So 1.0 owners have to start paying the monthly fee immediately?

[Aldora]

Yes they did.

I quote from this document:

"Reinstate limited free trial period for PC version"

and then two to three months later:

"Free trial period ends"

There aren't any other ways you can interpret that.

Well, i might be wrong, but the Free Trail period of the PC version coincided with the Beta period for the Playstation 3 version. The Beta for the Playstation 3 version would take approximately 1 to 2 months and during that time, the PC version would be active and playable for free. Although, i can't find a reference within that Outline document indicating who would be able to play with the PC version during that specified period. Would it be the players which owned the 1.0 version and got the 2.0 client as a free download a few months before the official release? Would it be the players who have been accepted to the Beta (including new players who haven't purchased and played 1.0)? To be completely honest, i don't even see a reference to the Beta within the Comprehensive Roadmap of the 2.0 Outline document at all.

The page itself contained the following info:

The Road to Version 2.0

• Late November to Early December – Monthly subscription fees begin (PC)
• Late November to Early December – Patch 1.20
• Early February 2012 – Patch 1.21
• February 2012 – Development test server reconstruction complete
• Mid April 2012 – Patch 1.22
• April 2012 – Version 2.0 client system complete

  - Commence porting of current game content to version 2.0 client

• June 2012 – Worldwide launch of new promotion trailer at E3
• Early to Mid July 2012 – Patch 1.23
• September to October 2012

  – Begin distribution of version 2.0 software for PC
  - Begin distribution of PlayStation®3 system beta version

• October to November 2012

  – Reinstate limited free trial period for PC version
  - Commence PlayStation®3 system closed beta test

• Post-January 2013

  – Version 2.0 client (PC and PlayStation®3 system) goes on sale
  - Free trial period ends

*The aforementioned dates are subject to change.

When the Beta schedule was officially announced, the schedule changed where the Playstation 3 Beta would commence at the start of the 4th Beta Phase (mentioned in the current beta roadmap). Next to that, the Beta test for the Playstation 3 version was now scheduled to be executed within a timespan between 1 to 2 weeks (rather then the aforementioned 1 to 2 months).

Wouldn't it be "safe" to assume that the original 2 to 3 month period (September to October for distributing the 2.0 clients and October to November) would be considered the initial Beta period for 2.0? Instead of going for this particular structure/timespan, they've decided to split the beta into 4 phases spanning a period of approximately 7 to 8 months.

Like i said, the above was an assumption on my part.

On the other hand, i'm fine with having to pay for ARR the day it hits the selves. I've purchased my 1.0 CE edition with a 30-day trail which changed into 1+ years of free play while SE was working on fixing the game through 1.xx patches and developing 2.0 at the same time. Next to that, i've obtained the Legacy status which gives me a permanent discount on my monthly fees. And last but not least, i will receive the digital 2.0 CE items without having to purchase a new copy of the game.

Personally, i'm a satisfied customer and player having witnessed the 1.0 release, its transformation /evolution into ARR and receiving this amount of "appreciation" from SE.

[Abriael]

Wouldn't it be "safe" to assume that the original 2 to 3 month period (September to October for distributing the 2.0 clients and October to November) would be considered the initial Beta period for 2.0?

Nope, one because the timeline changed all over the place, so the particular timings are irrelevant, two because when Square Enix referred to "Free trial" in official communication, they always indicated a period of free gameplay after the launch of the full game.

Thirdly, if the PS3 is in beta, and the PC is in beta, it doesn't make the slightest sense to define one a "beta" and the other a "free trial".

If the PC version was a beta, why not call it beta? and if it was a free trial, why not call the PS3 beta a free trial as well? It simply doesn't add up at all.

If both versions are betas, why didn't they call both the same thing?

[Aldora]

Nope, one because the timeline changed all over the place, so the particular timings are irrelevant, two because when Square Enix referred to "Free trial" in official communication, they always indicated a period of free gameplay after the launch of the full game.

Thirdly, if the PS3 is in beta, and the PC is in beta, it doesn't make the slightest sense to define one a "beta" and the other a "free trial".

If the PC version was a beta, why not call it beta? and if it was a free trial, why not call the PS3 beta a free trial as well? It simply doesn't add up at all.

If both versions are betas, why didn't they call both the same thing?

