Do players still have a voice in the direction of development for FFXIV?

[Smashington]

Do players still have a voice in the direction of development for FFXIV?

There was a point in the history of FFXIV where the game developers were actively seeking feedback from players. Public opinion polls were created to determine what content players wanted prioritized. By using this information, they were able to successfully create a game that players wanted to play. At this point the development resources are being used to create content that may or may not be what the players want. I think it is reasonable at this time to request that a re-evaluation of players' priorities be done to verify that the direction of content development matches the activities that make players want to play FFXIV. I think that the resources devoted to each type of content should be proportional to the amount of interest that players have for engaging in that type of content.

From what I have seen, it seems that players spend a majority of their time playing the available PvE content. It does not seem that the priority currently given to future PvE content development is consistent with the level of demand for new PvE content.

Looking around Eorzea, I see a great amount of interest in Crafting. Players seem to enjoy this activity, and it appears the time spent crafting is a close second to PvE. Therefore, it stands to reason that the development resources for future Crafting content would match this level of interest by the players. However, players are currently expressing a great deal of frustration at the direction crafting is taking. The development team has stated that crafting gear will NOT be important to end-game activities moving forward, and no future content is being developed to serve as end-game activities for Crafters. This does not seem to match the original direction of FFXIV, which was to have Crafting classes have an equal level of importance as the Battle classes do. The resources devoted to development of crafting content should match the level of interest in Crafting.

I appears that the level of interest in PvP content is limited. Looking around Eorzea, I personally see a limited amount of players engaging in PvP. Those players are only engaging in PvP for a limited amount of their play time. I think that the resources devoted to the development of PvP content are disproportional to the level of interest shown by the general community. This may be because the level of interest the development team has for PvP is not consistent with players. It is not clear that PvP content has, or will, draw additional players to play and subscribe to FFXIV. That siad, I do not think that PvP is unimportant to FFXIV. I do think that the amount of resource development resources that will be allocated for expanding PvP content should match the overall level of interest shown by players.

It appears that the development of Housing has required more resources than was originally intended. While players did show interest in Housing at one time, it is unclear if the amount of time and capitol that has been spent on the Housing system corresponds to the actual amount of player interest. I can sympathize with having a great idea that turns out to be more difficult to implement than was expected. It seem at this point that the resources devoted to housing have not had an overall positive impact on player enjoyment of FFXIV. The housing system should eventually be made fully operational, and this goal should be balanced with the timeline for development of content that has a greater level of overall player interest.

Moving forward, it seems a reasonable request that the development team review the available data on what activities players are engaging in most. Sharing that data may help players understand the priorities that are being given to content development.

Is it possible that, with the release of the varying types of content, it is time to once again Poll the Player Community to better understand what priorities players currently have for the direction of content development?

[PallasLloyd]

I think those of us who were around for those polls have figured out that they were a PR ruse. "Watered-down casualmode WoW clone" was never anywhere on the published road-map.

The polls were like asking someone "Do you like surprises?" and then when they answer "Yes," you suddenly pull out a knife and stab them in the stomach.

"But you ASKED for this! You said you like surprises!"

[mindful]

Tell you the truth i rather they look at there server data information and be honest about it, and not always listen to the 1% that comes to game forums. Yes some people can give good ideas, but some not the best. Get rid the pin hole on the stuff . That most like on the game.

[Errors]

A company should never let the fans directly influence their game.

This has beaten into the ground more times than I can count, and not only that...years before FFXIV.

[Tupsi]

Tell you the truth i rather they look at there server data information and be honest about it, and not always listen to the 1% that comes to game forums. Yes some people can give good ideas, but some not the best. Get rid the pin hole on the stuff . That most like on the game.

Most of ARR's changes were because of the supposed "only 1% who visits the forums", just an FYI.

[Cigaran]

The only way to get a true and accurate poll is to have either at log in or log out. That way everyone has the same chance to participate regardless of forum activity or not.

That being said if the player base does have some say in the direction that FF XIV goes, it would be on content that is six or more months out given how development teams work. I've played several games that did take player feedback in to account and the six month mark really seemed to be about when the results of that feedback started to show up. No granted, if it's something major like an exploit of an ability that isn't working or working the way the community expects then those changes can come about sooner. From what you're talking about though, you're looking to have a say in where the developers allocate their resources and that always has a long lead time.

[Aniforani]

Subscription numbers are the only thing the developers will listen to at this point. I'd try to organize an unsubscribe/subscribe day for crafting if I thought enough players cared enough to do it. A loss/recovery of 10% of subs in a day would require some attending to.

[viion]

Click "Edit" on your original post to get over the cap (why do they even put a cap in to begin with when its so easily worked around....)

Also, no, they don't really listen. Small stuff like "can you add blacklist to right click menu" they will. But if you asked for crafting to be made better? Nope. Housing? Nope. Anything big, that requires a lot of work and effort and stuff that goes against their stubborn game design (2.5 GCD) they wont budge on or listen. Some stuff they will laugh away like bad netcode.

[AlexNiculaie]

Just exactly who do you think they should be listening to? Not everyone agrees on what should or shouldn't be in the game. And let's face it, often times players don't know what they want, or say they want something, only to dislike it once they do get it.

[Tupsi]

Just exactly who do you think they should be listening to? Not everyone agrees on what should or shouldn't be in the game. And let's face it, often times players don't know what they want, or say they want something, only to dislike it once they do get it.

Case in point: "GIVE US GW2's DYNAMIC EVENT SYSTEM!"