Pseudo Content

I'm unsure what Dev Tags to chuck in here, if any at all. So I'm just going to go ahead without them.

Many people on Final Fantasy XIV complain about the lack of any content. We all know the content is coming, and coming at a fast pace, that it'll soon be with us. But its entirely possible to dub down the wait for the content using Pseudo Content.

Many of you will /sigh or just stop reading as I mention this, but many people fail to realise the impact it has on a game. I propose a form of Achievement System for Final Fantasy XIV. It's simple the reasons why.
1) There is already a form of Achievement System integrated into The Lodestone.
2) Achievements increase a player's want to play the game.
3) Granting the player a bonus reward for achieving means the player gets gratification and a sense of success.
4) Achievements are used in almost all forms of gaming now; to increase playability, re-playability and to make players indulge in Game Mechanics they may have not touched.

Mentioned above is the Achievement System that's already integrated into The Lodestone. Located on the History Tab a player can see a list of achievements that he has obtained. I.e Obtained Shield Rank 25, Obtained Physical Level 40 Achieved, Player has attuned themselves with Aetheryte X, Completed Quest X and Obtained Mark Ability X.
It's clear to see that this system here was designed with a similar goal in mind, but sadly with integration with the website and not the game; means many players miss-out or don't notice this system as it is not a focal part of the game.
The achievements on The Loadstone are very generic and very boring but they don't have to be. Achievements such as:

Cartographer - Thanalan:
Player has attuned with all Aethryte Camps, Aethryte Gates in Thanalan as well as visiting; The Swamplands of Thanalan, The Highcliffs of Thanalan and the Port of Thanalan.

Cartographer - Ul'dah:
Player has explored all Ul'dah has to offer and has visited; Ul'dah Aetheryte Palace, Chocobo Stables, The Dunes, Ruby Road Exchange, Sapphire Avenue Exchange, The Quicksand, The Hourglass, Platinum Mirage, The Coliseum, Eshtaime's Lapidaries, Sunsilk Tapestries, Amanji & Sons Mineral Concern, Arrzaneth Ossuary and Frondale's Phronstiery.

Savior - Heal 100 Damage
A True Ally - Heal 1,000 Damage
Guardian Angel - Heal over 100,000 Damage
Blessing of Thaliak - Heal over 1,000,000 Damage

Brawler - Deal 100 Physical Damage
Knight in Training - Deal 1,000 Physical Damage
Elite Champion - Deal 100,000 Physical Damage
Halone's Fury - Deal over 1,000,000 Physical Damage

This is purely just some examples, Achievements could also be added for the following:
Partying a certain number of times
Completing a Story Line
Completing Quests
Attaining Levels/Ranks
Obtain a certain set of gear
Defeat a certain NM
Obtain a certain number of marks
Complete a certain number of leves
etc

Now, as for rewards. I want this to be something we could discuss, I have several ideas.
The first; A player receives points for each Achievement Obtained, taking these points to an NPC, he will weigh your total number of points against a system and the player will receive an Item/Equipment/SP/Attribute/Elemental Points. An idea of this would be
0 Points = Nothing
100 Points = Item
200 Points = X amount of Gil
300 Points = Equipment Piece
400 Points = SP Reward (Player will be notified and will be able to change Class)
500 Points = X amount of Attribute/Elemental Points

Physical Experience shouldn't be added to the equation as players who have maxed out their Physical Levels will be unable to obtain a reward, unless this could be changed so that the player is awarded X amount of Gil/SP if their Physical Level is 50.

The Second; The player is granted a level in Achievements and the more advanced achievements he obtains the greater the Achievement Experience and the greater the reward upon leveling.

The Third; Every 100 Points the Player obtains X amount of Attribute/Elemental Points, meaning that the player will be able to obtain a reward fairly easily and the reward will always be the same.

This is just some ideas on how an Achievement System could be integrated and how it could encourage players to play more. Having this system would add alternative goals within the game and give players things to work toward. This system is fairly common practice and I personally think it would make a good addition to Final Fantasy XIV.

Thanks for reading ^~^

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Originally Posted by Drazzan

I'm unsure what Dev Tags to chuck in here, if any at all. So I'm just going to go ahead without them.

Many people on Final Fantasy XIV complain about the lack of any content. We all know the content is coming, and coming at a fast pace, that it'll soon be with us. But its entirely possible to dub down the wait for the content using Pseudo Content.

Many of you will /sigh or just stop reading as I mention this, but many people fail to realise the impact it has on a game. I propose a form of Achievement System for Final Fantasy XIV.

