Alpha First Look: Video 5 - Quests and Combat

[Psykotsu]

I also distinctly remember people saying "This is Final Fantasy, even if we quest grind it will be nothing but high quality storylines and action packed, it won't be like WoW or Tera."

Anyway, the music I dislike the style of, but it doesn't really fit with general battle given the tonality of it but I can definitely see it moved towards boss fights in starter dungeons. At least it's shaping up very nicely to being a typical MMORPG, now let's see what will set it apart from everyone besides the Final Fantasy name.

FFXI took EQ and ran away with the concept into something unique, let's see if ARR can do this with the "WoW formula" as they say these days.

It will, but I think it will be harder for you and others, (people who repeat the same points about it being like WoW and "generic"), to see because you will try to forcefully find differences between WoW and ARR down to it's programming code. The difference between XI and EQ is that people didn't even realize the game was a copy due to the fact that XI brought many of it's players in the MMO world. A lot of them hadn't even heard of EQ before then.

Is the handholding any different than a single player RPG world being designed solely with the intent of guiding a player to the next part of the story? (Ex: The only accessible town in FF3 at the beginning just happens to be the starter town, even though you have a boat to explore with.). The game doesn't necessarily have to tell you where to go, because the developer knows that even if you butt your head into every wall available like an idiot, you'll still end up where you need to be. You're not "set free" until the game has - by virtue of design and story telling - guided you through enough of the game to where you feel comfortable in setting out on your own (IE: obtaining an airship in FF6)

It just can't be the same with MMOs. MMO's are complex beasts from a play design perspective because they have to accommodate for multiple players of all ranges doing all sorts of different things. There are techniques for hinting at where players should be at what level (hostile mobs blocking access to higher level areas), but ultimately in an open world, a new player will get lost when trying to figure out what to do next. First gen MMOs have tried to just let players figure it out for themselves, but it never seems to be enough and it's not a very user-friendly way of doing things. Some players 'enjoy' this. Or rather, they 'enjoy' the status they feel they obtained by roughing it out even though they know it was bad game design (See: FFXI endgame, Legacy Members [like me!], and elite EQ players). The quests offered in modern MMOs are designed to do the same things the story in single player RPGs do: Guide the player from point A to point B until they feel comfortable with the world. At least in ARR, we can expect quests with a good bit of flavor and meaning to them.

Final Fantasy has never been particularly difficult. I don't recall ever throwing my controller at the screen while fighting my way through Balamb Garden in FF8 (though I did smash in the PSOne power button when I lost my Shiva card to some random jack-off in a TripTriad game). You're constantly going from point A to point B killing hordes of random encounters that mean nothing to the story except to make you stronger. How then, is the quest system XIV:ARR is using such a step back for the genre?

You make a great point and it's not a step-backward whatsoever. I think people want just want players to "suffer" in the "difficulty" they did in XI. @_@

[Elexia]

It will, but I think it will be harder for you and others, (people who repeat the same points about it being like WoW and "generic"),

Yeah, I'm still waiting for an MMO to do the quest progression differently, so far as of today, they all end up exactly. the. same. way.

Deny it as much as you want, you're guaranteed to see the same style quest repeated everywhere you go even if it mixes it up between:

"Kill 10 boars!"
"Go pick 5 vegitables!"
"Roll that rock down the hill!"

You'll repeat these 3 types of quests 100x over every hub you go to. Let's not forget the dungeons that tend to also repeat in objectives unless they're linked to a story, which is very rarely.

[Psykotsu]

Yeah, I'm still waiting for an MMO to do the quest progression differently, so far as of today, they all end up exactly. the. same. way.

Deny it as much as you want, you're guaranteed to see the same style quest repeated everywhere you go even if it mixes it up between:

"Kill 10 boars!"
"Go pick 5 vegitables!"
"Roll that rock down the hill!"

You'll repeat these 3 types of quests 100x over every hub you go to. Let's not forget the dungeons that tend to also repeat in objectives unless they're linked to a story, which is very rarely.

There is no denial. It's clear that MMOs will use these quest systems. It just comes with being an MMO. Are you asking for quests like:

"Protect this valuable figure while he carries this valuable item, from point A to B!"
"Disguise yourself as these guys and listen in on this conversation to see what they are planning!"
"Make it to this switch in ? minutes before this devastating effect happens!"
"Talk to all these people, figure out who is not saying who they say they are!"

?

[Nayto]

There is no denial. It's clear that MMOs will use these quest systems. It just comes with being an MMO. Are you asking for quests like:

"Protect this valuable figure while he carries this valuable item, from point A to B!"
"Disguise yourself as these guys and listen in on this conversation to see what they are planning!"
"Make it to this switch in ? minutes before this devastating effect happens!"
"Talk to all these people, figure out who is not saying who they say they are!"

?

That's pretty much levequests in 1.0. And we still have yet to look forward to those (if they're still the same). And we've yet to see class/guild specific quests that usually house a different pot of tricks(usually, haven't done all of them but some of them were definately different from the norm).

Yet people think these two quests we see in the video are all it's ever going to be...

[Denmo]

There is no denial. It's clear that MMOs will use these quest systems. It just comes with being an MMO. Are you asking for quests like:

"Protect this valuable figure while he carries this valuable item, from point A to B!"
"Disguise yourself as these guys and listen in on this conversation to see what they are planning!"
"Make it to this switch in ? minutes before this devastating effect happens!"
"Talk to all these people, figure out who is not saying who they say they are!"

?

Hehe, I like your style.

