Alpha First Look: Video 6 – Gathering and Crafting

[Mrfox0707]

Both gathering and crafting look like a lot more fun. can't to try it out.

[Orophin]

They do ban for NDA breaches, and take it very seriously, but no one can tell me how mentioning you're in alpha is a breach of the NDA, it's never mentioned.
...
Made it easy for you all, here is the entirety of the NDA, how in any way does it say people cannot say they are in the NDA?

Actually, the entirety of the NDA is at: http://support.na.square-enix.com/ru...a=1&tag=tester

Here's the rule:

2.6 Alpha Tester’s Confidentiality Obligations:
Confidential Information” shall mean...(d) THE IDENTITY OF ALPHA TESTER AND THE FACT THAT ALPHA TESTER IS PARTICIPATING IN THE ALPHA TEST

Hope that clears it up for you.

[Darshu]

Every oversimplified measure taken will benefit the majority in a diverse community. This is because with a varied game where you can do many different things, only a small portion of the players will be excited about a specific content. You can't have everyone enjoy everything. This is why in every topic brought up where things have been made easier, there are millions saying how they now love it, and a few saying how dumbed down and oversimplified, not fun it is. The question is, is this the only way to please the majority, or is it even the right way?

To me this benefits the lazy and creates a community of uninterested carefree players. Of course more players will enjoy gathering and crafting now that's faster and easy. Of course NOW it seems better and they might actually give it a shot, when they didn't in the past. But is it really saying something when that happens to someone who didn't care about crafting at all? Do we really want a person who does not care about crafting to be a crafter, no matter the cost? Do we want them interested in it, or just doing it?

Oversimplified systems make lazy uninterested people do content they don't like, simply because it's easy. But it doesn't get them any more interested in it. When you are interested in something, you work on it. If 1.0 was that bad, we wouldn't have so many players doing it. This is not to say it didn't need improvements, such as remembering the recipes, having the menus respond faster, etc. But it had some challenge, some work to be done, which kept interested players in and uninterested players out. It doesn't have to be rocket science, but too easy is just as bad as too hard.

On another note, "could care less" means you actually care a little bit.

[Orophin]

Every oversimplified measure taken will benefit the majority in a diverse community. This is because with a varied game where you can do many different things, only a small portion of the players will be excited about a specific content. You can't have everyone enjoy everything. This is why in every topic brought up where things have been made easier, there are millions saying how they now love it, and a few saying how dumbed down and oversimplified, not fun it is. The question is, is this the only way to please the majority, or is it even the right way?

To me this benefits the lazy and creates a community of uninterested carefree players. Of course more players will enjoy gathering and crafting now that's faster and easy. Of course NOW it seems better and they might actually give it a shot, when they didn't in the past. But is it really saying something when that happens to someone who didn't care about crafting at all? Do we really want a person who does not care about crafting to be a crafter, no matter the cost? Do we want them interested in it, or just doing it?

Oversimplified systems make lazy uninterested people do content they don't like, simply because it's easy. But it doesn't get them any more interested in it. When you are interested in something, you work on it. If 1.0 was that bad, we wouldn't have so many players doing it. This is not to say it didn't need improvements, such as remembering the recipes, having the menus respond faster, etc. But it had some challenge, some work to be done, which kept interested players in and uninterested players out. It doesn't have to be rocket science, but too easy is just as bad as too hard.

On another note, "could care less" means you actually care a little bit.

You're basing all of this around characters at level 10 too. Who's to say there won't be recipes as difficult to create at max level like the class specific weapons/armor in 1.0? As far as I'm concerned, these are quality of life improvements. I genuinely liked crafting and gathering prior to seeing these changes, and this video just showcases improvements to the systems overall.

Also, saying this is going to attract players that don't care about crafting or gathering isn't necessarily true. Maybe people felt 1.0s systems were too cumbersome to bother with, but in other games they actually liked to participate in gathering/crafting. When you compare it to other games out there, (even FFXI) the crafting and gathering systems were kind of over the top in 1.0. However, I feel they needed a bit more depth than just clicking a button and creating something or clicking on a node and gathering something because they were made to be fully fledged classes rather than hobbies.

Yoshi-P has kind of overshadowed this somewhat even though he left them as classes, but he's already said that supplying people with mats and gear are going to be their primary content now, versus Tanaka's vision of having them more involved with the storyline and stuff.

[Skies]

Darshu.
I'm an Alchemist, I have it at 50. I have spent untold amounts of time crafting, I made a point of getting the one craft my LS missed, despite the fact I did that even when potions were vastly useless, there were actually about three potions I made at all (enmity potions and elixirs).
I like crafting, I got every craft to 10 for the abilities before the crafting reform.

