playerbase down 25% in 4 months?

[Abriael]

Well, let's see.

More hyperbole i see.

The "zombies" pop up instantly. The marked ones appear before all the others, so there's no "waiting" to be done.

There's no "showing your way" to be done, since there's no collision detection.

But I'm not surprised that you'd try to exaggerate the process, considering that your argument is too weak to hold by itself. That whole process that you went out of your way to overinflate and overdramatize takes a minute. Big deal mr "i post misleading statistics because I have nothing better to do".

[Rinsui]

More hyperbole i see.

The "zombies" pop up instantly. The marked ones appear before all the others, so there's no "waiting" to be done.

There's no "showing your way" to be done, since there's no collision detection.

But I'm not surprised that you'd try to exaggerate the process, considering that your argument is too weak to hold by itself. That whole process that you went out of your way to overinflate and overdramatize takes a minute. Big deal mr "i post misleading statistics because I have nothing better to do".

Abriael, you are hopeless. The sad thing is that you may actually believe that your defense of a system few people like helps the game. If so, I honor your intentions. If you simpy didn't care that the awkward ward (pun-fun) system was ripped to pieces by reviewers (and continues to be ripped to pieces by this very same community), I would be angry. But I guess you really believe they are "good enough" and will, in some golden future, actually be better than an auction house. Peace.

[Abriael]

Abriael, you are hopeless. The sad thing is that you may actually believe that your defense of a system few people like helps the game. If so, I honor your intentions. If you simpy didn't care that the awkward ward (pun-fun) system was ripped to pieces by reviewers (and continues to be ripped to pieces by this very same community), I would be angry. But I guess you really believe they are "good enough" and will, in some golden future, actually be better than an auction house. Peace.

"because since i can't counter his argument, let's finish with a personal attack".

Again.

You =/= Everyone
You =/= The Majority
You =/= Hordes.

Reviewers (most of which didn't even play the game enough to make a decent idea of it, mind you) criticized a system that was a LOT different than it is now. It didn't have any kind of search, so that "ripping to pieces" is completely irrelevant now.
And anyone that plays any MMORPG knows full well that forums (and the few vocal trolls that populate them) aren't any valid representation of "the community".
EVE Online's forum, just to make an example, is one of the most hateful, spiteful places on the net, yet the game is very successful. Every MMORPG forum is like that, chock-full of very people that need to scream their hate. If they were any representation of any game's community, every MMORPG developer out there would go bankrupt tomorrow.

[Preypacer]

"chasing down" -> irrealistic hyperbole to make the process look more difficult than it is. You pop into the ward. The character is already there, clearly marked. It doesn't run away. There's no "chasing"

I chose "chasing down" merely as a way of describing "locating the NPC and running to it".

But I get it. You're going to play the semantics game, nit picking at specific words rather than focusing on the bigger point being made.

Okay, fine, just this once, for the sake of clarity, since you don't seem to see the forest for the trees, I'll play along.

How's this:
Upon locating the item, you have to teleport to the ward with the NPC, then run to the NPC, interact with the NPC and purchase the item.

There. I've used more specific terms describing exactly the same process, and without using any terms that you could consider "hyperbole".

Regardless it's extra steps. Whether you think they're "negligible" or not is absolutely 100% subjective.

In fact, I'm not even *complaining* about it. I'm just pointing out the *fact* that there are extra steps required in the current system would not be required if the MW truly worked like an AH.

Whether it's "negigible", "good", "bad" or otherwise is up to the individual and completely irrelevant to the statement I was making.

Whether it's "negligible" or not is completely subjective. The fact remains, it's extra steps required to do something that could otherwise be done with one or two simple menu clicks. Search Item > Select Item > Purchase Item. [/QUOPTE]

You might have miscounted the clicks. With one or two clicks you don't even get to see the item list in all auction houses. Oh my god, there are "extra steps!"
It's negligible because it doesn't add a sizable amount of time to something that takes a minute (and on top of it gives additional functionality that an AH lacks). If a minute buying an item is such a big problem to you, so important that you think that a developer should waste development resources to completely scrap a system that most definitely works to implement a redundant one to save you a few clicks, sorry if i dare to laugh.

