A New-Players Perspective and some thoughts

Hey everyone,

While I'm sure most of you have seen some kind of response like this in the past month I'd still like to jot down some initial impressions as a log of sorts to keep how I've been feeling about this game up-front.
First of all; I like the game, a lot. - I've only been playing less than a week now and I'm instantly more entertained by it then so many other games at the current time. I like MMORPGs, but I don't get into them easily. My only experiences with them are Oldschool Runescape, Ragnarok-Online, and a little bit of World-of-Warcraft.

To say the least, I'm impressed. FFXIV has managed to make me want to play more which is more than say what WOW could. I really like that while it's high-fantasy, it still manages to step out of the crowd from the generic Isekai MMO world. - I'm aware this game came out roughly 2010, but I've read a few articles hearing about its transformation. - And to be honest, I had almost no idea this game existed.


I won't lie, I came here after a certain online personality featured it on his YouTube channel and gave them game its fair compliments. That shouldn't devalue the people that have flocked here because of it, as even a small margin of them stay it can easily bolster the game's numbers.



Character Creation
Initially, when I made my character as a mid-lander I was surprised by the lack of facial hair options there were available, only being able to toggle the top and bottom half on/off. It was only then after leveling my character some parts that your beard style was connected to your face shape? I was a bit annoyed and didn't want to have to restart to make a new character, so I decided to purchase a bottle of Fantasia.
While I have no quarrel with store purchases, making every product priced on USD left me feel cheated as I'm from another North-American country, considering the conversion rate, the prices didn't bode well for me.
Is this part strictly me complaining?
No. Below, is what I'm suggesting to remedy it. I want to make character creation a better experience for everyone so that they won't make the same mistakes I do.

Character Creation needs a makeover.
While, I am happy that there are so many options for characters, there are no sliders. Majority of games that have been released post-2015 have some more advanced forms of character creation (i.e. Dark Souls, Mordhau, etc.) - and I understand that it takes more data to parse this information (making the load times slower) I'm sure we're going to eventually become fully SSD integrated within the future (Faster storage - And yes, I'm just assuming this is what it has to do with.)
The point I'm making is, this should no longer be a problem for a modern-day low-end gaming computer rig. PCs are only going to get faster, and then concern of over-bearing a load should be null.

Potential solutions for data-heavy faces/details

• Use a draw distance like a lot of games do, i.e. Planetside 2. - Make it so that certain details are adjustable (This is probably using a sledgehammer to kill a fly, but it's just one of few.)
• Make it so that the player-character is prioritized over other characters or potentially NPCs.
• Increase detail based on data around the character. i.e. in crowded areas makes everyone slightly more simple. This could be toggable.

I am aware there's an engine-rework in progress.
The point of this thread was to ensure that some details aren't skipped over, or if that some of these points could be communicated in case.

Opinion wishlist;
Please, please, make the player's character face higher resolution. A lot of us like taking in the work we put into our character.
Armor would understandably take a much longer time to re-work, or upscale in texture but skin, face and hair should be a priority of detail.
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Marketing
I did not hear about Final-Fantasy until the personality I mentioned, covered it.
SQEX is competent in games, but I feel is lackluster in spreading it to other people.

As someone who's in marketing, I can offer some advice.
Clearly, this game is run by word of mouth. - That means genuine joy coming from the players and personalities covering this game.
I'd advise that SQEX approach a more direct approach towards personalities and welcome them to give them a try, i.e. 30-60 days game time.
And before someone mentions this would be a paid promotion - I'd like to remind you that I'm willing to bet even (You) would try a game if the developers/publishers approached you with a very basic offering. (This means no special mounts or equipment, etc.)
The game is getting very popular in North America thanks to live-streaming. Getting in on more of this would be beneficial to the longevity and player count of the game.

The point to take away from this is;
Strike while the iron is hot.
Don't let the momentum die out.

I'd imagine at least part of the problem with marketing is that the West isn't the primary market for FFXVI and never really was. It's also an older game, and old games tend to not get advertised much. Especially old MMOs. Think about how much advertising WoW had back around 2006 vs now. Now if WoW is getting advertised, it's not actually advertisements. It's because Blizzard has gotten in the news, often in a bad way.

And a small note for out-of-game purchases

Some really opinionated stuff on Mog-Station pricing;
Add a CAD or other pricing options.