Wouldn't it be rather odd (when looking at the original Comprehensive Roadmap of the 2.0 Outline document) that the PC version of 2.0 would go "live" for existing players without having go through a proper Beta Test while the PS3 version would enter a closed Beta test for a period of 1 to 2 months? Since the 2.0 client would officially go on sale at January 2013, it would mean that the players using the PC version would be able to play the game for a period of 3 to 4 months for free.

To me that time period sounds like a Beta test period. If not, who was going to Beta test 2.0? SE themselves? That would be asking for a 1.0 launch all over again. The original schedule didn't make much sense to me.

But, don't get me wrong, the reason behind your original post was that people who purchased the game would get a 30-day "Free trail" period while existing players would not. At least, that is what you can interpret from Hvinire's post you've quoted.

However, i don't think you should use the original Comprehensive Roadmap of the 2.0 Outline document as a point of reference for the current schedule since it has been changed drasticly.

Side note: I just noticed that you've edited your post the when i clicked the quote button.

You are right, if both versions would be considered a beta, then they should have been described as such. Although, it doesn't really explain the "Free trail" period for a game which is scheduled to be released 3 to 4 months after distributing the digital copy to existing players without having it go through a proper Beta, don't you think?

[Abriael]

snippete

Never said that there aren't oddities, but there are several possible explanations for that.

What there's no explanation for would be calling the beta of one version a beta, and the beta of the other version a "second free trial", especially considering that in all previous communication the first "free trial" is a free gameplay period of the full game, not a beta.

What is very evident is that basically everyone that took Square Enix communication at face value interpreted that "free trial" as Square Enix always intended it, which is a free period of gameplay of the full game.

It's in almost every article about 2.0. Whenever you see people talking about it in the comments of blogs and websites you see people spreading the "good news" that everyone that had 1.0 will get at least one free month.

When they'll notice that this isn't the case, many won't be happy.

[Aldora]

Never said that there aren't oddities, but there are several possible explanations for that.

What there's no explanation for would be calling the beta of one version a beta, and the beta of the other version a "second free trial", especially considering that in all previous communication the first "free trial" is a free gameplay period of the full game, not a beta.

What is very evident is that basically everyone that took Square Enix communication at face value interpreted that "free trial" as Square Enix always intended it, which is a free period of gameplay of the full game.

It's in almost every article about 2.0. Whenever you see people talking about it in the comments of blogs and websites you see people spreading the "good news" that everyone that had 1.0 will get at least one free month.

When they'll notice that this isn't the case, many won't be happy.

You keep referring to a Beta like it's not "the full game" content wise. That does not necessarily have to be true. For instance, the last Phase of the 2.0 Beta (as it is scheduled now) should have all the content available which is scheduled for the official release. The difference here is that there is still room for (minor) tweaks and bugfixes for the official release. They are normally presented via an patch on the release day (since the game was printed and shipped in order for it to hit the shelves on the announced release date).

But, that's beside the point.

The original discussion here was the fact that Hvinire's post mentioned that only the players that purchased a new copy of the ARR Client would get the 30-day "Free trail" period while existing players would not. Let me ask you one thing:

We know that SE originally mentioned that the PC version would enter a free trail period when the Playstation 3 version was being tested. We also know that this is not mentioned in the current outline. On top of that we have Hvinire's post with their statement regarding the "free trail" period.

Considering that everyone with a Final Fantasy XIV Service Account (active or inactive) will have access to both the 3rd as well as the 4th Phase of the Beta (and thus with all scheduled content present in the 4th Phase), will it be a definite deal breaker if the 4th Beta Phase would take 2 to 4 weeks and not have a 30-day "Free Trail" given to them?

For those who played 1.0, aren't we already glad that SE managed to make 2.0, gave us the opportunity to support the game and help SE make the game better by supplying them with our thoughts and feedback? On top of that, there are players amongst us who have been classified as Legacy players with a permanent discount and free in-game item(s) that come along with it? On top of that, people who purchased the 1.0 CE version will get the in-game items from the 2.0 CE version. If i remember correctly, the existing players will get early access to the game, like the new players who will pre-order CE version of 2.0.

I honestly ask everyone, after all this, can we still be cross/unhappy/angry/furious/disappointed about not getting the 30-day free trail? It's not like SE is doing everything in their power to save game, right?

And last but not least, there is always the possibility that Hvinire made a mistake (with the translation) or didn't get all the facts. There is still the possibility that existing players will get a Free Trail as well.

