Battle Reform Blueprint

[Physic]

So uh... What's Speed Surge going to do?

prolly increase your auto attack speed, or..... nothing but drain hp.

[Seif]

I agree with Soukyuu.

They could have fixed so many things that they decided to ruin completely because it was easier.

Even the battle system fixes that were promised to be a complete overhaul seems like they're just tweaking some stats. Same with the crafting system. The gameplay during crafting isn't fun so instead of making something enjoyable they decided to cut the whole process.

Same applies to quests and missions too. Everything works like a leve nothing more. I don't even care about their endless explanations on the lodestone I'd rather just see something substantial in the game itself that works in an enjoyable way but there's nothing there.

[Sorel]

I agree with Soukyuu.

They could have fixed so many things that they decided to ruin completely because it was easier.

Even the battle system fixes that were promised to be a complete overhaul seems like they're just tweaking some stats. Same with the crafting system. The gameplay during crafting isn't fun so instead of making something enjoyable they decided to cut the whole process.

Same applies to quests and missions too. Everything works like a leve nothing more. I don't even care about their endless explanations on the lodestone I'd rather just see something substantial in the game itself that works in an enjoyable way but there's nothing there.

I not necessarily disagreeing or agreeing with the above statements. But I do think we need to be more specific in order the help the Development Team. The above statement is simply too vague for the Development Team to take any action on.

• What specific things could they have fixed that you think they completely ruined instead?
• How could they make crafting more enjoyable?
• Can you give an example of what you consider as something substantial that doesn't "work like a leve" and is enjoyable?

We know that the Development Team listens to us and takes action when we speak in a clear manner, with specifics.

[Malakhim]

Everything worth saying has already been argued about ad nauseam for the past 6+ months. Until we get to see more content and actual gameplay systems other than targeting switches, we can't realistically "help" SE with anything, especially if they're being this tight-lipped about everything.

They could have fixed so many things that they decided to ruin completely because it was easier.

If there's one thing I'd agree with you on, it'd be this.

[Seif]

You're right I should have been a bit more specific.

Keep in mind that these are all of course my personal opinions and blahblah...

* What specific things could they have fixed that you think they completely ruined instead?

Monster scale. All the characters were clearly modeled to be in a smaller scale. You can clearly see very blocky character models because they simply weren't initially designed to be that big. I'm not against bigger enemies but this is clearly a decision of someone who doesn't have understanding of 3d modeling for videogames. They could have added new bigger monsters over time but chose the easiest way out. XI still has chigoes all over Caderva's Mire. They're smaller than anything in XIV but also one of the most terrifying mobs out there. They wanted to add a sense of danger but fluffy Nannygoats and bakesale marks aren't going to do the desired impact no matter how you scale them.

Also the addition of Anima in the first place. They could have made a real system how people commute in the world and how those costs need to be part of the gameplay experience. Warping people without any animations nor 3d models like Chocobo's was the easiest way out. It is also too handy. People cry out for the addition of chocobos but truthfully I doubt many will choose them over just pressing a button to warp. Even in XI people who have the ability to teleport ALWAYS without fail use the warping over chocobos.


* How could they make crafting more enjoyable?

Simple minigames that are fun to play and easy to make can be programmed in a day. Literally that's how long it takes. The graphics in the crafting system seem so simple that I don't think making suitable graphics for a minigame would take over a week and by saying this I'm calculating how long it would take for me to do them for 4 crafts in the game. They probably have a whole team for that.

Crafting system is clearly trying to be a minigame but in truth it's not. A game would need some luck but also skill to play. there is no way one can get "good" at a crafting minigame. Good in a way that one could get good at fishing in XI or bejeweled or good at using the power bar in any golf game. Or triple triad or tetra master (ok those graphics would take a lot of time but I hope you see my point).

In one gaming event one guy asked Petri Purho to code a Peggle-like with rag-doll physics as he was making the speech. He coded it while talking in 5 minutes. Coding a few minigames and balancing them to get harder on higher levels isn't too much to ask from a company that has hundreds of employees. Instead based on the latest info from the "streamliner" the crafting system is going to be cut to be more like crafting in other MMOs.