I'd recommend lowering the price of some items to become more accessible to people who'd be hesitant to change their race/appearance.
Fantasia is an amazing item, but realistically should the demand of the item really drive something like appearance changing to 10.00 USD?
Realistically, having it priced at 6.97, would easily drive more sales from the item.
/personalgripe.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rhuled

And a small note for out-of-game purchases

Some really opinionated stuff on Mog-Station pricing;
Add a CAD or other pricing options.

I'd recommend lowering the price of some items to become more accessible to people who'd be hesitant to change their race/appearance.
Fantasia is an amazing item, but realistically should the demand of the item really drive something like appearance changing to 10.00 USD?
Realistically, having it priced at 6.97, would easily drive more sales from the item.
/personalgripe.

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Is competitive or cheaper than similar items from the competition.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rhuled

Character Creation
Initially, when I made my character as a mid-lander I was surprised by the lack of facial hair options there were available, only being able to toggle the top and bottom half on/off. It was only then after leveling my character some parts that your beard style was connected to your face shape? I was a bit annoyed and didn't want to have to restart to make a new character, so I decided to purchase a bottle of Fantasia.
While I have no quarrel with store purchases, making every product priced on USD left me feel cheated as I'm from another North-American country, considering the conversion rate, the prices didn't bode well for me.
Is this part strictly me complaining?
No. Below, is what I'm suggesting to remedy it. I want to make character creation a better experience for everyone so that they won't make the same mistakes I do.

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There is an Aesthetician you can unlock ingame in Limsa Lominsa. For 2000 gil, you can change your character's facial features and hairstyle (unless you're a Hrothgar). That way you don't have to buy a fantasia if you want to change your appearance slightly; only for major things like skin colour, race, and gender.

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Originally Posted by Espon

There is an Aesthetician you can unlock ingame in Limsa Lominsa. For 2000 gil, you can change your character's facial features and hairstyle (unless you're a Hrothgar). That way you don't have to buy a fantasia if you want to change your appearance slightly; only for major things like skin colour, race, and gender.

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Also note that you can find the Aesthetician from the crystal bell in the inn room once he's unlocked.

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Originally Posted by Titania40

I'd imagine at least part of the problem with marketing is that the West isn't the primary market for FFXVI and never really was. It's also an older game, and old games tend to not get advertised much. Especially old MMOs. Think about how much advertising WoW had back around 2006 vs now. Now if WoW is getting advertised, it's not actually advertisements. It's because Blizzard has gotten in the news, often in a bad way.

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They've ramped the marketing up quite a bit in recent times in all fairness. Whenever searching for an MMO, the game is amongst the top ones that come up. I think for a MMO it is fairly well advertised. Before SHB, the criticism was probably truer.

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Originally Posted by Gabadabs

Also note that you can find the Aesthetician from the crystal bell in the inn room once he's unlocked.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Espon

There is an Aesthetician you can unlock ingame in Limsa Lominsa. For 2000 gil, you can change your character's facial features and hairstyle (unless you're a Hrothgar). That way you don't have to buy a fantasia if you want to change your appearance slightly; only for major things like skin colour, race, and gender.

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While I'm aware there's an Aethetician; I feel like it doesn't do justice to beard-types.
What I was particularly getting at was that jaw options were connected to beard styles.

Thanks for the replies.
<3

Unfortunately as far as beards and facial hair go, i don’t expect many changes. They’ve shown time and time again they really only favor the female characters and things of that nature. Masculine additions are rare few and far between.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rhuled

I am aware there's an engine-rework in progress.

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Is there? Care to point to any source on this?

You get a free Fantasia from the first level 50 main story quest. You can gain extra hair styles from grinds, loot and the market board and there is an aesthetician you can use to change it.

The price is not made cheaper in other currencies because they fear people from the US would just buy using those currencies to get a cheaper deal.

I have seen worse character creators but I have also seen better ones, so I would say it's in the middle and that it's good enough. The game supports PS4 which do not all have an SSD, so until support for that is dropped there is no chance of the game not taking into account people with a HDD.

You can already toggle the detail and lighting on a character. I don't think the detail on armor is a problem, but maybe you have only seen armor from ARR with lower resolutions than the latest ones.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rhuled

Marketing
I did not hear about Final-Fantasy until the personality I mentioned, covered it.
SQEX is competent in games, but I feel is lackluster in spreading it to other people.

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SQEX regularly advertises in YouTube and Twitch adverts, on major game channels like IGN and GameSpot and at shows like E3, Gamescom and PGW. There are regular interviews on many gaming websites.