But, truth be told, i don't mind if i don't get that free trail. I'm happy to pay for the game on the day of the release.

[Abriael]

You see a problem, I don't. Agree to disagree.

If you don't see a problem with giving people cause to think that they're getting something and not giving it, well, that's your opinion.

You keep referring to a Beta like it's not "the full game" content wise. That does not necessarily have to be true. For instance, the last Phase of the 2.0 Beta (as it is scheduled now) should have all the content available which is scheduled for the official release. The difference here is that there is still room for (minor) tweaks and bugfixes for the official release. They are normally presented via an patch on the release day (since the game was printed and shipped in order for it to hit the shelves on the announced release date).

As we already know, the beta won't include at the very least the whole summoner/arcanist part of the game's content. Yoshida himself stated that. We don't know if anything else will be missing.

But a beta is a beta, meaning that there'll still be bugs, server problems, and stuff to fix. It's not the best environment to ascertain the final quality of the game, and most definitely not what I'd use to advertise the game to those that already quit because its previous incarnation was poor. When you want to get people's trust back, you bring you A game. A beta isn't your A game.

We know that SE originally mentioned that the PC version would enter a free trail period when the Playstation 3 version was being tested. We also know that this is not mentioned in the current outline. On top of that we have Hvinire's post with their statement regarding the "free trail" period.

Considering that everyone with a Final Fantasy XIV Service Account (active or inactive) will have access to both the 3rd as well as the 4th Phase of the Beta (and thus with all scheduled content present in the 4th Phase), will it be a definite deal breaker if the 4th Beta Phase would take 2 to 4 weeks and not have a 30-day "Free Trail" given to them?

I can pretty much guarantee a lot of people are gonna be pissed, strengthened by the fact that there's already a lot of negativity on the game outside of its remaining community, for obvious reasons, this can easily become a deal breaker for many.

A "free trial" is perceived as a perk/freebie. A beta access isn't perceived by many as a freebie, as it's give and take. SE lets us play, and we do the testing for them.

People expecting a freebie and suddenly seeing themselves with something that isn't really a freebie, are gonna be naturally disappointed.

Is it a deal breaker for me? no. But I'm a fan. I've been hooked to the idea of ARR since when it wasn't even called ARR yet.

SE is facing the rather difficult task of getting back those that aren't fans anymore and are jaded about that game.

The 20-25k (personal estimate, don't quote me) people that remained til the end of the world are already in the bag. The 800k that quit, aren't quite in the bag. Putting a credit card barrier between them and the finished game is bound to turn away quite a good percentage of them, and I don't think that "screw them cheapos!" is the right attitude to take in order to facilitate the success of ARR.

[Duuude007]

If you don't see a problem with giving people cause to think that they're getting something and not giving it, well, that's your opinion.

If that were what I was actually thinking, I would tell you.

• You are asserting that 1.x people aren't getting free time to check out the game, unrelated to the 1 month subscription offered via ARR purchase.
• I am asserting that 1.x people are getting free time to check out the game, and that it is unrelated to the 1 month subscription offered via ARR purchase.

Agree to disagree.

[Aldora]

But a beta is a beta, meaning that there'll still be bugs, server problems, and stuff to fix. It's not the best environment to ascertain the final quality of the game, and most definitely not what I'd use to advertise the game to those that already quit because its previous incarnation was poor. When you want to get people's trust back, you bring you A game. A beta isn't your A game.

Well, sure. In a beta there are still bugs to be fixed. But, lets be honest. Even if the game is released, the game will still have bugs in them. No product on the market is bug free and will never be entirely bug free. Even though the 4th Phase is still part of the beta, it will be pretty close to the official release of the game. The risk of "reworking"/"overhauling" an existing feature is extremely risky "right before" the official release. Who know what game breaking bugs will be introduced because of it.

Therefore, during that phase, the working being done will mostly be tweaks or bug fixes. However, if a feature is in fact broken (resulting in game breaking experiences) and has to be fixed, the feature will either be temporary disabled until it is fixed or postponed until the next patch/update. SE mentioned that Arcanist and Summoner are on schedule for the release, but will most likely not make it for the 4th Beta Phase. That's a risky choice. Let's say the Arcanist doesn't make it to the Beta (which is the most likely scenario, even with the most certainty) and will be introduced during the release. The balancing of the Class and its Summoner Job will be done in-house only and not by the End User. Chances are that the Class will be overpowered when compared with their designated alternative classes. The Class/Job balance will have to be fixed/adjusted via a Patch or even an Update. We've seen before that 1 skill can even crash a server due to a bug. End Users (Players) are better at finding these types of bugs then the developers themselves, since developers simply cannot match the vast diversity of situations during their testing schedule, which their playerbase can cover during their play sessions.

