With all of the limitations holding FFXIV back, why not make a new FF MMORPG?

[Daralii]

Are you to strawmen what Batman is to bats? And is it Strawman or Strawmanman?

Be it customization, poll rates, particular mechanics, AI, or even simple QoL changes, there's almost always something that is "impossible from a technical standpoint" to add or improve upon due to the underlying engine of the game. Even the engine issues themselves are apparently not fixable due to other, baser parts of the engine. At that point, is it worth having flawed or unfinished addition after addition compared to ending in a couple expansions and starting fresh with a base game that isn't so problematic? That's all this is about.

Considering XIV is profitable enough that Square's CEO said he wouldn't let Yoshida shut it down if he wanted to, I doubt he'd get permission to wind down development in the early 2020s to start a new engine and MMO from scratch that likely wouldn't see release until the mid-2030s.

[Shurrikhan]

Considering XIV is profitable enough that Square's CEO said he wouldn't let Yoshida shut it down if he wanted to, I doubt he'd get permission to wind down development in the early 2020s to start a new engine and MMO from scratch that likely wouldn't see release until the mid-2030s.

I'd assume the same, but it depends on whether another team starts handling it and simply whether or not SE finds it likely to be profitable. Just because another MMO in the same franchise is still ongoing doesn't mean the newer one won't start seriously into its development -- especially if they're aimed at different player types or to provide very different aspects from among those seen in the other.

[Shurrikhan]

They didn't build FFXIV 2.0 on 1.0's engine. They built a brand new engine to make 2.0. So any perceived limitations to the game based on it's framework is solely on Yoshi's dev team.

http://www.ffmages.com/new-graphics-...-realm-reborn/

They said that, but only a few months after that report they had already swapped back from "there are features missing because we didn't have time to make them, because we had to rebuild any and all code from scratch" to "we can't make that because we're held back by old code."

Let's be clear, though -- at least on the graphical end of things: Luminous in not a particularly great engine, by all accounts (including SE's own, as the FFVII remake devs expressed serious frustrations in regards to it before swapping to UE4), especially in regards to workflow or efficiency. It can do some amazing stuff, but at this point no much if any more so than UE4, and apparently comes at high costs.

[tdb]

When you say "why not make a new MMORPG" how do you imagine that endeavor would pan out? When would it be released? How would the amount of content and features compare to FFXIV?

Developing an MMORPG is a huge effort. Moreover it's an effort that doesn't end at the game's release. All games these days get patches and some get expansions, but MMORPG players in particular expect a continuous stream of new content. So when you look at the limitations of FFXIV and think "why not make a new game" don't forget that you'd be turning back the clock six years to ARR release. 2.0 didn't have alliance raids (added in 2.1), beast tribes (added in 2.1), PvP (added in 2.1), hunts (added in 2.3) or the gold saucer (added in 2.5).

The lesser amount of playable content can be excused because it would all be new content. But since a new game would require new graphical assets there would be a lot less different outfits and other cosmetic options. ARR didn't have glamours or player housing at release and the variety of emotes was much smaller. Would you be willing to (temporarily) give up those in exchange for better graphics?

Finally, there are all kinds of balance and quality of life adjustments that are applied over the game's lifetime. A new game will have new gameplay mechanics, and new mechanics will bring new balancing issues. Some lessons learned from previous games may be applicable, but more likely than not it would take a few major patches to polish everything.

[Eldevern]

Agni's philosophy and the Luminous Engine are already six years old and only FFXV runs it then we could fairly expect some new games. But the market, both hardware and MMO, doesn't feel ready for a new generation.
Hardware for realistic games doesn't have much to offer, it is still pretty expensive for most players. Event thought Black Desert is three years old, it's still one of the most efficient game. New MMOs announced already look obsolete.
I don't expect new FF MMO before 2021 and would rather bet 2023 (even if Yoshida said he think FFXIV is kinda technically obsolete and would appreciate more up-to-date 3D engine).

But SE seems to hesitate for the future of FF licence. According to the current rumors, a new licence AAA based on the Luminous Engine will maybe be announced this year. That means a release in 2020/2021 (to match with the PS5?). A new MMO will probably be based on this new licence, depending of its success. In that case, there there is nothing to expect before 2023/2025. But with the success of the Battle Royale games, some kind of multiplayer may happen to be accessible in most new games. FFXIV somewhat show this direction : a MMO that players can significantly play alone too.

Anyway, yes, it is already one or two years I wish a new MMO release that is technically more ambitious than all the copy-pasted Archage/Aion like games based on the Unreal4 (if not Unreal3).

The question I have in mind : does the trailer from SE Virtual Works announce the next AAA licence (then it would be some kind of Space-Cyberpunk world rather than a Fantasy-Steampunk one)?

[TaranTatsuuchi]

Not sold on the idea of a new mmo...


But I am in full support of doing away with some of these limitations that keep preventing us from getting nice things...

[Avenger]

SE is currently running FFXI, DragonQuest X and FFXIV right? As well as a bunch of mobile games?

The main limitation is probably going to be “Square Enix resources.”

Running on servers operated or rented by Square Enix? Server limitations.

Over a network? Network limitations.

Of course FF games have to run on game consoles right? -> console limitations.

Switch? Switch limitations.

PS4? PS4 limitations.

Laptops? Laptop limitations.

etc.

However I could imagine a FF game that only ran on PS5 and high-spec gaming PCs.

[Windwalker]

FFXIV is doing fine, atleast for a few more years. Hell, even FFXI is still alive and kicking. Aslong as they continue to bring a great story and something for people to work towards, the game will live on. Its possible to change the game by adding graphical improvements and other parts without having to rebuild everything. Its simply not in their priority, their priority right now is to create something great out of Shadowbringers to give players something to do.

[Destati]

I get that they were taking a huge risk in rebuilding FF14 after 1.0 and they needed to cut back on costs but stuff like this makes me really wish they hadn't built ARR on the bones of its predecessor because they really shot themselves in the foot and all the limitations they might not have had to worry about then are sure as hell biting them in the butt now.

[KDSilver]

"The thinnest expansion"

It's not even out and we'll have 2 years of patches we don't know anything about.