Questions and Feedback on the Future of FINAL FANTASY XIV

[Dekken]

I am more than happy to pay for this game after seeing the future plans. I have enjoyed my time on FFXIV, and although some of the issues with the game have been frustrating I haven't lost confidence in the developer's and Yoshi-P. I am very excited for the changes that are coming and I thank everyone on the FFXIV crew for their continuous hard work.

One question I do have though is about the new graphics engine. With the overhaul, will the PC requirements be higher when that is implemented or will the requirements be somewhat the same? I am currently running FFXIV on my laptop which runs everything on medium-high graphics comfortably, so I would like to know if this overhaul is going to affect my ability to play.

Thanks!

[Kibo]

Can we get a benchmark for the new graphics engine when it's done?

I just happen to remember you released a benchmark for XIV before it was released, and considering it will be a while before the new graphics engine will be released even when it's done, could we get another one for the new engine as soon as possible? Shouldn't be too time-consuming if you just port the current cutscene, or would it? I want to see the changes asap and in real-time!

It doesn't hurt to ask!

[Betelgeuzah]

What content will be posted in this subforum? Any timeframes?

[Tibian]

1. With the new 2.0 server systems, will the major game breaking issues such as animation lock, the positioning imprecision, and interface lag be greatly reduced? How do we know you're telling the truth, when at first XIV release the game was a complete disaster?
2. Payment using Click and Buy is something a majority of the users have come to not want. Since you seem to be listening very well to what the players want, why haven't we heard anything regarding SE's own private subscription plans and the abolishment of the Click and Buy contract?
3. How much is the subscription going to cost? Since the game is only 50% done, will we see a 50% reduction in subscription costs ala: 6/7 USD?
4. Why are you deciding to charge now, when the game is only 50% to where you wanted it to be at launch? It seems awkward that we're going to be paying a subscription fee for a product that is only half complete, how do you justify this?
5. In the 2.0 PDFs, addons were highlighted as something you want to see happen. Tanaka said the same about addons early in XIV's development but we never saw anything come out from it. Will you be releasing a developer kit to help create new addons for the game and show you're fully supported in evaluating and balancing addons?
6. On the photoshopped concept screenshot of the UI, the party unit frames and general UI seem vastly improved. However there are two glaring features that seem to be missing. One, the multiple action bars on screen at all times seems to have been forgotten, and two, the party unit frames have very abstract buff/debuffs. Timers on the unit frames are a welcome sight, but aside from protect and shell, I cannot differentiate anything about the buffs/debuffs. Will they be hoverable with tooltip information? What happened with showing multiple action bars on the screen at one time? Toggling the action bar is incredibly inefficient for PC users.
7. How are you planning on addressing the current loot distribution quagmire that seems to plague the game right now? Ifrit drops weapons that people can't use because they don't have the jobs leveled, nor do they want to level those classes. Loot cannot be master looted or need for greeded, and there is no random number roll. In 2.0 how are you addressing this lack of attention in the loot table and loot distribution department?
8. To cast a spell, you need to target a monster, hit your spell hot key, and then CONFIRM your target. This is incredibly redundant, annoying, and frustrating to inuitive gameplay. Why haven't we seen the complete removal of confirming targets on spellcastting, and why hasn't the AOE toggle bar been completely removed as you said it was going to several months ago? In 2.0 are we still going to see the AOE toggle?
9. The toggling action bars is unitutive, causes problems, and again is flat out frustrating. You have mentioned being able to see all three action bars on the screen at the same time previously, and I figured this would have been a priority for you. Why have we not seen this feature added yet? Did it get dropped? What is taking so long to implement this feature?
10. A significant number of players have asked for a Final Fantasy card game (Tetra Master/Triple Triad) to be implemented directly into the game, where monsters can be converted into cards, quests yield cards, and crafters can create cards. The 2.0 PDFs disappointingly have no mention of a card game at all. Can you tell us what is happening, or if there are any plans to implement a card game.
11. What are you planning on doing about the monotonous crafting mechanics? People literally sit and press enter for hours on end. Why was this specific crafting style chosen over something simplistic and automatic ala World of Warcraft?
12. How far along is the jump system, and will 2.0 have a full utilization of it? Can you tell us more about it?
13. Arcanist and Musketeer were mentioned earlier in developer/community team posts. Unfortunately there were no mentions of either class in the 2.0 PDFs. Are these classes dropped, and when can we expect to see them and their respective jobs?
14. What happened to the other classes such as Flayer and Fencer?
15. Will you be allowing free server transfers on the 2.0 launch so people can play with friends?
16. Spell animations and player casting animations for mages were requested and confirmed to be under review, how is the progress on this topic and what can you tell us about the new animations?
17. Having to wait for multiple players and NPCS to spawn in crowded areas is a frustrating mechanic. Will FFXIV 2.0 still render only a certain number of users in a given radius from the player, or will all NPCS and players render at the same time for a more fluid appearance to the game?
18. The current build of XIV has underutilized going inside buildings. Most of the shops are outside in tiny stalls. Will 2.0 utilize buildings as actual objects that we can traverse inside, or will buildings still remain a graphical box that we just look at?
19. Pets and summons were alluded to in the 2.0 PDFs, can you tell us more about the planned classes and jobs that will utilize them, and how will summons come into play?
20. Several important content filling topics listed on the 2.0 PDFs are coming "after 2.0." How long "after 2.0" are we talking for many of these features?
21. The current story arc has been said to come to a close before 2.0. Will the Ifrit, Garuda, Moogle primal fights still be accessible after 2.0 occurs?
22. The 2.0 PDFs mention a free trial reinstatement occurring sometime between October and November 2012. The next line then says that the free trial period ends in January 2013. Does this mean that players will have two to three free months when 2.0 launches, or is this a window of opportunity for players to return for a free trial? Also how long will this trial be?
23. What can you tell us about the LEGACY items, and the "application" process?
24. Will we finally be able to alt tab from full screen?