I've talked too much about this... In short, yes... The game is in a Beta, but the quality of the game during the final beta phase will be pretty close to the quality of the game once it's been released. Those who are under the restrictions of the NDA cannot speak freely, but since you've written an article with permission of SE regarding the Beta so far, i think you can say that the current 2.0 Beta from it's core implementation is by far better then it's 1.0 predecessor.

I can pretty much guarantee a lot of people are gonna be pissed, strengthened by the fact that there's already a lot of negativity on the game outside of its remaining community, for obvious reasons, this can easily become a deal breaker for many.

A "free trial" is perceived as a perk/freebie. A beta access isn't perceived by many as a freebie, as it's give and take. SE lets us play, and we do the testing for them.

People expecting a freebie and suddenly seeing themselves with something that isn't really a freebie, are gonna be naturally disappointed.

Is it a deal breaker for me? no. But I'm a fan. I've been hooked to the idea of ARR since when it wasn't even called ARR yet.

SE is facing the rather difficult task of getting back those that aren't fans anymore and are jaded about that game.

The 20-25k (personal estimate, don't quote me) people that remained til the end of the world are already in the bag. The 800k that quit, aren't quite in the bag. Putting a credit card barrier between them and the finished game is bound to turn away quite a good percentage of them, and I don't think that "screw them cheapos!" is the right attitude to take in order to facilitate the success of ARR.

I'm a fan of the game and it's franchise as well and i'm most definitely not implying that you're not. I'm just here to speak my mind, share my opinions and form a civil discussion based on my experiences, knowledge and opinions. (^_^ ) I think we share a common goal there. (^_~ )

But, i honestly have to say that i'm bugged by your (personal) estimation regarding the remaining people who played till the end and the ones that have presumably quit the game.

Do you honestly believe that approximately 95% of the entire player quit the game, lost faith and never returned to the game? That is a rather grim perception/estimation of our player base...

Final Fantasy XI never had a playerbase that could match (for instance) WoW. We know that. I also believe that Final Fantasy XIV didn't have a lot of subscribers at launch and that a lot of people left during the first few months. But more then 90%? And never returned? I would find that hard to believe.

If i were to make an estimation, it would be more in the lines of 250k initial subscribers of which around 15 to 20% (let's say around 40k subscribers) remained after the first few months. I suspected that the player base slightly increased from 1.19 onward, to about 30% of the original player base. That would be around 70k subscribers across, how many servers did we have in 1.0? 10? That would be an average of 7k subscribers per server.

That would sound more reasonable in my opinion. But, like i said, that's my opinion.

You can say i have more faith in our player base. (^_~ )

A "free trial" is perceived as a perk/freebie. A beta access isn't perceived by many as a freebie, as it's give and take. SE lets us play, and we do the testing for them.

People expecting a freebie and suddenly seeing themselves with something that isn't really a freebie, are gonna be naturally disappointed.

A "Free trail" might be perceived as a perk/freebie to many, but let me quote this from my previous post:

For those who played 1.0, aren't we already glad that SE managed to make 2.0, gave us the opportunity to support the game and help SE make the game better by supplying them with our thoughts and feedback? On top of that, there are players amongst us who have been classified as Legacy players with a permanent discount and free in-game item(s) that come along with it? On top of that, people who purchased the 1.0 CE version will get the in-game items from the 2.0 CE version. If i remember correctly, the existing players will get early access to the game, like the new players who will pre-order CE version of 2.0.

It's not like they are not giving us freebie's, right? It may not be a "Free Trail", but nonetheless... What more can we ask from a company that has invested this much to save their game?

Do you remember that people were flooding the forums, saying that they wanted to be in the beta so that they can get an early hand-on? To them, getting access to the beta is like a "Free trail", because they can get to "play the game for free". It's not the same as having a 30 day "Free Trail", but to them the result is the same, they are able to play the game.

Don't you agree?