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We have those semi-achievements on the lodestone and that's all we need, to be honest. Achievements are pseudo and fake content as it gets. They don't add anything except for frustration and repetition, not to mention they don't fit with the lore of the game and can completely ruin immersion. They just don't make sense.

If you're after bragging rights that's a whole different story, but from a content perspective achievements is definitely NOT what this game needs.

I think the real weight or value in achievements (besides a fun or perky thing to do) is to present a long-term or higher-valued goal to achieve.

While I do agree with the game needing more than this; I think a system like this will enable the game to seem more enjoyable, or rather; lessen the wait and give players something to partake in while waiting for content to arrive. When you mention Immersion, what you say is true; however I often find myself removed from the Immersion of MMOs purely because of the Players, and Tasks that are performed. The only time I feel truly immersed in an MMO is when I'm involved in a heavy Story-Content Mission. There is also no reason that the Development Team can't tie lore into the Achievement System.

I really, really, really like this idea. Should be easy to implement, it's already tracked, and it adds something to do. Then again I'm crazy for getting platinum trophies. Make it a guild somewhere and just give out rewards that are not very important but entertaining.

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Originally Posted by Masamune

I really, really, really like this idea. Should be easy to implement, it's already tracked, and it adds something to do. Then again I'm crazy for getting platinum trophies. Make it a guild somewhere and just give out rewards that are not very important but entertaining.

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I was thinking the same thing, as it's already tracked they must have a statistics system somewhere in Final Fantasy XIV. Perhaps this was an idea that was on the table?, either way; I hope it gets attention and something like this can be added, tying it with the lore of the game would be unique and interesting.

/sigh but I agree it seems like a pretty low hanging fruit so why not implement it? If the players had housing it would be cool if these achievements could be displayed as trophies in some wall with a proper amount of slots for them to get that "gotta cat...achieve them all!"-feeling.

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Originally Posted by Seif

/sigh but I agree it seems like a pretty low hanging fruit so why not implement it? If the players had housing it would be cool if these achievements could be displayed as trophies in some wall with a proper amount of slots for them to get that "gotta cat...achieve them all!"-feeling.

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Yeah~ Many players do dislike the idea of achievements and trophies however, those that do enjoy them would love a system, especially for the whole bragging rights. Not to mention that it may keep the people wanting to just "try" the game around a bit longer to see the real content.

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Originally Posted by Drazzan

I was thinking the same thing, as it's already tracked they must have a statistics system somewhere in Final Fantasy XIV. Perhaps this was an idea that was on the table?

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I think this too. Maybe the Lodestone achievement system is a beta for the PS3 trophy system?

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Originally Posted by Felis

I think this too. Maybe the Lodestone achievement system is a beta for the PS3 trophy system?

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Could be a possible idea of why it exists. I thought it was odd when it was added to Lodestone but no feature existed in the game, I'm pretty sure they meant to add something to the game ^~^

Achievements+ a lore journal(w/ unlocks for examing things and talking to npcs)+earnable titles would give people some stuff to do. I mean it might not be particularly substantial but the return on investment of developer time would be pretty good.

Stopped reading at "achievement system".

As an achievement whore I've always wondered why there isn't an in-game interface for the lodestone achievements. Haters will hate but w/e, it has no effect on people that don't like it, it would definitely be an overall positive addition to the game.

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Originally Posted by Nephera

Achievements+ a lore journal(w/ unlocks for examing things and talking to npcs)+earnable titles would give people some stuff to do. I mean it might not be particularly substantial but the return on investment of developer time would be pretty good.

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I would very much like to see the integration of Achievements and Lore. Especially if it just means unlocking a journal full of lore text. I'd enjoy that, being a story-nut myself I love all things like that. I remember some quests in XI that just provided that experience, like the Explorer Pilgrimage one. Finding the stones all over Vana'diel, much fun in seeing the world.

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Originally Posted by Kirith

Stopped reading at "achievement system".

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I'm glad, I wouldn't want your opinion if your that narrow-minded not to consider the effects it has on players, the community as well as gameplay.

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Originally Posted by Ava

As an achievement whore I've always wondered why there isn't an in-game interface for the lodestone achievements. Haters will hate but w/e, it has no effect on people that don't like it, it would definitely be an overall positive addition to the game.

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Thank You. I have a feeling that the Lodestone History Section was a snippet into what the old development team wanted to add. I also think it would be a great thing, especially for the Community and Players that enjoy it. Achievements offer a wide range of internal "Goals" for players, so in a sense it'll be some form of Pseudo-Content.