... watch Abriael grab that ball of assumptions and just run with it!

First of all, in your gleeful attempt to trample on someone else's opinion, you missed a very important detail I included in my post... I'll quote it for you:

You wouldn't be interacting with nothing, teleporting from instanced room to instanced room and chasing down NPCs to get the items once you've found them.

The entire section you responded to was in the context of what happens *after you've found the item*. You conveniently ignored that little detail, I notice.

And again, whether it's "negligible" or not is absolutely irrelevant to the discussion as it is completely subjective. I'm talking actual, hard logistics. Not sure why you keep trying to drag personal opinion into it.

As for you "daring to laugh". Hey, if you find your own hyper-sensitive over-reaction to someone merely sharing a differing point-of-view from your own to be humorous... by all means, knock yourself out. Don't let me stop you.

In the meantime, I'll be laughing about how you have - in the course of two posts where you've completely unnecessarily over-reacted to a harmless counter-statement - officially placed yourself in the same category as Neptune; arrogant in your views and demonstrably intolerant of those that oppose it.

Well played, sir. Well played.

[Abriael]

On the other hand, you're continuously saying that someone is "overreacting" when he's just easily countering your points in a quite relaxed way, but you look like you're the one that's overreacting quite a lot to the criticism to your points.
You're overreacting so much that not only you resort to personal attacks against the one you're talking to, but you even managed to involve with a gratuitous personal attack someone that isn't even posting in this thread? Sorry but... lol?

Again, it takes one minute. if that minute is so terrible for you (and for the HORDES lol), that you'd advocate scrapping a system that works to implement a redundant one (with less functionality and eyecandy), with all the utter waste of development resources that'd involve, honestly, There's a lot to laugh about, and it goes to show how certain people really dig deep to find something to nitpick about.

It isn't a matter of opinion. It's a simple matter of risk/reward. Scrapping the wards and introducing an AH would not improve the game's quality in any sizable way, but would involve a massive waste of development resources that are much better spent on things that *everyone* can enjoy, and not just the ones that can't get over the fact that the market wards aren't named Auction House.

[Rinsui]

I would make a poll - but Abraiel was smart enough to immunize his opinion against any form of falsification. After all,

anyone that plays any MMORPG knows full well that forums (and the few vocal trolls that populate them) aren't any valid representation of "the community".

Anyone, playing any MMORPG, mind you.

So basically the ones that already left have no clue,
and the ones that voice their opinions in the forums don't count.
Oh, and reviews don't count either.
Because we've already established reviewers are numbskulls, and
no serious player gives crap about a review anyway.

Well played Sir, well played.

[Abriael]

I would make a poll - but Abraiel was smart enough to immunize his opinion against any form of falsification. After all,
Anyone, playing any MMORPG, mind you.

So basically the ones that already left have no clue,
and the ones that voice their opinions in the forums don't count.
Oh, and reviews don't count either.
Because we've already established reviewers are numbskulls, and
no serious player gives crap about a review anyway.

Well played Sir, well played.

Ah, strawman arguments. You can't have enough of them it seems.

1: if you think a poll in a forum is any representation of the thousands of people that play a game. Think again.
2: The ones that already left can do what they want. I sure have more respect for the ones that left and moved on, than for the ones that continue to troll a game they don't like, obsessed an unable to move on.
3: Reviews are obsolete, and count zero. MMORPG reviews have an expiry date, as MMORPGs evolve more than any other game. Something that describe mechanics that have since radically changed or that don't even exist anymore has no validity. It's simple logic. The Market Wards described in reviews have absolutely nothing to do with the market wards now.
4: The fact that most gaming reviewers lack any kind of journalistic education or integrity is a well known fact in the industry, even more known is the fact that most of them don't dedicate enough time to MMORPGs in order to get a decent idea of them. The slew of over-8/9 scores given to Age of Conan based on the first (very good) levels and competely disregarding the barren wasteland coming past level 20 are a clear example of that. Not that many learned the lesson, mind you.