[Platinumstorm]

I would like to know why you are deciding on a subscription fee now, rather than when 2.0 is ready. If the game isn't ready for a relaunch now [Yoshi said 50% - and that was only in reference to the amount of content, and not even discussing core systems], and for the public PS3 release, then how can it be justified at this point in time?


Feedback and reasoning for the question:
Keeping it free allows your current players to virally market for you as the game improves to counter the many voices of dissent who have lost trust in you, and it lets players see the critical milestones the game needs to reach to succeed, and it prevents the current active players from committing themselves to another MMORPG between now and in the future. By charging a subscription fee, these players who become attached to another MMORPG will become lost to this game forever, while this game is still building to become good.

I want to be billed for this game, but I want to be billed for this game when it has earned it. It hasn't earned it yet.

Other questions:

What happens between August 2012 and October 2012. Will the servers be running? I ask this because the development road map does not list anything being "live" during this time period.

Is the "reboot period" also being considered a PC beta test?

Are there any large segments of time where the servers will need to be taken down for periods over 72 hours to prepare for 2.0 or the stated server changes?

Will the animation lag that North American, European, and other non-Japanese players suffer be addressed and fixed with the new server code and infrastructure to allow more engaging combat scenarios?

Will the storyline be significantly revamped for the three starting zones?

Will the cities themselves be reworked in the revamp?

What is the estimated time table for the things listed as "after 2.0 launches"?

The picture with the chimera and UI mock up looks like several high quality models that have been copied and pasted from internal files into the image, rather than something that is compressed to actually run on a game client. Can we get a high resolution [1920x1080 or higher] image from somewhere in the world with a player standing there, maybe even casting a spell, that actually exists within the client that consumers will be playing on so we can know what kind of graphical upgrades to expect?

[Issac]

I would like to know why you are deciding on a subscription fee now, rather than when 2.0 is ready. If the game isn't ready for a relaunch now [Yoshi said 50% - and that was only in reference to the amount of content, and not even discussing core systems], and for the public PS3 release, then how can it be justified at this point in time?


Feedback and reasoning for the question:
Keeping it free allows your current players to virally market for you as the game improves to counter the many voices of dissent who have lost trust in you, and it lets players see the critical milestones the game needs to reach to succeed, and it prevents the current active players from committing themselves to another MMORPG between now and in the future. By charging a subscription fee, these players who become attached to another MMORPG will become lost to this game forever, while this game is still building to become good.

I want to be billed for this game, but I want to be billed for this game when it has earned it. It hasn't earned it yet.

I think it's fair to counter this and say I think the game has reached a point where I would be willing to pay. Content roll-outs are part of all MMOs, and nothing in this genre is ever 100% complete until they pull the plug.

[Fensfield]

If I might offer something for everyone asking about why we're being charged now..

"we’ll have reached that point once we've developed a system where we listen to the voices of the players and then communicate back what we are going to do, how we are going to do it, and a deadline for when it will be done. We’re not there yet."

'S something Naoki Yoshida said several months ago when asked about how long the free period would last. So at least.. we were warned. Really I wasn't surprised, 'was expecting to find a subscription announcement somewhere the moment I saw the word 'roadmap'. If nothing else he's keeping his word. .. Okay except for the promise to keep all the old promises as regards the promise of definitely getting other-coloured chocobo but, well.

Still, yes, certainly wondering about whether the prices'll be any lower in the meanwhile or 'out.

[Sorel]

Can we get a benchmark for the new graphics engine when it's done?

I just happen to remember you released a benchmark for XIV before it was released, and considering it will be a while before the new graphics engine will be released even when it's done, could we get another one for the new engine as soon as possible? Shouldn't be too time-consuming if you just port the current cutscene, or would it? I want to see the changes asap and in real-time!

It doesn't hurt to ask!

I would like this too.

GO PHOENIX GO!!

[Lienn]

I got a question...i'm concerned about what i saw at concept art regarding miqo'tes...they all (both male and female characters) have shaved ears...just like FFXI ones...and then i saw this (quoting from new FFXIV outline):

"The new graphics engine will cause certain objects to display differently than they do in the current version. Because of this, we will allow all current players the opportunity to re-customize the race, gender, and appearance of their characters upon the implementation of the new engine."

Are you guys changing the race models or racial characteristics (like FFXIV miqo'tes having furry ears)? Or is this just for those willing to change races, hairstyles, gender or whatever? Or is it related to just engine itself, like shading, textures, etc?

[Issac]

I would like this too.

GO PHOENIX GO!!

And I'm agreed on the Pheonix brand. The souls of the land who stand up with steely swords to brave the tumultuous times to come are the embodiment of a reborn soul from the ashes. Looking forward to motivational speeches in an epic storyline.