IGN https://youtu.be/2XbxPsWFyU8
GameSpot https://youtu.be/b0lIlB7SVyg
E3 https://youtu.be/0k6QHeAmY58
Gamescom https://youtu.be/cCaCtmJZ9xE
PGW https://youtu.be/Dn42qwlQ0t4

Adverts
https://youtu.be/gBjOs4ZgMY4
https://youtu.be/d-lsLrRTCh0
https://youtu.be/j8aS43vOSUU
https://youtu.be/emVE9cTIyzQ

A larger advertising campaign was suspended during COVID-19 so that it didn't look like the misfortune of everyone being at home was being taken advantage of.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jeeqbit

You get a free Fantasia from the first level 50 main story quest. You can gain extra hair styles from grinds, loot and the market board and there is an aesthetician you can use to change it.

The price is not made cheaper in other currencies because they fear people from the US would just buy using those currencies to get a cheaper deal.

I have seen worse character creators but I have also seen better ones, so I would say it's in the middle and that it's good enough. The game supports PS4 which do not all have an SSD, so until support for that is dropped there is no chance of the game not taking into account people with a HDD.

You can already toggle the detail and lighting on a character. I don't think the detail on armor is a problem, but maybe you have only seen armor from ARR with lower resolutions than the latest ones.



SQEX regularly advertises in YouTube and Twitch adverts, on major game channels like IGN and GameSpot and at shows like E3, Gamescom and PGW. There are regular interviews on many gaming websites.

IGN https://youtu.be/2XbxPsWFyU8
GameSpot https://youtu.be/b0lIlB7SVyg
E3 https://youtu.be/0k6QHeAmY58
Gamescom https://youtu.be/cCaCtmJZ9xE
PGW https://youtu.be/Dn42qwlQ0t4

Adverts
https://youtu.be/gBjOs4ZgMY4
https://youtu.be/d-lsLrRTCh0
https://youtu.be/j8aS43vOSUU
https://youtu.be/emVE9cTIyzQ

A larger advertising campaign was suspended during COVID-19 so that it didn't look like the misfortune of everyone being at home was being taken advantage of.

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Dunno why people keep bringing up ps4. They’ve said over and over they’ve barely scratched the surface of what ps4 can do. It’s their engine holding them back not ps4 lmao

They also advertise in movie theaters, especially around expansion launches.

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Originally Posted by Sotaris

Is there? Care to point to any source on this?

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It's not fully confirmed, but they're looking at it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by KizuyaKatogami

Unfortunately as far as beards and facial hair go, i don’t expect many changes. They’ve shown time and time again they really only favor the female characters and things of that nature. Masculine additions are rare few and far between.

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They said they're working on derplander stubble right?

I weep, and only pray for more.
I apologize for the slow-posts, but I'm rate limited due to my ig level I think.

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Originally Posted by Rhuled

I weep, and only pray for more.
I apologize for the slow-posts, but I'm rate limited due to my ig level I think.

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Yeah, 5 posts per day (only one thread start per day) until you reach level 30 I believe. At which point it jumps up to 10 posts per day, and one thread start per day, I think. You don't get unlimited posting rights until you have a class or job at level 50, the original level cap. Seems kind of strange to me, I've never seen an MMO forum that did that before.

EDIT, was wrong about the level you can post a bit more often. Info is here.

FFXI had very little advertising in the west. FFXIV wasnt much better tbh. I think the west got 1 commercial on normal television channels back when 2.0 launched. I think there are some now that pop up on stuff like crunchyroll.

The character creator is a bit dated. IMO it was a bit dated even when the game was new in regards to customization options but it didnt bother alot of players back when the game was new because it was a large improvement from FFXI which was where as sizable if not majority of the initial player base came from with the FFXIV 1.0 launch. However I will say the dated character creator's limited options does have atleast 1 upside and that would be that this game has far less issues of player characters not being visible that I've seen on other titles that have a far more in depth character editor causing you to see a large amount of basic looking placeholders while the game locates all the specific elements needed to construct other player's characters on screen. Not really a issue in small amounts... can be problematic when there are alot of people present such as high traffic areas in a game.

Tbh I wish that the barber just allowed you to fully customize your character again ( except race and gender, I understand Fantasia for that ).
But stuff like eye color etc should be customizable imo.

