FFXIV Server Suspension Day 2: The Return of Day 1

[Rannie]

Playing Pokemon to deal with the downtime with my LS, it's keeping us all in contact with one another during what could soon be a prolonged downtime.

you and your evil pokemon Holy. I will not get sucked into it bwahahahahaha... but all thats happening in Japan is terrible and I'm glad they officially asked for help on those nuclear reactors... I know the US would help them without the official request but i hope it gets things fixed asap

[Alexios]

you and your evil pokemon Holy. I will not get sucked into it bwahahahahaha... but all thats happening in Japan is terrible and I'm glad they officially asked for help on those nuclear reactors... I know the US would help them without the official request but i hope it gets things fixed asap

Russia sent them help too, including our best specialists on nuclear plants. I heard on TV news today that Japan is refusing to receive out specialists. I don't know why, but suspect it is because of their stupid pride. I think they hold a grudge against us for not ceding to them those Kuril Islands. I understand that they need them more than we do, and we actually have little to none use for those islands, so it's quite selfish of us to hold them. But really, this isn't the time to argue about that. They need all the help they can get as fast as possible. I hope they will understand that before it is too late. I hope it's not too late yet.

As for the servers, I could care less. I need a break from playing anyway. And in face of that disaster it would be quite selfish to demand anything. I think it will really be a heroic deed, if Square Enix will manage to get those servers up and running any time soon.
I'm not going to buy another MMO either. I prefer single player mostly. In games I most care about the story, and MMOs rarely have a good one. In case of stories BioWare is usually the best. Regretfully, even BioWare don't produce real hardcore RPGs anymore. Dragon Age: Origins was the closest to that lately, but even that good game can't challenge those masterpieces as Baldur's Gate or Icewind Dale. I still haven't got my copy of Dragon Age II, but, judging by the demo, it degraded again, like Neverwinter Nights after Baldur's Gate trilogy.
As for Final Fantasy XIV, its mechanics seem to be hardcore-like. Something isn't right with them though, but I am sure it can all be worked out to perfection sooner or later. Unless they will go on the simplification way to attract more casual players.
What the game's real disadvantages are is too short, simple, and slowly unfolding storyline. It's too linear. I am not sure if non-linearity can even be achieved in an MMO, but they could at least add the possibility to change allegiance from your starting city to any other somewhere in the middle of the story. I started my game in Ul'Dah, but really came to like Gridania the most. Also all those endless behests and countless levequests are so boring. And the need to grind skills to advance further in the story is somewhat boring either. And lately added side quests are absolutely ridiculous. They should at least give some SP and XP, like for killing normal creatures.
I think the game needs more diversification. Side quests should be much harder to complete than levequests, but give also much higher SP, XP, and other rewards in the end. And they should force players to use their wits, not only the patience. Trying hard shouldn't be enough, you should also be smart and observant. That's what I miss the most from hardcore RPGs. Regretfully, I have never played the much praised Final Fantasy XI, so I can't compare to it. It was never released in Russia, as far as I know.

[Arcell]

And lately added side quests are absolutely ridiculous. They should at least give some SP and XP, like for killing normal creatures.
I think the game needs more diversification. Side quests should be much harder to complete than levequests, but give also much higher SP, XP, and other rewards in the end. And they should force players to use their wits, not only the patience. Trying hard shouldn't be enough, you should also be smart and observant.

I think that's more of what they're trying to go for with the instanced dungeon content. The side-quests are just that, additional storyline fluff. They give you a bit of insight into some of the lore and world, as well as giving you some pretty decent gear rewards in the process.

[Rannie]

Russia sent them help too, including our best specialists on nuclear plants. I heard on TV news today that Japan is refusing to receive out specialists. I don't know why, but suspect it is because of their stupid pride. I think they hold a grudge against us for not ceding to them those Kuril Islands. I understand that they need them more than we do, and we actually have little to none use for those islands, so it's quite selfish of us to hold them. But really, this isn't the time to argue about that. They need all the help they can get as fast as possible. I hope they will understand that before it is too late. I hope it's not too late yet.

really that's not what i heard last night I heard on NHK that they officially asked the US for help in the matter... I could have misunderstood it with them asking for help with the nuclear situation but I do know that there was the USS Ronald Regan was there trying to help put sea water into the reactors to help cool them down. *shrugs* I was just going by what I heard from NHK