Dear SE: We do not care if FFXIV is a MMO. We want it to be a Final Fantasy.

[Nuru]

I like the final fantasy atmopshere, but the atmosphere shouldn't determine the gameplay, which is the whole reason why I opt to play an MMO for. You can guarantee most would leave if this game became a classical FF with multiplayer option.

Okay, so who wants random encounter screen effects that teleport you to an isntance where you fight a mob? Raise your hands.

Sorry, but maybe that would be engaging for a handful of people, but I would hate that, speaking for myself. I would hate it so much I would troll this forum for the rest of my life.

This is an MMO first and foremost, just like most FF games are single-player games first and foremost.

I can agree with you about atmosphere should not determine the gameplay, and yes, people would leave if it ever came down to being a FF with Multiplayer option.

However, most of what is going on is just trying to change the atmosphere. Rather, we should be focusing on the core mechanics. The battle system has been addressed, but what else can we change to make this game more enjoyable? What would you like to be able to do (instead of just being able to see)? If you get what I mean.

Basically, when a newbie starts the game, I'd rather them be "Yes this is going to be a great Final Fantasy" rather than be introduced into a world and be like "wtf?" *Checks box Title* "...what game is this again..?"

[Vesperia]

I can agree with you about atmosphere should not determine the gameplay, and yes, people would leave if it ever came down to being a FF with Multiplayer option.

However, most of what is going on is just trying to change the atmosphere. Rather, we should be focusing on the core mechanics. The battle system has been addressed, but what else can we change to make this game more enjoyable? What would you like to be able to do (instead of just being able to see)? If you get what I mean.

Basically, when a newbie starts the game, I'd rather them be "Yes this is going to be a great Final Fantasy" rather than be introduced into a world and be like "wtf?" *Checks box Title* "...what game is this again..?"

Well I agree to the effect.

But when people live in their FF-only bubble, then they fail to shed any valuable insight into the development of an MMO.

It is best to have an awareness of both the MMO genre and the FF series, as opposed to merely focussing on one. And when I say MMO genre I don't mean WoW and others like it, I mean classic MMOs like Ultima and Lineage which are real MMOs (as opposed to entrance lobbies). An entrance lobby is basically all that the MMOs of today are.

[Cairdeas]

I'm not asking them to make it a non-mmo.
I don't know where this came from. The title of the thread is "We do not care" meaning. Wether it was an MMO or Not. We want more Final Fantasy Elements (FFE). The MMO elements already present and planned can stay. What we want, especially once the MMO Elements have been polished up (IE Battle System, etc.) is the feeling of nostalgia when you first encounter an FFE and it quirks a smile to your face and go "Yeah, its a Final Fantasy."

Wanna know what those elements were in some of the past FF's?

FF3- The Namingway Screen. Its up front and reminds you directly of Final Fantasy 1. It gives you the chance to name all 4 of the characters that you will be controlling through this adventure. Admittedly this is hard to introduce into a MMO so the Namingway as it is now is fine.

FF4- The opening Airship Scene. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJyGjJXAWXE This scene was epic at the time. It was doing things other games couldn't do at the time(3d World map travel) amongst other things.

FF5 - CHOCOBOS. The first are allows you to ride a chocobo right from the start of the game. So awesome. Then the return of the job system from FFIII.

FF6 - This was the first game to focus heavily on Summons. The other FF's had them up to now but this was the first to truely focus around them as a plot point. It became heavily popular with all the successive releases after VII.

FF7 - UI, Magic, theme and many other elements culminated into things like the Materia System, an Epic Story, and again the Crystals show up (As Materia).

FF8. A return to Summons being a big part of the story, so big they make the story half confusing later in the game when its revealed that using Summons is why no one can remember anything important. Like that everyone was from the same Orphanage...

FF9 - A Return of the Crystals and a very strict job per character but reflecting the Jobs from past FF's. A Thief, A Black Mage, a Knight etc. This truely was an epic Final Fantasy.

the list goes on and on.

[whoopeeragon]

-quote cairdeas' post here-

The one thing which I've noticed that runs through all FF's is Crystals. I made a huge post about it somewhere (will take me ages to find, it's buried forever in tens of pages of threads), but all Final Fantasy's have had some kind of Crystal motif, or at least a presence of them to obtain treasure/spells, as a plot device, or a tool to summon or cast magic, or just as a save tool. Fromm FFI to FFXIV, Crystals have appeared in many forms and appearances, but are still there.

So if you want the very basics of the game to be back...well, we already have our shards and crystals, some used in storyline plots.