At work I usually say that "streamline" is hyperbole bad game designers use when they can't turn some element into a fun game mechanic and decide to cut it. The audience just eats it up and applauds the fact that they get a cheaper product.



* Can you give an example of what you consider as something substantial that doesn't "work like a leve" and is enjoyable?

That's a hard question. In XIV? I have to say that no, not really.
Almost any event in previous FF titles would do though. For example in FF III when you have to figure out a way through the final dungeon. The game design itself makes it pretty clear that you need to stockpile some supplies on your trip and save in between the dungeons. The glass tower itself is a maze that needs to be visited several times during which you find new gear and precious loot in the other corners of the place.

If something similiar was in XIV there would be only one dungeon. There would be nothing you'd have to think about. There would be nothing you could possibly do wrong. There would be a marker on the end of the corridor where you need to kill a leve-mob. No matter how important this would be for the storyline the fight itself would be easy. Many of the missions don't even require more than just reading text boxes. There wouldn't be hidden valuable loot nor specific music for that dungeon. There wouldn't be feeling of exploration nor the sense of freedom in how you can do the task. most importantly there wouldn't be a feeling of accomplishment when the quest was over and you wouldn't be rewarded with a cutscene that draws you in to the mysteries of the world like in previous FF titles. There wouldn't be a memorable NPC to befriend nor unique scenery to look at.

This is all based on how XIV is to play right now.

They talk a lot about how they want to bring back the FF feeling into the game but none of the things they have written show that they have any understanding of what makes a FF title an unique experience.

[DeadRiser]

Funny people say the old sp system was so broken that you wouldn't fight like you normally would... and people spamming the same two leves and purposley failing them is something you WOULD normally do? I'd rather have lots of party opportunities spread all over the map than just in boring, old U'ldah

[Physic]

thing people should remember is this is from the battle team, and they probably picked questions they had some type of answer to, or wanted to put the answers out there.

[Teknoman]

Well auto-attack mode doesnt automatically mean you have to stay in the same spot the whole time, or will move as slow as XI when auto attacking. I can see an AA mode where you can move at a decent speed while attacking, in order to eventually take advantage of hitting an enemy from different sides...or to keep the "action skill" dodging mechanic in play.

Really looking forward to whatever videos they have to show, since the director says its supposed to be different from the way XI's battle system worked, and rightfully so.

[Jynx]

You should not be able to move while attacking, although you should be able to cancle your action or attack and then move. Viola I just solved animation locking with a simple cancelation mechanic. Running in circles and attacking is borderline rediculous.

At most there should be some sort of high accuracy and/or damage penalty for moving around while you attack.

[Hellsoul-Sama]

Ability aesthetics will be improved, great I feel happy about that except I have my doubts at the same time...

I have a feeling there will be a fair amount of "this is already unique" going on, instead of striving to make animations more powerful/flashier?

What's my main set of examples? I'm pretty sure you've guessed... Ancient Magic and even Elemental Magic.

I've said this time and time again, add some flare into these key elements (no pun intended) and staples of the FF name... jeez the last thing I want to see going from Fire I -> Fire II is a particle size increase, maybe a little extra glow. Hell even FFXI made nicer effects going upwards through spell tiers, and the -ga spells as well.

I will make a new paragraph for Ancient magic alone, because they are HORRIBLE. My god, I don't know how someone could even allow these pity little animations into the game branded with an FF label. Seriously these sorts of staples can't disappoint, and they are seriously lacking at the moment.

With that all being said I hope that spell animations are being looked at with the aim more towards a "animation revamp" instead of a "unique casting animation" addition.

That is all... I hope SE never hears the end of this until it is something that is looked at, because right now I don't feel way more excited casting Fire II instead of Fire I for example, (especially because of the not worthwhile casting/cd/damage changes between the tiers... however I know that's being addressed so I am thankful for that)

- Hellsoul out