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

[Valmonte]

remember back in the day when we had Light/Heavy strike, spiritdart, etc etc remember how fast paced the game was. then we all bitched because we couldn't pick are nose and scratch are arses while playing.

you get what you ask for.

[Platinumstorm]

I was going to make lengthy comments, but I decided to delete it all and keep it short.

These things will make combat feel faster:
Multiple action bars
responsive server communication

These things will make combat feel better:
More moves that aren't TP/MP reliant, or even complete class systems that aren't TP/MP reliant.
More moves and/or shorter cooldowns
responsive server communication that doesn't impact damage/effect at the beginning of the animation, therefore you don't need to be locked to do the animation.

Reasons why to not have combat speed like WoW:
Because everyone will compare you to WoW and then go back to play WoW because WoW has the best WoW combat.

[Riaayo]

I hope SE reads this thread, OP, because you are dead on the mark.

I will say that back in XI, and even in XIV, I HAVE been impressed by SE's ability to make some amazing looking ability effects and animations. But all through game design I have learned over and over that if you have a beautiful game with bad gameplay, you have a bad game. If you have an ugly game with good gameplay, well, you still have a good game.

A video game IS its gameplay and mechanics and everything else is a completely moot point until that is perfected.

My biggest gripe is buffs. There is definitely no excuse for these to animation lock players, as your character doesn't even do anything unique for each one. The uniqueness of those animations is an effect around you that could just as easily play while you move.

Weapon Skills I would personally prefer to be able to execute and move out of quickly, whether that entails a faster (and more ugly) execution, or the ability to do them and move. I've had the thought that animation locking on WS CAN be a game mechanic, as you are committing yourself in place to pump out damage... however if that is t he case you need to be able to abort much faster than you can now. I've also considered the train of thought that a WS could be performed while standing still, or while moving, the latter dealing less damage because you had not steadied yourself prior. But all in all... I'd just like to be able to always be on the move. I had FUN in games that worked this way, I felt engaged, and it felt like a real fight and not just some turtling against a wall like we see now.

OP makes a funny point about showcasing Ifrit at E3 and letting people play it. Better still, go showcase videos of your player base fighting Chim in Cutters, where they all stand in a huddled up clump by a wall and never move because they found a way to completely cheese your boss mechanics. I don't completely blame SE for that (although I blame whoever decided Voice of the Dragon should be a ring that doesn't just keep going the entire arena).

I do, personally, take into account animation lock, lag, etc, but OP is correct that many players probably won't tolerate that... especially not in this laggy environment, and not if the game isn't obviously aiming for it as a type of mechanic. If it is, it needs to be more obvious of the intent... but truth be told I can't imagine PvP with getting stuck every 2 feet by an animation lock from everything you do.

Spells also need to stop locking you when you initially start to cast them, and the lockout period on trying to cast "while moving" before you can cast again needs to be abolished. I have stopped, tried to cast, didn't happen to face target so I was "still moving" and then literally still can't cast for another 1-2 seconds due to that message. I could go into how un-reactionary healing is in this game right now but I'll do that somewhere else!


I do understand the technical limitations of the current engine and servers, and so I realize all of this may be remedied in 2.0... but I would like concrete evidence of it, not to just sit around and assume. The last time I "assumed" this game would be better was in beta, when I assumed there had to be more to the game when it launched than there was in the limited, featureless beta I was playing. I was sadly wrong that time, and as much as I'm rooting for this Dev team, they do still have to win back my trust a bit in this regard.


As to the "opposition" so to speak, a "slow mmo" doesn't work... it just doesn't. It's not engaging or fun, it's bland and most people won't want to touch it, and that's your problem because if nobody touches it SE shuts it down. I understand you like the pretty animations, I do too, however I want a working game that doesn't have its servers shut off far more, and I above all want a FUN game. If you want something beautiful and slow, stick to the single player FFs, because the MMO genre just likely isn't for you. But all that said, I want to see a game that is fast paced but still manages to be beautiful and have lovely animations... and for the record if you go look at something like Uncharted, it is a masterpiece of motion capture, voice acting, beautiful graphics, and FAST gameplay. SE, this is your challenge, I am rooting for you to overcome it with flying colors.



TL;DR or whatever, OP is "100%, flying colors, won the internet and caught the dragon" right.

[Riaayo]

Reasons why to not have combat speed like WoW:
Because everyone will compare you to WoW and then go back to play WoW because WoW has the best WoW combat.

Not to spam thread but felt I had to reply to this. Having fast combat in an mmo does not make you WoW. People need to realize WoW set the standard for most things in mmos. The challenge is pulling out the standards WoW set and making them your own unique ways, without just carbon copying WoW. It can be done. But slow gameplay in an mmo makes players feel like their reaction time and responses don't matter, and at that point... what IS the point? Yes, WoW has fast paced gameplay and it is fun. In game design you look at your competition, you look at everything they offer, and then you look at what you can do better or offer that they can't. I don't think "a slower game" is among the things on the list of good ideas, though. As I said in other post, if you want a slow game just play the single player FFs... and be as slow as you want. But mmos are a game involving thousands of people all waiting on the outcome. You slow down the input process and then everyone is waiting on everything and it becomes a big waste of time that's not engaging because your skills aren't even put to the test.

[Rydin]

First of all, a light year is a measure of distance, not time.

Screw you...
I made the Kessel run in less than 12 parsecs

[Zelkelion]

Riaayo, you make some great posts. You really understand the issue, without being an extremist. I've especially felt the sting of "you cannot move while casting" when it's involving healing. ESPECIALLY after being knocked back by an enemy's TP attack!

[Relic]

Stopped reading when you mentioned WoW. j/k

The only animation I have an issue with is Simian Thrash..... Its so long and way too flashy.

[Rydin]

Just like all things... let's strive for compromise

Maybe remove animation lock for abilities (Buffs, vokes, etc.)
Speed it up for spell animations (They're really not that special to begin with, and they already have to deal with casting times)
Weaponskill animations stay relatively unchanged. I know it can be annoying... but being able to execute a devastating acrobatic maneuver is already impressive enough... Doing that while moving... I don't see it

There is one area of weaponskills that could be addressed though... it seems when I finish a weaponskill... I am stuck there for a second unable to move... looking like "Hey... Did you guys see that awesome thing I just did?"
It would be nice if you were able to move a lot sooner after doing a WS, I think that would be a step in the right direction and make both parties a little happier
Take Doomspike for an example.... The second you hit the ground you should be able to move...
That way you improve animation lock without compromising the animation itself

[BruceyBruceyBangBang]

Isn't fantasy gaming combat just physically exaggerated combat like that of our own lives? You perform an action and leave yourself vulnerable for an attack.

[viion]

Animations themselfs and the speed i dont mind, the lock I do mind. If they dont fix it just expect a bunch of hack apps to do it for you (XI JA0wait lololol), SE bring this on themselfs!