Zepla about FFXIV Relic and Square Enix not taking any Risks

[jameseoakes]

If I recall, not a single streamer / influencer was invited to Fanfest this time which surprised me. It makes me wonder what the marketing department is up to or if they know that they do not have much substance to offer and are trying to manage the situation. It would make sense as I have not really seen much hype for the NA Fanfest. We will know in a week but I am concerned.

I'm really curious to see how the fan fest goes, there's a a hefty disconnect that seems to building with the devs and it will be interesting to see if this continues at the fanfest or if they are going to try and get a handle on the cracks that seem to be building.

[OdinelStarrei]

I'm really curious to see how the fan fest goes, there's a a hefty disconnect that seems to building with the devs and it will be interesting to see if this continues at the fanfest or if they are going to try and get a handle on the cracks that seem to be building.

Likewise. I've seen feedback given over the years consigned to the void. And I'm not even talking about just the forums. There's no feedback surveys, there's no community pulse check, there's no activity on the forums, there's...nothing except interviews and Live Letters with Yoshida. And I'm sorry, but I cannot trust that that man alone anymore to give acceptable and in-depth responses to the community on really nuanced topics that dramatically affect gameplay, which is my primary avenue of enjoyment. Not after how long it takes to get things worked on, and the sledgehammer approach they have to all design decisions as of late.

I'm not exactly sure when this happened, maybe a little bit after the Shadowbringers Media Tour? But there was some serious WTF moments going on over the last four years or so in development, and it cannot be all chalked up to Covid, because the Media Tour non-answers and handwaving happened before that. We only have one person we can really look at who really reaches out on common channels, and that's only during live letters, in Japanese. with none of us being allowed to put in direct feedback. Can anyone point out any community managers or SE presence? If you're posting here on this forum, you know the answer to that question. We used to get interviews from the fight designers telling us how they designed fights, what challenges they had in development, some really interesting reads, but now...We only get "This is impossible" until modders do it, and then it's suddenly "possible by next patch. Check in on the Live Letter! No, we won't answer any real questions." But your reasoning for some of the changes... "NO QUESTIONS"

Yoshida doesn't MAKE all of FFXIV. He literally can't. So for those people who are on the ground floor, making the game we love, where is their voice? Those FOUR poeple on the Job Design Team, that ONE person in the STF, what are their struggles? What are their challenges? Why is some feedback like healers completely and almost maliciously ignored, while something like Sleepo strat in a SINGLE fight leads to an entire rework on the waymark system and changes to the arena of a encounter almost instantly? How is feedback even processed? Is it literally all just metrics and everything we say is pointless? Why is there such a growing disconnect between the players and developers mentality? Do the devs care that some communities are breaking down entirely right now in EW?

The developers CANNOT and WILL NOT make everyone who plays this game happy, and that's okay. People leave, and that's okay. But it literally feels like the developers are SHOVING me and others like me away from actually playing the game, unless I'm absolutely willing to go back into Ultimates. And I don't have the mindset for another 2-4 month prog. I've been subscribed for less than half of EW's length, and half of THAT time was me just going into my house to refresh, the other, DSR. I probably put more time into a 4.55 or 5.2 themselves that the entirety of Endwalker's expansion cycle. That's...wrong, right?

When I'm at Fanfest, it's not just to celebrate the game I LOVE with my friends, some who subbed for a single month just for a shot at the ticket, it's also to see if it's even worth continuing with this game in 7.0 for myself, in person. I doubt there's gonna be a QA session for stuff like this, but I can't NOT ask this stuff. I'm the only person left out of a dead Free Company running since ARR, out of a 150+ greyed-out friendlist, all of it this expansion, I'm essentially speaking for people who can't post here or offer any feedback at all anymore. If my experience and the experiences of those who are just fed up with the current situation are not valued, then at least I'll bookend my time with the game at a convention with loved ones. I do not want to fight anyone. I just want to have fun again.

[Kaliesto]

Likewise. I've seen feedback given over the years consigned to the void. And I'm not even talking about just the forums. There's no feedback surveys, there's no community pulse check, there's no activity on the forums, there's...nothing except interviews and Live Letters with Yoshida. And I'm sorry, but I cannot trust that that man alone anymore to give acceptable and in-depth responses to the community on really nuanced topics that dramatically affect gameplay, which is my primary avenue of enjoyment. Not after how long it takes to get things worked on, and the sledgehammer approach they have to all design decisions as of late.

I've said this in another topic something happened right before EW came out, but its just a rumor for the moment until something factual pops out.