Moving will be made to interrupt spellcasting at a point in time...

[Rukkirii]

Here are a few posts from Yoshida about the spell casting changes.

Hi, this is Yoshida, the producer/director.

Thank you for all of your feedback on the changes to spell casting specs. I would like to respond to some issues.

■Casting spells after moving ■

This is in regards to the time it takes before being able to cast a spell after moving, which we have received a lot of feedback on. There are two reasons for this specification.

①The time it takes to communicate between the client and server

　　　⇒This can take up to 0.3 seconds for transferring packets, plus the response time.
　　　　As an online game, this is unavoidable. (In order to prevent cheating, we cannot use the client only)

②Inability to cast due to movement intertia after stopping

　　　⇒We have reduced this spec as much as possible while maintaining the quality of our graphics.
　　　　Similarly to when /facetarget is used, if we reduce the inertia period any more, we would have to remove it. Since inertia is mapped in the server, it is not possible to cast spells during this time.

　　　　With that said, my decision is:
　　　　“If /facetarget is not used, minimize the negative hit to graphics quality”
　　　　“If /facetarget is used, prioritize performance over graphics quality”
　　　
I believe that this is the limit to what we can accomplish before the 2.0 re-launch.

Of course we have considered forcefully stopping the movement of the character’s feet as soon as a spell is cast, but this would be too substantial of a change. Also, we plan on implementing spells that can be cast while moving in version 2.0, so we would like to avoid this idea. (It would also be very difficult to separate spells between those that can/cannot be cast while moving, but we have more time to spend on this issue.)

■Behavior when inputting the same action twice ■

Another spec we have been receiving feedback on is that an action will be cancelled if the same action is input again while the action is being performed.

We plan on making an adjustment to this spec in patch 1.22. This spec is an integral part of FFXIV’s game play, but after patch 1.22 we plan on separately handling these cases based on whether /actionqueue is ON or OFF. To explain:

①If /actionqueue is ON

　　⇒An example of the queuing of actions would be when 3 actions (A, B and C) are input successively and the 3 actions are performed one after the other. If A, B and C comprises a combo, inputting:

　　　Input A⇒ While A is being performed ⇒Input B⇒ While B is being performed ⇒ Input C

　　　This will lead to the combo being executed as quickly as possible.
　　　However, as unlikely as it may be, there will be situations where the player wants to cancel a queued action before it is performed.

　　　Let’s say A, B and C comprise a combo, A can be performed any time, and a combo with B can be performed if A is successful while the character is to the side of the opponent and a combo with C can be performed if B is successful.

　　　Suppose C is in the queue while B is being performed and the requirements for B are not met (for example: the opponent changes direction). The player will probably want to cancel C. Instead of performing C, which would not be part of a combo, it would be better to cancel C from the queue and re-queue A.

　　　As such, a spec to cancel queued actions is necessary. In order to accomplish that, if /actionqueue is ON, inputting the same ability twice will cancel the ability (in other words, the current spec will remain).

②If /actionqueue is OFF

　　　⇒Since queuing is turned off, no matter what is input, the ability that was input first will be performed completely. As a result, abilities cannot be cancelled while being performed when /actionqueue is OFF.

It would also be possible to assign “Esc” as the “action cancelling key,” but this is not possible for gamepad users, so we believe it is necessary to maintain the ability to cancel an action by inputting it a second time.

Finally, we are also thinking about implementing something like “/actioncancel ON/OFF” in addition to /actionqueue ON/OFF. We are afraid this may overcomplicate things, but we are looking into whether or not this would be beneficial for players.

I forgot to mention one thing. Basically, we will be removing the ability for monsters to cast spells while moving. However, for certain monsters for whom being able to cast spells while moving is a characteristic trait (the Achilles’ heel of ranged classes), we will still allow casting while moving.

It is difficult to pull of ＷＳ combos, because monsters change direction too much

I would recommend either using some form of crowd control before inputting a combo or balancing hate (to reduce monster movement) before inputting a combo. I also feel that it is a test of player skills to try to read the movement of the opponent and input a combo without using crowd control.

There are many behaviors that cause monsters to change directions rapidly, but these will all be removed in version 2.0. I apologize that these behaviors have not been removed yet.

Maybe I am wrong to expect action from the FF14 development team.

I think you said one sentence too much.
People will try their best if they receive encouragement and will become fed up if they are criticized too much.
If you could flatter us a bit more, we would gladly climb up a tree for you.
Maybe I said a bit too much myself, but remember that it is very late.

So we have to input an ability twice to cancel it, huh…
Is it not possible to implement a cancel button?

The problem with a cancel button is that it is difficult to distinguish which ability is to be cancelled during communication between the server and the client. It isn’t that we didn’t think of it. ^^

Are there any players out there who are masters of cancelling actions?

