I love beautiful animations.. but I think they're too slow for this game

[Neptune]

So, FFXIV has some truly great animations. Lush motion capture. Rich animations while crafting, sitting down, gathering, /psyching up to activate abilities, casting spells, doing weaponskills, buffing yourself or others, etc. ad infinitum.

As an artistic accomplishment, these animations are truly great. But I don't like how they slow the gameplay down to a halt, and I really don't think the masses or the critics are going to take too kindly to them. So I'd like to see them changed in 2.0 if SE has any sense at all. I really don't want to ride the burning ship to the bottom of the sea floor, but I have a feeling I might be doing just that.

Animations in battle.

I'd like to see these animations sped up like 1 light year. I suggest making them so fast they seem unnatural, then scaling it back one notch. It's really lame how your character gets animation locked in tough battles, and it doesn't make any sense.

Buffing yourself

The unique spell effects accompanying each buff are truly incredible. If I could just sit outside the town activating these buff effects just for the eye candy it'd be great. The problem is, in the middle of a fight there's no time to enjoy them. Especially because if you use another buff right away, it clips off the animation of the active buff, so you don't get to see it anyway. How about we speed these up as well?

I suggest the dev team open up WoW and click some buffs. When you press a button, your buff instantly activates, but it leaves a lingering animation somewhere on the screen (usually over the characters' heads). This is a much better thing to have happen. You get to see the whole animation.

It's hard to find a video of such a simple feature of WoW, but here you go:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzJMSvhhiNg&t=15s

Note that you can still move freely while one of these buff animations is playing out.

In another example with super annoying music, here is an example from WoW of spell effects being divorced from animation lock, something SE hasn't quite grasped for whatever reason:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VU5dEgpEbf0&hd=1&t=1m17s

It's a little baffling that after so long since the game's release, these lengthy buff animations are still in the game with no end in sight. Does anyone see what I'm talking about?

How about we have buffs that instant-cast with no animation lock, but with a spell effect that persists and doesn't get overwritten by another spell effect? I'm asking for the spell effects to mix in version 2.0. Like the black smoke of Dark Seal mixed with a flaming axe of Bloodbath, for example. Instead of one cutting the other one off. And no animation lock, leaving you free to move or act. So you can cast 5 buffs subject to some kind of global cooldown, then use your move.

Some of these buffs take so long to play out, that it's really hard to use 3 or 4 before you use a spell because the 20 second timers wear off by the time you chain your buffs. Like if you're a BLM, and you want to use Sanguine Rite, Dark Seal, Excruciate, Necrogenesis, and Parsimony on a spell, guess what? You don't have time to play through that many buff animations before your combo timer expires. I really don't like that.

Crafting

The crafting animations are all incredible, but again, watching so many really slows down the process. The first few levels it's pretty awesome, but before you get to 50 most people have turned on Netflix or the TV. It's just way too long. How about letting us instantly issue commands without having to wait on the animation? Maybe the animations can be sped up like 5x or something and it would still look good? Try it out. I really don't like waiting that long.

Weaponskills

The weapon skill animations are truly something special. These animations are so great, something inside me says design the game around these animation so we can somehow watch this great eye candy and still be able to move nimbly through a battlefield. The combat in FFXI was pretty slow-paced and it allowed for these kinds of animations, but FFXIV is considerably faster-paced. If we are going to have these beautiful animated weaponskills we need to make sure the tough fights leave room for the animation lock plus about 3 seconds of server lag / latency.

You see, the average gamer can be bothered to memorize patterns in a fight and learn an encounter, but not to wrap their minds around the idea of planning out their animation locks. Kudos really have to go out to those of us who had the patience, dedication, or uncontrollable addiction (lol) to win the Ifrit fight and learn how to "schedule" our animation locks but I have news for you dev team, the gaming masses you hope to seduce will not be as tolerant as the loyal few who still subscribe.

Don't take my word for it. I ask one thing. Put the Ifrit fight up at E3 this year and let journalists play it. It's time for a reality check.

Gathering, etc. I could go on but I think you get the idea. Going to a museum is a great experience but playing an action game is totally different. These animations were poorly thought through when they were implemented in the game. It really needs to change for version 2.0 or this game really doesn't stand a chance at great success.

All the best,
Neptune

[Vadavim]

I wholly agree with you! Thankfully, at least one of these problems is being addressed soon-ish. In the letter from the producer: http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...803-26-2012%29
You will notice mention of shortening the animations of synthesis (planned for 1.22). I am really hopeful about this, but I guess we'll have to wait and see!

[Firon]

They can leave them as they are just make it like XI can move during any Ws or ja. Ever fire off vorpal blade and run away while doing it, or do a running voke and your char slides forward >.>.

[Jinko]

I believe they said 2.0 will allow for lower and upper body animations, the current game does not and this is whey we can't move during animation.

[Dragonheart]

I believe they said 2.0 will allow for lower and upper body animations, the current game does not and this is whey we can't move during animation.

Body limitation.

[Oniji]

I believe they said 2.0 will allow for lower and upper body animations, the current game does not and this is whey we can't move during animation.

Yeah that is the main cause for it. Their animation system is far too rigid atm. They should look at the Battlefield 3 "ANT" system, which is also used in a lot of EA Sports games.

