Old FFXI minds vs New Generation ideas

[Rowyne]

I believe the whole point of online games are to interact with other real people, not just npcs. Soloing can be fun at times however Final Fantasy games are mainly based on partying with other people, and creating parties to play to everyone strengths and come together to defeat monsters. If you despise partying so much then final fantasy games don't seem to be the type for you.

FFXIV has promised from the start it would have both party AND solo content (which is a departure from FFXI, a game that was not designed for soloing). I personally like that. And I know many many MANY other people who will not play an MMO if they cannot solo in it.

I want to party when I want to party, and solo when I want to solo. I don't want to be forced into either.

Besides, Yoshi-P has stated that always having to find a party can be stressful, and imposes on casuals with little playtime. He realizes that forced party play is a bad thing.

[Gath]

FFXIV has promised from the start it would have both party AND solo content (which is a departure from FFXI, a game that was not designed for soloing). I personally like that. And I know many many MANY other people who will not play an MMO if they cannot solo in it.

I want to party when I want to party, and solo when I want to solo. I don't want to be forced into either.

Besides, Yoshi-P has stated that always having to find a party can be stressful, and imposes on casuals with little playtime. He realizes that forced party play is a bad thing.

Casuals :/ too bad the game is run by HARDCORE players.

[Ablongman]

Casuals :/ too bad the game is run by HARDCORE players.

The mindset of "hardcore > casual" needs to die down if you want to see this game succeed. Hardcore players may "run" certain aspects of the game, but I think you'll find that very few people want to dedicate hours comparable to a full-time job's (and often more) to tedious, repetitive tasks to get far in a videogame. "Casuals" power the game's economy by buying the items that the more industrious types craft, and keep it populated.

It is normal for niche communities to resist change, but understand that a game with a decade-old mindset appeals to the handful of you that still live in the early millennium/late 90's. Most people (read: new customers) are looking for something accessible, not a game that practically requires a degree in industry-level troubleshooting to figure out. This game can please both audiences by adding content to pad the grind (which you'll probably ignore as you're hardcore and prefer to grind dodos and marmots), and by fixing the flat-out archaic user interface.

Get with the times. A game can't succeed by looking back, and this game's launch is a prime example of that. Hate WoW and its clones all you like, but the MMO audience is a pretty small segment; either you pick up some of their subscribers, or you won't get far.

[Irishfae]

Casuals :/ too bad the game is run by HARDCORE players.

Seriously???

I consider myself a gamer of all varieties; tabletop, LARPing, console, computer, you name it, I've probably played some incarnation of it at some point and have been since I was in middle school. But I won’t say hardcore, because I’m sure I’d get heat for it.

I'm part of the generation that grew up playing video games and we're also the generation that is taking the place of the retiring workforce, getting married and having kids. Not all of us can play like we used to. I'm no longer in school, I'm married, I have a full time salaried job and just had twin boys. Meaning, I have some something resembling a life. I sneak gaming in when they are asleep, but I’ve got to be able to attend to them at a moments notice. I’ve got the heart of a hardcore gamer, but due to life constrictions I can’t be one.

So, for right now, soloing is my best option, because I don’t want to have to wait around for a party and then have to log off moments later (which I did in XI even before my kids) because it took too long to find a party who needs someone my level and job.

Everyone has different gaming needs and wants. I feel FF has always provided that. You can play the game straight through and not do any of the extras, or you could spend hours working on breeding a golden choco to get knights of the round, or run around and take care of all the marks.

I don’t think this FF should be any different. And I think being able to solo play and actually get somewhere with it is wonderful. A person shouldn't be excluded from enjoying yourself if you can’t play 24/7 and be in a party all the time.

I like a lot of what they are doing with XIV, there is always room for improvements, but MMOs are constantly evolving, even the ones that have been around forever, and you won’t know what you need to modify until your player base gets their hands on it. I enjoyed XI, but even with its obvious flaws, I am enjoying XIV more.

That was probably more off topic than it should have been, my apologies.

[Rowyne]

That was probably more off topic than it should have been, my apologies.

Don't apologize! I think it was a perfect example of how the game audience has evolved and how FF needs to evolve with it. <3