A serious discussion about abridging the story quest 1-50 (discouraging new players)

[3Jane]

For christ's sake let this sad arsed non issue die.

[ThanMazus]

For christ's sake let this sad arsed non issue die.

You came into a thread titled "A serious discussion" to suggest having no discussion?

[KisaiTenshi]

This thread alone has already proven otherwise at least thirty times over.

FFXIV's raids, trials and endgame are actually pretty damn good, by MMO standards. The people I've been trying to get to play FFXIV are the same people I've raided with in previous games. These are people who will stay subbed to a game for a LOOOONG time, so long as you keep challenging them with new raid content.

Nah, all that has been proven in the thread is there are two people who hate stories and are playing the wrong game and want to turn FFXIV into a plotless WoW-clone. No Thanks.

Here's the thing. If we even give SE the idea that we don't care for the story, we won't get any more of it. Why would a developer spend the boatloads of money needed to have a cohesive storyline, lore and such, only for it to be optional? That's like ordering a Pepperoni pizza just to eat the pepperoni's and garbage the rest. Sure a few people might do this because they don't care, but the majority of the playerbase is playing FFXIV because they want to be playing a Final Fantasy game. Not a WoW-clone and not a MOBA.

Would this game do any better if it was based on Disney (a la Kingdom Hearts)? Would hardcore raiders come into it demanding that they remove all the Disney bits just so they could fight the non-Disney parts?

Like this is the lunacy of the argument in this thread.

If you someone doesn't want to play Final Fantasy, there are other games more suited to them. Final Fantasy is the largest RPG franchise inside and outside Japan. The Final Fantasy Franchise is larger than the Warcraft one. But you need context for this argument, since Final Fantasy includes every version of the game going back to FFI. Warcraft includes only WoW as it's the only RPG.

Final Fantasy XIV has 4 million subscribers, WoW has 7.1 million subscribers. What should be noted is that every time there is an expansion pack for WoW, the number of players doubles for about 3 months and then returns to below where it started. If you look at Blizzard-Activision's Quarterly reports, you'll note that there are more people playing Hearthstone than there are WoW which is a freemium CCG.

https://www.superdataresearch.com/ma...ta/mmo-market/

CHANGING CONSUMER PREFERENCES

The success of MOBA titles indicates a subtle but important shift in the way people like to play online. Offering the same fast paced action as first-person shooter games, MOBAs have quickly become one of the most popular game genres worldwide, growing their share of the overall MMO category from 16% to 24% in just the last year.

But the popularity of the free-to-play model among consumers does not mean that traditional ways of publishing are on a decline. In fact, whenever there’s a major release on console, either via traditional retail or digital channels, we observe a dip in free-to-play spending. Gamers, the data tells us, play on multiple platforms at once and regularly shift their focus between them, expressed in both time played and money spent. Innovative game mechanics and monetization strategies, it suggests, do not exist in a vacuum, but rather expand and add to the gaming ecosystem. How publishers differentiate themselves in such a volatile market has become a key strategic component.

And we're completely fooling ourselves if we think MMORPG's are the most popular MMO.

[RichardButte]

Nah, all that has been proven in the thread is there are two people who hate stories and are playing the wrong game and want to turn FFXIV into a plotless WoW-clone.

1. There have been an astonishing number of posts in this thread by people who have outright been UNABLE to convince their friends to play this game (or continue playing it) because of the sheer amount of story content (I say astonishing because I had no idea this issue was so widespread). No idea where you're getting "two people" from...

2. Making the plot skippable does not remove it from the game. WoW's plot is almost entirely skippable and yet they still write novels about it.

3. FFXIV IS a WoW clone. I'm sorry, but it's true. Most of the major game design elements are taken right from WoW: the themepark design, the duty finder, the endgame currency, the mount and pet collection windows, etc. The only thing truly unique is the armory system (which came from FFXI) and the fact that crafting and gathering are their own classes.

So let's bring this question back again:

How does it hurt you personally if other people get to skip the story?

It's actually a trick question: other people are already skipping the story by mashing the ESC key through all of the cutscenes and, surprise surprise, the servers haven't spontaneously shut down yet. :P

For christ's sake let this sad arsed non issue die.

Seriously.

I mean, I just ate, so no one else could possibly be hungry right now...

Look, it's clear SE wants us to recruit friends into the game, and god knows I've tried.

People say, "It takes a certain type to play this game!" and that's of course with ANY game...

But we're not talking about forcing FPS players to play MMOs, we're talking about getting MMO players to play MMOs, and FFXIV HAS THE CONTENT THAT WILL KEEP THESE PLAYERS INTERESTED!!!!

It also has enough gating to make players UNinterested, however, and that's something that can be rectified.

And if it is, more players will play the game, pay for subs, giving SE more money to develop more of the content that you like. How exactly does anyone lose in this situation?

[LineageRazor]

Here's the thing. If we even give SE the idea that we don't care for the story, we won't get any more of it.