Yet, I still think that the new system is vastly better. It's a clear evolution of the reforms that happened already. Notice how the three abilities were 'advance progress', 'advance quality' and 'restore durability'. They cost CP instead of being one-shot moves, this definitely makes for a far more fun and, actually, possibly even more complex game. It becomes less about fighting with the RNG and more about playing a game of resource management.

[Reika]

First, I dont think it is against NDA to talk about crafting and gathering now that they have released stuff about crafting and gathering. They could very well have said they can disclose stuff about it now too. What the NDA agreement says is stull true, but it also says 'until we say you can do so'. Just let the big dogs handle it if they shouldn't be talking about it.

Now to gathering... thank the twelve the gathering points have names on them now so they will be easier to see from the distance than just a sparkle. EXP chaining addition is nice too! Note that he isn't burning away that GP from normal gathering. I remember some people talking like it would be the new gather fatigue from watching yoshida do gathering in his version, but maybe it changed since then and thats good. Doesn't seem to be any uneccisary downtime from just chopping away normally.

And then he ends it with 2 unneccisary jumps just to annoy the anti-jump crowd ^^.


I like how you can be at 0 duribility and still get a successful craft completion as long as progress maxes out at the same time. Always hated getting trolled by 0 duribility 100 progress fails. Looks like a decent chance to HQ an item at low levels too. Starting at 1% for 0 quality is good. Cant wait to try out some higher level ARR crafting.

[Delsus]

Actually, the entirety of the NDA is at: http://support.na.square-enix.com/ru...a=1&tag=tester

Here's the rule:


Hope that clears it up for you.

OK all I asked for I was wrong and I will shut up about it now.

Back on topic, crafting and gathering seems like it could be a lot more fun than 1.0, no more minigame that can be impossible if you hit any lag at all (seriously gathering during rain could be impossible at times) no more filling your inventory with rubbish only to find when you hit something you want your bag is full, and it tells you success rates.

[Antanias]

There's one thing about the crafting I don't understand. WHY show the number of steps you've taken to perform your synthesis? Seems rather unnecessary when all it seems you have to do is fill the green bar for completion and the blue one to have a shot at HQ'ing an item.

[Bluebun]

Sadly, I think the gathering is more of a random chance thing now and there's no guarantee of getting anything. Before there was always a great chance of getting at least something (even if it wasn't the item you wanted, you could sell it or use it for something else, whatever) if you simply knew how to read the remainder bar for that area, but the new gathering system will mean a lot of pointless misses with no positive result at all... As a crafter who levelled all of my crafts together, I could often use the things I wasn't aiming for too. Old system: aiming for ore and miss? Fine, I can use that alumen for LTW. New system: aiming for ore and miss = get nothing...

Or aiming for lightning rocks, but getting yellow-dye >_> It kinda works both ways, but at least now it's hit or miss. I enjoyed getting some extra electrum while mining for gold, but I would've been much happier walking away more chances for hq gold than a dozen wild swings.

[Genjuro]

Every oversimplified measure taken will benefit the majority in a diverse community. This is because with a varied game where you can do many different things, only a small portion of the players will be excited about a specific content. You can't have everyone enjoy everything. This is why in every topic brought up where things have been made easier, there are millions saying how they now love it, and a few saying how dumbed down and oversimplified, not fun it is. The question is, is this the only way to please the majority, or is it even the right way?

To me this benefits the lazy and creates a community of uninterested carefree players. Of course more players will enjoy gathering and crafting now that's faster and easy. Of course NOW it seems better and they might actually give it a shot, when they didn't in the past. But is it really saying something when that happens to someone who didn't care about crafting at all? Do we really want a person who does not care about crafting to be a crafter, no matter the cost? Do we want them interested in it, or just doing it?

Oversimplified systems make lazy uninterested people do content they don't like, simply because it's easy. But it doesn't get them any more interested in it. When you are interested in something, you work on it. If 1.0 was that bad, we wouldn't have so many players doing it. This is not to say it didn't need improvements, such as remembering the recipes, having the menus respond faster, etc. But it had some challenge, some work to be done, which kept interested players in and uninterested players out. It doesn't have to be rocket science, but too easy is just as bad as too hard.

On another note, "could care less" means you actually care a little bit.

Well spoken.

The thing is, those that are interested in it will find ways to always be interested in it. Even being "dumbed down," dedicated crafters and harvesters will incorporate what they know and love into making their craft more efficient and effective. Those that only fiddle, most likely won't take that time.

For example: I am a melee person I play melee jobs. I don't like playing mage job, BUT there are some nifty things that I would like to have for survivability. Therefore I will take up a mage job but only half-assed, and solo, till I get what I want and then I'm done.

Same model can be applied for those that aren't interested in harvesting or crafting. They might take it up but to hone in other traits such as profit margin, research on markets to see what sells and what is competitive, availability of certain items and such, they might not even take into consideration. They might take up one or two things, but the entirety of the knowledge of a crafter and harvester goes beyond just crafting and harvesting.