more time in the game. You don't want to lose that market, and you also don't want the game to put up large barriers that discourages that market from even entering in the first place.
If I personally was in charge of making the game I would ensure that low rank players have an engaging experience in the new world. This means I would stop the silly rush of rank 1-20 which has the crushing exp curve drop off, and instead of using that fast exp to give players skills to make the game less boring, while simultaneously pretending that it takes ranks 1-20 to be a "tutorial", I'd change the levels at which skills are acquired, add new skills to fill in the missing gaps, and build content for low level players at a higher density than those at rank cap. Nearly the entire player base has access to at least one class that is at a lower rank, and over time that focus can be honed in at the higher ranks, because no one progresses beyond that point.
At the same time, I would want to make sure that one of the major reasons players buy Final Fantasy games, the characters and story, are polished beyond amazing. Players should not feel like they're going up against ankle biters in every quest. They should not be treated to a quest where it takes an hour to reach the destination, only to have a woman running away from a wolf, you kill the wolf, and someone gets angry at you for killing the wolf because you were reckless. Quests that advance story should advance the story by more than one or two sentences, and players should feel engaged in that experience. Because these stories evolve over time, if players want to re-experience a specific event during the storyline, let them. Also, make sure that the story lines being focused on and that are the most intriguing to the player base don't simply disappear.
That's a way direction could be focused as the content goal of the future; I'm not saying it's the right one, but when you have a direction players understand where the game wants to excel at, and whether or not it's something players want to invest themselves in.
Then, you need to characterize how the game feels once you've picked a direction, and that helps you decide where you're going to excel in your game design, and where you're going to slack to help meet that characterization.
An example of characterization would be that players identify with the sheer power of Final Fantasy characters. To feel powerful in a game, maybe focus has to slack on PVP balance, which is a viable option, especially considering how the server infrastructure of FFXIV works with multiregional players on the same server - there will always be latency issues that completely erode PVP balance unless they localize servers. What sorts of things can be added to a game that remind Final Fantasy players of power? Well, limit breaks get tossed around, I've always felt summons had a powerful feeling to them, and powerful and distinct magic attacks help convey that power too. None of those things are conducive to a pvp setting, but does that matter that much when the characterization of the game is realized and helps players enjoy the direction of the game?
Now keep in mind what I said above are just examples.
Cliffs: Direction of game helps players understand their purpose of existence within the game world and gives them the motivation to continue. Characterizing the game to maximize enjoyment of the direction makes the players want more. -
08-07-2011, 05:56 AMBudi
I tihnk your WoTs kill people. :)
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08-08-2011, 10:25 AMCendres
I believe the intention of this MMO is supposed to follow a story progression. The world actually does evolve over time with NPCs commenting on what is happening. Once the redesign is done I think we should see a whole lot of mission content and hopefully story based quests to engage adventurers in what Eorzea is all about. At least that's what I hope will happen.
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08-08-2011, 10:32 AMBetelgeuzahITT: it's SE's fault US is behind everyone else timezone wise.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sidewinder
Even though the JP reps comment usually during the evening JP time and US reps during the morning US time. That six hours gap is UNFORGIVABLE.
I wish they were more like Blizzard sometimes, who dedicate as much effort to translate their English info into Chinese ASAP. Not to mention the patches that are implemented globally simultaneously. -
08-08-2011, 11:30 AMChocobitsFFXI Roadmap 2010Quote:
Originally Posted by Loony_BoB
FFXI Roadmap for 2011 -
08-08-2011, 02:14 PMBetelgeuzahSo, what's FFXI's direction? We also have a roadmap fo XIV, even if it has no timeline beyond summer 2011. Where is FFXI going?Quote:
Originally Posted by Chocobits
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08-08-2011, 02:16 PMChocobitsFFXI is going beyond summer 2011 by all the indications? :D If it survives the CnB s***storm in September.Quote:
Originally Posted by Betelgeuzah
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08-08-2011, 02:20 PMBetelgeuzahSo is this game. The only difference is that we don't know the timeline. That's not an indicator of a lack of direction, is it? There's not really many options other than forward.Quote:
Originally Posted by Chocobits