I’m sorry; I’ve always been a big fan of cancelling actions.＾＾；

[Nakiamiie]

Here are a few posts from Yoshida about the spell casting changes.

Good post from Yoshi-P!

　“If /facetarget is not used, minimize the negative hit to graphics quality”
　　　　“If /facetarget is used, prioritize performance over graphics quality”

That's a good balance.

[Riaayo]

Here are a few posts from Yoshida about the spell casting changes.

It was noted that making Esc a cancel cast button was not desirable because gamepad users don't have esc... honestly, too bad? At least give PC users the option toggle between hitting the same key twice to cancel, or hitting esc (or even allowing them to bind their own cancel key).

If PC controls are held back because the game is trying to cater too much to a gamepad, I would think most keyboard and mouse players would be very dissatisfied. Just because something isn't possible on a gamepad doesn't mean it shouldn't be added for keyboard and mouse... and if it's felt that that addition gives KB&M players some sort of "advantage" well... yeah, you have more buttons, of course you have an advantage. Don't like it? Stop using the controller.

[Catharsis]

If PC controls are held back because the game is trying to cater too much to a gamepad, I would think most keyboard and mouse players would be very dissatisfied. Just because something isn't possible on a gamepad doesn't mean it shouldn't be added for keyboard and mouse... and if it's felt that that addition gives KB&M players some sort of "advantage" well... yeah, you have more buttons, of course you have an advantage. Don't like it? Stop using the controller.

Incidentally, "PS2 limitations" are considered filthy words to many American FF11 players.

[Phe]

If PC controls are held back because the game is trying to cater too much to a gamepad, I would think most keyboard and mouse players would be very dissatisfied.

A special MMO gamepad could solve the problem tho.

[syntaxlies]

Here are a few posts from Yoshida about the spell casting changes.

if the casting mechanic is being held back because of servers then it should have just waited til 2.0 imo.

[Kiara]

Here are a few posts from Yoshida about the spell casting changes.

②Inability to cast due to movement intertia after stopping

　　　⇒We have reduced this spec as much as possible while maintaining the quality of our graphics.
　　　　Similarly to when /facetarget is used, if we reduce the inertia period any more, we would have to remove it. Since inertia is mapped in the server, it is not possible to cast spells during this time.

　　　　With that said, my decision is:
　　　　“If /facetarget is not used, minimize the negative hit to graphics quality”
　　　　“If /facetarget is used, prioritize performance over graphics quality”
　　　
I believe that this is the limit to what we can accomplish before the 2.0 re-launch.

Of course we have considered forcefully stopping the movement of the character’s feet as soon as a spell is cast, but this would be too substantial of a change.

Hi Rukkirii and Yoshida-san,

(I hope you can pass this along to Yoshida-san and the Dev Team.)
In regards to keeping the Inertia and Momentum, let's look at the goal that Yoshida-san wants to achieve:

• Goal: Yoshida-san wants to have a certain level of "quality of graphics" for Navigation (Running, Walking) and then blending into a Stop and then Casting. That makes sense, sure.

If that's the key Goal and the main reason we're burdened with the "Moving Will Interrupt Spellcasting" that's interrupting our spells just as we STOP (besides the PvP *actively / purposefully choosing to Run while trying to Cast a Spell* (which is a separate issue)), then here's one possible solution to consider:

• Solution: Flag all Characters' "Run to Stop" or "Walk to Stop" Animations / States (or a "Decreasing Range of Values for Momentum" (e.g., anytime your Momentum / Velocity is between '5' decreasing down to 0 (whatever value is appropriate)) as the equivalent of 0 (ZERO) Velocity, which would allow Spellcasting to occur.
  
  Basically this would allow you to force your engine / code to acknowledge that that tiny amount of Momentum (as you're decreasing to a Full Stop (0)) is the *same* as if you really were at true 0 Momentum.
  
  You can then apply a Blend from your "Run to Stop" animation or "Walk to Stop" animation into your Casting animation, while allowing players to start Casting without being interrupted by Inertia (current problem).

This would allow you to keep your visual aesthetics of having a "settle (running to a stop, or walking to a stop)" and FIX the *major* problem that's affecting *most* Spellcasting Players right now.


Look at the overwhelming feedback of players so far about this issue. This "Moving While Casting Interrupts" *because of settling (waiting to be fully stopped)* has made the experience of playing a Mage & Casting an ANNOYANCE rather than being able to enjoy the wonderful new Mage Jobs and situations.


Of course the FF XIV Engine (current) might be coded in a way that wouldn't allow this, but it'd be worth the time to have some kind of system like the above, to alleviate this problem.

Rather than force ALL PLAYERS to manually type "/facetarget" or force them to wait a moment of time before casting, a solution like the above would solve the issue *and* allow you to keep your visual fidelity.

The patch has been great so far in many areas, but this is one area that's made the gameplay experience worse.

Please fix this.

Thanks!