New interview from JP 4gamer site

[Zenaku]

True... SE needs that 6 million people who bought XIII on console

That would work remember SE want Final fantasy fan that never play a Online FF before that what they looking at not wow players. SE know wow players would just quit and return back to wow when a new patch come out or there new mmo so what even try.

[Physic]

That would work remember SE want Final fantasy fan that never play a Online FF before that what they looking at not wow players. SE know wow players would just quit and return back to wow when a new patch come out or there new mmo so what even try.

Its a good idea to try to appeal to a new market, but i think if they want to hit an offline rpg market, they need to lower the grind, and increase the content/story. This game as it is, is basically just a leveling game. Most people buy offlinerpgs for the story adventure, and progression, which the game is currently lacking. And honestly they talk of WoW and EQ and other styles of current MMOs as their blueprint, those games would not appeal to the main final fantasy market.

If thats thier market they should have spent all this time creating a gripping story, interesting charachters and stories weaved into the adventure and exploration of the world. Leveling is low on the list of priorities of an offline rpg player, It happens naturally over the course of exploration/adventuring.

While it seems they want to go the direction of standardized MMOs i think to hit that market they need to go even further away from that.

[Rydin]

Its a good idea to try to appeal to a new market, but i think if they want to hit an offline rpg market, they need to lower the grind, and increase the content/story. This game as it is, is basically just a leveling game. Most people buy offlinerpgs for the story adventure, and progression, which the game is currently lacking. And honestly they talk of WoW and EQ and other styles of current MMOs as their blueprint, those games would not appeal to the main final fantasy market.

If thats thier market they should have spent all this time creating a gripping story, interesting charachters and stories weaved into the adventure and exploration of the world. Leveling is low on the list of priorities of an offline rpg player, It happens naturally over the course of exploration/adventuring.

While it seems they want to go the direction of standardized MMOs i think to hit that market they need to go even further away from that.

SO true... but there is a difference between having a good story and telling a good story
Kind of like how journalist go where the story is, and even if there is an interesting story to tell.. It would be boringly dull if told by Ben Stein

Case and point... FFXII in my opinion had a great story. Dalmasca caught in turmoil... Basch, Ashe, Balthier... All really likeable characters...
But being told from the viewpoint of Vaan (Who had no real business being there in the first place) and narrated by the Marquis Ondore (Who is the video game mix of Ben Steins voice with Charles Dickens overly wordy writing style), the beautiful story that existed was never told in a way befitting it's splendor

Similarly, Eorzea has rich history and lore, but the lack of later story telling content, Coupled with the poor NPC dialogue (I am only commenting on the English, I can not comment on the entertainment value of the Japanese dialogue) lead to a very poor grasp of the story

Most of the side quests that tie into the story repeat the same semi-foreboding mild warning so much that they lose impact.

tl;dr The story is there, it's just being told very slowly...

[Physic]

SO true... but there is a difference between having a good story and telling a good story
Kind of like how journalist go where the story is, and even if there is an interesting story to tell.. It would be boringly dull if told by Ben Stein

Case and point... FFXII in my opinion had a great story. Dalmasca caught in turmoil... Basch, Ashe, Balthier... All really likeable characters...
But being told from the viewpoint of Vaan (Who had no real business being there in the first place) and narrated by the Marquis Ondore (Who is the video game mix of Ben Steins voice with Charles Dickens overly wordy writing style), the beautiful story that existed was never told in a way befitting it's splendor

Similarly, Eorzea has rich history and lore, but the lack of later story telling content, Coupled with the poor NPC dialogue (I am only commenting on the English, I can not comment on the entertainment value of the Japanese dialogue) lead to a very poor grasp of the story

Most of the side quests that tie into the story repeat the same semi-foreboding mild warning so much that they lose impact.

tl;dr The story is there, it's just being told very slowly...

i agree it has a story, but its too far between. They need to come up with a new storytelling concept that meshes better with an open world, but still delivers an interesting story. Also the story isnt very well tied to any progression. In an offline game you go from place to place, exploring different areas, dungeons, fighting bosses, etc, each part revealing a bit more of the story. In ffxiv, the story seems to just occur in a box, when you reach some landmark based on your level.

They should weave story into level progression, as well as dungeons/adventures. A big problem with the side quests they added is most of them dont tell much of a story (related to the overall world and plotline), and dont give you a better understanding of the world. In offline rpgs, a lot of side stories either have to do with your own progression or finding out more about special events or charachters, this is a more useful side story to the game.

Regardless they need to innovate here, IF their goal is a new market, because ffxi already failed for offline rpg fans by and large. most dont consider it a real FF title, and i doubt they were looking at any MMO really as greatness.

however if they want to hit the standard mmo market, then this strategy could theoretically work

[Rydin]

i agree it has a story, but its too far between. They need to come up with a new storytelling concept that meshes better with an open world, but still delivers an interesting story. Also the story isnt very well tied to any progression. In an offline game you go from place to place, exploring different areas, dungeons, fighting bosses, etc, each part revealing a bit more of the story. In ffxiv, the story seems to just occur in a box, when you reach some landmark based on your level.