As far as marketing goes I don't think that Japanese games really get much marketing to begin with, but FFXIV have actually had some big commercials.
I can't even remember any marketing for games like DMC5 or the RE remakes tho for example.
Usually when I see ads for games it just ads for the same rehashed games ala Assassins Creed or the next CoD or EA games.
Word of mouth or just looking around myself is how I find most games.

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Originally Posted by Titania40

Yeah, 5 posts per day (only one thread start per day) until you reach level 30 I believe. At which point it jumps up to 10 posts per day, and one thread start per day, I think. You don't get unlimited posting rights until you have a class or job at level 50, the original level cap. Seems kind of strange to me, I've never seen an MMO forum that did that before.

EDIT, was wrong about the level you can post a bit more often. Info is here.

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I think it is partially out of date as I can post up to 3K characters in a post. Also I seem to recall that if you edit a post there is no limit it is only during the initial creation. I remember I use to put in a place holder to create my post then go into edit to respond more fully without having to resort to multiple posts.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Kolsykol

Tbh I wish that the barber just allowed you to fully customize your character again ( except race and gender, I understand Fantasia for that ).
But stuff like eye color etc should be customizable imo.

As far as marketing goes I don't think that Japanese games really get much marketing to begin with, but FFXIV have actually had some big commercials.
I can't even remember any marketing for games like DMC5 or the RE remakes tho for example.
Usually when I see ads for games it just ads for the same rehashed games ala Assassins Creed or the next CoD or EA games.
Word of mouth or just looking around myself is how I find most games.

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Depends on the game tbh. Franchises like Mario, Sonic, and Zelda get a fair amount of ad time in western media. I remember back on the original launch of Secret of Mana on the SNES that commercial popped up frequently but the only commercial I saw for Chronotrigger was actually the Japanese one that someone added subtitles to lol. FF7 I think had a fair amount of commercial time on TV on its first release on PS1 and PC. Now that I think about it I think the FF series has had decent TV ad time since FF7 outside of FFXI, FFXIV, and the non mainline entries like tactics, explorers, chocobo's dungeon, etc...

As far as character editor updates though. If you want to amuse yourself for a little bit you could always try pushing that thread up about the request for butt sliders again XD.

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Originally Posted by Claviusnex

I think it is partially out of date as I can post up to 3K characters in a post. Also I seem to recall that if you edit a post there is no limit it is only during the initial creation. I remember I use to put in a place holder to create my post then go into edit to respond more fully without having to resort to multiple posts.

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The posting limits though seems spot on. Guess I'll find out, since I just hit level 30 as a Pugilist and Botanist tonight. And this is my 5th post today.

For real though, we should either make a general motion thread for an updated character creation editor or hammer it towards any relative discussion. If enough people want it, they'll move for it.
If it can happen with Old School RuneScape, I'm sure a continuous pressure will at least warrant a discussion between the devs.

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Originally Posted by Rhuled

For real though, we should either make a general motion thread for an updated character creation editor or hammer it towards any relative discussion. If enough people want it, they'll move for it.
If it can happen with Old School RuneScape, I'm sure a continuous pressure will at least warrant a discussion between the devs.

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I think the argument they gave us in the past about updates or changes to the character creator at least for things like additional body sliders was that it would require them to redo all the equipment assets to accommodate the new sliders. The face options though mostly would be them needing to add more slots to those option categories. I recall some complaints about certain features being locked to specific faces. I think one of them was about Au'ra Horns.

1.Why npcs have chat bubbles and we dont ?Makes no sense to me.
2. have /party /say /send tell/whisper /yell any chat channel to change to it /keep last used it is annoying to /p each time i want to send message to party member i play with.
3.I hate quests we have to leave group and do solo fight /I hate how i could not find remove BIG TEXT IN MIDDLE OF SCREEN when i accept quest/get somewhere.

4.Update/make tooltips for some abilities better. I got combo ability and only what it said it is combo with X ability then i figured out if i press 1 then 2 gets shiny/outline as combo meant.
In my opinion would be better if tooltip was like " If you use X then Y happends /requires to use first ability to use second" /someone can accidentally totally ignore using combos xD.

5. game seems fun looking forward to dungeons /lack of fighting for my liking so far.
6.hope they add more customization to interface.

I agree that the main market originally wasn't Western countries, but that's seemed to change more over the years as Western MMOs lose traction. For some reason I got a lot of ads for the game in YouTube over the past couple of months and that marketing had a significant impact on eroding my willpower and, well, here I am, back in the game.