I don't need to play forum games. I base what I say on facts.

[Preypacer]

On the other hand, you're continuously saying that someone is "overreacting" when he's just easily countering your points in a quite relaxed way, and even managed to involve with a gratuitous personal attack someone that isn't even posting in this thread? Sorry but... lol?

You posted a list of items. I disagreed with one of those items. You immediately went on the defensive and lashed back over it. Yes, that is an over-reaction.

Whether your unnecessarily defensive and abrasive response was "calmly written" or not doesn't change the fact that it was unnecessarily defensive and abrasive. I didn't attack you. I didn't insult you. I didn't troll or flame you. I merely expressed a counter-statement to a single item you posted. Your immediate need to go on the defensive and lash out over it demonstrates quite clearly that you are intolerant of such a thing. Trying to spin it at this point only makes you look dishonest, on top of being intolerant.

The record speaks for itself. People can go back and read my post, and your response to it, and judge for themself.

I'm sure you'll keep trying, though.

To point out the obvious, comparing your behavior to someone else who has repeatedly demonstrated the same in similar situations does not require that person having posted in this thread. Ironically, that you tried to spin it that way is another very Neptune-worthy tactic. You're 2 for 2! Gonna go for a hat trick next?

Again, it takes one minute. if that minute is so terrible for you (and for the HORDES lol), that you'd advocate scrapping a system that works to implement a redundant one (with less functionality and eyecandy), with all the utter waste of development resources that'd involve, honestly, There's a lot to laugh about, and it goes to show how certain people really dig deep to find something to nitpick about.

Sorry to interrupt your little tangent there, but are you going to re-join the conversation and address things I'm actually saying? Or shall I let you just continue rambling off into fantasy-land, arguing over things I haven't.

For the last time, and please pay attention this time: I never brought personal opinion into the topic. You did. I merely pointed out the logistic difference between the current MW system compared to a true AH system.

It isn't a matter of opinion. It's a simple matter of risk/reward. Scrapping the wards and introducing an AH would not improve the game's quality in any sizable way, but would involve a massive waste of development resources that are much better spent on things that *everyone* can enjoy, and not just the ones that can't get over the fact that the market wards aren't named Auction House.

So... At this point you've stopped even attempting to address anything I'm actually saying and have chosen instead to rant on about things that exist only in your head... 'cause I never opined on anything in my posts that you're rambling on about there.

I'm gonna put it really simply for you, and then I'm going to stop wasting time and keystrokes on you, because you've clearly gone way off the deep end at this point.

1. You stated:

AH -> The wards now work like an AH.

2. I responded by simply pointing out the *logistic* differences between how one obtains items in the MW, versus how they would in a true AH system. I stated that due to those verifiable logistical differences, that MW are not "quite there" in terms of "working like an AH".

That's it... That's all that happened between my first post, and the point in your post which I was responding to.

From your first response to me, you have blown the entire thing out of proportion, repeatedly tried to argue things that I never addressed or asserted in the first place... and at this point, have pretty much just decided to have an imaginary debate with the rambling voices in your head, considering nothing in your last two paragraphs here have any bearing, what-so-ever on anything I actually stated.

But again... Knock yourself out. Don't let me interrupt your little... whatever you want to call it.

[Rinsui]

I base what I say on facts.

Yes! And that's your big mistake; facts don't
matter when you try to retain customers.

Opinions do. Reviews do. Forum posts do.

Because unless SE can convince reviewers,
and forum posters to invite their friends,
this game will simpy fizzle into oblivion.

[Blair]

Marketing suggestion for SE:

Promote PS3 advertisement (TV/WEB/...all sort) FFXIV together with FFXIII-2 or FFXIII-versu, you'll save lots of money.

Promote each local dealer to import both FFXIV and FFXIII-xxx as a combo, with less fee.

Promote FFXIV expansion together (This is the ONLY way to save this game , but does SE secretly working on it? )

Well, again, [Good Luck]