I also really like the lore text, I am also a story whore and would love to have something I can look at to see the story in one place. Even after cutscenes having what transcribed added to the text book would be great. Hell even a movie theater for the cutscenes.

Titles.Would be nice.
I love all forms of customization.

Perhaps a Movie Theater or little niche things; titles etc, can be something which the Achievement Points can add up to~ For example after 5 achievements you gain the intro movies or something. *Shrugs* Would be a nice little feature.

ffxi had achievements.

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Originally Posted by Kilta_Firelotus

ffxi had achievements.

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No one is talking about FFXI.

I like this idea. It'd be nice to tie the Lodestone history to something in-game (character titles are the first thing that pops to mind).

i'd be happy with it, also was amused by the immediate arguement that being rewarded with a title/achievement for their actions would ruin immersion.

Come on guy, don't you want the bards to sing your praises?

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Originally Posted by Kilta_Firelotus

ffxi had achievements.

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Originally Posted by Eekiki

I like this idea. It'd be nice to tie the Lodestone history to something in-game (character titles are the first thing that pops to mind).

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Yes, Final Fantasy XI did have Achievements; but sadly only on the Xbox 360 Version of the game. Most of them achievements were grind-fests with lack-luster rewards. I'd love to see something in this game that encourages a player to work towards these achievements. Be it Titles, SP/XP, Gil, Items, Extras (Like Movie Theaters). While this is all fairly wish-talk I'm sure there is a reason that the Lodestone History function popped up and I really wouldn't be surprised if the old development team was working on something, perhaps we'll get some form of confirmation or what-not about this aspect of the game.

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Originally Posted by TessaJalloh

I'd be happy with it, also was amused by the immediate argument that being rewarded with a title/achievement for their actions would ruin immersion.

Come on guy, don't you want the bards to sing your praises?

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Yeah~ The whole Immersion thing needs a break; Immersion is great, but it could be argued that if achievements break Immersion then so does XIV's UI~? There is no reason why they couldn't tie it in with the Lore of the World. Be it...Some ancient Archon traversed the world and achieved great feats, and adventurers are encouraged to followed his footsteps. Doing so could give the player access to pages from the Archon's Parable or Tome. Full of Lore-Related Content and words from the Archon. *Shrugs* That's just from the top of my head.

I personally would not want to have achievements in-game because, specifically, if dungeon/raid achievements become part of the fray, you then have to deal with the "must have achievement" groups, which kinda kills it for me. But if they don't include dungeon/raid achievements to cause this issue, then I'm completely and totally impartial to the existence of achievements.

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Originally Posted by Belial

I personally would not want to have achievements in-game because, specifically, if dungeon/raid achievements become part of the fray, you then have to deal with the "must have achievement" groups, which kinda kills it for me. But if they don't include dungeon/raid achievements to cause this issue, then I'm completely and totally impartial to the existence of achievements.

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I understand where you are coming from. If they keep the Dungeon/Raid Achievements to completion only, that would resolve most the issues. But it they started adding explore groups, or kill certain bosses without dieing; it could become an issue. However, killing a final story-line boss without dieing could be an interesting achievement depending on it's difficulty and such.

I really think this would give more intensive for all kinds of players, even the ones that are all "Lol but the immersion!".
Of all the times I've sat at my computer desk playing FF, I've been blown away by the graphics but I've never thought it was immersion that wowed me unless I took off all of the player names, and held down scroll lock in first person lol.
The UI, while great for a controller, isn't going to make you feel immersed any less than achievements will make you not feel immersed.
They would be a great addition in my honest opinion.

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Originally Posted by RockVolnutt

I really think this would give more intensive for all kinds of players, even the ones that are all "Lol but the immersion!".
Of all the times I've sat at my computer desk playing FF, I've been blown away by the graphics but I've never thought it was immersion that wowed me unless I took off all of the player names, and held down scroll lock in first person lol.
The UI, while great for a controller, isn't going to make you feel immersed any less than achievements will make you not feel immersed.
They would be a great addition in my honest opinion.

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Thanks for the feedback, I really feel that this additon; while fairly simple, will add A LOT to the game. This is purely because of what they can offer players in terms of goals. Especially if they add in an intuitive reward system to accompany this idea. I believe you hit the nail on the head regarding Immersion, the general feel of MMOs isn't something that provides Immersion; I feel that the World, Lore and Characters are what provide the Immersion in MMOs, rather than said Graphics or UI additions.