They could temporarily fix this by just allowing characters to "slide" while the animation plays out, as you move. Or by instantly killing the current animation when the character moves, which may feel disjointed or jolting. Either way it will break the "realism" to some extent.

But if it fixes the animation lock issue from now until 2.0, I'm willing to wager that most people will be happy to live with the minor drop in realism in the interim.

Edit: Another problem that causes the animation to feel slightly sluggish is the easing into and out of moving. This delay is slightly annoying for spell casting, as you generally have to wait for your character to come to a complete stop before you can start casting. This issue is amplified with lag. The person should be able to cast immediately after they have depressed a movement key i.e. you can start casting even while the character easing into coming to a stop.

[Neptune]

I'd still like to see some dev feedback on the current version of the game and if they see it as a problem like I do.

[Bustercucumbers]

Yeah.... gotta love a game that actually makes you want to play WoW. I gave up on WoW years back, but after I played long enough during the free to play period of ffxiv, I actually wanted to go back to WoW. I told myself I wouldn't play it anymore, but just the thought of pressing a button and my character actually responding in real time was just too enticing.

You really take simple things like that for granted. FFXIV really opened my eyes on how stressful a game can be without adding anything to really stress over. The control scheme is just that poor. The Ifrit fight is the perfect eye opener. People view the primals as a tough fight, but it's for all the wrong reasons. The ifrit fight in theory is probably one of the easiest fights ever. Only thing that makes it unnecessarily difficult is the fact that the game never responds to your actions when you actually need it to. You actually have to predict when ifrit is going to use a move so you don't risk getting your character stuck in a lockout spell animation. REALLY?!?!?!? This game doesn't reward good reactions, but good mind-reading ability?

My only hope in 2.0 is that they "actually" fix the issues, and not just touch them up. Like the OP said, the dev team needs to play WoW. It's 2012 now. Simple actions taking place when you command them should not be a difficult thing to accommodate to anymore.

[Tonkra]

Yeah.... gotta love a game that actually makes you want to play WoW. I gave up on WoW years back, but after I played long enough during the free to play period of ffxiv, I actually wanted to go back to WoW. I told myself I wouldn't play it anymore, but just the thought of pressing a button and my character actually responding in real time was just too enticing.

You really take simple things like that for granted. FFXIV really opened my eyes on how stressful a game can be without adding anything to really stress over. The control scheme is just that poor. The Ifrit fight is the perfect eye opener. People view the primals as a tough fight, but it's for all the wrong reasons. The ifrit fight in theory is probably one of the easiest fights ever. Only thing that makes it unnecessarily difficult is the fact that the game never responds to your actions when you actually need it to. You actually have to predict when ifrit is going to use a move so you don't risk getting your character stuck in a lockout spell animation. REALLY?!?!?!? This game doesn't reward good reactions, but good mind-reading ability?

My only hope in 2.0 is that they "actually" fix the issues, and not just touch them up. Like the OP said, the dev team needs to play WoW. It's 2012 now. Simple actions taking place when you command them should not be a difficult thing to accommodate to anymore.

well i can understand some critics from you... on the other side, it makes FF something unique..

i mean its some kind of more "turn based" although its not turn based..
i mean Final Fantasy 12 for example is also a mixture between turn based and real time..

i like that, thats unique in MMorpg genre! its like you compare Diablo to Heroes of Might and magic. all mmorpgs are the same in gameplay, FFXIV is different.


WoW is like any fucking MMO out of there.. rift, SWTOR, Warhammer online... ALL the same.
so why not leaving FFXIV just a bit special?



dont get me wront.. it needs improvements . MUCH better responding to your actions (aborting spells still doesnt really work by just moving), a little faster.


and i think just traits could be 100% instant, and while moving.. i dont understand why a simple trait (sentinel etc.) lets you stop at a place.
animation lock should be removed for traits and spells. an effectfull WS like for lancers need animation lock for the animation itself.

[NationOfZealots]

Yeah.... gotta love a game that actually makes you want to play WoW. I gave up on WoW years back, but after I played long enough during the free to play period of ffxiv, I actually wanted to go back to WoW. I told myself I wouldn't play it anymore, but just the thought of pressing a button and my character actually responding in real time was just too enticing.

You really take simple things like that for granted. FFXIV really opened my eyes on how stressful a game can be without adding anything to really stress over. The control scheme is just that poor. The Ifrit fight is the perfect eye opener. People view the primals as a tough fight, but it's for all the wrong reasons. The ifrit fight in theory is probably one of the easiest fights ever. Only thing that makes it unnecessarily difficult is the fact that the game never responds to your actions when you actually need it to. You actually have to predict when ifrit is going to use a move so you don't risk getting your character stuck in a lockout spell animation. REALLY?!?!?!? This game doesn't reward good reactions, but good mind-reading ability?

My only hope in 2.0 is that they "actually" fix the issues, and not just touch them up. Like the OP said, the dev team needs to play WoW. It's 2012 now. Simple actions taking place when you command them should not be a difficult thing to accommodate to anymore.

Well said, these boss fights are rather easy in theory however due to the dramatic slowness of it all and off-chance of dying A LOT, it makes me feel like a dumb RPG player when in fact I blasted all the other Final Fantasies (exc XI), this was my first shock lesson (XIV is my first MMO) that has definitely ruined the FF brand but MMO fanboys will think OP is being overly dramatic when there is sense.