The thing is, though, at no point has anyone implied that we don't care for the story. All that has been stated is that there are potential customers who don't care for the story, or who would like the option of pursuing it at their own pace rather than doing it all up front.

The storyline for FFXIV is a big draw, and the bulk of its customers appreciate it. SE knows this. There's a substantial untapped customer base, though, for which the storyline is less important, and this playerbase CAN be tapped without sacrificing any of the quality we've come to expect.

Asking for choice is not the same as rejecting what we have.

[Voltyblast]

What I start to find annoying is how's everyone's defense for the story is that "it's Final Fantasy" and that is has to have a story in order to be good... and I would agree on that if this game wasn't once shut down because of 1.0 failure due to its faulty gameplay and overall bad game design.

As far as my friends told me, 1.0 story was much better than 2.0, yet the game failed. This game is a success because the gameplay was at last up to date and was actually fun: the story was just there as a bonus but the game was what a lot of new players came to subscribe.

As many can see, the keyword here is "Gameplay" but I'm not totally ignoring the story: this thread has shown a lot of concern because of the mandatory feeling of the story and how they wished it would be more flexible. It's getting quite tiring to repeat the same thing here but I suppose criticism won't be accepted because, apparently, it's a Final Fantasy.

I'm no longer a Final Fantasy fan in a long while and that alone should show that this game could cater to other players who are not fans of the franchise, but if we get this much bashed for expressing opinions about the game and feel oppressed with retort such as "it's not the game for you", then I'm starting to realize that I should get on my own way, bring my subscription to WoW or SWTOR, and just play with my friend and sister who are there.

"Two people less" won't ruin the subscription rate am I correct?

PS: However I still have to thank the people in this thread for making their true opinion arise: until now I felt myself oppressed because I couldn't express my opinions about anything this game without being retort in the most bitter ways possible (and one of my in-game friend even got mocked in-game for pretty much the same discussion).

This is unrelated, but a big thanks from a simple player who just wanted to have fun with the game!

[Samburi]

What I start to find annoying is how's everyone's defense for the story is that "it's Final Fantasy" and that is has to have a story in order to be good... and I would agree on that if this game wasn't once shut down because of 1.0 failure due to its faulty gameplay and overall bad game design.

One fault of 1.0 was also a not so good optional main story (not the 7th umbral story)

As far as my friends told me, 1.0 story was much better than 2.0, yet the game failed.

This is funny and unbelieveable. Unless they mean the 7th umbral story (from Yoshida, that started 1 year after launch) and not the main story (from Tanaka). And even the 7th umbral story locked access to content behind the story (dungeons, primal fight and Nael van Darnus fight). And Yoshida's story was the reason why the subs increased during 2012.

Tanaka's story wasn't very thrilling. Only story missions that were good are the r15 story, the first meeting with Ifrit and first meeting with Gaius

[odintius]

Show me those number because honestly I only see a hand full at most that not a astonishing number that's pure hyperbole, your trying to justify your claim with just posts if you've notice most the up votes are against it and allot more just rebut other people moaning. Second it not about how it hurts us personally if other people skip the story it a personal preference on how we as JRPG gaming like the progress in a different way compare to say western games.

It would be like us going to WoW etc, and going on there forums and start saying astonishing number of post in this <thread> who have outright been UNABLE to convince their friends to play this game (or continue playing it) because of the sheer lack of story content. No idea where you're getting "two people" from.

[RichardButte]

What I start to find annoying is how's everyone's defense for the story is that "it's Final Fantasy" and that is has to have a story in order to be good... and I would agree on that if this game wasn't once shut down because of 1.0 failure due to its faulty gameplay and overall bad game design.

Exactly.

I've never been a FF fan. I think moogles and chocobos and whatnot are neat and all, but it's FFXIV's great mechanics that ultimately win me over.

The armory system kicks so much ass, and the boss in HW are the best yet. I also love how you can join dungeons and scale down your level so that you can play with your friends without nerfing their exp.

There are a lot of very good design decisions in XIV. Gating all of the actual content behind hours of fetch quests wasn't one of them.

Show me those number because honestly I only see a hand full at most that not a astonishing number that's pure hyperbole.

I'm astonished at the number of posts because I had no idea that this many other people were experiencing the same issue.

If you want to argue that XIV will lose subs if the MSQ is made optional, I'm gonna need to see some proof or you're just arguing based on hyperbole.

[Voltyblast]

One fault of 1.0 was also a not so good optional main story (not the 7th umbral story)


This is funny and unbelieveable. Unless they mean the 7th umbral story (from Yoshida, that started 1 year after launch) and not the main story (from Tanaka). And even the 7th umbral story locked access to content behind the story (dungeons, primal fight and Nael van Darnus fight). And Yoshida's story was the reason why the subs increased during 2012.

Tanaka's story wasn't very thrilling. Only story missions that were good are the r15 story, the first meeting with Ifrit and first meeting with Gaius

Ah I didn't know that, thanks for correcting me: I never played 1.0 but only heard from friends. Cheers.