"The chocobos are rowdy today! Would you mind playing with them while I clean their pens? *chocobo-minigame ensues*"

"We need you adventurers to jury this court case! The defendant is accused of stealing from the Miner's guild! His attorney? None other than Famous Lawyer Hildebrand! *OBJECTION!*"

"You! You are perfect for the part! I need you to stand in for my lead role! She broke her leg! GET OUT THERE. I DON'T CARE IF YOUR A MAN *tosses a dress at you*" *players must /emote at the right time or face eternal shame*

"I'm a ghost haunting this Inn room, and I won't leave until my wife reads this letter!"

"Here, take this contraption of mine and use it imbue these magical plates with the image of what's in front of them! I call it, Magi-picto-tek! Now go to each of these locations and take good photos!"

Quest where a player must infiltrate a squad of Magitek riding Garlean Soldiers, as they march north into frozen territory. *Cue opening credits and sad music* Biggs: "Yep, that's the target" Wedge: "You sure this is the new recruit? He looks kinda funny."

[Hestern_Nestern]

Hehe, I like your style.

"The chocobos are rowdy today! Would you mind playing with them while I clean their pens? *chocobo-minigame ensues*"

"We need you adventurers to jury this court case! The defendant is accused of stealing from the Miner's guild! His attorney? None other than Famous Lawyer Hildebrand! *OBJECTION!*"

"You! You are perfect for the part! I need you to stand in for my lead role! She broke her leg! GET OUT THERE. I DON'T CARE IF YOUR A MAN *tosses a dress at you*" *players must /emote at the right time or face eternal shame*

"I'm a ghost haunting this Inn room, and I won't leave until my wife reads this letter!"

"Here, take this contraption of mine and use it imbue these magical plates with the image of what's in front of them! I call it, Magi-picto-tek! Now go to each of these locations and take good photos!"

Quest where a player must infiltrate a squad of Magitek riding Garlean Soldiers, as they march north into frozen territory. *Cue opening credits and sad music* Biggs: "Yep, that's the target" Wedge: "You sure this is the new recruit? He looks kinda funny."

I don't know if this was meant as a joke or not (I'm too literal), but...I REALLY WANT THESE QUESTS and Psykotsu's quests. They sound like fun! Let me give take a smack at creativity for a moment:

Quest Name: Cold Paws Not Cold Feet
Quest Giver: Miqo'te Bride
Dialogue:
"Oh! I can't - I just can't! And what of my adventuring days? Do they expect me to toss my gladius away and don the robes of a housecat? Hiss and Diss, I say! I don't want to play with this ball of yarn anyway!"

PC Dialogue options:
"I say prance to the beat of your own meow!"
or
"But surely you want to be unoriginal!"

IF FIRST OPTION, THEN:

"That's right! I don't even like white! It's time I marry proper - that is, marry my blade to the face of some beast! Oh - um - you - yes, you - the person I've been talking to this whole time - hello! - try this on for a moment..."
*FADE TO BLACK* *RUSTLING* *STRUGGLING* *A Cat's Meow of Pleasure*
"Aha! That's better! You look splendid, mi'lady."
You've acquired a Catty Clad Costume!
Objective: Your Groom Awaits!

IF SECOND OPTION, THEN:

"No, I - wait, huh? Oh, just leave me to my gnawing!"
*CANCELS QUEST* *SPEAK TO MIQO'TE AGAIN TO BEGIN*


[Admittedly I was inspired by your "Understudy Understudied!" quest (Like the name?) and yes this was way too long of an example. Also, I clearly don't know how Miqo'te speak. I'm sorry. I tried. I failed. I die now. Also, I am going to start a thread for this sort of thing. I think it would be cool if the quest is given by the groom if you're a male character but crossdressing is always fun!]

[Rustyhagun]

Hehe, I like your style.

"The chocobos are rowdy today! Would you mind playing with them while I clean their pens? *chocobo-minigame ensues*"

"We need you adventurers to jury this court case! The defendant is accused of stealing from the Miner's guild! His attorney? None other than Famous Lawyer Hildebrand! *OBJECTION!*"

"You! You are perfect for the part! I need you to stand in for my lead role! She broke her leg! GET OUT THERE. I DON'T CARE IF YOUR A MAN *tosses a dress at you*" *players must /emote at the right time or face eternal shame*

"I'm a ghost haunting this Inn room, and I won't leave until my wife reads this letter!"

"Here, take this contraption of mine and use it imbue these magical plates with the image of what's in front of them! I call it, Magi-picto-tek! Now go to each of these locations and take good photos!"

Quest where a player must infiltrate a squad of Magitek riding Garlean Soldiers, as they march north into frozen territory. *Cue opening credits and sad music* Biggs: "Yep, that's the target" Wedge: "You sure this is the new recruit? He looks kinda funny."

Awesome dude! I liked that... if only, this was tied straight into the epilogue for FF6.

And FF1.0 had emote quest and so did FFXI. 10gil says ARR will have it too.

There will be quirky chocobo quests as well... as FFXI also had it. I only make reference because we have the same team working on this game as well.

[Reika]

There is no denial. It's clear that MMOs will use these quest systems. It just comes with being an MMO. Are you asking for quests like:

"Protect this valuable figure while he carries this valuable item, from point A to B!"
"Disguise yourself as these guys and listen in on this conversation to see what they are planning!"
"Make it to this switch in ? minutes before this devastating effect happens!"
"Talk to all these people, figure out who is not saying who they say they are!"

?

I am fairly sure WoW has those quests too