They should weave story into level progression, as well as dungeons/adventures. A big problem with the side quests they added is most of them dont tell much of a story (related to the overall world and plotline), and dont give you a better understanding of the world. In offline rpgs, a lot of side stories either have to do with your own progression or finding out more about special events or charachters, this is a more useful side story to the game.

Regardless they need to innovate here, IF their goal is a new market, because ffxi already failed for offline rpg fans by and large. most dont consider it a real FF title, and i doubt they were looking at any MMO really as greatness.

however if they want to hit the standard mmo market, then this strategy could theoretically work

Well if you want to use the term "formulaic,"
(Which I try to stay away from most of the time)
Most things (Games, Movies, Television shows)
have to grab you in the first 10% of the game and just pound your face with epic....
I am going to say this and it could be widely flamed.....
But the R46 story quest could (or should) have been the R20 quest.... Because up to that point you really haven't done anything, learned anything, seen anything worthwhile
It was epic and big... but in the way that most opening cutscenes are big
Or how the end of disc 1 was epic in the multi-disc days
It was a beginning....
How can a game end with a beginning....
You can say "thats not end game"
But it is indeed the end of FFXIV as we know it... that is all we have....
I just think it could have come sooner and expanded outward from there

[Physic]

Well if you want to use the term "formulaic,"
(Which I try to stay away from most of the time)
Most things (Games, Movies, Television shows)
have to grab you in the first 10% of the game and just pound your face with epic....
I am going to say this and it could be widely flamed.....
But the R46 story quest could (or should) have been the R20 quest.... Because up to that point you really haven't done anything, learned anything, seen anything worthwhile
It was epic and big... but in the way that most opening cutscenes are big
Or how the end of disc 1 was epic in the multi-disc days
It was a beginning....
How can a game end with a beginning....
You can say "thats not end game"
But it is indeed the end of FFXIV as we know it... that is all we have....
I just think it could have come sooner and expanded outward from there

i agree, and think as well there was a big lull in the story when they got into the echo thing. It was really very sparse, and it literally ends like, now your story begins, 46 levels of inane purposeless grinding(in this context, i mean leveling for the sake of leveling, not for any story related reason), for what is usually the story in the first 3 hours of a regular rpg. That will not entertain most offline rpg players.

[Rydin]

i agree, and think as well there was a big lull in the story when they got into the echo thing. It was really very sparse, and it literally ends like, now your story begins, 46 levels of inane purposeless grinding(in this context, i mean leveling for the sake of leveling, not for any story related reason), for what is usually the story in the first 3 hours of a regular rpg. That will not entertain most offline rpg players.

yea... in an MMO, most of the content is designed for people who are at or near cap... I guess? (maybe?? opinions?)

But offline games balance the content throughout the game... and most (if not all) you finish the games main story well before max level... So the question is:
How does SE balance MMO style that supports game longevity by making most content "end game"
vs
offline RPG style where you're never even required to get to cap

Perhaps they could have the story more prominent throughout the leveling process...
and yes, have it triggered by certain places as well as levels like you said
But then go the route of console RPG's and make content that just supplements the main story but is purely optional... i.e. FFVII weapons, or FFX monster arena

[_C-a-e-r-i-t-h_]

i agree, and think as well there was a big lull in the story when they got into the echo thing. It was really very sparse, and it literally ends like, now your story begins, 46 levels of inane purposeless grinding(in this context, i mean leveling for the sake of leveling, not for any story related reason), for what is usually the story in the first 3 hours of a regular rpg. That will not entertain most offline rpg players.

Seriously. I stopped at 30 or so because the little bits of story each mission gives weren't compelling enough for the hours upon hours of grinding it would take to get them, but basically it was like... 1-16 or so you're introduced to this city-specific story with interesting NPCs, then then 20+ they completely change gears and you never hear from Thancred again while you go off an play silly games with beastmen and do parley missions and seriously how many hundreds of hours until the next bit of cutscene?

I hope with the re-vamp that they compress the storyline into the traditional "advance the storyline whenever you're ready" model and let people grind to be ready for it, not because they have to. And unless "Throw Stone" sees a serious upgrade, delineate the missions for combat and non-combat classes. Battle missions as a crafter, waiting for NPCs to kill off the enemy while you throw stones, are a really bad idea.

[Alaltus]

Well if you want to use the term "formulaic,"
(Which I try to stay away from most of the time)
Most things (Games, Movies, Television shows)
have to grab you in the first 10% of the game and just pound your face with epic....
I am going to say this and it could be widely flamed.....
But the R46 story quest could (or should) have been the R20 quest.... Because up to that point you really haven't done anything, learned anything, seen anything worthwhile
It was epic and big... but in the way that most opening cutscenes are big
Or how the end of disc 1 was epic in the multi-disc days
It was a beginning....
How can a game end with a beginning....
You can say "thats not end game"
But it is indeed the end of FFXIV as we know it... that is all we have....
I just think it could have come sooner and expanded outward from there

I agree, i think i remember this being mentioned somewhere like on the quest board. It doesnt help that the mobs are too weak to be a challenge even on your own either it kind of highlights the lack of story to enjoy on the way up.