What's the meaning of life?

[Azurymber]

Well I have to admit that I'm curious as to where this game would be at this time with the previous team still in place.

That said, it's hard to judge overall vision by taking every single step (patches, dungeons) separately. That's why I was interested in OP's question, what's the goal, the meaning of it all?

Right now we have very small and sparse steps that will eventually allow us to reach said goal, i-e real end-game content (which current dungeons are not), but that will only take form when all the pieces are put together with corresponding lore, character development and progression through the various content implemented through 1 year or so of patches.

totally agree. the thing that bothers me is yoshi-p doesn't even talk about the future. So theres nothing to really expect. If they came up with some awesome unique new thing (ex. an entire zone of constant dynamic warfare between the 3 nations and garlemond) then i could say 'well at least they have a goal to reach'... but right now the big goal seems to be implementing a job system. And honestly I still can't see how a job system takes an entire year to implement.

[PrettyPrincess]

And honestly I still can't see how a job system takes an entire year to implement.

Except they only thought of jobs a few months ago, not a year ago. They also have to balance the classes to coincide with the jobs system so they can actually be unique. You dont see how that takes time?

[Azurymber]

Except they only thought of jobs a few months ago, not a year ago. They also have to balance the classes to coincide with the jobs system so they can actually be unique. You dont see how that takes time?

old dev team knew they had to change the SP system (you cant honestly think 1-shot coblyn grinding was intended)
new dev team came around januray. lets take a month away for the earthquake. So the new team has had a good 7 months to do 3 simple things.
1. rebalance classes
2. and a job system in for party specialization
3. rebalance mobs

Rather than doing the smart thing and focusing on it for 2 months they decided to release it in parts seperated by 2 month periods or more where each time they had to rebalance all the mobs, mob placements, leves etc. And will now have to rebalance dungeons and such.

I've programmed for complex simulation games before where there were 50-100 variables all effecting things at once and managed to balance it out in a few days. Balancing a game sp/job system should not be difficult. All you have to do is create a damage formula for each job. Then you create a database for the mobs in the game and you set their hp based on level (ex. level*#) and you set their defence as a single variable or you factor in the level, etc. Then you just use that variable in the damage formula.

So for example you might end up with a rank 20 coblyn having 30 def + 400hp.
An archers dmg formula against a coblyn might be
base dmg =(.5*atk) + (.1*str)
real dmg = base dmg - (mob def/3)
so lets say you have 100 atk and 40 str. you do a base dmg of 60 dmg per hit.
if you fight a coblyn with 30 def your real dmg ends up as 50 a hit.
and then maybe you make the dmg vary by doing
Random = Random number from -10 to 10
final damage = real dmg + (Random)
meaning if your real damage is 50 a hit you will now randomly do 40-60 per hit. And you can make it so the random numbers are weighted towards 0 (ex. getting theres a 1/40 chance of getting a -10 or a 10 but a 1/4 chance of getting a -2 to 2)

there you have it, a simplistic damage formula i wrote up in under 10min. For ws's you do the same and just make attributes like str or dex have more of an effect. for whether or not you hit or miss you do a formula with dex, acc, and a random number. etc.

Should take 1 week max to create proper formulas for all the jobs and abilities and maybe if they are really slow another week to do the mobs.

Then you just make some mobs have a high def rating but give better exp so they need a party to kill and maybe take a lot of time to kill. You then put limits on what abilities ppl who activate jobs can use but let them have advanced abilities like lnc maybe gets a few ws's that do dmg and 100% poison inflict. gld gets enhanced defence to last longer. etc. That should again take a week max.

not 7 months.

edit: and if you say "well they have to take gear and all that into account" then simple. You graph the gear stats in multiple ways so you can can see how someone with the worst gear would fair, how average gear would fair, and how the best gear would fair. You can write a program to go through every combination of gear and chart it and there will prob be a pattern. then you choose a section (ex. split the graph into 4 parts and assume the 4th part is for elites, the 1st part is for ppl who dont care about what they wear and then focus mainly on balancing things for the third and upper second part. with tougher mobs balanced for the top 4th part).

