If you've 'run out of stuff to do' in a game as big as 14, the answer isn't 'more 14'

[TaleraRistain]

The tradeoff I remember the developers discussing was this:



https://www.reddit.com/r/ffxiv/comme..._and_soken_at/

And it was that tradeoff which some people said they were fine with if it meant better character customisation and/or textures, particularly given that there were already complaints about a lot of the gear being recycled or unimpressive at the time, and also understandable given that this directly involves the creation of graphical assets rather than stuff you'd expect separate teams to work on and on the assumption that they did not find a way to handle this process efficiently (he remarks on it elsewhere in the same interview.)

Besides, it was not the only thing going on - production of 16 was also taking place (and is due another 2 future DLCs) and it is now known that that game borrowed staff from 14, which people are understandably less than sympathetic towards. This is alongside the attempt to redesign a lot of older content to be trust-compatible. And the rationale given by the developers is less the workload that the graphics upgrade (modest as it is) is causing them, but based on what they claim they took away from player feedback/sentiment on the relic zones. If anything, it is more a case of poorly targeted and designed new content than the graphics upgrade eating into their zone design.

Well that's another thing to add. They went back and redid Duty Support. They're working on a graphical upgrade. They're adding QoL additions. Mostly infrastructure work that will benefit the game in the future. We do a lot of things where I work to benefit our company and systems that our customers never see.

We'll never get it but I'd love to be a fly on the wall and get a peek at their Scum/Jira/Agile whatever system and see how their development timelines and additions compare across the different expansions.

[Lauront]

Sure, while also working on another big title production, 16. But he's not citing any of that workload as the reason for their content decisions but their perceptions of player feedback, as per this thread. Which suggests it's not the workload as such that's the issue here, but the way they're interpreting player feedback and activity. I'd be a lot more sympathetic if this were purely due to the workload in order to future-proof the game but that's not the sole basis of these decisions.

[TaleraRistain]

Sure, while also working on another big title production, 16. But he's not citing any of that workload as the reason for their content decisions but their perceptions of player feedback, as per this thread. Which suggests it's not the workload as such that's the issue here, but the way they're interpreting player feedback and activity. I'd be a lot more sympathetic if this were purely due to the workload in order to future-proof the game but that's not the sole basis of these decisions.

I remember when they talked about the Duty Support overhaul that they did mention they had asked people who don't play why they don't play and one thing cited was the multiplayer aspect. I don't agree with their using strict participation numbers (why would we ever get Ultimate in that case) but some of this future-proofing is based on trying to obtain new players and interest others in the game. We may not all like the changes they make and if it's enough that we don't like, then we may need to find other options because we may find we're not the target audience any longer.

[aveyond-dreams]

Sure, while also working on another big title production, 16. But he's not citing any of that workload as the reason for their content decisions but their perceptions of player feedback, as per this thread. Which suggests it's not the workload as such that's the issue here, but the way they're interpreting player feedback and activity. I'd be a lot more sympathetic if this were purely due to the workload in order to future-proof the game but that's not the sole basis of these decisions.

Indeed. Now that we know the truth it's very eye opening how wrong they've been looking at things this whole time. They see a lot of people unlocking Blue Mage and think "see! Limited jobs did work out in the end!" or that people are doing these tome weapons and say "see! Lots of people are actually satisfied with tome relics so we can't take that away from them!"

It's just sad.

[Lauront]

Time will tell how their decisions pan out for them and whether their new intended target audience even ends up being an actual audience, what with the approach they're taking. They had a large influx of players the game wasn't able to retain, and which I don't believe they will be fortunate enough to experience again absent some weird twist of fate. I think this poster put it well:

Young people aren't going to play a slow tab targeting 2.5 GCD MMO. He's not going to attract anyone. The same goes for FF16, they failed to attract any serious action game fans. The combat in FF16 is flat out inferior to God of War. There's literally no reason to play it as a young action game fan.

[ForsakenRoe]

The way I look at it is this. They say 'if you don't feel like playing you shouldn't feel like you have to log in every day for some game system' right? But that's PR speak. They're fine with people taking breaks in playtime, they don't mind that. Because that doesn't affect the bottom line. But they definitely would prefer it if you stay subbed while on your break. Hence why Housing has demolition timers, and they are so hesitant to make a system for Housing that addresses the 'FOMO' aspect it holds.

So, I look at it all in this light: If we all stop playing (but stay subbed because otherwise our ingame houses explode), SE may well see that and says 'okay people are subbed but not really playing, which means we can get away with making less content. They'll stay paying us money anyway to keep their houses etc, so we can probably get away with it'. Considering how badly they misinterpret data, on so many other occasions, I hold zero optimism that they'd skip an opportunity to 'make less content, charge same amount for now-less product'

Also in the comparison on page 1 of SHB vs EW content, it says +1 Hildy Trial, but they forgot to say -1 Garlean Emperor Trial (Memoria Misera EX). And saying +1 Ultimate is kinda clownshoes when said Ultimate was meant to be in SHB, and got delayed. If anything, it's 'EW, -1 Ultimate'

[ChonkGoblinSuprem]

How many of the people whining about lack of content also bought a story skip?


Lmao

[Rolder50]

See, the problem is mostly for people who were already caught up and already frequent players prior to Endwalker. For such players, this expansion is a total joke.

[Connor]

I agree with the general sentiment that like all things the truth is somewhere in the middle of ‘doomed game’ and ‘ultimate mmo ever made’ lol. There’s a lot to improve on, a lot it does well, a lot it does not do well lol, etc.

Some of the stuff they’ve said recently is of course a little concerning lol, but at the same time it’s still fairly early in the ‘expansion reveal’ cycle, so there’s no telling what other info they may have waiting.

The game could definitely use more lasting content. Naturally it would be weird for that content to literally take up so much time you can’t do anything else (does anyone really want that lol?), but at the same time content shouldn’t be as transient as it is now.

I’m trying to keep my expectations low but honestly part of me is optimistic. Maybe things will be different this time? A masochistic optimism lol

[Iscah]

But they definitely would prefer it if you stay subbed while on your break. Hence why Housing has demolition timers, and they are so hesitant to make a system for Housing that addresses the 'FOMO' aspect it holds.

One month subscription; one-and-a-half months break. It's not a full time shackle.