[northernsky]

totally agree. the thing that bothers me is yoshi-p doesn't even talk about the future. So theres nothing to really expect. If they came up with some awesome unique new thing (ex. an entire zone of constant dynamic warfare between the 3 nations and garlemond) then i could say 'well at least they have a goal to reach'... but right now the big goal seems to be implementing a job system. And honestly I still can't see how a job system takes an entire year to implement.

Yup I have to agree that we don't really know about YoshiP's vision since he rarely gives info for farther than the 1 or 2 next incoming patches.
I guess what I was trying to say is that maybe we should not assume a lack of vision from the current team based on their recent accomplishments, which basically consisted of, as you said, fixing the game.

Yes, they implemented a number of generic MMO features, and hopefully with time (think expansion and pay to play era) they will bring creative, challenging and innovative features on top of this generic stuff (you still need that stuff, the more content the better), once the game is in good shape.

One strong characteristic of the FF series is that each title typically brought the good ideas from previous titles + 2-3 fundamental changes to character development, combat system and storyline progression that made each title very different. This is what I am expecting from XIV.

[Zahak]

or maybe he dosn't want to spoil everything they want to release eventually. I'm excited to see how jobs play out, and the new story missions.

[Kiote]

I'm getting really sick of people typing things like

Simply add
Easy fix
Quick Change

and of course the ever popular "Focus on.."

If you people are so good at making the largest Kind if video game on the market and it's so easy then STFU get out of our forums and go make your own MMO so we can come complain about everything you do being wrong and too slow.

[User201109011315]

I personally have bigger fish to fry/complain about lately than the rate of progress with this game.

Originally when I bought this game the biggest thing you had to worry about was how quickly they were going to fix bugs and add content.

Nowadays it's like you have to not only worry about how quickly they are going to fix bugs and add content, but you've also got to worry about whether or not they are going to turn this game into something you didn't sign up for.

I signed up for the armory system, player-run economy, yada yada. I didn't sign up for what Yoshi seems to be pushing.

I think I'd rather have an incompetently slow development team with an actual vision (FFXIV prior to january) than .... an equally incompetently slow development team without a vision (FFXIV post january).

Face it, this new motto of "destroy to improve" isn't getting the new team anywhere.

[Azurymber]

or maybe he dosn't want to spoil everything they want to release eventually. I'm excited to see how jobs play out, and the new story missions.

"the guy working for a corporation has no interest in making a game profitable as quickly as possible"
thats basically what you just said said...

[Alastar]

I am going to replace the OP's thread's each fourth word with the word "booty".


Why does my booty do these things? booty, grind, etc? What booty he striving toward? booty is his purpose?

booty looking at the booty grind-threads all booty in this forum, booty have to wonder, booty there more to booty than just the booty?

Is life a booty and then you booty? Or is there booty more out there, booty the great blue booty for which we booty meant to strive?

booty are Walkers of booty Path, but what booty is our path? booty to grind our booty away? Do we booty this path blindly booty even knowing booty it is taking booty?

Maybe if my booty could create his booty, private, Player-run booty, and build a booty, or a ship, booty then he could booty back and say booty has lived a booty life. Maybe if booty was PvP, why perhaps then booty could feel accomplisment booty taking on foes booty similar intelligence. And booty, just maybe, if booty was the freedom booty play as he booty, freedom to play booty whatever role he booty (see armory system), booty he could perhaps booty solace in that booty.

But alas! Woebetide booty, for as he booty do none of booty things, and with booty promise of such booty in the future booty, he shall be booty lost for meaning booty purpose.

Indeed, his booty are looking very booty.

Tell us, why, booty life, are we meant booty die? (Help us booty our cryyy!)

/Susan booty annoying voice.

[Murugan]

I think that Azuryember and Gifthorse20198283 should go design an awesome MMO and really capture an entire segment of the MMO population who then I would never have to share a game with ever again.